Louise just follow what's best for your mind and body, forget about those algorithms now that you have 1000 subscribers, make those your direct contacts periodically, and have fun with your art .if you make the time to enjoy the things you love then share it with us , then I believe all will grow exponentially. The world will always try to knock you down or make you so sooo busy you can't take it anymore. Let the love and happiness shine in your creations when you so choose ,not when the world wants!!!
I agree with your strategy when feeling overwhelmed and angry: pause when agitated. Just try not to overthink it and instead create the things that make you happy. (Easier said than done at times)
I consider myself a highly visual person, and my dream job was always to be an Interior Designer, Illustrator or a Photographer.
Unfortunately, in the country I live in, these professions barely allow to end the month in a dignifying way. Thus I became an Information Systems Engineer and have a Master in Data Science. The job is ok, but I do it mostly for the money.
In my mind, we were much better as hunter-gatherers, and I fully support Frank Herbert's idea of destroying anything having a microprocessor in it. But I digress. . .
As a person who works with AI, I find it absolutely laughable when people call these visual renders, which the AI algorithm is outputting "art".
True art is an emotional outlet of sentient beings. A manual can never be an art, but a novella is, despite the fact both use words. Music is a collection of sound waves, but not any random batch of sounds can be called "music". In the same way, not every visual image can be automatically called art.
I'm not sure how many people are aware to the fact that computers know only 0 and 1.
Every image or text that the AI receives, is being translated into a math formula to be processed by various algorithms. The result, is being transformed back to an image or a text - that is not art by any means, just an answer to a math formula, which might look like a legit image.
It doesn't convey an idea of a conscious person, it doesn't represent joy or suffering. It is a hodge-podge of vectors and linear algorithms. Like it if you may, but that is not art, just images on demand.
As for job, I think AI will put out of jobs only those who make this ugly generic images which many websites like to use. People render those in a couple of minutes and sell for pennies, so that is not art either, even if created by a human.
Real artists, however, are safe. That being said, however, you are absolutely correct regarding online art theft and copying. All these AI algorithms need some input, to learn from. The more the better.
And companies are going to huge extents in order to acquire massive loads of data by very immoral and shady means.
Wow, thank you so much for sharing this. I relate to it a lot. I worked in tech for quite a while, partly because I found it stimulating and creative in its own way. (At least it can be, depending on the how and why.) And partly because I felt it much easier to "monetize" than the creative skills I secretly longed to practice, like art and writing. Even though most people agree that art has value, it sends a different message when they won't pay $9 for your book but would gladly pay you $900 to code their website. 😊 And so you go where the money is, because you have to make a living. Even if it slowly kills your creative soul.
That's very well put. Something created by an unconcious, un-living thing, without a deeper meaning or message, can never be "art". It's visual output, and it might be extraordinary and original and intriguing, heck, it might even make us feel something. But that's because we are human, and human beings interpret things, make up stories around it, allow ourselves to be moved by it. It's our humanity that makes something art, in the making of it, and in the receiving of it. It's a relationship.
Until machines can be born, have a childhood, develop a personal identity, go through heartbreak and struggle, have relationhips and existential thougths - they can't make art.
And it's for that reason that I'm not too worried about our future. It doesn't matter how much "art" and "literature" will be spewed out by AI in the future. Who's going to buy it? Who would want to read an AI-written novel? (Except for a very small and curious minority.) Who would put AI-generated art on their wall? Something that has no meaning or message? (Again, a small, eccentric minority, but certainly not most people.)
There will always be corporations that would rather pay other corporations to generate "art" for capitalist purposes. There will never be human beings paying machines to tell them a story, or move them emotionally. Because without that human-to-human relationship, there can be no art.
Congrats on 1000 subs, Louise!! You rock! And uffffff Interstellar soundtrack always makes me cry 😭😭
Regarding AI… I’m not very happy about it either. I’m like 50/50. I see this as a larger problem that has been going on for a while, and that is: the death of creativity. And before I go on: I’m not a technology hater either, but because I’ve sort of been in/around it for so long I can see how it has transformed, and also how it has changed people’s lives.
