As generative AI tools increasingly influence creative practice, they raise longstanding HCI questions about how creatives learn complex software and how they can be better supported. We conducted an interview study with artists and hobbyists (n=8) and a follow-up survey (n=159) to understand how this population approaches and seeks guidance for GenAI image tools. We found that creatives commonly use either self-experimentation or tutorials to explore GenAI tools, yet many struggle with confusing AI terminology. To gain further insight into creatives' learning experiences, we developed a research probe to elicit creatives' perceptions of structured guidance. Our user study with 17 creatives revealed that, even when creatives described the guidance as helpful for understanding AI, many still preferred self-experimentation, feeling that guidance could limit their creativity. Our findings highlight a central tension in supporting AI literacy for creatives: balancing guidance and promoting literacy while preserving creative freedom.

翻译：随着生成式AI工具日益影响创意实践，它们引发了人机交互领域长期以来的核心问题：创作者如何学习复杂软件，以及如何为他们提供更好的支持。我们通过对艺术家与爱好者（n=8）的访谈研究及后续问卷调查（n=159），旨在理解该群体如何接触生成式AI图像工具并寻求指导。研究发现，创作者通常通过自我实验或教程探索生成式AI工具，但许多人仍因混乱的AI术语感到困扰。为深入洞察创作者的学习体验，我们开发了一个研究探针，以引发创作者对结构化指导的看法。针对17位创作者的用户研究表明，即便创作者认为指导有助于理解AI，多数人仍更偏好自我实验，认为指导可能限制其创造力。本研究结果凸显了支持创作者AI素养的核心张力：在指导与推广素养之间寻求平衡，同时保留创作自由。