Corel PAINTER 8 User Manual

The ultimate digital sketching and painting tool

™

USER MANUAL

Copyright 1991–2003 Corel Corporation. All rights reserved. Corel® Painter™ 8 User Guide The contents of this user guide and the associated Corel Painter software are the property of Corel Corporation and its respective l ice nso r s ,

and are protected by copyright. For more complete copyright information about Corel Painter, please refer to the About Corel Painter secti on in the Help menu of the software.

Corel, the Corel logo, Corel Painter, CorelDRAW, and Natural-M ed ia are trademarks or registered trademarks of Corel Corporation and/or its subsidiaries in Canada, the U.S. and/or other countries. Adobe, Illustrator, Photoshop, Premiere, and PostScript are trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries. Canon is a registered trademark of Canon Inc. Cinepak is a registered trademark of Radius, Inc. EPSON Stylus is a registered t rademark of Seiko Epson Corporation. Hewlett-Packard and DeskJet are registered trademarks of Hewlett Packard. Indeo is a registered trademark of Intel Corporation. JavaScript is a trademark of Sun Microsystems, Inc. Kodak is a registered trademark of Eastman Kodak Company. Mac OS, Quick Dra w, and Finder are registered trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc., registered in the United States and other countries. QuickTime is a trademark used under license. QuickTime is a registered trademark of Apple Computer , Inc. in the United States and other countries. M icrosoft and W indows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Minolta QMS is a trademark of Minolta Co., Ltd. Netscape Navigator is a registered trademark of Netscape Communications Corporation. PANTONE® and other Pantone, Inc. trademarks are the property of Panton e, Inc. PowerPC is a registered trademark of IBM Corporation. TARGA is a registered trademark of Pinnacle Systems, Inc., registered in the U.S. and other c ou nt r ie s . Tektronix is a registered trademark of Tek tr onix, Inc. Wacom, Intuos, and ToolID are trademarks or registered trademarks of Wacom Company, Ltd. Other product, font, and company names and logos may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.

Welcome to Corel Painter 8

What’s New in Corel Painter 8? . . . . . . . 1

Redesigned User Interface . . . . . . . . . . . 1

About Your User Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Corel Support Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

The Workspace

Using the Menus and Document

Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Workspace Tour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

Using the Toolbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

Using Selectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Using the Property Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Using the Brush Selector Bar . . . . . . . .15

The Brush Creator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Working with Palettes . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Exploring the Palettes . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Setting Palette Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Libraries and Movers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Modifying a Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Customizing Palettes . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27

Creating Custom Palettes . . . . . . . . . . 28

Basics

Opening Documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33

Working with Documents . . . . . . . . . .37

Saving Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Closing Documents and Quitting

the Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50

Setting Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 0

Using Plug-ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57

Wacom Intuos Support . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Using Textures, Patter ns, an d Weaves

Using Paper Texture . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61

Using Patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66

Using Weaves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72

Color

Working with Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77

Changing Paper Color . . . . . . . . . . . . .77

The Mixer Palette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .82

Using Color Sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .85

Color Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

Color Variability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .89

Color Expression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .91

Annotating Colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

Using Gradients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .93

Painting

Exploring Painting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .99

Understanding Brushes . . . . . . . . . . .100

Using a Stylus or Mouse . . . . . . . . . 102

Selecting a Brush . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

Brush Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

Where You Can Paint . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

Marking the Canvas . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

Painting with Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

Painting with Gradients and Patterns 112

Painting with Airbrushes . . . . . . . . . 114

Recording and Playing Back Strokes . 117

Filling Techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118

Using Water Color

The Water Color Layer . . . . . . . . . . . 125

Working with Water Color Variants . 126

Water Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126

Digital Water Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

Using Liquid Ink

The Liquid Ink Layer . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

Impasto

The Impasto Layer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135

Creating an Impasto Effect . . . . . . . . 136

Adjusting Impasto Depth . . . . . . . . . 136

Adjusting Surface Lighting . . . . . . . . 137

Creating Custom Impasto Brushes . . 138 Blending Impasto with Other Layers . 141

The Brush Creator

Customizing Brushes . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

Using the Brush Creator . . . . . . . . . . 143

The Main Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144

Using the Randomizer . . . . . . . . . . . 146

Using the Transposer . . . . . . . . . . . . 147

Using the Stroke Designer . . . . . . . . 147

Setting Size Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

Setting Spacing Controls . . . . . . . . . 158

Setting Angle Controls . . . . . . . . . . . 160

Setting Bristle Controls . . . . . . . . . . . 162

Expression Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164

Setting Well Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . 165

Setting Rake Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . 167

Setting Random Controls . . . . . . . . . 169

Setting Mouse Controls . . . . . . . . . . 172

Setting Cloning Controls . . . . . . . . . 172

Setting Impasto Controls . . . . . . . . . 173

Setting Image Hose Controls . . . . . . 1 7 5

Setting Airbrush Controls . . . . . . . . . 175

Setting Water Controls . . . . . . . . . . 176

Setting Liquid Ink Controls . . . . . . . . 179

Setting Digital Water Color Controls . 182

Managing Brushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183

Cloning and Tracing

Cloning Imagery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 7

Cloning a Document . . . . . . . . . . . . 188

Using Tracing Paper . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188

Changing Clone Source . . . . . . . . . . 190

Painting in the Clone . . . . . . . . . . . . 190

Using Auto Clone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191

Using Auto Van Gogh . . . . . . . . . . . 192

Point-to-Point Cloning . . . . . . . . . . . 192

Multi-Point Cloning . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193

Turning Other Brushes into Cloners . 197

Using a Selection while Cloning . . . . 199

Repeating Source Imagery . . . . . . . . 201

Filling with Transformed Cloning . . . 201

Using Selections

Working with Selections . . . . . . . . . 203

Creating Selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206

Converting Selections to and from

Shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210

Saving Selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210

Loading Selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211

Combining Selections Using

Boolean Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212

Transforming Selections . . . . . . . . . . 214

Editing Path-Based Selections . . . . . . 214

Using the Selection Portfolio . . . . . . 217

Using Alpha Channels

Understanding Alpha Channels . . . . 219

Creating Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220

Managing Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222

Editing Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225

Using Layers and Layer Masks

Layer Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230

Working with Layers . . . . . . . . . . . . 231

Creating Layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 2

Saving Files Containing Layers . . . . . 234

Deleting Layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235

Managing Layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235

Editing Layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240

Table of contentsii

Changing Layer Characteristics . . . . . 248

Using the Image Portfolio . . . . . . . . . 254

Working with Layer Masks . . . . . . . . 255

Using Image Effects

Basics of Applying Effects . . . . . . . . . 259

Third-party Plug-ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261

Orientation Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262

Correct Colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264

Other Tonal Control Effects . . . . . . . 268

Apply Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274

Apply Surface Texture . . . . . . . . . . . . 277

Other Surface Control Effects . . . . . . 286

Focus Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294

Esoterica Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299

Objects Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312

Using Dynamic Plug-ins

Dynamic Plug-in Basics . . . . . . . . . . . 313

Brightness/Contrast . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315

Burn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316

Tear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317

Bevel World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317

Equalize . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319

Glass Distortion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320

Kaleidoscope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321

Liquid Lens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322

Liquid Metal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326

Posterize . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331

The Image Hose

How it Works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334

Using the Image Hose . . . . . . . . . . . 334

Controlling the Image Hose . . . . . . . 336

Indexing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337

Creating Nozzles for the Image Hose 340

Nozzle Libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347

Creating a Nozzle from a Movie . . . . 347

Mosaics

Getting Started with Mosaics . . . . . . 351

Tile Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 354

Working with Mosaics . . . . . . . . . . . 356

Mosaic Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357

Working with Tessellati on Mosaics . . 360

Using Shapes

About Shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365

Creating Shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 368

Setting Shape Attributes . . . . . . . . . . 372

Editing Shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373

Working with Shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . 378

Working with Text

The Text Layer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 385

Applying Effects to Text . . . . . . . . . . 386

Exporting Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 390

The Web

Features for the Web . . . . . . . . . . . . 393

Creating Web Page Backgrounds . . . 393

Creating Web Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . 396

Using the Image Slicer . . . . . . . . . . . 397

Creating Rollovers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 403

Image Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 406

Creating GIF Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 409

Using Web-Safe Colors . . . . . . . . . . . 411

Brushes for the Web . . . . . . . . . . . . . 412

Scripting

Understanding Scripting . . . . . . . . . . 415

How Scripts Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 416

The Scripts Palette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 416

Recording Scripts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 417

Playing Scripts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 418

Editing Scripts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 419

Scripts and Movies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 420

Animation and Video

Creating Animations and Video . . . . 423

The Frame Stacks Palette . . . . . . . . . 424

Creating a Movie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 425

Modifying a Movie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 429

Animation Considerations . . . . . . . . . 430

Combining Movies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 431

Rotoscoping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 432

Saving and Exporting Movies . . . . . . 438

Animations for the World Wide Web 442

Printing

Understanding Printing . . . . . . . . . . . 445

Setting Up Printing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 446

Printing an Image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 447

Color Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . 447

The Color Management Dialog Box . . 4 4 8 Options for Files Saved asEncapsulated

iii Corel Painter

PostScript (EPS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 454

Keyboard Shortcuts

Toolbox Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . 456

Palette Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . 457

File Menu Commands . . . . . . . . . . . 457

Edit Menu Commands . . . . . . . . . . . 457

Canvas Menu Commands . . . . . . . . 458

Effects Menu Commands . . . . . . . . . 458

Select Menu Commands . . . . . . . . . 458

Shapes Menu Commands . . . . . . . . 458

Window Menu Commands . . . . . . . 459

Screen Navigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 459

Palette Navigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 459

Brush Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 459

Selection Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 460

Adjuster Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 461

Shape Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 462

Animation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463

Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463

Layer Section Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463

Mosaics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 464

Table of contentsiv

W elcome to Corel Painter 8

Corel® Painter™ 8 is the leading Natural-Media® painting application. Corel Painter lets you simulate a wide range of art tools, from felt pens, charcoal, and colored pencils to water color and oils.

What’s New in Corel Painter 8?

Corel Painter lets you experiment with the widest range of Natural-Media tools. You can expand your digital drawing and painting techniques with a portfolio of new features.

Corel Painter features a redesigned user interface, including a new toolb ox, Brush se l e ct or ba r, prop e rt y bar, Info palette, and new palette design and behavior.

Corel Painter also includes a Mixer pal e tt e that r e al i stic ally mi m i c s th e traditional paint mixing experience.

Digital water color, a new Sketch effect, and more than 400 new brushes all expand your creative potential.

You can create custom brush variants using the new Brush Creator, which includes the Randomizer, Transposer, and Stroke Designer. Corel Painter also includes redesigned layer masks and channels that provide a smoother workflow and greater compatibility with Ad obe® Photoshop® .

Redesigned User Interface

Corel Painter features a redesigned user interface, which is based on the following new elements.

Toolbox

The toolbox has been redesigned vertically and, by default, is docked to the top-left corner of the document window. The toolbox lets you access the tools in Corel Painter, as well as

the primary and secondary colors, and provides easy access to the Paper, Pattern, Gra d i en t , N ozz l e, Weave , and Brush Look libraries.

The toolbox can be undocked and moved anywhere inside the application window, or it can be turned off.

Property Bar

The property bar replaces the Controls palette. The property bar is context-sensitive depending on which tool is selected, providing commonly used controls for each tool.

The property bar is docked below the menu bar by default, but it can be undocked and moved to any location in the document window, or tu rned off.

Brush Selector

The Brush Selector lets you choose a brush category, using the Brush Category picker, and a brush variant, using the Brush Variant picker. The name of the selected brush category

and variant is displayed on the right side of the Brush Selec tor. You have the option to view the categories and variants by a thumbnail or list view.

The Brush Selector is docked, by default, to the top-right corner of the document window, beside the property bar. It can be undocked and moved to any location in the document window, or it can be turned off.

Palettes

The palettes have been redesigned for this version of Corel Painter, and they include the following new features:

• Group/Ungroup — You can g rou p and ungroup palettes by dragging them together or apart to create any combination of palettes.

• Resizeable — You can increase or decrease the size of list palettes, such as the Layers, Channels, and Scripts palettes.

Info Palette

The new Info palette provides access to the following information:

•Image size preview

• Document information, such as width and height

• X and Y coordinates and the cursor posi tion

• Context-sensitive information based on the selected tool. For example, if the Eyedropper tool is selected, the HSV and RGB information is displayed.

• Unit information, such as pixels, inches, and resolution

Mixer Palette

The new Mixer palette lets you mix colors interactively. The Mixer palette contains a Brush tool and a Palette Knife tool for applying and mixing colors, mimicking the traditional experience of mixing two or more colors on a palette.

Welcome to Corel Painter 82

The Mixer palette also includes an Eyedropper tool for sampling specially mixed colors from imagery, as well as Zoom and Pan tools for easy navigation in the palette. You can choose to save your Mixer palette settings for future use, and you can create a custom color set from the colors in the Mixer palette.

Digital Water Co lor

Digital Water Color is a simple, transparent medium that is ideal for hand painting line drawings, touching up photographs, or creating simple water color washes.

Sketch Effect

The new Sketch effect in Corel Painter lets you convert images or photographs to simple pencil drawings, while providing controls for the amount of paper grain being applied, the heaviness of the pencil line, and the desired level of detail.

New Brush Variants

Corel Painter includes over 400 new Brush variants. New brushes are included in the following categories:

•Acrylics

•Airbrushes

•Artists

•Blenders

• Calligraphy Pens

•Chalks

•Charcoals

•Colored Pencils

•Conte

•Crayons

• Digital Water Color

• Distortion

• Erasers

•Felt Pens

•F-X

•Gouache

•Image Hose

•Liquid Ink

•Oil Pastels

•Oils

• Palette Knives

•Pastels

•Pattern Pens

•Pencils

•Pens

•Photo

•Sponges

•Sumi-e

•Tinting

•Water Colors

Brush Creator

Corel Painter features a Brush Creator, which is designed to make the brush variant creation proces s e asy and fun. The Brush Creator includes three key features:

• Randomizer — The Randomizer lets you choose an existing brush variant and randomize its properties to create a new variant. You can set the amount of randomization to determine how much of the origi nal brush’s

Core l Pain t e r 3

properties remain—a low amount will r e sult i n va rian t s that are very similar to the original, while a high amount will result in variants that are radically different. To help you visualize how the new brush variants will look, the Randomizer provides a brush stroke preview of each new variant.

• Tra nspose r — The Transposer lets you change the properties of one brush variant using the properties of another. For example, you can choose the 2B Pencil and create brush variants that are mutated toward another variant, such as Charcoal. To help you visualize how the new brush variants will look, t he Transposer provides a brush stroke preview of each new variant.

• Stroke Designer — The Stroke Desi g n e r lets you mo dify the properties of brush variants using advanced controls. The Stroke Designer has 16 different sets of controls: General, Size, Spacing, Angle, Bristle, Well, Rake,

Random, Mous e, Cloning, Impasto, Image Hose, Airbrush, Water, Digital Water, and Liquid Ink. To make the brush creation process more visual and interactive, the Stroke Designer includes a live preview that updates each time you make changes to the brush variant.

Industry-Standard Masks, Layer Masks, and Cha nnels

Layer Masks: The redesigned layer masks let you hide and reveal areas of lay ers wi thou t maki ng pe rman e n t changes to an image.

Channels: The Channels palette lets you use alpha channels to create and store masks to modify, separate, and preserve specific areas of an image.

And So Much More...

• Thumbnail previews for Layers, Layer Masks, and Channels

•Brush cursor preview that lets you see the size of th e br ush you’re painting with

• Enhanced keyboard shortcuts to make it easier to transition between Corel Painter and other applications

• Enhanced file compatibility with Adobe Photoshop

• New paper textures, patterns, Image Hose nozzles, brush looks, gradients, and more!

• Extra content CD, including 100 pictures from http://www.brandxpictures.com, hundreds of brushes, paper textures, and more!

About Your User Guide

You can find answers to most of your questions in the Corel Guide. It provides information you need to get the most out of Corel Painter.

The Corel Painter User Guide is for both the Mac OS® and Windows® platforms. As a convention, Mac OS commands precede Windows commands in the text.

Painter™User

Welcome to Corel Painter 84

When a modifier key differs between the Mac OS and Windows, the Mac OS modifier is listed first, followed by the Windows modifier. For example, Command + I (Ma c O S) or Ctrl + I (Windows) means that Mac OS users would press Command + I and Windows users would press Ctrl + I.

Choosing a menu item from a menu follows the convention “Choose menu name > menu it em.” For simplicity, the term “folder” refers to directories as well as folders. The Corel Painter interface for Mac OS and Windows platforms is identical, unless otherwise specified.

Registering Products

Registering products is important. Registration provides you with timely access to the latest product updates, valuable information ab out product releases, and access to free downloads, articles, tips and tricks, and special offers.

• by mail—send the product registration card to the Corel Customer Service Center nearest you

• during installation—follow the instructions provided by the product setup

Corel Support Services

Corel Support Services can provide you with prompt and accurate information about product features, specifications, pricing, availability, services, and technical support. For the most current information on support services available for your Corel product, please visit www.corel.com/support .

You can register a Corel product

• online—follow the instructions provided on the Corel Web site

Core l Pain t e r 5

The Workspace

The Corel Painter workspace has been designed to give you easy access to tools, effects, commands, and features.

The workspace is organized across a series of menus, selectors, and interactive palettes. Some features are also available in the frame of the document window.

Using the Menus and Document Window

Using the commands on the Corel Painter menu bar, you can:

• work with files and editing commands

• adjust and apply effects

• perform selection operations, work with shapes, and create ani mati ons

• control the document window or the Corel Pa inter workspace

The document window lets you access the following features with the click of a button:

• tracing paper

•grid

• color correction

•impasto effect

•drawing mode

• navigation

Workspace Tour

Menu bar

Property bar

Toolbox

Color Selection box

Content selectors

Canvas

Document window

Drawing mode icon

Brush selector

Colors palette

Layers palette

Navigation icon

The Workspace8

Zoom slider

Using the Toolbox

In the toolbox, there are tools to make marks, draw shapes, fill shapes with col o r, view and navigate, and make selections. The re are also six selectors that let you choose papers, gradients, patterns, weaves, looks, and nozzles.

The toolbox.

Some tool s of similar function share a space in the toolbox. The button for only one of these tools is displayed at a time. Any tool that has a triangle in the bottom-right corner has one or more tools underneath it in a flyout menu.

The toolbox is open by default; however, it can be closed. You can move the toolbox around the document window, and you can dock the toolbox to the document window or to other palettes.

The current tool can be modified by option s on the pro p e r ty b ar, which change as you change tools. For more information, see “Using the Property Bar” on page 14.

To access tools grouped in flyout menus:

1 In the toolbox, hold down the tool

icon whose flyout menu you want to open.

2 Choose th e tool you want to use.

Some tools sh are a space in the toolbox . Hold down the tool button that’s displayed to open the flyout menu.

To close the toolbox

• Do one of the following:

• Click the Close button in the top corner of the toolbox.

•Choose Window menu > Hide Toolbox.

To open the toolbox, choose Window menu > Show Toolbox.

To move the toolbox

1 Place the cursor over the title bar of

the toolbox.

Core l Pain t e r 9

2 Drag the toolbox to a new location

in the document window.

The Grabber Tool

The Crop Tool

To dock the toolbox

1 Place the cursor over the title bar of

the toolbox.

2 Drag the toolbox to the edge of the

document wind ow or a palette.

