You learn how to use the individual brushes, pens and paints in hands - on exercises, in hands - on experiences. You set the pace. Painter is very complicated and even with the book right in front of my nose, I creep along and often it takes me a while to locate the menu item author Draws is talking about.
Right away I was flummoxed by the Wacom Pen since I had never heard of such an item. With a Wacom pen and an accompanying tablet the artist is able to draw directly onto the tablet and the strokes will imitate many different brushes and pens, all of which you control.
I feel that to work well using this book I will have to get the pen several of which are offered on Amazon. Author-artist Draws will propel you along in a breezy non-bookish way, and I'm confident I'll become a Wacom expert somewhere down the road as well as a digital art creator. But bear in mind that the purchase of a Wacom pen which you use instead of trying to draw with your mouse is a necessity for performing most of the exercises in the book.
If you're a neophyte to digital art this book is really a Bible for mastering Painter The tone of the book is breezy and enthusiastic and the enthusiasm is catching. You'll want to get going! Rhoda Grossman Draws is a character as well as being a very accomplished digital artist. If you run "Rhoda Draws" through Google, you'll find many pictures of her and some interesting biographical notes. S Corel has wonderful support by phone or email.
I had mistakenly anchored my tool menu on the wrong side of the canvas duh and they cheerfully told me how to move it. Tomsde Top Contributor: Photography. This book is less about learning to use Corel Painter 12's software and more about learning how to draw and paint with digital media.
I have Ms. Grossman Draws previous edition about working with Painter X and I must say this is a step up for me. That book had us drawing and painting women's shoes which I have, confessedly absolutely no interest in. There is more diversity in the subjects that one uses in the lessons; the only thing I didn't particularly care for is having to go to the web and download the files for the exercises instead of having them available on a CD as in previous editions.
If you are a veteran artist who wants to learn all the ins and outs of the Painter 12 software and all it's myriad tools, then this book is not for you. I might as well add at this point, if you are a photographer who wants to learn the ins and outs of photo painting--then I don't believe that this book will meet your needs either--the subject is touched upon, but it is definitely not a photo painting book.
If you want to learn to draw and paint with digital media and learn the basic rules of drawing and painting I reccomend it highly. A lot of things are stuff I did in high school art class, but to be honest never did them well, so I can definitely benefit from reviewing the basics. My best advice, if you are uncertain, is to download the sample chapter and browse the "Look Inside This Book" option and you'll get a better idea whether it is suited to what you want to learn.
I believe most of the negative reviews to be read on Amazon. If you really want to learn all about the software you'd be best off reading the User's Guide that comes with Painter 12 or watching some of the many video tutorials available on the subject. When I first posted this review the resource files for the lessons were not available on the publisher's website. When I called their customer service department to inquire about the files they couldn't tell me when they would be available.
I was able to log on to their website and get the files. One tip - If you search for the files by author name you need to search by "Rhoda Grossman" nothing comes up under "Rhoda Draws" or "Rhoda Grossman Draws" which is how the author's name is listed in the book and on Amazon.
I thought it was very good customer service for them to actually send me an email to let me know that the files were available. This is only a preliminary review. So far, I have worked through the first 2 exercises and have skimmed the rest. The first lesson walks you through the basics like workspace, tool and color selection, creating custom palettes and how to set up your pen tablet's sensitivity.
The second chapter goes over Painter 12's quick clone feature. Each chapter includes practice exercises where you actually get to practice using the features described. For example, in Chapter 2 you learn to sketch an apple with a variety of different media by using the quick clone feature and one of the sample files downloaded from the publishers website.
The book doesn't give a comprehensive explanation of each and every one of the software's tools and features. You can get that from the User's Manual and Corel's Website. Rather, the book teaches how to draw and paint using those tools and features.
It is as much a how-to art book as it is a software manual. In my opinion, this is a perfect combination and is just what I was looking for - particularly the practice exercises. See all reviews. Top reviews from other countries. I would have liked the option of a single download, a 'get everything' zip as well as the chapter by chapter material. As has been said the stuff in the files doesn't make a great deal of sense without the book.
