Corel Painter - 17 - Magazine, Art, Digital Painting, Drawing, Draw, 2d

Official Magazine

Createdigital art today!

Vital brush commandsIn-depth pastel workshop

Quick start guide on the CD

Paint the cover!

PC and Mac

FREE CD INSIDE TEXTURES | STOCK PHOTOS | TUTORIAL RESOURCE FILES

Brush primerUse the F-X brushes to create wild and vibrant artwork

African art We show how to paint in the style of traditional African art

Paint likeGive your landscape photos an American Folk art makeover

ISSUE SEVENTEENISSN 1753-3155

9 7 7 1 7 5 3 3 1 5 0 0 0

1 7

www.paintermagazine.com

6.00

Expert tipsInk and wash effectMerge the pen with paint and re-create this classic style

45pages oftutorials

Over

Official MagazineOfficial Magazine

Paint with natural light Top tips for creating the

illusion of sunlight

Issue seventeen Visit us online w

ww

.paintermagazine.co.uk

Of cial Corel Painter TM M

agazine

Take control of this set of brushes and paint your best-ever portraitsTake control of this set of brushes and paint your best-ever portraitsTake control of this set of brushes

acrylic artPaint the cover!

Issue seventeen Visit us online w

ww

.paintermagazine.co.uk

acrylic aLearn to create

Understand resolution

How to resize images without destroying pixels

Vital skills

Cover_OPM17.indd 1 29/4/08 15:25:03

stuartdixonRectangle

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Jo Cole, Editor in [email protected]

WelcomeWhen youre dealing with traditional materials, it makes sense to ind one or two that you really enjoy and donate all of your art funds to them. But you havent got to think that way in Painter. Once you buy

the software you can explore all the different mediums without paying out any extra.

This issue we focus on the Acrylic brushes and look at how they can be used to create a stunning portrait. The very portrait that graces our cover, in fact! So, if you have never used them before, turn to page 36 and give them a go.

Fans of the American Folk Art movement will love our tutorial on page 46. Susi Lawson shows how to transform a photo into a rolling landscape. We also have a lovely ink and wash tutorial on page 28, where Tim Shelbourne merges paint with pen for fantastic results.

This issue also sees the start of a new series in Drawing 101, where we show how traditional media behaves. Youd be surprised how this helps you understand Painters brushes.

Enjoy your painting!

This is THE magazine for anyone wanting to further their Corel Painter skills or learn how to become a better artist

ISSUESEVENTEEN

This is THE magazine for anyone wanting to further their Corel Painter skills or learn how to become a better artist

Visit our website!If you find that the magazine isnt enough to satisfy your Corel Painter appetite, you can always visit our website. Pop on over to www.paintermagazine.co.uk and register as a user. Once this is out of the way, explore the pages and enjoy great content such as: Downloadable resources Online galleries to share your work Special forum for meeting other Corel Painter users

Brush Primer: F-X

Pg 34You might have written them off as a one-trick wonder, but see how these brushes can bloom

Art study: Sunlight

Pg 52

Inject realistic light into your paintings for impact and interest

Paint like: Grant Wood

Pg 46

Have a stroll through the hilly vistas and bubbly

trees of Grant Wood

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news even ts resources even ts resources even ts letters websites websites websites letters websites letters

of costs, skill and software requirements, as well as duration of individual courses. DAA is proud to include many of the top names in digital art training in the industry, including many familiar faces from the Corel Painter Oficial Magazine. Myself, Cat Bounds, Scott Deardorff, Chris Price, Susi Lawson, Marilyn Sholin, Anne Carter-Hargrove and more bring innovative classes to life across the whole spectrum of digital art software and inal output through printing and embellishing, says Bonaker. If youve ever wanted to take your learning further with targeted classes for Corel Painter, as well as other major software players in the digital art world, drop by DAA and have a look at the ever-expanding course catalogue. There truly is something for everyone.

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illed as the next generation in digital-art training, the Digital Art Academy (www.digitalartacademy.com) was

created speciically to offer an interactive learning community element to all aspiring digital artists. With DAAs fully equipped website, with online classrooms,

TEACHING

Live interaction brings Corel Painter learning to lifestudents are given a rich environment illed with opportunities to learn through written instruction, video, audio and live chat with instructors and course-speciic forums, enthuses DAAs Karen Bonaker. The environment is set up to be very social, and students are encouraged to participate by answering questions in the forums and critiquing each others work.

The classes cover not just Corel Painter but a range of leading software programs so you can expand and combine your skills accordingly, discovering new ways of being creative. The goals of the school are to offer a sound education emphasising the fundamental core principles of the software; however, the heart of the school lies in creativity and the love of digital art, explains Bonaker. DAA strives to be a creative centre of excellence, where art, passion and talent converge with some of the foremost digital artists, to nurture the inest digital artists of tomorrow.

A full list of course categories is available on the DAA website along with details

DAA interactive online classrooms combine

written instruction, video, audio and live

chat with instructors and course-specific forums

Something for everyoneAs a certified Corel Training Partner, DAA offers many courses

geared specifically towards Corel Painter through world class Painter instructors, including some of the Painter Masters themselves

Tutorial xxxx

Commun ityNEWS EVENTS RESOURCES LETTERS WEBSITES INFO FORUM

Something for everyone

many of the top names

As a certified Corel Training Partner, DAA offers many courses

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websites websites websites info news even ts resources even ts resources even ts letters website letters website letters

urrently offering lessons well into the autumn, Jill Garls online Corel Painter painting courses are increasingly attracting

an international audience eager to study. I have students from all over the world. This is one of the great advantages of being able to do this online, enthuses the Michigan-based photographer and artist. With no experience necessary, those who enrol get to study at their own pace and from the comfort of their own homes. At the end of each lesson, students post their assignments for critique. They really ind the critique helpful, learning not only from their own work but from the other students in the class as well, adds Garl. The six-week course costs $325 and includes all support iles and movies mailed on CD, as well as additional email and telephone support.

Sign up at www.hannahseyesphotography.com/WelcomeToPaintingwithJillGarl

Extra special Painting In Five

TEACHING

Graphicxtras.com offers a range of Corel-compatible

add-ons and plug-ins to extend your

creativity

TIPS & ADVICE

Painting In Five showcases QuickTime-based tutorials from Gregory Sterling, highlighting many of the fabulous features found in Corel Painter

creativity

Website offers affordable Corel Painter paper grains, nozzles, patterns and shapes

RESOURCES

Jill Garls six-week course covers a range of skills from Corel Painter basics to specifics such as painting hair, skin and eyes

mall but perfectly formed, Painting In Five is a website devoted to sharing tips and

tricks for creating digital art. As well as a gallery selection, a free collection of over 60 QuickTime video-based tutorial podcasts are archived to watch online, covering a range of Corel Painter-based skills. The work of Gregory Sterling, a self-styled professional nerd, is accompanied by audio commentaries that help set the scene. Topics include painting Sumi-e swirls and highlights, depth painting, pastel smudging, auto Van Gogh painting and capture dab painting. Point your browser at http://web.mac.com/gregory.sterling/Painting_in_Five/Welcome.html.

Tips and tricks for digital artists

Painting with Jill GarlOnline Corel Painter classes attract international students

howcasing the work of Andrew Buckle, developer of Andrews Filters, Graphicxtras.com offers

a huge selection of plug-ins for most major graphic applications, including those from Corel. A selection of paper grains, nozzles, patterns and shapes are bundled in value-for-money packs that should expand your Corel Painter creativity signicantly. The array of paper grains and textures runs to 1,350, and over 1,200 nozzles, 1,000-plus patterns and 240 shapes are offered. All royalty-free for use in commercial and hobby projects, full support is offered by email and the forum. A range of demos, samplers and freebies for PC and Mac are offered so you can try before you buy, including a range of Corel Painter and Corel Paint Shop Pro-compatible plug-ins. Prices start from around 6, with discounts and offers regularly available. See more at www.graphicxtras.com.

Jill Garls six-week course Jill Garls six-week course covers a range of skills from Corel Painter basics to specifics such as painting hair, skin and eyes

website info news even ts

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news even ts resources even ts resources even ts letters website letters website letters info news even ts resources resources resources even ts resources even ts

Wacom worryRecently, I changed from Windows XP to Windows Vista. I did a clean installation so I had to install Painter X and my Wacom A5 Wide Special Edition Tablet absolutely fresh. Unfortunately, the tablet stopped working correctly in Painter X. It is now impossible to draw a brushstroke. When I put the pen tip on the tablet, a kind of menu appears on the screen, but no stroke. Ive attached a screen grab for you to see.

our LettersThe same happens in Painter Essentials 3 and Photoshop Elements 4.0. The driver and the tablet are okay because they work in other programs. Have other readers installed Painter X with a Wacom tablet under Windows Vista? Were their experiences the same and did they downgrade to XP?

