The time an analog artist played with AI and a 20-year-old dream came into their hands.
The other day, I made a minor change to my icon.
here I am now.
Up until now, I've only posted analog illustrations,
Sushi. Actually...
Digital illustrationsare something I can draw too.
...That's a lie, I'm sorry 🙇♂️
#TheManWhoLiesEvenThoughHeWroteAIInTheTitle
Since my student days, I have been a person who exclusively
draws analog illustrations on Kent paper using mechanical pencils and Copic sketches.
There was also a time when monochrome drawings were my main style.
Of course, all of those illustrations in that style
are irreplaceable treasures,
However.
To be perfectly honest...
I really, really admired digital art (￣▽￣;)
Back then, I was so ignorant about PCs that I
actually went to a second-hand shop without any prior knowledge,
and just by buying a used desktop PC (a CRT monitor!!) and
some random scanner,
I genuinely thought,
"Yay! Now I can draw digital art!＼(^○^)／"
But, well...
↓
Ex. What was needed to draw digital art as of 2008
Around 2008 (the transition period from Windows Vista to 7, the year after the first iPhone was released), the main equipment and software required to draw digital illustrations were as follows.
1. PC Specs: The mainstream at the time were Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Quad processors. 2GB to 4GB of RAM was standard. It was a transition period from Windows XP to Vista/7, and high specs were required for comfortable operation. Form factor: Desktops were mainstream, but laptops were starting to become popular.
2. Pen Tablet (Graphics Tablet) Manufacturer: WACOM had an overwhelming market share. Products: Intuos3 or Bamboo series were mainstream. Features: LCD tablets were extremely expensive (for professionals), so the general public mainly used "graphics tablets" where you draw on the desk instead of using a mouse.
3. Paint Software (Illustration Software) Standard: Adobe Photoshop (CS3/CS4) was the standard for professionals and high-level amateurs. Popular software: SAI (Easy PaintTool SAI): Rapidly spread in the late 2000s. Loved by master artists for its light operation and ease of drawing line art. Painter: Software suitable for oil-painting style thick painting. ComicStudio: Essential software for drawing manga. Free/Inexpensive: OpenCanvas (early free versions, etc.), GIMP, etc.
4. Other necessities Display: The transition from CRT to LCD monitors was complete, and IPS LCDs were preferred for their high image quality.
Knowledge/Skills: In addition to self-study, a culture of learning techniques through pixiv (service started in 2007), bulletin boards, and personal websites was becoming established. Trends in 2008 Line art: Smooth line art using SAI. Coloring: It was a period of transition from anime-style coloring to slightly heavier thick painting using a lot of blurring.
*Smartphones were in the era of mobile phones (feature phones) and were not yet being used as drawing tools.
I had been way too disrespectful to digital art.
Without knowing anything about OS versions or anything else, I spent tens of thousands of yen on something I couldn't even use properly without doing any research,
and threw it down the drain.
I want to take that past version of myself,that complete idiot,
and put a pickling stone on them and turn them into nukazuke (pickled vegetables).
#WhatAreYouTalkingAbout
#IWasDefinitelyNotDrinkingWhileWritingThis
Nearly 20 years after that disaster for my wallet...
The "AI editing feature using Gemini in Google Photos"
that was implemented earlier this year
As an AI primitive,
"My turn!!"
(It wasn't actually a turn)
I gave instructions to a hand-drawn icon I had saved in Photos,
and the product I was able to draw
is the current icon at the beginning.
From there, I took illustrations colored with
Copic markers that I had drawn in the past,
imported them into Google Photos,
and have been having fun digitally editing them with the help of AI.
Pattern 1
Even though it was the first thing I drew
after switching to this account, for one reason or another,
I missed the chance to post this
illustration, which was inspired by the theme of
"a new school year, a fresh start."
Here it is ↓
it has beautiful image quality without losing the nuance of the original drawing,
with the unexpected bonus of having the full body drawn.
※By the way, among the illustrations I've drawn in the past,
anything involving so-called "school uniforms"
was completely rejected by Gemini, except for this one 💦
Pattern 2
An old guy shouting, "Can I borrow your bathroom!" in front of a back gate in an alleyway. ↓
Apparently, he's shouting on Easter Island now.
Pattern 3
Section Chief Konishi's 2010 girlfriend
(or so it said in the communication OP 🙄 lol) ↓
I made the background look a bit like a residential area in Fujisawa.
I also lived in the neighboring city of Kamakura for one year a long time ago, so
I feel like it matches my memories fairly well.
Pattern 4
Post from my old account: The model for the [Honda Award] selection criteria. ↓
I'm bad at drawing glasses, and every time I see this,
I feel down, thinking, "I wish my glasses-drawing skills would improve a little more" (´･ω･｀)
Pattern 5
This was also posted on my old account:
[My dad, who came charging at me dressed as Santa in a dream] ↓
If you see this biological weapon on Kannana-dori,
please report it to the police.
That is all.
So, that's that...
A 20-year-old dream, fulfilled "halfway" in an unexpected way.
The reason I say "halfway" is because there are parts
that haven't been 100% realized from my vision.
Both the characters and the background.
It will surely be more fun
to fill in that "remaining half"
on my own from here on out.
Also...
When playing with AI,
I have decided on one rule.
“I will never use AI editing for illustrations or art
that are meant to convey a message.”
If I were to cross this line, I would never be able to
create original expressions again.
I don't want to become blinded by quality
at the expense of the values of “warmth” and “power”
that hand-drawn work possesses.
As for how I approach my illustrations, from now on I think I would like to
separate them into two patterns:
“Hand-drawn when I want to put my own expression into everything”
and “Using AI to edit when I want a break or want something interesting.”
Perhaps in the future, because I played with AI,
there might be something that inspires
my hand-drawn illustrations,
and if that results in an increased range of expression,
that would also become a good “cycle.”
Wouldn't it be interesting to view it that way as well?
Something common to both hand-drawing and AI:
“The act of drawing.”
I want to continue to enjoy that purely from here on out.