I used AI to build Stilldraw. I had an idea I wanted to make real, and limited time at night to work on it. AI helped me turn those hours into an app.
I want to be open about that, especially when I talk about keeping your drawings out of AI training. You deserve to know both how this app came about and what happens to the work you trust it with.
I wanted a reason to keep drawing.
Stilldraw started with a problem of my own: I wanted to keep drawing, keep the things I made, and be able to look back at my practice. A place for the unfinished attempts as well as the drawings I liked. Somewhere a small effort could still count.
I thought other people might want that, too. That is why I am sharing it.
The app gives you a private journal for your drawings and a few words about them. The point is to make it easier to return to the page, notice your progress, and continue. You do not need an audience or a finished portfolio for that to matter.
How I use AI, and what stays private.
Calling the whole project “AI-free” would leave out part of the story. I used AI while building it, and I have also used AI-assisted illustrations in some posts about the app.
The commitment inside Stilldraw is specific: it does not generate drawings for you. Your drawings, photos, notes and personal data are never used to train AI models, sold or licensed to AI companies, or put into the AI tools I use to develop the app.
I want this app to encourage the part that takes your time and attention: looking at something, making a mark, trying again. A drawing does not have to be impressive to be worth keeping. It is a record of time you spent making something.
Your work stays yours.
Stilldraw is free to use. I will never sell or rent your personal data, sell your drawings, or send your journal to AI-training or marketing platforms. There are no ads inside the app today. Advertising may help fund it in the future, but your drawings and personal data will never be supplied to ad networks to deliver, target or measure ads. Your journal will stay private as the product grows.
You keep the rights to your work. The permission needed to store and sync a drawing does not give Stilldraw permission to sell it, advertise with it, or train a model on it.
Running a journal that syncs across devices does require services to handle your account and store your entries. “Private” should be a clear, practical commitment, so the privacy policy explains what is stored, which services help run the app, and how you can export your journal or delete your account. The terms also explain your ownership of your content.
A small app, for a familiar problem.
I made Stilldraw because I wanted it to exist for my own practice. If it helps someone else pick up a pencil again, keep an awkward first attempt, or see that they have been making progress, then it is doing what I hoped.
The drawing can be small. The time you have can be limited. There is still room to begin.
Yosel
Stilldraw’s maker & a fellow learner