CorelPainCorel Painter - 11 - Magazine, Art, Digital Painting, Drawing, Draw, 2d

PC and Mac

TEXTURES | STOCK PHOTOS | FABRIC REFERENCE FILESBrush primer

Discover what can be achieved with the Colored Pencils

Drawing catsThe techniques you need to draw and paint your feline friends

Skin toneHow to blend paint and colour to achieve flawless skin tone

Issue eleven V

isit us online – ww

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agazine.co.ukO

ffi cial Corel ® Painter TM M

agazine

Official Magazine

ISSUE ELEVENISSN 1753-3155

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

1 1

www.paintermagazine.co.uk

£6.00

How to paint the seasonsTop tips for capturing the essence of each season

Createdigital art today!

FREE CD INSIDE

45pages oftutorials

Over

masterclassEmulate the Dutch masters with our tutorial on creating thick oil effects and crackle glaze. Turn to page 40

Still- life

10-page essential guide

Straightforward tutorialsTips for creating better artQuick start guide on the CD

Sketch like da Vinci

Simulate the look of a da Vinci sketchbook

Speed paintingTechniques for getting your ideas on canvas – fast!

Creative project

001_OPM_11 COVERfruit.indd 1 14/11/07 14:32:26

Imagine Publishing

Imagine Publishing

5

Jo Cole, Editor in [email protected]

WelcomeAnyone who enjoys painting landscapes will know that each season brings its own share of creative possibilities. We decided to see exactly what’s involved in painting different seasons and have

come up with an essential guide to the dos and don’ts. It all starts on page 20.

On page 34, we get one artist to show how they approach the task of painting skin tones, and we’ve put together special swatches on the disc that allow you to follow along whatever skin tone you are working with. Our Paint Like this issue is more of a Sketch Like. We decided to look at da Vinci’s sketch style and re-create the look on page 50.

And �inally to our cover image. The still life discipline is something that anyone can do. Even a humble bowl of fruit can be turned into a luxurious painting with the feeling of traditional oil paint. Head over to page 40 and see how to re-create the look of thickly applied paint on crackly canvas.

Have fun!

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

ISSUE ELEVEN

Visit our website!If you find that the magazine isn’t 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

Paint skin tone

Pg 34Make your portraits sing with this essential guide to painting skin

Brush primer: Colored Pencils

Pg 30

The best way to use the Colored Pencils

Art study: Painting fabric

Pg 58

Learn how Corel Painter can be manipulated to create realistic fabric

005_OPM_11_welcome.indd 3 16/11/07 11:29:43

Regulars in every issue

08 Subscriptions Take out a subscription to

the magazine and save money! For non-US subs, see page 85

10 Corel Painter community The best sites, services and

resources for creatives

14 Interview See how professionals are using

Corel Painter. This issue, we look at Cliff Cramp

32 Painter showcase The fi rst of our special pages

dedicated to outstanding art

74 Art class Another merry gaggle of artistic

problems sorted out

92 Readers’ gallery Discover more about what a

fellow reader is getting up to

Reviews

6

96 Website challenge Haven’t entered one of

our challenges yet? Turn to this page now!

98 On the disc A full breakdown of the

content on this issue’sfree CD

82 Corel Painter Essentials 4 Can a product that costs under

£40 offer the digital artist desirable features? It certainly can, and you can see what they are on page 82

84 Ultimate Klara Medkova Having a bank of reference images

to use in your projects is very handy, so we were interested to try out this DVD of 300 character photos

86 Book reviews The titles reviewed this issue cover

a range of subjects, from learning Corel Painter X, to painting fl owers, to being inspired by other artists

88 MyPublisher photo books We tested the MyPublisher service

to see how easy it was to create a photo book using the company’s specialised software

WIN!A YEAR’S SUPPLY OF THE

MAGAZINE!

pg 96

Regulars

Pg 62 SPEED PAINTINGANDREAS ROCHA SHOWS HOW HE CREATES A SPEED PAINTING AND

REVEALS SOME OF THE SECRETS OF THIS EXCITING ART FORM

Pg 40 STILL-LIFE MASTERCLASSDISCOVER HOW TO CREATE THICK AND LUXURIOUS ARTWORK IN THE STYLE OF THE DUTCH MASTERS

ON T

HE F

RON

T C

OVER

pg 50 Sketch like: da Vinci

STILL-LIFE MASTERCLASS

Corel Painter X, to painting fl owers,

We tested the MyPublisher service to see how easy it was to create a

See how professionals are using

Another merry gaggle of artistic

pg 96Original artwork by Susi Lawson

pg 20

Feature

The secrets to painting images with a seasonal flavour

FeaturePainting the

The secrets to painting images

Painting theseasons

Summer

Sprin g

006-007_OPM_11_contents.indd 6 16/11/07 11:36:30

pg 62 Speed painting

7

68 Sketching catsLearn to appreciate the form of the domestic cat and pick up some great tips on how to sketch them. We discuss the best poses and then walk you through building up a sketch

