The Impact of AI Painting on Traditional Painting

Tingxuan Zhao

Boustead College, Tianjin University of Commerce, Tianjin, 300380, China

Keywords: Aesthetics, AI Painting, Traditional Painting, Painting Techniques.

Abstract: This article discusses the challenges that traditional painting faces in terms of market share and creative

methods in the era of rapid development of Artificial intelligence (AI) painting technology. Reviewing the

development history of AI painting and the style changes and technological progress of traditional painting at

different times emphasizes the necessity and importance of conducting this research. In the current era, AI

painting includes many fields, and it brings a host of business opportunities, so this article explains why the

problem of AI painting is worth studying and the impact of the research results by analyzing the definition,

use, working principle, and advantages and disadvantages of AI painting. The main part of the article will

analyze the issue from three aspects: the creative efficiency of AI painting, the expansion of creativity, and

the inspiration of creativity, fully demonstrating that AI painting has exerted a powerful impact on traditional

painting and explaining why this project needs further in-depth research to help traditional painters cope with

the challenges and promote innovative development in the art field, and also provide a basis for relevant

policy formulation and industry regulation.

1 INTRODUCTION

In the past few decades, the rapid development of

Artificial intelligence (AI) intelligent technology has

had a profound impact on various fields. In recent

years, the rapid development of Al, especially "Deep

Learning ," has reshaped many fields of research. Not

only the natural sciences and engineering have been

changed in new ways (Kelleher, 2019). However AI

also has had a deep impact on the development of

social sciences and humanities. Among others, the

application of deep learning in art is of interest (Hung

et.al, 2020). Art has been widely considered as one of

the most humanized areas，

Traditional painting can showcase more unique

and personalized expressive power, and artists can

use various painting techniques and materials to

create rich and diverse artistic effects. Secondly,

traditional painting usually has higher artistic value

compared to AI painting because it is a unique

artwork with historical and cultural value and high

collection value, especially those works created by

famous artists. These works not only have artistic

value but also historical and cultural value, so they

can become objects of pursuit for collectors.

Compared to traditional painting, AI painting has

given new life to art. It can break through the

limitations of human imagination and nature, create

unprecedented visual images and artistic styles, and

provide artists with opportunities to create more

innovative works, such as generating new works and

adding new elements and styles to traditional artistic

expressions. AI painting has also made art more

democratic, expanding the channels and scale of

artistic creation, and giving more people the

opportunity to participate in artistic creation. In

specific fields such as film, gaming, advertising, etc.,

AI painting can be used to quickly generate scene

concept maps, character designs, etc., saving a lot of

time and costs. Although AI painting still has some

limitations at present, its application prospects are

still broad. In the future, it is expected to become

more mature and popular based on continuous

technological progress and algorithm optimization.

This article aims to introduce and analyze the

impact of AI painting on traditional painting. By

listing the contributions and changes that AI has made

in the field of art since its inception, as well as the

achievements and significant breakthroughs that AI

painting has made in large-scale art exhibitions or

important events in recent years, it proves the impact

of AI painting on traditional painting. To prove this

argument, this article will be divided into five parts:

the first part will discuss the birth and origin of AI

596

Zhao, T.

The Impact of AI Painting on Traditional Painting.

DOI: 10.5220/0013271200004568

In Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on E-commerce and Artiﬁcial Intelligence (ECAI 2024), pages 596-600

ISBN: 978-989-758-726-9

painting; The second part will discuss the significant

achievements of AI painting from multiple aspects,

including creative efficiency, creative expansion,

assisted creation, and artistic exploration. This article

will list the changes and breakthroughs of AI painting

in the historical process; In the third part, the author

will compare AI painting with traditional painting in

the same field, so that readers can more clearly feel

the impact of AI painting; The last two parts are

suggestions and conclusions for the field of AI

painting, telling readers how to use AI painting more

quickly, reasonably, and efficiently.

2 OVERVIEW OF AI PAINTING

Kurzweil (Kurzweil, 2005) predicts the imminent

arrival of the AI era in his famous book named The

Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend

Biology. At the time of the book's publication, AI was

limited to the laboratories of a small number of

research institutions, but following the widespread

application of such AI technologies as AlphaGo to a

variety of fields (Wang et.al, 2016) AI research and

applications began to rapidly expand and in recent

years developments in visual technology have made

it possible to analyze paintings by using complex

algorithms (Stork & Coddington, 2008, Stork et.al,

2010) that extend the knowledge and capabilities of

artists, scholars, and curators (Hinton &

Salakhutdinov, 2006). AI refers to the intelligence

exhibited by systems manufactured by humans. The

field of AI has evolved from a small starting point to

a globally influential domain, and over time, the

definition of artificial intelligence has changed.