Johs de Hoo

Welcome to the part of the magazine where you can come

and share your thoughts on anything you fancy!

Featured galleryOur favourite readers gallery this month

Nita Matawww.paintermagazine.co.uk/user/Nita MataNitas work caught our eye with her Arias in Piggytails image, which became Pick of the Week way back in March. Her collection of portraits, both human and animal, have continued to delight us with their excellent use of light. One thing that really stands out in Nitas images are their personality. Each one is imbued with life and vitality, so you really get a sense of the character of the person or animal being painted. But dont take our word for it visit her gallery and see for yourself!

Nita Matawww.paintermagazine.co.uk/user/Nita MataNitas work caught our eye with her Arias in Piggytailsbecame Pick of the Week way back in March. Her collection of portraits, both human and animal, have continued to delight us with their excellent use of light. One thing that really stands out in Nitas images are their personality. Each one is imbued with life and vitality, so you really get a sense of the character of the person or animal being painted. But dont take our word for it visit her gallery and see for yourself!

Ofcial Corel Painter Magazine, Imagine Publishing, Richmond House, 33 Richmond Hill, Bournemouth, Dorset BH2 6EZ, UK

If youd prefer to contact us via email, send your message to [email protected]

Send your letters to...

Have you experienced

strange goings-on after installing

Windows Vista? Johs de Hoo has and we want to know if you

have as well

Our favourite readers gallery this month

Nita Mata Nita Mata

Lions Cooling OffChinese Lady

Corgi

Thanks for the email. Well see if we can find out a solution but in the meantime, has anyone else had the same problem? Let us know if you have and more importantly, if you found a way around it!

Layer debateIn issue 16s Letters, you requested feedback about including layer information. I would like to join the debate!

I too would like more layers information but take your point about the ile size, so I suggest that the inal layer structure be included on the disc as its own ile, without associated pictures. It would be good if the layers (only) ile was interactive so that clicking a layer would reveal associated information such as the blending mode. The simplest way to show layer palette

Nita Mata

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Come and join our forum and website

resources resources resources letters website letters website letters info news even ts resources letters website letters website letters info

data may be simply to print it as a large panel in the magazine. Perhaps that is the best way. That would answer my needs but, in all probability, you would have page space issues. Nothing is easy in this world!

There are a couple of related issues that I would like to mention. In order to read a tutorial, I generally have a magnifying glass to hand to read the palette information. For example, take page 39 (issue 16), there is palette information given in stages 09, and 14. Reading the information is not easy because it is screened for cyan, magenta, yellow printing plates.

Chris RourkeHello Chris, thanks for the email. We are going to try and include more palette information, but getting it to work is a lot easier said than done! People are prone to collapsing as they go, so I think a list is the only way forward. We do have the layered file of our Acrylic tutorial this issue, so we are making a start!

As for the magnifying glass issue, the examples you give were where the palettes werent the most important thing. The steps were describing how paint was being applied, so you didnt have to see the palettes. We will make sure they are big if the information is needed. And because the palettes are screen grabs and therefore treated the same as images, Im afraid we have no control over the plates. The only way around this would be to make the image black and white.

Free iStockphoto imagesIve just joined iStockphoto.com and noticed you can get free images. Do others know about this?

Sally BrownYou are indeed correct, Sally. Members can download a free image every week and also still get hold of the recent free offerings. Its a great way to boost your reference library!

www.paintermagazine.com

Not only do we deliver inspirational and practical tutorials on your favourite program every month, we also have a dedicated Corel Painter website that you can visit to get your artistic ix while you wait for the next issue. From here you can join up for a free account, then create your own gallery for the world to see! You can explain the process or inspiration behind each of your images, comment on other members artwork, share your wisdom and take part in regular challenges. Theres also an area to download tutorial iles from previous issues in case your CD has gone missing. If you feel like a bit of creative interaction, we also have a forum for you to come and leave your thoughts about the magazine. You can ask Corel Painter questions and pass the time with other digital artists. So what are you waiting for? Visit www.paintermagazine.com today!

Make yourself known!www.paintermagazine.com

Dont be shy everyones welcome to enter! Go to www.paintermagazine.co.uk/competitions.php

ENTER THE WEBSITE CHALLENGE

Enjoy free high resolution images from iStockphoto at www.istockphoto.comEnjoy free high resolution images from iStockphoto at www.istockphoto.comat www.istockphoto.comat

We will start introducing information about the layers in future issues, so you can make sure you are working as the artist

We will start introducing information about the layers in future issues, so you can make sure you are working as the artist

Nita Mata

Yoda Kitty

Nita Mata

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Interview Julie Dillon

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ulie Dillon lives and works in North California, where she is currently a part-time illustration student, while taking professional

commissions and developing her distinct drawing and painting style. A fan of Corel Painter and encouraged by online communities such as deviantART, her work has won many fans and admirers.

How would you best describe your style?I think my style is heavily inluenced by fantasy and storybook art, not just in my approach to the way I paint, but also in my attempts to focus on narrative, story and character in my compositions. I try to paint fantasy images that still have some grounding in reality, so that they are otherworldly yet familiar, and accessible enough that the viewer can still connect to

With a flair for fantasy art and a strong emphasis on the narrative, Julie Dillon is a young artist with a bright future. Nick Spence meets her

Julie Dillonthem. I tend to lean heavily on saturated colour and theatrical lighting, and Ive been told I have a painterly style.

How does working with Corel Painter help you rene that style?The various brushes and paper textures give me great speed and lexibility. They feel so much more intuitive and seem to know what look Im wanting to achieve as I work to the point that sometimes it feels like Im cheating! I can build up thick rich colour quickly, but can also work very neat and tight on the inal renderings.

Can you briey explain your working process to us?I do almost everything digitally with a tablet. I start out doing quick thumbnail sketches in a sketchbook to work out

work has won many fans and admirers.

An interview with

commissions and developing her distinct drawing and painting style. A fan of Corel Painter and encouraged by online communities such as deviantART, her

With a flair for fantasy art and a strong emphasis on the narrative, Julie Dillon is a young artist with a bright future.

Julie Dillon

WEBSITE www.jdillon.net and www.jdillon82.deviantart.com JOB TITLE Freelance IllustratorCLIENTS Paizo Publishing, Fantasy Flight Games, Alderac Entertainment

Group, EDGE Scifi and Fantasy Publishing and Fantasist Enterprises

[FAR TOP] Julie Dillons illustration for The Runehound for Paizo Publishing (best known for its role-playing games and gaming aids tie-ins)

poses and compositions. From there, I create a relatively developed black-and-white drawing in Painter using a tablet, laying down all my tones in the composition in greyscale. With the basic structure is roughed in I put overlay and multiply layers of rich colour over the black-and-white drawing, similar to making an underpainting for a painting done in traditional oils. Once the basic rough colours are laid on top of the sketch, I create a new layer and begin the real painting on top of that.

What reference points do you use when creating your images? I am heavily inluenced by fairy tales and nature, though I do absorb bits of ideas from all over the place and hold on to them until I need them. When working

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All o

rigi

nal a

rtw

ork

by Ju

lie D

illon

Reassurance, another beautiful

fantasy based image that has won

Dillon many fans and admirers



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on a personal painting Ill usually start with a vague, intangible feeling or impression that I feel I need to convey, though I usually dont know how best to distil that idea down into an image right away. Sometimes the composition for a piece will immediately jump out at me, but often it takes weeks or months of absorbing new ideas and ways of approaching a subject until a composition really gels in my head.

What would you say your favourite Corel Painter tools are? My absolute favourite is the Smeary Bristle Spray and the Palette knife. If I was stuck with only two brushes it would be them. I was a little slow in iguring out how to use them properly, but they provided so much more lexibility. You can just cut in and carve out edges and surfaces smoothly without the brush being jagged or heavy-handed, which is particularly useful when rendering organic textures.

The DreamcatcherDillons favourite Corel

Painter tools are the Smeary Bristle Spray and

the Palette knife

As well as working for a number of clients,

Julie Dillon also attends college where she

created this recent striking image


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Youre a deviantART member, how has that community helped you develop as an artist and illustrator? Ive been involved in and lurked at dozens of art forums and communities over the years. deviantART has provided me good exposure, and gives a quick and easy way for people to see my new work and comment if they wish. Ive met lots of interesting people, some amazing artists, and even some new clients. Ive noticed more and more professionals are getting deviantART accounts, since you can potentially get a good web presence and therefore more exposure.

