Which artists are most referenced in AI prompts [Infographic]

The latest generative AI tools let you create whatever images come to mind, with custom variations of fantastic scenes, things you’ve imagined, that complement your stories, or that you just really want to see for whatever reason.

Yet generative AI tools are also derivative, in that they can only replicate existing artwork and images to create something new. So it’s not really new, and at the same time most people have visions in mind that relate to works of art they’ve already seen, like a modern city, in the style of Monet.

As such, many users are requesting AI tools with references to existing artists to customize the look of their generations.

But which artists are most likely to be replicated by AI, based on user cues?

To find out, the team at Kapwing analyzed the Midjourney Discord to see how many times popular artists, architects and directors were mentioned. Out of almost 5 million prompts, this entry (from Visually capitalist) shows the most replicated artists across AI generations.

Keep in mind that many artists (or their families) want to limit their names to AI prompts, so this may not even be possible in the future, but right now these are the artists and styles that are getting the most AI attention.