Abstract

In the reassessment of early twenty-first-century art, 2022 emerges as pivotal, marking the advent of the creative artificial intelligence (AI) era. Innovations like ChatGPT and Stable Diffusion disrupted artistic norms, igniting debates on AI Art prohibition and fostering a non-fungible tokens (NFTs) market. Despite fears of the “extinction of the artist,” historical precedents show artists adapting to new technologies, suggesting an evolution rather than a diminution of the artist's role, paralleled by an evolving definition of art. This study examines the impact of AI-generated art on traditional art creation, focusing on its integration in a digital art class dedicated to fine art production. It posits AI as a novel, iterative tool for creative problem-solving in the visual arts. The methodology involves a case study in a digital art class of ten students, who employed the Craiyon art generator for inspiration, akin to traditional sketchbooking, and refined their concepts in Adobe Photoshop. The results demonstrate AI's diverse applications in art education. Students varied in their use of AI, from almost complete AI-generated works to using AI-created layers as a basis for further development or inspiration for original concepts. This study highlights AI’s multifaceted role in enhancing artistic creativity and informs its future integration in art education and practice.