When is it appropriate to use AI? 🤖 (A bare minimum litmus test) ✨

I have lots of thoughts about AI, some of which are fairly clear, some less so.

But here are two principles I was thinking of recently that I think are non-negotiable when it comes to using AI, whatever your philosophical views of AI are.

1) Would you think it was OK in principle to delegate the task to another human being?

 

Here's a few examples:

 

Write a political speech. Write a best man speech. Data entry. Write a love letter. Write a social media post. Design your logo. Write a YouTube comment. Ghostwrite a book. Illustrate a book you wrote. Design stickers for you to sell on Etsy. Summarise the minutes of a meeting you were chairing. Write the captions of a video. Summarise an email from a friend. Book-keeping. Research your project. Write alt-text for images on your website...

 

Also, with each of these tasks, would you distinguish between a) delegating a rough draft (which you then take as a starting point and make your own), or b) delegating the entire task?

 

Different people will have different answers to each of these. What I'm asking, is what do YOU think is appropriate to delegate?

• If you'd be willing to delgate to another human, it may be appropriate to delegate to AI (other factors may of course mean it is not).
• BUT if you'd not delegate to a human, what makes it OK to delegate to AI?

We need to think about these things.

 

Would you delegate an illustration to brighten up a text-heavy blog post to AI? I just did. Not sure how I feel about that :-)

2) In a specifically Christian context, assuming your answer to my first question was yes, would it be something you were OK in principle with delegating to a nonbeliever? 

(I'm of course assuming a sympathetic non-believer who will do the task to the best of thier ability, not an anti-Christian troll!)

A few examples: 

 

Write a sermon. Write a prayer. Give you spiritual guidance. Design sermon visuals. Design church publicity. Write a Bible story book. Illustrate a Bible story book you have written. Advise you on the best candidate for a church job. Write a hymn. Write a tune for a hymn you have written. Plan a Sunday School lesson. Draw visuals for a Sunday School lesson you have written. Plan a church rota. Summarise the theological scholarship on a topic. Plus many of the examples in the first section...

Again, different people will have different answers to these. My question is what do YOU think is appropriate to delegate to a non-believer?

• If you'd be willing to delgate to a non-believer, it may be appropriate to delegate to AI (other factors may of course mean it is not).
• BUT if you'd not delegate to a non-believer, what on earth makes it OK to delegate to AI?

We really need to think about these things. 

Oh, and finally, if you have a chatbot that pretends to be Jesus, that is idolatry and blasphemy.

Chalet School centenary 1925-2025

So when I was a teenager I was obsessed with the Chalet School series by Elinor M Brent-Dyer.

I was in a fan club, and in 1994 I entered a competition for a new magazine cover (didn't win). I recently came across it, and thought that, as 2025 was the centenary of the first book, I might have a go at redoing it. I realise I'm cutting it a little fine...

My 1994 cover:

This was Before Computers, so I used film with a dotty pattern for the shading!

Actually, I preferred my initial idea, which back then I had discounted as 'not working', so  based my new idea on that one. 

And because it's not going to be photocopied, I decided to use colour. But, to give myself a challenge, used a limited palette: black, white, uniform colours of brown & flame, gentian blue & crimson, a pale straw colour, and green. I got variety by using paler versions of the colours - no colour mixing.

The uniforms are: left -1920s, bottom - 1930s/40s, top - 1950s, when the school split and we follow the new branch with a new colour scheme, and right - 1960s.

I quite like it. There's a lot of stuff that could be improved (not least the faces), but since it was just for fun and I'm running out of time this year, I won't!

Immigrants

I made this poster in response to the really concerning stuff that's going on right now.

There's a free high-res version with various colour variations, and a colouring picture here.

Colouring books for blind people

We were interviewed on YouTube!

 

Easter stickers

I'm not very good at updating this blog with my actual art 🤦

I've recently got easter stickers printed.

First, some brand NEW designs, aimed at younger children, or new contacts who know very little about Jesus. Still the focus on Jesus' death and - especially - resurrection. Nice and cheerful and Eastery. Lots of eggs! But avoiding the wall-to-wall pastels and fluffiness that is characteristic of lots of Easter stuff.

