A.I. prompts- one of the most controversial topics in the art community right now. Scroll through any art account on social media, you’ll find at least one commenter claiming that the art is A.I. or was traced over an A.I. image, especially on digital art accounts. None of this is new news, but what I find most interesting are the accounts that are obviously using A.I. and just will not admit to it. Claiming that no, this is their art. 

Human artists make mistakes all the time, accidentally forgetting to draw a fifth finger, connecting clothing folds in ways that make no sense, rendering shapes with too many light sources, etc. etc. I myself have been accused of using A.I. in one way or another, something that was easily and quickly disproven by posting a timelapse. Not to mention my style unchanging and several of my pencil drawings also getting recorded and posted. It’s really not hard to disprove at all if you are the one actually drawing those things. But every now and again, there will be an account posting A.I., getting called out for it, and just refusing to admit that they’re using A.I in any way, shape, or form. 

It is extremely obvious when A.I is used, even more so when these people try to dispute these claims by attempting to draw on paper. I recently came across someone on social media that posted an A.I. prompt, claimed it was their own work, was met with comments asking them to post the timelapse or prove it in some way, and they immediately posted a video of them drawing with a pencil on paper. 

The drawing they originally posted that got met with questions over its humanness was an animal sitting on a ladder. Nothing too complicated to draw. This person’s attempt to redraw the ladder was not convincing that they had ever drawn before in their life. Not only was the entire perspective wrong, they struggled greatly to understand any part of the ladder and how it connected. This video was defended with “It’s hard switching from digital to traditional art.” 

Now, as someone that switches a lot from digital to traditional art, no, no it’s not. There is a learning curve when going between the two, especially in the beginning, however, that never impacted my knowledge over shapes when drawing them. A ladder, no matter what medium you’ve drawn it in, isn’t going to magically change all of its shapes just because it’s now drawn on paper instead of a screen. Going from one medium to another isn’t some memory eraser, your knowledge of these things should still very much be intact. If you understand how to draw a rectangle in perspective on a screen, there is no reason you should struggle that much while recreating it on paper. Much the same as being able to spell a word with a keyboard, you should be able to write it with a pencil. 

Yet, this person, and other people like this person, refuse to give up the charade that they can draw. I’m not saying whatever hand drawn art they do produce is bad, they just simply lack the skill to replicate the A.I. prompts they type in. Which I believe is where this all stems from, they, or maybe others online (cyberbullying is alive and well in 2025 unfortunately) have told them their art is bad. And, from experience, getting told your art is bad over and over, or simply believing it is, is quite damaging for your will to draw in the first place. But typing words into a picture generator is not art. The generator may produce stolen art, but it itself is not art. 

Art comes from scribbling in a sketchbook, pouring hours, days, years of your life onto a piece of paper or canvas or digital drawing software. It’s the journey not the destination. Calling yourself an artist because you can type words into a machine is comical at best and damaging to those that spend lifetimes drawing at worst. If you want to type prompts into generators just because, then fine, but posting them online for views or money and calling yourself an artist is an insult to everything art stands for. A.I. is damaging to us and the environment, pick up a pencil and learn something.