Corel Painter - 2017 User Guide

© Mike Thompson

User Guide

Copyright 2016 Corel Corporation. All rights reserved.

Corel® Painter® 2017 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.

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Sample artwork is provided by third parties not affiliated with Corel and used by permission.

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Contents

Welcome to Corel Painter....................................................................................................................................................................21

Using the documentation..................................................................................................................................................................... 21

Adjusting the Help window text size....................................................................................................................................................23

Corel Painter 2017 User Guide eBook.................................................................................................................................................. 24

Hints and tooltips.................................................................................................................................................................................24

Welcome Screen................................................................................................................................................................................... 25

Additional resources............................................................................................................................................................................. 25

Registration.......................................................................................................................................................................................... 26

Feedback...............................................................................................................................................................................................26

About Corel Corporation...................................................................................................................................................................... 26

What’s new in Corel Painter 2017...................................................................................................................................................... 27

What’s new in this version of Corel Painter.......................................................................................................................................... 27

What was new in earlier versions of Corel Painter................................................................................................................................32

Workspace tour................................................................................................................................................................................... 43

Corel Painter terms............................................................................................................................................................................... 43

Exploring the Document window......................................................................................................................................................... 45

Choosing a workspace layout............................................................................................................................................................... 47

Exploring the toolbox........................................................................................................................................................................... 49

Displaying the toolbox..........................................................................................................................................................................53

Displaying the Media Selector bar........................................................................................................................................................ 54

Displaying the property bars.................................................................................................................................................................55

Exploring the Navigator panel.............................................................................................................................................................. 57

Displaying and customizing the Brush Selector.....................................................................................................................................58

Displaying the command bar................................................................................................................................................................61

Rearranging panels and palettes...........................................................................................................................................................61

Exploring panels................................................................................................................................................................................... 65

Creating and modifying custom palettes.............................................................................................................................................. 68

Renaming and deleting custom palettes...............................................................................................................................................70

Contents | 1

Saving, exporting, and importing custom palettes................................................................................................................................70

Working with libraries.......................................................................................................................................................................... 71

Creating, importing, exporting, and deleting workspaces..................................................................................................................... 72

Restoring the default Corel Painter settings.......................................................................................................................................... 73

A short tour of Corel Painter for users of Adobe Photoshop..............................................................................................................75

Creating, navigating, and manipulating documents........................................................................................................................... 79

Creating documents............................................................................................................................................................................. 79

Understanding resolution..................................................................................................................................................................... 81

Opening and placing files.....................................................................................................................................................................82

Creating and opening templates.......................................................................................................................................................... 84

Switching document views................................................................................................................................................................... 85

Navigating images and viewing image information.............................................................................................................................. 85

Zooming images...................................................................................................................................................................................87

Rotating images and the canvas...........................................................................................................................................................88

Flipping images.................................................................................................................................................................................... 90

Repositioning images............................................................................................................................................................................92

Cropping images.................................................................................................................................................................................. 92

Resizing images and the canvas........................................................................................................................................................... 93

Saving and backing up files................................................................................................................................................................. 95

Choosing a file format......................................................................................................................................................................... 95

Emailing documents............................................................................................................................................................................. 97

Closing documents and quitting the application.................................................................................................................................. 97

Using two monitors..............................................................................................................................................................................98

Support for tablets and other devices.................................................................................................................................................. 98

Multi-touch support............................................................................................................................................................................. 99

Wacom Intuos support.......................................................................................................................................................................100

Drag-and-drop features...................................................................................................................................................................... 101

Keyboard shortcuts............................................................................................................................................................................ 103

Customizing keys................................................................................................................................................................................104

Toolbox commands.............................................................................................................................................................................106

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Panel commands................................................................................................................................................................................ 108

Corel Painter menu commands...........................................................................................................................................................109

File menu commands......................................................................................................................................................................... 109

Edit menu commands........................................................................................................................................................................ 110

Canvas menu commands....................................................................................................................................................................110

Layers menu commands..................................................................................................................................................................... 111

Select menu commands..................................................................................................................................................................... 111

Shapes menu commands....................................................................................................................................................................111

Effects menu commands.................................................................................................................................................................... 112

Window menu commands................................................................................................................................................................. 112

Screen navigation............................................................................................................................................................................... 112

Panel navigation................................................................................................................................................................................. 113

Panel menu commands...................................................................................................................................................................... 113

Brush tools......................................................................................................................................................................................... 114

Selection tools.................................................................................................................................................................................... 115

Adjuster tools..................................................................................................................................................................................... 116

Shape tools........................................................................................................................................................................................ 118

Animation...........................................................................................................................................................................................119

Lighting.............................................................................................................................................................................................. 119

Layer selection tools........................................................................................................................................................................... 119

Mosaics.............................................................................................................................................................................................. 119

Other commands................................................................................................................................................................................120

Painting..............................................................................................................................................................................................121

Choosing a painting workflow........................................................................................................................................................... 121

Brush tracking and calibration............................................................................................................................................................ 124

Exploring painting media....................................................................................................................................................................128

Working with the canvas and layers...................................................................................................................................................128

Displaying reference images............................................................................................................................................................... 129

Clearing the canvas............................................................................................................................................................................ 130

Setting up the drawing cursor........................................................................................................................................................... 130

Contents | 3

Using a stylus vs. a mouse................................................................................................................................................................. 132

Applying freehand and straight brushstrokes......................................................................................................................................133

Constraining, fading, and undoing strokes.........................................................................................................................................134

Erasing image areas........................................................................................................................................................................... 135

Aligning brushstrokes to paths and shapes........................................................................................................................................ 136

Letting media pool............................................................................................................................................................................. 137

Making 360° strokes...........................................................................................................................................................................138

Painting with airbrushes..................................................................................................................................................................... 138

Adjusting spread................................................................................................................................................................................ 139

Recording and playing back brushstrokes...........................................................................................................................................140

Reference: Troubleshooting.................................................................................................................................................................142

Working with paper texture and grain..............................................................................................................................................143

Applying paper texture....................................................................................................................................................................... 143

Creating and deleting paper textures..................................................................................................................................................144

Opening and managing the Paper Textures library..............................................................................................................................146

Rotating paper texture........................................................................................................................................................................146

Inverting and scaling paper grain....................................................................................................................................................... 147

Controlling brightness and contrast of paper grain............................................................................................................................ 148

Adjusting grain direction and behavior...............................................................................................................................................148

Auto-painting photos........................................................................................................................................................................ 151

Creating underpaintings..................................................................................................................................................................... 151

Auto-painting photos......................................................................................................................................................................... 153

Restoring detail to paintings...............................................................................................................................................................155

Image cloning and sampling............................................................................................................................................................. 157

Cloning images...................................................................................................................................................................................157

Using Quick Clone.............................................................................................................................................................................. 160

Setting cloning preferences................................................................................................................................................................ 161

Working with multiple clone sources..................................................................................................................................................162

Editing, updating, saving, and exporting clone source images............................................................................................................162

Painting in the clone.......................................................................................................................................................................... 164

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Using brush loading........................................................................................................................................................................... 166

Performing offset sampling.................................................................................................................................................................166

Applying transformations when sampling...........................................................................................................................................168

Using selections and transformations when sampling.........................................................................................................................175

Filling an area with a sampled image.................................................................................................................................................177

Working with composition tools, symmetry tools, rulers, and guides...............................................................................................179

Using the Layout Grid........................................................................................................................................................................ 179

Using the Mirror Painting mode.........................................................................................................................................................182

Using the Kaleidoscope Painting mode...............................................................................................................................................183

Using Perspective Guides.................................................................................................................................................................... 185

Using the Divine Proportion tool........................................................................................................................................................ 189

Using rulers........................................................................................................................................................................................ 192

Using guides.......................................................................................................................................................................................192

Using Snap to Guides.........................................................................................................................................................................194

Using the grid.................................................................................................................................................................................... 194

Using Snap to Grid............................................................................................................................................................................ 195

Color.................................................................................................................................................................................................. 197

Choosing colors from the Color panel................................................................................................................................................198

Resizing the Color panel.....................................................................................................................................................................200

Showing or hiding Color panel components...................................................................................................................................... 200

Using the temporal colors palette...................................................................................................................................................... 200

Changing the paper color.................................................................................................................................................................. 201

Sampling colors from images............................................................................................................................................................. 202

Cloning color......................................................................................................................................................................................203

Creating two-color brushstrokes......................................................................................................................................................... 203

Exploring the Mixer panel and mixing controls...................................................................................................................................204

Displaying and resizing the Mixer panel............................................................................................................................................. 205

Mixing, sampling, and applying colors from the Mixer pad................................................................................................................ 206

Opening images in the Mixer panel................................................................................................................................................... 208

Contents | 5

Changing and saving the Mixer color swatches.................................................................................................................................. 208

Saving Mixer panel colors to a color set.............................................................................................................................................209

Clearing and resetting Mixer panel colors...........................................................................................................................................209

Saving the Mixer pad......................................................................................................................................................................... 210

Loading color swatches and Mixer pad files....................................................................................................................................... 210

Working with color sets..................................................................................................................................................................... 211

Customizing the layouts of color sets.................................................................................................................................................212

Creating and exporting color sets.......................................................................................................................................................212

Editing color sets................................................................................................................................................................................213

Setting color variability....................................................................................................................................................................... 214

Setting Color Expression..................................................................................................................................................................... 215

Loading multiple colors...................................................................................................................................................................... 215

Working with color fills...................................................................................................................................................................... 215

Applying a color as a fill.................................................................................................................................................................... 216

Limiting and preventing leakage.........................................................................................................................................................217

Color management............................................................................................................................................................................ 219

Understanding color management..................................................................................................................................................... 219

Specifying the default RGB color profile............................................................................................................................................. 222

Embedding color profiles when saving files........................................................................................................................................ 222

Specifying the default CMYK color profile for converting CMYK images to RGB..................................................................................223

Previewing and soft-proofing color profiles........................................................................................................................................ 223

Assigning or removing color profiles.................................................................................................................................................. 224

Converting color profiles.................................................................................................................................................................... 224

Working with color profile policies..................................................................................................................................................... 225

Working with presets......................................................................................................................................................................... 226

Correcting and adjusting colors........................................................................................................................................................ 229

Correcting colors using curves............................................................................................................................................................ 229

Adjusting brightness and contrast...................................................................................................................................................... 230

Using the curve to correct colors....................................................................................................................................................... 233

Drawing freehand curves to adjust colors...........................................................................................................................................234

6 | Corel Painter 2017 User Guide

Specifying the curve values to adjust colors........................................................................................................................................234

Adjusting hue, saturation, and value..................................................................................................................................................236

Adjusting selected colors.................................................................................................................................................................... 237

Equalizing images...............................................................................................................................................................................240

Matching color and brightness across images.................................................................................................................................... 241

Inverting colors...................................................................................................................................................................................242

Posterizing an image.......................................................................................................................................................................... 242

Applying video legal colors.................................................................................................................................................................243

Dodging and burning.........................................................................................................................................................................243

Libraries..............................................................................................................................................................................................245

Importing and exporting libraries....................................................................................................................................................... 245

Creating and removing libraries..........................................................................................................................................................246

Modifying the display of library panels...............................................................................................................................................247

Moving, renaming, and deleting library resources.............................................................................................................................. 247

Restoring default libraries................................................................................................................................................................... 248

Selecting, managing, and creating brushes...................................................................................................................................... 249

Understanding brushes.......................................................................................................................................................................249

Exploring brush categories..................................................................................................................................................................250

Searching and selecting brushes.........................................................................................................................................................260

Acquiring brushes...............................................................................................................................................................................262

Setting basic brush attributes............................................................................................................................................................. 263

Working with brushes using the property bars...................................................................................................................................266

Renaming brush categories and variants............................................................................................................................................ 269

