\u201cI learned my craft with pencil and paper, old-school analog drawing with pencil and paper,\u201d Pomeroy, who left Disney in 2003, says in the teaser video.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s that kind of skill that some artists say has become a greater asset than ever. In the age of widespread and accessible AI, artists say they\u2019ve noticed more brands leaning into handcrafted art as a selling point.<\/p>\n
In recent weeks, the luxury fashion houses Prada and Herm\u00e8s touted their human-made art projects in social media campaigns \u2014 even tagging the artists behind the work to showcase their authenticity.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/261105-Prada-Holiday-2026-Adv-campaign-vsb-1644-05e53f.jpg\")
A still from the Prada Holiday 2026 campaign.Glen Luchford for PRADA<\/p>\n
Alina Golovlova, a stop-motion artist in Prague, said that recently, she has felt that her work is actually \u201cappreciated more than in previous years\u201d as brands try to separate themselves from the AI content flooding the internet.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn previous years, I felt like I was just some hired content creator. No one really cared to tag me or make a [collaborative post],\u201d Golovlova said. \u201cAnd I think now for brands, it becomes valuable to bring the artists together with the brand to show that they are working with real people.\u201d<\/p>\n
Golovlova directed a short film for Anthropologie<\/a> last month, featuring a needle-felted bunny, embroidered stars and stop-motion movements \u2014 all designed and put together entirely by hand<\/a> by a team of artists.<\/p>\n And the choice proved to be an effective marketing strategy, as support rolled in from commenters online.<\/p>\n \u201cBeautiful! Love the creativity and seeing something human made and NOT AI \ud83d\udc4f\u2764\ufe0f,\u201d a user wrote on Anthropologie\u2019s post, accruing thousands of likes.<\/p>\n \u201cAI = Broke, cheap, lazy,\u201d another user posted in response<\/a> to Prada\u2019s campaign. \u201cArt from human hands = High-end, luxurious, high quality.\u201d<\/p>\n Animator Jon Densk, who worked on the hand-drawn Prada campaign under Pomeroy, said that while he suspects AI still has a way to go before it can be used successfully in animation, he has seen signs of it in commercials. Coca-Cola, he said, comes to mind as a major company that has leaned into AI for its advertisements<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter the first one I saw two years ago, I was like, I\u2019m not buying Coke until they stop it. I still haven\u2019t bought a Coke in two years,\u201d Densk said. \u201cSo having a stance against [AI], I think, is a smart move for brands.\u201d<\/p>\n Coca-Cola\u2019s use of AI stirred some controversy, as attitudes about the technology remain divided over labor and environmental concerns, as well as fatigue over the swath of mass-produced content commonly described as \u201cAI slop.\u201d<\/p>\n Still, Densk said he wasn\u2019t expecting the explosion of support that Prada\u2019s hand-drawn campaign would attract online.<\/p>\n \u201cI think people that see people like us who are still drawing things, and even people working in CG animation, as true craftsmen, because that stuff really does take hours and hours and hours of practicing to get to a proficient level,\u201d Densk said.<\/p>\n