Alla Prima Primer Buy · $29

For alla prima oil painters

Turn any photo into a painting plan.

Alla Prima Primer reads your reference and shows you its values, big shapes, color temperature, edges and paint mixes. You make the hard decisions before the first stroke, then paint in one confident session.

Get it for $29 See the 13 tools

One-time purchase · Launch price, then $39 · 14-day money-back guarantee

The bird of paradise reduced to three values: light, middle and dark
The reference photo: a bird of paradise flower and its long leaves against a blue-gray background
PhotoValues
Notan: the picture in three values, so you can judge the light-and-shadow design before you mix a single color. Drag the divider to compare.

0 · blackEvery value reading uses a 0–10 scale, like the Munsell scale10 · white

Why painters use it

In alla prima, the hard decisions come first.

You have one session and wet paint. There is little time to rescue a muddled value or a mix that went chalky, so the thinking has to happen before you start. Each of these common problems has a tool made for it.

Reference · Adjust

The photo fights you

Crop it to your canvas size, then open up blocked shadows and blown highlights before you plan anything.

Value · Notan

The values get muddled

See the light-and-shadow design in two, three or five values, and how much of the canvas each value covers.

Simplify

There are too many shapes

Merge the picture into flat shapes and paint them in layers: the block-in masses, then the modeling, then the details.

Form & modeling

The forms look flat

See each form in three notes of its own color, and as value planes from flat to full volume, the way a brush would model it.

Color mixing · Color check

Mixes turn chalky or muddy

Premix one base pile for each color family, with what to add for its light and its shadow. Get a starting recipe for any other color from the paints you own.

Temperature

The light doesn't glow

See where your shadows, midtones and lights run warm or cool, so each mix keeps the temperature the light gives it.

Edges

Every edge looks the same

Find the hard, firm, soft and lost edges, and see where the hardest ones gather to pull the eye.

Drawing · Proportion check

The drawing drifts

Block in with straight lines and measured angles, then lay a photo of your painting over the reference to see what moved.

How it works

From photo to painting in four steps

  1. STEP 1

    Open a photo

    Take a picture or choose one from your library, then crop it to your canvas: standard sizes from 5 × 7 in to 24 × 36 in, or 20 × 20 cm to 50 × 70 cm.

  2. STEP 2

    Plan

    Check the values, simplify the shapes, and read the temperature, edges and planes. Save any view as an image to keep beside the easel.

  3. STEP 3

    Mix and paint

    Premix a base pile for each color family and ask Color check for anything else. The session timer paces you from the block-in to the last accents.

  4. STEP 4

    Check

    Photograph your painting, line up its corners, and let Proportion check show where shapes, values or colors have drifted.

What's inside

Thirteen tools, in the order you paint

Every picture on this page is a real screen from the app.

The bird of paradise cropped to 12 by 9 inches, with rule-of-thirds and diagonal armature lines
01

Reference

Crop the photo to your canvas size, with rule-of-thirds, grid and armature lines to settle the composition first.

The bird of paradise before and after lifting the shadows and taming the highlights
02

Adjust

Fix the reference before you plan: exposure, contrast, highlights, shadows, temperature, saturation, clarity and detail.

The bird of paradise with labels marking the dominant and accent colors
03

Analyze

Finds the dominant, range and accent colors, marks where each one sits, and gives a mix for each.

The 10-step value chart, with the share of the picture in each value
04

Value

The full value range in gray, grouped into as few steps as you like, and a 10-step chart of how much of the picture each value covers.

The bird of paradise as a five-value notan
05

Notan

Two, three or five values. Adjust where the values split, and see the lights or the shadows in color.

Each value family of the bird of paradise in its average temperature
06

Temperature

Warm and cool across the picture, by value family and within each family, plus a suggested tone for your canvas.

Simplify, layer 2, with the new modeling shapes outlined
07

Simplify

Flat shapes to paint in layers: block-in masses with a large flat, modeling with a medium filbert, details with a small round.

A straight-line block-in with angle, plumb and level measurements in inches
08

Drawing

Straight lines or contours in four stages, from the envelope to the shadow map and the edges, with angle, plumb, level and point measurements.

Edges colored by type, with the area of hardest edges circled
09

Edges

Hard, firm, soft and lost edges in four colors, with the area of hardest edges circled as a natural focal point.

Each form of the flower and leaves in three notes: its light, its local color and its shadow
10

Form & modeling

Each form in three notes of its own local color, value planes from flat to volume, and a brushwork preview with flat, filbert and round brushes.

The orange family card with base, light and shadow recipes
11

Color mixing

A base, light and shadow recipe for each color family. Lock the bases into a mixing plan you can save as an image.

Check my mix: a photo of paint on a knife and the verdict that it is a little too dark and too grayed
12

Color check

A starting recipe for any color in your reference, another photo or a color you type in. Photograph your mix to hear if it's too light, too warm or too dull.

