Drop what you are doing and try Psykopaint!

A French start-up with a unique paint tool is the talk of the Seedcamp USA tour. Is it a toy, a tool, or theraputic device?

There’s an annual European software industry event called Seedcamp that selects promising start-ups and sends them to the US on tour. Today the group is at Google headquarters. I guarantee you that as soon as the meetings are over, everyone in attendance at Google will be rushing to their computers to play with Psykopaint, a new web- and Facebook-based photo “editor” that must be experienced to be believed.

psykopaint before and after cat — Psykopaint allows users to create infinite variations on their photos. (Image courtesy Psykopaint)

Simply put, Psykopaint allows one to turn an exiting image into what look like paintings, using styles and colors Dali, van Gogh, or Picasso would have loved. Load an image, grab a brush, and start playing. There are tools for blending, various brush styles (a cannon that shoots Dali, for example), and much more.

Psykopaint User Gallery — Psykopaint hosts a user gallery that changes hourly with new submissions. Top row, second image from left is a self-portrait of Siemens PLM's Mark Burhop, Programs Director Velocity Technology Ecosystem, based on his existing Twitter portrait. (Image courtesy Psykopaint)

The French developers are starting to receive email from teachers who find Psykopaint to be theraputic as well as educational. This is one to watch, if for no other reason than to be able to say “Oh, yeah, I’ve heard of them. Awesome!”