Summary
Wizards of the Coast has made an official statement promising to rework the pieces of AI artwork used in one of itsDungeons and Dragonsbooks. This statement came in response to controversy over a long-timeDungeons and Dragonsartist using AI to complete artwork forBigby Presents: Glory of Giants–the nextD&Dsourcebook.
On August 1,D&D Beyondreleased an article previewing three frost giants that would appear inBigby Presents: Glory of the Giants, anupcomingDungeons and Dragonssourcebook. However, players noticed two of the three pieces of artwork used in the article looked AI-generated. The controversy began to boil over when the artist–Ilya Shkipin, a long-timeD&Dartist since 2014–admitted to having used AI to complete these works.
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In response,D&D Beyondreleased an official statement regarding the incident on August 5. According to Wizards of the Coast, it had no idea Shkipin had used AI artwork in the images. WotC and Shkipin spoke about the artwork, and established he would not use AI for any future products from now on. Additionally, Wizards of the Coast is reportedly replacing the images with new ones not made with AI, and is revising its artist guidelines to restrict the use of such technology altogether.
That said,Bigby Presents: Glory of Giantsis scheduled to release on August 15–a mere 10 days after the statement was published. By now, thousands of copies of these books have likely been printed with Shkipin’s AI artwork. It seems unlikely Wizards of the Coast will be able to reprint these with fixed images before the expected release date, so there is a good chance the first run of this book will feature the offending art unlessDungeons and Dragonsdelaysit.
Unfortunately, the story doesn’t end there. April Prime, another artist who has done work on manypreviousDungeons and Dragonscampaigns, made concept art of several dinosaurs for use in the new book. This art was then given to Shkipin, who finished them using AI artwork. While Prime was fine with another artist using her work as a base for a final design, she was not happy AI was used in the process, as she is against the new technology.
While mostDungeons and Dragonsfans are glad Wizards of the Coast is joiningPaizo in taking a stance against AI art, some are dissatisfied with the response to this incident. They do not think Shkipin should be allowed to continue making art forD&Dand are skeptical that WotC didn’t know AI was used in the first place. Shkipin himself has locked his Twitter and deleted his ArtStation due to harassment. Wizards of the Coast is still reeling from the OGL controversy from earlier this year, so this is the last thing it needed–and if copies with Shkipin’s AI art are indeed sold whenBigby Presents: Glory of Giantsreleases, things could get even worse.
Dungeons and Dragonsis available now.
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