Turn a sketch into an illustration

Draw or import a sketch, review the description and style, and generate a finished illustration that still looks like the original drawing.

3 min read

Studio Plus

  1. Get the sketch into the app

    Either Draw now on the canvas, or Import a sketch by photographing a paper drawing. Photographing works better than you would expect — shoot it flat, in even light, and frame the edges of the paper tightly in the camera.
  2. Tap Done and let it save

    The sketch is written into your project before any network call happens. Whatever else occurs, the original drawing is safe.
  3. Read the review screen

    You will see the source sketch and an editable field asking what the finished picture should look like. This field is the whole game. What you write here determines what you get.

    You can also set an art style, a shape (square, portrait, landscape), and a “keep these details” box.

    Tip. Stuck? Ask the app to suggest a description from the sketch, then edit the suggestion. It is a starting point, not an answer.

  4. Write the details that matter

    Use the keep these details box for the things that would upset your child if they changed. “The dog must be purple.” “Keep the crooked chimney.” “Six legs on the spider, not eight.”

    Children notice these things immediately and care about them enormously.

  5. Check the cost, then generate

    The button shows the exact charge — Create illustration · 1 credit. Tap it. Progress shows the current stage and can be interrupted.
  6. Accept, adjust, or discard

    If you like it, accept it and it joins your project library. If it is close, Adjust and retry takes you back to the recipe with your text intact. If it is wrong, discard it and keep the original sketch.

    Tip. A retry costs another credit. It is usually cheaper to spend two minutes improving the description than to reroll and hope.

Why the result should still look like their drawing

The point of this feature is not to replace a child’s drawing with something slicker. It is to show them their idea rendered beautifully — the same wonky house, the same purple dog, but painted.

If a result comes back looking like generic stock art with none of the original character, the description is usually too vague. Add the specifics back in.

Good and bad descriptions

Too vague: “a nice picture of a house”

Better: “a children’s picture book illustration of a small crooked cottage with a red door and a very tall chimney, one large yellow sun in the corner, soft watercolour style, warm afternoon light”

The second one keeps the drawing’s actual features and tells the model what kind of picture to make. See writing a better prompt.

What it costs

One credit per illustration. Preparing a suggested description is free but rate limited. Failed or refused generations refund automatically — see understanding credits.