Stable Doodle AI can turn doodlers into artists

Stability AI, the developer behind Stable Diffusion, has launched a new generative AI that can turn simple sketches into high-definition images.

It’s fittingly called Stable Doodle and it’s quite user-friendly. According to the announcement, “anyone with basic drawing skills” can try out the tech right now for free on Stability AI’s ClipDrop website.

The way it works is you begin by doodling something on the drawing board with the pencil tool. Next, you enter a prompt in the text box underneath to tell Stable Doodle what you drew. The AI needs some direction. You can also instruct it to emulate particular styles or famous painters such as Vincent Van Gogh. If you’re stumped, select “No Style” below the board and you will be given 14 different art forms to emulate, from origami to anime.

Click “Generate” when you’re ready, wait a few seconds, and then three images will show up in a grid alongside the original sketch. You can download the content in high definition or have the AI start over. Of course, there is an eraser tool present if you make a mistake or you want to wipe the board clean.

To give you some examples, below is a collection of drawings we had Stable Doodle create with the sketch we drew, plus a prompt.

Limitations

As fun as it is, there are some limitations. First, anonymous users can only generate three sketches at a time before Stability AI asks you to wait 21 hours. You can wait the full amount of time to regain access or you can sign up for a free account. After signing up, it appears the limit is removed as we were able to create more than three pieces of art without issue. Do note the website doesn’t save sketches or generated content, so be sure to download them.

The other limitation is that the quality of “ the final output is dependent on the initial drawing and description”. You don’t have to be a master artist, however, clean sketches do improve the chances of getting clean artwork. If you compare our generated content and Stability AI’s, the latter is much cleaner. There are fewer errors. But it’s okay if you’re not a great artist, as other reports hint at the fact the AI seems to rely more on the text prompts than what you draw.

Availability

The work isn’t over yet as there are plans to expand the AI. A company spokesperson told TechCrunch that Stable Doodle will one day allow users to upload their own sketches as well as introduce “use cases for specific verticals [like] real estate applications”. In the reveal, Stability AI states it envisions the tech helping professionals “free up valuable time” by creating important assets like “[materials] for presentations decks” or business logos.

It’s unknown when this update will roll out, although we did ask.

As mentioned earlier, you can try out Stable Doodle by going to ClipDrop or downloading the official ClipDrop app from the Google Play Store and Apple App Store.

While we have you, be sure to check out TechRadar’s list of the best AR art generators for 2023.