Human–AI Co-Drawing: Studying Creative Efficacy and Eye Tracking in Observation and Cooperation

Artificial intelligence (AI) tools are rapidly transforming the field of traditional artistic creation, influencing painting processes and human creativity. This study explores human–AI cooperation in real-time artistic drawing by using the AIGC tool KREA.AI. Participants wear eye trackers and perform drawing tasks by adjusting the AI parameters. The research aims to investigate the impact of cross-screen and non-cross-screen conditions, as well as different viewing strategies, on cognitive load and the degree of creative stimulation during user–AI collaborative drawing. Adopting a mixed design, it examines the influence of different cooperation modes and visual search methods on creative efficacy and visual perception through eye-tracking data and creativity performance scales. The cross-screen type and task type have a significant impact on total interval duration, number of fixation points, average fixation duration, and average pupil diameter in occlusion decision-making and occlusion hand drawing. There are significant differences in the variables of average gaze duration and average pupil diameter among different task types and cross-screen types. In non-cross-screen situations, occlusion and non-occlusion have a significant impact on average gaze duration and pupil diameter. Tasks in non-cross-screen environments are more sensitive to visual processing. The involvement of AI in hand drawing in non-cross-screen collaborative drawing by designers has a significant impact on their visual perception. These results help us to gain a deeper understanding of user behaviour and cognitive load under different visual tasks and cross-screen conditions. The analysis of the creative efficiency scale data reveals significant differences in designers’ ability to supplement and improve AI ideas across different modes. This indicates that the extent of AI participation in the designer’s hand-drawn creative process significantly impacts the designer’s behaviour when negotiating design ideas with the AI.