The team behind Retro, a photo-sharing app designed for close friends and family, is exploring more creative applications for generative AI. To test the latest advancements in AI technology, they created a new application called Splat, which transforms any photo into a coloring book page for children.

As many parents know, kids love to color. The internet offers a vast array of printable coloring pages, but many websites are cluttered with ads and difficult to use. Other times, these pages come with a small fee, which some parents hesitate to pay given how quickly children’s artwork is often discarded.

This inspired Retro’s developers to build an app for printing coloring book pages at home. Users can either start with their own photos or choose from kid-friendly, educational categories like animals, space, flowers, fairy tales, robots, and cars.

To begin with Splat, you take a new picture or select one from your camera roll. Next, you pick a style—such as anime, 3D movie, manga, cartoon, or comic. The app then uses AI to convert your photo into either an on-screen or printable coloring page.

Instead of a lengthy sign-up, the app guides you through customization on your first use. You’re prompted to select a preferred app icon and indicate your child’s interests. You can also choose whether kids will color on a printable page or directly on the screen—a handy option for moments when you want to avoid screen-based entertainment.

You can try one AI-generated project for free to explore the app. After that, continued access costs either $4.99 per week or $49.99 per year. The weekly plan allows 25 pages per week, while the annual subscription provides 500 pages per year. To prevent accidental purchases, a pop-up asking for a parent’s birth year blocks access to settings and payment options.

In initial tests, the app performed as described, with quick generation times that let users move smoothly from idea to printable art, ready for coloring, cutting out, or other creative play.

Splat is part of a growing trend of experiments using generative AI to spark children’s creativity and imagination. Another example, Stickerbox, offers printable AI-generated stickers for coloring, while Casio has introduced a fluffy robotic pet named Moflin that uses AI to develop its personality over time.

Splat is available on iOS and Android.