Turn Your Photos into Paintings

Photos of your family, friends, and even your pets are like treasured memories, and it’s no surprise we like to surround ourselves with reminders of those who are important to us. If you have a prized photo that you really want to highlight, you may want to consider turning it into a painting. There are several tools available that can apply effects to make any photo look like an oil painting, watercolor painting, and more. Here, we will highlight a few of these tools, from web-based solutions to mobile and computer apps.

Tuxpi Photo Editor

The Tuxpi Photo Editor is an online service, and one of the simplest methods for achieving a convincing painting effect for your photos. You can only tweak the amount of effect applied and the color boost level, so it doesn’t provide as much control as other methods, but it is drop dead simple, and you can have a very nice result in just a few clicks.

PsykoPaint

PsykoPaint takes a little more work, but it is also a lot of fun. You simply upload your photo, then release your inner Van Gogh as you “paint” across the image with your mouse. The brush strokes are very convincing, and the software will automatically use the color from where you click. You need to register for an account for most of the advanced features, or to save your work, but you can even use Facebook login info.

FotoSketcher

FotoSketcher is a free app for Windows that can create some very convincing painting effects. It offers the widest range of styles in this roundup, with more than 20 styles to choose from, such as chalk drawings, watercolor, line art, and more. When you are finished, you can easily print your creation using your inkjet printer and ink cartridges.

Artista Oil

Artista Oil is a simple app that is available not only for Windows and Mac platforms, but also for the iPad and iPhone as well. Although the apps are not free, they are very affordable, and the results are stunning. The app provides a decent amount of control over parameters, but doesn’t require much tweaking by the user, so it is easy to create good results quickly.

Glaze

The award for Most Addicting App in this roundup goes to the Glaze iPhone and iPad app. This free app is easy to use, and offers so many different filters and styles that you will likely find yourself playing for hours. Many sites list Glaze as the top app in its category for very good reason, and an Android app is rumored to be in development.

Most houses have a lot of photos on display, but by taking a little time, you can turn a great photo into a work of art. Once you are finished with your creation, you print it with your own inkjet printer, frame it, and display it for the world to see. If you’re not sure how to get the best results, see our article, What Is The Best Ink For Printing High Quality Photos?