How to oil paint digitally on a Mac
Choose Linen Canvas
In the “New Canvas” card, pick “Linen Canvas” under “Surface” and click “Create Canvas”. You can switch later with the “Surface” chips in the Studio sidebar.
Open the Paint family
Press O or click “Paint” in the tools palette. Once “Paint” is selected, one more click opens its style tray. “Acrylic” is in the free version; “Oil” and “Gouache” come with Pro.
Pick a color
Click one of the five color dots in the tools palette, or the color wheel button for the Chroma Orb with Pro. ⌥-click the canvas to reuse a painted color.
Set size and opacity
In “Tool Options”, set “Size” and “Opacity”, or press [ and ] to resize. With a drawing tablet for Mac, pressure changes size on all three, and flow on “Gouache” too.
Paint in one direction
Drag each stroke along the shape you are painting. The ridges of “Oil” run across the drag, so stroke direction shapes the texture.
Smudge while it is wet
Press R or click “Blend”, then pick “Smudge” (free) or “Liquid Smear” (Pro) from its style tray. Wet paint moves much further than dry paint.
Digital oil painting software with impasto
As an oil painting app for Mac, Paint My has a Paint family of three opaque styles: “Oil”, “Gouache” and “Acrylic”. Unlike translucent pencils, markers and washes, they cover what is beneath, so you can paint light over dark.
“Oil” is the impasto brush. Its texture forms ridges across the direction you drag, so each stroke reads as raised paint. Its footprint is slightly irregular, so the edges of each stroke are a little uneven.
The ridges are a texture in the paint: there is no bristle simulation and no lighting that models paint thickness. “Oil” keeps its own texture on every surface, including “Linen Canvas”, whose woven threads show wherever the canvas is bare.
Digital gouache and digital acrylic painting
All three are opaque but differ in texture and drying time. Compare their preview strokes in the Paint family of the brush library, or see the watercolor app for Mac guide for translucent washes.
- Oil (Pro): impasto ridges, an irregular footprint and a long wet time for smudging. Pressure changes size.
- Gouache (Pro): a flat, matte granulation that ignores the paper texture. Pressure changes size and flow.
- Acrylic (one of the 14 free styles): smooth, even color with no grain, and it dries sooner than the other two. Pressure changes size.
How to blend paint digitally while it is wet
Every Paint style lands wet and, by default, glistens until it dries to its true color; the sheen never reaches exports. While paint is wet, “Smudge” and “Liquid Smear” drag it much further than dry paint, and “Oil” stays wet far longer than “Gouache” or “Acrylic”.
Each new brush-and-color combination starts its own layer while there is room (3 layers in the free version), and the blend tools work on the top layer with paint where your stroke starts. So Smudge usually moves one color at a time; to mix two colors, use the Mixing Well (Pro). The drawing app with layers for Mac guide explains how layers stack.
How to mix colors in digital painting with the Mixing Well
The Mixing Well is part of Pro. It is a small palette card under the Chroma Orb that runs the app's own paint engine, and its hint reads: “Drag to lay paint down, ⌥-drag to mix it, click to pick the colour.”
Lay a dab of gouache in one color, then a dab in another. ⌥-drag to smear them together with the Smudge brush, then click the mix to pick its color. “Clean” wipes the well. Mixes last until you quit the app; they are not saved with the painting.
The free version has a five-color palette: black, white, red, blue and yellow. The Eyedropper (I) and ⌥-click with any brush pick colors from the canvas in every version.
Exporting an oil painting
Every export is free. “Export as Layered PSD…” keeps every layer.
“Export as JPEG…” sets the painting on the linen's flat base color, without the weave. “Export as PNG…” leaves the surface out, so bare areas are transparent.
Questions
Can you oil paint digitally?
Yes. Paint My's “Oil” brush, part of Pro, lays opaque paint with impasto ridges, stays wet long enough to smudge and dries over time. It does not simulate bristles.
What's the difference between digital gouache and acrylic?
Both are opaque. “Gouache” (Pro) has a flat, matte granulation, and pressure changes its size and flow. “Acrylic” is smooth with no grain, dries sooner, and is one of the 14 free styles.
How do you blend paint digitally?
Smudge it while it is wet. Pick “Smudge” in the Blend family (R) and drag across fresh paint, which moves much further than dry paint. “Oil” stays wet far longer than “Gouache” or “Acrylic”.
How do I mix colors like real paint?
Use the Mixing Well, part of Pro, under the Chroma Orb. Drag to lay dabs of paint, ⌥-drag to smear them together, then click the mix to pick its color.
Can I turn a photo into an oil painting?
No. Paint It for Me can turn a photo into a painting, but it has no oil medium: it paints in pencil, colored pencil, watercolor or crayon. For oil, paint the picture yourself with the “Oil” brush (Pro).
