/ Artrage https://www.artrage.com Tue, 13 Apr 2021 09:14:44 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://www.artrage.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/cropped-ArtRage-6-Logo-32x32.png Artrage https://www.artrage.com 32 32 ArtRage Vitae Mobile https://www.artrage.com/artrage-vitae-mobile/ Tue, 13 Apr 2021 09:14:44 +0000 https://www.artrage.com/?p=137179 Read More...

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ArtRage Vitae Mobile is now available via the Appstores from Apple, Google and Amazon.

   

ArtRage Vitae Web Page ]]>
Painting Maps with Avant Novis & ArtRage https://www.artrage.com/painting-maps/ Wed, 24 Oct 2018 03:14:47 +0000 https://www.artrage.com/?p=130517 Read More...

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The folks at Avant-Novis have been making maps and taking videos!

Check out their YouTube channel for a series of tutorials on how to paint fantasy maps using ArtRage and check them out on Facebook to see when they will be streaming more.

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ArtRage for Android supports your Samsung S Pen https://www.artrage.com/artrage-android-supported-stylus-features/ Sun, 22 Apr 2018 13:11:14 +0000 http://www.artrage.com/?p=6205 Read More...

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Express yourself with the Samsung S Pen in ArtRage for Android!

Painting with a finger in ArtRage for Android is great, but if you’re looking to take your art to the next level with the most precise and expressive paint strokes the Samsung S Pen on compatible devices is second to none.

artrage android butterfly

S Pen Features:

Precision Design

The point of the S Pen is the same size as a real world ballpoint pen which makes drawing with it smooth and precise. See exactly where your paint will be applied, and control the shape of your strokes with ease.

Pressure Sensitivity

Sometimes you need a delicate touch of watercolor for shading, or a bold pencil stroke to make an outline, and by responding to changes in the pressure ArtRage for Android lets you accomplish this with the S Pen. It’s the closest thing to painting with a real brush, pencil, chalk, or any other tool on your Android device.

Pen Tilt

If your S Pen supports Pen Tilt you can use this in ArtRage to add further variation to your strokes. Tilt the while you’re sketching with a pencil to shade with the edge of the lead, or tilt with an airbrush to control the direction and spray of the paint.

Paintings Made with ArtRage and S Pen

Take a look at some of the paintings made by artist Bo Paweena using ArtRage to see examples of how oils, watercolors, pencils, and more gain an extra level of expressiveness when using the S Pen!

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samsung galaxy note 4 artrage android photo3

How To Get ArtRage for Android

ArtRage for Android is available free of charge from Galaxy Gifts if you own one of the following Samsung devices:

  • Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 and S3
  • Samsung Galaxy Tab A
  • Samsung Galaxy Note 4, Note 5, and Note Edge

Just check the Galaxy Gifts app on your device and search for ArtRage. On any other Samsung device you can purchase ArtRage for Android from the Galaxy Store, or from the Google Play Store.

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Artist Feature: Steve Elliott (Landscape Art) https://www.artrage.com/artist-feature-steve-elliott/ Wed, 21 Mar 2018 13:36:31 +0000 https://www.artrage.com/?p=129788 Read More...

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Steve Elliott is a landscape artist from a small village called Castle Donington in the UK. He likes to paint dreamy, impressionist scenes from around England, and creates tutorial videos on YouTube. In this interview he shares his techniques for working with ArtRage’s watercolors and oils, and talks about the stories and processes behind his artwork.


How would you describe your art style? What subjects do you prefer to paint?

I am definitely influenced by the Impressionists, Monet, Van Gogh and I am a big fan of Turner. My style is loose as I strive to produce a painting with the minimum amount of brush strokes. My personality helps here. I am impatient by nature and like to see things progress quickly. I can’t be doing with detail. I might include small areas of detail in a painting but like to leave large areas for the eye to complete.

Although I have dabbled with realism and photographic style painting, it’s not a style I’m comfy with. I’m probably a bit unusual with the the subjects I prefer to paint as I am just at home working on a portrait or a landscape.

I think though, there are two themes that are evident in both my portraits and landscapes, and they are:

  1. Light. The thing that inspires me to paint any subject is usually the light, whether it be long shadows cast by a group of trees, light bouncing of a wet roof after a rain storm or an halo of light outlining a person for a portrait.

  2. I like a painting to tell a story. To spark an idea that the viewer can follow, I usually give a clue to a story with the title. The viewer can then take that story in any direction.
Websites

Website: www.steveelliottart.co.uk

Social Media: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
Tutorials: YouTube
Stratford-upon-Avon
Derby Cathedral

How long have you used ArtRage?

I first discovered ArtRage way back when I bought my first generation iPad. I came across the app on the iPad store. From there I visited the website to discover there was a PC version.

I loved the idea of traditional tools in a painting app and fell in love with it from the off. It felt so natural and intuitive. At that point I didn’t take it too seriously though, as I had no touch sensitive pen or any way of enlarging images to a size big enough to print. So I didn’t do much with it for a while. It was only after I bought an iPad Pro with an Apple Pencil and a Wacom Intuos Pro that I took digital art seriously. That was about 9 months ago. Since then I have switched completely to digital media. Painting in my studio every day.

Birmingham Bus by Steve Elliott
Birmingham Bus

What do you use ArtRage for? What are your favourite tools or features?

I use ArtRage for the natural tools available. When I paint I’m trying to achieve a natural looking painting or sketch that is not easily identified as a digital piece, for that reason ArtRage is the perfect fit for me. The brushes are excellent. I haven’t yet felt a need to create my own brushes, but I’m sure that will come. When I use ArtRage, I would, in most instances, use it for the complete process of a painting from initial sketch to adding the finishing brush strokes. On rare occasions I may import a sketch that I’ve drawn in a separate app or scanned in.

My favourite tools are without doubt the watercolour brushes. I come from a background of watercolour painting and the first tools I always turn to in any app are the watercolour brushes. My favourite tool in combination with the watercolour brushes is the ‘Harsh Chaos’ preset for the palette knife that when used alongside my custom Delicate wet in wet brush produces a near perfect wet in wet effect. I demonstrate these two brushes in detail on my YouTube channel.

I also really like the docking mode in Artrage 5. I work exclusively in this mode now. I spent quite a bit of time organising all my favourite tool palettes and creating several toolboxes for different types of painting. With a few clicks at the start of a project, I now have all the tools I need at my fingertips without cluttering the screen, leaving plenty of space to paint.

Do you consider your approach to painting to be more digital or traditional? Has ArtRage changed how you paint or draw?

I definitely approach a painting as a traditional painter. When I first started using ArtRage my workflow was an exact replica of how I worked with traditional paint and canvas/paper. However, that has changed considerably since the early days. Although I still strive to achieve a traditional look to my paintings the initial approach is different, especially with oil paints. I no longer begin with a sketch when using oils, I go straight into the painting beginning with almost abstract shapes laying down colour, continually looking for form and refining the detail until I achieve what I am looking for.

