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Description
I'm going to go on a bit about AI art again, but basically this is a Stable Diffusion re-imagining of a DAZ Studio render of Sahmika's father, William Wendell, then edited and color corrected in Photoshop. Comic balloons and text also added in Photoshop.

OK - first off, I know many of you are not fans of AI art. I'm also not really a fan of people just randomly creating images with AI and calling themselves artists, and I definitely do not like the monetization of AI art. Real artists should be supported and hopefully never completely replaced by AI.

That said - this probably came out better than any commission of Papa that I might pay for, and I still had a lot of direct input into how it turned out. My 3D version has a low-quality shirt under his armor that I can't find a good solution for, and his bulky clothing often ends up causing his body to poke though his arms. This one also has much more interesting hair and facial hair than my 3D one, and I was able to use the Liquify tool to better shape his head and ears on this style of art, where that might cause noticeable smearing on the 3D version.

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I'm not sure yet, but I may end up moving more towards AI art than 3D in the future. The reasons aren't really that surprising, but I'll explain.

* It's not nearly as freakin' frustrating.

* I don't like the general look of 3D anymore. I've said this before, but working on the Sahmika outfit reveal comic has really driven it home.

* I like being surprised by my own art. While trying to get this result out of Stable Diffusion, I got a lot of other characters that I wouldn't have considered purposely trying to make. Old, weathered dwarves with huge beards, creepy, thin-faced elves with mullets and crooked noses, and heroic Santa Claus-like figures with heavy armor and different colored eyes. It made me think a little about other characters in my story that have never been illustrated, like the shopkeepers, the bards, soldier friends of Papa, and sinister members of the Ryte plotting the return of Kofaevae. Sometimes you just want to expand your story without agonizing over what background characters should look like or wear and if you do not have the 3D resources to make them, and this is an easy way to do it.

* Not worrying about 3D content. For a hobbyist, DAZ stuff is still expensive, but not being able to find what you need is as frustrating as not being able to afford it. I've wanted to make cute chibi art of Sahmika for years, and what was the last true chibi figure we had? Chibibel? Anyone even remember her? I've tried on and off to assemble Sahmika's home town of Ronail for years, but there's always an issue: buildings aren't right, there's no castle that looks like what I want, no curving or elevated roads, etc. Can't get hair to lie down all that well realistically (kind of important when characters are always getting knocked out), having to go between two or three programs just to make a new texture or add some small mesh details, and on and on.

I am not one who enjoys the journey, I only care about the destination. I don't remember half of the tutorials I write, let alone the experience of working on any of my images. The only thing I want is for others to like the result and for me to able to look back at it a year from now and still think it turned out well.

----------------------------

Now I do not intend to just add to the flood of AI art around here with quick generations of random pretty pictures. I'm still making art with the intention of portraying my characters, fights, and story, and will combine 3D with AI whenever necessary to get them to look as they should. I'm trying hard to think of ways to make this sort of art more presentable and interesting, such as through short comic sequences, much more detailed character profiles, and combining multiple images like I would with render passes.

I'll understand if you're not interested in this sort of art, and as I said, if I do move more towards AI, I will do everything I can to try and make mine unique. I've also thought a bit about no longer continuing to bother with any art at all - and I hope you can at least agree that AI art would be a better option than that.

Thanks very much for reading.

Description
I'm going to go on a bit about AI art again, but basically this is a Stable Diffusion re-imagining of a DAZ Studio render of Sahmika's father, William Wendell, then edited and color corrected in Photoshop. Comic balloons and text also added in Photoshop.

OK - first off, I know many of you are not fans of AI art. I'm also not really a fan of people just randomly creating images with AI and calling themselves artists, and I definitely do not like the monetization of AI art. Real artists should be supported and hopefully never completely replaced by AI.

That said - this probably came out better than any commission of Papa that I might pay for, and I still had a lot of direct input into how it turned out. My 3D version has a low-quality shirt under his armor that I can't find a good solution for, and his bulky clothing often ends up causing his body to poke though his arms. This one also has much more interesting hair and facial hair than my 3D one, and I was able to use the Liquify tool to better shape his head and ears on this style of art, where that might cause noticeable smearing on the 3D version.

----------------------------

I'm not sure yet, but I may end up moving more towards AI art than 3D in the future. The reasons aren't really that surprising, but I'll explain.

* It's not nearly as freakin' frustrating.

* I don't like the general look of 3D anymore. I've said this before, but working on the Sahmika outfit reveal comic has really driven it home.

* I like being surprised by my own art. While trying to get this result out of Stable Diffusion, I got a lot of other characters that I wouldn't have considered purposely trying to make. Old, weathered dwarves with huge beards, creepy, thin-faced elves with mullets and crooked noses, and heroic Santa Claus-like figures with heavy armor and different colored eyes. It made me think a little about other characters in my story that have never been illustrated, like the shopkeepers, the bards, soldier friends of Papa, and sinister members of the Ryte plotting the return of Kofaevae. Sometimes you just want to expand your story without agonizing over what background characters should look like or wear and if you do not have the 3D resources to make them, and this is an easy way to do it.

* Not worrying about 3D content. For a hobbyist, DAZ stuff is still expensive, but not being able to find what you need is as frustrating as not being able to afford it. I've wanted to make cute chibi art of Sahmika for years, and what was the last true chibi figure we had? Chibibel? Anyone even remember her? I've tried on and off to assemble Sahmika's home town of Ronail for years, but there's always an issue: buildings aren't right, there's no castle that looks like what I want, no curving or elevated roads, etc. Can't get hair to lie down all that well realistically (kind of important when characters are always getting knocked out), having to go between two or three programs just to make a new texture or add some small mesh details, and on and on.

I am not one who enjoys the journey, I only care about the destination. I don't remember half of the tutorials I write, let alone the experience of working on any of my images. The only thing I want is for others to like the result and for me to able to look back at it a year from now and still think it turned out well.

----------------------------

Now I do not intend to just add to the flood of AI art around here with quick generations of random pretty pictures. I'm still making art with the intention of portraying my characters, fights, and story, and will combine 3D with AI whenever necessary to get them to look as they should. I'm trying hard to think of ways to make this sort of art more presentable and interesting, such as through short comic sequences, much more detailed character profiles, and combining multiple images like I would with render passes.

I'll understand if you're not interested in this sort of art, and as I said, if I do move more towards AI, I will do everything I can to try and make mine unique. I've also thought a bit about no longer continuing to bother with any art at all - and I hope you can at least agree that AI art would be a better option than that.

Thanks very much for reading.