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ArtRage Lite features, comparison and upgrades
ArtRage Lite Features / Upgrade
ArtRage Lite & ArtRage 6
Our two current desktop editions for Windows and Mac OSX are ArtRage Lite and ArtRage 6.
ArtRage Lite includes a full range of realistic painting tools, such as pencils, felt pens and oil paints, as well as a selection of digital editing features like layers, Select, Transform, custom brushes, color pickers, and more. All our most loved painting features are included, from the pinnable reference images to the richly textured paint. ArtRage Lite is a great introductory program that will work well with the latest operating systems and make good use of your Wacom tablet.
However, if you’re more experienced, you may also be looking for more advanced features, such as Symmetry, Grids, Filters, and custom brush creation. You can find all these in ArtRage 6, our full painting program. Check out the comprehensive list of features below to see which program offers what you need.
If you already own ArtRage Lite, we offer a significant upgrade discount to ArtRage 6; this is applied automatically if you upgrade by opening Lite and going to Help > Upgrade to ArtRage 6.
ArtRage Lite
New Features in ArtRage Lite
- Improved Performance
- Updated Interface
- Canvas Lighting toggle
- Canvas Positioner
- Ink Pen Opacity
- ArtRage 6 Discount added to Help menu
- Paste from External Clipboard
Buy ArtRage Lite
Buy ArtRage Lite to get started with realistic digital painting.
Buy ArtRage 6
Buy ArtRage 6, our full desktop edition with natural painting tools and powerful digital editing features for all levels of skill.
Upgrade from ArtRage Lite at a Discount
You can upgrade ArtRage Lite to ArtRage 6 at any point by going to Help > Upgrade to ArtRage 6. This will take you straight to our online store with a 30% discount automatically applied.
ArtRage Lite & ArtRage 6 Feature Comparison
Jump to a section to compare features
| Real Media Painting & Drawing Tools | Basic ArtRage Lite Features These features are included in ArtRage Lite & ArtRage 6 | Additional ArtRage 6 Features Upgrade to ArtRage 6 to access these advanced features |
|---|---|---|
| Oil Brush | Pressure Thinners Loading Insta-Dry Auto Clean Square Head | Aspect Rotation Stiffness |
| Pencil | Pressure Softness Precise Mode Precise Mode Only: Smoothing | Tilt Angle Noise Amount Noise Scale |
| Watercolor Brush | Pressure Thinners Auto Clean Loading Paper Wet Insta-Dry | Color Bleed |
| Felt Pen | Pressure Softness Wetness Art Pen | ~ |
| Ink Pen | Opacity Pressure Aspect Rotation Smoothing Taper Length | Taper Bias Opacity Square Head Antialias Edge |
| Airbrush | Pressure Tilt Angle Taper Length Autoflow | Hardness Drip Spread Square Nib Layer Blend Modes |
| Paint Roller | Pressure Thinners Loading Auto Clean | ~ |
| Pastel | Modes: Wax & Chalk Pressure Softness | Noise Amount Noise Scale |
| Gloop Pen | Pressure Outer Blur Edge Width Inner Blur Fill Opacity | Opacity Layer Blend Modes |
| Glitter | Shapes: Square, Circle, Ball, Grit, Random Pressure Glitter Size Multicolor | ~ |
| Eraser | Pressure Softness | ~ |
| Paint Tube | Pressure | ~ |
| Palette Knife | Shapes: Flat, Edge, Soft Pressure Flat & Edge Modes Only: Loading Soft Mode Only: Smudge | Shapes: Blur & Wet Flat & Edge Modes Only: Auto Clean, Lock Rotation Blur Mode Only: Softness Soft Mode Only: Pressure Wet Mode Only: Falloff, Drip Size, Drip Spike, Drip Spread, Color Drag |
| Realistic canvas and paper textures | User Modifiable Canvas Settings:
User Definable Canvas Presets Default Canvas Presets Import custom canvas grains Preset Canvas Collections: Art papers, Canvas, Paper, Rough & Special | Decorative Preset Canvas Collection Set custom Canvas as Default Canvas Patterns – Image based canvas color with tiling options. |
| Digital Drawing & Editing Tools | Basic ArtRage Lite Features These features are included in ArtRage Lite & ArtRage 6 | Additional ArtRage 6 Features Upgrade to ArtRage 6 to access these advanced features |
|---|---|---|
| Fill (Flood fill) | Spread Antialias Edge Current Layer only | Solid Fill: Gap Tolerance Solid Fill: Border Fill Solid Fill: Slow Motion Modes: Gradient Fill, Pattern Fill Variable opacity |
| Selection Tool | Shapes: Rectangle, Ellipse, Freehand, Magic Wand Feather Clear Selection Invert Selection Magic Wand Only: Spread | Shapes: Polygon, Paint Area Modes: Replace, Add, Subtract, Difference, Intersection Magic Wand Only: Antialias Edge, Current Layer Only Paint Area Only: Pressure, Opacity, Hardness, Autoflow |
