“Cyberpunk: Peach John,” according to the publishing company that created it, is the first comprehensive AI manga work ever published. It was produced using Midjourney, an online image generator that can create detailed drawings depending on users’ instructions, and it will be available in Japan starting on Thursday.
Rootport, a Tokyo-based artist, entered a series of written descriptions to start, which he then improved through a process of trial and error to produce pictures that fit his plot. According to rumours, the author, who prefers to remain unidentified because he values his privacy, finished the project in just six weeks. He goes by the pen name Rootport. He calculated that a work of this size would take almost a year to produce by hand, encompassing upwards of 100 pages and, unlike most other manga publications, portrayed in full colour.
Since they were widely accessible last year, online AI image applications including Google’s Imagen, Midjourney, DALL-E 2, and Stable Diffusion have experienced an explosive rise in popularity. However, they are still in their early stages, which means that the author more often than not found it difficult to create “the perfect image for a specific scene.” One example is the inability of Midjourney to accurately reproduce pre-existing characters in fresh poses or with new expressions. In order to overcome this, Rootport created each of his characters recognisable traits that would make it easier for readers to identify them as the plot progressed, such as pink hair, dog ears, or a crimson kimono.
AI imaging tools are also notorious for having difficulty accurately replicating human hands, which frequently appear with too many, or too few fingers. As a result, Rootport stated that he made a “significant compromise” by limiting scenes featuring characters’ hands.
AI imaging tools are raising new concerns about artistic integrity and imagination. Rootport, on the other hand, insisted that his comic book, which includes a 10-page how-to guide on how to create your own AI-generated manga, be considered a work of art. The author also added that when he posted a preview of the comic online, it was well received. However, Rootport believes that AI will not put artists out of employment anytime in the foreseeable future. He compared his method to creating music with MIDI instruments. He also believes that AI technology will eventually free artists from the “gruelling process” of creating manga, which he claims often involves burdensome deadlines that cause artists to become ill and that it will improve “inhumane working conditions” in the industry.
Alexis Boutilier is from Vancouver, British Columbia. She has a high interest in all things tech and loves to stay engaged on all the latest appliances and accessories.
