Old Dog Talks AI Painting: You Want to Draw, I'll Show You the Way

Hello everyone, I'm Old Dog.

Recently, many people have asked me: "Old Dog, I heard AI can draw pictures. I don't understand anything, what should I do?"

Actually, there are quite a few questions like this. Some people don't even have a computer, just a phone; some have computers but are afraid of installing software; some think this is a high-tech thing, far from them.

Today, Old Dog will break it down and explain clearly – **what are the paths for AI drawing, and who is each path suitable for.**

Don't worry, you don't need to understand any technical terms to understand this article. I won't even mention "graphics card" too much.

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## First, let's talk about something: What is AI drawing?

Simply put, you tell the AI what you want (e.g., "a Shiba Inu wearing a suit"), and then the AI draws it for you.

You don't need to know how to draw. You don't need to know Photoshop. You don't need to understand art.

All you need to do is one thing: **Express what you're thinking in words.**

Now the question is – how can you use this technology? There are mainly two paths: **online** and **self-installed**.

## Path One: Online Services – You can use it with just a phone

This is the easiest path. You don't need to install anything. Open a webpage on your phone or computer, register, and you can start drawing.

### 1. Midjourney – Best looking output, but costs money

This is currently the hottest and most beautiful AI drawing service.

**What you need:**

- A phone or computer
- Internet access
- Willingness to pay monthly (around 70 RMB/month)
- A Discord account (Discord is a chat software, like QQ)

**How to use:**
Type `/imagine` in the chat box, then write what you want, wait for tens of seconds, and the picture will appear.

**Pros:**

- You don't need to understand anything, just type and get a picture.
- The drawings are truly beautiful, with excellent colors and lighting.
- People who can't draw can also create masterpieces.

**Cons:**

- It costs money, and it's not cheap.
- You can't control the details of the image; you get what the AI gives you.
- You can't use it offline; if there's no internet, it won't work.

**In a nutshell:** Suitable for those who are willing to pay for convenience.

### 2. DALL·E 3 – From OpenAI, it's from the same family as ChatGPT

If you've used ChatGPT, then this is easy to understand – you can just ask ChatGPT to draw for you.

**What you need:**

- ChatGPT Plus membership (around 140 RMB/month)
- Or use Bing Image Creator directly (free but with limitations)

**Pros:**

- It can understand very complex descriptions, such as "a Shiba Inu wearing a cowboy hat riding a bicycle on Mars."
- It understands Chinese well; you can just write in Chinese.

**Cons:**

- It also costs money (unless you use Bing's free version).
- The art style has a fixed feel, lacking some surprise.

**In a nutshell:** If you're already using ChatGPT, you can use this as well.

### 3. Free Options: Various Online AI Drawing Websites

There are actually many free AI drawing websites online, such as:

- Baidu Wenxin Yiyan can also draw.
- Tongyi Wanxiang (from Alibaba)
- Stable Diffusion Online version
- Various domestic AI drawing websites

**Pros:** Free, no installation required, works on mobile phones.
**Cons:** Uneven output quality, daily usage limits.

**In a nutshell:** Suitable for beginners who just want to try it out.

## Path Two: Self-Installation – Free but requires tinkering

If you don't want to pay monthly and are willing to spend some time researching, you can install AI drawing software on your computer yourself.

The prerequisite is that you have a reasonably configured computer – don't worry, I'll explain what kind of computer will work.

### 1. Fooocus – Easiest to install, just double-click to run

The philosophy of this software is: **You don't need to understand anything; just open it and draw.**

**What you need:**

- A computer (preferably a Windows computer with a dedicated graphics card, the kind that can play games)
- About 20GB of hard drive space (enough to store about 10 movies)
- Download a package, extract it, and double-click to run.

**How to use:**
After opening, it's similar to online websites. Type on the left, and the image appears on the right. The interface is very clean.

**Pros:**

- Installation is really simple; it's the easiest I've ever seen.
- You don't need to understand any parameters, nor do you need to learn Prompt writing.
- Free, unlimited use.

**Cons:**

- Can't do very complex operations.
- Lacks some desired features.
- Not as beautiful as online services.

