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We are about to start reviewing fine art paints. There are many different manufacturers and different materials that go into each color paint. To begin I will start by reviewing fine art oil paints and eventually get into watercolor and acrylic paints.
There are differences in each color offered by each company so I will go color by color, company by company and give as much information as possible on each product.
The first three companies I will concentrate are Winsor & Newton, Daniel Smith, and Daler-Rowney. If you know any information about fine art oil paint manufacturers please email me the information. Any samples please mail to:
The Enhanced Brush Ghost gives you unprecedented visual feedback as you apply brushstrokes with a pen tablet in Corel® Painter™ X. This feedback gives you better control over your brushstrokes.
Figure 1: The example above captures the Enhanced Brush Ghost at three different points along a brushstroke.
The Enhanced Brush Ghost is essentially an extension of the drawing cursor. When you choose a brush variant in Corel Painter and place your pen on the tablet, the brush ghost appears. In previous versions of Corel Painter, the brush ghost showed you the approximate size and shape of the brush but disappeared when you applied a brushstroke.
The Enhanced Brush Ghost in Corel Painter X remains on-screen as you draw and paint. It consists of three parts that not only show you the size and general shape of the brush, but also provide you with information about the tilt, rotation, and paint flow, depending on the type of pen you use.
Figure 2: The appearance of the Enhanced Brush Ghost (below each pen) changes depending on the pen you use. The three example pens are from Wacom®: Intuos 3® Grip Pen (left), Intuos3 6D Art Pen (center), Intuos3 Airbrush (right).
Components of the Enhanced Brush Ghost
The outer ring shows you the maximum brush width. It can be round or elliptical, depending on the shape of the brush. For example, brushes with a Squeeze setting of less than 100% appear elliptical. To view the Squeeze setting for a brush, click Window > Brush Controls > Show Angle.
The line represents the tilt and direction (bearing) of the pen. It shows you where the center of the brush is relative to the maximum brush size, so you can gauge the exact location of the brush tip (where the brush starts painting when you apply pressure). The length of the stick changes, depending on the tilt: the more you tilt the pen, the longer the stick becomes. If you are using an airbrush pen, the end of the stick becomes wider as you increase the paint flow with the fingerwheel.
If you have a flat-tipped pen that supports 360-degree rotation, a dot appears on the outer ring to indicate the rotation of the pen. The Art Pens brush category on the Brush Selector bar contains brush variants that are optimized for these types of pens.
Although the benefits of the Enhanced Brush Ghost are many, you can turn it off, or use the legacy brush ghost, if you want to increase the speed with which brushstrokes are applied.
To turn brush ghosting on or off
Do one of the following:
(Mac® OS) Choose Corel Painter X menu > Preferences > General.
(Windows®) Choose Edit menu > Preferences > General.
In the Drawing Cursor area of the dialog box, click the Enable Brush Ghosting check box to enable or disable basic brush ghosting.
Click the Enhanced Brush Ghost check box to enable or disable the Enhanced Brush Ghost.
Figure 3: You can turn brush ghosting on or off from the General page of the Preferences dialog box.
Corel Painter X has a new image enhancement tool that makes it easier than ever to brighten photos. The Dodge tool lets you lighten, or overexpose, specific areas of an image. This can help you improve a dark photograph, add interesting effects, or prepare a portrait for digital painting.
In particular, the eyes in a photo may need brightening before the portrait is painted. The Dodge tool is perfect for the job. It lets you lighten the irises and the whites of the eyes so that they remain prominent after you paint.
Start with a photo that you would like to transform into a painting.
The original image
Although the subject’s eyes look fine in the photo, you can see that they get lost in the shadows after the painting process.
The eyes in the digital painting are too dark.
To avoid this problem, you can use the Dodge tool to brighten the eyes.
1. Choose the Dodge tool from the toolbox.
On the property bar, move the Size slider, or type a value in the Size box, to adjust the size of the tool. Adjust the size so that you can work easily in the eye area.
Move the Opacity slider, or type a value in the Opacity box, to adjust the strength of the Dodge tool. Experiment with the opacity to achieve the brightness you want.
2. Drag the brush in the image to apply the effect.
Apply the Dodge tool to the eyes.
For this image, the eyes needed to be overexposed to produce a good result from the painting technique. In other words, you need to do more dodging than if you were just touching up a photo where the eyes are a bit too dark.
The image after dodging.
You can see how great the eyes look in the finished painting. While still looking very natural, they are more visible than they would have been.
