# PhotoViva - Paintings from your photos! > App to transform photos into paintings using art brushes and effects. (iPhone/iPad app by Lamina Design.) - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/photoviva-paintings-from-your-photos/id459007515 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`) - Developer: [Lamina Design](https://appshunter.io/developer/459007518) - Category: Photo & Video, Entertainment - Price: $4.99 - Rating: 4.40/5 from 18 App Store ratings · 165 written reviews indexed - Age rating: 4+ - Requires: iOS 9.0 · 19 MB - Languages: American English, Japanese, Chinese (Simplified, China), European Spanish, Chinese (Traditional, Taiwan) - Released: 2011-08-29 - Data updated: 2026-09-02 - Monetization: free - User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/photoviva-paintings-from-your-photos/id459007515/reviews.md ## What is PhotoViva? Add effects and a feeling of expressive art to your photos. You easily apply photo brushes to make your photos into paintings. PhotoViva is a fun app to draw on pictures. A friendly user interface makes PhotoViva, the easiest app with photo brushes. In short time you will be painting photos to share with your friends. After some practice you will master the brushes, and then PhotoViva becomes great fun. All you need is your imagination to drive your painting! PhotoViva has 20 kinds of amazing art photo brushes. You set the brushes’ direction. You change the hue, saturation and blur of the brush strokes as your painting is happening. If you are in a lazy mood, this amazing app has an auto painting photo mode. My name is Paul I’m the creator of the PhotoViva App. You’re welcome to contact me anytime at: paul@laminadesign.com Thank You for using PhotoViva! Photo Paintings Gallery: http://photovivaapp.com/draw-on-pictures/Gallery.html Photo Paintings Support & Video Tutorial: http://photovivaapp.com/draw-on-pictures/app/help.html What's New in Version 3.40 We are now celebrating more than 2,000,000 downloads! The new version, with no bugs, is easier than ever. It lets you make photo paintings in any style. You are the one who can use 20 kinds of art photo brushes. Sketch photos, cool photo effects, photo frames and a lot of fun are waiting for you. ## Key features - Apply photo brushes to create paintings - 20 kinds of art photo brushes - Customize brush direction, hue, saturation, and blur - Auto painting photo mode - Friendly user interface - Apply cool photo effects ## What do users think of PhotoViva? Overall sentiment: positive **Pros** - 🎨 Unique and powerful painterly effects not found in other apps - 👍 User-friendly interface with intuitive controls - 🎯 Versatile tool for both photo editing and painting from scratch - ✨ High-quality, high-resolution output - 🖌️ Realistic and customizable brush dynamics - 💰 Affordable one-time purchase without subscription fees - 🎭 Creative freedom with endless effect combinations - ⚡ Responsive developer who listens to user feedback - 🖼️ Excellent results for transforming ordinary photos into artwork - 🎬 Helpful video tutorials available on developer website **Cons** - 🐛 Frequent crashes and app instability - 💾 High memory consumption and storage requirements - 📱 Poor optimization for modern iPhone screen sizes - ⏱️ Slow performance and freezing issues - 🔧 Steep learning curve for beginners - ❌ No text/lettering feature - 🖼️ Auto-paint feature is ineffective - 📏 Difficult to fill large spaces precisely - 🚫 No layers functionality - ⚠️ Lack of built-in help documentation within app **Commonly reported bugs** - App crashes during painting sessions, losing work - Memory usage exceeds 400MB after extended use - Cannot access camera or photo library after app update - App freezes when applying certain effects - Download size doubled in recent update - Performance degradation over time - Liquify filter changed to Mirror & Warp without explanation - Inconsistent behavior on different iOS devices **Most requested features** - Layers functionality for more complex editing - Text and lettering tools - Better brush dynamics and Apple Pencil integration - Smart masking to break images into layers - Gallery feature to save work-in-progress projects - Random brush rotation and size variation options - More brush options (currently limited to 20) - Ability to clone from multiple images - Canvas expansion outside imported image boundaries - Lossless high-resolution export formats - Dedicated eraser tool - Improved interface design - In-app help videos instead of requiring website access - Undo/redo functionality - Long brush stroke capability ## Recent user reviews (10 of 165) All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/photoviva-paintings-from-your-photos/id459007515/reviews.md ### 5/5 — Wish could be updated *2026-01-28* Feels like I’ve been using this app for a decade. And I’m still using this app. Just wish this app could be updated and fit the size of modern iPhone. ### 5/5 — Pretty good *2023-12-13* I’m going through my hundreds of apps to see what’s good and worth keeping, what’s useless or obsolete from Apple’s improvements and even figuring out if some of the one-trick ponies are worthwhile. I’ve been stuck in my ways for awhile: Afterlight for altering small areas (sharpen, blur, saturate, brighten, darken, lighten), Dyed and Afterlight for frames, MarkUp and Afterlight for lettering, PS Express for some enhancements, Gloomlogue for wonderful beyond-basic filter alterations and distortions, Retouch for removing & cloning, Resize for.. yeah that… What I don’t expect is that any one app will do everything. I think it’s strange when someone dings something because it doesn’t do what *they* thought it should do or that they have to pay for it. smh I don’t know how many times reviewers have complained about those. I don’t remember what I paid for PhotoViva but what I’m not paying is rent. I think that’s one reason I’m going through my apps- to find out if I can do everything I want to do now with more to