3 When the toolbox lines up with

the edge of the document window or palette, release the mouse button.

The toolbox will snap into place.

Navigat io n a nd Utili ty To ol s

The Magnifier Tool

You can use the Magnifier tool to magnify areas of an image when you are performing detailed work, or to reduce areas to get an overall view of an image. For more information, see “Zooming” on page37.

The Grabber tool gives you a quick way to scroll an image. For more information, see “Repositioning Documents” on page 39.

The Rotate Page Tool

The Rotate Page tool lets y ou rotate an image window to accommodate the way you draw naturally. Refer to “Rotating Documents” on page39 for more information.

The Perspective Grid Adjuster Tool

The Perspective Grid Adjuster tool lets you select and move the location of the perspective grid lines, the vanishing point, the horizon line, the ground line, and the picture plane. See “Using the Perspective Grid” on page 45 for more information.

The Crop tool l e ts you remove unwanted edges from the image. For more information, see “Cropping Images” on page40.

Tools that Apply Color

The Brush Tool

You use the Brush tool to make marks on the Canv a s or a layer. The Brush tool represents a category of marking tools. Within the Brush category are pencils, pens, chalk, an airbrush, oil paints, water colors and more.

When the Brush tool is selected, you can choose specific brushes from the Brush selector bar. For more information about selecting brushes and tools, refer to “Selecting a Brush” on page103.

The Workspace10

You can set opacity, grain, and drawing style (freehand stroke s or straight line strokes) on the property bar.

The Paint Bucket Tool

color . When you select a color with the Dropper tool, that color becomes the current color on the Colors palette. F or more information, see “Sampling Colors from Imagery” on page80.

The Selection Tools

The Lasso tool lets you draw a freehand selection. Refer to “Using Selectio n Tools” on page 206 for more information.

The Magic Wand Tool

The Paint Bucket tool lets you fill an area. The property bar shows choices for what area to fill and what to fill it with. The Color Tolerance and Color Feat her values let you c o n t r ol th e extent of fill and opacity in neighboring areas. You can also choose to anti-alias a fill.

Double-click the Paint Bucket tool to specify what color in the image to lock out of your fill. For more information on the Paint Bucket tool, refer to “Filling Techniques” on page 118.

The Dropper Tool

The Dropper tool lets you pick up a color from an existing image. The property bar shows you values for the

The Rectangular Selection Tool

You use the Rectangular Selection tool to create rectangular selections. Refer to “Using Selection Tools” on page206 for more information.

The Oval Selection Tool

You use the Oval Selection tool to create oval selections. Refer to “Using Selection Tools” on page206 for more information.

The Lasso Tool

The Magic Wand tool lets you click or drag in the image to select an area of similar color. Refer to “Using the Magic Wand” on page 207 for more information.

The Ad juster Tools

The Layer Adjuster Tool

The Layer Adjuster tool is used to select, move and manipulate layers. Refer to “Using Layers and Layer Masks” on page229 for more information.

The Selection Adjuster Tool

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The Selection Adjuster tool lets you select , m ove, and m a n i p ul a t e selections created with the Rectangular , Oval, and Lasso selection tools and those converted from Shapes.

The Shape Tools

Corel Painter creates all shapes by using Bézier curves. Every shape you create automatically becomes a separate layer in the document. Shapes are listed on the Layers palette.

The Shape Selection Tool

The Shape Selection tool is for editing Bézier curves (shape paths). You use the Shape Selection tool to select and move anchor points and to a djust their control handles. Refer to “Working with Shapes” on page378 for more information.

Th e Text To o l

The Text tool creates text shapes. Use the Text palette to set the font, point size, and tracking. For more information, see “Wor king with Text” on page385.

The Shape Design Tools

You use the Pen tool and the Quick Curve tool to draw shapes.

The Pen Tool

The Pen tool lets you create straight lines and curves in shape objects. For more information, see “Using Shapes” on page365.

The Quick Curve Tool

The Quick Curve tool lets you create shape paths by drawing freehand cur v es. For more information, see “Using Shapes” on page365.

The Shape Objects Tools

The Shapes Objects tools create rectangular or oval shapes. When you create a shape, the details are displayed on the property bar.

For more information, see “Creating Shapes” on page368.

The Rectangular Shape Tool

You use the Rectangular Shape tool to create rectangular shape objects.

The Oval Shape Tool

Yo u use the Oval Shape tool to create oval shape objects.

The Shape Edit Tools

The Shape Edit tools allow you to manipulate existing shapes. For more information, see “Editing Shapes” on page 373.

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The Scissors Tool

You use the Scissors tool to cut an open or closed segment. If the segment is closed, once you click on a line or point to cut the shape path, the shape path becomes o pen.

The Add Point Tool

You use the Add Point tool to create a new anchor point on a shape path.

The Remove Point Tool

You use the Remove Point tool to remove an anchor point from a shape path.

The Convert Point Tool

The Convert Point tool is used to convert between smooth and corner anchor points.

The Co lor Selection Box

The Color Selection box lets you choose primar y and secondary colors. The front rectangle displays the primary color, and the back rectangle displays the se condary color . For more information, refer to “Understanding Prima ry and Se c ondary Colors” on page79.

The Color Sele ction box.

To change the primary or secondary color:

1 Doubl e-click th e pri m a ry or

secondary color rectangle.

2 Choose a col or from the Color

dialog box.

Using Selectors

The selectors in the toolbox give you quick access to the libraries for the following Corel Painter elements: papers, gradients, patterns, weaves, looks, and nozzles.

You can display items in selectors as thumbnails or in a list. You can also access commands from each selector men u. If the com m and you w a n t is not available, you can display the entire palette that corresponds to the selector.

To open a selector:

1 Click the flyout menu arrow on

the bottom-right corner of the selec t or you want to open .

2 Choo s e an ite m fr om t he lis t .

To display items as thumbnails or in a list:

1 Click the flyout menu arrow on

the bottom-right corner of the selec t or you want to open .

2 Cli ck the selector menu arrow, and

choose List or Thumbnails.

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To access selector menu commands:

1 Click the flyout menu arrow on

the bottom-right corner of the selector you want to open.

2 Click the selector menu arrow , and

choose a command.

To display a selector’s palette

1 Click the flyout menu arrow on

the bottom-right corner of the selector you want to open.

2 Click the selector menu arrow , and

choose Launch Palette.

Note

This command is not available from

•

the Look and Nozzle selector s.

Using the Property Bar

The property bar in Corel Painter is context-sensitive — it changes according to the tool you are using.

You can access settings and o ptions fo r each tool, and you can change them according to your preferences using the boxes or pop-up sliders. Tool settings are retained when you switch

from one tool to another. You can also use the property bar to restore the default settings of the selected tool.

The property bar is docked horizontally to the menu bar by default. You can move the property bar anywhere i n the document wind ow, dock it under the menu bar again, or close it.

The property bar for the Rectangular Selection tool.

To access tool settings on the property bar:

• Choose a tool from the toolbox. Tool settings are display ed on the

property bar.

To change tool settings on the property bar:

1 Choose a tool from the toolbox. 2 Do any of the following:

• Type a value in the box next to

the control, or click the arrow next to the control and adjust the pop-up slider.

• Enable or disable the check box next to the option you want to use.

Note

Not all of these options are available

•

for every tool. The settings change depending on t he tool selected.

To reset the default tool settings:

• Click the Reset Tool button on the property bar.

Note

The Reset Tool button on the property

•

bar has the same icon as the selected tool in the toolbox.

To move the property bar:

• Point to the bar on the right side of the property bar, and drag it to its new location.

To dock the property bar:

• Point to the title bar of the property bar, and drag it under the menu bar.

The property bar snaps into place.

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To close the property bar:

• Do one of the follo wing:

•Choose Window menu > Hide Property Bar.

• If the property bar is undocked, click the close button on the title bar.

Tip

To show the property bar, choose

•

Window menu > Show Property Bar.

Using the Brush Selector Bar

The Brush selector bar lets you choose from a variety of brush categories and variants. Brush categories are groups of similar brushes and media. Brush variants ar e specific brushes and brush settings within a brush category.

The name of the selected brush category appears at the top of the Brush selector bar. The name of the selected brush variant appears under the brush category name.

The Brush selec tor bar.

To display the Brush selector bar:

• Choose Window menu > Show Brus h S ele c tor Bar.

To choose a brush from the Brush sele c t or bar:

1 On the Brush selector bar , click the

Brush Category arrow and choose a brush ca t egory.

2 Click the Brush Variant arrow, and

choose a variant.

Previewing Brushes

The Brush Category selector shows you a preview of the currently selected bru sh ca tego ry and le ts you ch o ose a new brush category. The Brush Variant selector does the same for bru s h v a r i a n t s .

You can prev iew brush cat egories and variants as thumbnails or in list format. Brush variants can also be previewed as brush strokes. The

Stroke view shows you both th e dab type and brush stroke of the selected brush variant.

To display brush categories and variants as thumbnails or lists:

1 On the Brush selector bar, clic k the

Brush Category or Brush Variant arrow.

2 Cli ck the selector menu arrow, and

choose List or Thumbnails. If you’re displaying brush variants,

you can also choose the Stroke view.

Note

The Stroke view is available only on

•

the Brush Variant selector menu.

Items in the Brush selec tor bar can be di splaye d as thumbnails.

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The Stroke view is available for brush variants.

Brush Selector Bar Menu Commands

The Brush selector bar menu commands are used for creating and loading brushes, working with brush variants, and manipulating brush strokes. For more information, see “M anaging Brushes” on p ag e 18 3 .

Moving and Docking the Brush Selector Bar

The Brush selector bar is displayed at the top-right of the property bar by default. It can be moved to a new location in the document window, or it can be docked to the edge of the document window or other palettes.

To move the Brush selector bar

• Point to the title bar of the Brush selector bar, and drag it to its new location.

To dock the Brush selector bar

1 Point to the title bar of the Brush

selector bar, and drag it to the edge of the document window or a palette.

2 When the Brush selector bar is

lined up with the edge of the document window or palette, release the mouse button.

The Brush selector bar snaps into place.

Closing the Brush Selector Bar

You can close the Brush selector bar to hid e it from view.

To close the Brush selector bar

• Do one of the following:

•Choose Window menu >

Hide Brush Selector Bar.

• If the Brush selector bar is undocked, click the close button on the title bar.

The Brush Creator

The Brush Creator is designed to make the brush variant creation process easy and fun. You can use the Randomizer to create random brush variants, the Transposer to blend two brush variants, a nd the Stroke Designer to adjust the sett i ngs of brush variants. For more information, see “The Brush Creator” on page 143.

To open the Brush Creator

• Do one of the following:

•Choose Window menu > Brush Creator.

•Press Command + B (Ma c OS) or Ctrl + B (Windows).

Working with Palettes

The interactive palettes in Corel Painter let you access the commands, controls, and settings available when creating documents.

The Workspace16

Showing and Hiding Palettes

You can show or hide a palette by choosing its name from the Window menu, from a selector, or by using the key combination shown on the Window menu.

To show or hide a palette:

• Do one of the follo wing:

•Choose Window menu, and choose the palette you want to show or hi d e .

• Choose a selector from the too lb ox, cl ic k the se le ct or me nu arrow, and choose Launch Palette.

• Use the ke yb oar d s h ortcut for the palette you want to show or hide:

Press Command (Mac OS) or Ctrl (Windows) + 1 = Colors 2 = Mixer 3 = Color Sets 4 = Layers 5 = Channels 6 = Text 7 = Info

8 = Gra di e nts 9 = Patter ns

Tip

You can also hide a palette by clicking

•

the close box on t he palette title bar.

To show or hide all palettes:

• Choose Window menu > Show/ Hide Palettes.

Exploring the Palettes

As you work with Corel P a inter, y ou’l l use the following groups of palettes.

The Color Palettes

•The Colors palette lets you choose primary and secondary colors for painting in Corel Painter doc uments. You can also use the Clone Col or option on the Colors palette. For more information, see “Working with Color” on page 77.

•The Mixer palette lets you mix and blend colors as you would on an artist’s palette. It contains its own set of tools. For more information,

see “The Mixer Palette” on page 82.

•The Color Sets palette displays the colors in the current color set. You use color sets to organize groups of colors. Some color sets are organized by both name and color relationship. For more information, refer to “Using Color Sets” on page 85.

•The Color Info palette contains color information for the selected color, in HSV or RGB values. You can also use the Clone Color option with this palette. F or more information, see “Color Information” on page89.

•The Color Variability palette contains sliders to adjust color variability values. For more information, see “Color Variability” on page 89.

•The Color Expression palette lets you determine how colors are expressed in Corel Painter documents. For more information, refer to “Color Expression” on page 91.

Core l Pain t e r 17

The Papers, Gradients, Patterns, and Weav es Palettes

•The Papers palette lets you choose and edit paper textures for your document. You can preview paper textures as thumbnails or in a list, and see a thumbnail preview of the selected paper. For more information, see “Using Paper Texture” on page61 and “Choosing Paper Textures” on page63.

•The Gradients palette lets you choose and edit gradients th at c an be applied to Corel Painter doc uments. You can preview gradients as thumbnails or in a list, and see a thumbnail preview of the selected gradient. For more information, see “Using Gradients” on page 93.

•The Patterns palette lets you choose and edit patterns. You can preview patterns as thumbnails or in a list, and see a thumbnail preview of the selected p attern. For

more information, ref er to “Using Patter ns ” on page66.

•The Weaves palette lets you choose and edit weaves. You can preview weaves as thumbnails or in a list, and see a thumbnail preview of the selected weave. For more information, see “Using Weaves” on page72.

The Layers and Channels Palettes

•The Layers palette contains thumbnail previews of all the layers in a Corel Painter document. You can use the buttons on the Layers palette to arrange layers, use plug-ins, add new layers (including Water Color and Liquid Ink layers), create lay e r masks, and delete layers. You can also set the composite method and depth, adjust the opacity, and lock and unlock layers. For more information, see “Using Layers and Layer Masks” on page229.

•The Channels palette contains thumbnail previews of all the

channels in a Corel Painter document, including RGB composite channels, layer masks, and Alpha channels. The buttons on the palette can be used to load, save, and invert existing channels, and to create new channels. F or more information, see “Using Alpha Channels” on page219.

The Text and Scripts Palettes

•The Text palette lets you perform all tasks relating to text in a Corel Painter document, such as choosing fonts, adjusting opacity, and applying drop shadows. For more information, refer to “Wo rk in g wit h Text” on page 385.

•The Scripts palette gives you access to all commands and settings relating to scripts. For example, you can open, close, play, and re cord scripts from t he Scripts palette. For more information, see “Scripting” on page 415.

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The Image Portfolio and Selection Portfolio Palettes

•The Image Portfolio contains all of the images in the current image library. You can view the images as thumbnails or in a list, as well as a thumbnail preview of the current image. For more information, see “Using the Image Portfolio” on page 254.

•The Selection Portfolio contains all of the selectio ns in the current selection library. You can view the images as thumbnails or in a list, as we ll as a thu m bnai l preview of the current selection. For more information, see “Using the Selection Portfolio” on page 217.

The Info Palette

The new Info palette provides you with an image preview; document information, such as width and height; X and Y coordinates and the cursor position; context-sensitive information based on the selected tool; and unit information, such as pixels , in c he s , and r es ol u t io n .

You can choose to view a canvas preview , which shows you the contents of the canvas, or a page layout preview, which shows you the entire document. You can also choose how RGB values will display on the Info palette — as actual values, a percentage of the values, or as hexadecimal values.

The Info palette.

To choose an image preview style on the In f o p al e tt e :

• On the Info palette, click the palette menu arrow, and choose Canvas Preview or Page Layout Preview.

To choose how RGB values will display on the Info palette:

1 On the Info palette, click the

palette menu arrow, and choose Display RGB Values As.

2 Choose an option from the list.

The Tracker Palette

The Tracker palette temporarily st ores brush categories, variants, and dab types when you apply brush str okes to the canvas. Each time you use a new brush, the variant is saved in the Tracker palette. You can return to a brush varia nt you like by choosing it from the Tracker palette.

You can view the brush variants stored in the Tracker palette as thumbnail images, in a list, or as strokes. The Tracker palette can be resized to display more or fewer brush variants; however, it will only store up to 25 var i ants at a t i me.

You can clear selected brush variants, clear all brush variants, and save brush variants using the Tracker

Core l Pain t e r 19

palette. Brush variants are stored ev en after the document you were working on has been closed.

The Tracker pal ette.

To choose a brush variant from the Tracker palette:

• Click the brush variant you want to use.

To view brush variants in the Tr acker palette :

• On the Tracker palette, click the palette menu arrow, and choose List, T hu m b na i l s , or S troke.

To resize the Tracker palette:

• Point to the resize handle in the bottom-right corner of the palette, and drag to make the palette lar ger or smaller.

The number of variant s displayed varies according to the size of the palette.

To clear a selected brush variant from the Tracker palette:

1 On the Tracker palette, click the

brush variant you want to remove.

2 Click the palette menu arrow, and

choose Clear Selected.

To clear all brush variants from the Tracker palette:

• On the Tracker palette, click the palette menu arrow, and choose Clear All.

To save a brush variant on the Tracker palette:

1 On the Tracker palette, click the

brush variant you want to save.

2 Click the palette menu arrow, and

choose Save Variant.

3 In the Save Variant dialog box, type

a name in the Save As box. Enable the Save Current Colors

check box to retain current color settings.

Navigating Palettes

When a palette is display ed, it must be expanded for you to access its settings. You can collapse palettes to save screen real estate, while keeping them displayed in the applicati on.

If you have many palettes displayed and expanded, the view of other palettes can be obscured. You can scroll through palettes to locate the elements you want to work with.

To expand or collapse a palette:

• Click the palette arrow in the top corner of the palette.

When the triangle points down, the palette is expanded. When it points to the right, the palette is collapsed.

To scroll through a palette:

• Do one of the following:

The Workspace20

• Use the scrollbar on the right side of the palette to scroll through the palette.

• Press Option + click (Mac OS) or Alt + click (Windows), and drag vertically inside the palette. The cursor changes to a hand and the palette scrolls as you drag.

give you easy access to the tools and controls you use most often, and to maximize screen real estate.

You can also group and reposition palettes according to your preferences, and you can dock them to the edges of the document window or other palettes.

Using Palette Men us

Most palettes in Corel Painter contain menus from which you can access a series of palette-specific commands. F or example, you can use the palette menu on the Pa pers pa lette to capture , make, and invert paper textures, and to open the Paper Mover and library.

To access the commands on a palette menu:

• Click the palette menu arrow.

Setting Palette Layout

You can set up the palette layout in Core l Painter to best su i t your working style. Palettes can be arranged in the document window to

Arranging Palette s

You can drag a palette to any location that’s convenient for your work. Corel Painter save s palette arrangements so that the ne x t tim e yo u s tart the program, the wo rkspace appears as you left it.

You can save several different palette layouts for future use, and you can later delete layouts. You can also return the palette layout to the Corel Painter default.

Arrange palettes to create a la you t that is convenient for you.

To save a layout:

1 Arrange your palettes the way you

want them sav ed.

2 Choose Wi ndow menu > Arrange

Palettes > Save Layout.

3 In the Palette Layout dialog box,

type a name in the New Palette Layout box.

To use a saved layout:

• Choose Wi ndow menu > Arrange Palettes > Name of Layout.

Corel Painter restores the saved palette layout.

