mightypieworkshop

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can I interest you in one (1) archivist

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A Small Adventure of the Pocket Wizards 1)Mochi and Matcha. 2)A Starbucks inside a traditional Japanese house. 3)Where are the wizards? They're perched atop a tōrō lantern, which lights up at night. 4)Gazing out over an old Japanese street.

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Looking at some of your work, it is stunning but it is very similar in style to AI artwork, do you have any recommendations for how to tell apart photography like yours from AI.

I've been thinking about this. And this may sound controversial at first, but I'm hoping people will hear me out.

We should stop trying so hard to detect AI art.

I think we should all lift that burden from our brains.

I have often talked about "woke goggles." Where conservatives have lost the ability to enjoy anything because they are hypervigilant about detecting anything woke. They've cursed themselves into just hating everything. All they have left is the "God's Not Dead" Cinematic Universe.

And I worry people are getting AI goggles now. They are so concerned about accidentally enjoying robot art and hurting artists that they have overcorrected to the point where they are hurting artists.

One cannot say "AI is all soulless slop that always looks bad" and then accuse a real artist of making something that looks like AI and not hurt them. By doing so, it includes the baggage of all of the "slop" comments along with it. This crusade is having collateral damage to the very artists we are trying to protect.

Yes, we need to be cautious about malicious AI images. Misinformation and deepfakes are going to be a big problem. People using AI imagery for profit is already a mess. But if you are cruising your feed and like a cool sci-fi robot gal or a photo of a waterfall and it turns out to be AI... that's fine.

It was trained by real artists and AI is going to create some cool shit because of that.

Honestly, I think a lot of the worst slop is because the dipshits creating the prompts have no artistic taste. People keep blaming the AI for how bad it looks and often don't consider it is a product of the loser who published it.

There is plenty of non-slop out there that has fooled me. And, like it or not, it is going to get harder and harder to tell what is AI. Until there are better tools or better regulations, I don't think there is much we can do to avoid enjoying AI art every once in a while. If only by accident.

Current "AI detectors" are mostly a scam. Even the best forensic-level AI image detectors struggle to stay above 70–80% accuracy across a wide range of models and image types. And that's in controlled lab conditions.

Free online tools often drop to near coin-flip accuracy (50–60%), especially with newer image generators and post-processing applied.

The best way to avoid AI imagery is to look at an artist's body of work. It's much harder to create consistent, non-obvious fake images in a large sample size. That is usually enough to have confidence in authenticity. Plus, if they have posted similar art before 2022, you can pretty much rule out any shenanigans.

Otis literally died before genAI was available.

But images you see in the wild, just let yourself enjoy them if that is what your brain wants to do. It'll be okay.

I just think we are attacking this backwards. If we want to protect artists, we need to support them.

Calling out random AI art does not support them.

It does not put money in their pockets.

It does not grow their audience.

Over a decade ago I tried to lead a fight to create better systems of attribution on websites like Reddit and Imgur. I even spoke to the Imgur team after an article was written about me.

I asked them to allow sources on their posts and to develop tech that would help people find where an image came from. They said they were "working on it" and it never manifested.

IMAGE SHARING SITES STEAL MORE FROM ARTISTS THAN AI.

But we just kind of accepted it. No one really joined me in my fight. The prevailing defeatist attitude was, "That's just the way it is."

I think now is the time to demand better attribution systems. We need to be vigilant about making sure as many posts as possible have good sourcing. If an image on Reddit goes viral, the top comment should be the source. And if it isn't, you should try to find it and add it.

Just to be clear, "credit to the original artist" is NOT proper attribution.

And perhaps we can lobby these image sharing sites to create better sourcing systems and tools. They could even use fucking AI to find the earliest posted version of an image.

And it would be nice if it didn't require people to go into the comments to find the source. It could just be in the headline. They could even create little badges "made by a human" for verified artists.

Good attribution helps artists grow their audience. It is one of the single most effective things you can do to help them.

I literally just got this message...

