Top 10 AI Art Tools for Anime Artists to Try

1. Waifu Labs

Waifu Labs is an AI platform that creates custom anime characters based on your preferences, allowing users to design their own “waifu”. You can choose features like hairstyle, eye colour, outfit, and more. The AI then generates a unique, personalised character. It’s a fun and creative experience for anime fans.

Pros of Waifu Labs:

1. Customization: Users can personalize characters with a wide range of traits, from facial features to accessories, providing a deeply tailored experience.
2. High-Quality Art: The generated characters are visually appealing, with professional-level anime-style art that is visually striking.
3. Ease of Use: The platform is user-friendly, requiring no artistic skills to generate a character. Simply input your preferences and let the AI handle the rest.
4. Creative Outlet: It’s a great way for anime fans to experiment with character design and create their dream characters.

Cons of Waifu Labs:

1. Limited Scope: While customization is broad, it’s still based on predefined options. For users seeking total control over design, it might feel restrictive.
2. Repetitive Results: Depending on how similar the inputs are, the AI may generate similar-looking characters, reducing variety.
3. Over-saturation of Style: All generated characters share a distinct style, which may not appeal to everyone.

Why it’s great: Waifu Labs is ideal for creators looking for a quick starting point for character design.

Link: https://waifulabs.com/

2. Artbreeder

Artbreeder is a powerful tool for anime art creators, using AI to generate and evolve images with ease. It lets users blend and adjust various visual elements, such as colour, shape, and style, to create unique anime characters and scenes. Whether you’re starting with an existing image or combining multiple elements, Artbreeder offers full flexibility in your creative process. The platform is especially popular for designing anime-style portraits and landscapes, making it ideal for artists who want to explore AI-generated anime art. Its user-friendly interface makes it accessible to both beginners and professionals, allowing anyone to craft stunning anime visuals quickly and easily.

Pros of Artbreeder:

1. Easy-to-Use Interface: Artbreeder is accessible, allowing both beginners and experienced artists to create compelling images with minimal effort.
2. Endless Creativity: With the ability to merge images and adjust various traits, the platform offers nearly infinite creative possibilities.
3. High-Quality Outputs: The platform produces impressive, detailed images, often with professional quality.
4. Collaboration: Users can mix others’ creations, fostering a community-driven approach to art-making.

Cons of Artbreeder:

1. Limited Control: While Artbreeder provides a lot of customization, the control over finer details can be limited compared to traditional digital art tools.
2. Repetitive Outcomes: Sometimes, blending images leads to similar results, making it harder to achieve truly unique outputs.
3. Access Restrictions: Some features, such as higher resolution downloads and more control, are locked behind a paid subscription.

Link: https://www.artbreeder.com/

3. Runway ML

Runway ML is an AI platform designed for creating art, videos, and designs. It’s perfect for anime artists, offering easy-to-use tools for editing images and videos. The platform helps you bring your ideas to life, with features like text generation and machine learning models. Whether you’re a beginner or a professional, Runway ML is simple to use. You don’t need any coding skills to get started. It’s an excellent tool for anime creators looking to make unique, high-quality artwork quickly and easily.

Pros of Runway ML:

1. User-Friendly: The platform is easy to use with a simple interface, making it accessible for people without a technical background.
2. Powerful AI Models: Runway ML has access to advanced machine learning models that can enhance videos, images, and creative content.
3. Creative Flexibility: It offers a variety of tools for different media, including images, videos, and even music.
4. Collaboration-Friendly: You can work with others on projects in real-time, making it great for team efforts.

Cons of Runway ML:

1. Cost: Some features, especially high-end tools and services, are behind a paywall, which can be expensive for beginners.
2. Limited Free Features: The free version offers limited access to tools and features, which might not be enough for extensive work.
3. Learning Curve: While it’s user-friendly, learning how to use all the AI tools effectively can take some time.

Runway ML is an exciting platform for creators, but its pricing and learning curve could be barriers for some users.

Link: https://runwayml.com/product

4. PicassoIA

PicassoIA Art Generator lets anime artists turn photos into unique art. Simply upload an image, and the AI transforms it into different artistic styles, like sketches or paintings. It uses deep learning to mimic the styles of famous artists. This makes it a fun way to explore your photos creatively. PicassoIA is quick and easy to use, perfect for creating visuals for social media, websites, or personal projects. Whether for fun or professional use, it’s an excellent tool for anime art creators.

