Leonardo AI Review: How to Use (+ Is It Worth it)

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This is a complete review of Leonardo AI—one of the leading AI image generator tools on the market.

This guide also shows you how to use the tool and what alternatives exist.

Let’s jump in!

What Is Leonardo AI?

Leonardo AI image generator homepage

Leonardo AI is an AI tool for generating images from text descriptions.

This allows users to create unique and original digital art.

You can literally describe what you want to see and the tool will generate you unique outputs for that.

Sounds amazing? Let’s see how it performs.

Key Features

Firstly, here are some key features of Leonardo AI.

  1. Text to Image Conversion:
    • It can convert textual descriptions into corresponding images, bringing conceptual art to life online within seconds​.
  2. Game Asset Creation:
    • It has a focus on creating game assets like textures, objects, and concept art, which can be useful for game developers​.
    • It’s known for producing high-quality image assets for computer games, but it can also create stunning image assets for various other projects​.
  3. Pre-trained AI Models:
    • It utilizes pre-trained AI models to generate production-ready assets with unique styles based on user prompts, allowing for rapid ideation and iteration​.
  4. Freemium Service:
    • Leonardo AI operates on a freemium model, permitting users to create a certain amount of images daily without any charge​.
  5. Ease of Access:
    • It’s accessible via a dashboard on their main website and is straightforward to use.

My Experience

Then, let’s take a closer look at how the tool performs.

Before using Leonardo AI, you need to sign up.

Leonardo AI image generator sign up

This is simple. Just create an account or sign up using Google.

Then give a name to your account and share the reason why you’re using the tool. It’s all that simple!

Leonardo AI image generator sign up name account

Once you’ve signed up, you can start generating images.

Leonardo AI image generator dashboard

There’s the community feed where you can take inspiration. I love this feature. If you’ve never been good at generating images, it’s this place to come to get inspiration.

In the community tab, you can look at what kinds of AI inputs people have used to generate particular images.

Leonardo AI image generator community feed

The AI image tools like Leonardo AI are powered by different types of AI image generator models.

In Leonardo, there are tons of different models you can use for various purposes. The models clearly state to which purpose they’re the best.

Leonardo AI image generator AI models

I used the DreamShaper V7 model for my experimentation.

Let’s see how it performs.

Here’s an example input that I gave to Leonardo AI:

Leonardo AI image generator example text input

And here are the output images it gave me:

Leonardo AI image generator AI outputs

Just wow!

By the way, to spend less credits, you can choose Leonard to generate only 1-2 images at once instead of the default 4.

Leonardo AI image generator settings

And there are other quality and aspect ratio (plus others) settings you might want to tweak.

Let’s give it another try.

Leonardo AI image generator outputs

Looks pretty damn impressive, right?

Those look like very realistic images.

Something one would have to spend days on by using a traditional piece of illustration/3D design software.

Let’s give it yet another go:

Leonardo AI image generator outputs

Just wow!

And last but not least, I wanted to see how this tool can generate images of my home country, Finland:

Leonardo AI image generator outputs

Absolutely nailed it! It looks exactly like that here. The only thing missing was the northern lights. But perhaps it got confused as I asked it to generate a sunset at the same time… 😀

Who cares, those images are so awesome anyway!

Pros and Cons of Leonardo AI

Pros Cons
Easy to use Relatively small number of credits
Generous free trial Lots of NSFW content
Community for inspiration A bit hard to navigate for first-timers
Realistic AI images
Fast image generator

Pricing

Leonardo AI image generator pricing
  • Free Plan:
    • $0 per month, forever.
    • 150 fast generations per day.
    • Up to 150 (768×768) generations, 30 upscales/unzooms, or 75 background removals per day.
    • 1 pending job, daily free tokens if balance is below 150.
    • Access to Leonardo models, with the ability to train and retain 1 model.
    • Private generations, priority infrastructure, and relaxed generation queue.
  • Apprentice Plan:
    • $12 per month ($10 if billed yearly) excluding tax.
    • 8,500 tokens per month for up to 8,500 (768×768) generations, 1,700 upscales/unzooms, or 4,250 background removals.
    • 5 pending jobs, daily free tokens if the balance is below 150.
    • Train and retain up to 10 models per month, with access to expanded Leonardo models and features like 3D texturing and Leonardo Canvas.
  • Artisan Plan:
    • $30 per month ($24 if billed yearly) excluding tax.
    • 25,000 tokens per month for up to 25,000 (768×768) generations, 5,000 upscales/unzooms, or 12,500 background removals.
    • 10 pending jobs, daily free tokens if the balance is below 150.
    • Train and retain up to 20 models per month, with similar features as the Apprentice plan but with increased limits.
  • Maestro Plan:
    • $60 per month ($48 if billed yearly) excluding tax.
    • 60,000 tokens per month for up to 60,000 (768×768) generations, 12,000 upscales/unzooms, or 30,000 background removals.
    • 20 pending jobs, daily free tokens if the balance is below 150.
    • Train and retain up to 50 models per month, with similar features as other paid plans but with the highest limits.

Bottom Line

Leonardo AI makes creating digital art easy and fun. You describe what you want, and it creates the images for you.

It’s great for making backgrounds, art, game assets, and other digital projects.

Although the free plan has limited credits, it’s a good way to try it out.

The community tab is also great for getting ideas.

So, if you’re into digital art, Leonardo AI is definitely worth a shot.

Tips for Using AI Art Generators

At the end of it, I’d like to give you a bunch of tips related to using AI image generators.

These can help you create the best possible images you can.

  1. Understand the Tool: Get to know the capabilities and limitations of the AI image generator you are using. Each tool may have unique features or specialize in certain types of image generation.
  2. High-Resolution Inputs: If the tool allows for input, provide high-resolution images. Better quality inputs generally lead to better quality outputs.
  3. Experiment: Don’t hesitate to experiment with different settings and inputs. Some of the most interesting results can come from unexpected combinations.
  4. Customization: Take advantage of any customization options available within the tool to get the desired output. This includes tweaking settings or using additional tools to refine the generated images.
  5. Stay Updated: AI image generation is a rapidly evolving field. Keep up with updates to the tool you are using and explore new tools as they become available.
  6. Legal and Ethical Considerations: Be aware of the legal side of things when using generated images, especially if you plan to use them commercially. You typically don’t own your AI images.
  7. Optimize for Your Use Case: Tailor the settings and inputs to match the particular needs of your project. This may involve some trial and error to discover what works best.
  8. Seek Community Advice: Check the community showcases. Those will give you example images and promotes you can use to generate those.

Wrap Up

Thanks for reading. Make sure to read my post about the best AI image generator tools.