Have you ever wished your selfies looked a little more, uh, Renaissance? Well, thanks to the power of AI, you can now convert them into something more painterly. A new web app is able to turn your face into a Leonardo da Vinci-style work of art, and it’s quite impressive.
DaVinciFace uses artificial intelligence and algorithms to transform your face into something resembling the Mona Lisa in minutes. Developed by a Florence-based tech company, the tool is already proving extremely popular online. (Want to up your selfie game? Check out our roundup of the best camera phones.)
All you have to do is upload a photo to the DaVinciFace (opens in a new tab) website, and you’ll be presented with a renaissance-style version in less than two minutes. But according to Mathema, the tool’s developer, it’s an extremely complex process.
“DaVinciFace leverages Deep Learning technology using a convolutional neural network, trained on DaVinci’s most famous portraits such as ‘La Gioconda’ or ‘La Belle Ferronière’, with over 500 million parameters,” the website states. “Given the high computing capacity required to complete the processing in a reasonable time (now around 100 seconds), the application relies on state-of-the-art graphics hardware.”
Mathema said The arts journal (opens in a new tab) that da Vinci’s style is particularly difficult to imitate via AI. Indeed, he is known for using chiaroscuro, a technique in which “shapes are formed directly from color instead of having a prior drawing which is then colored”. For more, check out our guide to the art of chiaroscuro.
From Photoshop’s neural filters to that viral Pixar facial app, we’ve had no shortage of AI-powered ways to play with your face in recent months. Looking for something a little less algorithmic? Take a look at the photo editing craze taking over TikTok.
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