Core l Pain t e r 21

To delete a saved layout:

1 Choose Window menu > Arrang e

Palettes > Delete Layout.

Corel Painter opens a dialog box listing all saved layo u t s.

2 From the list, select the layout you

want to delete.

3 Click Delete.

To return to the default palette layout:

• Choose Window menu > Arrang e Palettes > Default.

To resize palettes

• Drag the resize handle in the bottom-right corner of the open palette.

Grouping and Repositioning Palettes

In Corel Painter, palettes appear by default in small, intuitive groupings. You can customize these groupings by moving palettes from one group to another. You can include as many or as

few palettes as you want in a group. You can also reposition items to a new loc a ti on w i thin a group.

Customized palette groupings. In this example, the Mixer palette has been grouped with the othe r color palettes.

To group palettes

1 Place the cursor over the palette

bar. The cursor displays as a hand.

2 Drag the palette bar, and place it

on top of the palette with which you want to create a group.

3 Release the mouse button.

A new group of palettes is formed.

4 Repeat steps 1 to 3 for each palette

you want to add to the group.

To ungroup palettes

1 Place the cursor over the palette

bar. The c u r s or d i sp l ays as a h a n d .

2 Drag the palette bar away from the

group.

3 Release the mouse button.

The palette is removed from the group.

4 Repeat steps 1 to 3 for each palette

you want to ungroup.

To reposition items in grouped palettes:

1 Place the cursor over the palette

bar. The c u r s or d i sp l ays as a h a n d .

2 Drag the palette to a new location

in the group.

3 Release the mouse button.

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Docking Palettes

If you n eed some room on your screen, but don’t want to collapse or group palettes, you can save valuable screen real estate by docking palettes.

This handy feature of Corel Painter lets them be docked into place when they get close to the top or bottom edge of another palette. In addition to tidying up your workspace, this feature can help keep a palette from being covered u p by another palette.

To do ck palette s:

1 Place the cursor over the title bar of

the palette you want to dock.

2 Drag the palette to the top or

bottom of a second palette.

3 When the first palette lines up

with the second palette, release the mouse button.

The palette will snap into place.

4 Repeat steps 1 to 3 for each set of

palettes you want to dock.

To undock palettes:

1 Place the cursor over the title bar of

the palette you want to undock.

2 Drag the palette to another

loca tion in th e wor kspa c e .

3 Repeat steps 1 and 2 for each

palette you want to undock.

Libraries and Movers

What are Libraries?

A library is a saved collection of similar items that can be loaded into a selector. For example, the built-in brushes (and their variants) are contained in the default brushes library, which is loaded when you open Corel Painter. You can find more brush libraries in the Corel Painter folder. As you customize brushes and other resources, you can save them int o y our o wn l i b rar i e s .

Libraries are available for paper textur es , pa t t e rn s , g ra di e n t s, weave s , brus h e s , l oo k s, nozzl e s , layers, selections, lighting, and scripts. You can have any number of libraries, but only one of each type can be open at a time.

When you want other items, you can load alternate libraries . Librari es allow you to extend the Corel Painter tools and resources, without overloading a selector.

The methods for working with all libraries are the same, except for brushes . You can create new libraries, add items, or move items between libraries.

The methods for working with the libraries for Brushes, their categories, and variants are different. Brushes are loaded into memory when you open Corel Painter, so adding brush es to the default brush library increases the need for RAM. If you’re working close to the memory threshold, you’ll want to organize new brushes into secondary libraries. When you want a diff e r e nt bru s h se t , just sw i t ch libraries. This helps Corel Painter be more efficient with memory usage. See “Using Brush Libraries” on page 26 for more information.

It is a good idea to limit the number of resources in each librar y. This makes it easier to find a particular tool and helps Corel Painter manage memory.

Core l Pain t e r 23

What are Movers?

The tools for creating libraries and mana gi ng t he ir co nt en ts ar e c ont ai ned in the Movers. A Mover is provided on the selector menu and/or the palette menu for each resource supported by libraries. Selectors and/or palettes with Movers are: Papers, Gradients, Pat t erns, Weaves, Nozzles, L ooks, Scripts, Imag e Portfolio, and Selec tion Portfolio.

Use the Paper Mover command to customize your paper libraries. Each resource type has a mover. Most movers are located on a palette menu or selector.

Adding Resources to the Current Library

As you work with Corel Painter and create new resources, y ou can sav e them to the current library.

To add resources to the current library:

1 Click the selector menu arrow or

palette menu arrow for the resource you want to add to the library.

2 Choose Save [Resource Name]. 3 In the Save dialog box, type a

name in the Save As box.

Note

Over time, with additions an d

•

deletions, library file sizes are compounded. For best results, save new items into new libraries.

Loadin g Alternate Libraries

To load an alternate library:

1 Open the selector or display the

palette from which you want to load an alternate library.

2 Click the sel e ctor menu arrow or

the palette menu arrow, and choose Load Library.

3 In the Load Library dialog box,

locate and choose the library you want to open.

Corel Painter loads the resources from that library into the selector and palette.

Tip

When you save an item, Co rel Painter

•

puts it in the current library. If this is not where you want it, be sure to switch libraries before saving the resource. You can move items between libraries, but switching libraries before saving the resource will spare you that ext ra step.

Creating a Library

When you want to use the items of a different library, you must load the alternate library.

To create a new library:

1 Click the sel e ctor menu arrow or

pal e tt e men u arrow for the

The Workspace24

resource you want to use to create the new library.

2 Choose [Res ource Name] Mover. 3 In the Mover dialog box, click

New.

4 In the New Library dialog box,

browse to the location where you want to save the new library.

5 Type a descriptive name in the File

Name box, and click Sav e. The new library’s name appears

on the right side of the Mover window. The area above the name is blank becaus e th i s new library is empty. To put items in it, you can move them from other libraries.

Tip

It’s a good idea to save libraries in the

•

same place. This makes them easy to locate and load when yo u want them.

Customizing Libraries

The tools for creating libraries and managing their contents are contained in the Movers. A Mover is provided on the selector menu and/or palette menu for each resource suppo rted by libraries.

Brush libraries are created and managed differently. See “Using Brush Libraries” on page 26 for procedures.

Moving Items Between Libraries

Movers copy resources from the library on one side of the Mover window to the library on the other side of the Mover window.

When you open a Mover, the resources of the current library are listed on the left. This is the library you’ll move items “from.” If this is not what you want, you can open a different library as the source.

When the source library is open on the left side and the destina tion library is open on the right, you are ready to move resources.

To open a new library as the source:

1 Click th e se l e ct or m en u a r row or

palette menu arrow for the resource you want to use.

2 Choose [Resource Name] Mover.

3 In the Mover dialog box, cli c k

Close to close the current library.

4 Click Open. 5 In the Open Library File dialog

box, choose a library to use as the source library.

To open a new destination library:

1 Click the selector menu arrow or

palette menu arrow for the resource you want to use.

2 Choose [Resource Name] Mover. 3 In the Mover dialog box, cli c k

Open.

4 In the Open Library File dialog

box, choose a library file to use as the destination library.

To move an item from one library to another:

• In the Mover dialog box, drag the ite m fr om the sou rce li b r ary to the destination librar y.

Core l Pain t e r 25

Modifying a Library

You can modify a library by renaming items, deleting items, and deleting entire libraries.

Renaming Items

You can rename items in libraries to suit your preference.

To change the na me of an it em :

1 Open the Mover for the item y ou

want to modify.

2 Do one of the follo w i ng :

• Double-click the icon of the item.

• Choose the item and click Change Name.

3 In the Change Name dialog box,

type the new name in the Change To box.

Deleting Items from Libraries

If you want to delete a resource from a library, you can—but be careful. Once you remove one of the default brushes (even if it’s by mistake), the onl y way to retrieve it is to reinstall Corel

Painter. If you must reinstall Corel Painter, you’ll lose any of the custom resources you’ve created and saved into the d e fault lib r a r i e s.

To delete an item from a library:

1 Open the Mover for the item you

want to delete.

2 Choose the item you want delete. 3 Click the Delete button in the

Mover dial og box.

To avoid deleting items from libraries when reinstalling:

• Move saved items to a location other than the default libraries.

Deleting a Library

To delete an entire library, delete the file from the Corel Painter directory.

Be careful not to delete the Corel Painter default libraries. Corel P aint er needs them to start properly.

To delete a library on the Ma c OS:

1 Use the Finder™ to open the

folder.

2 Drag the library file to the Trash.

To delete a library on Windows:

1 Use the Windows Explorer to open

the folder .

2 Select the file. 3 Press Delete, or drag the file to the

Recycle Bin.

Using Brush Libraries

In Corel Painter, users work with brush libraries in the Brushes folder. The Painter Brushes folder is the default library that loads when you open Corel Painter.

Each folder within the Painter Brushes default library folder is a brush category. In each category folder, there is a JPEG graphic, which is the icon seen on the Brush selector bar.

In each category folder are XML files, which are the brush variants available for that brush category.

The Workspace26

Creating and Importing Brush Libraries

You may want to create a library of your favorite brush variants to have them all in one category. You can also import brush libraries and access them through the Brush selector bar.

To creat e a bru sh libr ar y

1 In the Brushes folder, create and

name a new folder for your library.

2 In the new folder you just created,

create and name a new folder for your br ush cat ego ry.

3 In the brush category folder you

created in step 2, copy XML files from other existing fo lders.

4 In Corel Painter, click the selector

menu arrow on the Brush selector bar, and choose Load Library.

5 In the Brush Libraries dialog box,

choose the brush categor y folder you created in step 2, and click Import.

Notes:

This procedure works only for brushes

•

created in version 7 and late r of Corel Painter. To use brushes created in version 6 or earlier of Corel Painte r, y ou must first import them, and then load them. F or information about importing brushes, see “To import a brush library” on page 27.

If you w ant an icon to appear on the

•

Brush selector bar, you must create a JPEG and save it with the same name as the library. Save it at the same level as the brush category folder.

To import a brush library

1 On the Brush selector bar , click the

selector menu arrow, and choose Import Brush Library.

2 In the Select Brush Library dialog

box, choose a librar y, and click Open.

The brush library is imported into Corel Painter and can be accessed through the Brush selector bar.

Note

Brushes libraries create d in version 6

•

or earlier of Corel Painter are imported as .BRS files.

Deleting a Brush Library

To delete a brush library, delete the folder from the Brushes folder.

Be c a r e ful no t to de l e te the Corel Painter default libraries, which are stored in the Painter Br ushes folder. Corel Painter needs them to start properly.

To delete a library on Mac OS:

1 Use the Finder to find the library

folder.

2 Drag the library folder to the

Trash.

To delete a library on Windows:

1 Use the Windows Explorer to find

the library folder.

2 Select the folder . 3 Press Delete, or drag the folder to

the Recycle Bin.

Customizing Palettes

To give everyone the freedom to work in their own style, Corel Painter supports custom palettes that contain exactly the features you want. Since

Core l Pain t e r 27

the features on a custom palette are immediately avai lable, y ou can cho ose them with a single click.

Custom pale t tes h e lp y ou o rganize material for specific needs.

You can put items from any of the six content palettes—papers, patterns, looks, weaves, nozzles, or gradients— on a custom palette. You can also add any Menu command, such as File > New, to a custom palette.

You might want to create special palettes for a particular project or method of working that you use frequently. You can create a whole series of palettes and switch between them as you change projects or work methods.

You can create as many custom palettes as you like. Corel Painter saves them from session to session, so it’s easy to get right to work.

Items that appear on a custom palette are references (aliases) to the original. This means that if you change the original—for example, by modifying and saving a brush variant—the custom palette button loads the newest version. On the other hand, if you delete the original, Corel Painter won't be able to find it to load it again.

Creating Custom Palettes

Tearing Off to Create a New Palette

If the item you want is represented in a palette with an icon, you can cr eate a new palette by just dragging the icon out of the palette. This works for art materials (P aper Textures, Gradients, Patterns, and Weaves), nozzles, and looks.

To create a custom palette by dragging:

1 Drag an icon or bu tton out of its

palette. When you release the mouse

button, Corel Painter creates the custom palette. It contains an icon for the item you dragged out.

Drag a tool out of a palette to create a custom palette.

To enable Tool Tips for a custom palette:

• Enable Tool Tips by choosing Help menu> Show Tool Tips. All

you have to do is move your mouse over a feature and the tip appears.

You mig ht create a Water Color palette with the brush variants you use often and your favorite paper textures.

The Workspace28

Tool Tips identify an item by name.

Adding to a Custom Palette

You'll want to add items to the palettes you create.

To add items to a custom palette:

1 Locate the next item you want to

add.

2 Drag the item’s icon to the location

you want in the custom palette. When you drop an icon on top of

an existing icon, the palette automatically expands to the right.

Note

Corel P ainter

•

from the main Tools palette to be added to custom palettes.

does not perm it tools

Tip

To keep the p a lette across the edge of

•

your screen, you can arrange icons vertically or horizontally. To do th is, drag the bottom right corner of th e palette to make more r oom.

To rearrange the layout in a custom palette:

• Hold down the Shift key, and move the icon or button to where you want it.

To delete an item from a custom palette:

• Hold down the Shift key, and drag the icon or button out of the palette.

Placing Menu Commands on a Palet te

You can add a button for any of the menu commands to a custom palette. You can add commands from the main menus or from the palette menus.

To place menu commands on a custom palette:

1 Choose Window menu> Custom

Palette> Add Command.

Corel Painter displays the Add Command dialog that lets you choose whether you want to create a custom palette or add a menu item to an existing palette.

2 With the Add Command dialog

open, choose the menu item you want. The Add Command dialog displays the command as a Menu Item.

Core l Pain t e r 29

Using Custom Palettes

Custom palettes beha ve very much like the standard palettes. You can move them around by dragging the title bar. You can resize them, but not smaller than the contents require.

You can create as many custom palettes as you like. However, since you probably won't want to use them all at once, you can close a palette to keep your workspace uncluttered.

To show a hidden custom palette:

• Choose Window menu> Custom Palett e> your palette name.

Corel Painter keeps your custom palettes from one session to the next. If you like creating custom palettes, the list might get unwieldy. You might want to remove obsolete custom palettes or those you don't use very often.

You can also save a custom palette to a file. If you save it to a file, you can remove it from Corel Painter, and then load it again later.

3 Click OK to close the Add

Command dialog. The custom palette now contains a

button fo r the ch osen menu command.

The Workspace30

To hide a custom palette:

• On the custom palette, click the Clos e box.

Managing Custom Palettes

The Custom Palette Organizer is the tool for managing your custom palettes. Corel Painter provides names for custom palettes; you’ll probably want to rename the palettes you create.

You can use the Custom Palette Organizer to organize your custom palet t es.

Note

Corel Pa in ter

•

files created only with version 8. Custom palettes created with earlier versions of

Corel Painter

supports custom pa lette

will not load.

To use the Custom Palette Organizer:

1 Choose Window menu> Custom

Palette> Organizer.

2 Use the Organizer to rename, save

(expo rt), load (import), and delet e custom palettes. Each operation is described below.

3 When you are finished with the

organizer, click Done.

To load a custom palette:

1 From the Custom Palette

Organizer, click Import.

2 Corel Painter displays an Open

dialog so you can choose the file where the custom palette is saved.

To save a custom palette:

1 From the list, select the palette you

want, and click Export.

2 Corel Painter displays a Save

dialog so you can name the file and choose a location. It's a good idea to keep all your saved palettes in the same place.

To rename a custom palette:

1 From the list, select the palette you

want, an d c li ck Ren a m e .

2 Corel Painter prompts you for the

new name. Enter a name and click OK.

To remove a custom palette:

• From the list, select the palette you want, an d c li ck Dele t e .

Setting Palette Layout

When you quit Corel Painter, the program saves the palette arrangement. The next time you run the program, Corel Painter restores the palettes as they were when you quit.

You can open and close palettes individually. You can also control the display of the palette layout with

Window menu> Hide/Show Palettes.

Corel Painter offers some supporting features that can help with palette display .

Arranging Palettes

You can save a customized palette layout. This makes it easy to return to this particular layout. You can save several different layouts.

To save a layout:

1 Arrange your palettes the way you

want them sav ed.

2 Choose Window menu> Arrange

Palettes> Save Layout.

3 Corel Painter prompts you to

name the new palette layout. Enter a name and click OK.

To use a saved layout:

• Choose Window menu> Arrange Palettes> name of layout. Corel

Painter restores the saved palet te layout.

For example, Wind ow menu> Arrange Palettes> Default immediately returns palettes to the default palette layout.

To delet e a save d layout :

1 Choose Window menu> Arrange

Palettes> Delete Layout.

Core l Pain t e r 31

Corel Painter opens a dialog listing all saved layouts.

2 From the list, select the layout you

want to delete. Click Delete.

The Workspace32

Basics

The Corel Painter application provides a digital workspace in which you can create new imagery or alter existing imagery using the Corel Painter Natural-Media tools and effects. Your working image is known as a document and is displayed in a document window—this document window includes navigation and productivity features to help you work efficiently.

As you create an image, you can save your document in a number of different file formats: RIFF (Corel Painter native format), JPEG, TIFF, and Photoshop (PSD), to name a few. Corel Painter also lets you open/ import images in many file formats.

Every artist works in a unique way, and every computer system has its own configuration of memory, disks, printers, and accessories. Corel Painter preferences let you customize the program for your own work style and optimum performance on yo ur

particular system. You can also optimize the features of your tablet and pens in Corel Painter.

Opening Documents

The first step to creating an image in Corel Painter is opening a document. You can open a blank Canvas by creating a new document, work with an existing image by opening a file, place a file into a document, or acquire an image from a scanner or digital camera to place directly into a document.

Creating New Documents

The New command creates a blank, untitled document based on the specifications you set in the New dialog box.

• Canvas Size shows the RAM requirement for creating the document at the specified width,

height, and resolution. This number does not reflect the file size for the saved document. A saved Corel Pain ter file is usually 25% to 50% of the size of the working document, depending on the number of colors it contains.

• Width and Height determine the dimensions o f t h e C a nv as . You ca n change the unit of measurement using the me nu. Choose from pixels (the default), inches, centimeters, points, picas, and colum ns (2" wide ).

• Resolution is the number of pixels per inch (ppi) or centi meter that make up an image. In the New dialog, setting the document’s pixels per inch is the same as setting its dpi. Refer to “Understanding Resolution” on page36 for detailed information about document, screen, and prin t resolutions.

• Paper Color lets you select a background paper color—or Canvas color—when you create a

new document. The default is white.

• Picture Type lets you set up a document to contain a single image frame or multiple frames for a movie. The default is single frame.

To create a new document:

1 Choose File menu > New. 2 In the New dialog box, enter

values for the wi d t h , h e i ght, an d resolution of the document.

Change the unit of measurement by choosing an option from the menu.

3 Click in the Paper Color box to set

the document’s background to a color other than white.

Choose a color from the system color picker that appears.

4 Choose a picture type. 5 Click OK.

A new document appears in the workspace.

Open ing Existing Documents

You can op e n d oc umen t s f rom ot h e r graphics applications and use Corel Painter to add brush strokes, tints, or paper textures. Or, you can clone a document to re-create it in a different medium.

Corel Painter lets you open the following file formats:

• RIFF—Corel Pa inte r native form at (RIF )

• TIFF (TIF)

• CMYK TIF (TIF)

• Photoshop formats (PSD)—Corel Painter preserves layers and alpha channels. Layer effects and adjustment layers are not supported and should be merged or flattened in Adobe Photo s hop.