Saving and deleting brush variants.....................................................................................................................................................269

Restoring default brush variants......................................................................................................................................................... 270

Creating and deleting brush categories.............................................................................................................................................. 271

Creating and deleting brush libraries..................................................................................................................................................271

Importing and exporting brush libraries, categories, and variants....................................................................................................... 272

Importing Photoshop brush images....................................................................................................................................................274

Contents | 7

Saving a brush look............................................................................................................................................................................275

Creating brush dabs........................................................................................................................................................................... 275

Adjusting brushes with brush controls..............................................................................................................................................277

Exploring Brush Controls.................................................................................................................................................................... 278

Expression settings..............................................................................................................................................................................279

Audio Expression................................................................................................................................................................................ 280

Previewing brushstrokes and brush dabs............................................................................................................................................ 282

Calibrating brush variants................................................................................................................................................................... 283

General controls................................................................................................................................................................................. 283

General controls: Dab types............................................................................................................................................................... 284

General controls: Stroke types............................................................................................................................................................ 287

General controls: Methods and subcategories.................................................................................................................................... 289

General controls: Source.....................................................................................................................................................................291

General controls: Multicore................................................................................................................................................................ 292

Opacity controls................................................................................................................................................................................. 292

Grain controls.....................................................................................................................................................................................294

Stroke Attributes controls................................................................................................................................................................... 295

Size controls....................................................................................................................................................................................... 297

Angle controls.................................................................................................................................................................................... 299

Spacing controls................................................................................................................................................................................. 303

Changing dab profiles........................................................................................................................................................................ 304

Real Watercolor controls.....................................................................................................................................................................306

Real Wet Oil controls..........................................................................................................................................................................310

Computed Circular controls................................................................................................................................................................ 314

Hard Media controls...........................................................................................................................................................................315

Bristle controls.................................................................................................................................................................................... 315

RealBristle controls..............................................................................................................................................................................316

Static Bristle controls.......................................................................................................................................................................... 316

Airbrush controls................................................................................................................................................................................ 318

Artists’ Oils controls........................................................................................................................................................................... 321

Impasto controls.................................................................................................................................................................................323

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Digital Watercolor controls................................................................................................................................................................. 323

Water controls....................................................................................................................................................................................323

Liquid Ink controls..............................................................................................................................................................................327

Stroke Jitter controls...........................................................................................................................................................................332

Blending controls................................................................................................................................................................................333

Mouse controls...................................................................................................................................................................................336

Smoothing controls............................................................................................................................................................................ 337

Image Hose controls...........................................................................................................................................................................338

Rake controls......................................................................................................................................................................................338

Multi controls..................................................................................................................................................................................... 341

Cloning controls................................................................................................................................................................................. 341

Color Variability controls.....................................................................................................................................................................346

Color Expression controls....................................................................................................................................................................348

Dynamic Speckles controls..................................................................................................................................................................350

Dab Stencil controls........................................................................................................................................................................... 352

Glazing controls................................................................................................................................................................................. 357

Jitter brushes..................................................................................................................................................................................... 363

Choosing a Jitter brush variant...........................................................................................................................................................363

Controlling the behavior of Jitter variants...........................................................................................................................................364

Watercolor......................................................................................................................................................................................... 365

Working with the Watercolor layer.....................................................................................................................................................366

Watercolor brushes and paper texture interaction.............................................................................................................................. 367

Working with Real Watercolor brushes...............................................................................................................................................367

Working with Watercolor brushes...................................................................................................................................................... 367

Working with Digital Watercolor brushes........................................................................................................................................... 368

Particle brushes..................................................................................................................................................................................371

Gravity Particle brushes.......................................................................................................................................................................372

Flow Particle brushes.......................................................................................................................................................................... 374

Spring Particle brushes....................................................................................................................................................................... 376

Contents | 9

Common Particle brush controls.........................................................................................................................................................379

Particles - Thin Lines brush controls....................................................................................................................................................383

Using Dynamic Speckles with Particle brushes.................................................................................................................................... 384

Texture painting................................................................................................................................................................................. 387

Painting with textures.........................................................................................................................................................................390

Customizing Texture brushes.............................................................................................................................................................. 392

Creating and importing textures.........................................................................................................................................................395

Working with Texture libraries............................................................................................................................................................ 396

Applying and adjusting flow maps................................................................................................................................................... 399

Getting started with flow maps......................................................................................................................................................... 399

Choosing flow maps and compatible brush variants.......................................................................................................................... 400

Enabling flow maps and controlling flow resistance...........................................................................................................................401

Customizing flow maps...................................................................................................................................................................... 402

Hard Media........................................................................................................................................................................................ 405

Choosing a Hard Media variant..........................................................................................................................................................405

Modifying Hard Media profiles........................................................................................................................................................... 406

Controlling the behavior of Hard Media variants................................................................................................................................ 407

Previewing Hard Media dabs.............................................................................................................................................................. 408

Markers.............................................................................................................................................................................................. 409

Getting started with markers..............................................................................................................................................................409

Customizing markers.......................................................................................................................................................................... 410

Image hose........................................................................................................................................................................................ 411

Using the Image hose........................................................................................................................................................................ 411

Adjusting Image hose opacity and grain............................................................................................................................................ 412

Adjusting the size and spacing of image hose elements.....................................................................................................................414

Indexing nozzle files........................................................................................................................................................................... 414

Understanding nozzles, ranks, and indexing....................................................................................................................................... 416

Creating a 1-Rank nozzle................................................................................................................................................................... 418

Creating a 2-Rank nozzle................................................................................................................................................................... 420

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Creating a 3-Rank nozzle................................................................................................................................................................... 421

Loading and managing nozzle files.................................................................................................................................................... 423

Creating a nozzle from a movie......................................................................................................................................................... 424

RealBristle brushes............................................................................................................................................................................. 427

Getting started with RealBristle brushes............................................................................................................................................. 427

Modifying RealBristle settings............................................................................................................................................................. 428

Using RealBristle brushes with Dynamic Speckles................................................................................................................................430

Liquid Ink........................................................................................................................................................................................... 431

Working with Liquid Ink brushes........................................................................................................................................................431

Adjusting attributes of the Liquid Ink layer.........................................................................................................................................431

Using Liquid Ink controls.................................................................................................................................................................... 432

Impasto..............................................................................................................................................................................................435

Applying, displaying, and clearing impasto.........................................................................................................................................435

Adjusting and creating Impasto brushes.............................................................................................................................................436

Adjusting Impasto lighting and depth................................................................................................................................................439

Blending impasto with other layers.................................................................................................................................................... 441

Layers................................................................................................................................................................................................. 443

Getting started with layers................................................................................................................................................................. 444

Displaying the Layers panel................................................................................................................................................................ 446

Creating and deleting layers............................................................................................................................................................... 448

Converting selections into layers or floating objects........................................................................................................................... 449

Naming and adding notes to layers................................................................................................................................................... 450

Selecting layers................................................................................................................................................................................... 451

Copying and duplicating layers...........................................................................................................................................................453

Moving layers..................................................................................................................................................................................... 454

Transforming layers.............................................................................................................................................................................455

Aligning layers.................................................................................................................................................................................... 458

Locking layers..................................................................................................................................................................................... 458

Contents | 11

Showing or hiding layers....................................................................................................................................................................459

Changing layer order.......................................................................................................................................................................... 459

Viewing layer position........................................................................................................................................................................ 460

Grouping layers.................................................................................................................................................................................. 461

Dropping layers with the canvas........................................................................................................................................................ 463

Painting on layers............................................................................................................................................................................... 463

Preserving layer transparency.............................................................................................................................................................. 464

Adjusting layer opacity....................................................................................................................................................................... 465

Adding drop shadows to layers..........................................................................................................................................................466

Blending layers by using composite methods..................................................................................................................................... 466

Creating and deleting layer masks...................................................................................................................................................... 472

Applying layer masks.......................................................................................................................................................................... 474

Loading layer masks to selections.......................................................................................................................................................474

Selecting and viewing layer masks......................................................................................................................................................474

Enabling and disabling layers masks...................................................................................................................................................475

Copying layer masks........................................................................................................................................................................... 475

Inverting layer masks.......................................................................................................................................................................... 476

Editing layer masks.............................................................................................................................................................................476

Importing and exporting layers...........................................................................................................................................................477

Working with reference layers............................................................................................................................................................ 477

Storing layers as images in the Image Portfolio.................................................................................................................................. 478

Alpha Channels..................................................................................................................................................................................481

Creating and copying channels...........................................................................................................................................................481

Generating channels automatically..................................................................................................................................................... 483

Importing and exporting alpha channels............................................................................................................................................ 484

Selecting and viewing channels.......................................................................................................................................................... 484

Setting channel attributes...................................................................................................................................................................487

Deleting and clearing channels...........................................................................................................................................................487

Editing channels................................................................................................................................................................................. 488

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Selections and transformations......................................................................................................................................................... 493

Getting started with selections........................................................................................................................................................... 494

Creating path-based selections........................................................................................................................................................... 495

Creating pixel-based selections........................................................................................................................................................... 498

Creating selections from layers........................................................................................................................................................... 500

Choosing the protected area of a selection........................................................................................................................................ 501

Saving selections as alpha channels....................................................................................................................................................501

Working with the Selection Portfolio..................................................................................................................................................504

Viewing selections.............................................................................................................................................................................. 504

Inverting selections............................................................................................................................................................................. 505

Softening the edges of selections.......................................................................................................................................................506

Stroking selections..............................................................................................................................................................................506

Modifying the borders of selections................................................................................................................................................... 507

Expanding or contracting selections................................................................................................................................................... 508

Adding to or subtracting from selections........................................................................................................................................... 508

Preparing selections for transformations.............................................................................................................................................509

Moving selections............................................................................................................................................................................... 510

Transforming a duplicate selection......................................................................................................................................................511

Scaling and rotating path-based selections.........................................................................................................................................511

Skewing and distorting path-based selections.................................................................................................................................... 513

Canceling transformations.................................................................................................................................................................. 515

Common options for effects............................................................................................................................................................. 517

Fading effects..................................................................................................................................................................................... 517

Applying recently used effects............................................................................................................................................................ 518

Changing effects with open panels.................................................................................................................................................... 518

Applying effects using source luminance............................................................................................................................................518

Using focus and esoterica effects......................................................................................................................................................519

Applying Smart Blur........................................................................................................................................................................... 519

Applying Camera Motion Blur............................................................................................................................................................ 520

Contents | 13

Applying Depth of Field..................................................................................................................................................................... 521

Applying Glass Distortion................................................................................................................................................................... 523

Applying Motion Blur......................................................................................................................................................................... 525

Sharpening focus................................................................................................................................................................................526

Softening focus.................................................................................................................................................................................. 526

Applying Zoom Blur........................................................................................................................................................................... 527

Applying Marbling..............................................................................................................................................................................528

Automatically cloning an image......................................................................................................................................................... 529

Applying the Auto Van Gogh effect................................................................................................................................................... 530

Applying Blobs................................................................................................................................................................................... 531

Creating custom tiles..........................................................................................................................................................................532

Applying Grid Paper........................................................................................................................................................................... 535

Applying Growth effects.....................................................................................................................................................................535

Applying Highpass..............................................................................................................................................................................536

Applying the Maze effect................................................................................................................................................................... 537

Placing elements.................................................................................................................................................................................538

Applying the Pop Art Fill effect.......................................................................................................................................................... 539

Using lighting and surface texture effects........................................................................................................................................ 541

Applying preset lighting effects.......................................................................................................................................................... 542

Adding, deleting, and repositioning lights..........................................................................................................................................542

Adjusting light properties................................................................................................................................................................... 543

Using paper to create texture.............................................................................................................................................................544

Using 3D brushstrokes to create texture.............................................................................................................................................545