However, if you view this as a workbook and go through it page by page, following the instructions it is brilliant. It's a book that makes you learn by doing. You can't really read a chapter in bed and then go and apply what you've picked up the next morning, I found I needed the book right next to me as I worked on painter following the instructions. I'm only as far as chapter 5, but I've learned a lot.
Don't expect this to be a reference tool to dip in and out of, treat it as a series of lessons that are clear and well thought out. Much better than the manual on showing how to setup Painter for use and then gives loads of tips on getting the best out of a very complex and sometimes buggy programme.
Excellent colour pictures show just what be achieved using this unique software. The book is probably more suited to artists using the programme than for photographers hoping to turn snaps into artistic masterpieces. Although the book is a little dated now with more up to date versions of Painter, much of what is covered is still relevant. So, for the price I paid, I am very satisfied. Report abuse. This book didnt meet my expectations about Painter It doesn't really go into Painter as much as I would have liked.
Also there is a chapter on how to do caricutures even then its not a great deal of info. Not what I really want to learn. The author is probably the wittiest author in Digital Programming Land without turning your attention away from the subject matter.
Given the small space she got for taming Painter 12 she somehow manages to give you enough explanation for the most important and basic details of the application program, including the use of Intuos tablets. I am not debating the otherwise excellent Corel Corporation's decision about the small size of the book. Unmatched Natural-Media capabilities New Real Watercolor brushes The Real Watercolor brushes and controls allow you and Controls to apply pigment to the paper in a very realistic way.
The brush control options allow you to precisely control water consistency and movement. You can also control the way the water and pigments interact with the paper.
The brush control options allow you to precisely control paint consistency and movement. You can also control the way the paint interacts with the canvas.
The perfect complement New Content Corel Painter 12 includes various new content, such as brushes, papers, nozzles, and other media, that you can work with or integrate into your images. Using the Documentation This guide provides basic information about Corel Painter 12 features.
For more comprehensive assistance, you can refer to the Help, which is available from within the Corel Painter workspace. The Help gives you access to a full range of topics in a searchable format. Additional Resources You can access additional Corel Painter resources online to learn more about the product and connect with the Corel Painter community.
Registration provides you with timely access to the latest product updates, valuable information about product releases, and access to free downloads, articles, tips and tricks, and special offers.
You can register at www. Getting Started 5 Workspace Tour The Corel Painter workspace has been designed to give you easy access to tools, effects, commands, and features. The workspace is organized by using a series of menus, selectors, panels, and interactive palettes. Workspace Tour 7 Circled numbers correspond to the numbers in the following table, which describes the main components of the application window.
Artwork by Julie Dillon Part Description 1. Menu bar Lets you access tools and features using pull-down menu options 2. Brush Selector bar Lets you open the Brush Library panel to choose a brush category and variant. It also allows you to open and manage brush libraries.
Property bar Displays commands that relate to the active tool or object. For example, when the Fill tool is active, the fill property bar displays commands for filling selected areas. Part Description 4. Recent brushes bar Displays the most recently used brushes 5. Navigator panel Lets you navigate in the document window, change the magnification level, and access various document viewing options, such as Tracing Paper and Drawing Modes 6.
Layers panel Lets you manage the hierarchy of layers and includes controls for creating, selecting, hiding, locking, deleting, naming, and grouping layers 7. Channels panel Lets you manage channels and includes controls for creating, hiding, inverting, deleting, loading, and saving channels 8.
Mixer pad panel Lets you blend colors together to create a new colors 9. Papers panel Lets you create, modify, and apply paper textures Paper Libraries panel Lets you access the Paper libraries so you can apply them to the canvas.
You can also mange and organize the Paper libraries. Toolbox Lets you access tools for creating, filling, and modifying an image Media Selector bar Gives you quick access to the following media library panels: patterns, gradients, nozzles, weaves, and looks Brush Library panel Lets you choose a brush from the currently selected brush library.
It also allows you to organize and display brushes in various ways. Temporal Color palette Lets you select a color Canvas The canvas is the rectangular work area inside the drawing window whose size determines the size of the image you create. The canvas acts as the image background and, unlike a layer, it is always locked. Workspace Tour 9 Exploring the Toolbox You can use the tools in the toolbox to paint, draw lines and shapes, fill shapes with color, view and navigate documents, and make selections.
