I'm always working on improvements — new tools, smarter AI, and a better experience for you. Here's a running log of everything that's changed over the past six months.
Need a little nudge before you begin? Browse the new Art Quotes library by theme or era, then take a favourite thought back to the easel with you.
When a video lesson has a ready step-by-step guide, you can follow its numbered stages on the lesson page or download the PDF to keep beside your paints. Find your lessons in My Lessons.
On eligible Vimeo video lessons with their learning content ready, you can check your understanding with a short quiz or use “Ask Anything About This Lesson” for a lesson-specific question. These tools do not appear on PDF resources or unsupported lesson modules.
On video lesson pages, use Self Critique to reflect on the painting you’ve made, see a practical focus for next time, and keep your latest reflection private to that lesson. Open a class from My Lessons to try it.
You no longer need a credit card to start your free trial. Sign up after the quiz and start painting right away — your card is only asked for after your first upload, when you're at an emotional high.
The moment you save a new painting to your Gallery, PaintyBot serves a personalised critique — what's working, what to watch next time — right inside the upload confirmation popup. No navigating away; the feedback appears while the painting is still fresh.
Trial members can now see a preview of their next upcoming lessons on the Lesson Plan page. They're locked until you're a full member, but you can see exactly what's coming — making the "upload to unlock" goal feel tangible.
Every video lesson has its own community chat where you can ask questions, share your progress, and see what fellow painters are working on — right alongside the video, without leaving the lesson.
Upload a painting, animate it, or transform it — then tap Share and your iPhone's native share sheet opens so you can send it straight to Messages, WhatsApp, Instagram, or wherever you like. No more "copied to clipboard" workaround.
Turn any painting into a short, gently moving video with one tap. Upload your artwork, choose Animate, and watch it come to life — complete with a soft ambient soundtrack. Perfect for sharing on social media.
PaintyBot's quick responses are now powered by GPT-5 Mini — OpenAI's newest model — so answers feel faster and more on-point.
When you upload a painting to your Gallery, you can now crop and rotate it before it goes up. Drag the handles, pinch to zoom on mobile, and hit Crop & Save. Looks great every time.
PaintyBot's main conversations were upgraded to GPT-5, OpenAI's most capable model. Expect more nuanced painting advice, better lesson recommendations, and more natural responses.
Upload a photo of your painting and see it beautifully framed — choose from six frame styles with optional matting, then place it on a plain gallery wall or inside a photorealistic room scene. Great for deciding how a finished piece might look in your home.
The Lighting and Season tools now produce much more realistic results. Lighting changes bring warm highlights and cool shadows instead of a flat colour shift. Season changes blend the new mood in gently so your painting still looks like itself — just in a different time of year.
Members can now ask PaintyBot about refunds and walk through the process right in the conversation — no need to dig through emails or contact forms.
Now you can comment on and like any painting in the Clubroom Wall of Fame. Encourage your fellow painters — a kind word means the world to an artist!
Not painting much right now? You can pause your membership mid-conversation with PaintyBot and it will automatically resume when you're ready — or you can come back early any time.
On a tablet or desktop, PaintyBot now opens into a full three-panel workspace: tools on the left, your image in the centre, and the chat on the right — like a mini art studio. Upload a painting, make adjustments, and chat all in the same view without switching back and forth.
Struggling to scale up a reference photo to your canvas? The new Grid tool overlays a proportional grid onto any image — with options for 4×4, 8×8, or 16×16 subdivisions. Download the gridded version to print and use as your transfer guide.
Fine-tune any uploaded painting with sliders for Temperature, Vibrancy, Brightness, and Contrast — or just describe what you want ("make it feel moodier") and PaintyBot will apply the changes for you.
Can't log in and the password reset isn't working? PaintyBot now walks you through a guided recovery flow — checking for common issues, looking up your account, and helping you get back in without needing to email support.
Premium members now get a personal painting schedule. Tell us what you love to paint and how often. Your Planner lines up the right lesson for each session and emails you a friendly reminder every week.
New members now get a guided walkthrough of the member area with PaintyBot as your guide. Hit "Take the tour" any time from your dashboard to run through it again.
If you ever decide to cancel, PaintyBot now guides you through your options in the right order: pause first, then a loyalty offer if you've been a long-time member, and finally a clean cancellation if that's still what you want. No pressure, just options.
New visitors can now start a free 7-day trial directly from a conversation with PaintyBot — no need to navigate away.
Upload a photo of your painting and ask PaintyBot to change the lighting, repaint it in a different style, swap the season, or make specific alterations — all as a true image edit so your composition stays intact.
Every painting in your Gallery is now displayed on a dark gallery wall, inside a beautiful gold frame with a cream matt. Because your art deserves to look its best!
A new Gamut Mask tool helps you plan harmonious colour palettes before you pick up a brush. Drag the mask over the colour wheel to find your limited palette sweet spot.
Share a link and your friend gets their first month free. Once they subscribe, you earn a free month too. Everybody wins! Find it under Paint with a Friend in your menu.
Say hello to PaintyBot! Ask any painting question, get a constructive critique of your work, find the right lesson, run a colour quiz, and more. Trained on all of human painting knowledge plus hundreds of Richard's personal critiques.