Will AI supplant vector illustrators?

[VERA777]

Recently, the question has been of great concern: will vector illustrators be in demand in the future? On many stocker forums they say that artificial intelligence will soon replace illustrators - they will no longer be needed and will lose their jobs. I want to know the opinions of people who understand this! Will Adobe Stock and other sites need illustrators in the future? Will it be possible to make money from vector illustration as before? Thanks in advance for all answers!

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[daniellei4510 · Accepted solution]

The simple answer is no, it will not replace vector illustrators. Anymore than it will eventually replace photographers and models. Generated AI is still far away from being able to generate or understand SPECIFIC instructions within a given prompt. It picks and chooses, accepts and ignores whatever it wants. And even more often, adds what one didn't ask for. If the comes when that no longer holds true, it is still a long ways off.

That said, will it make finding work more difficult? Possibly. Will it save people in need of AI generated images money? Doubtful. Will people just use it themselves and eliminate the middle man? At times. We'll just have to see how things play out.

[VERA777]

Thank you for your reply! I'm excited because I like to draw vector illustrations and sell them on stocks. I just recently got into this, and I look forward to long-term cooperation with stocks. I would hate to lose this job because of the rise of AI!

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[Abambo]

Illustrations will be needed, probably the same as before. And generative AI will complement, but not replace illustrations or photographs.

Who will make the most money in the future? Difficult to say. The industry is in constant change mode. What was needed before is no more now. What is needed now, will no more tomorrow.

It may be a good moment to learn, how generative AI works, how to create, but it will always be an advantage to know how to illustrate “manually”.

[Nancy OShea]

Relax.  When Photoshop came out in the early 90s, graphic designers feared for their jobs.  Flash forward to today and graphic designers have not been replaced.  But most of them use Photoshop.

Artificial Intelligence is merely a tool like a paintbrush or pen. Tools don't make great art, people do.  AI is only as good or bad as the person using it.  In the right hands, AI can help speed up production but it will never replace artists.

[Jill_C]

I agree, Nancy. We will evolve to adapt and adopt the tools available. I worked closely with our Graphics Design Department during my years as a Product Manager in the pre-Photoshop and pre-Illustrator age (last century) to design brochures and ads. Everything was hand drawn and laid out with precision with actual handheld tools! Every one of those designers adopted each new automation tools eagerly! None of them whined about possibly losing their jobs...

[VERA777]

Thank you to everyone who responded and commented on my post! It was nice to read comments that encouraged an optimistic perception of the situation with AI. I’ve only recently taken up illustration, but I’ve already fallen in love with this work) That’s why I’d like to do it for many more years!