•Windows Bitmap (BMP)

•PC Paintbrush (PCX)

•TARGA® (TGA)

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

• JPEG (JPG)

Basics34

• Frame stacks (FRM)—Corel Painter animation files.

•QuickTime™ (MOV), Video for Windows (AV I) , and num bered files. For more information, refer to “Opening a Movie” on page 426 or “Working with Numbered Files” on page 441.

Note

Corel Painter doe s not support LZW

•

compressed TIFF file format. Only uncompressed TIFF f iles open into Corel Painter.

To open an existing document:

1 Choose File me nu > Open. 2 In the Select Image dialog box, use

the dialog controls to locate the file you wan t to op e n.

Corel Painter lists every image’s file size, file format, and dimensions in pixels. In additi on, files saved in Corel Painter include a thumbnail image for browsing purposes.

3 Click Browse.

The Browse dialog box sh ows thumbnails for all the RIFF files in a fold e r.

4 Double-click the file name, or

select a file and click Open.

Tip

The File menu also offers you a

•

shortcut to previously o pen ed documents. Before choosing Open in the File menu, check the recently op ened files list at the bottom of the File menu.

The Browse dialog box displays a thumbnail image of files.

Placing Files

Placing a file lets you import an image into an existing Corel Painter document. The placed image becomes a new reference layer in the document—you can transform (resize, rotate, slant) it on screen by dragging its handles. A placed file

maintains its link to the source file until you commit it to standard layer format.

Refer to “Working with Reference Layers” on page246 for general information about working with reference layers.

To place a file:

1 Choose File menu > Place. 2 Select an image file and click

Open.

3 In the Place dialog box, set the

options:

• Horizontal and Vertical Scal- ing suggests a scale to fit the image in the current document. To change the size, enter a scaling percentage in the Horizontal Scale and Vertical Scale fields.

• Constrain Aspect Ratio maintains the proportions of the image. Disable this option to distort the image.

• Retain Alpha retains the f i l e’s mask. When the image is placed, the image mask

Core l Pain t e r 35

becomes the layer mask. Disable this option to discard the mask.

4 Do one of the follo w i ng :

• To place the image in a particular location, click on that location i n th e d o c u m e nt.

• To place the image in the center of the document, click OK.

Acquiring Imag es

You can acquire images for Corel Painter direct ly from an external device—such as a scanner or digital camera—if the device provides a:

• Photoshop-compatible plug-in module (Mac OS)

• TWAIN driver (Windows)

Before acquiring images:

• Install the device plug-in module on your com p uter.

This plug-in module is provided by the manufacturer of your scanner or digital camera. Refer to the device documentation for installation instructions.

Corel Painter can access plug-ins from any single folder on your computer. This location can be inside the Corel Painter fol der , in a generic plug-ins folder on your hard drive, or in the Photoshop Plug-Ins folder.

• Make sure your TWAIN driver is properly installed.

Understanding Resolution

When working with images in a digital workspace, it is helpful to understand the concept and applications of resolution. Resol ut i on refers to how Corel Painter measures, displays, saves, and pri n ts images— either as small squares of color known as pixels or as mathematical objects known as vectors.

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

Resolution and Screen Appearance

Most monitors have a resolution of 72 dpi (dots per inch). Because of this, the Corel Painter display default is 72 ppi (pixels per inch). This means that each pixel in the Corel Painter image occupies one pixel on your monitor. The display resolution does not affect the document’s actual ppi—only how the image is displ ayed on the monitor.

For example, a 300 ppi document displays at approximately four times its actual size. This happen s because each pixel in the Corel Painter image occupies one pixel on your monitor, and the monitor’s pixels ar e four times the size of the image’s pixels. Put another way, at 300 pixels per inch, your document will be approximately a quarter of its on-screen size when printed. In this example, if you want to view the image at actual size, set the zoom level to 25%.

Keep in mind that if you leave the dimensions in pixels and then change the pixels per inch (resolution), the actual printed size will be affected by the change. Ifyou set your document

Basics36

size in inches, centimeters, points, or picas and change resolution, the dimensions will not be affected by the change.

Resolution and Print Quality

The res o lution of ou tp u t d e vi c es (printers) is measured in dpi and, in the case of halftones, lines per inch (lpi). Output device resolutions vary depending on the type of press and paper you’re printing on. Generally, a photograph will be output at a crisp 150 lpi if printed on glossy magazine stock and at 85 lpi for more porous, and therefore more forgiving, newspaper stock.

If you are using a personal laser printer or inkjet printer, set your document size in inches, centimeters, points, or picas at the dpi specific to your printer. Most printers will produce excellent output from images set to 300 ppi. Your file will be output correctly, at the best resolution for your laser printer and at the proper size. Incr easi ng the file’s ppi setti ng does not necessarily improve the output, and can make for a larger and sometime unwieldy file.

If you are using a commercial printer or a more sophisticated output device, the dimensions of the image should always be set to the actual siz e it will appear in the printed piece. For the resolution, a good rule of thumb is to set your document’s pixels per inch to twice the desired lpi. So, when lpi is 150, the pixels per inch should be twice that, or 300; if the lpi is 85, the pixels per inch should be 170. It’s a good idea to check with your service bureau if you have questions about output device res ol ution.

Working with Documents

Viewi ng Do cu m en ts

You can change your view of an image by changing its level of magnification (zooming in or ou t) , rep osit ion ing the document in the Corel Painter workspace, or rotating the document. You can also change th e charact eris tics of the document window by changing the screen mode, an d by selecting option s f r om t he C an v a s m e nu .

Zooming

By default, Corel Painter opens a document at 100% magnification, but you can change the level of magnification by zooming. You can zoom in and out using the Magnifier tool, reset magnification and zoom to fit the screen. You can even zoom in and out while working with other tools.

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

To zoom in:

1 Do one of the following:

Core l Pain t e r 37

• Choose the Magnifier tool in the toolbox.

• Hold down Command + Spa-

cebar (Mac OS) or Ctrl + Spacebar (Windows).

The Magnifier cursor shows a plus sign (+) — indicating you are increasing magnification (zooming in).

2 Click or drag in the document

window.

• Clicking magnifies the image to the next level, as defined in the Zoom Level menu on the property bar.

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

The percentage the document is magnified appears in the document window’s title bar.

To zoom out:

1 Do one of the follo w i ng :

• Choose the Magnifier tool and hold down Option (Mac OS) or Alt + Ctrl (Windows).

•Hold down Option +Com-

mand +Spacebar (Mac O S) or Alt + Ctrl + Spaceb ar (Win-

dows).

The Magnifier cursor shows a minus sign (-) — indicati ng you are decreasing magnification (zooming out).

2 Click in the document window.

Each click reduces the magnification to the next level, as defined in the Zoom Level menu on the prope rty bar.

Tip

You can also zoom in or out by

•

moving the Scale slider, t yp ing a value in the bottom left corne r of the image window, or choosing an option from the Zoom Level pop-up menu on the property bar.

To zoom using the Magnifier tool

1 In the toolbox, click the Magnifier

tool.

2 Choose a zoom leve l f rom the

Zoom Level pop-up menu on the property bar.

To reset magnifi cation to 100%:

• Double-click the Magnifier tool.

To zoom to fit the screen:

Do one of the following:

• Choose Window menu > Zoom

to Fit Screen.

• Double-click the Grabber tool in

the toolbox . Corel Painter generates a view of

the entire document to fit the size of your screen.

T o access the Magnifier tool while any other tool is selected:

• Press Comman d + Sp ace bar (Mac OS) or Ctrl + Spacebar (Windows) and click to zoom in; press Command + Option +

Spacebar (Mac OS) or Ctrl + Alt + Spacebar (Windows) and click

to zoom out.

Basics38

Repositioning Documents

The Grabber tool allows you to reposition a document in the Corel Painter workspace and view different areas of an image.

To use the Grabber tool:

1 Activate the Grabber tool by:

• Choosing the Gr abber tool .

• Holding down the Spacebar. The cursor changes to the Grabber

tool and th e propert y bar shows the zoom level. You can change the zoom level from the property bar.

2 Do one of the follo wing:

• Drag in the document window to scroll through your image.

• Click once in the document window to center the image.

To access the Grabber tool from any tool:

• Hold down the Spacebar.

To size your image window to fit the screen area:

• Do one of the follo wing:

• Double-click the Grabber tool.

•Choose Window menu > Zoom to Fit.

• Click Fit on Screen on the prop e rty ba r.

Tip

To return the image window to center ,

•

click once with the Grabber tool or click Center Image on the proper ty bar.

Rotating Documents

The Rotate Page t ool lets y ou rotate a n image on the screen to accommodate the way you draw naturally.

To rotate the page:

1 Activate the Rotate Page tool by:

• Clicking it in the toolbox

• Holding down Option + Spa-

cebar (Mac OS) or Alt + S pacebar (Windows).

The cursor changes to a hand with a pointing finger.

2 Drag in the document window to

rotate the image.

Move the cursor clockwise to rotate the image clockwise. Move the cursor counter-clockwise to rotate the image counter-clockwise.

The new rotation angle appears on the property bar.

Tip

You can also rotate an image by

•

specifying a rotation angle on the property bar.

Core l Pain t e r 39

2 Do one of the following:

• Click once in the document window.

• Double-click th e Rotate Page tool.

• Click the Reset Tool button on the property bar.

To constrain rotation to 90° increments:

• Hold down the Shift key while rotating.

Cropping Images

You can remove unwanted edges from the image with the Crop tool. You can adjust the ratio of the cropped image, and choose to maintain the aspect ratio.

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

3 When you’re ready to execute the

crop, click inside the rectangle.

To constrain cropping to a square:

• Press Shift + drag while defin i n g the rectangular area with the Crop tool.

To adjust the ratio of the cropped image:

1 Click the Cr op t ool in the toolbox. 2 On the property bar, type ratio

values in the boxes.

3 If necessary , enable the Ratio check

box to maintain aspect ratio when cropping the image.

Rotate a document to acc ommodate the way you naturally dra w.

To return an image to its original orientation:

1 Activate the Rotate Page tool .

Basics40

To crop an image:

1 Click the Crop tool in the

toolbox.

2 Drag inside the image to define the

rectangular area you want to keep.

Using Full Screen Mode

Full screen mode allows you to hide your computer’s desktop and view the document window with out scr oll bars. When full screen mode is on, the document window is centered over a solid background. All Corel Painter

features—except the button s on the document window—work when using full screen mode.

To toggle the full screen mode on and off:

• Press Command + M (Mac OS) or Ctrl + M (Windows), or choose

Window menu > Screen Mode Toggle.

Tip

You can position the im age window

•

anywhere on the screen by holding down the Spacebar and dragging with your mouse or stylus.

Image Size In formation

You can use the Info palette to check image size. For more information, see “The Info Palette” on page 19.

Resizing the Canvas

If you want the same image at a different scale, you can resize the canvas. You can also change the size of the drawing area, and you can crop the canvas.

To res ize the canvas:

1 Choose Canvas menu > Resize.

Corel Painter displays the Resize dialog box, which shows the current and new si ze by width, height, and resolution.

2 Enter a new value for width,

height or resolution. For more information on these

values, refer to “Creating New Documents” on page33.

3 The Constrain File Size option lets

you choose how to deal with dimensions relative to resolution.

When Constrain File Size is enabled, you can change the height and width of the image together. The resolution will change accordingly.

When Constrain File Size is disabled, you can change the height and width independently of the resolution, and vic e versa .

If you choose Pixels or Percent as the unit and enter a value, Corel Painter aut omatically disables the Constrain option.

4 Click OK.

To resize the drawing area:

1 Choose Canvas menu > Canvas

Size.

2 In the Canvas Size dialog box,

specify the number of pixels you want to add to any side of the canvas.

Enter negative values to reduce the canvas size.

To crop the canvas:

1 Display the image at a scale where

you can see all of it.

2 In the toolbox, choose the Crop

tool .

3 Drag in the image to describe the

rectangular area you want to keep.

4 Adjust the rectangle by draggin g a

corner or any of its edges. The property bar shows the size

and location of the cropping rectangle.

To constrain the cropping rectangle to a certain aspect ratio, enter values for the width and height aspect, and enable the Ratio option on the property bar.

Core l Pain t e r 41

5 Click inside the rectangle to

perfor m the cropping operation.

Using R ul er s

Corel Painter lets you show or hide rulers along the top and left sides of the document window . Each mark on a ru l e r is kn o wn as a tick a n d represents the unit of measurement. You can set the unit of measurement to pixels, inches, centimeters, points, or picas.

As you drag an image around the document window, the rulers scroll to show the p osit ion of th e Canv as in the document window. The origin of the document is the intersection of the zero (0) ticks on eac h ruler. By default, the origin is the upper left corner of the Canvas. Changing the orig i n r e s ets the loc a tio n of the 0 ti c k s on the r u l e rs .

To display or hide rulers:

• Choose Canvas menu > Rulers > Show Rulers or Hide Rulers.

To set the ruler units:

1 Choose Canvas menu > Rulers >

Ruler Options, or hold down Option (Mac OS) or Alt

(Windows) and click in the ruler.

2 In the Ruler Options dialo g box,

choo se a un i t of m e as u reme nt from the Ruler Unit pop-up menu.

To change the origin:

1 Click the box at the intersection of

the rulers (upper left corner of the document window) .

2 Drag diagonally into the

document window. Crosshairs disp lay to mar k the new

origin point.

3 Position the crosshairs and release

the mouse button. The ruler numbers update to show

the new origin as 0, 0.

To restore the origin:

• Double-click the box at the intersection of the rulers (upper left corner of the document window).

Using Guides

Guides are non-printing lines that appear over the image in the document window. They are very helpful in aligning image elements.

You can place guides at any position in the document window and easily reposition and remove them.

The Snap to Ruler Ticks option enables the guides you create to land precisely on the tick marks.

Each g u i d e also has op t ions tha t l e t you change its color and lock it so that it can’t be dragged.

To display or hide guides:

• Choose Canvas menu > Guides > Show Guides or Hide Guides.

To create a guide:

1 Show the rulers and the guides. 2 Click in a ruler at the position

where you want to place the guide. A guide appears in the document

window and a triangular marker appears in the ruler.

Basics42

To set a guide’s color:

1 Double-click the guide’s marker. 2 In the Guide Options dialog box,

click the Guide Color color chip and choose a color.

To change the color of all guides, enable the Same Color for All Guides option.

Setting the Snap to Guides Option

The Snap to Guides option enables selections and tool operations to “snap” to a guide within 6 pixels of the cursor (or edge).

The following operations respect Snap to Guides:

A black triangle marks the guide’s position in the ruler.

To reposition a guide:

Do one of the follo wing:

• Drag the guide’s marker to any point of the ruler.

• Double-click the guide’s marker to display the Guide Options dialog box and enter a value in the Guide Position field.

To enable the Snap to Ruler Ticks option:

• Choose Canvas menu > Rulers > Snap to Ruler Ticks.

To lock or unlock a guide:

1 Double-click the guide’s marker to

display the Guide Options dialog box.

2 Enable or disable the Lock Guide

option.

To rem ove a guide:

• Drag the guide’s mar ker off the edge of the document window.

To remove all guides:

1 Double-click the guide’s marker to

display the Guide Options dialog box.

2 Click the Delete All Guides

button.

• Dragging with the Rect angular and Oval Selection tools.

• Dragging with the Crop tool .

• Drawing straight lines with the Brush tool .

• Clicks made with the Pen tool .

• Clicking with the Text tool to create a text entry point.

• Clicking and dragging with the Paint Bucket tool and Magnifier tool .

• Dragging shapes and selections. The edges of the content and the selection rectangle for the shapes and selections snap to the guides. The cursor—wherever it might be

Core l Pain t e r 43

in the object—also snaps to the guide.

• Dragging the handles of reference layers, shapes, and selections to transform them.

• Dragging with the Selection Adjuster tool or Layer Adjuster tool .

To enable Snap to Guides:

• Choose Canvas menu > Guides > Snap to Guides .

The option is enabled when the menu item has a check beside it.

Using the Grid

Corel Painter provides a grid to help you in laying down brush strokes or creating shapes. You can set the types, size, line thickness, color, and transparency of the grid. You can also print grid lines.

The Grid Options dialog box.

To activate the grid:

Do one of the following:

• Choose Canvas menu > Grid > Show Grid.

• Click the Toggle Grid button on

the right side of your image window.

Your image now has a non-printing grid.

To set grid options:

1 Choose Canvas menu > Grid >

Grid Options.

2 In the Grid Options dialog box,

choose a grid type fr om the Grid Type pop-up menu.

3 Enter values for Horizontal

Spacing (the distance between horizontal lines), Vertical Spacing (the distance between vertic al lines), and Line Thickness.

The unit of measure can be in pixe ls, i nc h es , c e n ti m e t er s, po i nt s , picas, columns (2" wide), or percent.

4 Click in the Grid Color color chip

to set the color of the grid lines.

5 Click in the Background color chip

to set the grid’s background color.

To print grid lines

•Choose Effects menu > Esoterica > Grid Paper.

Setting the Snap to Grid Option

The Snap to Grid option enables certain tool operations to “snap” to a grid within 6 pixels of the cursor.

Basics44

The following tools respect Snap to Grid:

•Pen tool

•Shape Selection tool

• Convert Point tool

• Text tool

To enable Snap to Grid:

• Choose Canvas menu > Grid > Snap to Grid.

The option is enabled when the menu item has a check beside it.

Using th e Perspective Grid

Corel Painter provides perspective grids as a guide to help you create three-dimensional images. P erspective grids are a non-printing array of lines that converge at a single vanishing point. In Corel Painter you can set the type, line color, and spacing of the perspective grid. You can modify the location of the vertical plane and horizon line by using the Perspective Grid Adjuster tool. Any perspective

grid options that you create or modify can also be opened for use in another drawing.

Use perspe ctive gri d lines to he lp you create 3D images.

To activate or hide the default perspect ive gri d:

• With an image open, choose

Canvas menu > P erspe ctive Grids > Show Grid or Hide Grid.

To create a new per s pect i ve grid :

1 In the toolbox, click the

P erspective Grid Adjuster tool .

2 On the property bar, click the Add

Preset button beside the Presets pop-up menu.

3 In the Save Preset dialog box, enter

a name in the Save As box.

4 Enable the check boxes

corresponding to the grids you want to see.

5 Choose a color for the horizontal

and vertical grid lines in the Color boxes.

6 Enter a value in the Spacing box. Tip

To reset the perspective grid defaults at

•

any time, click the Reset Tool button on the property bar.

To open a perspective grid:

1 In the toolbox, click the

Perspective Grid Adjuster tool.

2 On the property bar, choose a grid

from the Presets pop-up menu.

To remove a grid preset:

1 In the toolbox, click the

Perspective Grid Adjuster tool.

Core l Pain t e r 45

2 On th e prop e rty ba r, ch o o se an

option from the Grid Type pop-up menu.

3 Click the Delete Preset button.

The grid type disappears.

To adjust the per s pec tiv e gr id lines:

1 Choose Canvas > Perspe ctive

Grids > Show Grid.

2 Click the Perspective Grid

Adjuster tool in the toolbox.

3 To move the horizontal plane grid,

hold the cursor over the nearest edge of the horizontal plane grid.

The cursor becomes a doublepointed arrow.

4 Drag to move the horizontal plane

grid u p or down.

5 To move the vertical plane grid,

hold the cursor over the nearest edge of the vertical plane grid.

The cursor becomes a doublepointed arrow.

