Corel Painter - 12 Instruction Manual

Corel® Painter™ 12 User Guide

The contents of this user guide and the associated Corel Painter software are the property of Corel Corporation and its respective licensors, and are protected by copyright. For more complete copyright information about Corel Painter, please refer to the About Corel Painter section in the Help menu of the software.

Protected by Patents in the United States and elsewhere.

Product specifications, pricing, packaging, technical support and information (“specifications”) refer to the retail English version only. The specifications for all other versions (including other language versions) may vary.

Information is provided by Corel on an “as is” basis, without any other warranties or conditions, express or implied, including, but not limited to, warranties of merchantable quality, satisfactory quality, merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose, or those arising by law, statute, usage of trade, course of dealing or otherwise. The entire risk as to the results of the information provided or its use is assumed by you. Corel shall have no liability to you or any other person or entity for any indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages whatsoever, including, but not limited to, loss of revenue or profit, lost or damaged data or other commercial or economic loss, even if Corel has been advised of the possibility of such damages, or they are foreseeable. Corel is also not liable for any claims made by any third party. Corel's maximum aggregate liability to you shall not exceed the costs paid by you to purchase the materials. Some states/countries do not allow exclusions or limitations of liability for consequential or incidental damages, so the above limitations may not apply to you.

Corel, the Corel logo, Corel DESIGNER, Corel Digital Studio, CorelDRAW, Corel PaintShop Photo, Corel VideoStudio, Corel WinDVD, Corel WordPerfect Office, Painter, Natural-Media, RealBristle, WinZip, and the Balloon logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Corel Corporation and/or its subsidiaries in Canada, the U.S., and/or other countries. Other product, font, and company names and logos may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.

104281

Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

What’s New in Corel Painter? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

Using the Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Accessing the Corel Painter Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

Additional Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

Registration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

Feedback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

About Corel Corporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

Workspace Tour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Corel Painter Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

The Document Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

Exploring the Toolbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

Displaying the Toolbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18

Displaying the Media Selector bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

The Property Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

The Navigator Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21

The Brush Library Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22

Exploring Panels and Palettes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

Working with Panels and Palettes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27

Creating and Modifying Custom Palettes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29

Managing Custom Palettes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31

Libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32

Customizing and Sharing Workspaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33

Restoring the Default Corel Painter Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34

Corel Painter for Users of Adobe Photoshop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Creating Documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44

Understanding Resolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46

Opening and Placing Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47

Creating and Opening Templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49

Switching Document Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50

Navigating Images and Viewing Image Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51

Zooming Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53

Rotating Images and the Canvas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55

Flipping Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57

Repositioning Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59

Contents i

Cropping Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Resizing Images and the Canvas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Saving and Backing up Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Choosing a File Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

Emailing Documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Closing Documents and Quitting the Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

Using Two Monitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Wacom Intuos Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Drag-and-Drop Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Painting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Choosing a Painting Workflow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Exploring Painting Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Working With the Canvas and Layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

Setting up the Drawing Cursor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Brush Tracking and Calibration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

Using a Stylus vs. a Mouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Applying Freehand and Straight Brushstrokes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

Constraining, Fading, and Undoing Strokes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

Erasing Image Areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

Aligning Brushstrokes to Paths and Shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Making 360° Strokes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

Painting with Airbrushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

Adjusting Spread . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

Recording and Playing Back Brushstrokes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

Reference: Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

Composition Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

Using the Layout Grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

Using the Mirror Painting Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

Using the Kaleidoscope Painting Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

Using the Divine Proportion tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

Using Rulers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

Using Guides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

Using Snap to Guides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

Using the Grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

Using Snap to Grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

Using the Perspective Grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

ii Contents

Photo Painting System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

Creating Underpaintings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .113

Auto-Painting Photos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .116

Restoring Detail to Paintings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .119

Selecting, Managing, and Creating Brushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

Understanding Brushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .121

Selecting and Searching for Brushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .122

Setting Basic Brush Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .123

Organizing and Displaying Brushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .128

Exploring Brush Categories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .130

Creating and Deleting Brush Libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .144

Opening and Importing Brush Libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .146

Creating, Restoring, and Deleting Brush Variants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .148

Creating a Brush Category . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .149

Saving a Look . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .150

Creating Brush Dabs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .151

Libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

Importing and Exporting Libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .153

Creating and Removing Libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .154

Modifying the Display of Library Panels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .156

Editing Library Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .157

Restoring Default Libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .157

Paper Texture and Grain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159

Applying Paper Texture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .160

Creating and Deleting Paper Textures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .161

Opening and Managing the Papers Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .163

Inverting and Scaling Paper Grain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .163

Controlling Brightness and Contrast of Paper Grain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .165

Adjusting Grain Direction and Behavior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .165

Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167

Using the Color Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .168

Using the Temporal Colors Palette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .172

Changing the Paper Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .173

Sampling Colors From Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .173

Cloning Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .174

Creating Two-Color Brushstrokes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .174

Working with the Mixer Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .176

Contents iii

Displaying the Mixer Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178

Using the Mixer Panel Colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179

Mixing Colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180

Mixing Paint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182

Creating Mixer Swatches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183

Working with Color Sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184

Customizing the Layouts of Color Sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185

Creating and Exporting Color Sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186

Editing Color Sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187

Annotating Colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189

Setting Color Variability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191

Setting Color Expression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191

Loading Multiple Colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191

Working with Color Fills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192

Applying a Color as a Fill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193

Limiting and Preventing Leakage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195

Patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197

Applying Pattern Fills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197

Painting with Patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199

Creating and Editing Patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202

Creating Seamless Patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205

Creating Fractal Patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208

Gradients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213

Applying Gradients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213

Replacing Image Colors With Gradient Colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216

Adjusting Gradients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217

Creating and Editing Gradients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219

Saving Gradients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223

Weaves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225

Applying Weaves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225

Editing and Saving Weaves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227

Creating Weave Patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228

Using the Edit Weave Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229

Defining Warp and Weft Expressions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230

Defining Warp and Weft Color Expressions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232

Designing the Tie-up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233

Reference: Expression Operators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235

iv Contents

Color Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247

Understanding Color Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .247

Getting Started with Color Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .252

Previewing Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .254

Changing Color Profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .255

Working with Color Profile Policies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .257

Working with Presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .258

Adjusting Brushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261

Exploring the Brush Controls Palette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .262

General Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .263

General Controls: Dab Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .264

General Controls: Stroke Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .268

General Controls: Methods and Subcategories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .269

General Controls: Source, Opacity, and Grain Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .273

General Controls: Stroke Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .275

General controls: Multicore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .278

Dab Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .278

Size Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .282

Spacing Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .284

Angle Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .287

Static Bristle Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .289

Computed Circular Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .292

Well Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .292

Rake Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .294

Mouse Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .298

Cloning Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .299

Impasto Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .306

Image Hose Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .308

Airbrush Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .309

Water Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .310

Liquid Ink Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .314

Digital Watercolor Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .320

Artists’ Oils Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .320

Real Watercolor Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .323

Real Wet Oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .328

Jitter Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .333

RealBristle Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .334

Color Variability Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .334

Color Expression Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .336

Brush Calibration Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .337

Contents v

Expression Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338

Hard Media Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340

Hard Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341

Using Hard Media Variants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341

Customizing Hard Media Variants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343

Markers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349

Getting Started with Markers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349

Customizing Markers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350

RealBristle Brushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 351

Getting Started With RealBristle Brushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 352

RealBristle Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 352

Watercolor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357

Working with the Watercolor Layer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358

Watercolor Brushes and Paper Texture Interaction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359

Working with Real Watercolor Brushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360

Working with Watercolor Brushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360

Working with Digital Watercolor brushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 362

Liquid Ink . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365

Working with Liquid Ink brushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365

Adjusting Attributes of the Liquid Ink Layer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 366

Using Liquid Ink Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 366

Impasto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 369

Getting Started with Impasto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 369

Adjusting Surface Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 377

Image Cloning and Sampling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379

Cloning Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379

Using Quick Clone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 384

Working with Multiple Clone Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 385

Painting in the Clone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 386

Using Brush Loading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 390

Performing Offset Sampling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 390

Applying Transformations When Sampling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 393

Using Selections and Transformations When Sampling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 402

Filling an Area With a Sampled Image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 404

vi Contents

Selections and Transformations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 407

Creating and Saving Selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .407

Viewing Selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .417

Adjusting Selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .418

Loading and Combining Selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .424

Transforming Selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .428

Alpha Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 435

Creating, Generating, and Importing Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .436

Managing and Editing Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .439

Layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 447

Getting Started with Layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .448

Managing Layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .458

Editing Layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .469

Working with Layer Masks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .487

Image Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 493

Applying Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .493

Correcting and Adjusting Colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .496

Equalizing Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .505

Tonal Control Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .508

Using Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .513

Working with Surface Texture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .516

Using Other Surface Control Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .529

Using Focus Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .540

Using Esoterica Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .547

Dynamic Plug-ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 567

Getting Started with Dynamic Plug-ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .568

Exploring Dynamic Plug-ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .570

Image Hose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 597

How the Image Hose Works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .598

Getting Started with the Image Hose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .599

Controlling the Image Hose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .600

Indexing Nozzle Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .604

Creating, Loading, and Saving Nozzles for the Image Hose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .607

Contents vii

Mosaics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 621

Getting Started with Mosaics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 622

Placing and Customizing Tiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 629

Working with Tessellation Mosaics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 637

Shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 643

Getting Started with Shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 644

Creating Shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 647

Editing Shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 656

Transforming Shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 662

Combining Shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 667

Saving and Exporting Shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 671

Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 673

Understanding the Text Layer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 673

Creating and Formatting Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 674

Applying Effects to Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 676

Converting and Dropping Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 681

Web . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 683

Creating Web Page Backgrounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 683

Creating Web Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 686

Working with Rollovers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 689

Working with Image Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 690

Creating GIF Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 694

Using Web-Safe Colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 698

Selecting Brushes for the Web . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 699

Scripting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 703

Getting Started with Scripting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 703

Editing Scripts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 709

Working with Scripts and Movies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 709

Animation and Video . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 713

Creating Animations and Video . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 713

Getting Started with Movies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 718

Modifying a Movie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 724

Rotoscoping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 726

Saving and Exporting Movies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 734

Creating and Exporting Animations for the World Wide Web . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 738

viii Contents

Printing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 743

Getting Started with Printing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .743

Notes for Users of Adobe Photoshop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 747

Comparing Terminology in Corel Painter and Adobe Photoshop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .747

Comparing Tools in Corel Painter and Adobe Photoshop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .748

Frequently Asked Questions from Users of Adobe Photoshop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .750

Setting Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 753

General Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .753

Interface Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .755

Performance Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .756

Shapes Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .758

Quick Clone Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .759

Keyboard Shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 761

Customizing Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .763

Toolbox Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .765

Panel Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .767

Corel Painter Menu Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .768

File Menu Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .768

Edit Menu Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .769

Canvas Menu Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .769

Layers Menu Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .770

Select Menu Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .770

Shapes Menu Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .770

Effects Menu Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .771

Window Menu Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .771

Screen Navigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .772

Panel Navigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .772

Panel Menu Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .773

Brush Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .774

Selection Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .775

Adjuster Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .776

Shape Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .777

Animation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .778

Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .779

Layer Selection Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .779

Mosaics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .779

Other Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .780

Contents ix

Getting Started

Corel® Painter™ 12 is the ultimate digital art studio. Its inventive drawing tools, realistic brushes, cloning capabilities, and customizable features let you expand your creative output in exciting new ways. When you use the pressure-sensitive brushes of Corel Painter, they become fluid extensions of your hand, so the resulting brushstrokes are unrivaled in texture and precision. What’s more, features such as the ability to build your own Natural-Media® brushes and customize how brushes interact with the canvas give you countless ways to develop your artistic ideas. Corel Painter takes you far beyond what’s possible in a traditional art environment.