How valuable is it to gain feedback from other members?Feedback from other artists is incredibly helpful, and over the years peer critiques

have helped me immensely with both small technical problems and broader scope issues. That said, if you want your work to be critiqued you are better off going to an art forum like ConceptArt.org. Although deviantART is great for exposure and keeping track of other artists, its not necessarily the best place to turn to for constructive criticism. It feels more like a giant guestbook thats great for a little ego boost.

Do you think your work would have progressed in the way it has without the internet?Absolutely not. Without all the art forums and communities over the years I probably would have never realised there were careers available in the arts, as my college at the time didnt encourage any

Artwork for an album cover by Noisia, more sci-fi inspired than fantasy based, showing another side of Dillons workOften it takes weeks or months of absorbing ideas until a composition gels in my head

Azazel In The Underworld, an apocalyptic image typical

of Dillons fantasy based work for a number of games

and book publishers



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of the commercial arts. The internet has introduced to me to the work of countless artists and has kept me up to date on the illustration world. Ive been able to help other artists out, take part in community contests and challenges, and receive helpful criticism that I wouldnt have received from teachers or classmates at the time. I work with virtually all of my clients through the internet too, so obviously thats important!

Finally, youre still young and studying. Where would you like to see yourself in ve years creatively?In ive years I would love to have steady work doing book covers and storybook illustrations, perhaps even illustrate a story of my own. One of my big driving forces in creating artwork is to help tell stories and create worlds for other people, to help them look past the mundane and ind inspiration. The closer I can get to do that, in whatever form, the better.

I Shall Face Damnation For You

Dillons work is heavily influenced by fairy

tales and nature, as well as taking

inspiration from all around her

Alice In The Queen Of Hearts Court, by Julie Dillon. One of the many digital paintings that has won her admirers, especially among her peers

One of my driving forces is to help people look past the mundane and find inspiration


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Feature Readers challenge

The original imageThis is the photo that inspired this feature. We knew it was a nice shot, but never thought wed get so many entries from you all exhibiting so many different styles. It was a real pleasure to see them all and also to find out how some of you created them!

READERS TUTORIAL

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Readers challenge

arely a day goes by where we dont receive entries to our regular challenge. But even we were amazed at the amount of images that arrived with the

kingisher photo used as the starting point. It wasnt just the amount of images that

appeared, but it was also the range of styles. It made our brain cells start to tick over and we decided it might be nice to show some of the different styles and how they were achieved. Not only does this mean you get to have a nose around someone elses way of working, but you also see

how the same photo can be interpreted in so many different ways. And thats the real message of this feature. Its very easy to fall into a creative pattern and plump for the same style every time you work. But force yourself to try something new, even if you try painting one scene in different ways. Theres plenty of inspiration here, so why not have a go?

We might make these sorts of features a more regular thing, so do let us know if you found it useful. Maybe you were inspired to try one of the techniques yourself. If this is the case, do send in the results!

Discover how fellow readers tackled the kingfisher photo from challenge number seven

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BrushesI m using only one brush for the whole painting. It s a round brush with some brush spacing and based on an Oil Bristle. There is no secret, just play around with the Oil Bristle general settings until you get this effect. The main trick is to change the subcategory to Flat Cover. Its really easy as you can see!

Brushes

01 Block in For the rst stage Im blocking out the general colours for the background really quickly and the general shape for the bird and the trunk.

Im using the darkest darks Ill be using for the bird, so its a good idea to get the darkest darks now because it helps to get a nice rich illustration instead of a muddy illustration.

02 Building colours Once we have the general shape right, we can start adding some basic colours onto the bird and the branch. As you can see, Im very loose with the colours. I want to get the basic colours quickly without worrying too much about the details.

Its really important to not go to the next step if you feel the colour values are not right. Spend some time looking at the reference image and comparing side-by-side.

03 Introduce detail Now that we have the general colour values we can start detailing a little bit of the feathers. Im using a really small brush and Im painting one by one. It might sound a little over the top, but I like to have control for each feather. Different colours for each feather will help to get a richer image.

04 Always varied Once I had all the feathers right, with different colour variations I started to add some colour variation onto the branch. Use colour variations in all the organic things you paint. Variation is really important in birds/trees like this. I added more detail to the head, because I wanted it to be the focal point for this composition, so its a good way to lead the viewer to the bird.

did a representation quite similar to the original picture in order to do a tonal and colour study. I think the most important part of any painting is the colour values. If you get good colour values, you get a fantastic painting. This

is the reason I did this study based on the picture Corel Painter Magazine gave us.

Whenever I begin a painting I always start by blocking out the general shapes. This is because it helps me to not concentrate on any of the small details at an early stage. The overall shape is much more important than the small details at irst; I think this is a good method.

I tend to work just like traditional media, from the background to the foreground. In my opinion, it helps to get the bird (in this particular case) inside the illustration, rather than being seen as a separate part.

Sometimes if I paint a character, bird or house I tend not to bounce colours from the background onto the character, bird, etc irst. However, its really important to relect some colours from the background onto the character of the bird, as it gives a convincing look to your illustration.

Using one brush

Reader 1: Pere Balsachhttp://www.paintermagazine.co.uk/user/PereBalsachhttp://www.working-illusions.com

Sometimes simplicity is the best

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was attracted to the excellent photo of the kingisher straight away it is the type of photo that I just cant resist playing with. However, I did not intend to enter the competition as I had seen some of the earlier competition

winners and realised the standards were high.I began by importing the image into Photoshop and started

playing with the ilters. I often do this for inspiration. I wanted to create a watercolour rendition of the image to get a feel for how this might look. I used Photoshop to create a pale, watery image. I then thought that a pen and wash effect might look good. So I took the image into Painter and started work with the Nervous Pen tool. I liked the results but did not think they were worthy of inishing or entering into the competition. In any case I thought I should only use Painter for a Painter Magazine competition!

After deciding to have a go at a Painter-only creation, I used the challenge photo to trace the outline using the Nervous Pen. To add vibrancy, I went for a black background. I then felt that the inished work was good enough to enter. I did not win, of course Meg Franks picture was the very worthy winner. I enjoyed every minute of the challenge, though, and am already sizing up the images for the next challenge. It really is a great way to get the creative juices lowing.

Pen and photo

Reader 2: Michael Ephgravehttp://www.paintermagazine.co.uk/user/Michael Ehttp://ephgrave.com

Strong colours add drama

Crop for cloutI felt the picture had an Impressionistic feel to it, although I thought the overall composition didnt feel quite right so I cropped it to get a slightly more abstract feel. Its always worth playing around with composition and seeing if a tight crop can help your image. Its amazing how often it sorts out a difficult task!

Crop for clout

01 Feeling nervous I created the wash effect in Photoshop and opened Painter. I put the photo in layer one and put the Photoshop image in layer two. I created a third layer and lled it with a creamy white. I used a fourth layer to sketch with the Nervous Pen set to black. I hid the Photoshop layer and set the transparency of the cream layer to 50%. I then sketched the kingsher with the Nervous Pen.

02 Two images together At the end of this exercise I had a pen and wash type image when the Photoshop image was set as the background. This was when I just used Painter and used the Nervous Pen to sketch the kingsher in colour. I used the original photo as the rst layer. I also used a plain white intermediate layer set at 50% transparency. I used the Eyedropper tool to pick up the colours on the rst layer and sketched on a third layer.

03 Colourful creation The technique I used to sketch was to pick up the main colour in a given segment and roughly ll the area. In small areas of colour I used quick, small strokes. In larger areas I used longer strokes. For the beak the strokes were quick and long, which straightens out the nervous lines.

04 Pump up the colour The sketching looked okay but the colours were not as vibrant as I wanted. Also, the nuances of pattern that give a feathery feel to the composition were not clear. I then put a layer below the sketch layer and lled it with black. The colours and the pattern of the sketch were then closer to the character of this ighty bird. The feathery effect was also much more visible.

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always clone my image irst and save the new ile as a PSD ile. Once I reopen, I correct colour and use a ilter. I dont have a set method, I just go with what

my eyes like. I use a lot of layers and if I dont like something I delete the layer and try something else. With the challenge ile I wanted my isher to have detail and depth. I knew I wanted to change the background to one I felt was more complimentary to the colours in the kingisher. I had been exploring the RealBristle brushes and wanted to use them for the birds feathers.