Using image luminance to create texture........................................................................................................................................... 546

Using clone source or pattern luminance to create texture.................................................................................................................546

Creating embossed effects..................................................................................................................................................................547

Using channels and layer masks tocreate texture...............................................................................................................................548

Creating reflection maps.....................................................................................................................................................................549

Adjusting texture lighting................................................................................................................................................................... 550

Apply Surface Texture controls............................................................................................................................................................551

Applying the Apply Screen effect....................................................................................................................................................... 552

14 | Corel Painter 2017 User Guide

Applying the Color Overlay effect.......................................................................................................................................................552

Applying the Dye Concentration effect............................................................................................................................................... 554

Applying the Express Texture effect.................................................................................................................................................... 556

Applying a warp effect.......................................................................................................................................................................557

Applying the Woodcut effect............................................................................................................................................................. 559

Applying the Distress effect................................................................................................................................................................ 561

Applying the Serigraphy effect........................................................................................................................................................... 562

Applying the Sketch effect................................................................................................................................................................. 563

Dynamic Plug-ins............................................................................................................................................................................... 565

Getting started with dynamic plug-ins............................................................................................................................................... 566

Modifying and deleting dynamic layers.............................................................................................................................................. 566

Committing dynamic layers to default layers...................................................................................................................................... 566

Applying the Brightness and Contrast dynamic plug-in...................................................................................................................... 567

Applying the Burn dynamic plug-in.................................................................................................................................................... 567

Applying the Tear dynamic plug-in..................................................................................................................................................... 569

Applying the Bevel World dynamic plug-in......................................................................................................................................... 570

Applying the Equalize dynamic plug-in...............................................................................................................................................571

Applying the Glass Distortion dynamic plug-in................................................................................................................................... 572

Applying the Kaleidoscope dynamic plug-in....................................................................................................................................... 574

Applying the Liquid Lens dynamic plug-in..........................................................................................................................................575

Applying the Liquid Metal dynamic plug-in........................................................................................................................................ 578

Applying the Posterize dynamic plug-in.............................................................................................................................................. 585

Patterns..............................................................................................................................................................................................587

Applying pattern fills.......................................................................................................................................................................... 587

Painting with patterns........................................................................................................................................................................ 589

Creating and editing patterns.............................................................................................................................................................590

Creating seamless patterns................................................................................................................................................................. 593

Creating fractal patterns..................................................................................................................................................................... 595

Contents | 15

Gradients........................................................................................................................................................................................... 599

Applying gradients............................................................................................................................................................................. 601

Editing gradients................................................................................................................................................................................ 604

Applying paint effects to gradients.....................................................................................................................................................608

Creating gradients.............................................................................................................................................................................. 610

Replacing image colors with gradient colors...................................................................................................................................... 612

Mosaics and tessellations.................................................................................................................................................................. 613

Creating a mosaic...............................................................................................................................................................................614

Selecting and removing tiles...............................................................................................................................................................616

Specifying tile and grout color........................................................................................................................................................... 617

Adjusting mosaic tile dimensions and randomness............................................................................................................................. 618

Filling an area with tiles..................................................................................................................................................................... 621

Creating 3D tiles.................................................................................................................................................................................622

Re-rendering mosaic tiles....................................................................................................................................................................623

Stroking and filling a selection with mosaic tiles................................................................................................................................ 623

Adding mosaic effects to an image....................................................................................................................................................624

Creating tessellations.......................................................................................................................................................................... 625

Weaves...............................................................................................................................................................................................629

Applying weaves.................................................................................................................................................................................629

Editing and saving weaves................................................................................................................................................................. 630

Creating weave patterns..................................................................................................................................................................... 631

Using the Edit Weave dialog box....................................................................................................................................................... 632

Defining warp and weft expressions...................................................................................................................................................634

Defining warp and weft color expressions..........................................................................................................................................635

Designing the tie-up...........................................................................................................................................................................636

Reference: Expression operators..........................................................................................................................................................638

Shapes................................................................................................................................................................................................647

Getting started with shapes............................................................................................................................................................... 648

Drawing shapes.................................................................................................................................................................................. 648

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Drawing lines and curves................................................................................................................................................................... 650

Setting preferences for drawing shapes..............................................................................................................................................653

Selecting a shape............................................................................................................................................................................... 654

Modifying shape outlines and fills...................................................................................................................................................... 655

Adding, deleting, and moving anchor points..................................................................................................................................... 657

Adjusting curvature............................................................................................................................................................................ 658

Cutting and joining shape segments.................................................................................................................................................. 660

Converting shapes to image layers..................................................................................................................................................... 661

Converting selections to shapes..........................................................................................................................................................662

Resizing, rotating, skewing, and flipping shapes................................................................................................................................ 662

Duplicating shapes............................................................................................................................................................................. 664

Combining shapes.............................................................................................................................................................................. 665

Blending shapes................................................................................................................................................................................. 666

Saving a shape outline as a selection................................................................................................................................................. 667

Exporting Adobe Illustrator shapes..................................................................................................................................................... 667

Adding text........................................................................................................................................................................................669

Adding text to images........................................................................................................................................................................669

Formatting text...................................................................................................................................................................................670

Aligning text.......................................................................................................................................................................................670

Adjusting text kerning and leading.....................................................................................................................................................671

Stretching, rotating, and skewing text................................................................................................................................................671

Adding drop shadows to text.............................................................................................................................................................672

Applying effects to text...................................................................................................................................................................... 672

Applying curves to text.......................................................................................................................................................................673

Converting text layers......................................................................................................................................................................... 675

Dropping text..................................................................................................................................................................................... 675

Working with animation and digital videos...................................................................................................................................... 677

Choosing an animation workflow.......................................................................................................................................................677

Creating frame-by-frame animation....................................................................................................................................................679

Contents | 17

Opening a Corel Painter movie...........................................................................................................................................................680

Importing QuickTime and AVI files..................................................................................................................................................... 681

Selecting movie frames.......................................................................................................................................................................681

Editing frame content........................................................................................................................................................................ 681

Applying effects to a single frame......................................................................................................................................................682

Previewing animations........................................................................................................................................................................ 682

Using onion skinning..........................................................................................................................................................................683

Animating with layers.........................................................................................................................................................................683

Adding, deleting, and erasing frames.................................................................................................................................................684

Repeating frames................................................................................................................................................................................684

Inserting movies................................................................................................................................................................................. 685

Rotoscoping........................................................................................................................................................................................686

Applying scripts to movies..................................................................................................................................................................686

Exporting movies as QuickTime.......................................................................................................................................................... 687

Exporting movies as AVI.....................................................................................................................................................................688

Importing and exporting numbered files............................................................................................................................................ 689

Exporting animated GIFs.....................................................................................................................................................................690

Using scripts to automate tasks........................................................................................................................................................ 693

Getting started with scripts................................................................................................................................................................ 693

Displaying the Scripts panel................................................................................................................................................................694

Recording and playing scripts.............................................................................................................................................................694

Enabling and playing background scripts........................................................................................................................................... 696

Creating resolution-independent scripts..............................................................................................................................................696

Editing, renaming, and deleting scripts.............................................................................................................................................. 697

Converting scripts to movies...............................................................................................................................................................698

Importing and exporting scripts......................................................................................................................................................... 699

Importing and exporting script libraries..............................................................................................................................................699

Creating and deleting script libraries.................................................................................................................................................. 700

Printing images..................................................................................................................................................................................701

Specifying the page layout and image size.........................................................................................................................................701

18 | Corel Painter 2017 User Guide

Printing your work..............................................................................................................................................................................702

Saving files in EPS format for printing................................................................................................................................................703

General notes on printing.................................................................................................................................................................. 704

Notes for users of Adobe Photoshop................................................................................................................................................ 705

Comparing terminology in Corel Painter and Adobe Photoshop......................................................................................................... 705

Comparing tools in Corel Painter and Adobe Photoshop.................................................................................................................... 706

Frequently asked questions from users of Adobe Photoshop.............................................................................................................. 707

Setting preferences............................................................................................................................................................................ 709

General preferences............................................................................................................................................................................ 709

Interface preferences.......................................................................................................................................................................... 711

Performance preferences.....................................................................................................................................................................712

Shapes preferences............................................................................................................................................................................. 713

Cloning preferences............................................................................................................................................................................ 714

Tablet preferences...............................................................................................................................................................................715

Connections preferences.....................................................................................................................................................................715

Web................................................................................................................................................................................................... 717

Choosing web-safe colors...................................................................................................................................................................717

Posterizing using color sets................................................................................................................................................................ 717

Choosing web-friendly brushes...........................................................................................................................................................718

Creating transparent GIFs................................................................................................................................................................... 719

Reducing the number of colors in GIF files.........................................................................................................................................720

Creating image maps......................................................................................................................................................................... 721

Creating server-side image maps........................................................................................................................................................ 723

Creating web page backgrounds........................................................................................................................................................ 723

Creating web buttons.........................................................................................................................................................................725

Index.................................................................................................................................................................................................. 727

Contents | 19

20 | Corel Painter 2017 User Guide

Welcome to Corel Painter

Corel® Painter® 2017 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:

• “Using the documentation” (page 21)

• “Adjusting the Help window text size” (page 23)

• “Corel Painter 2017 User Guide eBook” (page 24)

• “Hints and tooltips” (page 24)

• “Welcome Screen” (page 25)

• “Additional resources” (page 25)

• “Registration” (page 26)

• “Feedback” (page 26)

• “About Corel Corporation” (page 26)

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 server-based help. However, if you are working offline, you can access the local help file that is installed with Corel
Painter.

The Corel Painter 2017 User Guide provides all Help topics in a print-friendly PDF file, which can be accessed online. The User Guide is also
published as an eBook. For more information, see “Corel Painter 2017 User Guide eBook” on page 24.

The Introduction to Corel Painter 2017 Guide provides an overview of the most common product features and workflows, helping you get
started quickly with the application. This guide also includes information about new features to introduce upgrading users to Corel Painter

2017.

Documentation conventions

The following table describes the conventions used in the Help.



Welcome to Corel Painter | 21

Convention Description Example

MacOS and Windows commands Commands for MacOS and Windows

sometimes appear within the same
procedural step, with the operating systems
specified in parentheses.

Modifier keys (Command, Option, Ctrl, Alt) Names of modifier keys for MacOS and

Windows sometimes appear within the
same procedural step, with the operating
systems specified in parentheses.

Menu commands (Choose X menu menu
item)

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.

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 pop-up 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.

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.

22 | Corel Painter 2017 User Guide

Convention Description Example

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.

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

To access the Help

•

Choose Help Corel Painter 2017 Help (Mac OS) or Help Topics (Windows).

To use the Help

1

Choose Help Corel Painter 2017Help (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, and click a topic in the left pane.

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.

To access the Corel Painter 2017 User Guide

•

Choose Help User Guide.

To access the Introduction to Corel Painter 2017 Guide

•

Choose Help  Introduction to Corel Painter 2017(PDF).

Adjusting the Help window text size

You can adjust the size of the text that displays in the Help window by adjusting the zoom level in your browser. Adjusting the zoom level
quickly increases the size of all web page elements, including text and images. You can adjust zoom levels in Internet Explorer, Chrome,
Firefox, and Apple Help. Some browsers may offer additional controls for customizing the font size of the display text. For more information,
see the Help for your browser.

To adjust the size of text in Firefox and Chrome

• In the browser, do one of the following:

Welcome to Corel Painter | 23

• To increase the zoom level, press Ctrl and + (Windows), or Command and + (Mac).

• To decrease the zoom level, press Ctrl and - or Command and - (Mac).

To adjust the size of text in Internet Explorer

• In the Internet Explorer browser, do one of the following:

• To increase the zoom level, press Ctrl and + .

• To decrease the zoom level, press Ctrl and - .