Under the toolbox is a color selector, plus six content selectors that let you choose papers, gradients, patterns, looks, and nozzles. The following table provides descriptions of the tools in the Corel Painter toolbox. Tool Description Color tools The Brush tool lets you paint and draw on the canvas or a layer.
Brush categories include pencils, pens, chalk, airbrushes, oil paints, watercolors, and more. When the Brush tool is selected, you can choose specific brushes from the Brush Library panel. The Dropper tool lets you pick up a color from an existing image. The property bar shows the values of the color. When you select a color with the Dropper tool, that color becomes the current color in the Color panel.
The Paint Bucket tool lets you fill an area with media, such as a color, gradient, pattern, weave, or clone. The property bar shows options for the areas that you can fill and the media that you can use.
The Eraser tool lets you remove unwanted areas from an image. Selection tools The Layer Adjuster tool is used to select, move, and manipulate layers. The Transform tool lets modify selected areas of an image by using different transformation modes. The Rectangular Selection tool lets you create rectangular selections. The Oval Selection tool lets you create oval selections. Tool Description The Lasso tool lets you draw a freehand selection. The Polygonal Selection tool lets you select an area by clicking different points on the image to anchor straight line segments.
The Magic Wand tool lets you select an area of similar color by clicking or dragging in an image. The Selection Adjuster tool lets you select, move, and manipulate selections created with the Rectangular, Oval, and Lasso selection tools and selections converted from shapes. The Crop tool lets you remove unwanted edges from an image.
Shape tools The Pen tool lets you create straight lines and curves in objects. The Quick Curve tool lets you create shape paths by drawing freehand curves. The Rectangular Shape tool lets you create rectangles and squares. The Oval Shape tool lets you create circles and ovals. The Text tool creates text shapes.
Use the Text panel to set the font, point size, and tracking. You use the Shape Selection tool to select and move anchor points and adjust their control handles. The Scissors tool lets you cut an open or closed segment. If the segment is closed, after you click on a line or point, the shape path opens.
The Add Point tool lets you create a new anchor point on a shape path. Workspace Tour 11 Tool Description The Remove Point tool lets you remove an anchor point from a shape path.
The Convert Point tool is used to convert between smooth and corner anchor points. Photo tools The Cloner tool gives you quick access to the last Cloner brush variant you used. The Rubber Stamp tool gives you quick access to the Straight Cloner brush variant, and lets you to sample form point to point in an image or between images. The Dodge tool lets you lighten the highlights, midtones, and shadows in an image. The Burn tool lets you darken the highlights, midtones, and shadows in an image.
Symmetry tools The Mirror Painting mode lets you create a perfectly symmetrical painting. The Kaleidoscope mode lets you transform basic brushstrokes into colorful and symmetrical kaleidoscope images.
Composition tools The Divine Proportion tool lets you plan compositions by using guides based on a classical composition method. The Layout Grid tool lets you divide your canvas so that you can plan your composition.
For example, you can divide your canvas into thirds vertically and horizontally to use the compositional rule of thirds. The Perspective Grid tool lets you select and move the location of the perspective grid lines, the vanishing point, the horizon line, the ground line, and the picture plane.
Tool Description Navigation tools The Grabber tool lets you scroll through an image quickly. The Magnifier tool lets you magnify areas of an image when you are performing detailed work, or reduce areas to get an overall view of an image. The Rotate Page tool lets you rotate an image window to accommodate the way you naturally draw. Selectors The Color selector lets you choose main and additional colors. The front swatch displays the main color, and the back swatch displays the additional color.
The Paper selector opens the Papers panel. From the Papers panel, you can choose a paper texture to alter the canvas surface and achieve more realistic results when applying brushstrokes. Displaying the Toolbox The toolbox is open by default, but you can close it. In addition, to minimize the space required to display the toolbox, tools of similar function are grouped together and they are accessible from flyout menus.
The button for only one of these tools is displayed at a given time on the toolbox. A flyout menu is indicated by a triangle in the lower-right corner of the button. You can open a flyout to access all of its tools. You can also close the toolbox by clicking the close button on the toolbox header bar.
