Explosive Revelation: Wizards of the Coast Breaks Silence on AI Art Controversy in New Dungeons and Dragons Book

Highlights

Wizards of the Coast promises to rework AI artwork in response to controversy over AI-generated art in an upcoming Dungeons and Dragons book.

Artist Ilya Shkipin's acknowledgement of employing AI in the creation of the artwork has sparked discontent among certain fans. Although efforts have been made to resolve the matter, there is a possibility that the initial release of the book will include the objectionable AI-generated art, potentially resulting in additional negative reactions towards Wizards of the Coast.

In response to the controversy surrounding the use of AI-generated artwork in one of its Dungeons and Dragons books, Wizards of the Coast has issued an official statement promising to rework the pieces in question. The controversy began when players noticed that two out of the three pieces of artwork previewed in an article by D&D Beyond appeared to be AI-generated. The artist responsible, Ilya Shkipin, admitted to using AI to complete these works, further fueling the controversy.

D&D Beyond issued an official statement on August 5 in response. Wizards of the Coast, unaware of Shkipin's use of AI artwork, engaged in discussions with him and agreed that he would not use AI for future products. In addition, Wizards of the Coast plans to replace the images created with AI and is revising its artist guidelines to prohibit the use of such technology entirely.

Despite these actions, Bigby Presents: Glory of Giants is still set to be released on August 15, a mere 10 days after the statement was released. Given this timeline, it is unlikely that Wizards of the Coast will be able to reprint the books with corrected images before the scheduled release date. Therefore, there is a high possibility that the initial run of this book will still feature the controversial art, unless Dungeons and Dragons decides to delay its release.

However, the narrative does not conclude there. April Prime, an accomplished artist renowned for her contributions to numerous Dungeons and Dragons campaigns, crafted concept art depicting a variety of dinosaurs for incorporation in the upcoming publication. Subsequently, this artwork was passed on to Shkipin, who completed the final designs using artificial intelligence. While Prime expressed no qualms about another artist building upon her work to create the ultimate design, she expressed dissatisfaction with the utilization of AI in the process, reflecting her opposition to this novel technology.

While many Dungeons and Dragons enthusiasts appreciate the united front of Wizards of the Coast and Paizo against AI art, there is a group of dissatisfied individuals who question the response to this incident. They hold the belief that Shkipin should not be allowed to contribute to D&D artwork and are skeptical of WotC's claim that they were unaware of the use of AI. In response to the criticism, Shkipin has taken measures to protect himself by locking his Twitter account and deleting his ArtStation profile due to the harassment received. Wizards of the Coast is already dealing with the repercussions of the OGL controversy earlier this year, making this incident a further burden. If copies of the Bigby Presents: Glory of Giants release featuring Shkipin's AI art are indeed sold, the situation may worsen for WotC. Currently, Dungeons and Dragons is available to the public.

Source: D&D Beyond, Reddit/Elgryn