Even though I always wanted to be a “real” artist, I studied computer science in high school and university. Art remained a hobby. My first job was that of a web designer in 2000, when the internet/web was in its infancy, but it was also vastly different then now. Back then, creating websites was actually creative and imaginative and it allowed for a lot of experimentation. I loved my job so much because it was fun, creative and fascinating. It was close to being an artist, and the coding part was also creative in itself.
Then, I slowly started seeing how everything started to become more rigid, more standardized, more robotic, more templatized. Both graphic design AND web design needed to be done faster, and faster, and faster. Then came UX. Nowadays designers are not paid to create, they’re paid to execute. The bottom line is about how quickly it’s done and how much it makes the product (or app, or [____ insert thing here___]) to sale. It’s not really about the creativity. So as much as I would want to create something heartfelt or whatever, many times I can’t because I’m not the one who has the final say. Even when I work directly with the client, it’s still the client who has the final say, not me. Or as a content creator it’s the algorithm who has the final say, not you (or me).
Almost every week there’s a new buzzword or trend to follow, and if you don’t have those things updated in your CV and portfolio, you’re considered “obsolete” and it becomes almost impossible to get a job anymore. Even if you do know how to do the job, unless you say the exact tech jargon of the day/month/year, you’ll get rejected. Including soft skills like “team player” and “empathic” - which yes, it’s fantastic to have those traits and it’s great to be mindful of them, but in the same time I wonder if it’s not distorting the original meaning of the words also - and then these beautiful things start to lose their meaning. Just like how I view that the original intent with the internet (and technology) was fantastic and so positive, but as time went by things just kinda went… wrong???
And then there’s also having to niche everything which in my opinion strips away our individuality and human-ness. When everything has to fit in a tight box it’s much easier to become a commodity. And most of the times on the internet we’re forced to present just one side of our personality. We have to pick ONE and that’s it - like you have to choose art or music or design, but not all of them. Which is kinda weird because nobody is only one thing in life. I’m personally super happy that in your newsletters you include other things like what you’re reading, or the games you play, because it shows more aspects. As a human we have many roles - we’re artists, but we’re also someone’s daughter, or someone’s partner, or maybe we’re also great cooks or whatever - I don’t know… just saying things that come randomly to my head haha. But it bothers me that we can’t just have one outlet for the entirety of our being, instead we have to split it in different channels and different niches etc. - which is more difficult to maintain and simultaneously much more difficult to stand out because then you become one of many.
I personally feel like I’m at such a crossroads because I love my job and I love art, and I don’t want to lose the things I love anymore… I had to give up or loose what I loved so many times in life that now I became fiercely protective of the things I love that are still mine. But I feel so pressured from all sides that I don’t know what to do. I also don’t want to let go because design (and to certain extent art) is all I know what to do, but in the same time this increased speed makes having a sustainable career unrealistic. I don’t think this is (or that it should be) normal? To be faced with changing career paths multiple times in a life span? All I wish is I could just be an artist and to make music for the rest of my life, and not have to ponder my whole life trajectory every week or so. It’s exhausting!
Let’s hope this is just a passing thing, and people will start to realize we’re still needed as human beings and we still have worth and value. It might seem like we’re easily replaced, but out of all people in the world, there’s only one you like you, and only one me like me, and so long and so forth… We’re all bringing here our unique, distinct, talents and perspective. At least I know that I’ll still value real art, music, and all forms of artistic expression until the day I die, so no fear here!
And thank you for this insightful comment. I agree. We are seeing and experiencing a kind of death of creativity. For some reason, humanity is eagerly programming ourselves out of every job, hobby and function. Even the ones we actually enjoy doing, and take pride in doing. The ones only we, as human beings, CAN do. I find it so peculiar.