There are maybe 10 popular artists who I helped grow their audience early on. Just because I reblogged their work and added links to all of their social media. I even hired my best friend to add sourcing information to every post because I believed so much in good attribution.

Calling out AI art may feel good in the moment. You caught someone trying to trick people and it feels like justice. But, in most cases, the tangible benefits to real artists seem small. It impedes your ability to enjoy art without always being suspicious. And the risk of telling someone you think they make soulless slop doesn't seem worth it.

But putting that time and effort into attribution *would* be worth it. I have proven it time and time again.

I also think people should consider having a monthly art budget. I don't care if it is $5. But if we all commit to seeking out cool artists and being their collective patrons, we could really make a difference and keep real art alive. Just commit to finding a cool new artist every month and financially contributing to them in some way.

On a bigger scale I think advocating for universal basic income, art grants for education and creation, and government regulation of AI would all be helpful long term goals. Though I think our friends in Europe may have to take the lead on regulation at the moment.

So...

Stop worrying about enjoying or calling out AI art.

Demand better attribution from image sharing sites.

Make sure all art has a source listed.

Start an art budget.

Advocate for better regulations.

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both prompts on r/sketch_daily weren’t doing it for me, so it’s john doe malevolent hours I guess

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Gather your party and get ready to adventure at @teamtekko! The Mighty Pie Stabwagon will be in the middle of Artist Alley with a group of amazing TTRPG enthusiasts and creators! Visit @squiresbounty @savingthrowpillows @teaweltzer and myself to level up with Silly Stat ribbons (available for purchase or free with qualifying purchase). Collect all four to bless your rolls!

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how do draw good

fill 14 sketch book

bad stuff is good stuff bc you made stuff

do you like sparkle???? draw sparkle

draw what make your heart do the smiley emote

member to drink lotsa agua or else bad time

d ont stress friend all is well

your art is hot like potato crisps

don’t let anyone piss on your good mood amigo

if they do

eat

them

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We need etsy to get bought by someone who will run it like the navy i need to only see small businesses in eastern europe weaving baskets by hand and anime yaoi keychains with original fanart

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aaaaa more pocket wizards in the world!!! Hello new brethren!!!

two lil wizards, chillin on a bookshelf holding hands because they’re nerds and in love 🥹 thank you so much @konoha77-d20 ! 💜🧡

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Origins has come and gone (and was great!) but I still have good stuff to show off!

Behold, Frogewald’s Fabulous CROAKPENDIUM, a collection of selected 5e spells as interpreted by frogs! Each book has 24 illustrations and will bring some delightful whimsy to your casting!

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Greetings vaguely midwestern podcast enjoyers!

Are you (yes you!) going to Tekko 2025?

Do you have a cosplay from a podcast you’d love to show off to fellow fans?

Are you more of a casual enjoyer but still want to meet people who enjoy the same things as you?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, please consider attending the Tekko 2025 Podcast Cosplay Meetup photoshoot/hangout!

The meetup is on Saturday (7/19/25) from 2:45 to 3:00 at location E.

Please go it’s going to be really embarrassing if I’m alone

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More new stuff for Origins! This froggy adventurer may be in a little over his head…

This will be available as a print in all sizes (5x7, 8x10, and 11x17) at Origins this weekend!

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it’s the best time of year…

hot boi summer

damn this critrole npc is making me feel feelings

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First preview of new stuff for Origins! I posted my cute Marshmallow Pride art, then got the urge to make something a little more fiery to fit the times, and this was the result. This sticker will be making its debut at Origins this weekend and will be available on my site afterwards!

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It’s show time - I’m delighted to be heading to the Origins Game Fair Artist Alley for the first time! I will have some delightful new things, including my very first pin in the Pin Bazaar! I will be posting some previews here over the next few days, so stay tuned!

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Happy Pride Month! Once again, Marshmallow is here to remind you that you are a perfect piece of the beautiful variety of this world, and you deserve to be the happiest version of yourself!

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Putting forth an extra special post tonight in the form of the Long Essek cake I made years ago.