Workspace Tour 13 To access tools grouped in flyouts 1 In the toolbox, click and hold the tool icon whose flyout you want to open. A flyout menu of the entire group of related tools appears. Displaying the Media Selector bar The Media Selector bar gives you quick access to the libraries for the following Corel Painter media: patterns, gradients, nozzles, weaves, and looks. The Media Selector bar is open by default, but you can close it at any time.
The Media Selector bar displayed horizontally. You can also close the Media Selector bar by clicking the close button on the header bar. The Property Bar In Corel Painter, the property bar displays options for the currently selected tool. By default, the property bar displays in the application window docked below the menu bar, but you can close it. The property bar for the Grabber tool. From the property bar you can access and change tool options and settings.
Tool settings are retained when you switch from one tool to another. You can also use the property bar to restore the default settings of the selected tool. The Navigator Panel The Navigator panel is a convenient tool for managing many aspects of a document. You can use the Navigator panel to better orient yourself in the document window and modify the document window display.
You can also move to a different image area without having to adjust the zoom level. In addition, you can change the zoom level or rotate the canvas from the Navigator panel.
The Navigator lets you enable various tools such as the drawing modes, Impasto information, tracing paper, grids, and color management. The Navigator panel also displays document information such as the X and Y coordinates and the cursor position to help you navigate the image. You can also view document width, height, and resolution.
Workspace Tour 15 The Brush Library Panel The Brush library panel lets you choose a brush from the currently selected brush library. For example, you can create a new brush library, open a previously stored brush library, and view the most recently used brushes. The Brush library panel displays the content of only one brush library at a time. In the Brush Library panel, brushes are organized into categories, which contain brush variants. Brush categories are groups of similar brushes and media.
Brush variants are specific brushes and brush settings within a brush category. For example, in the Pastels category, there are pencil, chalk, soft, and hard pastel brush variants.
You can change the display of the categories and variants. The Brush Library panel allows you to browse all of the brush categories and variants for the currently open brush library. You can also close the Brush Selector bar by clicking the close button on the header bar.
Exploring Panels and Palettes The interactive panels in Corel Painter let you access content libraries, commands, controls, and settings. You can reconfigure panels by grouping them together to create a custom palette. You can also arrange panels and palettes in the application window to quickly access the tools and controls that you use most often or to maximize screen space.
For example, you can display all color-specific panels in one color palette, or display panels individually. Corel Painter also includes the Brush Controls palette, which is a preset palette that groups all panels that contain brush-related settings.
Exploring panels Corel Painter includes several panels that you can group together to create a custom palette. Workspace Tour 17 You can also choose a paper texture. Image Portfolio and Selection Portfolio Contain all of the images or selections in the current library. You can view the items as thumbnails or in a list as well as preview the current item. Media control panels Patterns, Gradients, and Weaves Let you apply and edit patterns, gradients, control panels and weaves Navigator and Clone Source panels Navigator panel Lets you navigate the document window.
You can also view document information, such as width and height; X and Y coordinates and cursor position; context-sensitive information based on a selected tool; and unit information, such as pixels, inches, and resolution. You can use Dynamic Plug-ins, add new layers including Watercolor and Liquid Ink layers , create layer masks, and delete layers. In addition, you can set the composite method and depth, adjust the opacity, and lock and unlock layers.
Channels Lets you preview thumbnails of all channels in a Corel Painter document, including RGB composite channels, layer masks, and alpha channels.
From the panel, you can also load, save, and invert existing channels, and create new channels. Auto-Painting panels Underpainting Lets you adjust tone, color, and detail in a photo in preparation for auto-painting. This panel is used in the first step of the photo-painting process. Auto-Painting Lets you specify a range of settings that control how brushstrokes are applied. This panel is used in the second step of the photo-painting process. Restoration Lets you fine-tune a painting by providing brushes that help you restore detail.
This panel is used in the third step of the photo-painting process. Composition panels Divine Proportion Lets you customize the Divine Proportion guide — a tool that helps you plan a layout according to a classic composition method Workspace Tour 19 Panel Description Layout Grid Lets you customize the Layout Grid — a tool that helps you divide your canvas so that you can plan your composition Text and Scripts panels Text Lets you perform all text-related tasks, such as choosing fonts, adjusting opacity, and applying drop shadows Scripts Lets you access commands and settings related to scripts.
