Mischief Overview

[Tsuujou]

This is a copy paste of my Mischief breakdown I posted some time ago on Weasyl. I'm moving it here with the many relevant edits required

So a lot of people are in the dark about my primary tool, Mischief. It’s a brand new digital program and personally I love it. I think I’ve used it long enough (going on 2 years now) and have learned enough about it to write a mostly fair review on the product for you guys. 

The program has two gimmicks. It is a vector based drawing app with an infinite canvas. It is just as advertised. The canvas is indeed never ending as long as your CPU can handle the ever increasing size. Theoretically, you could quite literally open one canvas and never open another one again. You don’t define pixel dimensions each time you open a fresh canvas. Only when you’re ready to save the image do you select and define the dimensions and dpi. The vector graphics (if you’ve used Adobe Illustrator) mean that no matter how far you zoom in or out, your strokes will never pixelate. That’s not the definition, but that’s the result. This is contrary to other programs like SAI. Though they refer to it as “textured strokes” which is vector, but with mathematics involved so it can auto scale without pixelation or artifacts. Works efficiently.

The infinite zoom/scroll can be utilized for a number of creative endeavors. You can make detailed storyboards, very clean far away perspectives, a large sketch page, or just use it for extensive cleanup and detailing.

I have found using my Wacom Bamboo and Huion 1060 Pro+ that it’s the smoothest of any (Windows) drawing app I’ve ever used. Compared to SAI, Ps, Manga Studio, Corel Painter, Sketchbook Pro. etc this is bar none the most natural tool for freehand drawing I have ever used. It’s stabilizer is limited to 4 choices, but I find max to be more than enough, personally, and I don't even need that. 

Now for me, this works just fine enough. All I need is the basic features so I can freehand properly and easily. It's incredible and highly user friendly for just throwing ideas on a page or sketching aimlessly. But for program enthusiasts or people who just want more, this is where the pros end…

The best way to describe Mischief is that it’s in it’s infancy… Literally, when you boot up the app, what you see are all the tools you can use and that's it. There are some very minimal settings you can switch about, but it is missing a lot of standard features in modern digital art programs

-Lasso tool
-Export options (only supports JPEG)
-Layer options (luminosity/multiply/etc)
-Magic wand
-Bucket tool
-Custom brushes
-Tabs
-Transformation options 

However, the program has dropped $40 from it's original asking price to a very agreeable $25 with a great trial for people on the fence.

I received my copy as a gift from a gracious friend. So I may be a bit biased, but the few pros were extremely convincing for just wanting to freehand draw. I would not call this a rip off. But I would say try the 15 day trial or wait. The trial is more than enough time to figure out such a basic program. I don’t doubt things will change in later versions and they do encourage you to stay updated when asked about specific features in future updates on their site. 
But, I’ll repeat, Mischief is most definitely in it’s infancy. Keep an eye on it, but don’t hold your breath.

Feel free anyone to add onto this review or correct any mistakes I've made. I'd be interested in those of you using Cintiq's or similar touch screen tablets to share your experiences if you've used it. Or ask me any questions if you aren't certain about something unclear here.