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In recent years, AI image generators have exploded in popularity and it’s easy to see why. With a few simple instructions/ settings/ prompts, these tools can allow nearly anyone to quickly bring their visual ideas to life.
All that said, with the proliferation of AI image generation tools, how do you know which is best for you? We’ve got you covered! In this article, we do a deeper dive into the capabilities and nuances of some of the most popular AI image generation tools currently on the market, discuss the pros and cons of each, and help you find the best AI image generator for your needs.
How Does an AI Image Generator Work?
AI image generators are advanced machine learning models designed to create visual assets from text descriptions. These models are trained on vast datasets of images alongside corresponding text-based descriptions, allowing them to learn complex associations between text inputs and visual outputs.
When a user inputs a descriptive phrase, the AI interprets this text and generates an AI generated image that matches the description. This process involves understanding and translating abstract concepts, styles, and themes from text to a corresponding image, demonstrating a sophisticated grasp of both language and visual representation.
The technology behind these AI generators can vary from tool to tool, but the goal for each is to ensure that the generated image is both unique and aligns with the input prompt. These tools are not only about translating text into images but also about understanding context, emotion, and artistic elements encoded in the language.
How Should You Select an AI Image Generator?
When you’re new to AI image generation, choosing the right AI image creator can feel a bit daunting. A good starting point is to consider your needs, your budget, and the level of complexity you’re comfortable handling.
An important factor is understanding what you need the tool for: some tools are more geared towards highly creative and imaginative outputs, while others are better suited for highly realistic image creation. Additionally, understanding how much editing or customization options you’ll need can help you select the right tool for your needs. If you’re looking for something that offers a lot of complexity in terms of creative power, something like Leonardo.AI might be a better choice. However, a tool like Canva Media Magic is more simple and straightforward.
It’s also crucial to consider the user interface and support provided; some tools are more user-friendly and provide extensive tutorials and community support, which can be invaluable when you’re just starting out. Assessing these aspects will help you choose a tool that not only fits your technical comfort level but also matches the kind of artistic creation you’re aiming for.
Lastly, some tools operate on a subscription basis or use a credit system, where you pay per image generated. This can be a practical option if you’re just experimenting or need high-quality images occasionally but aren’t looking to consistently use GenAI in your workflow.
We provide additional guidance, examples, and a breakdown of which tools are best suited for each application below.
Best AI Image Generators:
DALL-E
DALL-E is a sophisticated AI art generator that produces images from textual descriptions. It’s designed to cater to a variety of users ranging from digital artists to marketing professionals, offering a simple yet powerful way to transform creative concepts into visual reality.
How to get started:
You’ll need to first create an account on OpenAI’s website (DALL-E isn’t free, and you’ll need a ChatGPT Pro account for its use). Once your account is set up, you can quickly start creating images with this AI-powered image generator by typing descriptive prompts into the interface. As you explore DALL-E, you can also take advantage of community forums provided by OpenAI to get the most out of the tool and find additional resources.
Best for:
- High Versatility: DALL-E is capable of blending various concepts, attributes, and styles to produce unique images. This can make it ideal for any number of creative avenues, from marketing and design to crafting educational content.
- Efficiency: DALL-E streamlines the creative process by quickly turning textual descriptions into high-quality visual content through its powerful image generation. DALL-E can be a great way to both brainstorm and ideate, or come up with a finished product.
- Accessibility: The tool is designed to be user-friendly, making advanced image generation accessible to a wide range of users regardless of their technical expertise.
- Advanced Editing Capabilities: DALL-E touts features like outpainting and inpainting, allowing users to expand beyond the original canvas or make detailed edits to new and existing images.
Possible Challenges:
- Complexity of Prompts: While DALL-E can generate high-quality images, the detail and accuracy of the outputs can heavily depend on how the prompts are structured. Users may need to experiment with different phrasings to achieve the desired results.
- Subscription Costs: Users will need a ChatGPT Pro account in order to utilize DALL-E.
