Artificial intelligence (AI) has made huge strides in recent years, with one of the most exciting advancements being AI-generated art and imagery. AI art generators allow users to create unique visual art by providing text prompts. The AI will then generate an image, illustration or even animation based on the text description.
With so many AI art generators now available, knowing which ones to use can be tricky. Here is an in-depth look at some of the top AI art generators you should try in 2023.
Best AI Art Generators
1. Midjourney
Midjourney is an impressive text-to-art AI that generates images through a Discord bot. Created by a self-funded team, Midjourney has gained immense popularity since its beta launch for its ability to create striking imagery from text prompts. To use Midjourney, you must join the Discord server and type a text prompt prefixed with “/imagine” to queue up a request. The bot then quickly creates variations of the image, continuously improving the quality in front of you.
Midjourney creates remarkably accurate and aesthetic art from prompts without the ability to choose art styles. You can tweak the outputs by choosing different variations, upscaling the image, or having the bot redraw it with a different prompt. Midjourney handles even complicated requests well.
Access to Midjourney is not free – you get 25 free image generations, after which a $10 monthly membership is required for up to 200 images. However, given the quality of Midjourney’s outputs, the membership fee is worthwhile for creating art for projects or blogs. Overall, Midjourney is one of the best AI art generators available today.
2. Dream Studio (Stable Diffusion)
Stable Diffusion is an impressive open-source text-to-image AI that rapidly generates images from text prompts. Trained on thousands of Nvidia GPUs over a month, Stable Diffusion can be accessed online or installed locally. Dream Studio offers a streamlined interface to Stable Diffusion’s model and APIs for fast AI art generation.
When using Stable Diffusion, the algorithm iteratively refines the image towards your prompt, delivering a final result that matches the text. It can produce a huge variety of art limited only by your imagination. Local installs allow NSFW filters to be disabled and offer image upscaling. However, Stable Diffusion requires powerful hardware due to its resource demands.
In my experience, Stable Diffusion excels at flexible art-style drawings and character creation. It sometimes struggles with highly specific prompts, showing limitations as an early-stage model. Nonetheless, the 512 x 512 images are impressive, considering they are AI-generated. Stable Diffusion, especially through Dream Studio, is one of the best free AI art generators available today and is worth exploring.
3. DALL-E 2
DALL-E 2 is a viral text-to-image AI from OpenAI that generates highly realistic imagery from text prompts. As an upgraded version of the original DALL-E, DALL-E 2 creates even more lifelike images. Initially available only to select beta testers, DALL-E 2 is now open for anyone to use after signing up for an account.
Unlike Stable Diffusion, DALL-E 2 provides 50 credits to generate images, with each output costing 1 credit. More credits can be purchased to support OpenAI’s research and improve the AI model. Over time, DALL-E 2’s accuracy and output quality have noticeably improved.
DALL-E 2 impressively brought my prompts to life in my testing, often surpassing expectations. While occasional longer processing times occurred, the AI art outputs were consistently amazing for various prompts. The editing tool lets you add keywords to an existing image to generate new variations. DALL-E 2 also provides helpful tips during processing to create better prompts.
DALL-E 2 is one of the most capable text-to-image AIs available today to generate highly realistic and creative art from text prompts. The model improvements over time and editing tools make it a great choice for AI art generation.
4. Jasper Art
Jasper AI’s art generator complements its writing capabilities by creating images from text prompts. Like Jasper’s other services, the image generator requires purchasing a $20 seat for access. It offers two methods – Free Form for custom prompts or pre-built templates that refine images automatically.
With Free Form, providing a detailed prompt and choosing moods, mediums, styles, keywords, and languages will produce better results. Jasper generates images in under a minute, quite fast compared to other AI art tools. In my testing, Jasper understood prompts well and output relevant, high-quality art in various styles. Mixing and matching aesthetics allows for customizing the image as desired. The pre-built templates also let Jasper handle the heavy lifting.
While not free, Jasper Art provides unlimited generation with a purchased seat. A 5-day trial of 200 images is available to test it out before subscribing. Jasper Art is one of the best AI art generators available for its fast generation times, ability to customize, and overall high-quality art from prompts. The free trial lets you experience these capabilities firsthand.
5. NightCafe
NightCafe is an online AI art generator with a unique approach – it provides extensive customization of output styles and algorithms. Users can choose between different AI models like Stable Diffusion or Clip Guided Diffusion to guide the art creation. This gives more control over the final image compared to other tools.
NightCafe operates on a credit purchase model starting at $0.053 per image after using free credits. While limiting, the affordable per-image pricing allows for choosing a suitable plan. The art outputs from NightCafe appear vivid and lifelike thanks to algorithms like Clip Guided Diffusion that adhere to real-world physics.
In my experience, NightCafe consistently produces quality results for diverse prompts, although longer processing times occur versus Stable Diffusion. Output images can also be upscaled or iteratively improved by providing more prompts. Overall, NightCafe is a capable AI art generator with a unique emphasis on customizing algorithms and styles for each art piece. The credit system makes it more suited for light usage, but the high degree of control over the AI output makes NightCafe stand out.
