The Digital Artist's Resource

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Welcome to the Digital Artist's Resource! This site aims to educate all artists of all mediums all across the Internet, provide links to reputable creative software, and host an "Artist's Manifesto", laying out the artist's views on the current creative landscape (i.e., artificial intelligence).

Who?

Artists of all kinds. Writers, musicians, 3D sculpters and modellers, game developers, anyone and everyone who works with digital media in some way. Admittedly, this site is aimed more towards visual artists (sorry, writers and musicians), but there's still hope. You can help be a part of the positive change this site intends to spark.

What?

There needs to be a shift in the landscape of digital art. Artifical intelligence has changed the game, and not in a way that is positive for artists. Artifically generated imagery (as well as text, code, and sound) is a plague and an embarassment to artists (and programmers!) everywhere. As such, this cannot continue. Artists can and should use the tools at their disposal to accurately defend against artificial intelligence.

Where?

Right here, on the Internet and beyond. Sites like YouTube have started disconnecting creators from their audiences by introducing artifically generated comments and videos. Search engines like Google and DuckDuckGo return searches powered but their artifical intelligence chatbots. There are a slew of social media users across the Internet uncritally and unashamedly sharing arificially generated imagery or using such imagery as their profile pictures, banners, or other identifiable purposes. There are even brands using artifically generated imagery on their products. This issue isn't just in one corner of the Internet-- truly, it is everywhere, and with artifical intelligence tools becoming easier for the public to access, it is imperative that artists take action against it.

When?

From now until there are better laws regarding artifical intelligence and copyright. There are very few clear laws protecting artists' hard work from being stolen for the purposes of feeding generative artifical intelligence datasets, and copyright laws do not accurately reflect the current digital landscape, leading to many unfair and inaccurate rulings and laws. These two issues go hand-in-hand, as the question of copyright is often brought up in relation to artificial intelligence.

Why?

At present, creativity on the Internet is met with hostility. Every artist is at risk of having their work stolen, scraped, and used without permission in order to train artifical intelligence models. Many artists have their work reposted without credit. There are dozens upon dozens of commission scammers, taking valuable income away from the people who deserve it. This is not normal and it should not be normal.

The good news is, there are ways to fight back, together. We, as artists, can take back the Internet and our art. Uplift and celebrate our fellow artists, poison our art so it will ruin datasets, share and talk about our favorite works. A cultural and technological shift are needed to make this happen, and this is completely possible as a community.

How?

There are a few ways to protect your work and support your fellow artists online, but these are the big ones:

• Glaze and Shade your art. This helps defend your art against unwanted scraping for artifical intelligence datasets.
• Sign your work. You can use your signature, or use some sort of a stamp, but make sure your name is on your art. Ideally, it is integrated into the art and not easily cropped out.
• Talk about it. Leave a comment on a piece that you enjoyed, write about a cool indie game on your blog, chat with your friends and mutuals about an upcoming animation that you're excited to see.

What Else?

This site hosts the Artist's Manifesto and some links to artistic and creative software that may aid artists in need. Otherwise, there are dozens of resources out there on the Internet to help you on your artistic journey. If you find any good ones, send them to me, and maybe they'll get featured on this site.

And remember: we are a community. You don't have to be best friends with everyone, but tearing each other down isn't going to win this war. Uplift and support your fellow artists. We can do this.