# ArtRage — Real paint at your fingertips! > Advanced digital painting app simulating real paint properties and tools. (iPhone/iPad app by Ambient Design Ltd..) - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/artrage/id391432693 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`) - Developer: [Ambient Design Ltd.](https://appshunter.io/developer/391432696) - Category: Entertainment, Lifestyle - Price: $2.99 - Rating: 3.50/5 from 171 App Store ratings · 737 written reviews indexed - Age rating: 4+ - Requires: iOS 10.0 · 62 MB - Languages: American English, Dutch, French (France), German (Germany), Italian, Japanese, European Spanish - Released: 2010-09-27 - Data updated: 2026-09-10 - Monetization: paid - User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/artrage/id391432693/reviews.md ## What is ArtRage? The most advanced simulation of real paint on iOS! Get creative on a digital canvas with smearing, blending oils, delicate watercolor, and much more! Ever wanted to try painting your masterpiece but were put off by the mess and expense? Now you can! ArtRage isn't just about color: It knows how much paint you've used so you can smear it around to spread it over the canvas. It knows how wet your paint is so you can blend it with other paints. It even knows about the roughness of your paper so your pencils can be used for soft shading. It's not just a special effect either - ArtRage is a live simulation of the properties of real artistic media that lets you can get creative with colors and textures using tools you already know how to use! ArtRage takes full advantage of the features of your device like larger canvases on iPad Pro, Apple Pencil support for pressure & tilt, and 3D touch on your iPhone. Join the ArtRage community: Forums: forums.artrage.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/artrage Features: Real world painting tools: Oils, Watercolors, Paint Rollers, Pencils, Crayons and more. Each tool has a range of familiar properties such as how much thinner is applied to the paint, or how soft a pencil tip is. Tools apply texture as well as color, and blend under the brush. Add Layers to your painting and work on individual elements without damaging others. ArtRage supports a wide range of Layer Blend Modes, and layer contents can be scaled moved and rotated independently. Import images, converting them to oil for smearing or as Reference Images pinned to the canvas as a visual guide. Load photos as Tracing Images which are overlaid on the canvas, and have ArtRage select colors automatically as you paint. The interface has been designed to maximize your creative space without hiding away critical functions such as tool and color selection. As you paint, it gets out of the way so that you don’t have to stop and manually adjust panels. Record your paintings! The ArtRage Script system lets you record strokes while you paint for playback in desktop versions of the product at higher resolution. Import and Export using external services such as Dropbox, and iCloud Drive. Share your images on Facebook, Twitter, and any other sharing app on your device. Tools: • Oil Brush, Watercolor, Airbrush, Palette Knife, Paint Roller, Paint Tube, Inking Pen, Pencil, Marker Pen, Chalk, Crayon, Glitter Tube, Gloop Pen, Eraser, Flood Fill. • Paint simulation monitors the physical properties of your paints to allow natural blending, smearing, and other real world behavior. • Preset support to save your favorite settings for later use. • Supports the Apple Pencil's Pressure and Tilt properties, and 3D Touch where available to add realism to the simulated paint strokes. Layers: • Unlimited layers with Photoshop standard blend modes, visibility and opacity controls. Scale, rotate, and position layer contents independently. Utilities: • Record your paintings as Scripts then play them back in a desktop version of ArtRage. • Unlimited Undo / Redo. Load photos as References or Tracing images. Store color samples for later use. Files: • Create paintings up to 2048 x 2048 or 4096 x 4096 on iPad Pro. • Control the texture and color of the canvas to create different effects. Canvas presets can be stored to save your favorite settings for later. • Export PTG, JPG or PNG to services such as Email, iOS11 Files, Adobe Creative Cloud, Dropbox, and more. Share images on Facebook or Twitter. Import photos to a new file or a layer, with camera support. Interface: • Easy access pods provide functionality without getting in the way. Elements vanish as you paint so you can paint underneath. Multi-Touch shortcuts for canvas manipulation, Undo/Redo, and Brush Size. • Adapts to suit iPhone layouts. Stylus & Input Support: • Apple Pencil Pressure & Tilt. • Supports 3D Touch. • Includes support for Wacom, Adonit, Adobe, and Pogo styluses. ## Key features - Realistic paint simulation (oils, watercolors, etc.) - Smearing and blending capabilities - Layer support with blend modes - Import images as reference or tracing - Apple Pencil pressure and tilt support - Customizable interface ## What do users think of ArtRage? Overall sentiment: positive **Pros** - 🎨 Realistic paint simulation - 👍 Intuitive and easy-to-use interface - 💡 Variety of tools and customization options - 🎨 Blending and mixing of colors works well - 🎨 Simulates traditional media like oil, watercolor, and