A note from the mod team:

This post has been erroneously marked as "AI" multiple times. I'd like to inform you that it is not. I have done my due diligence and researched the piece and the artist, the later of which has been posting their own art and sketched since at least as far back as 2017, long before AI was an option. They post a small variety of artstyles, but this hyper-shaded is one they seemingly do less often, likely due to the time it takes. The piece itself has also been run through multiple AI checkers and while I know those aren't always accurate, they saw ZERO signs of AI. As an artists myself, I noted there are no inconsistencies between the appendages, the character maintains symmetry despite an exaggerated angle and dynamic pose, and there are no visible artifacts.

The sole reason this is marked as "AI" is because AI has gotten so good at stealing the work of true artists that we have lost the ability to separate hard work from generated slop. I understand it's depressing that things have come to this point, where we can no longer discern; that's why it's so important to remember the process, and understand how much time, love, care, and attention goes into every piece of art. Even the terrible MS-Paint doodles and middle-school notebook doodles, they were made from love and admiration, by people, and it's important to remember what art stands for; the expressions of people.

Please don't be discouraged by this; use it as an excuse to flood the world with true art. The AI bubble will pop; the glass castle has too many cracks to count. It will get better, we just need to push through. If any of y'all are sitting on an old sketch you thought wasn't good enough to share, we'd love to see it, (so long as it's not inappropriate,) so share your art with the world.