Good Morning Y’all,

For my fellow educators using AI in the classroom (that number is growing by the way… SWEET!), I want to share how I am currently creating digital art using AI. Specifically, I’ll break down the difference between using ChatGPT chats and DALL·E chats to create awesome illustrations for my classroom (and personal projects).

If you’ve ever opened up DALL·E to generate some digital art, and then tried the exact same idea inside a ChatGPT chat, you probably noticed something…

👉 The images from ChatGPT just look better.
Cleaner. More accurate. More aligned with what you had in mind.

You're not imagining things.

I’m seeing the same thing, and I’m making a shift.

All of the AI-generated artwork you’ll see in my tutorials, lessons, or social media breakdowns will now be created directly inside ChatGPT chats … not on OpenAI’s the separate DALL·E platform.

🎉 I’m officially calling the new series: Classroom Art with ChatGPT.

Here’s why I’m making this pivot, and why it matters to you as a teacher, creator, and classroom leader…

As always, if you find this info helpful, please share it with your teacher bestie!

🧠 First, Let’s Clear Up the Confusion

I want to get a little in depth, because it can be confusing for some people (myself included… and I’m a Technology Teacher).

• DALL·E is the actual image-generating engine… it’s what draws the pictures.
• ChatGPT is the smart assistant that writes, expands, and refines the instructions (our prompts) before DALL·E gets to work.

Now here’s where things get interesting (or boring… depending on who you are):

When you’re in a ChatGPT conversation (especially using GPT-4 with image generation enabled) and you ask something like “Draw a cartoon-style ballerina leaping on stage”, you're still using DALL·E behind the scenes (under the hood so to speak). That part hasn’t changed. But what has changed is how your prompt is handled.

👉 ChatGPT doesn’t just pass your prompt to DALL·E raw. It quietly improves it.

It attempts to fill in missing context, adds visual clarity, refines the formatting (ex. if you’ve been asking for cartoon style 8.5"x11" portrait layout scenes for previous graphics in the chat… it will assume you still want that size and tell DALL-E to make the image in that size), and styles it based on your past preferences. You might ask for a “ballerina on stage,” but ChatGPT transforms that into something like:

That’s what DALL·E receives… and that’s why the final image often looks exactly like what you had in mind… not some random, glitchy, or halfway-there version.

So while DALL·E is still doing the drawing, ChatGPT is doing the thinking… and that’s what makes all the difference. A huge difference if you ask me.

🔥 Why I’m Ditching the DALL·E Chats for ChatGPT Chats For Graphics

After testing both for quite a while now, here’s what I found (and why I’m now creating every image tutorial in ChatGPT from here on out):

1. Like I stated earlier, ChatGPT writes better prompts than I do

• I might say: “a young soccer player standing in front of a goal.”
• ChatGPT turns that into:
“A cartoon-style boy soccer player standing confidently in front of a netted soccer goal. No soccer ball. Thick outlines, portrait format (8.5x11), simple background, full body in frame.”
• That kind of detail gets results.

2. It remembers my preferences.

• Full-body characters.
• Portrait layout.
• Clean outlines.
• No cropped limbs or distracting props.
ChatGPT learns your style , and keeps your visuals consistent across your entire classroom project or curriculum.

3. I can revise and rework easily.

• Want a casual version of a character? Just ask. In my experience, DALL·E on its own really struggles to recreate the same character in different poses or actions. But the version of DALL·E that runs through ChatGPT? Game changer. It can consistently generate the same character (same face, same hair, same clothes, even the same limbs) across multiple scenes. That’s huge.
• Need the same scene above without a soccer goal? Done.
• Want to add a hat or change the expression? No need to start over… ChatGPT makes tweaks quickly and remembers the context.

✍️ Going Forward: Classroom Art with ChatGPT

From now on, every tutorial I create (whether it’s for your bulletin boards, student storybooks, lesson visuals, or coloring pages) will be under the Classroom Art with ChatGPT banner.

You’ll see:

✅ Full walkthroughs of the exact prompts I use
✅ ChatGPT’s enhanced version of those prompts
✅ Image editing tricks that simplify your workflow
✅ Clean, classroom-friendly results you can actually use

No more bouncing between tools. No more confusing prompt tweaks. No more wasted time.

Bottom Line Y’all…

Teachers are visual storytellers. Whether you’re illustrating a science concept, creating characters for your reading groups, or designing SEL posters, your ideas deserve to come to life… without frustration.

Using ChatGPT chats for your artwork gives you:

• 🔧 Better control
• 🎨 Cleaner style
• 🧠 Smarter results
• 🕐 Huge time savings

And yes… every image is still powered by DALL·E, but with the brainpower of ChatGPT steering the ship.

Don't overthink it. Simply try it… just start creating.

Create your digital art request prompt, and let ChatGPT do the heavy lifting. Tweak it if needed. Then save it, print it, or upload it to your digital classroom.

Oh… and if you’re not subscribed to The Classroom Newsletter, you’re missing out on fresh AI prompts, lesson ideas, and classroom content every single week.

👉 Join us at www.theclassroomnewsletter.com/subscribe

Let’s keep building something beautiful… for our kids, for our classrooms, and for the future.

— Mitch

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Featuring works by iconic composers like Mozart, Brahms, Bach, Beethoven, Schumann, and many more, this playlist brings calm, focus, and a sense of beauty to any part of your school day.

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