Digital painting has opened up a whole new palette of colours to me. As a traditional painter, the cost of a tube of paint makes it easy to settle for a limited range of colours that you know will work. For years I painted watercolours with only 5 tubes of paint. I know the possible combinations from mixing those colours was vast, but still restricting. Switching to digital has changed all that. There are no longer financial restrictions on my colour palette and I have experimented enormously with colours, which is reflected in my paintings. I’ve also used ArtRage to sample palettes of the Masters like Monet and Turner and experimented with those. I am now way more confident using colour.

The same financial cost can be applied to canvas and paper, making it so much more affordable to experiment and push one’s own boundaries with paint techniques.

Right: Snowy Night in Donington

What does your workflow look like? How would you go about planning and creating a painting?

When planning a painting, I know I should be making pages of thumbnails for a painting, deciding on composition, tonal contrast and colour, but I rarely do that. I always have at least half a dozen ideas in the pipeline waiting to be painted. My inspiration will come from real life, whether a portrait, landscape or urban scene and I work from photographs that I have taken. It’s really important that I have taken the photo myself. I’m not a particularly good photographer, but I always have my phone with me. Whenever I see something that inspires me I a grab a quick picture, and that is usually enough for me to get started. When I return to the photo, I’m always disappointed, it invariably isn’t what I thought I was looking at. However, it’s enough to jog my memory to what I saw and the rest seems a natural process. I can see the finished painting in my head, so off I go. Sometimes I lose my way and take detours, so I wouldn’t say it’s an easy process, just a very natural one.

The process itself depends on which medium I’m using. A watercolour painting usually begins with a fairly tight sketch unless it’s a really loose landscape with a huge sky, then I wont bother with the sketch. Once the sketch is done I lock the layer and create a new one. I then apply a light wash of local colour to the whole of the paper, I usually leave some areas white, then again I lock the layer and create a new one. I then build up colour with stronger washes, either in hue or tone. Once I’m happy with the outcome I will merge the two layers down, lock and create another new layer. I continue like this working over the whole of the painting, jumping from area to area. Usually in watercolour, at some point, I will add a flat wash of colour over the shadows of a painting to add dramatic lighting then use the blend modes and opacity to fine tune the effect. I work like this adding and merging layers until I have a finished painting.

Left: Stratford Swans

Oil painting is a very different process. I have totally eliminated the sketching stage and I usually begin by covering the canvas with a mid tone complementary colour to how I imagine the finished painting. This allows me to judge tones as I paint, it also gives a vibrancy to the finished painting where the complementary colour is allowed to show through subsequent layers of paint. I then lock that layer and create a new layer and start searching for shapes with local colour.

I prefer to work exclusively on one layer at this stage allowing me to blend colours as each stroke touches an adjacent colour. When I say ‘blend’, I don’t mean overblending two colours together until there is no apparent join, just the effect that the ArtRage app applies to two oil paints that touch. I love the ‘unclean brush’ and ‘just blend color’ oil brush presets for this.

I will create new layers for the focal point of a painting. If I think the focal point looks ‘stuck on’ I will merge the layers and soften the edge. I usually finish by creating a new layer, set the bump blend mode to ‘add’ and paint in any highlights. This usually requires the opacity to be lowered to about 50%. I then sign the finished painting and continue painting for at least another hour as I spot things that need tweaking.

Detailed Tutorial in Artrage 5 – How to paint a watercolour, wet in wet sky

The video below is a long, detailed tutorial on how to paint a sky with watercolour wet in wet techniques. This video is in real time, you get to see every brush stroke as it is applied to the canvas, or in this case, watercolour paper. I discuss in detail the brushes, tools and techniques I use to create a realistic watercolour effect. For those that want to follow along the canvas is set to A4 at 300 dpi. This is the first of a series of videos I have planned.

What tips would you share with other artists?

Paint from life:

As a landscape painter, I work from photographs a lot, but before I could use photographs effectively I spent many hours with a sketchbook drawing from life, studying how the changing light and weather affects a scene, and I still do this. I think the experience that brings cannot be replicated any other way. There are no short cuts. You need to get out there and paint from life. The more you paint from life the better you will get. Once you have experience painting from life a photograph becomes an extension of that, not just an image to copy.

Learn the program at your own pace:

For me learning Artrage was a methodical task. I didn’t try and master everything at once. I began with the watercolour brushes tried them out, got really comfy with them. Once I was happy with the brushes, I started to explore layers. I was well into my first few paintings before I looked at blending modes. I then moved onto other media, like oil paint and pastels. Believe it or not, I hadn’t tried coloured pencils until I came to write this article. Check out the Art Community Tutorials on this website. YouTube is a fantastic resource with lots of ArtRage videos and don’t forget to subscribe and watch my YouTube channel!

Woodland by Steve Elliott

Woodland

Vegan Coffee

Tell us about a painting that means something special to you.

This is a very personal piece, called, ‘I’ll have a vegan coffee please, in a zero waste cup’. It shows what appears to be a business man in a coffee bar. I like the idea of a business man being concerned about the environment.

Right: Vegan Coffee
Below: Father and SonFather and Son by Steve Elliott

The painting came about because my grandson was born premature at 26 weeks, he had spent 5 months in hospital, 60 miles away from home with his Mum and at this point, was very close to coming home. During the final week in hospital we were allowed out for a few hours, so we visited a local coffee bar/restaurant called the Boston Tea Party, that served vegan food and drinks with zero waste cups. It was a magical moment for us all and we had a very chilled out few hours. As always, I was on the look out for my next painting, so I took a few pics with my phone.

My grandson is now home and doing well and the finished painting now brings back happy memories.

This was an experiment for me. I painted this on the iPad Pro, using the ‘hard squeeze’ tube of paint and the ‘hard out smudge’ palette knife. I recorded the script so I could import it into Artrage 5 and rescale to a printable size.

Creating ‘Vegan Coffee’

The iPad painting process was recorded as a video, and later the script was played back in ArtRage 5 on the desktop as well.

Using the photo as a guide, the Paint Tube was used to lay down thick oil paint.

Vegan Coffee WIP 1 by Steve Elliott
1
Vegan Coffee WIP 2 by Steve Elliott
2
Vegan Coffee WIP 3 by Steve Elliott
3

The Flat Palette Knife preset was used to blend the thick paint

The entire painting was recorded as a script, and played back at a larger resolution in ArtRage 5 afterwards.

Vegan Coffee WIP 7 by Steve Elliott

Extra Artwork

Art painted in other programs.

Above: Rainy Day At Artisan Market    Right: Homecoming

Below: Walking The Dog

Non-Artrage: Walking The Dog by Steve Elliott

About the Artist

Name: Steve Elliott
Country: England
Job: Self Employed Artist
Art Style: Landscapes, traditional techniques, Impressionist
Background: Traditional

Tools

ArtRage Edition: ArtRage 5, ArtRage for iOS

Platforms and Hardware: Windows PC, iPad Pro

Used ArtRage for: Nine months



See more of Steve Elliott’s work at www.steveelliottart.co.uk and follow him on Facebook , Twitter, and Instagram. You can also watch his painting tutorials on YouTube.

