OK. That's it! I HAVE to chime in now.
I usually don't say anything about Viv's chimp outs because ultimately we all agree here that she's just being unreasonable and highly unprofessional. But THIS I have a stake in, I'm an artist (if me drawing Angel Dust groping his boobs for Kiwis weren't evidence enough) and I often also ask my friends to do silly voices for animations I make for them as well.
And I started off agreeing with Viv, that you can ask real people to do it first, maybe see what rates you can afford (let's leave out the "no budget" and "non profit" part out for now) before resorting to AI.
However, the responses are right. Her referring to a VERY specific individual as opposed to using broad terms like "if you use AI instead of VA's..." makes the individual open to attack by her rabid fans, and as someone with clear ties to The Industry (tm) and high standing in the online art sphere, it's her responsibility to not do that.
And I feel like VA's and art being churned out by AI is very different. AI can very easily replace real working artists, VA's cannot. You cannot create new voices with AI, only existing ones (and they're usually popular figures as well)
You do not have the same "AI artist" label being stuck on by people who use AI for voicework. However, people who use AI to churn out shitty smooth anime art call themselves "artists".
Hopefully you guys see where I'm getting at? If there are any voice actors in the thread I'd love your take. Feel free to disagree with me, I'm not Viv.
I like how she talks about getting VAs for low price or free when these same types of people lose their mind the moment you suggest any of these people (artists and animators) to work for free or lower their price
I found this quite strange as well, artists online will rip you a new one if you even underprice yourself or get paid in online currency (IE Robux, in-game currencies and other such alternatives), but Viv here has no problem telling people to take advantage of new VA's who aren't quite sure what their rates are.
Highly hypocritical and, if she really wanted to end the discussion she should've said "using a dead guy's voice is creepy" and left it at that.
Or better yet, shut up because she's not a voice actor and would not have the experience and work as a voice actor.
Apologies for the long sperging and post. I'll go back to lurking - and who knows, maybe I'll draw more Angel Dust for the thread.