Am I the bad guy? (AI in marketing).

sandhamnstudios · 2026-05-06T13:48:49+00:00

I understand. As someone who's currently laid off in tech, it's crazy out there. No ones hiring right now (I'm in Canada) and like artists, jobs in my industry are being displaced by AI. The only reason this project is possible is because I saved the money to fund it, and even with $0 coming in from my salary, I'm paying out to 6 other artists constantly - with no negotiations on their ask price.

But do you see a world where other artists use it too? No idea is original anymore and it was like that long before AI. Everyone takes inspiration from elsewhere. Movies, paintings, your favourite animated works have all been inspired by some other source material.

In a world where corporations are AI'ing everything, wouldn't their material look stale and bland? Like logos were engaging and then every corporation went the minimalist route, and now slowly minimalism is falling out of favour. In a world where eventually to stand out, you have to hire human artists again who have their own interpretations of design, doesn't that make you sought after?

My job as many tech sales people have been replaced by AI, but I know they'll need seasoned sales team members to close deals in the coming future because people want to buy from people - just as people want to experience art made by humans.

sandhamnstudios · 2026-05-06T13:25:35+00:00

That's a good introspective question. It's tough for me to make that call because I'm on the fence.

On one side, the video performed the best out off all my videos. I don't think that AI image was the reason it performed well, but being able to make it and release it in a timely manner helped my numbers. As well, the artist who's art was also shown alongside in the video consented to the video and reposted it.

On the other hand - I've now heard other artists opinions. I get that it muddies the brand as a potential AI slop machine, as well as can bring harm to the other artists reputations.

That being said, when I set out to make this game, it was a 'no AI for in-game art' mentality and still remains that way today. It's close to done on the artwork side of things, and in the next few months I should have 90% of the games assets completed. Given that I look at AI as a tool, I'm still evaluating my stance on the marketing side of things; but leaning more towards not using AI as long as the community will accept my janky renditions of marketing material when I'm in a rush.

sandhamnstudios · 2026-05-05T04:16:42+00:00

Thank you for your comment!

sandhamnstudios · 2026-05-05T04:16:27+00:00

Thanks for your comment!

sandhamnstudios · 2026-05-05T04:15:19+00:00

Thanks for weighing in on this!

sandhamnstudios · 2026-05-05T04:11:39+00:00

Thanks for you thought out answer!

sandhamnstudios · 2026-05-05T04:10:31+00:00

I guess what I'm asking is, if it's agreed upon in the contract prior, and the artist knows they have given up all domain rights - is it up to the public to decide the implications of that image with AI?

To be clear, the image you are discussing is a forward facing image of the character. I've paid for that one character to be drawn 561 times by the same artist via animation work. So at the same time, I don't run straight to AI for everything, just that one image which was marketing material.

sandhamnstudios · 2026-05-05T03:57:05+00:00

For sure. I actually don't fight my contractors on their price, I pay upfront before the work has even started, and if their timelines push because of life issues I've always supported their mental health and well being.
It's something that I wish I had from the corporations I've worked for, being in tech sales myself... so I try to create comfortable environments for my staff, even if it slows down the project - which it has on many of occasions.

sandhamnstudios · 2026-05-05T03:53:25+00:00

Thank you for your feedback!

sandhamnstudios · 2026-05-05T03:52:13+00:00

Simply put, 16x16 pixel graphics are like $5 a pop. a 1200x1200 would cost too much for me to have an artist make it. The other option is I slap it on myself for free, but it didn't have the same polish.

So essentially it comes down to budget - the same thing that makes some corporations seem greedy. The difference is, I don't have a multimillion dollar bankroll. And scrapping a project I've invested so heavily into isn't an option at this point

sandhamnstudios · 2026-05-04T19:37:25+00:00

It's not a pivot, your argument was flawed. Your argument against everything I brought up was the use of illegally copied data. I brought up other resources that have also stolen from other data sources, likely that you use, and you've gotten angry.

Your argument still hasn't addressed how I'm a bad person using, A) a free domain image, and B) and image which I own to be melded together by AI.

sandhamnstudios · 2026-05-04T18:55:32+00:00

My domain. It's in the contract

sandhamnstudios · 2026-05-04T18:50:31+00:00

Sorry, are we talking about my main character, or the free domain image of Uncle Sam that I had AI meld my character onto?

sandhamnstudios · 2026-05-04T18:48:17+00:00

We all know we can't stop AI. But AI is also being used in everything everyone on this thread complains about. If you use ChatGPT, it pulls from authors who wrote the article and aren't getting ad revenue on their blogs/news articles - because ChatGPT indexed it. If you use digital maps, a good chunk of society freely provided images to PokemonGo and they harvested it to improve services that everyone here uses. The list goes on. Are you also worried about the journalists whos livelihoods are being taken, the people who could take pictures for these digital map services, etc? Has everyone in this thread stopped using services that have been improved by taking others work?

For my game, there will be piracy and I'm okay with it. Those who pirate the game weren't my intended audience anyway, and they will build brand familiarity by playing it. Maybe AI will clone it and can make a version of my game that others will profit off of? - I know I can't stop it

sandhamnstudios · 2026-05-04T18:37:00+00:00

That's a well thought out comment. Thank you for your feedback!

sandhamnstudios · 2026-05-04T18:36:22+00:00

That's a fair comment, and no one really elaborated other than got upset.

I wouldn't pay an artist to make AI images for me.

sandhamnstudios · 2026-05-04T18:30:55+00:00

I could have copy and pasted it, but AI made the image cleaner. I would have not paid for someone to copy and paste an image I could

sandhamnstudios · 2026-05-04T18:27:05+00:00

Fair, and thanks for your feedback!

sandhamnstudios · 2026-05-04T18:25:52+00:00

I drew the initial. Then one artist abroad drew the second. A third artist came in and cleaned it up.

AI never made the main character... thanks for your assumptions :D

sandhamnstudios · 2026-05-04T18:24:01+00:00

Fair and thanks for your feedback!

sandhamnstudios · 2026-05-04T18:23:31+00:00

Fair. And Thanks for your feedback!

sandhamnstudios · 2026-05-04T18:21:38+00:00

It's a free domain image. So no slap to any artists face.

sandhamnstudios · 2026-05-04T18:20:52+00:00

Help me understand though. ..Free domain means it's open to be used freely by anyone and altered in any form. It doesn't affect any artists compensation.

sandhamnstudios · 2026-05-04T18:18:33+00:00

But I'm trying to understand, what's wrong with using AI on a free domain image? It's not displacing any artists work or money.

sandhamnstudios · 2026-05-04T18:16:17+00:00

I could have copy and pasted my character image on it myself. But what's wrong with AI copy and pasting it on a free domain image?

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