Review: ArtRage 3 Road Test
January 26th, 2010 | Published in Featured, Reviews, Software Reviews | 18 Comments
Painted version, using ArtRage 3
We mentioned a few weeks back that ArtRage 3 had been released. Today I decided to take the demo out for a spin, put it through its paces, and report back. The results were not very impressive, though I do see some improvement. I also see that the price tag of the full-featured version has increased from $25 USD to $80 USD, and the reduced-feature version has gone from free to $40. Quite a jump. Is it worth it? Not in my opinion, though I should mention that I’ve been using Corel Painter nearly every day for the last five years. Today’s exercise made me realize I’d been taking Painter for granted. It’s very powerful, and there’s really nothing else like it. That said, I believe it’s too expensive, bloated, and I wish someone would buy it from the meatheads at Corel and give it a proper home. The release last year of version 11 was a disaster, and I’m sticking with version 10 until they come out with an actual upgrade to the program. As you can tell, I’m not the typical Corel fanboi, but I do use Painter and love it. For the type of work I do everyday (photo painting for photographers), I’m afraid ArtRage 3 just won’t cut it. But I had fun playing with it today, anyway. Here’s what I found.
Original photo used, courtesy of Best Friends Photography.
As you can see from the before and after of the cute pup above, I was able to paint a passable portrait, using the equivalent of the smear brush in Photoshop, or the various blenders in Painter. These worked well for the dog. ArtRage has a cloning ability, though it’s not called that. It’s called a tracing. As with Painter, you can tell ArtRage to use a file for color information, to clone color. This is the way I work when altering photographs for photography studios, so it’s what I concentrated on during the “road test.” To use the tracing facility, you begin by creating a new painting, using the following dialogue box.
The new painting dialogue. Click on the green icon to bring in your file for tracing/cloning.
ArtRage conveniently allows you to determine your new file based on the size of the file you’re tracing. You can also just skip the trace file input, and work from scratch. You’ll also choose your paper texture here. The paper or canvas texture works much like Painter’s, except it doesn’t seem to “fill in” with paint; the texture remains fully visible no matter how much paint you apply. You can change the paper texture later, if you like.
After opening your new painting file, you can control the visibility of the color source image (the tracing), much like with Painter’s tracing paper. I like the controls and feel of ArtRage quite a bit, and don’t miss the Windows-clutter of Painter at all. You can easily switch the clone-color option off by clicking on the color palette, but to go back, you’ll need to dig into the menu to tell ArtRage to once again use the tracing for color information. The brushes, familiar from version 2.5, work well for color cloning, though I couldn’t get the palette knife to apply color to a blank canvas, either with color clone turned on or off. It may be designed that way. The new Sticker Spray brush doesn’t clone color accurately at all. Blues come in as yellow, or red…it seems broken.
In Painter, it’s common to start with a “Quick Clone,” which is a blank canvas. The tracing paper control allows you to see a ghosted image of the source you’re cloning. You can do the same with ArtRage, but here is where I really began to appreciate how well Painter does this. ArtRage does not bring in color accurately, to make a long story short. I tried to work from a blank canvas, and then clone back in from the original photo. The results were always crude and disappointing.
What worked much better was telling ArtRage, via the menu, to apply the tracing image to the canvas. This is like a standard clone in Painter, and it’s how I painted the dog at the top of the article. I used a soft variant of the palette knife, which worked just like a blender or the smear brush in Photoshop. New to version 3 are a whole new category of brushes, which seem to be made using a whole new technology. It takes some getting used to. It’s called the Sticker Spray brush. Stickers are similar to the Image Hose in Painter. But they also seem like a new direction for ArtRage, and I wish they had implemented it across the board instead of off to the side, so to speak. I also wish they had finished getting the bugs out before releasing it. There’s a lot of power and flexibility here, but the color cloning, as mentioned earlier, is broken. The colors are not even close to correct. ArtRage’s version of the Brush Creator is not intuitive or well-documented. Controls all over the place, in fact, have names which signal nothing to me. For instance, what the heck is “Drip Spike”? “Auto-flatten”?
