Changed my mind about using AI art for my portfolio

I used to think any AI generated stuff in a digital art showcase was cheating and lazy. But last month at a small meetup in Austin, a guy showed me how he uses stable diffusion just for texture bases and then paints over everything by hand. It takes just as long as traditional painting but gives him wild patterns he couldn't dream up on his own. Has anyone else found a middle ground with AI tools that actually improves their workflow?

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the_joseph5mo ago

Oh man, I had basically the same flip-flop moment about six months ago when a friend showed me his workflow using AI for like concept blobs. He feeds it some nonsense prompt, gets a mess of colors and shapes, and then spends 8 hours turning that blob into an actual finished piece. I still think there is a BIG difference between typing "epic dragon" into a generator and calling it a day versus using AI as a fancy texture brush. The guy in Austin sounds legit because he is putting in the actual manual work after the machine spits out the raw material. It is like using a power drill instead of a hand crank - still takes skill to not drill through your own foot.

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holly_craig5mo ago

The power drill analogy only works if the drill does all the thinking

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