To adjust the size of text in Apple Help

• In the Apple Help viewer, do one of the following:

• To increase the zoom level, press Command and + .

• To decrease the zoom level, press Command and - .

Corel Painter 2017 User Guide eBook

The Corel Painter 2017 User Guide is available as an eBook. Published to the EPUB and MOBI file format, the eBook brings the most
comprehensive information about product features to your eBook reader.

The User Guide is available in two eBook formats: ePUB and MOBI.

To access the Corel Painter 2017 User Guide eBook

• Download one of the following versions:

• MOBI version — for Kindle devices

• ePUB version— for other devices and eBook readers

Hints and tooltips

Hints can help you get started quickly with Painter brushes and tools. Specific hints are displayed if the active brush uses one of the following
brush technologies: Watercolor, Real Watercolor, Liquid Ink, Cloner, Particles, Dynamic Speckles, or Impasto. If the active brush uses
another brush technology, the Hints panel shows tips about finding and modifying brushes. When you click a tool, the Hints panel shows
a description of all tools in the toolbox. All hints include links to relevant Help topics that provide comprehensive information about the
corresponding brush features or tools.

Tooltips provide helpful information about application controls when you position the pointer over icons, buttons, and other user
interface elements. Some tooltips include illustrations that show the effect of using high and low values of specific settings. You set tooltip
preferences to hide illustrations from tooltips, decreasing the space a tooltip takes on screen. You can choose to display the illustrations in
tooltips at any time.

24 | Corel Painter 2017 User Guide

To access Hints

•

Choose Help Hints.

To set tooltip preferences

1 Do one of the following:

•

(Mac OS) Choose Corel Painter 2017 Preferences General.

•

(Windows) Choose Edit Preferences General .

2 In the Tooltips area, enable one of the following options:

• Text and images

• Text only

3 Restart Corel Painter.

Welcome Screen

With the Welcome Screen, you can quickly start or open an image, choose a workspace that suits your needs, access online learning videos,
find new brushes and other content online, and get inspired by a gallery of original artwork created with Corel Painter.

The Welcome Screen appears when you start the application. You can also access the Welcome Screen from the Help menu (Help Welcome
book).

If you don’t want to see the Welcome Screen at startup, disable the Show this at startup check box in the lower left corner of the
Welcome Screen. This check box is not available in trial versions of the product.

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 website http://www.painterartist.com

Corel Painter Tutorials http://www.youtube.com/user/PainterTutorials

Corel Painter on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/corelpainter

Welcome to Corel Painter | 25

Resources To access

Corel Painter on Facebook 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.

If you skipped the registration process when installing Corel Painter 2017, 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

Over the years, Corel has brought a spirit of innovation to the development of a range of award-winning products that includes graphics,
painting, photo, video and office software. We’ve also earned a reputation for delivering high-quality products that are easy to learn and
use, and help people achieve new levels of productivity.

Corel’s product lines include CorelDRAW® Graphics Suite, Painter®, Corel DESIGNER® Technical Suite, PaintShop® Pro, VideoStudio®,
WinDVD®, Corel® WordPerfect® Office and WinZip®. For more information on Corel, please visit www.corel.com.



26 | Corel Painter 2017 User Guide

What’s new in Corel Painter 2017

Corel Painter takes you far beyond what’s possible in a traditional art environment. This section contains the following topics about what’s
new in Corel Painter 2017:

• “What’s new in this version of Corel Painter” (page 27)

• “What was new in earlier versions of Corel Painter” (page 32)

What’s new in this version of Corel Painter

In this section, you will find information about the new and enhanced features in Corel Painter 2017.

New! Texture Painting

This groundbreaking new brush category with source-blending technology makes it easy to integrate complex textures into your work.
Whether you're aiming for a look that is more lifelike or one that's completely futuristic, or you want to make a digital painting look
authentically timeworn, Texture Painting offers limitless possibilities.

Texture Painting isn’t simply manipulating a layer’s opacity. It lets you intelligently blend a texture into existing content using a range of
stylus expressions, such as pressure. It respects the transparency of the selected texture, giving you full control of when, where, and how
much texture is used. You start by choosing or creating a texture and pairing it with brushes designed specifically for adding texture. And
by combining Texture brushes, flexible brush customization options, and the ability to capture and import your own textures, you can add
any number of surfaces styles to your work. You can even add Dab Stencils, grain, and smudging to the brushes with all the speed, precision
and control you expect from Painter. In addition, you can make your own custom textures from scratch or by modifying a preset texture. For
more information see “Texture painting” on page 387.

What’s new in Corel Painter 2017 | 27

A 3D model is rendered into a 2D bitmap image (left); Texture is added to the image in Corel

Painter to give the character more appeal and realism (right). Artwork by Mike Thompson.

New! Interactive Gradient tool

In Corel Painter 2017, getting stunning painted backgrounds is easier than ever with the new Interactive Gradient tool. It lets you quickly
create and edit a gradient to give paintings a range of depth and lighting variations. If you’re just starting a new document, you can kick­start things by filling the background with a gradient and experimenting with different preset styles. Or if you have an existing sketch or
painting, you can apply and tweak a gradient in context of your work with edit nodes. Corel Painter 2017 has a library of gradients to
choose from, or you can create your own and save it for reuse. For more information see “Applying gradients” on page 601.

Gradients were used in this artwork by Marian Basinger.

New! Gradient Express Painting

When a blank white canvas is blocking your creativity or you need a back-drop for a new concept design, the new Express Paint feature
lets you create stunning gradients in a matter of seconds. The new Express Paint feature allows you to apply a wide variety of painting

styles automatically to any gradient, creating the speed and inspiration you need in virtually any composition. For more information, see

“Applying paint effects to gradients” on page 608.

28 | Corel Painter 2017 User Guide

Start a painting by filling the background with a gradient and experimenting with different preset styles.

New! Dab Stencils

Corel Painter 2017 gives artists more power to craft and create expressive, unique brushstrokes. Dab Stencils let you change the brushstroke
opacity before you paint, basing it on the active paper, flow map or texture. You can fine-tune exactly how much source texture to reveal as
you paint and link Dab Stencils to a variety of real-time stylus input factors. Using them with the new Texture Brush variants gives you even
greater control over the look and feel of your brushstrokes. For more information, see “Dab Stencil controls” on page 352.

The brushstrokes in this artwork use the Dab Stencil feature. Artwork by Melissa Gallo.

New! Glazing Brushes

Some of the best Painter developments have been the result of user suggestions. Here’s another one — Glazing Brushes. They let you control
the evolution of your painting using velvety, translucent paint transitions just like the Renaissance masters. Glazing Brushes deliver stroke­level opacity, so the paint of each brushstroke is applied independently. The paint that each dab deposits on the canvas builds up smoothly
from a minimum to a maximum. This creates a smooth blend between colors, with no unwanted colors where dabs overlap. You’ll really

What’s new in Corel Painter 2017 | 29

see Glazing Brushes at their best when you fluctuate stylus pressure in a single brushstroke. For more information, see “Glazing controls” on

page 357.

Glazing brushes were used in this artwork by Héctor Sevilla Luján.

Enhanced! Dropper Tool

Corel Painter 2017 makes it easier than ever to sample color. Sometimes what appears to be a solid-colored area is actually subtly shaded
or dithered, so what you see onscreen isn't what you get when you sample a single pixel. Now you can get the color that you're seeing with
new Dropper tool options that let you average the colors of pixels in larger sample areas, ranging from 3 × 3 to 101 × 101 pixels. What’s
more, you can sample a color from the active layer or from all visible layers. For more information, see “Sampling colors from images” on

page 202.

New! Palette Drawers

Having the tools that you need right at your fingertips isn’t only important for your productivity, it’s critical for your creativity. That’s why
Corel Painter 2017 introduces Palette Drawers. This new workflow enhancement strikes the perfect balance between uncluttering your
workspace and keeping essential tools handy by letting you combine panels and custom palettes in a convenient grouping — for a particular
workflow or project — so the controls and settings are just a click away. And when you’re not using a Palette Drawer, it collapses, freeing up
your work area. For more information, see “Rearranging panels and palettes” on page 61.

Enhanced! Property bars

Optimizing brush and tool settings is important. But time spent tweaking controls is time not spent painting. That's why the property bars
have been enhanced to make it easier to adjust brushes. For example, when the Brush tool is active, the enhanced property bar gives you
quick access to a range of relevant brush-related panels, saving you time clicking through menus. It also lets you choose new dab profiles
on the fly, select media like paper, and view brushstroke info. There’s also a new Extended property bar that gives quick access to even more
settings. For more information, see “Working with brushes using the property bars” on page 266.

30 | Corel Painter 2017 User Guide

You can access brush controls quickly from the property bar (left) and the extended property bar (right). This example shows the property
bar for a selected Particle brush with the Size flyout open and the extended property bar with the Dab Options flyout open.

Enhanced! Brush Selector panel

Corel Painter 2017 gives you quicker and easier access to one of the things that makes Painter an industry leader in digital painting — our
unrivaled selection of brushes. To that end, you can now display the Brush Selector as a panel. That way, your recently used brush variants
are at your fingertips, the entire Brush Library is readily accessible, and you can position it wherever it suits your workflow. And the latest
brush packs are available from directly within the Brush Selector. For more information, see “Displaying and customizing the Brush Selector”

on page 58.

What’s new in Corel Painter 2017 | 31

You can display the Brush Selector as a panel.

Enhanced! Artists’ Layouts

Just getting started with a new project in concept art, fine art, illustration, photo-art or manga? This collection of pre-defined user-interface
arrangements is designed to kick-start a variety of digital art workflows by displaying only the relevant palettes and tools. There’s even one
that displays only minimal UI, freeing up space for tablet users. You can also choose the two workspace layouts that you use most often
and quickly switch between them to suit the current task or the display mode of your device using the Quick Switch feature. For more
information, see “Choosing a workspace layout” on page 47.

What was new in earlier versions of Corel Painter

This topic describes what was new in earlier versions of Corel Painter.

32 | Corel Painter 2017 User Guide

What was new in Corel Painter 2016

Corel Painter 2016 introduced the following features and enhancements, which are also available in Corel Painter 2017.

Rotatable media

In Corel Painter 2016, you can change the angle of paper textures and flow maps to get an unprecedented variety in the look of your
brushstrokes. For more information see “Rotating paper texture” on page 146 and “To customize a flow map” on page 403.

Rotatable media can help you vary the look of your brushstrokes.

Default-settings restoration

Corel Painter 2016 makes it easier to preserve custom content when you reset the application to its factory settings. Now when you restore
default settings, you can maintain custom brushes and palettes, paper textures, nozzles, scripts and more. In previous versions, retaining any
customizations required exporting libraries, restoring default settings, and then importing the libraries. For more information, see “Restoring

the default Corel Painter settings” on page 73.

Dynamic Speckles

This feature combines Particle System physics and brush-thickness control linked to your touch, allowing you to create luscious Natural­Media brushstrokes or progressive-looking Pollock splatters. You can use this feature with select Bristle, RealBristle and Particle brushes, so
you can take full advantage of those revolutionary, Painter-exclusive technologies. For more information, see “Dynamic Speckles controls” on

page 350.

Dynamic Speckles generate a continuous brushstroke from discrete spots of color or speckles.

Audio Expression

Corel Painter 2016 lets you use an audio input device, such as a microphone, or internal audio to modify the look and feel of any brush. For
example, your brushstrokes may change their appearance in synch with streaming music. Audio Expression allows you to link a variety of
brush controls to audio input. In addition, you can adjust the strength of an audio signal, controlling its impact on a brush. For example,
if you link brush size to quiet audio, increasing the strength will result in wider brushstrokes. Conversely, if the audio is loud, decreasing
the strength will result in narrower brushstrokes. In addition, you can set the range of the audio expression to achieve a wider range of

What’s new in Corel Painter 2017 | 33

brushstroke variation (for example, minimum to maximum brushstroke width) regardless of whether the audio is consistently strong, low, or
varies. For more information, see “Audio Expression” on page 280.

