Small business owner replaces art teams with AI animators: 'Clients preferred the cost savings of AI animators to the human-made animations.'

Author image for Emmy Pratt
Emmy Pratt • Writer and Editor
Mar 17, 2026 8:00 AM EDT

Clients' preferences for cheap, low-quality AI animation are a sad reality that's sweeping the animation industry.

Have you ever taken time out of your day to watch strange AI-animated videos on TikTok? I must admit that I have a strange proclivity towards Italian Brain Rot videos, where characters like Trallalero Trallalla (a shark wearing Nike sneakers) and Ballerina Cappuccina (a ballet dancer with a cappuccino for a head) play out various scenes and scenarios. Last weekend, I watched a video where a coconut cheated on her mango husband with a cantaloupe. I probably shouldn't spend my precious moments on earth watching that, and yet I am!

None of these videos was edited by a legitimate video editor. They were all made by AI, and they all look pretty bad. Some of the characters have totally different bodily proportions in every "scene." The voice acting (if you can call it that, since no actors are involved in creating these videos) is inconsistent. There are only certain movements that the characters can do, and they look amateurish, even compared with mediocre hand-drawn animation from the 80s, like in Heavy Metal. And yet, once they come up on my feed, I can't look away. I know deep down that these videos are harbingers of the decline of internet culture as we know it, but I'm just as susceptible as anyone to getting sucked into mindless slop! 

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  • Man sitting and animating on a desktop computer
    via Ion (Ivan) Sipilov

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • A lot of people don't care if the animations they're watching were made with the power of human creativity. They like to see colors move around. The small business owner in this story discovered that he could make animations for nightclub and concert projections much more cheaply with AI than with the animators he had been outsourcing to, so he made the switch permanently following some labor disputes. His conscience is catching up to him, and he tries to seek some outside validation, to no avail. 

  • Am I the bad guy for replacing our art team with AI?

    Our small business coordinates special effects and lighting for nightclubs and live music events across the east coast.
    via u/Dazzling-Ability-803
  • People watching a concert in the crowd during night time
    via Colin Lloyd

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • Video wall animations are subcontracted out to two art studios. A few months ago we had to terminate our relationship with one due to repeated missed deadlines and poor client feedback.
    via u/Dazzling-Ability-803
  • In the emergency we used an Al tool to generate video wall animations (with client approval) on a small number of projects.
    via u/Dazzling-Ability-803
  • The other art studio found out about the situation and threatened to stop all work unless we ceased the use of Al and re-signed the previous studio and paid them for all of the Al generated revenue.
    via u/Dazzling-Ability-803
  • A group on unsuccessful business people at badly managed company
    via Getty Images (Unsplash+)

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • We offered the second studio to fill in the work but they refused on moral principles.
    via u/Dazzling-Ability-803
  • Negotiations broke down and they followed through on the threat. We eventually found a third vendor but they could only handle 10% of our workload, the rest being allocated to you guessed it...
    via u/Dazzling-Ability-803
  • Al video animations generation. The 2nd vendor ultimately backtracked and asked for their contracts back. however there was one problem.
    via u/Dazzling-Ability-803
  • Most venues after using the Al animations preferred the cost savings to the human made animations.
    via u/Dazzling-Ability-803
  • They are no longer willing to pay for the animations. We were only able to restore 30% of their original business resulting in a loss of over $20,000 a month of billable work.
    via u/Dazzling-Ability-803
  • Today the owner of the studio called me in anger complaining that my small business is || over artists" and basically called me an AH.
    via u/Dazzling-Ability-803
  • Legal_Statement_6765 Yes, absolutely YTA. Wait til your clients work out they can use Al and cut you out of the deal. Even cheaper for them. Maybe then you'll get it.
    via u/Legal_Statement_6765
  • Dazzling-Ability-803 Original Poster's Reply Hi our business is more of the logistics, setup, and arranging the individual services together. We are do not produce any of the individual artistic effects
    via u/Dazzling-Ability-803
  • ImAnNPCsoWhat YTA for using Al for creative things. All it does is steal. We hate the Plagiarized Information Synthesis System ( ). You can find other artists for cheaper or that are more reliable. Look harder. NTA for tryna keep your business afloat, but this is not the way.
    via u/ImAnNPCsoWhat
  • Dazzling-Ability-803 Original Poster's Reply As I said we did find another art studio but they could only handle a small amount of projects.
    via u/Dazzling-Ability-803
  • arifaix Yep. YTA. Al models for art steal from artists. Not only are artists battling cost wise with Al - art is being stolen to generate Al art. To put it bluntly? If you cannot make your business work without theft (and Al art is theft) it simply isn't a sustainable business model. You'll find out very quickly that you'll be cut out when the people hiring you realise they can use Al themselves more easily (and way cheaper than hiring you) too tbh.
    via u/arifaix
  • BulbasaurRanch Hope your business fails ♥
    via u/BulbasaurRanch
  • gewqk YTA. If you can't make this business work without paying artists, you can't make it work.
    via u/gewqk
  • Prize-Chocolate998 YTA.
    via u/Prize-Chocolate998
  • SignificantCicada 156 Title once again gives us the answer - Yes, yes you are, and I'm hoping it makes your business suffer as you would deserve
    via u/SignificantCicada156
  • Jeffin Vancouver It's a mix here IMHO. Mostly YTA except the first studio was bold to ask for your revenue from the work that you initially gave to Al because they failed in their obligations. I can see their desire to "fine" you for it, but they're the least deserving of the benefit of that since it was their failure to deliver that tempted you to try Al in desperation the first place. The second vendor is ok though. It's their prerogative to refuse work.
    via u/JeffinVancouver
  • ConfettiBen You are NTA. You didn't greedily replace hard working animators with Al to increase profits. You responded to a need to the best of your ability, and the rest was a domino effect. Had the first contractor been more reliable you would have never had to supplement their work with Al. And, had the second contractor been more pragmatic, they would still be generating the same revenue. You made decisions based on needs to continue operating your business
    via u/ConfettiBen
  • MuttFett You offered the work to the other studio that was offended on someone else's behalf, and they declined. Not only that, they were attempting to blackmail you......... You're entitled to make money. Other people are not entitled to dictate the terms on how that happens. NTA
    via u/MuttFett

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small business art morals animation work concert negotiations cost saving nightclubs artificial intelligence
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