JixiPix releases Aquarella and I have a Giveaway!

I couldn’t wait to get my hands (well fingers) on the latest painterly app from JixiPix.  As a mixed media artist, I know how unforgiving watercolor can be, but now with Aquarella, I can create watercolor images from my photographs!  It was just released and the good news is JixiPix was kind enough to provide me with a promo code for the iPhone version to giveaway.  Scroll down and see how to enter, but first take a look at what I was able to create without any practice!  And no brushes to clean!!!

 

Pretty amazing for my first try!  Just load your image into Aquarella and choose from a number of preset styles (there are 32!).  With the Adjust tab, you can adjust Color Detail, Enhance Colors, Wet Edge Strength and Wet Edge Detail.  You can also select from 6 different Paper Styles.  On to the Wash tab to choose from 63 wash styles!  (Wow!  JixiPix went all out with this app!).  And finally you can adjust the bloom on the paint, choosing from 41 styles.  Each style can be adjusted in strength and you can even reverse the bloom.  I have to hand it to JixiPix, they thought of everything with Aquarella.

Right now Aquarella is selling for $1.99 for the iPhone and iPad versions and $7.99 for MAC.  Good news - I have an iPhone promo code to give away.

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To enter, just leave a comment below (duplicate entries will be deleted).  If you want another chance to win, just tweet the giveaway and let me know you tweeted in a SEPARATE comment.  You can enter up until noon on Sunday, January 27th.  The winner will be announced after noon.  Be sure to leave contact information so I can send you the promo code if you should win!  (If I cannot contact the winner, another name will be selected) 

Good Luck!

Get Dramatically Black and White While it’s FREE!!

Not sure how long this will last, but in the U.S. iTunes store, Dramatic Black & White by JixiPix is FREE.  This is a must have app if you’re a lover of black and white photography, and like all JixiPix apps, it allows for a lot of adjustment along with several Presets.

 

Winners for JixiPix Giveaway

I drew 6 names today and luckily it all worked out that everyone who had a first choice got their first choice!  The stars must be aligned correctly.

Congrats to Pam Arthur, Leslie and Diane!  I will contact you directly with your promo codes for Photo Artista Oil 

 

 

 

Congrats to David Graham, Khooper and P.O. Pejsjo!   I will contact you directly with your promo codes for Portrait Painter.

 

 

Happy Editing!  Thank you again to JixiPix who provided this generous giveaway.

JixiPix APP Giveaway!

Hey there everyone.  I’ve got some iPhone apps to give away and you’re going to love them!
The first is Photo Artista Oil.  Check out what you can do with this fabulous app from JixiPix!  Give your photo the look of an oil painting in three art styles – Oil, Oil Impression and Oil Abstract!

The second is also from JixiPix (who generously provided this giveaway!) and it’s called Portrait Painter.  I’ve been using this one a lot lately to get my painterly portraits just right.

To enter:
Leave a comment and tell me which app you prefer (I have 3 of each to giveaway and will draw 6 names – I will give them out in the order drawn, so you may not get your first choice).
YOU MUST LEAVE A WAY TO CONTACT YOU IN THE COMMENT.  If I cannot contact you, another name will be drawn.  No duplicate entries please.
Good Luck!
Winners will be announced on Sunday, November 25th.  You have until noon PST on Sunday to sign up. 

An Easy App for Painterly Portraits–Portrait Painter!

As a former portrait artist (mainly sci-fi character sketch cards) I am familiar with the work involved in creating a painterly portrait from scratch. 

Here is an example of a portrait I did from scratch in Photoshop – no editing of a photo, each brush stroke was put down one stroke at a time.  This took about 8 hours to complete.

And here is a portrait I was able to create of my granddaughter – it took about 10 minutes after I made some adjustments and tried the different styles in the new app by JixiPix Portrait Painter!  It is available for the MAC, iPad and iPhone.

It’s easy to create your own beautiful images. 

Below is a raw image I downloaded from Morguefile.com

I uploaded the file into Portrait Painter and cropped it square

I chose my Portrait Style and made a few adjustments using the Brush, Stroke and Enhance sliders.

 

And here is the result – a beautiful portrait in just minutes.

I did notice that the resolution was a bit low when I checked the file size with PhotoSize, but I simply loaded it into Big Photo to resize it larger.

This will definitely be a KEEPER in my iPad painterly app arsenal and I may even use it in combination with other apps to get a really unique style of my own.

I would definitely give this one 5 stars!

If you’re interested in seeing more of JixiPix creative apps, please visit their website.  I own just about every one of them and they all give awesome unique results!