Document Views

Whether you are working on a project, showing your work, or demonstrating a technique, Corel Painter 2016 makes it even easier to switch
between document views. You can switch document views from the toolbox, the Window menu, and by using keyboard shortcuts. The
Default view shows all the open documents together with commonly used application controls while the Single Document view lets you
focus on the active document. The Presentation Mode hides the menu bar and the taskbar of the operating system, leaving only essential
controls. For more information, see “Switching document views” on page 85.

Single Document View (left); Single Document View in Presentation Mode (right)

Brush Hints

Depending on the brush type you are currently working with, context-sensitive brush hints (Help Hints) provide useful tips about brush
technologies. It’s a great way to discover different ways you can take advantage of a variety of unique Corel Painter features, including
Particles, Watercolor brushes, Liquid Ink, Cloner, Impasto, and the new Dynamic Speckles.

Visual tooltips

Some tooltips include illustrations that show the effect of using high and low values of specific settings.

At a glance, you can see the effect of high and low setting values.

34 | Corel Painter 2017 User Guide

Adobe® Photoshop® brush file import

With Corel Painter 2016, you can import the brush stamps of pixel-based Adobe Photoshop brushes stored in Adobe Brush Resource (ABR)
files. These files contain a collection of Adobe Photoshop brushes, including shape, texture, dynamics, and other brush information. All
other brush attributes specified in the ABR files are not imported, but can be fully customized in Corel Painter. For more information, see

“Importing Photoshop brush images” on page 274.

Each imported brush stamp appears as a new brush variant.

Custom content sharing

Corel Painter 2016 simplifies sharing content saved in a custom palette. When you save a custom palette as a Painter Custom Toolbox (BOX)
file, all custom brushes, papers, patterns and flow maps in the palette are saved with the file.

You can share content saved to a custom palette.

Welcome Screen

With the Welcome Screen, you can quickly start or open an image, choose a workspace that suits your needs, access online learning videos,
find new brushes and other content online, and get inspired by a gallery of original artwork created with Corel Painter. The Welcome Screen

appears when you start the application, and you can also access it by clicking Help Welcome.

What’s new in Corel Painter 2017 | 35

Special media brushes

Corel Painter 2016 offers additional dab types, which are methods for applying media to the canvas. The new dab types use both Particles
and Liquid Ink or Watercolor dabs. These combination dab types include: Liquid Ink Gravity Particles, Liquid Ink Flow Particles, Liquid Ink
Spring Particles, Watercolor Gravity Particles, Watercolor Flow Particles, and Watercolor Spring Particles.

Layer blending

Whether you are painting with a single color or blending two or more colors on a layer, the Enhanced Layer Blending option can help you
produce brushstrokes without white fringes. For more information, see “Blending controls” on page 333.

Brushstrokes without (left) and with Enhanced Layer Blending (right)

What was new in Corel Painter 2015?

Corel Painter 2015 introduced the following features and enhancements, which are also available in Corel Painter 2017.



Revolutionary digital brushes



Particle Brushes These new physics-inspired brushes produce rich, chaotic strokes by

emitting particles from a central point that create lines and patterns
as they move across the canvas. This revolutionary brush category
allows a wide variety of artists to push their creative visions further,
whether in photo art, illustration, concept art, traditional art, and
more.

For more information, see “Particle brushes” on page 371.

36 | Corel Painter 2017 User Guide

Jitter Smoothing Corel Painter X3 saw the introduction of Universal Jitter, which

allows you to add randomness to your brushstrokes by integrating
the Jitter expression in a range of brush controls. The addition
of Jitter Smoothing in Corel Painter 2017 helps you give your
brushstrokes an even more natural, organic look.

Enhanced speed and performance



Native 64-bit application for Mac Users on the Mac OS will notice extended processing power right

away, especially during operations that require big data transfers,
such as opening files, switching clone sources, working with
multiple layers, using large documents and more.

Enhanced cross-platform performance With the latest round of CPU performance optimizations, brushes

perform faster, so you can concentrate on your art and forget
about technology.

Enhanced real-time effect preview You can now preview effects in real-time on the canvas so you

instantly get an idea how the whole painting will look.

Enhanced brush tracking Because each artist uses a different strength or pressure level in

a stroke, the enhanced Brush Tracking utility helps calculate the
appropriate settings for pressure and velocity. The new visual
power curve helps you control universal application pressure­sensitive memory and instantly apply the settings to the current
brush variant. There are default pressure curves to choose from,
or you can tweak the curve and save it as a preset. You can also
make practice strokes with a variant on the canvas while you’re
calibrating the brush tracking so you can draw from with the
most realistic, accurate brushstroke information possible. For more
information, see “Brush tracking and calibration” on page 124.

A fully responsive experience



Custom user-interface palette arrangements Inspired by Painter artists, this collection of new pre-defined user-

interface arrangements is designed to kick-start a variety of digital­art workflows by displaying only the relevant palettes and tools.
There’s one for illustrating, creating photo art, and getting started
with the revolutionary new Particle brushes. There’s even one that
displays only minimal UI, freeing up space for tablet users. For more
information, see “Choosing a workspace layout” on page 47.

Fresh new content



You can add an extra special touch to your artwork with new,
freshly inspirational papers, nozzles, images, patterns, weaves,
gradients and more. Some of the updates are designed specifically
for different types of digital artists, so whether you're an illustrator
or photo artist, you can be sure to find compelling content to work
with.

What’s new in Corel Painter 2017 | 37

Mobile art that moves you



Real-Time Stylus and Windows Tablet PC support You can combine your Tablet PC with Windows Real-Time Stylus

support to capture whatever inspires you on the fly. Support for
the Windows Real-Time Stylus delivers truly responsive pressure­sensitivity, and depending on the device, tilt. What’s more, there’s
no stylus driver to install, so you can use Corel Painter 2017 right
away. For more information, see “Support for tablets and other

devices” on page 98.

Painter Mobile for Android The Painter Mobile for Android app gives you the ability to paint

anywhere, anytime. When it's time to finalize your work, you can
import it directly into Corel Painter to add professional finishing
touches.

Particle brushes were used to create the sparks and wisps of smoke in this image. Artwork by Don Seegmiller

Angle Jitter applied to a brushstroke without Jitter Smoothing (top) and with Jitter Smoothing (bottom).

38 | Corel Painter 2017 User Guide

Real-Time Stylus and Windows Tablet PC support let you create art on the go.

What was new in Corel Painter X3?

If you are upgrading to Corel Painter 2017 from Update 2 of Corel Painter 12, you may not be aware of the features and enhancements that
were added in Corel Painter X3. These features and enhancements are also available in Corel Painter 2017.



A platform for inspiration, creativity, and reflection



Brush search Helps you find the perfect brush by performing a search. Simply

type in the name of the brush variant or a combination of brush
properties, such as jitter or bristle, to narrow down the search.

For more information, see “Searching and selecting brushes” on

page 260.

Reference Image panel Lets you display an inspirational image in an easy to use, dockable

panel. You can zoom, pan, and sample colors from the reference
image while maintaining focus on your digital painting.

For more information, see “Displaying reference images” on page

129.

Enhanced stroke preview Offers a more detailed preview of the brushstroke that will appear

on the canvas in real-time. The preview now visually represents
brush parameters such as mixing, erasing, blending, and jitter.
The brush preview displays in the Brush library panel, Brush search
results panel, and the Stroke Preview brush control panel.

For more information, “Previewing brushstrokes and brush dabs”

on page 282.

What’s new in Corel Painter 2017 | 39

Inspirational Mixer Pads Lets you choose colors from a collection of original mixer pads that

were created for you by expert Corel Painter artists.

For more information, see “Displaying and resizing the Mixer panel”

on page 205.

The innovator in digital art



Jitter brushes Produces more realistic brushstrokes by introducing an increased

amount of randomness. The Jitter brush variants are found under
various brush categories.

For more information, see “Jitter brushes” on page 363.

Universal Jitter Allows you to control the randomness of various brush features,

such as size, angle, and opacity. You can now use Jitter in
conjunction with a different expression.

For more information, see “Controlling the behavior of Jitter

variants” on page 364.

Minimum controls Allows you to introduce a range of variation to a selected

expression. You can apply minimum values for brush controls such
as Size and Opacity.

For more information, “Expression settings” on page 279.

Additional Flow Maps, Patterns, and Papers Includes a greater variety of Flow Maps, Patterns, Papers that you

can use in your paintings.

Easier to learn and use

Smart Brush Settings with added media panel (Advanced Brush
Controls)



Provides you with a more intuitive way of modifying the advanced
brush controls of a selected brush.

For more information, see “Working with brushes using the

property bars” on page 266.

Perspective Guides Allows you to accurately draw in one, two or three-point

perspective by using preset guides. The Perspective-Guided Strokes
constrain your strokes to direct them towards the vanishing points.
This feature replaces the Perspective Grid feature.

For more information, “Using Perspective Guides” on page 185.

Enhanced Cloning Reintroduces the traditional side-by-side cloning workflow and lets

you view the crosshair cursor on your source image to increase
painting accuracy. In addition, you now have the ability to edit the
source image. For example, you can apply various effects to the
source image.

40 | Corel Painter 2017 User Guide

For more information, see “Cloning images” on page 157. and

“Editing, updating, saving, and exporting clone source images” on
page 162.

Transform across layers Allows you to apply transformations to multiple layers and layer

groups simultaneously.

For more information, “Transforming layers” on page 455.

Set maximum colors for color sets Lets you specify a maximum number of colors when creating new

color sets.

For more information, see “Creating and exporting color sets” on

page 212.

Show Onion Skin layers Allows you to display underlying frames when working with

movies.

For more information, see “Using onion skinning” on page 683.

Performance



Memory Extender Lets you take advantage of more of your Mac systems’s available

RAM by letting you control how much RAM you want to designate
to Painter. This features was introduced in Painter 12.2.1.

For more information, see “Performance preferences” on page

712.

Changes to the brush control panels

In Corel Painter X3, a number of brush controls panels were more logically organized to better reflect the structure of the Corel Painter brush
engine. The following table maps the Corel Painter 12 brush control panels to the Corel Painter X3 brush control panels.

For more information about the brush control panels that include the new Jitter controls, see “Controlling the behavior of Jitter variants” on

page 364.

What’s new in Corel Painter 2017 | 41

42 | Corel Painter 2017 User Guide

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” (page 43)

• “Exploring the Document window” (page 45)

• “Choosing a workspace layout” (page 47)

• “Exploring the toolbox” (page 49)

• “Displaying the toolbox” (page 53)

• “Displaying the property bars” (page 55)

• “Exploring the Navigator panel” (page 57)

• “Displaying and customizing the Brush Selector” (page 58)

• “Displaying the command bar” (page 61)

• “Rearranging panels and palettes” (page 61)

• “Exploring panels” (page 65)

• “Creating and modifying custom palettes” (page 68)

• “Renaming and deleting custom palettes” (page 70)

• “Saving, exporting, and importing custom palettes” (page 70)

• “Working with libraries” (page 71)

• “Creating, importing, exporting, and deleting workspaces” (page 72)

• “Restoring the default Corel Painter settings” (page 73)

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.

Workspace tour | 43

Term Description

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 dab 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 is a single tabbed container that displays commands,

controls, and settings for a specific feature. Panels reside in a
palette. For example, the Color panel contains controls that allow
you to choose colors.

Palette A palette is a container for one or multiple panels.

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.

44 | Corel Painter 2017 User Guide

Term Description

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.

