ITC 4. Convenience
Plus Prompted 3, fun with faces, Simogo and recommendations
Hello, friend! Welcome back to The Cave. It’s been almost two months since the last one. I was waiting for the right moment to send it. Good news: the next one will be a little bit different and it’s also ready, so you’ll receive it in one/two weeks. Let’s start!
→ Reflections
I already said everything I had to say about AI and my concept of art in general in this article. The arguments in favor of using generative tools have not changed much in recent months. But I am surprised by how some of them are still repeated without reflection.
One of these arguments is that there is no difference between how a human being learns and how an AI does. This is usually articulated in the following way:
“All artists copy, everyone learns from the work of others, ergo there really is no such thing as original creation. There is no difference between a human being learning from others and a system generating results using the work of others as a basis. If one thing is stealing, the other is too.”
In my opinion, assuming that the artistic expression of a human being is the mere regurgitation of previously acquired content is frankly limited. As if a person were an empty box into which things can be put in and taken out in a different order without much effect. As if there were no process inside each one of us and personal experiences and reflections did not serve to shape our own personal, unique expression.
Based on this, all originality would come from a primordial source, from which we have all been copying since the beginning of time. In any case, voluntarily or involuntarily you learn things from others. And apparently that is equivalent to having eeevery right to convert the result of an artistic process, a real cultural legacy of humanity, into easy (and free) fuel for exploiters.
How have people come to accept such a reductive view of ourselves? For those who use these arguments, further reflection is not necessary. Why? Because convenience is powerful. It's surprising what we are capable of defending out of convenience, regardless of the repercussions. This is also true in even more relevant contexts than this one, unfortunately for us.
But… there’s still hope:
Prompted Volume 3
Here we have Prompted Volume 3! Prompted is a magazine edited and published by Reedsy, featuring a selection of some of the best short stories from the Prompts community. And, once again, we based the cover illustration on one of the stories inside. In this case: Clearance Aisle Libations by Bay Colt.
It’s about Laurel, a woman coming from a family of necromancers who apparently didn’t inherit the family’s talent (her low-quality libations probably don’t help much when dealing with the spirits).
We liked the image of the MC accompanied by her very old, undead chauffeur going to a nocturne expedition to a graveyard, to reanimate a corpse (who had given its consent, it must be said). And who doesn’t want to draw modern necromancers and cool undead servants?
Sketches, pencils and colour roughs
Initial quick sketch (selected among other ideas), the final line work and a couple of colour tests, including a daylight version which contrasted nicely with Prompted’s usual dark blue cover background:
I preferred Lore’s dark leather jacket, but had to sacrifice it for a better contrast in the final selected version. And here’s the final result:
I’m afraid the interpretation of Bay Colt's characters has been extremely free, due to the lack of concrete descriptions, and probably very far from what the author had in mind. I hope Bay forgives us.
P.S.: Thanks, dear Laura, for all the work with the magazine.
P.S.2: If you want to know more about this new volume, you can register for free on next Thursday’s (June 6) Live Launch Event here.
Do you need more book cover inspiration?
Unexpected poll!
So now it’s your opportunity to vote for the Best Cover (Made in a Cave) of the Season. Here are the candidates:
Fun with Faces
Drawing faces is what I do when I want to draw and don't have any specific goal. They are fun, diverse, simple... but they can convey many things. For this free session I used certain characters from a certain video game from 2000, which brings back great memories for me:
This game hasn't aged too well for several reasons, but it's still undeniably epic and remains one of the best attempts to bring the IP on which it is based to this medium. Are you able to recognise them? If so, leave a comment and let’s share memories! If you can tell their names and who they are, and you’re the first one, you might get a little reward.
→ Sharing inspiration
Simogo: keeping things small and interesting
Swedish developer duo Simogo have always been an inspiration. After their small initial projects (KosmoSpin, Bumpy Road and Beat Sneak Bandit), all quite original and well adapted to the then flourishing scene of iOS applications and games, they created the very respected Year Walk and Device 6, two games that (probably) made them millionaires.
Far from growing their company and turning it into a huge studio, they continued to keep their structure to a minimum, enjoying a wide margin to develop interesting and unique projects without rushing. They developed small but beautiful experiences like The Sailor's Dream and, later, the much more ambitious Sayonara Wild Hearts.
I deeply respect their willingness to cover only what a small team of two people (and some temporary external help) can accomplish. Since this imposes logical limitations, the challenge is to be extremely intelligent when choosing their projects.
Their new work, Lorelei and The Laser Eyes was released just some days ago. I haven’t played it yet, but it looks cryptic, dark and fun, a formula that always worked well for them. This is my favourite teaser:
Sometimes I think they’re the rightful heirs to Tale of Tales, for their intriguing game concepts and their global artistic conception.
Have fun!
Try to find 6 differences between these 2 images we made at Reedsy. As usual, extra hard on mobile. Put your glasses on!
(You can also learn more about Redemption Arcs reading the post)
Recommendations
A game: Void Stranger
Can an indie 2D retro Sokoban-style game be a ‘life-changing’ experience? Apparently yes, for some people. Underneath a seemingly simple puzzle game, there is a rewarding and unexpected narrative layer that has deeply touched those players who have had the patience and will to delve into it.
Fascinating and full of little secrets and hidden lore. The Sokoban dynamic would already make it a very good game. But there’s so much in it…
Note for Mac users: I’ve been using CrossOver (when Porting Kit doesn’t emulate a specific game) for playing some PC games and it works very well.
A series: Samuel
French artist Émilie Tronche has created one of the freshest and most emotional series I have seen in years. Produced by French and Spanish TV channels, it‘s essentially the diary of an eleven-year old kid (ten in the original French version), with all his daily anecdotes and experiences.
Listening to Samuel narrate his adventures is like listening to your eleven-year-old son tell how his day went. It's been really fun to watch the series with a preteen. You can see in his face how he connects with every little bit of Samuel's life.
I take my hat off to the ability of an adult to connect in such a way with a stage of life that is so far behind. A beautiful reflection of all those worries that seem silly to the eyes of an adult, but that at some point represented the foundations of our maturity. Link for Spanish viewers.
A book: Anthologica
An ideal book for fans of the great Italian illustrator Emiliano Ponzi. Big format, big images, no context for them whatsoever. But I think that was the intention. To let the images speak for themselves. Almost like a catalog for an art exhibition.
Emiliano’s use of light, colour and composition is delightful. Always with the perfectly finished image. Not too refined, not too rough. Beauty.
An album: Inner Life Dilemma by Rzekomo
Recommended by my dear friend Jose Lomo. And I recommend it to you, because I know you need soft, nuanced electronic music to work in your own cave at night 🦇
A song: Drive by Beacon
What did you say? That you are not going to work today and instead you will drive at cruising speed along wide, lonely roads, with the sun peacefully setting, its light illuminating enormous clouds stretching beyond the horizon, and warm Spring air caressing your skin? Okay, in that case you need this other song.
Thank you for reading In the Cave. The cave I work at daily and, also, that mental state you enter when you are hyper-focused and closed to the outside world. Currently, I’m using SM just to promote this newsletter or send memes to friends. Nothing else. So if you like this newsletter, please share it and recommend it. You can also find me in my website or Dribbble.
See you (very) soon!
I love your newsletters! Great reflections and recommendations! The four faces... well, you know that I know perfectly well who are they, but I think that I'm going to wait until someone gives you a response. Anyway, if you want to give me a reward, you know it will be so welcome!😁 💃
It has been worth every minute of waiting. This newsletter has SO moved me, and has allowed me to discover your excellent article about the impact of AI in art. Thanks a lot.