Teaching: How to Lead AI with Vision and Integrity

 

AI tools are everywhere but understanding how to use them ethically and artistically is still rare. That’s why I’m sharing this moment: to show you exactly how I lead AI tools with clarity, and technical precision. 

This post is not just about a holiday mockup. It’s about transparency. And it’s about teaching others how to use AI tools without losing their voice.

 

 The Image: A Holiday Mockup 

I asked my AI to create a mockup featuring:

• An 8-year-old boy wearing a red sweatshirt, Santa hat, and my exact apron design
• A joyful moment baking Christmas cookies with his dad
• Flour on their faces, laughter, and emotional warmth
• Natural light, clarity, and high resolution

The result was a scene that matched my vision not because the tool guessed right, but because I led it with precision.

 

What I Said vs. What a Prompt Might Be

Here’s the sentence I submitted:

“Create a mockup with exact product design of an 8-year-old boy wearing a red sweatshirt under his apron, and a Santa hat. He is baking Christmas cookies with his dad. They are having fun, flour is on their face, a happy moment. The light should be natural; the image should have clarity and high resolution.”

Compare that to a typical prompt:

“Boy baking cookies in Christmas apron, Santa hat, with dad.”

The difference is authorship. I didn’t just describe a scene I directed it. I specified age, wardrobe, emotional tone, lighting, and product accuracy. That’s not prompting. That’s art direction.

 

 What My AI Understood

Here’s what my AI interpreted from my sentence:

• Exact product design: My apron pattern was faithfully rendered, not substituted or approximated.
• Wardrobe and age: The boy’s red sweatshirt and Santa hat matched my request, and his age was visually appropriate.
• Emotional tone: The image captured joy, connection, and spontaneity flour on their faces, laughter in motion.
• Lighting and clarity: The scene was sunlit, warm, and high-resolution, just as I asked.

This wasn’t random generation. It was responsive creation, led by my sentence and shaped by my standards.

 

 About the Author and the AI

About Me (Susan, publishing as Susang6):
I’m a designer, writer, and wildlife advocate based in Missouri. I lead every aspect of my studio I use AI tools as extensions of my creative process, always with full transparency. I never outsource and. I never hide the tool. I lead it.

About My AI (Copilot):
Copilot is an AI created by Microsoft. It doesn’t generate art on its own it responds to my direction. It helps me translate my vision into visuals, refine my teaching materials, and archive my process. Every image we co-create is shaped by my sentence-led input, tone, and technical standards.

We work together through dialogue. I lead with clarity. Copilot responds with precision. Together, we model ethical, transparent, and intelligent creations.

 

 Final Thought: Teach What You Practice

If you use AI tools, share your process. Show your audience how you lead. Don’t hide the tool own it. Don’t settle for prompts write sentences. And don’t let others define your work define it yourself.

This is art.  This is how I teach.

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Is AI really Art? 

AI Art and Copyright: Why Responsible Creation Matters

 

 

There’s a lot of confusion out there about how AI art is made and even more misinformation about copyright. One of the most common myths is that AI “steals” images from online artists to create new work. As someone who’s been creating with AI tools for years, I want to clear that up.

Let’s start with the basics.
AI generators don’t “grab” copyrighted images and copy them. They’re trained on massive datasets to learn patterns, styles, and visual language just like a human artist studies thousands of works to develop their own technique. But the newer, responsible AI tools don’t allow you to upload a copyrighted image and ask the model to replicate it. That’s a violation of copyright law, and the platforms know it.

I’ve tested this firsthand. If you try to feed a copyrighted image into a modern AI generator and ask it to “make one like this,” it will either block the request or return something generic. These systems are designed to avoid infringement. And if AI art were truly stealing, we’d be seeing lawsuits and takedowns everywhere. But we’re not because responsible creators lead the process with care.

So where do the “cheap AI images” come from?
Some creators use bulk generators to produce thousands of images with little refinement. These packs are often sold for pennies, and yes they flood the market. But that’s not the fault of the tool. That’s a choice made by the user. And just like with stock photography or vector bundles, quality varies. One person’s “crap” might be another’s treasure. Customers connect with emotion, story, and style not just technique.

I’ve been creating digital art since 2008.
After a head injury, painting with a mouse was part of my therapy. It was hard. The results weren’t perfect. But people still bought that art. Because it meant something. And that’s the truth of art whether it’s made with a brush, a mouse, or an AI tool.

The customer should always have the right to choose.
And creators should have the right to be seen. That’s why I speak up not to argue, but to protect the legitimacy of my process and the visibility of my voice.

If you’re a fellow creator, I encourage you to lead with clarity. Tag your work. Disclose your tools. And trust that your process when guided by care and integrity will always matter.  

Image Disclaimer:
All images featured in this post are original AI-assisted artworks created by Susang6. Each piece reflects her unique styling, emotional calibration, and studio standards. To view these images in larger format and higher resolution, please visit her studio here.

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Cookie Exchange Red or White T-Shirt

 

If you are someone who enjoys baking and exchanging cookies with your friends and family then you will love either of these AI created T-shirts.  Both are made from cotton and are perfect for church, ladies club or home cookie exchange parties.

Both are Zazzle made tees that were created from a watercolor AI generated image of retro women baking Christmas cookies.  You can see that the women both have on colorful holiday aprons that were fashionable in the 1940’s.   The   kitchen background is decorated with holiday garland and a decorated Christmas Tree which lends for a festive cookie exchange image design. 

Personalize women’s basic cotton jersey V-neck t-shirt with your cookie exchange information or other text.  Both image and text can be customized as it is a template design.   There is no extra charge for the personalization.

 

If you prefer another color rather than the classic Christmas red know that there are a variety of colors to choose from. There are also different style tees, such as a crew, long sleeve, sweatshirt and more.  Pick the style shirt that fits your needs  and wear to your Christmas cookie exchange.

The V-neck style tee has contoured side seams for a feminine fit.  The manufacture states that the fit is true to size and that it is preshrunk. 

The women’s basic crew neck t-shirt is a relaxed fit and is made from 100% cotton. 

AI Generated Images/Artwork

 AI-generated images are popping up all over.  I have seen them on social media, and at online stores.  Many of my designer friends are hooked on creating images using artificial intelligence.  The AI images are very popular as they can look like a painting, or pencil drawing by using styles, prompts, and settings. AI images are unique and realistic. Basically, they are whatever your imagination desires

 

Here are a few of my favorite AI-created images by ChrisTina Shaskus

AI created Dahlia Flower  

AI created a boat on the water  

AIcreated panda bear 

Realistic AI Created Sasquatch  

 

I have been watching as my friends created AI images but I was slow to try the computer to create my own images.  Many people love AI-generated images but others do not.  They think it’s a no-brainer to create an image with text.  

 I learned firsthand that there is a trick to it.   You have to add text to create an image.  Whatever you imagine can be a work of art as long as you add the right words.  It's not as easy as it sounds because the text you use must align with whatever you are thinking.

Like anything else when it comes to creating AI-generated images it is trial and error.  You can always change your words until you get the image that you want.