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.

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

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

Corel, the Corel balloon logo, the Corel logo and balloon logo combination, Painter, Cinco, CorelDRAW, Natural-Media, PaintShop,
RealBristle, VideoStudio and WordPerfect are trademarks or registered trademarks of Corel Corporation and/or its subsidiaries in Canada,
the U.S., and/or other countries. Other product, font, and company names and logos may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their
respective companies. Patents: www.corel.com/patent

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

210086

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

2 | Corel Painter 2017 User Guide

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

4 | Corel Painter 2017 User Guide

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

8 | Corel Painter 2017 User Guide

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

10 | Corel Painter 2017 User Guide

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

12 | Corel Painter 2017 User Guide

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

16 | Corel Painter 2017 User Guide

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