Life

How To Use Snapchat's Cool New Paintbrush Tool

by Laken Howard

On Tuesday (and just in time for the holidays), Snapchat rolled out new features in its latest update that will help users get even more creative with their selfies. In the midst of all the buzz about the highly anticipated group chat feature, you might have missed the two more ~artsy~ tools that became available: the Scissors tool, which allows you to cut and paste parts of your photos and turn them into stickers, and the Paintbrush tool, which gives you some colorful new filters to enhance your pictures.

To use Paintbrush, simply open any of your saved snaps in 'Memories', hit 'Edit & Send', tap the little pencil in the bottom left corner of the screen, then tap the paintbrush tool on the top right and voila — a slew of art-inspired filters await you. You can then either send it on to your friends or save it as a copy and keep it forever.

In total, there are 17 cool filters to choose from, all inspired by styles or works of art ranging from Van Gogh to Kandinsky. I tested them all out on a few different photos of mine — check out the before-and-afters below and see which one speaks to your inner artiste most. (Special shoutout to my art history-fanatic friend who educated me on what works of art inspired each filter.)

Before Paintbrush

Featuring my roommates' dog Bingo as a rather risqué model.

After Paintbrush

Before Paintbrush

(Yes, I know it's already filtered, leave me alone.)

After Paintbrush

Before Paintbrush

The super casual view from the roof of my apartment.

After Paintbrush

Before Paintbrush

(BINGO IN A HOODIE!)

After Paintbrush

No matter which filter is your style, it's safe to say the Paintbrush feature is one that will seriously up your Snap game. Your average selfie can be museum-worthy in a matter of seconds — not that it wasn't already.

Images: Laken Howard/Bustle (20)