ReRendering Mosaic Tiles
Y gt u can use this command to change the resolution of the tiles, after you change the resolution of your document. This command re-creates the mosaic from the grout color and the tile object information. Re-rendering first fills the image with the grout color and then re-renders the mosaic tiles at the resolution of the document. However, after you choose Re-render Mosaic, Corel Painter erases any image that is not a tile or grout. 1 Open an image that is the size you want. 2 Create a mosaic,...
Adjusting Dimensions and Randomness
Tile shapes have two categories of control Dimensions and Randomness. These categories can be controlled by using the Settings pop-up menu. The Dimensions sliders let you control the basic size of the tiles and grout spacing. The Randomness sliders allow you to control the uniformity of the tile shapes. Increasing randomness makes the shapes more erratic, each different from the last. For example, if the Length dimension is 10 pixels, a Length randomness of 25 creates tiles that are randomly...
Preserving Layer Transparency
Areas of a layer that don't contain images are transparent, iou can preserve the transparent areas of a layer with the Preserve Transparency check box on the Layers palette. This option affects which areas of a layer you can create images on. It also affects the results of erasing or deleting images on a layer. By default, the Preserve Transparency check box is disabled, which lets you paint anywhere on the layer. When Preserve Transparency is enabled, the transparent areas are preserved, and...
Getting Started with Shapes
In Corel Painter, you work mainly with bitmaps, or raster images. Bitmaps are composed of tiny squares called pixels each pixel is mapped to a location in an image and has a numerical color value. The location and color value data are stored as bits hence, the name bitmaps. Shapes are vector objects, and you can work with them in Corel Painter in much the same way you work with vector objects in drawing programs like CorelDRAW and Adobe Illustrator . Vector graphics are made up of lines,...
Working with Bezier Lines
The paths used to create shapes are known as Bezier lines. They can be straight or curved, and they consist of anchor points connected by line segments. When the path is a curve, wings extend from the anchor points. The wings are represented by a straight line and are tangent to the curve. The wings have control handles on them. By dragging the wing handle, you can change the curvature of the line segment. Paths can be modified by using anchor points and wing handles. Shapes can be open with...
To add to a selection
1 Create a selection by using one of the selection tools. 2 On the property bar, click the Add to Selection button fFj . 3 Select the area that you want to add. If you are using the Oval Selection tool or the Rectangular Selection tool, you can select a circular or square area by holding down Shift while dragging. iou can also add to a selection by holding down Shift and selecting the area that you want to add. If you are using the Oval Selection tool or the Rectangular Selection tool and you...
Giving Tiles a D Look
The Render Tiles Into Mask command places the tile shapes in a new channel named Mosaic Mask on the Channels palette . This feature has several uses. The most common is adding depth to the tiles. Use the Apply Surface Texture command to create a look f 3D tiles. With the tiles in a channel, you can load the mosaic pattern as a selection or you can invert the channel to use the grout as a selection. The result can be particularly interesting when you work with a tessellated mosaic. 1 After...
Specifying Tile Color
There are several ways to change tile color, iou can adjust the value, change the hue, or randomize variability, iou can adjust the color for individual tiles or for larger areas across the mosaic. The tile color is determined by the main color selected on the Colors palette, iou might want to add some color variability to build visual interest. When working in a clone document, you can color the tiles based on the clone source. Normally, each tile is given a single color. If you want more...
Working with the Watercolor Layer
iou can transfer, or lift, information from the canvas to the Watercolor layer. This is useful if you want to apply Watercolor effects to a photograph, iou can also wet the entire Watercolor layer, which activates a diffusion process that you can control. Unless a Watercolor layer is already selected, a new Watercolor layer is automatically created when a Watercolor brush is applied to an image. The Watercolor layer is represented on the Layers palette by a blue water droplet icon. When the...
Applying Preset Lighting Effects
The Lighting library contains several preset lighting environments, Y gt u can use these directly or as a starting point for customized lighting. 1 Select a layer or area of the canvas. If you want to apply the effect to the entire image, do not make a selection. 2 Choose Effects menu Y Surface Control Y Apply Lighting. 3 In the Apply Lighting dialog box, click a preset thumbnail. The lighting effect is displayed in the Preview window.
