Table of Contents
Leonardo AI Canvas Editor
Today I did an exercise on AI creativity, that is, I set out to observe the variations Leonardo offers using the same image as a starting point.
Real Time Canvas Editor is a Leonardo AItool that allows you to modify images, displaying the results in real time. On the left side of the screen, we have the original image, and on the right, the modified image, following the prompt we have added or applying different editing modes and creativity levels.
In this case, I have not entered any prompt, but I have increased the creativity level from the initial 0.30 to a value of 0.42. Canvas Edition allows up to 0.90, but the results no longer resemble the original, although it is an ideal option for obtaining results that were unimaginable before starting, giving Leonardo’s AI total freedom.
Humanoid Female Face
To perform these tests, I have chosen this design as the original image.
👉🏻 Image Prompt >>
Ultra-detailed hyper-realistic portrait of a humanoid female face with enormous, glowing, bioluminescent blue eyes, intense gaze, and symmetrical features. The face is partially human and partially abstract, with dramatic paint-splatter effects bursting from the forehead in vivid shades of orange, yellow, cyan, and electric blue, blending into the background. Smooth skin with a cool turquoise glow, subtle shadows, and high contrast lighting that creates depth and drama. Liquid paint drips down around the eyes, merging with the facial structure. Cinematic composition, front-facing, centred, high resolution, with a dark vignette background that emphasises the intense colours and eyes. Digital painting style with photorealistic textures and painterly brushstroke effects.
Exploring the power of AI-driven creativity with Leonardo AI— each slide shows a unique visual transformation using a different built-in effect.
From vibrant bursts to cinematic tones, this is how one image can shift across artistic worlds.
The editor offers 13 variations in the application of the style, plus an alternative called “None” in which only the effect of the creativity level we have selected is applied. In total there are 14 different results, which we can compare with the original image, which would be like a fifteenth.
Let’s look at the results in more detail.
âžś You can see the resulting image for each style, but if you find it more interesting, you can also see them all together at the end of the post, in the complete image gallery, with the 14 styles and the original.
Anime
The face is more angular and cartoon style typical of anime. The color of the glow has also become slightly dissimilar, being more green-yellow in the left eye and more orange-red in the right eye, emphasizing the dramatic effect more. The expression is stronger but is more readily “anime cool” or determined due to the more pronounced lines and slightly more angular brow. The vibrant paint splatters and brush marks around the temples and the eye areas are more dramatic and abstract, almost in the style of bright auras. The overall style in the picture is more graphic, with the painterly effect being less pronounced, affirming the frank line work and heavy shading so characteristic in anime illustrations. The details are more decisively outlined and less blended.
Cinematic
The cinematic version leans into photorealism with detailed skin texture and subtle color gradients. Eyes remain glowing but now feature vivid neon green pupils with realistic definition. Facial features are more three-dimensional and human-like, enhancing realism. Lighting is dramatic and precise, adding depth and atmosphere. Color bursts resemble glowing tendrils or energy streaks rather than paint splatters. Blue tones in the skin evoke a sci-fi or ethereal vibe.
Overall, the image feels polished, serious, and high-budget—like a sci-fi movie still.
Concept Art
The Concept Art version in Leonardo AI introduces a wider composition, showing the full head and shoulders of the subject and adding a narrative element with a small scene featuring a futuristic vehicle and silhouetted figures. The style is more painterly and textural, with broad brushstrokes and less defined lines, giving it a hand-crafted, exploratory feel.
Lighting is dramatic, with deep shadows and a cooler, ethereal tone. The expression is more ambiguous, and the glowing eyes are less fantastical and more grounded. Overall, it feels like a snapshot from a larger story world, focusing on character design and environment rather than just portraiture.
Dynamic
The Dynamic version dramatically increases the sense of energy and motion. Colorful bursts around the head now resemble sharp streaks of light, suggesting explosive movement. The color palette is highly saturated, especially in the glowing green eyes and electric blue skin tones, creating intense contrast.
Facial features are more chiseled and expressive, echoing the angularity of the anime version but with added tension and power. Lighting is bold and directional, with internal glows from the eyes and energy bursts. Overall, this version feels like a moment of transformation or unleashed power—vivid, forceful, and far more action-driven than the original.
Environment
The Environment style version introduces a more immersive and fantastical setting. Colorful, gem-like geometric shapes float around the head and shoulders, creating a magical or sci-fi aura.
The glowing eyes now differ—green on the left, red on the right—adding asymmetry and narrative depth. Skin texture appears smoother, with a subtle crystalline sheen that complements the gem elements. Energy bursts are still vivid but more refined and structured.
Lighting is sharper, enhancing the glow and geometric details. Overall, this version of Leonardo AI visual prompt feels like the character exists within a defined world, surrounded by advanced technology or mystical forces, rather than isolated in abstraction.
Fantasy Art
The Fantasy Art version expands the original portrait into a rich, narrative-driven scene visible in Leonardo AI. A detailed base with silhouetted figures and a glowing object suggests a magical world, much like a frame from a fantasy epic. Spiky, glowing crystal elements surround the head, anchored by a central blue gem, enhancing the mystical atmosphere. The eyes—green and red—glow with heightened magical intensity, framed by deeper shadows for a dramatic effect. Painterly textures blend with sharp, illustrative details, especially in the ornate energy bursts. Overall, this version feels like a powerful character illustration rooted in a larger fantasy universe full of magic and story.
