Fast scetchColoried with AI

A Creative Journey with AI

It all starts with a simple sketch on paper. A few strokes with a marker, an exaggerated grin, maybe a cheeky nod to a well-known personality. In the past, this cartoon would have remained in the analog world or required painstaking hand-tracing, coloring, and animating. Today? Today, AI takes over.

The Magic of Modern Creative Tools

For this experiment, I scanned my drawing and uploaded it to Adobe Firefly to have it colored. Firefly uses generative AI to intelligently add colors and shading without compromising the original sketch’s charm. The result? A digitally colored version, perfectly suited for further processing.

But why stop there?

The next step was meshi.ai – a platform that transforms static images into animated characters. With just a few clicks, my figure came to life: blinking, moving, maybe even raising an ironic eyebrow. A simple sketch was transformed into an animated sequence in no time – without the need for time-consuming frame-by-frame drawings or complex animation software.

Past vs. Present – A Reality Check

During my studies, the world of computer-assisted illustration looked completely different. Back then, digital drawing was still in its infancy, and programs like Photoshop were revolutionary – but also expensive and resource-intensive. Anyone who wanted to create animations had to either invest a lot of money or spend weeks wrestling with vector paths.

Today? Today, free or affordable AI-powered tools not only reduce workload but also unlock entirely new creative possibilities. What once took hours can now be done in minutes – with stunning results.

Why Do This?

This combination of sketching, AI coloring, and AI animation demonstrates how creativity and technology complement each other perfectly:

  • Speed: What used to be a tedious process can now be completed in no time.
  • Playful Experimentation: Different styles, colors, and movements can be tested without committing to one.
  • New Forms of Expression: Sketches that once only existed on paper can now be further developed and animated digitally.

In short: Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence have revolutionized the creative workflow – and it has never been easier (or more fun) to bring a drawing to life.

Maybe my next sketch should start dancing right away… 🤔