Filling Images Based on Color
Y gt u can use the Paint Bucket tool to fill image areas based on pixel color. This method can be used on the canvas or in a channel. Corel Painter fills areas based on color boundaries and the current Tolerance and Feather settings. Tolerance sets the amount of variance allowed from the color of the pixel you choose. With a low Tolerance setting, the Paint Bucket fills only contiguous pixels that are very close to your chosen pixel color. With a high Tolerance setting, the Paint Bucket fills a...
Creating D Oils
Because the 3D Brushstrokes method uses the difference between the clone source and its clone to define a 3D texture, you can create the illusion of dimensional oils by painting on the clone. The look of the strokes on the clone determines how realistic the final 3D strokes appear. So, you may want to set up a more complex brush before painting. For example, you can apply a paper texture to the stroke. Many of the brush variants reveal the paper texture automatically in their strokes. An...
To save a document as a template
1 Create a file with the sizing, formatting, and resolution attributes that you want. 3 In the Save dialog box, save the file to one of the following folders in your user folder Mac OS Corel Painter 1 l Support Files Templates Windows Application Data Corel Painter 1 l Default Templates If you want the template to display under File menu Open Template, you need to close and then reopen Corel Painter. If you work in a multiuser environment, only users with Administrator status can add files to...
To generate a selection by using the Auto Select command
1 Choose Select menu Auto Select. 2 In the Auto Select dialog box, choose an image characteristic from the Using pop-up menu. Paper creates a selection by using the current paper texture. 3D Brush Strokes creates a selection that is based on the difference between the current image and the clone source. If no clone source is selected, the current pattern is used. For information about clones, see Cloning and Tracing on page 209. Original Selection imports the selection from the clone source...
To show or hide a layer or the canvas
On the Layers palette, click the eye icon next to the layer name or the canvas. When the eye is shut the layer is hidden in the document window. When the eye is open the layer is visible in the document window. Y gt u can show or hide multiple layers at the same time by dragging over eye icons in the Layers palette. The state of the first eye icon you drag over determines what will happen with subsequent layers. For example, if you first drag over a layer that is hidden, and then drag over...
Merging Layers with the Canvas
Dropping a layer or group merges its contents with the canvas. After you drop a layer, you can no longer access the layer's content separately from the canvas, iou can drop specific layers or you can drop all layers at once. When you drop a layer, you can choose to create a selection based on the layer contents. If the layer has a layer mask, the mask is used to make the selection. For more information about layer masks, refer to Working with Layer Masks in the Help. For more information about...
Mosaics
Making mosaics is a classical art technique that creates pictures from colored tiles and grout. In Corel Painter, the Make Mosaic feature and its companion, Make Tessellation, let you create tile mosaics and stained-glass window formations. The Make Mosaics feature lets you paint with a mosaic medium. In essence, you're painting with tiles. The medium you paint with can be simple colored tiles or colors cloned from an original image. In this way, you can paint an original image on a blank...
Applying Lighting to a Texture
A large part of the final look of your textures is determined by the lighting you apply. Bad lighting can obscure details in a pattern or surface. Good lighting can add interesting highlights and enhance reflections. Y gt u can add, delete, and position light sources, and you can set light properties, iou can also position lights by enabling one of the Light Direction options, which represent eight different preset lighting angles, iou can also create a custom lighting setup by working in the...
Using Channels and Layer Masks to Create Texture
Corel Painter lets you produce surface texture based on an alpha channel or a layer mask. You can use this method only if your image has a saved alpha channel or a layer with a layer mask. When you choose a channel, the texture is applied around the edges of the channel so that the area it covers appears raised. When you choose a layer mask, the layer mask is used to determine the boundaries of the texture. In this case, texture is applied to the edges of the layer mask. Refer to Working with...
Creating Embossing Effects
One of the most effective ways of using the Original Luminance method is to create an embossed image. Unlike standard emboss effects, Apply Surface Texture lets you control not only the height of the texture, but also the lighting and material properties of the embossing. Before left and after right applying the embossed effect. 3 Choose a color other than black from the Colors or Color Sets palette. If you want the embossed image to be white, select all, and then press Delete Mac OS or...
