Not A.I.: 54 Artists Show Their Process

An insightful, contemplative, and humane rejoinder to the bogus “creativity” of A.I.: 54 cartoonists and illustrators show and tell how they execute their unique creative vision — from conception to execution of a single complex image—copiously illustrating the various stages from early sketches to fully rendered completion, and all the decisions their human brains had to make along the way. In Not A.I., 54 of the most acclaimed contemporary narrative artists in the world strike a blow for the continued respect for human imagination and skill in the creation of visual storytelling. Each of the artists narrates how he or she thinks through and executes the various incremental stages to completing a graphic vision that begins with an idea in their heads to completion—accompanied by images that serve as a graphic roadmap of their creative process. They describe in clear and accessible and passionate prose their thinking behind the necessary preparation, sketches, corrections, false starts and serendipitous revelations that happen along the way that comprise the patient process of building a story in pictures. For educators who are increasingly pressured to succumb to their students’ temptations to use A.I. as a time-saving creative shortcut to creative fulfillment, Not A.I. serves as an eloquent and inspiring antidote. It is a tribute to the intense process and incisive decision-making behind creating a work of genuine artistic accomplishment—as well as a thoughtful rebuke to the soulless, algorithmic creative “product” that A.I. vomits up on order. Contributing artists include Nora Krug, Peter Kuper, Anita Kunz, John Cuneo, Barry Blitt, Ann Telnaes, and Eric Drooker, among many others. It is edited and includes an introductory essay by the award-winning political cartoonist and caricaturist Steve Brodner.