 I also reissued my classic Easter designs as paper stickers. Aimed at primary school children. More depth on why Jesus died and rose - probably best for church kids who know the basics. Leaning into the sometimes ghoulish tastes of small boys💀!

 

 

I have other Easter stickers still available while stocks last. Find them all here.

Adult colouring book for blind people

I keep forgetting to post about my work here!

Warmish off the press...

This is a project I've been working on for a looong time.
An adult colouring book for blind and visually impaired people. You can find it here: www.kirstymca.co.uk/blind

The pictures are printed in raised ink by the very helpful West London Print, and are specifically designed to be as understandable as possible by blind people.

Also, I have scented crayons with tactile symbols on them, so people know which colour is which.

 

Numberblocks woz 'ere

I once read this quote by an author:

when you write your fantasy epic, stumble upon some attractive plotline and pursue it you almost inevitably find a little engraved stone. ‘J. R. R. Tolkien was here first’

~Chris Walley

As an illustrator of children's maths books, I can sympathize with this sentiment, though my plaque would read 'Numberblocks was here first'. 

We could give 1 a single eye? Numberblocks did that first.

We could give 2 glasses? Numberblocks did that first.

4 could involve square shapes? They did that first. 5's motif could be a star? They did that. 7 could reflect a rainbow in some way? They did that too. 8 could be based on either an octopus or a spider? They did BOTH (that's just greedy!) 

I can't possibly avoid everything they've done!

The Hebrew words for clothes are driving me maḏ (pun intended)

Thinking out loud here, for some illustrations I'm doing, but it might be interesting to other people. Sorry I haven't linked the verses - that would be a massive faff.

In 1 Samuel 18v4:

Then Jonathan removed the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his military tunic, his sword, his bow, and his belt.

The clothing words chosen by translators can vary widely, so it's always worth checking out the original Hebrew (While looking up an interlinear is not a substitute for actually knowing Hebrew, I do know about ancient clothes, which, by the word choices they sometimes make, most translators don't. Not their fault - they can't know details of every subject!)

So, what Jonathan gave David was a mᵊʿîl, a maḏ and a ḥăḡôr (plus the sword and bow).

---

mᵊʿîl is a fairly clear clothing word. 

• The high priest wore a blue one over his tunic (kutōneṯ), with pomegranates & bells round the hem and an opening in the center. Exodus 39v23-25
• Samuel's mother made him a little one every year 1 Samuel 2v19, and he wore one as an adult too 1 Samuel 15v27 (and as a ghost 1 Samuel 28v14). Saul wore one too - and in both cases they had a corner (or edge) that could be torn/cut off 1 Samuel 24v4.
• The 'long-sleeved/decorated robes' (pas kutōneṯ) that David's daughters wore were a kind of mᵊʿîl 2 Samuel 13v18 - and since Joseph also wore a pas kutōneṯ Genesis 37v3, I'm guessing his was also a kind of mᵊʿîl.  
• David wore a linen one (plus an ephod) to dance before the ark 1 Chronicles 15v27.
• Various people also tore theirs when mourning, but that doesn't really tell us what they're like, except that they're occasionally mentioned in addition to 'beḡeḏ' (clothes)  e.g. Ezra 9v3. And some random princes in a prophecy took them off Ezekiel 26v16.
• It's also used metaphorically for being clothed in joy, wrath or strength.
  

Therefore, I think 'robe' sounds like a good translation. Not a basic everyday tunic, but serving a similar purpose of clothing the whole body. Sometimes (always?) worn over a tunic. And, based on the descriptions, I think a voluminous, belted-poncho type robe, common in many ancient societies, such as Egypt, Persia, Greece & Rome.

Persian guard in the British Museum

My reconstruction. It's just a rectangle with a hole, but gives the impression of long sleeves.

I like to draw their style based (loosely) on the rather unintelligible clothes on this ivory from Megiddo:

This is bronze age, therefore close to David's time.

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ḥăḡôr is definitely a belt, or anything you gird yourself (ḥāḡar) with Genesis 3v7 - sometimes specifically a military belt 2 Samuel 20v8 (and sometimes used as a metonymy for being armed 2 Kings 3v21) . Sometimes not military at all Isaiah 3v24. 

