Rebelle changed everything about digital painting before I even opened the demo. Go try for yourself! There's a canvas to play with its watercolor tech right there on the webpage. This unassuming little delight previews maybe 2% of the program's many, many features but 100% communicates the values of its creators as programmers, engineers, UI/UX gurus, and of course, artists.
"Here, have everything you've always wanted," said the little canvas to my heart when I clicked the first time. Responsive, intuitive, lean, customisable, fun (!) and all showcased perfectly RIGHT THERE IN THE BROWSER so you know you're good to go with specs. I had no fancy pen tablet or touchscreen (then or now), no high-end graphics card (then or now!), nothing but a mouse to click and drag to make absolutely killer brush strokes. Still my favourite way to play. Rebelle doesn't just "do" realistic paint, it's built so you can put paint to canvas using any method for a realistic result.
The software evolves leaps and bounds each year, and I love feeling included in the journey. I feel the values of its creators every time I open the program, in all its features and updates, the list of which is so grand that "everything I've always wanted" has been dwarfed by an appendix for "everything I didn't know I also wanted and now can't live without." It's incredible after twenty years of starving outside the digital art world for lack of realism. With Rebelle, I am gluttonously satisfied.
"Does it do X?" you ask as you download the free demo. As you'll soon find out, yes it does. Yes it has full controls for direction, viscosity/fluidity, layer and texture and canvas interactions textures at micro-fiber level with scalable detailing, making it an engaging and tactile platform for live painting. Yes it does complex blending with imported objects, have some fun and glaze a photo with watercolors for amazing bleeds and stains. Yes it has a built-in smart recorder in lossless 4K for just the canvas without intrusive stencils, references, etc., so you can can timelapse your work or rig it as a screenshot archive when you want to go back to a version long lost to undo limits. Also fun: drawing itsy bitsy details with the nanopixel feature. Also fun: recording hand-written or stenciled text to turn a static meme or picture into something living, dripping, organic. Song lyrics and subtitles. Cute little sloppy little banksy-esque silhouettes.
There is so much I like best about Rebelle. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
Rebelle runs laps around other paint programs. I think its creators could stand to boast a little. I also "dislike" they don't have any branded merch. Would enjoy the logo on a designer hoodie. :) Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