| Transform | Mode: Normal/Uniform (resize & move) Select Layer | Free (Non-linear) Transform Content Perspective Scale With Perspective (using active Perspective Set) Adjust angle and rotation by degree and percentage Flip/rotate buttons |
| Color Sampler | With Lighting | Current Layer Only Metallic Sample Area (1-50 pixels) Hue, Luminance, Saturation |
| Cloner | Pressure Hardness Autoflow | Opacity Relative Offset Current Layer Only Include Current Layer Include Canvas Color Layer Blend Modes |
| Text | Rich Text: Text Size, Bold, Italic, Underline Left/center/right align Uses all installed TrueType fonts Single format per item. | Multiple Rich Text formats inside single text items. |
| Drawing Guides & References | Basic ArtRage Lite & ArtRage 6 Features | Additional ArtRage 6 Features |
|---|---|---|
| Tracing Images | Add tracing image overlay Adjust opacity and location Automatically choose colors from Tracing image while painting Convert Tracing Image to Paint Layer Scale options: Stretch to Fit, Fit Inside, Fit to Fill | Scale Options: Tile to Fit, Manual Scale |
| Reference Images | Multiple pinnable reference images References can be can be moved, rotated and scaled Drag References off the canvas window | Zoom in on part of reference image Make Reference a Tracing Image Pin Views to the canvas: View ports that can be independently zoomed and panned for alternative views in to the canvas. Pin Scraps to the canvas: Independent pieces of canvas for color mixing or test painting. |
| Stencils & Rulers | 6 Groups of Stencil Presets (Stencils (general), Comic, Festive, Friskets, Fun, Rulers, Shapes) Default stencil shapes (masks) Expandable ruler with real world and pixel measurements Resize, move and rescale individual stencils Import new stencils from image files | 4 more groups of Stencil Presets (Buttons, Gradients, Grids and Textures) Choose from Stencil, Ruler and Guide Modes. Create new stencils within ArtRage (from layer contents) |
| Graphic design guides | ~ | Paint Symmetry Grids Guides Perspective Sets |
| Advanced Custom Resources | Basic ArtRage Lite & ArtRage 6 Features | Additional ArtRage 6 Features |
|---|---|---|
| Package Files (custom resource packs of ArtRage presets, canvases and other custom resources) | Install Package Files Repair and Uninstall Package Files Edit and Delete Custom Content inside Artrage | Create Package Files |
| Sticker Sheets | Allowing single pre-rendered ‘clip art’ stickers to be dropped in to the painting Move, Resize, Rotate Single Stickers Adjust sticker properties: Color, Opacity, Shadow Import existing sticker presets (.stk files) 4 default Preset Groups | Sticker Sheet Creator 7 default Preset Groups |
| Sticker Spray (custom brush spray based on Stickers) | Sticker Sheet Selection Spray Rate Autoflow Shadow | Auto-Flatten (Micro-Layer, post spray editable objects), Variation Symmetry (uses Symmetry feature) Advanced Shadow Settings Spray Variation control (advanced custom brush settings) Photoshop .abr Brush Import |
| Custom Brush (digital brush with editable grain and head) | ~ | Digital Brush Presets Stroke Opacity Loading Canvas Grain Amount Minimum Size Smoothing Custom Brush Designer (editable head and grain, advanced dab, stroke, and color mixing properties) Photoshop .abr brush head import |
| Color | Basic ArtRage Lite & ArtRage 6 Features | Additional ArtRage 6 Features |
|---|---|---|
| Color Modes | Metallic Paint | Real Color Blending (Yellow + Blue = Green) |
| Color Picker | LS/H Picker Popup On-Canvas Color Picker | Picker Modes: HL/S, HS/L, RG/B, RB/G, BG/R, Tint/Tone Picker Precise Color Picker User Definable Custom Color Pickers |
| Color Samples | Default color sample collections Custom sample collection creation | Color Sample Sorting: By Name and Color Values Toolbox Samples: Samples stored with each painting rather than globally. |
| User definable tool presets | Option to store size & color with Preset | ~ |
| Layers | Basic ArtRage Lite & ArtRage 6 Features | Additional ArtRage 6 Features |
|---|---|---|
| Basic Layer Management | Layer transparency Merge individual or all Layers Move, delete, hide & duplicate layers | Layer Groups with Group management |
| Layer Effects | ~ | Shadow Glow Cutout Inner Glow Emboss Custom Emboss Textures Editable effect properties |
| Layer Blend Modes | Tint Shadow Highlight | Full range of ArtRage & Photoshop standard layer blend modes Watercolor Blend Mode Bump Blend Modes (Paint texture effects) |
| Layer Transformations | Scale, Rotate, and Move Layer Contents | Free (Non-Linear), internal Content Perspective and active background Perspective Layer Transformations |
