Talk about AI and Comics

On Saturday, Nov. 26, 2022, the twelfth working conference of the Flemish Authors Association (VAV) took place at the Letterenhuis in Antwerp. Among the rich array of workshops and lectures, a panel discussion was programmed on the interface between AI and literature/comics. In the fine company of writer Annelies Verbeke and Prof. Tim Van de Cruys, I was allowed to share my experience on generating comic book drawings with GANs. It became a particularly fascinating talk, expertly moderated by De Standaard's technology expert, Dominique Deckmyn.

Photo at top © Els Aerts: Prof. Tim Van De Cruys, Annelies Verbeke, myself (NIX), Dominique Deckmyn
Photo bottom left: Some samples of StyleGAN2-ADA trained on drawings from the Kinky & Cosy animated films.
Photo bottom right: A so-called style transfer, between a real photo of me and a drawing by Cosy. People sometimes claim that comic book writers look like their characters but, fortunately, that is not the case. Original portrait: © Cyrus Pâques