ArtRage comes with a lot of brushes that remind me of a program my kids used to play with years ago, KidPix. Why anyone would want to paint with dominoes or cartoon leaves is beyond me. Interviews with the owners of ArtRage indicate they are trying to please everyone from grandma to professional illustrators. They seem to be taking the same road Painter did, adding all kinds of useless fluff with each new release. It’s a shame, because there’s a need for a nice, clean, strong painting program. Do digital artists really want stencils, rulers, and all the odd little toy brushes ArtRage offers? I doubt it. But that’s just my take. You can download and install the demo of ArtRage for free, and it’s good for thirty days. Give it a try, and let me know what you think.
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January 27th, 2010 at 9:49 am (#)
Bob… I think you were a little harsh. When I first upgrade to AR 3.0 I sort of shared your view but after playing with AR I love it’s ruler and stencils when it comes to drawing images. I think AR is the perfect compliment to Painter. I currently use Painter IX.5 and I agree Painter is becoming a bit bloated…
Cheers
Kenmo
January 27th, 2010 at 1:09 pm (#)
Hi Ken -
Thanks for your comments. I guess we’ll have to disagree on this one. ArtRage is the product of a small roomful of people in New Zealand. They don’t have the extra hours available to waste on odd toys that no one uses. Perhaps the ruler and stencil are useful, as you say. However, if they were to come up with fast, responsive, realistic brushes that don’t make your CPU groan (as Painter’s can do), they’d have a hit on their hands. I think they’re putting the cart before the horse, asking $80 before they even have a successful product.
Thanks again for contributing -
Bob
February 16th, 2010 at 7:27 pm (#)
Personally I think you were a little harsh too, but it confirms the ‘traditional painters love/pixel painters hate’ sort of impression I’m getting, from recommending it to people
You do have a major error in the first part though:
“…the price tag of the full-featured version has increased from $25 USD to $80 USD, and the reduced-feature version has gone from free to $40.”
The old version (2.5) has in fact dropped to $20 from $25. The $40 version is the NEW version, ArtRage Studio, with slightly fewer options than the $80 Studio Pro (hence the ‘pro’)
The oldest version (1.1 I think) is still free.
The colour: there’s an option to switch colour modes they’ve brought in a ‘real colour blending’ option which isn’t perfect but pretty good.
I don’t even know what colour cloning is – guess that’s a Corel term?
“Do digital artists really want stencils, rulers, and all the odd little toy brushes ArtRage offers? ”
“Controls all over the place, in fact, have names which signal nothing to me. For instance, what the heck is “Drip Spike”? “Auto-flatten”?”
People from traditional backgrounds do. These are ‘normal’ brushes, not digital artificial ones. That’s where some of the names come from too.
For example:
“…though I couldn’t get the palette knife to apply color to a blank canvas”
Uh. it’s a palette knife. Those are for spreading paint around. Why WOULD it apply colour?
Also, some of this is just unfamiliarity – auto-flatten for the stickers is obviously flattening them rather than leaving them 3d. Drip spike is the amount of dripping and spread when using the (wet, was it?) palette knife (which makes an awesome watercolour effect…)
And I can say that opening Corel, or Photoshop, I have a play around then give up and have to open a manual. Which of course, puts me right off. Because I don’t know what the labels mean. And it’s not intuitive…
This is a PAINTING program, not a digital manipulation program-thing. I don’t know… I just feel like your experiment/example completely missed most of the point of ArtRage.
February 25th, 2010 at 10:18 am (#)
After using ArtRage since the first release and using Painter since the first release, I almost never use Painter any more. It always takes some time getting used to a new program, your article shows that. It even seem you did not read the manual properly since the vocabulary in ArtRage telles you nothing. ArtRage got it’s stickers, Painter got it’s nozzles… Almost the same thing. ArtRage stickers are 1000 times easier to create than Painter nozzles…
I still use Painter (XI) now and then but prefere ArtRage. It is simple and intuitive with a workflow many times speedier tahn Painter. Still there are some things missing in ArtRage that Painters got. But this is version 3. Painter is version 11. And it’s the best Painter version. Much better than 10. That’s my opinion
March 18th, 2010 at 2:11 am (#)
I find it interesting that all three of the responses that you got above are long time Art Rage advocates, as anyone can see by going to the ArtRage forums.
Like most software, ArtRage has it’s good and bad points. Thanks for the even handed review, Bob.
BTW- Me? I use Painter X and 11, ArtRage 3 Pro, Photoshop and Twisted Brush. Unlike some, I use the right tools to get the job done. Oh also traditional water colours.
