How to find your ArtRage serial number with a Wacom tablet
We’ve been getting a lot of questions about this recently, so we just wanted to clarify the process of finding your serial number and registering ArtRage if it came with a Wacom tablet.
Many Wacom tablets come with a free copy of ArtRage 2 or ArtRage 3 (Studio or Studio Pro). These require a serial number (“registration key”) to activate the program after installing it. You get this serial number directly from Wacom and we have no access to, or control over, the process. They use the same system for distributing most of their included software, not just ArtRage.
The steps may vary by country or by tablet, so we can only tell you what you should look for. If you can’t find any of the options below, you need to contact Wacom support.
How Do You Get ArtRage Working?
If you have a CD for ArtRage 2, there should be a 20 digit serial number printed on the sleeve, in which case you’re all set and can skip to the section about registering with us in the member area.
If you’re supposed to download ArtRage, then you need to register your tablet and the SBD key you get from Wacom. In which case, follow the steps below.
- Find your SBD key
- Register with Wacom
- Find your serial
- Download from Wacom
- [optional] Register in our Member Area
See this page for step by step instructions on registering and downloading your software.
If it is missing, contact Wacom support, as we cannot access your Wacom account and cannot see what happened to your serial number. If you have a question about using ArtRage Lite, then we can help!
Note: If you are running Mac OS 10.9 or later, you need the latest version of ArtRage 3 (3.5.12). The Wacom download may not be the latest version, so you will need to download 3.5.12 from our member area.
Which Number is the Serial Number? (Find the SBD key)
So, you have your shiny new tablet. You may have a CD with ArtRage on, or you may have to download it. What you need to look for is either the serial number or a code referred to as an SBD key.
You’re probably going to have 2-4 different codes of varying lengths and appearances. These will include a short code that is specific to the tablet itself, a longer software code (SBD key) to register with Wacom, and any other codes for other software or products.
Your ArtRage serial number will be a mixture of capital letters and numbers, 20 or 25 digits long.
- ArtRage 2 will be 20 digits in this format: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
- ArtRage 3 (Studio/Studio Pro) will be 25 digits broken up into groups of 5: XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX
If you don’t have an ArtRage serial number, you will have an SBD (Software Bundle Download) key. This can usually be found on the sticker on the envelope of your driver DVD. It may only be referred to as an ‘SBD key’ and it is usually 23 digits long, in a very similar format to our ArtRage 3 serial numbers:
SBD key format: XXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXX
This makes it very easy to mix up with the ArtRage serial number. It won’t work as the serial number for ArtRage, but if you register it with Wacom, it will ‘unlock’ your software downloads. You can register your Wacom tablet here.
What Happens Next? (Registering With Wacom)
Once you have registered, your ArtRage serial number will appear in your Wacom account under the ‘My Library’ section
. If you can’t find it, contact Wacom support. We can’t help you, as only Wacom has access to your Wacom details.
Optional Member Area Registration: Better Download Options, More Support & Upgrade Discounts
Once you’ve successfully registered with Wacom, you can download ArtRage, enter the serial number and start painting. However, you also have the option of registering your serial number in our Member Area.
We highly recommend registering directly with us because it will allow us to actually support you easily in the future (rather than having to send you to Wacom because we don’t know which edition you have or what your serial number should be).
It will also give you a few other benefits:
- Unlimited downloads whenever you need to reinstall ArtRage
- Access to the most recent version (Wacom downloads aren’t always up to date). If you are running Mac OS 10.9 or later, you need the latest version of ArtRage, because older versions will not work properly.
- The option to download both Windows and Mac OSX versions whenever your need them (Wacom only allows you to choose one OS).
- A safe place to keep your serial number, so that you never lose your copy of ArtRage.
- Access to our upgrade discount – you will be able to get a 50% discount if you ever want to upgrade to our latest edition (currently ArtRage 4).
To register:
- Click ‘create account’ and follow the instructions if you haven’t done so before
- Log in, then click ‘register’ and enter your serial number. Click ‘save’ and refresh the page.
You should now see your serial number listed on the page and you can click ‘download’ to download any of the latest versions (Windows or OS X).
Still Need Help?
We’re always happy to help if you run into any problems. Just drop us an email via the Tech Support form.
Relevant FAQs:
- How To Find Your ArtRage Serial Number
- How to Register ArtRage in the Member Area
- About the Different Editions of ArtRage
More Tutorials: