Painter IX Clone Image

[Paris]

Some help please.

I downloaded the trial version of Painter IX and have been playing with it since; very impressive.

Is there a way of saving a cloned image as it appears on screen? I have tried saving the image in different formats, but each time I open the image the bottom cloned layer is not there. All that remains is the work I have done.

Paris

[DannyRaphael]

Originally Posted by Paris

Some help please.

I downloaded the trial version of Painter IX and have been playing with it since; very impressive.

Is there a way of saving a cloned image as it appears on screen? I have tried saving the image in different formats, but each time I open the image the bottom cloned layer is not there. All that remains is the work I have done.

Paris

I'm not quite following your description, but see if this gets you going toward where you want to go...
* Open the original (uncloned) image
* Open the file that was created by the clone process
* Click on the clone layer, making it active
* Ctrl + A (to Select All)
* Edit > Copy
* Click on the original image
* Edit > Paste (to transfer the clone layer)

Painter 8 (anyway) doesn't align pasted layers very well. If the layers don't line up, you may have to:
* Right-click on the "layer name" (in the Layers Palette) of the just-pasted layer
* Choose Properties from the flyout menu and enter 0 in both alignment value boxes. That should line up the layer so it properly overlaps.

Does this help?

[Paris]

Hi Danny,

Wow, that was quick.

Sorry about the description.

Thanks for the info. Sadly, it did not work for me. It did however point me in the right direction - OK it was a mistake that I found a way around the problem, but that's the "trial and error" method for you.

1. I opened the original file and cloned it.
2. I open the file that I was working on and "Bingo" the underlying cloned layer was back.
3. Closed cloned image from step 1 - all is well ('till the next problem)

Thanks Danny

By the way... What is the correct format to save files I'm working on in Painter? I have been using .psd, but was wondering if there was a native Painter format. The trial version does not come with help files so I'm kinda flying blind here.

Paris.

[DannyRaphael]

Originally Posted by Paris

Hi Danny,

Wow, that was quick.

Sorry about the description.

Thanks for the info. Sadly, it did not work for me. It did however point me in the right direction - OK it was a mistake that I found a way around the problem, but that's the "trial and error" method for you.

1. I opened the original file and cloned it.
2. I open the file that I was working on and "Bingo" the underlying cloned layer was back.
3. Closed cloned image from step 1 - all is well ('till the next problem)

Thanks Danny

By the way... What is the correct format to save files I'm working on in Painter? I have been using .psd, but was wondering if there was a native Painter format. The trial version does not come with help files so I'm kinda flying blind here.

Paris.

Glad you're over the hump and moving forward again. That's what counts.

re: File formats
Summary
* .tif, .psd = layers retained and file can be opened by Photoshop
* .jpg, .bmp = image flattened at close, but file can still be opened by Photoshop
* .rif = Special Painter-only format. Layers preserved.

Gory details
If you intend to open files between Photoshop and Painter, something a lot of people do... -- either .tif or .psd will retain the original layers. If you don't care about layer preservation, .bmp or .jpg will work.

Remember, .jpg is a "lossy" format = with each successive save, quality erodes a bit.

If you haven't discovered them yet, Painter has two categories of special brushes: Liquid Ink and Watercolor. When you use brushes from either of these categories Painter creates a corresponding "special" layer, unique from the perspective you cannot use brushes from other categories, e.g., Acrylics, Pastels, etc. on them.

If you want to preserve these special layers between Painter sessions, you must save your file in what's known as .rif format. Files in this format can only be opened with Painter. If you have either of these types of layers in your image and save in any other format, Painter either will convert them to regular layers (.tif, .psd) or flatten the image completely. In either case you lose the opportunity to modify one of these layers with the special brushes that created them.

Although I've not used Painter that much, I've read (and heard from experienced Painter users) that .rif can be an unreliable format, that is, sometimes for reasons no one at Corel has been able to figure out, Painter just won't open a .rif file. So the word on the street is to save in .tif or .psd along with .rif if you find .rif is necessary.

~Danny~

[Paris]

Hi Danny,

Again, thank you for the excellent information. You certainly cleared up the file formats for me.

The .rif files and the special layers for the ink & watercolor brushes cleared up several more questions that were formulating.

Thanks.

Paris