As the creators of both Letters From Afar and Creature Cards, the foundation of our work has always been original writing and art, produced entirely by a single in-house artist, Shawnee Mills, the original founder.
The use of artificial intelligence has grown rapidly in recent years. For the sake of artists everywhere, we believe it should be used sparingly, with clear intention and transparency.
That said, AI can be a valuable tool for creators when time and volume are significant factors. Below is a summary of how AI has been used to support Creature Cards:
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Creature illustrations: With thousands of cards to produce, AI has been used to assist in generating illustrations. Each image is modeled after Shawnee’s original artwork to ensure a consistent brand identity and artistic style. The outline of the animal is hand-drawn, then the animal coloring and background are generated to best represent its natural habitat.
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Research and fact-checking: While research begins with trusted encyclopedias and wildlife conservation sources, AI is used to cross-check details for accuracy before publication.
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Grammar and spell-checking: Each card is reviewed by our team, then run through AI tools to provide a final check for spelling and grammar.
Every other element of Creature Cards is designed Shawnee in house, from the logos to the writing and layouts.
