Wizards of the Coast Addresses Dungeons and Dragons Book AI Art Controversy
Wizards of the Coast Addresses Dungeons and Dragons Book AI Art Controversy
An Unexpected Twist in the Realm of Dungeons and Dragons
Well, well, well. This is a dicey situation. Wizards of the Coast, the magical beings behind the legendary game Dungeons and Dragons, have found themselves in a bit of a brouhaha. It all started when they unveiled the upcoming sourcebook, Bigby Presents: Glory of Giants, complete with some frosty artwork. But here’s the twist – some of the art was created using the powers of artificial intelligence! What’s the big deal, you ask? Well, buckle up and let me tell you the tale.
On August 1, the kind folks at D&D Beyond gave us a sneak peek at three frost giants that would grace the pages of Bigby Presents: Glory of Giants. The excitement was palpable among players…until they noticed something off. Two of the three artworks seemed oddly generated by AI. Gasp The plot thickens! Turns out, the artist, Ilya Shkipin, a long-time D&D collaborator, made use of AI to complete the artwork.
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Well, my friends, let me tell you, this caused quite the stir in the community. The torches were raised and pitchforks were sharpened. But fear not, for Wizards of the Coast swiftly swooped in to save the day. They released an official statement on August 5, assuring us that they had absolutely no idea about the AI shenanigans. They even had a little chat with Shkipin, making it clear that no more AI trickery should ever be used in their fantastical creations. And that’s not all – Wizards of the Coast is replacing those AI-generated images with good ol’ human-made artwork. Cheers to that! They’re also tightening up their guidelines to prevent any future AI mishaps. Huzzah!
But wait, here comes an unexpected twist within the twist. Brace yourselves, my fellow adventurers. April Prime, another talented artist who has worked on previous Dungeons and Dragons masterpieces, created concept art for several glorious dinosaurs to appear in the book. This majestic art was then passed on to Shkipin, who added his AI touch to complete the final images. And let me tell you, Prime was none too pleased with this turn of events. She stands firmly against the new-fangled AI wizardry.
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Now, let’s hear what the crowd has to say about all this. While most Dungeons and Dragons fans are thrilled that Wizards of the Coast is taking a stand against AI art, there are some grumblers in the mix. They believe that Shkipin should be banished from the realm of D&D artistry and are raising eyebrows at WotC claiming they were blissfully unaware of the AI artistry initially. In the midst of all this chaos, poor Shkipin has locked up his Twitter account and bid farewell to his ArtStation due to all the online harassment. Oh, what a tangled web we weave.
Now, dear adventurers, the release date of Bigby Presents: Glory of Giants is fast approaching – a mere ten days from that official statement. Printed copies may already be out there in the wild, adorned with the infamous AI artwork. Well, unless Wizards of the Coast can pool their magical might and delay the release, we might just have to live with the artwork that has caused all this fuss. The saga continues…
Dungeons and Dragons is available now, so put on your armor, sharpen your swords, and embark on your own legendary journey!
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Source: D&D Beyond, Reddit/Elgryn