Pros of PicassoIA Art Generator:

1. User-Friendly: The platform is easy to use, requiring just a few clicks to upload an image and get an artistic transformation.
2. Variety of Styles: PicassoIA offers a wide range of artistic styles, so you can experiment with different looks and find the one that suits your image best.
3. Fast Processing: The AI works quickly, providing results in just a few minutes.
4. Free Access: PicassoIA offers free access to its basic features, allowing you to try out the art generator before committing to a paid plan.

Cons of PicassoIA Art Generator:

1. Limited Customisation: You have little control over the final result, so the generated artwork may not fully match your vision.
2. Watermark on Free Version: The free version adds a watermark to your image, which is removed with a paid plan.
3. Basic Features: Some advanced features are only available with a subscription, limiting access to premium tools.

Link: https://picassoia.com/generator/en

5. AnimeGAN

AnimeGAN is an AI tool that turns photos into anime-style images. It’s perfect for anime art creators who want to transform real-life pictures into anime illustrations. Using deep learning, it quickly converts photos into hand-drawn-style anime art. Whether you want to create anime portraits or landscapes, AnimeGAN makes it easy. The results are fast and impressive, giving you high-quality anime artwork in no time.

Pros of AnimeGAN:

1. Anime-Style Transformation: The AI does a great job of changing photos into anime-style art with good detail and vibrant colours.
2. Free to Use: AnimeGAN is free, making it accessible for anyone who wants to try it without spending money.
3. Fast Processing: The transformation process is quick, so you won’t have to wait long to see your photo as an anime illustration.
4. Easy to Use: Even if you’re not tech-savvy, AnimeGAN is easy to use. Simply upload your photo, and the AI takes care of the rest.

Cons of AnimeGAN:

1. Limited Customization: You can’t fully control the style or details of the anime transformation, which may not give you exactly what you want.
2. Occasional Imperfections: Sometimes, the results might not be perfect, especially with complex backgrounds or intricate details.
3. Not Always Realistic: While fun, the anime style may not always match your original vision perfectly.

AnimeGAN is a fun and easy way to turn your photos into anime art, but its customization limitations might not suit everyone’s needs.

Link: https://animegan.js.org/

6. Clip Studio Paint (AI Features)

Clip Studio Paint is a popular tool for anime art creators. It’s known for powerful brushes and features, perfect for comics and illustrations. Recently, it added AI tools to speed up the process. For example, the AI helps with tasks like automatic colouring, pose generation, and background creation. This allows artists to focus more on creativity while the AI handles repetitive tasks. It’s an excellent tool for anime artists looking to work faster and more efficiently.

Pros of Clip Studio Paint (AI Features):

1. Automatic Coloring: The AI can automatically color your sketches, saving you time and giving you a great starting point for more detailed work.
2. Pose Generation: The AI can generate poses for characters, helping artists create dynamic and accurate body positions.
3. Smart Backgrounds: Clip Studio Paint can help you generate backgrounds based on your sketch, making the process quicker and easier.
4. Efficient Workflow: These AI tools streamline the workflow, allowing artists to finish their projects faster without sacrificing quality.

Cons of Clip Studio Paint (AI Features):

1. Limited Customization: The AI’s results may not always match your exact vision, and fine-tuning may still be necessary.
2. Learning Curve: While the AI tools are helpful, mastering them might take some time for new users.
3. Not Perfect for Every Style: The AI features work best for certain art styles and may not suit every artist’s needs.

Clip Studio Paint’s AI tools are a great addition to the software, helping artists be more productive, but they might not always offer complete control over the final result.

Link: https://www.clipstudio.net/en/

7. Toonify

Toonify is an AI tool that turns photos into cartoon-style images. It’s easy and fun to use. Simply upload a photo, and Toonify quickly transforms it into a cute, animated version. The AI adjusts facial features to match popular cartoon styles. It’s a great tool for turning your images into playful, anime-like art. Whether for profile pictures or just for fun, Toonify adds a creative twist to your photos. It’s simple, fast, and ideal for anime art creators looking for a quick cartoon transformation.

Pros of Toonify:

1. Easy to Use: The platform is straightforward. Just upload your photo, and Toonify’s AI does the rest, making it accessible for anyone, even beginners.
2. Quick Results: The AI generates cartoon versions of your photos in a matter of seconds, making it fast and convenient.
3. Fun and Creative: It’s a fun way to explore your photos in a new, cartoon-like style and share them with friends.
4. Free to Try: Toonify offers free access to its basic features, allowing users to test it before deciding to pay for premium versions.

