Can you tell us a little bit about yourself. ( background, education, hobbies, art training, etc)
Hi David, sure I can try. My professional background is most centered in software engineering and I have been involved in software since high school when I purchased my first computer, a Tandy TRS-80 model I, instead of a car. With that I taught myself programming in assembler language and wrote a game, a space invaders clone. However prior to that I had always had an interest in art and that became stronger when I lived in Minnesota for 2 years in 6th and 7th grades. There is something about nature that inspires art. While my involvement in art would remain with me through out my years it was typically second to my interest in software development. I did study computer science in school to get a bachelors degree and then entered the field of software engineering working in different domains over the last 25 years. These domains included, point of sale equipment, industrial labeling, internet server and browser development right near the start of the explosion of the internet and mobile computing (smart phones, etc). Additionally I started a small business called Kamyan Software and developed game, screeensaver, graphic and utility software for Windows. Titles included the game Pendulous, utilities Hogs and Mr.Mem, screensavers ScreenPlay and graphics software The Graphics Factory. I will save the parts related to Pixarra and TwistedBrush for the other questions in this interview. My art experience has been very informal with periods of time in my life of intense focus as a hobby that softly eases while the duties of life take over.
You are an artist yourself, what spark gave you the desire to create TwistedBrush for the digital artist?
Because of my interest in software development and art it seems to be a natural to want to create digitally. I had exposure and owned some of the early digital art software packages including Deluxe Paint and Fauve Matisse and numerous other now extinct packages. As is common for software developers there is often the desire to create a piece of software different or better then one already out there.
What year did you first release TwistedBrush and as the developer tell us your vision for Twistedbrush in the coming years.
The very first release of TwistedBrush was in July of 2003. However at that time the name was Pixarra Sketchbook. It wasn't until a year later that the name was changed to TwistedBrush. At the start TwistedBrush was developed just as a proof of concept and for myself only for pastel simulation. At that time I was working a lot with soft pastels but was becoming tired of the dust and difficulty of working with real soft pastels, additionally I wasn't happy with the pastel simulation of other software products that existed at the time and thought I could do better. After a short while I found that I had built a brush engine that was much more flexible and also very unique in execution than anything that existed in the digital paint field so I decided to build brushes to show off this flexibility and build it into a product for others to use.
Looking at the path from the first release to today at version 17.28 we can see a continued growth in features, usability and quality. That will be the continue path of TwistedBrush. In upcoming release you will see previous features getting retooled and a new life. Such as the scratch layer and masking tools improvements coming up in version 18. Many of these features are powerful and unique but some of them remained hidden or too difficult to use.
TwistedBrush has so many great features you as developer have the artist's heart in mind. What keeps that spirit burning in you for the artist?
That is a difficult question but in almost all cases the greatest spurts of innovation in TwistedBrush have been born by necessity, either my own or from requests and suggestions from the TwistedBrush user base. This is a critical point for TwistedBrush. There isn't a team of managers or developers trying to think of the next best feature, it is truly driven from the user base. And while not all requests and ideas get implemented they are all important to feed into the general theme of what TwistedBrush is.
Twistedbrush is designed for the beginning artist and seasoned professional. That is a tough, how do you balance the needs of both?
This takes both daily diligence and willingness to make changes if something isn't working. The diligence to keep improving things and to look at new features so that they don't interfere with the basic idea that existed from the beginning. That being you can start up TwistedBrush and begin painting at once and close TwistedBrush and never have to worry about saving your work.
The powerful brush effects panel is for creating new brushes, What ways do you see the artist taking full advantage of it?
This is a tricky question. The brush effects panel is there and is very complex with the hundreds of different effects and envelopes that exist. Every brush in TwistedBrush is driven by the brush effects system that is exposed by the brush effects panel. I had never really intended the brush effects panel to be used by the general user of TwistedBrush but only a very few brave users. However, many more artists than I ever expected have dived in the brush effects panel and somehow have discovered some amazing brush patterns. Notice the choice of words here, "discovered". Building brushes with the brush effects panel can be a very deliberate effort with intended actions giving intended results, However because of the complexity involved and minimal guidance given I refer to the new brush creations as discoveries. Like magic combination of brush effects that have never been tried before yielding some thing surprising. These discoveries have lead to whole categories of new brushes such as the fractal brushes and structural brushes. Even in the brushes I create there is at times an element of discovery. So to answer your original question, if the artist is brave, drive in, find an existing brush that is close to what is desired and start tweaking the brush effects to see what happens.
If I never heard of TwistedBrush, what would you want me to know the most about your paint program.
First that it is designed for the digital artist with an priority on the digital painter. If you have used other digital art software before you may be at a disadvantage in some ways because TwistedBrush can at times take a different approach than the standard seen in other programs.
The TB community is very active, can you tell us what you enjoy about relating to them both as a developer and artist.
As a developer it is the critical path to the future direction of TwistedBrush from the suggestions and feedback of the user base. As an artist/development when I view the gallery posts created by artists with TwistedBrush it is hard not to feel just a bit connected to each piece knowing it was created with the software I created. As a person it is reward on a level that can not be describe well when I read either in the forum or via email or private message that the forum and or TwistedBrush has had a important benefit for a user who may be struggling with things in life. It is a reward that I never expected to hear yet remains at the top in terms of importance.
How can TB users help you make TwistedBrush a even more powerful and friendly painting program?
Keep the suggestions coming, learn the software by playing with it, watching videos and sharing with others. And as I always say, have fun!
