Wizards of the Coast Grapples With Growing AI Distrust

Despite well-documented artist guidelines that prohibit the use of generative AI, Wizards of the Coast had to reiterate its stance on the use of AI in creating artwork for their games this week due to multiple fan-started controversies. The maker of Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering repeated that its artist guidelines specifically prohibit the use of generative AI on multiple platforms this week, following social media commentary accusing the company of either using AI in promotional artwork or planning to use AI in the future as indicated by recent job postings. The accusations, while without merit, represent the growing level of preemptive distrust faced by many companies who utilize creatives, especially one that recently went through significant layoffs. 

On Monday, Taron "Indestructoboy" Pounds posted a video in which he pointed to alleged inconsistencies in a recent piece of art showcased by the Dungeons & Dragons design team that will appear in the 2024 Player's Handbook. The piece depicted a Dwarf Fighter with a raised shield and drawn sword. While the piece featured none of the hallmarks of AI artwork, such as disproportionate or misaligned limbs, blurred text, architecturally impossible structures, or poor composition, Pounds pointed to what he felt were several inconsistencies within the artwork and used an AI art checker to claim that the work was AI-generated. 

In reality, the work was made by Néstor Ossandón, an established Magic: The Gathering and fantasy artist who was also part of the #NoAI movement.

"First of all, I do not use artificial intelligence (NOT AI) for my work and no one but you and my director have asked me." Ossandón said in an email to ComicBook.com when asked about Pound's video. "And that image is completely painted. It is one of my favorite recent jobs that I have been able to do. And if you see other old works, you can see that my tendency is very similar when it comes to painting. I always play with warm and cold ones on my face. Thanks to the work together with the art director. They give me the freedom and appropriate time to develop it. This character is completely painted from scratch with a gray and superimposed color technique. Then I paint the cold tones to give atmosphere and light. It took me more than two weeks and my director was very happy with this work." 

Ossandón also shared several "work in progress" pieces of the artwork, showing the art's progression from sketch to final form. 

After Ossandón's statement and WIP images were posted online, Pounds posted apologies on both YouTube and social media and delisted the original video at the artist's request. However, the artwork controversy wasn't the only AI issue Wizards of the Coast was dealing with. As the legitimacy of Ossandón's artwork was being debated online, Twitter user "Girldrawsghosts" posted a now expired job listing for a "Digital Artist MTG" with job responsibilities that included "retouching" existing artwork and adjust visual elements "due to legal and art direction requirements." 

While those responsibilities are normal in a field that often either crops or extend artwork to fit within the margins of a Magic: The Gathering card, "Girldrawsghosts" claimed in a thread that had over 24,000 likes, that the posting pointed to Wizards of the Coast planning to use AI artwork. "If you don't have artists, whose artwork are you touching up?" Girldrawsghosts wrote on Twitter, referencing the recent layoffs of several art directors. Several industry artists, including Jason Rainville, pointed out that this was standard industry procedure for art in general, and that it didn't indicate a willingness to work with AI. Rainsville noted that his Aragorn artwork for a recent Magic: The Gathering set was extended upwards by a "dedicated in house toucher-upper" that would have a similar position to the one noted in the job posting. 

Both incidents seemed to predicate Wizards of the Coast reiterating their statements on AI usage. Wizards of the Coast posted a message about AI on D&D Beyond.

"For 50 years, D&D has been built on the innovation, ingenuity, and hard work of talented people who sculpt a beautiful, creative game. That isn't changing. Our internal guidelines remain the same with regards to artificial intelligence tools: We require artists, writers, and creatives contributing to the D&D TTRPG to refrain from using AI generative tools to create final D&D products. We work with some of the most talented artists and creatives in the world, and we believe those people are what makes D&D great." A similar statement was posted to Daily MTG. 

The recent controversies showcase not only the fraught landscape that AI has caused in creative fields, but also how even the potential for AI ferments mistrust. Wizards of the Coast has a practical reason to not use AI artwork – AI artwork can't be copyrighted and Wizards of the Coast makes a significant amount of money licensing artwork used in their games. And Wizards of the Coast moved quickly when they discovered that AI was used to touch up several pieces created by an artist for use in a Dungeons & Dragons rulebook, with all the pieces replaced on D&D Beyond and future printings of the book. However, a series of controversies centered around Wizards of the Coast this year combined with the ongoing Wall Street-driven fixation on AI use in businesses of every stripe has made even possibility of AI use a non-starter for many fans.