See It
Generate three visual interpretations from one curiosity card.
Atlas capability 4
Make Images and Designs
Help me see the idea.
Generate, edit, explain, diagram, prototype, and prepare visual material for print, screens, stories, applications, and exhibitions.
Official logos and platform marks should come from first-party brand assets when reuse is permitted. The Atlas uses written names and neutral monograms until that permission is clear.
What this can include
- Generate images from descriptions and references.
- Edit, extend, remove, replace, or restyle visual elements.
- Create diagrams, maps, comics, infographics, and presentation images.
- Explore layouts, mockups, visual directions, and prototypes.
- Maintain a character or visual identity across several scenes.
- Prepare assets for printing, video, apps, and exhibits.
Try It
Edit a supplied image and compare the result with the original and prompt.
Build It
Construct a repeatable image pipeline with references, asset records, accessibility, licensing, and production QA.
Current tool map · checked August 13, 2026
Tools that may help
These are representative options, not rankings or endorsements. Prices are dated United States dollar orientations; open the official page before choosing or paying.
Adobe
Adobe Firefly
Generative image, design, audio, and video tools integrated with Adobe creative applications.
- Cost snapshot
- Free credits; a stable public USD paid entry price was not confirmed during this pass.
- Good fit
- beginner; See It, Try It, Build It
- Access
- web, desktop
Esri
ArcGIS StoryMaps
A web authoring environment for combining maps, media, narrative, and place-based explanations.
- Cost snapshot
- Public viewing is free; authoring depends on ArcGIS access. A stable USD entry price was not confirmed.
- Good fit
- guided beginner; See It, Try It, Build It
- Access
- web
Blender Foundation
Blender
A complete open-source 3D suite for modeling, animation, simulation, rendering, compositing, and video.
- Cost snapshot
- Free and open source under the GNU GPL.
- Good fit
- technical; See It, Try It, Build It
- Access
- desktop, local
Canva
Canva
A browser-first design suite for layouts, presentations, images, video, audio, and AI-assisted creation.
- Cost snapshot
- Free tier; paid USD pricing is region- and account-dependent and was not confirmed.
- Good fit
- beginner; See It, Try It, Build It
- Access
- web, desktop, mobile
CapCut
CapCut
A consumer video editor with templates, captions, effects, music, and AI media tools.
- Cost snapshot
- Free tier; paid pricing is account- and region-dependent and was not confirmed.
- Good fit
- beginner; See It, Try It, Build It
- Access
- web, desktop, mobile
OpenAI
ChatGPT
A general multimodal assistant for questions, sources, writing, images, data, voice, and connected work.
- Cost snapshot
- Free tier; Go $8/month in the US, Plus $20/month, and Pro $200/month. API usage is separate.
- Good fit
- beginner; See It, Try It, Build It
- Access
- web, desktop, mobile, api
Comfy Org
ComfyUI
A node-based local workflow system for assembling generative image, audio, and video models.
- Cost snapshot
- Free open-source software; models, hardware, hosted compute, and third-party nodes may add costs.
- Good fit
- technical; See It, Try It, Build It
- Access
- desktop, local, api
Blackmagic Design
DaVinci Resolve
A professional editor for video, color, visual effects, motion graphics, and audio finishing.
- Cost snapshot
- Free Resolve edition; a stable public USD Studio price was not confirmed during this pass.
- Good fit
- technical; See It, Try It, Build It
- Access
- desktop, local
Figma
Figma
A collaborative interface design and whiteboard environment for layouts, prototypes, diagrams, and design systems.
- Cost snapshot
- Starter plan is free; a stable public USD paid entry price was not confirmed.
- Good fit
- guided beginner; See It, Try It, Build It
- Access
- web, desktop, mobile
Flourish
Flourish
A browser tool for creating interactive data visualizations, maps, scrollytelling, and presentations.
- Cost snapshot
- Free public tier; a stable public USD paid entry price was not confirmed.
- Good fit
- guided beginner; See It, Try It, Build It
- Access
- web
Flow with Veo
A generative filmmaking surface using Veo and related Google media models.
- Cost snapshot
- Access and credits are tied to Google AI plans; a stable public USD entry price was not confirmed.
- Good fit
- guided beginner; See It, Try It, Build It
- Access
- web
Gemini
Google’s multimodal assistant for questions, research, creation, code, and Workspace-connected tasks.
- Cost snapshot
- Free tier; paid consumer plan price was not confirmed from the public first-party page during this pass.