For example, you can open, close, play, and record scripts from the Scripts panel. Working with Panels and Palettes You can rearrange the display of panels to better match your workflow. For example, you can group task-related panels together to create a palette. At any time, you can further customize these palettes by adding or removing a panel, repositioning a panel, or moving a panel to another palette.
If you want to save screen space, but keep the panels and palettes displayed in the application window , you can collapse or resize them. Most panels in Corel Painter contain option menus from which you can access a series of related commands. For example, you can use the options menu in the Paper controls panel to capture, make, and invert paper textures.
The contents of the Color panel. By default, the Color panel is open and is grouped in a palette with the Mixer and Color Sets. To Do the following Group panels into a palette Drag a panel by its tab to another open panel to create a group. Add a panel to a palette Drag the panel tab to the palette. Remove a panel from a palette Drag the panel tab out of the palette. Reposition a panel in a palette Drag the panel tab to a new location in the palette.
Hide an open panel Click the Close button on the panel tab. Hide an open palette Click the Close button on the header bar. Workspace Tour 21 You can restore a previously hidden palette by choosing Window, and choosing the name of a panel that is contained in the palette.
Libraries A library is a storage place that helps you organize and manage a collection of similar items, such as brushes or paper textures. For example, the default paper textures are contained in the Paper Textures library, which is loaded by default when you open Corel Painter.
As you customize paper textures and other resources, you can save them to your own libraries. Libraries are available for brushes, gradients, layers, lighting, looks, nozzles, paper textures, patterns, selections, scripts, and weaves. She has been widely recognized for her mastery of Corel Painter, Adobe Photoshop, and the Wacom pressure-sensitive tablet and has used these electronic tools since they were first released. Her artwork has been exhibited worldwide, her articles and art have been published in many books and periodicals, and she is a member of the San Diego Museum of Art Artist Guild.
She has taught Corel Painter and Adobe Photoshop workshops around the world and is the principal of the consulting firm Cher Threinen Design. Visit Cher's web site at: www. Corel Painter for Users of Adobe Photoshop 23 Corel Painter is known for its responsive, realistic brushes, multitude of rich textures, and fabulous special effects, which cannot be found in any other program.
The biggest difference that you will notice between Adobe Photoshop and Corel Painter is the warmth and texture of the Natural-Media brushes and paper textures of Corel Painter. Before we begin the tour, you need to make sure that you are displaying the Default panels and palettes. The property bar changes contextually, depending on the tool that you choose from the toolbox. The property bar with the Grabber tool selected from the toolbox.
Brush Selector bar On the far left of the property bar is the Brush Selector bar, which lets you open the Brush Library panel. The Brush Library panel contains the amazing brush categories and brush variants of Corel Painter, such as the Real Watercolor Brushes category and its variants.
The Brush Selector bar left lets you choose a brush category and a brush variant right. However, if you prefer to mix color by using numbers, you can adjust the three sliders that are located under the Hue Ring. By clicking the panel options button on the right side of the Color panel, you can set the sliders to display either Red, Green, and Blue, or Hue, Saturation, and Value. Also located on the Color panel is the Clone Color button, a useful control that lets you paint with color from a source image.
The color swatches in Corel Painter operate differently than the Foreground and Background Color squares in Photoshop. To change the color, you can double-click either the Main Color swatch or the Additional Color swatch and then choose a new color on the Hue Ring. You can use the additional color to create gradients or to use brushes that paint more than one color.
Unlike the Background Color in Photoshop, the additional color does not affect the canvas. Before moving on with the tour, click the Main Color swatch to select it. Resizing the Color panel lets you select colors more accurately.
Corel Painter for Users of Adobe Photoshop 25 Textures A basic paper texture is automatically loaded when you start Corel Painter. Layers and Mask Channels In Corel Painter, you can open Photoshop files that contain pixel-based layers and layer masks. You can access and edit the layers and layer masks by using the Layers panel, much like in Photoshop. The files you open in Corel Painter have multiple channels intact. Layers panel Photoshop Layer Styles If you are using native Photoshop layer styles, such as the Drop Shadow layer style, make sure that you preserve the original Photoshop file in your archive before you convert the layer style information.