Wow, we have walked very similar paths. 😊 I relate sooo much. I used to love the creative problem solving of building something with code. Haven't built a website for someone in a few years now, but I'm not surprised it's gone down that road. It's the same with copywriting. I felt less and less valued for my skill and creativity. And more often just paid to be a typist, taking orders. That's when I decided to stop freelancing...
You're right, this isn't normal or healthy. This extreme pace, and the way we're forced to rapidly adapt and conform and struggle to stay relevant. These are trying times, indeed.
The solution, I believe, is to ask ourselves what ONLY we can do, and do really well. And to lean heavily into that. That's the seed for a meaningful, stimulating career. And like you say, it won't be niching ourselves into oblivion. It will likely be the opposite: Stepping into the most complex, multi-faceted and multi-talented version of ourselves. Becoming as much of ourselves as we can possibly be.
It's not an easy way either, but it feels a lot less soul-crushing, and the struggle more worthwhile. 😊
Hello, dear Louise, congratulations on 1000 subscribers <3 indeed it is huge achievement!
I still need to do my homework with AI discourse, have a bunch of links recomended to me by a friend. Both of the ones you mention included. I am very pro-tech person, as tech gives us so much. But yet again it makes me feel chilly sometimes when I think of people's art being ripped off. I choose to believe that in the end most people have good intentions and that we slowly going towards more empathy. I will definitely keep an eye on the whole conversation around AI in general and AI art in particular.
I am also checking these substacks you recommend. I hope that NYT obsessiob with substack won't ruin it though haha.
Congratulations on reaching 1000 subscribers, that’s really wonderful! Your letters are always so thoughtful and really enjoyable to read and I’m glad so many people are getting to enjoy them!
In regards to Youtube, definitely just create as you feel and when you feel like it. I half jokingly like to tell people that these platforms aren’t paying us enough, or not at all, to stress and exhaust ourselves over them. So take all the time you need and when you do post another video it will be a fun surprise to make all of our days!
And AI art… yah I don’t feel great about it. I echo your thoughts that people may crave human made art more as a result, but I hate how it seemingly devalues our crafts too. I just try my best to not let it make me feel down and just stay the creative course, because its what I love to do!
I’m tired of tech companies having so much power over how I feel, be it feeds that make me feel lacking, algorithms that make me exhausted or tech that makes me feel trivialized…
This anxious introvert doesn’t need their “help” with any of that.
So with you on that! 🌲🌲🌲 Not sure if you’ve ever seen the Ghibli movie, Kiki’s delivery service, but there is an artist character that lives in a cabin in the woods with a bunch of crows all around. I honestly always admired that character even as a kid 😂
I loved reading your thoughts about spending more effort here instead of other platforms- I feel myself in a similar situation right now! I really think there’s such a difference of feeling here on substack, and I’m enjoying it so much! Hearing your thoughts about how stats affect you and what your goals are was so comforting to a fellow creator, thank you for sharing!
And congratulations on 1000 subscribers- that’s no easy feat and is absolutely tremendous 🎉
Thank you for every thing you share. I feel so similar in so many ways. I work in the creative movement world and it has zero value to most people. If I relied on this "art" to make a living I'd be completely broke and defeated.
And your YT videos are so well done and edited. I may not speak for everyone but I'd be happy just to see you turn on the camera and share. No need for editing, lighting or music. Keep it simple. Thanks again.
I dream of a future where machines do all the boring stuff, so we can do the art we love and get paid well for it. Hope to be alive if that time ever comes. 😌
I enjoyed using AI art to create scenarios or visualize my characters. But knowing that this was done on the backs of artists' work, scraped from the Internet without their permission makes me ill. I can imagine myself in artists' shoes, horrified. Because AI is coming for us writers too - chatGPT anyone? So, like you, I feel defeated. I make my living with words and the Internet age of algorithms have already grinded me down, so this development made me throw up my hands up in frustration.
All I can do is hope for the best and hope that there wouldn't come a day where writing and art isn't done 100% by robots. it would be a sad day if that happens, and human civilization will suffer for it.
