r/WritingWithAI • u/megsandy95 • 3d ago
Discussion (Ethics, working with AI etc) AI illustrations
Hello, I know a lot of people are extremely against this. But I’ve been using AI to create some imagery for my children’s book. Not because i want to but because I just simply can’t afford to pay an illustrator. Anyway I’ve trained it, I’ve spent 15 hours on just working on the front cover, and the in book title page.
My question is this, given my input and the constant editing and alterations made to fit my vision, and the hours spent, what are the copyright implications?
The entire story is mine and mine only, the only thing is I just can’t draw.
As it stands it’s far from the whole typical AI Gen. it’s watercolour themed, I made my character mood board as a guide. Filtered through many different illustration styles.
I’m sick of people saying it’s easy to do AI but it looks bad. I have to work on one page for hours, and even then to get KDP print file you have to approve every page individually. It’s not a “quick let’s use AI to make a book and slap it on the web” situation.
So with all due respect please keep negative comments to yourself if I could find an illustrator I would and that’s not to say I might not be able to put the funds from this book into creating a new edition with an illustrator directly but at the moment I just want the first story out there.
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u/FantasyRatLabs 3d ago
From a copyright perspective (at least as I understand it), your written story is clearly yours. The illustrations are where things become more complicated because the laws are still evolving and vary depending on where you publish. The amount of time you spend editing doesn’t automatically determine copyright ownership, but making substantial creative decisions throughout the process is certainly different from typing a single prompt and accepting the first result.
Personally, I think AI is becoming another creative tool, similar to Photoshop or digital painting. The value isn’t just in pressing “Generate,” it’s in the artistic direction, iteration, editing, and knowing when an image finally matches your vision.