6 Drag to move the vertical plane

grid left or right.

Drag-and-Drop Features

Dragging Between Documents

You can copy selections and layers between Corel Painter documents by dragging from one window to the other. When you drag a selection to a new document window, Corel Painter automatically turns the selection into a layer. When you drag a layer to a new document, the layer keeps its original properties.

Dragging Between Programs (Mac OS)

Corel Painter supports drag-and-drop functionality between applications on Mac OS. This can be a quick, convenient way to acquire or export imagery.

On th e Mac OS, you can drag files from Photoshop direct l y into Corel Painter.

Raster imagery that you drag into a Corel Painter document window becomes a layer. You can drag a PICT

file from the Finder to a Corel Painter document. The PICT image becomes a layer.

Yo u can also drag layers out of Corel Painter to another application or to the Finder; the exported imagery is in PICT format, supported by most applications. When you drag out one of these objects, it will automatically rasterize a shape or dynamic layer (at its current settings) to become a PICT.

Note

Though dragging and dropping

•

between programs is not supported on the Windows platform, computers running on either Mac OS or Windows platforms support copying and pasting between Corel Pa int er and othe r pro gr ams.

Saving Files

Corel Painter provides several options for saving files.

To save a file in its current format:

• Choose File menu > Save.

Basics46

To save a file with a different name or format:

1 Choose File me nu > Save As. 2 In the Save Image As dialog box,

use the controls to specify a file name, lo ca t i on, and form a t .

Saving RIF Files

RIF is the Corel P ainter native fo rmat, which retains special information about your document. For example, a RIF file maintains layers so you can return to the file to re-access them.

It’s a good idea to always save files in RIF format first. Think of RIF files as “work in progress” files. When a file is ready for production, then save it to GIF , JPEG, CMYK, TIF, or another file format.

Corel Painter lets you compress files and save disk space with a lossless compression method.

When saving in RIF format, leave the Uncompre sse d op tion disabled to minimize file size on your hard disk.

Saving JPEG Files

Corel Painter su pports the JPEG file format. Because of its small file size and high quality, JPEG is commonly used to tra nsmit file s thro u gh a modem. Unlike GIF, JPEG displays a full range of colors.

JPEG allows you to compress your file on a scale of Fair to Excellent, where quality is directly proportional to file size. These quality settings will let you achieve compression ratios of less than 10:1 to greater than 100:1. JPEG is a “lossy ” f i l e f or mat, mea n i ng that a decompressed JPEG file will not be identical pixel-for-pixel to the original. However, because the JPEG algorithm takes into account the sensitivity of the eye to different colors, the higher quality settings should achieve visually satisfying results.

You can assign a URL to layers and placed images and then save the file in GIF or JPEG format to produce an image map. For more information, refer to “Client-Side Image Mapping” on page406.

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

• The JPEG Encoding Quality options—Excellent, High, Good, and Fair—let you set file compression on a scale of Excellent to Fair.

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

• The Quality slider adjusts the quality.

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

• The JPEG preview window displays any changes you make to the image as you work.

• The Progressive JPEG option creates a progressive JPEG file. Progressive format is useful when using a file on the Web. As the

Core l Pain t e r 47

name implies, progressive format displays an image in stages —as a series of scans—while the file downloads. The fi rst scan is a low quality image; the following scans improve in quality. This allows the user to see the whole image very quickly.

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

Refer to “Image Maps” on page406 for more information about image map types.

It is best not to decompress and recompress a file multiple times. Although JPEG can compress and

discard data not visible or obvious, the degradation of the data can affect the condition of your file.

When a file has lost a significant amount of data, block patterns can appear in areas of the image. If y ou try to use the Apply Surface Texture feature on a JPEG file, you may find it will accent the block patterns.

Saving GIF Files

Corel Painter allows you to save documents in GIF file format. GIF is an 8-bit (or less) fi le format commonly used to display graphics on the Web.

When you save a file as a GIF, you can choose from 4 up to 256 colors. You can choose how your colors will be displayed and what part of your i mage will be transparent.

You can use the Color Set option to force all colors to match the colors in the current color set. This option uses the colors in the color set for the color table in the GIF file. This can be useful when doing Web work, especially if you want to constrain colors to a specific color set or control

the number of colors in a Web page, thus controlling image file size. The default color set in Corel Painter is a “Web safe” color set, mapping to the default Netscape Navigator® color set.

An Imaging Method determines how your 24-bit Corel Painter document will be converted to the limited number of colo rs that GI F uses. If yo u choose Quantize to Nearest Color, Corel Painter picks the colo r nearest to that of each pixel. If you choose Dither Colors, Corel Painter will apply a pattern to the colors chosen to generate a more accurate, less banded result.

Corel Painter can also save a frame stack as a GIF animation file. Fo r more information, refer to “Creating Animated GIFs” on page 410.

If you want your image to have transparency, click the checkbox for Output Transparency. Most progr ams that display GIF files support transparency, but for those that don’t, you should specify the color of the “transparent” area. If your image will be displayed on the World Wide Web,

Basics48

click the Background is WWW Gray option. You can also choose to use the background colo r of your Web page by clicking the option button for Background is BG Color.

For programs tha t support transparency, your selection will determine which areas are transparent and which are not. The Threshold slider determines what selection (loaded mask) value becomes transparent. You can see how the Threshold slider is affecting the transparency of your image in the preview window in the dialog box. Transparency is displayed in the preview window by a rectangular lattice. You can toggle between the Preview window and your Save As GIF options to get exactly what you want. Enable the checkbox for Interlace GIF File if your image will be displayed on a Web page.

For information on creating masks, refer to “Using Selections” on page 203.

Saving RGB TIF and CMYK TIF Files

TIFF facilitates exchange between applications and computer platforms. It’s a widely supported bitmap image format, allowing you to save with either CMYK or RGB color space information. When you save a file as CMYK TIF , Corel Painter creates a color separation, which can then be used for four-color process printing.

Saving Adobe Photoshop Files

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

When you save, you have RGB and CMYK options as you do when saving TIFF files.

Saving Encapsulated PostScript (EPS) Files

The encapsulated PostScript® (EPS) files in Corel Painter conform to the Desktop Color Separatio n (DCS) 2.0

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

When you save an image as EPSDCS with Output Preview turned on, Corel Painter uses the loaded International Color Consortium (ICC) profile to prepare the separation files. If you’re using the Hexachrome® ICC profile, Corel Painter prepares six separ ation files— Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Green, Orange, and Black. For more information on Output Preview and color management, refer to “Printing” on page445.

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

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

• Hex (ASC II) Pictu re Data provides a nother way of storin g

Core l Pain t e r 49

P ostScript information. Some page design programs require that this option be checked. The file sizes will be appr oximately twice as large when saved with this option.

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

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

Recovering Lost Work

How can you recover work lost in a corrupt image file? When you work with computers, sometimes uncontrollable events cause files to become corrupt. No backup? Lost all your work? Do you have to create the whole image again?

Maybe not. There’s one way to try recovering lost work. Corel Painter records all actions into the Current Script. If Corel Painter is stopped and restarted within 24 hour s, th e old current script is still available, saved a s “{date}{time}” and a new current script is started. By default, th e dat ed scripts are saved for one day, but you can reset this to a longer time in General Preferences.

The dated scri pts can b e used to r epl ay actions for recovering lost work or creating scripts for movies. Also, you can use the Script List t o cut and pas te portions of the dated script th at are useful. Just open the dated script and delete the last few commands, then play the script to re-create the work and try saving the file again.

For more information, see “Scripting” on page415.

Closing Documents and Quitting the Application

To close a document:

• Do one of the following:

• Click the current window’s close box.

•Choose File menu > Close.

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

To quit Corel Painter:

• Do one of the following:

• (Mac OS) Choose Corel

Painter 8 menu > Quit Corel Painter 8.

• (Wind ows) Choose File menu > Quit.

Tip

You can also qu it Corel Painter by

•

pressing Command + Q (Mac OS) or Ctrl + Q (Windows).

Setting Preferences

Corel Painter has several different preference dialog boxes: General, Brush Tracking, Custom ize Keys, Undo, Shapes, Internet, Save, Operating System, and Palettes.

Basics50

Use the General Preferences dialog box to customize your application.

General Preferences

To access General preferences:

• Do one of the follo wing:

• (Mac OS) Choo se Corel

Painter 8 menu > Preferences > General.

• (Windows) Choose Edit menu > Preferences > General.

Tip

To make changes to other preferences

•

before closing the Preferences dialog box, choose another preference type from the pop-up men u.

Cursor Setup

Corel Painter gives you several choice s for the appearance of your cursor.

• To choose whether the cursor will be a brush or a single pixel, check an opti on in the Drawing Cursor area.

• To determine the direction the cursor will point (dependin g on your design and your preferences), click the appropriate option in the Orientation area. This option is only available with the Brush cursor type.

• To set the cursor to show the brush size and shape, enable the Brush Ghosting option. Brush Ghosting gives you immediate visual feedback on the cursor, showing you the shape and size of the selected brush.

When you use a brush with “Enable Brush Ghosting” e nabled, the cursor shows the shape of the brush.

Setting the Default Libraries

Corel Painter provides standard libraries that contain brushes, paper grains , s e lec t io n s , layers, and c olor sets. The Libraries section of the General Preferences dialog box lets you designate which librarie s appear by default.

To set default librarie s :

• Enter library file names in the Br us h e s , Paper s , S elec t ions, Layers, and Color Set text fields.

Core l Pain t e r 51

Note

The default libraries must reside in the

•

Corel Painter folder.

Auto-Save Scripts

When you create an image, Corel Painter records all the operations you perform. This recording is known as a background script and is sav ed on the Scripts palette.

The Auto-Save Scripts preference governs how long Corel Painter saves background scripts befo re deleting them. In the text field, enter the number of days for which you want Corel Painter to save background scripts.

For more information about creating and using scripts, refer to “Scripting” on page415.

Brush Size Increment

The Brush Size Increment preference lets you set the increment value in pixels.

Magnifier Increment

The Magnifier Increment preference lets you set the percentage of magnification the magnifier will increment by.

Temp File Volume

Choosing the temp file volume selects the disk volume that Corel Painter wil l put its temp o r ary fi l e on a n d use to access virtual memory. Choose the volume name (Mac OS) or letter (Windows) from the Temp File Volume pop-up menu.

Units

The Units preference lets you choose units of measurement used by the application’s various sliders and other measurement options.

Cloning Preference

When you clone an image, Corel Painter uses the color information from the original as you fill in your clone. If you would like Corel Pa inter to display what part of the original

you’re cloning, check the box next to Indicate Clone Source With Crosshairs While Cloning.

Draw Zoomed-out Views Using Area-Averaging

When looking at an image at under 100% magnification, screen draw is faster if you leave this option unchecked, and slower but more accurate if checked.

Display Warning When Drawing Outside Selection

Checking this box enables the warning that appears when you draw outside a selection.

Show Commit Dia log When Converting to a Layer

Enable this checkbox if you want to reinstate the Commit dialog after you have selected the Don’t Ask Again button in the Commit dialog.

Basics52

Brush Tracking Preferences

When you draw with traditional media, the amount of pressure you use with a tool determin es h ow dense and how wide your strokes are. Using a pressure-sensitive stylus with Corel Painter gives you this same kind of control. Each artist has a different strength or pressure level in a stroke. The Brush Tracking preference lets you adjust Corel Painter to match your stroke strength. This is particularly useful for artists wi th a light touch. If a light stroke leaves no color on the Canvas, you should use Brush Tracking to increase sensitivity.

You might also change brush tracking between phases of a project. You could use a light touch when sketching with a pencil brush variant, then set tracking for more pressure when you switch to an oil paint variant.

Corel Painter saves Brush Tracking between sessions, so whatev er tracking sensitivity you set will be the default next time you open the application.

To set Brush Tr acking:

1 Do one of the follo wing:

• (Mac OS) Cho ose Corel

Painter 8 menu > Preferences > Brush Tracking.

• (Windows) Choose Editmenu

> Preferences > Brush Tracking.

2 Drag in the scratch pad in a

“normal” stroke. Use the pressure and speed you

prefer when drawing or painting. For specific adjustments, yo u can move the sliders.

Use the Brush Tracking dialog to customize how Corel Painter responds to your stylus pressure and speed.

Custom ize Keys Prefere nces

Corel Painter lets you assign commands to your keyboard function keys (the F-keys). This saves you time by giving you immediate keyboard access to your favorite c ommands. Using the Shift key with the function keys le ts you double the number of commands you can use.

To assign commands to function keys:

1 Do one of the following:

• (Mac OS) Choose Corel

Painter 8 menu > Preferences > Customize Keys.

• (Windows) Choose Edit menu

> Preferences > Customize Keys.

2 Choose the function key you want

to use from the menu.

3 If you want to use the Shift key in

combination, enable the Shift checkbox.

Current Function shows the command now assigned to this key.

Core l Pain t e r 53

4 Choose the command you want,

either from a main menu or a palette menu.

New Function shows the command you’ve chosen.

5 Click Set to assign this command

to the selected key.

6 Repeat steps two through six for

each key you want to set.

7 When you’re finished, click OK. Tip

Click Summa ry for a list of the

•

function keys that have been assigned.

Undo Preferences

Multiple Undo allows you to undo and redo up to 32 levels of changes. Corel Painter sets 32 levels as the default.

Undo levels apply across open documents. With five levels set, if you have two documents open and you have “undone” three operations on the first document, you can undo only two operations on the second document.

Multiple Undo can use a significant amount of disk space. If you perform multiple operations on the entire image, the whole image must be saved for each undo step.

To set undo levels

1 Do one of the following:

• (Mac OS) Choose Corel

Painter 8 menu > Pr eferenc es > Undo.

• (Windows) Choose Editmenu > Preferences > Undo.

2 Enter a number between 1 and 32

in the box.

Shape Preferences

You can set the default fill and stroke in the Shape Preferences dialog box. These settings apply to new shapes you crea te.

If you enable Big Handles, the Bézier curv e control handles will appear larger. You may find it easier to work with them in the larger size.

You can also specify colors for the wing color, point color, and outline color.

To change shape preferences:

1 Do one of the following:

• (Mac OS) Choose Corel

Painter 8 menu > Pr eferenc es > Shapes.

•(Windows) Choose Editmenu > Preferences > Shapes.

2 Select your preferences from the

following options:

• Drawing Options — Controls how Corel Painter displays shapes as you create them (On Draw) and when a shape path is closed (On Close). The default setting is Stroke On Draw and Fi ll On Close.

• Big Handles

—

Controls the size of the anchor points and direction wing handles. This can make them easier to grab and drag. If you want big points, enable this option.

Basics54

• Outline Color — Controls the color for the shape outline paths. Double-click the color chip to change the color.

• Selected Point Color

—

Controls the color for selected anchor points (unselected anchor points appear “hollow”). Double-click the color chip to change the color.

• Wing Color

—

Controls the color for the control wings and handles. Double-click the color chip to change the color.

Internet Prefere nc es

Corel Painter works closely with your Internet b r owser t o h e l p y o u ta k e advantage of resources on the Internet. Whether you use Netscape Navigat or, Microsoft ® In t e rnet Explore r, or another browser, you can launch your browser from within Corel Painter.

The browser will take you directly to the URL specified in the Internet Preferences dialog box. This

streamlines your access to program help, technical support, additional art materials, and librari e s.

The level of memory in your system can limit your ability to run Co rel Painter and your browser application at the same time. For more information, refer to “Physical Memory Usage” on page 56.

The Corel Painter installer should be able to locate and link to your browser automatically. In some cases, though, you will need to manually select the browser. For example, you’d need to do this if you have more than one browser.

To change the d efaul t URL:

1 Do one of the following:

• (Mac OS) Cho ose Corel

Painter 8 menu > Preferences > Internet.

• (Windows) Choose Editmenu > Preferences > Internet.

2 Type a new URL in the Default

Libra ry Brow si ng UR L fi e l d .

Save Preferences

You can set color space prompt preferences automatically when saving files, so that you do n ot need to choose a color space every time you save.

F or Mac OS o nly, Corel Painter allows you to select file extension preferences.

To set color space prompt preferences

1 Do one of the following:

• (Mac OS) Choose Corel

Painter 8 menu > Preferences > Save.

• (Windows) Choose Edit menu > Preferences > Save.

2 Choose one of th e following

options from the TIFF and PSD pop-up menus:

• RGB — automatically saves the file as RGB

• CMYK — automatically saves the file as CMYK

• Prompt on Save — prompts you to choose a color space every time you save a file

Core l Pain t e r 55

To set file extension preferences (Mac OS)

1 Choose Corel Painter 8 menu >

Preferences > Save.

2 Choose one of the following

option s f r om t he A ppe nd pop-up menu:

• Always — always adds the appropriate file extension when saving

• Never — never adds a file extension when saving

• Ask When Saving — prompts you to choose whether or not to add a file extension when saving

Operatin g System Preferences (Windows)

Computers running Windows have some additional options.

To access Operating System preferences:

• Choose Edit menu > Preferences > Operating System.

Configuring Your Browser to Recognize S oftware Resource s

Your brows e r must be se t to rec og n i z e Corel Painter files and instructed what to do with them.

This is something you’ll do in your browser. Consult your browser documentation for more information.

Physical Memory Usa ge

For best performance, choose Maximum Memory for Pai nter on the Operating System Preferences page, and run Cor el Painter with no other programs running in the background. Choos in g Ha lf Memo ry for P ai nte r on the Operating System Preferences page allows Corel Painter to run more efficiently while other Windows applications are running.

Printing Options

Free Memory for Printing will increase printing speed by writing the active image to disk, increasing the amount of memory available for the print manager and the printer driver.

No Print Banding disables print banding for devices that support it. Disabling print banding can help some P ostScript printers, but will hurt the performance of some bitmap printers, such as the Hewlett-Packard® DeskJet® printers. Most dot matrix printers will be faster with No Print Banding left unchecked. If you experience problems printing in landscape orientation, you may have to turn off banding by checking the option button in the dialog box.

Display Options

If your video d isplay driver is set to 16bit colors, you can experience some color irregularities on your screen when using Corel Painter. Checking the No Device Dependent Bitmaps option will correct this problem with most 16-bit color video displays. If you are not using 16-bit colors, this checkbox will have no effect on your system.

Basics56

Palettes

Using Two Monitors

Using Plug-ins

Palettes have been redesigned fo r Corel Painter, allowing you to have more control over snapping and grouping them.

To chang e pa let te beha v ior

1 Do one of the follo wing:

• (Mac OS) Choose Corel

Painter 8 menu > Preferences > Pale tt e s.

• (Windows) Choose Edit menu > Preferences > Palettes.

2 Choose your preferences from the

following options:

• Autoscroll — lets you scroll through a palette with many elements automatically.

• Snapping Behavior — determines where palettes are docked in relation to other elements on the user interface

• Snapping Tolerance — determines the minimum distance, in pixels, between the palette and other elements on the user interface before docking

The Corel Painter user interface can be displayed across two or more monitors. You can drag any of the Corel Painter palettes, the property bar, and the toolbox to any monitor; however, each palette must be displayed entirely on one monitor at a time.

If a palette straddles two monitors , it will automatically snap to the nearest vertical edge of the monitor with the largest portion of the palette. If the palette is displayed equally on both monitors, it will snap to the vertical edge of the left monitor.

For best performanc e, make sure both monitors are set to the same resol ut i on. In Wind o ws, you must stretch the application window to straddle both mon itors, then redesign your workspace.

