This artist shouldn’t have to prove that her Dungeons and Dragons art is real

The rise of AI technology has (understandably) made many of us a little suspicious of the art that we see online and frequently the internet's AI accusations have been correct – until now. After Dungeons & Dragons posted a promo for its new player handbook, fans were quick to call the artwork a product of AI – something that artist Katerina Ladon was quick to dispel.

There are countless AI art generators available, so it's understandable why suspicions have grown around the origins of online art. This latest AI controversy is a rare (but somewhat relieving) case that shows human-made art is still very much alive.

Taking to X, the official Dungeons and Dragons Beyond account posted a seemingly innocuous promo for its latest player's handbook, captioning the post "Who else is excited about 384 pages of new and improved player options, equipment, spells, and more?!" Fans were quick to respond – but not quite in the way D&D might have expected. "If the new artwork is representative of those options, equipment and spells, then no," one user scathingly commented, while another replied "Huh... AI art. What a shock that is."

Despite the strong allegations, the artwork which features a witch and her feline companion was not the work of AI at all. Responding to allegations, the original artist Katerina Ladon posted a passionate response on X. "NO, I DON'T USE ANY AI NOW OR I EVER WILL," she claims. "I paint EVERYTHING by hand - I don't even use 3D because I'm not capable. The piece is NOT perfect at all, but I assure you that I had spit blood to finish it in the very limited time of the deadline. This witch hunt is making me sick," she added in response to a now-deleted tweet.

To further her defence, Katerina posted a collection of original sketches, showing the design process behind creating the artwork. "I want to be transparent about my work so here is the sketching phase. I put all my soul into imagining a lively and dynamic city, but above all telling a story of friendship which -on a personal level- means a lot to me," she says.

With recent stories like the Magic: the Gathering AI art controversy and even big brands like Lego getting caught using AI, it's natural that art fans have developed suspicions. While in many cases, these allegations have been true and it's important to hold the relevant parties accountable, it isn't an excuse to create a witchhunt towards the artists that are keeping the handmade art sphere alive. Despite this, it's refreshing to see AI art allegations that aren't true. Consider my faith in humanity somewhat restored, for now.