Creating artwork is a good pastime — be it on paper or over the computer. Those who are a bit tech-savvy and prefer (or simply want to explore) computer programs to drawings, as hobby or even passion, find it difficult to start with propriety packages such as Photoshop while programs like Paint, available by default in Windows, are way too simple.
So today we are introducing a free program specifically designed for creative digital artwork called Artweaver. This tool can be used to create original artwork and for touching up photographs or for converting them to look like paintings as well.
The interface of Artweaver offers standard controls on the left, such as selection, shape, text, zoom, colour selection and brush. By default, brush tool is selected with its window appearing below the standard controls. Here’s where real strength of Artweaer lies as there’s a long list of realistic brush tools available within the brush tool with a variety of options to control their behaviour. These brushes apply differently when dragged or single clicked on screen just like their equivalent behaviour over hard board or canvas. Brush styles can be changed using the dropdown in brush window. Default is acrylics and available options range from airbrush, artistic paint tube, oil paint brush, calligraphic pen, nozzle, chalk, charcoal to crayon and pencil.
Creating art with a particular tool can be very interesting. For example, selecting ‘calligraphy’ from the brush dropdown allows selection from one of the 10 calligraphic pens using the adjacent dropdown. Depending upon the intended drawing — which could be your name handwritten in a local language — select a suitable pen, such as one with wide width, dry ink, grainy edge, smooth edge or thin edge. Below these dropdowns, there are other controls too that can further alter brush behaviour.
These controls include size, spacing and, most importantly, the ‘type’ dropdown. Type can be air brush, bristles, circular, etc., and are applicable in different ways for different tools. For example, chalk brush applied with ‘type’ set to bristles will show vertical scratch lines but appears as thick solid form if ‘type’ is set to circular.
One interesting ‘type’ is called ‘image hose’. As evident in the name, this ‘type’ can be used to paint selected images rather than default brush lines. The advantage of such a tool is that it allows easier insertion of repeated images with a stroke of a brush rather than copying and pasting small images. Think of painting stars in the backdrop of the sky or flowers in background — this functionality can easily take care of such requirements.
Apart from this vast variety of paint tools, try opening up an existing photograph and see what can be done with it in Artweaver. Start off with ‘filters’ menu offering eight categories of effects that can be applied. Try these out as required such as texturing, sharpening, distortion and blur etc. These are all available as menus with submenus allowing multiple effect types under each. For example, ‘stylise’ menu allows ‘sketch’ effect that converts image to a pencil like drawn form, and an ‘old look’ effect that makes a photograph look like one of those in your old family albums!
For those willing to explore more advanced options, there’s a detailed level ‘layers’ option. Layers can be thought of as multiple transparent sheets kept on an original image. This means that the user can draw on layers instead of altering the original image. Not only this preserves the image, but allows more flexibility in experimenting with application of effects and addition or merging different photographic items. Say adding a text title on an image can be drawn on a layer which can selectively be turned off using the eye icon in ‘layers’ window on the right.
With these three distinct functionalities offering paint brush tools, photographic effects and layers support, Artweaver becomes one of the best freeware digital art and photography tool — ideal for beginners and advanced users alike. Most of the things a normal user would do in Photoshop can be done easily in this lightweight program. Download and enjoy this new tool this season and show off some of your very own digital art!
For download: http://www.artweaver.de/
Source: DAWN.COM Young World
0 comments:
Post a Comment