**In a nutshell:** Suitable for people who have a computer, don't want to tinker, and want to draw for free.

### 2. Stable Diffusion WebUI – Comprehensive, a bit ugly but powerful

This can be understood as the "Swiss Army knife" of AI drawing – it can do anything, but the interface is not good-looking.

**What you need:**

- A better-configured computer (preferably with 8GB+ VRAM, in simple terms, a good gaming computer)
- 100GB of hard drive space (because you'll be tempted to download many models)
- Willingness to spend half a day to a day installing it.

**How to install:**
There's a great大神 named "Qiuye" who made a bundled package. Search for it on Bilibili, download it, and run it. If you understand computers, you can also install it from GitHub yourself.

**Pros:**

- Extremely rich in features; it has everything you can think of.
- You can switch to various models – some are trained specifically for anime, realism, architecture, etc.
- Free, unlimited use.
- Many plugins; almost any desired feature can be found.

**Cons:**

- The interface is ugly, really ugly, like software from 2005.
- Installation is a bit troublesome.
- If your computer configuration is low, it won't run well.
- Requires learning quite a bit to get started.

**In a nutshell:** Most comprehensive features, but requires patience to tinker.

### 3. ComfyUI – Drawing like building with blocks

This one is quite special. Unlike other software that directly generates images by typing, it **breaks down the entire process into small blocks, and you connect them yourself.**

**What you need:**

- A better-configured computer (similar to the above)
- Programming mindset – not that you need to know how to code, but you need to enjoy the feeling of "building with blocks."
- More patience than WebUI.

**Pros:**

- Extremely flexible; you can do whatever you want.
- Lower hardware requirements than WebUI – the same computer will run this more smoothly.
- You can directly use workflows built by others, like copying homework.
- Fast and efficient.

**Cons:**

- High learning curve – the first time you open it, you'll think "what the heck is this," with lines and boxes all over the screen.
- Complete beginners might get frustrated.
- Debugging is troublesome; if the image doesn't come out, you don't know where the connection is wrong.

**In a nutshell:** If you enjoy tinkering with things yourself, this is the ultimate form.

## What if I don't have a computer? Can I just use my phone?

Yes.

As of now, **the best option for mobile users is free online websites**. For example, Baidu Wenxin Yiyan, Tongyi Wanxiang, or various AI drawing tools on WeChat mini-programs.

For iPhones, you can also use Shortcuts to connect to some APIs, but that's a bit more complicated, so I won't go into detail.

If you're willing to pay, Midjourney can also be used on a mobile browser, and the results are the best.

The core idea is: **Having a phone is enough to get started; don't set limits for yourself.**

## Old Dog's Ultimate Advice: Which one should you choose?

I'll draw a simple dividing line, and you can see where you stand:

**Do you have a computer?**

- No → Use free AI drawing websites on your phone (Baidu Wenxin Yiyan, Tongyi Wanxiang, etc.)
- Yes, but the configuration is average → Try online services or Fooocus.
- Yes, the configuration is good (can play games) → Start with Fooocus, and if you want to go deeper, use WebUI or ComfyUI.

**Are you willing to pay monthly?**

- Willing → Midjourney, the most hassle-free.
- Unwilling → Install software locally, free and unlimited.

**How much patience do you have for tinkering?**

- No patience, just want to draw directly → Fooocus or online services.
- Willing to learn for a day or two → WebUI.
- Enjoy tinkering and want to control every detail → ComfyUI.

## Finally, Old Dog wants to say a few words

AI drawing, it's not difficult, nor is it easy.

As you can see from this article, you don't need to understand any technology. You just need to think clearly:

**What are my conditions? How much am I willing to spend? How much time am I willing to spend?**

Once you've figured out these three questions, choosing a solution will be clear.

Don't be intimidated by articles that talk about technical details. What samplers, what CFG Scale, what ControlNet – those are things you need to consider after you get started.

The first step is simple: **Find a solution you can use, type a few words, and see what surprises the AI gives you.**

It's that simple.

Next time, I'll talk about how to use these tools effectively, such as how to write prompts (that's the text you use to tell the AI what you want), and how to make the AI draw more like what you envision.

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*PS: For the links and software names in this article, you can directly search them on search engines. Old Dog does not promote anything and does not provide links. You can find them yourself.*