This section contains the following topics:

• What’s New in Corel Painter?

• Using the Documentation

• Accessing the Corel Painter Help

• Additional Resources

•Registration

•Feedback

•About Corel Corporation

What’s New in Corel Painter?

In this section, you will find information about the new and enhanced features of Corel Painter 12.

Workflow and customization

Redesigned user interface The Corel Painter workspace has been redesigned to

give you easy access to tools, media, commands, and features. The redesigned workspace also includes an improved Brush Library panel that integrates both brush categories and variants.

Getting Started 1

Workflow and customization

Enhanced Cloning capabilities The new Clone Source Panel lets you visualize and

manage clone sources. In addition, you can use one or multiple clone sources in a document, which are now embedded in the clone document.

New Navigator panel The Navigator panel allows you to better orient

yourself in the document window and quickly modify the document window display. You can also enable various tools from the Navigator including the drawing modes, Impasto, tracing paper, grids, and color management.

Enhanced Library management The libraries have been enhanced to help you better

organize and manage a collection of similar items, such as brushes, paper textures, color sets, and gradients.

New Temporal Colors palette The new Temporal Colors palette is a floating color

palette that displays in the document window and lets you view and choose colors within the context of the image.

Enhanced Custom Palettes The enhanced Custom Palettes feature allows you to

create custom palettes by adding items to custom palettes that were previously inaccessible for customization.

Enhanced New Image dialog box The enhanced New Image dialog box lets you set

the size, resolution, paper texture, and paper color of a new document. You can also create presets for canvas settings that you use frequently.

Enhanced High Quality Rendering Corel Painter 12 renders smoother-looking images

onscreen when you zoom in and increases the speed of rendering images when you zoom out.

New Computed Circular brush dab and controls

2CorelPainterUserGuide

The Computed Circular dab type and controls let you customize dab profiles, instead of choosing preset profiles.

Workflow and customization

Enhanced Dynamic brush adjustments

New Brush Calibration Controls The new Brush Calibration controls let you calibrate

New Multicore support for brushes Multicore brush support maximizes brush

New Smart Blur effect The Smart Blur effect softens the appearance of an

Enhanced Custom Palettes The enhanced Custom Palettes feature allows you to

Progressive digital art capabilities

New Mirror painting The new Mirror painting mode allows you to create

You can now set brush size, opacity, angle, and squeeze dynamically onscreen, which is useful for sizing and shaping a brush within the context of the image.

individual brush variants to match your stroke strength when you use a pressure-sensitive stylus.

performance when you work on a multicore computer.

image by smoothing out the colors and sharp details.

create custom palettes by adding items to custom palettes that were previously inaccessible for customization.

a symmetrical painting.

New Kaleidoscope painting mode The new Kaleidoscope painting mode lets you

quickly transform basic brushstrokes into colorful and symmetrical kaleidoscope images.

New Gel brushes and Merge Mode controls

New Digital Airbrushes The new Digital Airbrush variants allow you to

Getting Started 3

The new Gel brushes allow you to tint the underlying colors of an image with the brushstroke color. You can customize Gel brushes by using the new Merge Modes brush control to produce different effects.

apply brushstrokes that do not build up color on single brushstrokes. You can achieve color buildup by overlaying multiple brushstrokes.

Unmatched Natural-Media capabilities

New Real Watercolor brushes and Controls

New Real Wet Oil brushes and Controls

The perfect complement

New Content Corel Painter 12 includes various new content, such

Compatibility Corel Painter 12 is compatible with your tools and

The Real Watercolor brushes and controls allow you 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 Real Wet Oil brushes and controls allow you to achieve the look and feel of real-world oil paints. 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.

as brushes, papers, nozzles, and other media, that you can work with or integrate into your images.

workflows:

•Mac OS® and Windows® — compatible with both Mac OS and Windows (including Windows 64-bit) operating systems

•Adobe® Photoshop® support — lets you import in and export to the Adobe Photoshop file format

•Wacom® Pen and Tablet support — lets you maximize the Natural Media brush capabilities of Corel Painter

New Web-based Help Corel Painter 12 now includes a web-based Help

system in order to provide up-to-date help content. However, if you’re working offline and need to consult the Help, a Help file is installed locally.

4CorelPainterUserGuide

Using the Documentation

The server-based Help gives you access to a full range of up-to-date topics in a searchable format. You need to have an active internet connection to access the serverbased help. However, if you are working offline, you can access the local help file that is installed with Corel Painter.

The Help is also provided in PDF format, which is installed on your computer. In addition, you can refer to the Corel Painter 12 Getting Started Guide, which provides general overviews about Corel Painter features, presents the most commonly used procedures, and includes Insights from the Experts.

Documentation Conventions

The following table describes the conventions used in the Help.

Convention Description Example

Mac OS and Windows commands

Modifier keys (Command, Option, Ctrl, Alt)

Menu commands (Choose X

 menu item)

Commands for Mac OS and Windows sometimes appear within the same procedural step, with the operating systems specified in parentheses.

Names of modifier keys for Mac OS and Windows sometimes appear within the same procedural step, with the operating systems specified in parentheses.

You choose a menu name by clicking it, and then you click to choose a menu item from the list.

Hold down Command (Mac OS) or Ctrl (Windows).

Command + I (Mac OS) or Ctrl + I (Windows)

(For the Mac OS, press Command + I; for Windows, press Ctrl + I.)

Choose File

 Quick Clone.

Getting Started 5

Convention Description Example

Header bar A header bar is located at the

top or side of some workspace components, such as the toolbox, property bar, and panels.

Panel tab The panel tab appears at the

top of a panel. You can click a panel tab to expand that panel.

Panel options menu Clicking the Panel Options

menu button displays a popup menu with additional commands.

Flyout Flyouts are containers shared

by certain tools in the toolbox. You can open a flyout by clicking and holding down the tool on the flyout that is displayed.

A note contains information that is important to the steps that precede it. Often, a note describes conditions under which the procedure can be performed.

A tip contains suggestions related to the procedure. Some tips present alternative methods of performing the steps, or information about other benefits and uses of the procedure.

By clicking and holding down the Layer Adjuster tool in the toolbox, you can display a flyout that includes the Transform tool.

This command is available only if you have turned off a selection.

You can choose a brush category and variant in the main application or in the Brush Library panel.

6CorelPainterUserGuide

Accessing the Corel Painter Help

The Help is a fully searchable source of information about Corel Painter.

To use th e Hel p

1 Choose Help menu  Corel Painter 12 Help (Mac OS) or Help Topics (Windows).

2 Perform a task from the following table.

To Do the following

Browse through Help topics Click the Contents tab.

Use the index Click the Index tab, and scroll through the

entries to find a topic.

Search the full text of the Help (Mac OS) Type a word or phrase in the

Search box in the upper-right corner of the Help window, and press Return.

(Windows) Click the Search tab, type a word or phrase in the box, and click Go. Note that the search feature does not support quotation marks. If you enclose the word or expression in quotation marks, the search will not produce any results.

Additional Resources

You can access additional Corel Painter resources online to learn more about the product and connect with the Corel Painter community.

Resources To access

Corel Painter page on the Corel website

Corel Painter Factory

Corel Painter on Twitter

Corel Painter on Facebook

Getting Started 7

http://www.corel.com/painter

http://www.painterfactory.com/

http://www.twitter.com/corelpainter

http://www.facebook.com/corelpainter

Registration

Registering Corel products is important. 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.

If you skipped the registration process when installing Corel Painter 12, you can register at www.corel.com/support/register.

Feedback

We value any feedback that you may have about the product or the Help content. To

provide feedback about a specific Help topic, scroll to the bottom of any Help topic and click the “Was this page helpful?” link.

About Corel Corporation

Corel is one of the world’s top software companies, with more than 100 million active users in over 75 countries. We develop software that helps people express their ideas and share their stories in more exciting, creative, and persuasive ways. Through the years, we’ve built a reputation for delivering innovative, trusted products that are easy to learn and use, helping people achieve new levels of productivity. The industry has responded with hundreds of awards for software innovation, design, and value.

Our award-winning product portfolio includes some of the world’s most widely recognized and popular software brands, including CorelDRAW® Graphics Suite, Corel® Painter™, Corel DESIGNER® Technical Suite, Corel® PaintShop Photo® Pro, Corel® VideoStudio®, Corel® WinDVD®, Corel® WordPerfect® Office, WinZip® and the recently released Corel® Digital Studio™ 2010. Our global headquarters are in Ottawa, Canada, with major offices in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, China, Taiwan, and Japan.

8CorelPainterUserGuide

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.

This section contains the following topics:

• Corel Painter Terms

• The Document Window

•Exploring the Toolbox

• Displaying the Toolbox

• Displaying the Media Selector bar

•The Property Bar

•The Navigator Panel

• The Brush Library Panel

• Exploring Panels and Palettes

• Working with Panels and Palettes

• Creating and Modifying Custom Palettes

• Managing Custom Palettes

•Libraries

• Customizing and Sharing Workspaces

• Restoring the Default Corel Painter Settings

Workspace Tour 9

Corel Painter Terms

Before you get started with Corel Painter, you should be familiar with the following terms.

Term Description

Canvas The canvas is the rectangular work area inside the document

window. In addition, the canvas serves as the background layer of the image. However, unlike other layers, it is always locked. The size of the canvas also determines the size of the image that you create.

Pixels per inch (ppi) The default unit of measurement for resolution in Corel Painter.

Pixels per inch (ppi) is equivalent to dots per inch (dpi).

Layer Layers are independent image elements that stack on top of the

canvas. You can manipulate the content of a layer without altering the canvas. Layers let you experiment with different compositions and effects without risking an unwanted, permanent edit.

Brush Category Brush categories are groups of similar brushes and media.

Brush Variant Brush variants are specific brushes and brush settings within a

brush category.

Dab types The dab type controls the way a brush applies color to the

painting surface. In Corel Painter, there are numerous dab types that fall under two dab type groups: rendered and dab-based, also known as pixel-based.

Rendered dab type The rendered dab type produces continuous, smooth-edged

strokes. For example, Camel Hair and Airbrush use the rendered dab type.

Dab-based dap type The dab-based dab types produce brushstrokes that are made up

of tiny dabs of color that are closely spaced together so they appear smooth.

Panel A panel contains commands, controls, and settings for a specific

feature. For example, the Color panel contain controls that allow you to choose colors.

Palette A palette is a container for multiple panels.

10 Corel Painter User Guide

Term Description

Paper Paper allows you to control both the color and texture of the

canvas.

Clone source The clone source determines the image, or image area, that you

want to reproduce through cloning. A document can include multiple clone sources.

Clone document The clone document is created by copying the original clone

source image which allows you to reproduce a painterly version of the source image. A copy of the clone source is embedded in the clone document. In addition, you can add multiple clone sources to a clone document.

Image sampling Image sampling lets you copy part of one image and reuse it

elsewhere in the image or in another image. You can sample an image by using the Rubber Stamp tool, a Cloner brush that supports offset sampling, or a Cloner brush that supports multipoint sampling. Sampling is similar to cloning, but, unlike cloning, it does not create a separate document that stores clone sources.

Composite method A composite method, which is similar to blend modes in Adobe

Photoshop, lets you change how a layer blends with an underlying image.

Workspace Tour 11

The Document Window

The document window is the area outside the canvas that is bordered by scroll bars and application controls.

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.

3. 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.

4. Recent brushes bar Displays the most recently used brushes

12 Corel Painter User Guide

Part Description

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

10. 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.

11. Toolbox Lets you access tools for creating, filling, and modifying an image

12. Media Selector bar Gives you quick access to the following media library panels: patterns, gradients, nozzles, weaves, and looks

13. 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.

