#a.i. image | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

lycorid · 1 month ago

Text

I really wish more of the internet would follow in Pixiv's step in requiring generated images to be labeled as A.I. There's definitely some that get missed, but overall it improves the experience when you can filter them out.

I think it's especially important for online markets, such as Etsy, as hiding the nature of your product is inherently deceptive. Sellers are putting things up with the claims that they're "original" and "custom made" while also charging prices you'd expect from something actually hand-made.

!!!Fucking long post warning!!!

Looking for references, especially looking for Live2D specific references to see how others accomplish what I'm trying to do, very quickly leads me to a pit of generated trash. Generally you can add before:2023 to avoid any generated images (except in the similar images below) but that cuts out a lot of useful material when you're working with a relatively new program that updates regularly.

So naturally, I find a lot of people selling their services, specifically on Etsy. I'm sure it exists plenty on other sites that don't require sellers to disclose if something was generated by A.I or not, but I occasionally browse Etsy so it gets recommended to me the most often and is the website I'm most familiar with anyway.

There is, of course, always the possibility that I'm wrong and that the artist truly made some mistakes. However, I am fairly confident in the images I'll be scrutinizing in this post, hence I'll be posting the full photos. Don't be a jackass and go harass this person. Being a dick accomplishes absolutely nothing. If you really want to make changes, push for stores to require A.I use to be disclosed.

So, disclaimer out of the way, here we go.

How do I spot A.I?

We are long past the days of "just look at the hands lmao" when it comes to generated images. A.I is a lot more sophisticated now and can produce fairly coherent, detailed images that don't require much tweaking to pass as real. However, you need to remember that A.I is not human and cannot form the same thought processes a human does. I'm not going to explain what that means because you can just read the links below or go learn about how image generation works yourself from your desired source.

AI Image Generation Explained: Techniques, Applications, and Limitations

AI for Image Research in Art and Architecture

So, if generated images have been trained on so many real images that they are nearly indistinguishable from something created by hand or a photograph taken by phone, how do you tell if something was created by A.I?

If you're not familiar with what to look for, it's a much more time consuming process. If you are, it's heavily vibes based. I'll talk about the former since it's much more useful then just telling you "I just know lmao."

So we'll start with some that I've found on Etsy.

Model 1

Hands use to be the meme, and image generators do still struggle a bit with them, but the real places to look is the hair, the eyes, and the jewelry (or any hyper detailed object.)

You can see where the program struggled here. Somehow, this hair strand that is sitting in front of the ear is behind the dangling cross. In fact, it's actually merging with what would be the chain or piercing that holds the earring. This is incredibly common in generated images; the machine gets confused and merges objects.

The thickness of the hair and the placement is also strange. Typically in art, you'll see hair strands start out thick then thin out towards the end, with exceptions for highly stylized or curly hairstyles, afros, and so on. However, the hair in this model is a typical, straight haired bob. Why does this strand seem to be coming out of the ear? Why is it so thin at the base and thick at the end? Where did that small strand on the left come from? It seems like the artist intended for the side and front hair to be brown with the backside being red instead of a darker shade as a stylistic choice, so why are these random strands here?

The other side shows this more clearly, except there's still a couple strands just... there.

Here we have another cross. Or at least I'm assuming it's a cross, since the top part of it just merges into an indecipherable grey that I'm assuming is supposed to be the chain or cloth that connects it to the hoop above. Also, what is up with that hoop?

It looks like the machine couldn't decide whether it's supposed to be a circle or heart and just mashed them together to create some fucked up combination of both. Maybe they just really wanted to incorporate a mobius strip into the design somehow? Look at how it curves and folds in on itself the same way fabric naturally does; except it's clearly not fabric because the coloring is metallic.

Here's both eyes side by side. Notice any inconsistencies?

The eyes are at different "default" states, with the one on the right either being more open than the one on the left or the iris just being higher. The pupil itself is also a completely different size and color, the eye highlights are all placed in different spots, the eyelashes merge into the eye shadow, and some of the eyelashes seem to be confused by the darker shading in the eye and are merging with it.

Eyes being visible through hair isn't a red flag in itself, and is often a stylistic choice made in this type of art, however, look at how the bangs disappear behind the eye. There's one small part on the right eye where the bang continues onto the eyelash, except instead of the strand being transparent it's the eyelash.

There's more, but lets move on.

