Using Bing Image Creator to imagine what Mumbai would look like in a 100 years (Express photo)
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Before the ChatGPT revolution, most people encountered generative AI through image synthesis tools – namely Dall-E. While early implementations were slow and did not always return the output you had in mind, newer versions of Dall-E have improved remarkably and can often create images that look indistinguishable from reality.
Having reached a level of refinement, the OpenAI product was integrated into the offerings of OpenAI’s largest investor, Microsoft. Microsoft last month announced Image Creator, which does exactly what its name suggests with nothing but simple text prompts. So how can you use it and what are its top features? Let’s find out.
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Bing Image Creator is a generative AI model powered by an advanced version of the Dall-E model, which can produce realistic and diverse images from natural language descriptions. You can use Bing Image Creator to create images for various purposes, such as newsletters, blogs, presentations, or just for fun.
Thanks to copious amounts of training on billions of samples picked from all over the internet, tools like Image Creator can generate images that are so realistic-looking that you’ll often find yourself squinting, trying to spot irregularities that can give the image away. Take the Pope in Balenciaga puffer jacket image that went viral fooling millions, for example.
You can use Bing Image Creator to create images for various purposes, such as newsletters, blogs, presentations, or just for fun. (Express Photo)
While that image was created by Midjourney v5 and that tool is on a whole another level, Bing Image Creator isn’t far behind. You can squeeze high-quality images out of it too, provided that your prompts are detailed enough. Outputs can also be instructed to follow a particular art style – abstract, clipart, comics, photorealistic, you name it.
Is Bing Image Creator free?
Yes, unlike Dall-E 2 which offers a very limited amount of credits before you’re forced to ‘recharge,’ Bing Image Creator is completely free to use. You are given 100 ‘boosts’ that replenish on a weekly basis, which have likely been put in place to limit server tiedown. When you have these boosts, image generation is much faster. After you run out, you can still see the results of your prompt, but the process is a lot slower.
There is no real money payment involved to recharge your boosts, but you can still get some more by converting your Microsoft Rewards points. The option to recharge the boosts doesn’t show up until you run out.
Bing Image Creator has no waitlist involved so you can get started with it immediately. The only thing you’d need is a Microsoft account. Here’s a step-by-step tutorial on how you can use the AI tool:
1. Launch the Bing Image Creator website and hit the Join & Create button.
2. You’ll be asked to log in to your Microsoft account here. If you don’t have one, simply sign up for a new account.
3. Next, enter a description of an image you’d like to see and hit the Create button.
4. Wait while the AI creates your image.
5. Once the process is done, you will see four images reflecting your prompt. You can select one of them or ask for more options.
6. You can also modify the image by using different styles, such as realistic, sketch, or comic.
7. You can save or share the image by clicking on the three dots icon on the top right corner of the image.
8. Your previous creations can be found under the Creations tab.
A Bing Image Creator output with the prompt “batman flying over delhi at night, photorealistic”. (Express photo)
Do note that the largest size you can get from Bing is 1024×1024 pixels and that the aspect ratio will always be 1:1. You can also access Bing Image Creator from Bing Chat — just start your prompt with “Generate an image of” followed by the description of your image. Bing Chat can alternatively be used via SwiftKey keyboard and Bing mobile apps.
How to create better prompts
Image Creator is different from searching for an image on Bing. Here, the more detailed you are, the better chances you have at getting the tool to generate an image you have in mind. Think of the tool as a human artist who needs precise instructions on what to draw for you.
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Prompt engineering is a skill in and of itself, so you might want to get creative, adding details, adjectives, locations, and artistic styles. If you need inspiration, try browsing the Explore ideas tab and taking a look at the prompts that created each image therein.
Here’s an example of what a detailed prompt looks like: instead of a text prompt for “panda,” try submitting a prompt for “a panda bear basking in the sun chewing bamboo, digital art”.
Zohaib is a tech enthusiast and a journalist who covers the latest trends and innovations at The Indian Express's Tech Desk. A graduate in Computer Applications, he firmly believes that technology exists to serve us and not the other way around. He is fascinated by artificial intelligence and all kinds of gizmos, and enjoys writing about how they impact our lives and society. After a day's work, he winds down by putting on the latest sci-fi flick. • Experience: 3 years • Education: Bachelor in Computer Applications • Previous experience: Android Police, Gizmochina • Social: Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn ... Read More
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