Wish I had better things to say beyond "I am really pissed off with tech bros right now".
Yeah, that's what I would love to use it for as well. If there ever is an ethical version of something like Midjourney, I would use it to spark my imagination as a writer.
AI sure is trying to come after writers too, but I'm not worried about that. I know some authors are "co-writing" with AIs, and I think that's all it will ever be. No AI will ever be able to craft an entire story on its own. The human storyteller will be the very last thing to become obsolete in this world. (Until there's no one left to tell stories to.)
Copywriters and content writers though... They are probably already being replaced by AIs, aren't they? Like you, all I can do is throw my hands up in frustration.
I can imagine a company using AI to write social media posts. Yes. However, I think the really good companies will still value a human touch. They may reduce staff, however.
The thing is, I don't worry about us writers using AI responsibly. But companies however, are a wildcard.
Keep at it Louise. I'm moving over to this platform, you were a big part of me rekindling my use of on line promoting. I'd pretty much given up on promoting myself as an artist. I mean i post, but there appears to be no short cut. Don't get me wrong, i love what i do as a painter, and will always spend hours a day doing it, money or no. But reading posts from people like yourself is never any harm to that, and it's reassuring to hear that it's not just native to me. Not that i don't wish you every success, I hope you're work pays off, but never makes you feel you haven't got work to do.
Re the Ai art debate, oh boy, what polarised discussion that is currently. i trained as an illustrator many moons ago. Not to be an illustrator, but that is where they were teaching the skills I wanted to equipe myself with as a young artist. But by the time I got into the degree stage of illustration, I knew it wasn't for me, and quit. I was at the Galsgow School of Art at the time, which is quite prestgious, but I knew my heart wasn't in it to be a commercial artist. So I left, tried starting a couple of other degrees later, but, I kind of knew by that time, i was in this for the long haul, and three years and a certificate weren't going to suffice. Why am I saying this? I have encountered the most vociferous of opinions about the subject of AI art from commercial artists. Almost unanimously against it, I even got to chat with the legend that is Dave McKean about it, and was deeply disappointed by his stance on it, and his flagrant hypocrisy in publishing an AI art book, telling other artists not to do that.
I find AI art as a process to be fascinatingly mysterious, like art itself, and I strongly believe that if people are going to state that AI art is not art, then they need to clarify what it is then? As Picasso stated once "If it isn't art, what is it?" Personally I don't feel threatened by it, but, my latest work is deeply idiosyncratic, and I really don't understand the process myself. So I have put it to I artists to come up with the word prompts to generate images like i have done by hand. All have failed to date, i mean, not even remotely close. And I'd like to know what words would prompt images like my Panotrait series, because i have no idea what words to use to promote it?
I suspect, that the most vociferous voices in objecting to AI art, the commercial artists, will in time(within the next 5 to 10 years) be using AI derivative software in alliance with things like Procreate to create their commercially viable images?
Thanks for the post, keep at it, what you do matters,
When mentioning Youtube stats, are you referring to CPM/RPM? Those have been rubbish for me November up to now. The last quarter it meant to be the best time for that too....Sept and Oct were a lot better for but as my views increases, those decrease so I earn less....very depressing.
I'm not sure if my CPM and retention have changed that much. A lot of my recent videos have quite good stats, but it's like some "unseen force" (wonder who that might be...) is choking the views earlier and earlier, even to videos that are obviously performing well. That infamous "flatlining" that happens to most videos after a few days. That's what's been getting at me the most. But I dunno. Maybe it's not YT pulling the strings, maybe my videos just suck. One can never know.
Louise just follow what's best for your mind and body, forget about those algorithms now that you have 1000 subscribers, make those your direct contacts periodically, and have fun with your art .if you make the time to enjoy the things you love then share it with us , then I believe all will grow exponentially. The world will always try to knock you down or make you so sooo busy you can't take it anymore. Let the love and happiness shine in your creations when you so choose ,not when the world wants!!!