The new RealBristle™ brushes in Corel® Painter™ X are extremely sensitive and natural to paint with. This new medium incorporates the performance of several kinds of conventional brushes, and the way that they apply paint. In the RealBristle category you will find soft brushes with longer bristles and stiffer brushes with shorter bristles, as well as round brushes, flat brushes, fan brushes, oily blenders and more! Also, the bristles of the RealBristle brushes bend and splay as you rotate your hand, allowing you to paint the most realistic strokes.
To paint Dawn Peace, a detail of which is shown above, I used several RealBristle brushes including the Real Flat Opaque, Real Oils Short, Real Flat and the Real Flat Blender. Dawn Peace was quickly painted on location and from memory, using loose, expressive strokes.
In this tip you’ll learn a workflow for expressive painting, including the importance of Brush Tracking and using the Mixer palette. You’ll also familiarize yourself with a variety of the new RealBristle brushes, so that you can paint an impressionistic sky.
1 Setting Brush Tracking
Before you begin to draw in Corel Painter, set up the Brush Tracking preferences so that you can customize how Corel Painter interprets the input of your stylus, including parameters such as pressure and speed. For Windows®, choose Edit > Preferences > Brush Tracking, or for Mac OS®, choose Corel Painter X > Preferences > Brush Tracking and make a representative brush stroke in the window. For instance, if you plan to use both light and heavy pressure, and to paint both slowly and quickly, try to make a brush stroke in the window that would include all of these factors.
The Brush Tracking dialog box.
2 Using the Mixer palette to build a color theme
Corel Painter X gives the you the experience of dipping your brush in your artist palette, then applying the paint to your image. If the Mixer palette is not visible, choose Window > Show Mixer. It’s helpful to have both the Colors palette and the Mixer palette open. Choose a color in the Colors palette. (I chose a medium-blue gray.) Apply color with the Add Color tool (the brush icon, second from the left, at the bottom of the Mixer palette). You can blend between colors using the Mix Color tool (the palette knife). I mixed medium blues for the sky, and peach and various golds for the clouds.
The Colors and Mixer palettes.
3 Trying out the RealBristle brushes.
Create a new file. My file for trying out the brushes measures 500 x 500 pixels. From the Brush Selector bar, choose the RealBristle category. The illustration below shows the open variant list.
The RealBristle brushes are organized into several types, based on their performance and characteristics.
The Brush Selector bar, open to show the RealBristle variants.
In the Paper Selector (Toolbox), choose a coarse, natural texture. This is the paper that you’ll use when trying out the brushes, and during the development of your study. (I chose Coarse Cotton Canvas paper.) To try out the brushes, you can work directly on the canvas, or you can paint on a layer. I worked directly on the canvas.
Let’s begin with brushes that apply paint with various shapes and textures. Choose the Real Flat Opaque variant of the RealBristle category from the Brush Selector bar. This variant is good for laying in color quickly. The horizontal stroke and a circular stroke were painted using the Real Flat Opaque brush. Paint a slightly curved horizontal stroke, by applying medium pressure on your stylus, and then lighter pressure, while slightly rotating your hand. Now, paint a circular stroke using moderate pressure.
Brush strokes painted using the Real Flat Opaque brush.
Next, try out the Real Flat variant. This brush has a softer feel, and is also good for laying in base colors on your paintings. Using this brush, make several overlapping horizontal strokes, while varying the pressure. Next, choose the Real Oils Short variant. This brush is somewhat flat, has a stiffer feel, and is a little drier. It’s quite good for moving existing paint. Using this brush, make angular strokes that overlap some existing paint, so that you can see how it interacts with paint on the canvas.
Brush strokes painted using the Real Flat and Real Oils Short brushes.
Now, try out the Real Round Bristle and the Real Round Bristle 19 variants. These versatile round brushes are useful for applying a good amount of paint, with minimal bleeding when applied over existing paint. The wavy horizontal stroke was painted with the Real Round Bristle brush, as was the small flesh colored stroke. The bottom blue-gray stroke was painted using the Real Round Bristle 19 brush.
Brush strokes painted using the Real Round Bristle and Real Round Bristle 19 brushes.
If you want to customize a RealBristle brush, the characteristics of the brushes can be adjusted using the RealBristle palette. To do this, choose Window > Brush Controls > Show RealBristle. You can then adjust any of the controls on the palette.
