viziblr

I'm a bit late in taking note of this –  ArtRage 4 released back in February. Look, ArtRage is the best value you are going for a painting program you are going to get on Windows or Mac (it runs on both). I've been recommending it for years, and ArtRage 4,0 still my top pick.

From a feature perspective there are a couple of nice improvements since ArtRage 3.5.5 but nothing major. Having said that let's look more closely.

The Application icon has received a minor tweak. The screenshot below is from the Windows 8 Start Screen with ArtRage Studio Pro 3.5.5 on the left and ArtRage 4 on the right. Apparently they've dropped the “Studio Pro” from the name.

Overall Application: ArtRage Studio Pro 3.5.5

Overall Application: ArtRage 4

The overall interface hasn't changed. You may notice though that some icons look a bit different.

However ArtRage 4 does have a special interface activated via View > Workbench Mode

The Workbench Mode is a minimal interface with a thin strip of tools at the top.

You can access all the brushes by click on the crush icon.

Clicking on color square yields special color picker.

I was already very please with ArtRage's minimal UI and easy-to-access fullscreen mode, so this Workbench Mode isn't that interesting to me.

If you want to see it in action, there's a YouTube video available of someone walking through some more UI changes and new feature

http://youtu.be/VCcuOuS4enQ 

 Tension. 

Tobias Hutzler - BALANCE from Tobias Hutzler on Vimeo.

Launching CMD.EXE or PowerShell in a specific folder got MUCH EASIER in Windows 8 thanks to the File Explorers's File Menu.

First open any explorer window. For example below is a folder in my local SkyDrive. Then click on the File menu in the upper left hand corner.

The first think you'll notice is that has a useful frequent places list.

To launch CMD.EXE:

To Launch PowerShell

But be aware of which folder CMD.EXE or PowerShell will be started in.

You can see thay the explorer window is open D:\saveenr\skydrive\Public

If nothing is selected as shown below

Then clicking on File > Open Windows PowerShell will start the PowerShell session in current location (D:\saveenr\skydrive\Public)

However, if something is selected, for example the Visio folder then the PowerShell instance will start in that folder (D:\saveenr\skydrive\Public\Visio)

It even supports multi-select –  if multiple folders are selected, then multiple PowerShell instances will be launched

I am still surprised Visio 2013 is capable of making images like this.

Get the original VSDX file here: http://sdrv.ms/YbO8Mx

A few months ago I lost my Pen (the default Grip Pen which comes with the tablet) for my Intuos4. These pens aren't cheap so I thought my not try one of the higher end pens. Specifically I chose the Art Pen.

The primary functional difference in the Art Pen is that it measures Rotation while the Grip Pen does not. In case you are wondering what is different physically –  I have provided some photos below.

First, this is the package it came in.

Just in case there is any doubt about which version I purchased…

Ok, here is the Art Pen:

It's hard to detect any immediate difference, so let's bring up a Grip Pen to compare.

The Grip Pen is at the top, the Art Pen at the bottom. You can see that Art Pen's the tip and nib look thicker. The bottoms are a couple of milimeters further down the shaft of the pen. The body seems very slightly thinker. The eraser end has no detectable difference.

Now look at the pen stand and nibs. Art Pen nibs are on the left. Grip Pen nibs are on the right.

This was the biggest surprise. The nibs are quite different.

So what about using the Art Pen?

Yes, can apps (I tried with ArtRage) take advantage of the Art Pen's rotation –  though you may have to tweak the brush settings to get this to happen. Otherwise, for my use the pens really don't feel any different at all either in terms of ergonomics or expressive ability. However, keep in mind that I am a casual digital painter.