In context, a military belt would make sense.

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And then there's the maḏ. Unfortunately there aren't that many instances of it, and they don't all appear to be referring the the same thing.

• It is once used to refer to a priest's linen robe (usually called a kutōneṯ) Leviticus 6v10.
• Ehud strapped his 18" sword to his right thigh under his maḏ, and was able to access it quickly with his left hand Judges 3v16-21. 
• In a clearly military context, Saul lent his to David, and he strapped his sword over it 1 Samuel 17v38-39. Joab also wore one with a belt and sword over it 2 Samuel 20v8. An unnamed Benjamite fled from battle with a torn one (in mourning?) 1 Samuel 4v12.
  
• People who travel the roads on white donkeys sit on them 🤷‍♀️ Judges 5v10.  
• It's used metaphorically in a Psalm - 'He wore cursing like his maḏ" - which could be any kind of clothing Psalm 109v18.
• And that's it*. 

In three of those instances someone 'puts it on' (lāḇaš), but Joab 'girded himself' (ḥāḡar) with his. So are we talking about a kilt? A military kilt? Kilts certainly were worn in warfare, sometimes with nothing else - see the armed man in the ivory above. 

But what style of kilt? Why did Saul think it would help David, instead of him just wearing the armour over normal clothes? Were his normal clothes loose and baggy? Or was the kilt reinforced or padded in some way? What would it look like? Was Jonathan wearing it over his mᵊʿîl (certainly a kilt over a robe was sometimes worn by people like Philistines, Syrians, and Kushites)? Or, based on the order the clothes are mentioned, was he at that point only wearing the mᵊʿîl (presumably over a tunic), not any of his military gear, which it doesn't specifically mention him taking off?

Watch this space for my solutions...

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*It also seems to mean 'measure' Jeremiah 13v25, but that doesn't help, as the etymology of clothing words is often weird - in English, 'shirt' and 'skirt' come fom the same root!

Adult colouring books for blind people

Work in progress...

Yes, believe it or not, this is a thing, but they're usually aimed at children.

 

So I'm working on designs which are clear and easy to understand for blind people, bold enough to colour with scented crayons if desired, but also more mature subjects than clowns and mermaids!

 

I'm not doing this on my own - I'm making prototypes and then passing them on to a blind friend to test. She didn't know what paisley pattern was like, or how big a peacock's tail is (and I've had to make it smaller than reality to fit in) before colouring these pictures!

 

 

In real life they will be professionally printed, and won't have all the uneven lines, spatters and smudges! But for now I'm using embossing powder, on lines drawn with refillable pens filled with a half & half mixture of non-waterproof indian ink and glycerine.

 

Maths Monsters

 Here's one of the promotional videos for the Maths Monsters books.

 

Inking & colouring Maths Monsters

Here's a wee video I made, showing how I inked and coloured one of my latest illustrations.

 

I chose a simple illustration and speeded it up, so it's just 12 minutes.

 

Sketches

When your train is cancelled, it's amazing how much work you can fit on the back of two receipts 😄

 

New project coming soon...

Hobbits

Some pictures I did a loooong time ago!

I appear to have misinterpreted the description slightly, and made the soles of their feet hairy instead of the tops 🤦‍♀️. Otoh, I have given them "thick warm brown hair like the stuff on their heads (which is curly)", unlike the film-makers...

 

I think the one in the black suit was meant to be Bilbo, but then I drew a whole family. Not sure if they're meant to be modern-day hobbits, or it's unintentional anachronism.

 

 

 

And here's one I did much more recently!

Quote

 All the things that we create, whether you have a big audience, or whether you're just making stuff for the folks close to you. Sure - maybe those things you make will be forgotten. Or maybe the things that you create will get laid down as someone's long-term memory, and affect them a lot later in their life. So, make nice things. Try to give people something they'll be nostalgic about, not something they'll flashback to. You never know what impressions you might be making for the future. 

~Tom Scott

Illustrator credit

I was reading the back of my popcorn packet, as you do.

