Armchair Guide to Apps for Art Quilts! 🎨📸

Since nearly all of my work begins with a photo, I rely heavily on fun (usually free) apps to manipulate the original image- either to prepare it for a pattern, tracing, or color inspiration. Long before I discovered the (much more complex) Procreate, these were – and still are – fave tools

As they say, a photo is worth a thousand words, so…beginning with this image:

Let’s have a little fun:

• PANTONE app-

This would be a helpful tool for any kind of quilt! Simply open the Images file within the app and you’ll see a key to the most predominant hues in your photo.

• Popsicolor

I use this app for my ink-and-thread pet portraits…great fun to trace this image onto white batik with fabric ink, then stitch (I think sticking with one color of thread gives you a higher-impact piece). The Popsicolor app gives you lots of choices…here I’ve set top and bottom color to black but for other uses, color could be fun.

• MobileMonet

Here is what you’ll see when you choose a photo in this app…the controls below allow for choice in which effect you prefer and how intense the color. Running your finger over this b&w image results in this image:

• C4LA

If you’d like a line drawing, this app will do it for you. Controls allow you to make the lines more or less intense, and the latest version has an option to color the image, too.

• Etchings

This app creates an guilloche effect which is pretty cool.

• Prisma

I love the “Dallas” effect within the Prisma app to achieve the look of a painting. Not useful for any of my work, just fun ;). Now, the free version makes you hack through a LOT of ads (patience!), then shows you the following screen. It was not at all obvious to me how to access my already taken photos so I’ve marked below- swipe up and you’ll see your photo library.

• MegaPhoto

Ah, my fave neon filter- #143! This app give you a tremendous number of special-effect filters, just the best if you are stuck on line in an airport ;). I used a violet one to create “The Night Garden”…it turned a very dark pre-dawn photo into a magical image.

Try it…take your own favorite photo!