AI slop is everywhere on social media, including in comedy promotion like posters and event flyers. This week I talked to Zach Woomer, a painter and digital designer who makes tour posters for comedians like Dusty Slay, Jordan Jensen, and Ian Fidance. With new AI images and content flooding feeds, I wanted to ask Zach how he’s navigating a design world reshaped by AI and what he’s seeing in the comedy world.
Vaudeville Sam Tallent on acrylic, by Zach Woomer
When did you start making art and posters for comedians?
I started sometime during the beginning of the pandemic. I heard about this comic getting fired from SNL, because of that I discovered Matt and Shane’s Secret Podcast and was instantly hooked. I was listening to them and...noticed neither really had a lot of merch or anything, I saw a little bit of a niche I could fill. While listening I would hear stuff that I thought would make a funny design so I was doing things for fun, basically fan art. Eventually I started having comics actually reach out for stuff. At the time I was still working full-time for Levante Brewing doing labels and graphics for them, and in my off time I would do the comedy stuff on the side. It just kind of snowballed from there, I work for myself now.
“I haven’t used any AI tools, not out of malice, more because I’m afraid I’d like it too much. I really enjoy the hard parts of my work, and never want to give up the problem solving side of what I do...it would be boring.”
In general, has AI image generation affected your work?
Personally I haven’t noticed much of a change in my flow of work. I definitely come across AI work a lot, and absolutely understand the benefit of it with comics that are early in their career. When you’re just starting out and not making a ton of money, having such an affordable option to promote your shows is nice. I think I may be benefiting some from the pushback of that; people that want to support someone that’s in a similar situation – being a fellow creative person trying to make a living. As far as my work goes though, I’ve never had a huge issue with it.
I haven’t used any AI tools myself, not out of malice, more because I’m afraid I’d like it too much. It would definitely make my job a lot easier. Currently though I really enjoy the hard parts of my work, and never want to give up the problem solving side of what I do. I love drawing and painting, doing things by hand, and having to pull an idea from my own brain. I think if I started using AI tools it would take away all of the aspects of my job that make me want to keep doing it, it would be boring.
What do you think AI cannot replicate in your work?
I’m not really sure these days the full capabilities of what you can do with it, but one thing I tend to notice is bad typography. It seems you can make a great looking graphic using those tools, but as far as I know you still need someone to manually add info on top of it. A lot of the time you can see a glaring difference in quality between the artwork and the words. I also see a lot of stuff that just looks the same, so I guess being able to provide some variety is another aspect I still have a leg up on.
Have you noticed other comedians choosing AI designs?
Yes, again I think mostly out of necessity for comics just starting out. I imagine it’s hard to justify spending what you’d make on one show to promote that one show. I get it.
Are you optimistic about continuing to make posters/art for comedians?
Currently, yes. I try to not have all my eggs in one basket; I also paint, write, do a lot of creative things outside of the comedy work. At least during my own lifetime, I think there will continue to be people that want the real thing.
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