Halve your production costs with our AI graphic design tools
Harnessing the power of artificial intelligence in graphic design can significantly reduce your company or agency's production costs.
50% of large design firms began using AI-driven design tools in 2023. Designers proficient in traditional and digital tools earn 25% more than those specializing in only one.
Using AI-enhanced design platforms like Linearity, you can streamline your design workflows and create high-quality visuals in a fraction of the time it would take with traditional methods.
Linearity's AI graphic design tools include:
- AI Background Replacement: create stunning backgrounds with text prompts
- Background Removal: easily create transparent backgrounds
- Auto Trace: vectorize raster images
- Auto Animate: animate static assets with one click
We'll look at each tool more closely below and provide video tutorials with steps to help you get started.
We'll also look at some other handy AI tools you can use in conjunction with Linearity's design software.
AI Backgrounds: create stunning backgrounds with text prompts
One of the most time-consuming tasks in graphic design is creating high-quality background photos that are visually appealing. Traditionally, your options would include:
- Making a day (or a week) of the photoshoot. Expenses rack up as you may need to hire equipment and crew, pay for travel and accommodation, and spend more time editing afterward.
- Buying stock photos. Purchasing other creatives' work can be a lower-budget alternative, but often you can only use a photo once per ad or campaign.
- Using free stock photos. Many creatives contribute their photos on platforms like Pexels and Unsplash under the CC (Creative Commons) license, which requires fair attribution. Attribution isn't always possible or appropriate, and free stock photos aren't specific to your brand.
- Compositing your own backgrounds. Possibly the most time-consuming option, you can compile a variety of images to create bespoke backgrounds for showcasing your products.
With Linearity's AI Backgrounds feature, you can simplify this process by creating stunning backgrounds with a single text prompt. Simply input your desired text or keywords, and our AI will generate a variety of background options for you to choose from.
You can also select from our vast library of preloaded themes to keep things consistent.
AI Backgrounds is content-aware and will generate shadows and reflections to realistically place your product or model in the photo. It's like Photoshop without Photoshop.
This saves your creative team time and resources and empowers you to create unique, eye-catching visuals tailored to your brand.
Learn more about how the AI Backgrounds feature works in our user guide.
AI Backgrounds tutorial video and steps
Step 1
Add your product image
Start by adding a raster product or model image to your Artboard in Linearity Curve. This could be a photo you took and uploaded or any other image you have the right to use.
Step 2
Generate a new background
With your image selected, go to the Inspector panel and navigate to the Image section in the Style Tab. Click on the AI Backgrounds button..
You'll have two options: browse existing themes or generate a custom background with a text prompt.
- Browse Tab: Choose from our library of ready-made backgrounds. This includes design categories like Minimalist, Textures, Fabrics, Interiors, Plants, Nature, Cityscapes, Landscapes, Abstract, and Artistic. Each category has different Styles for you to choose from.
- Custom Tab: Use detailed custom prompts for specific backgrounds (e.g., “A professional photo of headphones casting a shadow on a white and gold marble wall”). You can also add a reference image. Apply the same prompt to other images for consistency or adapt the prompt for different images.
Click the Generate button to create bespoke background variations.
Select an option to automatically replace your current image background with the AI Background. Click on the different variations until you find the one you like most.
Step 3
Apply your new AI Background
Once you're happy with the background you generated with AI, simply click Done to save it to the image on your Artboard.
Background Removal: easily create transparent backgrounds
We've seen how time-saving it is to generate image backgrounds, but there are many reasons why you need to be able to remove image backgrounds.
Transparent background images are versatile and can be reused in your designs. Linearity Curve has an intuitive AI-powered Background Removal tool that enables you to create transparent images in one click.
You can also save your transparent images as reusable assets in your Asset Library, which is accessible across the Linearity platform on all your devices.
Game-changer, right?
Background Removal tutorial video and steps
Step 1
Add your image
Open a new Linearity Curve Document or import a design file.
Select your image and navigate to the Image section in the Inspector on the right.
Step 2
Remove the image background
Click on the Remove Background button and watch your image background disappear.
Note that this process is destructive, and you won't be able to retrieve the background later on.
Learn more about using Background Removal to fast-track your design workflow.
Auto Trace: vectorize raster images
Another essential design task, turning raster images into vectors can be quite challenging and time-consuming.
Linearity Curve's Auto Trace feature is easy to use and offers three different content-aware tracing options: Photography, Sketch, and Illustration.
You can tweak the Complexity, Path Size, and other parameters to get an accurate vectorized version of your flat images.
