DALL·E AI-generated image of “Astronaut cowboys at a rodeo in outer space” with caption
You can make an account on DALL-E like on any other website by using an email and making a password. When you’re in, the homepage has a search bar to start creating. Below the search bar are examples of art DALL·E has made, including the search term that lead to the image.Screenshot of the DALL-E homepage
DALL·E/OpenAI
On DALL-E, the AI-generated images you create are called “generations.” They are based on text you put into the search bar called “prompts.” You can also upload images to DALL-E, called “uploads,” and create images from that.
The details you can search for are seemingly limitless, including the style of art or artist you want the AI-image to resemble. For this search, I specified that I wanted the image to be “digital art.”Screenshot of DALL·E search for “astronaut fish swimming in an ocean in outer space, digital art”
DALL·E/OpenAI
The first search I did on DALL-E was of cats eating soup. One of my favorite paintings is “The Kiss” by Gustav Klimt, so I searched for this image and added, “in the style of Gustav Klimt.” This image was the best of the four that DALL-E gave me, but none of the images really resembled “The Kiss.”DALL-E AI-generated image of “Cats eating soup in the style of Gustav Klimt”
DALL·E/OpenAI
I did another search with a different artist in mind. For this image, I searched for “van Gogh style painting of Formula 1 car driving on Mars.” Compared to what DALL-E gave me for Klimt, I thought this image more closely resembled a Vincent van Gogh painting.DALL-E AI-generated image of “van Gogh style painting of Formula 1 car driving on Mars”
DALL·E/OpenAI
My favorite result from my searches on DALL-E were these images of “extraterrestrial School of Athens by Raphael.”Screenshot DALL-E generated images of “extraterrestrial School of Athens by Raphael”
DALL·E/OpenAI
Here’s a closer look at my favorite of that batch. I didn’t have any real expectations for this search, so I was excited to see how DALL-E would interpret it. I liked this one the best because DALL-E added more landscape to this “generation” to suggest it was in a different world.DALL-E-generated image of “extraterrestrial School of Athens by Raphael”
DALL·E/OpenAI
Each detail in your search will influence how DALL-E will create your image. For example, I used the same search term for two photos. For this one, I searched, “a bright painting of a girl walking over a bridge into a waterfall that opens into another dimension…”DALL-E AI-generated image of “a bright painting of a girl walking over a bridge into a waterfall that opens into another dimension”
DALL·E/OpenAI
…then “a dark painting of a girl walking over a bridge into a waterfall that opens into another dimension.” Both sets of images came out very different depending on whether I put “bright” or “dark.”DALL-E AI-generated image of “a dark painting of a girl walking over a bridge into a waterfall that opens into another dimension”
DALL·E/OpenAI
When your search isn’t very specific, the “generations” can really vary in style. For example, I only searched for “Astronaut cowboys at a rodeo in outer space.” Here’s one generation:DALL-E AI-generated image of “Astronaut cowboys at a rodeo in outer space”
DALL·E/OpenAI
And another one in a different style:DALL-E AI-generated image of “Astronaut cowboys at a rodeo in outer space”
DALL·E/OpenAI
You can also edit a “generation” on DALL-E by using one of your credits. Edit options include erasing part of the “generation,” adding a frame, or uploading another image to add to the “generation.”Screenshot of the editing options on DALL-E generations
DALL·E/OpenAI
You can check your collection by clicking “My collection” at the top of the DALL-E homepage. You can also check how many credits you have for the month by clicking on your user profile in the top right corner.Screenshot of how to check your DALL·E collection and credits
DALL·E/OpenAI
When you open an account to use DALL-E, you get 50 credits for the first month. Each credit is used for one DALL-E search, one edit request, or a variation request. You get 15 credits for each month after the first month, but the 50 free credits don’t roll over after the first month. You can also buy more credits.
Here are some other examples of “generations” I made using DALL-E, like this “digital art” of one of my favorite dishes, pho.DALL·E AI-generated image of “a bowl of pho that is a portal to another dimension, digital art””
DALL·E/OpenAI
And this one, “an illustration of baby ducks wearing rain boots eating tacos” inspired by my friend who asked me to search for ducks.DALL-E AI-generated image of “an illustration of baby ducks wearing rain boots eating tacos”
DALL·E/OpenAI
I was clearly feeling the outer space theme, so I searched for, “light saber battle in Ancient Rome”DALL-E AI-generated image of “light saber battle in Ancient Rome”
DALL·E/OpenAI
According to OpenAI’s terms of use, images you create with DALL-E can be used for any legal purpose, even commercial use. That means you can sell the rights to the images, and use them in books, websites, and presentations.Screenshot of OpenAI DALL·E terms of use
DALL·E/OpenAI
For more of OpenAI’s terms of use, go here.
OpenAI’s content policy for DALL·E includes not creating, uploading, or sharing images that depict hate, violence, self-harm, illegal activity, or anything political.Screenshot of OpenAI’s content policy for DALL·E
DALL·E/OpenAI
For more of OpenAI’s content policy, go here.
OpenAI encourages DALL·E users to be transparent about the use of AI in the creation of their images.Screenshot of OpenAI policy for not misleading others about AI involvement in images created using DALL·E
DALL·E/OpenAI