Cons of Toonify:

1. Limited Control: You have little influence over the final look, so the results might not always be exactly as you imagine.
2. Not Always Accurate: The AI may not always capture details accurately, leading to cartoon versions that don’t perfectly resemble the original photo.
3. Watermark on Free Version: Free images come with a watermark, which might be an issue for those wanting a clean final image.

Link: https://toonify.photos/

8. Petalica Paint (previously Paints Chainer)

Petalica Paint is an AI-powered tool designed to help artists and creators turn their sketches into colourful, anime-style artworks. It allows users to upload black-and-white line art and automatically adds vibrant colours, using AI to fill in the details with impressive accuracy. Petalica Paint is perfect for those who want to save time on the colouring process or need some inspiration for their artwork. It offers a range of styles and colour options, making it versatile for different types of projects.

Pros of Petalica Paint:

1. Automatic Coloring: The AI quickly adds colours to sketches, saving artists time and effort in the colouring stage.
2. Customizable: While the AI does the colouring, users can tweak the results and adjust the colours to better match their vision.
3. Easy to Use: The interface is simple and intuitive, making it easy for both beginners and professionals to use.
4. Free to Try: Petalica Paint offers a free version, allowing users to test the tool before deciding to invest in the paid version.

Cons of Petalica Paint:

1. Limited Control: The AI-generated colours might not always match your specific preferences, requiring manual adjustments.
2. Basic Results for Complex Art: For highly detailed or intricate artwork, the AI’s results may not be as accurate or detailed as expected.
3. Watermark on Free Version: The free version adds a watermark to the final image, which can be removed with a paid subscription.

Link: https://petalica.com/index_en.html

9. Fotor’s AI Art Generator

Fotor’s AI Art Generator is an innovative tool that allows users to turn their photos into unique works of art using artificial intelligence. By uploading an image, users can choose from various artistic styles, such as watercolor, oil painting, or cartoon, and let the AI transform the photo into a stunning, creative piece. Fotor’s AI Art Generator is perfect for those who want to add an artistic touch to their photos without needing advanced editing skills. Whether for social media, personal projects, or creative expression, this tool makes it easy to create eye-catching images.

Pros of Fotor’s AI Art Generator:

1. Easy to Use: The interface is simple and user-friendly, making it accessible even for beginners with no editing experience.
2. Wide Range of Styles: Fotor offers multiple art styles, allowing users to experiment with different looks and find the one that suits their image.
3. Quick Results: The AI generates the artwork in a short amount of time, so you don’t have to wait long to see the transformation.
4. Free Version Available: Fotor provides a free version that lets you try out the AI Art Generator so you can test the tool before committing to a subscription.

Cons of Fotor’s AI Art Generator:

1. Limited Customization: You don’t have full control over the final result, so the output might not always match your exact vision.
2. Watermarks on Free Version: Free users will have a watermark on their generated images, which can be removed with a paid version.
3. Basic Art Styles: While there are many styles to choose from, they may not be as advanced as some other professional art tools.

Link: https://www.fotor.com/ai-art-generator/

10. VanceAI Anime Art Generator

VanceAI Anime Art Generator is an AI-based tool that transforms photos into anime-style artwork. Whether you want to turn a portrait, a landscape, or any other image into anime, this tool makes it easy. Users simply upload their photo, and the AI quickly processes it to create a cartoonish, vibrant version in a unique anime style. It’s a great option for anyone who loves anime and wants to see themselves or their creations in that artistic style.

Pros of VanceAI Anime Art Generator:

1. User-Friendly: The tool is easy to use, requiring just a simple upload of your image and a click of a button to transform it.
2. Fast Results: The AI processes images quickly, allowing you to see your anime version in no time.
3. High-Quality Output: The generated images have a detailed and professional look, making them perfect for use in social media, projects, or personal use.
4. Free to Try: VanceAI offers a free trial, so you can test out the tool before deciding if it’s worth the investment.

Cons of VanceAI Anime Art Generator:

1. Not Ideal for Complex Images: The AI might struggle with more detailed or intricate images, resulting in less polished results.
2. Limited Customisation: The style and output can’t be fully controlled, so the results might not always meet your exact expectations.
3. Watermark on Free Version: The free version adds a watermark to the images, which is only removed with a paid plan.

Link: https://vanceai.com/toongineer-cartoonizer/