34 Learn to paint skin tone Ensure a fl awless fi nish to

your portraits with this guide to painting smooth skin

40 Still-life masterclass Emulate the Dutch masters

with this fruity tutorial on getting thick oil effects

50 Sketch like: da Vinci Learn how to age paper and

then create a quick sketch in the style of the great man

58 Art study: fabric We look at four different

types of fabric and reveal tricks for creating in Painter

62 Speed painting The best techniques for

getting your ideas on canvas

PrimersGet up and running…30 Brushes: Colored Pencils Lots of tips for getting the most

from this brush category

Feature focusGet to know your tools46 Working with masks Masks are a great tool for

selecting objects and can also be used in a similar way to traditional masking fl uid. We show you what’s involved

Traditional artistic techniques

Drawing 101

14 Cliff CrampCliff’s work spans an incredible range of styles and subjects. We caught up with him to see how he works and why he loves Painter so much

Inspirational artistsInterview

pg 14Interview

www.painter

magazine.co.uk

Visit ourwebsite now!

tutorialsCreate inspirational art

68 Sketching cats68 Sketching cats68Learn to appreciate the form of the domestic cat and pick up some great tips on how to sketch them. We discuss the best poses and then walk you through building up a sketch

Traditional artistic techniquesTraditional artistic techniques

Drawing 101

pg 40 Still-life masterpieces

Original artwork by Cliff Cramp

Painting theseasons

Winter

006-007_OPM_11_contents.indd 7 16/11/07 11:37:15

news news even ts resources even ts resources even ts letters websites websites websites letters websites lettersTutorial xxxx

10

ating back to 2001, when designer and amateur photographer Bjorgvin Gudmundsson wanted a

showcase for his photos, Stockvault.net (www.stockvault.net) has grown dramatically in recent years to rival some of the best free-stock sites out there. With almost 10,000 photographs, over 5,000 registered users and around 1,400

STOCK PHOTOS

With 10,000 free photos and 5,000 members, Stockvault.net aims to share Stock we love to share

registered photographers, Stockvault.net covers all the usual stock images and much more. Areas such as animals, nature, people, objects, landscapes, textures and backgrounds are all covered, but at a level and quality you might not expect from a free site. “The main appeal of free photos is for students and aspiring digital artists that need material for their projects,” explains Gudmundsson. “Stockvault.net was created to serve those who need good photographs and/or textures without paying for a royalty-free licence.”

Featuring a simple automated image gallery, users can upload their work as easily as downloading the free stock images. All you have to do is sign up, and as soon as your account is activated, you can log in and start uploading your photos. “We try and make the process as easy as possible,” insists Gudmundsson. “All uploaded photos are manually moderated for quality and copyright reasons.” As

well as some useful tutorials and excellent links, Gudmundsson maintains a brilliant blog to share “ideas, updates, rants and ramblings”, including advice on promoting and selling your work. “The blog is mainly used as inspiration for everything creative. It also acts as a neutral place where the site’s users can interact with us and share their thoughts.”

As the online gallery grows, the server and hosting costs increase, although Gudmundsson is keen to keep the site free for the foreseeable future. “The most important thing is to keep building and adding to the free photo gallery,” he maintains. “Getting photographers and designers to join us and help us build a great archive, which will be useful to everyone looking for that ‘one special image’. We are also working on the community part of the site, which is always getting bigger, but we want to keep our main focus on the images for now.”

Commun ityNEWS EVENTS

RESOURCES LETTERS WEBSITES

INFO FORUM

Stockvault.net has roots dating back

to 2001, when designer and amateur

photographer Bjorgvin Gudmundsson started a small online gallery to showcase his work

5,000 registered users and around 1,400

Stockvault.net has roots dating back

to 2001, when designer and amateur

photographer Bjorgvin Gudmundsson started a small online gallery to showcase his work

Stockvault.net offers free stock photos for personal and

educational use, and 100 per cent user-

submitted content. In recent years, Stockvault.

net has had several makeovers to ensure

selecting suitable stock images is painless

recent years, Stockvault.

selecting suitable stock

© Jennifer Driggers

© Armend

© Ladislav Soukup

© SimpleLine

010-011_OPM_11_news.indd 10 15/11/07 15:59:07

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

11

Wacom releases an affordable Cintiqormerly the reserve of professional users and the very rich, Wacom has introduced a more-affordable

and manageable Cintiq interactive tablet display. The new Cintiq 12WX, £829.99 including VAT, is Wacom’s �irst hybrid product, combining the advantages of a Cintiq interactive pen display with the compact size of a traditional Intuos3 pen tablet. Users can continue to view a computer monitor while working with the tablet or switch to an interactive TFT display for some direct pen-on-screen action. The high-quality screen, which provides a resolution of 1,280 x 800 pixels with 24-bit colour depth and a wide viewing angle of 170 degrees, gives a fantastic level of control over your images. More at www.wacom-europe.com.