Exploring the Document window

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

Workspace tour | 45

46 | Corel Painter 2017 User Guide

Circled numbers correspond to the numbers in the following table, which describes

the main components of the application window. (Artwork by Borislav Mitkov)



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 basic 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. Extended property bar Displays commands and provides access to advanced settings that
relate to the active tool or brush. For example, when you choose
a brush that uses the Texture painting technology, the extended
property bar provides access to advanced Texture brush settings.

5. Palette drawer You can turn a palette into a palette drawer, so you can quickly
collapse it to save screen space.

6. Color panel Lets you choose main and additional colors for painting in Corel
Painter documents.

7. Flyout Depending on the brush category and variant you select, the
property bar contains flyouts that allow you to quickly access basic
brush settings on different panels

8. Layers panel Lets you manage the hierarchy of layers and includes controls for
creating, selecting, hiding, locking, deleting, naming, and grouping
layers

9. Hints Provides useful tips about how to use brushes

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

11. Canvas The canvas is the rectangular work area inside the document
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.

Choosing a workspace layout

Corel Painter 2017 offers a number of preset workspace layouts. A workspace layout (also known as “palette arrangement”) displays,
hides, and positions workspace elements such as palettes and panels to suit a specific workflow. The following table describes the available
workspace layouts.

Workspace tour | 47

Workspace layout Description

New to Painter Displays the most essential controls together with the Hints panel

to help you get started quickly with Corel Painter

Classic Ideal for users who have experience with previous versions of

Corel Painter and are looking for a seamless transition to a familiar
environment

Default The default workspace layout that works well for most computers.

For more information, see “Exploring the Document window” on

page 45.

Simple Displays minimal user interface that includes the toolbox, the menu

bar, and the extended property bar. This layout is ideal for small
screens.

Concept Art Provides quick access to gradients, texture painting controls and

Glazing brushes. Brush and media palettes are logically grouped in
palette drawers to save screen space.

Illustration Displays the Reference Image panel, papers, gradients, and Glazing

brushes

Fine Art Provides quick access to traditional media brushes, glazing and

blending controls

Photo Art Displays palettes commonly used by photo artists, providing

optimal setup for cloning photos, textures, and paintings

Manga Art Provides quick access to brushes, gradients as well as blending,

smoothing and glazing controls

The Quick Switch feature lets you choose two workspace layouts that you use most often and quickly switch between them to suit the
current task or the display mode of your device. This feature is especially useful on multi- or dual-mode devices. For example, you can select
Default as Layout 1 and Simple as Layout 2. When you flip the display panel from Notebook to Tablet mode, the Simple workspace layout is
automatically displayed, letting you work in an un-cluttered minimalistic user interface.

To choose a workspace layout

•

Choose Window Layout, and choose a layout.

You can also choose a layout from the Welcome screen (Help Welcome) by clicking the Get Started tab and selecting a layout in
the Arrange my Workspace area.

To switch between workspace layouts

1

Choose Window Layout Quick Switch Layout 1 , and choose a layout.

48 | Corel Painter 2017 User Guide

2

Choose Window Layout Quick Switch Layout 2 , and choose a layout.

3 To switch between Layout 1 and Layout 2, do one of the following:

• Reposition the display panel of your dual- or multi-mode device (for example, from Notebook mode to Tablet mode).

•

Choose Window Layout Quick Switch Toggle Layout.

You can switch between factory workspace layouts or custom workspace layouts that you created. For information about creating
and saving custom workspace layouts, see “Rearranging panels and palettes” on page 61.

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, see “Selecting, managing, and creating brushes” on

page 249.



Selection tools 

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 202.

The Interactive Gradient tool lets you apply a gradient to an image
by filling an area, such as the canvas, a selection, layer, or channel.
For more information, see “Applying gradients” on page 601.

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

215.

The Eraser tool lets you remove unwanted areas from an image.
For more information, see “Erasing image areas” on page 135.

Workspace tour | 49

Tool Description

The Layer Adjuster tool is used to select, move, and manipulate
layers. For more information, see “Displaying the Layers panel” on

page 446.

The Transform tool lets you modify selected areas of an image by
using different transformation modes. For more information, see

“Preparing selections for transformations” on page 509.

The Rectangular Selection tool lets you create rectangular
selections. For more information, see “Getting started with

selections” on page 494.

The Oval Selection tool lets you create oval selections. For more
information, see “Getting started with selections” on page 494.

The Lasso tool lets you draw a freehand selection. For more
information, see “Getting started with selections” on page 494.

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

495.

Shape tools 

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 498.

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 “Preparing selections for transformations” on page 509.

The Crop tool lets you remove unwanted edges from an image. For
more information, see “Cropping images” on page 92.

The Pen tool lets you create straight lines and curves in objects. For
more information, see “Drawing lines and curves” on page 650.

The Quick Curve tool lets you create shape paths by drawing
freehand curves. For more information, see “Adjusting curvature”

on page 658.

50 | Corel Painter 2017 User Guide

Tool Description

The Rectangular Shape tool lets you create rectangles and squares.
For more information, see “Drawing shapes” on page 648.

The Oval Shape tool lets you create circles and ovals. For more
information, see “Drawing shapes” on page 648.

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

on page 669.

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 “Selecting a

shape” on page 654.

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 660.

Photo tools 

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 658.

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 164.

The Rubber Stamp tool gives you quick access to the Straight
Cloner brush variant, and lets you to sample areas within an image
or between images. For more information, see “Performing offset

sampling” on page 166.

Workspace tour | 51

Tool Description

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

burning” on page 243.

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

burning” on page 243.

Symmetry tools 

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

mode” on page 182.

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

183.

Composition tools 

Navigation 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 189.

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 179.

The Perspective Guides tool lets you display guides using one,
two or three-point perspective. For more information, see “Using

Perspective Guides” on page 185.

The Grabber tool lets you scroll through an image quickly. For more
information, see “Repositioning images” on page 92.

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 87.

52 | Corel Painter 2017 User Guide

Tool Description

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 88.

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 “Choosing colors

from the Color panel” on page 198.

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 “Working with paper texture and grain” on

page 143.

The View selector allows you to switch between document
views and viewing modes. For more information, see “Switching

document views” on page 85.

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 arrange the tools in two columns instead of one or change the toolbox orientation from vertical to horizontal. If you are working
with a tablet or low-resolution display, or you prefer to work in an uncluttered workspace, you can display a simpler version of the toolbox
that includes fewer tools.

Top: A simpler version of the toolbox. Bottom: A two-row toolbox.

To open or close the toolbox

•

Choose Window Toolbox.

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

Workspace tour | 53

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 the toolbox

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

To change the toolbox display

1 Do one of the following:

•

(Mac OS) Choose Corel Painter 2017 Preferences Interface.

•

(Windows) 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 Media Selector bar 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 Do one of the following:

•

(Mac OS) Choose Corel Painter 2017 Preferences Interface.

•

(Windows) Choose Edit Preferences Interface .

2 Choose an option from the Media Layout list box.

54 | Corel Painter 2017 User Guide

Displaying the property bars

The property bar displays basic options for the currently selected tool. By default, the property bar is displayed 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.

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. Depending on the brush category and variant
you select, the property bar contains flyouts that allow you to quickly access basic brush settings on different panels.

The property bar for a Real Watercolor brush variant. (1) The Size flyout; (2) The Flowmap flyout

You can also display the extended property bar, which provides access to advanced brush settings.

Workspace tour | 55

The extended property bar for a Real Watercolor brush variant. (1) Dab Options flyout; (2) Static

Bristle panel toggle button; (3) Real Watercolor panel toggle button; (4)The Advanced Brush Controls

button lets you access the panel related to the active brush variant; (5) General panel toggle button

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 open or close the extended property bar

•

Choose Window ExtendedProperty Bar.

If the extended property bar is undocked, you can close it by clicking the close button on the header bar.

To move or dock the property bar or extended property bar

• Perform a task from the following table.



To Do the following

Move the property bar or extended property bar Drag the header bar to a new location.

56 | Corel Painter 2017 User Guide

To Do the following

Dock the property bar or extended property bar Drag the header bar and place it under the menu bar. The property

or extended 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.

Exploring 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 85.

Workspace tour | 57

Displaying and customizing the Brush Selector

The Brush Selector lets you choose a brush library, select a brush from a brush category, and browse additional brush packs that can
complement your creative set of brushes. It also allows you to view the most recently used brushes and organize and display brushes in
various ways. For example, you can hide the recently used brushes to save screen space or hide brush categories and variants to expose the
brushes that you use most.

Circled numbers correspond to the numbers in the following table, which describes the main components of the Brush Selector.



Part Description

1. Brush Library Selector Lets you choose a brush library

2. Recent Brushes Displays the recently used brushes. The list includes only brushes
from the currently selected brush library. Switching to a different
brush library clears the most recently used brushes list.

58 | Corel Painter 2017 User Guide

Part Description

3. Brush Pack Promotions bar Lets you access the Brush Pack Selector and purchase brush packs

4. Brush Pack Promotions list Lets you browse the available brush packs

5. Brush library options button Lets you access commands that help you organize and display
brushes in various ways

6. Dab and Stroke preview window Lets you preview a brushstroke

7. Brush categories Lets you browse all categories in a brush library. Brush categories
are groups of similar brushes and media.

8. Brush library panel Lets you browse the brush categories and variants in the currently
selected library

9. Brush variants Lets you browse the brush variants in a category. Brush variants are
specific brushes and brush settings within a brush category.

The Brush Selector is also available as a floating panel that you can keep open to access brushes quickly and easily while you are painting. For
more information about grouping, resizing, and docking panels, see “Rearranging panels and palettes” on page 61.

To show or hide the Brush Selector

• Perform a task from the following table.



To show or hide Do the following

The Brush Selector bar

The Brush Selector panel

Choose Window Brush Selector.

Choose Window Brush Selector Panel.

You can close the Brush Selector bar and Brush Selector panel by clicking the Close button on the header bar.

To show or hide the Brush Pack Promotions bar

•

In the Brush Selector, click the Brush library options button , and choose Show Brush Pack Promotions.

To show or hide brush pack promotions

•

In the Brush Selector, click the toggle button to display or hide the list of brush pack promotions.

To show or hide the Brush Library Selector

•

In the Brush Selector, click the Brush library options button , and choose Show Brush Library Selector.

Workspace tour | 59

To show or hide recently used brushes

•

In the Brush Selector, click the Brush library options button , and choose Show Recent Brushes.

The list of recently used brushes includes only brushes from the currently selected brush library. Switching to a different brush
library clears the most recently used brushes list.

To show or hide the dab and stroke preview window

•

In the Brush Selector, click the Brush library options button , and choose Show Dab and Stroke Preview.

To modify the display of brush categories and variants

• In the Brush Selector, perform a task from the following table.



To Do the following

Modify the display of brush categories

Click the Brush library options button , choose Category

Display, and choose one of the following:

•Categories as Icons

•Categories as List

Modify the display of brush variants

Click the Brush library options button , choose Variant Display,

and choose one of the following:

•Variants as Icons

•Variants as List

Hide a brush category Right-click a brush category in the Library Panel, and choose Hide

Category.

Hide a brush variant Right-click a brush variant in the Library Panel, and choose Hide

Variant.

Show all previously hidden brush categories

Click the Brush library options button , choose Category

Display, and choose Show All Categories.

Show all previously hidden brush variants

Click the Brush library options button , choose Variant Display,

and choose Show All Variants.

Customize a brush category or brush variant icon Right-click a brush category or variant in the Library Panel, and

choose Set Custom Icon. Choose the drive and folder where the
image is stored. Click the image file and click Open.

To resize the Brush Selector

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

60 | Corel Painter 2017 User Guide

To move the Brush Selector

• Perform a task from the following table.



To Do the following

Move the Brush Selector Drag the Brush Selector header bar to a new location in the

application window.

Dock the Brush Selector bar Drag the Brush Selector header bar to the edge of the application

window or a panel. The bar snaps into place.

