How AI tools may support artists and designers in creating high-quality content more efficiently

Article by Dmytro Maslov – Global AI Lead at Plarium, published in AI Horizon Journal for AI Ethics & Integrity International Association.

How AI tools may support artists and designers in creating high-quality content more efficiently. 

Some people think AI does more than it actually does when it comes to making visual content. AI’s main advantage here is increased efficiency, not the replacement of human skill. 

Like many fields, content creation involves many routine tasks. Right now, AI mainly helps us speed up these parts of the process. 

There are many situations where AI can be used in asset creation: they can be found directly in the game, for example, icons, avatars, splash screens, event banners, etc. Along with different marketing materials outside of the game itself. Creating content with AI isn’t as simple as writing a prompt and using the first image it gives you. Even high-quality images need editing, and sometimes explaining every detail or nuance to AI takes longer than doing it manually. AI doesn’t replace an artist’s skill or intuition, especially in tasks that need a creative or human touch. 

To sum up, AI is most useful in three phases of our content creation process. 

1. The first phase is brainstorming and testing ideas, such as creating mood boards or storyboards. A lot of this work gets thrown out, so it’s okay if AI makes mistakes, like drawing six fingers or getting the perspective wrong. 

2. For 3D work, AI can help by generating the basic shape, so artists don’t have to sculpt it from scratch. After that, artists can use their usual tools, like Blender, to finish the job. 

3.The last phase is polishing. Here, you already have your own art, and AI can help add details, like changing the lighting, adding textures or scuffs, or adjusting the emotion in a character.

Why human creativity and intuition remain at the core of Plarium’s development process. 

Many factors make games engaging, such as their mechanics and visual style. Great visuals and engaging mechanics keep players coming back, while fresh updates give games new life – all made possible by the creativity and skill of my colleagues. 

Plarium’s artists are very talented. Just look at the unique style of RAID Shadow Legends! 

Game designers create features and mechanics, and developers bring them to life in the game. Managers and coordinators handle lots of information and help different teams work together. 

There isn’t enough space here to describe every role and its impact, but everyone makes a huge difference in creating our games. 

This teamwork is the foundation of game development, not just at Plarium but across the industry. People make games. Their creativity and intuition are essential for success. 

That’s why creativity and intuition have always been at the heart of our work. They help us succeed, and players have enjoyed our games for over 10 years. That speaks for itself.  

Trends and challenges AI brings to the game industry, and the solutions you see.

Everything below is my personal opinion. I do not claim to be 100% objective. 

When it comes to trends and challenges, the gaming industry is a lot like other software development fields. Games are products built with code, and they also require graphics, marketing, post-release support, bug fixes, and more. 

Of course, games have some unique challenges. Their graphics are more complex, there’s sound design, and developers have to focus on things like optimization and bundle size. 

With that in mind, here are some trends I see in game dev, beyond the ones that apply to other software fields: 

• AI is finding its place in the game dev industry, especially in speeding up pre-production tasks like brainstorming and testing ideas. Product managers and game designers can now try out concepts on their own, without needing developers right away. I think the current level of ‘vibe coding’ is good enough for this. 

• Another interesting trend is “world models”, which are getting a lot of attention online. For example, Google’s DeepMind recently showed a new version of “Project Genie”, which can create interactive virtual worlds in real time. Now, you don’t have to build assets or levels in Unity just to test ideas. With your creativity and some prompts, AI can handle the rest, saving the team significant time and effort. 

As for the challenges. 

You might know the five stages of accepting something inevitable: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. I’d simplify it to just three: denial, anger, and acceptance. 

Right now, the gaming industry is somewhere between anger and acceptance. Most people agree, and I do too, that AI is here to stay. All signs point to that. 

We’ve moved past the stage where everyone joked about how awkward AI was. Still, many players aren’t happy about AI in games. Sometimes, people confuse using AI as a tool for creators with simply dropping AI-generated assets into games without any changes. 

I think the best solution is to give it time. AI is becoming a normal part of our lives, and soon most people won’t pay much attention to it. While we wait for this shift, it’s important to highlight the potential benefits of AI, such as faster game releases, greater variety, and lower development costs. These benefits aren’t fully here yet, but they show what’s possible. Clear communication is key. Not everyone wants to hear about it now, since hate is trendy nowadays, but most players don’t post on social media and outnumber the critics. We should focus on reaching these players. 

Your vision for the next few years of AI-powered entertainment.

In 2026, AI will shift from impressive demos to creating real value. That’s what leaders in Big Tech and AI researchers believe. We’re past the early development stage, and I hope we’re ready to find practical ways to use AI effectively in our work and daily lives. 

AI probably won’t change overnight from a helpful companion tool to something completely new, but it will become a regular part of our devices and routines, just like other technology has. 

I think AI will become even more common and integrated in the next few years. After that, we’ll be ready for the next wave of technology, with its own trends, challenges, and questions.