From Conceptual Understanding to Artistic Creation: An In-Depth Tour and Practical Guide to Mainstream AI Image Generation Platforms

AI Image Generation5mos agorelease Demian

In the wave of artificial intelligence,Image generation technologyFrom its origins as the domain of a few tech enthusiasts, it has evolved into a powerful tool sweeping across the global creative industries. While some controversial applications (such as the so-called "AI undressing") have garnered attention due to their technical principles, these are merely the tip of the iceberg, revealing the cold, hard potential of the underlying Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) and Diffusion Models. However, the true value and vast potential of this technology lie in its ability to empower creativity, accelerate design, and enable compliant applications that push the boundaries of imagination.

This article will no longer delve into the darker aspects of technology, but will instead shift its focus entirely to provide a comprehensive, practice-oriented overview of mainstream AI image generation platforms. We will explore the most powerful, popular, and compliant websites and tools on the market today, analyzing their core functions, applicable scenarios, and operational techniques. Whether you are a professional designer, marketer, independent developer, or simply someone with a curious mind, you will find the key to unlocking the door to AI creation in this guide.

From Concept to Creation: An In-Depth Tour and Practical Guide to Mainstream AI Image Generation Platforms

The pinnacle of artistic quality: Midjourney

Midjourney is widely recognized as the platform that has reached the pinnacle in terms of the artistic and aesthetic consistency of generated images. It is not a traditional website, but rather entirely built on top of the Discord community, where creation is done through a unique way of interacting with bots. This model has fostered one of the most active AI art communities in the world.

Core concepts and advantages:

Unparalleled aestheticsMidjourney boasts exclusive, deeply aesthetically optimized models. The images it generates often possess a unique "cinematic" quality and artistic coherence in terms of composition, lighting, color, and detail, which is difficult for other platforms to match.
Stylization and ConsistencyThe latest versions (such as V6) introduce a powerful style reference.--sref) and character references (--crefThis feature allows for easy maintenance of a high degree of consistency between the artistic style and character design of a series of works, which is crucial for comic creation, character design, and brand visual identity.
Community-driven inspirationIn the public channel, you can see works generated by users around the world and the prompts they use in real time. It is an endless library of inspiration and learning resources.

How to use:

Join DiscordVisit the Midjourney website to obtain an invitation link for their official Discord server and join.
Subscription serviceMidjourney is a paid service. Enter it in any channel on the server./subscribeYou can then be redirected to the subscription page to select a plan.
Start creatingUse the following methods in the designated "newbies" channel or in a private message with Midjourney Bot:/imagineThe command, followed by your English prompt. For example:
**/imagine prompt: cinematic photo of a cyberpunk detective in a rain-soaked neon street, intricate details, realistic, shot on ARRI Alexa, --ar 16:9 --v 6.0 --style raw**
- --ar 16:9The aspect ratio is specified as 16:9.
- --v 6.0Use the 6th generation model.
- --style rawIt offers a more realistic style with less of a "Midjourney vibe".
Optimization and IterationAfter generating the four-panel preview, you can select the "U" button (U1-U4) to zoom in on one of the images, or select the "V" button (V1-V4) to make stylistic adjustments and variations to a particular image.

Target audienceDigital artists, concept designers, illustrators, and advertising creatives who have extremely high requirements for the quality of image art.

II. The Absolutely Free Sandbox: Stable Diffusion

If Midjourney is a meticulously crafted luxury sports car, then Stable Diffusion is a top-tier engine and parts library that allows you to freely assemble, modify, and even build any vehicle from scratch. With open source at its core, it gives users unprecedented control and flexibility.

Core concepts and advantages:

Open source and freeIts core model is open source, and you can deploy it locally on your own computer with the appropriate configuration without paying any platform fees, enabling unlimited generation.
Ultimate customizationIt boasts the world's largest ecosystem of third-party models. Users can download and load a massive number of "Checkpoints" to switch between basic art styles (realistic, anime, watercolor, etc.) and use fine-tuning models like "LoRA" to precisely mimic specific characters, art styles, or objects.
powerful control toolsWith the ControlNet plugin, you can use line art, pose maps, depth maps, etc. to precisely control the composition, character poses, and spatial layout of the generated image, solving the pain point of "excessive randomness" in AI painting.
Raw image and partial repaint (Inpaint)This is one of its most powerful features. You can upload an existing image and have it redrawn using prompts and the "noise reduction intensity" parameter, or simply paint over a specific area of the image (such as a piece of clothing or a background prop), allowing the AI to recreate within that area according to your instructions, achieving seamless outfit changes, repairs, or replacements.

How to use:

Local deployment (technical focus)On a PC with an NVIDIA graphics card (8GB or more of video memory recommended), install a mainstream WebUI interface such as AUTOMATIC1111 or ComfyUI, and download and configure the model. This is the most flexible but also the most difficult method.
Cloud platform (convenience-oriented)Use cloud servers such as Google Colab and AutoDL to run a pre-built Stable Diffusion environment, and pay by the hour.
Integrated Website (Beginner Level)Many websites offer online services based on Stable Diffusion, such asLeonardo.Ai和SeaArt.aiThey greatly lower the barrier to entry for users.

