Part of the Easy Read Bundle
Describe the picture you need and we'll make it
Can't find quite the right picture? Say what it should show, in your own words. PictureMaker turns them into a clear, realistic photograph in the Photosymbols style, ready to sit beside your Library pictures. It usually takes under a minute.
Each person can make up to 100 pictures a month.
What happens between your words and your picture
A general AI chatbot draws whatever you type. PictureMaker does more work before anything is drawn, so you don't have to write a long, careful prompt.
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You say what the picture should show
Plain words are fine. You don't need to know any special wording.
Someone typeda person taking a driving test
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PictureMaker works out the one clear idea
It decides what the picture must show to be understood at a glance, keeps it literal and set in the UK, and chooses who is in it. Anything you say about the person, it keeps.
The idea it worked outmixed heritage man in his 60s–70s with grey thinning hair, taking a driving test, isolated on a pure white background
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It's made in the Photosymbols style
A realistic photograph on a plain white background, with no words, logos or flags to distract. Ready for an Easy Read document.
A real example: the words, the idea and the picture all come from one run of the picture engine behind PictureMaker. The rules for the idea and the style are written and looked after by the Photosymbols team.
Same words, different people
AI tools tend to draw the same young, slim person again and again. PictureMaker varies age, gender, background and build each time, so your documents look like the people reading them. If you describe the person, it draws who you describe.
Every picture below was made from these words: “a person taking a driving test”
Six pictures from exactly the same six words. Made by AI and shown as they came out.
Why not just ask a chatbot?
You can make pictures with ChatGPT and similar tools. For Easy Read, this is what you'd need to get right yourself, every time.
| PictureMaker | A general AI chatbot | |
|---|---|---|
| A look that matches your other pictures | Every picture follows the Photosymbols house style, so it sits happily beside your Library pictures. | The style changes from one picture to the next unless you describe it in detail every time. |
| A plain background | Plain white, ready to drop into a document, a poster or a slide. | Usually a busy scene. You have to ask for a plain background, and it may still add one. |
| One clear idea | Your words become one literal idea first, so the picture isn't cluttered. | Draws everything you mention, plus extras it decides to add. |
| Nothing confusing in the picture | No words, logos or flags in the picture. | Words in pictures are often misspelt, and logos and flags creep in. |
| People who look like your readers | A mix of ages, backgrounds and bodies, including disabled people, unless you say who. | Tends to repeat the same kind of person. |
| Everyday UK life | UK places and things, like a GP reception, a council letter or a bus stop. | Often American unless you say otherwise. |
| Pictures you already have | While it works, it shows Library pictures that might already do the job. | No link to your picture library. |
| Somewhere to keep them | Save a picture and it goes into My Favourites, beside your Library pictures. | Download each one and file it yourself. |
Based on what general AI chatbots usually do with a short request. Results vary between tools and versions.
A few words in, a picture out
People, places, feelings and everyday things. Under each picture are the words that made it.
Typed inA family eating dinner around a golden table
Typed inA doctor talking with an elderly patient
Typed inA young man in a wheelchair cooking pasta at a lowered kitchen counter, looking pleased with himself
Typed inA person sits in a bright dental chair while a friendly dentist explains brushing
Typed ina person eating a hotdog
Typed ina piggy bank
Every picture on this page was made by AI and is shown as it came out, without editing. The dentist example is shortened: the full description went on to say the dentist uses a small model of some teeth.
Good to know
PictureMaker is new, so here's exactly what to expect.
Every month 100 pictures each
Each person can make up to 100 pictures a month. Your allowance starts again on the 1st of every month. AI pictures you make inside EasyMaker come out of the same 100.
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One picture at a time, usually in under a minute
Carry on using the Library while it works. You'll get a message when your picture is ready.
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Always have a look before you use one
Pictures are made by AI, and now and then a detail is wrong, such as a hand or an object. If it isn't right, change your words and make another.
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Save the ones you want
A picture you save goes into My Favourites, ready to download like any Library picture.
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Some requests are turned down
Like every AI picture tool, PictureMaker won't make some kinds of picture. If that happens, it tells you, and it doesn't count towards your 100.
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Tell us what you think
We keep improving PictureMaker. Tell us what works and what doesn't at ask@photosymbols.com.
PictureMaker comes with the Easy Read Bundle
The Easy Read Bundle is the Photo Library and EasyMaker together, with PictureMaker and DateMaker included.
- Photo LibraryThe full Photosymbols picture library, to search and download.
- EasyMakerTurn a document into an Easy Read Pack: a web page, a PDF and a Word file.
- PictureMakerMake the picture you can't find.
- DateMakerCalendar and clock pictures in seconds.
Already have the Photo Library?
You can move up to the Easy Read Bundle part-way through your subscription. Email us and we'll sort it out for you.
Questions
Anything else? Email ask@photosymbols.com.
Who can use PictureMaker?
Everyone on an Easy Read Bundle subscription. It isn't part of the Photo Library or EasyMaker on their own.
What happens when I reach 100 pictures?
You can make more from the 1st of next month, when your allowance starts again. Pictures you've already saved stay in My Favourites.
How do I get the best picture?
Say who is in it, what they are doing and where. One idea per picture works best. The more you say, the closer it gets.
Should I search the Library first?
Yes. A Library picture may already do the job. PictureMaker is for the pictures that aren't there yet, and it shows you matching Library pictures while it works.
How is this different from ChatGPT?
Before anything is drawn, PictureMaker turns your words into one clear Easy Read idea, picks a varied cast and applies the Photosymbols style. With a general chatbot you'd have to write all of that into every request yourself.
What happens to my pictures if my plan changes?
Pictures you've saved stay in My Favourites for as long as you have the Photo Library.