4 Painting an expressive sky.
For Dawn Peace, painted in the early morning, I was inspired by the nearly complementary colors-the light orange and peach clouds against a bright graduated blue sky. It was a fleeting moment, so I had to paint quickly. I sat in my car, and used my Wacom® tablet and laptop to rough out most of the painting. For this simple study in Painter, I used large brushes to block in the first colors. To begin your sky painting, open a new file that measures 1200 x 600 pixels. Choose File > New and enter the dimensions in the fields. Choose the Real Flat variant of the RealBristle category from the Brush Selector bar. This is a good brush for laying in color for the underpainting quickly. Begin painting the background areas using broad brush strokes. If you’d like to lay in paint and blend as you work, try the Real Oils Short variant.
Carefully observing my subject, and focusing on the composition, forms, and the natural light, I blocked in graduated hues for the sky.
The graduated colors blocked onto the sky.
Next, I loosely painted the darker shapes first, and then built up highlighted areas. I began to add varied peach and gold colors and a few deeper tones for the cloud forms. As I worked, I continued to use the Mixer pad as my paint palette and the two RealBristle brushes to apply the paint to the canvas. When the clouds were roughed in, I saved a new version of the image.
Painting medium and darker tones for the clouds.
Painting highlights on the cloud forms.
5 Modulating color and adding a few details.
When the basic color and tones are established, begin to layer strokes that will build more complex color areas. The direction of the brush strokes helps to establish the forms and to add dynamic energy to the image.
I blended color as I painted, using the Real Flat Blender variant. This brush is similar to a conventional oil brush with a small amount of wet oil paint. If you keep your brush pressed to the canvas, and brush back and forth over an area, you can build a smooth, blended transition between colors. If you pick up your brush and touch the canvas, you will apply a small amount of new color. Switching between the Real Flat Blender and the Real Flat variants, I painted, pulled, and blended colors, rendering the cloud forms using quick expressive strokes.
Now, zoom in to 100% and take a closer look at your brushwork. Which areas need refinement, and which areas do you want to keep loose? To add smaller highlights on the clouds, I reduced the size of the Real Flat brush to about 12 pixels. Finally, to add a few brighter color accents to them, I used a small version of the Real Flat Opaque Oils brush, keeping my strokes loose and expressive.
This month’s Painter Wow! Tip shows you how to build an Impasto brush in Corel® Painter™ X. Impasto brushes and the Impasto depth layer in Corel Painter give you the ability to paint with realistic, three-dimensional brush strokes that leave bristle marks and paint texture on the surface of the image. Impasto brushes are found in the Impasto brush category and in other brush categories in the Painter Brushes library, such as Acrylics, Gouache, Oils, and Cloners.
Hummingbird (a detail of which is shown here) was painted with custom RealBristle and Oils brushes, with Impasto settings applied to the brushes.
1 Choosing the brush and making a stroke
You can build your own custom Impasto brush by adding settings to a brush that will allow it to paint with thick Impasto paint. I chose a variant from the new RealBristle™ category. RealBristle brushes bring a new level of realism to the digital painting experience by simulating the natural movement of an artist’s brush. Begin by choosing the Real Tapered Round variant of the RealBristle brush category.
Use your stylus to paint an expressive stroke with this brush variant.
2 Adding the Impasto settings
The Impasto section of Brush Controls contains settings that allow you to create brush variants that give the illusion of depth, like variants in the Impasto brush category. You can access the Impasto Brush Controls by choosing Window menu > Brush Controls > Show Impasto. I used the following settings in the Impasto section of the Brush Controls to build a Real Tapered Impasto brush that had subtle settings for the thick paint:
Set the Draw To pop-up menu to Color and Depth.
Set the Depth Method pop-up menu to Uniform.
Set the Depth slider to 8%.
Set the Smoothing slider to 100%.
Set the Plow slider to 90%.
Now, make a stroke with your new brush, and notice the thick paint.
3 Saving the new brush
You can save the brush variant you created by clicking the selector menu arrow on the Brush Selector bar and choosing Save Variant. When the Save Variant dialog box appears, name your new variant (I named mine “Real Tapered Impasto”). Your new variant will appear in the RealBristle category. You can revert the original Real Tapered Round brush to its default non-Impasto settings by choosing Real Tapered Round from the Brush Variant selector, clicking the selector menu arrow, and choosing Restore Default Variant.
You can use the Divine Proportion tool to aesthetically align the focal points in your painting. The Divine Proportion tool is based on the divine triangle, which is a guideline that was used by classical artists to ensure that the composition of their paintings was pleasing to the eye. The divine triangle is based on the idea that everything in nature, from the features of the human face to the spirals in a nautilus shell, can be broken down into a proportion of 1:1.618. Once this common proportion was discovered, it was used as the basis for such classical works as the Greek Parthenon and the Mona Lisa.
