So my AI portrait got into a local art show, then the judge recognized the style.

I was at the gallery opening in Austin when the juror pointed out the telltale smoothness in the hair, and the whole room got quiet. Has anyone else had their AI work accepted somewhere, only for someone to clock it immediately?

3 comments

3 Comments

shane_ross2mo ago

That "telltale smoothness" is a dead giveaway. I once saw a guy try to pass off a Midjourney piece as a digital painting at a small cafe show. The shadows on the teacup had that weird, melted look they always get. You could see the exact moment the person next to me noticed it, their face just went flat. The artist spent the whole night avoiding eye contact.

palmer.henry2mo agoTop Commenter

Read that and winced, @shane_ross. I mean, I've definitely spent way too long trying to fix that same melted shadow look on my own AI stuff, just smoothing it over and over like it'll suddenly turn into a real brushstroke. Maybe it's just me but I always feel like a kid who got caught with his hand in the cookie jar when someone spots it.

dylan_patel1mo ago

Wonder if the real giveaway isn't the melt but how every single brushstroke in an AI piece has the exact same weight and texture, something no human painter would ever do that consistently. @shane_ross probably clocked that specific failure mode before anyone else because he's spent years training his eyes on actual paint.