The good news is, there's something different.
Much as I love the Josephine series, I wanted a brief break. I've been thinking about ArtRage lately - they just released a new version - and I've been thinking about upgrading. Thing is, I don't use it much so I can't really justify upgrading.
And I thought, why not use ArtRage 4 and see where things go.
Right-click to download and print
This is the beach paper doll from ages ago! I didn't realize it had been almost exactly a year since I posted the outlines of this set. It seemed like a good set to experiment with because I already had the line art and it wasn't a huge set. That proved very helpful because this one sheet took me the better part of three days to color. I'm terrible at estimated the time I spent, but if I'd say it was between 6 and 8 hours for this sheet. And there's a second sheet for this doll, coming as soon as it's finished . (Don't hold your breath for the rest of the beach kiddos. It might happen. It might not.)
Briefly, I used the felt maker tool in ArtRage for most of this with the pencil tool, too. The metallic paint option is awesome and I used that for the belt buckle and a few other things. The background and bases are images that I combined & blended in ArtRage using blending modes - which have slightly different result than in Photoshop. ArtRage 4 doesn't have a type option so I added the title in Photoshop. The export-to-Photoshop option is fantastic and proved very handy!
The outlines and tabs were Photoshop, as well as the text. Aside from that, everything else was ArtRage 4. It really simulates natural media. There are strokes and brush marks and everything! Lots of fun and I highly recommend it. Maybe I'll color more black & white sets this way.....
(And I haven't given up on Josephine. I promise!!)
I love this.
ReplyDeleteThe jeans seriously look like real denim! Looks like a fun program.
So the jeans are a denim image from my (far too extensive) texture library. What really made that work in ArtRage was the way it blended with the blue color underneath. It create a really bright and clear texture - something I don't always get with Photoshop.
DeleteI used to think using a texture was somehow cheating. Now I think of it as digital collage!
Seriously cute. The jeans are amazing. It sounds like a fun program to play with.
ReplyDeleteIt's a really great program. It's both powerful and streamlined. This is honestly the first project I've ever completed in ArtRage, and I think that says a lot about how easy it is to use.
Deletei don't know anything about ArtRage, but i love what you did with this! fun mix and match options, which you always do so well! : D
ReplyDeleteI found ArtRage 2 on CD in a bargain bin at Target years ago. For $20, I figured why not?! I've upgraded from 2 to 4, and I'm eyeing 5, honestly. It's a great natural media program.
DeleteAnd if you like the mix and match options, just wait. There's more :)