Affirmitive! 😊🖤🙏🏻
1000 is HUGE! Well done.
I agree with your strategy when feeling overwhelmed and angry: pause when agitated. Just try not to overthink it and instead create the things that make you happy. (Easier said than done at times)
Thank you! 🙏🏻
I consider myself a highly visual person, and my dream job was always to be an Interior Designer, Illustrator or a Photographer.
Unfortunately, in the country I live in, these professions barely allow to end the month in a dignifying way. Thus I became an Information Systems Engineer and have a Master in Data Science. The job is ok, but I do it mostly for the money.
In my mind, we were much better as hunter-gatherers, and I fully support Frank Herbert's idea of destroying anything having a microprocessor in it. But I digress. . .
As a person who works with AI, I find it absolutely laughable when people call these visual renders, which the AI algorithm is outputting "art".
True art is an emotional outlet of sentient beings. A manual can never be an art, but a novella is, despite the fact both use words. Music is a collection of sound waves, but not any random batch of sounds can be called "music". In the same way, not every visual image can be automatically called art.
I'm not sure how many people are aware to the fact that computers know only 0 and 1.
Every image or text that the AI receives, is being translated into a math formula to be processed by various algorithms. The result, is being transformed back to an image or a text - that is not art by any means, just an answer to a math formula, which might look like a legit image.
It doesn't convey an idea of a conscious person, it doesn't represent joy or suffering. It is a hodge-podge of vectors and linear algorithms. Like it if you may, but that is not art, just images on demand.
As for job, I think AI will put out of jobs only those who make this ugly generic images which many websites like to use. People render those in a couple of minutes and sell for pennies, so that is not art either, even if created by a human.
Real artists, however, are safe. That being said, however, you are absolutely correct regarding online art theft and copying. All these AI algorithms need some input, to learn from. The more the better.
And companies are going to huge extents in order to acquire massive loads of data by very immoral and shady means.
Wow, thank you so much for sharing this. I relate to it a lot. I worked in tech for quite a while, partly because I found it stimulating and creative in its own way. (At least it can be, depending on the how and why.) And partly because I felt it much easier to "monetize" than the creative skills I secretly longed to practice, like art and writing. Even though most people agree that art has value, it sends a different message when they won't pay $9 for your book but would gladly pay you $900 to code their website. 😊 And so you go where the money is, because you have to make a living. Even if it slowly kills your creative soul.
That's very well put. Something created by an unconcious, un-living thing, without a deeper meaning or message, can never be "art". It's visual output, and it might be extraordinary and original and intriguing, heck, it might even make us feel something. But that's because we are human, and human beings interpret things, make up stories around it, allow ourselves to be moved by it. It's our humanity that makes something art, in the making of it, and in the receiving of it. It's a relationship.
Until machines can be born, have a childhood, develop a personal identity, go through heartbreak and struggle, have relationhips and existential thougths - they can't make art.
And it's for that reason that I'm not too worried about our future. It doesn't matter how much "art" and "literature" will be spewed out by AI in the future. Who's going to buy it? Who would want to read an AI-written novel? (Except for a very small and curious minority.) Who would put AI-generated art on their wall? Something that has no meaning or message? (Again, a small, eccentric minority, but certainly not most people.)
There will always be corporations that would rather pay other corporations to generate "art" for capitalist purposes. There will never be human beings paying machines to tell them a story, or move them emotionally. Because without that human-to-human relationship, there can be no art.
Congrats on 1000 subs, Louise!! You rock! And uffffff Interstellar soundtrack always makes me cry 😭😭
Regarding AI… I’m not very happy about it either. I’m like 50/50. I see this as a larger problem that has been going on for a while, and that is: the death of creativity. And before I go on: I’m not a technology hater either, but because I’ve sort of been in/around it for so long I can see how it has transformed, and also how it has changed people’s lives.