Slim, light and flexible tablet adds direct pen-on-screen drawing

or those whose colours are more likely to clash than harmonise, ColorBlender (www.colorblender.com) is a great tool for the colour-challenged.

Complementary colours can add a real radiance to your digital artwork but picking them can be a frustratingly hit-or-miss experience. ColorBlender automatically generates matching colours from a single base colour. To get started, choose a preferred colour, and a six-colour matching palette, or ‘blend’, will automatically calculate complementary colours. Tweak RGB/HSV sliders, or enter colour values to edit your selection, or simply pick from the hundreds of user-generated colour combinations. Click Send blend by email, and it will give you a single URL to open your current blend directly. You can then bookmark the blend in your web browser, or even send the blend via email.

Achieve harmonious colours with ColorBlender

f you’re looking for a place to showcase your work, gain valuable feedback or simply browse what

others are up to, The Drawing Board might just be the community for you. An ever-growing forum of artists of different levels of ability, from beginners to veterans, the site includes sections devoted to life-drawing, sketchbooks, illustration, comic books, caricature and more. If you register for the forum, you can upload up to 10MB of pictures to your own free blog. Some useful links to other resources will have you clicking away. Find out more at www.drawingboard.org.

Drawn together

Free online tool for colour-matching and palette design

RESOURCES

HARDWARE

Web-based tool ColorBlender,

created by Kim Jensen,

can add perfect harmony to your digital creations.

The beautiful Cintiq 12WX brings interactive pen displays to a larger audience

PORTFOLIO

The Drawing Board offers users a place to showcase their work and share ideas

Online community offers all a place to showcase drawing skills

JAN

In shortCreative happenings from around the world

Extra textureIf you’re looking for some extra textures to brighten your digital work without venturing out into the cold and wet, then Mayang’s Free Textures (www.mayang.com/textures) is worth a visit. With over 3,400 free-to-use, high-resolution textures available, you can download up to 20 each day.

Love logosIf you ever wanted to add a logo to your work but didn’t know where to start, LogoPond (www.logopond.com) is an excellent source for creative inspiration. A ‘place to fish for ideas’, the brand and identity showcase offers users the ability to upload, rate and comment on hundreds of stunning designs. LogoPond also links to free fonts to add to your designs.

03 Issue 12 of OPM on sale!

Herald in the new year with picking up the latest copy of this very magazine! Expect to see loads of the usual inspirational tutorials, including a special feature on self-portraits! Also see artwork from the best Corel Painter artists in the business.

Website to goWhile websites can be complicated to set up, Mr Site offers an easy, cost-effective solution, including your own domain name and email account. £34.99 gives you a choice of website designs to modify and make your own, simply by following some easy instructions. PC and Mac users can check out sample live sites by visiting www.mrsite.com.

010-011_OPM_11_news.indd 11 15/11/07 15:59:42

12

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

The joy of cloningI just wanted to write a quick note to say how much I enjoyed the cloning feature in your latest issue [issue 10]. I’ve had Painter for a little while now, but have only used it on and off. I bought your magazine on a whim and was very intrigued by the cloning feature. To be honest, I didn’t

our le ttersbelieve that they had been created just by cloning until I had a go myself! I have tried all of them and am delighted with what I have created. I’ve sent you the ‘intermediate’ image. I used a Pastel brush instead of Watercolor and then used a Blender to make the re�lection more pronounced. I suffer from arthritis, so that’s why the strokes aren’t very smooth, but I think it adds to the effect. I’ll be investigating the Cloners a lot more from now on.

Barbara Tanner

Thanks for sending in your image, Barbara. You’re right – the Pastel brush has worked well on this image, and some areas are very impressionistic in their small marks. It’s good to see that you’ve tried adding your own fl air, too, and the water refl ections work very well.

All-in-one programLike most people, I have got used to using Painter for my artwork and Photoshop for editing photos. So it was with interest that I read your article in issue nine on editing photos with Painter. I didn’t even know some of those tools existed – maybe

Corel need to think about renaming some menus? – but am pleased I do now. I’ll still use Photoshop for major editing work, but it’s good to know I can stay in Painter for colour correction.

Daniel Elborne

There’s no way we’d ever suggest that Corel Painter can compete with a dedicated image editor when it comes to correcting photos, but for most jobs it really does have all you need. It’s just a case of trying out the tools and getting used to how they work, and hopefully now you’ve raised this Daniel, other readers will have a look. Pat yourself on the back!

Welcome to the part of the magazine where you can come

and share your thoughts on anything you fancy!

