# AI ARTIST

- Date: 2023-02-21
- Type: film
- Credit: Jessey Nelson & Dani Barker
- Genre: Horror, Comedy
- Artists: [Jessey Nelson](https://aifilmhistory.org/artist/jessey-nelson), [Dani Barker](https://aifilmhistory.org/artist/dani-barker)
- Made with: Midjourney
- Award: Merit — Runway AIFF 2023 — Runway AI Film Festival 2023
- Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTP5bpAJrd8
- URL: https://aifilmhistory.org/entry/ai-artist-nelson-barker

A live-action horror-comedy. Dirky, a would-be artist with "shrimp fingers" who was crushed as a child by his grandmother, finally finds success online with AI art software, until his creations spill off the screen and he turns his roommate Blake into a living canvas. It mixes practical makeup and stop-motion with AI used for concept art, production design, VFX and titles, and asks whether AI-made art is stolen art. It began as a five-minute entry for a Vancouver film challenge and was expanded for [Runway's first AI Film Festival](https://aifilmhistory.org/entry/aiff-2023), where it won a Merit award.

Links:
- AIFF 2023 winners: https://aif.runwayml.com/2023
- Making of, on Rabbit in Red: https://rabbitinred.com/ai-artist-short-film/

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Source: https://aifilmhistory.org/entry/ai-artist-nelson-barker
Era: 2023 · The Cambrian Explosion
Last updated: 2026-10-19