The Junior Artist in Your Computer: Reframing AI as a Creative Tool¶
“I was very much an advocate for hating AI initially, you know, and wished it would go away,” said Expanxia’s Senior Technical/AI Artist, Scott. “I’d literally spent 20 years learning the anatomy of a human being. And then suddenly there’s something that can not only look at a human being but unfold and redraw for me in almost real-time? I kept asking myself ‘How can I look at this and be appreciative of it? How is this even artistic at all?’ It was destabilizing.”
“So what changed?”¶
Scott chuckled. “I just started to see it as another tool. Once I did that, it began to make sense. When I started to think of AI as having a team of junior artists working under me, saving me time on things like initial concepts, AI gained a place inside my head as acceptable and useful.”
But let’s take a step back. How did Scott get to that point?
Bubbles and Waves¶
Scott has over 25 years in all things art-related, with the last 12 focused on the gaming industry and his experience covering 3DS Max, Maya, Blender (2D and 3D Artist), Unreal, Unity, and other open engines. In the last seven years, he has moved towards the more technical side of fronted game engine graphics, working alongside programmers to push tech to its limits.
“I really grew my career in the gaming industry,” said Scott. “I came from a graphic design background and saw the advent of computer graphics coming through. But my job has always been stuck in between an engineer and artist, and I’ve always loved that bridge between the two worlds.”
This “bridge between the two worlds” extended beyond artist and engineer. In many ways, Scott’s career reads like a roadmap of technological disruptions in creative industries.
Technology, assures Scott, moves in bubbles and waves—periods of rapid innovation and adoption that reshape entire industries.
“What bubbles did you experience?”¶
The first bubble for Scott was the desktop publishing revolution, which moved away from traditional typesetting to utilizing computers instead. “I saw immediately how using computers was going to be the way forward. It was faster.”
The web design boom of the early aughts brought the next bubble in Scott’s life. “New tools became available and that made web design way more accessible than before, which was great. But, there were plenty of programmers who said, ‘You aren’t a real web designer because you’re using an application instead of code to create.’”
Scott’s final bubble was the gaming industry which “exploded” thanks to greater game engine accessibility, rapidly growing AAA studios, better internet connectivity enabling online games, and the advent of flash games and browser games (among many other changes).
“And what about the waves you mentioned?”¶
“In every single instance, there are these transitional phases where the tide’s coming in and going out in these constant rolling waves,” said Scott, “and what gets left behind on the beach are some extremely amazing treasures.”
According to Scott, these waves and tides are all about adapting. He’s seen this before and he’ll see it again.
People adapt, or they fade out.
But like the tides, phases of this technological ‘moon’ run in a predictable cycle—
- Resistance Phase: Traditional professionals fighting the new technology
- Adoption Phase: Early adopters gaining competitive advantages
- Integration Phase: Technology becoming standard, with “treasures left on the beach”
Or, to look at another way, with anything new and unfamiliar, people must experience their stages of ‘grief’—
- Panic from established professionals
- Hype from early adopters
- Reality check as current limitations become clear
- Practical integration of genuinely useful aspects
- New normal where the technology becomes just another tool
“Like I said, it’s a wave,” said Scott. “And with AI, it’s just something people are unsure about. Some people are jumping on the AI bandwagon; some people are already utilizing AI. We’re in a bubble with AI right now—it’ll burst, become a wave, and then it’ll recede. That’s where we’ll find the good stuff, the real treasures left on the beach.”
Where AI Works (And Where It Doesn't)¶
But not everything washing up on the beach is treasure. Scott’s journey from AI opponent to advocate was more than just changing his mindset—it was learning what AI could and could not do, and what would still require a human touch.
While Scott came around to AI as a useful supplemental tool in his work, he recalled an interaction with an art director who was very anti-AI. “I received concept art from the art director, fed those pictures into an AI, the AI spat out 3D models of what he was asking for, and…he rejected every single one.”
Still, it wasn’t all bad. “I used those rejected 3D models as a basis to get started,” continued Scott, “and once I took over and applied my own skills, he approved the work I turned in.”
The lesson, according to Scott, is that generative AI can provide accessibility but cannot replace well-honed skills, especially not to the standards required in the professional world.
“In what other ways does AI fall short?”¶
One of the biggest problems with generative AI, admitted Scott, is that it can only iterate based on what it is fed and will eventually begin to repeat content it has already produced. This makes it difficult to maintain brand consistency both studio-wise and personally.
Another drawback: AI cannot stay consistent between objects and struggles with multiple perspectives.
