Artrage 2.05

ArtRage 2.05 includes a number of fixes to technical problems with the original release version. Details on these changes can be found here.

1. Cursor Offset Problems.

• Added a preference to the Tools/Preferences menu that allows users of graphics tablets that are set to use Mouse Mode to indicate this to the application. Fixes a bug whereby cursors and paint strokes would be offset when using Mouse Mode. See notes on Tablet Settings below.
• Fixed a bug whereby cursors would be offset when using ArtRage on a second monitor.
• Fixed tablet mapping problems when using ArtRage on a multi-monitor system with various tablet mapping modes active.

2. File Import/Export Problems.

• Fixed a bug that would cause some ArtRage paintings exported as Adobe Photoshop documents to be unloadable in Photoshop.
• Fixed a bug that would cause Photoshop documents exported without a suffix to be saved as .psd files, but contain ArtRage .ptg data instead.
• Improved the speed of file load and save. This will be particularly noticeable when loading or saving over a network, and significantly reduces network load.
• Made a change to the Photoshop file importer so that layers with transparency are imported without paint volume. This is to fix an artifact that would appear around the edges of the transparent blocks due to bump levels. See File I/O notes below.
• Fixed a bug that would cause a 'save changes' prompt to appear twice when exporting Photoshop files.
• Updated our OS X file dialog support to handle extensions properly. You should now have familiar OS X controls for hiding/showing extensions, and correct extension behaviour.
• Fixed a bug that was causing tracing image offsets to be lost when loading a file that had one.

3. Cintiq & Monitor Problems.

• Fixed a bug that as causing cursor offset problems when using ArtRage with a Wacom Cintiq. If you find you're still having a problem after the patch, turn on the Mouse Mode toggle in the ArtRage Edit/Preferences menu.
• Fixed a bug that prevented ArtRage from maximising and operating correctly on secondary monitors. The app should now be able to be sized and used properly on any monitor on your machine.
• Fixed a bug whereby cursors would be offset when using ArtRage on a second monitor.
• Fixed tablet mapping problems when using ArtRage on a multi-monitor system with various tablet mapping modes active.

4. Tool Problems.

• Changed the single 'dab' profile for the eraser to match its cursor shape.
• Improved tool performance to improve accuracy while sketching high speed curves.
• Fixed a bug that was causing intermittent failures of the 'eraser tip' of a two tipped stylus to operate as an eraser.

5. UI Problems.

• Fixed a bug whereby Save As for a painting file could allow the progress bar to go above 100%.
• Changed the construction method for the New File dialog so that it can operate on screens smaller than 1024 x 768. On smaller screens you won't have access to Canvas Presets in the New File dialog, but they will still be available from your Paper Settings dialog after you create the new file.
• Fixed a bug whereby the tool settings pane could appear when it had no controls in it, specifically if hotkeys were used to change tools while the UI was hidden.
• Fixed a bug that was preventing deletion of canvas presets after the first page.
• Fixed a bug that was causing the wrong grain file to be loaded with canvas presets. You should now have a bunch of more interesting canvases!
• Fixed a bug that caused the Load Tracing Image / Edit Trace Settings button to display the incorrect text when loading a file that has a tracing paper.
• Fixed a bug that caused the color picker to lose its automatic color selection warning when loading a file that has a tracing paper.
• Fixed a bug on OS X that would cause you not to be prompted to save changes in an edited file when creating a new one, if you had panel transitions turned off in the Preferences menu.
• Changed the About Box so that it displays the precise revision number of your version of ArtRage.
• Changed the Online Update box so that it can display more text.

6. Miscellaneous Problems.

• Fixed a bug whereby horizontal lines could appear across the canvas while painting.
• Fixed a bug whereby paint could suddenly lose its ability to smear. The problem related to a convoluted and uninteresting mix of drying code and stroke indexing, or something. *yawn*
• Fixed a bug whereby using an ArtRage settings file (artrage.prs) that had been used on a machine with a larger monitor could cause you to lose your movable panels.
• Added the color sampling hotkey to the shortcuts page of the manual (Alt-Click).
• Added Page Up and Page Down as zoom in and out, to solve some mapping problems on JIS layout keyboards.
• Fixed a crash bug relating to atanf2 on OS X 10.3.8, the crash was generally killing the application on loading.
• Fixed a bug that was causing the tracing image to offset when zooming.

Tablet Settings Notes.

A number of different tablet settings were causing problems in ArtRage 2.02. ArtRage uses the high precision point tracking of the graphics tablet for sub pixel input and in some cases that was having problems where tablets didn't support it, or other issues arose. Windows users can now set ArtRage to use 'Mouse Mode', which turns off the high resolution input support and should allow proper operation of the tablet. You may find that this reduces the quality of the paint strokes, and if that is the case you can zoom in to get more accurate lines.

Printing Notes.

Some users have reported that when they print an image from ArtRage, they get a black box printed instead of their painting. This appears to be due to the print drivers not supporting the high quality stretch ArtRage is using. In all reported cases so far, updating the drivers for the printer has solved the problem.

File I/O Notes.

We're working on a file import and export guide at the moment that goes over some of the details of how to get the best results from the system. There has been some confusion regarding save/load and export/import. Save and Load work with ArtRage painting files only. Import and Export are used if you want to save your work in a format other applications can use.

When exporting a multi-layered ArtRage file as a Photoshop document, the layers will be preserved. When you import a multi-layered Photoshop document, layers with bitmap content are loaded in to individual ArtRage layers. Each layer in ArtRage has a number of properties that require additional memory for storage on top of the standard color information (for example, the volume of paint, the metallic value etc.) so you may find that the file size increases when loading a document.

When importing a document that has layers with transparency, ArtRage does not give those layers 'paint volume'. Giving them volume would cause problems around the edges of the layer contents. This means that the layers with transparency can only be smudged, not smeared. If you merge a layer like this down on to another layer that already has paint in it however, you can smear the result.

Return to Index.