All The Cool Kids Are Painting By Hand
What it means to be a traditional artist in the era of AI and digitality
Midjourney blew up the Internet and brought AI art from an experimental concept to flesh-and-blood reality. Whether we want to admit it or not, a computer program is now far more skillful than at least 80% of artists (self-proclaimed or not) in this world.
So, just imagine the public’s reaction. What a brew of hatred, intimidation, excitement, and expectations. Isn’t it interesting how drastically people’s opinions fall onto polar opposites every time a technology advancement happens?
Those who know me know I’m a hardcore traditional media sucker. I’m most likely going to be painting by hand till the day I die. Yet don’t mistake me for the insecure elitists. As a traditional artist, I am not the slightest intimidated by the rapid development of AI art.
Because guess what?
All the cool kids are painting by hand.
And trust me when I say this: no program can make up for a lack of ideas, experience, and skills.
I mean, come on. It’s about time we give those old-schoolers the credit and attention they deserve. I wrote in the past:
But how many of the “artists” can say that they do the same? That they continually sharpen their skills and try to dig deeper into their art? That they hold themselves high enough to understand that the term artist is an entitlement, not a self-confidence boost?
— Why isn’t Art held to the same standard as Science?
Years later, I found myself asking the same questions as the world becomes overpopulated by sell-outs, or wait… should I say “artrepreneurs?”
And I don’t mean the skilled, dedicated, and inspiring artists who also have a great mind for business while continually growing their artistry. All the more power to them, honestly — You know what I’m referring to. I’m talking about the “ones with less that are doing more.”
Here’s something a lot of us refused to admit until we hit that career bottleneck: you cannot be an artist unless you study art. This has nothing to do with degrees. Study can happen anywhere. After all, the only way to become a better artist is keep watching, keep thinking, keep creating.
Yet again, are we doing that?
Digital tools made it so much easier for people to enter the creative world. But it has also taken away the already absent standard of what good art looks like. Meanwhile, the general public’s overall lacking of artistic knowledge and appreciation abilities turned the soil further spoiled — but that’s another depressing topic for a different day.
You can hand the same pack of cheap Hobby Lobby acrylics to two artists, and the results may be drastically different. The reason is often that one artist knew more about color and light than the other.
Now, give the Midjourney program to two artists, and the depth of artistic maturity shows almost instantly. No wonder, then, it is running an application-based early access program. After all, it is only fair to prove you have the ability to unleash the tool’s superpower before getting your hands on one — the blade chooses its wielder, you know?
Then, why write an essay so clearly dedicated to traditional artists, you may ask, if I believe in the power of technology and have no bitterness against digital artist?
Because the environment is making it harder for traditional artists to be seen.
You can talk all about social media and AR projections. But there is no way you can convince me, unless SAO becomes a reality, that traditional artists are starting at the same ground with digital artists in today’s world.
You simply cannot duplicate physicality.
You cannot post an image on Instagram and expect it to provide the same details, textures, and structures compared to the physical piece.
So whether people want to admit it or not, traditional artists are playing handicapped. Day after day, we’re told to embrace the new reality and move forward. We’re pushed to stay relevant with something that was meant to be timeless.
Then, I guess we are the stubborn ones choosing an obsolete path destined to be solitude-filleda. We put ourselves in a competition that’s only going to get harsher. We force ourselves to climb higher and not settle until we can’t move any further.
We’re not here to “find our audience” or “create a personal brand (goodness gracious! Even though I brand myself also for the necessity and sake of it, I simply couldn’t think of a worse blasphemy to what art once stood for)”. Frankly, a lot of us aren’t even painting for anyone else but our own sake. When I think about being a traditional artist, I feel like the kid playing in the rain. We get all muddy, but we’re happy. We’re here to experiment, explore, and evolve.
To simply see how much we can learn, and how much we can grow.
And that’s it. Traditional artists are Peter Pan and his comrades. We chose to stay when Wendy left to grow up. Over the years, more of my artist friends have either stopped painting or slowed down, or transitioned toward digital art. It’s never an easy feeling watching those who swore to aim for the sky and the sea slowly walk away.
Yet I still believe I’ll meet others continuing on this path, carrying their weight with their tattered bodies, with eyes as bright as the morning star.
Because I still believe that humanity is drawn to physicality.
We might be desperately connecting ourselves up to the clouds for now, but that’s like a child with a fun new toy. Once the thrill settles, I see humans return to their roots and become tired of the digital screens.
(If not, we’re doomed and should never call ourselves intelligent creatures ever again.)
As of AI art, let’s not forget that as of today, we do not have true artificial intelligence. Your smart home assistants and therapy chatbots do not have souls. Midjourney may be able to create stunning visuals with iteration and logic, but without artist’s guidance, it is nothing but a code jumbo.
So, heads down and steadfast forward. Use whatever is out there to make your art stronger. But keep reminding yourselves: all the cool kids are painting by hand and we will make it rain someday like it has never before.
“If you build it, they will come.”
PS: Enjoy all the amazing art from people I follow on Twitter ;) These are good folks!