discover but without paying the rent so many developers believe their app is worth. So many apps aren’t worth the expected rent especially when they promise new and glorious updates but they don’t deliver. Instead of complaining I’m celebrating developers who are decent, who let me just buy their app and don’t force me to watch endless *LOUD* ads for ad-filled apps- so thanks guys, ### 5/5 — Não abro mão! *2022-12-27* Já usei PhotoViva muitas vezes e ainda é minha primeira opção quando preciso criar algo mais artístico com uma imagem. Ele é simples, mas fantástico. Espero que nunca saia da App Store, como infelizmente já aconteceu com muitos apps excelentes. ### 5/5 — Great tool in the toolbox! *2021-02-05* I’ve been using this app for a few years and keep coming back to it for its manipulation of color. Fun and effective! I do want better brush dynamics and integration w Apple Pencil, as well as smart masking to break images into layers. Overall awesome App! ### 5/5 — 超级棒，非常喜欢！ *2020-02-20* 希望开发者可以维护下现在还没有支持全面屏 ### 1/5 — 无法保存进相册？ *2019-03-07* 点了保存，显示保存到画布，但是在系统相册中却没有保存成功 ？ ### 3/5 — 希望开发者赶快更新 *2019-03-03* 希望赶快更新呀！ ### 5/5 — 可以更新吗 *2019-02-01* 请适配xr，谢谢🙏 ### 5/5 — 好应用 *2019-01-17* 感谢作者感谢出品这么好的软件 ### 2/5 — Paints ok; auto-paint is fail *2018-12-31* The painting part is fine. Unless you’re already a painter I don’t see this doing much - works like you’d expect but you’re painting on top of one of your pics... if you’re not talented then not sure if it’s merits. IMHO it’s nothing special - maybe better on an iPad? The ‘auto-paint’ is a complete waste. ## Frequently asked questions about PhotoViva ### What does PhotoViva do? PhotoViva allows you to transform your photos into expressive paintings. You can apply various art photo brushes, customize their properties like hue and saturation, and even use an auto-painting mode for quick results. It's designed to be an easy-to-use app for creating artistic photo effects. ### What are the key features of PhotoViva? Key features include 20 different art photo brushes, the ability to customize brush direction, hue, saturation, and blur, and an auto painting photo mode. The app also boasts a friendly user interface and offers cool photo effects and frames. ### Is PhotoViva free to use? Yes, PhotoViva is a free application. The provided information indicates that it does not have in-app purchases or advertisements, suggesting a completely free user experience. ### Who is PhotoViva for? This app is for anyone looking to add an artistic touch to their photos. It's ideal for users who enjoy experimenting with creative photo editing, want to create unique digital art, or simply wish to make their pictures look like paintings without needing advanced artistic skills. ### How can I learn to use PhotoViva? The app features a friendly user interface designed for ease of use. For further assistance, you can visit the Photo Paintings Support & Video Tutorial link provided by the creator, which can guide you through the app's functionalities and features. ## Version history (last 5 releases) ### 3.40 — 2017-04-06 This update from Apple will improve the functionality of this app. No new features are included. We are now celebrating more than 2,000,000 downloads! The new version, with no bugs, is easier than ever. It lets you make photo paintings in any style. New support for 64 bit. You are the one who can use 20 kinds of art photo brushes. Sketch photos, cool photo effects, photo frames and a lot of fun are waiting for you. ### 3.16 — 2014-11-20 We are now celebrating more than 2,000,000 downloads! The new version, with no bugs, is easier than ever. It lets you make photo paintings in any style. You are the one who can use 20 kinds of art photo brushes. Sketch photos, cool photo effects, photo frames and a lot of fun are waiting for you. ### 3.04 — 2014-11-13 1. Support for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus 2. Easy sharing to Instagram, Facebook, Wiebo and everywhere! 3. Less phone memory used I can not respond to individual reviews. Please feel free to contact me at paul@laminadesign.com if you have any problems, comments or questions! Also, If you like this app, please consider rating the app and possibly posting a review. Thanks a lot for using PhotoViva! ### 3.03 — 2014-06-24 Support for Japanese and bug fixes. This version also lets you choose the language in settings. Thanks for using PhotoViva Please feel free to contact me at paul@laminadesign.com if you have any problems, comments or questions! ### 3.02 — 2014-06-14 Added support for Spanish and fixed a few bugs. Also made copy paint with the airbrush faster. ## Apps similar to PhotoViva | App | Rating | Price | Category | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Portrait Painter](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/portrait-painter/id562364002) | 4.8 (1,592) | $2.99 | Photo & Video | | [Aquarelle - AI Watercolor](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/aquarelle-ai-watercolor/id6450799894) | 4.5 (52) | Free | Photo & Video | | [Oil Paint - Photo to Art Maker](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/oil-paint-photo-to-art-maker/id1118655729) | 4.6 (381) | Free | Photo & Video | | [iColorama](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/icolorama/id490528854) | 4.5 (256) | Free | Photo & Video | | [Distressed FX : Photo Editor](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/distressed-fx-photo-editor/id585702631) | 4.8 (5,259) | Free | Photo & Video | | [AI Impressionist Painter](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ai-impressionist-painter/id6447909996) | 4.7 (44) | Free | Photo & Video | ## Related topics [photo viva](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/photo-viva) · [photo paint from](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/photo-paint-from) · [layer photos paint](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/layer-photos-paint) --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-09-02.*