14. Temporal Color palette Lets you select a color

15. 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 13

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. For more information, refer to “Selecting and Searching for Brushes” on page 122.

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. For more information, see “Sampling Colors From Images” on page 173.

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. For more information, see “Working with Color Fills” on page 192.

The Eraser tool lets you remove unwanted areas from an image. For more information, see “Erasing Image Areas” on page 86.

Selection tools

The Layer Adjuster tool is used to select, move, and manipulate layers. For more information, see “The Layer Adjuster Tool” on page 453.

The Transform tool lets modify selected areas of an image by using different transformation modes. For more information, see “Transforming Selections” on page 428.

The Rectangular Selection tool lets you create rectangular selections. For more information, see “Creating and Saving Selections” on page 407.

14 Corel Painter User Guide

Tool Description

The Oval Selection tool lets you create oval selections. For more information, see “Creating and Saving Selections” on page 407.

The Lasso tool lets you draw a freehand selection. For more information, see “Creating and Saving Selections” on page 407.

The Polygonal Selection tool lets you select an area by clicking different points on the image to anchor straight line segments. For more information, see “Creating Path-Based Selections” on page 409.

The Magic Wand tool lets you select an area of similar color by clicking or dragging in an image. For more information, see “Creating Pixel-Based Selections” on page 411.

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. For more information, see “Transforming Selections” on page 428.

The Crop tool lets you remove unwanted edges from an image. For more information, see “Cropping Images” on page 60.

Shape tools

The Pen tool lets you create straight lines and curves in objects. For more information, see “Using the Pen Tool” on page 648.

The Quick Curve tool lets you create shape paths by drawing freehand curves. For more information, see “Using the Quick Curve Tool” on page 650.

The Rectangular Shape tool lets you create rectangles and squares. For more information, see “Using Shape Object Tools” on page 647.

The Oval Shape tool lets you create circles and ovals. For more information, see “Using Shape Object Tools” on page 647.

The Text tool creates text shapes. Use the Text panel to set the font, point size, and tracking. For more information, see “Text” on page 673.

The Shape Selection tool is for editing Bézier curves. You use the Shape Selection tool to select and move anchor points and adjust their control handles. For more information, see “Creating Shapes” on page 647.

Workspace Tour 15

Tool Description

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 becomes open. For more information, see “Cutting and Joining Shape Segments” on page 661.

The Add Point tool lets you create a new anchor point on a shape path. For more information, see “Adding, Deleting, and Moving Anchor Points” on page 657.

The Remove Point tool lets you remove an anchor point from a shape path. For more information, see “Adding, Deleting, and Moving Anchor Points” on page 657.

The Convert Point tool is used to convert between smooth and corner anchor points. For more information, see “Adjusting Curvature” on page 659.

Photo tools

The Cloner tool gives you quick access to the last Cloner brush variant you used. For more information, see “Painting in the Clone” on page 386.

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. For more information, see “Performing Offset Sampling” on page 390.

The Dodge tool lets you lighten the highlights, midtones, and shadows in an image. For more information, see “Dodging and Burning” on page 511.

The Burn tool lets you darken the highlights, midtones, and shadows in an image. For more information, see “Dodging and Burning” on page 511.

Symmetry tools

The Mirror Painting mode lets you create a perfectly symmetrical painting. For more information, see “Using the Mirror Painting Mode” on page 98.

The Kaleidoscope mode lets you transform basic brushstrokes into colorful and symmetrical kaleidoscope images. For more information, see “Using the Kaleidoscope Painting Mode” on page 100.

16 Corel Painter User Guide

Tool Description

Composition tools

The Divine Proportion tool lets you plan compositions by using guides based on a classical composition method. For more information, see “Using the Divine Proportion tool” on page 102.

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. For more information, see “Using the Layout Grid” on page 95.

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. For more information, see “Using the Perspective Grid” on page 110.

Navigation tools

The Grabber tool lets you scroll through an image quickly. For more information, see “Repositioning Images” on page 59.

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. For more information, see “Zooming Images” on page 53.

The Rotate Page tool lets you rotate an image window to accommodate the way you naturally draw. For more information, see “Rotating Images and the Canvas” on page 55.

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. For more information, see “Using the Color Panel” on page 168.

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. For more information, see “Paper Texture and Grain” on page 159.

Workspace Tour 17

Tool Description

Selectors

The View Mode selector allows you to switch between Full Screen and Windowed. For more information, see “Switching Document Views” on page 50.

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 reposition the toolbox by moving it in the application window. In addition, you can change the toolbox display. For example, you can change the toolbox orientation.

To open or close the toolbox

• Choose Window  Too l box .

You can also close the toolbox by clicking the close button on the toolbox header bar.

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.

2 Click the tool that you want to use.

The tool you’ve chosen appears in the toolbox.

To move t he to olb ox

• Drag the toolbox header bar to a new location in the application window.

18 Corel Painter User Guide

To change the toolbox display

1 Choose Edit  Preferences  Interface.

2 Choose an option from the Toolbox Layout list box.

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). From left to right: Pattern Selector, Gradient Selector, Nozzle Selector, Weave Selector, Look Selector.

You can also reposition the Media Selector bar by moving it in the application window. In addition, you can change the Media Selector bar display. For example, you can change the toolbox orientation or increase the size of the buttons.

To open or close the Media Selector bar

• Choose Window  Media Selector.

You can also close the Media Selector bar by clicking the close button on the header bar.

To move the Media Selector bar

• Drag the Media Selector bar header to a new location in the application window.

To change the Media Selector bar display

1 Choose Edit  Preferences  Interface.

2 Choose an option from the Media Layout list box.

Workspace Tour 19

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. You can also move the property bar or dock it to the application window or to other panels.

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.

To open or close the property bar

• Choose Window  Property Bar.

You can also close the property bar by clicking the close button on the header bar.

To move or dock the property bar

• Perform a task from the following table.

To Do the following

Move the property bar Drag the property bar’s header bar to a new location.

Dock the property bar Drag the header area of the property bar, and place it under

the menu bar. The property bar snaps into place.

To reset the default tool settings

• Click the Reset Tool button on the property bar. The Reset Tool button on the property bar has the same icon as the selected tool in

the toolbox.

Various Reset Tool buttons for the Grabber property bar.

20 Corel Painter User Guide

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. For example, when you’re working at a high zoom level, or with a large image, you can use the Navigator panel’s small canvas preview to display the entire image without having to zoom out. 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’s canvas preview allows you to view the entire image even when you’re zoomed in.

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. For more information, see “Navigating Images and Viewing Image Information” on page 51.

Workspace Tour 21

The Brush Library Panel

The 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. 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.

You can access the Brush Library panel by clicking the Brush Selector on the Brush Selector bar.

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. For more information, see “Organizing and Displaying Brushes” on page 128.

The Brush Library panel allows you to browse all of the brush categories and variants for the currently open brush library.

To show or hide the Brush Selector bar

• Choose Window  Brush Selector.

22 Corel Painter User Guide

You can also close the Brush Selector bar by clicking the close button on the header bar.

To move the Brush Selector bar

• Perform a task from the following table.

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. You can copy an individual brush control panel to the workspace, but you can’t remove any of the brush control panels from the palette.

Exploring panels

Corel Painter includes several panels that you can group together to create a custom palette.

Panel Description

Brush Control panels

The Brush Controls panels are included in the Brush Controls palette. They include the following panels: General, Dab Profile, Size, Spacing, Angle, Static Bristle, Computed Circular, Well, Rake, Mouse, Cloning, Impasto, Image Hose, Airbrush, Water, Liquid Ink, Digital Watercolor, Artists’ Oils, Real Watercolor, Real Wet Oil, Jitter, RealBristle™, Hard Media, Color Variability, Color Expression, and Brush Calibration.

Workspace Tour 23

Allow you to customize brush variants. For more information, see “Adjusting Brushes” on page 261.

Panel Description

Color panels

Color Lets you choose main and additional colors

for painting in Corel Painter documents. For more information, see “Using the Color Panel” on page 168.

Mixer Lets you mix and blend colors as you would

on an artist’s palette. For more information, see “Working with the Mixer Panel” on page 176.

Color Sets Displays the colors in the current color set so

you can organize groups of colors. For more information, refer to “Working with Color Sets” on page 184.

Paper panels

Papers Lets you apply and edit paper textures

Paper Libraries Lets you open and manage paper libraries.

You can also choose a paper texture.

Media library panels

Patterns, Gradients, Nozzles, Looks, and Weaves library panels

Image Portfolio and Selection Portfolio Contain all images or selections in the

Media control panels

Patterns, Gradients, and Weaves control panels

24 Corel Painter User Guide

Let you open and manage media libraries. You can also choose media.

current library. You can view the items as thumbnails or in a list as well as preview the current item. For more information, see “Storing Images with the Image Portfolio” on page 485 and “Using the Selection Portfolio” on page 425.

Lets you apply and edit patterns, gradients, and weaves

Panel Description

Navigator and Clone Source panels

Navigator panel Lets you navigate the document window.

Yo u c an al so vi e w d ocument information, such as width and height; X and Y coordinates and the cursor position; contextsensitive information based on a selected tool; and unit information, such as pixels, inches, and resolution. For more information, see “The Navigator Panel” on page 21.

Clone Source panel Lets you open and manage clone sources

Layers and Channels panels

Layers Lets you preview and arrange all layers in a

Corel Painter document. 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. For more information, see “Layers” on page 447.

Channels Lets you preview thumbnails of all the

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. For more information, see “Alpha Channels” on page 435.

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 photopainting process. For more information, see “Creating Underpaintings” on page 113.

Workspace Tour 25

Panel Description

Auto-Painting panels

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 photopainting process. For more information, see “Auto-Painting Photos” on page 116.

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 photopainting process. For more information, see “Restoring Detail to Paintings” on page 119.

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. For more information, see “Using the Divine Proportion tool” on page 102.

Layout Grid Lets you customize the Layout Grid — a tool

that helps you divide your canvas so that you can plan your composition. For more information, see “Using the Layout Grid” on page 95.

Text and Scripts panels

Text Lets you perform all text-related tasks, such

as choosing fonts, adjusting opacity, and applying drop shadows. For more information, refer to “Text” on page 673.

Scripts Lets you access all commands and settings

related to scripts. For example, you can open, close, play, and record scripts from the Scripts panel. For more information, see “Scripting” on page 703.

26 Corel Painter User Guide

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.

You can easily display a panel when you need it, and you can quickly close a panel when you’re done. 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.

A typical palette features a header bar (1), panel tabs (2), and a Panel Options button (3).

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.

Workspace Tour 27

To group panels into palettes

• Perform a task from the following table.

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.

To show or hide a panel or palette

• Perform an action from the following table.

To Do the following

Show or hide a panel from a menu Choose Window

Hide an open panel Click the Close button on the panel tab.

Hide an open palette Click the Close button on the header bar.

 [Panel name].

When you choose Window  Show Panels, only the panels that were open when you chose Hide Panels are displayed.

You can restore a previously hidden palette by choosing Window, and choosing the name of a panel that is contained in the palette.

To expand or collapse a panel

• Double-click the panel tab.

To resize a panel or palette

• Perform a task from the following table.

28 Corel Painter User Guide

To Do the following

Resize a panel or palette proportionally Point to the lower right corner of the panel

or palette. When the cursor changes to a double-sided arrow, drag the panel or palette to resize it.

Resize a panel or palette vertically Point to the lower edge of the panel or

palette. When the cursor changes to a double-sided arrow, drag the edge of the palette to resize it.

Resize a panel or palette horizontally Point to the right edge of a panel or palette

header. When the cursor changes to a double-sided arrow, drag the edge of the panel or palette to resize it.

