2 questions

[ladybadone]

Hi
First is the upgrade to AR5 worth it?
Second. Is there a setting where you can paint an the colors are just picked up.
I am basically cutting out pictures of cats for a non profit rescue sanctuary.
Cutting them out in PS. What I want to so is add a little bit to them after I cut them out with some fur brushes.
Make them look a little better. Is there a setting where as I paint the color is just auto picked or do I need to pick the color as I go along.
If this makes any sense. Like when you clone it auto picks the colors. That is what i want when I paint.
Thanks so much

[HannahRage]

Yes, absolutely, rush out and buy ArtRage 5 immediately :p

More seriously: ArtRage 5 has a lot of new features, which are worth paying for if you think you'll use them. See here for a list of new stuff https://www.artrage.com/artrage-5-upgrade-discount/ and try the demo here: www.artrage.com/demos


The second part of your question is possible... depending on what you want to do.

1. Tracing image: if you have an active tracing image, then you can set the colour to automatically pick from the tracing image. The colour will be chosen at the start of the stroke. So import your picture and then add it again as a tracing image (if it's a composite image, you might want to arrange it and then export a version to use for tracing).

ArtRage 5's custom brushes have an option to sample the tracing image as you draw, letting you get a much closer match; this is a bit more advanced, but if you choose the Custom Brush, open Presets, and browse the Fun category for 'Trace With Dots', it will give you an idea (and you can then tweak other brushes in the Brush Designer).

2. If you just want to add texture, you can paint on the layer below an imported picture, and the paint texture will show through.

3. If you just want to be sure you're picking the same colours before you make a stroke, hold ALT and click on the picture (or use the color sampler tool - the thin pointy one on the inside ring of the tool picker) and it will pick the colour.

[ladybadone]

I guess basically what I want to do is use my imported brushes from PS in the sticker brush option and then just trace around the outside of the cat where I cut it out. I want the color to be auto picked up as I go.
Is that possible?

[HannahRage]

The short answer is 'yes, but it's a little complicated and will depend on exactly the result you want'. Download the ArtRage 5 demo and follow the steps below to see what happens - there's a point where it gets very specific to the brushes/strokes you want to use. You can do the first options in other editions, the only ArtRage 5-specific one is the Custom Brush.



1. The easiest option is to just use ArtRage's tools. Not seeing the brushes you want to use, I can't tell you which one to start with, but the airbrush, ink pen, sticker spray and custom brush are all 'digital' effect tools that will let you get pretty close to most standard Photoshop brushes.

Here's an example of how the tracing image colour picking works:
http://artrageteam.deviantart.com/art/Tracing-in-ArtRage-Automatic-Color-Picking-447673465



2. Importing your Photoshop brushes.

A) Sticker Spray

This can import .abr (bitmap) brush heads by going to the Presets menu > menu > import photoshop brush.

You can then tweak the various settings until it gives you the effect you want. You might find it works fine exactly as it is when you import it, but if you need to adjust it:


If there's another preset you like, select that, then change to the imported brush head, and save that as a new preset (the settings only change if you pick another preset, you can change the actual sticker/head as much as you like).
For more help with setting up a preset, see https://ambient-design.tumblr.com/post/147670475987/creating-a-new-sticker-spray-part-2 and https://www.artrage.com/sticker-sprays-2-sticker-spray-settings/




The sticker spray brush will pick up the color from the tracing image with every new 'dab', so you can just draw and have it automatically pick up colour. You might want to adjust the size and spray rate to get the right distribution of strokes.


B) Creating a Custom Brush.

You can't import a photoshop brush file, but you can import the brush head shape (usually this is a PNG). If you want to use the custom brush instead of the sticker spray (they have different settings and options, like being able to add a grain effect over the shape of the dab), then:

a) Extract/copy the shape of the brush you want to use (make a dab, save it as a black and white PNG image)
b) Import it as a new head in the Brush Designer (Custom Brush > Settings > Brush Designer) and adjust as desired (see https://www.artrage.com/manuals/getting-started-artrage/artrage-5-quick-start-guide/custom-brush/ for help)
c) Go to the last tab (Color) and set 'Sample Tracing Image' up to 100%. This will make it pick a new colour with every dab instead of every stroke.




I recommend playing with all the options to see which you like best, and at that point, it's easy to offer more specific advice if you still need it.

[ladybadone]

I wish you could set the color picker to auto on all the brushes, not just the trace.

[HannahRage]

I'm not quite sure what you mean - the brushes need something to pick *from*, which is the tracing image. If they automatically picked colour as you painted from the paint underneath, it would just get really confusing whenever you added more strokes. You can just pick a colour from the canvas by holding 'ALT' before making a stroke.

[ladybadone]

Yes you are right. I am getting the hang of it now. Thank you so much ;)

[HannahRage]

Glad to hear it!