AI-powered "Magic Brush" helps Chinese comic industry grow

Artificial intelligence is being used to boost China's comic and animation industry and improve its global competitiveness and brand awareness, China's top comic platform says.

Kuaikan, which raised US$240 million in its latest round of financing in August, has invested 500 million yuan (US$78 million) on research including an AI assistant for comics.

The system, called Ma Liang, helps authors "create animation faces," input and adjust colors and automatically sizes works to fit various devices.

Ma Liang is a painter with a "Magic Brush" in Chinese legend.

Kuaikan also announced strategic cooperation deals with the Harbin Institute of Technology and the Southern University of Science and Technology to "empower Chinese comic comic with AI technology."

"'Made in China' comics represent the country's culture and readers' confidence," said Chen Anni, founder and CEO of Kuaikan.

Facing competition from animations in Japan, the United States, and South Korea, technological innovations like AI may create more opportunities for Chinese comics, Chen added.

Besides AI, the company will invest heavily to support comic authors and expand product lines overseas.

Currently, contents on Kuaikan cover 70 overseas publishing channels. The Chinese comics have been translated into 12 languages to cover readers from 200 countries and regions.