How to Detect AI Art: A Guide for the Holiday Season

This holiday season, AI-generated art is making waves in the corporate world. But how do you ensure real artists receive the recognition they deserve? Explore these top tips to navigate the AI art trend and champion genuine creativity.

Why This Matters

As AI-generated images become more prevalent in corporate communications, marketing materials, and social media, it's crucial to develop the skills to identify them. Supporting real artists means recognizing their work, understanding the value of human creativity, and making informed choices about the art we use and share.

Five Ways to Detect AI Art

Tip 1: Count the Fingers (and Limbs)

AI often struggles with complex anatomy, so pay close attention to the hands. You might notice:

Too many fingers (or too few)
Distorted finger shapes
Hands that seem to merge with objects
Arms and other limbs blending into the background
Unusual proportions around joints and knuckles

What to look for: Hands are one of the most complex parts of human anatomy to render accurately. If something feels off about the hands, it's often a telltale sign of AI generation.

Source: The New Yorker

Tip 2: Read the Room (and the Text)

AI often mimics the appearance of letters, resulting in gibberish that resembles a foreign language or a blurry mess. When analyzing images, be sure to check:

Signs and labels for nonsensical text
Books and documents for unreadable content
Product labels that don't make sense
Text that looks like letters but forms no real words

What to look for: If you see text that looks like it should be readable but isn't, or if letters appear jumbled and meaningless, you're likely looking at AI-generated content.

Source: OpenAI Forum

Tip 3: Note the Unnatural Lights

AI-generated images often exhibit a peculiar, plastic-like sheen and unnaturally flawless surfaces. Pay attention to:

Inconsistent lighting where shadows don't align with the light source
Surfaces that appear too smooth or perfect
A general artificial quality to the lighting
Shadows that don't make logical sense
Unrealistic reflections or highlights

What to look for: Real photographs have natural variations in texture, lighting, and surface quality. AI images often look too perfect, too smooth, or have lighting that doesn't quite add up.

Source: Endertech

Tip 4: Question the "Weird"

Explore the strangeness in AI art by scrutinizing details that defy logic:

Patterns that misalign or don't connect properly
Objects that blend into each other unnaturally
Backgrounds that distort bizarrely
Straight lines that appear warped and twisted
Elements that don't quite fit together logically

What to look for: If something feels off but you can't quite put your finger on it, trust that instinct. AI often creates images where individual elements look fine, but they don't quite work together as a cohesive whole.

Source: Bored Panda

Tip 5: Notice the Yellow Hue

Lastly, observe the prevalent yellow hue that AI frequently incorporates, giving the art a look reminiscent of a poorly applied filter. This isn't always present, but when you see it, it's often a sign of AI generation.

What to look for: An overall yellow or golden cast that seems artificial, especially when combined with other signs like unnatural lighting or distorted details.

Using These Tips in Practice

When you encounter an image that might be AI-generated:

Start with the hands - This is often the quickest tell
Check any text - Nonsensical text is a strong indicator
Examine the lighting - Does it make sense?
Look for the weird - Trust your instincts about things that feel off
Notice color casts - Especially that yellow hue

Remember: These are guidelines, not hard rules. Some AI-generated images are getting better at avoiding these tells, and some real art might have unusual characteristics. The goal is to develop your critical eye and make more informed decisions.

Supporting Real Artists

When you identify AI-generated art, consider:

Crediting properly: If you're using AI art, be transparent about it
Hiring artists: For important projects, consider commissioning or licensing work from real artists
Recognizing value: Human creativity brings unique perspectives, emotional depth, and cultural context that AI cannot replicate
Making informed choices: Understanding what you're looking at helps you make better decisions about the art you use and share

Download the Canva Template

Want to share these tips with your team or community? I've created a Canva template with all five detection tips in an easy-to-share format.

Download the Canva Template

The template includes:

All five detection tips with visual examples
Clean, shareable design
Ready to customize for your needs
Perfect for team training, social media, or internal communications

Feel free to adapt it, share it, and use it to help others develop their critical eye for AI art detection.

The Bigger Picture

As AI tools become more sophisticated, the line between AI-generated and human-created art will continue to blur. But developing these detection skills serves a larger purpose: it helps us value and support real artists, make informed choices about the art we consume and share, and maintain critical thinking in an age of increasingly convincing AI content.

This holiday season—and beyond—let's champion genuine creativity and ensure real artists receive the recognition they deserve.