ArtRage Review

ArtRage provides a set of painting and drawing tools that enables artists, illustrators, and designers to apply real world techniques and natural media properties to their artworks and designs. It functions primarily as a natural media painting program; but it also offers tools that allow them to enjoy the convenience of using digital brushes.

With it, users will be able to paint with realistic oils, simulate the reactions of watercolors to water and paper texture; and do sketching, shading, inking, and coloring using realistic natural media pencils, felt pen, pastels, and pen markers. The software also allows them to apply the ways by which traditional oil painters add paint to the canvas so they can build up texture and spread the paint evenly.

Moreover, as they apply paint to the canvas, ArtRage provides them with the capability to track the wetness and depth of the paint, the texture of the canvas, and the amount of paint left on the brush for each stroke. Also, they can blend and mix color and texture using the Palette Knife which is the main blending tool of the software. With this tool, they will be able to create impasto effects, produce sharp-edged strokes, smear and warp paint, and get a variety of soft and sharp blending patterns.

To enhance their artworks and create the effects they want, ArtRage allows users to download custom digital brushes from their teammates, create their own digital brushes using online manuals and tutorials,  or use the presets available in the software. They also have the option to edit the color properties of their custom digital brushes so they can blend colors and textures in different ways.

Meanwhile, ArtRage provides editing features which enable users to draw and paint quickly. They will be able to copy a paint and its properties using its Cloner Tool, select areas on their artwork with its different Selection options, and add patterns and gradients to layers in just a single click through the aid of its Fill Tool. They can also adjust and distort their paint and content to obtain the shapes and sizes they need, or scale them to match the active perspective.

Another set of tools offered by ArtRage is its layout and composition tools. The software enables users to set up horizontal and vertical guidelines on their canvas. These guidelines help them control their strokes. To measure proportions, grids can be added to the canvas. Also, they can use preset or custom stencils to mask areas on their canvas or portions of their drawings so they can neatly add texture and apply strokes.

ArtRage also allows user to use scrap canvasses for testing brushes and mixing colors, and photos as visual references. They will be able to pin images on their screen when they use them as references. They can also use existing images and artworks for tracing. As a result, in every stroke they make on their canvas, they can automatically pick colors from the images they are tracing.