Measurement first, wording second
Painting critique you can actually trust.
plzxplain compares a photo of your painting against your reference and turns the measurements into plain-English feedback — what's working, what to fix, and why.
Sample critique
Your subject sits about 8% higher than in your reference.
Block-in compares your painting's placement and scale directly against your reference photo.
Worth a look if that shift wasn't what you were going for.
Your darkest darks land in the right places.
The deepest tones cluster under the foreground rocks — exactly where the reference anchors weight.
How it works
From two photos to a measured critique
Photograph your reference and your painting
Two photos is all it takes — the subject you painted from, and a clear photo of your finished or in-progress work.
plzxplain measures the gap
Advanced computer vision techniques pull meaningful measurements from your painting and your reference, then use them to guide you towards a truer representation of what you set out to paint.
Get clear, encouraging critique
Every observation is tied to a measurement, sorted into what to work on and what's already working — it's always your call what to act on.
What plzxplain measures
Composition and framing are always your call — try plzxplain's Viewfinder for rule-of-thirds and golden-ratio guides while you shoot. Once you've painted, here's what the critique itself measures.
Proportion
Does your placement and scale match your reference?
Value
Do your lights and darks group the way your reference does?
Edges
Are your transitions varied, or is everything equally hard or soft?
Measurement first, wording second
Deterministic computer vision is the judge. A narrator turns the numbers into words.
Every critique plzxplain gives you is backed by a real measurement — never an unsupported opinion. Painting feedback should point at something you can check for yourself, not just a feeling.
Guides
Learn to read your own critique
Short, practical guides on getting the most out of plzxplain — from your first critique to understanding exactly what each metric is telling you.
Getting your first critique
How to submit a reference photo and your painting to get your first measurement-backed critique.
CompositionUnderstanding composition and the rule of thirds
How the rule of thirds works, and how plzxplain's Viewfinder and block-in tools support — without replacing — your own composition judgement.
EdgesWhy edges make or break a painting
The difference between hard and soft edges, and why varying them is what makes a painting read as three-dimensional.
Ready to see what your painting is really doing?
Download plzxplain and get your first measurement-backed critique in under a minute.