The Divine Proportion tool displays a nonprinting pattern of triangles and spirals on your painting, which is a visual representation of the divine proportion. You can use this pattern as a guideline for composing the major focal points in your painting. You can crop existing artwork to make it better fit the composition of the divine proportion.
The example above shows artwork that aligns with the Divine Proportion. Note that the major focal points in the painting align with the triangles and spirals shown using the Divine Proportion tool.
To show the Divine Proportion guide
Choose Canvas menu > Compositions, and then choose Show Divine Proportion.
The example above shows the Divine Proportion guidelines superimposed over a canvas.
After you’ve displayed the Divine Proportion guide, you can crop your artwork to make it better fit the guideline. Cropping your canvas can bring the focal points in your artwork into closer alignment with the Divine Proportion guide.
The example above shows the image after it has been cropped to align with the Divine Proportion guide.
To crop an image
In the toolbox, click the Crop tool.
Drag inside the image to define the rectangular area you want to keep.
You can adjust the triangle by dragging a corner or any of its edges.
When you are ready to execute the crop, click inside the triangle.
Corel Painter X provides hope for those of us who may feel that we need some assistance in finding an artist’s eye for aesthetics and design. In addition to setting the standard for professional art software, Corel Painter includes easy-to-use features that focus on the fundamentals of art technique and theory. The new Divine Proportion composition tool is one of those features, and it is especially useful when determining the layout for a painting.
For years, it has been generally accepted that we appreciate paintings and designs that allow our eyes to flow around an image to take in its visual elements. By applying the principles of Divine Proportion, virtually anyone can compose a relatively balanced painting. With Corel Painter X, the new Divine Proportion tool allows you to start with optical guide lines that have been used for centuries to achieve some of the world’s most famous painted compositions. Not being an accomplished artist myself, I decided to put this theory to the test.
I started with a blank canvas with an approximate size of 10 inches wide and 6.5 inches high. To turn on the Divine Proportion tool, I clicked Window menu > Show Divine Proportion, and then enabled the Enable Divine Proportion check box on the Divine Proportion palette. With the Divine Proportion palette, I can flip and rotate the grid to whatever composition flow I desire. Remember, the center area of the Divine Proportion spiral is where the main focal point or key element of your painting should be positioned. This is where the viewer’s eye should first be drawn to and then flow outward to take in the rest of the painting.
With the grid in place, I can now roughly sketch in my composition. I’ve chosen a 2B Pencil from the Brush Selector bar, and a medium-to-light gray color tone from the Colors palette. Keep in mind that you can adjust the opacity of the guide lines if you need to better see your sketched lines. Also, I created this sketch from my head; using a reference photo for a subject would be easier. By following the horizontal and vertical grid areas, along with the focal view spiral, I found that I could quickly and easily sketch something with balance.
Next, I considered my light source and choose a color scheme to express the look and feel of the painting. I decided that this painting will have a rustic or golden glow caused by the setting sun after a hot summer day in the Tuscany hill country. I used the Layers palette to create a new painting layer. Then, for reference, I reduced the opacity of the sketch layer and positioned it on top of the painting layer.
After approximately an hour of brush swapping and painting, I end up with the following painting. Give it a try for yourself. The Divine Proportion tool will help you understand visual balance and flow.
This month’s Painter Wow! Tip shows you how to build a Wow! RealBristle Gouache brush with CorelÒ PainterÔ X, which you can use to paint tapered opaque strokes that have subtle bristle marks. Both the standard WacomÒ IntuosÒ 3 Grip Pen and the WacomÒ 6D Art Pen can take advantage of this brush. To demonstrate the strokes in this tip, I used my Wacom 6D Art Pen.
Real Barrel (shown below) was painted with a custom Wow! RealBristle Gouache brush, and the default RealBristle Brushes and Airbrushes.
Opening a new file and setting up
To test your brush as you are building it, choose File menu > Open, and create a new file that measures 500 ´ 200 pixels. The RealBristle Brushes are sensitive to Brush Tracking. Before you begin to paint, it’s important to set up the Brush Tracking so you can customize how Painter interprets the input of your stylus, including controls such as pressure and speed. For WindowsÒ users, choose Edit menu > Preferences > Brush Tracking. For Mac OSÒ X users, choose Corel Painter X menu > Preferences > Brush Tracking. Make a brush stroke with your stylus by using your desired pressure and speed.
