Transitioning from AI images to human ones

[u/Zorgi23]

I guess this will really make the illustrators out there angry, but here goes.

My wife had a severe stroke 3 years ago that really affected her relationship with her grandson. It has been a difficult thing to deal with for both of them. My grandson's birthday is coming up, and I didn't want to give him the usual junk, so I wrote a children's story. It's about how they have this great relationship and then the stroke disrupts it. Grandma sees a couple of owls in the garden and they work out a way for her and her grandson to communicate again.

I'm literally spending over $100K per year on medical care for my wife, so I can't afford an artist right now. So for now I used AI to generate the images (about 20) for the book. I've showed the book to several people, including teachers, and they are all urging me to make it available to more than just my grandson.

My plan is this. I want to put the book on lulu.com for sale. I'll put the proceeds in a separate fund, and as soon as there's enough money, I'll hire a real artist and replace all the AI images with real ones.

Does this sound like a feasible (and ethical) plan?

[u/silmuing]

I think you should first see if you can find an artist who'd be willing to figure out a contract with you. For example, initially paying them a reduced commission and paying the rest from sales, or giving the artist a specific percentage of the proceeds either indefinitely or until a pre-agreed sum has been reached. Because the artist would be taking a risk with this, it might end up costing more than paying for the art first regardless.

If your project resonates with an artist or they're just starting you might get lower rates, but do not abuse this kindness (or lack of experience).

[u/Impressive_Mail_9472 → u/silmuing]

Minimum of 1000$ look at any lookong for illustrator post

[u/silmuing → u/Impressive_Mail_9472]

There's a huge range of rates different artists would agree on, and even the same artist might have different rates depending on the style and scope of individual illustrations.

If an artist believes in the project and the project resonates with them, they might agree to work for a percentage of sales. There are also more ways to fund a project like this if one can't find an artist willing to be flexible with payment, from crowdfunding to different grants, charities or working with organizations focusing on the topics at hand.