Print Mint Press, better known as The Print Mint, Inc., started in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1965 selling psychedelic posters, then leveled up into a major publisher, printer, and self-distributor for underground comix when the mainstream wouldn’t touch the stuff.
They helped push the comix scene into legend by publishing key runs like Zap Comix issues #4–9, all while catching shit from obscenity crackdowns and the gov trying to outlaw all of it. lol
They stopped publishing in 1978 and even the later poster shop era eventually went dark, and yeah, it’s sad because a whole loud, filthy, honest little world went with it. So def bummed I missed out on a lot of this era.
It would’ve been so damn cool to be part of that scene back in the day.
That’s why I’m trying to turn my little corner of Lemmy into something like it now. Lemmy has so much potential for people to make weird, funny, original art and comix stuff together and actually build a badass art scene.
But lately all I see is nonstop complaining about AI, (people accuse my work of being AI all the time even tho I have detailed pics of how I do it), and a bunch of “shut up” energy. Not much support, just negative attitude.
Still, I’m going to keep doing my part and try to bring that underground spirit back, even if it’s above ground this time.
Even if the audience is just one person. So yeah, fuck the haters. haha
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Yeah, it was such a great scene back then. I’m old, but not THAT old, so I was too young to see it all live as it happened. I did live in San Francisco for a bit, so I got to see a lot of leftovers from that time period. Fun stuff.
As for me being flippant, it’s pretty hard to stay friendly when people literally reply with just “AI slop!” after I post something I spent all day working on. Then when I explain that I drew it myself, how I did, and post pics of me doing it, I get some variation of, “But it looks like AI drew it! Spammer!” That logic makes no sense, because if you know anything about AI, you know AI is trained on real drawings and real images. It looks like real art because it learned from real art. So now people act like real images “look like AI,” when in reality AI was built to look like real images in the first place.
I legit got accused of using an “ai font.” Like, really? What does that even mean?! lol https://lemmy.world/comment/21579257
(I’m cool with that poster now, by the way. But it just shows the extremes some people look for when they want to see ai everywhere)
It won’t stop me. But what really bothers me is thinking about the 14-year-old kid in his bedroom who posts his stuff on Lemmy and it gets called AI over and over. How long is he actually going to keep sharing his work after that. Maybe he just says, “Fuck Lemmy,” and leaves. That’s our loss. Worse scenario tho, maybe he thinks, “What’s the point of drawing or showing anything at all?” and stops drawing completely. That’s the world’s loss.
I actually don’t hate AI. I think it can do some amazing shit. Even art. For me, it’s the end product. I don’t have to imagine someone working hard or crying or being crazy or whatever to appreciate an image. If ya just pushed a button, and it looks cool, cool! I don’t do that, but I don’t care if you do. It’s just the mean and rude comments right off, and calling freakin everything slop now.
AI isn’t going to go away, no matter how angry Lemmy is about it. But real world artists WILL go away, or at least leave Lemmy, if they constantly have to defend themselves. I’d rather just someone keep their rude comments to themselves.
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Also, everything I see in your community is exactly the kind of art, artists, and overall vibe I wish that Lemmy was. Lemmy could become the new Heavy Metal, where a mix of new and established artists gather in one place and build a real art scene.
What I want is a space where artists actually come together, support each other, share work, and push into new territory instead of just sniping at each other.
Lemmy could be perfect for that. That’s honestly why I post my stuff here. I’m trying to help pull it in that direction. Lemmy seems resistant to my plan tho. lol
While I admire that as an ambitious, lovely concept, I have my doubts as to whether that’s really possible here, there, or almost anywhere that shares this type of social media and link-sharing format.
I think perhaps the main issue is that such format heavily lends itself to being very surface-y and drive-by in nature. It sparks brief engagement, then tends to move users’ interest and working memory to the next item down. However the truth of this and related matters, I reckon it rather essential to master an understanding of how these things work, if one was to best-achieve what you’re looking for. Which is a lot.
