Minh Anh Nguyen Hoang, 30, is the lead artist for the 3-year-old artist. kart studio, based in Vietnam.Mr. Hoang, who creates a work bearing the name Ben Moranlearned to draw properly in 2019 after completing a degree in economics.
“When I was a kid, drawing was just a hobby,” Moran said in an email conversation. “I started to get serious about drawing when I realized I could get better at drawing. Ruan Jia, Huang Guang JianWhen Peter Jablonski— All modern fantasy illustrator.
Moran is now at the center of Reddit’s controversy thanks to a piece commissioned for $500 for the cover of one of the fantasy fiction authors. selkie myth Book. (Myth plans to use it for his upcoming 11th title. destiny.) “I ordered a lot of artwork. [Moran]Because they’re so good at what they do,” said Myth, 31, of Nebraska. “They are an absolute steal for their quality and commercial use.”
In late July, Myth reached out to Moran via email to ask him to produce the highly controversial piece. Selected from four options, the final piece was produced by September 7th and modified by Moran to his Myth specs. The cover design was completed by mid-October. “It takes him a month to fix and finish,” says Moran.
In late December, an infrequent Reddit user, Moran decided to self-promote. So they posted an almost final design for the piece. Muse of Warzoneto r/art, a subreddit with 22 million members. They were quickly banned by the subreddit’s moderators for allegedly using AI-generated art that violates r/Art’s rules.
They were blown away when Moran contacted the moderators, explaining that they were not using AI, and sending them a link to their portfolio. “I don’t believe you,” the mod wrote in a message Moran posted on Twitter. , it doesn’t matter.” The host ended the message by saying, “Sorry, that’s the way things are.” They then silenced Moran and prevented him from arguing further.