Synth-ab - Synth_Ab

Occasionally forget people genuinely think capitalism is thousands of years old

Like to charge, reblog to cast

this is your periodic reminder that for all the artifacts and errors and "tells" one could possibly list, the only reliable way to actually determine if an image is ai generated is to investigate the source. it is becoming increasingly common for "fake classical paintings" to circulate around curative aesthetic blogs, and everyone should be using this as an opportunity to not only exercise their investigative skills but also appreciate art more in general. you're all checking out the artists you reblog, right? 🫣

so what are some signs to look for? let's use this very good example.

what a lovely late-impressionist piece blended with evocative leyendecker-esque themes! why haven't you ever heard of this artist before? surely tumblr would be all over an artist like this. who is justin brown?

your two options from here are to do a search for the name, or a reverse image search. i prefer reverse image searching, particularly when it comes to a common name like "justin brown". so what does that net?

Immediately, without looking at any text, something is wrong: it barely exists. an actual historical piece would turn up numerous results from websites individually discussing the piece, but no such discussions are taking place. Looking at the text, though, does show the source-- and at least in this case, the creator was honest about their medium.

But let's also look at the "exact matches", in case a source doesn't make itself apparent in the initial sidebar results like this.

This section will often tell you post dates of images, and here it can be seen that the very first iteration of the image was posted 15 days ago. It did not exist online prior to that.

Seeing how long an unsourced image has been floating around is a skill applicable to more than just generative images! See a cool image of an artifact or other intriguing item with a vivid caption? Reverse search it! If all the results are paired with that caption and only go back a few months, you might just have viral facebook spam.

Sometimes generative creators are dishonest about their medium and do not tag it like in the example, so that's when establishing "jpeg provenance" becomes important. While it can be a little trickier to determine if someone is using generative images and not admitting to it if they aren't trying to pass it off as a classic, something to consider is the age of their account and the frequency with which they post. Here are some account red flags:

-Did they only start posting art after 2022, or if they did before, did their style/skill level WILDLY change? Not gradual improvement-- I'm talking amateur graphite portraits straight into complex digital renders. Everyone starts somewhere, newness is not a red flag alone; it's newness combined with existing in a vacuum away from any community.

-Do they post fully-finished paintings several times a week? -Do many of these paintings seem iterative of a similar theme or subject matter ("three well-dressed young men face each other under shade and dappled sunlight")?

-Does their style change in inconsistent ways? An artist that can swap between painting like Drew Struzan and Hokusai should be pretty well known, right? Why is no one hyping this guy?!

-Do they have social media besides the source instagram? If so, what are they posting about? Are there any WIPs? Doodles? Interactions with other artists? Gallery dates? 3am self-doubt posts? Or is it all self-promo? Crypto? Seemingly nothing art-related at all for someone pushing out 3 weekly paintings?

Basically, if it's important to you to omit this stuff when you curate, please don't just smash reblog if the source doesn't seem to be the OP themselves. Seeking out sources was important even before this became an issue, now it is more than ever.

peace n love

I can't get her design out of my head

BADABING BADABOOM

BOXER AU MASTERPOST

INFO CARDS + LINEUP

AI Manager Cards + Bubble

Official Works:

Official poster

Character Card Template

Little Blips:

(Showtime) After a fight

(Boxer Pomni) First design

BOUNDARIES + Q/A

“Can I draw fanart/OCs in this AU?”

Of course you can!! I’d love to see any and everything you do! There’s complete creative liberty when it comes to that, as long as it’s fun!! Though, please don’t send any OCs in my ask box, they can easily get eaten! Please just tag me in a post so I can see!

“Is it allowed to write fanfics?”

YES! I’d love to see what you all come up with!! Please please send any fan work to me!

“Can I create NSFW for this AU?”

I don’t mind, but please keep in mind that I’m a minor! If you do anything, please keep it to yourself or privately! I should not be able to see it at all, so do not send it to me or post it publicly. Please regulate your space properly!

“Can we make ships for your AU?”

Absolutely!! Though keep in mind that some are canon to the au and some are not! That doesn’t mean it isn’t allowed!!

(More will be added in the future the further I get into development! Keep an eye out!)