Choosing the brush and making a stroke
You can build your own custom Gouache brush by adding settings to the brush that will allow it to paint with Real Bristle capabilities. From the Brush Selector bar, choose the Fine Round Gouache variant of Gouache brush category.
Now use your stylus to paint an expressive, curved stroke with this default Gouache brush. I used my Wacom 6D Art Pen to paint my stroke, and rotated the pen slightly as I finished the stroke. You can see the tilt, bearing and rotation indicated by the Enhanced Brush Ghost. To turn on the Enhanced Brush Ghost, Windows users choose Edit menu > Preferences > General, and enable the Enhanced Brush Ghost check box. For Mac OS X users, choose Corel Painter X menu > Preferences > General, and enable the Enhanced Brush Ghost check box. The circle in the Enhanced Brush Ghost represents the brush size and the line indicates the tile and bearing of the stylus. If you are using a 6D Art Pen, a small dot will appear on the circle, indicating the rotation of the stylus.
The brush stroke was painted with the default Fine Round variant of Gouache. The tiny dot in the Enhanced Brush Ghost indicates the degree of rotation.
Adding the RealBristle settings
The RealBristle section of the Brush Controls contains settings for RealBristle brushes. Open the RealBristle section, by choosing Window menu > Brush Controls > Show RealBristle, and turn on the Enable RealBristle checkbox. Now make a brush stroke, and you’ll notice the changes that the default RealBristle settings make to the brush.
This brush stroke was painted using the 6D Art Pen. The default RealBristle settings give the Gouache brush a broader stroke and more noticeable bristles, which appear to carry less paint.
To build the Wow! Gouache brush with settings for a soft brush, I used the following settings in the RealBristle section of the Brush Controls. I designed a sensitive brush that would paint tapered ends on the strokes when I tilted my stylus. The settings are as follows:
Brush Tip Profile – Medium Profile
Roundness – 83%
Bristle Length – 2.50
Profile Length – 100%
Bristle Rigidity – 250%
Fanning – 10%
Friction – 35%
Height – 25%
The decreased Roundness makes the brush slightly elliptical. The Bristle Length and Profile Length work with the Tip Profile to add the tapered ends to the stroke, when the stylus is held at a tilt
The RealBristle section of Brush Controls shows the settings for the Wow Gouache brush. Note the decreased Bristle rigidity, which helps to build softer bristles.
The settings in the Size section of Brush Controls, with the Feature slider set to 2.7 and the Feature Expression pop-up menu set to Pressure. The decreased Feature setting builds a brush with more bristles, but can slow down performance, so I increased the Boost setting in the General section of Brush Controls.
Settings in the General section of Brush Controls, with the increased Boost.
Now make a brush stroke with your new Wow! Gouache brush, and notice the realistic bristle marks in the paint. I used a gentle tilt on the stylus, and rotated the pen slightly to finish the stroke. Dramatically tilting the stylus will paint a more tapered end on the stroke.
Making a stroke with the new Wow! Real Gouache brush.
Saving the new brush
To save your new brush variant, click the menu arrow on the Brush Selector bar, and choose Save Variant from the menu. When the Save Variant dialog box appears, type a name for your new variant. (I named mine Wow! Real Gouache.) Your new variant will appear in the Gouache brush category. To return the original Fine Round Gouache 30 variant of the Gouache brush category to its default non-RealBristle settings, choose Fine Round Gouache 30 in the variant list. Then click the menu arrow on the Brush Selector bar, and choose Restore Default Variant.
Good work! You have created a new, custom Gouache brush with realistic RealBristle settings to use on your paintings.
With Corel Painter X, you can use Liquid Ink to realistically depict muscle tissue. Liquid Ink brushes create liquid paint effects that simulate traditional ink-based media. There are three main types of Liquid Ink brush variants: those that apply ink, those that remove ink to create the effect of resistance, and those that soften edges. In addition, the Liquid Ink palette allows you to perform smoothing effects to the ink, and to blend colors by using different features. You can also adjust the Liquid Ink layer attributes.
Like Watercolor brush variants, a new layer is created automatically when you first apply a Liquid Ink brush stroke. On the Layers palette, you can also create 3D effects by double-clicking a Liquid Ink layer and adjusting the Threshold and Amount sliders.
