Photo editing information

Browse background articles on the techniques and history behind PictorX effects, apps, and tools.

Open photo editor Explore tools
Fractals example in PictorX

Fractals

Learn how the Mandelbrot set, Julia sets, and Newton fractals are generated—and why zooming never runs out of detail.

 Find Edges example in PictorX

Find Edges

Learn how Find Edges, Canny, Sobel, Laplace, Glowing Edges, XDoG, and Morphological Gradient detect outlines in a photo.

 Polaroid example in PictorX

Polaroid

The story of Polaroid: Edwin Land, instant cameras, the SX-70, the end of film, and how The Impossible Project brought Polaroid back.

 Pop Art example in PictorX

Pop Art

Learn how Pop Art turned advertising, comics, and consumer products into art—Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, silkscreen, and the rise of mass culture.

 Andy Warhol example in PictorX

Andy Warhol

The story of Andy Warhol: Pittsburgh, The Factory, Campbell's Soup, Marilyn, the 1968 shooting, Interview magazine, and the museum in Pittsburgh.

 Blur example in PictorX

Blur

How blur really works: Gaussian softening, unsharp mask, radial and motion blur, smart blur, lens blur, and tilt-shift in PictorX.

 Colors example in PictorX

Colors

How color works on screens and in print: RGB, CMYK, HSL, hex, the color wheel, gradients, contrast, and PictorX tools.

 Kaleidoscopes example in PictorX

Kaleidoscopes

How kaleidoscopes work: Brewster’s invention, angled mirrors, radial symmetry, and digital kaleidoscope filters you can try on a photo in PictorX.

 Aboriginal art example in PictorX

Aboriginal art

Learn how Aboriginal art maps Country, story, and law—from rock art and ochre to Papunya dot painting—and try a respectful digital homage in PictorX.

 AI models example in PictorX

AI models

What AI and AI models are, how they power photo editing—background removal, inpainting, enhance, uncrop—and how PictorX runs many tools on-device.

 AI image editing example in PictorX

AI image editing

What AI image editing is—cutouts, object removal, enhance, repair, and uncrop—how it differs from classic retouching, and how PictorX runs many tools on-device.

 Black and white example in PictorX

Black and white

How bilevel images work: simple threshold, Bayer ordered dithering, Floyd–Steinberg error diffusion, and when to use each look in PictorX.

 Raster vs vector example in PictorX

Raster vs vector

Raster (bitmap) vs vector graphics: pixels, DPI/PPI, JPEG/PNG/WebP vs SVG/PDF/AI/EPS, scaling, file size, and when to use each in PictorX.

 File formats example in PictorX

File formats

JPG vs PNG vs WebP: compression, quality, transparency, browser support, and when to use each format for web and print in PictorX.