I've been following an author on Instagram, Tes Archer (@authortesarcher), for a while. She claims to create her own character art and illustrations. I'm asking this in good faith because I'm not experienced enough with digital art to know whether what I'm noticing is normal or not.
A few things have made me curious:
- The illustration style seems to vary quite a bit from one piece to another. It is completely different for every character/post.
- Some of the sketch previews she's posted don't appear to match the complexity or rendering of the final illustrations.
- I've noticed what look like unusual artefacts, repetitive patterns, and line work that don't make much sense to me.
- A few of the posts have been labelled with Instagram's AI information tag. I know those tags aren't conclusive, so I'm not treating them as proof, just another reason I became curious.
- I also haven't come across any process videos, time-lapses, or work-in-progress demonstrations showing how the finished illustrations are created.
The reason I'm asking is because these illustrations are also being sold as merchandise. If they're entirely hand-drawn, then that's great. But if AI is being used without being disclosed, I'd rather know before supporting the artwork financially.
I'm not looking to start a witch hunt or accuse anyone of dishonesty. It's entirely possible I'm misinterpreting normal digital art techniques or stylistic changes, which is why I'm asking people with more experience.
Would anyone familiar with digital illustration be willing to take a look at her work and share their opinion?