| Layer Locks | ~ | Lock transparency, paint and position |
| Export Options | ~ | Export individual layers Create Stencils from layer contents Export Layers to Channel Maps for external 3D use |
| Saving, Importing & Exporting | Basic ArtRage Lite & ArtRage 6 Features | Additional ArtRage 6 Features |
|---|---|---|
| Saving & Export | Saves as PTG by default to preserve unique ArtRage paint data. JPEG Export JPEG Quality Control DPI Support | Export as PNG, BMP, GIF, TIFF, and PSD with layer support. Automatic creation of Backup Files while you save. |
| Importing & New Files | Import PNG, BMP, JPEG, TIFF, GIF Photoshop PSD file import: Including editable text, layer and blend mode support. | Multiple Documents New Document Size from Clipboard Contents Import Image File to Layer |
| Interface and Menus | Basic ArtRage Lite & ArtRage 6 Features | Additional ArtRage 6 Features |
|---|---|---|
| Manuals & Help | Quick start guide Online Wikis and forums | Quick start guide Online Wikis and forums |
| User Interface | Simple, easy to access user interface Quick access control: Pods. Floating panels for: Layers, Tool Settings, Presets, Swatches, Tracing Images, References, Stickers , and Stencils Adjustable Scale and Rotation of floating panel objects for ease of access on touch screens or smaller desktops. UI menus and pods can be hidden as required: Font Picker Previews: Scroll through previews of selected fonts Tooltips Stencils and Rulers on the canvas Canvas Positioner Rotate Canvas 90°/180° | Docking Mode with minimal interface, floating menus and docking to right and left of screen Lights Out Mode Tear-Off and move anywhere (Classic Mode): Color Picker, Tool Picker, and Menu Bar Large Layer Thumbnails |
| Shortcuts & Multitouch | User defined keyboard shortcuts Modifer keys for straight line stroke constraints, on-canvas brush resizing, canvas navigation, stencil manipulation. Multi-Touch support: For canvas & object manipulation. Unlimited Undo/Redo | ~ |
| Hardware Support | Basic ArtRage Lite Features These features are included in ArtRage Lite & ArtRage 6 | Additional ArtRage 6 Features Upgrade to ArtRage 6 to access these advanced features |
|---|---|---|
| Support for Wacom Stylus Features | Pressure Tilt | Support for Wacom Stylus Recognition: Individual styluses can be set to remember specific tool settings. User assignable stylus properties for individual painting tools Assignable Airbrush Wheel & Art Pen Barrel Rotation. |
| Multithreading & System Support | Multi-Core & Multiprocessor Support 64-bit Support | ~ |
| Operating Systems | Windows Vista, 7, 8 & 10 Mac OS 10.6 and later | Windows Vista, 7, 8 & 10 Mac OS 10.8 and later. |
| Advanced Features | Only in ArtRage 6 | Get ArtRage 6 |
|---|---|---|
| Paint Symmetry | Symmetrical stroke mirroring of tools during painting, Mirrored or Rotational Symmetry Adjustable numbers of axes of symmetry, center point, and rotation | Buy ArtRage 6Buy ArtRage 6, our full desktop edition with natural painting tools and powerful digital editing features for all levels of skill. Buy ArtRage LiteBuy ArtRage Lite to get started with realistic digital painting. |
| Grids | Customisable pixel size Adjustable opacity and colour Snap To Grid feature Grids on References Save custom Grid Sets | |
| Guides | Shortcut from canvas Adjustable opacity and colour Snap To Guides feature Automatically frame paint on a layer Save custom Guide Sets | |
| Perspective Sets | One and Two Point Perspective Adjustable opacity and colour Customisable horizon, walls, floors, major, minor, and projection lines Snap To Perspective feature Scale paint to active perspective using Transform Save custom Perspective Sets | |
| Image Filtering | Layer Blur built in filter Built in Color Adjustment filter Add Noise Filter Remove Color Matte Warp (liquify) Photoshop compatible filter support Canvas Lighting (depth & shadow) toggle | |
| Docking Mode | Clear-screen interface mode that hides all panels and presents a collapsed, customisable quick access bar with all the important features. Dock menus to left and right | |
| Toolbox | Toolbox Panel: Single panel for gathering custom resources relevant to the current painting. |
Upgrade from ArtRage Lite at a Discount
You can upgrade ArtRage Lite to ArtRage 6 at any point by going to Help > Upgrade to ArtRage 6. This will take you straight to our online store with a 50% discount automatically applied.
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ArtRage Lite Tutorials
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