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Artist Feature: Batuhan Bayrak (Turkish) https://www.artrage.com/artist-feature-batuhan-bayrak/ Wed, 14 Mar 2018 16:55:59 +0000 https://www.artrage.com/?p=129773 Read More...

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Batuhan BAYRAK 1995 istanbul doğumlu grafik tasarımcı ve kaligrafi sanatçısıdır. Üniversitede tasarım bölümünden mezun olduktan sonra serbest olarak çizerlik yapmakta. Kitap,dergi ve basılı medya için illüstrasyonlar yapıyor.

Batuhan Bayrak is a graphic designer and calligraphy artist, born in 1995 in Istanbul. After graduating from a design degree, he now draws illustrations for books, magazines and print media.

Note: English translations are edited by ArtRage staff. Our apologies for any errors.


What kind of artist are you? What kind of subjects do you draw?

Geleneksel sanattan aldığı ilhamı dijital ile birleştirerek çalışmalarına devam etmektedir. Genellikle seçtiğim figürler insan tasvirleri veya canlılar oluyor.

I combine digital art with traditional techniques. I usually do portraits for posters and editorial works. When I do special work, it is usually animal themed.

What artwork are you particularly proud of creating in ArtRage?

‘Mustapha Pasha’, painted with the palette knife and oil brush. This portrait was inspired by a historical figure.

Right: Mustapha Pasha

Websites

Batuhan Bayrak’s art can be found online at the following websites: Behance | Instagram

Mustapha Pasha by Batuhan Bayrak
Great Tit by Batuhan Bayrak

Painting of a Great Tit

Eastern double-collared sunbird by Batuhan Bayrak

Painting of an Eastern double-collared sunbird

Alp Arslan by Batuhan Bayrak
Alp Arslan
Soldier by Batuhan Bayrak
Soldier
Poster Design on artrage by Batuhan Bayrak
Poster Design

Why do you use ArtRage? What do you like about the program?

Artrage programının en sevdiğim yönü çalışırken sanki gerçek fırçalar ile çalışıyormuşsunuz gibi eserlerinizi oluşturuyor olmanız. Birçok yazılım denedikten sonra artrage’in bu iş için en uygun yazılım olduğu kanaatine vardım. Dijital boyama yaparken gerçekçi fırçalar ve dokular arayanların denemesi gereken bir uygulama.

Below: Calligraphic Portrait Series

ArtRage makes me feel free when painting and my works become more realistic. It allows me to work traditionally, and the quality of my work is increased thanks to the software. My favorite tools are the palette knife and oil paint brushes, they are very realistic, but I find all the tools useful.

My favourite aspect of ArtRage is that, when you work with the program, you are creating your pieces as if you were working with a real brush. After testing a lot of software, I was convinced that ArtRage was the best software for this job. I recommend this application to artists seeking to paint with realistic brushes and textures.

Portrait 1 by Batuhan Bayrak
Portrait 2 by Batuhan Bayrak
Portrait 3 by Batuhan Bayrak
Portrait 4 by Batuhan Bayrak
Inktober Bird by Batuhan Bayrak
Inktober Bird

Inktober Bird

About the Artist

Name: Batuhan Bayrak
Country: Istanbul, Turkey
Job: Professional illustrator
Art Style: Traditional techniques, portraits and animals
Background: Traditional art and design

Tools

ArtRage Edition: ArtRage 5

Platforms and Hardware: Windows desktop and graphics tablet

Used ArtRage for: Six months


See more of Batuhan’s work and follow him on Behance, and Instagram

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Artist Feature: Shelley Hanna (iPad Art) https://www.artrage.com/artist-feature-shelley-hanna/ Sun, 25 Feb 2018 14:33:18 +0000 https://www.artrage.com/?p=129534 Read More...

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Shelley Hanna is an executive creative director in the animal health field and a fine artist who paints still life and animal portraits using traditional oil techniques with brush and stylus on canvas and iPad.

She was recognized for her artistic abilities at an early age and was fond of portrait painting in acrylics, drawing in graphite and doing animal studies in scratchboard. After starting a career in advertising, art took a back seat for a couple decades. At the beginning of 2017, she picked up brushes again learning to paint in oil and is now enjoying a newfound interest in her first love – painting.


iPad Art by Shelley Hanna

Keep reading to learn more about these paintings!

What kind of artist are you?

I consider my style to be realism. This was somewhat unpopular when I went to university as the emphasis was on contemporary/abstract art. Because of this I struggled to find my artistic voice and tried many other styles that didn’t suit me. I lost my passion for art until I recently when discovered that realism had come back into favor.

I prefer portraits of people but also do a lot of pet portraits, which are basically furry people to me.

I’m finding a huge appreciation for still life which I never liked painting before and am also dabbling with landscape painting which is my biggest challenge.

Lemon Study

This is a study for a still life I photographed and am planning to paint as a real painting in the future. I don’t know what the heck I was thinking setting the objects on such a wrinkled surface!

Lemon Study Screenshot 2 by Shelly Hanna
Here you can see that I start with the darker tones for the wrinkles and work my way to the lighter tones. I like to start with my darker areas a little darker than what I’m seeing because somehow everything seems to end up lighter when I get finished. I went into the completed painting several times to mess with the background. I probably should have left it alone but the darker, even tone does create a more dramatic effect.

How did you discover ArtRage?

A coworker encouraged me to try out digital painting which I was resistant to because I didn’t think of it as “real painting”. Then I realized how incredibly biased I was and saw the advantages to being able to paint anywhere I went with my iPad.

I tried a different program first which I didn’t like at all and then saw Daniel Ibanez do a demo on YouTube with ArtRage and decided to give it a shot. With the program being only around $5 it seemed like like a no-brainer. I immediately took to the ArtRage program and loved the way the paint and colors could be worked using the alla prima style. My approach is traditional. I paint exactly the same in ArtRage as I do with a real painting. The big difference is that I don’t get paint all over myself using ArtRage (I’m a messy painter).

I only use the iPad application and have been salivating over the desktop version. I recently got my computer fixed so I’m sure I’ll be adding it to my software lineup in the future.

Daughters of Wortheimer Study

This is a study taken from a detail of John Singer Sargent’s “Ena and Betty, Daughters of Wortheimer” using ArtRage.

This was my very first painting using the program and I was absolutely stunned by how easy it was to create an alla prima effect that really felt like I was painting even though I was using a digital program.

Daughters of Wortheimer WIP by Shelly Hanna
Daughters of Wortheimer Study by Shelly Hanna

Left (Screenshot from ‘Daughters of Wortheimer’): Here is how I usually set up my work surface. While the reference image can take up quite a bit of space, it’s easy to move out of the way.