To adjust diffusion
1 On the property bar, adjust the Diffusion pop-up slider. Drag the slider to the right to increase diffusion, to the left to decrease diffusion. 2 Apply one or more strokes with a Digital Watercolor variant. If you would like to restrict the diffusion to a region, make a selection with any selection tool. The diffusion effect will apply only within the selection. The Diffusion slider is also accessible on the Brush Controls palette and in the Digital Watercolor area of the Stroke Designer page...
To fill an image based on color
1 Choose the Paint Bucket tool from the toolbox. 2 Click the Fill Image button amp J on the property bar. 3 Choose one of the following options from the Fill pop-up menu Current Color, which fills with the selected color. Gradient, which fills with the selected gradient. Clone Source, which fills with the current clone source image. If you haven't defined a clone source, Corel Painter fills with the current pattern. Weaves, which fills with the selected weave. 4 Choose the specific material you...
To scale a selection
1 In the toolbox, click the Transform tool IK J. If the Transform tool IK, is not displayed in the toolbox, click and hold the Layer Adjuster tool to open the flyout, then select the Transform tool I IS . 2 On the property bar, click the Scale mode . 3 Perform a task from the following table. Drag a side, top, or bottom handle. On the property bar, click Commit Transformation Scale a selection in two dimens ions Drag a corner handle. On the property bar, click Commit Transformation . Scale...
Using Tracing Paper
Y gt u can use Tracing Paper, the on-screen light box in Corel Painter, to help you trace, or clone, the source image. To use Tracing Paper, the source and clone documents must be the same size. When Tracing Paper is in use, you see a faded-out version of the clone source, as if it were displayed under real tracing paper on top of a light box. As you trace, brushstrokes appear at the opacity you set by default, 50 . When you finish tracing and turn Tracing Paper off, the faint source image...
To add a color
1 Choose the color you want to add from the Colors palette, a color set, or 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. Y gt u can change the name later by double-clicking on the swatch again and entering a new name. 4 Repeat this procedure for all colors you want to add. Because Corel Painter closes the current color set before...
Freehand vs StraightLine Drawing
iou can draw unconstrained lines by using the freehand drawing style, or you can draw straight lines. Options on the property bar let you choose the drawing style. When you use Freehand Strokes, you can drag with any motion or in any direction. The stroke follows your drag path. With the Freehand Strode option, you drag to create strokes. When you use Straight Line Strokes, Corel Painter connects points with a straight line. With the Straight Line Strokes option, you clic to create the first...
Saving Files That Contain Layers
Y gt u can save your Corel Painter document in the RIFF format with live layers the layers continue to function when you reopen the file. RIFF is the only format that preserves layers in their original state. If you save a Corel Painter document in PSD Photoshop format, all layers convert to standard Photoshop transparent layers. Photoshop does not preserve groups each layer in a group becomes its own Photoshop layer. For information about grouping layers in Corel Painter, refer to Grouping...
Loading Multiple Colors
Imagine the ability to load color at a bristle level, picking up different colors with each hair of a brush as though filling tiny inkwells. Imagine also the ability to move multiple colors along with a palette knife, dragging them across your canvas or paper. The Brush Loading feature affects how paint comes off a brush and what happens to the pixels underneath. When Brush Loading is not active, brushes interact with previously applied colors by sampling underlying pixels and then loading the...
Setting Appearance of Depth Properties
The surface texture you apply is made up of a material. That material can be subtle and blend with the original image, or it can be highly reflective or shiny, distorting the original image. The Appearance of Depth sliders on the Apply Surface Texture dialog box let you control material properties. The Amount slider controls how much surface texture is applied to the image. Moving the slider all the way to the right applies the maximum amount. The Picture slider controls how much of the color...
Aligning Layers
You can align layers horizontally or vertically. When you align layers, Corel Painter calculates the destination point for alignment. For example, if you align layers to the left, the destination is the leftmost point of all selected layers. If you align horizontally to the center, the destination is the midpoint between the leftmost edge and the rightmost edge of the selected layers. Next, Corel Painter aligns the corresponding edge of each selected layer's bounding box with the destination...