The first step for depicting realistic muscle tissue is to select Liquid Ink from the Brush Category selector, and Smooth Flat from the Brush Variant selector. Next, I adjusted the Color palette to show RGB colors and selected a reddish color with the values of R – 245; G – 25; and B – 15. This will provide the red that’s necessary to simulate the color of muscle tissue. Before painting, I used the property bar to adjust my brush size to 30.
With the Liquid Ink brush, I painted a profile of a rather muscular right arm. To enhance the depth and dimension of the arm, I then adjusted the Liquid Ink layer.
Adjusting Attributes of the Liquid Ink Layer
You can experiment with the settings in the Liquid Ink Layer Attributes dialog box, which let you control the appearance of depth and adjust the threshold of the edges of the ink.
To adjust Liquid Ink layer attributes
To adjust Liquid Ink layer attributes
On the Layers palette, double-click the Liquid Ink layer you want to modify.
In the Liquid Ink Layer Attributes dialog box, do one or more of the following:
Type a name for the layer in the Name box.
Adjust the position of the layer in the Top and Left boxes.
Type layer information in the Notes box.
Adjust the Threshold slider to increase or decrease the width of the brush stroke.
Adjust the Amount slider to increase or decrease the height, or three-dimensional appearance, of the brush stroke.
You’ll notice that a portion of your image will either shrink or disappear. This effect is dependent on the values you choose with the Threshold and the Amount sliders. Don’t worry about the shrunk or lost portion of your image because you can now use the Smooth Flat variant to paint in a 3D or depth view. As you paint, you’ll notice that your brush has a directional and bearing expression to the brush stroke. Experiment with slightly turning your stylist pen as you paint to get either a thick or thin expression. Once you get the hang of this, you’ll notice that you can create build-up and directional striations which resemble muscle tissue.
At this point, we can add more muscle or tissue depth by painting over and over in areas of the arm that normally have more mass.
Before Layer adjustments.
After Layer adjustments with top portion of arm built up.
Arm with all muscle mass completed.
Now it’s time to add color for tendons and bones. On the Liquid Ink palette, I chose Color Only from the Ink Type pop-up menu. Then, I used the same Smooth Flat brush to paint on some white areas that represent tendons and bones. After that step, I used the Liquid Ink palette to switch the Ink Type to Soften Color Only. Finally, I gently brushed over those white painted areas to blend in the white paint and make it look more realistic.
Feel free to experiment with this effect. Depicting muscle tissue is just one example of the depth you can create by adjusting the Liquid Ink layer attributes.
With Corel Painter X, you can easily load custom brushes without having to create a new workspace. This lets you add single brushes to your default Corel Painter X workspace by simply copying the files associated with a custom brush into the Painter Brushes library.
How brushes are organized
All brushes available in Corel Painter X are stored in the default Painter Brushes library, which is located in the Brushes folder of the Corel Painter system folder.
Documents and Settings\user name\Application Data\Corel\Painter X\Default\Brushes\Painter Brushes (Windows7)
The Painter Brushes library is organized into brush categories, such as Acrylics, Airbrushes, or Artists. Each brush category may consist of the following components:
an XML file, as well as NIB and STK files, for each brush variant
a JPEG file, which contains the icon representing the brush category on the Brush Selector bar
To add a custom brush to the default Painter Brushes library
First, ensure that you have the necessary files for the custom brush ( XML, NIB, and STK).
2. Copy the files associated with the custom brush into the appropriate brush category in the Painter Brushes library.
You can add a custom brush to any brush category you choose.
3. In Corel Painter X, use the Brush Selector bar to access your custom brush.
For more great Corel Painter tips visit: Corel.com
The preparation of a painting ground will differ depending on the medium. If oil paint comes in direct contact with a canvas or board it will cause some deterioration. So it is best to follow a few basic steps.
Traditional Oil Painting Ground (canvas or wood panel): Traditionally, oil gesso was used as the painting ground for oil (and alkyd) paintings. Since the oil in this sort of gesso is detrimental to the surface it is suggested that one use sizing of some sort.
Rabbitskin glue is most often recommended. Make a solution of approximately 2 ounces of rabbitskin glue to one liter of cold water. Place in pan and heat until glue is dissolved. NEVER BOIL GLUE. Allow the glue to cool to room temperature. If it takes on the appearance of jelly, then you are ready to apply it. Heat again until it dissolves (chalk dust or whiting can be added at this point, but is not necessary). Apply liberally to the surface to be painted. The sizing should penetrate into the fibers and will not create an even surface.