Most of the time I work on one layer only so my paint can blend together. Maybe I’m too disorganized to have layers because whenever I have tried it, I find myself painting on the wrong layer. Grrrrr.

Crystal by Shelly Hanna (small)

Crystal

How do I love dogs? Let me count the ways! I came across Crystal while taking a class in Paola, Kansas. She was just begging to be turned into a piece of art.

The tools were very intuitive for me which I think which was key to having a successful first effort. If I couldn’t achieve a painterly effect easily that looked like my traditional paintings, I don’t think I would have continued with the program. It would have been too frustrating for me.

My next challenge after trying a portrait of a human was to see how I could achieve a decent effect in painting fur. If you look closely, you can see that I start out with a darker tone and then build the lighter values on top to create the fur. I then go in with the blending tool to get rid of any digital looking marks.


Rabbit Study

This rabbit study was a lot of fun to do and I’m still not sure if it’s finished or not. The good news is that I can make a copy of it – keeping it at this loose stage – AND do a more refined, finished version!

Rabbit Study by Shelly Hanna (small)

Why do you use ArtRage and how do you use it in your work?

I don’t use ArtRage for my “day job”, but am very open to finding ways to work that in for clients and have an idea I’m toying with for professional application. Since I’m pretty new to the program, the only way I’m using ArtRage currently is for studies – some of which I am now posting on Fine Art America for sale as prints.

Scoby (below)

I did this painting of my friend’s dog. I took his picture while he was in a truck waiting for his daddy to reappear from going around the side of my house. The fur on Scoby’s face was pretty challenging, but I was very happy with the effect I was able to achieve. For this particular painting, I did do a separate layers for the canvas and background and then another for the rest of the painting. This was so I could have the image printed with a white background if needed.

Scoby by Shelly Hanna

What artwork are you particularly proud of that was created in ArtRage?

Oh boy, that’s a tough one. I think the painting which was the most fun for me to paint recently was the study after John Singer Sargent’s self portrait. I was able to paint that in just a couple of hours and I love learning techniques of other painters by studying their work.

The most popular painting I’ve done according to Instagram was of the “Cohansey” glass jar. The painting to receive the most pins so far on Pinterest would be “Anne’s Flowers”.

I used the same tools for all of the paintings mentioned above. The pencil to sketch things out. The oil paint brush usually with the thick gloss setting fully loaded, The oil paint brush with zero loading for blending and then the knife tool for blending as well. I’ve also played around with the tube of paint and the roller to get a lot of paint down on the canvas quickly.

What was the inspiration or purpose of this art?

For me it’s to keep practicing and improving and getting better at “seeing” my subject. Plus, with anything in ArtRage, you can make mistakes or try new things without risk because of the “undo” feature. If only I could do that in a real painting! 😉



Anne’s Flowers

An artist friend of mine, Anne Burkholder, posts the most beautiful market flowers every weekend during the summer on Facebook. This bunch had to be painted! This painting is my most pinned image on Pinterest.

Anne's Flowers by Shelly Hanna (small)

What are your favorite tools and features?

I like the oil painting brush and the palette knife the most. I love painting in the alla prima style and find the paint mixes well in ArtRage – very similar to how it mixes as I paint in oil. A huge plus to ArtRage painting alla prima is that the paint never dries!

I’ve done a little playing around with the tube of paint for getting large quantities of paint on the canvas and the roller for covering a wide area since I’m limited on brush size.


Blue Mountain

Landscape paintings are my biggest challenge so I thought I’d practice a little in ArtRage to hone my skills. Doing the work and getting in time to “art” is so easy with this program!

Blue Mountain by Shelly Hanna

Do you have any favorite settings or techniques?

So far, I’ve been only using the oil brush and knife tools in the most simplistic way possible. I use the brush tool at the largest size most of the time fully loaded.

I will vary the palette knife from very small to create subtle blending, to quite large for blending out backgrounds. I’m careful with the palette tool when blending out large as I don’t like some of the finish marks it makes. Recently I’ve also been using the brush tool for blending without any paint loaded. I’m liking how the paint is blending when I use the brush this way.

Teatime

I had seen some beautiful paintings of teacups on Pinterest and wanted to give it a try. Why I chose such a complicated photo reference to work from is beyond me. I didn’t add in all the detail from the photo but kept enough to be representational of the source image.

Teatime by Shelly Hanna
Teatime Brush Settings by Shelly Hanna (2)

My favorite feature in ArtRage – hands down – is the ability to pin a reference photo off to the side of the canvas. As a representational artist I like having the image right next to my work surface.

This does take up quite a bit of room on the iPad but I’ve gotten used to it. I size down my canvas to the size of the photo periodically (also known as sight sizing) to check my work for differences which is very helpful.

Also, when I have the image next to my painting I can squint my eyes to check my values easily. When first starting out with realism, most people paint values too light and bright. By putting the reference image next to the painting, it’s easy to squint and quickly compare back and forth while continually asking “what is different?”

Left: Here you can see how I’ve reduced the loading on my brush to 11% so I can use it for blending.

Kingfisher Screenshot 1 by Shelly Hanna

I found this photo of a kingfisher on a free stock site. I start with a quick sketch and a couple sizes of the reference photo. If I really want to see detail, I crop the original photo in significantly like I did with the head of this bird.
Kingfisher Screenshot 2 by Shelly Hanna
The top of the bird is pretty well finished in this screenshot. As you move down its body, you can see more of how I start off painting loosely before I start blending. I will always go back in periodically to reestablish my darkest areas. On this particular painting, I did a separate layer to play around with background color.
Kingfisher by Shelly Hanna

What does your workflow look like?

How would you go about planning and creating a painting?

I find a reference photo to start from. If I want to familiarize myself with a particular style, such as John Singer Sargent, I download a reference to one of his paintings using public domain images and do a study from that. I’ve done that a couple of times. I work from photos I’ve taken and also photos from royalty free photo sites. I’ve also done quick composition studies for real paintings.

I begin with a neutral toned canvas and do a sketch using the pencil tool. I then start with my darkest colors to block in and work my way from dark to light (or at least that is the plan – I can get very impatient and jump around).

I usually just dive in with a fully loaded brush but in my traditional work, I always start with an underpainting in burnt umber. Hmmmm, I should try this in ArtRage!

After getting my initial brushstrokes down I tend to switch to the palette knife to blend or smooth the brushstrokes out. I don’t necessarily like how some of the brushstrokes “finish” in the program, so messing with them a little as I go helps to achieve a more realistic effect.


Sargent Study

My finished study of John Singer Sargent’s Self-Portrait, 1907

Sargent Study by Shelly Hanna (small)
Sargent Study Screenshot 1 by Shelly Hanna

Left: I did this study of John Singer Sargent’s Self-portrait, 1907, very quickly. Again, always starting with my darkest values first and then working my way up to lighter values.

At this stage I was using the “sight sizing” method in ArtRage. This is where I dart my eyes back and forth looking for differences. You will also see me squinting a lot when I’m at this stage so I can check my values.

