It could affect commercial artist deeply, like game artists and commercial illustrators making logos and icons and whatnot.
But it won't affect studio artists at all. Studio art is not about "the image", it's about the practice, physical qualities of the artifacts, and an ongoing evolution of the artist.
The subreddit for stablediffusion has several examples of high quality stitching of SD-generated images. If I am interpreting your vernacular of "studio artist" correctly, then yes, studio artists will be affected.
Artists that produce a "real" medium like charcoal, sculpting, etc. aren't directly affected yet, but could be in the future.
As always, there is a power law distribution when it comes to perceived value. It will be interesting to see how this evolves.
I’m thinking about the “art world”. People who invest in art bet on the artist continuing to put out work, evolve a narrative, grow their brand. The art is important because of who made it. “I own a Matisse”. I don’t see how diffusion models can disrupt that world.
But it won't affect studio artists at all. Studio art is not about "the image", it's about the practice, physical qualities of the artifacts, and an ongoing evolution of the artist.