March 19th, 2010 at 1:03 pm (#)
Late Night –
Thanks for your comment. I try to be honest with my reviews, and I don’t have an agenda. I’m not “pro-Painter” or “anti-Art Rage.” I use Painter and Photoshop, and I continue to try out other products occasionally. Reading my past articles, you’ll see I’m quite upfront with my feelings about Corel and their mishandling of Painter. These things are tools, not sacred cows. I hope that my evaluation of Art Rage will be taken in the spirit it was offered: to make it better.
Bob
March 19th, 2010 at 1:46 pm (#)
Well said, Bob. Your reviews do strike me as being as objective as possible while still expressing your opinion. Even handed is the word.
It seems that some of the ArtRage fanbois want ArtRage to be highly developed after only a few years. How long has Photoshop or Painter been around? Since the early 1990’s-at least. As you said, these are TOOLS, not objects of religious worship. I always chuckle when I see that type of slavish devotion. Can’t you just see your auto mechanics at the garage sitting around on their coffee break arguing whether Snap On Tools or Sears tools are better!?!
March 30th, 2010 at 2:59 pm (#)
Hi Bob,
I would like to ask how you got your facts? You are a professional? As far as your opinion, it is your right to give it as you see it. It amazes me that you can be so wrong and yet never even admit it by leaving the incorrect FACTS posted for anyone to read and “believe” as truth even after being advised about it. Where is the professionalism there? Whats wrong with people today???? hummm The truth is out there somewhere…….obviously not here in your story.
You are reaching so many people with false information. Are you proud of that? Please post the REAL FACTs or remove this false information. If you want people to respect you and your opinions,,,at least get the facts right. geez!
March 30th, 2010 at 3:22 pm (#)
Robert –
If I’ve gotten something wrong, perhaps you could set the record straight. No where in your comment do you say what exactly you take issue with.
This is my personal blog, to answer your question. I publish this blog once a week to share my knowledge (and opinions) with whomever decides to stop by and read. I make no money from this blog, other than a few affiliate sales once in a blue moon.
You are free to do the same and tell your side of the story. It’s a free Internet (except in China).
-Bob
March 30th, 2010 at 3:40 pm (#)
Hi Bob,
If you read Flynns post it says it correctly exactly what facts are wrong. That is what I was refering to. Sorry for the confusion.
April 16th, 2010 at 10:08 pm (#)
It’s true that Painter is more expensive and has a more cluttered interface, but the program feel natural to use. Although Artrage 3 is powerful I could never get over the feeling that I was using a toy.
May 5th, 2010 at 1:05 pm (#)
Let’s set the record straight:
Once again, a well known Art Rage advocate fails to identify his bias. Robert Howles (aka Bobby Ray Howles) is the founder, guiding force and website designer for ARTRAGEOUS, a fanboi magazine for (surprise, surprise) Artrage.
http://www.artrageus.net/
People such as these are NOT your average software user, but deliberately fail to identify themselves in order to push their favorite software. In other words, they have a hidden agenda.
As scheppel said above, ArtRage still feels like a toy. As such, these advocates can only dream of future possibilites and rail against any objective opinions that don’t think ArtRage is the best thing since sliced religion. Sorry peeps, it just aint so. Ignorance ain’t blis, it’s just ignorance.
Cheers Bob!
June 3rd, 2010 at 3:13 pm (#)
HI there,
Well sorry but I fail to see why you stalk me and slander me. Mr. no name. humm thats you LATE NIGHT. I guess you work for BOB, hu? secret agenda….???? Yes now we know the truth.
Shame on you BOB for allowing this criminal activity on your blog. You are promoting it so it must be meeting your approval/request and makes you legally liable too.
If you do not want professional opinions, then continue your mission of ignorance and slander the pros. hehe
BOB and LATE NIGHT ( whatever your real name is) if you wish to continue this childish game….lets take it to court.??? Are either of you man enough to be responsible for your rude and slanderous words and actions? Thought not.
If you want to test me….just let me know by saying something else.
You know where to find me and I, you both. legally..so whats it going to be boys?
