Clever Coloring Book
Creative
personalized coloring books
SHOW HN2025
Legend
Clever Coloring Book
I used OpenAI's new image API for a personalized coloring book service
clevercoloringbook.com#coloring book#personalized coloring#family photos#print on demand#ai coloring
How HN took it
22 positive, 23 neutral or asking, 3 mixed, 22 critical, out of 70 comments about the project. Thread score -0.00.
Idea: 11 for, 8 againstDesign: 2 for, 7 againstPricing: 3 for, 3 againstExecution: 4 for, 1 againstPrivacy: 0 for, 3 against
The thread, comment by comment
Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.
positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker
What HN said
What people liked
Simple, well-executed idea with good design
From 3 comments
This is fucking amazing! Everyone and their mother are trying to hop on the band wagon of AI and make a half assed service just because it may sell just due to the "ai" tag…
zeroq on HNAwesome idea, implementation and design!
pelagicAustral on HNThis is a great idea and looks well done. I wonder if printing services (Lulu?) have a automatic API or if it requires some manual intervention? (And the shipping part?)
ks2048 on HN
Personalized niche that differs from generic AI coloring services
From 2 comments
You'll want to really drive home the niche (through your feature set) that it's for family photos, because the generic photo to AI vectorized coloring book service has been done…
vunderba on HNI like GPT wrapper's that let me personalize/customize existing real world things, and this a good example of that. I like it.
abaymado on HN
Objections
Price is too high for a short-lived coloring book
From 2 comments
This is a cute and simple idea! I'd like to see what a real physical book looks like before I buy it though. Do you have real pictures of a printed one? I think our kids would…
mdeeks on HNCool idea and really nice looking site. Pricing is quite high - 24 pages maximum for $23.99. There are 100-page coloring books on Amazon for $5.00, and the age group that really…
avree on HN
Ghibli style is tasteless and generic
From 2 comments
Every example is the Studio Ghibli style. Tasteless and no respect for the studio and its legacy. I don’t understand how you can do this and not feel horrible about it. But I…
simianparrot on HNPeople are complaining about using the Ghibli style, but I'm here to complain about the fact that they turn everything into generic abstractions that look nothing like the people…
BugsJustFindMe on HN
Artists are harmed by AI training on their work
From 2 comments
For what it’s worth (and it’s probably not much), it doesn’t cost that much to commission comic book-style art from an actual artist online. When you do that, the proceeds go to…
rafram on HNDidn’t the artist “steal” from artists that came before them by looking at and taking inspiration from their photos? Especially ones that would do such artistic genres as…
op00to on HN
Sample photos include minors, conflicting with OpenAI policy
From 1 comment
from clevercoloringbook.com: ``` > Please only upload photos that are in line with OpenAI's Usage Policy. > We are not able to include any photos that do not follow their policy…
sharkjacobs on HN
Requests
Show real printed book photos
From 1 comment
This is a cute and simple idea! I'd like to see what a real physical book looks like before I buy it though. Do you have real pictures of a printed one? I think our kids would…
mdeeks on HN
Downloadable PDF or printable pages option
From 3 comments
Is there somewhere to download a PDF to print out?
xnx on HNWhy not just an option to print the image?
kelvinjps10 on HNI'm from India. I was looking for a service like this but without sending me a physical book part. I'd use this at @ $10 price point if I'm able get downloadable a4 coloring…
sathishmanohar on HN
Cheaper or smaller mini book options
From 1 comment
Love it! Idea: option to print "mini books". I have some kids that still color, and it would be great to keep something in my pocket to give them quick with a crayon or pen.
ugh123 on HN
Questions
How is the printing and fulfilment handled
From 2 comments
Do you ever handle the physical book, or is this a fully automated drop-shipping operation?
sabslikesobs on HNThis is a great idea and looks well done. I wonder if printing services (Lulu?) have a automatic API or if it requires some manual intervention? (And the shipping part?)
ks2048 on HN
What are the per-book AI generation costs
From 1 comment
Congrats! I would like to know the cost of the tokens you are paying for an image. How many pages coloring book will be created against $24 book?
pknerd on HN
Alternatives named
Prompting ChatGPT or Sora directly for coloring pages
From 2 comments
For anyone looking for a prompt to do this manually, it seems to be as simple as this: > Generate a version of this photo that can be used as a coloring sheet
barbazoo on HNI tried copying the one of the photos into ChatGPT and asked it to make me a coloring book style image out of it. It is definitely not as good as this site (i.e. I don't think…
osigurdson on HN
Cheap generic coloring books on Amazon
From 1 comment
Cool idea and really nice looking site. Pricing is quite high - 24 pages maximum for $23.99. There are 100-page coloring books on Amazon for $5.00, and the age group that really…
avree on HN
Commissioning a human artist
From 1 comment
For what it’s worth (and it’s probably not much), it doesn’t cost that much to commission comic book-style art from an actual artist online. When you do that, the proceeds go to…
rafram on HN