No more logo redrawing. Simply click a button and get a vector version in no time.
Auto Trace tutorial video and steps
Step 1
Place your image on the Artboard
You can open an existing Linearity Curve Document, or import a file. You can also upload a photo or add an Unsplash image to your Artboard.
Step 2
Trace your image
With your image selected, go to the Style Tab in the Inspector. The Auto Trace section will appear underneath the Image section.
Select your Mode (Photography, Sketch, or Illustration) and tweak the parameters.
Click the Auto Trace button.
Check out the Auto Trace user guide to get a hang of all the parameters and use cases for your design and marketing team.
Auto Animate: animate static assets with one click
So far, we've looked at ways that AI accelerates your static design workflow, but we're most excited about how AI-enhanced features can help non-animators create professional animations.
Enter Linearity Move.
Our animation design software is intuitive enough for illustrators and marketers to start animating, yet advanced enough for professional designers to make motion graphics.
Linearity Move's Auto Animate feature is a powerful, content-aware tool that automatically turns static Artboards into stunning animations.
Think: animated social media graphics, announcement posts, and even full-length promo videos.
Learn more about Linearity Move
Linearity Curve and Move are seamlessly integrated, making it easy to open your Curve files in Move to use them for animations.
Auto Animate tutorial video and steps
Step 1
Prepare your static graphics
In your Linearity Curve file, create an Artboard for each key moment in your desired animation.
For example, if you want an element to move from left to right, Artboard 1 will have the element on the left, and Artboard 2 will have the element on the right.
Pro tip: Start with your final frame and work your way backwards to the starting point of your animation. Duplicating Artboards is the most effective way to prepare your Linearity Move storyboard, as this keeps the Layers consistent.
Open your Linearity Curve file in Move
When you open Linearity Move on your device, you'll see the Curve file you just created in your Homescreen Gallery.
Click on it to open it in Move. This will automatically create a new Move Project.
You'll be prompted to select the Artboards you wish to add to your animation. Drag and drop them in the Scene Builder Timeline below and choose your animation duration.
Step 3
Let Auto Animate create your animation
The beauty of Auto Animate is that you don't have to do anything else. It automatically detects Layer and element changes between Scenes and applies dynamic movements.
You can Preview your animation by clicking on the Play button above the Timeline.
If needed, you can tweak your elements and animations by editing the Timeline and Keyframes. You can export your animation as a GIF, MP4, or MOV.
Learn more about using Animation Presets in Linearity Move.
More AI graphic design tools
Besides Linearity's onboard AI features, we've also explored other AI tools that can help graphic designers like you reach your goals.
Let's take a look at how to use other AI in your design workflows.
Midjourney and other AI art generators
AI art generators have transformed the creative process, enabling users to produce stunning illustrations from simple text prompts. Tools like Midjourney, DALL-E 3, and DreamStudio offer unique features, ranging from user-friendly interfaces to advanced customization.
Generated art is contentious in many ways, from how the models are trained to the question of whether it can be considered art at all. But we think it's good to explore all the available technology to find surprising ways to bring your ideas to life.
You can use AI art generators to produce initial concepts quickly, bring them into design software like Linearity, and then continue using advanced tools and skills to get the design finish you want.
Want to know our secret sauce for AI Backgrounds? Well, we put all our cards on the table with this post on how Linearity"s using Stable Diffusion and ControlNet.
ChatGPT
Using ChatGPT in your design work can make the ideation phase easier and more creative.
This AI technology can help you brainstorm new ideas, fine-tune concepts, and overcome creative blocks. It can also generate color palettes and images.
This means you can get high-quality designs and proposals done faster.
Try pairing ChatGPT with Linearity Curve to quickly create and improve design elements like mood boards and logos. This combo saves time and boosts productivity, helping you cut design costs in the initial planning and proposal processes.
Embrace AI for better design
Integrating AI into your graphic design workflows can revolutionize the way you create, enhancing your team's production speed and quality.
Tools like those offered by Linearity simplify complex tasks such as background removal, image vectorization, and animation, making them accessible with just a few clicks.
Using AI-enhanced tools, you can focus more on creativity and less on repetitive tasks. Whether you're generating stunning backgrounds, removing image backgrounds, or creating animations, AI graphic design tools can streamline your workflow—with great results.
Are you ready to try innovative AI design software? Get started for free with Linearity, or check out our premium pricing for professionals and teams.
Sharné McDonald
Contributing Writer
Sharné is a contributing writer to the Linearity Blog. She has 10+ years' experience in graphic design and marketing and holds a Master's degree in Art Education.