Arcane studio lead denounces “soulless and deeply disrespectful” AI-generated fanart: "If you truly want to pay homage to the show, don’t be afraid to pick up a pencil"

(Image credit: Netflix)

A former Arcane production assistant is fighting back against AI by calling out a fan-made video that rips off the hit Netflix series.

"The result feels soulless and deeply disrespectful to our artists who worked incredibly hard on Arcane," said Kammelin on Twitter in response to a new AI-generated video ripped off from Arcane season 2, showing characters Jinx and Ekko fighting Vander.

The artist continued: "If you truly want to pay homage to the show, don’t be afraid to pick up a pencil or open a 3D software and create something from scratch, even if it isn’t professional." Kammelin worked on Arcane season 2 as a production assistant for the studio Fortiche, but now is a production manager at Illogic Studios.

The video was created using Seedance 2, described as a "multi-modal AI video creation" tool that combines images, videos, audio, and text to generate cinematic content, as per the official Seedance site. The issue with the tool is that, as Kammelin points out, there is little artistry involved. All one needs to generate a video is an image and audio, which can easily be pulled from existing media, in this case, Arcane.

Fans seem to agree with Kammelin, with one replying, "AI art always feels soulless. Art is art because a human made it. It's what makes it a worthwhile experience." Another Twitter user pointed out the inconsistencies in the video, such as shots that don't line up and incoherent dialogue. "As a TikTok fast food - yeah, it's ok, maybe, I guess, but I wouldn't pay for this. Life's too short to waste it on this."

Based on the League of Legends video game, Arcane follows two League champions, and sisters, Jinx and Vi, as they are divided by the conflict between Zaun and Piltover. Although the show is praised for its visuals, this isn't the first time Arcane has had a run-in with AI, as just before season 2 dropped on Netflix, the streamer was caught sharing an AI-generated poster. But Riot Games swiftly reposed, adding, "It's disrespectful to the incredible artists who worked on the show."