6 Fotor
Fotor is a free online AI art generator that rapidly creates images from text prompts. After creating a free account, users can generate up to 10 free images per day. Fotor requires detailed prompts to produce quality results and can generate art from uploaded images, storing creations in a gallery.
The output images from Fotor are highly usable, with little editing needed. For versatility, Fotor provides different size ratios and customization of styles, lighting, and other settings to enhance the art while keeping basic generation accessible.
As a free service with no limit on prompt length, Fotor stands out as one of the best AI art generators currently available. The quick generation and download of results make Fotor easy to use for any project requiring AI-generated graphics. For those looking to test AI art generation capabilities, Fotor is an excellent free option to experiment with.
7. Pixray
Pixray is an AI image generator available online, locally, and as an API for Discord bots. However, it takes much longer than other generators – around 6 minutes per image on Nvidia T4 GPUs. The upside is Pixray’s simple website, where prompts are entered and progress is watched in real-time. It also provides a slider to review how the AI built the final art.
The image quality from Pixray is decent but sometimes inaccurate when the AI gets confused. Customization options are limited beyond downloading and sharing the output. Pixray is free initially but prompts for payment after a while. Instead of credits, compute time on different hardware specs is paid for, costing $0.0002 per second or more depending on workload.
While slower than other AI art generators, Pixray is easy to use and inexpensive if generation speed is not critical. The ability to install locally or utilize the API makes Pixray more customizable as well. For casual AI art creation without time pressures, Pixray is a capable free option before needing to pay for an extra workload. But the slower generation times limit it for rapid high-volume art production.
8. Text to Pokemon Generator
The Text to Pokemon Generator is a niche AI art tool for Pokemon fans to create their own unique Pocket Monsters. Using the Replicate platform prompts like “Pikachu Yoda in Red”, generate new Pokemon designs in about a minute. While limited in combining multiple ideas, the results are impressively creative Pokemon mashups. For example, a “Terminator Pokemon” prompt perfectly fused the two concepts.
Beyond Pokemon, real-life figures can be described to yield amusing drawing-style interpretations as Pokemon characters. The generator won’t blend too many complex concepts, but it provides an entertaining way for Pokemon lovers to obtain AI-generated art of their dream creations from the text. For its speed, quality, and appeal to fans, the Text to Pokemon Generator delivers a focused AI experience to bring imagined Pokemon to life.
9. PhotoSonic
PhotoSonic is an AI art generator that converts text prompts to images through latent diffusion. After creating an account, 10 free credits are provided to create images. Additional credits, starting at 100 images, can be purchased for $10/month, and a free 1-month trial is offered.
PhotoSonic handles long, complex prompts well. While the output quality is not as polished as top generators, it is accurate enough for beginners. There are no preset templates, but styles can be customized by adding keywords. Helpful features include selecting an output size like square or vertical and downloading results in a zip file.
Compared to leading AI art tools, PhotoSonic’s images are more basic. But the service provides a solid introduction to AI art generation with useful options to customize the size and style. The free trial period lets new users experiment with prompts and get a feel for the output quality before purchasing credits. For those looking to start creating AI art without advanced features easily, PhotoSonic is a viable pick.
FAQs About AI Art Generators
1. How do AI art generators work?
AI art generators use neural networks trained on massive datasets of images and art. BY ANALYSING THESE EXAMPLES, the AI learns associations between visual concepts, styles, and text descriptions. When you provide a text prompt, the AI generates a new image that matches the text by recombining and iterating on elements it has learned.
2. Are AI art generators free to use?
Some AI art generators offer free trials or a limited number of free generations. But most require paid subscriptions or credits after an initial trial period. Pricing varies but is generally around $10-$30 monthly for unlimited access. Individual credits for additional generations can also be purchased à la carte from some services.
3. What makes one AI art generator better than another?
Factors that distinguish AI art generators include resolution, coherence, imagination, styles, community, accessibility, pricing, etc. The best generators create high-resolution images that closely match the desired prompt with creative flair. An active community for sharing art is also beneficial.
4. Can AI art generators copy existing art styles?
Yes, many AI generators can mimic the styles of famous artists or art movements when specified in the text prompt. However, directly copying or closely recreating copyrighted art raises ethical concerns. AI art thrives on originality.
5. Are there risks or downsides to using AI art generators?
While creative and fun, overreliance on AI for art carries risks like lack of originality, loss of human skill, copyright issues, environmental impact, and promotion of harmful content. Ethical usage and recognizing the AI’s limitations is advised. Human creativity is still essential.
6. What is the future of AI art generators?
The technology is rapidly advancing to create higher fidelity artwork, videos, animations, 3D models, and more from text prompts. New generators will provide creative access to more users. But regulating harmful content, establishing best practices, and new business models will be challenges going forward.
Conclusion
This covers some of the most popular and advanced AI art generator creators should explore in 2023. Whether you’re an artist looking to experiment with AI tools or want to bring your imagination to life, these generators offer endless creative possibilities.
The rapid pace of advancement in AI art means even more new generators and features are likely coming soon. But these options already provide incredible power to render stunning visuals straight from your mind. With the right prompts and some practice, you can unlock the potential of AI as your creative partner.
