TYATautYearningArt

[ENG] Do AIs Sketch the Dreams of Doujin Artists? vol.01

Added 2024-03-13 19:07:36 +0000 UTC

It's time for a column, a break in between work. And it's longer than I thought, so I'll divide it into several parts.

First of all, as a conclusion of this series of columns, I want to express my utmost gratitude to all my patrons. And I'm still exploring what form that should take.

Currently, I'm modifying images to make them sellable on platforms like FANZA and DLsite, which means not in a format tailored to overseas, but in a format that can be distributed in Japan, and I'm also correcting small parts that didn't bother me at the time but stand out now.

And a little while ago, there was a big move for people like me who use AI on the two DL doujin platforms mentioned above. They completely separated the sales pages for 'hand-made' and 'AI-made'.

I'm going to talk about the following three points.

1: The judgment and profit of the largest DL doujin

2: PIXIV Spring BAN Festival - Risk of Derivative work (tentative title)

3: Is it really 'human' VS 'AI'? (tentative title)

This time, I'm going to talk about part 1.

By the way, I think this will be a fishy story throughout all the chapters. As you read on, you might feel like you can't support my activities anymore, or you might think that I should release erotic works faster instead of writing such a thing.

However, this series of stories is related to my future activities and is something I was going to announce somewhere. So I will make it public.

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1: The judgment and profit of the largest DL doujin

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FANZA and DLsite, these two platforms are the most important sites for DL doujin activities in Japan, and also for selling AI doujin.

Both of them didn't do anything special about the AI-generated works that were registered in large quantities when AI started to appear, but at some point they made it mandatory to use the 'AI-generated' tag and set a limit of 'one work per circle per month', and DLsite temporarily stopped selling AI-generated works in May '23, and sales were allowed for 'partial use' in limited uses such as novels and games.

Why was the number of sales narrowed down/stopped? It's not a movement like the "anti-AI illustration" often mentioned on SNS, but it's said that "it's because the effort and profit of the platform side don't balance at all".

Of course, as written in the blog of EISYS (DLsite), I think it's true that "the measures, guidelines, and policies can't keep up with the rapid development".

Platform operation is not a charity. It's a place where a company should make a profit, and because it can make a profit, people like us can sell works.

You might think, "Isn't it better to sell more because it makes a profit?" or "Even if you separate the sales pages, isn't it better not to limit the works?" However, this is a problem unique to Japan that becomes a bottleneck, and "we have no choice but to limit the works".

It is a "mosaic".

As I wrote in a previous column, "There is no obscene material in Japan." If it's mosaiced, it's not obscene. In other words, if it's not mosaiced where it should be, it's obscene and can't be sold, and if it's overlooked and sold, the platform that allowed the sale will be punished under Article 175 of the Penal Code, "Crime of Distribution of Obscene Objects."

Yes, it's not the side that made the work, but the side that sold it that is held accountable for the crime. I think you'll gradually understand what "don't balance" means, but how do you check for pixelation before starting to sell?

Each one is checked by human eyes.

One of the advantages of AI generation is that it can generate a large number of illustrations of a certain quality, but each of those large number of generated illustrations is checked by human eyes. This is the bottleneck part.

It inevitably takes time, and in many cases, AI-generated works tend to keep the price per piece low, or sell at a double price-like discount of 90% off for a long period of time, lowering the actual selling price. Some people even use FANZA to distribute it for 0 yen.

Moreover, many of them are illustrations that were output as they were without any bankruptcy check, and they are not fun to look at (※this is a personal opinion). It's not a case of small profits and quick returns, but a overproduction of inferior articles.

To tell the truth, my first back number was such a work. So the sales number doesn't even reach 10. It is thought that the number will not increase as it is because I have been neglecting to make efforts to sell it.

In other words, it takes time to check a large number of uninteresting images one by one, and even if they can be sold, they do not make a profit that can cover the minimum wage.

Considering this, I feel that FANZA, which did not stop selling, and DLsite, which restarted, are "still" our allies. I will explain "still" in Chapter 3.

It may sound contradictory to what I said above, but I think they felt that they could make a profit because they continued to sell and restarted.

That's because works "other than" the format of CG collections with only illustrations are selling. And also because it seems that the country is not going to regulate AI products. I will talk about regulation in Chapter 3. I also touch on it a little in Chapter 2.

I would like you to look at the 'AI-generated' tag in order of sales on FANZA, but I feel that many of the best-selling works are in the 'Comic・AI' category, that is, works that have the creator's creativity in addition to illustrations. I don't know if the content is good, but it can be said even for non-AI, so it doesn't change that 'works that have taken time are selling'. As you can see from the start date of sales, it seems to have not changed since the early days.

By the way, as of now (2024/03/14), the creativity of the person in third place in terms of sales volume may be the most recent example for me.

In other words, I need to create a work with a strong authorship, such as a story, somewhere soon.

Because the infrastructure for selling is in place, albeit temporarily, I shouldn't be lazy.

・FANZA Doujin

It has been relatively tolerant since the early days. With just the 'AI-generated' tag (with the option to hide AI works in the settings), this could largely be due to DMM's policy of liking new things.

On January 31, 2024, an announcement was sent to the circles, and a page dedicated to AI-generated works was announced. The release is scheduled for this spring.

・DLsite

In February 2023, there was a limit on the number of works for sale. In May of the same year, the sale of AI-generated works other than partial use was stopped.

In February 2024, on the 15th, the establishment of an AI-generated floor was announced, and it was opened on the 21st. There is a difference in service from the regular sales page, such as no ranking.

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