July 23rd, 2010 at 6:45 am (#)
Nice review. Having tried out both ArtRage3 and Painter11, Painter11 does have the features that easily supersede ArtRage. On the flip side, as Bob and Ken pointed out, it is quite bloated. The high CPU usage with both programs was however really very disappointing. The doubling of the price for ArtRage’s pro edition might not appeal to everyone but it is still considerably cheaper than Painter. ArtRage definitely seems to be the program to go for if you are starting out in digital art and/or if you have a limited budget. It would be nice if ArtRage is able to steer clear of the “bloatware” path that Painter seems to have taken and of course fix the high CPU issue. Unfortunately even though many people reported the high CPU issue with Painter11 when it first came out, the subsequent service pack hasn’t fixed it. Feel free to correct me if I am wrong but sadly there isn’t really a viable open-source or free alternative to either Painter or ArtRage. There are ways to do things in GIMP but it isn’t a dedicated product for this purpose.
The commenter flynn makes some valid points. However, they seem to be more of a difference in perspective than any technical fallacy in the review. It was amusing to see the other ArtRage “advocate” though. He first makes crass ad-hominems without any technical aegis of his own. Then, on his vested interest being exposed, rants like the insidious school bully trying to wheedle out of being taken to the principal on being caught red-handed while playing a prank. No pun intended to ArtRage for which I have high hopes, but that was a very good example of “net rage”.
August 8th, 2010 at 10:42 pm (#)
“Net Rage” indeed!
I can see that individual practically foaming at the mouth.
Well said, Manas.
Cheers
September 30th, 2010 at 10:03 pm (#)
I have Painter 11 and Artrage Pro 3. I really used to like older versions of Painter better. Although I have obtained excellent natural media results in Painter, I feel bound by its slow brushes, poorly designed interface and poor customer service (it didn’t work for 8 months till service pack and Corel didn’t care a bit).
Artrage is not as well simulated in oil, but its got a better pencil and watercolour – and it makes me FEEL like creating when I open up the program. Painter makes me feel like I’m opening up a the brush equivalent of Microsoft Word.
I use both, and Artrage was still a bargain compared to Painter upgrades. Also I like to support the New Zealand developers since I live in Australia.
Artrage can only get better whereas Painter seems to be getting worse.
October 1st, 2010 at 7:17 pm (#)
Mark –
I have stayed put on Corel X, since I saw no compelling reason to upgrade. If they had talked about improving the layers so that a save doesn’t take 5 minutes if you have several layers, or if they’d come out with a 64 bit version, then maybe. I don’t see 11 as a full upgrade, just some minor fixes, which should have been given away as 10.5.
Bad customer service? Couldn’t agree more. Corel is arrogantly oblivious to their customers’ needs and concerns. It’s all about the money. Let’s hope that one of two things happens:
1- Someone (Adobe, perhaps) buys Painter and gives it the overhaul it needs, or
2- Photoshop CS6 fulfills the promise we can see in the new Mixer Brush in CS5. Once Adobe completes their brush improvements for Photoshop, Painter will drop by the wayside. I have a feeling that Corel knows their days are limited, and so are not motivated to put the time and money into Painter that it needs. Hence, the half-assed, incredibly buggy release known as Painter 11. Just Corel’s attempt to squeeze a few more bucks out of the users before they all migrate to Art Rage and/or Photoshop.
November 4th, 2010 at 4:52 pm (#)
Hi everybody. Interesting discussion going on here.
Bob I agree with you. Painter is a good software but it might be coming to its end although I hope they make their software better in the next version. I also feel photoshop is becoming much better. Maybe some day if I can afford it I’ll buy it. Ultimately the thing about these software is how people use them. To some people painter might fulfill their needs. On the other hand some people might be fully satisfied with photoshop and artrage. Although they might end up getting the same result but with unique tools that they consider crucial to their productivity.
I have recently bought Artrage Studio Pro 3 for $80 which is the most featured rich of all the Artrage versions. Because it is specifically a paint program it does have its advantages and I like the software very much. On the other hand Painter is an accepted industry standard in digital painting and Photoshop is a huge tool with a huge set of functions and I am amazed by its functionality and the way it can be used for stuff. But it has a huge price tag which only a professional or a very dedicated hobbyist can afford although I consider myself a hobbyist but with a limited budget. As for Artrage I have seen people like Nick Harris create great paintings in Artrage. and so I think that I have made a good decision and will be able to achieve my goals with this software. I also believe that in the years to come Artrage hopefully will be a solid alternative to the Photoshop and Painter.
I think in the end, user ideas are the ones that make a huge difference in software development. Some good points here although there were some difficult exchanges but in the end something good will come out of this discussion which I think that Ambient will hopefully pay heed to. As an artrage user I will like the software to become better in every way possible. Thanks for the article bob. I am always glad to see critique on software because it helps make it better.