Netflix removes AI art poster for Arcane after an outcry from creators

Netflix has pulled a poster for season two of its popular show Arcane as fans noticed that AI had been used to make the promotional art. Arcane is made by Riot Games and French animation studio Fortiche for Netflix and is a critical darling for its visual artistry, combining digital and hand-drawn artwork.

That's why a fan thought a weirdly shaped hand on a poster when the show is paused seemed out of character for Arcane and asked people behind the show about it on X. Arcane brand lead Alex Shahmiri confirmed the AI origin of the art and that it was a mistake because Arcane has a strict rule against using AI art for the series.

"Appreciate you bringing this to our attention. we have a strict stance of no ai for anything relating to arcane cause it's disrespectful to the incredible artists who worked on the show. this image was a mistake and has since been removed. ty again for calling it out," Shahmri wrote on X in response to the AI art discovery. "I can only speak to what i work on. from a purely personal level, i'm not a fan of ai because what makes art so special is the human connection and feeling. be it through art, music, or any creative medium - it's something i never want to see replaced by ai."

AI Art Fight

Netflix pulling the poster off of the show is fitting, but Arcane isn't unique in facing questions of AI art being used, with or without the permission of the creatives behind the show. Disney dealt with a similar issue when the Marvel show Secret Invasion used AI-generated art when displaying the credits for the show. Both fans and artists criticized Disney for the choice. Method Studios, who designed the credits, said at the time that the AI tools replaced no jobs, but it undoubtedly left a sour taste in many people who would otherwise enjoy the show.

Using AI to make images is often easier, faster, and cheaper than hiring human artists. That doesn't mean it's better, though. The debate over AI’s role in art crosses commercial, cultural, and aesthetic issues that are sometimes hard to quantify. How much money do you need to save by using AI to make up for turning off viewers? How degraded is a show using AI art, and is the speed of completion worth it not looking as good as it could have with humans designing it? AI tools like DALL-E and MidJourney may have opened new doors for creators, but what's fine for a marketing campaign or personal amusement is not always good enough for a project that seeks artistic integrity and commercial success.

That's before even addressing how AI image makers are often trained on existing artworks in a way that sometimes looks a lot like plagiarism. Amusingly, the backlash against AI art is producing its own market.

Digital art app Procreate explicitly declared against using generative AI in art and promised never to use it in its own features. AI art may still pop up from big companies like Netflix and Disney. Still, if creators stick to refusing to employ it in their projects for the big companies, it won't take over, just be a regular irritant in marketing and promotional material every so often. A cautionary tale about expediency over quality.

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