The secret to using Corel Painter

[Photomaster]

Layers!!!

What I present here has taken years to learn. Practice this and you will shave hundreds of hours off your learning curve for producing viable art.

First I simplify my image in Photoshop using Buzz Pro and adjust the color. I usually over saturate the colors before beginning a painting.
Working in Corel Painter: after isolating the subject on a separate layer (if I want to change the background), I turn off the Canvas layer; I add a new background after painting the main subject. If I want to use the entire image I leave the canvas layer visible. I then create a new blank layer, set the clone source to the current image, click the clone button on the Color pallet, click on Pick Up Underlying Color and begin painting. Most brushes in Painter will work as a cloning brush using this procedure. For this image I used the Acrylic, Captured Bristle brush, changing size as needed. Create as many layers as you need and turn off previous layers so they will not be affected by your strokes on the newest layer. This gives you great FLEXIBILITY as you refined your image. Start with large brushes, laying down areas of color and use smaller and smaller brushes as you create new layers and begin to refine the details. Remember to turn off preceding layers so as not to affect the paint you have already laid down. The goal is to simplify the image so it will look like a real painted image.

After painting the dog, in this image, I went over a composite of the image with Marilyn Sholin's Mar Camel Hair Brush. I think this is a free download from her website. I finished the image in Photoshop by doing some selective cloning, dodging and burning, freehand brush work, smudging, sharpening and added a canvas texture. This is how I create a realistic painted image. If it sounds like a lot of work it is, but this is what you have to do if you want to get away from the FILTERED look for your creations. If you are passionate about computer art and are willing to put in hundreds of hours of practice and hundred more hours of reading and learning on forums like RetouchPro you will succeed in creating beautiful art.

Good luck and happy painting!!

[pavel123]

Photomaster,
Thank you for the workflow. My personal experience with Painter, however, is that not every brush would work in cloning mode. All of them could be made to clone, but the resulting image would look blurry. Oil brushes in particular are not so good in cloning mode. Actually, very few brushes would make a reasonably sharp looking clone. So, it seems that cloning would only take you so far, that it only gives a decent underpainting, the rest must be done by free hand pianting. Apparently, something is missing here as far as my workflow is concerned. Would you know, what could be different with what you described (very small brush size?). Your suggested workflow relies entirely on cloning.

Many thanks. Pavel

[Photomaster]

Not every brush will work in the clone mode. I stated that most will. One must experiment. When you click on the Clone icon in the color pallet and the Pick Up Underlying Color in the Layers pallet, you must also select the Brush tool in the Toolbox and not the Clone Tool. When you paint on new layers above the Canvas Layer your brush is using the colors from the image on the Canvas layer. You must click on a new area of the image when you want to use a different color. The brush size will depend on the size of the area you are painting. The smaller the area, the smaller the brush and the more you must zoom in. e.g. when painting an eye. Work from the back forward in your image, especially in a landscape. In your first layer you will only be laying in areas of color with no detail. Then turn off that layer and on the next layer use a smaller brush and go over the same area bringing in a bit more detail paying close attention areas of color. Repeat this process until you are satisfied with the results. (It doesn't have to be perfect, you can switch to Photoshop to do clean up and other adjustments.) If you want to use a different color than what is contained in the image you must turn off the Clone icon in the Color Pallet and the Pick Up Underlying Color box in the Layers Pallet and use the regular paint mode where you select a color from the Color Pallet.

Remember, when using this method you are are actually creating a new painted image using your own brush strokes to cover the entire canvas. As you use smaller and smaller brushes on subsequent layers the painted image will become more detailed. You are doing the same things that you would do when painting on a real canvas with real paint. The original digital image is only acting as your color pallet. It is up to you, the artist, to create the amount of detail that will produce an image to your liking.

Attached is a detail of the dog painting and two other paintings. In each painting there is nothing left of the originals. Each painting consists entirely of hand brush strokes. I hope this clarifies the procedures for using this method. You are the artist, you create the painting. My inspiration for this method came from a John Derry video for Painter 11 on Lynda.com. Good luck.

[pavel123]

Thank you again. These are fantastic renditions . Pavel

[pixlart]

Hi:

I just wanted to pop in and explain that this method does not actually require the use of cloning to work.

In the described method above, the brush being used (Captured Acrylic) is set to paint with the current color. By setting the clone source as the same as the image being painted on (albeit on a layer above the canvas) and toggling the color palette to use clone color (rather than the color palette's current color) this creates a situation in which the brush is painting with the same colors found directly beneath the brush tip. The resulting strokes visually resemble a smeared version of the original underlying image.

