Implementation of AI tools in 3D game art

Sammanfattning: AI in art saw a huge spike in popularity with text-to-image models like Midjourney and Stable Diffusion. The AI aids in creation of 2D art and is at times able to save massive amounts of time. Creation of 3D assets is an incredibly time consuming task but the field is currently lacking in research pertaining to artificial intelligence. The goal of this study was to produce an AI-aided workflow that would be compared to a standard workflow of 3D art students. Participants were given one hour per workflow to produce game-ready sci-fi chair assets, one with their standard workflow and one with the study’s AI workflow where the AI tools supplemented or replaced parts of their regular workflow. They began with concepting and researching, moved onto modeling, sorted out the model’s UVs and finally textured the asset. Data taken from semi-structured interviews post-experiment was analyzed with thematic analysis to produce a vivid picture of their thoughts on the experience. The tools proved to be lackluster in both quality and user experience. It seems the tool that was most probable to see use in the future was a TTI tool for concepting. However, almost all tools – and the ideas behind the tools used showed great potential if developed further. The concept of AI in art was met with mixed emotions, excitement over the potential of improvements it might provide, and a small fear over the threat of being replaced. Considering how fast AI has developed in recent years, there is no doubt that further research on the topic is important. Even as the study was being conducted, new tools were being developed and released which could have found a way into the study or could prove useful for the next one.