AI is magic. Here's how to play with it.

Imagine a pet that does not exist anywhere on Earth. A cat with butterfly wings. A dragon the size of a hamster. A panda made of glitter. You can make a picture of it in about a minute, and you can make it look like a Pixar movie, a comic book, or a watercolour painting. Real magic.

What you need

A phone or a computer. That's it. No drawing skills. No fancy software. You will use a free tool called Bing Image Creator or the Gemini app — both are free and both make pictures from words.

The secret: describe it like a friend

AI makes better pictures when you tell it three things: what the pet is, what it is doing, and what style you want.

Try this exact sentence: 'A tiny baby dragon with rainbow scales, sitting on a stack of pancakes, eating a strawberry, in the style of a Pixar movie.'

Tap the button. Wait ten seconds. Boom. Your dragon is real.

Try every style

Same pet, different worlds. Just change the last bit of the sentence:

• '…in the style of a Studio Ghibli movie' — soft, dreamy, like Totoro
• '…as a watercolour painting' — like an art book
• '…as a comic book panel' — bold lines, bright colours
• '…as a tiny clay figurine' — looks like Lego or Plasticine
• '…as a neon sign at night' — glowing in the dark

Make it weirder

The more unusual your idea, the more fun the picture. A jellyfish that breathes fire. A penguin wearing a tiny chef hat baking cookies in space. A puppy made entirely of bubble wrap. AI will try anything.

Save your favourites

Long-press the picture and save it to your phone. Make a folder called 'My Made-Up Pets'. Show your friends. Print one and put it on your wall. Send one to your grandma — she will not believe a kid made it.

One challenge for today

Make five pictures of the same pet in five totally different styles. Pick your favourite. Tomorrow, try to make a comic strip starring that pet. You just became the boss of your own imaginary pet zoo. Have fun.