Corel Painter Essentials 4 Reviewer’s Guide

Corel® Painter™ Essentials 4 Reviewer’s Guide

Protected by U.S. Patents 5652880; 5347620; 5767860; 6195100; 6385336; 6552725; 6657739; 6731309; 6825859; 6633305; Patents Pending.

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Corel, the Corel logo, Painter, Natural-Media, Paint Shop Pro, RealBristle, and Smart Stroke are trademarks or registered trademarks of Corel Corporation and/or its subsidiaries in Canada, the U.S. and/ or other countries.

Adobe and Photoshop are registered trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries. Cintiq, Graphire, Intuos, and Wacom are trademarks of WACOM Company, Ltd. in the United States and/or other countries. Intel and Pentium are registered trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries. Mac, Mac OS, Macintosh, and Power Mac are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc., registered in the United States and other countries. Microsoft, Windows, and Windows Vista are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. PhotoImpact is a registered trademark of Ulead Systems, Inc. PowerPC is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation in the United States, other countries, or both. Other product, font, and company names and logos may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.

Contents

1 | Introducing Corel Painter Essentials 4 ......................................1

2 | Customer Profiles....................................................................... 3

3 | What’s Included?........................................................................5

4 | Top New Features ......................................................................7

Discover an Expressive, Natural, and Inspiring Home Art Studio ..................... 7

Turn Photos into Paintings ................................................................................ 11

Try the Broader Selection of Natural-Media Materials.................................... 13

Explore Learning Materials ............................................................................... 18

Enjoy Compatibility ........................................................................................... 19

5 | Natural-Media Brushes ............................................................21

6 | Summary of New and Enhanced Features..............................25

7 | About Corel Corporation.........................................................29

Introducing Corel® Painter™ Essentials 4

Corel® Painter™ Essentials 4 is the ideal way to get started with digital art. This simple-to-use home art studio is based on the world’s most powerful painting and illustration software — Corel® Painter™ X.

Working closely with its customers, Corel redesigned the Painter Essentials user interface to make it easier for users to discover the tools they need. Customers can now choose between two new workspaces — Drawing & Painting and Photo Painting. Whether users are transforming photos into paintings, or sketching and painting on a blank canvas, Corel Painter Essentials 4 provides everything needed to create stunning artwork.

The popular Photo Painting System has been significantly enhanced to reduce the complexity of turning a photo into a painting. The addition of Smart Stroke™ technology provides more intelligent brushstroke behavior during the auto-painting process. With art tools that faithfully replicate “traditional” paints, brush, and papers, it’s now easier than ever before for users to achieve more expressive hand-painted works of art.

Karen Bonaker

Corel Painter Essentials 4 is perfect for adding a unique touch to photos, greeting cards, scrapbooks, and school projects. Home users, on both the Mac OS® and Windows® platforms, now have everything they need for creating digital art and lasting family mementos. Easy to learn, Corel Painter Essentials 4 is complete with training videos and a helpful guidebook, making it simple to get started on a digital art project.

Corel Painter Essentials 4 is a perfect complement to image-editing applications, such as Adobe® Photoshop® Elements, Adobe® Photoshop®, Corel® Paint Shop Pro®, and Ulead PhotoImpact®. Users can optimize their photos with their favorite image editor and then create a personalized handmade painting with Corel Painter Essentials 4. They can easily output their final painted images on canvas or use them for other creative projects, such as scrapbooks, apparel, and greeting cards.

With its streamlined user interface, easier workflow, and increased creative options, Corel Painter Essentials 4 lets home users create beautiful, handmade digital-art keepsakes that are perfect for framing, using in crafts projects, and sharing as special gifts to friends and family.

Reviewer’s Guide [ 1 ]

Customer Profiles

Digital Camera Users and Photography Hobbyists

Digital camera users and photography hobbyists use their cameras to capture special moments and to express themselves creatively. They are always looking for new ways to add unique touches to their photos, and Corel Painter Essentials 4 gives them the ideal solution. The completely redesigned user interface and the simplified Photo Painting System make it easy to add artistic flair to any project. With the new Smart Stroke™ technology, it’s now even easier to turn a photo into a natural and expressive hand-painted work of art.

Scrapbookers and Arts & Crafts Enthusiasts

Working with photos, sketching, and painting are some of the hands-on projects enjoyed by scrapbookers and arts & crafts enthusiasts. Whether they want to transform a photo into a painting, sketch or paint an original image, or add creative elements to any project, Corel Painter Essentials 4 makes it simple. Users can create stunning images that are perfect for hanging on the wall or for adding an extra personal touch to scrapbooks or other creative projects.

Denise Laurent

Art Students and Teachers

Ideal for both at home and in school, art students and teachers have a way to explore the visual arts without the costs and mess associated with traditional art supplies. Corel Painter Essentials 4 provides students with an ideal learning environment in which the techniques of classical art training are combined with all the benefits offered by computers. Students can explore their creativity with digital media in ways that are just not possible with conventional art supplies or photo-editing software.

Reviewer’s Guide [ 3 ]

What’s Included?

Main Application

• Corel® Painter™ Essentials 4, Mac OS® and Windows® versions

Content

• Libraries of unique brushes, paper textures, patterns, and nozzles

Documentation and Training

• Tutorial-based guidebook that provides step-by-step instruction for fun projects and introduces users to different media, techniques, and art tips

• Companion video tutorials that match the guidebook and are accessible from within the application

Robert Corsetti

• Help files (HTML)

Minimum System Requirements

Mac OS® version:

• Mac OS® X (10.4 or 10.5 with latest updates)

• Power Mac® G4, 700 MHz or greater

• 256 MB of RAM

• Mouse or tablet

• 24-bit color display

• 1024 × 768 screen resolution

•CD drive

Reviewer’s Guide [ 5 ]

Windows® version:

• Windows Vista™ or Windows® XP, with latest service packs

• Pentium® III, 700 MHz or greater

• 256 MB of RAM

• Mouse or tablet

• 24-bit color display

• 1024 × 768 screen resolution

•CD drive

Reviewer’s Guide [ 6 ]