My knife is never loaded when I blend and I’m careful to not go too crazy with the knife. I don’t use a knife for painting in real life, so I use it strictly for blending out brushstrokes.

I’ve tried using layers while painting but end up being really confused as to which layer I’m on and then start painting on the wrong layer which I find frustrating. So I just keep everything all together. If I want to try out a different background color, I may do that on a separate layer to test it out. The exception to this is scratchboard simulations.

Donut Study WIP 1 by Shelly Hanna (small)
I’ve seen so many donuts on Instagram that I had to paint my own! I started with a quick sketch and then began building my donut. I did create a separate layer on this one to experiment with the background color.
Donut Study WIP 2 by Shelly Hanna (small)
Here I was just having fun creating a very loose, more abstract background for my much more detailed donut to sit on.
Scratchboard Guinea Pig

I kept finding old scratchboards I had done decades ago and really wanted to take it up again but found out the original scratchboard surface I liked working on had changed and wasn’t the same quality as it used to be. This got me curious to see if I could replicate the process in ArtRage.

I chose a guinea pig to be my guinea pig with this experiment. To achieve the “scratches”, I use the color pencil in white. Starting the canvas with a smooth surface is important when doing scratchboard in ArtRage. I’ll use one layer for “inking” with the roller tool and then use another layer for the scratchboard effect. Of course, I could simply start with a dark surface when setting up the piece but for some reason I didn’t do that.

Scratchboard Guinea Pig Final by Shelly Hanna

I used the roller to ink the background which was a smooth surface. I could have also just started with a black background and don’t know why I didn’t think of that to begin with, but hey – it was an experiment! I simply started drawing in the hairs with the pencil tool in various shades of light grey and white. Scratchboards are very time consuming, so I don’t know that I will ever finish this simulation, but at least I know I can do it!

Scratchboard Guinea Pig by Shelly Hanna

Cohansey Jar

Jar by Shelly Hanna
I really wanted to try painting a glass jar and found this Cohansey jar on a free stock website. The sketch is suspect but I know I can always make corrections while painting, much like I do with real paintings.

If you’re starting out or just want to get to painting straight away, you can always trace the image onto the canvas which is a great time-saving feature. Many master painters found ways to trace or transfer images onto canvases. Some think it’s taboo, I say do what you want.

I finished the jar and still haven’t decided if I’ll ever finish the background. This painting has been my most popular post on Instagram. I think people are fascinated by translucent objects.

Painting glass is very strange because you can’t tell it’s glass until you get your highlights in place. Many times I’ll start to add a few highlights so I have something to look at that makes sense to my eye.

Cohansey Jar Sketch by Shelly Hanna (small)
Tool Settings
Cohansey Jar Oil Brush Settings by Shelly Hanna

Thick Gloss Oil Brush Preset: Here is what I generally use for a brush. Sometimes I square off the tip. Many times I increase the pressure and load to 100%. If you want to blend with the brush, set loading to 0%.

Cohansey Jar Flat Palette Knife Settings by Shelly Hanna

Flat Palette Knife: The pop up panel is showing my typical knife setting that I use for blending smaller areas. It never shows which blending setting i’m using on the iPad app so I’m not really sure which one I used. I don’t switch it up very often. You have to find the blending tool that feels right to you.

What tips would you share with other artists?

I would encourage artists to start with a toned, neutral canvas and block in values with an underpainting (even though I’ve yet to do that myself, but I’ve been painting for a long time.) If you don’t have your values right the painting doesn’t work. This is the problem most artists have when they start out. They paint all of their colors too light or bright. In realism, the world is much grayer and darker than what your brain thinks it is!

An advantage to ArtRage is that you can sample colors from the reference photo, however I almost always change the color after I sample it and select a slightly darker color or change the color from cool to warm or vice versa depending on the color I want to achieve when the paints mix on the canvas.

I do think for beginning artists that sampling the color from the reference photo can help them “see” values and color more accurately. This can ultimately help them see values when approaching real painting.

Black Cat by Shelly Hanna

Another tip would be that if you have an area in the painting that requires detail – such as an eye – I would crop the reference photo right around that eye so it is as big as possible to paint from. I did this with the Black Cat painting I did (above). The eyes are so magnetic and I wanted to get them as realistic as possible. Working from the overall reference photo was too small to see detail so having another cropped image to pull up was incredibly helpful.


Right: I had painted so many dogs that I needed to get a cat painting under my belt. Once again I’ve used a free stock photo image as my source. Here I am using a cropped reference image to see detail as I work.

You can see that I started with a very quick sketch and kept everything pretty loose in the painting except for the eyes. I wanted them to be the focal point and contain the most detail.

Black Cat Progress Screenshot 2 by Shelly Hanna
About the Artist

Name: Shelley Hanna
Country: Bettendorf, Iowa USA and grew up along the Mississippi river.
Job: Fine Artist, Executive Creative Director for animal health
Art Style: Realism, Traditional Oil techniques, Still Life and Animal Portraits.
Background: Traditional Art

Tools

ArtRage Edition: ArtRage for iOS

Platforms and Hardware: iPad

Used ArtRage for: Five Months


See more of Shelley’s work at www.shelleyhannafineart.com and follow her on Facebook , Twitter, and Instagram

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Gifting ArtRage, Order Problems, Extra Downloads and More https://www.artrage.com/gifting-artrage-order-problems-extra-downloads/ Sun, 24 Dec 2017 11:46:29 +0000 https://www.artrage.com/?p=129486 Read More...

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Gifting ArtRage purchase orders

We see a lot of new customers over Christmas and this means that it can take longer for us to answer support queries, so this post answers the most common questions to help you get started faster with your new painting program.

Can I Gift Artrage?

Yes! You can gift ArtRage to someone very easily. Either choose the ‘gift’ option when checking out to send them the download email automatically, or purchase a copy under your own details and then give the recipient the serial number and a way to download the program. For example, you can forward the download link, copy the install file to a USB drive, or simply tell them to register the serial number at members.artrage.com.

ArtRage is not registered automatically to the purchaser, only to the person who registers it in the member area. Desktop licences allow users to download both macOS and Windows versions.

If you would like to gift the iOS or Android app then use the gift options in the relevant app store.

Can I Upgrade During the Sale?

Yes, absolutely! Register your current desktop serial number at members.artrage.com to access your upgrade discount. It will be applied to the current price in the store for an even better bargain.

My Serial Number Did Not Arrive

If you purchased ArtRage from us and the serial number and download email did not arrive, then it may have:

  • Been sent to spam
  • Been sent to your Paypal email if you paid with Paypal
  • Been sent as two separate emails for Windows and macOS. The serial number is always in the Windows email.

If you cannot find your purchase anywhere, email us at support@artrage.com with your order number or the email you ordered with and we will look up your serial number for you.

If you downloaded ArtRage free with a Wacom tablet then we do not have access to your serial number. You should be able to find your serial number by logging into your Wacom account and looking under ‘My Library’.

