The fusion of art and AI is helping creatives explore new artistic possibilities and dimensions. Some artists use AI to come up with dozens of original art ideas to push past creative blocks. Others use generative AI models like DALL-E 3 to create digital works of art using unique and descriptive prompts. 

No matter where you are in your journey as an artist, you can use AI to create abstract, interactive and high-quality art that aligns with your design style. If you don’t want to use an AI art generator, you can use the power of AI to produce innovative ideas, optimize your workflow or create mockups. 

These AI art projects use a range of different AI tools like ChatGPT, DALL-E 3, Adobe Firefly and Midjourney so you can explore which software works best for you. These projects can teach you how to create AI art of your own or figure out how you can best work AI into your current creative process. You’ll learn how ChatGPT works along with other popular software options so that you can expand your creative horizons and explore new ways to bring your artistic visions to life.  

Getting Started with AI Art


Many artists, especially those who have been working in creative fields for decades, have mixed feelings about AI’s place in the art world. Some see AI as a powerful tool for expanding creativity, automating repetitive tasks and art restoration. Others are worried that AI might devalue traditional skills like painting or photography and cause an overreliance on technology. A lot of artists also have concerns about copyright since AI is trained on datasets of images that might include copyrighted material. 

Now, as tools continue to evolve, more artists are beginning to see AI as a collaborative tool rather than as competition. By learning about the different types of AI art and the most popular AI tools, you can start experimenting with different AI options to see which works best for you. Finding your ideal AI software will depend on the type of art you want to create and how big of a role you want AI to play in your art.  

Generative AI art is the most popular type of AI art. It uses powerful algorithms to create new works based on the patterns and data it has learned from scraping other images. Oftentimes, you’ll provide a generative AI system with a prompt like “a glowing blue horse running through a grassy valley surrounded by snow-topped mountains,” which it will then turn into an image. 

Other types of AI art include Style Transfer, where you can apply the aesthetic of one image to another; AI-assisted art software, which will help you refine or enhance previously created work; and interactive art, where you can create user-responsive experiences for your audience. 

You’ve likely heard of some of the most popular AI art tools like DALL-E and Midjourney, but other AI models like Runway ML, DeepArt, Adobe Firefly and Stable Diffusion also have powerful creative capabilities. 

DALL-E, Midjourney and Stable Diffusion all use a text-to-image generation format, where you provide a text prompt, and the AI software turns your description into an image. Adobe Firefly also has a text-to-image generation option, but it also provides AI editing tools like vector graphics creation, generative fill and video creation. 

DeepArt is an AI-based photo editing software that can scale images to four times the original size without loss of quality, optimize images, remove photo backgrounds and more. With Runway ML, you can generate and edit video content.  

If you’re not sure which software to try first, try testing similar prompts on different AI models to see which user experience and final product you like most. Some of these AI software only have paid monthly options, but you can get started right away with software like DALL-E.

AI Art Projects for Creatives

1. Create a Sketch With the Help of Adobe Firefly and ChatGPT

The photo is split into two parts. The left part shows a screen capture of a canvas open in Procreate. The canvas shows an illustration of a person walking up a hill covered in foliage and wearing a backpack that has a gigantic paintbrush and pencil popping out of it. The right part shows the same illustration in Procreate but on an iPad sitting on a table. One hand touches the iPad’s screen , and the other holds an Apple pencil.
This artist uses the power of AI to push past creative block.

Project: Make Your AI Work For You: Break Creative Block by Smitesh Mistry

About This Project:
You’ll use both ChatGPT and Adobe Firefly to brainstorm illustration prompts, generate references and speed up your overall creative process. Illustrator and designer, Smitesh Mistry will show you how to use text-to-image AI models and how to refine your search results to better match your expectations. 

Why We Love It:
This project is a great starting point for illustrators, digital artists and painters who aren’t sure how they want to use AI in their work. Since you’re co-collaborating with ChatGPT and Adobe Firefly, you can use the AI software as much or as little as you please. 

Use ChatGPT and Adobe Firefly to generate art ideas and beat creative block!

2. Produce AI-Generated Images Using Midjourney 

A fat and fluffy, white and orange cat sits on a sandy beach under blue skies. He wears a pair of sunglasses
AI can help you generate images of even the most far-fetched scenes, including a cat wearing sunglasses on a beach.  

Project: Midjourney for Beginners: Step-By-Step Guide to Generating AI Art by Arnold Trinh

About This Project:
You’ll walk through everything you need to know about creating AI art in Midjourney. Starting off by learning the basics of Midjourney’s interface and how to write prompts, you’ll finish the class with an AI art image that is completely edited and refined to your exact creative style.

