Since November 2022, innovations like ChatGPT and Dall-E 2 have greatly disrupted our digital media industry. In the era of rising AI technologies, adapting to these powerful tools has become essential imo. This year alone, ChatGPT and Dall-E have taken the world by storm. Using text prompts, anyone can now create impressive digital artworks or even video! And the output mirrors almost those of seasoned professionals. It is important that we harness these AI tools to create better products. So when I came across the A.I Manga Challenge, I immediately signed up to learn more about how AI is used in this field.
Before attending the workshop, I researched on prompt engineering and practised using Adobe Firefly. However, there were times when my prompts did not yield the desired results. Never mind, one of the reasons I signed up was to learn new techniques at this workshop. But I would stand to gain so much more…
During the first two days of the workshop, participants were taught to use generative AI to develop a story concept, characters, and a manga book cover. I formed a team with two other Year 1 MAD students, Nature and Nabilah. For our team name, we simply used our initials to form "Team NNaH”.
Our initial idea was “mushroom parasites turning humans into zombies” but rejected it when we found out that the concept was already used in an existing show, “The Last of Us.” While brainstorming, we came across the idea of a reverse isekai. I liked this idea a lot and infused elements related to Singapore to make our story unique and relatable. My team spent the whole night creating a new storyboard, backgrounds and new characters. Only way we pulled it off was because we used generative AI to do the heavy lifting.
On the last day, the event commenced with a panel discussion featuring the founders of Potato Productions and Woke Salaryman. Both shared insightful perspectives on AI and its utility. They emphasized that in today's fast-paced environment, it's essentially a "sink or swim" scenario. Those who fail to adapt to these new technology will be left behind. The panelist also shared how they used AI to expedite their internal work processes and help their companies stay competitive.
The judging began after the panel discussion. Only 5 teams would be shortlisted to present and they would be announced at random. This kept everyone on edge. My team’s confidence slowly sank as we saw the exceptional quality of artworks presented by other groups. After the forth team finished their presentation, we thought it was all over. But then the hosts called out “Team NNaH!” as the fifth team. Still recovering from the shock but full of excitement, we rushed on stage.
I began with our team's unique take on the Isekai theme. My typically reserved teammates, Nabiilah and Nature, also spoke with much enthusiasm and passion! Although we had to scramble to make last minute changes, somehow we managed to pull off a top 5 submission!
Back at our seats, everyone anxiously awaited the results. The judges explained their selection process, emphasizing unique art and engaging storylines. Alas, we failed to secure a top-three spot. However, I would later speak with one of the judges who commended our team's distinctive 90s manga art style and unconventional but engaging storyline. He added that Manga readers are always seeking something fresh and unique, so he was impressed by our storyline. In hindsight, to even be shortlisted teams was already a stretch. I felt proud to be part of team NNah.
Closing thoughts
SP's AI Manga Challenge taught me that a great manga requires both excellent artwork and a captivating story. No surprise that One-Punch Man (my fav!) is still one of the most popular manga out there. I also learned how AI can be used to accelerate the art production process. Prior to this workshop, I would have spent weeks designing a single character. But during this challenge, my team developed a full manga concept with different background and multiple characters all in one night!
While preparing this blog post, I found another cool blog post by Victor Ocampo who gave a helicopter view on the impact of AI in the digital arts scene. I like his balanced take and agree with his views. In particular, the current hype of being “a master of prompt engineering”. Technology moves so fast, such skills can indeed become useless when once AI evolves further (already improving at an exponential rate!). Rather, being able to identify problems and the knack to use the right tools to solve them, is much more useful in the long run. It's so cool to see someone write about the same event but from a different perspective.
This new experience convinced me that AI is the way to go. Be it in prototyping or creating high-quality work quickly, this has forever changed how manga artists go about their craft. Of course, there will be hardcore traditionalists who shun this new technology. So, have I convinced you to join the Gen-AI bandwagon? :)
Chia Howie
27 September 2023
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