Even amongst the near-blanket media coverage of Pokemon Go, another app has managed to make headlines lately by letting users see themselves as works of art.
Prisma’s concept is not necessarily unique – applying artsy filters to mobile snaps – but it’s gained attention for how accurately it imitates various visual art styles on any given picture.
The app’s design is extremely minimal, right down to the simple black triangle logo. It opens to camera view, where you can either take a picture or choose from your library, then moves on to the photo effects section, where users can pick from over 30 filters.
Many of those filters are based off of the artistic styles of famous artists like Munch, Mondrian and Picasso, while others feature popular patterns or drawing forms, like “Paper Art” or a filter that looks like a manga sketch called “Curly Hair.”
Flicking through the filters is engrossing due to the fact that each one is so different and so extreme, and yet the effects don’t tend to result in grotesque or overly bizarre portrayals of the original picture.
It’s a fine balance, but Prisma has succeeded in making an app that edits photos to look like art, without comprising the truth of the image.
The only downside is that the rendering of each photo can take a while to process – in my experience up to 13 seconds or so – which can be frustrating when you’re eager to try out each different option.
Once you’ve selected the best filter, though, sharing is easy. Above the photo effects section is a button for Instagram, Facebook and a button that holds a variety of other sharing options.
Prisma currently available for free only on iOS, but The Next Web reports that the app is coming to Android by late July 2016 and has also confirmed that it will launch a video editing feature in the near future, giving users yet another format in which to make themselves art.
Download Prisma from the App Store.
Update 07/25/16: Prisma is now available for Android and has updated to include a save button.
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