For information on configuring your system to display across two or more monitors, refer to your operating syste m d oc u men t at i o n .

Plug-ins are sof tware modules that extend Corel Painter capabilities. Many plug-ins come with Corel Painter and ar e automatically install ed in the Corel Painter > Plug-ins folder. Other special effects plug-ins are available for purchase from th irdparty software developers.

Corel Painter uses the following types of plug-ins:

• Effects filters offer special effects for raster images. You can access available filters at the bottom of the Effects menu, below standard effects.

Most Photoshop-compatible filters run on Corel Painter; however, there are some exceptions. For example, because Corel Painter is an RGB-based program, it cannot run filters that are specific to CMYK or Grayscale modes. Check with the manufacturer to determine if a filter is compatible with Corel Painter.

• Plug-in brushes extend the power of the Brush tool.

Core l Pain t e r 57

• Dynamic plug-ins are different from other effects plug-ins because you can re-access their controls and change the characteristics of the effect at any time.

• Acq u i re p l u g- ins support acquisition of images through external devices (such as scan ners and digital cameras) and fi le formats not built into the application.

• Export plug-ins export image data and support special output dev ices. F or example, many photo-realistic dye-sublimation printers include export modules to provide better control over output quality than the standard print interface.

Note

Mac OS: Thi rd- part y plug- in s t hat ar e

•

not designed for native PowerPC® architecture will not work in C ore l Painter.

Installing P lug-ins

Where you install a plug-in module depends on its type.

Plug-in brushes and dynamic plug-ins are specific to Corel Painter and must reside in a specific location in the Corel Painter > Plug-ins folder. The Corel Painter standard plug-in brushes and dynamic plug-ins are automatically installed in the correct location. However, if you want to install new plug-in brush and dynamic plug-in modules, you must manually place them in the correct location.

Other plug-in modules are used by multiple software applications and can reside anywhere on your computer. Fo r Corel Painter to access such plug-ins, you must place an alias (Mac OS) or shortcut (Windows) to the source folder in the Corel Painter > Plug-ins folder. During st a rt - u p , Corel Painter uses the alias or shortcut to load the plug-ins.

To install a new plug-in brush:

1 Drag the plug-in brush module

into the Corel Painter > Plug-ins folder.

2 If Corel Painter is running, restart

it to activate the new plug-in.

To install a new dynamic plug-in:

1 Drag the dynamic plug-in module

into the Corel Painter > Plug-ins folder.

2 If Corel Painter is running, restart

it to activate the new plug-in.

To install an effect s, acquire, or export plug-in:

1 F ollow the installation instructions

provided by the plug-in manufacturer.

You can install plug-ins anywhere on your computer—inside the Corel Painter folder, in a generic plug-ins folder on your hard drive, or in anot her location.

2 If you installed the plug-in in the

Corel Painter > Plug-ins folder,

Corel Painter automatically loads the plug-in during startup.

3 If you installed the plug-in in

another location:

• (Mac OS) Select the folder containing the plug-in. Choose Make Alias from the File men u .

• (Windows) Select the folder containing the plug-in in My Computer or Windows

Basics58

Explore r. Choose Create Shortcut (or New > Shortcut) from the File menu.

4 Move the alias/shortcut into the

Corel Painter > Plug-ins folde r.

5 If Corel Painter is running, restart

it to a c ti vate t h e ne w plu g-in.

Note

To access all Photoshop plug-ins, make

•

an alias (Mac OS) or shortcut (Windows) to the Photoshop Plu g -ins folder.

Wacom Intuos Support

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

Painting with an Intuos Tablet and Pen

The Intuos tablet p rovides 1,024 levels of pressure sensitivity to help you create smooth curves, gradual transitions, and precise brush strokes. Corel Painter allows you to take advantage of tilt and bearing input from an Intuos pen in new and exciting ways.

Note

The mouse mode option in the W acom

•

controls panel—which causes a st ylus t o behave like a mouse— is not compatible with Corel Painter. Always use pen mode when painti ng with an Intuos tablet and pen.

Brush Tracking

Every artist uses a different pressure when drawing on an Intuos tablet. The Corel Painter Brush Tracking preference helps you customize your Intuos tablet to meet your pressure sensitivity needs. Refer to “Brush Tr acking Preferences” on page53 for more information.

Expressions Setting s

Settings you make in the Expressions area of the Brush Creator allow you to tie brush features like Opacity, Grain, Angle, Size, Jitter , Resaturation, Bleed, Flow, and Depth to stylus data, such as Velocity, Direction, Pressure, Wheel, Ti lt, and Bearing. F or more information about using the

Expressions section in the Brush Creator, refer to “Expression Settings” on page164.

Minimum Size Settings

In Corel Painter, the Minimum Size setting lets you take even further advantage of stylus input dat a. When Size is set in the Expressions area of the Brush Creator to respond to styl us pressure, and a Min Size setting is set to a small percentage of the brush Size, the strokes you make with the styl u s c r e at e amazi ngly re a l i s tic results. Responding to the elegance of subtle movements, as your stylus pressure eases, brush strokes taper. As pressure increase s, brush strokes widen, just as they would with a real brush.

Using the Intuos Airbrush Wheel

The Intuos Airbrush—the first true computer airbrush—provides fingertip media flow control. Corel Painter airbrushes respond to angle (tilt), bearing (direction), and flow (wheel setting) data from the Intuos

Core l Pain t e r 59

stylus, allowing for a truly realistic brush stroke. For example, as you tilt your stylus, specks of media land on the paper in a w ay th at r e fl e c ts that tilt. Corel Painter airbrushes create conic-sections that mirror your stylus movements. Corel Painter airbrushes take advantage of the Intuos airbrush stylus wheel control. Like the needle control on a real airbrush, the Intuo s wheel control adjust s ai rbrush flow, or how much medium is applied. For more information about using the new airbrushes, refer to “Painting with Airbrushes” on page 114.

Using Multiple Intuos Pens

All Intuos pens—both standard and airbrush—feature ToolID™, which allows you to co nfigu re and wor k wit h multiple pens during a Corel Painter session.

F or example, let’s assume you have two Intuos pens: Pen 1 and Pen 2. Pen 1 is set to an Oil brush variant; Pen 2 is set to an Artists variant.

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

Every time yo u br i ng Pen 1 into the tablet’s proximity, Corel Painter automatically changes the active

Basics60

Using Textures, Patterns, and Weaves

In Corel Painter, paper textures, gradients, patte rns, and weav es can all be applied to your image. You can brush some of them on, get them to interact with each other, spray them, smear them, and even create your own. Best of all, you never have to run to the store in the middl e of cr eating to get a new tube of paint or the right kind of paper.

You’ll use these items in several ways:

• to load a Brush tool with medi a for painting

• to fill selections with the Effects menu > Fill command or the Pain t B u c ket tool

• to control certain image effects, like Apply Surface Texture

This chapter explains how to sele c t, customize, and create textures, patterns, and weaves, as well as how to save them to a library for future use.

Papers, patterns, and weaves all use libraries. The default libraries offer sample materials. You’ll find more libraries, with addit ional materi als, on the Corel Painter CD and on the Corel Web site. For more information about libraries, including how to load alternate libraries, create your own libraries, and manage library content, refer to “What are Libraries?” on page 23.

Using Paper Texture

In the real world, a marking tool has different results when applied to surfaces with different textures. Corel Painter allows you to control the texture of the canvas to achieve the results you’d expect from NaturalMedia on a given surface—pencil on Water Color paper, felt pens on cotton paper, chalk on the sidewalk, and so on.

Of cours e , some brus he s , li k e the Airbrush, don’t reveal paper textur e in their strokes. This follows the behav i or of the natu r a l to ol .

Most of the brushes interact with the current paper texture.

Paper text ures are useful in many ways. The brushes interact with paper “grain,” just as natural tools react with the texture of th e surfaces beneath them. Paper grains are useful in applying Surface Texture and other Effects, like Glass Distortion. You can

select different paper textures, modify them, organize them in libraries, and even create your own custom textures.

In Corel Painter, brushes that react with paper texture have a “grainy method.” For more information about brush methods, refer to “Methods and Subcategories” on page152.

Note

The terms “paper grain” and “paper

•

texture” ar e u sed here synonymously.

Adjusting the Grain

When you choose a br ush that interacts with paper grain, you see the results with each stroke. When you find a brush and paper combination that you really like, yo u can save i t as a Look.

If you have a sty lus and ta blet, you can adjust paper grain by changing the stroke of the stylus on a pressuresensitive tablet. In most cases, a light stroke colors only the peaks and ridg es of the grain. A heavy stroke fills color deep into the pockets and valleys. You

can also affect paper grain by using the Grain settings on the Stroke Designer tab of the Brush Creator .

When you want paper grain to appear uniformly across an image, create your artwork first and then apply the grain as a surface texture. If you apply pap er texture when you create an image, the texture is erasable.

With erasable texture, you won’t be able to erase brush strokes without erasing paper texture a t the same time. You’ll find that adding paper textur e as the last step, not the first step, in developing your image often works best.

To save a Look:

1 In the toolbox, click the

Rectangular Selection tool .

2 Drag in the image to make a

selection of the look you want to save.

3 In the toolbox, open the Look

selector and click the selector menu arrow.

4 Choose New Look.

Using Textures, Patterns, and Weaves62

5 In the New Look dialog box , type a

name in the Save As box.

Choosing Paper Textures

The Papers palette is where all paper textures are stored. In addition to using it to select papers, you can use this palette to invert, resize, or randomize paper grain; control brightness and contrast; or to open other paper libraries. For more information on working with libraries, refer to “Loading Alternate Libraries” on page 24.

To choose a paper texture:

1 Choose Window menu > Show

Papers to display the Papers

palette. If the Papers palette is not

expanded, click the palette arrow.

2 Click the Paper selector arrow to

display the available paper textures.

3 Cho os e a pap e r te xtur e from the

Paper selector. The Papers palette sho ws the

dimensions of the selected paper (in pixels). Corel Painter tiles the paper to cover as much canvas as needed.

Tips

You can also choose a paper texture

•

from the Paper selector in the toolbox.

Corel Pa inter uses the currently

•

selected texture, so you can mak e a few strokes, then change the paper and make a few more strokes with different results.

Invert ing and Scaling Paper Textures

You can think of paper texture as a three-dimensional landscape. Usually, brushes react to paper texture by coloring peaks and ignoring valleys. Enabling the Invert Paper option makes color fill th e valleys, instead of the peaks.

You can adjust the paper texture scale to resize the paper texture. Scaling paper grain affects how the grain appears in brush strokes and images.

To inver t paper grain:

1 Choose Window menu > Show

Papers.

2 On the Papers palette, do one of

the following:

• Click the palette menu ar row, and choose Invert Paper.

• Click the Invert Paper button

The Paper selector on the Papers palette.

Core l Pain t e r 63

Tip

You can also use the Paper selector in

•

the toolbox to inver t pa per grain. Click the Paper selector, click the selecto r m enu arrow, and choose Invert Paper.

Note

Scaling larg e textures can use a great

•

deal of RAM. Most textures in Corel Painter are from 50 to 400 pixels square at 100% scaling.

Brush strokes on paper grains with different scale values.

Controlling Paper Texture Brightness and Contrast

Brightness can be thought of as controlling the depth of the paper grain. P aper that is less bright acts as i f the grain is shallow.

Contr a s t ca n be t h ou ght of as controlling the steepness of the paper grain. The grain in higher contrast paper goes from high to low more quickly and with fewer intermediate levels.

Two brush strokes overlapping. The green one was painted with the grain inverted .

To change pa pe r tex tur e scale :

1 Choose Window menu > Show

Papers.

2 On the Papers palette, use the

Paper Scale slider to resize the pape r grai n .

As you move the slider, the texture preview updates to displ ay t he new grain size. You can scale texture down to 25% or up to 400%.

Using Textures, Patterns, and Weaves64

Randomizing Paper Grain

Normally, paper grain is fixed, which means the texture is in the same position each time you apply a brush stroke. You can change this when you want grain to be applied randomly.

To randomize pape r grain:

1 Choose Window menu > Show

Brush Creator .

2 Click the Stroke Designer tab, and

choo se Rand om .

3 Enable the Random Brush Stroke

Grai n option.

To change paper texture brightness:

1 Choose Window menu > Show

Papers.

2 Adjust the Paper Brightness slider

to modify the brightness of the grain.

To change paper texture contrast:

1 Choose Window menu > Show

Papers.

2 On the Papers palette, use the

Paper Contrast slider to modify the contrast of the grain.

Creating Paper Textures

The Make Paper command lets you make your own paper textures.

To creat e a paper t ex tur e:

1 Choose Window menu > Show

Papers.

2 On the Papers palette, click the

palette menu arrow and choose Make Paper.

3 In the Make Paper dialog box,

choose a pattern from the Pattern pop-up menu to use as the basis of your paper texture.

4 Adjust the Spacing slider.

Moving the Spacing slider to the right opens up space between rows and columns in the selected pattern.

5 Adjust the Angle slider.

Moving the Angle slider changes the direction in which the pattern’s rows are lined up.

6 When you like the look of the

texture, enter a name. Your new texture appears as the

last item in the Paper selector.

Tip

You can also use the Pa per selector in

•

the toolbox to create paper. Click the Paper selector, click the selector men u arrow, and cho ose Make Paper.

The Make Paper dialog box allows you to create your own textures based on patterns in the Pattern pop-up menu.

Capturing Paper Textures

The Capture Paper command let s you turn a section of an i mage into a paper texture. Once you save textures, they are available from the Papers palette.

To capture paper texture:

1 Open or create an image. 2 Select all or a piece of your source

image.

3 On the Papers palette, click the

palette menu arrow and choose Capture Paper.

If you want to blend the distinction between tile borders, move the Crossfade slider in the Save Paper dialog box to the right.

4 Type the name of your new

texture. Your texture now appears in the

Paper selec tor and is added to the current library .

Tips

You can also use the Paper selector in

•

the toolbo x to capt ure pap er te xture . Clic k the Pa per selector, click the selector menu arrow, and choose Capture Paper.

The Make Fractal Pattern feature

•

creates excellent textures. Som e wea ves also produce good textures. For more information, see “Turning a Fractal Pattern into a Paper Texture” on page69.

Core l Pain t e r 65

Using Patterns

A pattern is a repeating design. The smallest unit of a pattern is known as a “tile.” When you fill an area with a pattern, the tile is repeated across the selected area.

With patterns, you can:

• fill selections with imagery

• paint patterns directly onto your image, with computed brushes that use rendered dab types

• paint using a cloni ng brush

• control image effects

You’ll find a sampling of patterns in the default Pattern libr ary. You’ll find other pattern libraries on the Corel Painter CD.

The Patterns palette shows a preview of the pattern, gives tile image dimensions, and gives you op tions for scaling and arranging the tile when used in fills.

The Pattern selector on the Patterns palette.

Patterns are created by repeating a rectangular image tile across an area. Ideally, images intended to be tiled are created so that they tile seamlessly. Corel Painter provides ways to help you generate seamless tiles.

You can capture a pattern after you create it and manipulate it to be a halfdrop design, traditionally used in wallpaper designs. Your patterns can be added to the Pattern library.

Fractal patterns can be used to create interesting landscapes in Corel Painter.

To choose a pattern:

1 Choose Window menu > Show

Patterns.

If the Patterns palette is not expanded, click the palette arrow.

2 On the Patterns palette, click the

Pattern selector.

3 Choose a pattern from the Pattern

selector.

Tip

You can also choose a pattern from the

•

Pattern selector in the too l box .

To adjust the appearance of a pattern

1 Choose Window menu > Show

Patterns.

2 Choose a pattern from the Pattern

selector.

3 Enable one of the following

options:

• Rectangular places the tile in a regular grid for fills. The Offset slider does not apply.

• Horizontal offsets the tiles in subsequent rows. The Offset slider controls the amount of offset.

Using Textures, Patterns, and Weaves66

• Vertical offsets the tiles in subsequent columns. The Offset slider controls the amount of offset.

4 Adjust the Pattern Scale slider to

control the dimensions of the pattern.

After setting these options, the pattern is ready to use.

To fi ll an im a g e wi th patt e r n ti l es :

1 On the Patterns palette, choose a

pattern.

2 Choose Effects menu > Fill. 3 In the Fill dialog box , choose

Pattern.

Note

To see tiling in an image, the image

•

must be larger than the t ile.

To paint with a pattern:

1 Fr om t h e Brus h se le c t or, choos e a

brush that applies media to a document.

2 On the Stroke Designer page of

the Brush Creator, choose General.

3 From the Source pop-up menu,

choose one of the followi ng:

• Pattern — paints with a pattern containing no mask information.

• Pattern with Mas k — paints using mask data contained in the p a tt ern .

• Pattern As Opacity — paints with the pattern at a reduced opacity.

4 Choose Window menu > Show

Patterns.

5 Choose a pattern from the Pattern

selector.

6 Paint in the image. Notes:

If you have not set a clone source,

•

Corel Painter uses the current pattern in any operation referring to clone source colors or luminance. Th is means you can paint with a pattern using a Cloner brush.

If the Source option is not available

•

(grayed out), the selec ted brush can apply color only. In that case, select a rende red brush, or choose Rendered from the Dab Type pop-up menu.

When painting with a pattern, keep in

•

mind that direction ma tters. Corel Painter flips the pattern you’re pain tin g when you change directions, so apply strokes in the same direction for a uniform effect.

Editing a Pattern Tile

If a pattern preview isn’t detailed enough or you want to edit an existing pattern, you can open the pattern tile in its own window. By loading a pattern as a file, you can view the pattern closely and modify it.

Once a pattern becomes a tile, you can paint off one side of the Canvas and watch your stroke appear on the opposite side of the Canvas, automatically wrapping to the other side.

Refer to “Creating Seamless Tiles” on page 68 for more information about editing pattern tiles.

To edit a pattern tile:

1 On the Patterns palette, choose a

pattern from the Pattern selector.

Core l Pain t e r 67

2 Click the palette menu arrow, and

choose Check Out Pattern. Corel Painter opens the selected

pattern tile in its own document window.

You can now edit the pattern tile as you would any image. To put the modified pattern back in the palette, you must save it to the Pattern librar y. For more information about saving patterns to a library, refer to “Adding Patterns to the Pattern Library” on page70.

Creating Seamless Tiles

Pattern s ar e c reated by repeating a rectangular image tile across an area. When you develop patterns, you’re creating images th at will be tiled. Ideally, those images must tile seamlessly. That is, the eye should not be able to distinguish tile edges. Corel Painter provides ways to help you generate i mag es that will ti l e e asily.

The wrap-around colors feature lets you paint off one side of an image and onto the other side.

To help in making seamless tiles, Corel Painter gives documents defined as pattern tiles two special characteristics: wrap-around colors and wrap-around seams.

• With wrap-around colors, a bru sh stroke dragged off one edge of an image appears on the other side. This makes it easier to paint seamless, self-tiling patterns.

• The wrap-around seams feature lets you move the edges of pattern tiles to the center of the image, where their tonal differences are more apparent an d easier to correct.

To minimize seams:

1 On the Patterns palette, click the

pal e tt e menu arrow and choose Define Pattern.

2 In the toolbox, choose the Grabber

tool .

3 Hold down the Shift key and drag

inside the image. You’ll see a horizontal and vertical

line where image edges meet.

4 When the crossing lines are

centered, release the mouse button.

The wrap-around seams feature lets you move the pattern tile edges to the mi ddle so you can edit them.

