Interesting Art software

[ninja-usagi]

Came across this while looking into other art soft.

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Timur Baysal has a look at his experimental project, Verve Painter. Verve is a small painting application that uses fluid dynamics and brushes to push the paint around, with great results. Verve is still in early development, but from the demonstration, it seems incredibly fun and tactile to work with.......

Read more here (and download link).
http://lesterbanks.com/2014/03/verve...ynamics-paint/

[ninja-usagi]

Oh, a few of you may find this of interest also:

Mischief 2.0
https://www.madewithmischief.com/ (free and paid downloads)



I've used the above software and while its very nice, I wish its tool base, pencils, watercolours etc were as varied
as Artrage's.

Worth you trying out though just so you can mess about with the infinite canvas.

[D Akey]

Looks like brand spanking new, and the early days of a program. Good luck to him. Thanks for posting.

[Slap Happy Larry]

Thanks for those links. I've been mucking around with Verve after it came through a Reddit feed last week. The way you can push paint around is truly amazing, though I don't think it's at the point where I'm willing to put a whole heap of time into learning it yet. Part of that is because it's very hotkey based, and I don't trust my own ability to switch between software -- like switching from a Japanese made car to a European one, where the indicator is on the opposite side of the steering wheel. If I have to drive both, I end up either turning the windscreen wipers on at inadvertent opportunities or having to think 'now which car am I in?' every single time I need to indicate. At this point, I've got the Artrage workflow to a point where I can just concentrate on the painting without thinking about what I'm doing with the pen and keyboard.

I hadn't heard of Made With Mischief, but downloaded their free version via the Mac store. If I ever have to paint with vectors then I might buy the full version, which apparently allows layers but few other advantages that I can make out. I wanted to try out that infinite zoom thing. (After losing what I'd sketched then trying to work out how to get it back in an infinite canvas) I was left thinking, 'Man, I would never finish a painting,' because of course you can add as much detail as you have time for. I wondered how artists might be making use of it. If we were creating assets for a website or app and wanted to make use of that 'zoom in' functionality then the makers of the software would need to release their API, if they have one. (Since it's at an early stage, I doubt it? But should it be in the works, in this new age in which art and programming are merged?)

Still, after playing a bit with these two pieces of software I'm excited for the future of art software. And for now, sticking to Artrage...

[hildee]

Verve looked interesting enough for me to download, but I got frustrated because I couldn't figure out how to return to brush when I was in move canvas mode. The UI has very small toggle buttons, they're a little too small. After watching the vid though, I might have another go. I had a look at Mischief a few months back but I easily get frustrated with detail and the way it zooms in - amazing but a little daunting

[markw]

...If I ever have to paint with vectors then I might buy the full version, which apparently allows layers but few other advantages that I can make out. I wanted to try out that infinite zoom thing...

I suppose the big advantage with Mischief's near infinite zoom is the freedom it gives you when it comes to printing your work.
In theory you need never have to worry about setting up your canvas print resolution and size before putting paint to canvas.
As, effectively you set it as part of the export process of your finished piece.

[Slap Happy Larry]

I suppose the big advantage with Mischief's near infinite zoom is the freedom it gives you when it comes to printing your work.
In theory you need never have to worry about setting up your canvas print resolution and size before putting paint to canvas.
As, effectively you set it as part of the export process of your finished piece.

That is true -- I can see the advantage if there's a chance your art will be reproduced at super large sizes, but for the sake of layout and in the interests of good design, don't you always need to define the edges of your 'paper' (or whatever) somehow? Certainly that's the case for picturebooks, which is my main interest.

I didn't find much on the web yet of artists making use of Mischief -- or at least not of much uploading videos to YouTube and whatnot -- but I did come across one guy who reviewed the software and found it very good for coming up with concepts. With the infinite canvas you can keep sketching your character etc until you come up with a workable one, and you don't need to decide beforehand how big to make your canvas.

When I first saw Mischief's promo vid I thought of its application in a game or children's play app, in which the infinite zoom itself could form a transition between, say, a view of a house on a prairie -- user touches one of the windows and is taken inside a room, taps on a mirror and is taken into a fantasy world. That sort of thing would be cool. But the 'zoom' itself is seen only by the artist working on the painting.

[Slap Happy Larry]

Verve looked interesting enough for me to download, but I got frustrated because I couldn't figure out how to return to brush when I was in move canvas mode. The UI has very small toggle buttons, they're a little too small. After watching the vid though, I might have another go. I had a look at Mischief a few months back but I easily get frustrated with detail and the way it zooms in - amazing but a little daunting

Yes, those are some very small knobs. Better perhaps to use hotkeys -- there's a cheatsheet on his forum.

[hildee]

Better perhaps to use hotkeys -- there's a cheatsheet on his forum.

Yep, I nabbed that and had a bit more of a play. I can get more fluidity now. I think you have to use a program a lot to remember the hotkeys. My memory isn't all that great these days. We're off on hols & without internet so it'll be fun playing with this, give me something to do

Taron is a really friendly guy, good communicator.

[Slap Happy Larry]

Yep, I nabbed that and had a bit more of a play. I can get more fluidity now. I think you have to use a program a lot to remember the hotkeys. My memory isn't all that great these days. We're off on hols & without internet so it'll be fun playing with this, give me something to do

Taron is a really friendly guy, good communicator.

Taron does seem really friendly. I like when he gets interrupted by his cats in those YouTube videos he uploads.

I tend to keep things like cheatsheets open on a second monitor. So much for my memory.