By Isaac Piper
Artificial Intelligence continues to disrupt many creative industries. To combat this, professional comic artist Devmalya Pramanik, in an exclusive interview, urges student artists to develop their own voice. Pramanik is a comic artist who has worked with a variety of companies including Image, BOOM!, and DC. He has also drawn for Marvel titles such as Ghost Rider and Moon Knight. As with many artists, Pramanik has a large social media presence where he not only posts his own art but interacts with the community.
Artificial Intelligence has reached a point where it can now generate images.
For many students this is a cause for concern. Fortunately, the comic industry has yet to be massively affected. “We [Comic Artists] as a whole are very against AI … I don’t think much has changed.” As it stands, A.I. is a looming threat in the distance. “I think it will have an impact because I mean the technology is resonating with a lot of people for a lot of reasons.” Many of Gen AI supporters resonate with its ability to do the mundane task. While this may sound good on paper, artists like Pramanik agree “it’s still really difficult because so much of an artist’s work might look mundane, but it’s not.”
One point consistently came up through the interview, the importance of an artist’s voice. “It’s a hard life and only worth it if you have something to say.” The artist’s voice, their message sets them apart. As Pramanik said, “there’s a reason why the starving artist is such a common saying.” Long hours, constant pressure, and a competitive market all add up. It is only rewarding when you love it and bring yourself into it.
Students going into an art career will feel how daunting it can be. Constant comparisons may fill your mind but in the end those comparisons are meaningless as machines can copy art exactly. The real importance is you and the message you are trying to say.
“It will be like your voice. It will be like your gate. It will be like your personality. I still have artists who I look up to and enjoy a lot and when I was much younger, I used to look at them and want my art to look like theirs. But as I have grown, I am finding out that my style is my style and I still admire those artists and still wish it looked like that, but it doesn’t and in a way that makes me happier than if it did.”
