Introduction

Within just two months of its launch (in November 2022), ChatGPT had over 100 million active users from around the world. (No wonder it became the fastest-growing consumer app ever!) Today, the platform boasts over 300 million active users weekly and processes about a billion queries daily. ChatGPT works on NLP (Natural Language Processing), analyzing and generating text with over 175 billion parameters. In March 2023, the new and improved version, ChatGPT 4.0, came out with many new customization features. Today, ChatGPT not only has remarkable research capabilities, but it can also create mesmerizing images for its users! This fact has opened up extensive opportunities for designers looking for ways to create visual art, marketers looking for creative visuals, and even educators who need to create custom visuals for their lesson plans.

How to Generate Images Using ChatGPT

One thing you need to know here is that ChatGPT’s image generation feature was previously accessible only to ChatGPT Plus and Enterprise users. ChatGPT Plus, priced at $20 a month, is actually quite worth it, given its fast response times, GPT-4 turbo, and early access to the latest features. In contrast, Enterprise has a more customized price plan that depends mainly on your needs. ChatGPT Image Generator is part of OpenAI’s suite of tools. It is integrated with the DALL.E 3 Model that uses GANs (Generative Adversarial Networks) to create images from textual descriptions. However, a vast majority (approximately 290 million) still use the free-tier version. The good news is that as part of OpenAI improvements, image generation features are now also available. Let’s go through the main steps to generate images using ChatGPT:

Step 1: Give the Prompt

The key to getting an image as close as the one you have in your head is the prompt (you need to work on your description!) Make it as detailed yet specific as you can. ChatGPT can create images for you just with a simple prompt. For instance, here’s something you can start with “Make me an image of a cat sleeping under a tree.” Within just a minute (rather a few seconds), your image will be generated and look something like this:

However, if you give it more complex commands like: “Imagine a mystical forest with tall, towering trees, mini mushrooms, and ground life creeping across the ground,” it will take a bit longer.

But the usual time is a few seconds to 1-2 minutes.

Step 2: Customize the Image

You need to go a bit deeper with your prompt to get to the image you want. So, specify the style you want and other details like the tone, background, number of subjects, etc.

Like if you want the animated image, you will give the next command to make the image animated and get something like this:

If you want it to appear like a painting, you can give another prompt like “Make it look like a painting.”

This is the result:

You can also ask ChatGPT to add text to the image, specify the placement, and further refine the image as you want.

Step 3: Edit the Image

Editing is kind of a new feature on ChatGPT. To edit an image you have to click on the image to make it full-screen. There you get a little paintbrush icon (the select tool.)

Just click on it and drag it to the place you want to edit. Then, send the next prompt.

You can ask ChatGPT to recolor the skin tone, remove or add an object, change the background, or ask for other such tweaks, and it will instantly incorporate the edits and give you the final image.

Step 4: Download the Image

This is the last step. If you are done with all the revisions and happy with the final result, you can download it. Just click on the download button on the top right corner, and the image will be downloaded on your device as: Dall-e [Date] [First prompt sentence].webp

ChatGPT Image Generator - Limitations

Although the ChatGPT image generator is quite extensive, it still has a few limitations. For starters, there is a cap that allows you to send as many as 50 prompts in three hours. You can’t go beyond that – yet! Also, due to copyright concerns, ChatGPT will also resist generating images featuring public figures or living artists.

Conclusion

With ChatGPT image generator, you can create AI-enhanced images tailored to your needs within minutes. All you have to do is instruct ChatGPT to generate an image based on your description, and it will breathe life into your vision. 

So the next time you’re thinking of opening Canva or Photoshop to create an image, why not give ChatGPT a chance? It's easy, quick, and the best way to explore new and innovative concepts. Additionally, Canva has a GPT inside of GPT. You may also consider checking out Canva GPT.

What do you think about ChatGPT’s capabilities regarding image generation? Is it sufficient for your activities?