Illustrator Accuses Alcalá de Henares of Feeding His Drawings to AI for Festival Poster

Juan Pedro Pintado, known as Pinty, an illustrator and co-founder of the Peña Los V, has accused the City Council of Alcalá de Henares (Madrid) of using his past illustrations as input for an AI-generated poster for the 2026 Ferias y Fiestas. The poster, which features avatars representing the peñas (festive associations), includes elements strikingly similar to Pinty's earlier drawings. Pinty had previously ceded the rights to his illustrations to the peñas, intending to create a unifying visual identity, but not to the council. He denounces that the council 'fed his drawings to an AI.' The city council responded that the campaign was created by an illustrator who works as a civil servant in the design department, and that AI was partially used in its creation. This incident follows a similar complaint by comic artist Paco Roca, who accused the San Martín de la Vega council of plagiarizing his Valencia Book Fair poster using AI. The controversy highlights growing tensions between artists and public institutions over the unauthorized use of copyrighted works in AI-generated content.