Never seen this before:

That's better

Just managed to get the I AM pictures in this post to show big when you click on them. Not sure what was wrong before.

The importance of cover design

This is a girl's book.

Actually, it's not.

If I remember right, all the characters - and certainly the hippo - are male. The author is male. There's nothing girly about it.

But, as I discovered a few years ago, if you're a 7-year-old boy, it will look like a girl's book (and you will delight to point this out to your friend who recieved it).

Here's a colour tweak which would have made a huge difference:

Although I think these old covers are better still:

I AM illustrations

Realised I hadn't posted this yet. Finished a week ago. Jesus' last three I AM sayings. (resurrection & life, way/truth/life, vine)

It was nice to illustrate some stories I've never done or seen in Go Teach before. I thought they explained complex ideas like 'abiding in Jesus' well. And we've never had a lesson that focusses so much on heaven before (plenty on how to get there, but not on why you would want to!). Although it's based on John 14, it also gets into Rev 21 themes.

Though with the current situation, when they'll actually get used is another question...

I tried to use complementary colours as I did last time, but I feel it was less successful - possibly because there aren't borders to bring out the colours. And I was doing it in rather a rush (partly my fault, partly not).

For your amusement, this is the original 'rough' I sent them, just to give an idea of content. A cobbled together mixture of my old illustrations in various styles, googled images, and clipart!

A problem with illustrating the Bible

Many persons suppose he was on horseback, and painters thus represent him; but this is utterly without foundation. Painters are, in almost every case, wretched commentators.
~ Clarke*

He's right - but I do try very hard not to do this. 

But at the end of the day, you have to draw something. And unless the Bible spells it out, your choice does say something. If you draw him on a horse, you're saying he was on a horse. But if, because it doesn't say so, you don't draw a horse, you're not leaving it open to interpretation - you are saying that he was not on a horse.

Actually, in this case, the fact that Paul was later led by the hand suggests to me that he was not on a horse - and personally I avoid drawing horses whenever possible anyway!

But there's so many things: was the person old or young? fat or thin? tall or short? brown or black or white**? And if we avoid any of these extremes, are we saying that the Bible is about boring, characterless people instead of real-life people like us?

What colour were Adam & Eve? Did Mary & Joseph ride a donkey? Were there three wise men? Was Mary Magdalene the same person as Mary of Bethany? Was she the sinful woman who anointed Jesus' feet? Was 'the disciple whom Jesus loved' John? Do angels have wings? ***

Every picture you draw makes a statement.

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* Sorry, I have no idea this guy's full name - it was a quote in the commentary on my Bible app 
** Not such an issue in the OT (though there certainly was more racial diversity than we tend to imagine or draw - which is also saying something). But by the NT - especially Acts - with the racial mix of the Roman empire...
*** My decisions for illustrations:

• Adam & Eve were mid brown, with all the genes necessary for the whole human race
• No
• Not necessarily, but three is a nice number, so I often draw three
• Yes
• No
• Yes
• Probably not - I tend to draw them glowing instead. But I have no objection to including wings, and I have done so if needed to make it clear these are angels

And all these may be wrong!

Latest illustrations

Finally got these illustrations finished!

I'm really happy with them - not just "well, it'll do", as I feel some of my recent work has been. (Though of course I can still see bits where it could have been better). It's good to try new things.

click to see big

I took the time to shade them - not a lot of time, but makes a big difference.

My new 'inking' technique really worked well - I'll do that again. It completely missed out the middle step - so I went straight from the rough roughs below to final linework.

Not just quicker, but also gives a livelier effect. And since pencil's a more forgiving medium than ink, easier to get a decent result 😀

So the time constraint was a blessing in disguise, as otherwise I would just have done what I usually do.

I tried to hold each story together with a colour scheme - not something I usually do, but I thought I'd try it. Each lesson has two complementary colours, which I've tried to use quite a lot in the picture (not so bright, though!).

And, to finish it off, I added an overlay of one of the colours over the foreground and the other colour over the background. Tbh, I'm not sure how this works, but it subtly changes the colours and helps to separate foreground and background.

how I did it

showing the difference: foreground redder, background cyan-er