I spent some time playing with ChatGPT Astra and the Computer Use plugin this weekend. For this experiment, I asked ChatGPT to use a photograph of my dog as a reference to draw a light pencil sketch directly in Adobe Fresco right on my desktop. I requested that it try to avoid moving windows while I recorded the process (It still resized windows). I also asked it not to save the file automatically and not to generate an image in the chat (which it did the first time I tried this).
ChatGPT inspected the photo and the Fresco canvas, asking permission to access both before proceeding. It then used a pencil brush and the mouse to draw the strokes. It produced a basic outline of the dog with simple details and adjusted the pencil size for some details.
I think the result is technically impressive for an AI assistant, but my former art teachers would probably be very disappointed with the drawing itself. It’s not a very skillful rendition. However, the experiment demonstrated that an AI assistant can operate drawing software, though it still needs much more practice with fine motor control and technical detail.
I should also note that, to save my token allowance, I used Astra Light. The results may improve with a higher thinking mode.
At any rate, this should make the discussion of AI use in the art world much more interesting…