Model 2

The full photo for this model is less obvious at first glance, however it still has some glaring issues.

She's wearing a ruffled, off-sleeve dress with a corset type front and some buttons and a bow on the bust. At least it's supposed to be a bow, I presume, considering it's merging into the top itself.

Ah, looks like the machine still fucks up hands. What's with the random bit of light under the middle finger? Why does the darker part of the palm just cut off at the rose leaf? What are those loose lines on the tip of the pinky and middle finger? Why does the index finger have an extra joint?

Here the hair seems to be heavy enough to cause an indent in the right shoulder that isn't visible on the left side.

What the fuck is happening to the hair here?

The top strand starts fairly thin then just flares out and merges with the background, the middle strand is sharply cut off at the end with the top of it also seeming to just merge with the background.

Model 3

We have multiple issues going on in just this one spot. First, three hair strands, all at different perspectives, are merging into one point, with the strand that should be furthest back actually sitting in front of the strand that rests on the shoulder.

Next, we have this smudge just sitting in the loop those three make. Except, it isn't really a smudge. If you look a bit to the right and up, you'll see the hair strand that it's supposed to be attached to merging into the red top and then reappearing as that "smudge."

Then there's the material lining the inner part of the top. Is it lace? Is it metal? Apparently it's both.

That's certainly an interesting choker. Weird how the ribbons actually ignore how fabric folds in reality and instead choose to melt into the skin. Looks like the computer got confused by the similar colors.

That, once again, presumed lace on the right is looking pretty off. It's actually off on the left too, but not nearly as blatantly. Again, looks like the machine was confused by the colors and caused the neck and lace to melt into one another.

I'm not even going to talk about the jewel.

Those are some pretty chaotic eyelashes. In fact, they seem to completely replace the larger lash itself once you move closer to the inner eye.

Model 4

She appears to have sideburns that only sprout out of one specific part of her cheek that also connect to the rest of hair, because that's the only way for it to be possible for her ear and earring to be behind the hair in this way. Oh wait, part of the earring is in front of the same hair, somehow. There also looks like there's some inflammation going on with the ear itself.

Actually what the fuck is going on with the other ear? It's so much further up the head. It's shriveled. And, of course, it's in front of the hair it should reasonably be behind.

Again, the hair is simultaneously merging with the lace, disappearing behind it, and appearing in front of it.

The Why

You could technically use a machine to generate each part for you, however that is a lot of time and most people are going to go the easy route; generate a model, give it the bare minimum amount of cutting, then edit some of the glaring problems in Photoshop. That last part is the most difficult though, depending on how good you actually are at editing.

See, this is a legitimate method for making a model and a lot of people do it, except they actually draw it. The whole point of cutting a model is to separate all the pieces to allow for unique movement, and an important step in cutting is drawing through other objects and to allow for easy adjustment when rigging and to prevent gaps in the first place.

The store itself

Nowhere in this persons store do they disclose that they sell A.I produced images. In fact, they're selling the idea that they themselves are fully making the art and will work together with you, the buyer, to create what you want from scratch.

This is all they have listed tool wise.

In addition, their prices are absurd for what they are actually giving you.

These prices go together, by the way.

I know I've ranted about people not valuing their work properly and massively undercharging, but this person is not doing any work. At most, they're doing some rigging that they should be paid for, but they are charging for artwork they did not create.

A Slightly Deeper Dive

So, they have a couple links on their store that I went and looked into. They have a Vgen and a twitter so I took a look at their timeline and what they've created. Vgen has an anti-AI policy at the moment, so seeing that they got approved was a surprise to me.

I've found that they actually can draw and make models from scratch. Those models are wildly different from the ones advertised on their Etsy that I've scrutinized here. They're very cute, but again, it does not look like anything posted here nor does it have any of the same mistakes. I also do not see any of these artworks present on their twitter or Vgen.

Etsy also allows users to post photos of what they've received, and once again, none of them look like what was advertised.

So why the hell are they advertising using A.I rather than their own art when they are perfectly capable of creating models? And why only on their Etsy, that is also the only site they use a different name for?

Is it just a bait and switch? Show off nice (at a glance) models to bring in customers then create something else once you have them committed to working with you? Come on girl, have some confidence in your own art.