Experts in this field joke that artificial intelligence is

everything that computers currently cannot do.

Although it may seem humorous on the surface, some

people believe that developing intelligent computers

and robots means creating things that do not yet exist

today. Artificial intelligence is a moving goal, and

even the definition of artificial intelligence itself is

constantly changing (Sun et.al, 2022).

AI can simulate human thinking and behaviour by

learning large amounts of data and performing tasks

such as problem-solving, decision-making, language

understanding and generation, image recognition, etc.

It has learning ability, adaptability, and efficiency. AI

has advantages such as efficiency, accuracy, and

intelligent learning. At present, AI has been widely

applied in various fields such as healthcare, finance,

transportation, education, entertainment, etc.,

bringing many conveniences and innovations to

people's lives and work.

AI painting refers to the method of using artificial

intelligence technology to create artwork. It learns

from a large amount of image data to understand

different painting styles, color combinations,

compositions, and other elements and then generates

new painting works based on user input instructions

or specific themes.

The working principle of AI painting is divided

into three parts: data collection and training,

generation process, and optimization and

adjustment：

Firstly, the AI painting system will collect a large

number of painting works as training data. These data

cover paintings of various styles, themes, and artistic

periods. Then, deep learning algorithms such as

convolutional neural networks are used to train these

data. During the training process, the model learns

features in the image, such as lines, colors, shapes,

textures, and their relationships.

Secondly, when the user provides an instruction

or theme, the AI painting system will convert it into a

series of digital signals or feature vectors. Then the

model will generate a new painting based on these

input features, combined with the previously learned

painting knowledge. This process typically involves

random generation and optimization to ensure that the

generated works have diversity and innovation.

Finally, users can evaluate and provide feedback

on the generated work, and the system will adjust the

model parameters based on this feedback to improve

the quality of the generated work.

In short, AI painting is an innovative method of

using artificial intelligence technology to create

artwork. It can generate highly artistic and innovative

paintings by learning and optimizing a large amount

of image data.

3 ACHIEVEMENT

3.1 Creative Efficiency

AI painting has high creative efficiency, firstly in

terms of rapid generation: the creation time is short,

and compared with traditional painting methods, AI

painting can generate a work in a very short time.

Usually, it only takes a few seconds to a few minutes,

while traditional painting may take hours or even

days. Secondly, AI painting tools can process

multiple requests simultaneously and quickly

generate a large number of paintings with different

styles and themes. This is very advantageous for

projects that require a large amount of images, such

as game development, advertising design, etc. AI

The Impact of AI Painting on Traditional Painting

597

painting not only has advantages in generation speed

but also provides great convenience in terms of

creative threshold. Firstly, AI painting does not

require manual skills, greatly lowering the threshold.

Traditional painting requires certain painting skills

and experience, while AI painting does not. Anyone

can generate artwork with simple commands or inputs,

even without a foundation in painting. Due to not

requiring a significant amount of time in painting

techniques, creators can focus more on expressing

their creativity and concepts. They can quickly

explore various creative possibilities by constantly

trying different instructions and parameters. The third

aspect is fast iterative optimization, where AI can

provide immediate feedback. During the creative

process, creators can immediately see the results

generated by AI and make adjustments and

optimizations as needed. This instant feedback makes

the creative process more efficient and allows for

quick iteration to produce satisfactory work. In

addition, AI painting also has an automated

adjustment function. AI painting tools can

automatically adjust color, composition, details, and

other aspects to improve the quality of the work.

Creators can achieve different effects through simple

parameter adjustments without the need for tedious

manual modifications.

Overall, the creative efficiency of AI painting is

much higher than that of traditional painting methods.

It can quickly generate a large number of high-quality

paintings, providing creators with more creative

space and time. However, AI painting cannot

completely replace traditional painting, as traditional

painting has unique artistic value and handmade

charm. In the future, AI painting and traditional

painting may merge to jointly promote the

development of artistic creation.

3.2 Creative Expansion

AI painting has great potential for creative expansion.

Firstly, it can achieve style fusion and innovation,

mixing multiple styles to create a completely new

visual effect. For example, combining Impressionist

colors with realistic details, or blending Eastern ink

painting styles with Western oil painting styles.

Secondly, it can also draw inspiration from cross

disciplinary styles in other fields such as architectural

design, fashion design, film special effects, etc.