Another thing to consider is that sometimes (or most of the time?) you just have to go out there and engage with other peoples’ projects in order to build trust and working relationships around art or whatever else.
Btw, I’ve got an aching molar that’s been bothering me lately. Yesterday I decided to get a bit toasted as some stoopid self-medication, and was also cruising around here, commenting and reading. Then I seem to recall reading a comment of yours that had to do with your ‘troubles,’ and internally reacted badly, deleting my prior comments in this thread and briefly blocking you, before reversing that.
I guess my annoyance was that I don’t want to become too friendly with someone who’s got ongoing drama with X, and is unknowingly causing a % of said drama. It’s just too exhausting IME, and I’m typically an exhausted person due to health issues. To put it all fairly bluntly.
Anyway, sorry about that, and in future, I’ll try to make any such decisions with a fully sober head.
All great points. I’m sorry to hear of your molar drama. I don’t remember saying anything too controversial, but I’m glad you’re feeling better. I cracked a tooth last year, so I feel for ya. And the cost of dental stuff is so darn high in my area!
I wish you better health in the upcoming year!
Trying to catch up with replies:
I don’t remember saying anything too controversial
No, not as such. As I tried to explain (probably unsuccessfully), it was more like in terms of you vs. others, it seemed like that all might have drifted a bit in to ‘round peg upon square hole’ approach, so to speak.
I should no doubt ‘STFU’ here, but if I can possibly give you any advice upon these matters? Assume your audience has just arrived from one of Saturn’s moons. Such that, when you share various of your art, give them a context that they can understand, as much as possible, in order to enjoy your share.
Having said that, I myself did NOT follow that advice on an even bigger platform, for many years. I regularly threw out riddles, puzzles, and challenges to people, which was fine for a small % that appreciated that, but most others just got annoyed, or dismissed me as “weird.” (which I already am, haha)
Well, it’s mostly a non-issue now that I have plenty of posts of my work process with pics of every step. I haven’t been accused of being ai for a bit now. lol
Great points! I’ve love AI as a research engine, especially for tracking down obscure older comic art. I’m not anti-AI at all. I think it’s one of the best tools we’ve gotten in a long time. I also think future generations will have less knee-jerk pushback, and they’ll use it to make genuinely cool stuff, both in art and in tech.
Again, to me, there’s a difference between AI slop and AI as a tool. A lot of people aren’t making that distinction. They’re using “AI slop” as a generic insult because they’re angry at the idea of AI, not because they carefully looked at the result. Maybe.
Another thing that I think may be happening, especially with non-artists who don’t know the tools, is they might be seeing sign of computer involvement and assume it must be AI. I scan my art into Photoshop-type programs to clean up lines, fix circles, fill black spots, add text, and handle textures. That’s normal digital cleanup, but I think some people interpret that as “AI artifacts.” Not to mention, most cartoonist these days create entirely on the computer. I should probably get a tablet to draw my stuff on, so I should make that update too. I have to find a good one that works with linux tho.
At first I told myself I’d ignore the AI comments. But I wasn’t getting neutral questions like, “Is this AI?” I was getting stuff like “I smell slop,” and “Get out of here with your AI slop!”
So I posted my step-by-step process, and some people still refused to believe it. That’s when I realized a lot of them weren’t actually interested in the truth. They were venting. And I think some of your points touched on the reasoning behind that.
What disappointed me most was the toxicity it brings out. I expected Lemmy to be a more nuanced, fun cutting edge indie version of Reddit. I figured the slightly higher barrier to entry would lead to better conversations.
That hasn’t been my experience! lol
People here often seem more angry, more sarcastic, and more eager to dogpile.
And it’s not about people disliking my work. I’m fine with that, and I’m used to it. The frustrating part is the accusations, and then the doubling down even after I show evidence.
So now, if I get an AI comment, I’ll just send a link to my process and move on. Trying to persuade people or argue with them didn’t work. That one’s on me, lol
Yeap, sounds good.
Again, to me, there’s a difference between AI slop and AI as a tool.
Yeap, that’s it.
