Have you ever wondered about converting your drawing into stunning artwork? Well, let me tell you a secret, you can easily do this using Leonardo AI outpainting and inpainting features even if you are not good at drawing like me. In this guide, I will show you everything about outpainting and inpainting and provide you with the best Leonardo AI prompts with examples of how to use these features. Even if you are a complete beginner or an experienced creator, you can take away something from this and use it to make your AI artwork shine like never before.
Introduction
Overview of Leonardo AI
For anyone reading this who hasn’t tried Leonardo AI yet, this is probably the best Art-generation AI I have used so far. You can create Art, Images and Videos, all using prompts. One reason for it being much better than others is the User interface. With other tools like Midjourney, you generate images in the Discord server. But with Leonardo AI, you can generate the images on their website which has a really good User interface. This AI tool is simple to use and beginner-friendly.
Explanation of Leonardo AI Outpainting and Inpainting
Leonardo AI Outpainting and Inpainting are the features in Real Time Canvas tool that make your sketches real. Outpainting refers to the extension of images and makes whatever is drawn and mentioned in the prompt added to that image.
In the below example, I have typed “robot dancing” in the prompt and drew some silly drawings using the brush tool and some colors, as you can see the styles and colors drawn were added to the images on the right.
Source: Leonardo.ai
Inpainting allows you to fill the canvas with styles. Or with anything you like. When you hit the Inpaint button, your final output (if you draw anything) will be a clone of the input (the image here). This allows you to do more edits just on a part of the image while there’s already inpainting on it. This would be an easier approach if you’re not a good drawing artist.
In the below example, when I clicked on the inpaint button, the image on the right was copied to my input. I then drew a circle around the face and mentioned the face shield in the prompt. Notice the face shield appeared on the output image at the right.
Source: Leonardo.ai
Getting Started with Leonardo AI
As you have you got a bit of a preview of what you can do with Real-Time Canvas inpainting and outpainting. Let me now show you how to access these tools in Leonardo AI.
First, you’ll have to register (you can register and log in from Leonardo’s AI’s home page HERE). You’ll need an Apple ID, Google ID, Microsoft ID or any other email to register.
Source: Leonardo.ai
Once you register, it asks you to create a username – create your username – and then click next and accept their terms of service. Make sure you accept the checkbox! New users automatically receive 150 free credits, which you can use to explore most of Leonardo AI’s functionalities.
Source: Leonardo.ai
You can get to the Leonardo AI outpainting and inpainting I demonstrated by clicking on the Realtime Canvas icon in the toolbar and selecting Realtime Canvas Editor.
Source: Leonardo.ai
This is what the Real Time Canvas looks like beneath: Below are screenshots where I highlighted what each option in the tool does.
Source: Leonardo.ai
Most of the options from numbers 1-12 are self-explanatory. In Image Style Options you can indicate how the Image should look like. If I choose the Cinematic style It makes the final output look natural like a movie. For example: If you look at the image below, The photo looks real because I have selected a cinematic style.
Real-Time Mode numbered 14 (above screenshot) is used for updating the image in real time based on the changes you make in the input image. This mode allows you to update the image in real-time when you make changes to the input image. That way, the process of generating the image becomes more responsive and faster. Note that this feature is only available to Premium users. If you want to use this feature, you won’t have to subscribe to their paid plan.
Instant Refine is a really good feature, enhancing and refining your images. When you are done making changes and feel ready to download your image, I will suggest you not download it yet rather click on Instant Refine and see the quality it would improve making the image look more beautiful and enhanced. Below is what I did with the image by applying Instant Refine, it does look more enhanced and really good.
Image guidance numbered 18 in the above screenshots guides the Model based on the input prompt entered. Based on my observations, a higher number between 1.5 and 3.5 is recommended. If I keep it too low or too high, the output doesn’t look good.
High Quality mode option is present only for paid users and increases the quality and resolution of the image. I disabled the high-quality options and observed that the quality was affected. As you can see in the image below, the quality of the image is significantly less than the previous output shown above, where I had the high-quality option enabled.
Fixed seed option is used to reference a particular image using a seed. For this, you need to copy the seed of the image and paste it into the input, which asks you to enter a fixed seed. This will reference the original image, and the output generated will look similar to the original image. This is useful for consistency in the images and is mainly used for making consistent characters that look similar.
Practical Examples
Now let’s explore more about inpainting and outpainting features in detail by using practical examples. I will show you how you can use these features. You will get a much better idea and feel confident by following these examples. I encourage you to follow some of the steps so you get familiar with using these features.
