Rumors about me using AI

My dear Patrons, there have been some unfortunate rumors about me using AI for my paintings. The only way to prove that I drew everything was to share the full painting recordings and the 3D model I built for the base. I had been saving these recordings and files as the July rewards to be sent out on August 5th. I'm really sorry to have shared the rewards you paid for publicly like this, but I don't know how else to prove that I had drawn everything.

Painting videos: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1d-3hxjZWROiZPaI8XeU93cKBBKB1Gz9Z?usp=sharing

3D model: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IluTiPjMpXN1QSBhEh2ddozz6La4UMOx/view

There are people taking screenshots from my Discord out of context, so I want to explain myself in case there are misunderstandings.

When AI was at it's infancy, I was very excited to have a new tool to help me make comics. Long time followers will know I struggled with repetitive strain injury that forced my comic making to a crawl. A decade before AI, I was experimenting with 3D backgrounds for comics.

I still remember the hate I got for using 3D models in my comic backgrounds, even though today nobody blinks at other artists doing the same. 3D is now accepted as a tool to help artists create. I even remember hate for being digital instead of traditional.

I tested out painting over AI generated backgrounds a few times in the very early stages of AI. There are a lot of screenshots taken out of context from my Discord where I share how I paint everything with complete transparency. As Patrons, everyone in the art video tier and above have seen every single recording of every single painting I've made from beginning to end. I hope that fact in itself proves how I do not us AI in my art (minus the few tests I did at the beginning.)

The only other time I've used AI in my art is for a gag scene in my comic, the full context is my character, Vance, who is a weeb and tech nerd, was objectifying women by seeing them as anime cat girls pasted over AI flower backgrounds. Since I share everything with transparency, this process was shown in my Discord channel dedicated to how I make this comic. Only the flower background for the gag scene is AI, everything else is hand draw or with 3D models. But of course people are taking this out of context to say I use AI all the time in everything. This is NOT TRUE.

If I had downloaded a flower stamp brush from ClipStudio and made a similar flower background, nobody would care. But somehow this is not okay even though it fits the theme and joke of the comic?

It's past 3AM where I am now so I won't say much else other than I wish people would stop taking my posts out of context. With everything going on in the world, artists should support each other, not make up reasons to hurt each other.

I want to thank my Patrons again for supporting me all these years. I hope the art videos that was sent every single month for every painting is proof enough of how I paint everything without AI.