I Need To Download ArtRage Again

If you need a new download for ArtRage you can access unlimited downloads by registering your serial number at members.artrage.com. Reload the page after entering your serial number.

If you need a new download for an iPad or Android tablet then you can download the app through the app store where you originally purchased it.

Can I Use ArtRage on Both My Computers?

Yes, you can install ArtRage on any of your personal devices as needed. You can also mix and match Windows and macOS versions using the same licence. We do not believe in limiting your creativity or your installs!

ArtRage Isn’t Recognising My Wacom Tablet

If you just installed ArtRage and the tablet works but you cannot draw, then this is usually a drivers issue. Changing the settings recommended on this page will usually fix any problems.

If your question was not answered, please browse our support section or contact us directly at support@artrage.com.

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Artist Feature: Živko Kondić (Zhillustrator) https://www.artrage.com/artist-feature-zivko-kondic-zhillustrator/ Fri, 01 Dec 2017 12:26:58 +0000 https://www.artrage.com/?p=129294 Read More...

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Živko Kondić (Zhillustrator) is a Serbian artist from Novi Sad who paints impressionist science fiction landscapes, using ArtRage to explore brushwork and style or to create concept art for his more serious professional illustrations.

He mainly paints on a Cintiq Companion 2 when travelling, or a Wacom Intuos 4L while at home, and prefers to experiment with the oils and pastels in ArtRage to rough out abstract thumbnails and develop them into surreal landscapes.


What kind of artist are you? What kind of subjects do you draw?

My style in digital art can be described as a mix of kinda-impressionism and low-SF, as I often mix a great dose of realism into my paintings. Also there’s a lot of old-school sci-fi influence sometimes, and that is the area where ArtRage shines for me.

I prefer painting landscapes with more or less obvious SF element and maybe a story behind everything. That’s what I do for my personal art most often.

Why do you use ArtRage and how do you use it in your work?

I use ArtRage mostly in the beginning stages of my work, and especially for thumbnails. I love the natural feeling and the ease of getting pretty colors easily. It is just easier to get what I want. Also it works on my Companion 2 really well so if I am on the road ArtRage is my main tool for sketching.

What are your favorite tools or features and what do you like about them?

The Oils, Palette Knife, Wax and Pencil are my most used tools, as they work really well together. One of my favorite features is locking the rotation on the Palette Knife tool, as it takes full use of my Wacom ArtPen’s rotation ability and makes using the Knife tool feel almost like a real one.

Another great feature is the Workbench mode. It really matters on the tablet, if one needs the extra space. I also love the little tool to pan, rotate and scale the canvas, it’s charming. I don’t need my keyboard at all when on my tablet.

Dreamy Redby Živko Kondić Zhillustrator
Dreamy Red

Website: www.zhillustrator.com | Patreon

Social Media: Facebook | YouTube | Instagram

Doodles 4 by Živko Kondić
Doodles 4
Noodlelele by Živko Kondić Zhillustrator
Noodlelele
Thumbs Palette 1 by Živko Kondić Zhillustrator
Thumbs Palette 1

What does your workflow look like? How would you go about planning and creating a painting?

My workflow is not really specific, I usually start with sketches, thumbnails made in grayscale and a bit more often in color. Sometimes I just improvise. I do not get hired much, so most of my work is personal art, so I have that freedom: to improvise and change things. With Artrage I like to start with blobs of color, for example. Then I see something in them and give it context. I do that as a practice thing.

WH PlagueMarine by Živko Kondić
WH PlagueMarine

Do you have a favorite tool or feature? Do you have any favorite settings or techniques?

I like mixing oils and wax/pastel, they really mix wonderfully. I paint in just one layer or a really small number, and that’s good for paint interaction.

I love to play around with tool settings, especially with Oils, i love the dirty brush mode, where I have to virtually dip the brush to clean it! I also really like the recording tools (Scripts).

Train Sketchie 01 2560 by Živko Kondić Zhillustrator
Train Sketchie 01

Tell us about some of your works. What are they about? What did you learn while creating them?

The images that I aptly named “Harris Homage” are my little tributes to the old school SF master John Harris. It was more of a practice painting, to try and simplify things and keep it simple, use specific colors that might not be the usual ones.

Harris 2560 by Živko Kondić Zhillustrator
Harris Homage

I would probably use more references next time, to make the sketches look more like his artwork. I mostly used the Oil, Knife, Blending marker preset for Marker, Pencil and Pastel/Wax tool.

Harris Homage 03 1920 by Živko Kondić Zhillustrator
Harris Homage 03
Harris Homage 04 by Živko Kondić Zhillustrator
Harris Homage 04

The little thumbs are painted in a smaller size. I usually start small, and if I am happy, then enlarge the canvas. I never paint again from scratch. When I enlarge, I only mostly add detail and fix artifacts due to enlargement.

Narrated Video: Sketching Old School Scifi (‘Harris Homage 03’)

(Click above to view the video)

Do you approach the more abstract works differently from your other paintings?

For more abstract stuff I just love doodling and making marks in ArtRage using pretty colors. My Wacom ArtPen lets me do all kind of strokes and the color selector in ArtRage lets me choose nice colors easily. Our brains are wired to make sense out of abstract shapes so that process kicks in at some point.

Style Explore 1920 by Živko Kondić Zhillustrator
Style Explorations

Are you simply interested in playing with color and style, or are you trying to tell a story?

The story aspect is definitely creeping in. It’s been one of the better things I learned along the way – having a little story or just a hint of it gives the artwork so much!

You mainly use ArtRage for concept work and personal/abstract projects; does your other work in other programs end up being very different?

My other work ends up being a bit less “traditional” if I jump into Photoshop later, often because PS can’t yet emulate real paint so well as ArtRage. I do my best though, Photoshop is my main tool just because it can handle so many different things, I have been using it for 15 years.

How do you set up your workspace in ArtRage on a Cintiq?

Honestly, ArtRage works very well “out of the box” on my Cintiq but I do change things around a bit. I usually map the bottom stylus button to “Alt” so I can pick colors with it, and the top button to “Right Click”. One does really not need any special setup outside, say, binding TAB to one of your Cintiq buttons(express key) to collapse all, or maybe even adding the Workbench mode to a button. I use the top button on the “ring” to undo by binding CTRL+Z to it, if it is not already there. SHIFT is usually bound to an express key, and I use that to resize the brush, super handy.

Do you set up custom presets or just adjust settings naturally as you work?

I do both, I have a few of my presets which I adjust further as I paint. I have Palette Knife, Oil Brush and Wax Pastel presets of my own and I add more from time to time. My settings for the Oil Brush and Palette Knife can be pretty elaborate.


Highway Night Noodles by Živko Kondić Zhillustrator
Highway Night Noodles

Do you consider your approach to painting to be more digital or traditional? Has ArtRage changed how you paint?

