Research

Why I made it this way.

My working documents behind the design: fifteen investigations, written while I was making a decision and kept as they were, so several record an idea I ruled out.

Paint

• What makes the painting feel 3D — depth and lightWhich technology makes digital oil paint read as a raised, lit surface rather than a picture of one?
• What makes mixing feel naturalWhich technology makes two digital paints combine the way real ones do?
• Mixing on the paletteHow do real painters mix colour on a palette, and what's the best way to let a finger do it on a phone?
• How brushes, knives and fingers really handle paintHow do real brushes and similar tools hold and release paint, and how should the engine copy them?
• Refilling the brushHaving to tap for more paint doesn't feel intuitive. How else can a brush get its paint, how do other painting apps do it, and which way is easiest?
• What the oil masters delivered, and how modern painters built on itWhat did the great oil painters achieve with the material, and what does each achievement demand of the app?

The phone

• What makes it feel tangible on iPhone (iPad after)On a phone with no stylus or pressure, what makes paint feel like a physical substance?
• Seeing the paint under your fingerA fingertip hides the paint it's laying. What's a clever, intuitive way to solve that on a phone?
• The interfaceWhat is the best interface for a painting app like this, used one-handed on a phone?
• FrictionWhere does the app still get in the painter's way, what has been fixed, and what is left?
• Design historyHow did Enogu's controls get from a toolbar and paint dish to two corner radials, and what drove each change?

The case for it

• The value propositionWhat does Enogu offer that no other painting app does, and how much of that is real today?
• Oil-painting app — market & competitive research (first pass)Who already sells digital oil painting, at what price, and where is the gap?
• Six reviewsSeen from six roles, what should Enogu change next?
• The robot painterIf a trained painter's method drives Enogu's own brushes, trace and all, how close to a master's painting does it get, and what stops it?