Comparing Human and AI Performance in Visual Storytelling through Creation of Comic Strips: A Case Study

This article presents a case study comparing the capabilities of humans and artificial intelligence (AI) for visual storytelling. We developed detailed instructions to recreate a three-panel Nancy cartoon strip by Ernie Bushmiller and provided them to both humans and AI systems. The human participants were 20-something students with basic artistic training but no experience or knowledge of this comic strip. The AI systems used were popular commercial models trained to draw and paint like artists, though their training sets may not necessarily include Bushmiller's work. Results showed that AI systems excel at mimicking professional art but struggle to create coherent visual stories. In contrast, humans proved highly adept at transforming instructions into meaningful visual narratives.