How to Beat AI and Catch the Client’s Eye
Published on 14/04/2025
- Illustration by Camipepe
By: Edward Burns, CEO, ITSme
As AI art tools become more sophisticated, it becomes more important to emphasize our value and status as authentic human artists. Crafting a great bio and portfolio is an excellent way to make an immediate impact. They should allow the client to get to know you in a matter of seconds, and to instantly see your talent and unique value. Here are some tips on creating AI-beating folios and bios.
Folios
For an AI-beating portfolio, focus on the human aspects of your art, and the things that make it unique, imperfect, personal:
Imbue your characters with empathy and human touches. Small details that betray real emotion will resonate on a level AI can’t reach.
Invoke strong emotion, too! Love, hate, sadness, and more complex and intense emotions: exuberance, despair, suspicion, deviousness… AI tends to be static and struggles to get across real emotion.
Lean into the hand-drawn aesthetic and avoid going too photoreal. We’ve seen backlash in some industries on hyper-realistic media. Trends are moving towards authentic, individual, idiosyncratic styles.
Add humour. A small off-scene detail that makes the viewer smile will go a long way.
Emphasize interaction between your characters. We are social people, we understand social cues. Interactions tell the story in ways AI can’t understand.
Where it’s appropriate, make it topical. Dress your characters in modern clothes, put them in contemporary settings. Keep one eye on trends and apply them in your art.
Don’t be afraid to share your process. People like to see character studies, colour roughs, and finishing touches. It all shows how you’re engaging with the project.
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