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Illustration: Expressive shapes and color, A drawn treatment for visual stories, shown through a red panda
Expressive shapes and colorA drawn treatment for visual stories

AI image Style

Illustration

Expressive shapes, drawn texture, and deliberate color turn a subject into a visual story. Choose it when an image should explain, suggest, or show personality without needing to look like a photograph.

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Opens with Illustration selected. Add your idea or source image after entering.

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Match the look to the task

Where Illustration
can help.

  • Story characters with a readable pose, expression, and personality.
  • Editorial art and explainers that need a clear visual idea.
  • Poster and cover artwork that will sit alongside lettering added later.

When another look may fit better

  • Precise lettering, repeated patterns, and diagrams can lose consistency. Add final typography and layout separately.
  • A drawn face or object may be simplified. Choose Photorealistic when exact-looking materials and proportions matter more than expression.

See the direction
in different images.

A subject and a few useful details give the Style something to work with. Look at the material, shape, or light in each example, then decide what your own image needs.

Illustrated red panda botanist showing expressive shapes, painted texture and an identifiable outfit
Characters: a jacket, a pot, and a small action give the botanist a visible role. Painted texture keeps the scene expressive. Describe your character’s outfit and action, then try another setting while keeping the important features recognizable.
Illustrated egret print showing a clear silhouette, flat painted shapes and a limited palette
Poster artwork: a clear bird silhouette and a restrained palette make the main idea easy to read. Describe your subject, larger shapes, and important colors. Add final lettering and layout after choosing the artwork.
Illustrated lunar flower shop showing flat painted forms and textured travel-poster treatment
Imagined scenes: an astronaut and a flower shop make a strange place understandable. Flat color and print texture turn it into a travel-poster-like image. Describe the subject and setting first, then name the treatment; add final typography separately.

AI-generated examples of this visual direction. Your subject and prompt will also affect the result.

Your idea still matters

What to describe
with Illustration.

A Style guides the treatment of the image. Your prompt supplies the subject, setting, action, and the details that make it yours. Start with a sentence you can picture, then add what matters.

“A red panda botanist carrying a terracotta pot through a greenhouse, morning light.”

The character, prop, place, and light come from the prompt. Illustration gives those things a visual direction.

  1. Describe the subject and its action first. A courier carrying a parcel says more than a character alone.

  2. Name the setting and the details that make the idea recognizable: clothing, a prop, or a small interaction.

  3. Describe the palette or drawing treatment when it matters. You can ask for pencil edges, painted shapes, or a restrained set of colors.

Explore prompts, framing, and references

Compare visual treatments

Which look supports
your idea?

Illustration red panda example showing Expressive shapes and color and A drawn treatment for visual stories

Illustration This page

Expressive shapes and color. A drawn treatment for visual stories.

Photorealistic red panda example showing Natural surface detail and Light and depth that feel photographic

Photorealistic

Natural surface detail. Light and depth that feel photographic.

Explore Photorealistic

These red panda examples share a subject, but pose, composition, and light also differ. Use them to compare visual direction, rather than as a controlled test of Style settings.

How do you want
to begin?

You can make a new image from an idea, or take an existing image in another direction. The first result is a starting point you can keep exploring.

Start from an idea.

Describe a subject and scene. Illustration will guide the treatment; you can choose the shape and add references in the generator.

Create with Illustration

Start from an image.

Add your own image and describe what should remain recognizable and what should change. Illustration guides a new interpretation, so fine details can change.

Restyle an image with Illustration Check image requirements →

Signed-in results are saved as Creations you can reopen and continue. Guest work stays in this browser. Keep a useful result, try a variation or another transformation, and download when you are ready to use it.

Prefer to describe your own look? Create without a Style →