Hi there,
As I plan to post this reply only once and just copy-paste it for future issues as well, I'll make it a detailed one.
I appreciate the concern, but this is a pretty standard hybrid workflow we are using. I take my own photos, run them through AI only to get a clean sketch. Our human artist, KardonMax, creates the final artwork. No styles are copied, no artists are replaced, and no copyrighted work is used. Tracing the photo or using 3D blockouts would achieve the same result. This method simply saves us time while staying ethical with the use of AI.
As a comparison, fire is bad if you set your neighbor's house ablaze, but it's great if you cook your own meal with it. The intent behind the use of it is what matters. At least to us it is.
AI art generation and our workflow are not the same thing. This is a time-saving step, nothing more. And for context: Lightroom, Photoshop, Clip Studio Paint, Procreate, and most modern tools already include AI-assisted features like content-aware fill, auto-correction, predictive strokes, smart masking, snapping grids, etc. Should artists avoid Photoshop because it has automated features?
We’re transparent about our process because we’re confident in it. If the existence of a sketching shortcut is enough to make you drop an entire story, then this probably isn’t the right project for you. And that’s perfectly fine. There are a lot of other FVNs you can choose from on here. I can personally recommend anything that EchoProject does. Howly's work is part of the reason why I write visual novels now, so I only have respect for his studio.
Thanks for your comment, and all the best to you.
-Hadrian Maximus