To distort a selection
1 In the toolbox, click the Transform tool 1S J. If the Transform tool S J is not displayed in the toolbox, click and hold the Layer Adjuster tool to open the flyout, and then choose the Transform tool IS J. 2 On the property bar, click the Distort mode J . If you want to constrain the distortion to the horizontal or vertical axis, hold down Shift while dragging a corner handle. If you want to distort the selection relative to the Reference Point, hold down Option while dragging a corner...
To increase or decrease media flow from an airbrush
Move the stylus fingerwheel toward the tip or forward , to decrease flow. Move it away from the tip or backward , to increase flow. 6 gt ou can also control media flow from an airbrush on the Stroke Designer page of the Brush Creator, by clicking Airbrush and adjusting the Flow and Min Flow sliders. Flow sets the maximum flow. Min Flow sets the minimum amount of flow as a percentage of Flow. Depending on the Airbrush variant, you can reverse the effect of moving the airbrush fingerwheel by...
RealBristle Brushes
RealBristle Painting System. Artwor by Cher Threinen-Pendaruis. RealBristle brushes bring a new level of realism to the digital painting experience by simulating the natural movement of an artist's brush. The resulting brushstrokes and their interaction with the canvas more closely reflect the look and feel of working with a traditional art brush. RealBristle brush variants are based on brush variants from different brush categories, such as Acrylics, Artists' Oils, and Watercolor. When you...
To customize a RealBristle brush variant
1 On the Brush Selector bar, choose RealBristle from the Brush Category selector. 2 Choose a variant from the Brush Variant selector. 3 Choose Window menu Y Brush Controls Y RealBristle. Ensure the Enable RealBristle check box is enabled. 4 Click the brush tip profile that you want to use. 5 Adjust any of the Brush sliders. 6 Adjust any of the Surface sliders. V iou can save your customized brush variant by clicking the menu arrow on the Brush Selector bar, choosing Save Variant, and typing a...
Using Paper Texture
With traditional art media, the results from using a marking tool depend on the texture of the surface to which it is applied. Corel Painter allows you to control the texture of the canvas to achieve the results you'd expect from using traditional media on a given surface pencil on watercolor paper, felt pens on cotton paper, chalk on the sidewalk, and so on. Some brushes, like those in the Airbrushes category, don't reveal paper texture in their strokes. This behavior corresponds with that of...
The Property Bar
In Corel Painter, the property bar displays options for the tool that is currently selected in the toolbox. Here, you can access and change tool options and settings. Tool settings are retained when you switch from one tool to another, iou can also use the property bar to restore the default settings of the selected tool. The property bar for the Rectangular Selection tool. The property bar for the Rectangular Selection tool.
To make a freehand selection
Choose the Lasso tool P from the toolbox. Draw a freehand border around the area that you want to select in the document window. Make a freehand selection with straight-edged segments Choose the Polygonal Selection tool from the toolbox. Click where you want to set the anchor points of the polygon selection, and double-click to set the last anchor point. If you draw an open path with the Lasso tool P , the endpoints are connected automatically with a straight line before the selection is...
Undo Preferences
Multiple Undo allows you to undo and redo up to 32 levels of changes. Corel Painter sets 32 levels as the default. The number of Undo levels applies across open documents. If you have set the number of Undo levels to 5, and you have two documents open and 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...
To feather the edge of a selection
1 In the toolbox, click the Selection Adjuster tool , and then click a selection. 2 From the menu bar, choose Select menu Feather. 3 In the Feather Selection dialog box, specify the number of pixels that you want to feather. When the selection marquee is shown, feathering may be difficult to see. It is easier to see the effect of feathering if you save the selection to a channel and view the channel. For more information, see To view or hide a channel in the Help.
Using the Layout Grid
The Layout Grid provides an easy way to divide your canvas so that you can plan your composition. For example, you can divide your canvas into thirds vertically and horizontally to use the compositional rule of thirds. From the Layout Grid palette, you can access grid settings, such as the number of divisions, size, angle, color, and opacity of the grid, iou can adjust these settings while you work and save them as a preset for future drawings and paintings, iou can also move the grid to a new...
Using Color Sets
Corel Painter provides several color sets Corel Painter Colors, Mac OS and Windows system palettes, and the PANTONE MATCHING SYSTEM are a few. The default color set is Artists' Colors, which is based on the color values of real-world oil paints. Only one color set can be open at a time, but you can easily load a different set. When Corel Painter starts, it accesses the Painter Colors file in the user folder to determine which color set to load. If Corel Painter cannot determine which color set...
