ArtStation AI declarations: what illustrators and designers should keep

Last checked 12 November 2026. General information for illustrators, concept artists and other designers who publish on ArtStation, not legal or platform-policy advice, and not a finding about any project or any account. We quote ArtStation’s 9 November 2026 magazine post. A dated original does not prove that a work is “100% non-generative,” and TimeBinder does not detect AI imagery.

What ArtStation announced on 9 November 2026

The official magazine post, by the ArtStation Team on 9 November 2026, describes the next phase of the site’s generative AI content controls. The stated goal is clearer information about how work was created, and more control over what people see.

There is a dedicated way to report artwork you think is AI-generated and unlabeled. When publishing a project, creators will now be asked to declare whether generative AI was used. The three choices in the post are: primarily generative AI; mixed generative AI and non-generative methods; and 100% non-generative.

Filters are being expanded. ArtStation says you will be able to choose whether to hide declared generative AI content, allow mixed workflows, and adjust how aggressively suspected generative AI projects are filtered based on user reports. Strict hides the most content, when a few signals suggest a work may be AI-generated. Balanced is a middle ground, when there is a moderate level of reports. Loose filters only when user signals are strongest. By default, the updated filter “will be set to not show any project declared as AI-generated, tagged with CreatedwithAI or tagged with generative AI tools, and suspected as AI will be set to strict.”

Those are ArtStation’s words, read on 12 November 2026. They describe how the site intends to label and filter projects. They are not a finding about any artist’s file, and they are not a detection result from TimeBinder.

Demand around the update, and what it does not decide

The announcement circulated quickly among artists and industry news accounts. An in-window X search found 25 posts totalling 9,572 impressions; the clearest on-topic item we measured was @80Level on 10 November 2026, with 6,938 impressions, about the declaration and filter update. Google autocomplete in the United States on 12 November 2026 suggested “artstation ai,” “artstation ai policy,” “artstation ai controversy,” “artstation noai” and “artstation noai tag.” We did not rely on off-topic portfolio posts, and we found no dedicated in-window YouTube policy video to treat as a primary source.

A declaration is a statement you make on the platform. A filter is a viewer setting plus ArtStation’s signals. A report is someone else’s claim that a work is unlabeled AI. Those are different events. A dated original can help you show what file you held, and when. It does not, by itself, prove the declaration was correct, and it does not decide a report. If your work is mixed, the mixed declaration is the honest box; keep both the generative and non-generative inputs you actually used, so the project page and the files on disk still tell the same story.

If you already keep process files because a client, a platform or a comment thread may later call a work AI, this update is one more reason to keep them in a form you can still open. See timestamping portfolio work before you post it, a calm plan if a work is called AI, and dating a Procreate illustration.

Practical checklist for artists who publish on ArtStation

1. Re-read the 9 November magazine post before you publish or change a declaration. The three declaration choices and the default filter behaviour are described there. Save the wording that applied on the day you posted the project.
2. Keep the layered original and the process files, not only the final upload. A PSD, a Procreate .procreate file, a sculpture stack, or a folder of iterates is the record of how the work was made. Export a flattened PNG as well if that is what you uploaded.
3. Keep a dated record of the declaration and tags as they stood. Screenshot the project settings, including “primarily,” “mixed” or “100% non-generative,” and any CreatedwithAI or tool tags. If you later edit the project, keep the earlier state.
4. Declare what the form actually asks, not a slogan. “100% non-generative” is ArtStation’s phrase. A timestamp does not make that statement true. If you used a generative tool in part of the work, the mixed option is there for a reason.
5. If someone reports the project as unlabeled AI, keep the notice and do not overwrite the original while you reply. ArtStation says reports help improve filtering. A dated original and process folder are what you can actually show. They are not a detection score.
6. If a filter hides your work, capture how it is classified, then adjust only through the official settings. Default hiding of declared AI, CreatedwithAI tags, generative-tool tags, and strict suspected-AI filtering is ArtStation’s stated default, not something a TimeBind can override.
7. If the same work also lives on another marketplace or social account, keep that export too. Rules and tags differ by platform. For a takedown elsewhere, see what evidence to gather for a DMCA notice about your artwork.
8. Date the pack you would actually hand to a client, a platform or counsel. A TimeBind of the original, a process zip, and a screenshot of the declaration lets you show that those exact files existed no later than a recorded time and still match.

What a TimeBind does and does not show

A TimeBind is a dated, checkable record that an exact file existed no later than a recorded time and still matches. The SHA-256 fingerprint is made in your browser and the file is never uploaded. The record is anchored to Bitcoin (a Merkle root in an OP_RETURN). Your first Pooled TimeBind is free; after that, TimeBinds start from US$5, and an ASAP TimeBind is US$15. See how it works.

Here it is useful for the layered original, a process or iterate folder, the file you actually uploaded, and a screenshot of the declaration or tags. See also dating a Photoshop file.

A TimeBind does not detect AI imagery, does not apply or change an ArtStation declaration, tag or filter, does not prove that a work is 100% non-generative, and does not decide a user report. It is one piece of a timeline.

Limits

This article summarises ArtStation’s 9 November 2026 magazine post as read on 12 November 2026. Platform wording and default filters can change. We are not certifying any artist’s declaration, and we take no position on whether any particular project should be hidden or reported. This page is not legal advice.

Tools that can help

Use the bulk SHA-256 manifest for a folder of originals and iterates, and keep a dated screenshot of the ArtStation declaration as it stood.

Sources checked

• ArtStation Team, “More Transparency and Control for Generative AI on ArtStation,” ArtStation Magazine, 9 November 2026, https://magazine.artstation.com/2026/11/more-transparency-and-control-for-generative-ai-on-artstation/ (read 12 November 2026)
• X in-window search: 25 posts, sum 9,572 impressions; on-topic @80Level, 10 November 2026, 6,938 impressions
• Google autocomplete, 12 November 2026 (US): “artstation ai,” “artstation ai policy,” “artstation ai controversy,” “artstation noai,” “artstation noai tag”

Date the originals and declaration you keep yourself

Your first Pooled TimeBind is free, with no credit card required. After that, TimeBinds start from US$5, and an ASAP TimeBind is US$15. Click here to start, or see plans and pricing.

Related: When an AI animation is accused of copying a studio’s character: what animators should keep.