Artificial intelligence (AI) may have made its way into the fantasy genre.
On Feb. 24, fantasy author George R. R. Martin revealed in a blog post that A Feast for Crows would be receiving an illustrated edition. This aligns with its 20th anniversary, being the fourth book in his popular A Song of Ice and Fire series. However, some fans are outraged over the alleged use of AI-generated images in these illustrations.
Suspected AI use is new for Martin’s illustrated editions. Other books in the series have also received illustrated editions for their 20th anniversaries. But these editions, released in 2016, 2018, and 2020, respectively, were all released before the spread of AI image generation.
What tipped fans off to the use of AI in the book was the art itself. Not only are there strange faces and hands as with most AI generated images, but for a fantasy world so focused on houses and heraldry, so many of his pieces lack features that show fans who’s being depicted.
The artist in question, Jeffrey R. McDonald, was assigned to make 24 paintings for A Feast for Crows over a six-month period. The page on his website outlining the process of creating art for the series is vague, never once mentioning inspiration from character descriptions or previous art in the A Song of Ice and Fire universe. McDonald’s unclear development process, along with the uncanniness of many of the photos, have been the reasons fans called foul on AI use.
Raya Golden, the art director and licensing developer at Fevre River, Martin’s publishing company, responded to allegations via Martin’s blog on Nov. 10. “To our knowledge and as presented by the artist who completed the work in question, there was NO such programming used,” Golden wrote. Fans were further angered by Martin himself declining to comment.
In addition to outrage over potential AI use, many fans are unhappy that McDonald, a relatively young, digital-based artist, was chosen to illustrate for one of the most successful fantasy series in the last twenty years. Given that A Song of Ice and Fire illustrated editions have previously featured famous fantasy artists like Chase Stone and Ted Nasmith, hiring a lesser-known artist like McDonald has left fans wondering how and why the final product was cleared by editors.
Allegations of AI use in A Feast for Crows have sparked conversations about the implications of possible AI use in the broader fantasy art community. Disputes over deadlines, expensive artists, and creative differences could hypothetically all be solved with the use of AI-generated images. All the benefits that come with the use of AI boil down to less time spent and less money paid, a lucrative business model.
However, using AI in place of real artists could impact the quality of art. Fantasy is an intricate and personal genre, and having the images that are supposed to represent that be done by AI goes against much of what these fantasy stories stand for; one of them being “the triumph of man.”
Though this scandal probably won’t destroy A Song of Ice and Fire’s almost 30-year-old fanbase, it’s an interesting choice which calls into question the legitimacy of Martin’s authorship and the place of AI-generated images in artwork.
Tags
A Feast for Crows, A Song of Ice and Fire, AI, George R. R. Martin
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