Unpopular opinion: AI art tools are killing the fun of digital painting for me

I was at a local art meetup in Portland last month, and half the people there were just typing prompts into Midjourney instead of actually drawing. One guy spent 20 minutes tweaking a prompt to get a 'cyberpunk cat' and called it his portfolio piece. I get that it saves time, but where's the soul in that? Has anyone else felt like AI is making the craft feel hollow?

2 comments

2 Comments

jesse_cooper1d ago

That "sketchbook sits untouched" line got me thinking. I was at a coffee shop in San Francisco and watched a guy spend forty minutes on an AI prompt for a neon raccoon while his kid was drawing actual raccoons with crayons on the floor. The kid's art was more interesting because you could see the mistakes and the thinking behind each line.

gavin_clark2d ago

That "cyberpunk cat" story rings a bell... I've seen people at my local spot chasing perfect prompts for hours while the sketchbook sits untouched. Best tip I can give is to set a hard rule that you finish one traditional piece before you even open an AI tool. Keeps your hands in the game and your soul intact.