Welcome to the 7th in a series of posts where I will test AI image generators and see how they handle making maze art. I will be asking 10 prompts and seeing what gets generated. My goal is to evaluate different AI image sites against each other to see how they perform. If you need to catch-up here is the series so far:
An exploration into Al Image Maze Generation
Making mazes with AI: DallE2 (Updated to compare 2023 to 2026)
Making mazes with AI: Stable Diffusion (Updated to compare 2023 and 2024 to 2026)
Making mazes with AI: Craiyon (Updated to compare 2023 to 2026)
Making mazes with AI: Dream by Wombo (Updated to compare 2023 to 2026)
Making mazes with AI: Nightcafe (Updated to compare 2023 to 2026)
Update from 2026:
When I did this series in Spring of 2023 I found that none of the text to image generators were able to generate actual mazes, including this one. They were able to make images that looked maze-like, but none were solvable puzzles. The 10 prompts below are a record of what was possible then, but each generation of AI pushes the limit further on what is possible. Let’s see how it has improved in 2026. All of these were made using text to image generation and not coding.
The first change I noticed on the site was a new logo. They moved the star to replace the dot on the i.
Making Maze Art with StarryAI
2023: Today I test out StarryAI. You can access the starryai website here. You must sign in to use the site and you receive 5 credits (and it seems 5 credits each day). Each prompt, or generation will generate 4 images and cost a credit (If you want 8 variations that will cost you 3 credits). There are 6 styles to choose from: No style, Fantasy, Portrait, 3D Art, Wooltize and Anime. You may also upload a photo to give the AI “something to start with”. All prompts I use are the same for each site !
2026: I use this site when I need a background for a maze (typically my comic book cover mazes) so I have an account with many credits. The site has expanded from 6 to 90 styles since 2023! A prompt produces 4 options to choose from although you can adjust that. There are also options to remove things from an image - helpful if you upload a photo of your own. I use the free version and it seems the Pro has even more cool things behind the paywall.
Prompt 1 - Make a medium difficulty maze of the Eiffel Tower in black and white with arrows at the start and finish
2023: I thought all 4 generations where interesting (normally there are some really bad ones). And I struggled picking between 2 of them. This one was a bit more interesting because the the perspective from above.
2026: I do not know what is happening on the sides, but the Eiffel Tower is recognizable and includes some detail but something is off. No Maze.
Prompt 2 - Draw a medium difficulty large maze of the Empire State Building with the start and goal embedded in the structure
2023: Not really a maze, but it looks mazelike. 3 of the 4 images were really interesting and similar to this one. Made it hard to choose once again ! The cut-off of the iconic top of the building is really annoying.
2026: I like the color image of the ESB, but the surrounding buildings are too large. No maze again.
Prompt 3 - Draw a difficult maze of the White House pixel art style
2023: All 4 images generated were different and none was close to what I was looking for. They did have a videogame like quality to them at least.
2026: Outstanding illustration of the White House in a 3d Pixel art style. The grounds look maze-like as if this is a castle from 200 years ago in the UK countryside. Compared to 2023 this is light years ahead !
Prompt 4 - Draw a difficult maze that looks like a drawing of a famous building in sketch style
2023: I liked all 4 images, I do not know what is ahead AI site-wise, but StarryAI is consistent in above average quality. Not sure what famous building this is. Not really in a sketch style
2026: Used a sketch style to create a mazelike building. I like the perspective looking down into this fort/castle thing. Creative.
Prompt 5 - Draw a maze in the style of doyoumaze.com of a skyscraper in NYC
2023: All 4 had this perspective looking up the side of the skyscraper. This one included a maze.
2026: I choose this image because it looked like the lair of a comic book villain billionaire. I will probably use this as a background for one of my comic book covers. Unfortunately, there is no maze.
Prompt 6 - Draw a maze in the style of Sean C Jackson of a scene from a large outdoor market
2023: It is a large outdoor market where they sell long white pathways ? Would make a good coloring page.
2026: Beautiful corner market in a nice style. No maze again.
Prompt 7 - Make a maze of a slice of an orange in color
2023: This is the first interpretation where the AI generated a maze like structure in the actual orange itself.
2026: A really good image of a slice of an orange. No maze again.
Prompt 8 - Make a maze integrated on top of a photograph of a king sitting on his throne looking cantankerous beside his beautiful queen
2023: I must mention that 2 of the options included a queen, but I picked this one because the top of the chair has eyes, that king is dressed like Bond, James Bond with a fun look on his face, and the maze looks like brains. Just a lot to take in !
2026: So much adherence to what was asked for. The longer you look at the image the more you realize it is a mix of ideas, looks and centuries. The kings shoes. The background column. The 2 shades of grass turk to make a labyrinth.
Prompt 9 - Make a solvable maze that is very large and very difficult to solve because it is so complex
2023: All 4 were different and interesting. This is a solvable maze with many options if only we could read the sections on top and bottom.
2026: I am a big fan of this circular maze that looks like ruins made from marble. Could be used as a real maze.
Prompt 10 - Make a 3d render of a red and blue glossy cube maze
2023: The generations were all similar and this was the best.
2026: I like this generation. Almost a maze.
Summary and Conclusion:
2023: How did StarryAI do ? Consistent. I think there is a lot of potential here. I would mention again that I found it difficult to choose the best image multiple times. Easy to use. I recommend this site.
2026: I like the illustrations a lot but the maze portion was lacking. I saw improvement across the board. I use this site often, one of 3 that I use. I will say that starryai did not improve as much as other ai image generators, but mostly because it was so far ahead to start with !
Coming Next: DeepAI
