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While I was in school, I didn't enjoy painting classes at all, but when I have the chance to play with a computer software that is usually used to create digital paintings. Well, it's harder to create really good works with a mouse and no talent, but if you want to have some fun, Twisted Brush is one of the best choices around!


Setup

As I write this, the latest version of the program is 13.7, and its price is 39.95$ (6 months license, and 6 months of free updates), but a limited trial version is available to play with for 15 days. The setup package has only 12.3MB in size, and I say "only" because there's a lot to discover inside this program, as you'll see a bit later, but for now, check these shots taken during the installation of the program. As you can see, no problem with this part, so let's move on!

Interface

TwistedBrush has an interface that looks dusty, with black and white icons on the toolbar and that gives me the feeling of a program from the end of the 1990s. Anyway, don't think that this means you'll have problems using it, because this is not the truth. The tools are much better than the looks, so let's move on and talk about them a little...


Features

The first place to look when opening the program is the tools panel to the left of the main window. Here, you can gain quick access to an incredible amount of brushes and presets. Layers are also supported, and the concept of the sketchbook used in TwistedBrush is a really interesting one. So...what is this sketchbook concept?

When creating a new document in this program, you are not having only a page at your disposal, but the first page of a sketchbook that can go on and on for thousands of pages (I can't guarantee you that, because I didn't have the time or inspiration to test this limit).



To draw the line, TwistedBrush has only two major limits: your imagination and skill, because most of the features that you get from other professional graphics applications, such as layers or filters, are here.


The Good

TwistedBrush is not hungry when talking about the system resources used, and not even when thinking about its price, but the best part is that an impressive amount of built in presets and templates is available, and even better, it has support for PSD files!

The Bad

The interface needs to get into this millenium and catch up with the rest of the program, because it's really a shame for TwistedBrush to lose the market share it deserves because of this.

Conclusion

Despite its tough competition, Pixarra's product is an excellent graphics tool for Windows users, and you really don't have to be an artist to create some nice works with it. Just hit the download link, install it and have fun!

Developer: Pixarra
Price: 39.95$(6 months)/169.95$(unlimited)
Trial Link: Download