The live brushes were the main selling point of Adobe Fresco, but they're being done better elsewhere (Image credit: Phil Galloway)ĭespite Fresco’s fun and easy-to-use nature, when one delves deeper it’s clear these brushes need more work and options to truly make them living like other apps such as ArtRage and the watercolours dripping with life in Expresii and Rebelle as they blend, spread and interact with textures and the tilting and wetness of paper in a far more believable and unharnessed manner. However, if you're experienced with the best digital art software (opens in new tab), it will feel much like a polished but basic option. I have been using digital painting programs for five or six years now as a portrait illustrator, and whilst Fresco is a great start (the watercolour brushes are particularly good), it does feel a little underbaked.įirst-time users and onlookers will no doubt watch on in awe as the paint mix and watercolour bleed into one another on their iPad screens for the first time.

It is this malleable evocative danger that makes them so appealing to artists and why most digital art programs miss the mark widely by being too synthetic or not blending colours well with paint sitting flatly in layers. They are hands on, visceral and at times an absolute swine to control. Oil painting and watercolours are a tactile, messy pastime and effuse memories of classroom mishaps and the pungent whiff of turps. All brush panels can be grabbed and docked where you need them, again to aid in setting up your space just as you like it so as not to detract from your creative experience. The UI is customisable to your workflow, including full-screen mode, which clears the screen so it’s just you and your masterpiece.

Once you have a new canvas open, the simplicity continues with all elements being quite self-explanatory and shouldn’t be daunting for new doodlers and feel second nature for photoshop users. Recent work, an online gallery of other Fresco community users, tutorials and options to create new or import/open other files are all clearly written out and not hidden behind odd icons as many programs do. The Home screen is simple, if a little stark, but everything is easily laid out meaning you can get to work swiftly.

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