Etsy

This is FAR from the only store using A.I to advertise Vtuber models, with other stores outright selling them, much to the dismay of buyers who don't quite have the eye for spotting them yet. Some stores do disclose that their products are generated rather than handmade (baby steps), but plenty do not.

Generated images are just a drop in the water to the fuckery that is the rest of the Etsy website, considering they don't seem to require any kind of disclosure on the part of sellers. How many stores have you seen selling the exact same "custom" shirt? They certainly don't care about every other store being a dropshipper, so I sincerely doubt they actually give a damn about A.I being marked, either.

How do I find a legitimate seller?

Finding someone who is legitimate and isn't going to scam you isn't unique to art nor the Live2D sphere, so a lot of the advice you see from others will apply here.

Remember that none of the stuff below is an automatic sign that someone is a scammer or being dishonest about their work; they are merely things to look for to help you navigate and find a real artist/rigger.

Look closely at the art

If you've read the previous section, you'll have some idea of what to look for.

Are there any parts that are off or look strange or inconsistent? Is an object simultaneously in front of and behind something in a way that is physically impossible?

If they provide videos, how does the rigging look? Does it look like the hair has been cut into multiple layers or is it all moving as one or two objects? Do the eyes move properly when blinking? Do the head and body have a full range of motion or does the model just seem to tilt side to side? Does everything move the exact same way (same physics settings)?

2. Look at the artist's portfolio

What does the rest of their work look like? Is all of it wildly different in line work and coloring? Does it all look exactly the same? Do they offer their services on websites that perform some degree of vetting such as Vgen or do they use Fiverr or Cashapp only?

If they post on something like Twitter, do they only post commissions? Do they link to the person they did the commission for or name them at all? Did the commissioner respond in some way to the post, or make their own post about it?

3. Search online for the artist

The internet is your best friend here. If someone is a scammer, there's a possibility they've had a victim or "unsatisfied customer" before you that you may be able to find. Put their name into quotations (for example, "Lycorid") and throw that into your search engine of choice. No results? Add specific sites to narrow your results (site:reddit.com) or terms. If they post on twitter, type "name" & site:twitter.com and scroll to see if anybody has posted something about them.

You may not find anything, but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Thanks to the death of forums and the unfortunate growth of closed off online communities, there are spaces you physically cannot search unless you are aware they exist and you have access to them. I am of course talking about Discord. The official discord for Live2D has a section specifically dedicated to users to look out for, and is fairly detailed in the information it provides.

They also have a channel for artists and riggers that have been vetted, but occasionally some of them do get outed, so general caution still applies.

4. Reverse Image Search

Google Images fucking sucks for this now but stuff like tineye or yandex exist as alternatives.

Basically, you copy-paste the photo into your search engine or select the dedicated reverse image search button and see if any duplicates pop up. If they do, look into them. This is far less likely to happen with generated images since even the exact same prompts do not produce the same image, but it is useful for weeding out scammers who stole art from other places.

Be aware that the person you are reverse image searching may in fact be the original artist that everyone is stealing from. Exercise some caution.

5. Contact the artist directly

Talking to someone is a really good way to filter things out as well. You can ask for examples of their work that relate to what you want, see if they having any speed paints to share, etc. You do need to be careful in how you say things since it could easily come across as you asking for free art.

If they don't have a Ko-Fi or Vgen or anything similar, or anything else listed, ask them what methods of payment they accept. Ask them the turnaround time for a product. Ask them what rules they have relating to the product (again, if not already written somewhere.)

Basically, if there's any information missing, get answers for them.

I can't believe I got so distracted by the generated image that popped up when I was looking for references that I went on a several hour rant instead of working on my model. And by "can't believe" I mean I totally can believe it because I've done it before and I will do it again because I do not learn from my mistakes.

Help.

#reblogs turned off for my own sanity #remember that I am not talking about A.I as a whole #A.I is not inherently bad and is actually incredibly useful in some fields such as medicine #my issue is specifically with generated images #and the deceptive practices the users tend to use #typically to turn a profit but this also includes the more vile uses such as deepfakes and the like #i got distracted from working and ended up spending way too damn long on this #so it may be disjointed and hard to understand in some parts because #it is 4am and i do not edit my rants #if you have questions or whatever just leave a comment but i am not turning reblogs on lmao #the internet is a bin and the people are trash #so i dont want this rant to circulate too much and cause problems #mostly for me tbh #its not like i have a lot of people following me but all it takes is one

1 note · View note