Adobe Firefly vs. DALL·E 3: Express your vision with the right AI art generator for you.
Brainstorm at lightning speed and turn your dreams into amazing AI creations with Firefly.
Do your best creative work with help from Firefly.
Get inspired, explore new ideas, and dramatically speed up creative workflows with an AI generator built on the principles of accountability, responsibility, and transparency.
The basics of generative AI.
You might be tempted to jump right in and start creating images with AI art generators. (We can’t hold it against you — it’s amazingly fast, simple, and fun.) But before you go too far, it’s helpful to get a feel for how generative AI works so you can make the best choices for you and produce the best possible results.
Much like regular AI uses data to solve problems, generative AI uses data to generate outputs like images, videos, or even music based on a specific request. These requests are usually simple written prompts, like “Victorian wallpaper pattern of lemons and flowers.” Using a large language model, or LLM, AI art generators turn your text prompt into something new — in this case, a colorful new wallpaper design.
Whether you want to see a motorcycle driving on the moon or a realistic product photo of a sneaker, you can come up with a dream and experiment with using generative AI apps like Firefly.
Differences between Adobe Firefly and Dall·E 3.
Adobe Firefly is more than just a web application. It’s also the family of generative AI models that power features in products like Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator.
The current Firefly generative AI model is trained on a dataset of licensed content, such as Adobe Stock, and public domain content where copyright has expired. With Firefly, you can turn text descriptions into all kinds of AI creations, like images, vectors, and text effects. For example, you can create a watercolor of a sailboat at sunset or turn the letters of your favorite pizza parlor’s name into an actual pizza.
And that’s just the beginning. Firefly models for changing the mood of a video, removing distractions from photos, testing out design options, texturizing 3D objects, and adding new elements to illustrations are all in the works. Plus, Adobe is always looking at new ways to bring even more Firefly power into apps like Adobe Express, Photoshop, Illustrator, and more.
As you search for the best generative AI tool for your needs, it’s good to look at what the app creators are doing to give you results in a way that is designed to be commercially safe, whether you’re considering DALL·E 3 or other generative AI tools such as Stable Diffusion and Midjourney.
The word “pizza” in Cooper font with the text effect prompt: Cheesy pepperoni olives and spinach pizza.
3 big benefits of Firefly.
Most AI image generators make it easy to create something impressive with a simple text prompt. With Firefly, you can do even more — like find new inspiration, specify a particular style, use reference images, and streamline your creative workflows, all while supporting the wider creative community.
There are a lot of benefits to Adobe Firefly, but here are three that help it stand out from the crowd.
1. Respect for the creative community.
Adobe has established the AI ethics principles of accountability, responsibility, and transparency. Firefly was created in a way that respects existing customers and aligns with Adobe values.
That's why Firefly is trained on licensed content, such as Adobe Stock, and public domain content where the copyright has expired. Firefly is designed to be commercially safe, and it’s available for enterprise-wide access.
Taking it a step further, Adobe has developed a Firefly bonus compensation plan for all eligible Adobe Stock contributors whose content was used in the dataset training of the first commercially released Firefly.
2. Spark creativity in totally new ways.
Adobe Firefly lets you do more than just enter a text prompt. You can use your own reference images and easily toggle between different content types, styles, colors, tones, and composition styles to try out new ideas quickly.
Not sure what art style you want to use? Click Surrealism, Cubism, or Cyberpunk and see your results change accordingly. Trying to decide between a wide-angle and a close-up image? Try both and see what works better. Is one of your results working great but not quite right yet? Click the Edit button to show similar results, or add and remove elements with Generative Fill right inside Firefly.
Firefly was built to help you bring ideas to life in minutes instead of hours. Want to see what “a living room with a lot of plants” looks like with red couches that stand out instead of white upholstery? Adjust your prompt and you’ve got a second series of mock-ups in seconds.
If a picture is worth a thousand words, Firefly can help you generate dozens of different ways to express your ideas, whether you’re a seasoned graphic designer working on a big pitch or just someone with a cool idea for a t-shirt. These are just a couple of ways that generative AI can enhance creative development.
3. Speed up creative workflows.
It’s easy to see how Firefly can help you create a cool new image fast. But what if you work in the creative industry and you’re already used to doing things a certain way? Firefly can help speed up the work you’re already doing.
With AI image generation in the Firefly web app and features powered by Firefly in Photoshop, Illustrator, and Adobe Express, you can get great results in less time. For example:
- Brainstorm ideas for the cover of your band’s concept album. Instead of sketching out everything by hand, test out different prompts and see which ones work best before you spend a lot of time getting into the details.
- Test out new color palettes for your intricate textile designs. Try using text prompts and Generative Recolor in Firefly or Illustrator to save valuable time when adding color to detailed patterns and designs.
- Explore different compositions before creating editorial imagery. Get a feel for your photograph before heading out to the set. Use Generative Fill to add different prompts, and test out different camera angles ahead of time so you’re sure to bring the right lens to the shoot.
- Design a social media post template for your business. Save time trying different layouts with Text to Template in Adobe Express. Just describe the type of template you want, choose the best result, and customize it to fit your brand.
- Ask to see an iguana in a pink suit. Because sometimes you need to take a break from work and have a good laugh.
Text-to-image prompt: A living room with a lot of plants with a red couch.
How to use Adobe Firefly.
Fine-tune your AI art in Adobe Firefly.
After you get your initial results, you can adjust the images Firefly generates by selecting from different content types, styles, colors, tones, and compositions.
Try adding to your text prompt.
The text prompt “man in a beanie hat and glasses” will generate images of exactly that. But add more descriptive words to your prompt and Firefly will generate more specific results. Update your prompt to “Portrait of futuristic Asian man in a beanie hat and glasses, apocalyptic” and you’ll be given images featuring all the details in your new search.
Adjust the content type.
When you first add a prompt to the text to image feature, Firefly will choose the content type it thinks will fit best. From there, you can select Photo or Art to see options that look more illustrative or realistic. Simply toggle off Auto if you want to keep your content type the same as you try new prompts.
Refine your results with Styles and more.
There are many tools to tweak your generated images in Firefly. From pop art to 3D art, the Style menu lets you adjust results based on art movements, themes, and even materials like metal to change the texture of an image. Try for a drawn look or ask for photorealistic images.
Play with Color and Tone and Lighting options to change the feel of your results, and even select different compositions if the angle of your final image is not what you’re looking for.
By selecting multiple options from these menus, you can create an infinite range of unique generated images.
Text-to-image prompt: Portrait of futuristic Asian man in a beanie hat and glasses, apocalyptic.
Try Adobe Firefly text effects.
It can be helpful to see what’s possible before you spend time adding design elements to wordmarks, logos, and other text treatments. That’s where Firefly can help you ideate before you create.
From lava to icicles and driftwood to leafy greens, the Text effects feature in Firefly can add effects and styles to any bit of text. Type in the word you want to see and the effect you want to cover the letters and watch Firefly go to work. You can further adjust your results by selecting different fonts, how closely the effect fits the text, and adjusting the background color that frames your stylized letters.
There’s no better way to understand the possibilities of Firefly than to give it a test drive. Explore what Firefly can help you create.
