New AI Windows 11 Paint: You can now fool others into thinking you're a modern-day Picasso
As a new MacBook owner, one thing I miss the most about Windows is the Paint app. It's a rudimentary graphics editor, yes, but it takes me back to the good ol' days when I'd sketch wildly on Paint, creating a whirlwind of colors and shapes. But every once in a while, I'd stare at a blank canvas, overcome with artist's block.
As someone who doesn't have a fraction of Picasso's talents, I often felt stuck. This is where Cocreator, a new AI-powered feature that underpins the Paint app, swoops in to save the day.
Cocreator is designed to help squeeze out your creative juices. At a recent Microsoft press event, I had the opportunity to play around with Cocreator — and I totally get the hype.
What is Cocreator?
As mentioned, Cocreator is designed to help guide you throughout your creative process while doodling on Paint. You may be wondering, "How, exactly, does it work?" Well, I answered that question after getting some hands-on experience with Cocreator on the new Microsoft Surface Pro 11.
The Paint app was already opened for me with a blank canvas. On the right side was a panel that said "Cocreator."
In a text field that says, "Describe what you'd like to create," you can type in a prompt — any prompt — that gives Cocreator an idea of what you're about to draw. With that in mind, you can start drawing. (Make sure your drawing is based on the prompt.) And Cocreator, using your doodle as a guide, will give you its best rendition of your artistic creation. It's as if it's saying, "Hey, this is what your painting would look like — if you actually had any talent."
Windows 11 Paint with Cocreator: The pink flamingo
A Microsoft rep asked me what I'd like to create with Cocreator. Don't laugh, but the first thing that came to mind was a dancing pink flamingo with heels. I dropped my nutty thought into the prompt field. Next, the rep asked me to pick up the Surface Pen nestled in the Surface Pro 11's keyboard silo before guiding me to choose the pink hue. After adjusting the line weight, I got to doodling.
Suddenly, it hit me. I forgot how to draw a flamingo. I did a swooping, curvy motion to capture the flamingo's neck, but my thoughts simply couldn't recall how the rest of the body, particularly the bottom part, looked.
Just as I was about to give up and throw in the towel, Cocreator populated a striking picture of a flamingo for me on the side. I added legs and black heels to my doodle, which made my flamingo look like a duck on stilts. Still, Cocreator grasped my drawing intentions — and delivered a stunning image of an actual dancing pink flamingo with heels.
As you add more details to your doodle, Cocreator does the same, but with more aristic finesse and flair. There is also a slider you can play around with, allowing you to increase or decrease the creativity of Cocreator's, er, more attractive sketch.
Only for Copilot+ PCs
Don't think you can run Cocreator on any ol' machine. Cocreator is specifically for Copilot+ PCs, which includes the recently unveiled Microsoft Surface Laptop 7 and the Surface Pro 11 (which I used during my hands-on experience). The reason for the limitation is that Cocreator requires an NPU, a specialized processor that is designed to handle AI tasks.
The Surface Pro 11, for example, comes in two chip flavors: Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus and Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite, with the latter boasting that it can beat the M3 chip stuffed inside MacBooks. Mashable hasn't had the opportunity to test a Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite chip yet, but we have a Snapdragon X Elite-powered Surface Laptop 7 in the office as we speak. Stay tuned for our review of this highly anticipated laptop. We'll let you know how it stacks up against its Apple rival.
In the meantime, if you want to take advantage of Cocreator on Paint, scoop up either a Surface Laptop 7 or a Surface Pro 11. Both start at $999, but the Snapdragon X Elite chip variants will cost you a bit more.