Conic Sections
Previous versions of digital airbrushes projected a thin mist of dots or paint dabs onto the canvas. The Digital Airbrush variant named Fat Stroke in previous versions of Corel Painter is included in the default brush library. With a digital airbrush, dots are laid down, or sprayed, within a circular area, resembling the circle thrown by a flashlight that is perfectly perpendicular to a piece of paper. The area of application remains circular, regardless of tilt, bearing, or stylus pressure....
Painting Shapes
Y gt u can paint on a shape, but you must commit it to a pixel-based layer. After you commit the shape, you cannot re-access the shape's vector controls. 1 Choose a brush category and variant from the Brush Selector bar. Y gt u cannot use Watercolor or Liquid Ink brushes to paint a shape. 2 Click the shape on the Layers palette. 3 Click the palette menu arrow, and choose Convert To Default Layer. The shape is committed to a pixel-based layer. 4 Enable the Preserve Transparency check box on the...
Saving Encapsulated PostScript EPS Files
The encapsulated PostScript EPS files in Corel Painter conform to the Desktop Color Separation DCS 2.0 format EPS-DCS 5 file format . Although Corel Painter saves files in EPS-DCS, it can't read EPS-DCS. If you plan to save an image in EPS-DCS, it's a good idea to save it in another format first, so that you'll have a copy of it that you can reopen in Corel Painter. When you save an image as EPS-DCS with Preview Options turned on, Corel Painter uses the loaded International Color Consortium ICC...
To set brush ghost options
On the General page of the Preferences dialog box, choose one of the following options Enable Brush Ghosting gives you immediate visual feedback on the cursor, showing you the shape and size of the selected brush Enhanced Brush Ghost gives you visual feedback about the brush size as well as the tilt, bearing, and rotation of the pen. The outer ring indicates the brush size, and the line indicates the tilt and bearing of the pen. If you have a flat-tip pen that supports 360-degree rotation, a...
To move a selection
1 For a selection made by using the Selection Adjuster tool piji, choose the Transform tool from the toolbox. If the Transform tool S I_ is not displayed in the toolbox, click and hold the Layer Adjuster tool to open the flyout, and then choose the Transform tool EI J. 2 On the property bar, click the Move mode If you hold down Shift, you can constrain the movement to a 45-degree angle from the original location. 3 While staying within the bounding box, click the selection, and then drag it to...
What is a rendering intent
A color management system can perform effective translation of colors from the source to multiple outputs. However, when matching colors from one color space to another, a color management system may be unable to match certain colors. These out-of-gamut colors can dramatically change the look of the image, depending on how they are interpreted by the color management system. Fortunately, you can choose a rendering intent to instruct the color management system how to interpret the out-of-gamut...
Setting Shape Attributes
When you apply a stroke, also known as an oudine, to a shape, you can choose the color, opacity, and width of the path oudining the shape, iou can also control the way line ends are drawn and joined. In addition, you can apply a fill to a shape by coloring the area enclosed by the stroke. When you fill a shape, you can choose the color and opacity of the fill. Stroke and fill attributes apply to both open and closed shapes. Before filling an open shape, Corel Painter closes the shape by...
To set brush size in the Stroke Designer
1 On the Stroke Designer page of the Brush Creator, click Size. 2 Move the Size slider to the right to make the brush larger, or to the left to make it smaller. Y gt u don't need to open the Size area of the Stroke Designer page to adjust the size of a brush. You can type a value in the Size box on the property bar, or you can adjust the slider on the property bar. For more information, see Property Bar Basics in the Help. You can also press the square brackets, or , to decrease and increase...
Digital Watercolor
Digital Watercolor brush variants produce watercolor effects that react with the canvas texture. Unlike Watercolor brush variants, which work with the Watercolor Layer, Digital Watercolor strokes can be applied directly to any standard pixel-based layers, including the canvas. For example, if you're applying watercolor effects to a photo, Digital Watercolor brushstrokes can be applied directly to the image. If you're creating a realistic watercolor from scratch, the Watercolor brush variants...