Top 5 Image Gen Apps for Ideation | Updates | Free ChatGPT Workshop
I'm listing my top 5 go to Image Generators for Ideation on popular demand! Lets go!
Hey folks, the entire team at RBDS AI Lab and I wish you a very happy new year! I hope you had a blast on NYE and the week leading up to this Monday!
I’ve had a lot of people ask me about which image generators are the best to start with, especially for concepts, speculative ideas, and conceptual ideation. While the options are overwhelming, I’ll start with the ones I normally use on a regular basis.
Before we dive into that, a few updates!
About Last Week
I had the most incredible time at the IDEAS College of Architecture in Nagpur last weekend. I spoke about the Journey to the Centre of Intelligence, how the centre has shifted and the focus is now on the inorganic evolution of AI. Two long-form sessions of more than 2 hours each, one with the brilliant professors and one with the wonderful students. It was an amazing two days filled with AI and Architecture coinciding in the most beautiful city. Cant wait to go back!
Atavism is out on YouTube!
I have been waiting to tell you guys that our AI short film, “The Atavism of an Old Ideal: The Centre of Intelligence” is out on our YouTube channel! The film was screened at the International Film Festival of Larissa at Greece and we finally premiered it on YouTube! Watch the film here:
While you’re on YouTube, don’t be a noob, Subscribe to our channel after watching the video and get your groove on with the other stuff going on there!
We’re hosting a free webinar on “How to Collaborate with ChatGPT for Architects and Interior Designers” on the 11th of Jan 2025. If you want to 1-up your skills and need a partner-in-crime who never sleeps, never gets tired, and never wakes up on the wrong side of the bed, then you don’t want to miss this webinar!
I will cover the types of prompts, including Exploratory Prompts and Structured Prompts, and I will show you how we use ChatGPT in our architectural and interior design practice. So, don’t miss out on this!
Alright folks, its time for the list! And it starts with our No 1 app which is central to most of our work, and my book!
1. Midjourney
Our day doesn’t end without generating on Midjourney! Midjourney is a highly popular AI image generator that stands out for its unique artistic style and ability to generate images with a dreamlike, fantastical quality. It's particularly well-suited for creating concept art, illustrations, and other visuals with an artistic flair. One of the reasons why I love MJ is its art-generating capabilities which help us ideate by combining the most unusual concepts together and hitting upon something we’ve never seen!
Midjourney operates through a Discord server, which fosters a sense of community and collaboration among users. It has also upped its game with its web app, making it easier to generate and collaborate without having to learn Discord.
Cost and Features: Midjourney offers four subscription tiers with monthly and annual payment options, featuring a 20% discount on annual subscriptions. Each subscription offers access to the Midjourney member gallery, the official Discord server, and general commercial usage rights. The Basic plan starts at $10 per month, the Standard plan at $30 per month, and the Pro plan at $60 per month.
If you are looking to start with Midjourney, then you’ve got to see this:
Example Images: Midjourney excels at generating artistic and imaginative images. Some examples include:
2. DALL-E 3
DALL-E 3, developed by OpenAI, is the latest iteration of their powerful AI image generator. It builds upon the success of its predecessors with enhanced capabilities for creating detailed, realistic, and creative images from complex textual descriptions. DALL-E 3 boasts a deeper understanding of natural language, allowing it to interpret prompts with greater accuracy and nuance. This leads to more refined and relevant image generation, making it a powerful tool for various creative endeavours.
Cost and Features: DALL-E 3 is primarily accessible through a ChatGPT Plus subscription, which costs $20 per month. It's also available through certain Microsoft tools, some of which may add watermarks to the generated images. Key features include advanced text-to-image generation, enhanced image quality and detail, and improved safety mitigations to prevent the generation of harmful or inappropriate content.
Example Images: DALL-E 3 excels at generating a wide range of images, from photorealistic scenes to imaginative artwork. Some examples include:
3. Stable Diffusion
Stable Diffusion is an open-source AI image generator that has gained popularity for its flexibility and high degree of customization. It gives incredible control over the generated images, making it a great option for both beginners and experienced users who want to explore the creative potential of AI image generation.
The best part about SD is that you can load it onto your computer and use it without any hassles! There is more stuff that you can do with SD by adding modifiers and controlling specific aspects of generation. This is the only application that makes you work for the image and the results truly are worth it!
Cost and Features: Stable Diffusion is open source and free to use. Users can access it on GitHub and other platforms like Clipdrop. Key features include text-to-image capabilities, image-to-image transformations, and style and concept blending.
Example Images: Stable Diffusion can generate a wide variety of images, from photorealistic scenes to artistic creations. Some examples include:
4. Leonardo AI
Leonardo.AI is a versatile AI image generator that is suitable for all skill levels. It offers fast generation speeds and supports various artistic styles, making it a great choice for those who need to create a variety of visuals quickly. Leonardo.AI also provides a range of customization options, allowing users to fine-tune the generated images to their liking.
Cost and Features: Leonardo.AI offers a free tier with a daily token allowance, as well as paid plans starting at $10 per month. The paid plans offer more tokens, access to premium features, and the ability to train custom models.
Example Images: Leonardo.AI can generate a variety of images, including photorealistic images, artistic creations, and stylized images. Some examples include:
5. Adobe Firefly
Adobe Firefly is an AI image generator that is integrated with Adobe's Creative Cloud suite of tools. This makes it a seamless addition to the workflow of creative professionals who already use Adobe products. Adobe Firefly is known for its professional-quality outputs and advanced customization options.
Cost and Features: Adobe Firefly is available to Creative Cloud subscribers. A standalone version is also available for $4.99 per month. Key features include text-to-image generation, generative fill, and generative extend.
Example Images: Adobe Firefly can generate a variety of images, including photorealistic images, artistic creations, and stylized images. Some examples include:
That’s all folks! See you next time around.
I’m Sahil Tanveer of the RBDSai Lab signing off for the week. I promote, consult, and apply AI for Architects along with my Architecture and Design Studio, RBDS. If you liked this Substack,
You will love my book, DELIRIOUS ARCHITECTURE: Midjourney for Architects. It is a 330-page hardcover showcasing the potential of AI in Architectural Design. It is available on Amazon worldwide.
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I’m talking about AI. Our team is set to visit key cities of India for architectural conferences, Podcasts and exclusive student interactions at architecture schools. We’d love to come over for an engaging meetup, hands-on workshop, or a creative collab. Enquiries to sahil@rbdsailab.com