How to Create and Save an Image on bomomo

Updated

Open bomomo.com in a browser and you can start drawing immediately — no account, download, or setup screen stands in the way. The page gives you a set of animated brushes, and when you are happy with the result you save it with either save normal or save high quality. The high-quality option downloads a file you should rename to end in .png.

Before you start

  • A desktop browser is the simplest way to use bomomo. The site also points to an iPhone & iPad app, but the browser version is what the homepage describes.
  • Nothing on the page asks you to sign in, so treat it as a draw-and-save tool rather than a place that stores your work for you. Save anything you want to keep before closing the tab.
  • The site states that the image you create is yours — "Feel free to do anything with the image you create... it's yours!"

Drawing on the page

When the page loads, you are already on the canvas. There is no "new file" step.

  1. Move your pointer across the canvas. Each brush reacts to movement, so the marks appear as you drag rather than from a single click.
  2. Switch brushes to change the character of the strokes. Different brushes produce different animated, looping patterns, which is the main appeal of the tool compared with a standard paint program.
  3. Keep drawing until the composition looks right. Because the brushes are motion-driven, slow and fast movements give noticeably different results — experiment before committing.

There is no undo history described on the page, so if a stroke ruins the image, your practical options are to work around it or reload and start again.

Saving your image

Two save options appear on the page:

Option What it does What you should do
save normal Saves the image at standard quality Use it for quick sharing or a draft
save high quality Saves a higher-quality file Rename the downloaded file so it ends in .png

The homepage explicitly notes "(rename to *.png)" next to the high-quality save. That means the downloaded file may not carry a .png extension by default, and some image viewers or upload tools will refuse to open it until you rename it. After downloading, rename the file — for example from bomomo to bomomo.png — and it will open as a normal PNG image.

Common snags

  • The saved file won't open. Check the extension first. If it has no .png ending, rename it and try again.
  • You lost your drawing. There is no described autosave or gallery tied to your session, so save before navigating away or refreshing.
  • The brushes feel unpredictable. That is the design: the marks follow your pointer's motion, so the same brush produces different textures at different speeds.

What the site also mentions

The footer credits bomomo as created by Philipp Lenssen in 2008, with an IExplorer version by Nikolai Kordulla. It links to a bomomo Gallery and to Games for the Brain, and notes that the site uses Google Analytics for traffic stats, AdSense for ads, and a Facebook Like widget. Feedback goes to [email protected]. None of this affects how you draw or save, but the gallery is a useful place to see what the brushes can produce before you start.