“AI can produce a nice pose from the front that looks great and sellable but isn’t actually functional or practical,” said Scott.
To trained artist eyes, AI-generated work is instantly recognizable due to multiple elements failing to fit together cohesively—the generated work looks more like a ransom note than a well-matched collage. “3D artists will take one look and instantly start asking important questions like, ‘What does that look like from this angle?’ and ask you to draw it.”
It’s a difference as stark as “eating at Nando’s versus a six course meal catered by Gordon Ramsay,” remarked Scott. “They don’t compare. But some people really value quality and others just want something here and now to satisfy a need.”
“And, as an artist, what does AI work great for?”¶
According to Scott, AI’s strong suit comes from being a timesaving tool. Instead of laboring to complete dozens of concept sketches, AI can “spit out like a hundred ideas for you” and leave you, the human artist, to pick out and work from the best ones. He noted AI also shines in creating mood boards, an important asset in any sort of artistic design.
Scott continued, “All we’re doing is reducing the amount of time and effort it takes to do that. AI just speeds the process up by tackling some of the most annoying parts.”
More than that, Scott encourages wary artists to see AI tools as accessible collaborators—not adversaries. “Think of it this way: You’ve been promoted!” said Scott. “The AI is your junior artist working alongside you. You’re the senior, the manager, the art director. You’re telling that junior artist what to do.”
AI also acts as an accessible, collaborative resource. “We shouldn't turn people away just because they’re interested in creating but lack traditional training. We shouldn’t be gatekeepers—and that's how many of us artists are behaving at the moment.” Scott maintained that professional standards will still matter. But now those well-honed skills will include the ability to utilize generative AI correctly and effectively as an enhancement tool.
Quality and Expertise¶
So where does this leave professional artists? While AI excels as a collaboration tool for ideation and accessibility, Scott’s experience reveals critical areas where expertise, not automation, remain irreplaceable—and increasingly valuable. In the end, the most crucial demands of the creative industry still require a distinctly human touch.
Style as Brand¶
Artistic style comes about from years of practice, technique, medium, influences, and personal expression—all of which are human experiences that help define and refine an artist’s skills and expertise. It’s a matter of the artist employing the old maxim of ‘perfect practice makes perfect’ which centers more on consistent, high-quality practice, focused on correct techniques and strategies than purely the output.
For AI, Scott noted, “It doesn’t understand consistency. An artist can produce their art style over multiple objects. It’s currently impossible for a computer to be able to do that.” He continued, pointing out that AI can only draw from what’s available in its repository and that is still somewhat at random.
And random isn't always going to cut in places like AAA game studios. Style in the professional world equals adhered-to branding guidelines. To explain, Scott looked to titan of the gaming industry, Blizzard Entertainment, and its iconic art style used in World of Warcraft.
“There’s a very specific style that you have to maintain,” said Scott. “If you’re tasked with creating an orc for World of Warcraft, and it’s not in line with their brand standards, it’s not going to pass. That art director is going to throw it back in your face.”
It’s not that AI can’t replicate something it sees, said Scott, but that lack of consistency doesn’t allow it to create something still ‘on brand’. “Ask AI to produce a sword from World of Warcraft—it’ll create something decent,” said Scott. “But then ask for a horse in the same style, and you’ll immediately see the difference. The consistency just isn't there.”
The Complete Skill Set¶
Yet this consistency challenge reveals something important: the most valuable artists aren’t those who reject AI or rely on it completely. Rather, it is those who understand exactly when and how to use each tool in their arsenal.
“If somebody employs you as an artist, they’re going to want to know both sides, AI and traditional skills,” said Scott, noting that both are required for AI to be elevated to its greatest potential.
But the focus, he continued, remains on the job getting done and moving “onto the next task.” Along with quality, speed remains just as important in an industry populated with tight deadlines and quick turnarounds.
Final Thoughts¶
As Scott put it, this is about being “promoted”—letting AI handle the time-consuming groundwork while you focus on the creative decisions and quality refinement that only human expertise can provide.
“Looking back 10 or 20 years, do you want to say you spent three hours doing this one task?” asked Scott. “I think it’s better to spend three minutes finishing a task with AI and having more time to do other things.” He encouraged artists to think of this as their art director era: Delegate the tedious initial work to your AI junior artists and apply your expertise to wherever it matters most.
While we’re in the midst of a bubble, and the wave Scott described is still crashing, now is the time for artists to be willing to adapt and evolve—the treasures left on the beach this time could be more valuable than what came before.
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Written by¶
Anastasia Morgan ** Expanxia Communications Officer