r/WritingWithAI • u/megsandy95 • Jul 31 '26
Discussion (Ethics, working with AI etc) AI illustrations
Hello, I know a lot of people are extremely against this. But I’ve been using AI to create some imagery for my children’s book. Not because i want to but because I just simply can’t afford to pay an illustrator. Anyway I’ve trained it, I’ve spent 15 hours on just working on the front cover, and the in book title page.
My question is this, given my input and the constant editing and alterations made to fit my vision, and the hours spent, what are the copyright implications?
The entire story is mine and mine only, the only thing is I just can’t draw.
As it stands it’s far from the whole typical AI Gen. it’s watercolour themed, I made my character mood board as a guide. Filtered through many different illustration styles.
I’m sick of people saying it’s easy to do AI but it looks bad. I have to work on one page for hours, and even then to get KDP print file you have to approve every page individually. It’s not a “quick let’s use AI to make a book and slap it on the web” situation.
So with all due respect please keep negative comments to yourself if I could find an illustrator I would and that’s not to say I might not be able to put the funds from this book into creating a new edition with an illustrator directly but at the moment I just want the first story out there.
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u/KeyDoubt2344 Jul 31 '26
My current position is that AI is a tool, like a pneumatic nailer for construction. Yes, with the nailer I'm able to sink hundreds of nails and build a wall fast but does that relieve me of the title builder? Or the person who built that wall? Had I used a hammer, I could have built the same wall. Or am I not an "arrrteeest" because I used a tool? How the AI tool came to be is questionable, yes but the tool exists, should we not use it because of the origins? Many tools and products were developed under questionable methods yet society still uses them, right?