A few years ago I became seriously ill. I was in a coma on heavy duty meds, and had a kidney transplant. I’m much better than I was, but I can’t do a lot of things like I could before.
We’ve now got quite a few kids in the extended family, so a while ago I wrote a short story to try to make it easier for them to understand. My wife and family like the story and have suggested making it into a picture story book. Problem is, I can’t draw and my imagination isn’t very good.
How can I get pictures for the story if I can’t do it myself and don’t have the money to hire someone? I want to avoid using AI tools because of the potential copyright issues.
I haven’t tried the services like Fiverr because I’ve heard that they force a race to the bottom on prices, but does anyone have any experience, or have any ideas of what I can do please?
Thanks in advance :)
Use a whiteboard notebook so the kids can do the drawings themselves?
That’s a good idea, thanks :)
Now to see if any of the little buggers can draw :D
I’ll double this, I’ve got a kid’s game called CoraQuest where they got kids to make drawings/sketches of their ideas, and had an artist touch them up for production. The art in the game is great because of this.
@Tippon if you are going the traditional publishing route, publishers don’t actually expect children’s book authors to provide the illustrations necessarily.
If you are self-publishing, I suggest you reach out to the kidney transplant community (support groups etc) to see if anyone can volunteer.
There might be someone else in your shoes who can draw and not write, who would love to be part of this project.
That’s a great idea, thanks :)
I’ve just mentioned in another reply that the book is currently a bit too personalised, so probably wouldn’t appeal to other people. If I can rewrite it a bit to remove any personal details, that could work though :)
I think that might be a good thing to do if you can; there are probably others in your situation who would love to have a book like this.
You could even do something like donate proceeds to a kidney charity or hospital.
That’s a good point. I’m lucky enough to have received my kidney from a live donor, and the story is about how they saved the day, and because of that I was able to have a family with my wife, so it could go down quite well. I’d have to remove the personalised information, but that shouldn’t be too hard :)
There aren’t that many options. Either you commision it, or you learn to draw, or you use AI.
If you don’t like Fiverr, maybe look for another platform. Or find someone by some other means. You could also use AI to draft it and then use that as a basis to start with the proper art.
I don’t really understand the issue with copyright. Are you afraid of infringing on other people’s copyright, or that you won’t be able to protect your work if it’s made by AI?
You can try Wikimedia Commons
That’s a good idea, thanks :)
Search for creative commons or public domain artwork - Wikimedia Commons is a good start, or a google image search (under the image search bar select tools -> usage rights -> creative commons rights)
Or don’t worry about the copyright issues of AI and learn to use that to create things you want - I suggest SDXL is the best option
Well, here in Vietnam a lot of art students and graduates would probably be quite happy to take this on.
I recall RMIT has a local job forum, for small jobs for current students and alumni. The instruction is all in English, so communication should not be a problem. Maybe other universities have the same.
Or maybe an art school in the Philippines where English language instruction is also common? I bet they have job forums too.
In my workplace we’ve got a 3D designer or two, probably not ideal for your task though :(
BTW using AI to generate an image as an artistic brief is a great application that supports both human and machine artists. This is my biggest use of the tech in production so far – really great especially when language barriers are present.
Contact your local art college and see if there are any students looking for work experience and a bit of cash.
That’s a good idea and could work. I’m a bit concerned about taking advantage of someone though, especially if they’re young. I’d have to be careful.
Then prepare for more paying in exposure memes on the Internet. There is nothing wrong with AI art, and honestly it’s better from an ethical standpoint to use AI art versus not paying someone for their time and energy.
My idea isn’t about exposure, but experience, and I said they would be paid. They won’t get paid as much as a 10 year designer but some beer money seems reasonable and they have some work for their portfolio.
making it into a picture story book
As in formally publishing it? Or just sending it to your family?
The only way copyright, especially around AI, could conceivably be a factor is if you intend to publish and sell it.
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Use AI but lie to people about it.
Start a GoFundMe for an art commission. It comes with a good story and your needs are modest, so a free lunch might actually be achievable.
Otherwise, just use AI. The court cases seem unlikely to succeed, if you know how AI works, and you know that a judge is unlikely to throw out an entire industry over a tiny, difficult to measure contamination with questionable training data. Some of the shit we in the West import is produced by crime more often than not, after all. Even if they do stick somehow, they’re probably not coming after you specifically.