Example 1: Expanding a Landscape using Leonardo AI Outpainting
For this example I want you to select the Draw mode and enter in the prompt “landscape”. Draw more mountains in the background, with a wider sky filled with clouds. Continue the forest on the left side of the image, blending it seamlessly with the mountains. Add a river flowing from the mountains into the foreground, reflecting the colors of the sky.
Below is the drawing I made and the output generated by Leonardo AI based on the drawing is shown on the right-hand side.
This is the output image downloaded with Instant Refining. Doesn’t it look nice, this is the power of AI, you don’t have to be an artist, with Leonardo’s AI you can create much better paintings and artistic images.
Example 2: Modifying a Portrait using Leonardo’s AI Inpainting
Let’s say you’re working on a portrait but want to change certain details, like the background or facial features. Inpainting allows you to select specific areas of the image for modification. For example, you can highlight the background and prompt Leonardo AI to replace it with a new object or change the eye color with a simple prompt. The inpainting feature is perfect for refining your artwork and making subtle or even dramatic changes that enhance the overall image.
For this, I have uploaded images in Leonardo AI of past generations. I have kept the styling option to cinematic and Inpaint Strength to 0.94. Now, I would like to change the color of this lady’s dress to red, so, I’ll choose a red color in my color picker and after that, I will brush the dress.
As you can see below, the woman who wore a blue dress is now wearing a red dress. Isn’t this amazing? You can easily edit existing images with the help of Inpainting in Leonardo AI.
Best Leonardo AI Outpainting and Inpainting Prompts
How to Write Effective Prompts
Clear, descriptive and sufficiently explicit prompts are the key to unleashing the full potential of Leonardo AI’s out painting and inpainting capabilities. Start with a general theme or mood, describe the elements you wish extrapolated or enhanced and think about the colors, textures and shapes that should inform your vision.
Leonardo AI Outpainting Prompts
Outpainting involves extending an existing image. I have given prompts for each of the categories. You can modify it according to your needs.
- Photography
- Landscape: Make this mountain range much longer, all the way across the plains, with a tiny hiker on the horizon.
- Anime
- Narrate the backstory of the anime character (expand the anime scene to the side with a mysterious figure in the background).
- Character
- Make the portrait larger to reach all the way up to exhibit the character in a completely different outfit, and try to produce a facial expression.
- Sci-Fi
- Create a futuristic city to show towering skyscrapers and flying vehicles.
- Animals
- Create a pet portrait by showing the pet playing with its favourite toy on the floor of a comfy living room.
- Architecture
- Modify the building image to show the surrounding cityscape, with landmarks and skyscrapers.
Leonardo AI Inpainting Prompts
Inpainting involves filling in missing or damaged areas of an image or modifying an existing image.
- Photography
- Remove the person from the photo while keeping the background intact.
- Anime
- Change the anime character’s hairstyle while preserving the overall art style. To learn more about using Anime Preset and prompts check out this article.
- Character
- Facial Features: “Change the character’s eye color without affecting the rest of the face.”
- Clothing Modification: “Update the character’s outfit to a modern style.”
- Sci-Fi
- Change the planet’s atmosphere to a toxic green color.
- 3D Model
- Texture Replacement: “Replace the texture of this 3D object with a different material.”
- Animals
- Object Removal: “Remove the leash from this dog photo.”
- Architecture
- Object Removal: “Remove the car from the front of this building.”
- Damage Repair: “Repair the cracks on the building facade.”
Conclusion
We’ve walked through some practical examples of how to use Leonardo AI’s outpainting and inpainting tools and, hopefully, you now have some top prompts to make use of these features in your own creative projects. Now you’re ready to expand those landscapes, fix those portraits, and combine those complex elements – the only limit is your creativity. Experiment with different prompts and techniques, and if you have any questions or just want to show off your creations, please leave them in the comments. I look forward to the conversation!
Frequently Asked Questions About Leonardo AI Outpainting and Inpainting
- Can I use Leonardo AI on low-resolution images?
- Yes, however, at least according to my reasoning, better-resolution images will be outpainted and inpainted more faithfully, so they will show more detail.
- How do I make sure the AI respects the original color palette?
- Specify what colors need to be maintained or added once prompted. Inform the AI what tonalities and hues you wish to exist.
- Is there a limit to how much I can outpaint?
- There is no true limit to it – but if you try to paint larger areas, it will look less consistent. It is better to enlarge your area step by step, section by section.
- Can I undo an inpainting if I’m not happy with the result?
- Then again, Ctrl+Z yourself back to the origin; Ctrl+Z to reverse everything, leaving you with the original, before your new and likely improved inpainting attempt.
- What’s the best way to combine Leonardo AI outpainting and inpainting?
- On the flip side, you could start by using Leonardo AI outpainting to extend your canvas, before doing your inpainting to focus on the details or refining and adding new stuff to your image through inpainting afterwards.
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