Featured galleryFeatured galleryCynthia Berridgewww.paintermagazine.co.uk/user/53cynthiab

Cynthia joined our website in June of this year and wrote that she was “new to Painter

and would like to learn more.” Since then, she has uploaded a whopping 88 images to the site, and it’s clear to see how her skills are improving. Cynthia has some lovely examples of landscape paintings in her gallery, as well as some great vintage images. She’s also a very talented photographer – Cynthia took the photo that this issue’s cover is based on. A worthy round of applause to her this month!

wwwco.uk/user/53cynthiab

and would like to learn more.” Since then, she has uploaded a whopping 88 images to the site, and it’s clear to see how her skills are improving. Cynthia has some lovely examples of landscape paintings in her gallery, as well as some great vintage images. She’s also a very talented photographer – Cynthia took the photo that this issue’s cover is based on. A worthy round of applause to her this month!of applause to her this month!of applause to her this month!

Windmill Weave

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

If you’d prefer to contact us via email, send your message to [email protected]

Send your letters to...

Barbara’s fantastic reproduction of the

intermediate image from the cloning feature from

last issue

It’s always a good idea to pick up a back copy of the magazine and read the tutorials again – it may just give you the instruction you’ve been searching for!

Corel need to think about renaming some

It’s always a good idea to pick up a back copy of the magazine and read the tutorials again – it may just give you the instruction you’ve been searching for!

Our favourite reader’s gallery this month

House and Lake

Golden

012_OPM_11_letters.indd 12 15/11/07 15:50:06

Interview Cliff Cramp

14

© C

liff C

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Marilyn Box CoverThis evocative portrait

of the iconic Marilyn Monroe was produced

for 20th Century Fox

014-019_OPM_11_interview.indd 14 15/11/07 16:55:11

15

liff Cramp’s illustration work spans a wide range of genres, including background painting for animation, storyboard

and visual development art for feature �ilm and television, CD and DVD cover art, editorial and book illustration. His illustrations have been exhibited in many international competitions and have received award-winning status on CGTalk. Cramp continues his freelance career while serving as area co-ordinator for the illustration programme at California State University, Fullerton, instructing courses

in traditional and digital illustration. In his personal time, he can be found outdoors painting the landscape, or at car shows with his family.

What attracted you to working with Corel Painter?Coming from a strong traditional painting background, I put off using digital media as a serious endeavour because of the sterile appearance that was prevalent in much of the digital art I was seeing at the time. Corel Painter’s tool sets changed all this for me; after trying it, I was absolutely hooked. It had much more of a �luid application and it didn’t really make me deviate too much from my traditional-medium thought processes. The program is properly named, because it is made with the painter in mind.

With a love for teaching and illustration, Corel Painter and classic Minis, Nick Spence meets Cliff Cramp – a man of many passions

Cliff CrampHow does painting digitally compare to painting traditionally, and how does each complement the other? I use the same approach with digital media as I do with traditional media: working general to speci�ic. Painter allows me to take more chances with a painting without drastic consequences. I don’t have the luxury of Undo with traditional paint, unless you call a rag or a paper towel your Undo-key command. Traditional media and digital media do complement each other well. The creators of Painter have been able to capture

many of the attributes of traditional media well, so I don’t have to move too far from the traditional approach while working digitally. Also, the allowance on experimentation without dire consequences with the digital media has strengthened the directness in my traditional work.

What are your favourite tools to use in Corel Painter?Digital Watercolor is by far my favourite tool. Though I utilise other painting media and brushes, Watercolor allows me to

Spence meets Cliff Cramp – a man of many passions

and visual development art for feature �ilm and television, CD and DVD cover art, editorial and book illustration. His illustrations have been exhibited in many international competitions and have received award-winning status on CGTalk. Cramp continues his freelance career while serving as area co-ordinator for the illustration programme at California State

An interview with…

With a love for teaching and illustration, Corel Painter and classic Minis, Nick

Cliff Cramp

and visual development art for feature �ilm and television, CD and DVD cover art, editorial and book illustration. His illustrations have been exhibited in many

Spence meets Cliff Cramp – a man of many passions

WEBSITE www.cliffcramp.comJOB TITLE Freelance illustrator and educatorCLIENTS Fox Studios, Menagerie Creative, Disney, Temple Games

[RIGHT] No GirlsCramp’s website includes a section devoted to children’s illustration. He also maintains a blog, highlighting new work and the things that inspire his work

“Painter allows me to take more chances with a painting without drastic consequences”

All

orig

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16

block in a painting quickly, establishing light, colour and mood. Then I can slow down with opaque media and add detail.

As area co-ordinator for the illustration programme at California State University, what general advice do you give students starting to work digitally? I teach the Advanced Digital Illustration course, which uses Painter as the primary medium. I tell them that if they

don’t know composition, value, colour, etc outside the computer, the program won’t solve those problems for them. If they do have an understanding of those concepts, then think of Painter as another medium. It is a narrative illustration course, using advanced digital-painting techniques. The theory of illustration concepts, composition and current trends in illustration as they relate to digital media are stressed in this particular

[ABOVE] Leaf Blower Cramp spends much of time producing automotive art, one of his many loves, in-between assignment work and teaching. “I have a great affection for the design of classic cars,” says Cramp

block in a painting quickly, establishing don’t know composition, value, colour,

class. By the time the students leave our programme, about half to two-thirds are using Painter as their primary medium.