Using Textures, Patterns, and Weaves68

To rem ove edge lines

• Do one of the follo wing:

• Set the Straight Cloner brush to clone from somewhere inside the image to preserve detailed imagery. Refer to “Painting in the Clone” on page 190 for more information about cloning.

• Paint out edge lines using any color brush.

• Smear across edge lines with a Water or Drip brush.

• Copy a selection to a layer and move it over the line. Feather the layer and reduce opacity to help produce clean transitions. Drop the layer when you’re satisfied. Refer to “Using Layers and Layer Masks” on page229 for more information about working with layers.

Turning a Fractal Pattern into a Paper Texture

You can turn a fractal pattern into a paper texture that will be saved to the Paper library.

To convert a fractal pattern to a texture:

1 On the Patterns palette, click the

palette menu arrow and choose Check Out Pattern.

The pattern displays in a new image window.

2 Choose Effects menu > Tonal

Control to adjust image elements

such as brightness, contrast, and luminance.

3 When you’re satisfied with the

tonal balance, choose Select menu

> All.

4 Choose Window menu > Show

Papers

to display the Papers

palette.

5 Click the palette menu arrow and

choose Capture Paper.

6 In the Save Paper dialog box, set

the crossfade to 0.00.

7 Name the paper texture.

Creating and Capturing Patterns

Corel Painter offers three ways to create patterns:

• Define the current image as a pattern, then add it to the Pattern library.

• Create a rectangular selection, then capture it as a pattern. For more information about creating selections, see “Creating Selections” on page206.

• Make a Fractal pattern, then add it to the library . For more information on creating fractal patterns, see “Creating Fractal Patter ns” on page 71.

After creating a pattern tile, you’ll probably want to refine it, so that it tiles seamlessly. Refer to “Creating Seamless Tiles” on page 68.

Images that you tur n into pa tterns a nd save in RIF format maintain their pattern characteristics even after being saved and reopened.

Creating patterns can become addictive. It’s a good idea to keep libraries small. Use the Patt er ns Mover to create new libraries and delete unwanted patterns. You can switch libraries whenever you want to use a different set of patterns. Fo r

Core l Pain t e r 69

more information about move rs, refe r to “Moving Items Between Libraries” on page 25.

To create a pattern:

1 Open the image file you want to

create a pattern from.

2 Choose Window menu > Show

Patterns

to display th e Patterns

palette.

3 Click the palette menu arrow, and

choose Define Pattern.

Tip

With the Grabber tool selected, you

•

can hold dow n the Shift key a nd drag the seams to the center o f the image. For best results, do this at 100% scale, not zoomed in.

To capture a pattern:

1 Using the Rectangular Selection

tool , select the area of the image you want to use as a pattern .

Remember, selection edges meet when the image is tiled, so select carefully.

2 Choose Window menu > Show

Patterns

to display the Pattern s

palette.

3 Click the palette menu arrow and

choose Capture Pattern.

4 Enable one of the following

options:

• Rectangular Tile — places the tile in a regular grid for fills. The Bias slider does n ot apply.

• Horizontal Shift — offsets the tiles in subsequent rows. The Bias slider controls the amount of offset .

• Vertical Shift — of fsets the tiles in subsequent columns. The Bias slider controls the amount of offset .

As you try different tile arrangements and Bias settings, the Preview window shows the result.

5 Enter a descriptive name for the

pattern. Corel Painter captures the pattern

and saves it to the current library. Once saved, you can find the captured pattern on the Patterns

palette. If you want to edit it, you can check it back out of the library.

The Capture Pattern dialog box lets you decide how much to offset pattern tiles and in which direction.

Adding Patterns to the Pattern Library

You can add any image as a pat ter n tile to the current Pattern library.

To add a pat te rn to the lib ra ry:

1 On the Patterns palette, click the

pal e tt e menu arrow and choose Add Image to Library.

2 In the Save Image dialog box, give

it a descriptive name.

Using Textures, Patterns, and Weaves70

If a pattern with that name already exists in this library, you are prompted to replace it. If you don’t want to replace the existing pattern, click No to try again with a different name.

Creating Fractal Patterns

The Make F ractal Patt ern command is a pattern generator that creates interesting landscapes. These topographic patterns can be filled with color and even embossed using a paper texture.

When you create fractal patterns, the following options allow you to finetune your creation:

• Size sets the exact size of the tile you are creating. If your computer has a lot of memory , you can make a large file with a high resolu tion. Depending on h ow mu ch memory your computer has available to Corel Painter, some of the size options may not be available.

• Power controls the intricacy of the pattern’s definition, as if you were “zooming” in and out on a

textured surface with a microscope. Move the Power slider to the right to zoom out and see many small patterns. Move the Power slider to the left to zoom in and see fewer large patterns.

The Power slider determines the degree of detail. Top=-200%, bottom=0%.

• Feature Size defines the number of prominent features within the tile. Moving the slider to the left increases the number of repetitions per tile.

The Feature Size slide r determines the number of repetitions per tile. Top=90%, bottom=20%.

• Softness adjusts the edge softness of the pattern.

• Angle chan ges the direction from which you view the fractal.

• Thinness emphasizes the direction suggested by the lines of the fractal pattern. Thinner lines produce a more linear look.

Core l Pain t e r 71

Low Thinness settings show the fractal as streaks. Use th e Angle slider t o change the direction of streaking.

Corel Painter uses four channels to store graphic information: Red , Green, Blue, and Alpha.

You can place information other than color values in these channels. Channel options allow you to visualize this information in new and different ways.

• Height as Luminance displays pseudo-height information as luminance. Images generated with this option are useful in conjunction with the Apply Surface Texture effect. White areas

are represented as peaks, and dark areas become depressions.

• Gradient Bearing uses the Red channel to display the bearing of the down angle of a height field.

• Surface Normal uses the Green and Blue channels to represent the X and Y components of the surface normal (angle perpendicular to the surface at a given point) of the height field (Green=X, Blue=Y).

These two latter options for viewing a fractal texture are offered for purely aesthetic reasons. One way to take advantage of them is to create color variations of the texture with the Adjust Colors feature.

To create fractal patterns:

1 On the Patterns palette, click the

palette menu arrow and choose Make Fractal Pattern.

2 In the Make Fractal Pattern dialog

box, adjust the fractal options. Changes you make appear in the

Preview window.

3 When you are satisfied with your

selections, click OK.

Give Corel Painter a little time to create your new pattern file. When Corel Painter is finished, your pattern file is displayed in its own document window.

Tips

To colorize a fractal pattern, choose an

•

appropriate gradient and use the Express in Image feature.

You can also create interesting patterns

•

by choosing a colorful gradient and using the Express in Image command on the Gradients palette.

Using Weaves

The Weaves palette is, in effect, a virtual loom that you can use to create weaves to use as fill patterns.

Libraries of weaves are included with Corel Painter. You can modify a weave by chang i ng th e wa y i t di spl a ys the scaling and thickness of its threads, or its color. You can also create and save weaves of your own. You can preview your changes before you apply them.

Using Textures, Patterns, and Weaves72

The Weave selector on the Weaves palette.

Changing Weave Display

Corel Painter can display a weave as two-di me nsional or show the interwoven threads threedimensionally, complete with shadows.

The button changes to show either a two-dimensional (Blocks) or three-dimensional (Fibers) weave.

Note

Depending on wh ich weave is

•

selected, you might o r m ight not see a change in the Preview w indow. For diff e r e nt two- and three-dimensional effects, you can adjust the scaling and thickness sliders at the bottom of the Weaves palette.

To choose a weave:

1 Choose Window menu > Show

Weaves.

If the Weaves palette is not expanded, click the palette arrow.

2 On the Weaves palette, click the

Weave selector.

3 Choose a weave from the Weave

selector.

Tip

You can a lso choose a weave f rom the

•

Weave selector in the toolbox.

A weave can appear differently when displayed either as two-dimensional or threedimensional.

To change how a weave is displayed:

1 Choose Window menu > Show

Weaves to display the Weaves

palette.

2 Click the Two-Dimensional Weave

or the Three-Dimensional

Weave icon.

Adjusting Scaling and Thickness

The four sliders at the bottom of the Weaves palette control the thickness of threads and the spacing between them. The top two sliders control horizontal dimensions; the bottom two control vertical dimensions. By adjusting these sliders, you can create a wide variety of weaves with any one of the patterns supplied.

To adjust scaling and thickness:

1 On the Weaves palette, choose a

weave from the Weave selector.

Core l Pain t e r 73

The weave displays in the Preview window.

2 Click the Three-Dimensional

Weave icon to show a threedimensional weave.

F or most weaves, you won’t see a change in the preview until you adjust the scale and thick nes s values.

3 Adjust the horiz ontal and vertical

scale sliders to increase the scale, thus enlarging the weave.

4 Adjust the horizontal and vertical

thickness slider s to reduce the thickness.

You should begin to see a change in the weave preview.

Note

Thickness sliders affe ct the three-

•

dimensional display. When you select a two-dimensional display, the thickness sliders have no effect.

Editing Weave Colors

Each weave uses its own Color Set. You can display the Color Set used for a weave, change the color s in the set, and apply them to the weave.

Remember that you can open several palettes and rearrange them to make it easier to see the controls you need.

For more information about Color Sets, see “Using Color Sets” on page 85.

To display the color set for a weave:

1 On the Weaves palette, choose a

weave from the Weave selector.

2 Click the palette menu arrow, and

choose Get Color Set. The Color Set for the selected

weave appears.

To change weave colors:

1 Choose a new color from the

Colors palette or a color set, or sample a color with the Dropper tool .

2 Choose Window menu > Show

Weaves to display the Weaves

palette.

3 Hold down Option (Mac OS) or

Alt (Windows), and double-click

the color swatch on the weave Color Set that you want to replace.

The new color replaces the old one.

4 Click the palette menu arrow, and

choose Put Color Set. The Preview window shows the

weave with the new colors. If you fill an image with the weave pattern, Corel P ainter now uses the new color set.

Saving Weaves

After altering the scaling, thickness, or color of a weave, you can save your changes as a new weave.

To save a weave :

1 On the Weaves palette, click the

pal e tt e menu arrow and choose Save Weave.

2 In the Save Weave dialog box, type

a name for the weave. If you don’t type a new name,

Corel Painter replaces the existing weave with the changed weave. The new weave pattern appears in the current weaves library.

Using Textures, Patterns, and Weaves74

Advanced Weaving

Corel Painter lets you create woven fabr ics of virtually any description. You can create fabrics for wallpapers, carpets, clothes, and furniture.

To create your own weaves:

1 On the Weaves palette, click the

palette menu arrow and choose Edit Weave.

2 In the Edit Weave dialog box,

adjust the controls for drafting a weave on the 8-harness, 8-treadle loom.

Core l Pain t e r 75

Color

Corel Painter offers many ways to apply color to your image, from changing the paper color, to choosing colors for your brush strokes, to applying gradients to an entire image or selection.

Working with Color

You can select colors in several ways. You can use:

• the Color pickers on the Colors palette

• the Dropper tool, which samples color from the image

• the Use Clone Color setting, which pulls color from a source

• the Mixer palette

• the Color Sets palette

The Colors palette is one place you can select a color to add to your image.

To display the Colors palette:

• Choose Window menu > Show Colors.

Changing Paper Color

You can change a document’s paper color—the color of the background Canvas—at any time. This color appears when you delete a filled area or use the eraser to remove color.

To ch ange the ex istin g paper color:

1 Choose a primary color from the

Colors palette.

2 Choose Canvas menu > Set Paper

Color.

3 To expose the new paper color, do

one of th e fol lowing :

• Make a selection, and cut or delete it.

• Use the eraser brush to erase part of your image.

If you c h a n ge t he existing p ape r c o lo r, you m ust delete an area to view the change.

The small Color picker.

The standard Color picker has a hue ring and a color triangle. Within the triangle, colors are organized by value and saturation.

Note

Do not use a bleach varian t to expose

•

the new paper color, un less the paper color is white. Bleach variants will e rase to white, regardless of the paper color.

For more information about choosing colors, see “Using the Color Pickers” on page 78.

Color78

Using the Color Pickers

Corel Painter provides two Color pickers: standard and small. The Colors palette menu lets you select between the two pickers.

The standard Color picker.

• Values span the triangle fr om top to bottom, with the top of the triangle being the highest value (white), the bottom th e lowest value (black).

• Saturation levels go from left to right. Dragging or clicking to the right produces the purest color within the predominant hue. Dragging or clicking to the left reduces the level of color sat uration, giving “muddier” or grayer colors.

The small Color picker displays a color triangle, with the hue ring as a sing le bar.

To choose a hue and color from the standard Colo r pi ck er:

1 Choose Window menu > Show

Colors

to display the Colors

palette. If the Colors palette is not

expanded, click the palette arrow.

2 Click the palette menu arrow, and

choose Standard Colors.

3 Drag the circle on the color ring to

select the predominant hue. You can also select a hue by

clicking once anywhere on the ring.

The triangle displays all the available colors within that selected hue.

4 Select a color on the tria ngle by

dragging the circle or click the color you want.

To choose a hue and color from the small Color picker:

1 Choose Window menu > Show

Colors

to display the Colors

palette.

2 Click the palette menu arrow, and

choose Small Colors.

3 Drag the slider on the color bar to

select the predominant hue. You can also select a hue by

clicking once anywhere on the bar. The triangle displays all the

available colors within that selected hue.

4 Select a color on the triangle by

dragging the circle or click the color you want.

Understanding Primary and Secondary Colors

The color you select appears in one of two overlapping rectan gles di splayed on the Colors palette. The front rectangle represents the selected primary color. The back rectangle shows the selec ted sec ondary color . By default, black is the primary color and

white is the secondary color. Most of the time you’ll work with the primary color.

Overlapping rectangles display the current primary and secondary colors.

Don’t confuse the secondary color with what other graphics programs call “the background color.” In Corel Painter, the “background color” is the paper color.

The secondary color is for multicolor brush strokes, two-point gradients, and Im age H o se effec t s . It ’s use d when more than one color is applied.

To choose the primary color:

1 Choose Window menu > Show

Colors

to display the Colors

palette.

2 Click the front rectangle. 3 Choose a color using the Color

picker.

Core l Pain t e r 79

Click the front rectangle to set the primary color.

To choose the secondary color:

1 On the Colors palette, click the

back rectangle.

2 Choose a color using the Color

picker. If you usually work with the

Primary color, you might want to re-click the front rectangle so that it will be selected the next time you go to the color picker.

Click the back rectangle to set the secondary color.

To swap pr ima ry an d se co nda ry colors:

• Click the swap icon .

Sampling Colors from Imagery

In addition to choosing colors on the Colors palette, you can use the Dropper tool to select, or “pick up,” a color from an existing image.

To use the Dropper tool:

1 Click the front or back rectangle to

select a primary or secondary color.

2 Click the Dropper tool in the

toolbox.

3 Move the cursor to the color you

want to pic k up , an d c li c k it. The color picker updates to display

the color you’ve selected.

Note

The Dropper to ol picks up visible

•

color only. You can’t select a hidden color with the Dropp e r tool.

Tip

You can qu ickly get the Drop per tool

•

by pressing D on the keyboard.

To access the Dropper tool from other tools:

• Press Option (Mac OS) or Alt (Windows).

Note

The Droppe r tool doesn’t work with

•

all tools.

Cloning Color

The Clone Color option is another way to choose color. This feature lets the brush pick up color from an original (source) image. Brushes using dab-based Dab Types take an average based on samples of color from the clone source, resulting in an approximation of the original color. Brushes using rendered Dab Types sample several colors, loading each into individual bristles of the brush, allowing for startlingly realistic results. For more information about cloning, refer to “Cloning Imagery” on page187.

Color80

To set up a clone source

1 Choose File me nu > Open, and

choose the file you want to use as a clone source.

2 Choose File me nu > Clone. 3 Choose Select menu > All, and

press Delete (Mac OS ) or Backspace (Windows).

Now y ou can work in the new file, taking data from the original sourc e f i l e.

Tip

You can also use this feature when

•

creating a mosaic. For more information, see “Mosaics” on page 34 9.

To use clone colors:

1 Set up a clone source.

If you don’t set a file as the source, Corel Painter uses the current Pattern.

2 Choose a brush from the Brush

selector bar.

3 Choose Window menu > Show

Colors

to display the Colors

palette.

4 Do one of the follo wing:

• Click the palette menu arrow, and choose Use Clone Color.

• Click the Clone Color button

on the Colors palette.

Enabling the Clone Color option disables the color picker. This is a reminder that your color information is coming from the clone source.

5 When you paint in the clone file,

Corel Painter uses colors from the clone source image.

Note

When you change the brush or

•

variant, Corel Pain ter tur ns Use Clone Color off. Be sure to turn it back on to continue working with t he clone color.

Using Two Colors at Once

Usually, you’ll work with only the primary color—the front rectangle of the two overlapping rectangles on the Colors palette. Using one color produces a solid-color brush stroke.

By selecting a secondary color, you can determine the colors for multicolored brush strokes. Many brush variants are able to paint with a variable range of colors.

The settings on the Color Expression palette determine when Corel Painter uses one color or the other. For more information about using color expression, see “Color Expres sion” on page 91.

You can use two colors at once in a brush stroke.

To set up a two-color brush stroke:

1 Choose a brush from the Brush

selector bar.

Core l Pain t e r 81

2 Choose Window menu > Show

Colors

to display the Colors

palette.

3 Choose a primary and secondary

color from the standard or small Color Picker.

Refer to “Understanding Primary and Secondary Colors” on page 79 for more information about setting primary and secondary colors.

4 Choose Window menu > Show

Color Expression

to display the

Color Expression palette.

5 Cho ose Di recti on from the

Controller pop-up menu.

6 Paint in the document.

The primary color is used in one direction and the secondary color is used in the other.

The Mixer Palette

The Mixer palette mimics the traditional experience of mixing colors on an artist’s palette. You can apply two or more colors to the Mixer Pad, blending them together to get the color you want.

Colors can be saved, loaded, and reset on the Mixer palette, saved as color swatches, and saved to color sets.

To change the Mixer Pad background

1 Choose Window menu > Show

Mixer.

2 Click the palette menu arrow, and

choose Change Mixer Background.

3 In the Color dialog box, choose a

background color.

The Mixer Palette Tools

The tools on the M ixer palette are used to apply, mix, sample, and clear color on the Mixer Pad.

The Mixer pale tte tools.

Note

You can also choose a color from a

•

color set.

Tip

You might want to try a different

•

setting from the Controller pop-up menu on the Color Expression palette. Try setting it to Pressure instead of Direction.

Color82

The Mixer pa lette.

To display the Mixer palette

• Choose Window menu > Show Mixer.

The Brush Tool

The Brush tool acts as a loaded paint source, applying color to the Mixer Pad. Color loaded on it also blends with color already on the Mixer Pad.

The Palette Knife Tool

The Palette Knife mixes colors already on the Mixer Pad. It does not add new colors to the Mixer Pad.

The Eyedropper Tool

The Eyedropper tool samples color on the Mixer Pad for use on the canvas. The sampled color becomes the primary color on the Colors palette.

The Zoom Tool

The Zoom tool lets you zoom in and out of ar eas on t he M ixe r Pad.

The Pan Tool

The Pan tool lets you scroll through the Mixer Pad.

The Clear and Reset Canvas Tool

The Clear and Reset Canvas tool erases the contents of the Mixer Pad and re sets the zo o m l evel to 100% .

