Stable Doodle AI turns your scribbles into sketches

If you have sub-par artistic skills, it may be your time to shine. Artificial intelligence startup Stability AI has created an image-generating tool that turns doodles into detailed sketches.

What is Stable Doodle?

Aptly called Stable Doodle, the sketch-to-image tool can convert "a simple drawing into a dynamic image". The tool is geared towards "both professionals and novices" according to the company.

Examples of images show fairly dynamic images: a simple chair sketch, for example, is transformed into something detailed and colorful. It's not entirely unlike Lensa AI, the self portrait generator that proliferated picture-perfect selfies across Instagram.

How does it work?

To create the images, Stability utilizes technology from its Stable Diffusion XL, the company's open-source imaging-generating model, combined with a condition-control solution T21-Adapter.

What that means is the app uses algorithms to create these visually pleasing pictures. There are currently 14 "styles" to choose from, including comic book, cinematic, realistic, origami, and fantasy art. You can also use text prompts, instead of sketching, to create your image.

A quick trial of the text prompt resulted in an image generated within seconds. I typed in the prompt "girl sitting at her desk in bedroom", clicked "Comic Book" for the style – and I got a wallpaper-worthy picture which could then be downloaded in HD.

What is it used for?

It's clear the startup is hoping for the tool to be harnessed by professionals like "designers and illustrators": they propose it can "free up valuable time", "maximize efficiency", and be used to create work for clients, such as "presentation decks" and "websites." Its services propose questions that people have been asking for months: how will AI affect artists, graphic designers, and creatives in general? While some artists have seen AI as an ally, others are generally more apprehensive.

For now, if you just want to play around with a fun sketch or two, Stable Doodle is available today. It can be accessed for free through ClipDrop, a platform acquired by Stability in March. It's also available via its app, in both iOS and Google Play.