Even though I always wanted to be a “real” artist, I studied computer science in high school and university. Art remained a hobby. My first job was that of a web designer in 2000, when the internet/web was in its infancy, but it was also vastly different then now. Back then, creating websites was actually creative and imaginative and it allowed for a lot of experimentation. I loved my job so much because it was fun, creative and fascinating. It was close to being an artist, and the coding part was also creative in itself.
Then, I slowly started seeing how everything started to become more rigid, more standardized, more robotic, more templatized. Both graphic design AND web design needed to be done faster, and faster, and faster. Then came UX. Nowadays designers are not paid to create, they’re paid to execute. The bottom line is about how quickly it’s done and how much it makes the product (or app, or [____ insert thing here___]) to sale. It’s not really about the creativity. So as much as I would want to create something heartfelt or whatever, many times I can’t because I’m not the one who has the final say. Even when I work directly with the client, it’s still the client who has the final say, not me. Or as a content creator it’s the algorithm who has the final say, not you (or me).
Almost every week there’s a new buzzword or trend to follow, and if you don’t have those things updated in your CV and portfolio, you’re considered “obsolete” and it becomes almost impossible to get a job anymore. Even if you do know how to do the job, unless you say the exact tech jargon of the day/month/year, you’ll get rejected. Including soft skills like “team player” and “empathic” - which yes, it’s fantastic to have those traits and it’s great to be mindful of them, but in the same time I wonder if it’s not distorting the original meaning of the words also - and then these beautiful things start to lose their meaning. Just like how I view that the original intent with the internet (and technology) was fantastic and so positive, but as time went by things just kinda went… wrong???
And then there’s also having to niche everything which in my opinion strips away our individuality and human-ness. When everything has to fit in a tight box it’s much easier to become a commodity. And most of the times on the internet we’re forced to present just one side of our personality. We have to pick ONE and that’s it - like you have to choose art or music or design, but not all of them. Which is kinda weird because nobody is only one thing in life. I’m personally super happy that in your newsletters you include other things like what you’re reading, or the games you play, because it shows more aspects. As a human we have many roles - we’re artists, but we’re also someone’s daughter, or someone’s partner, or maybe we’re also great cooks or whatever - I don’t know… just saying things that come randomly to my head haha. But it bothers me that we can’t just have one outlet for the entirety of our being, instead we have to split it in different channels and different niches etc. - which is more difficult to maintain and simultaneously much more difficult to stand out because then you become one of many.
I personally feel like I’m at such a crossroads because I love my job and I love art, and I don’t want to lose the things I love anymore… I had to give up or loose what I loved so many times in life that now I became fiercely protective of the things I love that are still mine. But I feel so pressured from all sides that I don’t know what to do. I also don’t want to let go because design (and to certain extent art) is all I know what to do, but in the same time this increased speed makes having a sustainable career unrealistic. I don’t think this is (or that it should be) normal? To be faced with changing career paths multiple times in a life span? All I wish is I could just be an artist and to make music for the rest of my life, and not have to ponder my whole life trajectory every week or so. It’s exhausting!
Let’s hope this is just a passing thing, and people will start to realize we’re still needed as human beings and we still have worth and value. It might seem like we’re easily replaced, but out of all people in the world, there’s only one you like you, and only one me like me, and so long and so forth… We’re all bringing here our unique, distinct, talents and perspective. At least I know that I’ll still value real art, music, and all forms of artistic expression until the day I die, so no fear here!
Thank you! 🥳
And thank you for this insightful comment. I agree. We are seeing and experiencing a kind of death of creativity. For some reason, humanity is eagerly programming ourselves out of every job, hobby and function. Even the ones we actually enjoy doing, and take pride in doing. The ones only we, as human beings, CAN do. I find it so peculiar.
Wow, we have walked very similar paths. 😊 I relate sooo much. I used to love the creative problem solving of building something with code. Haven't built a website for someone in a few years now, but I'm not surprised it's gone down that road. It's the same with copywriting. I felt less and less valued for my skill and creativity. And more often just paid to be a typist, taking orders. That's when I decided to stop freelancing...