Operation example (changing clothes using the WebUI's Inpaint feature):

Switch toimg2imgUnder the tabInpaint。
Upload a photo of a person.
Use the brush tool to paint over the clothing area on the character as a mask.
Positive prompt words：a beautiful woman wearing a black leather jacket, intricate details, photorealistic
Negative prompt words：blurry, deformed, ugly, text, watermark
Key parameters:WillDenoising strengthSet the noise reduction intensity to 0.75-0.9 to give the AI enough space to create in the mask area.
Click "Generate" to see your clothes replaced with a leather jacket.

Target audienceTarget audience: Tech enthusiasts, professionals who want complete control over the creative process, and users who need to create a large number of specific styles or characters.

III. The Cornerstone of Business Security: Adobe Firefly and Photoshop

Adobe, a giant in the creative software field, offers Firefly, a generative AI tool whose biggest feature is "commercial security." It is trained entirely on Adobe Stock images, open-source content, and copyright-free materials, eliminating copyright disputes at the source and allowing users to confidently use the generated content in commercial projects.

Core concepts and advantages:

Copyright PureThis is its irreplaceable core competitiveness. All generated content can be legally used commercially, providing legal protection for businesses and professional designers.
Seamless Ecosystem IntegrationFirefly's functionality is deeply integrated into flagship products such as Photoshop, Illustrator, and Adobe Express. You can directly access AI capabilities within your familiar workflows.
“Generative FillIn Photoshop, simply select any area with the selection tool, enter a prompt, and AI will intelligently fill, replace, or expand that area with remarkably natural results—it's practically "magic." For example, you can easily change the accessories of people in a photo or expand a narrow scene into a magnificent panorama.
Text Effects and Vector Graphics GenerationFirefly can not only generate bitmaps, but also create unique artistic text effects and generate editable vector graphics in Illustrator, greatly expanding the designer's toolbox.

How to use:

Users with an Adobe Creative Cloud subscription can directly use the built-in generative features simply by updating software such as Photoshop to the latest version.
You can also visit Firefly's standalone website (firefly.adobe.com) to experience all its features.

Target audienceTarget audience: Professional designers, photographers, enterprise users, and all creative professionals within the Adobe ecosystem.

IV. Quick and Easy Creative Workshops: Leonardo.Ai & Canva

For users who don't want to deal with complicated configurations but still want powerful AI creative capabilities, the following two platforms are excellent choices.

1. Leonardo.Ai

Leonardo.Ai can be seen as an extremely user-friendly and fully functional stable diffusion integration platform. It eliminates all deployment hassles and provides a complete authoring toolchain.

Features：
- Massive Community ModelsIt boasts a massive library of user-trained models, allowing users to use a variety of unique art styles with a single click.
- Free quotaA certain number of free tokens are provided daily, enough for ordinary users to try out a lot of things.
- AI CanvasThe powerful infinite canvas feature allows for unlimited outpainting and fine-grained local modifications to existing images.
- Model trainingAllows users to upload their own images to train a custom fine-tuning model (LoRA).

2. Canva (drawable)

Canva is already a leading online design platform globally, and its integrated "Magic Studio" has made AI capabilities accessible to hundreds of millions of non-design professionals.

Features：
- “"Magic Edit"Similar to Photoshop's Generate Fill feature, you can use the brush tool to paint over a portion of the image and then input commands to replace it. For example, you can replace the coffee cup in your hand with a bouquet of flowers.
- “"Text to Image"The built-in image generator allows you to quickly create illustrations, photos, and other materials that can be used directly in your poster, PowerPoint, or social media post designs.
- Ease of useAll functions are presented in the simplest and most intuitive way, with almost no learning curve.

Image / Screenshot from Canva's official website

Target audience：

Leonardo.AiThis is for artists, game developers, and AI enthusiasts who want to experience the power of Stable Diffusion but don't want to deploy the technology.
CanvaTarget audience: Marketers, social media operators, students, teachers, and anyone who needs a fast, lightweight design.

Conclusion: Choose your creative partner

AI image generation technology has moved beyond the stage of mere technology demonstration and entered an era of diverse and practical applications. The choice of platform depends on your specific needs, technical background, and requirements for the quality of the final product.

If you pursueUltimate artistic sense and community atmosphere，MidjourneyIt's your best choice.
If desireUnlimited freedom, deep control, and the spirit of open sourcePlease be brave and commit.Stable DiffusionIn the embrace of the soul.
If you are inProfessional design process, prioritizing business security.，Adobe FireflyThey will be your most reliable comrade-in-arms.
If you wishGet started quickly and easily experience the fun of AI creation.,fromLeonardo.Ai或CanvaIt will be a pleasant journey from the beginning.

Forget those narrow and dangerous misuses; the true treasure is already laid out before you. Now, choose your tool, enter your first prompt, and begin turning the wildest ideas in your mind into reality. In this era, imagination is your only limit.