I also decided to call upon other peoples brushes. Robs Brushes are by Robert Chang and you can ind them at www.ethereality.info. Jeremy Sutton brushes are included on a CD when you buy his Painter IX Creativitybook. Filters 2 Unlimited can be purchased at www.icnet.de/ilters_unlimited and Auto FX Mystical Lighting can be purchased www.autofx.com.

Challenge winner, Meg Frank, reveals her techniques

Using custom brushes


colours in the kingisher. I had been exploring

Challenge winner, Meg Frank,

Using custom Using custom Reader 3: Meg Frankhttp://www.paintermagazine.co.uk/user/Meghttp://www.mzmo.net

WINNER!

02 Masking My next step was to reopen the kingsher photo. I went to Select>Select All and then Edit>Copy and Paste in Place. I set up a mask layer and masked out the original photo using the 2B Pencil brush with the colour set to black and 100% Opacity and Resat values. I clicked the eye icon on the Canvas layer so I could see what I was doing. With the mask nished, I applied the mask layer.

01 Prep work I opened the photo, went to File>Clone and then saved the le. I then went to Effects>Correct Colour>Curves>Autoset and clicked OK. I have Painter X, so decided to use the Divine Proportion tool. I clicked Portrait and set Size to 100 and Rotate to 0. This allowed me to crop my le to the divine proportion outline. I then went to Canvas>Resize and set Width to 798, Height to 1289 and had 300 as the resolution.

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04 Log painting Now work on the log. For the top, use Robs Blender Round brush size 5, Opacity 100%, Resat set to 0, Blend 50% and Feature set at 2.4. Follow the grain of the wood. Then using Robs Painter Round set to Size 1.3, Opacity at 27%, Resat 100, Bleed 100 and Feature set to 1.0, select a darker brown and add some lines in the wood and trace around the top of the wood. Blend using Dens Funky Chunky on the yellow of the log, blend colour and add colour until you are happy with it.

05 Painting Layers Add a new layer at the top and mix colours from the bird using the dropper on the pad to pick up two colours at once. On your blank layer, using Real Bristle brushes Fan Soft, Real Fan Short size 8.2, 100% Opacity, Feature 3.0, Blend 7%, Real Round size 5.0, 100% Opacity, Resat 35%, Bleed

35%, Feature 2.2, start adding your colours. I mixed colours, as I needed, applying them to new layers and swapping Real Bristle brushes as I went. Add a new layer to the top, using Robs Painting Round 02,-1 set to 1.3 paint lines in between your feathers and paint a white crest at the top of the shers eye and blend.

06 Finish Open your PSD le again. Once you have your painting nished and are pleased with the outcome, save your PSD le. Finally, go to File>Clone and then Effects>Focus and Sharpen the layer at 3.00 with Highlight and Shadow set to 20%. Save your nal image as a JPEG.

03 Background Add a new layer below the mask layer and ll with a background. To add a bit more interest, I used a couple of Jeremy Suttons brushes Jeremys Favs 2 FastFunkyChunky brush was used to blend the background, and then I switched to Jeremys MishMashScumble brush for the nal touches. I grouped the background with the mask layer and collapsed, before going to File>Clone. This left the background and bird on one layer. Save! The next step was to go to Select>Select All to copy and paste in place as before. Using Robs Blender Brushes size 5, Opacity 100%, Resat set to 0, Blended 50% and Feature set to 2.0 to 2.5, I started to blend the sher with the background. When blending, ensure to follow the birds feathers and form, using nice, small strokes. I sharpened this layer and then set Highlight and Shadow to 20%. The layer was duplicated.

TipAlways make sure your clone source is set to the image you are working on.Dont be afraid to add layers as you paint. I may have ten or more when I work. And always save your work after every step!

Tip

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Reader: Lesley Wellingshttp://www.paintermagazine.co.uk/user/RT

Reader: Barb Christensen http://www.paintermagazine.co.uk/user/B Christensen

Reader: Grace Kelsohttp://www.paintermagazine.co.uk/user/GraceKelso

Reader: Anita Stanhopehttp://www.paintermagazine.co.uk/user/Skyopal

Reader: Caryl Ritterhttp://www.paintermagazine.co.uk/user/carylwithay

Be inspired by more stylish interpretationsOther favouritesIt was very dificult to choose which images to represent in this feature, and we wanted to try and squeeze in as many as we could! So heres a roundup of some of the other sterling entries we received. Study the styles, compositions and brush strokes and maybe have a go at applying the technique to your own work. At the very least, pay a visit to these artists websites for more great images.

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Tutorial Traditional pen and wash

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ften, in terms of ine art, less is more. Pen and wash is an ideal example of this, and its a medium that can really test an artists mettle. Here youre relying on the power and immediacy of simple, very ine

lines, which can both delineate complicated outlines and create areas of subtle shading. Its a technique that dates back almost as long as pictorial art itself, and its one that can still create very beautiful and sophisticated illustrations. Its also a medium that is very suited to sketching on the spot, mainly because of the simple equipment required to do the job. All of these points still ring true within the realms of Corel Painter, and here were going to take this age-old medium and give it the digital treatment.

One of the most important things about drawing with a pen is the ability to create many different tones, simply by the placement and density of line work, and weve included a boxout on page 32 to illustrate this point. In a pen drawing, the tones are created by placing different thicknesses of lines closer together for dark tones, or further apart for lighter tones. Unlike pencil, we cant rely on varying opacity to create different shades, so you have to rely on an illusion of tone, created by these hatched lines mixing optically. We also need lines and techniques that can describe different surfaces and textures, such as buildings and trees, and youll learn how to do this here, too.

The wash is used to reinforce some of the main tones in the drawing, and to add interest to areas of less detail. For this well use a couple of Painter watercolour variants.

Traditional pen and wash

Artist

Time needed

Skill level

On the CD

Tim Shelbourne

1.5 hours

Intermediate

FInal image

Tutorial info

Prepare your painting with a basic outlineA sketchy start

01 Choose pen, paper and colour We used a photo from www.sxc.hu as our reference (www.sxc.hu/browse.phtml?f=view&id=209122). Download it and go to File>Quick Clone. Choose the Croquil Pen from the Pens. Go to the Papers selector and choose Thick Handmade Paper. Set the Grain for the brush to 70% in the Properties bar. Now choose a very dark brown from the colour wheel.

02 Preparatory drawing Reduce the size of the brush to just 4 pixels and add a new layer. Roughly sketch in the main elements in the scene. Dont attempt to include any detail at this stage, as this initial sketch is just so you can get your bearings around the scene and can always be deleted or reduced in opacity.

A sketchy start

Pen and wash is regarded by many as the prince of drawing media and, as we demonstrate here, its especially suited to architectural subjects. Sharpen up that quill!

the scene. Dont attempt to include any detail at this stage, as this initial sketch outline the rest of the elements, 03 Just outlines Continue to roughly

indicating the trees in the foreground. Dont add any detail to the sky yet, as this will consist mostly of washes in the nished painting.

Original photo

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TutorialTraditional pen and w

ash

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Define your painting and add more detailTourist attractionTourist attraction

would be to dive straight in with the pen again and start to add 04 Watercolour brush Youd think now that the best thing to do more detail. However, its more useful to dene the main areas of the painting with a few light washes, so change to the Watercolor category and choose the Watery Soft Bristle 20 variant.

a slightly lighter shade of sepia from the colour wheel and start to 05 First washes Set Feature to 11 in the Properties bar. Now choose lightly brush in the main shadow areas in the building. Make sure not to paint these too dark at the moment were still just establishing form and tone at this stage.

06 Adjust the pen settings Choose a very dark brown from the colour wheel. Add a new layer to the image. Now choose the Pens variants and select the Croquil Pen 5. Reduce the brush Opacity to around 30% so that the ink is slightly translucent. Increase the Grain to around 90% to make the pen lines smoother.

of the building, using this pen at a very 07 Dark details Add detail from the top small size. Again, concentrate mainly on the very small, dark details rst, using a tight scribble. Try to indicate shapes rather than draw them exactly. By establishing these dark details youll soon see where areas of lighter shading need to go.

08 Lost and found Where you have long, continuous features, dont be afraid of creating lost and found lines with gaps here and there, or replacing part of a line with some tiny hatching stokes. Were not doing a technical drawing here, and these slightly nervous areas add to the spontaneity of the sketch.


