2 requests

[romi]

i like how ArtRage is a small and focused app. but there's a few things i wish it has.

1. blend tool - the current palette knife blends to a certain degree. i guess depending on the amount of paint on the canvas. i find myself bringing my image to Painter to do the right amount of blending i desire. i'd like to stay in ArtRage if i can.

is there a switch in the current palette knife i'm missing that allows one to do unlimited blending?

2. blend modes for layers - like overlay, multiply, etc. i use it a lot in photoshop and painter.

cheers,
rom
primarymotion.com
snowblindstudios.com

[hanzz]

I agree on the blend modes. As we can import the psd format,with layers, it would indeed be a beautifull bonus to the package.

[AndyRage]

Hullo Hanzz! Nice to see you on the forum!
And thanks for the suggestions Romi.

Layer blend modes are high up on the list of features we are looking to add to a future release of ArtRage.

And regarding the palette knife - as well as the existing tool needing a re-work, we've considered having 'blender' tools.

Thanks for the suggestions.

AndyRage.

[John]

I agree, a blending capability is definatly needed!

[romi]

good news indeed. thanks Andy!

cheers,
Rom
primarymotion.com
snowblindstudios.com

[ulrik]

That's good news "Layer blend modes are high up on the list of features" :D

[bcmillustrator]

I've read with great interest the many requests fellow users of ArtRage are asking for.

The one thing I ask is that whatever you do, please don't get away from the painting paradigm. ArtRage does a great job in simulating the act of painting, and offers tools with which a painter is comfortable.

Rather than a special blender tool, I would prefer to see something like a soft brush with only thinner on it to do my blending.

Great job on ArtRage 2. I use it for 90% of my work now.

[AndyRage]

The one thing I ask is that whatever you do, please don't get away from the painting paradigm. ArtRage does a great job in simulating the act of painting, and offers tools with which a painter is comfortable.

Rather than a special blender tool, I would prefer to see something like a soft brush with only thinner on it to do my blending.

Great job on ArtRage 2. I use it for 90% of my work now.

Hi Brian.
We do definitely want to keep ArtRage a natural painting environment. And we're not wanting to replace every other tool in a digital artists toolbox. We'd end up with ArtRage as just more bloatware with an intimidating UI.
'Dry brushing' and 'wet brushing' are two things we need to consider. Watercolour is something I want to do, but I need to do it right, or not at all.
You have a very cool website, by the way. Very cool illustration work.

AndyRage.

[Tiznaught]

I agree, maybe having a soft cloth or brush option for blending, like in real life.
the pallette knife is nice, but I'd personally prefer something much smoother for the work I do on Artrage, especially in illustrating complicated background scenery and natural settings.

[PVIllustration]

That would indeed be very nice. Blending for different tools that behave accordingly, like the a dry very fine rag for pencil work, and some kind of big soft brush you would use to blend oils or acrylics.

actually the old pallette knife tool was magnificent in getting interesting blends... yeah, yeah, I'll shut up about that great tool that once were! ;)

[azathothgr]

First of all, hello all =)

Considering blending, how about having an 'alpha' channel added to color selection in general? I don't know really how much change in the engine that would require, but there's already opacity, and color on various brushes already interacts with color on the canvas..
That way you could select say 'transparent red' and paint with it over existing paint, with any painting tool (ie oils and the roller, maybe pastels too) and have glazing effects.
Also, there could be some basic watercolour-like effects in this way, and as for blending, that would be a color with it's alpha set to 0%.

It would basically represent the thinner amount mixed with the color. So a 100% thiner loaded brush would basically blend. And then, the amount or intensity of blending could be controlled by the wetness dial. 100% wet would produce drastic blending (just like it does now, only without any color info) , and 0% maybe none at all, or perhaps some glazing effect without affecting much the colors underneath.
That way there's enhancements, without adding extra tools and cluttering the interface, or altering too much existing ones.

Anyway that was my 2 cents on this matter, not that artrage isn't very very good as it is =)

[AndyRage]

Hi Asathothgr. welcome to the forum.
An upcoming release will definitely have colour alpha in some form. The original algorithm we wrote for the thick paint blending can't deal with alpha very well, so we need to write in support for 'gels'. Once I get the gels sorted, that will give us alpha that will work correctly for all of the types of thick media.

Watercolour is a complex system that deserves a tool of its own.

AndyRage.

[Charlie]

Gels sound very interesting.

Q. Is there a limit to the thickness of paint that ArtRage simulates?

[AndyRage]

Technical bit: ArtRage uses a 16bit depth buffer for paint thickness.
Non-technical bit: Do a thick stroke of oil - we could go about 20 times that depth.

I'm thinking I might shift to a 32 bit depth buffer. There are situations where bump 'tops out' that I dont like. And we could give more range to play with for a sculpted look on some of the media.

I have this mad vision of translucent gels with mica flecks, imbued with pearlescent veins flowing through it...

[Charlie]

Here is a fascinating link showing some of Rembrandt’s proposed painting techniques using burnt plate oil, a basic ingredient of printing ink, to produce his unique range of impasto effects in painting. (Notice the drips in the paint.)
http://www.northernlightstudio.com/burnoil.php

http://www.northernlightstudio.com/imagesburntoil/6adetailraking.jpg

I have a mad vision of syrupy twirls and candy peaks.

BTW I don't think you are mad! :D

[AndyRage]

Wow, that's SERIOUS impasto.
Yeah, that looks like a pretty compelling argument for 32bit depth buffers.
And gravity effects.
And cast shadows.
And translucent light transport.
...

[Fashmir]

Annnnnddy!!! Easy man...! I'm starting to get seriously aroused here.

[Sethren]

Translucent Gels with Mica Flecks
Pearlescent Veins
32bit depth buffers
Gravity effects
Translucent light
and Layer Blend Modes......

No way! I think i am being scanned and my head may explode...... :shock:

[NewCube]

I've still not really got my head around 'texture' (be it virtual or real) in art. I've always been a pencil and paper type of guy, AR is the first time I've used any type of oils. I keep erring towards marker, pencil and airbrush on 0% rough paper... Even if I do use oils, the thinner is near 100%!

I can't help it! To me, thick paint seems to make the piece less 'pure'. I'm clearly missing something because looking at the work of everyone here I can see 'texture' can enhance a work. Perhaps it's a question of scale? Do I need to work on huge canvases in order to allow the texture to enhance a piece rather than swamp and muddy it?

[Aged P]

Hi NewCube,

I'm with you, the only real way to paint is infinitely thin glazes, and then sort of just creep up on the picture.

I think that impasto and collage are really forms of sculpture. I have also done some clay bashing and chipping, and see the joy in it.

As ArtRage can do both* it suits a vast range of people.

The oft mentioned Bob Ross is the middle ground, soft, smooth, dead flat skys combined with textured trees that you could take an axe to!



*Well it can't really do glazes yet!

[Fashmir]

Glazes... <Fashmir looks out the window wistfully> ah glazes... You know... when I first saw the thinners dial on the oil brush tool, my heart leapt. Well... it's still good... I know Andy is the kind of code-warrior poet that will bring these things to life. I do have a hard time sometimes not jumping into Photoshop for actual pixel work on an ArtRage image that I want to improve to the level I know I'm capable of, but... so far I have only gone there for layer merges that preserve transparency, resizing and applying my signature. It is a self imposed limit. I know there is no rule or law that makes it so. I just want my ArtRage imagery to be... ArtRage imagery.