Minh Anh Nguyen Hoang, 30, is the headliner at the festival for three years. kart studio, which is based in Vietnam. Hoang, who creates art with the name ben moranHe learned to draw correctly in 2019, after finishing his economics degree.
“Drawing was just my hobby growing up,” Moran said in an email conversation because they felt less confident in their spoken English. “I started to get serious about painting when I realized that I could be good at it. The artists that mainly inspire me are ruan jia, Huang GuangjianY Piotr Jablonsky” — all contemporary fantasy illustrators.
Moran is now at the center of a Reddit controversy, thanks to a piece they were commissioned to produce for $500 for the cover of one of the fantasy fiction authors. Selkie Myths books. (Myth plans to use it for his upcoming 11th title, which he said will likely be called Heavenly mandate.) “I have ordered many works of art with [Moran], because they are very, very good at what they do,” said Myth, who is 31 and lives in Nebraska. “They are an absolute steal for that quality and commercial use.”
In late July, Myth contacted Moran via email asking them to produce the work that would prove so controversial. The final piece, chosen from four options, was produced on September 7 and modified by Moran to Myth’s specifications; the cover design was done in mid-October. “It takes me a month to fix and complete it,” Moran said.
In late December, Moran, an infrequent Reddit user, decided he wanted to do some self-promotion. So they published the almost final design of the piece, titled A muse in Warzonea r/art, a subreddit with 22 million members. They were quickly banned by subreddit moderators on suspicion of using AI-generated art, which is against r/Art’s rules.
When Moran contacted the moderators to explain that they hadn’t used AI and sent them a link to his portfolio, they were impressed. “I don’t believe you,” wrote a moderator in a message Moran posted on Twitter. They went on to say that even if Moran had painted it, it’s “so obviously an AI-driven design that it doesn’t matter.” The moderator signed the message with “Sorry, that’s the world.” They then silenced Moran, preventing them from moving forward with his case.