Once the sizing has cooled, One may begin to brush on gesso. Use broad regular strokes in one direction. Allow to dry completely. The drying will vary, but it will probably take several days. When dry, sand surface lightly to take off fabric burs. Repeat gessoing process, but brush across the directional strokes used in the first layer. Once dry, it will be ready for paint, although one can continue the sand and paint process to create smoother grounds.
Acrylic Gesso: Acrylic gesso can be used as a ground without any sizing or other surface preparation. Oil paint will adhere to surfaces that have been coated with acrylic, but acrylic paint will not adhere to oil surfaces. So acrylic gesso is a good ground for both acrylic and oil media.
Brush gesso directly onto raw canvas or panel using long regular strokes in one direction. Once dry the surface can be sanded. Then apply another coat of gesso (the first one will soak into the canvas or panel and act as its own sizing) using long regular strokes across the first. Once dry, the surface can be painted or one can repeat sand/gesso process.
Rabbitskin Glue also makes the canvas more taunt than gesso.
Corel Painter lets you set the window background color to either the current main color or some other color of your choice. The window background color is displayed when you use full-screen mode to view your document. Full-screen mode hides your computer’s desktop and lets you view the document window without scroll bars. To change the window background color
1. Do one of the following: * (Mac OS) Choose Corel Painter IX menu > Preferences > Palettes and UI. * (Windows) Choose Edit menu > Preferences > Palettes and UI.
2. Do one of the following: * To use the current main color, click Use Current Color. * To choose another color, click Custom Color, select a color in the Color dialog box, and click OK.
Corel Painter offers creative professionals an unprecedented level of control over their workflow by enabling complete customization of shortcut keys. You can save time by assigning your favorite commands to keys on your keyboard for immediate access. Along with character, numeric, function, and modifier keys, you can also use Tab, Backspace (Windows), Delete, Insert, Home, End, Page Up, Page Down, Up Arrow, Down Arrow, Left Arrow, Right Arrow, and Spacebar. When assigning a command, you can over-write keys already used for other shortcuts.
You can also create a collection of keyboard shortcuts, or key sets, based on changes to the default key set. For easy reference, you can generate and print an HTML summary of a key set.
The Customize Keys dialog box lets you assign your favorite commands to shortcut keys.
To assign commands to keys
1. Do one of the following:
* (Mac OS) Choose Corel Painter IX menu > Preferences > Customize Keys.
* (Windows) Choose Edit menu > Preferences > Customize Keys.
2. Choose a key set from the Key Set pop-up menu.
The default key set is named “Default” and is not editable. When you change any shortcut in the Default key set, another set is created and named “Custom.”
3. Choose one of the following from the Shortcuts menu:
* Application Menus to create or modify menu bar command shortcuts
* Palette Menus to create or modify palette menu command shortcuts
* Tools to create or modify tools shortcuts
* Other to create or modify non-menu, non-palette menu or non-tool command shortcuts
4. Choose a command from the Application Commands list, and type the shortcut keys you want to assign.
If the shortcut you assigned is already in use, a message appears below the Application Commands list.
5. Do one of the following:
* Click Accept to assign the shortcut to the command. The conflicting command that previously had the keyboard shortcut now has no keyboard shortcut assigned to it.
* Click Accept and Go To Conflict to assign the shortcut to the new command, and to assign another keyboard shortcut to the conflicting.
Key Set Reference
For your convenience, Corel Painter IX provides a handy HTML summary of any active key set which you can print to use as a reference.
To create an HTML Summary of a Key Set
1. In the Customize Keys dialog box, click the Create HTML Summary button.
2. In the Save Summary dialog box, type a name in the Filename box, and click Save.
Let’s first look at Photoshop and the CS package and what it has to offer on advantages.
The CS Advantage..
The new Adobe Creative Suite combines Adobe’s graphics applications and an efficient workflow that answers the needs of nearly every creative professional, from conceptualization to implementation, from print to Web. Whats great about this pack of programs is that not only do designers get one program at a time; rather, a whole suite of the latest versions of Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, and GoLive software.
The Creative Suite is Adobe’s attempt to bind the applications together. Now, Adobe’s creative products use not only the same graphics engine but also the same type and color-management engines. Files that are created in one application can open easily in others with all their features intact. With a consistent user interface, moving from one application to another is easy.
And holding it all together is the new file-management and version-tracking technology Version Cue. The Version Cue lets you create and publish content for print and the Web faster, more easily, and more affordably. That’s why Adobe is introducing this one whole package as “the complete design environment for print and Web publishing”.
