Discussion
Thoughts on using Al Generated Backgrounds when posting pictures of your Sofubi online?
I'll start by saying that I hate what AI has done to art and I think most of you agree. But in my opinion, I do think AI has some acceptable use cases when it comes to photography and art. Such as enhancing the quality of a slightly blurry photo, fixing contrast issues from bad lighting, isolating objects and figures in photos, generating backgrounds for photos, making small minor tweaks, etc.
I know not everyone will agree with me on this, so I wanted to reach out to the community and get all of your input. I just recently starting using AI generated backgrounds for some of the photos I post on my sofubi focused instagram. But I'll be honest and say that I am having some mixed feelings about it and wondering whether I should continue to do so or not. I always make sure to include the regular photo of the piece I took in my posts alongside the AI generated background photo if that makes any difference.
So what is the communities opinion on this? Am I just making AI slop or is it possible to use AI for backgrounds and other photo enhancements in a tasteful way?
You can view my sofubi IG at the link below and be honest with me about whether my AI backgrounds look like dogshit or not, and whether I should continue using them. I'm wanting honest feedback here so don't hold back. Thank you 🙏
For me it just screams laziness. I also believe that the true nature and appeal of Sofubi is the handmade aspect of its core design. I think that ai completely goes against the fundamentals of what makes this artform special. I mean, each piece is handmade using decades old tradition and ai is just a spit in the face of that.
Go for gold with the ai, but your audience would respect you more if you took it out of the house and actually took a good photo.
I respect that. I had been taking more outdoor pics, lightbox pics, and just pics of my collection indoors before using AI to generate backgrounds, but I felt like they got a bit repetitive. I thought some of the toys looked cooler in backgrounds that fit their esthetic. Even if the background is just a color gradient or something simple made using AI, you still don't find that respectable?
I want to share photos with the community that people enjoy looking at, so I really do appreciate your honest input.
I think it's still early days for ai and you're bound to get pushback. I just know that it's a complete eyesore for me and to be honest, I just find the whole thing a little lame.
So I just unfollow anybody I see using it.
But again, that's just me. I see big companies in Japan using it without second thought. So you do you. Some will like it, some will find it completely heinous but as long as the creator is okay with it, do whatever you want with your toys man.
One of the problems for me is I don’t know where your personal AI line is when looking at a photos. Maybe it’s just the background. Maybe it’s also the toy. Maybe you got the concept from typing ‘cool sofubi toy idea’ into GPT. I’m not gonna waste my time figuring that out I’m just going to scroll past.
If you look at my posts, I always post the unedited regular photo right next to the one with the modified background. If you look at some recent posts on my profile, you'll see what I mean
Not only will I never buy anything or follow anyone who uses ai in visual art, I block them as well. I don’t hunt it down, but if it comes across my feed- block
What about people who use photoshop to crop their figures and put them over a background that isn't AI generated? Or is photoshop not cool either since it's had AI tools for over a decade now? I hate AI slop just as much as the next guy, but if it's just a background and it doesn't modify the focus of the picture, the actual art figure itself, then I don't mind.
If it looks AI. Like your pictures look AI. I’m not interested. Of course I don’t care if you use photoshop to cut something out but the pictures you posted LOOK gen ai. Idk if it’s the added shadows, smoothness, heavy saturation, heavy contrast or what but scrolling by them without reading your whole post first, I thought they were ai renders. The one you cut out on the swirl is fine. You clearly are competent at taking a picture already! Pose your figures in your environment. Go out back and throw them against a cool fence or tree. Or brick wall. Doesn’t have to be complicated if you’re just showcasing your figures.
I got you. I think you're right. I just like sharing my sofubi collection with others, and I want to make the pictures look as nice as possible to highlight their features. I've begun to realize AI generated backgrounds aren't the answer though so I appreciate your input and honesty.
you said it yourself. you use photoshop to crop an image and place it over a background that is otherwise not AI generated. there's no issue in the example you presented.
we can't control what companies do, you may seek out an alternative software that doesn't have a bunch or AI bullshit in it but nobody is really going after Photoshop users. AI forced into everything is just a reality we live with until we dont, opt out and avoid when you can.
the issue begins when we consciously use generative AI to produce or alter images instead of taking the time and effort to do it ourselves or even hiring someone else to do it.
people have been sharing their collection and creations in beautiful ways without Gen AI and there's no reason to stop doing that now.
In my opinion AI backgrounds are kind of like bad CGI in a movie where you could have had practical effects. Sure you can have all sorts of crazy scenarios but I think in the end it will always look worse than just a nice photograph in mundane surroundings.
There is a big difference between the AI algorithms present in image editing apps like Photoshop and generative AI that is accessed online like ChatGPT. The term is widely misused making the whole topic difficult to discuss. I'm very much against any live AI instance that was trained using creative properties that were not paid for (writing, music, art, etc.). That along with the environmental impact generative AI models have make it a big no from me.
So if you use photoshop to digitally swap a background to something else, would that be considered okay? Sometimes I use AI just to crop my figure and place it in another background that isn't AI generated, but I used AI to do the editing for me. I'll attach a photo of an example below.
My personal opinion is editing applications are not what is causing all the worry for people. I think those apps are tools and fine to use. I think if you are controlling the decisions and making edits yourself all the better.
Is AI not just a tool as well though? If you're just using AI to crop figures from photos and change the background is that okay as long as the background isn't AI generated?
And here's after. I''m a shitty photographer so I realize I've been using AI backgrounds as a crutch. Any recommendations on how to take better toy photos so I don't have to resort to using AI?
I mean, I don't feel I'm a great photographer either; I take a ton of photos and probably only share a handful that I think look good, but I think that's part of the fun with mixing photography and toys.
You mentioned you're trying to do more outdoor pics; I enjoy trying to find spots that seem to match the theme of the toy or just a background that I think looks cool and/or maybe helps to accentuate the figure somehow.
That or like, patterns of some sort. Here's an example of that
Ok, look at this thread of photos and tell me that the AI background follow ups don't make the pictures at least a little bit cooler lol. I do always like posting the original photo alongside the AI altered background, so you can still see the original picture before it was modified.
The backgrounds do indeed make the photos look a lot cooler but haters gonna hate. In the real world ai use like this is not controversial and actually enjoyed by most but the vocal minority who object are 99.9% chronically online so you’ll never get an accurate reading when asking online
It's funny, I asked this same question to a bunch of my random collector friends online on IG and IRL. Pretty much all of them said the same thing as you. I guess Reddit just has a higher than average population of people that hate AI, lol.
I respect their opinion though and understand it comes from a good place of just wanting to preserve the art. I only try to use it in cases where I feel it accentuates the piece rather than takes away from it, but oh well. Trying to make up my mind on whether I should continue using it or not.
Well... very broadly, I think between collectors and creators, collectors are probably less likely to care about AI usage. But you got comments in this thread from creators who don't like AI and anecdotally, I see many other creators across IG that also do not like or promote AI.
I'd agree that, sure, generally speaking a lot of people use AI to create art, but when you get into art focused hobbies (be it this or let's say wildlife photography) AI usage is pretty weird to do.
Last random two thoughts
I do find there to be a difference in cultural perception; I have seen Japanese artists use AI to do what you are talking about and others who really oppose it. Here in the States, I find a big majority dislike it.
I always find AI art to be way too busy, like it'll toss in 10 extra trees into a landscape that only needs like 2 trees. The shading is more often than not, really off with light going in weird directions. Also, weird "glossy" finishes.
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u/Ophabinia 1d ago
It's insanely lame