The human-made line: why AI output stays out of the competition

The rule itself

AI can be used to develop the idea: looking for inspiration and references, or trying out concept, colour and pattern ideas, is fine. The submitted design must be human-made; prompt-generated kit images, AI renders, and “AI draft, hand-retouched” hybrids are not accepted. AI can't be used in the presentation at all: putting the kit on a footballer with AI, or using an AI-generated presentation image, is not allowed.

The rule is absolute for challenge entries only. The bar is softer for content shared in the feed, but posting AI work while hiding its origin breaks the community guidelines.

Why draw it so sharply?

The concept kit scene used to be a place where the hours behind a design were visible. Prompt-to-kit output makes those hours invisible and hollows out what a community score means: the points stop measuring effort and start measuring access to a tool.

So the rule is not a clause bolted on later; it is one of the principles the community was built on from the start. Once the hours behind a design become invisible, there is nothing left to measure.

How it is enforced

Uploaded images are checked automatically: an image whose metadata says it was generated or edited with AI (for example Photoshop's Content Credentials record) is not accepted. The check only sees the marker a file carries — no claim is made to detect AI from the pixels — so for unmarked images, enforcement runs through reports and review.

Review looks at source files, layer history, and whether the designer can walk through their process. Confirmed violations get the entry removed; repeats bring account restrictions.

Borderline cases exist and are judged one by one. The measure is simple — did a human make the design decision? Trying out ideas with AI is fine; having AI make the design, or generating the presentation image with AI, is not.

Takeaways

• AI is fine at the idea stage; AI output and AI-made presentations are banned in entries. The feed bar is softer, but hiding the origin is a violation.
• The reasoning is simple: points should measure effort, not access to a tool.
• Images carrying an AI marker in their metadata are rejected automatically; for unmarked images, enforcement runs on reports, source files and process walkthroughs.