Saw a huge jump in portfolio quality after I stopped using AI for my backgrounds

About 3 months ago I decided to go back to hand drawing all my environmental stuff instead of letting Midjourney generate the scenery. The difference was night and day after about 6 pieces. My characters started looking like they actually belonged in the scene instead of floating on top. Anyone else notice that AI backgrounds make the whole piece look flat?

3 comments

3 Comments

milestaylor1mo ago

Totally felt that, my whole portfolio looked soulless before I dropped the AI backgrounds.

julia_miller241mo ago

I mean, idk if I'd say AI backgrounds make everything soulless, but I think @milestaylor has a point about how they can feel off if you're not careful. Like, the lighting and shadows never quite match the subject unless you tweak them a ton. Maybe it's just me but I've seen some portfolios where the AI backgrounds actually worked fine, just depends on the style you're going for.

dylan_bell1mo ago

Fix that mismatch by matching your shadows to where the light comes from - it makes all the difference.