Escape Motions is celebrating ten years of development with a not-so-subtle flex: Rebelle 8 is now available in Early Access for Windows and macOS, promising a fresh era for natural media simulation. If you’re nostalgic for the chaos of real paint, but allergic to solvents, the new Bristle Brushes in Rebelle 8 might make you reconsider ever buying another mop.
The upgrade, live as of August 1, 2025, brings over forty new features, the most visible being the introduction of particle-based Bristle Brushes. These simulate each brush strand individually, offering an unruly degree of texture and expressivity—finally, your digital brush can shed like a real one (minus the cleanup). For oil purists, RealShader layers on photorealistic lighting and impasto depth, while SoftShadows delivers dynamic, live-cast shadows to your work. Even the pickiest of illustrators, fine artists, and concept designers might stop blaming their software for muddy colours.
Behind the scenes, the NanoPixel 2 engine allows for image exports up to 32K resolution—because sometimes, you just need to print a mural. Performance improvements now enable brush sizes up to 3000 pixels, and there’s noticeably less lag when wielding large digital tools. Integration with standard workflows gets a nod with improved PSD import/export, real-time WebSocket control for those automating their pipelines, and new options for uploading custom reflectivity maps and granulation textures. That’s right: if your watercolor isn’t gritty enough, it’s officially your fault.
One Year of Updates: Perpetual License Stays, Subscriptions Stay Out
Rebelle 8 comes in two flavors: Standard ($89.99 USD) and Pro ($149.99 USD), both offering a perpetual license—buy it once, use it forever. What’s new is the “1-Year Free Updates” model: every purchase now includes a full year of feature and improvement updates, starting with the official release in September 2025. After that, you can continue using your version as long as you like, or pay to renew your update period for another year. It’s as perpetual as your patience with software licensing.
Early Access buyers get a bonus: their 12-month update clock won’t start ticking until the final release day. Users upgrading from Rebelle 7 get a 50% discount, and anyone who bought version 7 on or after May 28, 2025, upgrades for free.
What’s New? Here’s the (Condensed) Laundry List
Rebelle 8 is heavy on new features and quality-of-life improvements. Pro users get exclusive access to Bristle Brushes, RealShader, NanoPixel 2, and SoftShadows. The software also boasts a revamped scaling algorithm, an advanced symmetry tool, a Brush History panel, real-time WebSocket control for canvas interactions, and enhanced selection tools. Photoshop compatibility is improved with a native plug-in (Escape Motions Connect) and Apple Silicon support. Layer settings, instant canvas preview, RYB color wheel, undo/redo for the mixing palette, and reference image adjustments all get a look-in.
For those who care about technical requirements: Windows 10 (64-bit) or macOS 10.15 is the minimum, with OpenGL 3.3 required for Pro features. Recommended hardware includes an Intel i7 (6th gen or newer), 16 GB RAM, and a midrange NVIDIA GPU. Support for Wacom and Windows Ink tablets is baked in.
Discounts for Students, Risk-Free Refunds for Everyone Else
Educational pricing is aggressive: students and teachers get a 40% discount, and classroom licenses are discounted by at least 40%. All editions include a 30-day money-back guarantee, making it possible to test every new bristle without commitment.
Release Timeline, Support, and Where to Buy
Early Access is available now, with the official launch set for September 2025. All purchases, pricing, feature breakdowns, and educational offers are detailed on the Escape Motions site. For those keen to evangelize Rebelle, an affiliate program promises up to 20% commission. As always: test new releases thoroughly before using them in live productions or tight client deadlines. Real bristles shed—so do new features.