And how satisfying is it to see students going on to great acclaim, being accepted for awards and prizes?It is extremely rewarding. We have former students employed at just about every major studio in Hollywood. The gaming companies also employ many of them. I will never claim responsibility for their successes, because it was their hard work that allowed them to succeed, but it does put a huge smile on my face to know that they took what we had to offer, applied it, and then built on it. I keep in touch with many of them, and have even been able to work on projects both with and for some of them. I can honestly say that teaching is as rewarding as producing a successful illustration. There is a great phenomenon that I call the ‘Ooh Factor’. When I’m working with a student and see their eyes open with a nod and an audible ‘ooh’, I know they have got it. They have assimilated the information and now they can run with it.

What tips and words of advice would you give when using Corel Painter?First off, have fun! And take chances. It is a wonderful medium for that. My advice would be to get to know the program

16

Heritage PosterFor Cramp, classic cars, including the famed Mini, have become the inspiration for several paintings.

His website, IllustratedGarage.com, is devoted to dozens of his

personal portraits of cars


17

Cooper 1V2This striking image of film

legend Gary Cooper was produced for Menagerie

Creative and MGM studios. Some famous faces and

iconic stars can be found amongst his portfolio and

commissioned portraits

well, then limit yourself to your favourite choices. Once you �ind a comfortable way to work, limit yourself to those tools and add to that as you paint more. I could spend an in�inite amount of time playing with all of the functions, but I just don’t have the time. I found that I was much more proli�ic and consistent once I identi�ied a comfortable way to work.

Does your background painting for feature fi lm and television involve using Corel Painter? All the work that I have done in the studios as a background painter is traditional. I recently did the backgrounds in Painter on an independent short called Exact Change Only. I would say that all of the game art, VisDev and character art over the past �ive years have been done in Painter. Virtually all of my illustration work is executed in Painter.

What does Corel Painter offer you that other digital software applications don’t?It’s obvious that the image creator was taken into consideration when this program was developed. There is no

“It puts a smile on my face to know that they took what we had to offer, applied it and then built on it”

[ABOVE] PK Box CoverCramp produced this striking, sinister box-cover art for Temple Game’s popular Pirate King board game



18

other comparison for me when it comes down to having a natural feeling, digital-paint application.

You contribute to popular online communities like CGTalk. What do you think their appeal is and how do they help artists develop?I highly recommend CGTalk because of its professional qualities. The tutorials are excellent. The community behaviour is professional, encouraging and instructive, not demeaning as I have witnessed on some forums. I like looking at illustrations that inspire me, making me think, “I wish I did that”. Forums provide that, they also keep you current on industry trends and allows for exposure of art. They are especially good with regards to the freelancer. It’s a way to get feedback on work from a community of artists.

How does your painting differ from your illustration work?I’m visually problem-solving for other people in my illustration work. I enjoy that challenge immensely. I set up my own visual problems when I’m painting my own illustrations. My paintings, particularly the landscapes, are done for the sheer joy of painting.

Your work covers many areas, is there any one you prefer?My preference would be story-based illustration. I am fortunate that most of my assignment work is along those lines. As a freelancer, I really enjoy the

variety of subjects. A number of freelance opportunities come my way because I can paint in a number of different styles. Those assignments are always fun, however, it is nice getting back to my own paint-application process. This is why my personal work is so important, it keeps my own style consistent.

You recently launched a website, IllustratedGarage.com, devoted to paintings of cars, in particular the Mini. What was the idea behind this?I have a great affection for the design of classic cars. When my wife and I married, I mentioned to her that it would be great to get a classic car when we have kids. I could use the car to teach them how to turn a wrench. When my boys were a few years old, my wife suggested that we get a classic Mini. We found the 1962 Mini Cooper, and then a 1959 Sprite. They have become the inspiration for several paintings. This family hobby then turned into the body of work that is currently on IllustratedGarage.com, which has led to commissioned art and assignment work in the automotive genre. It is really important for me to be creating personal illustrations in-between assignments. I didn’t want to paint just car portraits, I want to tell stories with cars in them.

Finally, what advice would you give to any traditional artists/illustrators thinking of trying Corel Painter?Don’t be intimidated by digital media – and paint with the same sensibilities as your traditional work.