To access additional panel options

• In the panel, click the Panel Options button , and choose an option.

Creating and Modifying Custom Palettes

Corel Painter lets you create custom palettes that contain only the features that you want so you can quickly access them. For example, you can place items from the Brush library panel or any of the Media library panels in a custom palette. If the item that you want is represented on a panel with an icon, you can create a custom palette simply by dragging the icon out of a panel to the application window. This method works for brush variants, paper textures, media, such as gradients and patterns, and nozzles, looks, and scripts. You can also add commands from the main menus or panel options to a custom palettes.

Items that appear on a custom palette are references (aliases or shortcuts) to the original. This means that if you change the original — for example, by modifying and saving a brush variant — the custom panel button loads the newest version. However, if you delete the original, Corel Painter won’t be able to find the item again to load in the custom palette.

Custom palettes behave like the standard panels. For more information about working with panels, see “Working with Panels and Palettes” on page 27.

Workspace Tour 29

To create a custom palette

1 Choose Window  Custom Palette  Add Command. 2 Choose New from the Add To list box. 3 With the Add Command dialog box open, do one of the following:

• Choose a menu item from a default Corel Painter menu.

• Choose a menu item from the Other menu to add additional controls to a

custom palette.

• Choose a menu item from the Panel Menus menu to add a panel, or any of the

items included in a panel’s Options flyout menu, to a custom palette.

• Choose a menu item from the Tools menu to add a Toolbox tool to a custom

palette.

4 In the

Add Command dialog box, click Ok.

You can also create a custom panel by pressing Shift and dragging a button to the application window.

To open or close a custom palette

• Perform a task from the following table.

To Do the following

Open a custom palette Choose Window

[Custom Panel Name].

Close a custom palette On the custom panel header bar, click the

Close button.

 Custom Palette 

To add items to a custom panel

• Perform a task from the following table.

To Do the following

Add a button from a panel Drag a button from one panel to the custom

panel.

30 Corel Painter User Guide

To Do the following

Add a menu item Choose Window  Custom Palette  Add

Command. Choose the custom panel from the Add To list box, and with the Add Command dialog box open, choose a menu item, and click OK.

Tools from the main toolbox cannot be added to a custom panel.

Managing Custom Palettes

You can manage your custom palettes in the Custom Palette Organizer. Corel Painter names custom palettes “Custom 1”, “Custom 2,” and so on. For ease of use, you can rename them.

Corel Painter keeps your custom palettes from one session to the next. You can also save a custom palette to a file. If you save it to a file, you can remove it from Corel Painter, and then load it again later. You can delete obsolete custom palettes or those you don’t use very often.

To rename a custom palette

1 Choose Window  Custom Palette  Organizer.

2 Choose a palette from the Custom Palette list.

3 Click Rename.

4 In the Palette Name dialog box, type a name in the New Palette text box.

To save a custom palette

1 Choose Window  Custom Palette  Organizer.

2 Choose a palette from the Custom Palette list.

3 Click Export.

4 In the New Palette File dialog box, type a name in the File Name text box.

5 Choose the drive and folder where you want to save the file.

It’s a good idea to store all saved palettes in the same folder.

Workspace Tour 31

To import a custom palette

1 Choose Window  Custom Palette  Organizer.

2 In the Custom Palette Organizer, choose a palette from the Custom Palette list.

3 Click Import.

4 In the Open Palette File dialog box, choose the file where the custom palette is

saved.

5 Click Open.

Only custom palette files created with version 8.1 or later are supported by Corel Painter. Custom palettes created with version 7 or earlier cannot be loaded.

To delete a custom palette

1 Choose Window  Custom Palette  Organizer.

2 Choose a palette from the Custom Palette list.

3 Click Delete.

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. For more information, see “Libraries” on page 153 and “Opening and Importing Brush Libraries” on page 146.

32 Corel Painter User Guide

The Paper Libraries panel lets you choose, organize, and apply paper textures.

Customizing and Sharing Workspaces

Corel Painter lets you completely customize your workspace to suit your workflow needs. You can customize Brush Libraries, Paper Libraries, and Portfolios and save these changes to use later. In addition, you can easily create multiple workspaces, each with different libraries and portfolios. You can even share these customized workspaces with others by importing or exporting them.

To create a new workspace

1 Choose Window  Workspace  New Workspace.

2 Type a name in the Workspace Name text box.

3 From the Based On list box, choose the workspace on which you want to base the

new workspace.

4 Click Save.

The application switches to the new workspace.

To switch to a different workspace

• Choose Window  Workspace  [Workspace Name].

To import a workspace

1 Choose Window  Workspace  Import Workspace.

2 Choose the workspace file that you want to import.

Workspace Tour 33

3 Click Open.

To export a workspace

1 Choose Window  Workspace  Export Workspace.

2 Choose the workspace that you want to export.

3 Click Save.

To revert to the default workspace

• Choose Window  Workspace  Default.

Corel Painter lets you modify the default workspace, so this workspace may eventually differ from the factory default workspace. If you restore the factory default workspace, you will lose all customizations unless you save the workspace.

Restoring the Default Corel Painter Settings

All user settings are saved to a local user folder; when Corel Painter starts, it recalls these user settings rather than the application settings. However, you can restore the Corel Painter workspace to its default factory settings. The restoring process replaces the settings in the user folder with copies of the settings from the original installation.

Restoring the Corel Painter workspace to its default factory settings also removes all modifications you have made to the application — including the brushes, papers, textures, and similar customizations. The locations of the user folders are as follows:

• Mac OS/Users/<username>/Library/Application Support/Corel Painter 12/

• Windows\Documents and Settings\<username>\Application Data\Corel Painter 12

Restoring Corel Painter to its default factory settings is particularly useful in a multiuser environment, where many users are working from the same installation.

Corel Painter references the location of the loaded libraries for Papers and Color Sets. If Corel Painter cannot locate a loaded library, it reverts to the default library. When a new library is loaded, the user is prompted to decide whether to append to or overwrite the current library.

34 Corel Painter User Guide

To restore Corel Painter to its default factory settings

1 Hold down Shift and start Corel Painter.

A warning appears, asking you to verify that you want to erase all of the modifications that you have made to Corel Painter. Restoring the default factory settings copies the original workspace settings from the installation to the user folder.

2 Choose whether you want to restore the current workspace or all workspaces.

Workspace Tour 35

Corel Painter for Users of Adobe Photoshop

by Cher Threinen-Pendarvis

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. You’ll find brushes with realistic bristles that lay down oily paint and dry-media brushes, such as variants in the Chalk and Pastels categories, that are sensitive to textures on the canvas. Now, let’s get started!

Before we begin the tour, you need to make sure that you are displaying the Default panels and palettes. To display the Default settings, choose the Window menu, and choose Arrange Palettes  Default.

Property Bar

At the very top of the screen, you’ll see the property bar, which is similar to the Options bar in Photoshop. 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.

Corel Painter for Users of Adobe Photoshop 37

The Brush Selector bar (left) lets you choose a brush category and a brush variant (right).

Color panel

On the upper right corner of your screen you’ll see the large, beautiful Color panel, which lets you choose colors. You can choose colors by using the Hue Ring and the Saturation/Value Triangle. 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. On the left of the Color panel are the Main Color swatch or Additional Color swatch . 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. Or you can click in the Saturation/Value Triangle to choose a new tint or shade. 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.

38 Corel Painter User Guide

Color panel.

Hue Ring

Saturation/Value Tr i a n g l e

Additional Color swatch

Main Color swatch

In Corel Painter 12, you can resize the Color panel by dragging the handle in the lower-right corner of the panel to resize it. Resizing the Color panel lets you select colors more accurately.

Textu res

A basic paper texture is automatically loaded when you start Corel Painter. You can access additional rich paper textures by clicking the Paper Selector from the toolbox, or from the Paper Libraries panel (Window menu  Paper Panels  Paper Libraries).

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.

Corel Painter for Users of Adobe Photoshop 39

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.

To convert a layer that has a Drop Shadow layer style, select the layer, and then choose Layers  Layers Style  Create Layer. A word of caution: Some aspects of the effects cannot be reproduced with standard layers.

File Formats

Corel Painter gives you the flexibility of opening Photoshop (PSD) files that are saved in RGB, CMYK, and grayscale modes while preserving pixel-based layers and mask channels (also referred to as alpha channels). You can also open TIFF files in Corel Painter, but only one mask channel is preserved. Layered TIFF (TIF) files that you create in Photoshop are flattened when you open them in Corel Painter. When you work exclusively with RIFF (RIF), which is the native file format for Corel Painter, you retain Corel Painter specific elements when saving files. For instance, special paint media layers, such as Watercolor layers, require the RIFF format to retain the live “wet” capabilities. 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.

40 Corel Painter User Guide

Now roll up your sleeves, grab your stylus, and continue to explore Corel Painter.

About the Author

An award-winning artist and author, Cher Threinen-Pendarvis is a pioneer in digital art. 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. Cher is the author of The Photoshop and Painter Artist Tablet Book, Creative Techniques in Digital Painting, Beyond Digital Photography, and all nine editions of The Painter Wow! book. Visit Cher's web site at: www.pendarvis- studios.com.

Corel Painter for Users of Adobe Photoshop 41

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.

As you create an image, you can save your document in various file formats, such as RIFF (the native Corel Painter format), JPEG, TIFF, and PSD (Adobe Photoshop). Corel Painter also lets you open or import images saved in many other file formats.

This section contains the following topics:

•Creating Documents

•Understanding Resolution

• Opening and Placing Files

•Creating and Opening Templates

•Switching Document Views

• Navigating Images and Viewing Image Information

• Zooming Images

• Rotating Images and the Canvas

•Flipping Images

• Repositioning Images

• Cropping Images

• Resizing Images and the Canvas

• Saving and Backing up Files

• Choosing a File Format

• Emailing Documents

• Closing Documents and Quitting the Application

• Using Two Monitors

• Wacom Intuos Support

• Drag-and-Drop Features

Basics 43

Creating Documents

To start an image from a blank canvas, you must create a new document. 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. However, you can also specify custom settings, which you can save as a preset for future use.

You can resize the canvas (left) to prepare an image for printing (right).

Canvas size and resolution

When setting the canvas size and resolution, you can choose options that correspond to the image’s destination, however, you may want to choose a larger image size to preserve more image details. For example, you can set the resolution of a new image at 300 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. For more information, see “Understanding Resolution” on page 46 and “Resizing Images and the Canvas” on page 60.

Pixels per inch (ppi) is equivalent to dots per inch (dpi).

44 Corel Painter User Guide

To create a new document

1 Choose File  New.

2 Type a filename in the Image Name text box.

3 From the Canvas Preset list box, choose one of the following options to

automatically determine the size, resolution, color of the canvas, and the paper texture:

•Painter 12 default

•Painter 11 default

•Portrait

You can also

Change the unit of measurement for the document

Change the document size Type values in the Width and Height

Change the number of pixels per inch (ppi) or pixels per centimeter that make up an image

Change the resolution type Choose a resolution type from the list box

Change the color of the canvas Click the Color chip, and choose a paper

Change the texture of the canvas Click the Paper chip, and choose a paper

Choose a unit of measurement from the list box located to the right of the Width and Height boxes.

boxes.

Type a value in the Resolution box.

located to the right of the Resolution box.

color from the Color dialog box.

texture from the Paper Textures panel.

In the New dialog box, setting the document’s pixels per inch is equivalent to setting its dots per inch (dpi). For detailed information about document, screen, and print resolutions, see “Understanding Resolution” on page 46.

