I recently had someone ask if I take commissions, so I figured I'd create this post to answer that question publicly, as well as propose an idea to the Inkbunny community as a whole.
First and foremost, Inkbunny rules prohibit the sale of AI generated work for cash, and I wholeheartedly agree with this position.
There's a lot of tension between AI artists and more traditional artists, and some valid fears about the negative impacts AI could have. One of the those fears is that the commission market could become flooded by AI artists, and I think this fear has some validity. Inkbunny's ban on the sale of AI art is a good step towards ameliorating this problem.
I also agree with Inkbunny's position on keeping AI prompts open for anyone to read and use for themselves. If you're willing to put in the time to get the software installed and configured, anyone can recreate the images that AI artists post here. It's important that anyone thinking about commissioning an AI artist understands this, lest they feel ripped off.
There is, however, an appetite for AI generated work, and not everyone is interested in putting in the time (or has the hardware) to get an AI up and running. There is also a degree of skill in writing good prompts, finding good models and LoRAs, and adjusting the various settings to get outputs that match the prompter's vision.
I don't wish to insinuate this is an equal degree of skill as learning to draw, or paint, Photoshop, or work in other traditional artistic mediums. It is not. I am not trying to steal a traditional artist's glory by saying an AI artist's skill is equal. But there is a degree of skill to creating good AI art, nonetheless.
So here's my proposal:
If someone would like to commission some AI art, I am open to what I'm dubbing a Three-Way Commission™️ (not actually trademarked, please steal this idea. 😸)
Three people are involved in this process: A patron seeking some AI generated artwork, an AI artist, and a traditional artist.
Rather than compensating an AI artist with cash, the patron and the AI artist commission a traditional artist for some traditional work. The AI artist gets to choose the traditional artist and the specifics of the traditional art commission, and the patron pays the traditional artist for that commission (after agreeing on budget and specifics, of course.)
In return for the patron paying for the traditional commission, the AI artist will create AI generated artwork for the patron, to the patron's specifications.
Once the AI artist and traditional artist complete their work, the patron gets the AI artwork they wanted, the AI artist gets some traditional art they wanted, and the traditional artist gets cash for their work.
This not only avoids the problem of AI artists displacing traditional art, but may actually increase the amount of commission work that traditional artists receive. It also provides an incentive for AI artists to avoid churning out too much custom free work in response to requests, as that now has trade-value for 3WCs.
It is also my hope that this may heal some of the rift that exists between traditional artists and AI artists. I don't think this has to be a zero sum game. Traditional artists don't have to lose for AI artists to "win." There is room for both of us, and it makes me sad to know many artists that I love see AI artists, like myself, as an enemy. We loved traditional art and artists long before AI art existed, and that love will continue.
Anyway, I welcome any and all comments about this idea (or related ideas) below. You should also feel free to be angry at me. I can take it. I'm a big kitty. All I ask is that you be civil to each other, even if you disagree with someone else in the comments.
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10 months ago
29 Jul 2023 07:01 CEST
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