pastels **Cons** - 🐛 Crashes and freezes - 🐛 Laggy performance, especially with larger brushes - 🔍 Limited canvas size and resolution - 🐛 Bugs with layer handling and saving progress - 🔍 Missing some basic features like shapes and text **Commonly reported bugs** - Crashes and loss of unsaved work - Bugs with color picker and blending tools - Inconsistent behavior when switching between tools **Most requested features** - Ability to resize and rotate canvas - Improved palm rejection and touch controls - Larger brush sizes and more customization options - Support for higher resolution canvases and export - Autosave and cloud sync functionality ## Recent user reviews (10 of 737) All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/artrage/id391432693/reviews.md ### 2/5 — No “flip/mirror canvas” option *2026-08-23, version 2.4.0* Seriously? ### 5/5 — Not a great app but I’m too invested in it to quit *2026-05-02, version 2.4.0* I’ve used ArtRage for at least 12 years in total, beginning with the desktop version in 2014-2015ish before I switched to the mobile version in 2020. At this point, I don’t know if it’s a genuinely good program or if I’ve just used it for so long that I’ve grown used to all of its quirks. I wish I could group layers, so I can save myself the wasted time of merging layer after layer after layer. I wish there were an actual blur tool like in the desktop version so I don’t have to use a custom knife tool I made to sort of create a blur effect. I wish the app didn’t crash if you switch to another app while it’s open. I wish it didn’t lag whenever you zoom in or out on big canvases with a lot going on. People ask me what program I use and whenever I explain that I use ArtRage, it comes with a lot of clarifications—I wouldn’t really recommend it, it hasn’t been properly updated in years, and it’s not really worth your $5. But am I emotionally attached to it? Absolutely. Has it served me well from my terrible early days of digital art to the much better work I make today? Debatable, but I would say yes. However much I complain, I know, perhaps with some dread, that the day I switch to another drawing app is the day ArtRage dies. The real question is whether they’ll ever update it again… ### 1/5 — Lost all art with IOS 18?! *2024-12-26, version 2.4.0* All artwork is showing as the ArtRage icon after the IOS 18 update :( ### 4/5 — New Purple Version? *2024-11-25, version 2.4.0* From the top review of the “new” version with a purple icon it sounds like there is no difference between it and this version. Is this becoming legacy with a major update coming to purple icon ArtRage, or should I hang onto this app that I’ve been using for so long that I feel like the 1st Apple Pencil had just come out. It’s a 4-5 star app for its capability to give you a semi manual painting experience with existing photos which procreate doesn’t seem to match - the original Fractal Design Painter for desktop computers had a clone color function (and much less complication, but lacked layers - only a thing called …. wait for it …. floaters) that ArtRage reminds me of and does very well. ### 3/5 — Need stencils *2024-07-28, version 2.4.0* The stencils are the best part ### 1/5 — Very buggy *2024-04-19, version 2.4.0* Not updated to keep pace with iOS. Very buggy forgets settings. Apple Pencil support virtually non existent. Shame. It used to be a good app. ### 5/5 — Put some hard-working in this app and we five stars! *2024-03-09, version 2.4.0* In my opinion, the only one of its kind is procreate, but I also think your interface and layout is pretty amazing. It’s sad to see this at 3.4 when it should be 5.0 As many others have said, this app has so much potential to be so much greater than Procreate… Chin up my friend I gave you five stars and hopes that you will update this app, and make it great again, drawing apps need some competition to make iPad. The preferred tablet for artists. ### 4/5 — 不知道设置语言而放弃 *2024-02-14* 非常感谢陪伴 ### 4/5 — Good *2023-12-31, version 2.4.0* Just a few weeks ago I was able to turn the picture with my fingers but now I have to turn my whole iPad but other than that it’s an amazing app!! ### 1/5 — Erratic behaviour on iPad *2023-11-03, version 2.4.0* Crashes a lot. Automatically deletes layers in spite of regular saving of work. ## Frequently asked questions about ArtRage ### What is ArtRage? ArtRage is an advanced digital painting application designed to simulate the behavior of real-world art supplies on iOS devices. It offers realistic paint blending, smearing, and texture effects, allowing users to create art with tools like oils, watercolors, and pencils. ### What are the key features of ArtRage? Key features include realistic paint simulation with tools like oil brushes, watercolors, and pencils; support for layers with various blend modes; the ability to import images as references or tracing guides; and optimized performance with Apple Pencil pressure and tilt. ### How much does ArtRage cost? ArtRage is a paid application. The price is a one-time purchase, and there are no in-app purchases or advertisements within the app. ### What devices is ArtRage compatible with? ArtRage is designed for iOS devices and takes full advantage of their features, including larger canvases on iPad Pro and Apple Pencil support for