An artist has been forced to defend themselves after being accused by a small number of critics that his artwork may be AI generated.

X (formerly Twitter) user Flamma posted a thread explaining their process and even providing a time-lapse of their artistic process.

I spend more than 30 to 40 hours in each of my work, and I demand every detail of ’em be perfect, this insult is terrible, irresponsible and hurtful. My original works are everything to me, they are from my blood and flesh, they are from the very bottom of my heart and- pic.twitter.com/FRgu0XMjFV

— Flamma (@flamma_x) January 8, 2024

This isn’t the first time an artist has had to respond to AI allegations, and it’s unlikely it will be the last. A little over a year ago, the r/Art subreddit banned a user after accusing them of claiming AI art as their own.

Generative AI art has been a controversial topic for the past several years, the technology recently became available to consumers which led to a boom in its use. Critics of AI art claim that it’s shamelessly derivative and trains itself on artwork without the permission of the artist, allowing them to effectively steal that artist’s style.