The Brush Size Slider

The Brush Size slider lets you increase or decrease the size of the Brush tool and the Palette Knife tool. If you adjust the Brush Size slider , the new value is retained when you reopen the application.

The Mixer Palette Colors

Color wells at the top of the Mixer palette store commonly used colors you can use on the Mixer Pad. A series of colors appears by default; however, these colors can be changed to s uit the individual preferences of the artist. Mixer colors can be saved, loaded, and reset to the default.

To chang e M i xer pa le t t e col ors

1 Choose Window menu > Show

Mixer to display the Mixer palette.

If the Mixer palette is no t expanded, click the palette arrow.

2 Choose Window menu > Show

Colors to display the Colors

palette.

3 On the Colors palette, choose a

color from the standard or small Color Picker.

4 On the Mixer Color palette, choose

the color well you want to change on the Mixer Color selector.

5 In the co lo r well , pr ess Command

+ click (Mac OS) or Ctrl + click (Windows).

The new color appears in the color well.

To save Mixer palette colors

1 Choose Window menu > Show

Mixer to display the Mixer palette.

2 Click the palette menu arrow, and

choose Save Mixer Colors.

3 In the Save Mixe r Colors dialog

box, type a name for the mixer colors and choose where you want to save the Mixer swatches (MSW) file.

4 Click Save.

Core l Pain t e r 83

To load Mixer palette colors

1 Choose Window menu > Show

Mixer to display the Mixer palette.

2 Click the palette menu arrow, and

choose Load Mixer Colors.

3 In the Load Mixer dialog box,

choose the Mixer swa tches ( MSW) file you want to load.

4 Click Open.

To reset the Mixer palette colors

1 Choose Window menu > Show

Mixer to display the Mixer palette.

2 Click the palette menu arrow, and

choose Reset Mixer Colors.

Mixing Colors

Usin g the Mi xer Pad, th e c olor we l ls, and the Brush and Palette Knife tools, you can create new colors for use in your images.

When you have finished mixing and sampling colors, you can clear the Mixer Pad, or save it as a Mixer Pad (MX S) fi l e that y o u ca n open a nd use later.

To mix colors

1 Choose Window menu > Show

Mixer to display the Mixer palette.

2 Click the Brush tool . 3 Choose a color from the color well,

and paint on the Mixer Pad.

4 Choose a second color from the

color well, and paint on the Mixer Pad.

5 Do one of the following:

• Use the Brush tool to add to

and blend the colors.

• Use the Pa lette Knife to ol to

blend the colors.

To sample a color from the Mixer Pad

1 Choose Window menu > Show

Mixer to display the Mixer palette.

2 Click the Eyedropper tool . 3 On the Mixer Pad, click the color

you want t o sample. The sampled color becomes the

primar y co lor in the image.

To clear the Mixer Pad

1 Choose Window menu > Show

Mixer to display the Mixer palette.

2 Do one of the following:

• Click the palette menu arrow, and choose Clear Mixer Pad.

• On the Mixer palette, click the Clear and Reset Canvas button .

To save a Mi xer Pad

1 Choose Window menu > Show

Mixer to display the Mixer palette.

2 Click the palette menu arrow, and

choose Save Mixer Pad.

3 In the Save Mixer Pad dialog box,

type a name for the mixer colors and choose where you want to sav e the Mixer Pads (MXS) fi le.

4 Click Save.

To load a Mi xe r Pad

1 Choose Window menu > Show

Mixer to display the Mixer palette.

2 Click the palette menu arrow, and

choose Open Mixer Pad.

Color84

3 In the Open Mixer Pad dialog box,

choose the Mixer Pads (MXS) file you wan t to op e n.

4 Click Open.

Creating Color Swatches

If you have mixed colors that you are particularly happy with, you can save them as color swatches and add them to color sets. Fo r more infor m ation about color sets , see “Using Color Sets” on page 85.

Color swatches that you create on the Mix er palette can be saved.

To add a color swatch to the color set

1 On the Mixer palette, click the

Eyedropper tool , and choose the color you want to save as a color swatch.

2 Click the palette menu arrow, and

choose Add Swatch to Color Set. The selected color is added to the

current color set.

To create a color set from the Mixer Pad

1 Choose Window menu > Show

Mixer to display the Mixer palette.

2 Click the palette menu arrow, and

choose New Color Set from Mixer Pad.

Using Color Sets

Corel Painter uses color sets to organize groups of colors. Some color sets are organiz e d by both name and color relationship.

Corel Painter provides sev eral color sets—Corel Painter Colors, Mac OS and Windows system palettes, and the PANTONE MATCHING SYSTEM® are a few. Only one color set can be open at a time, but you can easily load a different set.

The Color Sets palette.

To display the Color Sets palette:

• Choose Window menu > Show

Color Sets.

To choose a color from a color set:

• On the Color Sets palette, click a color.

To open a different color set:

1 On the Color Sets palette, click the

palette menu arrow or the Library Access button , and choose Open Color Set.

2 In the Select Color dialog box,

choose a color set and click Open.

Core l Pain t e r 85

You can set a default color set in the Preferences dialog box. For more information, refer to “Setting Preferences” on page50.

To save a color set

1 On the Color Sets palette, click the

palette menu arrow or the Library Access button, and choose Save Color Set.

2 In the Ent er Color Set Name

dialog b ox, ch oose wher e yo u wa nt to sav e the fi le.

3 Type a name for the color set in the

File Name box.

4 Click Save.

Finding Colors in a Color Set

There are two ways to find a particular color in a color set. You can search for the color by name or have Corel Painter fin d the color that comes closest to matching the current color.

To find a color:

1 On the Color Sets palette, do one

of the following:

• Click the Find Color button .

• Click the palette menu arrow,

and choose Fin d Swatc h.

2 In the Find Color dialog box, do

one of the following:

• Enable the By Name option,

and type a name in the box.

• Enable Closest to Current

Color.

3 Click Begin. 4 Click OK when the desired color is

found. If the color set i s visible , Corel

Painter surrounds t he found color with a selection frame.

If you search for a color by name, but a color with that name is not found, the OK button is not available (grayed out).

Customizing Colo r Set Layouts

You can arrange colors in a color set in a variety of ways. You can sort by hue, luminance, and saturation; determine the size of color swatches; decide whether to have grid lines; and

indicate whether the colors in the set are named. You can change a color set until it’s exactly the way you want it.

To change how colors are sorted:

1 On the Color Sets palette, click the

pal e tt e menu arrow and choose Sort Order.

2 Choose one of the followin g

options:

• Saved — sorts colors in the order they were originally entered.

• HLS — sorts colors by hue, luminance, and sat uration.

• LHS — sorts colors by luminance, hue, and saturation.

• SHL — sorts colors by saturation, hue, and luminance.

To adjust color swatch size:

1 On the Color Sets palette, click the

palette menu arrow, and choose Swatch Size.

2 Do one of the following:

• Choose a pixel value.

• Choose Customize.

Color86

3 If you choose Custo mize, move the

Width and Height sliders in the Customize dialog box, or type values in the Width and Height boxes.

To turn the grid on or off:

• On the Color Sets palette, click the palette menu arrow, and choose Show Grid to toggle the display of the grid on and off.

Turning the grid off eliminates lines between colors. You can see more colors, but the separations between colors are not as distinct as when the grid is on.

To turn color names on or off:

• Click the palette menu arrow, and choose Display Name to toggle the displa y of c ol o r n am e s on or off.

Creating Color Sets

You can create your own color sets to control the colors in particular projects or to create groups of favorite painting colors. Creating clearly named color sets can be very useful. For example,

you could call a color set Shades of Purple, Hero Image, My Crayons, or Rollover Buttons—all offering you easy access to recognizable color sets.

You can create color sets from:

• the Color pickers on the Colors palette

•an image

• a selection on an image

•a layer

• the Mixer palette

Before you create a new color set, you may be prompted to save the current color set. For more information, see “To save a color set” on page86.

To create a new color set using the Color pickers

1 On the Color Sets palette, click the

palette menu arrow, and choose New Em p t y C o lo r Se t .

2 On the Colors palettes, choose a

color from the standard or small Color picker.

3 On the Color Sets palette, click the

Add Color to Color Set button .

Notes:

For information about adding colors

•

to a color set, see “Editing Color Sets” on page 88.

For more information about selecting

•

colors, refer to “Using the Color Pickers” on page 78.

To create a color se t from an image, selection, layer, or the Mixer palette

• On the Color Sets palette, click the palette menu arrow or the Library Access button , and choose one of the following:

• New Color Set from Image —

This option is available only if you have an image open. A color set appears, containing all the colors in the image.

• New Color Set from Layer —

This option is available only if an active layer is selected in your image. A color set appears, containing all the colors in the active layer.

• New Color Set from Selection

— This option is active only if you have an active selection on

Core l Pain t e r 87

your image. A color set appears, containing all the colors in the selected area of the image.

• New Color Set from Mixer — A color set appears, conta ining all of the colors used in the Mixer palette.

Tip

When working on Web pages, you can

•

keep the number of colors used in an image (and subsequent image size) low by creating a color set and using only colors in that set.

Editing Color Sets

You can customize color sets by adding, deleting, or replac i ng colors. You can also name or rename individual colors in a color set.

Naming colors in a color set can be useful. You can then search for a color by name or annotate the colors you use, right in the document window. Fo r more information on searching for a color, refe r to “Finding Colors in a Color Set” on page 86. For more

information about annotating colors, refer to “Annotating Co lors” on page 91.

To add a color:

1 Choose the color you want to add

from the Colors palette, from a color set, or from an existing image.

2 On the Color Sets palette, click the

Add Color to Color Set button . The color is added to the current

color set.

3 If you like, double-click the color

swatch to enter a name for the color.

You can change the name later by double-clicking on the swatch again and entering a new name.

4 Repeat this procedure for all the

colors you want to add.

Note

Because Corel Pa inter closes the

•

current color set bef ore displaying a new one, if you want to add a color from an existing color set, select the color in the existing color set bef ore you open the destination set.

To delete a color:

1 Choose Window menu > Show

Color Sets.

2 On the Color Sets palette, click the

Delete Color from Color Set button .

3 In the warning dialog box, click

Yes. Corel Painter deletes the chosen

color from the color set window.

To replace a colo r:

1 Choose the color you want to add

from the Colors palette, from a color set, or from an existing image.

2 Hold down Command (Mac OS)

or Ctrl (Windows), and cli c k th e color you want to replace.

The new color replaces the old one in the color set.

To name or rename a color:

1 Choose Window menu > Show

Color Sets.

2 Double-click a color swatch on the

Color Sets palette.

Color88

3 Type a color name in the Set Color

Name dialog box . Color names can be up to 31

characters long.

Color Information

Color information for a selected co lor is available on the Color Info palette.

The Color Info Palette

The Color Info palette shows the HSV and RGB values for the selected color. Corel Painter gives RGB values in decimal format. These values can be adjusted by moving the sl i ders, or by typing new values in the corresponding boxes.

You can also use the Color Info palette to enable the Clone Color option. For more information on clone color, see “Using Clone Color” on page198.

The Color Info p alette.

To display the Color Info palette

• Choose Window menu > Show Color Info.

To set RGB o r HSV values

1 On the Color Info palette, click t he

palette menu arrow and choose one of th e fol lowing :

•Display as RGB.

•Display as HSV.

2 Move the sliders to adjust the

values, or type new values in the boxes.

You can preview the new color in the primary and secondary color rectangles on the Color Info palette.

Tip

You can d isplay hexadecimal RGB

•

values on the C olors palette by pressing Shift + click in the HSV/ RGB square. Hexadecimal RGB values can be useful when authoring for the Web.

Color Variability

Color variability allows you to create brush strokes of more than one color . Variability can be used to enhance the Natural-Media appeara nce of your work.

The Color Variability Palette

The Color Variability palette contains sliders to adjust color vari abi l i ty values.

The Color Variability p alette.

Core l Pain t e r 89

To display the Color Variability palette

• Choose Window menu > Show Color Variability.

Setting Colo r Variabi lit y

Color variability can be set according to HSV or RGB mode, and it can be based on the current gradient or color set.

To set co lo r va ri ab i l it y :

1 On the Colors palette, ch oose a

primary color from the standard or small Color picker.

2 Choose Window menu > Show

Color Variability

to display the

Color Variability palette.

3 Choose In HSV from the pop-up

menu.

4 Adjust the Hue, Saturation, and

Value sliders to control hue, saturation, and value ranges for color variability.

• Move the ±Hue slider to the

right to increase the number of hues in the resulting brush

stroke. These colors are the ones adjacent to the selected color on the color wheel.

• Move the ±Saturation slider to the right to increase variability in the color intensity of the brush stroke.

• Move the ±Value slider to the right to increase variability in the brightness of the brush stroke.

You can try different ±HSV settings with any of the brushes to get interesting results.

Note

When you save a brush variant, the

•

current color variability setting is also saved.

Tip

When working with brushes like the

•

Loaded O ils brush or the Van Gogh and Seurat variants of the Artists brush, moving these sliders to the right can add natural, almost 3D-looking effects to your Web page images.

To set color variability in RGB mode:

1 On the Colors palette, choose a

primary color from the standard or small Color picker.

2 Choose Window menu > Show

Color Variability

to display the

Color Variability palette.

3 Choose In RGB from the pop-up

menu.

4 Move the R, G, and B sliders to

control color variability of red, green, and blue values.

To set color variability based on the current gradient:

1 On the Colors palette, choose a

primary color from the standard or small Color picker.

2 Choose Window menu > Show

Color Variability

to display the

Color Variability palette.

3 Choose From Gradient from the

pop-up menu. From Gradie nt cause s r an do m

colors from the current gradient to be chosen for color variability.

Color90

To set co l or va ri ab il it y base d on the current co lor set:

1 On the Colors palette, choose a

primary color from the standard or small Color picker.

2 Choose Window menu > Show

Color Variability

to display th e

Color Variability palette.

3 Choose From Color Set from the

pop-up menu. From Co lor Set causes random

colors from the current color set to be chosen for color variability.

Color Expression

Color expression determines where Corel Painter should use the primary or secondary color in an image.

The Color Expression Palette

The Color Expression palette lets you introduce input, such as direction, that controls output when applying two-color brush strokes.

The Color Expression palette.

To display the Color Expression palette

• Choose Window menu > Show Color Expression.

To set Color Expression contr ols

1 Choose Window menu > Show

Color Expression to display the

Color Expression pale tte.

2 F rom the Controller pop-up menu,

choose one of the followi ng:

• None — applies no adjustment

to the color expression

• Velocity — adjusts the co lor

expression based on the dragging speed

• Direction — adjusts the color

expression based on the direction of the st roke, and according to the value you s et wi th the slider or in the box

• Pressure — adjusts the color expression based on sty lus pressure

• Wheel — adjusts the color expression based on the wheel settings on an airbrush stylus, specifically the Wacom Intuos Airbrush stylus

• Tilt — adjusts the color expression based on the angle of the styl u s fro m the ta blet

• Bearing — adju sts the color expression based on the direction in which the stylus points

• Source — adjusts the color expression based on the luminance of the clone source

• Random — adjusts the col or expression at random

3 If you want to switch the primary

and secondary colors, enable the Invert check box to invert the color expression.

Annotating Colors

The Annotation feature uses color names as labels for the colors in your images. Labels are small text boxes

Core l Pain t e r 91

connected to lines that point to an individual color in your on-scr een or printed image. Annotating colors in an image can help you track, and limit, which colors are used, which can help you control image size. After you create annotations, you can hide or show them, or delete them.

You must name color swatches in the active color set to generate useful annotations. You can change color names after you have added them as annotations. For information about naming color sets, see “To name or rename a color:” on pag e88.

Create lab el s, or annotations, for individ ual colors in your image.

Annotations are kept in a separate layer on top of the image and can be saved in the RIF format with your image. Annotations are included when you record a script, and are properly scaled when you play back at a different resolution.

When you move a layer, its annotations go with it. If you move an annotated layer on top of another , the visible annotation might actually belong to the underlying layer, even though it appears to be labeling the top one.

When you annotate a color that doesn’t exactly match a color in the active color set—for example, when you’re annotating brush strok es applied at less than 100% opacity— Corel Painter approximates the color, displays the name of the nearest match, and adds an asterisk after the color name to indicate a near match.

When you refill an annotated area, the annotation is updated to reflect the new color. Refer to “Filling Techniques” on page 118 for more information.

To create annotations:

1 Use a color set th at inclu des na mes

for the colors.

2 Choose Canvas menu >

Annotations > Annotate.

3 Position the cursor on the color

you wish to annotate and drag to an area outside the color’s boundaries.

When you release the mouse or stylus button, a color name appears, attached to a line that points to the annotated color.

4 After annotating as many colors as

needed, click Done in the Annotati on dialog box.

To delete an annotation:

1 Choose Canvas menu >

Annotations > Annotate.

2 Click the annotation tag (name) to

select it.

3 Press Delete (Mac OS) or

Backspace (Windows ).

Color92

To show or hide annotations:

1 Choose Canvas menu >

Annotations > Show Annotations.

The annotations appear.

2 Choose Canvas menu >

Annotations > Hide Annotations

to hide the annotations.

To change color names after annotating an image:

1 Choose the annotation you want to

rename.

2 Press Delete (Mac OS) or

Backspace (Windows).

3 On the Color Sets palette, double-

click the color swatch of the color you want to rename.

4 Type a new name in the Set Color

Name dialog box .

5 Choose Canvas menu >

Annotations > Annotate.

6 Re-c reat e the de l e ted anno ta t i on. 7 Repeat the procedure for each

annotation you want to rename.

Using Gradients

A gradient is a gradual transfor mation from on e col o r into a noth e r. Sometimes they are called blends or fountains. Corel Painter provides several different types of gradients: linear, radial, circular, and spiral.

Examples of gradie nt types, from top to bottom: linear, radial, circular, and spiral.

You can use gradients to:

• Fill an image selection, layer, or channel. For more information, see “Using Selections” on page 203, “Using Layer s and Layer Masks” on page229, and “Using Alpha Channels” on page219.

• Control a Pop-Art Fill effect. (Other effects work best when you use a filled mask.) For more information, see “Pop Art Fill” on page 311.

• Express the gradient in an existing image by mapping gradient colors to image luminance. For more information, see “Creating T exture Usin g Image Lum inance” on page 280.

• Brush with a gradient with one of the computed brushes (using one of these dab types: line airbrush, projected, or rendered). For more information, see “Dab Types” on page 148.

Although Corel Painter comes with libraries full of gradients, you’ll invariably want to create some of your

Core l Pain t e r 93

Corel PAINTER 8 User Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual

Contents

W elcome to Corel Painter 8

What’s New in Corel Painter 8?

Redesigned User Interface

About Your User Guide

Corel Support Services

The Workspace

Using the Menus and Document Window

Workspace Tour

Using the Toolbox

Using Selectors

Using the Property Bar

Using the Brush Selector Bar

The Brush Creator

Working with Palettes

Exploring the Palettes

Setting Palette Layout

Libraries and Movers

Modifying a Library

Customizing Palettes

Creating Custom Palettes

Basics

Opening Documents

Working with Documents

Saving Files

Closing Documents and Quitting the Application

Setting Preferences

Wacom Intuos Support

Using Textures, Patterns, and Weaves

Using Paper Texture

Using Patterns

Using Weaves

Color

Working with Color

Changing Paper Color

The Mixer Palette

Using Color Sets

Color Information

Color Variability

Color Expression

Annotating Colors

Using Gradients