To create a custom canvas preset

1 Choose File  New.

2 Choose the settings that you want to save as a canvas preset.

Basics 45

3 Click the Add button .

4 In the Add Preset dialog box, type a name in the Preset Name text box.

A custom canvas preset is not a template. Unlike a template, it does not allow you to store any content. A custom canvas preset allows you to store only canvas dimensions, resolution, color, and texture.

You can delete a canvas preset by choosing the preset name from the Canvas Preset list box and clicking the Delete button .

Understanding Resolution

When you work with images in a digital workspace, it is helpful to understand the concept and applications of resolution. Resolution refers to how Corel Painter measures, displays, saves, and prints images — whether as small squares of color called “pixels” or as mathematical objects called “vectors.”

A document’s resolution affects both its appearance on your computer screen and its print quality. You can specify a document’s resolution when you create a new document, save, or export a file.

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. The display resolution does not affect the document’s actual number of pixels per inch — it affects only how the image is displayed on the monitor.

For example, a 300-ppi image is displayed on-screen at approximately four times its actual size. Because each pixel in the Corel Painter image occupies one pixel on your monitor, and the monitor’s pixels are approximately four times the size of the image’s pixels (72 ppi versus 330 ppi), the image must appear four times larger on-screen in order to display all of the pixels. In other words, your 330-ppi document will be printed at approximately one-quarter of its on-screen size. To view the image at its actual size, you can set the zoom level to 25%.

46 Corel Painter User Guide

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.

Pixels per inch (ppi) is equivalent to dots per inch (dpi).

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 150 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 300 ppi. Increasing the file’s pixels-per-inch setting does not necessarily improve the output and may create a large, unwieldy file.

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 image to appear in the printed piece. A good rule of thumb is to set the number of pixels per inch to twice the desired lines per inch. So, at 150 lpi, the setting should be twice that, or 300 ppi; at 85 lpi, the setting should be 170 ppi. If you have questions about the resolution of specific output devices, it’s a good idea to check with the print service provider.

Opening and Placing 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.

You can also place a file in an existing Corel Painter document. The placed image becomes a new reference layer in the document — you can transform (resize, rotate, or slant) it on-screen by dragging its handles. A placed file maintains its link to the source file until you commit it to the standard layer format.

Basics 47

You can scale a file before placing it in a document.

For general information about working with reference layers, see “Working with Reference Layers” on page 474.

Supported File Formats

Corel Painter lets you open the following file formats:

• RIFF (RIF) — native Corel Painter format

• TIFF (TIF)

•PNG

• CMYK TIF (TIF) — Because Corel Painter works with RGB colors, the CMYK TIF files that you open or import in the application are converted to an RGB color profile.

• Adobe Photoshop formats (PSD) — Corel Painter preserves layers, layer masks, alpha channels, and composite methods. Layer effects and adjustment layers are not supported and should be merged or flattened in Adobe Photoshop.

•Windows Bitmap (BMP)

• PC Paintbrush (PCX)

• TARGA® (TGA)

• GIF — Corel Painter does not convert GIF animations to frame stacks.

•JPEG (JPG)

• Frame stacks (FRM) — Corel Painter animation files

• QuickTime® (MOV), Video for Windows (AVI), and numbered files. For more information, refer to “Opening a Movie” on page 719 or “Working with Numbered Files” on page 737.

48 Corel Painter User Guide

Corel Painter does not support LZW compressed TIFF file format. Only uncompressed TIFF files can be opened in Corel Painter.

To open a doc ume nt

1 Choose File  Open.

Corel Painter displays the folder of the last file you opened.

2 In the Open dialog box, locate the file that you want to open.

For each image, Corel Painter lists the dimensions (in pixels), file size, and file format. Files saved in Corel Painter include thumbnails for browsing.

3 Click Open.

To browse for a document (Mac OS)

1 Choose File  Open.

2 Click Browse.

The Browse dialog box shows thumbnails for all the RIFF files in a folder.

3 Double-click the filename, or select a file, and click Open.

To place a file

1 Choose File  Place.

2 Select an image file, and click Open.

The Place image dialog box appears.

3 Perform a task from the following table.

If the placed image contains a mask and you do not enable the Retain Alpha check box when placing, the image mask is discarded.

Creating and Opening Templates

If you regularly work with documents that contain similar dimensions, formatting, and resolution, you can create document templates so that you don’t have to start each document from scratch. When creating a template, you can add content to the canvas and save it as part of the template.

Basics 49

To save a document as a template

1 Create a file with the sizing, formatting, and resolution attributes you want.

2 Choose File  Save As.

3 In the Save (Mac OS) or Save Image As (Windows) dialog box, save the file to one

of the following folders in your user folder:

• (Mac OS) Corel Painter 12\Support Files\Templates

• (Windows 7) AppData\Roaming\Corel\Painter 12\Default\Templates If you want the template to display under File  Open Template, you need to close

and then reopen Corel Painter.

In a multiuser environment, only users with Administrator status can add files to the Templates folder.

In Windows, you need to ensure that all hidden files are displayed in order to access the AppData folder.

To open a document template

• Choose File  Open Template.

You can also open a template by choosing Help  Welcome, and then choosing a template from the Open a Template list box.

Switching Document Views

Corel Painter offers two document viewing modes: Windowed and Full-screen.

Windowed mode is the default viewing mode for documents, which displays all standard tools in the workspace. For example, the property bar, Brush selector bar, toolbox, and a few additional panels are readily accessible.

Full-screen mode lets you hide your computer’s desktop and view the document window without scroll bars. When full-screen mode is enabled, the document window is centered over a solid background. All of the Corel Painter features work when you use full-screen mode.

You can also change the default document view mode for the application. For more information, see “Interface Preferences” on page 755.

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To switch vie win g m odes

• From the toolbox, click the View Mode button to toggle between Full Screen Mode and Windowed Mode.

You can also

Toggle the viewing modes Press Command + M (Mac OS) or

Ctrl + M (Windows).

Reposition the canvas anywhere on the screen

Hold down the Spacebar and drag.

You can also switch viewing modes from the Navigator panel.

Navigating Images and Viewing Image Information

You can use the Navigator panel to better orient yourself in the document window. For example, when you’re working at a high zoom level or with a large image, you can use the Navigator panel’s small canvas preview to display the entire image without having to zoom out. You can also move to a different image area without adjusting the zoom level. In addition, you can highlight which area is currently displayed in the document window.

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The Navigator’s canvas preview allows you to view the entire image even when you’re zoomed in.

The Navigator also lets you view the X and Y coordinates and cursor position to help you navigate the image. You can also view document information, such as width and height; and unit information, such as pixels, inches, and resolution.

To display the Navigator panel

1 Choose Window  Navigator.

2 Perform a task from the following table.

To Do the following

Move to a different area of the image without adjusting the zoom level

Indicate in the Navigator’s canvas preview window the area that is currently displayed in the document window

Zoom to a specific magnification level in the document window

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In the Navigator panel, click a different area of the canvas preview.

Click the Navigator Options button , and choose display Show Navigator Frame.

Open the Zoom Canvas slider, and adjust the zoom level.

To Do the following

Rotate the image in the document window Open the Rotate Canvas slider, and adjust

the rotation.

From the Navigator panel, you can also enable various tools by clicking the Open Navigator Settings button , and choosing an option. The available tools include the drawing modes, Impasto, tracing paper, grids, and color management.

Zooming Images

You can change the level of magnification by zooming. You can zoom in and out by using the Magnifier tool, resetting magnification, or zooming to fit the screen. You can even zoom in and out while working with other tools.

The Magnifier tool lets you zoom in and out by clicking in the document window.

To zoom in

1 In the toolbox, click the Magnifier tool .

The Magnifier cursor shows a plus sign (+), which indicates that you are increasing the magnification (zooming in).

2 Click or drag in the document window.

Each click increases the magnification to the next level, as defined in the Scale box at the bottom of the image window.

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When you drag, Corel Painter chooses the magnification level that most closely conforms to the selected area and centers the screen view on that area.

You can also zoom in using the following keyboard shortcuts:

• (Mac OS)

•(Windows)

Hold down Command, and press + (plus sign).

Hold down Ctrl, and press + (plus sign).

To zoom out

1 In the toolbox, click the Magnifier tool , and hold down Option (Mac OS) or Alt

(Windows). A minus sign (–) appears on the Magnifier cursor, which indicates that you are

decreasing the magnification (zooming out).

2 Click in the document window.

Each click reduces the magnification to the next level, as defined in the Scale box at the bottom of the image window.

You can also zoom out using the following keyboard shortcuts:

• (Mac OS) Hold down Command, and press – (minus sign).

• (Windows) Hold down Ctrl, and press – (minus sign).

To zoom to a specific magnification level

• Choose Window  Navigator, and type a value in the Zoom Canvas box. If you prefer, open the Zoom Canvas slider, and adjust the zoom level.

To reset magnification to 100%

• Double-click the Magnifier tool in the toolbox.

You can also reset magnification to 100% by clicking the Reset tool on the property bar or the Reset Zoom to 100% button in the Navigator panel.

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To zoom to fit the screen

• Choose Window  Zoom to Fit. Corel Painter generates a view of the entire document to fit your document

window.

You can also zoom to fit the screen by clicking the Fit Screen button on the property bar.

Rotating Images and the Canvas

You can rotate an image on the screen to accommodate the way you draw naturally. You can also rotate the canvas to change the image orientation.

Rotate an image to accommodate the way you naturally draw.

Rotating an image onscreen is meant for drawing purposes only; whereas rotating the canvas modifies the appearance of the image. For example, if you print an image that you rotated onscreen, the rotation is not reflected in the printed image. However, if you rotate the canvas of the image, the rotation is reflected in the printed image.

You can rotate an image or the canvas by a predefined amount, or you can choose the amount of rotation. You can also reset the original orientation of an image.

To rotate an image

1 From the toolbox, click the Rotate Page tool .

If you prefer using a keyboard shortcut, hold down Option + Spacebar (Mac OS) or Spacebar + Alt (Windows).

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The cursor changes to a hand with a pointing finger .

2 Drag in the document window to rotate the image.

The new rotation angle appears on the property bar.

You can also

Constrain rotation to 90° increments Hold down Shift while rotating.

Rotate an image by specifying a rotation angle

Type a rotation angle in the Rotation Angle box on the property bar or in the Navigator panel.

You can also rotate an image from the Navigator panel by typing a value in the Rotate Canvas box or by opening the Rotate Canvas slider and adjusting the rotation.

To reset the original orientation of an image

1 In the toolbox, click the Rotate Page tool .

2 Do one of the following:

• Click once in the document window.

• Double-click the Rotate Page tool.

• On the property bar, click the Reset Tool button .

You can also reset image rotation from the Navigator panel by clicking the Reset Rotation button .

To rotate the canvas

1 Choose Canvas  Rotate Canvas.

2 Perform a task from the following table.

You can also

Rotate the Canvas layer 180 degrees Choose Canvas

Rotate the Canvas layer 90 degrees clockwise Choose Canvas

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 Rotate Canvas  180.

 Rotate Canvas  90 CW.

You can also

Rotate the Canvas layer 90 degrees counterclockwise

Rotate the Canvas layer by a user-defined amount

Choose Canvas  Rotate Canvas  90 CCW.

Choose Canvas and type a value in the Angle box.

 Rotate Canvas Arbitrary,

If your document has layers of different types, you are prompted to commit all of them to default, pixel-based layers.

Flipping Images

You can flip the canvas and all of its associated layers together, or you can flip a layer, selection, or the canvas individually. You can flip all or parts of an image horizontally (from left to right) or vertically (from top to bottom).

Original image.

Basics 57

Image flipped horizontally.

Image flipped vertically.

