AI Finally Broke Me

On ChatGPT Images 2.0 and the future of creative work

Yesterday our tech team in the district sent us an email about the release of ChatGPT 2.0. It read: “OpenAI has officially rolled out ChatGPT Images 2.0, a game-changer for classroom visuals. The model now features advanced 'thinking' capabilities that can generate complex, multi-panel educational comics and high-fidelity infographics with accurate text, making it easier than ever to create custom, high-quality learning materials … staff can use ChatGPT to generate professional infographics, develop materials with multilingual support, and create images that include consistent characters across different scenes.”

Multi-panel educational comics? Uh oh. This is what I spent years creating before moving on to do something else. And now AI can do it?

I had to give it a try. I asked ChatGPT Images to make a comic about crop rotation. Quite literally, that’s what I asked it to do: “Make a comic that explains crop rotation.” (For some reason, this was the first thing that cam to mind, even though I am not a science teacher). And this is what it created:

It’s not the greatest comic and I have no idea how accurate it really is, but the problem is it’s good enough for most people. And, more importantly, it’s FREE and takes a minute to create and a teacher could use it tomorrow. Why would teachers pay for comics that explain crop rotation when they can create something like this?

I used ChatGPT Images to do the same thing with Act I of Romeo and Juliet:

I have made a lot of comics that adapt Shakespeare plays into comics. Now I’m not sure that people need them, or are willing to pay for them when they can create their own.

Possibly an endangered species.

I have no question that this can be a good resource for struggling reader who need some help processing text, but this is the first time I felt a sense of despair and defeat. I have been fairly optimistic about AI for a while, but I saw a future where the comics that took me months to create by hand on Bristol board with pencil and ink will no longer be valued. I understand first hand the anxiety a lot of artists feel as AI’s capabilities continue to grow.

So how am I going to respond so that I can continue? I have three solutions.

1. Lean into a style that AI can’t duplicate. My style does not look like what ChatGPT Images creates. (Sadly, this is what a lot of middle grade comics look like to me, so that must be what AI is training on). I was raised loving the work of Sergio Aragones, Harvey Kutzmann, and the rest of the MAD bunch. AI doesn’t seem interested or able to mimic style (it will say that it violates guidelines, at least for now). So I will lean into my style and make it even more distinct. One way I’m going to do this is embrace the imperfections of my work, and create a Procreate brush that has more inconsistencies to it so that my finished work looks less polished. More like what’s in my sketchbook.

2. Focus on collaboration. I think the days of me creating comics for Teachers Pay Teachers are officially over. I just don’t see that as a viable option on a site that is already being flooded with AI created materials. Fortunately, I have already started pivoting into new ventures. I’m creating graphic essays for publications, all of which still value having a human creator behind it. I am working on adapting a popular non-fiction book into a graphic novel, and bringing her research to young adults through comics. She needs someone like me to execute her vision, not AI.

3. Stay positive! There are still a lot of people that value human connection. It just depends on what the product is. Most people aren’t going to care about where educational materials come from. I can see some textbook companies and test creation companies creating materials like this so they don’t have to pay creators (although the Supreme Court recently ruled that AI work cannot be copyrighted, so that might be an issue). But people still like to meet authors and illustrators and other creators and support them, so there are still opportunities to find outlets for creativity from people that will appreciate what I do. I suspect a time when bespoke goods will be highly valued is coming—at least in certain areas. People value human connection.

These are my latest thoughts. If you have any comments, I’d love to hear them!

And if you do value supporting real people making real art, make sure you subscribe to follow me! And better yet, consider becoming a paid subscriber!