Color Battle
Lovla Color Battle: How to Make Bad Portraits Into a Great Date
For a fun Lovla Color Battle, pick clear reference photos, focus on a few recognizable features, and agree that the portraits can be ridiculous. Color Battle is a timed activity where two people paint each other from reference images. You are making a date, not auditioning for art school, so capturing the familiar hairstyle can be a bigger win than getting every proportion right.
Lovla’s Color Battle gives your portrait date a shared challenge and a timer to work against.
For iPhone and iPad. Check the App Store for current subscription details.
Start with the correct artistic expectations
At some point, one of you will paint an eyebrow that looks more like a small canoe. This is not necessarily a problem. It might be the highlight of the evening.
Before starting, agree on the mood. Are you trying for a recognizable likeness, a cartoon version, or a completely unexpected color palette? A shared expectation makes it easier to enjoy the result without wondering whether someone is secretly disappointed.
Keep the jokes about the drawing rather than your partner’s appearance. “I have invented a new type of nose” lands differently from picking apart the actual face you are looking at.
Choose a reference that gives you a chance
Look for a clear face, comfortable lighting, and an expression you know. A familiar smile is more useful than a dramatic photograph where half the face disappears into shadow.
Avoid sunglasses, tiny faces in group photos, and pictures with a lot of distracting background detail for your first round. Ask your partner which photo they are happy for you to use. Surprise is optional; comfort is not.
You can save the elaborate holiday costume for a later attempt. Start with something that lets you see the big shapes quickly.
Paint the big shapes before the heroic eyelashes
Begin with the outline of the head and the main shape of the hair. Place the larger features before spending time on little details. You want a portrait that reads as a person before you devote half the round to one perfect eyelash.
Choose two or three details you associate with your partner: the curl that never behaves, the glasses, the fringe, or the smile. Those are useful priorities when time is limited.
Then commit to a few colors and keep moving. Your first choice does not have to be your lifelong artistic position. A bold purple jumper can be much more entertaining than several minutes of worrying about the exact shade of gray.
Make the timer part of the fun
Follow the timer shown in your Color Battle round. Leave time before you start to choose references and time afterward to enjoy the portraits. The date should have room around the challenge.
If you get stuck, move to another part of the picture. Spending the remaining time rescuing one ear can leave everything else abandoned. Give the portrait a chance to become a complete, gloriously imperfect attempt.
If one partner draws often and the other rarely does, choose personal goals rather than measuring yourselves against each other. One might try an unusual palette while the other focuses on a recognizable hairstyle. You can both enjoy a challenge without producing equally polished work.
Give the portraits a proper afterparty
When the round ends, talk about what you noticed while painting. Start with a detail you liked before discussing the part that escaped your control. “You got my smile” is a lovely thing to hear.
Invent a dramatic title aloud. Explain your least defensible artistic decision with complete confidence. Ask what your partner found hardest and whether the reference reminded them of anything.
These are ideas for your conversation, not extra scoring or judging features in the app. You do not need an official winner to have a good story about the round.
Know when to switch to a gentler activity
A timed challenge will not suit every mood. If either person is feeling rushed or self conscious, choose shared coloring instead and work on the same page at your own pace.
If you are apart, arrange a separate call if you want to chat during the date. You can also catch up before and afterward. The portrait challenge already gives you plenty to talk about.
The best result is not a perfect portrait. It is both of you wanting to spend a little more time together after the timer ends.
Make a little more time for us.
Lovla’s Color Battle gives your portrait date a shared challenge and a timer to work against.
Written by The Lovla Team. Find current product and access details on Lovla’s App Store page.