Turn a Sketch Into a Picture With ChatGPT

ChatGPT Images now has a Sketch option. You draw a rough doodle in the ChatGPT phone app, add a few words about what you want, and ChatGPT turns it into a finished picture. OpenAI added Sketch with ChatGPT Images 2.5, announced in September 2026. ChatGPT Images is available on every plan, including Free.

A rough doodle is fine. OpenAI's own example starts with a simple house, so that's a good first try.

1. Open Sketch

Open the ChatGPT app on your phone. In the message box, type @ and select Sketch. You can also type this straight into the message box:

@Sketch

2. Draw your sketch

Draw your idea on the screen. You can pick colours, erase and undo as you go. For a first try, draw a stick-figure house: a square, a triangle for the roof, a door and a window.

3. Tap the checkmark

When you're happy with your drawing, tap the checkmark to finish it.

4. Say what you want

Now add instructions that describe the subject, colours or style. This is based on OpenAI's own example. Say:

Turn this sketch into a watercolour painting of a red house surrounded by trees.

You can swap in your own idea. Fill in the brackets with this:

Turn this sketch into a [style] picture of [subject]. Use [colours].

5. Send it and ask for changes

Send your message. When the picture is ready, you can ask for changes in the same chat. For example:

Make the sky pink and add a small garden path up to the front door.

More things to sketch

OpenAI suggests a few other ideas to try:

• The layout of a room.
• The outline of an outfit.
• A funny doodle.

For a room layout, start with:

Turn this sketch of a room layout into a cosy, realistic living room in soft colours.

Bonus: start from a template

If you'd rather not draw, go to the sidebar, tap Images, then tap Templates. You can start from a ready-made style, for example posters, logos or flyers.

Good to know

• ChatGPT Images is on every plan, including the Free plan.
• Making images has usage limits, and those limits depend on your plan.
• The Sketch steps in this guide are for the ChatGPT phone app.
• Check each picture before you use it, and ask for changes in the chat if something isn't right.

Official sources

OpenAI: Introducing ChatGPT Images 2.5

OpenAI Help: Images in ChatGPT

OpenAI Help: ChatGPT release notes