To flip the canvas and layers together

1 Choose Canvas  Rotate Canvas.

2 Choose one of the following:

• Flip Canvas Horizontal

• Flip Canvas Vertical If your document has layers of different types, you are prompted to commit all of

them to a default, pixel-based layer.

To flip the canvas, a layer, or a selection individually

1 Perform a task from the following table.

To flip Do the following

The canvas Click the Canvas in the Layers panel.

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To flip Do the following

A layer Click one or multiple layers in the Layers

panel.

A selection Click a selection tool from the toolbox, and

drag in the document window to select an area.

2 Choose Edit, and choose one of the following:

•Flip Horizontal

• Flip Vertical

Repositioning Images

You can reposition an image in the Corel Painter workspace in order to view, or work on, a different area of an image. You can also view a different area of an image when you’re zoomed in.

To repos itio n a documen t

1 In the toolbox, click the Grabber tool .

The cursor changes to the Grabber tool.

2 Perform a task from the following table.

To Do the following

Scroll through the image Drag in the document window.

Center the image Click once in the document window.

You can also activate the Grabber tool by holding down the spacebar.

To reposition a document while zoomed in

1 Choose Window  Navigator.

2 In the Navigator panel, click a different area of the preview area.

If the Navigator frame is displayed, you can drag the frame to a different area of the canvas preview.

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Cropping Images

You can remove unwanted edges from the image with the Crop tool. You can adjust the aspect ratio of the cropped image and choose to maintain the aspect ratio. You can also remove unwanted areas of an image by resizing the canvas area. For information, see “Resizing Images and the Canvas” on page 60.

To crop an image

1 In the toolbox, click the Crop tool .

2 Drag inside the image to define the rectangular area that you want to keep.

You can adjust the rectangle by dragging a corner or any of its edges.

3 When you’re ready to execute the crop, click inside the rectangle.

To constrain the cropping rectangle to a specific aspect ratio, enable the Ratio check box on the property bar, and type values in the Crop Ratio Width and Crop Ratio Height boxes.

To constrain cropping to a square

1 In the toolbox, click the Crop tool .

2 Hold down Shift, and drag to define the area for cropping.

3 Click inside the square.

To adjust the aspect ratio of the cropped image

1 In the toolbox, click the Crop tool .

2 On the property bar, type values in the Crop Ratio Width and Crop Ratio Height

boxes.

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.

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When you resize the canvas and image together, the image dimensions and resolution change, but the image appearance doesn’t change. For example, if you resize a 300 ppi image to 150 ppi, the image size is smaller, but it looks the same.

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.

Basics 61

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. For more information, see “Understanding Resolution” on page 46 and “Creating Documents” on page 44.

To resize the canvas and image content together

1 Choose Canvas  Resize.

To avoid distortion by maintaining the width-to-height ratio of the image, enable the Constrain File Size check box.

2 In the New Size area, type values in the Width and Height boxes.

If you enable the Constrain File Size check box, you need to type values only in the size box; the other values are adjusted automatically.

If you choose pixels or percent as the unit and enter a value, the Constrain File Size check box is automatically disabled.

Increasing the image dimensions significantly may cause the image to appear stretched and pixelated.

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To resize the canvas area

1 Choose Canvas  Canvas Size.

2 In the Canvas Size dialog box, specify the number of pixels you want to add to any

side of the canvas. To reduce, or trim, the canvas size, specify negative values.

Saving and Backing up Files

You can save a file in its current format or in a different format. You can also track the changes that you make to a file by saving multiple versions of the file, also known as iterations. In addition, you have the option of creating backup files every time you save a document.

When you save an iteration of a file, an updated version of the file is saved with a version number added to the filename. For example, if you saved the original file as Image. RIF and then save an iteration of the file, the latest version of the file is saved as Image_001.RIF. For each subsequent iterative save that you perform, the number added to the filename increases by 1, for example, Image_002.RIF and Image_003.RIF. Iterative saving is useful if you need to revert to an older version of a file, or simply to track your progress over time.

To save a file in its current format

• Choose File  Save.

To save a file with a different name or in a different format

1 Choose File  Save As.

2 In the Save (Mac OS) or Save Image As (Windows) dialog box, use the controls to

specify a location, file name, and format.

To perform an iterative save

• Choose File  Iterative Save. The location of the last file saved is stored and used for iterative saves unless you

specify a new location.

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You can also perform an iterative save by pressing Command + Option + S (Mac OS) or Ctrl + Alt + S (Windows).

To create a backup file when saving

1 Do one of the following:

• (Mac OS) Choose Corel Painter 12 menu  Preferences.

• (Windows) Choose Edit  Preferences.

2 In the Preferences list of categories, click General.

3 Enable the Create Backup on Save check box.

Choosing a File Format

When you save a file, you must choose a file format. The following section contains information about some of the supported file formats.

Saving RIFF Files

RIFF is the Corel Painter file format, which retains special information about your document. For example, a RIFF file maintains all layers.

RIFF files are best used as “work-in-progress” files. It is recommended that you always save files in RIFF format, and then save to GIF, JPEG, TIF, or another file format when a file is ready for production.

Corel Painter lets you compress files and save disk space with a lossless compression method. When saving in RIFF format, you can minimize the file size on your hard disk by ensuring that the Uncompressed option is disabled by default.

Saving JPEG Files

Corel Painter supports the JPEG file format. Unlike GIF, the JPEG file format displays a full range of colors.

The JPEG file format lets you compress your file on a scale of Fair to Excellent, where quality is directly proportional to file size. These quality settings will let you achieve compression ratios ranging from less than 10:1 to greater than 100:1. JPEG is a “lossy” file format, meaning that a compressed JPEG file will not be identical, pixel-

64 Corel Painter User Guide

for-pixel, to the original. However, because the JPEG algorithm takes into account the sensitivity of the eye to different colors, the higher-quality settings should achieve visually satisfying results.

You can assign a URL to layers and placed images and then save the file in GIF or JPEG format to produce an image map. For more information, see “Client-Side Image Mapping” on page 691.

When you save a file in JPEG format, Corel Painter displays the JPEG Encoding Quality dialog box, with the following options:

• The Quality options — Excellent, High, Good, and Fair — let you set the degree of file compression.

The Excellent option compresses the least, but retains the most data. Fair compresses the most, but loses the most data.

You can also use the Quality slider to adjust file compression.

• The Smoothness slider applies smoothing to the entire image. This is useful when using the Fair option to blur the edges of JPEG artifacts. The default is 0. Keep in mind that using a high smoothness setting can cause blurring.

• The Progressive JPEG check box creates a progressive JPEG file. The progressive format is useful for files designed for the Web. As the name implies, the progressive format displays an image in stages — as a series of scans — while the file downloads. The first scan is a low-quality image; the following scans improve in quality. This allows the user to see the whole image quickly.

• The HTML Map Options — NCSA Map File, CERN Map File, and Client Side Map File — let you generate an image map. (NCSA refers to the National Center for Supercomputing Applications, and CERN refers to the Conseil Europeén pour la Recherche Nucléaire.) Use the NCSA Map File or CERN Map File option to generate a server-side image map. Use the Client Side Map File option to generate a client-side image map.

For more information about image map types, see “Working with Image Maps” on page 690.

It is best not to decompress and recompress a file multiple times. Although JPEG can compress and discard data that is not visible or obvious, the degradation of the data can affect the condition of your file.

When a file has lost a significant amount of data, block patterns may appear in areas of the image. If you try to use the Apply Surface Texture feature on a JPEG file, you may find that the block patterns become more prominent.

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Saving GIF Files

Corel Painter lets you save documents as GIF files. GIF, a file format using 8 or fewer bits, is commonly used to display graphics on the Web. When you save a GIF file, you can choose settings from 4 Colors to 256 Colors. You can choose how your colors will be displayed and what part of your image will be transparent.

You can enable the Color Set option to force all colors in the color table of the GIF file to match the colors in the current color set. This option can be useful when you are doing Web work, especially if you want to constrain colors to a specific color set or control the number of colors on a Web page, thus controlling the image file size.

The Imaging Method setting determines how a 24-bit Corel Painter document will be converted to the limited number of colors that GIF uses. If you choose Quantize to Nearest Color, Corel Painter may replace some colors with colors that are located next to each pixel. If you choose Dither Colors, Corel Painter applies a pattern to the chosen colors to generate a more accurate, less banded result.

Corel Painter can also save a frame stack as a GIF animation file. For more information, see “Creating Animated GIFs” on page 696.

If you want your image to have transparency, enable the Output Transparency check box. Most programs that display GIF files support transparency, but for those that don’t, you should specify the color of the “transparent” area. If your image will be displayed on the Web, enable the Background is WWW Gray option. You can also choose to use the background color of your Web page by enabling the Background is BG Color option.

For programs that support transparency, your selection will determine which areas are transparent. The Threshold slider determines which selection (loaded mask) value becomes transparent. You can see how the Threshold slider affects the transparency of your image in the Preview window of the dialog box. Transparency is displayed in the Preview window by a rectangular lattice. You can toggle between the Preview window and your Save As GIF options to the results you want. Enable the Interlaced check box if your image will be displayed on a Web page.

For information on creating masks, see “Selections and Transformations” on page 407.

Saving RGB TIF Files

The TIF format facilitates exchange between applications and computer platforms. It is a widely supported bitmap image format that lets you save RGB color profile information.

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Saving Adobe Photoshop (PSD) Files

Corel Painter can save files in Adobe Photoshop (PSD) format. For optimum compatibility, shapes and text are rasterized, and masks are placed in channels.

When you save a file in PSD format, you can embed the RGB color profile, as you do when saving in TIF format.

Saving Encapsulated PostScript (EPS) Files

The encapsulated PostScript® (EPS) files in Corel Painter conform to the Desktop Color Separation (DCS) 2.0 format (EPS-DCS 5 file format). Although Corel Painter saves files in EPS-DCS, it can’t read EPS-DCS. If you plan to save an image in EPS-DCS, it’s a good idea to save it in another format first, so that you’ll have a copy of it that you can reopen in Corel Painter.

When you save an image as an EPS-DCS file with Preview Options turned on, Corel Painter uses the loaded International Color Consortium® (ICC) profile to prepare the separation files. For more information on Preview Options and color management, see “Printing” on page 743.

Although you can save your images as CMYK EPS separations, Corel Painter can’t open or edit CMYK files.

When you save a file in EPS-DCS, Corel Painter opens the EPS Save Options dialog box, with these options:

• Hex (ASCII) Picture Data provides another way of storing PostScript information. Some page design programs require that this option be checked. The file sizes will be approximately twice as large when saved with this option.

• Preview Options — No Preview, Black and White Preview, and Color Preview — specify whether to save preview data and in what format. The resulting preview file is a low-resolution (72-ppi) file.

If you have an older laser printer, you must use the black and white preview to print these files. Although the preview or display is black and white, the color information remains intact.

Emailing Documents

Corel Painter lets you email documents by using the default email application installed on your computer.

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To email a document

1 Choose File  Email Image.

2 Type the image name in the Image Name text box.

3 In the Select Image Format area, enable one of the following options:

•JPEG

•PNG

•TIFF

Closing Documents and Quitting the Application

You can close documents or quit Corel Painter by using menu commands, keyboard shortcuts, or the Close button of the current window.

To close a document

• Choose File  Close.

You can also

Close the current window Click the Close button.

Close the current document by using a keyboard shortcut

Press Command + W (Mac OS) or Ctrl + W (Windows).

To quit Co rel Pain ter

• Do one of the following:

• (Mac OS) Choose Corel Painter 12 menu  Quit Corel Painter 12.

• (Windows) Choose File  Exit.

You can also quit Corel Painter by pressing Command + Q (Mac OS) or Ctrl + Q (Windows).