Bright ideaUnlike when youre drawing with pen and ink in the real world, in Painter its easy to add bright areas of highlight detail within areas of very dark shading even when youve completed these dark areas. You can do this with one of the Eraser variants. Choose one of the hard Eraser variants and use it at 100% Opacity on the target layer to lift out small areas of ink. This is similar to using touches of white body colour to add highlight details with real pen and ink.

Bright idea

09 Follow the contours For the moment concentrate mainly on the midtone areas in the image, and use the pen at a very small size of around 3 pixels. Try to make your strokes follow the contours of the area you are shading and remember to leave any highlight areas as blank paper showing through.

10 Larger dark areas Now you can start to establish the darkest tones in the upper part of the image, increasing the pen size here to around 8 pixels. In bigger dark areas, use quite energetic hatching strokes in varying directions. Refer to the source and nished images as you go.

Using a ghost imageIts always a good idea to start a project such as this by making a clone of the start image. To do this, simply open the start image and go to File>Quick Clone. This means that if youre not too confident about drawing such a complicated subject, you can always turn on Tracing Paper and use the ghost image as a guide to your drawing. Theres nothing wrong with tracing, after all, the object of the exercise is to produce a competent finished drawing. In fact, drawing aids have been used throughout history, even by some of the worlds greatest artists!

Using a ghost

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TutorialTraditional pen and w

ash

Using layersIts quite an advantage to use lots of layers in this image. The best way to approach this is to use a new layer for each set of objects within the image from distance to foreground. So, you can start with a layer for the initial outline drawing and use another for the main building tone. Use another layer for the details on the building, and another for the trees. This way its easy to add details to an area behind the trees, for instance, simply by drawing on that specific layer.

12 Indicate, dont draw Start adding the darker tones to the rest of the drawing, but not the trees or the sky, using the same methods as above. Remember the importance of the lost and found broken lines, and also remember that you are indicating shapes rather than drawing them exactly. Often youll need to zoom in very closely to the image to render very ne, detailed shading.

Brush up on your scribbling techniqueFantastic foliageFantastic foliage

see how important it is that your shading 13 Building tones Again, here you can follows the contours of the building. This adds form and depth to the objects. Its a good idea to rst ll the area with midtone shading, preserving any highlight areas, and then go back in with the pen at a larger size to add a few real darks.

at surfaces in shade, its a good idea to 11 Judging tones When youre shading use horizontal strokes placed closely together and parallel to each other. Remember, the closer your strokes are together, the darker the resulting tone will appear. You need to regularly zoom away from your drawing to judge these tones properly.

drawing. Use the brush at a very small size (around 2-3 pixels). Dont 14 Finer details Now you can start adding the ner details to the be tempted to overdo this stage of the drawing, though its important to remember that were suggesting detail here and not carefully drawing every single part of the building. You can see how simply the detail on the dome can be indicated.

Using layers

at the top and bottom of each column and the insets in the tower. 15 Less is more Continue to add the details, such as the decorations Small, nervous lines work well here, roughly following the shape of these details. For the columns themselves, dont actually outline all of them, simply leave white paper showing through.

Rotating the canvasThere are lots of straight lines and geometric shapes in this drawing, and you may find it easier to draw most of these horizontally rather than vertically. To do this, simply click and hold on the Grabber tool in the toolbar and choose the Rotate tool. Now you can simply drag within your workspace to rotate the entire canvas. Generally, its easier to draw horizontal lines than vertical ones. When youre done, and you want to return the document to its normal orientation, simply choose the tool again and drag it back into position.

Rotating the

16 Scribbled foliage Once youve added all of the details to the building (using the methods described) move on to the foreground trees. To create the trees, refer to the boxout over the page and use the scribble technique with the brush set to around 5 pixels to establish the overall midtone for the trees.

17 Foliage shadows Having established the midtones, increase the size of the pen to between 8-10 pixels and scribble in the darker tones in the foliage. Remember, we are going to add more sepia wash over this area, so dont go too dark you can always add more later.

18 Another watercolour brush Choose the Watercolour category of variants and select the Soft Bristle 20 variant. Choose a slightly lighter shade of sepia from the colour wheel and set the brush Opacity to just 15%. In the Water section of the Brush Controls (Window>Brush Controls>Show Water), set the sliders as shown in the screenshot. Set the minimum size of the brush to 75%.

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Use brushes to give your painting the perfect finishJust add waterJust add water


Individual tones and textures in pen and ink drawings are created purely by the placement of line. There are many shading techniques you can use here, but in this drawing we use mainly the ones shown below. A variety of shading techniques not only helps to establish effective tones, but also adds surface interest to the finished drawing.

Emulate traditional effectsShading techniques

wash to the drawing, using the nished 19 Loose washes Start to add the sepia image as a guide. This brush, because of the way weve set it up, stays wet for a long time so you can paint freely, overlapping strokes as you go. Use the brush at a large size in open areas such as the sky, and smaller on the building.

this brush at a fairly small size to add more washes and dabs of colour 20 Smaller dabs Change to the Watercolor>Soft Bristle variant. Use in the smaller areas of detail. Also add some more dabs to the outline of the trees, and a few larger dabs in the darker parts of the sky.

21 Finishing touches You can now revert to the Croquil Pen and add a few more touches of line here and there, including a few strokes in the sky. Remember, you can easily erase any unwanted penwork by choosing one of the Eraser variants.

INDICATING DETAILSmall details are indicated with a very small pen, rather than distinctly drawn. Think of this as a kind of drawing shorthand, which when viewed from a distance gives the impression of intricate details and features. Part of the charm of ink drawings is the contrast between heavy and very light ink lines.

DARK VS LIGHTThere are two factors that govern how light or dark shading appears in a pen and ink drawing namely the thickness of the strokes that make up the shading and how close together they are. The further apart hatching lines are, the more white paper shows through between them, and the lighter the tone appears.

CROQUIL PEN SHADINGThese two techniques are used for midtone areas on the building, and the direction of the individual shading lines should follow the contours of the area that youre shading. The further apart you place these lines to each other, the lighter the tone will then appear in the nished drawing.

CROQUIL PEN HATCHINGThis hatching technique, where short, expressive lines are laid over one another at different angles, is very good for the larger shadow areas in the main building. Place these individual strokes close together to create deep shadow areas.

FOLIAGE DARK TONESOnce the overall foliage ll has been established with the aforementioned technique, increase the pen size and then add some more loose, dense scribble over the rst layer. This will effectively indicate the darker areas within the trees.

FOLIAGE TECHNIQUEThis shading technique consists of using a very loose, random scribble pattern to indicate random foliage. The technique uses the pen at around 7 pixels at rst to establish the midtones of the foliage. Try practising this loose scribble before working on the actual trees.

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nd now for something completely different! Most of the brush variants in Painter X stand as direct clones of their real-world counterparts,

such as Chalks, Oils and Watercolour however, there is one collection of brush variants that no conventional artist could contemplate creating, even in their wildest dreams. The variants in question here are the F-X variants, and its true to say that they are a rather weird and wonderful bunch, but certainly not lacking in potential when it comes to adding that extra

zing to your creativity!As youll see from the brushstrokes

opposite, theres a huge variety within this group, ranging from oddballs such as Fairy Dust and Fire, to brushes that impart a glow to existing painted pixels, to the more conventional, and possibly more useful, Graphic Paintbrush

variants. Theres also a Confusion variant, which rather than leave you

confused as the name suggests, can actually be used to impart subtle blending

and textural interest to your paintings. Obviously, many of these variants are limited

to very speciic images, so weve created a painting here using the Graphic paintbrushes and the Confusion variants so you can truly see the potential of these more conventional F-X variants. Thats not to say that the other F-X variants arent useful and they are certainly fun to use. If youre a fan of special effects, dive in and give them a go!

The Hair Spray variant is of particular interest as it does not paint with colour, but has a high Resaturation value by default, so in effect it smudges and blends with the existing colour and pixels already on the canvas. This can be very useful, and really quite subtle, if you reduce the brush opacity.

F-X Brushes

Hair Spray variantThe perfect blend Get creative!

Captured DabsCaptured DabsCaptured Dabs

Many of the F-X variants, such as Fire and Shattered, are created from Captured Dabs. You can see this within the Brush Creator (Window>Show Brush Creator). Captured Dabs are created from a graphic image of some description, which in essence is what gives the individual dabs their shape and varying opacity. You can find a huge amount of creative potential here by changing the brushes subcategory from its default value in the Brush Creator. Go on, give it a go after all, were talking special effects here!

