Wizards of the Coast is taking heat from artists and fans for including AI-generated images in their newest Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition supplement, Bigby Presents Glory of the Giants.
Artists and fans criticize Wizards of the Coast for using AI-generated art in their new D&D product, Bigby Presents Glory of the Giants. (Images: Wizards of the Coast/Hasbro)
Dungeons & Dragons is the world’s most popular and influential tabletop roleplaying game. The beautiful and imaginative artwork found in its rulebooks, novels, video games, and other merchandise is a significant factor in its appeal to fans. Artists tapped by TSR and Wizards of the Coast over the decades include industry legends such as Keith Parkinson, Larry Elmore, Clyde Caldwell, Todd Lockwood, Jeff Easley, and many more. Plus, video games such as the smash hit Baldurโs Gate 3 highlight the talents of artists such as Larian Studios Lead Character Artist Alena Dubrovina.
On X (formerly known as Twitter), artists and fans have pointed out the suspiciously A.I.-looking images in the new D&D product, Bigby Presents Glory of the Giants.
We have confirmation this is AI artwork. I have seen the sketches this prompter made, and frankly, if those sketches were real, they butchered their work. pic.twitter.com/Lyso9QJTCe
โ GmBen (@NevernotDM) August 5, 2023
The AI-generated pieces in the D&D supplement are from Ilya Shkipin. Shkipin responded to the criticisms with a tweet on their X feed (@i_shkipin) with attached images of their process of using AI in the production of the images for the Dungeons & Dragons supplement, stating:
There is a recent controversy on whether these illustrations I made were generated. AI was used to generate specific details or polish and edit. To shine some light on the process, Iโm attaching earlier versions of the illustrations before ai had been applied to enhance details. As you can see, many painted elements were enhanced with a rather…