Squint: Value Study for Art

Simplify photos into tonal values for painting studies. See like an artist.

Stop struggling to see the big picture in your reference photos.

Tone Simplify does what artists do when they squint at a scene — it removes distracting details and shows you the essential light and shadow patterns that make paintings work.

WHAT IT DOES
Upload any photo and instantly see it broken down into simplified tonal values. Adjust the strength from subtle (10 colors) to extreme (2 colors) to find the perfect level of simplification for your study.

PERFECT FOR
• Understanding value structure in complex scenes
• Planning paintings with clear light/shadow patterns
• Creating quick value studies and notans
• Training your eye to see simplified masses
• Analyzing reference photos before painting

KEY FEATURES
• Adjustable simplification strength (1-10 levels)
• Automatic color palette extraction
• Compare toggle: switch between original and simplified
• Pinch to zoom, pan, and rotate
• Save to gallery or share directly
• Click any palette color to copy hex code
• Dark interface optimized for color accuracy

HOW IT WORKS
The app uses median blur (not Gaussian) to group similar tones together while preserving edges — exactly what happens when you squint. The result shows you the underlying value structure without the noise of texture and detail.

DESIGNED FOR ARTISTS
No subscriptions. No ads. No account required. Just a focused tool that does one thing exceptionally well.

Whether you're a traditional painter preparing for a plein air session, a digital artist analyzing references, or a student learning to see values — Tone Simplify helps you work smarter.

Download now and see your references with fresh eyes.