pressure and tilt. It also supports 3D Touch on compatible iPhones. ### What are some common use cases for ArtRage? ArtRage is ideal for digital artists who want to experience the feel of traditional painting without the mess or expense. It's used for creating digital masterpieces, sketching, concept art, and exploring different painting techniques with realistic media simulations. ## Version history (last 5 releases) ### 2.4.0 — 2018-06-26 This update from Apple will improve the functionality of this app. No new features are included. This update adds gallery file sorting options and the ability to recreate thumbnails for paintings that have lost them. Both options are available in from the menu at the top of the gallery. We've also made some changes to file naming and storage to fix some reported problems, added an indicator to the canvas so that you know which way is 'up' when you create it, and made some improvements to scripting support. As always, if you have any problems please contact us via our support link and we'll be happy to look in to it and help out! ### 2.3.4 — 2018-01-24 We've solved some problems that could occur when opening the References Panel or using Reference images, fixed a problem that could make the color picker vanish as you start painting as if you were painting close to it, and re-implemented applying Loading values when using Palette Knife Presets. We've also updated to the latest Wacom stylus SDK for updated device and pen support. As always, if you have any problems please contact us via our support link and we'll be happy to look in to it and help out! ### 2.3.3 — 2017-12-13 This update fixes problems with restoring gallery backups, issues that could arise when working with an empty gallery, problems with the gallery Options menu when displaying in page mode, and some issues with ink pen tapering and pressure support. As always, if you find a problem please let us know via our support link or forums, we're always happy to help! ### 2.3.2 — 2017-11-28 Updated For iPhone X: We've gone through the app and updated layouts to make sure that everything is in the right place and accessible on iPhone X. - Fixed a crash that could occur when importing reference images on iOS10. - Fixed a crash that could occur when pasting content copied from a hidden layer. - Added ink back to painting titles in the gallery so they're not white any more! As always, if you find a problem please let us know via our support link or forums, we're always happy to help! ### 2.3.1 — 2017-10-26 Just a quick update to address a hang on start that could happen if files were in the shared file space and the app thought it needed to do a first time reinstall. As always, if you find a problem please let us know via our support link or forums, we're always happy to help! Version 2.3 includes a number of new features for iOS11 and improvements to file sharing across the board, including: • iOS11 Files app support for ArtRage files. •Drag / Drop Layer, Reference, and Tracing Image assignment from Files and other image applications that support drag. •iOS level PTG file thumbnails and Quicklook support. •Updated sharing system that allows import/export via any app or service on the device that supports file sharing, including iCloud Drive. If you have any problems with these or any other features please let us know via our support page and we'd be happy to help! Fixes & Tweaks: • Fixed a problem that prevented export to Facebook, Twitter, and Dropbox. • Added wait indicators for longer import operations. • Added a Pressure slider to the ink pen. • Adjusted the Tool Settings panel so that it can scroll on smaller devices. • Fixed a bug that prevented the precise colour picker from functioning correctly when Tint/Tone mode was active. • Fixed a bug that caused the screen to slide up when editing the size of paintings in landscape mode on devices that had a hardware keyboard attached. ## Apps similar to ArtRage | App | Rating | Price | Category | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [LightBox Expo](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/lightbox-expo/id6453941003) | 4.2 (18) | Free | Entertainment | | [pixiv Sketch](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pixiv-sketch/id991334925) | 4.7 (213) | Free | Entertainment | | [Calligraphy Handbook](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/calligraphy-handbook/id830584075) | 4.5 (518) | Free | Entertainment | | [Amaziograph](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/amaziograph/id586076398) | 4.9 (6,657) | $1.99 | Entertainment | | [Paintstorm Studio Lite](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/paintstorm-studio-lite/id1097147869) | 4.0 (262) | Free | Entertainment | | [Zen Brush 2](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/zen-brush-2/id1012274888) | 3.9 (129) | $2.99 | Entertainment | ## More apps by Ambient Design Ltd. - [ArtRage Vitae Mobile Painting](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/artrage-vitae-mobile-painting/id1521959252) All apps by Ambient Design Ltd.: https://appshunter.io/developer/391432696 ## Related topics [artrage vitae mobile painting](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/artrage-vitae-mobile-painting) --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-09-10.*