You're right, this isn't normal or healthy. This extreme pace, and the way we're forced to rapidly adapt and conform and struggle to stay relevant. These are trying times, indeed.
The solution, I believe, is to ask ourselves what ONLY we can do, and do really well. And to lean heavily into that. That's the seed for a meaningful, stimulating career. And like you say, it won't be niching ourselves into oblivion. It will likely be the opposite: Stepping into the most complex, multi-faceted and multi-talented version of ourselves. Becoming as much of ourselves as we can possibly be.
It's not an easy way either, but it feels a lot less soul-crushing, and the struggle more worthwhile. 😊
Hello, dear Louise, congratulations on 1000 subscribers <3 indeed it is huge achievement!
I still need to do my homework with AI discourse, have a bunch of links recomended to me by a friend. Both of the ones you mention included. I am very pro-tech person, as tech gives us so much. But yet again it makes me feel chilly sometimes when I think of people's art being ripped off. I choose to believe that in the end most people have good intentions and that we slowly going towards more empathy. I will definitely keep an eye on the whole conversation around AI in general and AI art in particular.
I am also checking these substacks you recommend. I hope that NYT obsessiob with substack won't ruin it though haha.
Sending you best winter wishes <3
Thank you. 🖤 And likewise! Must be exciting to experience the holiday season in your beautiful little Mediterranean town. 😌
Congratulations on reaching 1000 subscribers, that’s really wonderful! Your letters are always so thoughtful and really enjoyable to read and I’m glad so many people are getting to enjoy them!
In regards to Youtube, definitely just create as you feel and when you feel like it. I half jokingly like to tell people that these platforms aren’t paying us enough, or not at all, to stress and exhaust ourselves over them. So take all the time you need and when you do post another video it will be a fun surprise to make all of our days!
And AI art… yah I don’t feel great about it. I echo your thoughts that people may crave human made art more as a result, but I hate how it seemingly devalues our crafts too. I just try my best to not let it make me feel down and just stay the creative course, because its what I love to do!
I’m tired of tech companies having so much power over how I feel, be it feeds that make me feel lacking, algorithms that make me exhausted or tech that makes me feel trivialized…
This anxious introvert doesn’t need their “help” with any of that.
Thank you. 🙏🏻
I agree with everything you say. All of this just makes me want to retire from the modern world and go live in the woods. 🙄
So with you on that! 🌲🌲🌲 Not sure if you’ve ever seen the Ghibli movie, Kiki’s delivery service, but there is an artist character that lives in a cabin in the woods with a bunch of crows all around. I honestly always admired that character even as a kid 😂
Oh my god, I don't remember that! 😍 Been a long time since I watched that movie, maybe I should rewatch. 😌
I loved reading your thoughts about spending more effort here instead of other platforms- I feel myself in a similar situation right now! I really think there’s such a difference of feeling here on substack, and I’m enjoying it so much! Hearing your thoughts about how stats affect you and what your goals are was so comforting to a fellow creator, thank you for sharing!
And congratulations on 1000 subscribers- that’s no easy feat and is absolutely tremendous 🎉
Thank you for every thing you share. I feel so similar in so many ways. I work in the creative movement world and it has zero value to most people. If I relied on this "art" to make a living I'd be completely broke and defeated.
And your YT videos are so well done and edited. I may not speak for everyone but I'd be happy just to see you turn on the camera and share. No need for editing, lighting or music. Keep it simple. Thanks again.
Thank you so much, Jay. 🙏🏻
I dream of a future where machines do all the boring stuff, so we can do the art we love and get paid well for it. Hope to be alive if that time ever comes. 😌
Congrats on 1000 subscribers, Louise!
I’m so happy I discovered your newsletter (and everything else you put out into the world), it gives me so much joy and inspiration. ❤️
Thank you, that makes me so happy to hear. 🖤
I enjoyed using AI art to create scenarios or visualize my characters. But knowing that this was done on the backs of artists' work, scraped from the Internet without their permission makes me ill. I can imagine myself in artists' shoes, horrified. Because AI is coming for us writers too - chatGPT anyone? So, like you, I feel defeated. I make my living with words and the Internet age of algorithms have already grinded me down, so this development made me throw up my hands up in frustration.