To display the Brush Selector as a floating panel

•

Choose Window Brush Selector Panel.

Displaying the command bar

The command bar gives you quick access to commonly used commands such as starting and saving documents, undoing and redoing
actions, cutting and pasting, and accessing brush tracking options. Displaying the command bar is especially useful for tablets and other
small-screen devices.

The command bar.

You can change the orientation of the command bar.

To display the command bar

•

Choose Window Command Bar.

To change the orientation of the command bar

1 Do one of the following:

•

(Mac OS) Choose Corel Painter 2017 Preferences Interface.

•

(Windows) Choose Edit Preferences Interface .

2 From the Command Bar Layout list box, choose an option.

Rearranging panels and palettes

Whether you are new to digital painting software or a long-time user, Corel Painter makes it easy to adapt your design space to your needs.
The interactive panels in Corel Painter are single tabbed containers that let you access content libraries, commands, controls, and settings.
Panels are stored in palettes.

Workspace tour | 61

A typical palette features a header bar (1), a Palette Drawer button that lets you turn a palette into a palette

drawer (2), panel tabs (3), and a Paneloptions button that allows you to access a series of related commands(4).

You can increase your efficiency by arranging task-related or frequently used panels into palettes. For example, you can display all color­specific panels in one color palette, or display panels individually. A palette can contain one or more panels.

This palette includes three color-related panels: Color, Mixer, and Color

Set Libraries. You can access a panel’s content by clicking its tabs.

Corel Painter includes the Brush controls palette, which is a preset palette that groups all panels that contain brush-related settings.

You can add panels to and remove panels from a palette. You can also reposition a panel within a palette group or move a panel to another
palette group. You can turn a palette into a palette drawer, so you can quickly collapse it to save screen space. At any time, you can turn a
palette drawer back into a regular palette. You can resize and reposition a palette drawer like any other palette group.

You can display and hide a panel or palette. When you hide a panel or palette, they are no longer displayed in the application window. If you
want to keep the panel or palette at hand, but save screen space, you can resize or collapse them.

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. Palettes and panels float in the workspace. Docking attaches the panel or palette to the vertical edge of the
application window. Undocking detaches them from other parts of the workspace, so you can move them. To perform docking, you need to
grab a panel’s tab or a palette’s header bar.

You can save the arrangement of palettes as a custom workspace layout for later use, and you can delete this custom workspace layout
when you no longer need it.

62 | Corel Painter 2017 User Guide

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 group Drag the panel tab to the palette.

Remove a panel from a palette group Drag the panel tab out of the palette.

Reposition a panel in a palette group Drag the panel tab to a new location in the palette.

To create a palette drawer

•

Click the Palette Drawer toggle button on the palette header bar, and click Palette Drawer.

To rename a palette drawer, click the Palette Drawer toggle button on the palette header bar, click Rename , and type a new

name.

To turn a drawer into a regular palette, click the Palette Drawer toggle button on the drawer header bar, and then click

Palette Drawer.

To hide or show a panel, palette, or palette drawer

• Perform an action from the following table.



To Do the following

Hide a panel

Hide a palette or palette group

Show a panel

Show a palette drawer

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

Click the Close button on the panel tab.

Click the Close button on the header bar.

Choose Window  [Panel name].

Choose Window Palette Drawers  [Palette Drawer name].

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

Workspace tour | 63

To expand or collapse a panel or a palette drawer

• Perform a task from the following table.



To expand or collapse Do the following

A panel Double-click the panel tab.

A palette drawer Double-click the header bar of the palette drawer.

To resize a panel or palette

• Perform a task from the following table.



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 panel or
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 dock or undock a palette

• Perform a task from the following table.



To Do the following

Dock a palette Drag the palette header bar, or the blank space to the right of the

tabs, to the vertical edge of the application window. The palette
snaps into place when it lines up with the edge.

Undock a palette Drag the blank area to the right of the panel tabs away from the

edge of the application window.

Dock a panel Drag the panel tab to the vertical edge of the application window.

The panel snaps into place when it lines up with the edge.

Undock a panel Drag the panel tab away from the application window.

64 | Corel Painter 2017 User Guide

If there’s not enough space along the vertical edge of the application window (for example, if you have a lot of expanded palettes),
you may not be able to dock a panel or a palette. Collapse one or multiple panels to create sufficient space for docking.

You cannot dock a palette drawer.

You cannot dock panels or palettes with toolbars.

To access additional panel options

•

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

To save an arrangement of palettes as a workspace layout

1

Choose Window Layout Save Layout.

2 In the Palette Layout Name dialog box, type a name in the New Layout list box.

The workspace layout appears as a menu item under Window Layout.

You can display a saved arrangement of palettes by choosing Window Layout [Layout name].

You can restore the default palette arrangement at any time by choosing Window Layout Default.

To delete a workspace layout

1

Choose Window Layout Delete Layout.

2 In the DeletePalette Layout dialog box, choose a layout from the Palette Layout list box.

Exploring panels

The following table contains a list of the panels available in Corel Painter.



Panel Description

Brush Control panels

The brush control panels are included in the Brush Controls palette.
They include the following panels: General, Stroke Attributes ,

Opacity, Grain, Dab Profile , Size , Bristles, Spacing, Smoothing,
Angle, Static Bristle, Computed Circular , Blending , Rake,
Multi, Mouse, Cloning , Impasto , Image Hose, Airbrush, Water,
Liquid Ink, Digital Watercolor, Artists’ Oils, Real Watercolor,
Real Wet Oil, Stroke Jitter , RealBristle™, Hard Media, Color
Variability, Color Expression, Brush Calibration, Dab Preview,
Stroke Preview, Particles (General, Flow, Gravity, Spring), Audio
Expression, Dynamic Speckles, Glazing , Dab Stencils , and Texture
Brushes.



Allows you to customize brush variants. For more information, see

“Adjusting brushes with brush controls” on page 277.

Workspace tour | 65

Panel Description

Advanced Brush Controls panel Generates a grouping of brush control panels that are relevant to

the currently selected brush. For more information, see “Working

with brushes using the property bars” on page 266.

Color panels



Color Lets you choose main and additional colors for painting in Corel

Painter documents. For more information, see “Choosing colors

from the Color panel” on page 198.

Mixer Lets you mix and blend colors as you would on an artist’s palette.

For more information, see “Exploring the Mixer panel and mixing

controls” on page 204.

Color Set Libraries 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 211.

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, Textures, and Weaves library

panels



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

Image Portfolio and Selection Portfolio Contain all images or selections in the current library. You can view

the items as thumbnails or in a list as well as preview the current
item. For more information, see “Storing layers as images in the

Image Portfolio” on page 478 and “Working with the Selection
Portfolio” on page 504.

Media control panels



Patterns, Gradients , Textures, and Weaves control panels Lets you apply and edit patterns, gradients, textures, and weaves

Flow Map panels



Flow Map panel Lets you apply and manipulate flow maps. For more information,

see “Applying and adjusting flow maps” on page 399.

66 | Corel Painter 2017 User Guide

Panel Description

Flow Map Libraries panel Lets you open, manage, and navigate flow map libraries. For more

information, see “Choosing flow maps and compatible brush

variants” on page 400.

Navigator, Clone Source, and Reference Image panels



Navigator panel Lets you navigate the document window. You can also view

document information, such as width and height; X and Y
coordinates and the cursor position; context-sensitive information
based on a selected tool; and unit information, such as pixels,
inches, and resolution. For more information, see “Exploring the

Navigator panel” on page 57.

Clone Source panel Lets you open and manage clone sources. For more information,

see “Cloning images” on page 157.

Reference Image panel Lets you display an inspirational image in the document window

while maintaining focus on the canvas. For more information, see

“Displaying reference images” on page 129.

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 443.

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 481.

Auto-Painting panels



Underpainting Lets you adjust tone, color, and detail in a photo in preparation

for auto-painting. This panel is used in the first step of the
photo-painting process. For more information, see “Creating

underpaintings” on page 151.

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 153.

Workspace tour | 67

Panel Description

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 155.

Composition panels

Divine Proportion Lets you customize the Divine Proportion guide — a tool that helps

Layout Grid Lets you customize the Layout Grid — a tool that helps you divide

Text and Scripts panels

Text Lets you perform all text-related tasks, such as choosing fonts,

Scripts Lets you access all commands and settings related to scripts. For



you plan a layout according to a classic composition method. For
more information, see “Using the Divine Proportion tool” on page

189.

your canvas so that you can plan your composition. For more
information, see “Using the Layout Grid” on page 179.



adjusting opacity, and applying drop shadows. For more
information, refer to “Adding text” on page 669.

example, you can open, close, play, and record scripts from the
Scripts panel. For more information, see “Using scripts to automate

tasks” on page 693.

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. You can also add commands from the
main menus or panel options to 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.

You can change how items on a custom palette are displayed. For example, you can display them as text, icons, or wide icons.

Custom palettes behave like the standard panels. For more information about working with panels, see “Rearranging panels and palettes”

on page 61.

To create a custom palette

1

Choose Window Custom Palette  Add Command.

2 Choose New from the Custom Palette list box.

3 With the Create Palette/Add Command dialog box open, do one of the following:

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

68 | Corel Painter 2017 User Guide

• 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.

• Choose an item from an open palette.

4 In the Create Palette/Add Command dialog box, click Add , and then click OK .

If the item that you want is represented on a panel with an icon, you can create a custom palette by holding down Shift and
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 add brush variants that are stored in different brush libraries to the same custom palette. When you choose a brush variant
from the custom palette, the brush library in which the brush variant is stored is automatically loaded in the Brush library panel.
This allows you to quickly switch between brush libraries.

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 Palette  [Custom Panel Name].

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

To add items to a custom panel

• Perform a task from the following table.



To Do the following

Add a button from a panel Hold down Shift and drag a button from one panel to the custom

panel.

Add a menu item

Add a tool

Choose Window Custom Palette  Add Command. Choose the
custom panel from the SelectCustom Palette list box, and with the
Create Palette/Add Command dialog box open, choose a menu
item, and click OK.

Choose Window Custom Palette  Add Command. Choose the
custom panel from the Select Custom Palette list box, and with
the Create Palette/Add Command dialog box open, choose a
menu item from the Tools menu.

To change the appearance of items on a custom palette

1 Do one of the following:

• (Mac OS) Holding down Control, click an item.

• (Windows) Right-click an item.

Workspace tour | 69

2 Perform a task from the following table.



To Do the following

Use a custom icon Choose Set Custom Icon, and locate the image you want.

Display a text label for each item Choose Text View.

Display an icon for each item Choose Icon View or Wide Icon View.

To change the size of the icons, click the Options button in the custom palette, and choose Small Icons or Large Icons .

Renaming and deleting 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. For more information, see

“Saving, exporting, and importing custom palettes” on page 70.

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 delete a custom palette

1

Choose Window Custom Palette  Organizer.

2 Choose a palette from the Custom Palette list.

3 Click Delete.

Saving, exporting, and importing custom palettes

You can save a custom palette as a Painter Custom Toolbox (BOX) file so that its custom content such as custom brushes, papers, patterns,
and flow maps are saved with the file. You can share the saved custom toolbox (palette) with others or store it for later use.

You can also export a custom palette to the Painter Palette File (PAL) format to make it compatible with earlier versions of Corel Painter.
However, any custom content included in the palette is not saved with the file.

To save a custom palette as a custom toolbox

1

Choose Window Custom Palette  Organizer.

2 Choose a palette from the Custom Palette list.

3 Click Save As BOX.

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

70 | Corel Painter 2017 User Guide

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.

Custom nozzles, scripts, gradients, looks, and weaves are not supported. Buttons for such custom content will not function when
the custom toolbox is imported.

Any non-custom items that are already in the application appear as duplicates.