That is, save the file with the live layer styles in the Photoshop PSD file format, and then save a new copy of this file. In the new file, convert the layer style information into pixel-based layers before importing the file into Corel Painter. A word of caution: Some aspects of the effects cannot be reproduced with standard layers. However, if you open a Photoshop file in Corel Painter but plan on reopening the file in Photoshop, you should continue to save the file to the Photoshop format.
Now roll up your sleeves, grab your stylus, and continue to explore Corel Painter. Corel Painter for Users of Adobe Photoshop 27 Basics The Corel Painter application provides a digital workspace in which you can create new images, or alter existing images, by using the Natural-Media tools and effects. Your working image, known as a document, is displayed in a document window. This document window includes navigation and productivity features to help you work efficiently.
Corel Painter also lets you open or import images saved in many other file formats. This allows you to specify the canvas settings, such as width, height, and resolution. You can also specify the canvas color and texture.
The size of the canvas determines the size of the image when it is printed. To quickly get started, you can choose from a list of preset canvas settings. Basics 29 You can resize the canvas left to prepare an image for printing right. For example, you can set the resolution of a new image at pixels per inch ppi , the width to 16 inches, and the height to 20 inches.
This large size makes it easier to maintain image quality when you need to produce a smaller version of the image. Pixels per inch ppi is equivalent to dots per inch dpi. You can also Change the unit of measurement for the Choose a unit of measurement from document the list box located to the right of the Width and Height boxes. Change the document size Type values in the Width and Height boxes.
Change the number of pixels per inch ppi or Type a value in the Resolution box. Change the color of the canvas Click the Color chip, and choose a paper color from the Color dialog box. Change the texture of the canvas Click the Paper chip, and choose a paper texture from the Paper Textures panel.
Understanding Resolution When you work with images in a digital workspace, it is helpful to understand the concept and applications of resolution. Basics 31 Resolution and Screen Appearance Most monitors have a resolution of 72 pixels per inch ppi. The Corel Painter display default is 72 ppi, which means that each pixel in the Corel Painter image occupies one pixel on your monitor.
For example, a ppi image is displayed on-screen at approximately four times its actual size. In other words, your ppi document will be printed at approximately one-quarter of its on-screen size. If you set the dimensions in pixels and then change the number of pixels per inch resolution , this change will affect the size of the printed image.
If you set your document size in inches, centimeters, points, or picas and then change the resolution, the dimensions of the printed image will not be affected. Resolution and Print Quality The resolution of output devices printers is measured in dots per inch, and in the case of halftones, lines per inch lpi.
Output device resolutions vary, depending on the type of press and paper used. In general, a photograph is output at a crisp lpi if printed on glossy magazine stock, and at 85 lpi if printed on newspaper stock.
If you are using a personal laser or inkjet printer, set your document size in inches, centimeters, points, or picas at the dots-per-inch setting specific to your printer. Most printers produce excellent output from images set at ppi. If you are using a commercial printer or a more sophisticated output device, the dimensions of the image should always be set to the actual size that you want the 32 Corel Painter 12 Getting Started Guide A good rule of thumb is to set the number of pixels per inch to twice the desired lines per inch.
So, at lpi, the setting should be twice that, or ppi; at 85 lpi, the setting should be ppi. Opening Files You can open files that were created in Corel Painter or in other applications. For example, you can open a file from another graphics application and use Corel Painter to add brushstrokes, tints, or paper textures. Corel Painter displays the folder of the last file you opened. For each image, Corel Painter lists the dimensions in pixels , file size, and file format.
Files saved in Corel Painter include thumbnails for browsing. Resizing Images and the Canvas You can change the physical dimensions of an image by resizing the canvas and the image together, or by resizing the canvas area only.
It is important to understand the distinction between the two resizing techniques. For example, if you resize a ppi image to ppi, the image size is smaller, but it looks the same.
Basics 33 The image was resized by modifying the resolution. Alternatively, when you resize only the canvas area, both the image dimensions and appearance change. For example, if you increase the size of the canvas, a border appears around the image. If you decrease the size of the canvas, the edge of the canvas is trimmed.
In addition, the image resolution is affected. The canvas area is resized in order to apply an empty border around the edge of an image. It is also important to note that the size of the onscreen image is affected by the pixel height and width of the image, the zoom level, and the monitor settings. As a result, an image may be displayed as a different size onscreen than when it is printed.