The GatheringCramp continues

his freelance career while serving as area

co-ordinator for the illustration program

at California State University, Fullerton,

where he instructs courses in traditional

and digital illustration


SantaA seasonally festive

image by Cliff Cramp, who teaches the

Advanced Digital Illustration course at

CSUF, with Corel Painter as the primary medium

19

Mouse TripOne of Cramp’s many children’s illustrations. Working digitally has allowed a level of experimentation, which proved time-consuming when working traditionally on canvas


Feature Painting the seasons

20

seasonsCreating a series of paintings to show the different seasons is a great project. Cat Bounds reveals some essential techniques

Pain tin g the

020-029_OPM_11_feature.indd 20 16/11/07 11:20:38

2121

t’s hard not to be affected by the changing seasons. As months pass away, we notice changes in colour, temperature and general feeling. Whether it’s blazing sun down at the beach, or frost creeping over a windowpane, each season offers the artist an abundance of potential subjects.

We thought we’d have a bit of fun this issue and take one scene, but translate it into the four seasons. First and foremost, this was an exercise in technique – what needs to be done to capture the look of a season. But it also threw up other questions. What emotions does this season evoke in

us? What memories do we associate with motley-coloured leaves drifting lazily earthward? What is that certain, unnamed moment on a blisteringly cold day when you breathe in a whisper of springtime? And how do we translate it onto the canvas? All of these questions are valuable in creating your own seasonal image. So as you browse the following pages, have a notebook and pen at hand so you can jot down insights as they occur for creating your own seasonal paintings. Then, once you’ve taken on board the tips we have here, go on and have a go yourself. We’d love to see the results, so send them in to us at the usual address.

020-029_OPM_11_feature.indd 21 16/11/07 11:21:18


obert Frost said it best in his beautiful poem, Nothing Gold Can Stay. “Nature’s �irst green is gold, her hardest hue to hold. Her early leaf’s a �lower; but only so an hour. Then leaf subsides to leaf. So Eden sank to grief, so dawn goes

down to day. Nothing gold can stay.”Springtime is the awakening, that �leeting, crystalline instant

when slumbering earth stirs and all things are new, and all things are possible. The golden hues of spring are a lifetime removed from autumn’s gold. Close your eyes and think of spring. What are the colours you see there? Colours so delicate, they defy our paintbrushes and shift before our eyes. Gold that is gold for a heartbeat; look again and it’s green. Shall we paint a spring morning, midday or afternoon? Early spring or late spring? Springtime in town or in the country? We have so many beautiful choices before us! Here’s a look at some of the cardinal rules of painting spring.

Go for a walk with a spring in your step, and get some inspiration to create a fresh, dynamic painting like the one here

22

03 Feeling green Greens are the most diffi cult colour pigments to mix and the

most challenging to create in digital paint as well. Finding just the right shade of green takes some experimenting. Layer your brush strokes in order to break up the green expanses and describe patches of sunlight and shadow. Warm green goes toward yellow, cool green toward blue.

02 Painting the blues Blue is calming. While we want colour schemes that

pop, we want rest stops as well. When planning the blues of your sky, consider the time of day, the temperature, whether it’s stormy or calm. Will there be clouds? Even if you’re painting a cloudless day, remember to break up the expanse with varied hues of blue.

01 Red rush Red hues impart life, energy and movement and can lead the viewer’s

eye through the painting. Like every colour on the colour wheel, reds fall into either warm or cool hues. Warm autumn reds are lush and deep while cool spring hues of red lean toward pastel. Red complements green, so in landscapes it gives that pop you’re trying for.

Let your true colours shine through

Using local colour throughout your seasonal paintings isn’t a necessity, and bringing in at least a few unrealistic colours adds to the excitement. Spring is one season where you can really go to town, as strange, bright colours help give the impression of everything springing to life. So what if you throw a few purple and turquoise leaves into your spring oak tree? The jar in colours will excite the eye and capture the essence of spring perfectly. Here are some good energy colours for spring.

Somewhere between realism and abstraction

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Essential tricks for capturing a seasonWe’ve included some classic springtime identi�iers here. The �irst is the fact that the large tree has gaps in it, suggesting there are more leaves to come. The baby ducks are a iconic symbol of spring, as are �lowers such as tulips and daffodils. Finally, the dabbed effect on the distant tress and the fact they are such a bright green help give the impression of buds and new growth.

Quicktips

RESEARCH YOUR SEASON

Even if you plan to paint all or part of your seasonal paintings from scratch, photo sites like Stock.XCHNG are invaluable sources of inspiration because their thousands of photos are arranged into categories. Just do a search for ‘spring’ and then browse through the photos that are returned. Look for the colour, feel and objects that occur most often.

Visual clues of spring

GATHERING BRUSHES

Each seasonal painting may call for its own brush effects, but gathering them all into one palette will result in greater continuity, as you will use at least some of the same brushes throughout the series. We want them to look as if they belong together – which at least here, they do.

PAINT IT TWICE

You need to have a great deal of patience when it comes to painting. It may help to do a preliminary painting to get the feel of things, fi nd the right colours, and plan highlights and shadows.