I have never painted traditionally, actually, but I use the traditional approach heavily in my digital painting, because software like ArtRage feels very natural. I feel like I could probably try some oil painting now as I would probably know how to start! I needed to change the way I paint in ArtRage because it is so very different then my main tool – Photoshop.

Thumbs  by Živko Kondić Zhillustrator
Thumbs
Thumbs Palette 2 by Živko Kondić Zhillustrator
Thumbs Palette 2

Do you have any tips for other artists who might want to do the same thing as you?

I’d suggest trying to learn to paint in Artrage without using the keyboard, because most things can be easily done without it, and then you gain a lot of freedom when painting on a tablet. If your tablet has hotkeys, then I’d use those, because they’re good enough for painting on the go.

Also, bind your “Alt” to the lower stylus button, it’s one key less to press, you can bind the top one to right click or even Shift, so you can resize your brush with the stylus too. I usually bind “Alt” to my lower stylus button in all programs.

Thumbs Palette 3 by Živko Kondić Zhillustrator
Thumbs Palette 3
Alterslavia - Supermarket Doodle by Živko Kondić
Alterslavia – Supermarket Doodle
Doodles 2 by Živko Kondić
Doodles 2
Doodles 3 by Živko Kondić
Doodles 3
Train Sketchie 00 and 01 1680 by Živko Kondić Zhillustrator
Train Sketchie 00 and 01 (Find Zhillustrator on Patreon)
About the Artist

Name: Živko Kondić a.k.a. Zhillustrator
Country: Serbia
Job: Freelance Illustrator
Art Style: Impressionist science fiction and mixed media
Background: Digital Art

Tools

ArtRage Edition: ArtRage 4.5

Platforms and Hardware: Windows 8, Windows 10 with a Wacom Intuos 4L and a Wacom Cintiq Companion 2 tablet. I use Wacom’s rotation-enabled ArtPen as my main stylus.

Used ArtRage since: I first tried ArtRage 3 and instantly loved it.


Visit Živko’s website at www.zhillustrator.com. See more of his work and follow him on Patreon, Facebook , YouTube, and Instagram

Powerplantish by Živko Kondić
Powerplantish
Corrupt Blood Angel by Živko Kondić
Corrupt Blood Angel
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Creating A Mixed Media Commission with Jim Pavelec https://www.artrage.com/creating-mixed-media-commission-jim-pavelec/ Wed, 22 Nov 2017 00:46:31 +0000 https://www.artrage.com/?p=129208 Read More...

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Jim Pavelec is an occult artist currently creating paintings and drawings delving into the demons of the Ars Goetia and the witches who conjure them. He has created a unique visual style in his paintings by utilizing mixed media techniques, including digital media. He currently specializes in fine art but has been a professional illustrator for many fantasy and science fiction projects, such as Magic: The Gathering, World of Warcraft, Star Wars, Dungeons & Dragons, and many more.

In this tutorial, Jim walks us through the process of creating a commissioned fantasy portrait using his unique mixed media approach that moves between traditional and digital media, combining real world pencil and paint with the ArtRage for iOS app.


Introduction

I recently transitioned from a career in fantasy illustration to one in fine art. As an illustrator my work had stagnated, and I was not making art that was meaningful to me. My decision to switch careers and styles was not an easy one, but ArtRage’s versatility and ease of use entirely changed my workflow, and empowered my imagination to delve into areas I had long dreamed of exploring. ArtRage allowed me to expand the boundaries of my abilities and develop a new style that is unique and satisfying to my audience and me.

I love using the ArtRage app on my tablet. Its user interface is my favorite, by far, of the various art apps I have experimented with. It has all of the tools and functionality that I need, without being cumbersome. I’m going to take you step by step through my creative process for a painting. Hopefully you will pick up something that will help you think differently about the possibilities in your work.

I was recently contacted by a patron to paint a portrait of her as a witches in my “Daughters of Salem” series. This is one of my favorite things to do. Because the patron and the subject are one in the same, a deeper personal connection between the patron, artist and painting evolves.

Website: www.arsgoetia.net

Social Media: Facebook | Instagram

Final Image Jim Pavelec
A Daughter of Salem Commissioned Portrait

Why do you use ArtRage? What features do you like about the program?

I love using ArtRage on my iPad Pro. The program is incredibly fast, never bogs down or crashes, and prompts me to save regularly without being overbearing. The Oil brush is a fantastic tool, giving the feel of actual oil paint on a digital surface. Combined with the Palette Knife tool, you can get great mark making and blending. Another great feature is the ability to move back and forth between all of the different mark making tools (Oil Brush, Pencil, Marker, Pastel) without worrying about how the media will interact with each other, something that just isn’t possible with traditional media.

My favorite part of ArtRage is the speed with which you can import new layers directly from your photo library, adjust their size, orientation, and placement, as well as adjust their opacity and layer mode. This feature is indispensible for my artistic process.

The Painting Process

Setting Up the Sketch

  1. Create pencil sketch thumbnails
  2. Import photos of sketches to ArtRage to choose the best option
  3. Redraw the selected thumbnail in detail
  4. Scan to ArtRage and clean up image

I start working on traditional pencil thumbnail sketches in my sketchbook. When I have one I like I take a picture of it on my iPad and import it into ArtRage. I have found that jumping into ArtRage with a decent thumbnail, even if it doesn’t wind up being the exact solution, is the best first step for me to get to a solid final painting. Speed is the important thing early on. I need to work around my original idea on the path to finding the best possible solution. ArtRage gives me license to do just that.

Thumbnail sketches by Jim Pavelec

Thinking that I’m on the right track, I draw a tight rendering of the patron’s face on toned paper. I scan that and import it into the app, drop it onto my thumbnail in a new layer and move the opacity slider to 59% so I can see the drawing and the thumbnail underneath at the same time. I use the “transform layer” function to place the face properly and the eraser tool to get rid of the excess gray.

Composite sketches  by Jim Pavelec

Mixed Media Effects

  1. Import existing photographs and paintings onto the drawing
  2. Experiment with layer modes and options
  3. Use the results to decide what direction to take the painting in next

Now the real fun begins. I use a technique in which I drop in multiple layers of pre-existing artwork. These pieces are a combination of quick mixed media pieces that I have previously done and photographs I have taken. I toggle through the layers ,adjusting the opacity slider and changing the layer mode on each layer until interesting shapes or color patterns begin to appear. The Difference and Exclusion modes are quite useful in the development of shapes and tonal patterns you might not have initially considered.

Mixed media experimentation by Jim Pavelec

Here are some of the mixed media pieces I used in the development of this piece, as well as a screen grab of one version of the piece in progress. The important thing to know about these pieces is that they are entirely stream of consciousness. I set out a bunch of different media and just do whatever feels good at the moment. For these pieces nothing is precious. None of these are going to be finished art, so I scrape and scratch and splash to get the desired results. The only thing that is important is that I get a decent digital file of the piece that I can use in ArtRage. Most of these preliminary works wind up in the trash because the media on them are unstable when mixed together.

