Leonardo AI

What is Leonardo AI?

Leonardo AI is a generative AI platform from Leonardo Interactive, an Australian company based in Sydney, that makes image and video generation fast and practical for creative work. It launched in 2022 and quickly built a loyal following among game developers, who used it for concept art, item icons and environment exploration.

The platform runs a lineup of models, including its flagship Phoenix model, alongside community-trained fine-tunes, and it pairs them with production tools like consistent character generation, image-to-image editing and an in-browser canvas. In July 2024 Canva acquired the company, and Leonardo's tech now powers generative features inside Canva while the standalone platform keeps running.

It also offers video generation, letting you turn a prompt or a still image into short animated clips, which makes it a one-stop shop for creators who want both images and motion.

Key Features

• Phoenix and other high quality models with style presets
• Consistent Character feature for keeping the same character across images
• Image-to-image editing and an in-browser canvas
• Community fine-tuned models and your own custom model training
• Video generation from prompts or still images
• API access for developers and product builders
• Canva integration for paid users
• Generous free tier with daily tokens

How to get started

Sign up at leonardo.ai with your email or a Google account and you get a daily allowance of free tokens, which is enough to learn the basics without paying anything. Pick a model and a preset, type your prompt, and generate, then compare how different models and presets change the result.

Once you have an image you like, try the canvas and image-to-image tools to refine it, and experiment with the Consistent Character feature for multi-image projects. Paid plans raise your token limits and unlock faster generation.

• Create a free account at leonardo.ai
• Spend your daily tokens on prompt experiments
• Try different models and style presets
• Use image-to-image to remix your best results
• Set up a Consistent Character for a series of images
• Upgrade for more tokens and faster generation

Use cases

• Game concept art, item icons and environment design
• Character sheets and consistent character series
• Product photography and marketing visuals
• Social media and advertising creatives
• Animation and video storyboards
• Fashion and interior design exploration

Pricing and licensing

Leonardo runs on a token system. Free accounts get a daily token allowance, and paid subscriptions add far more tokens per month plus faster queues and extra features. Plan names and prices have changed a few times, so check the site for the current lineup.

The Canva acquisition brought enterprise muscle: paid users get Leonardo's generation inside Canva, and the platform's terms cover commercial use of generated assets. The exact usage rights differ between free and paid tiers, so read the terms for commercial projects.

Pros and cons

Leonardo's strengths are workflow depth and community. The consistent character tools solve a real production problem, the model lineup gives you creative range, and the free daily tokens make it the easiest serious platform to try without paying. The Canva connection is a bonus for designers already living in Canva.

The weak spots are the token economy, which can feel stingy on the free tier, and the fact that results depend heavily on model choice and presets, which is a learning curve for newcomers. For pure photorealism, Midjourney or DALL·E 3 are often stronger.

Alternatives

• Midjourney: the most artistic generator, subscription only
• DALL·E 3: simplest through ChatGPT
• Stable Diffusion: free and fully controllable
• Adobe Firefly: commercial safety inside Adobe apps
• Ideogram: best for text in images