A map would be useful

Light and dark contrasts mapA map of the light and dark areas of your image will serve you well throughout any painting. Create your map by desaturating and softening the image you plan to paint. Particularly in landscape trees, we need to know where to paint deep colours and where to brush on light colours in order to create shape and dimension. As seasons progress from spring through autumn, those shadows deepen.

Soft and bright

Get the correct feeling of lightThe light in springtime is a bit of a challenge to capture. It has the crispness of autumn, but the sun’s position still gives a softness to the world. We tried to translate this in the image by using a mixture of soft, blended tones in the water, mixed with crisp, de�ined parts of colour in the bank of �lowers. The almost lime green colour of the grass also helps add to the sense of freshness that a springtime scene evokes.

DON’T PAINT IT BLACKOur paintings need intense darks in them, whether cool or warm, but beware of true black because black is lifeless. Deep charcoals and intensely dark blues, greens and browns will read as black while retaining the life of your painting.

Beware!

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ummertime, and the living is easy… Even more than the words to that beautiful George Gershwin song, the music and the tempo relate the state of mind that is summer. The primary colours of summer are decidedly warm,

and earth is fragrant and abuzz with the affairs of creation and becoming, but without the urgency of spring or the bittersweet poignancy of autumn. Can you think of summer without hearing children on holiday from school laughing? What colour is laughter? For that matter, what colour is summer grass? Summer’s embrace feels as if it will abide with us always, but summer may take more thought to paint than the others, simply because our wealth of mental images borders on sensory overload. Be patient though; it will sort itself out as you work. The best paintings begin with an idea, not a resolution.

Cast your mind back to the summer – or at least those days when the sun was shining! Remember them? Now transfer that feeling of warmth onto canvas

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01 Boat Though summer has its dreary days, our idea of summer embraces

its warm sunlight and clear, bright colours. We painted this boat in warm tones to help give the impression of the season, and the act of fi shing in itself gives the feeling of summer days. No pure whites were used –yellow tones carry the impression of warmth.

The state of mind that we know as summer

The lights and colours of summer

Most of us share a collective consciousness of seasonal life on earth. When you were a child, you probably laid on your back in tall grass in summer and watched white, �luffy clouds glide lazily overhead. You may know that crunching sound your boots make in snow, and many of you will have warmed half-frozen noses over cups of hot chocolate with tiny marshmallows �loating on top. These are shared experiences that make us all one and which allow us to communicate through our art. By picking the correct colours, you can instantly suggest a mood and get that seasonal feeling.

02 Blue sky The typical impression of a summer sky is a lovely warm blue, with

little or no cloud. To make this sky different from spring, we simply coloured over the clouds with blue, but still left a touch of highlight to give the impression that something is in the sky. The blue was also warmed a bit to help give a hazy feel to the season.

03 Distant trees We also altered the distant trees. In spring, they were quite

acidic, with tones of yellow, bright green and darker tones. Here the whole effect is much softer, with more blended brush strokes to give the impression of lots of leaves on the trees. This softness also helps make the light seem hazy and the yellow highlights hint at a sun beaming down.

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GO MORE ABSTRACT

We’ve painted literal interpretations of seasons in these pages, but you can still conjure up a feeling of the time of year without relying on landscapes. In the image above, the colours are very reminiscent of hot climates and give the feeling of summer. Try experimenting with different objects and see if you can suggest seasons just through colours.

04 Smooth and quiet We used the water in the painting to help give the

impression of quiet summer days. By painting lots of still refl ections, the effect is of a fl at surface. The water also allows us to diffuse the light and use it as another way of suggesting hazy days. The deep shadows cast by the trees also help suggest how thick with foliage they are.

BEGINNER’S MIND

“In the beginner’s mind, there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s [mind] there are few,” Shunryu Suzuki once said. Approach each painting as if it were your fi rst and open yourself to all the possibilities that exist there on that blank canvas, waiting to become a piece of art worth framing.

03 Lots of leaves Summer is when all of nature is in its prime, so it was important

in our scene to make sure the trees were packed with leaves. The dark shadows suggest really thick growth and this shadow colour was carried on into the fl ower bank to show how many fl owers were growing there.

02 Essence We’re after the essence of fl owers rather than perfect specimens. The best brushes for painting the essence of things are

ones that aren’t completely controllable, leaving some of the process to what Bob Ross called “happy little accidents”. Colours are the hot reds, yellows and oranges to give the impression of heat.

01 Symbols In a softened realistic painting like ours, we can introduce symbols

that will read as a tree trunk, parts of a fence, leaves, fl owers and so on. It’s better not to be too compulsive about these symbolic strokes, as they’ll be far more painterly than if we zoomed in and painted painstakingly with a tiny brush.

An altogether smoother scenarioSummer landscapesSummer landscapes

In mid-summer, the landscape is often quieter than vibrant spring or robust autumn. Growth reaches its peak, and wild grasses ripen in preparation to drop seeds. The edges of meadows are softened, foregrounds are rich with mature colour and de�inition while backgrounds recede into blue haze. Stiffness gives way to curves, and we incorporate these graceful lines into our paintings.

