How to use Craiyon AI (formerly known as DALL-E mini)

To get started, browse to the Craiyon website. You can sign up for a free account, but you may want to first try the site without an account.

Type a description of the image you want generated. You can also add negative words to specify any items you want excluded in your query. Choose the type of image you'd like to see — art, drawing, or photo.

Take a moment before you submit your query. Trying to describe the image you want can be challenging. How you phrase it and what words you include will determine the accuracy and quality of the results.

Also: How to write better ChatGPT prompts (and this applies to most other text-based AIs, too)

Craiyon reminds you to select the style that interests you the most. But you're also able to play around with different keywords, such as “illustration,” “photorealistic,” and “high definition.” Plus, consider joining the Craiyon community on Discord to chat with other users and search for previous images requested by others.

After you've entered your description and chosen a style, click the Draw button. With the free tier, you'll have to wait a minute or longer for the image to appear. In response, Craiyon displays several images in their own thumbnails.

Click an image you like, and it appears in a larger size. From there, click the Upscale button to try to improve the resolution and quality. Click the Screenshot button to save it as a PNG file.

Click the image to return to the set of thumbnails of all the results. Below the images, Craiyon may suggest another prompt to fine-tune or modify the results. 

Also: Want to learn more about prompt engineering? This free course can help

If you think the new prompt is worth a shot, click the button for Try this one. Modify the prompt if necessary and then click the Draw button.

A new set of thumbnails is generated, allowing you to pick one you like and then upscale or save it. A new prompt will also be suggested, which you can modify and try again.

To keep track of the generated images, sign up for a free account by clicking the Sign up button at the top. To save an image, click its heart icon. After you've saved one or more images, click the Account button at the top and select the option for My Collection.

To help earn money and provide you with some cool swag, Craiyon will sell you a $26 t-shirt with your favorite image printed on it. For this, open an image and click the button for Print on a t-shirt. Confirm the image, choose the theme of light or dark, and then click Buy. Confirm your size and place your order.