Difference view with numbered circles where the painting's shapes moved
13

Proportion check

Photograph your painting and compare: ghost it over the reference, flicker, wipe across, or let Difference circle what moved.

Also included

  • A session timer that paces the block-in, the modeling, the details and the accents
  • A library that keeps each photo with its crop, plan and measurements
  • 26 common oil colors, palette presets such as Zorn, and room for your own paints
  • Squint, mirror, hold-to-compare, zoom, and save any view as an image
  • The illustrated User Guide, built into the app

At every level

Useful on your first alla prima study and your hundredth

Starting out

Learn to see in values and simple shapes before you think about detail. Paint in layers, big shapes first, and start each mix from a recipe instead of guessing.

Painting regularly

Plan how temperature shifts from light into shadow, keep mixes related with base piles, and choose which edges stay sharp. Check your values halfway, while the paint is still wet.

Experienced or teaching

Plan faster, test crops and limited palettes, and check proportions mid-session. Show students the values, shapes and mixes behind a demonstration.

Works where you paint

On your iPad, phone or computer

  • Install it like an app. Add it to your home screen from the browser. No app store needed.
  • Use it on 3 devices. One license covers your own iPad, phone and computer.
  • Works offline. Once it's set up, it's ready in the studio or out painting on location.
  • Your photos stay on your device. Everything runs on your phone, tablet or computer. Nothing is uploaded.
  • Your paints, your recipes. Pick the colors on your palette and every recipe uses only those.
The app on an iPad showing Simplify, and on a phone showing Notan

Founding artists

Be one of the first painters to use it

Alla Prima Primer is new. Founding artists get it at the launch price, with every version 1 update included. Tell me what helps your painting and what gets in your way; your feedback will shape the next updates.

Launch price$29
After launch$39

One-time purchase, with every version 1 update included.

Become a founding artist

From the artist

Why I made this

I’ve been a professional fine artist and educator for several decades, and I know how much every creative project depends on the planning stage. When my students struggle with alla prima, the cause is usually poor planning, an unclear intention, or not yet knowing how to interpret the subject, whether they paint from a photo or from life. I created Alla Prima Primer to help artists at every level make better decisions before they begin painting. I use it myself, and it makes alla prima painting quicker, easier and more enjoyable. I hope you’ll find it just as useful.

— T. ZimmerFine artist and educator

The Artisan at Market, an oil painting by T. Zimmer: a woman in a white blouse with striped sleeves working at a large clay pot, warmly lit against a dark background, with turquoise jars in front
The Artisan at MarketOil on canvas · 14 × 18 in
The same painting in the Analyze tool, reduced to its key colors, with the dominant colors marked D1 to D3 and the accents A1 to A3
The same painting in AnalyzeIts dominant (D) and accent (A) colors

Pricing

One price. Yours to keep.

Launch price$29
After launch$39

One-time payment. No subscription.

  • All 13 tools, plus the session timer, the library and your own paints
  • Use it on up to 3 of your own devices
  • Installs to your home screen and works offline
  • Your photos stay on your device
  • The illustrated User Guide
  • Every version 1 update, free
Buy now · $29

14-day money-back guarantee · Secure checkout by Stripe, with cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay and more. Prices in US dollars; sales tax or VAT is added at checkout where it applies.

Questions

Before you buy

Is this a subscription?

No. You pay once and keep it, with every version 1 update included.

How do I get it after I buy?

Right after checkout you see your license key on the thank-you page, and it's emailed to you too. Open allaprimaprimer.app on your iPad, phone or computer, enter the key, and add the app to your home screen.

How many devices can I use it on?

Up to 3 of your own devices with one license key, for example your iPad, phone and laptop. If you replace a device, remove the old one in the app to free its place, or write to us.

Which devices does it work on?

A recent iPad, iPhone, Android phone or tablet, Mac or Windows computer, with an up-to-date browser such as Safari, Chrome or Edge.

Do I need an internet connection?

Only to enter your key the first time on each device. After that it works offline, in the studio or out painting on location.

Are my photos uploaded anywhere?

No. The app runs on your device. Your photos and projects are stored in your browser and never sent to a server.

How accurate are the paint recipes?

They are modeled from your photo and the paints you choose, so treat each one as a starting point. Every recipe shows a match score, and Check my mix helps you correct the pile by eye.

Can I use it for acrylic, gouache or watercolor?

The planning tools work for any medium: values, shapes, temperature, drawing, edges and proportion checks. The mixing recipes are written for oil paint.

Which paints does it know?

26 common oil colors, from Titanium White to Ivory Black, with palette presets such as the Zorn palette. You can add your own paints with their color and tinting strength.

What happens if a version 2 comes out?

Your version 1 keeps working, with all of its updates. If a version 2 ever comes out, you choose whether to buy it.

What if it isn't right for me?

Write to info@allaprimaprimer.com within 14 days of buying and you get a full refund, no questions asked. See the refund policy.

Plan your next painting before you pick up a brush.

One-time purchase · 14-day money-back guarantee

Get Alla Prima Primer · $29