To export a custom palette

1

Choose Window Custom Palette  Organizer.

2 Choose a palette from the Custom Palette list.

3 Click Export As PAL.

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 exported palettes in the same folder.

Custom content is not saved with the file.

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 Corel Painter version 8.1 or later are supported. Custom palettes created with version 7 or
earlier cannot be loaded.

Working with 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 245 and

“Importing and exporting brush libraries, categories, and variants” on page 272.

Workspace tour | 71

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

Creating, importing, exporting, and deleting 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. However, if you are importing a
workspace that was created in an older version of Corel Painter, only libraries and custom palettes are preserved in Corel Painter 2017.

You can also delete any obsolete workspaces.

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.

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.

72 | Corel Painter 2017 User Guide

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. For more information,
see “Restoring the default Corel Painter settings” on page 73.

To delete a workspace

1

Choose Window Workspace  Delete Workspace.

2 From the Workspace list box, choose the workspace that you want to delete.

3 Click Delete.

If you are trying to remove the active workspace, you may be prompted to choose a new active workspace.

Restoring the default Corel Painter settings

When restoring the Corel Painter workspace to its default factory settings, you can keep some customizations, or you can remove all
modifications that you made to the application.

The following customizations can be kept:

• All custom brushes

• All other libraries (papers, scripts, nozzles, etc.). This option lets you save all papers, flow maps, patterns, gradients, nozzles, looks,
weaves, images, selections, and scripts.

• Custom palettes. Note that palette location and icon settings will be lost.

The following customizations are lost after Corel Painter is restored to its default settings:

• Palette Layout(s)

• Color Sets

• All preferences (Preferences dialog box)

• Customized keyboard shortcuts

• Brush tracking and calibration settings

• Recent brushes

• Color Management presets

• Perspective Guides, Layout, and Divine Proportion presets

You can reset all workspaces — the current one and any workspaces you created or imported, or you can reset only the current workspace.

To restore Corel Painter to its default factory settings

1 Hold down Shift, and start Corel Painter.

2 Choose one of the following options:

• Keep some customizations — lets you keep custom brushes, other customized libraries as well as custom palettes

• Restore all settings to factory defaults — removes all customizations that you made to the application including custom brushes and

palettes

3 Click one of the following buttons:

• Reset All Workspaces — resets the current workspace and any other workspaces you created or imported

• Reset Current Workspace — resets only the current workspace

When you choose to restore all workspaces, all custom workspaces are deleted. Only the default workspace is preserved and
restored to the factory settings.

Workspace tour | 73

74 | Corel Painter 2017 User Guide

A short tour of 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.

A short tour of Corel Painter for users of Adobe Photoshop | 75

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.

76 | Corel Painter 2017 User Guide

Color panel

In Corel Painter, 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.

Textures

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.

A short tour of Corel Painter for users of Adobe Photoshop | 77

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.

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.

78 | Corel Painter 2017 User Guide

Creating, navigating, and manipulating documents

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” (page 79)

• “Understanding resolution” (page 81)

• “Opening and placing files” (page 82)

• “Creating and opening templates” (page 84)

• “Switching document views” (page 85)

• “Navigating images and viewing image information” (page 85)

• “Zooming images” (page 87)

• “Rotating images and the canvas” (page 88)

• “Flipping images” (page 90)

• “Repositioning images” (page 92)

• “Cropping images” (page 92)

• “Resizing images and the canvas” (page 93)

• “Saving and backing up files” (page 95)

• “Choosing a file format” (page 95)

• “Emailing documents” (page 97)

• “Closing documents and quitting the application” (page 97)

• “Using two monitors” (page 98)

• “Support for tablets and other devices” (page 98)

• “Multi-touch support” (page 99)

• “Wacom Intuos support” (page 100)

• “Drag-and-drop features” (page 101)

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

Creating, navigating, and manipulating documents | 79

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-per­inch (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 81 and “Resizing images and the

canvas” on page 93.

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

The maximum canvas size is 16 382 x 16 382 pixels. To prevent performance issues, start with a canvas that is smaller than 16 382
x 16 382 because layers expand when paint and effects are applied close to their edges.

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 a preset to automatically determine the size, resolution, color of the canvas, and the paper

texture.



You can also

Change the unit of measurement for the document Choose a unit of measurement from the list box located to the

Change the document size Type values in the Width and Height boxes.

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



right of the Width and Height boxes.

Type a value in the Resolution box.

Change the resolution type Choose a resolution type from the list box located to the right of

the Resolution box.

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You can also

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

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

In the New Image dialog box, setting the document’s pixels-per-inch is equivalent to setting its dots per inch (dpi). For more
information, see “Understanding resolution” on page 81.



dialog box.

Textures panel.

To create a custom canvas preset

1

Choose File New.

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

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-per­inch — 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 300-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%.

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.

Creating, navigating, and manipulating documents | 81

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.

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

For more information, see “Working with reference layers” on page 477.

Supported file formats

Corel Painter lets you open the following file formats:

• RIFF (RIF) — native Corel Painter format

• TIFF (TIF)

• PNG

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• 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)

Windows only

• Frame stacks (FRM) — Corel Painter animation files

• QuickTime (MOV), Video for Windows (AVI), and numbered files. For more information, see “Opening a Corel Painter movie” on page

680 or “Importing and exporting numbered files” on page 689.

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

To open a document

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.

The File menu also offers you a shortcut to previously opened documents. You can find your file in the recently opened files list by
choosing File Recent, and clicking the filename to open the file.

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 dialog box appears.

3 Perform a task from the following table.



To Do the following

Place the image in a specific location in the document window Click the area in the document window where you want to place

the image.

Creating, navigating, and manipulating documents | 83

To Do the following

Place the image in the center of the document window Click Ok.

Scale the image before placing In the Scaling area, type a value in both the Horizontal and

Vertical boxes.

Maintain the image proportions when scaling In the Scaling area, enable the Constrain Aspect Ratio check box.

Retain the image mask Enable the Retain Alpha check box. The image mask becomes a

layer mask.

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.

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 2017\Support Files\Templates

• (Windows) AppData\Roaming\Corel\Painter 2017\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  {template name}.

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

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Switching document views

You can switch between document views and viewing modes to suit your needs. The Default View displays all open documents. The
Single DocumentView displays only the active document, hiding the other open documents. Both views display all standard tools in the

workspace. For example, the menu bar, property bar, Brush selector bar, toolbox, and a few additional panels are readily accessible.

You can enable Presentation Mode, which hides your computer’s desktop and taskbar and centers the document window over a solid
background. All Corel Painter features work when you use Presentation Mode . On the Mac OS, Presentation Mode lets you display only
one document at a time (Single Document View). On Windows, Presentation Mode lets you display one document or multiple documents
(Default View).

You can switch document views and viewing modes by using the Window menu, the toolbox, and keyboard shortcuts.

Single Document View (left); Single Document View in Presentation Mode (right)

You can also change the default document view mode for the application. For more information, see “Interface preferences” on page 711.

To switch views

• Choose Window, and choose any of the following commands:

• Single Document View — to switch between Default and Single Document View

• Presentation Mode — to enable or disable Presentation Mode

You can switch views by clicking the Single Document View button and the Presentation Mode button in the toolbox.

You can also switch between Default View and Single Document View by pressing Command+M(MacOS) or
Ctrl+M(Windows).

On Windows, you can enable and disable Presentation Mode by pressing F11.

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

Creating, navigating, and manipulating documents | 85

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.

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. In addition, you can view
document information, such as width and height; and unit information, such as pixels, inches, and resolution.

You can customize the appearance of the Navigator panel by hiding the image information area or the controls.

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

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

level

Zoom to a specific magnification level in the document window Open the Zoom Canvas list box, and adjust the zoom level slider.

Rotate the image in the document window Open the Rotate Canvas list box, and adjust the rotation slider.

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.

To hide or show the information area or controls of the Navigator panel

•

In the Navigator panel, click the Navigator options button , and disable one of the following options:

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• Navigator Frame — In the Navigator canvas preview window, hides the frame that shows the area that is currently displayed in the

document window

• View Controls — Hides the Navigator controls, such as canvas preview so that you can view the entire image without having to zoom

out. You can also move to a different image area without adjusting the zoom level.

• Info — Hides the X and Y coordinates, cursor position, and document information, such as width and height, and unit information,

such as pixels, inches, and resolution

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.

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

• (Windows) 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.

Creating, navigating, and manipulating documents | 87

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.

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.

To set zooming performance preferences

1

Click the Magnifier tool in the toolbox.

2 Click one of the following buttons on the property bar:

• High Quality Display — smooths objects when zooming

• Area-averaging — increases screen drawing speed when zoomed out

You can also specify zooming preferences by clicking Edit Preferences Performance, and enabling options in the View Options
area.

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.

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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).

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 .

Creating, navigating, and manipulating documents | 89

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

Rotate the Canvas layer 90 degrees clockwise

Rotate the Canvas layer 90 degrees counterclockwise

Rotate the Canvas layer by a user-defined amount

Choose Canvas Rotate Canvas 180.

Choose Canvas Rotate Canvas 90 CW.

Choose Canvas Rotate Canvas 90 CCW.

Choose Canvas Rotate Canvas Arbitrary, and type a value in the
Angle box.

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).

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Original image.

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.

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

Creating, navigating, and manipulating documents | 91

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 reposition a document

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.

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 more information, see

“Resizing images and the canvas” on page 93.

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 the Commit Crop button on the property bar.

To cancel the crop, click the Cancel Crop button on the property bar.

You can also execute the crop by double-clicking inside the rectangle.

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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 Double-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.

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.

Creating, navigating, and manipulating documents | 93

Alternatively, when you resize only the canvas area, both the image dimensions and appearance change. For example, if you increase the size
of the canvas, a border appears around the image. If you decrease the size of the canvas, the edge of the canvas is trimmed. In addition, the
image resolution is affected.

The canvas area is resized in order to apply an empty border around the edge of an image.

It is also important to note that the size of the onscreen image is affected by the pixel height and width of the image, the zoom level, and
the monitor settings. As a result, an image may be displayed as a different size onscreen than when it is printed. For more information, see

“Understanding resolution” on page 81 and “Creating documents” on page 79.

To resize the canvas and image content together

1

Choose Canvas Resize.
To keep the file size of the image in megabytes (MB) the same, 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 a value only in one of the boxes; 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.

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 2017 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.

Creating, navigating, and manipulating documents | 95

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-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 “Creating image maps” on page 721.

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 client­side image map.

For more information, see “Creating image maps” on page 721.

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.

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 “Exporting animated GIFs” on page 690.

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

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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 more information, see “Selections and transformations” on page 493.

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.

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, see “Printing images” on page 701.

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.

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.

Creating, navigating, and manipulating documents | 97

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 Corel Painter

• Do one of the following:

•

(Mac OS) Choose Corel Painter 2017 menu Quit Corel Painter 2017.

•

(Windows) Choose File Exit.

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

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.

Support for tablets and other devices

Corel Painter supports Wacom-compatible tablets and devices as well as devices that support the Real-Time Stylus (RTS) feature of the
Windows operating system. Both groups have multi-touch capabilities.

Wacom-compatible devices are supported on both Mac OS and Windows. For more information, see “Wacom Intuos support” on page

100. RTS-compatible devices include tablet PCs and graphics tablets and are supported only on Windows.

By default, Corel Painter uses tablet options that are suitable for Wacom-compatible devices. To take full advantage of your RTS-compatible
graphics tablet or other device with Corel Painter, you must configure it first. Otherwise, you cannot use stylus information such as pressure
and tilt to adjust and control brushstrokes.

To configure your RTS-compatible device (Windows)

1

Choose Edit Preferences Tablet.

2 In the Tablet Options area, enable the RTS-compatible devices (Real-Time Stylus) option.

3 Restart Corel Painter.

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