4w ago

A note from the mod on AI-generated comics

Hi friends, mod here.

I want to take a moment to address the issue of low-quality AI-generated content that occasionally gets posted in this community.

While /c/comicstrips hasn't had a specific rule about this until now, it's become clear that some AI-generated comics being shared fall well below the standard of quality we aim to maintain. These low-effort posts not only disrupt the overall experience for readers, but they also devalue the hard work of the illustrators and artists who contribute original content here.

Starting today, a new rule is in place:

AI-generated comics are no longer allowed in this community.

Thanks for understanding and helping keep /c/comicstrips a high-quality space for everyone who loves comics.

74 comments

Just make a comic with stick figures. Cyanide and Happiness literally became famous for doing it and turned into a semi-refined art style. You don't need AI if you got a good joke on your hands.
- So did xkcd.
- or sprites from a video game
- please dont remind me of loss comic
  edit: ok...i think i need to drop some context with what im saying
  
  Speaking of loss
  You just lost The Game
- Exactly, the art style doesn't matter if the written content is good. But this doesn't need to exclude AI at all, because as you mention the art style is not the critical piece. I don't care if the art is made by AI, as long as the written content is good.
  
  My biggest problem is included in the "but they also devalue the hard work of the illustrators and artists who contribute original content here" part of the original post, especially since the AIs are trained on copyrighted work.
- So if you're ok with low quality, why then you object about AI comics quality which is mostly significantly higher than "stick figures"?
  
  There’s a difference between “low quality” and “simple”. Cyanide and Happiness, to use their example was simple, not low quality.
  
  Because I believe stick figures are of a higher quality than AI. An AI generated comic shows me that you cared so little about it that you couldn't even draw stick figures. And this has nothing to do with effort, but artistic intent. It shows that whoever did it had no desire to inject themselves into the comic and would rather have it look generic and bland. Fidelity does not equal quality.
  
  Because AI "art" being posted around isn't even consistent throughout the panel, and is often devoid of effort and context so even when it's not that interesting, it's not even pleasant to look at.
  Comic artist like C&H and Oatmeal, while having terrible art, at least are funny and with context. There's human in it, and they can call the style their "own", even if it's stick figure it's stick figure with distinction. AI art just make you think "is this made from AI?"
  You want people to appreciate AI comic? Sure, do the touch up first and make everything consistent.
  
  because AI is lazy
  
  Because generative AI is a lazy shortcut for the untalented or dispassionate. If you give half a shit, put in minimum effort and draw a damn stick figure in MS Paint.
  
  You don't even have to draw the stick figures yourself.

Almost everyone, anyway

And nothing of value was lost.

Incredible. Thank you.
- +1
  Which ones were identified as AI generated?
  
  https://lemmy.world/post/33998896
  
  I wouldn't mind seeing a few examples as well

I started by making comics with horribly drawn stickmen in Paint, black and white, no colors, yet they got a positive reaction due to the writing (example of my work 2 years ago).
Unless you suffer from a severe physical disability, there's no excuse, you can draw your own comics.
The best part is while drawing your shitty stickmen, you'll get better at drawing, learn to represent emotions and actions, develop a style, start to have a visual identity, maybe even get good at it who knows.
I learned to draw from scratch in my late 30s, two years later I'm doing illustrations for my own games - there's still a lot of room for improvement, but it proves practice pays off even without tryharding and you don't need AI to draw your comics for you. You just need to get over your fears of judgement, try your best with the skills you've got, and keep doing it on a regular schedule. Slowly, over time, you'll get better. I promise. It'll be fruitless and frustrating sometimes, but you'll get big visible leaps in your skills every now and then.
That's why I'm always upvoting and complimenting those who are just getting started and can't draw much yet, but have good ideas and a vision. I'd encourage everyone else to do the same. A lot of people tend to stop if they don't get positive feedback.
If you're considering making AI comics, try drawing them instead. Who cares if it's ugly, give it your best and share it with the world. You might not get many upvotes, but if your ideas are good enough you'll get a few comments and the motivation to keep trying, and that's a lot already. Don't fret over having no "talent", I don't have any either, still can't draw anything decent with a pen and paper :-)
- You don't even need the stick figures if you're especially clever about it.
  ASCII art exists. MAD Magazine even had a feature in a few issues from the 1960s-1980s which were comic strips in which the art was made of characters typed on a typewriter, in a very early precursor to ASCII art.
  Fumetti (photo comics) use photographs instead of illustrations.
  There are lots of ways out there to be creative without generating slop.
  
  Fumetti looks interesting!
  Although both of these techniques are harder than drawing stick figures, they could be a more unique style.

People say that AI generated art displays a lack of talent, but I think that's not exactly true.
This technology steals the work of artists, funnels money into the hands of dictators and megacorps, poisons towns populated by minorities and sets the planet on fire. Defending all of that requires a level of talent in lacking empathy that's almost admirable.
- You had me on the first half, not gonna lie.

AI-generated comics are no longer allowed in this community.

Was ready to unfollow and block.
Glad we decided to preserve the integrity of the art.
Let the ai-bro tears flow.
- Same. I want to see web comics here, and the occasional newspaper comic artist.
  Ai comics can go to find their own community.

How the mod ruled:

Great choice!
- You tell 'em, Everett!

Thank you!!!!! (づ￣ ³￣)づ

low-quality AI-generated content
Is there any other kind?
- Lower-quality content, maybe?

Awesome! Thanks for this decision.

Thank you for making this choice, and keeping this community worth visiting. And thank you for the hard work you do in moderating!

I'm not against the posting of AI generated content, but it should be confined to communities that were specifically set up for AI content.

Excellent decision! The simplest way to enforce this would be to require all comic strip submissions to include a source link.

I congratulate you on your decision
However, I do think that people like us are on the losing side. US tech companies are flooding the internet with AI slop and most people in the world are tied up in them and see barely anything else anymore.
Soon enough we'll be a tiny minority, but what can you do....?
- Many people cook entire meals using the microwave, and many people cook using an oven and stove.
  Yes there's a lot of quickly processed food out there to feed the masses, but even the masses can tell the difference between a home cooked meal and a microwaved plate.
  We might be the minority with our cooking, but our clientelle don't want it any other way and thats okay

Thanks for all your work on the community! It's a thankless job.

While I think Ai can make some cool images, it sucks at comics.
They look souless, have weird facial expressions and have inconsistent fonts.
Stick figure comics are far better.
- Stick figure comics are far better.
  I'll test your theory. Here's a comic made be me in a minute trying to act like a data scraping AI. I don't know how to edit things.
  
  Ai could never make this
  
  Still better than Ai

Based.
On what? Idk, just based.

how do you feel about posting a comic that occasionally uses ai tools in it

I can see from the front page that the first comic is a lazy comic using the exact same image 3 times for each panel.
Are you going to remove such low-quality content?
- You better not be talking about my beloved PDL
- If you think you can do better than Poorly Drawn Lines, let’s see it.
- I'd love to hear what about it you think is lazy? The fact the artist only illustrated 1 panel? If so, that's 1 more than any ai-generated comic, and took considerably more thought, skill, and effort.
- Are you referring to the post containing a Poorly Drawn Lines comic?
  If so, heresy!!
  I like their comics. They are simple in style and taste. I can see that may be perceived as low quality by some.
  But in relation to the topic of this post, their comic strips are certainly not AI-generated.

74 comments