 ArtRage Studio Pro 3 by Ambient Design
If you are a digital artist who longs for the days of squeezing
a tube of paint onto a canvas, or watching watercolors wash over
paper…yearn no more. ArtRage Studio Pro 3, by Ambient Design, is
an excellent solution to the digital artist’s blues.
When I first took ArtRage for a field test, I immediately
compared it to the more expensive Corel Painter. However, at 1/3
the price, and with an abundance of similar applications, ArtRage
Studio Pro 3 is an affordable addition to the digital artist’s
library.
Out of the box, the program had a nearly “flat-lineâ€
learning curve. The tools in ArtRage are very intuitive (especially
for digital artists with traditional art training backgrounds).
After spending a day reviewing numerous excellent ArtRage Studio Pro 3 tutorials by ArtRage expert,
Judith Tramayne, I felt that I could easily master the program.
The interface, at first, appeared crowded, which is never a good
thing, as work area real estate is an important aspect of any
digital art program. However, all external tools easily disappear
with a few quick clicks, leaving an uncluttered surface.
ArtRage Studio Pro 3 Interface
The artist toolbox includes a wide array of traditional artistic
media, such as: watercolor and oil paints and paint brushes, ink
and felt pens, pencils, crayons, charcoals and airbrushes. Each
digital brush and medium acts and reacts like its traditional
counterpart. Paints can be applied to a canvas or art paper with a
variety of paint brushes (not just an array of brush sizes, but
also of flat and rounded brush tips). Paints can also be
manipulated by palette knife and/or paint roller. The effects
garner a realistic appearance, in both texture as well as a
blending of colors.
Of course, an artist never underestimates the impact the paper
he, or she, chooses for the basis of a work of art. Within the
ArtRage Studio Pro 3 preset Canvas Settings, are additional
adjustable settings that provide the artist with a nearly
infinite variety of papers.
Although designed for the traditional artist, ArtRage Studio Pro
3 also has a playful side. Crafters and scrapbookers will
appreciate the Glitter Tube and the Gloop Pen.
The stencil tool allows for manipulation of the included stencil
sets, as well as the ability to create and save your own
stencils.
The sticker tool has two parts, one application allows for
individual stickers and the other is a Sticker Spray that connects
a string of stickers in a hodgepodge of shapes and sizes.
ArtRage Studio Pro 3 also comes with some easy to use shortcuts
to make painting lifelike. Clicking on the “Canvas Positionerâ€
rotates the canvas to precise angles. Holding down the
“Shift-Key†and moving the cursor to the right or left
instantly enlarges or reduces the brush size. If creating a
straight line is frustrating, just hold down the “Ctrl-Key†and
move the cursor vertically, horizontally, or even on an angle…and
instant straight line!
One of my favorite tools is the smooth function within the
pencil and pen presets. By selecting the smooth function, a
squiggly line automatically creates a smooth line.
If you are used to working in layers, you will feel right at
home, as ArtRage layers provide all the functions the digital
artist has become accustomed too, as well as some surprising extra
functions, like Bump Blend Modes.
Lastly, for the pure fun of it, the interactive tracing, and
reference, features allow for easy re-creating of your favorite
photograph with an artistic twist.
Ambient Design’s ArtRage 3 is for both the Windows and/or Mac
users. ArtRage 3 is available in two versions (Studio and Studio
Pro). The software is writing tablet friendly; I used the
previously reviewed Adesso M14 Tablet and found it fully
compatible (and a fun pairing). I would highly recommend going for
the Pro version (which is what I used for this review). As a long
time Adobe Photoshop user, and a dabbler in Corel Painter, I was
surprisingly impressed with this powerful artist program with the
affordable price.
Oh, and if you are a professional digital artist, please do not
let the low price deter you from giving ArtRage Studio Pro 3 a try.
Like the example below, courtesy of Nick Harris … some of the
most prolific digital artists of our century have utilized ArtRage
in their creations.
Copyright © Nick Harris All Rights Reserved
- Minimum System Requirements: WindowsXP, Vista,
or Win7. MacOSX 10.4 or later, 1GHz processor (Intel/AMD or PPC
G4/G5), 1024 x 768 graphic, 512MB Mem, 200MB disk free
- ArtRage 3 Studio Pro for Windows or
Mac OSX: $80.00 USD
- ArtRage 3 Studio for Windows or Mac OSX:
$40.00 USD
We invite you to visit the following:
Supporting Image Copyright © Nick Harris, and
used by permission. All Rights Reserved.
Supporting images cannot be copied, printed, or reproduced in any
manner without written permission from the artist.
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