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Using Two Monitors

The Corel Painter user interface can be displayed across two or more monitors. You can drag any of the Corel Painter panels, palettes, the property bar, and the toolbox to any monitor; however, each panel or palette must be displayed entirely on one monitor at a time. If a panel or palette straddles two monitors, it automatically snaps to the nearest vertical edge of the monitor displaying the large portion of the panel or palette. If the panel or palette is displayed equally on both monitors, it snaps to the vertical edge of the left monitor.

For best performance, make sure that both monitors are set to the same resolution. In Windows, you must stretch the application window to straddle both monitors, then redesign your workspace. For information about configuring your system so that Corel Painter is displayed across two or more monitors, refer to the documentation of your operating system.

Wacom Intuos Support

Corel Painter supports the use of Wacom® Intuos® tablet, pen, and airbrush technology.

Painting with an Intuos Tablet and Pen

The Intuos tablet provides increased pressure sensitivity to help you create smooth curves, gradual transitions, and precise brushstrokes. When using an Intuos tablet with Corel Painter, you can take advantage of tilt and bearing input in exciting ways.

Customizing Brush Tracking

Every artist uses different pressure when drawing on an Intuos tablet. The Corel Painter Brush Tracking preferences help you customize your Intuos tablet to meet your pressure sensitivity needs. For more information, see “Brush Tracking and Calibration” on page 79.

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Linking Stylus Features to Expression Settings

The settings that you adjust in the Expression panel in the Brush Controls palette let you to tie brush features like Opacity, Grain, Angle, Size, Jitter, Resaturation, Bleed, Flow, and Depth to stylus data, such as Velocity, Direction, Pressure, Wheel, Tilt, and Bearing. For more information about using the Expression controls, see “Expression Settings” on page 338.

Using the Min Size Setting

In Corel Painter, the Min Size setting lets you take full advantage of stylus input data. When Size is set in the Expression panel of the Brush Controls palette to respond to stylus pressure, and the Min Size setting is set to a small percentage of the brush size, the strokes you make with the stylus create amazingly realistic results.

Using the Intuos Airbrush Wheel

The Intuos Airbrush — the first true computer airbrush — provides fingertip media flow control. Corel Painter airbrushes respond to angle (tilt), bearing (direction), and flow (wheel setting) data from the Intuos stylus, allowing for a truly realistic brushstroke. For example, as you tilt your stylus, specks of media land on the paper in a way that reflects that tilt. Corel Painter airbrushes create conic sections that mirror your stylus movements.

Corel Painter airbrushes take advantage of the Intuos Airbrush stylus wheel control. Like the needle control on a real airbrush, the Intuos wheel control adjusts airbrush flow, or how much medium is applied. For more information about using the new airbrushes, see “Painting with Airbrushes” on page 89.

Using Multiple Intuos Pens

All Intuos pens — both standard and airbrush — feature Tool ID™, which lets you configure and work with multiple pens during a Corel Painter session. For example, let’s assume you have two Intuos pens: Pen 1 and Pen 2. Pen 1 is set to an Oil brush variant; Pen 2 is set to an Artists variant.

Every time you bring Pen 1 into the tablet’s proximity, Corel Painter automatically changes the active brush to the Oil brush. Every time you bring Pen 2 into the tablet’s proximity, Corel Painter switches to the Artists brush. If you’ve adjusted the tool assigned to a pen’s size or other settings, Corel Painter remembers those changes for the next time you use that pen.

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Drag-and-Drop Features

Corel Painter supports drag-and-drop copying of documents and layers from one window to another.

Dragging Layers Between Documents

You can copy layers between Corel Painter documents by dragging from one window to the other. When you drag a layer to a new document, the layer keeps its original properties. For information, see “Moving Layers” on page 459.

Dragging Between Programs

Corel Painter supports drag-and-drop functionality between applications. This can be a quick, convenient way to acquire images. For example, you can drag files from Adobe Photoshop directly into Corel Painter.

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Painting

The Corel Painter application lets you draw and paint as you might with real artists’ tools and media. In your studio, you use brushes, pens, pencils, chalk, airbrushes, and palette knives to make marks on a canvas or piece of paper. With Corel Painter, an infinite variety of marks are possible.

This section contains the following topics:

• Choosing a Painting Workflow

• Exploring Painting Media

• Working With the Canvas and Layers

• Setting up the Drawing Cursor

• Brush Tracking and Calibration

• Using a Stylus vs. a Mouse

• Applying Freehand and Straight Brushstrokes

• Constraining, Fading, and Undoing Strokes

• Erasing Image Areas

• Aligning Brushstrokes to Paths and Shapes

• Making 360° Strokes

• Painting with Airbrushes

•Adjusting Spread

• Recording and Playing Back Brushstrokes

• Reference: Troubleshooting

Choosing a Painting Workflow

Corel Painter includes a wide array of tools and features that allow you to create original artwork. The purpose of this topic is to introduce you to the two mostcommon Corel Painter workflows and refer you to Help topics that provide more information about each of these workflows.

Painting 73

Workflow 1: Start with a photo

Using Corel Painter’s powerful cloning tools, you can quickly transform a digital photo into a painting.

The photo (left) was cloned (right) to begin the painting process.

Workflow step H e l p t o p ic

1. Open a photo for painting “Opening and Placing Files” on page 47

2. Prepare a photo for cloning “Using Quick Clone” on page 384

3. Paint the clone “Painting in the Clone” on page 386

4. Save the photo painting “Saving and Backing up Files” on page 63

You can also create a photo-painting by using the Auto-painting feature. For more information, see “Auto-Painting Photos” on page 116.

Workflow 2: Start with a blank canvas

You can also start a project from scratch by choosing a paper texture and a brush, and applying color to the canvas.

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You can start with a blank canvas (left) and use your imagination, and the Corel Painter tools, to create a work of art.

Workflow Help topi c

1. Choose a paper texture “Applying Paper Texture” on page 160

2. Choose a brush “Selecting and Searching for Brushes” on page 122

3. Choose a color “Using the Color Panel” on page 168

4. Apply a brushstroke to the canvas “Applying Freehand and Straight Brushstrokes” on

page 83

Exploring Painting Media

Corel Painter lets you apply a wide variety of media to the canvas. For example, you can use a brush to apply colors directly from a color panel or apply a color that you mixed on the Mixer Pad. You can also paint by using a gradient, pattern, or clone.

The following table lists the media that you can apply to the canvas or layer and references to the related topic in the Help.

Media For information

Color “Using the Color Panel” on page 168

Mixer pad “Using the Mixer Panel Colors” on page 179

Two-color “Creating Two-Color Brushstrokes” on page 174

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Media For information

Gradients “Applying Gradients” on page 213

Patterns “Painting with Patterns” on page 199

Cloners “Painting in the Clone” on page 386

Working With the Canvas and Layers

In Corel Painter, you have the option of painting directly on the canvas by applying brushstrokes or by creating a layer and applying brushstrokes on it. Working with layers allows you to protect the canvas from any unwanted changes. When you select a layer in the Layers panel, that layer becomes the target for your brushstrokes. For more information, see “Getting Started with Layers” on page 448.

The result of any brushstroke you make depends on the following:

• The brush category (or drawing tool) you choose

• The brush variant you select within the brush category

• The brush controls you set, such as brush size, opacity, and the amount of color penetrating paper texture

• The paper texture

• The color, gradient, or pattern you use as media

•The brush method

If you are using a Watercolor brush, you can paint only on a Watercolor layer. If you are using a Liquid Ink brush, you can paint only on a Liquid Ink layer. For more information, refer to “Working with the Watercolor Layer” on page 358 and “Working with Liquid Ink brushes” on page 365.

If you try to paint on a shape, dynamic layer, or reference layer, you must commit it to a standard layer so that your brushstrokes are accepted.

You can also select a channel or a layer mask as the target for your brushstrokes. For more information, see “Managing and Editing Channels” on page 439 or “Creating Layer Masks” on page 487.

When you have an active selection, painting is confined to the selection by default. For more information, see “Selections and Transformations” on page 407.

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When you use complex brush variants, you see a dotted line on the canvas before the mark appears. For example, the Gloopy variant of the Impasto brush is complex, and it delays the appearance of the stroke onscreen. When you experience a delay, you can continue applying strokes, without losing any stroke data, while waiting for the stroke to appear on the screen.

Setting up the Drawing Cursor

You can choose the icon and orientation of the drawing cursor. You can also set the drawing cursor to show a brush ghost — a representation of the brush variant you choose from the Brush Selector bar.

The brush ghost (left) gives you information about the size of your brush variant. The Enhanced brush ghost (right) gives you information about the tilt, bearing, and rotation of your pen.

To choose a drawing cursor icon

1 Do one of the following:

• (Mac OS) Choose Corel Painter 12  Preferences  Interface.

• (Windows) Choose Edit  Preferences  Interface.

2 In the Cursor Type area, enable the Iconic option.

3 Choose an icon from the Iconic list box:

•Brush

• Cross

•Torus

•Triangle

• Hollow Triangle

•Gray Triangle

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You can also

Change the cursor color Click the Main Color button, and click a

color in the Color dialog box.

Change the cursor orientation Drag the Angle slider.

If you want the drawing cursor icon to be a single pixel, enable the Single Pixel option in the Cursor Type area.

To set brush ghost options

1 Do one of the following:

• (Mac OS) Choose Corel Painter 12  Preferences  Interface.

• (Windows) Choose Edit  Preferences  Interface.

2 In the Cursor Type area, enable one of the following options:

• Brush Ghost — gives you immediate visual feedback on the cursor, showing

you the shape and size of the selected brush

• Enhanced Brush Ghost — gives you visual feedback about the brush size as well

as the tilt, bearing, and rotation of the pen. The outer ring indicates the brush size, and the line indicates the tilt and bearing of the pen. If you have a flat-tip pen that supports 360-degree rotation, a dot appears along the outer ring to indicate the pen rotation.

The Enhanced brush ghost gives more visual feedback about your pen in relation to the tablet.

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Brush Tracking and Calibration

When you draw with traditional media, the amount of pressure that you use with a tool determines the density and width of your strokes. Using a pressure-sensitive stylus with Corel Painter gives you the same kind of control. Because each artist uses a different strength or pressure level in a stroke, you can adjust Corel Painter to match your stroke strength for all brushes by using the Brush Tracking preferences, or for a specific brush, by using the Brush Calibration controls.

Brush Tracking for all brush variants

Brush Tracking is particularly useful for artists with a light touch. If a light stroke leaves no color on the canvas, you can use Brush Tracking to increase sensitivity for all brushes. Corel Painter saves Brush Tracking between sessions, so whatever tracking sensitivity you set will be the default the next time you open the application.

The most common way of adjusting brush tracking is to apply a typical brush stroke, such as a wavy stroke, to the scratch pad. Corel Painter then uses your stroke to calculate the appropriate pressure and velocity settings for all brush variants.

Use the scratch pad in the Brush Tracking dialog box to customize how Corel Painter responds to your stroke pressure and speed.

Brush Calibration for individual brush variants

The Brush Calibration controls are very useful for adjusting individual brush variants. You can modify the pressure of your stroke on the scratch pad to achieve different results. For example, you could use a light touch when sketching with a pencil brush variant, but set more pressure when using an oil paint brush variant. Corel Painter saves Brush Calibration control settings with the brush variant, so whatever sensitivity you set will be the default the next time you choose the brush variant. If you set Brush Calibration for a specific brush in addition to general Brush Tracking preferences, the Brush Calibration settings override the Brush Tracking preferences.