The same visual effect can be set up by creating a layer above the image-bearing canvas and disabling the brush's Resaturation to 0% (the Resat slider in the Brush Tool's Property Bar). This stops color from being deposited and only Bleed is active. Bleed controls how aggressively underlying color is picked up.

With Pick Up Underlying Color enabled in the Layers palette, the brush will smear the underlying color in exactly the same manner (you can even turn off the canvas layer and continue to paint as in the former technique). This method eliminates the need for a clone source and, as such, is simpler to set up.

Like Photoshop, Painter usually has more than one path to "reach the top of the mountain". Here is a link to an article I wrote describing this technique (its a PDF file):

Non-destructive Layer Painting

BTW...Nice work Photomaster!

-john

[Janet Petty]

My thanks to Photomaster and John Derry for their excellent information and clear, concise methods of delivering it. My thanks to both as well for caring enough to put the information together in the first place then sharing it with the rest of us.

Very nice work.

Janet

[Kraellin]

very nice, photomaster!

[skydog]

Postmaster...I've had the same frustration and learning experience with Painter. With good brushes I find Photoshop does just as good. What more do you gain from Painter?

[gholmes1936]

Martin Addison has a great book out titled, "Painter 11 for Photographers." ISBN 978-0-240-52123-7 It has a CD in it with some great tutorials. Especially a couple on purely auto-painting, and what follows that method. He tells it in detailed steps and in the videos on the CD shows one what is mentioned here. I found the book on Amazon a lot less expensive than at your local book store. No I am not a shill for him, just love step-by step tuts.

[Photomaster]

Originally Posted by skydog

Postmaster...I've had the same frustration and learning experience with Painter. With good brushes I find Photoshop does just as good. What more do you gain from Painter?

What is the difference between Photoshop and Painter? This issue could become a forum by itself. The basic difference is, Photoshop is designed with the photographer in mind and Painter is designed with the artist in mind. Painter comes equipped with the tools necessary to create fine art while most of the art tools for Photoshop must be purchased from a third party. Painter gives you unprecedented brush and surface control while Photoshop gives you unprecedented control of the image.

Your degree of comfort with either program is related to the degree of effort you are willing to exert in the learning process. Both programs have a steep learning curve but both programs will reward you immensely for the time you spend reading and practicing.

So I guess the real issue is which program are you most comfortable with and which one provides you with the most satisfying art experience.

[ISeek]

Is there an equivalent of pick-color-from clone-source available in Photoshop?
I love that feature in Painter.

[mikajomc]

Originally Posted by ISeek

Is there an equivalent of pick-color-from clone-source available in Photoshop?
I love that feature in Painter.

The art history brush and history brush are similar, but not exactly the same as painter's clone feature.

[plugsnpixels]

Originally Posted by Photomaster

What is the difference between Photoshop and Painter? ...Painter comes equipped with the tools necessary to create fine art while most of the art tools for Photoshop must be purchased from a third party.

I saw the Photoshop World Dr. Brown demo for CS5 and it seems Adobe is now getting more into natural media effects, so perhaps the twain shall meet.

[DavidC]

Photoshop is capable of very powerful painting effects - particularly in relation to transparent watercolor simulations. You need to dig into Photoshop brush architecture in the same way you do with Painter brushes.

[plugsnpixels]

David, what would you say is being added to the brush/painting functionality in CS5 in this regard? I don't paint so I wouldn't know... I like plug-ins to do it for me ;-).

[lynn55]

I never use Corel Painter but I use photoshop CS4 and photoscape.

I like to try Corel Painter. I need download link.



I adjust Oil Painting and Color Enhance in Photoscape.

http://i34.tinypic.com/vdm6c.jpg

[gholmes1936]

Go to this URL and click on the Try it for Free "Download Trial" place in the middle of the page.

http://www.corel.com/servlet/Satelli...9#tabview=tab0

[plugsnpixels]

Lynn, check Corel's website and see if they have a Painter 11 demo you can download and try.

[plugsnpixels]

And the prize goes to Gunner who types replies faster than I do!

[gholmes1936]

Five min faster. lol

[lynn55]

Thank you for your nice replies

I check Effects and Others did not have effects on Jing Video. Corel Painter does not have filters.
Click here: http://www.screencast.com/users/lynn...7-b0c38df840ed

[pavel123]

Originally Posted by lynn55

Thank you for your nice replies
I check Effects and Others did not have effects on Jing Video. Corel Painter does not have filters.
Click here: http://www.screencast.com/users/lynn...7-b0c38df840ed

Painter does have filters, although not as many as PS.
In addition, one can use third party filters with Painter exactly same way you do in PS.

Pavel