Okay, ready to have some fun, kids? Just download Artrage Starter Edition (free!), pick up your Wacom Bamboo (or a mouse), and let your inner child out to play in the street!

I was a painter in college. When I graduated, I dramatically gave away all my paints, figuring I’d never have the time or space to paint ever again. (Okay, I may have been suffering a bit of post-graduation depression at the time.) As self-fulfilling prophecy would have it, I moved into a small apartment, started working, got into computer graphics, and my messy painter days were over.

Then along came Artrage, the impossibly fun natural media paint program that looks and acts like real paint! It smears, smudges and mixes. There’s paint, charcoal, crayon, pencil, and glitter to play with. There’s even a tiny glass of water to "rinse" your paintbrush clean! After 30 seconds you’ll feel just like this:

Whenever I’m on the phone, watching TV or have a few minutes to spare, I open up Artrage and let my hands go into autopilot. It’s funny seeing what comes out when you’re not paying a bit of attention to that side of your brain. It reminds me of having alien hand syndrome (but a creative, benign alien hand… not one that chokes you in your sleep). Here are some of my Artrage braindumps:

Kira the Dog always thinks I’m saying "Walk". She is sporting David’s head– probably because he perks up the same way when I say I have to "work."

 
Listening to our daughter tell us about her struggles at work

Back to work after a weekend of too much "Raving Rabbid"

My back was hurting.

Looking for that magic "up" button

Guernika and cupcakes

Give Artrage a try. You’ll feel just like a kid again. And if you want even more bells and whistles (like layers and more frisket options, and the ability to export as a layered Photoshop file), they charge a meager $25 for the full version. Check out their user forums to see other peoples’ creations, or post your own!