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Manually adjusting pressure and velocity

When you use the scratch pad to set brush tracking and calibration, Corel Painter calculates the pressure and velocity settings for you. However, you can manually adjust these settings. For example, you can adjust the stroke pressure to achieve a full pressure range (Pressure Scale slider) using a softer or harder touch (Pressure Power slider). You can also adjust the stroke velocity to achieve a full velocity range (Velocity Scale slider) with a slower or faster stroke (Velocity Power slider).

To ensure that a brush control is using the pressure or velocity settings, you need to set the brush control Expression setting to Pressure or Velocity. For more information, see “Expression Settings” on page 338.

To set brush tracking

1 Do one of the following:

• (Mac OS) Choose Corel Painter 12  Preferences  Brush Tracking.

• (Windows) Choose Edit  Preferences  Brush Tracking.

2 Drag in the scratch pad by using a “normal” stroke.

Use the pressure and speed you prefer when drawing or painting. This allows the Brush Tracker to calculate the appropriate speed and pressure settings for the brush.

To adjust the settings manually, perform a task from the following table:

To Do the following

Achieve a full pressure range with a softer or harder touch

Achieve a full velocity range with a slower or faster motion

Adjust the Pressure Scale and Pressure Power sliders.

Adjust the Velocity Scale and Velocity Power sliders.

To set brush calibration

1 In the toolbox, click the Brush tool .

2 Click the Brush Selector on the Brush Selector bar.

3 In the Brush Library panel, click a brush category, and click a brush variant.

4 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Brush Calibration.

5 Enable the Enable Brush Calibration check box.

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6 Click the Set Brush Calibration Settings button .

7 Drag in the scratch pad by using a “normal” stroke.

Use the pressure and speed you prefer when drawing or painting. This allows the Brush Tracker to calculate the appropriate speed and pressure settings for the brush.

To adjust the settings manually, perform a task from the following table:

To Do the following

Achieve a full pressure range with a softer or harder touch

Achieve a full velocity range with a slower or faster motion

Adjust the Pressure Scale and Pressure Power sliders.

Adjust the Velocity Scale and Velocity Power sliders.

Using a Stylus vs. a Mouse

With Corel Painter, you can produce realistic brushstrokes that fade in and out; change width, tilt, and angle; and penetrate based on the stylus or mouse input. Overall, the stylus provides more control and interactivity because it gives you the most responsive digital painting experience by allowing your hand and brush to work fluidly as one. However, if you don’t have a stylus, you can adjust the mouse so it simulates stylus pressure, tilt, bearing, and fingerwheel settings. For more information, see “Mouse Controls” on page 298.

Edges

When you reach for a wide, flat brush, the stroke you make is affected by how you hold the brush. A stroke made with the face of the brush comes out wide. A stroke made with the edge is narrow.

Paint with the face of a flat brush for a wide stroke; use the edge for a narrow stroke.

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Tilt

Some brush variants, such as the Smeary Flat variant in the Oils category, react to stylus tilt (how close to vertical the stylus is held) and bearing (the compass direction in which the stylus is pointing).

Tilt can significantly affect brushstrokes. If you get unexpected results, especially with bristle-type brushes or airbrushes, you can try reducing the tilt of your stylus. Extreme tilt angles are usually undesirable. For information about adjusting tilt, see “Expression Settings” on page 338.

Pressure

Many Corel Painter brushes respond to stylus pressure (how hard you press with the stylus). Depending on the variant settings, greater stylus pressure can increase the width of a brushstroke, the penetration of color, or the degree of other effects. The Corel Painter airbrushes also respond to the fingerwheel on the Wacom Intuos airbrush, simulating a needle control that adjusts how much ink is sprayed.

You can link brush settings (such as size, opacity, and angle) to stylus input data (such as velocity, direction, pressure, airbrush fingerwheel, tilt, and bearing). Refer to “Expression Settings” on page 338 for more information about linking brush settings to stylus input controls.

In theory, a mouse has no pressure information because a mouse button is either “on” (button down) or “off ” (button up). However, with Corel Painter you can simulate stylus pressure.

If you are using a mouse with Corel Painter, you can compensate for the lack of pressure information by adjusting size, opacity, and grain on the property bar. For example, reducing opacity or grain can produce the same results as pressing more lightly with a stylus.

To adjust pressure, tilt, and bearing when using a mouse

1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Mouse.

2 Move the Pressure slider.

A 100% setting uses maximum pressure.

3 Move the Tilt slider.

A 90° setting simulates a stylus that is perpendicular to the tablet.

4 Move the Bearing slider.

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A setting of zero indicates that if a stylus were in use, it would be pointing left.

5 Move the Rotation slider.

A 360° setting simulates a stylus that complete a 360°-barrel rotation.

To see the effect of the tilt setting, apply a stroke to the drawing window using the Fine Spray variant of the Airbrush category.

To adjust fingerwheel settings when using a mouse

1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  General.

2 Choose Wheel from the Expression list box.

3 Choose Mouse.

4 Move the Wheel slider.

A 90% setting indicates that if a stylus were in use, it would be perpendicular to the tablet.

Applying Freehand and Straight Brushstrokes

You can draw unconstrained lines by using the freehand drawing style, or you can draw straight lines.

When you draw a freehand stroke, you can drag with any motion or in any direction. The stroke follows your path.

Dragging to create freehand strokes.

When you draw a straight line stroke, Corel Painter connects points with a straight line.

Painting 83

To create a straight line stroke, you click to add the first point and then click or drag to create the stroke.

To draw freehand lines

1 On the Brush property bar, click the Freehand Strokes button .

2 Drag on the canvas.

You can use shortcut keys to toggle between the freehand and straight line drawing styles. Press B to choose the freehand style, or V to choose the straight-line style.

To draw straight lines

1 On the Brush property bar, click the Straight Line Strokes button .

2 Click a point on the canvas where you want to start your line.

3 Do one of the following:

• Click the point where you want to end the line.

• Drag to place the end point exactly where you want it. Corel Painter connects the first and second points with a straight line.

4 To continue drawing from the second point, click or drag to create additional

points on the canvas. Corel Painter connects each point with a straight line.

5 To end a line, do one of the following:

• Press Return (Mac OS) or Enter (Windows) to close the polygon. The final point

is connected to the origin with a straight line.

• Click the Freehand Strokes button to return to the freehand drawing style

without closing the polygon.

• Press V to end the current polygon without closing it, so that you can begin a

new one.

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Constraining, Fading, and Undoing Strokes

Using the freehand stroke drawing style, you can constrain your strokes to a straight line. The angle you draw depends on the orientation of the stroke.

You can also make a stroke less opaque, or more translucent, by fading the stroke.

In this example, a brushstroke was applied to the canvas (left) and then fade was applied to the brushstroke (right) by using the Fade dialog box (center).

In addition, you can undo a stroke. You can also control how many individual strokes can be undone, see “Performance Preferences” on page 756.

To constrain freehand strokes

• Hold down Shift as you drag.

To fade a s tro ke

1 Choose Edit  Fade.

2 Drag the Undo Amount slider.

The Preview window displays the results of your selection.

To undo a stro ke

• Choose Edit  Undo Brush Stroke.

You can also undo a stroke by pressing Command + Z (Mac OS) or Ctrl + Z (Windows).

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Erasing Image Areas

You can erase any part of your image and control the opacity of erased areas. You can also link the opacity to stylus pressure or specify a fixed opacity value.

You can set the Eraser opacity to Hard (left) or Soft (right).

To erase an image area

1 In the Layers panel, choose the layer on which you want to erase.

2 Choose the Eraser tool in the toolbox.

3 On the property bar, adjust the Size pop-up slider and the Opacity pop-up

slider .

4 Click one of the following buttons:

• Soft Mode — sets opacity based on stylus pressure. The more pressure you

apply, the higher the opacity. The initial opacity level is determined by the Opacity pop-up slider.

• Hard Mode — sets opacity based on the value specified by the Opacity pop-

up slider

You can toggle between Soft Mode and Hard Mode by holding down Option (Mac OS) or Alt (Windows) as you drag in the image window.

You can erase in straight lines by clicking the Straight Line Strokes button on the property bar, clicking a point on the canvas where you want to start your line, and clicking where you want to end the line.

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You can also erase image areas by choosing the Brush tool in the toolbox and choosing Erasers from the Brush Category selector on the Brush Selector bar.

Aligning Brushstrokes to Paths and Shapes

You can automatically align a brushstroke to a path or the edge of a shape. You do this by determining the tolerance area, that is, how close the brushstroke must be to the path or shape for automatic alignment to occur. If the brushstroke is within the tolerance area, the brushstroke snaps to the path or shape; if the brushstroke is outside of the tolerance area, no brushstroke is applied.

You can align brushstrokes to paths (left) and to shapes (right).

To align a brushstroke to a path or shape

1 Click the Brush Selector on the Brush Selector bar.

2 In the Brush Library panel, click a brush category and a brush variant.

3 On the property bar, click the Align Brush to Path button .

Brushstrokes within the tolerance area of a path or shape are automatically aligned.

If there are multiple shapes within the tolerance area, the brushstroke is aligned to the shape on the selected layer.

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To set the tolerance area for brushstroke alignment

1 Choose one of the following:

• (Mac OS) Corel Painter 12  Preferences

•(Windows) Edit  Preferences

2 In the Preferences list of categories, click General.

3 In the Align to Path area, type a number in the Tolerance box.

The tolerance area is measured in pixels and must be between 1 and 999.

Letting Media Pool

Corel Painter computed brushes allow media to build up or “pool” when you move a brush slowly. Pooling creates very realistic strokes, especially with airbrushes. You can also cause media to pool by simply touching and pausing with the selected brush.

With an airbrush, paint pools when you pause in a stroke for 1 second (left), 4 seconds (middle), and 7 seconds (right).

To enable media pooling

1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Spacing.

2 Enable the Continuous Time Deposition check box.

When the Continuous Time Deposition check box is disabled, you must move the brush (even just slightly) to cause media to be deposited.

Making 360° Strokes

Because there are no restrictions on bearing (stylus direction) in Corel Painter, you can create full 360° strokes with noncomputed brushes by completing an arc without interruption. Computed brushes use bearing, with the exception of those that use the Rendered dab type, so you cannot use them to create 360° strokes.

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Corel Painter - 12 Instruction Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual

Contents

Getting Started

What’s New in Corel Painter?

Using the Documentation

Accessing the Corel Painter Help

Additional Resources

Registration

Feedback

About Corel Corporation

Workspace Tour

Corel Painter Terms

The Document Window

Exploring the Toolbox

Displaying the Toolbox

Displaying the Media Selector bar

The Property Bar

The Navigator Panel

The Brush Library Panel

Exploring Panels and Palettes

Working with Panels and Palettes

Creating and Modifying Custom Palettes

Managing Custom Palettes

Libraries

Customizing and Sharing Workspaces

Restoring the Default Corel Painter Settings

Corel Painter for Users of Adobe Photoshop

Basics

Creating Documents

Understanding Resolution

Opening and Placing Files

Creating and Opening Templates

Switching Document Views

Navigating Images and Viewing Image Information

Zooming Images

Rotating Images and the Canvas

Flipping Images

Repositioning Images

Cropping Images

Resizing Images and the Canvas

Saving and Backing up Files

Choosing a File Format

Emailing Documents

Closing Documents and Quitting the Application

Using Two Monitors

Wacom Intuos Support

Drag-and-Drop Features

Painting

Choosing a Painting Workflow

Exploring Painting Media

Working With the Canvas and Layers

Setting up the Drawing Cursor

Brush Tracking and Calibration

Using a Stylus vs. a Mouse

Applying Freehand and Straight Brushstrokes

Constraining, Fading, and Undoing Strokes

Erasing Image Areas

Aligning Brushstrokes to Paths and Shapes

Making 360° Strokes