Painting
This style version emphasizes traditional, expressive artistry with thick brushstrokes and rich impasto textures across the face and background. Vibrant paint drips—especially in blues, reds, and yellows—stream from the eyes, enhancing the raw, physical quality of the medium. The skin tones blend deeper blues and greens for a more vivid, ethereal effect. The glowing eyes are still present but feel more naturally integrated into the painted texture.
Overall, this Painting style version of Leonardo AI feels like a true canvas painting, prioritizing tactile texture, expressive detail, and artistic process over digital polish. A small paint palette detail reinforces the handcrafted aesthetic and theme.
Photography
The face features realistic skin texture, defined nose, and natural lips, resembling a professional photo shoot enhanced with special effects. Lighting is meticulously crafted—dramatic, focused, and responsive to the glowing eyes, which now emit real-looking light and shadow. Bright color bursts around the head appear more like digital light trails than paint, consistent with modern photographic post-production. A standout feature is the cracked or shattered porcelain-like effect across the cheeks and forehead, adding fragility and depth. The eyes—one yellow-green, one red—are sharply defined yet retain a mystical quality. Altogether, the image feels like a cinematic still or editorial portrait, turning the abstract concept into a visually believable, emotionally impactful representation. The Photography style version reimagines the original artwork with high photorealism, grounding the subject in a tangible, human-like form.
Product
This style version centers on a highly detailed, futuristic object—resembling a camera lens—positioned prominently at the bottom, making it the visual focal point. The subject’s face serves as a sleek, photorealistic backdrop, with cool blue tones and symmetrical glowing blue eyes that match the product’s aesthetic. Lighting is sharp and reflective, typical of commercial photography. The overall mood is clean, high-tech, and structured, transforming the original artistic concept into a polished, advertisement-like image focused on showcasing advanced technology.
Raytraced
The face appears smooth and porcelain-like, with sharp, glossy highlights and tangible illumination from the eyes. Paint splatters from the original are transformed into reflective, glass-like shards, while realistic cracks add depth and detail. The eyes, glowing green and red, act as intense light sources with clearly defined pupils and irises. The Raytraced style version emphasizes hyper-realistic lighting, reflections, and textures using advanced rendering techniques.
Sketch B/W
This style transforms the original into a striking monochrome illustration, using bold line work, hatching, and shading instead of painterly textures. The face is defined by visible sketch lines and heavy contrast, giving it a raw, ink-drawn appearance. Most of the image is black and white, but the bright blue eyes remain vibrantly colored, making them a dramatic focal point. The colorful bursts around the head are now ink-like strokes with rough textures, standing out against the grayscale. Lighting is expressed through sharp contrasts, with the glowing eyes acting as internal light sources in this expressive, stylized rendering.
Sketch Color
The Sketch Color mode combines raw sketch lines with vibrant, expressive color, giving the piece a spontaneous, in-progress feel. Outlines are loose and dynamic, with shading done through quick, gestural strokes. The face retains cool blue-green tones, but with a textured, pastel-like application. The colorful bursts around the head are especially vivid—almost glowing—contrasting sharply with the rough sketch work. The glowing blue eyes stand out, surrounded by unrefined linework that enhances their intensity. The surface mimics paper or canvas, with visible smudges, streaks, and drips of color, emphasizing the piece’s handmade, emotionally expressive quality over digital polish.
Vibrant
In this image generated by Leonardo AI we can see how the style transforms the original into a high-energy, color-saturated composition. Every element is intensified—colors are richer, contrasts deeper, and the overall glow stronger. The eyes are especially striking: one glows vivid green, the other fiery orange-red, casting radiant light onto the face. Color bursts around the head are wildly saturated and dynamic, resembling fresh, wet paint in motion. The lighting is bold and dramatic, highlighting smooth facial textures against raw, chaotic splashes. This version captures an electrifying, almost explosive energy, making the artwork feel alive, luminous, and visually arresting—designed for maximum emotional and visual impact.
None
The None style takes a minimalist, grounded approach, stripping away the original’s polished glow in favor of a raw, gritty aesthetic. The image resembles an analog photo with heavy contrast, grainy texture, and a subdued, serious mood. The glowing eyes are still central—yellow-green on the left, soft red on the right—but less intense and more natural. Color bursts are muted, almost bleeding into the background like aged paint. Deep shadows sculpt the facial features, giving the subject a more human and somber presence. This version feels more real and weathered, like a character from a grounded, darker narrative world.
Gallery with the 15 faces
Some Final Thoughts
Canvas Editor is a very interesting feature integrated into Leonardo AI. I find it particularly useful if you are looking for unexpected results, i.e. when you don’t need a visual reference or a specific style. The variations are subtle if you are simply changing the style, but they are truly surprising if you modify the Creativity Level, to the point of completely changing the shape and final appearance, while still retaining certain elements reminiscent of the original you are working with.
The Real Time option, which allows you to see the changes instantly, is available to Premium users.
That’s all about this experiment with Leonardo Canvas Editor.
I hope you found this interesting, and I would like to hear your opinion when you have a chance to try out this Leonardo AI feature.
đź’ś Thank you for taking the time to read this.
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