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The story
A thread on 5ch’s “Nandemo Jikkyo G” (a general live-commentary board) sparked discussion after someone claimed that the spread of generative AI has cut into illustrators’ work. The conversation kicked off with a report that an acquaintance had gone out of business providing illustrations, and posters described how AI can now handle not just art but website creation and even app development with ease. Some argued that demand holds up better for erotic work than non-erotic work, while others pointed out that even making a living off dojinshi (self-published fan comics) requires manga-drawing skill, which is a completely different skill from illustration. The view that “creative work that’s just an extension of imitation will get weeded out” clashed with the counterargument that “this isn’t just an illustrator problem,” and the debate never really converged.
What people said
Probably just means erotic artists' work dropped a bit.
Erotic artists are the ones actually surviving, though.
Maybe it was already zero to begin with?
How did it feel seeing your friend's business fold?
Yeah, it's not just art — website creation is easy with AI too now.
Simple websites and apps can be knocked out easily with AI these days.
You just paste in whatever code it spits out and it's done — it's wild.
Why do you guys love talking about illustrators so much?
Sales consultants aren't needed anymore either.
There are a lot of wannabes who think they can make a living off doodles,
and a lot of them seem to think opportunities only come around when the industry's booming.
Dojinshi basically only sell if they're manga, not single illustrations.
Drawing a single piece of art and drawing manga are totally different skills, so a lot of illustrators actually can't draw manga.
Plenty of people are great at single illustrations but absolutely terrible at manga.
Guess Akira Toriyama was the exception, then.
Because it actually did catch on, lol.
The situation's different for non-erotic versus erotic work.
Enough already.
The artist side always gets wrecked in these, lol.
Nitpicky, but the term is 'illustrator.'
Nitpicky, but the term is 'illustrator.'
People with real creativity will survive, won't they?
It's just the ones who were only ever extending imitation that are dying out.
People who can create something from nothing will survive.
So-called 'creators' (lol) who can only ever imitate others will disappear.
Manga is more creative than illustration, so it's still hanging on.
Though it's getting risky too before long.
Eventually a human's 'job' is probably just going to be spending their basic income.
And the only other way to build wealth will shift to things like livestreaming.
The more precise the movements a robot needs to make, the more maintenance matters.
Also, the parts that make up the product have manufacturing tolerances too, you know.
Background and Key Points of This Debate
The impact of generative AI on creative fields has been a recurring topic in the illustration industry since image-generation AI went mainstream around 2022, and Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs has been working since 2023 to lay out guidelines on AI and copyright. The thread’s view that “demand holds up better for erotic work” reflects the fact that regulations on AI-generated content tend to be looser for erotic material than for non-erotic work. Separately, the issue of “passing off AI-traced work as hand-drawn” is a distinct question about the transparency of the creative process and the credibility of self-promotion on social media, one that should be weighed apart from whether the technology itself is good or bad. Worth noting: the opinions in the thread are mostly anecdotes and impressions, with no statistics actually showing a drop in commissions or income.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Nandemo Jikkyo G) thread “[Sad News] Illustrators’ Work Has Plummeted Because of Generative AI.”
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