All I can do is hope for the best and hope that there wouldn't come a day where writing and art isn't done 100% by robots. it would be a sad day if that happens, and human civilization will suffer for it.
Wish I had better things to say beyond "I am really pissed off with tech bros right now".
Yeah, that's what I would love to use it for as well. If there ever is an ethical version of something like Midjourney, I would use it to spark my imagination as a writer.
AI sure is trying to come after writers too, but I'm not worried about that. I know some authors are "co-writing" with AIs, and I think that's all it will ever be. No AI will ever be able to craft an entire story on its own. The human storyteller will be the very last thing to become obsolete in this world. (Until there's no one left to tell stories to.)
Copywriters and content writers though... They are probably already being replaced by AIs, aren't they? Like you, all I can do is throw my hands up in frustration.
I can imagine a company using AI to write social media posts. Yes. However, I think the really good companies will still value a human touch. They may reduce staff, however.
The thing is, I don't worry about us writers using AI responsibly. But companies however, are a wildcard.
Keep at it Louise. I'm moving over to this platform, you were a big part of me rekindling my use of on line promoting. I'd pretty much given up on promoting myself as an artist. I mean i post, but there appears to be no short cut. Don't get me wrong, i love what i do as a painter, and will always spend hours a day doing it, money or no. But reading posts from people like yourself is never any harm to that, and it's reassuring to hear that it's not just native to me. Not that i don't wish you every success, I hope you're work pays off, but never makes you feel you haven't got work to do.
Re the Ai art debate, oh boy, what polarised discussion that is currently. i trained as an illustrator many moons ago. Not to be an illustrator, but that is where they were teaching the skills I wanted to equipe myself with as a young artist. But by the time I got into the degree stage of illustration, I knew it wasn't for me, and quit. I was at the Galsgow School of Art at the time, which is quite prestgious, but I knew my heart wasn't in it to be a commercial artist. So I left, tried starting a couple of other degrees later, but, I kind of knew by that time, i was in this for the long haul, and three years and a certificate weren't going to suffice. Why am I saying this? I have encountered the most vociferous of opinions about the subject of AI art from commercial artists. Almost unanimously against it, I even got to chat with the legend that is Dave McKean about it, and was deeply disappointed by his stance on it, and his flagrant hypocrisy in publishing an AI art book, telling other artists not to do that.
I find AI art as a process to be fascinatingly mysterious, like art itself, and I strongly believe that if people are going to state that AI art is not art, then they need to clarify what it is then? As Picasso stated once "If it isn't art, what is it?" Personally I don't feel threatened by it, but, my latest work is deeply idiosyncratic, and I really don't understand the process myself. So I have put it to I artists to come up with the word prompts to generate images like i have done by hand. All have failed to date, i mean, not even remotely close. And I'd like to know what words would prompt images like my Panotrait series, because i have no idea what words to use to promote it?
I suspect, that the most vociferous voices in objecting to AI art, the commercial artists, will in time(within the next 5 to 10 years) be using AI derivative software in alliance with things like Procreate to create their commercially viable images?
Thanks for the post, keep at it, what you do matters,
Josh
When mentioning Youtube stats, are you referring to CPM/RPM? Those have been rubbish for me November up to now. The last quarter it meant to be the best time for that too....Sept and Oct were a lot better for but as my views increases, those decrease so I earn less....very depressing.
I'm not sure if my CPM and retention have changed that much. A lot of my recent videos have quite good stats, but it's like some "unseen force" (wonder who that might be...) is choking the views earlier and earlier, even to videos that are obviously performing well. That infamous "flatlining" that happens to most videos after a few days. That's what's been getting at me the most. But I dunno. Maybe it's not YT pulling the strings, maybe my videos just suck. One can never know.