Everything you need to know about Oil Paint
Oil Paint transforms your photo into a painting-like image by smoothing regions while preserving edges, simulating the look of thick brush strokes on canvas. The effect creates soft, blended areas of color that mimic traditional oil painting techniques.
Parameters
- Brush Size
Controls the radius of the painterly effect (1–8 pixels). Smaller values (1–3) create fine, detailed brushwork that stays closer to the original. Larger values (5–8) produce broader, more impressionistic strokes with stronger color blending.
How It Works
The filter uses a Kuwahara-style algorithm that divides the area around each pixel into four quadrants. It calculates the mean color and variance (how uniform the colors are) in each quadrant, then outputs the color from the quadrant with the lowest variance – the most uniform region. This preserves edges while smoothing flat areas, creating the characteristic oil painting look.
Brush Size Effects
- 1–2 – Subtle smoothing, preserves most detail
- 3–4 – Balanced painterly effect, good starting point
- 5–6 – Noticeable brush strokes, impressionistic feel
- 7–8 – Bold, abstract brushwork with strong simplification
Tips
- Works best on images with clear subjects and good contrast
- Larger brush sizes work well for landscapes and abstract effects
- Smaller brush sizes preserve facial features in portraits
- Combine with saturation boost for more vivid, painterly colors