Primer F-X Brushes

BRUSH CATEGORY

PRIMER

If you have a taste for the wild side, the F-X variants are just the ticket. Stand back and make way for the special effects

Captured Dabs

CONFUSED? YOU SHOULD BE!The Confusion variant is great for softening areas of a painting, and can add a subtlety that you just cant get with the standard Graphic Paintbrush. Vary the Strength slider here and there to alter the amount of distortion. Again, this brush only works on an existing colour on the same layer.

SHATTERED VARIANT:The Shattered variant is great for adding real texture and extra impact to the background in your images. You rst need to paint in some rough varied colour and then use the Shattered variant to distort and displace it. Its best to use this one at high strength and a large size.

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Primer

F-X Brushes

The choice is yoursColour or Gradient?Colour or Gradient?Colour or Gradient?

With many of the F-X Brushes you can choose what the brush actually paints with. The Neon Pen, for instance, uses a gradient to paint with, and to do this it uses the currently selected Gradient. You can easily paint with another gradient simply by choosing it from the Gradient Selector at the base of the Toolbox. To change the methods that the brush actually uses to paint, simply click the Source box within the Brush Creator. From here you can choose Colour to paint with the currently selected colour, or Pattern to use the currently active pattern.

Get to know your tools F-X brushes

Confusion

Fairy Dust

Fire

Furry

Glow

Gradient Flat

Gradient String

Graphic Paintbrush

Graphic Paintbrush Soft

Hair Spray

Neon Pen

Piano Keys

Shattered

Squeegee

GRAPHIC PAINTBRUSH VARIANTSThe Graphic Paintbrush variants are used here to establish the main painting itself. These variants can paint using the pattern of the current paper, so youve got lots of scope for experimentation. Its also worth experimenting with the subcategory for the brush in the Brush Control for even more creative possibilities.

WAY TO GLOW!The Glow variant can add a really effective graphic punch to your more illustrative images, especially to outlines, by adding graphic accents. Make sure you have the Size Control set to Pressure in the Brush controls so that the glow trails off as you reduce pressure on your stylus.

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Tutorial Create acrylic art

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TutorialCreating w

ith distanceAchieve a traditional-looking portrait using the Acrylic brushes in PainterCreate acrylic artAchieve a traditional-looking portrait using the Acrylic brushes in PainterCreate acrylic artAchieve a traditional-looking portrait using the Acrylic brushes in PainterCreate acrylic artAchieve a traditional-looking portrait using the Acrylic brushes in Painter

Artist

Time needed

Skill level

May Yeoshen

A few hours

Intermediate

Tutorial info crylic paint, unlike oils, is a fast-drying medium which can be diluted with water but becomes water-resistant when dry. The acrylic paint is a very

versatile one. Depending on how much the paint is diluted with water or modied with acrylic gels, mediums or pastes, the nished painting can resemble a watercolour (in Corel Painter, with the glazing brushes) or an oil painting (using Painters Thick or Wet brushes).

Because this paint dries faster than oil, the artist is sometimes forced to work quickly, often producing a look of non- blended strokes. When using real acrylics, in order to slow the drying aspect the artist uses retarders, allowing for more water to be added and the paint made workable. In Painter, this is simulated with the Wet brushes.

Another great difference between oils and acrylics is the versatility offered by acrylic paints acrylic is very useful in mixed media, allowing

the use of pastel, charcoal, pen, etc on top of the dried acrylic painted surface, creating really original effects.

Acrylic paints can be used in high gloss or matte nishes. To emulate the matte, dull nish, theres the Dry brush in Corel Painter. However, if you prefer a varnished look, the Thick brushes with their Impasto feature can accomplish this nish.

The Dry brush can simulate this feature of the acrylic paint when dry, making it non-removable. And with the use of the Brush Creator option, the artist can emulate the versatility of the acrylic

paint, modifying the appearance, hardness, exibility, texture and other characteristics. Acrylic paint can also be used to build thick layers of paint: gel and moulding paste mediums are sometimes used to create paintings with relief features that are literally sculptural (Thick brushes).

In this tutorial were going to create a bust portrait aiming for an oily look, taking our time and blending the colours in for a smooth nish. Were also aiming for a good amount of detail, using the Detail brushes. For that reason, the Thick brushes will be avoided.

TutorialCreate acrylic art

Acrylic is very useful in mixed media, allowing the use of pastel, charcoal, pen, etc on top the dried acrylic painted surface, creating really original effects

Thick brushesThe Thick brushes emulate quick and opaque strokes perfect for those painters who are quick and dont want to blend in colours, for the sake of a raw, more painterly look.

Wet brushesWet brushes emulate a more oily based acrylic brush, the opposite of the Thick brushes. The higher the opacity, the drier it will be. And when used constantly with the Eyedropper, they will let you blend as if you were using real acrylics.

Glazing brushesThe Glazing brushes emulate the glazing technique, which consists of building very thin layers of paint, showing the colours as translucent, almost transparent. Ideal to start with on a new and fresh canvas.

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Reective light and cast shadowsWhen painting a portrait, always remember that every object bounces light. In this case, the red dress bounces a red light onto the chin. Also bear in mind that these objects cast shadows onto adjacent ones. The hair casts a shadow onto the skin, otherwise it will look like a flat object. Having a basic knowledge of how light works will make your portraits much more realistic.

Bring your model to lifeStart your acrylic masterpiece

line-art layer will be on top of any other, and it can be scanned from a 01 Setup First off, lets start with a line-art we will use as a guide. This previous drawing or traced on top of the photo we want to portray. Its on the disc in the layered le.

Start your acrylic masterpiece

02 Set up the background Lets set the mood by painting the background. Unless the painting will have a white background, you shouldnt leave it for later on. We can use a brush such as the Glazing and the Wet Soft. We used a golden tone for this one. The Glazing brush should be used with a very low opacity (around 3%) for the dark tones. The Wet Soft brush is used for the light hints. It doesnt have to be perfect.


Reective

Custom brushesOne of the many things unique in Painter is the way you can create custom brushes. To shade some parts of the skin, we used a variation of the Wet Soft Acrylic brush. Playing around with the Randomizer and seeing the variations of it, you can now use a brush that will add richer textures to the skin while blending the colours smoothly, always using the Dropper tool.

03 Create the layers for your model Lets set the rst tones of our subject matter. Keep the Pick Underlaying Color option checked. Now create different layers for whats needed, in this case the skin, dress and hair. Block in the different elements using a big brush such as the Capture Bristle. Erase the extra bits.

05 Setting the light Repeat the process for the light area. Bear in mind the light source. Remember to constantly pick up colours with the Dropper tool to maximise the blending properties of this brush. For subtle light in some areas, lower the opacity.

and add more tones to the skin, applying short, non-directional 06 Add texture Use the Capture Bristle at very low opacity (say 10%) strokes, as if it were a real brush on a real canvas. Add pink and orange, mostly around the nostrils and cheekbones. For really light tones use a very pale cyan.

eyes. With a covering brush such as the Opaque, we throw in the 07 The eyes Its time to add even more life to the face. Lets paint the basic colours. Then we start some basic shading, not very detailed, using the Wet Detail brush with a low opacity (20-30%). Remember that the cornea is not white! Most of the time its a warm grey.

04 Shading the skin Now we can start shading the skin, picking darker tones than the base colour, with the help of the Color Mixer. Then we pick the Wet Soft brush with a high opacity and a different size, depending on the zone. Paint with short strokes with various angles. Make constant use of the Dropper tool (Alt-click) to blend in the colours.

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Zoom outWhen working with the Acrylic brushes youll notice that, like any traditional painting on a real canvas, the painting itself is appreciated more when looking at it from a certain distance. Sometimes we work with a very close view of what were painting, and we let the brush strokes and other details distract us. To really appreciate what youre doing, zoom it out. Depending on the size youre working with, you can try viewing it with a 50% zoom. Also, if viewing it in thumbnail size (5%) you can see if your painting is working or not, what its lacking and what you can push further.

11 Dening the skin Create a layer on top of the skin. This one will have more details and richer tones. Make sure the Pick up Underlayer Color option is checked. With an Opaque brush, like the Capture Bristle with low opacity, start adding in the colours, with more contrast than your base layer. You can start hiding the line-art layer. At this point, were trying to focus on getting the contours right without the use of the lines.

Use special brushes for a special taskDetails, detailsDetails, details

zones where the other brushes were too big. With the aid of the 13 Skin details There are two special brushes to add details for those line-art layer, start adding details with the Opaque brush in a very small size (2-3px). It doesnt matter about the opacity, as this brush is just plain opaque. Then you can blend with the Wet Detail brush, using the Eyedropper over the lines you previously drew with the Opaque brush.

