Review For: ArtRage Site Link: http://www.ambientdesign.com  Compatibility: Windows 2000/XP License: Freeware Date Reviewed: May 3, 2004 Rating:

    Want to paint, but don't want to spend the money on all those expensive paint supplies?  And don't forget the mess that pastels, paints, and crayons can make!  Luckily, this is the twenty first century and we now have digital replacements...

So what does it do?
     ArtRage is like having all the different kinds of art materials such as crayons, paint, markers etc. right in front of you, but the only difference is now you can do it for free without the mess.  To make it even better, the program is quite easy to learn, and most people will not even have to look at the help files (probably worth it to skim over them through). 

     If you would like to see a sample of what ArtRage can do, you can look to the left of this paragraph to see a poorly done picture that I drew in ArtRage.  As you can see, I am creative and am good in Adobe Photoshop...but when it comes to painting...I'm horrible...LOL.  However, if you aren't a good painter (like me), this program could also be used to create very neat backgrounds quickly and easily by just playing around.

Extra Features...
     Unfortunately, I was not able to test this out, but if you have a sketch tablet for your computer or a Tablet PC, you can draw just as if you were drawing with pencil and paper!  Additionally, the program will "understand" pressure when you push harder on your tablet.

The One And Only Flaw...Or Two...
     First of all, this program is not going to work well on slower computers.  You see, I have a 2 Gig Hertz computer with 512 MB of RAM, and I still noticed a little delay while painting.  What I am trying to say here, is if you have a slow computer...you may start to get a little frustrated.  As for the second flaw, it is only for Windows 2000 and XP.  That means all of you Windows 98, Me, etc. users won't be able to "get in with the fun".

     In conclusion, this is one cool program and is definitely worth checking out.  This program is so good, that I think it could stand up to programs like Adobe Painter (it isn't as good as Adobe Painter, but it is quite close...).