Lightdab
Brooklyn rooftops and the Manhattan skyline from a roof deck, as photographed. The same view painted by Lightdab in Ink & Color.

Your camera,
painted live

Lightdab is an iPhone camera that paints what it sees while you frame, then takes the photo or the video.

Coming soon to the App Store

Free to use. Pro is $4.99, once.

The viewfinder, not an edit

Recorded from the app's screen while switching looks. What you see while framing is the painting you keep.

Tap for a full-resolution photo. Hold for video.

Four looks

Ink & Color

A lifeguard tower on the sand at sunset, painted in flat color with ink outlines.

Flat bands of color held by bold ink lines, like a frame from a comic. Free for everyone.

  • Anime
  • Comic
  • Woodcut

Press and hold a picture to see the photo it came from.

Watercolor

The sun setting over the ocean behind a bank of white flowers, painted as a watercolor.

Soft washes that bloom, pool darker at the edges, and sink into textured paper.

  • Wet
  • Dry brush
  • Pen & wash

Sumi ink

Two palm trees over rooftops at sunset, painted in bold black ink on rice paper.

Black ink on rice paper: graded washes, dry brush, and an optional red seal.

  • Classic
  • Bamboo
  • Mist
  • Bold

Pencil sketch

The Manhattan skyline across the East River from a Brooklyn pier, drawn as a pencil sketch.

Graphite tone and hatching that follow every form, smudged where it should be.

  • Graphite
  • Sketchbook
  • Cross-hatch
  • Colored pencil

Anything you point it at

Hold the shutter to record video. Or open a photo or video from your library and paint that instead.

A bridge lit up over the East River at night, painted in Ink & Color.
Ink & Color, after dark
A trail down to the ocean between green hills, painted as a watercolor.
Watercolor, at Lands End
A palm tree over a beach at sunset, painted in sumi ink.
Sumi ink, at the beach

Nothing leaves your phone

Painted by
Lightdab's own brush, ink, and paper shaders
AI image generation
None
Server and uploads
None
Account, ads, analytics
None

Every frame is painted on your iPhone. Nothing is invented that wasn't in front of the lens, and your photos and videos go to your Photos library and nowhere else.

Read the privacy policy

What it costs

$0

Ink & Color with all its presets, photos, and videos up to 15 seconds, with a small watermark.

$4.99once

Every look, every slider, long videos, and no watermark. No subscription.

Coming soon to the App Store