Tolkien Book Cover Made With AI Excites Illustrators, Publisher Defends It: ‘I See Fear’

Last Tuesday, the publisher cARTEm announced on its official Instagram profile the cover of its new book Tolkien’s Legendarium: HeroesThe announcement immediately caused a sensation on social networks due to the care taken in its preparation. The cover and the rest of the illustrations of the book are made using artificial intelligence, a tool that undermines the work of illustrators and other professionals in the sector.

Immediately and seeing the response of users on the networks, Pedro Iribarnegaray, one of the owners of cARTEm, published a statement to make known his explanations and position regarding the use of this tool in the world of publishing. As he maintains in this letter, “generative AI does not fly”, since its illustrations do not resemble any of those that already exist, “there is none comparable”.

He claims that AI “creates based on the billions of images it has seen” and does so “at a speed and scale that generates fear.” “And that’s what I see here: fear. Something very human that inkers and colorists already felt in the late 90s, when digital inking began (…) Those who have been able to adapt to change are still here, and they work with us on our comics and books,” Iribarnegaray argues in the statement. An explanation that attributes the use of AI to a natural evolution of technology and society to which we should “adapt.”

The beginning of this project, as expressed by its publisher, is due to the lack of depth in the characters of Tolkien’s world, which they would address in this new book. That is why they decided “to use everything that current technology allows us, pressed by people who know very well what they are doing,” he emphasizes. The full use of artificial intelligence tools is confirmed by the fact that the person responsible for the design and illustrations of the book is Carlos del Corral, who is not an illustrator, but rather a director and professor of AI at an academy.

The statement issued, in defense of the criticism raised following the announcement of his latest book, also includes the position taken by the publisher towards these tools. “Generative AI is here to stay. Adapt it, learn it, use it, exploit it and give it your touch (…). I understand your fear and your concern and I wish you good luck, from the bottom of my heart, but the box is already open and it is not going to be closed,” the letter concludes.

Industry complaints

Once the publisher’s explanations were published, the commotion on the networks became even greater. Readers, illustrators and other professionals in the sector clearly positioned themselves against this position. In fact, David Rubín, an illustrator who collaborated with the publisher, explained on social networks his decision to break off professional relations with them. “I have just canceled a collaboration with the publisher cARTEm after reading the explanatory letter that they made public in which they defend, in an insulting and misinformed way, the use of generative AI,” he explains.

The illustrator also shared the email he sent to the publisher in which he explains the reasons for the breakup. “As you can imagine, I am against the use of AI, which I firmly believe goes against my profession and impoverishes the editorial offer,” Rubín says. “I consider it unacceptable that you are committed to producing and publishing a book entirely illustrated using generative AI, and I consider the published statement a real insult to my entire profession (…). My ethics do not allow me to collaborate with a company, cARTEm, which contributes to further aggravating the situation that my profession is currently going through,” Rubín concludes.

A contractual breach that adds to the dozens of criticisms and claims circulating on social networks around a decision and some comments that endanger the profession of thousands of illustrators in Spain.