Why We Love It:
Teacher and creative AI lecturer Arnold Trinh walks you through many different AI art examples created in Midjourney and shows you how to replicate certain art styles, so you’ll always have a place to start, even if you’re just starting your journey with AI art. 

Create realistic and unique AI images using Midjourney! 

3. Use DALL-E 3 to Create AI Art

A screenshot of DALL-E 3 sits on a blue background. Within Dall-E 3, the user has entered a prompt explaining that they would like an illustration in 90s manga style depicting a Vietnamese woman on a Honda Dream motorcycle. To the left, a sepia image of a woman riding a motorcycle that DALL-E 3 produced is visible.
Advanced AI machines like DALL-E 3 can produce detailed work of art with only the help of a prompt.  

Project: Dall-E 3 for Beginners: Step-By-Step Guide to Generating AI Art by Arnold Trinh

About This Project:
Discover the best practices for using DALL-E 3, all while generating high-quality AI art in minutes. You’ll learn how to craft effective text-to-image prompts, align your AI use with your creative vision and systemize your creative process using AI. After just a few lessons, you’ll have created an AI work of art and mastered the art of prompt writing. 

Why We Love It:
Since every high-quality work of text-to-image AI art starts with a high-quality prompt, it’s really helpful that this project provides a formula for prompt writing so that creatives of all levels can get started working with DALL-E right away. 

Master prompt writing and text-to-image art generation with DALL-E 3!

4. Create Framed Art Mock-ups with Adobe Firefly

The image is split into three sections. The left section shows a blue couch with a blue work of art over it that reads “Whispers of the Void.” The middle section shows a wooden buffet in a living room with three works of abstract neutral-colored works of art over it. The right section shows a framed illustration of a rhino leaning against a white wall next to a window.
You can create a mock-up that aligns with your exact vision by using AI.   

Project: Create Unique Framed Art Mock-ups with Adobe Firefly & Adobe Photoshop by Evgeniya & Dominic Righini-Brand

About This Project:
Showcase your artwork in a unique setting by creating framed art mock-ups in Adobe Firefly and Photoshop. You’ll learn how to generate interior images that match your art style so that you can create stunning images of your artwork without needing to rent a space, bring in dozens of props or build out detailed lifestyle scenes. By taking your project from Adobe Firefly into Photoshop, you’ll discover how to create, edit and refine your final art mock-up. 

Why We Love It:
You won’t only learn how to write effective prompts to generate your framed art mock-ups but you’ll also discover how to develop, customize and clean up your generated images using Adobe Photoshop’s generative AI features. 

Combine the power of Adobe Firefly and Photoshop to create framed art mock-ups!

5. Make Concept Art and Game Art Using AI Tools

Two pictures are visible on a plain blurred background. The image to the left shows a human-like figure walking up steps toward a huge extraterrestrial city. White machinery lines the horizon and opens up to show a spherical structure in the distance. The image on the right shows a human-like figure walking in a glowing red-orange, sandy landscape toward a big circular gateway with a massive planet-like sphere behind it.
Build an entire world for your movie, game or comic book with Midjourney and Chat GPT. 

Project: AI Tools for Concept Art: Midjourney and Chat GPT by Siobhan Twomey

About This Project:
You’ll create concept art for a movie, animated short, game or any other creative project you’re working on using the power of AI. First, you’ll use ChatGPT to generate specific prompts, and then you’ll use Midjourney to transform your prompt into a detailed landscape featuring characters, surreal props and more.  By using ChatGPT and Midjourney together, you’ll learn how to harness their unique capabilities to create highly complex and stylized AI artwork. 

Why We Love It:
Even though your final AI concept art will end up looking very advanced and detailed, you don’t need to know anything about ChatGPT or Midjourney to get started. Teacher and artist, Siobhan Twomey will walk you through all of the Midjourney settings and how to use both AI softwares to achieve your dream final product. 

Use Midjourney and ChatGPT to create complex concept art!

Explore Using AI in Your Art with Skillshare

AI art projects can unlock new creative possibilities by helping you brainstorm cutting-edge ideas, streamline your artistic workflow and blend technology with traditional art mediums for more innovative final products.

Whether you want to explore AI tools for your personal art goals or use them for professional projects, take your time to experiment with a few different software options to find the best one for you. You might find yourself using AI within your art process every day or only every once and a while. Either way, AI can be a powerful addition to your creative toolbelt. 

You might pencil a few of these beginner projects into your calendar to commit yourself to at least two or three AI art projects. After you’ve tried out a few different projects, you can check out some of Skillshare’s more advanced AI-based projects that cover a wide range of niches like productivity, content creation and more. 

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Written By
Calli Zarpas

Calli Zarpas

Producer & Writer by occupation. Ceramicist & Newsletter Editor by avocation.

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