Turn a photo into a watercolour painting
Soft washes, darker pigment edges, paper texture and optional pencil lines.
Drop an image here, or .
Runs in your browser. Nothing is uploaded.
Photo to Watercolor: how to use it
- Drop in a photo.
- Set Wash softness, Pigment edges and Paper texture, and choose whether to show pencil outlines.
- Download the watercolour.
Tips
- Flowers and landscapes look most like real watercolour.
- Raise Wash softness for a looser painting, lower it to keep more detail.
Photo to Watercolor: what it does and when to use it
Photo to Watercolor paints a photo in watercolour: soft, transparent washes of colour, darker pigment where each wash dries at its edge, the grain of cold-pressed paper, and an optional pencil underdrawing showing through. The result looks light and airy, the way real watercolour looks, rather than like a blurred photo.
Behind it are a few steps a watercolour painter would recognise. The photo is simplified into flat washes with a Kuwahara filter, the colours are lifted towards the white of the paper because watercolour is transparent, the edges of each wash are darkened where pigment would pool, and a paper texture is multiplied over everything. Wash softness, Pigment edges and Paper texture control each step, and Pencil outlines adds the drawing.
Flowers, landscapes, houses, boats and animals suit watercolour best; a busy photo with a lot of small detail turns muddy, just as it would with a brush. It runs on your device and nothing is uploaded. For bolder, opaque brushwork use Photo to Painting, and for clean lines to colour in yourself, Photo to Coloring Page.
Photo to Watercolor: frequently asked questions
How do I make a photo look like a watercolour painting?
Drop it in and the watercolour version appears straight away. Adjust Wash softness, Pigment edges and Paper texture until it looks right, and tick Pencil outlines for a sketched look, then download. Related tool: Photo to Painting.
Why does my watercolour look muddy?
Busy photos with lots of small detail turn muddy, as they would with a real brush. Lower Wash softness to keep more detail, or crop to a simpler part of the photo.
Is my photo uploaded?
No. The watercolour is painted in your browser, on your own device.
Can I add my own pencil drawing?
Tick Pencil outlines for drawn edges. For a drawing on its own, use Photo to Sketch, and lay a watercolour over it in your own editor.