Introduce the stylistic characteristics of these fields

into painting and expand the creative boundaries of

painting. In terms of theme expansion, AI painting

can easily create fantastic creatures, mysterious

scenes, and future technological worlds. By

combining and transforming various imaginative

elements, it provides creators with unlimited space

for theme expansion. At the same time, it can also

help creators explore abstract and conceptual themes

more deeply. By randomly generating and combining

colors, shapes, and textures, express complex

emotions, ideas, and concepts. When it comes to

personalized creation, AI painting is no less

impressive: AI painting can generate personalized

artwork based on specific requirements provided by

users, such as color preferences, theme keywords,

style preferences, etc. This enables everyone to

become an artist and achieve their unique creative

expression. AI painting can also be used for

interactive creation: some AI painting tools provide

interactive creation interfaces, where users can

interact with AI in real-time by adjusting parameters,

adding elements, and other methods to jointly

complete painting works. This interactive creative

approach increases the fun and sense of participation

in the creation.

AI painting provides powerful tools and platforms

for creative expansion. It can not only help

professional artists break through traditional creative

limitations but also allow ordinary users to easily

participate in artistic creation and unleash their

creativity.

3.3 Assisted Creation

In terms of inspiration, AI painting tools can

randomly generate images of various styles and

themes, providing creators with unexpected

inspiration. Creators can discover new ideas,

compositions, or color combinations from these

randomly generated images, thereby inspiring their

creative inspiration; AI can analyze the

characteristics of different art styles and provide

suggestions for style fusion. For example, combining

the colors of Impressionism with the composition of

Cubism, or integrating the traditional Chinese ink

painting style with modern abstract art style. These

suggestions can help creators break through

traditional creative ideas and try new forms of artistic

expression.

In terms of composition assistance, AI can

automatically generate reasonable composition plans

based on user input themes and style requirements,

and provide composition adjustment suggestions

during the creative process. These composition

schemes can serve as references to help creators

better organize visual elements and enhance the

visual effect of their works. During the creative

process, AI can analyze the composition of the image

ECAI 2024 - International Conference on E-commerce and Artiﬁcial Intelligence

598

and provide adjustment suggestions. For example,

indicate whether the distribution of elements in the

picture is balanced and whether the subject is

prominent, and provide corresponding adjustment

plans.

In terms of color selection, AI can recommend

suitable color matching schemes based on different

themes and styles. These schemes can help creators

quickly determine the color tone of their works, and

improve color coordination and expressiveness.

During the creative process, AI can analyze the color

distribution of the image and provide adjustment

suggestions. For example, indicate whether the

contrast of colors in the picture is appropriate,

whether the colors are too bright or dim, and provide

corresponding adjustment plans.

AI can also automatically optimize details,

increase details and textures, and enhance the realism

and artistic sense of the work. For example, when

drawing portraits of people, AI can automatically add

skin textures, hair details, and so on. During the

creative process, AI can analyze the details of the

image and provide adjustment suggestions. For

example, indicate whether the details of an object in

the picture are rich enough, whether more textures

need to be added, and provide corresponding

adjustment plans.

AI painting has great advantages in assisting

creativity, providing creators with support in areas

such as inspiration, composition assistance, color

selection, detail optimization, and rapid iteration.

With the continuous development of AI technology,

it is believed that its role in artistic creation will

become increasingly significant.

AI painting has brought a new exploration path to

the field of art. It breaks through the boundaries of

traditional art and innovates in style, integrating

different artistic styles to create unprecedented novel

styles. It can combine the delicacy of classical

painting with the boldness of modern abstract art, or

blend the charm of Eastern art with the realism of

Western art, breaking the boundaries of style in

traditional art. AI painting is not limited by the real

world and can create fantasy creatures, surreal scenes,

and future worlds. This enables artists to explore

broader and more imaginative subject areas,

expanding the possibilities of artistic expression (Sun

et.al, 2022).

In short, AI painting has brought new

opportunities and challenges to the art field,

promoting innovation and development in art. In the

future, with the continuous advancement of AI

technology, we can expect more exciting AI paintings

and artistic explorations.

4 SUGGESTIONS

The emergence of AI painting has sparked

discussions about creativity. Some people believe that

AI is only imitating and combining existing works of

art, lacking true creativity; Others believe that AI can

create unique works of art with its creativity. In

addition, a piece of art establishes a kind of resonance

between the artist and viewer and a successful piece

of Al art needs to retain the elements that produce this

resonance. Thus, in determining the key differences

between Al art and amateur art, it is necessary to

identify the factors that affect the viewer's inner

feelings and to compare AI art with amateur art (Sun

et.al, 2022). This discussion prompts people to

rethink the essence and source of creativity in artistic

creation, and AI painting also prompts people to

consider the relationship between art and humanity.