14 Keep on with the details Have fun adding as many details as you want. Key zones are the eyes, nose, ears, eyebrows and mouth. Since were going to use these two brushes quite a bit, it would be a good idea to keep them on a oating window.

skin dont let the strokes ruin its tri-12 Keep going Follow the surface of the dimensionality. Change the size from time to time, and use the Dropper tool to let the colours blend. Dont worry too much about detail, well deal with that later. Try zooming out (see side tip) to get a better idea of your work. For very dark areas, pick the hair colour and shade with it.

dress. Taking a custom brush with a nice 15 The dress Its now time to rene the texture, like a custom Wet Soft Acrylic brush (see note), rene what we did before. The advantage of this brush is it consumes fewer resources and is better for slower computers. Make sure its Min size is almost as big as its general size.

to ow, we can shade the hair as well. 10 Shading the hair To get the painting It doesnt have to be perfect, but as we did with the skin and dress, we use the Opaque/Wet Soft brushes to give volume to the hair. As the light source comes from the left, the right side of her hair will be really dark, with almost no highlights.

09 Shaping the dress and clothes Just as we did with the face, we need to set the lights and shadows on the dress. As a general rule the clothes take up more space than the skin. We can start with an Opaque brush, and then rene with the Wet brush. In this case the dress is made of silk, so the shades will be very dark and the lights very bright.

start colouring in the mouth. Drop in a 08 The mouth As with the eyes, we can light pink as a base using an Opaque brush, then bring in the tri-dimensional shape, adding shadow and light with the Wet brush. Were not going for details right now; were just worried about the overall look and volume.

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Work on the hair, clothes and backgroundStyle and glamourStyle and glamour

detailing. This is silk, so there are going to be very dark zones against 16 Dress details With the same brush but at a smaller size, rene the light ones. To add the buttons and other details, lets create another layer and use the Opaque Detail brush. And just as we did before for the skin, we smooth some of the details with the Wet Detail brush, varying the size and opacity according to whats required.

choose an orange/yellow to start with and draw with the Opaque 17 Clothing motifs To add the dragons and owers to the dress, Detail brush. It doesnt have to be very precise. Using references on how embroidery reects on silk, note which parts are very bright or very dark.

with the rest of the painting. For example, we need to see part of the 19 Blending in The hair is looking good, but lacks proper blending scalp, otherwise it will look like a wig. Picking the underlaying skin colour with the Eyedropper and using the Capture Bristle, paint some of the shown scalp. Remember that the hair casts a shadow onto the skin and clothes.

18 Start on the hair Using a nice textured bristle (such as the Capture Bristle, Dry brush or the Wet Soft Bristle), we rene the hair. Change the brush size from time to time to add variety to the strands, and always follow the ow of the hair. Bear in mind the light parts against the dark ones. To make the contours smooth, erase some bits with a low opacity brush.


hair richer, draw some strands with the 20 Rich and glossy Finally, to make the same Capture Bristle. To make it even richer, take the Opaque Detail brush and draw several strands following the locks of hair, in a very subtle way. Dont overdo it!

21 Blending everything together Collapse all the similar layers (skin, dress and hair) that you may have, and carefully erase the tiny bits with the aid of the line-art layer. Now proceed to dene the contours with a thin brush, such as the Opaque.

22 The background The background is practically untouched, so now it looks unnished. We werent pleased with the tone, so changed it to a redder one, using the Adjust Colors option. Then we used the Wet brush to make the background homogenised. Using the Color Wheel, we painted it so it had more contrast in certain areas, painting lighter and darker spots randomly so it looked like a blurred background.

Alter colourYou may have noticed that the background, hair and lips are different on the cover to how they are in the step images. The changes had to be made to fit with the cover, but they were simple to do because of working in layers. All the tweaks were made without affecting anything else and is a very good example of why you should always use layers!

Alter colour

Painting embroidery on silkWhen some sort of design is on silk, youll notice that its colour follows a pattern, depending on the location of the silk-covered object and the light source. A nice way to emulate painted details on silk quickly is to create a new layer and draw the details with the Opaque Detail brush, using just one colour. Once you are done, preserve the transparency, and with an Opaque Acrylic brush, paint on top of it using different shades depending on the place (in this case, tuscan red, carmine red and orange were used).

Painting

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THICK BRUSH SERIESThe Thick Brush series (Acrylic Bristle, Acrylic Flat, Acrylic Round and Opaque) provide the traditional effect thats created with the tri-dimensional effect of real strokes. Dont bother changing the opacity, because this brush is most likely to act like paint straight from a tube.

24 Finishing touches Check the image and make sure youre happy with it. There might well be something we missed. Also, this is a good time to improve the image generally, adjusting the contrast, brightness, hue, etc.

Is there room for improvement?Final flourishesFinal flourishes

23 Eyebrows In the hair layer, use the Capture Bristle brush to capture the texture of the eyebrows. Remember, they show less in the lighted area of the face. Then, with a really tiny Opaque brush (2px), draw several individual strands of hair. There are also other areas with loose strands of hair, such as the eyelashes and the outside of the hair.

paintings, we can create a new layer on top of the others, set it to 25 Optional step To add that Impasto effect seen in real acrylic Multiply, and with a white brush and the Impasto option selected (Thick Acrylic brushes), apply random touches, following the shape of the surface, mostly on the hair and dark areas of the face. This will give a really neat traditional touch to your illustration. Now we can consider it done!

Make the most of your brushesIn detailAs we said, the different sets of brushes in the Acrylics category simulate the various techniques used when working with real acrylic paint on a real canvas. In this tutorial we were trying to emulate a non-quick look, like an artist who takes their time, using acrylic retarders. Thats why the Capture Bristle and Wet Bristle as well as customisations of them were mostly used. The possibilities are endless with the Create Brush option, making your brushes richer than before.

CAPTURE BRISTLEThis brush is great, due to its fastness and features. Perfect for shading big areas used with low opacity (20-40%), and also ideal for texture of hair.

DETAIL BRUSHESThe Opaque and Wet Detail brushes act just like tiny brushes we usually have for details. The Opaque has a matte look, while the Wet one works more as an oily blender.

WET BRUSH SERIESThe Wet Brush series (Acrylic and Soft Acrylic) are the perfect blenders. With custom settings, they can make effective shaders for skin and smooth areas such as the silky dress.

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ainter is an artists dream, a virtual art shop in a box. We can try, experiment and create with a limitless supply of art materials and supports. And just like any good box of chocolates we want to unwrap it and dive in

headirst to savour the delights, while choosing to ignore the list of ingredients and the guide to the contents.

Thats just human nature, and adventure and experimentation should never be discouraged. But how many of us have spent hours creating our own digital masterpieces only to be disappointed by the quality of the inished artwork when we print it? This is the Painter equivalent of ending up with the coffee cream.

With Painter, you do not need to make the extensive preparations often required in traditional art pursuits there are no watercolour papers or canvases to be pre-stretched or surfaces to be primed and prepared to take the paint. However, you do need to make some preparations. You should consider

how your inal artwork will be used; will you print it and frame it, post it on the web, use it for commercial reasons

or simply save it for posterity? Whatever you choose to do, it is vital that you do justice to your work by creating and saving it in the appropriate ile format and resolution.

Painter is primarily a pixel-based program, which creates images made up of tiny pixels arranged in a grid, and helps us to deine the resolution of the image. Painter

saves image iles in a variety of formats that come in all shapes and sizes and can be used for a variety of purposes.

Some formats are designed for saving space and, in doing so, compress the image and lose a degree of detail. Some allow

for detailed printing processes, while others allow more complex information (such as layers) to be saved for use in speciic programs. Here, we will help you explore resolution and ile formatting to allow you a more informed choice when setting up your artwork. Then when it comes to printing out your artwork or sharing it with others, you wont be left with a pixellated mess, but a beautifully crisp image.

If you desire real quality in your artwork, setting the right file format and resolution is vital

Painter images are made up of pixels. Digital images are often described in terms of the pixel grid dimensions, eg 640 x 480, which is a measurement of the grids horizontal and vertical sides. Resolution is measured in pixels per inch (or ppi) and tells you about the images quality. The more pixels per inch the more detail there is. Increasing the size of a pixel-based image requires the computer to create additional pixels and the image loses detail. It is therefore important to set the appropriate resolution when starting a painting in Painter. A higher resolution painting can be printed out and reduced in size without any problems, however, a low-resolution painting will not increase in size without loss of detail.