- Systemic Limitations: DALL-E's filtering systems, designed to prevent the creation of harmful or inappropriate content, can sometimes also restrict the generation of images that are benign but mistaken by the system as violating content policies. This can limit creative freedom and frustrate users who are working within legitimate boundaries but find their prompts censored or altered unexpectedly.
- Accuracy in Some Scenarios: While DALL-E is adept at creating images from text descriptions, it sometimes struggles with highly complex or abstract concepts that require a deep understanding of context or subtle nuances. This can lead to images that do not fully capture the intended details or themes, requiring users to refine their prompts repeatedly to get closer to the desired outcome.
Leonardo.AI
Leonardo AI is a versatile image generator designed for a wide range of creative and professional applications. It can produce photorealistic images from text descriptions, making it suitable for a wide variety of industries. Additionally, its ability to train custom AI models allows users to fine-tune the generation process to fit specific styles or needs.
How to get started:
Navigate to the Leonardo.AI web app to sign up and get started. Once you log in, you’ll see the interface where you can start with image generation. Leonardo offers various preset styles right from the get-go: for instance, you can select from styles such as Cinematic or HDR for specific aesthetic outputs. However, these are a necessity to use, and you can start from scratch with a text prompt (we recommend something more detailed).
Best for:
- Character and Scene Design: Because of the tool’s ability to produce tailored and high realistic results, Leonardo can be especially useful for artists and illustrators to conceptualize and visualize ideas.
- Customization: Leonardo offers extensive model training and fine-tuning capabilities, allowing for a high degree of customization for creators.
- Community and Support: Unlike some other AI tools, Leonardo has a robust interactive platform where users can share creations and gain inspiration, tapping into a sense of community.
- Versatility: Leonardo has been particularly noted for its ability to create content from short prompts, making it ideal for generating visuals across various industries and use-cases, from design to marketing to education.
Possible Challenges:
- Subscription Costs: While there is a free tier, more advanced features require a paid subscription, which might be a barrier for some users.
- Performance Variability: Image generation can be on the slower side when it comes to AI tools, and like many others, the results may vary, requiring adjustments to prompts and settings.
- Complex Features: While Leonardo is a powerful tool with a lot of possible applications, the array of options and settings can be overwhelming for new users, especially beginners to GenAI.
MidJourney
MidJourney is an AI image creator that stands out for its artistic capabilities and the distinct quality of images it produces. Primarily geared towards artists, designers, and creatives, it offers a platform to explore and materialize visionary ideas through text prompts.
How to Get Started:
MidJourney operates through Discord, so if you don’t have a Discord account, you’ll first need to create one. From there, you can join the MidJourney server, where you’ll then be prompted to sign up and select a payment plan. Once you’re a part of the community you’ll receive instructions on how to get started: new users will be directed to a #newbies channel, where you can work through some lightly guided experimentation with the tool.
Best for:
- Artistic Flair: MidJourney excels in creating images that have a distinct, often painterly or conceptual style. This makes it highly appealing for projects that require a unique artistic touch, from book illustrations to conceptual art.
- Customization: Users can tweak their results extensively by adjusting prompts, refining iterations, and choosing among different styles. This level of control allows for a more personalized creative process.
- Rapid Prototyping: The tool enables fast generation of visual ideas, helping creatives to quickly visualize concepts and iterate on them, which is particularly useful in fields where visual experimentation is key.
Possible Challenges:
- Learning Curve: The complexity of crafting the perfect prompt to achieve desired results means there's a significant learning curve. New users may need to spend time understanding how to best communicate their ideas to the AI, and also may not prefer having to sign into Discord to use the tool.
- Artistic Bias: The distinctive style of MidJourney’s outputs, while a strength, can also be a limitation. Users looking for photorealistic images or those that conform to specific aesthetic standards might find the tool less suitable.
- Performance Under Load: During peak times, especially given its popularity in the creative community, users might experience slower response times or limited access to the service, impacting workflow continuity.
- Cost for Use: While Midjourney’s basic account is only $8 for month, it still comes with a paywall in order to use the tool.