- Good fit
- beginner; See It, Try It, Build It
- Access
- web, mobile, api
Google AI Studio
A browser workbench for experimenting with Gemini models and turning prompts into API prototypes.
- Cost snapshot
- Free development allowance plus model-, token-, and media-metered Gemini API pricing.
- Good fit
- guided beginner; See It, Try It, Build It
- Access
- web, api
Google Earth
A global imagery, terrain, map, and storytelling environment for exploring places and change.
- Cost snapshot
- Free consumer access.
- Good fit
- beginner; See It, Try It, Build It
- Access
- web, desktop, mobile
xAI
Grok
xAI’s assistant for conversation, reasoning, current public conversation, images, voice, and API work.
- Cost snapshot
- Free access appears available; a stable first-party consumer USD entry price was not confirmed. API pricing is model-specific.
- Good fit
- beginner; See It, Try It, Build It
- Access
- web, mobile, api
Ideogram
Ideogram
A prompt-driven image and design generator known for rendering text inside images.
- Cost snapshot
- Free tier advertised; a stable public USD paid entry price was not confirmed.
- Good fit
- beginner; See It, Try It, Build It
- Access
- web
iNaturalist
iNaturalist
A community platform for recording nature observations and receiving identification suggestions.
- Cost snapshot
- Free community platform.
- Good fit
- beginner; See It, Try It, Build It
- Access
- web, mobile
Luma AI
Luma Dream Machine
A generative image and video workspace, with tools for visual exploration and motion.
- Cost snapshot
- Free access advertised; a stable public USD entry price was not confirmed.
- Good fit
- guided beginner; See It, Try It, Build It
- Access
- web, api
Meshy
Meshy
An AI service for generating and texturing 3D models from text or images.
- Cost snapshot
- Free credits or tier shown; a stable public USD paid entry price was not confirmed.
- Good fit
- guided beginner; See It, Try It, Build It
- Access
- web, api
Midjourney
Midjourney
A hosted image and short-video generation environment with a strong visual exploration workflow.
- Cost snapshot
- No free tier stated; Basic plan $10/month.
- Good fit
- guided beginner; See It, Try It, Build It
- Access
- web
Pika
Pika
A prompt- and image-to-video tool for short clips, effects, and stylized transformations.
- Cost snapshot
- Free tier; a stable public USD paid entry price was not confirmed.
- Good fit
- beginner; See It, Try It, Build It
- Access
- web
Polycam
Polycam
A mobile and web photogrammetry/LiDAR tool for capturing spaces and objects as 3D models.
- Cost snapshot
- Free plan shown; a stable public USD paid entry price was not confirmed.
- Good fit
- guided beginner; See It, Try It, Build It
- Access
- web, mobile
QGIS
QGIS
A free open-source geographic information system for mapping, spatial data, analysis, and publication.
- Cost snapshot
- Free open-source software.
- Good fit
- technical; See It, Try It, Build It
- Access
- desktop, local
Runway
Runway
A creative suite for generative image, video, audio, effects, and media editing.
- Cost snapshot
- Free tier with 125 one-time credits; Standard $12/month when billed annually.
- Good fit
- guided beginner; See It, Try It, Build It
- Access
- web
SillyTavern
SillyTavern
A self-hosted assembly environment connecting language models, characters, lore, memory, images, voices, and group chats.
- Cost snapshot
- Free open-source interface; model, voice, image, and API providers may add separate costs.
- Good fit
- technical; See It, Try It, Build It
- Access
- desktop, local, api
Autodesk
Tinkercad
A free browser tool for beginner 3D design, electronics circuits, and block-based coding.
- Cost snapshot
- Free browser service.
- Good fit
- beginner; See It, Try It, Build It
- Access
- web
Run this even when the list looks current
Find current tools and prices
Product names, access, plans, and limits change. Copy this prompt into an assistant with current web access.
I want to create or edit visual material for my project, explain the workflow, preserve references, and identify licensing or accessibility work still needed for a curiosity event or learning project. Find useful tools that are available today. Assume I may not be technically experienced. Prefer official product, documentation, and pricing pages. For each tool include a plain-language description, the easiest first step, access method, required account or installation, free plan or trial, current consumer subscription price, current API or credit cost, important limits, privacy and data-use considerations, output ownership, and direct official links. Separate subscriptions from usage pricing. Show United States dollar prices, state the date checked, label anything unconfirmed instead of guessing, and remind me to verify the official pricing page before spending money.Trust boundary
Human judgment remains in charge.
Images can imply evidence they do not contain. Label reconstructions and generated scenes, and preserve source assets.