HANDS-ON TUTORIAL

Introduction to AI Image Generation

Everything beginners need to know to get started

📚 Key Terms to Know First

StableDiffusionPipeline — A Python tool that makes it easy to use Stable Diffusion models

Google Colab — A cloud environment where you can run Python code for free in your browser

Diffusers — A diffusion model library created by Hugging Face

safetensors — A safe file format that eliminates hacking risks when loading models

inference_steps — The number of denoising iterations. Higher values mean better quality but slower generation

In recent years, AI has made remarkable advances across many fields. One of the most fascinating areas is image generation.

Can you imagine typing a simple text description and having a matching image generated in just seconds? This is the magic of AI image generation, a technology that opens up a world of creativity and possibilities.

🤖 What is AI Image Generation?

AI image generation is a technology that uses algorithms and neural networks to create images based on text descriptions or other input data.

These systems learn patterns, styles, and visual elements from massive datasets. As a result, models are created that can generate artwork, illustrations, and even photorealistic images that reflect the input content.

⚙️ How Does It Work?

At the core of AI image generation is machine learning, particularly deep learning technology. Here's a simple breakdown of the process:

1️⃣ Training

The AI model learns from datasets containing massive amounts of images and their descriptions. In this stage, it learns which visual elements are associated with words like "cat."

2️⃣ Inference

Once training is complete, the model can generate new images. When it receives a prompt like "sunset over mountains," it interprets the text and creates a matching image.

3️⃣ Fine-tuning

Many systems allow users to adjust style, colors, and other elements to refine the generated image in their desired direction.

🎯 Where Can It Be Used?

AI image generation is being used across many different fields:

🎨

Art & Design

Brainstorming ideas or creating unique artwork

📢

Marketing

Quickly generating customized promotional images for campaigns

🎮

Entertainment

Rapid creation of game assets or concept art

The ability to generate and share images on aickyway is made possible by this very technology.

🚀 Introducing StableDiffusionPipeline

One of the most popular tools for AI image generation is StableDiffusionPipeline. Developed as part of the Stable Diffusion project, this pipeline allows you to generate high-quality images from text descriptions.

✨ What Makes It Special?

Accessibility

Designed to be easy to use even for those with limited technical background

Quality

Generates images that are difficult to distinguish from human-created artwork

Flexibility

You can adjust various parameters like style, resolution, and content as desired

💻 Hands-on with Google Colab

Google Colab is a platform where you can run Python code for free in the cloud. You also get free GPU access, making it perfect for experimenting with AI tools.

📋 Step-by-Step Guide

1 Access Google Colab

Go to colab.research.google.com.

2 Create a New Notebook

Click "New Notebook" to create a new workspace.

⚠️ Important! Set your notebook to run on GPU (T4). It's much faster than CPU!
Menu: Runtime → Change runtime type → GPU

3 Install Required Libraries

Run this code in the first cell:

# Clean up conflicting packages + install compatible stack
!pip -q uninstall -y peft
!pip -q install -U diffusers==0.29.0 transformers==4.46.3 accelerate safetensors

# Restart runtime after running this cell!

🔄 Note: You must restart the runtime after running this. (Runtime → Restart session)

4 Import Libraries

import torch
from diffusers import StableDiffusionPipeline
from IPython.display import display

device = "cuda" if torch.cuda.is_available() else "cpu"
print("Using:", device)

5 Load the Pipeline

pipe = StableDiffusionPipeline.from_pretrained(
    "stabilityai/stable-diffusion-2-1-base",
    torch_dtype=torch.float16 if device=="cuda" else torch.float32,
    use_safetensors=True,
    safety_checker=None,
)
pipe = pipe.to(device)

6 Generate an Image! 🎉

prompt = "a cat wearing sunglasses on the beach"
image = pipe(prompt, num_inference_steps=25).images[0]
display(image)
image.save("output.png")
print("Saved output.png")

🐱😎🏖️

An image of a cat wearing sunglasses on the beach is generated.

🔬 How Does Stable Diffusion Work?

Stable Diffusion is an innovative AI model designed to transform text descriptions into vivid images.

Here's a simple explanation:

💡 Understanding Through Analogy

1. You describe in words what you want
2. The AI starts with chaotic noise
3. It gradually transforms that chaos into a coherent image

This is the essence of Stable Diffusion.

📝 Full Code (Copy-Paste Ready)

# === Cell 1: Install (Restart runtime after running) ===
!pip -q uninstall -y peft
!pip -q install -U diffusers==0.29.0 transformers==4.46.3 accelerate safetensors

# === Cell 2: Import & Generate ===
import torch
from diffusers import StableDiffusionPipeline
from IPython.display import display

device = "cuda" if torch.cuda.is_available() else "cpu"
print("Using:", device)

pipe = StableDiffusionPipeline.from_pretrained(
    "stabilityai/stable-diffusion-2-1-base",
    torch_dtype=torch.float16 if device=="cuda" else torch.float32,
    use_safetensors=True,
    safety_checker=None,
)
pipe = pipe.to(device)

prompt = "a cat wearing sunglasses on the beach"
image = pipe(prompt, num_inference_steps=25).images[0]
display(image)
image.save("output.png")
print("Saved output.png")

🎉 Conclusion

Congratulations! You now understand the basic principles of AI image generation
and can create images yourself using StableDiffusionPipeline.

Try experimenting with different prompts:

"a futuristic city at sunset"

"a dragon flying over mountains"

"a cozy cabin in the snow"

"an astronaut riding a horse"

Share the images you create on aickyway and check out other users' works too! 🚀