The intersection of art and technology is a common theme here on Duggal Connect, from the creation of a miniscule, motion-sensor camera triggered by the blink of an eye to a website that converts print photos into the style of famous painters. This week we discovered a new app that recasts videos so that they appear as hand-drawn or painted animations.

Designed by the Russian company, Mail.ru (known as My.com in the U.S.), Artisto functions sort of like a Photoshop filter, PetaPixel explains. The app is available for free on the iTunes Store for iOS and Google Play for Android, allowing users to edit existing videos stored in their phones or film original videos so that they appear as either rough black-and-white sketches or colorful, Picasso-esque creations.

As of right now, the Artisto app includes 17 styles to choose from, ranging from modern cubism to mosaic tiles to bold flames. The videos are currently limited to 10-second clips, but the app is still young. According to Engadget, the technology took only eight days to develop.

“We decided to play with neural networks, which have become increasingly popular, and ventured to create a video-editing app,” Mail.ru Vice President Anna Artamonova wrote on her Facebook page announcing the app’s debut.

PetaPixel speculates that Artisto was likely influenced by the technology originally pioneered by Prisma, a photo-to-painting simulator released earlier this summer. Prisma enables users to either convert existing photos or ones taken through the app into a wide range of fine art styles. But, the app is limited to photo editing only - no video.

Though Artisto offers less filters than Prisma and seems to have occasional glitches, it's still a fun way to experience your videos through a new lens.

Have you tried out the Artisto app yet? Let us know in the comments below!