For as long as I can remember, Sunday afternoons have meant tea with my parents. When my kids were young, they’d come along too, but as they grew up and built their own lives, I started going alone. Even during the six months I was bedridden in America, injured and in pain, I never missed it. Every Sunday, like clockwork, I called in for a virtual cup of tea. That ritual mattered.
Now my father is no longer with us, the tradition still lives on with my mother. Most Sundays, it’s just the two of us. Sometimes, like this past Sunday, my sister and her family were there too. After the usual pleasantries, my brother-in-law asked how work was going.
“Good,” I said. I’ve been busy with some cool projects, including some exciting illustration projects. He nodded approvingly, always being supportive of my freelance life.
My sister, on the other hand, looked less impressed.
“Your work has become a lot easier with AI,” she said. Not a question. A conclusion. In her eyes, I’ve never had a “real” job anyway, just a hobby.
There it was again: the AI discussion.
“You just create a character in AI and make sure it does what it’s supposed to do in every illustration. Can’t be that much work, can it?”
Oh well. Ignorance is bliss, I suppose.
For a moment, I considered popping a piece of cheese, which was together with the other snacks on the table, into my mouth to dodge the conversation. But I didn’t.
“No,” I replied, “I still create all my own sketches and illustrations. The only thing I use AI for is occasionally generating a reference pose. Just like artists have used models, mirrors, and photo series for centuries.”
She shrugged. Her face said it all, she thought I was foolish for not using AI to do more and save time and energy.
I’m the only creative person in a family of numbers. Accountants. Practical jobs. The outcast. The outsider.
But honestly? I’d rather be an outsider than a dull, one-size-fits-all type of person without character.
Curious about my work as an illustrator?
Or just want to share a virtual cup of tea and talk art, life, or ideas?
Feel free to reach out.