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Guide

How to add captions to an art or drawing process video on iPhone

Updated

To add captions to an art or drawing process video on iPhone, add a spoken voiceover to your drawing or painting footage first, open the finished video in CaptionAddr, let it transcribe the English speech on the iPhone, fix art terms and product names in Edit Captions, drag the captions clear of the artwork and export a captioned copy to Photos. Videos up to 2 minutes are free; CaptionAddr Pro covers up to 30 minutes.

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Why caption art process videos

Art process videos, such as a speedpaint, a sketchbook tour, a drawing tutorial or a time-lapse with you talking about the piece, are often watched in feeds with the sound off. Captions let viewers follow your story and your tips while they watch the artwork come together, and they help viewers who are deaf or hard of hearing.

This guide is for videos of physical or digital artwork with your voice over them. For step-by-step projects with tools and materials, see the DIY tutorial guide; for drawing apps recorded on screen, the screen recording guide. CaptionAddr burns the captions into the picture, so they show wherever you post.

Caption an art process video on iPhone

  1. Add your voice to the footage. Talk while you draw, or edit the footage into its final length in your video editor and record a voiceover over it in a quiet room. Save the finished video to Photos. Captions come from the English speech in the video, so footage with only music has nothing to caption.
  2. Choose the video. Tap Select Video in CaptionAddr and pick the clip with Apple’s Photos picker. Vertical, square and landscape videos all work, and the video keeps its shape.
  3. Let the captions generate. Captions start as soon as the video opens; keep the app open; the English speech is transcribed on your iPhone, not on a server.
  4. Fix art terms and names. Brand names of paints, pens and brushes, art terms and the names of artists or characters are the words most likely to come out wrong. Correct them in Edit Captions. You can edit, delete and reorder words, with undo and redo.
  5. Keep the artwork clear. Choose one of the 20 fonts and a size that reads on a phone, turn on the tinted background over a white page or a bright canvas, and drag the captions to an edge of the frame where they don’t cover the piece.
  6. Export and post. Tap Export Video to save the captioned copy to Photos, then upload it to TikTok, Reels, Shorts or any other app. The watermark is off unless you turn it on.

Tips for art process captions

  • Record the voiceover last. Speed up or trim the footage first, then record your voice over the final cut, so the captions match what viewers see.
  • Talk about each stage as it appears. Describe the sketch, the colors and the details while they are on screen, so the captions and the picture tell the same part of the story.
  • Keep music low or out. Music under your voice can cause missed words; add it in the app you post to, after the captions are made.
  • Leave room for the captions. Frame the artwork with a little space above or below it for the caption line.
  • Keep your original. CaptionAddr exports a new copy and leaves the original clip in your library.

Limits

  • Speech only. CaptionAddr captions spoken English. It doesn’t caption music or sound effects, and it doesn’t read text written on the artwork or shown on screen.
  • Captions only. The app doesn’t speed up, trim or crop video, record voiceovers, or add titles or music.
  • English only. CaptionAddr transcribes English speech and doesn’t translate.
  • Single-word captions. Words appear one at a time, timed automatically, always in uppercase; there are no speaker labels, full-sentence layouts or manual per-word timing, and you can only fix, delete or reorder the transcribed words.
  • Length. Free covers videos up to 2 minutes; CaptionAddr Pro covers up to 30 minutes. The App Store shows the current Pro price in your currency.
  • Burned-in captions only. There is no SRT, VTT or text export, and the app doesn’t post to social platforms.

Frequently asked questions

How do I add captions to a drawing or painting video on iPhone?

Add a spoken voiceover to the footage, save the finished video, open it in CaptionAddr, generate captions on your iPhone, fix art terms in Edit Captions, drag the captions clear of the artwork and export a captioned copy to Photos.

Can I caption a speedpaint with only music?

No. CaptionAddr makes captions from speech, and you can only fix, delete or reorder the transcribed words. Record yourself talking about the piece over the footage, then caption that video.

Can I caption a voiceover I recorded after drawing?

Yes. Add the voiceover to your footage in a video editor, save the finished clip, then caption it in CaptionAddr like any other video with spoken English.

How do I keep the captions off my artwork?

Drag the captions to the top or bottom edge of the frame, away from the piece, and check the preview before you export.

Will there be a watermark on my video?

No watermark is required. A small CaptionAddr watermark is optional and off unless you turn it on.