Digital Art Community Forum for Artists & Creators

Realistic fluid acrylic / drip-pour style? Achievable?

Username: 48t7Wsdb0qTH
Post Date: 2026-04-04 17:05:55
Hi all, I'm a traditional painter of 40+ years yet also try my best to explore every digital painting tool available. Rebelle 8 is new(ish) to me, and is really interesting in many ways but seems to lack a feature that every other digital art tool also seems to be missing ... a truly easy way of letting paint drip/flow. My own abstracts share a style I'd say was an uneasy marriage of Cy Twombly and Pat Steir. I load large house paint size brushes up with acrylics (sometimes oils) of various viscosities (and also pour) and let the paint flow down the almost vertical boards/canvas. While I seem to be able to (in the Rebelle 8 Pro trial) achieve something very basic like this (paint a brush stroke then liquify/water it) to have to drip .. very slowly even with 32GB RAM and a 3070 video card) ... down the screen depending on the strength and direction I've set in the Tilt panel, there's really no pure "liquid" kind of painting available in Rebelle is there? Either I'm missing it or this is more of a liquid/particle physics issue that digital painting programs can't really handle. Also, why is the Tilt/Water effect so slow on my machine? The drips take a long time to flow down the page. Any way to replicate what I do traditionally in Rebelle? Thanks for any advice.
Username: yesbird
Post Date: 2026-04-04 19:11:31
Hi, 48t7Wsdb0qTH. Try to turn off RealShader (F12 / Checkbox) and things will go much faster.
Username: 48t7Wsdb0qTH
Post Date: 2026-04-04 19:28:01
[QUOTE="yesbird, post: 32265, member: 66126"] Hi, 48t7Wsdb0qTH. Try to turn off RealShader (F12 / Checkbox) and things will go much faster. [/QUOTE] Much speedier now, thanks!
Username: farshore
Post Date: 2026-04-04 19:28:56
The flowing and dripping also depend a lot on the size and resolution of the canvas. Try using something smaller and with resolution around 200. Also turn off nanopixel while the paint is moving. Oil and acrylics will flow, but more slowly than express oils, watercolor, or ink. Try pre-wetting the canvas before you apply "heavier" paints. You are right about the fluid dynamics. Different viscosities for paint on a surface are a bear to calculate on the fly. Hopefully the developers can find a way to implement it. That said you can still get some since effects with Rebelle.