Tested version - v5.0.5
Price - Unlimited time trial, $29.90 Lite, $79.00 Full (version comparisons)
Systems - Windows Vista/7/8.1/10, Mac OS X 10.6, Android, iPad/iPhone
Official website - https://www.artrage.com/
Raster or Vector - Raster
* I have customized my screen as I have most software in my reviews, but ArtRage appears vastly different with the Docking Mode enabled. There are many layout options, some I assume require the full version as I can not access multiple things, see screenshots here.
Ease Of Use - Rather easy to get started, but depending on your needs some options are somewhat hidden or do not exist (such as a true tool size in any readable format like pixels, not the whole Tool Size percentage aspect (Tool Sizes also vary between different presets and obviously tools...)).
The program's Help menu includes links to different resources. Online they offer guides, tutorials, and a forum.
All software is subjective to hardware installed, so with that in mind here is my current workhorse PC (A updated HP Z200 Workstation) specs I used for testing with all updated drivers...
CPU - Intel Core i5 CPU 660 @ 3.33GHz (2 Cores, 4 Threads)
Memory - 12 GB DDR3 total
Graphics - EVGA NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 Ti SC (Superclocked GM107) 1 GB (DDR5 memory)
Space - 2.5 TB hard drive disk space
System - Windows 8.1 Pro
Program Speed - Most things are responsive and lag free, but some Custom brushes even on a small screen-sized canvas makes ArtRage come to a crawl (nearly 10+ seconds of lag for less than 2 seconds of brush stroke).
Noticeable Lag - Many of the Custom Brush tool presets lag behind so quickly they can not be used except as tiny strokes. Just a few of those presets that cause extreme lag are Hair Strands 1, Pastel, Soft Grunge, Soft Scrub Blender, Simple Paint, etc. The one redeeming quality is all of the brushes with lag seem to be in the Custom Brush presets.
Page presets can be loaded or saved, image loaded for Tracing, and there are many Canvas options (3rd image). There are no options to set crops, bleed, guidelines, etc - however it has a very good Guideline system (2nd image) under the menu View -> Guides -> Add Guides At Point along with other options.
The color is strictly RGB, and if options exist during saving I do not know as saving is disabled in the demo.
File Formats - As saving is disabled in the demo I am using the options from my older purchased ArtRage (2.6) for them, which is the same as the demo's import options. Yes I know I should upgrade, especially as I have a 50% off coupon from my paid version.
- Open - PTG (ArtRage) Import - BMP /DIB /RLE (Windows Bitmap), JPG /JPEG /JPE /JFIF (JPEG), GIF, TIF /TIFF (TIFF), PNG, PSD (Photoshop Document), PTG (ArtRage)
- Save - PTG (ArtRage) Export - BMP /DIB /RLE (Windows Bitmap), JPG /JPEG /JPE /JFIF (JPEG), GIF, TIF /TIFF (TIFF), PNG, PSD (Photoshop Document)
The other option in the 3rd image is Custom Color Pickers that has various options. How to get them to do anything is beyond me as clicking, right-clicking, or dragging one anywhere in ArtRage does nothing. Perhaps a demo limitation.
Once a tool is selected Presets shows the available brushes (2nd image), with a menu for more presets on some brushes.
The last image is found with the Custom Brush tool and clicking the button Brush Designer. There are many various settings available from each of the three tabs along the top. I can only imagine ArtRage has import/export functions for brushes as well, but can find no options for it in the demo.
* In previous versions of ArtRage you could also import brushes from Adobe Photoshop, details. I do not know what versions of PS brushes, or if it does at all now in ArtRage 5.
Common Necessities - Other tools that are primarily tools, and is surprising lacking in some software making it necessary to include them briefly.
Paint Fill - 23 Blending modes, Opacity, Spread, Current layer only, Anti-alias edge, Gap tolerance, Slow motion - and tabs with options for Gradients, and Patterns with their own options.
Eraser - Options are Pressure, and Softness. Presets include eraser types Hard edge, Instant erase, Kneaded eraser, and Soft eraser.
Image Zoom - Onscreen button, shortcut controls, menu controls, Zoom to 100%. Zoom in/out on the mouse scroll wheel when holding CTRL. Zoom range 1% to 800%
View Rotate - Onscreen button, menu controls, and can be rotated at any angle. No shortcut keys are available.
Selection Tools - Rectangle, Ellipse, Polygon, Freehand (Lasso) Magic wand, and Paint area variations.
Not really surprised it is lacking, but definitely not a one-stop program unless your strictly painting.
Pros -
- A great feature packed painting program, and likely my favorite of any I've tested (which I assume is because I can just paint instead of messing with countless options).
- Interface of Docked tools/windows, or Classic style, both allow much customization.
- Nearly no program lag with mouse or tablet, except various Custom Brush presets.
- No monthly subscription costs
- French curves and rulers really aid artists at any level.
- The mix of other drawing tools and aids makes for a great painting experience.
- Upgrade discounts for future numbered programs
- The Text tool, but I can live with having to use another program for text, when I can paint in ArtRage.
- Several Custom Brush presets have unbearable lag.
- Brushes do not have a true size, just a percentage amount that greatly varies.
- Lack of certain commands, especially keyboard shortcuts, that are not available such as Rotate in either direction - see here. The Rotate option's floating tool though is the handy alternative.
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