Adobe Photoshop for image editing- easily manage your images with the improved File Browser, quickly share design variations with Layer Comps, and instantly improve contrast with Shadow/Highlight correction; perform more precise editing and retouching with expanded support for 16-bit images and monitor changes to your image in the Histogram palette, which dynamically updates as you make adjustments.
Adobe Illustrator for drawing and vector graphics- with powerful new 3D features, advanced typographical controls, and a host of groundbreaking new design tools, this powerful upgrade from Illustrator 10 delivers the performance you need to make the most of your creativity; import Photoshop image compositions directly to Illustrator- or create drawings in Illustrator and import them directly into Photoshop; create native Adobe Portable Document Format files using settings and options consistent with Adobe Acrobat Distiller software and get fast, consistent print results with features like Fit to Page, Print Preview, and support for Print Settings.
Adobe InDesign for page layout and design, and Adobe GoLive for Web layout- import your native vector and bitmap artwork directly into InDesign CS software for sophisticated print layouts or into Adobe GoLive CS software for powerful web pages. With the support of Adobe PDF and XML, you can easily output your pages to both print and the Web.
The Corel Advantage
With the introduction of Corel Painter IX, commercial designers, photographers, and professional artists are able to use their natural talents and techniques to create breathtaking works of art. Corel ensures that the new program is a must-have software for creative professionals, whether they’re in film making, game development, commercial design, illustration, photography, or even fine arts.
With regards to performance and productivity, the Corel Painter IX boasts of significantly improved speed, new and enhanced Brush Control Palettes, Frames-per-Second Control, and Customizable Shortcut Keys. Professional users can extend their creative possibilities with new enhancements that include Artists’ Oils Painting System, Snap-to-Path Painting, improved Digital Watercolor, and Quick Clone.
What is exciting about this new software is that the Corel Painter IX is more compatible with other professional technologies, providing enhanced support to Adobe Photoshop, Wacom (including the Wacom Intuos3), and Color Management.
What’s more, getting started is easier than ever. Corel has provided various support guides to help end-users control their fear of tackling a seemingly intricate world of softwares and programs. Corel has provided a revitalized User Guide, the Painter IX Handbook that includes tutorials from leading creative professionals, access to free training videos, and academic courseware specifically designed for educators.
With powerful applications such as the Adobe CS and Corel, artists and designers alike can now combine both worlds of traditional art and sophisticated technology. The intricate tones of traditional art skills and techniques they’ve developed during their formation years as artists can be integrated with the incredible benefits that digital media can provide. Every creation can now be worthy of the exaltations and awe reserved for those found in galleries and exhibits. In addition, these art forms are now made at a faster and quicker rate than their original counterparts.
Among the many questions new Corel Painter users ask is:
“How can I save brushes?”
Below is an edited version of my response to a new Painter user who asked this question recently:
With the brush variant you want to save selected:
1. Go to the Brush Selector menu and choose Save Variant.
2. Type a unique name not already used by Painter.
3. Click the OK button. Now your custom brush variant is saved.
With the original brush variant selected (the one to which you made brush control adjustments):
Go to the Brush Selector menu and choose Restore Default Variant.
Now the original brush variant is returned to its default state.
Suggestion:
Go to the Help menu and choose Help Topics. Then read the chapters listed on the Contents tab, starting at the top and progressing down the list of chapters. Read them in this order because they’re arranged so the most basic information for newcomers to Painter is listed first.
Use the Favorites tab to bookmark pages you’ll want to return to later.
Make a habit of reading Help Topics at least a few minutes each day.
This will help you feel more comfortable and confident with Painter faster than waiting for answers to questions posted in forums or newsgroups.
Sometimes you may either have trouble finding something in Help Topics or not understand the information provided. When that happens, post a question in the forum or newsgroup you visit and be very specific about what it is you want to know, what you want to do, the brush category and brush variant you’re using (by exact names), provide a description of your image, and any other details that will help us to help you.
One of my favorite oil-painting brushes in Corel Painter is not filed under Oils but hiding in the Blenders brush category”the Water Rake variant. As a Blender brush, the Water Rake blends colors in an image in the form of oil-paint strokes.
You can also use it to paint color. To do so, set the Resat slider in the Property Bar to 33%, choose a color in the Colors palette and paint. The brush stroke resembles an oil painting technique.
from the toolbox.
The RealBristle section of Brush Controls shows the settings for the Wow Gouache brush. Note the decreased Bristle rigidity, which helps to build softer bristles.
