Efficiency over fear: AI in the artist's workflow

21/12/2025

For many in the creative industry, the arrival of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become synonymous with fear and uncertainty. There are concerns that AI will take over jobs, devalue pricing, or "kill" the art of illustration.

But what if we flip the narrative? What if we view AI not as a rival, but as a turbo assistant—someone who handles the time-consuming, tedious tasks so we can focus on creative decision-making and unique design?

In this post, I will share 5 concrete, daily techniques where AI doesn't replace the illustrator or designer, but instead saves time, money, and energy. And we could all use a bit more of those, right?

Google Gemini által generált kép

1. Ideation and rapid Concept Development (The 2-minute brainstorm)

The ideation phase can be a major time-sink. Sketching out the visual look of new concepts—especially when you need to explore several different directions—can consume serious man-hours.

The task: quickly find compositional and visual solutions for a project (e.g., book cover or poster layout).
The AI solution: use AI to generate rapid variations. Don't aim for the final, perfect image right away; instead, look for different perspectives, color schemes, and layouts.
Concrete example: when designing a product poster, prompt 10 different lighting styles and compositions (e.g., "minimalist with dramatic shadows," "80s neon colors," "mystical low-key lighting"). Choose the best three light-and-shadow arrangements as a foundation, then design the actual poster yourself. The AI serves only as a visual reference.

With this technique, you can compress two hours of sketching into 10 minutes of strategic prompting.

2. Textures and Supporting elements (The missing detail)

Who wants to spend hours on stock photo sites searching for the perfect, legally clear, yet unique texture? (Truth be told, I actually enjoy the "wandering" and collecting—it's great for inspiration—but when a deadline is fast approaching, you simply don't have that luxury.)

The task: quickly producing unique, copyright-clean background textures, special shapes, or supporting elements.
The AI solution: use specific prompts to generate seamless textures (e.g., marble, rust, digital noise, organic fluid patterns).
Concrete example: if you need a worn paper texture suitable for a vintage screen-print look for a logo mockup, you can create it in seconds instead of having to photograph it or spend ages searching online. Use this texture in Photoshop as a mask, an overlay, or via blending modes.
Ethical note: it is worth using tools (such as Adobe Firefly) that guarantee the output is commercially safe, as they are trained on proprietary, legally cleared databases.

3. Moodboards and Mockups on turbo (The 100% targeted collage)

The key to successful client communication is ensuring you are both on the same page. Traditional moodboards often rely on stock images full of compromises that don't quite capture your specific vision.

The Task: To quickly visualize the exact mood of the project and provide a visual summary of references.
The AI Solution: Use targeted prompts to create a visual collage that contains the essence of the color palette, textures, and atmosphere requested by the client.
Concrete Example: For a retro, 80s-inspired brand identity, use a prompt like: 'synthwave, neon lights, dark background, futuristic typography, 80s pop culture graphics'. Show the results to the client so they can immediately "feel" what to expect during the project. This prevents misunderstandings and leads to much faster approvals.

4. The hybrid approach: 80% AI + 20% manual craft

This is the most crucial point: how does a generated image become your unique creation?

The Task: Maintaining your original, signature style while utilizing AI tools.
The AI Solution: Use AI to generate complex and time-consuming foundations (perfect lighting, intricate spatial compositions—though maybe not for anatomy just yet), and then finish the work with your own recognizable style.
Concrete Example (Illustrator): Generate a base featuring a human figure in a difficult pose or a complex architectural background. Then, bring it into Photoshop or Procreate to hand-draw the contours, add your own brushstrokes, and apply color corrections, grain, and textures characteristic of your style.

If you send an AI-generated image to a client without touching it, that's not design—that's just prompting. The manual refinement and the design decisions are your added value; that is what people are paying for.

5. Pricing and Ethics: Communicate your process!

In a market saturated with AI, professional ethics and transparency are your most valuable currencies.

The Task: Ensuring transparent and legally sound AI usage for your clients.
The Advice: Don't hide your use of AI! Communicate openly about it:
- Efficiency: AI helped reduce production time, but it is your expertise and creative decision-making that the client is paying for.
- Legally Sound Tools: Always check the commercial terms of use for the AI platforms you use. This protects both you and your client.

A professional designer is in control of the situation. They know exactly when AI can help establish the foundations and when they must rely solely on their own expertise to ensure the work remains truly original.

AI does not signal the end of the graphic designer; rather, it places a new, more powerful tool in our hands. It is much like when Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop first appeared: initially, there was fear and resistance, but today they are our most fundamental tools. In the future, the difference will lie with those who know how to prompt professionally and how to transform a generated base into a unique masterpiece.