With the continuous development of AI technology,

will artistic creation be replaced by AI? What role

will human artists play in the AI era? These issues

have raised concerns and thoughts about the future of

art among people.

AI painting can serve as an educational tool to

cultivate students' innovative thinking and creativity.

Students can interact with AI painting tools to explore

different art styles and themes, stimulating their

imagination and creativity. At the same time, AI

painting involves multiple disciplines such as

computer science, mathematics, and art, providing

students with opportunities for interdisciplinary

learning. By learning AI painting, students can

understand the connections and integration between

different disciplines, and cultivate comprehensive

literacy and interdisciplinary abilities.

At present, there is no clear legal regulation on the

mainly because their creative process involves

complex technology and multiple factors. On the one

hand, AI developers have invested a lot of technology

and resources in research and development and may

claim certain rights to the generated works. On the

other hand, users may also make creative

contributions during the process of inputting

commands and may consider themselves entitled to

provisions, copyright disputes may be difficult to

resolve, affecting the art creation market and other

issues. At the same time, AI may unconsciously

integrate different cultural elements when generating

artworks. If this integration is not properly

understood and authorized, it may constitute cultural

appropriation, causing dissatisfaction and

controversy among the nation, leading to cultural

The Impact of AI Painting on Traditional Painting

599

misunderstandings and distortions, destroying

cultural diversity and uniqueness, and hindering

artistic innovation and market development.

In addition, AI learns through a large amount of

data, and the generated works may have similarities

with existing works. Although this similarity may not

necessarily be intentional plagiarism, it can also

easily spark controversy. For example, if an AI-

generated painting has a style that is extremely

similar to a well-known artist's work, it may be

accused of plagiarism. Plagiarism controversies may

harm the rights of the original artist, reduce the

enthusiasm for artistic creation, and also affect the

public's trust in the artwork.

5 CONCLUSIONS

This article starts with the definition, purpose,

working principle, and advantages and disadvantages

of AI painting, comprehensively introduces and

explains the development process of AI from its birth

to the future, and demonstrates the impact of AI

painting on traditional painting from multiple aspects.

For example, AI painting promotes the devaluation of

technical skills and changes in creative thinking,

greatly increasing the supply of painting works on the

market, affecting people's aesthetic experience of art,

promoting the reform of the education system,

cultivating people's innovative thinking and

comprehensive abilities, changing the supply and

demand relationship in the market, leading to a

change in the way and concept of traditional painting

creation. At the same time, in a relatively stable

demand situation, the market share of traditional

painting works may be squeezed, and their market

value will also be affected.

For the suggestion of AI painting, the author believes

that it is particularly important to be familiar with

tools and algorithms, explore multiple styles and

themes, enhance creative ability, cultivate individual

aesthetic ability, and use semantic recognition to

improve the creativity of artificial intelligence, and at

the same time, establish industry standards, clarify the

establish a sound intellectual property protection

system, and provide a good legal environment for the

development of AI painting.

REFERENCES

Jorn D. Kelleher, "Deep Learning," MIT Press (2019).

Cong Hung, Mai ...[et all. Developing Japanese Ikebana as

a Digital Painting Tool via Al. Entertainment

Computing - ICEC 2020 2020: 297-307

Kurzweil, R. The Singularity Is Near: When Humans

Transcend Biology; Viking Press: New York, NY,

USA, 2005.

Wang, F.Y.; Zhang, J.J.; Zheng, X.; Wang, X.; Yuan, 1.;

Dai, X.; Yang, L. Where does AlphaGo go: From

church-turing thesis to AlphaGo thesis and beyond.

IEEE CAA I. Autom. Sin. 2016.3.113-120.

Stork, D.G.; Coddington, J. (Eds.) Computer Image

Analysis in the Study of Art; SPIE/IS&T: Bellingham,

WA, USA, 2008.

Stork, D.G.; Coddington, J.; Bentkowska-Kafel, A. (Eds.)

Computer Vision and Image Analysis of Art;

SPIE/IS&T: Bellingham, WA, USA, 2010.

Hinton, G.E.; Salakhutdinov, R.R. Reducing the

dimensionality of data with neural networks. Science

2006, 313, 504-507

Sun, Y.; Yang, C.-H.; Lyu, Y.; Lin, R. From Pigments to

Pixels: A Comparison of Human and AI Painting.

Appl. Sci. 2022, 12, 3724.

ECAI 2024 - International Conference on E-commerce and Artiﬁcial Intelligence

600