The team at Retro, a photo-sharing app for close family and friends, is experimenting with how generative AI could be used for more creative purposes. To check out the newest, cutting-edge AI technologies, the team built a brand new app called Splatwhich means that you can turn any photo right into a children's coloring book page.
As any parent will let you know, children love painting. And due to the web, there are seemingly countless coloring book pages you’ll be able to print at home.
However, most of the web sites that host these pages are filled with advertisements and other clutter, making them difficult to navigate. In other cases, the printable pages are only available for a small fee, which some parents may not need to pay since many children's scribbled art projects are disposable.
This inspired the Retro team to create an app for printing coloring book pages at home – either from your individual photos or from provided photos in kid-friendly, educational categories like Animals, Space, Flowers, Fairy Tales, Robots, Cars and more.
To start with Splat, take a photograph or select a photograph out of your camera roll. You can then select which photo style you ought to colorize – akin to anime, 3D film, manga, cartoon or comic. The app then uses AI to convert your image right into a screen or printable page that youngsters can color.
Instead of requiring a lengthy sign-up process, the app walks you thru customization options if you first create it. Here you will probably be asked to pick out your selected app icon and tick different categories that your child likes. You also can decide to allow kids to paint the photo as a printable page or on the screen (great in a pinch when kids are bored but you don't want them to get sucked right into a TV show or game).
You can check out a generative AI project to get a feel for the app. It then costs either $4.99 per week or $49.99 per 12 months to proceed generating latest images. The weekly option allows 25 pages per week and the annual option allows 500 pages per 12 months. The ability to buy or access settings is blocked for young children by a pop-up that requires the parent's 12 months of birth.
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In quick testing, the app worked as promised and generation time was quick, allowing you to quickly go from idea to printed artwork, ready for coloring, cutting, or whatever else your child desires to do.
Splat is certainly one of several experiments using generative AI to stimulate children's creativity and imagination in latest ways. Another company, Stickerbox, offers printed AI-generated stickers for coloring, while Casio also launched a fluffy robot pet called Moflin that uses AI to develop its personality over time.