If you desire real quality in your artwork, setting the

Pixel perfectResolutionResolution

Mathematical artVector tools in Painter

Drawing programs such as Illustrator are known as Vector programs. These use mathematical instructions to describe the outline and filling of objects within a drawing. These images are much smaller in file size than pixel-based images and can be re-sized without any loss of quality. Vector images have hard-edged lines with little thickness variation and flat colour fills, as opposed to the continuous tone variations seen in pixel-based photos and paintings.

Although Painter is mainly a pixel-based program it does have some vector-based capabilities, including type, shapes, shape paths and outline selections.

Feature focus File formats and resolution

preparations often required in traditional art pursuits there are no watercolour papers or canvases to be pre-stretched or surfaces to be primed and prepared to take the paint. However, you do need to make some preparations. You should consider

how your inal artwork will be used; will you print it and frame it, post it on the web, use it for commercial reasons

saves image iles in a variety of formats that come in all shapes and sizes and can be used for a variety of purposes.

Some formats are designed for saving space and, in doing so, compress the image and lose a degree of detail. Some allow

for detailed printing processes, while others allow more complex information (such as layers) to be saved for use in speciic

FEATUREFOCUS SAVING FOR THE WEB When saving a le for use on the web, keep le size small

to cut down on downloading times and to avoid the viewer having to scroll down the screen to see full image. Artwork should be shown in an appropriate scale that allows enough detail to do justice to your work, but at the same time would not allow someone to print off a quality print

File formats and resolution

SAVING ARTWORK When saving your artwork, either in progress or in its nal state, choose the appropriate le format. This should depend on how you wish to progress a painting or how you wish to use the nal image. Save in a format that allows you to return to Painter and continue, or that allows you to transfer your image to another program, to print the image or publish to the internet

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Feature focusFile form

ats and resolution

When time is of the essenceWorking with large filesWorking with large files

When working with large resolution files Painter may slow down, depending on the size of the file. As you add layers to your creation this will add to the slowing process. To help alleviate this you could work in a lower resolution at the outset and paint in background and basic forms. When this is completed, scale up the painting to your desired size and add your details.

If your work is very large, it can be sketched out, then cut into pieces and saved as several files, which will allow you to work on each file separately. Some artists will paint on layers as separate files and will cut and paste them into the final image.

BACK UP WORK Digital les are fragile. Every computer user experiences the loss of work when a computer crashes or the wrong key is accidentally pressed. To avoid losing your precious artwork it is vital to back up your work frequently using an appropriate le format

File formats and resolution

03 Saving as a GIF This image shows how much your artwork would deteriorate if you saved it as a GIF le. GIF les are used mainly for non-photographic images on the internet. Once saved in this format, if a backup copy has not been made you will not be able to recover the detail in your painting.

02 JPEG Here we see the le saved as a JPEG. It should be noted that this image shows the painting after it had been saved as a JPEG le and re-saved in Painter 20 times. The image has deteriorated quite noticeably in several areas and would no longer be suitable for printing. Pixelation is evident throughout the image. It is quite easy to resave an image 20 or 30 times on your computer without realising that the damage is being done.

When saving a file in a space-saving format such as a JPEG it leads to a deterioration of image quality. Here we use a large, high-resolution TIFF file and look at how saving it in a lower resolution degrades the image.

Low resolution file savingSpot the difference in image quality

01 The original TIFF le Here we see a small detailed section of the original TIFF format le in Painter. The image was painted in Pastels and saved at 300ppi, as the nished artwork was to be printed.

SHUT UP SHOP It is good practice to save your artwork and exit from Painter every so often. While working in Painter the program creates a fairly large temporary le that eats up precious memory space. Closing and then reopening Painter clears this le. This helps the program work more efciently, particularly with high resolution les

Substitution solutionReference LayersReference Layers

The use of Reference layers can also help with large, high-resolution file sizes. Painter can create Reference layers with a low resolution of 72ppi, which act as replacements or substitutes for the actual image layers. You can then rotate, re-size, move and skew these substitute layers more quickly than the original layers. When you have completed your changes convert back to your original layers and Painter will update your changes on the original file.

To make a Reference layer, select an Image layer and select Effects, Orientation and Free Transform. Then select Layer Adjuster. Use the Control and Shift keys to help you make changes. When complete, select Effects, Orientation, Commit Transform and click the Commit button to return to the original image.

HIGH RESOLUTION When you create images at a higher resolution it allows exibility in how you use the image when it is completed. After all, the higher the resolution, the better the results will be in the nal printing


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RIFF files are the native file format for Painter and are the only format that preserves all the elements in your painting that are unique to Painter, eg layers, Watercolor layers, Reference layers, Shapes, etc. RIFFs are generally fairly small files, but if you have a lot of disk space check the Compressed box in the Save dialog when saving the file. Although this will make the file larger, it will open more quickly in Painter and will also save more quickly. It is recommended that you save your work regularly in the RIFF format while working on a painting. If you wish to use your painting in another program, eg Photoshop, then ensure that you also save your image in a format that will be suitable for opening it in that program.

Painters very own formatRIFF filesRIFF files

Photoshop/printer compatiblePSD and TIFF file formatsPSD and TIFF file formats

Saving your Painter file in the PSD file format allows you to move your image file backwards and forwards between Photoshop and Painter while preserving the layers. It should be noted that when a Painter file is saved in PSD it does not preserve the Painter-specific layers wholly, such as Watercolor, etc. It converts them to image layers.

The TIFF file format is the most universal file for pixel-based images and can be read on PCs and Macs. When all work is completed in Painter and you wish to print your final work, the TIFF file is the perfect choice for printing.

Feature focus File formats and resolution

the RIFF format. The le is placed in a new folder that will save all the 02 Our rst save Now that the le is set up we immediately save it in images relating to this painting. We now have a high-resolution image ready for painting.

Prepare your image and save as you goSet up resolution and save your artworkSet up resolution and save your artwork

In this walkthrough we will show you how to set up the resolution for a painting and how to save it in different ile formats. The painting used in the demonstration was a commission for the cover of a brochure.

FEATUREFOCUS

painting process, you can stop for a rest 04 Using Save At any point in the or cup of tea and save the image by simply using the File, Save feature. This will save the le in the format currently being used.

01 Setting up the canvas As this painting is to be used as a brochure cover it requires having a resolution suitable for printing. It will also be used on posters to advertise the brochure. With this in mind we set up the canvas. We click on New and set the size of the canvas to Width 15.5 inches, Height 22.5 inches and Resolution 300ppi. This high resolution will give us a quality print.

03 Iterative Save Using a thick and thin pencil the image is roughly sketched on the canvas. During the sketching process alone the image will be saved about ten times. This allows us to go back and change things if we are unhappy about the progress.

The le is saved using Iterative Save. This useful feature quickly saves sequentially numbered versions of the artwork, making les easy to identify. To do this choose File, Iterative Save.

Shoot to paintIf you use a digital camera to get photographic references for painting in Painter, keep in mind that most digital cameras save in the JPEG file format. They will also offer several different quality settings, which are really different JPEG compression levels. Never shoot at the lowest level; although youll get more photos on your disc, the quality will be poor when printed. Shoot at the highest level and immediately afterwards transfer it into the computer and save as TIFF files. This will preserve quality.


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Feature focusFile form

ats and resolution

Perfect for saving space JPEG formatJPEG format

Know your coloursImage modes for printingImage modes for printing

The advantage of saving an image in the JPEG format is one of space saving. When saving a JPEG file you are given the choice of saving it in one of four categories: Excellent, High, Good and Fair. If saved as Excellent the resulting JPEG file is about one tenth of the size of the same image saved as a TIFF. If saved as Fair the JPEG would be approximately one hundredth the size of the equivalent JPEG. However, this space saving comes with a hefty price detail in the image is lost in the compression process. It is also important to note that every time you save a JPEG the quality of the image deteriorates.

Go largeAlways try to work at the final resolution that you require. On occasions, when you are working with large, high-resolution files, you should experiment with increasing the brush size and also the paper texture. This will have a bearing on your final painting. To do this, choose a brush and in the property bar adjust the size using the slider or by inputting a size. Similar adjustments can be made to the paper texture within the Papers palette.

FEATUREFOCUS

Saving and protecting your image in other formats Future-proof your painting

Most commercial printers use one of two image modes. RGB (red-green-blue) is used by most fine-art inkje

Documents

Corel Painter - 17 - Magazine, Art, Digital Painting, Drawing, Draw, 2d