Generative AI has been a gamechanger for the ideation process. As artists and designers, we are trained to follow a certain canon and make certain decisions wisely. Meanwhile, AI throws out ideas and combines elements in a way that a human may never even really consider because of how totally bonkers, and often illogical, they may be. And that’s been great for spicing up our creative process.

We've not found much success or traction in terms of finding tool sets that will get us to  final client-deliverable output (with persistent concerns around copyright and ownership contributing greatly), but what we have found is that the tool sets are maturing – especially within the last month or so. When generative AI first hit, there was a heady kind of hype cycle that resulted in letting the AI drive the bus, specifically because it was so novel. Now the makers of these tools realize that autonomous capability is cool, but it needs to be operationalized so that it works for groups that want to use it. When it comes down to it, creatives use tools to make art, whether it is with brushes or computers - it’s our passion. What we don’t want are tools that steal away the creative decision-making that is at the heart of any creative project.

Clipdrop, for example, has a bunch of tool sets that are very useful for things like replacing backgrounds, upscaling low-resolution images, or retouching talent/gallery photography. Its Relight tool can analyze a photo of a face, create a luminance-based three-dimensional overlay, and then relight the face with the click of a button. This could take hours of retouching by hand, and as a result may not be feasible for a project due to time or budget constraints.

The most exciting tool sets to me are the ones that put creatives at the forefront, augmenting our natural talents and creativity. Artists will always want to be intimately involved with the process of creating our art. The tools we’ll use and adopt are ones that expand our vision and allow us to explore things we never thought possible before - not tools that box us into fire-and-forget creative output.