Recently, several of my gamer friends have become infatuated with creating art using Artificial Intelligence bots like DALL-E and NightCafe. Last Friday night we sat around and used the tools to create character profiles and some fun scenes like this one from one of our Dungeons and Dragons games.
 (our party was about to get eaten by a witch polymorphed into a giant snake) |
Obviously this scene has a few glaring flaws. The giant snake is missing a face, and it was supposed to be a single cottage. Some of the trees don’t make any sense.
Last week I hosted a rousing discussion over on Facebook about the new reality of art created by AI. Opinions were all over the place. The tech is still new and very controversial. We’ve got some opinion pieces coming from artists in favor and against. It’s early, so who knows where things go from here.
Side note: check out John Oliver’s segment on Youtube about AI images for a good laugh.
But here’s the deal: ultimately Artificial Intelligence, (like NFTs and photoshop before) are all technologies – just tools.
Many people complained about digital art when it first hit the scene in the 80s. Artists were widely criticized for using computers and passing off their work as art. But the technology went through many, many iterations and took decades to get the point it’s at now.
But now digital art is considered art. People buy digital art from their favorite digital artists.
You only have to look at the latest rounds of big name auctions or the top trending works on the top art websites to see digital art showing up consistently. Some artists began doing really interesting and original things with those tools. Artists like Cory Arcangel blended digital and physical in interesting ways and made things nobody expected. Artists are pushing boundaries in AR & VR that are selling for big dollars, but even after years and billions of dollars spent, AR/VR are still nascent tech for most artists. The big money is still in physical art, and will be for a long time yet.
Less than a year ago I led a webinar for artists where we talked about what to do with NFTs – and now the crypto art market is selling for pennies on the dollar (though climbing again in some areas).
 Chart from Statista |
Relationships Matter More Than Technology
Over the weekend an artist I know sent me a text that read, “I just sold a $4k painting to someone who bought a $100 painting from me three years ago. It’s like building relationships pays off!”
And that’s what I want to focus on for the next little two weeks. We’re opening enrollment for How to Sell Your Art Online 101, our flagship course. Our first coaching call is September 26, and it runs through the last week of October. I’ll be sharing links for registration starting tomorrow.
HTSYAO focuses on creating a story that you can use to build connections with people. Even if AI art somehow becomes popular, we’re still years away from art collectors and art enthusiasts pushing it mainstream. Until AI makes significant leaps forward in its ability to make something collectible, artists can continue to stay focused on making good art and building relationships with collectors.
So what’s coming up for you? What questions do you have about AI, NFTs, and selling your art?
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