A comic book about A.I. art
AU$2,957
of $2,400 stretchyrs ago
Successful on 6th Sep 2023 at 10:00AM.
Preorder Octane Render: Cartoonists talk about A.I. art
'Octane Render' is a comic book about how cartoonists are feeling as A.I. threatens to decimate their livelihoods.
By now, most people know that machine learning technology has gotten good enough to imitate human writers and artists.
I spoke to my comics/illustration community about this stuff and what I heard back was interesting enough that I wanted to write about it.
Ostensibly this is a story about machine learning systems that make pictures, but really it's about why society sees artists as something that need to be innovated around.
The original 28 page graphic essay (long comic) was published by Friends With Benefits, and got a big response.
Now it's a 50 page comic book, with the addition of more pages responding to themes readers brought up: vitriol toward early adopters, A.I.'s "democratising" power and A.I. art as an assistive technology. There's also now 100% more references to the movie Predators (2010).
Artists should find the book interesting, but if you've ever hired an artist (or fired one), used apps to get around the need for artists, or dismissed the arts as "easy"... I'm really wanting you to read this.
Why is this story called "Octane Render"?
OctaneRender is a engine used to render 3D graphics. It makes stuff look detailed and realistically lit. The phrase "octane render" gets used often in prompts to A.I. art generators like Midjourney. To me it suggests that users of A.I. either all want their images to be perfect, clean and shiny (like good art generally isn't), and/or that they don't really know what the hell it means, and are just inserting it into their prompt because they saw others doing it.
Budget Overview
What I'd like to raise is the cost of the first print run plus Pozible's cut: $1200 in total.
The book's being printed locally, by the good people at Jeffries Printing in Sydney. It's being produced whether this crowdfund comes good or not. But I'm a freelancer currently and having the print run covered by your pre-orders would be helpful right now! So read it online if you like, and if you appreciate it, I can use your support.
No Reward
Maybe you don't want a book? If you read the original comic online, you might want to throw me a buck or two, and I might appreciate it very much. And you are invited to the book launch in Melbourne, Sep 6.
3 chosen
A copy of the comic book
This is it. The first printing of 'Octane Render' with some extra material beyond what's in the online version. I can sign / dedicate to you if you like. And you are invited to the book launch in Melbourne, Sep 6, where you can pick this up if you want.
63 chosen / 37 available
Est. delivery is Sep 23
A copy of the book, and an A5 ink sketch
Have a book, and an A5-sized ink sketch made by a human (me) to go with it. Request something specific or be surprised (no 18+ requests, please -- nobody wants to be THAT surprised)! Would I draw you Lt. Columbo? I bloody might. And you are invited to the book launch in Melbourne, Sep 6, where you can pick these up if you want.
28 chosen / 2 available
Est. delivery is Sep 23
The book, and a bundle of my previous books
I've done other books, and I still have copies of a few of them! You get the new book, plus: my "children's book by Tony Abbott", What We Tell Them, my "professional pick-up artist" book #takedown and my Minicomic of the Month, We Buy Comix. And you are invited to the book launch in Melbourne, Sep 6, where you can pick these up if you want.
7 chosen / 2 available
Est. delivery is Sep 23
Ten copies of the book, and a page of original art (for retailers)!
Booksellers are awesome. If you'd like to stock this lovely, locally printed, floppy comic book at your store, fab! Have ten copies of it at a large discount, plus a page of original art (your choice, subject to availability). And you are invited to the book launch in Melbourne, Sep 6, where you can pick these up if you want. NOTE: postage on this will be hellish for overseas stores. Check in with me if you want to discuss options for post to your country.
3 chosen / 2 available
Est. delivery is Sep 23
The book, and a Drawing for Story workshop for eight people
I run a workshop called Drawing for Story which helps people to try out sketching storyboards as a way of communicating about anything, from business challenges to family issues to your own fabulous resume. If you want to pledge at this level I'll run it with you and up to seven others. Happy to arrange in-person in Melbourne, or we can do it online with any group of people around the world. More here: https://experienceillustration.com/experience-illustration-drawing-for-story.html
0 chosen / 3 available
Est. delivery is Nov 23
The proof copy of the comic book
I got two proof copies before we went to print. One I took around with me for a few weeks and got dog-eared and beef-stained. The other is in lovely condition and I'll sign and dedicate it to you. And you are invited to the book launch in Melbourne, Sep 6, where you can pick it up if you want.
1 chosen / 0 available
Est. delivery is Sep 23
The book, and a page of original art from the book
This book was drawn on paper with ink! You can have a page of the original art (A4) to go with your copy of the book. Will your page be one I fixed with white-out or one which still has dopey mistakes on it? Who knows? You can request a specific page if you like -- first come, first served. Get in quick! If someone's pinched the one you wanted, we'll find something that works for you. And you are invited to the book launch in Melbourne, Sep 6, where you can pick these up if you want.
10 chosen / 0 available
Est. delivery is Sep 23