02/15/2026
I’ve been seeing a whole lot of the ChatGPT caricature trend around the internet. And even though there is a ton of AI generated *everything* the AI caricatures struck a nerve in me. It’s a throwaway graphic, never intended to be observed for more than a moment. Given the severe human and environmental impact, all I could think (and occasionally comment) was that I wish people would hire a real illustrator or caricature artist instead of using AI. And since I haven’t seen anybody else do it, that’s exactly what I did.
This is an illustration that I commissioned from an artist local to me named Markas Odom. He’s also a caricature artist but I asked him to create this picture of me as a photographer in his usual illustration style. No other constraints - I just wanted to see what this talented artist would come up with. And I love the result - it’s fun, whimsical, it’s got a sense of character. It’s completely unique. It’s exactly what I hoped for.
The process of commissioning this little piece of art “just because” really showed me, first, how easy it really it is to make this illustration idea into a reality. And second, how much real person-to-person connection we’re giving up by defaulting to talking to robots as our answer to everything, including art.
I hope that this story and illustration inspires somebody else to find a way back to human connection.
Support real art. Support your fellow humans.
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Check out Markas’s illustrations: or his caricatures: