8 Ways Artists Can Actually Benefit from Generative AI

While AI art generation tools have received backlash from artists for a variety of reasons, the reality is that they can actually benefit from Generative AI . Today’s article will explain ways you can use Generative AI to your advantage, and thus become a better artist.

1. Brainstorm for topic ideas

At some point in your artistic journey, there will be periods when you have no ideas in mind. But thanks to technological advances, coming up with new concepts and themes is easier than ever. Generative AI can really help generate new ideas and find avenues you might want to explore.

To test this, I asked ChatGPT to come up with some new street photography ideas for my hometown. I told the software how much experience I had and what gear I owned with the following prompt:

“Give me some creative new street photography ideas. I live in Copenhagen and am an experienced photographer with seven years of experience. I own a Fujifilm XS-10 camera.”

“Give me some creative new street photography ideas. I live in Copenhagen and am a photographer with 7 years of experience. I own a Fujifilm XS-10 camera. ”

The author received 16 suggestions, along with some tips to improve your street photography – you can try it with any creative field. AI aside, here’s how to keep your creative projects coming up.

2. Create a prototype

Many people tend to throw away all their plans when they go out to shoot because things often don’t go as planned. But at the same time, having a rough idea of ​​the type of art you want to create can at least give you some direction. For this reason, it’s a good idea to prototype first.

You can use Generative AI to create drawing prototypes. For example, if you give one of these tools a prompt, you can use the results to brainstorm ideas for your work. Generative AI can also help bring ideas to life — once you have an idea of ​​what the AI ​​can do, you can evaluate what you can do better.

Here is an example of AI artwork created in DALL-E 3:

Since creating great prototypes depends on high-quality input, check out these tips and tricks for creating AI prompts that really work.

3. Establish a routine

Work, family, and the stresses of modern life are constant, but it's important to keep up with creative ways to bring yourself happiness.

If you're not sure where to start, consider using Generative AI to help you keep up with your preferences. Here's an example of a prompt given to ChatGPT:

Help me create a weekly routine for keeping up with my photography hobby. I work 40 hours per week Monday through Friday, but I have a flexible schedule as I work remotely. I'd like to spend one hour a day doing my hobby, if possible. I don't have kids, but I do have relationship commitments.

Please help me create a weekly routine for my photography hobby. I work 40 hours a week Monday through Friday, but have a flexible schedule while working remotely. I would like to set aside an hour a day to work on my hobby if possible. I don't have children yet, but I do have relationships that need attention.

Here is part of the response received to the above prompt:

Try out some of these custom GPTs for more options to set up your workflow. You should experiment with what you get and add your own twist to make sure it fits into your daily and weekly routine.

4. Research new tips and tricks

Generative AI can be a great tool to learn more about your current career, and you can use it for this purpose in two ways:

• Request helpful resources related to your favorite art form.
• Ask the AI ​​tool directly for tips and tricks related to your artwork.

It is still a good idea to combine this with your own research elsewhere so that your options are not limited. When you combine these things together, you will create much better digital art.

5. Explore new creative principles

If you enjoy a certain type of art, you may be highly creative and open to trying new things in the future. When you are ready to try something new, doing some research before you start can help you get started.

The advice here is similar to the previous section – you should combine your own research and the AI ​​prompt for the best results. Alternatively, you can also ask the AI ​​for creative pursuit ideas to find something that suits you.

6. Edit

In addition to brainstorming and researching, did you know that Generative AI can also help edit your work? Many editing tools have some AI features built in, with Photoshop's Generative Fill and Lightroom's AI being prominent examples.

Generative AI can help edit many aspects of your artwork, including color, brightness, removing grain, reducing blur, or replacing entire objects. This way, you'll complete your task much faster than adjusting everything manually.

When using Generative AI to edit your work, you may not always get optimal results. For example, when using the Auto feature to adjust saturation, your artwork may look too dramatic.

If so, you can undo your changes or make further manual improvements.

7. Organize creative projects

Like any job, organizing art projects can become difficult as you accumulate more files and folders. To make sure you don't lose track of everything, using AI to organize your creative projects is a good idea.

Generative AI can help organize projects by creating tags, moving tasks, etc. For example, PhotoPrism is an AI-powered tool that can organize photos based on facial recognition, etc.

Despite the legitimate concerns surrounding AI and creative arts, the technology can bring some benefits to artists. You will find it easier to generate ideas and perfect your work. Furthermore, being able to organize content and create schedules ensures that you can create a schedule that fits your routine.