Mixed Media Experiments in ArtRage for iOS by Jim Pavelec

Continuing to Paint

  1. Start painting over the sketch in ArtRage
  2. Or print out the image again and work on it traditionally
  3. Continue experimenting with colors and composition and other options

At this point in my process I go in one of two directions. I add a layer in ArtRage and paint directly over what I have with the brush tools and palette knife, or I print the piece out onto bristol paper and work on the piece in pastel. I love the Roller tool in ArtRage. It allows you to cover large areas of the canvas quickly, and by adjusting the Thinners and Loading settings you can change the resulting texture of the paint on the canvas.

I will often get quite far into a piece and realize it isn’t quite what I want, and so I begin over. I view this stopping and starting again an integral part of my workflow now, and don’t consider it a waste of time, as it leads me to a better finished piece. ArtRage’s flexibility has expedited this process for me in many ways. I know myself, and I know that if I’m not happy with a piece when I get to the time consuming oil painting phase, I’m going to be miserable. All of this preparatory exploration will save me a mountain of grief by the end of the painting.

Mixed Media options for client by Jim Pavelec
One of the final images presented to the client.

Here are many of the variations that I considered going to final on in this process.

Mixed Media options for client by Jim Pavelec

Client Feedback and Finishing Up

  1. Send near final version to the client
  2. Incorporate feedback and settle on a final design
  3. Print out the final image and admire

I arrived at what I believed was the solution and sent it to the client. She responded, hoping for a more straight on view of the face, and more color. This is part of just about any kind of commission process, and it was absolutely no problem to adjust to what she wanted.

On my very next attempt I hit on a composition and color palette within the first hour that both I and the client were happy with. I added a graphic element to the foreground to achieve a color scheme I was happy with, printed it out at high resolution on my printer, mounted it to masonite and began oil painting. Here you can see ArtRage file I printed out for the final painting.

Final version of the Daughter of Salem portrait in ArtRage for iOS before printing

Final Image

Because so much care was taken in the early stages of the development of the piece, once traditional painting begins there is little more to do then enjoy the physical process of oil painting, and explore more in depth the properties of the paint. Here is the final oil painting, “A Daughter of Salem.”

Final Image Jim Pavelec
A Daughter of Salem Commissioned Portrait

This process I have developed may seem to many to be labor intensive, requiring many steps that seem extraneous. But it helps me to see things I wouldn’t have seen previously, and has allowed my artwork to grow exponentially in both its variety and impact on the viewer. I sincerely believe this would not have been possible in such a short period of time without the performance capabilities of ArtRage. It’s fast, streamlined while not lacking features, and portable. I look forward to discovering new possibilities in the program, and hope you do as well.

About the Artist

Name: Jim Pavelec
Country: USA
Job: Professional Illustrator
Art Style: Mixed media, occult fantasy.
Background: Traditional Art

Tools

ArtRage Edition: ArtRage for iOS

Platforms and Hardware: iPad Pro


You can see Jim’s work and purchase prints on his website at www.arsgoetia.net, or follow him on Instagram and on Facebook.

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Artist Feature: Teoman Mete Cakici (realistic art portraits) https://www.artrage.com/artist-feature-teoman-mete-cakici/ Fri, 10 Nov 2017 02:40:47 +0000 https://www.artrage.com/?p=129059 Read More...

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Teoman Mete Cakici is an art lecturer from Turkey who paints realistic portraits of actors and famous people. He is currently teaching at Mustafa Kemal University, in the Graphic Design Department. He comes from a traditional art background and specialised in hyperrealism.

Teoman has been using ArtRage for a year after finding it online. He created the art in this feature using ArtRage 3 Studio Pro.


Jon Snow (Detail) by Teoman Mete CAKICI
Jon Snow (Face Closeup)

What kind of artist are you? What kind of subjects do you draw?

I am a hyper-realistic artist, but sometimes I do graphical illustrations in drawings. I usually choose people who are known as subjects or objects.

Why do you use ArtRage? What features do you like about the program?

Because ArtRage is the best 2D program that offers traditional art materials in a digital environment. My favourite ArtRage feature is the digital adaptation of artistic materials, it is very pleasant for me. I choose the visuals depending their light, shadow, value and texture visually. I try to transform visual reality into an artistic illustration from a realistic perspective and to show it to people. I want people to get an artistic pleasure while looking at my works.

I definitely recommend ArtRage because there is not another program that gives you these effects better.

Websites

Website: teomanmete on DeviantART

Social Media: Facebook

Where does ArtRage fit into your workflow?

ArtRage fits into my works in terms of pencil drawing, painting volume, canvas texture, palette knife effects, and color grading.

I usually paint the primary layer after I finish drawing the draft. Then I identify the light shadow surfaces and paint them. Finally, I prefer to paint the textures and details sharpening and softening the edges.

What are your favourite ArtRage features?

Oil Brush, Palette Knife, Sticker Spray, Pencil and Crayon.

Lemmy Kilmister by Teoman Mete CAKICI
Lemmy Kilmister
Jimi Hendrix final by Teoman Mete CAKICI
Finished Jimi Hendrix Watercolour Painting
Jimi Hendrix sketch by Teoman Mete CAKICI
Sketch of Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix sketch by Teoman Mete CAKICI
Adding colour to the sketch
Jimi Hendrix WIP by Teoman Mete CAKICI
Planning the lighting and shadows on the skin
Jimi Hendrix colouring WIP by Teoman Mete CAKICI
Adding full colour and detail to the skin
Ragnar Lodbrok (Lothbrok) from Vikings  by Teoman Mete CAKICI

Do you come from a digital or traditional art background?

First of all, I got a classical art education in high school, college and graduate education. I specialized in graphic arts in undergraduate education. So, I do both traditional artwork and digital illustrations, designs and drawings. I love making hyper-realistic drawings in digital and traditional style.

Do you use other programs or traditional media?

I’ve been using photoshop for 17 years, illustrator for 13 years and 3D Studio Max for 10 years.

Do you have any tips for other artists who might want to do the same thing as you?

First of all, they should be patient and good analysts. Realistic drawing requires good observation, patience, and knowledge of colour and shading.

It is good to explore the Settings and the Presets for every tool in ArtRage.

Cagri Portrait by Teoman Mete CAKICI
Ragi - Portrait by Teoman Mete CAKICI
About the Artist

Name: Teoman Mete Cakici
Country: Turkey
Job: Art Lecturer
Art Style: Photorealism
Background: Traditional Art

Tools

ArtRage Edition: ArtRage 3 Studio Pro

Platforms and Hardware: Windows 7, macOS, Wacom Cintiq 22HD

Used ArtRage for: One year

Jon Snow from Game of Thrones by Teoman Mete CAKICI
Jon Snow (Detail) by Teoman Mete CAKICI
Jon Snow (Face Detail)
Jon Snow (Detail) by Teoman Mete CAKICI
Jon Snow (Clothing Detail)


See more of Teoman’s work and follow him on Facebook and DeviantART

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