Adobe Firefly
Firefly is Adobe's entry into the AI image generation space, which focuses on creating accurate and detailed images. It can prove especially useful in tasks that require an understanding of lighting and shadows.
How to Get Started:
Adobe Firefly is a stand-alone app, so you just need to navigate to the dedicated site and sign up. While users get a few free creations to experiment with, and Firefly does provide some light guidance, in order to continue using the tool, however, you will need to move forward with getting an Adobe subscription.
Best for:
- High Accuracy in Text Rendering: Adobe Firefly is proficient at generating text within images, which is crucial for tasks that involve custom sticker designs or any design work that incorporates textual elements.
- Integration with Adobe Suite: As part of the Adobe ecosystem, Firefly seamlessly integrates with other Adobe products such as Photoshop, which is highly beneficial for users who already rely on Adobe for their creative workflows.
- User-Friendly Interface: Adobe products are known for their sophisticated yet user-friendly interfaces, and Firefly is no exception—the tool is designed to be accessible to professionals and novices alike.
- Advanced Image Editing Tools: Comes equipped with advanced editing tools that allow for significant post-generation tweaks, which can be a huge advantage in fine-tuning outputs, and also has strong capabilities in handling shadows and lightning.
Possible Challenges:
- Inconsistencies in Complex Scenarios: Firefly can sometimes struggle with complex image generation tasks, especially when precise text and detailed background isolation are needed
- Dependency on Adobe Ecosystem: For users not already using Adobe products, the need to integrate heavily with Adobe’s ecosystem can be a barrier
- Limited Creative Control: Users may find the options for creative control more limited compared to other AI image tools that offer more granular tweaking capabilities
Best Free AI Image Generators
Stable Diffusion
Stable Diffusion is an open-source model that stands out for its balance between speed and performance. It is customizable and capable of generating high-resolution AI generated art, making it ideal for developers and advanced users who want more control over the image generation process.
How to Get Started:
Since Stable Diffusion is open source, all you need to do is navigate to the site to get started: the basic model at least is completely free. Stable Diffusion offers options to get started completely from scratch, or you can select from a wide range of different types of media templates, from illustration to anime to photorealism, as a jumping off point.
Best for:
- High-Quality Images: Stable Diffusion is known for producing diverse and high-quality images, making it suitable for various professional applications in art, design, and media.
- Open Source: Being open source, it allows for significant customization and integration with other tools, providing great flexibility for developers and artists.
- Cost-Effective: As an open-source tool, Stable Diffusion doesn't involve high licensing fees, making it accessible for users with limited budgets, unlike some other tools where many features are behind a paywall.
- Speed: The model operates efficiently, maintaining a balance between image quality and generation speed, which is crucial for interactive applications and may be ideal for individuals looking to ideate quickly.
Possible Challenges:
- Complex Setup: The setup process can be complex and daunting, especially for those unfamiliar with command-line tools and custom configurations, making it challenging for those who are less tech-savvy.
- Limited User Interface: The primary interaction is through the command line, lacking a dedicated graphical user interface, which could hinder usability or interest for some users.
- Technical Knowledge Required: Users need a solid understanding of its technical aspects to fully utilize its capabilities, which can be a barrier to entry for new users who are less experienced working with tech and AI.
Canva Magic Media
How to Get Started:
Canva's Magic Mega is a feature of their site, so all you need to do is navigate to Canva and create an account or log in. Magic Media is a straightforward tool: you'll be prompted to write a text description of what you're looking for, and underneath you'll be presented with some stylistic options. Magic Media will then generate four images to choose from, with the option to regenerate if they don't meet your expectations.
Canva's Magic Media lives within the Canva platform and uses a simple text prompt to generate images. It seamlessly integrates with the other design functionalities Canva offers, making it a convenient option for both casual and professional users looking to enhance their visual content.
Best for:
- Versatility: Magic Media supports a range of creative tasks, from creating simple icons to designing complex infographics. It caters to various industries such as education, business, and social media marketing, allowing users to tailor visuals to their specific needs.
