How Creatives Approach GenAI Image Generation: Tensions Between Structured Guidance, Self-Experimentation, and Creative Autonomy

2026-05-11

AI Summary

This study investigates the learning behaviors and preferences for structured guidance among creative professionals using generative AI image tools, revealing a central tension between supportive scaffolding and creative autonomy. Through in-depth interviews with eight creators, a survey of 159 participants, and a research probe involving 17 users, the findings indicate that while most participants acknowledge the value of structured guidance in enhancing AI literacy, they predominantly favor self-directed experimentation and express concerns that external intervention may constrain their creativity. The work contributes design principles for effectively supporting creative AI practice by demonstrating that pedagogical or interface-based guidance must be carefully balanced with the preservation of users’ exploratory freedom and creative agency.

Abstract

As generative AI tools increasingly influence creative practice, they raise longstanding HCI questions about how creatives learn complex software and how they can be better supported. We conducted an interview study with artists and hobbyists (n=8) and a follow-up survey (n=159) to understand how this population approaches and seeks guidance for GenAI image tools. We found that creatives commonly use either self-experimentation or tutorials to explore GenAI tools, yet many struggle with confusing AI terminology. To gain further insight into creatives' learning experiences, we developed a research probe to elicit creatives' perceptions of structured guidance. Our user study with 17 creatives revealed that, even when creatives described the guidance as helpful for understanding AI, many still preferred self-experimentation, feeling that guidance could limit their creativity. Our findings highlight a central tension in supporting AI literacy for creatives: balancing guidance and promoting literacy while preserving creative freedom.

Problem

• generative AI
• creative autonomy
• AI literacy
• structured guidance
• self-experimentation

Innovation

• generative AI
• creative autonomy
• structured guidance
• self-experimentation
• AI literacy