- Integration: Unlike standalone tools, Magic Media is part of Canva’s broader design suite, which includes templates, photo editing, and layout tools. This integration simplifies the workflow, allowing users to add AI-generated images directly into their projects without switching platforms.
- Ease of Use: Canva is known for its user-friendly interface, and Magic Media is no exception. It provides an accessible way for users with no technical background to generate images effortlessly.
Possible Challenges:
- Quality Variability: While convenient, the image quality generated by Magic Media can vary, especially for complex or abstract concepts. This might require additional editing to meet professional standards.
- Creative Limitations: Canva’s tool may not be as powerful as others out there, resulting in limitations with understanding highly specific or niche prompts. Users might find that the tool works best with more general or widely understood concepts.
- Integration Overload: Users who prefer standalone tools might find Canva’s integrated environment overwhelming or cluttered, especially if they are only interested in generating images without additional design features.
Perchance
While Perchance has been best known for generating other types of creative content, it also offers an AI image-generation feature. Perchance is easy to use and quickly provides a variety of images to choose from. While it may not be the best choice for complex image building, it's good for free ideating or for beginners looking to play around with something straightforward.
How to Get Started:
Navigate to the Perchance image generator, and you can get started from there with no payment: Perchance is completely free. You can then input a text prompt of what you’d like in your image, and also have an option to tell Perchance what you don’t want in the image. There are also some further customization options, such as stylistic choices and sizing.
Best for:
- Quick Ideating: Perchance quickly generates a variety of images based on a specific prompt, making it an ideal choice for those who want to play around and experiment.
- Free Usage: Perchance is completely free, meaning individuals who aren’t sure if AI is right for their workflow or who want to try something before committing to a paid tool can do so without any limits.
- Ease of Use: With its simple and user-friendly interface, Perchance is accessible even to those with no prior AI knowledge, democratizing the creation process with these types of tools.
Possible Challenges:
- Limited Complexity: While Perchance has some customization options, it may face limitations with more complex prompts that require multiple considerations or more nuanced ideas in terms of execution.
- Customization Limits: Although Perchance is versatile, the extent of customization is somewhat restricted compared to more sophisticated software, which might limit more advanced users.
- Lack of Variety: Other tools provided more variety in their responses, meaning that users may have to craft prompts various times or make sacrifices in a finished product.
**Bonus** Runway
Runway is an innovative AI-powered platform that's designed to enhance the capabilities of artists, creators, and storytellers by providing advanced tools for generating and editing digital content.
How to Get Started:
Runway is a video generation platform, and in order to get started you’ll need to navigate to their site and create an account. From there, you’ll be presented with a variety of options for video creation. We played around with text/image to video gen, which allows you to provide a text prompt to Runway to create something fully from scratch, or provide an existing image that you would like to animate. Runway also has options for different customization styles, such as cinematic, cartoon, advertising, and more.
Best for:
- Text-to-Video Generation: Runway can transform text prompts into educational, marketing, or narrative videos, making it ideal for content creation.
- Video Editing: Runways offers tools for trimming, cropping, merging, and adding effects like slow motion and transitions. The tool also has motion-tracking capabilities for objects in videos to add dynamic text or graphics.
- Image Generation: Runway can create unique images from text prompts for various visual content needs.
- Style Transfer: The tool allows creators to easily apply the style of one image to another, enhancing creativity and flow.
- Inpainting: With Runway, creators can fill in missing areas of images or restore old ones, allowing for editing that may not be possible or seamless with other tools.
Possible Challenges:
- Paywalls: Usage of advanced tools for upscaling videos or removing watermarks requires purchasing credits, which might add to the operational cost.
- Limited Export Formats: Runway does not support exporting projects in PNG or ProRes formats, which may limit flexibility for professional video editors.
- Resource Intensity: Advanced features can be resource-intensive, requiring robust computing setups, which could be a barrier for users with limited technical resources.
- Learning Curve: While the platform is user-friendly, the breadth of advanced features may require a significant learning curve for new users to fully utilize the platform's capabilities.
Interested in learning how to more effectively work with AI image generation? Our AI design course will teach how to do just that, and features many of the tools listed above.