DON’T GO TOO BRIGHT!It’s tempting to paint everything in very strong colours in summer, but often the light is very soft and hazy. Look at free stock photo sites and get a feel for the season. Look at different scenes (country, city, etc) and note any differences.

THERE ARE NO RULES!

As with everything, the best route to take when painting the seasons is to study photos and paintings, maybe fi nd out if any instructional books have been written, and then decide what you want to follow and what feels right. Don’t feel as though you have to do everything we say here – pick a few tips that will work with your style and then make up the rest! Unless you are going for photo-realism, try experimenting!

Creating our neutral coloursNeutrals are the supporting cast in our story

In an earlier issue, we discussed how to mix neutral colours. Even when we’re focusing on colours representative of the seasons, we ought not to forget to include some neutrals to make our brighter colours more important in the composition. One of the best ways is to combine complementary colours, like summer greens and reds.

Quicktips

Beware!

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his scene evokes the work another of the great poets, this time John Keats. The following is from the opening extract of his beautiful poem To Autumn. “Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, close bosom-friend of the maturing

sun; conspiring with him how to load and bless, with fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run; to bend with apples the moss’d cottage-trees, and �ill all fruit with ripeness to the core; to swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells, with a sweet kernel; to set budding more.”

Autumn is the dénouement, those lovely, languid days when we reap what we have sown; a time to re�lect, a time brimming with rich, luscious colours pulsating with life and mouth-watering �lavours. Is your autumn about tumbling in piles of amber, scarlet and brown crunchy leaves, or maybe about holidays and the smell of pie baking in the oven? Think about how you will strive to paint that aroma and capture those sounds and sights in a few brushstrokes.

Arguably the most colourful season of the four, do your painting justice by breaking out a whole new colour palette

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03 A magical mystery tour Travelling around in the autumn gives you access

to many breath-taking examples of fi ery and intense autumnal foliage. You’ll fi nd it especially in the countryside, but sometimes, when set against a busy concrete city backdrop, that one special scene can be more evocative than you ever believed possible.

02 A gust of wind and a swirl of leaves Falling leaves is a very powerful

symbol of autumn, and one we had to include in our painting. They are easy to do, as well. Pick out your autumnal foliage colours and make simple dabs. Try to go for a delicate scattering to suggest a gentle breeze – anything too dramatic and you’re in tornado territory!

01 Favourite sounds One of the most distinctive autumn sounds is geese

fl ying overhead. There’s something immensely comforting about that honking, squawking cacophony, getting louder as they approach and then trailing off again. By incorporating these into the painting, we have set the scene fi rmly in the autumn months.

Autumn – a season in limbo

Take some time to wander back through the autumnal days that reside in your memories. As you read and follow this tutorial, it may still be autumn outside your window with winter beginning to creep in. Scan your neighbourhood for splashes of autumn colour. Can you hear wind chimes through an open window or door? Does your inner child come out and make you go out of your way to step on that slightly crunchy-looking leaf? These are all evocative memories of autumn.

Capturing the feel of autumn

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How we helped show autumn in our imageAutumn is a glorious season to paint, and there are loads of visual tricks you can use to leave viewers in no doubt as to the season. The most obvious is the leaves. Use plenty of reds, golds and bright yellows. We started to thin out our trees to show how nature is slowing down and even had some exposed branches in the right-hand one. Fallings leaves is another obvious trick, and be sure to have some scattered on the ground. Colours are more intense in autumn, so give plenty of punch to the sky and whatever other colours you use.

Quicktips

SOFT FOCUS

Utilise your camera’s depth of fi eld settings, or create that soft and dreamy look with your digital software programs, and you’ve got the beginnings of a painting that is fi lmy, ethereal and speaks of autumnal timelessness. Further enhance the image with brushstrokes or a combination of fi lter effects and colour brightening, and you’ve got art!

The signs of autumn

SOFT EDGES

Throughout your painting, you will want what are known as ‘lost-and-found edges’ meaning edges that are soft and blend into the background along with hard edges. Soft edges are most easily achieved with blenders such as the Just Add Water blender in Painter.

SOFT COLOUR

This is a handy tip to add colour without disturbing brushstrokes. Choose an Airbrush variant set to a low Opacity and create a transparent layer above your canvas set to Soft Light, Gel or Overlay. Now as you paint, your brushstrokes will remain safe.

Autumn portrait

Apply an autumnal effectPortraits may also be seasonal. This photo by PBase artist Dave Finley could have been painted as autumn, winter or early spring, but we chose muted autumn colours and softened the background. An interesting painting series would be to paint the same person in season colours.

Autumn online

Some sites to inspire youThese are some sites which, though not restriction-free, can awaken our own seasonal memories. www.icelandiscool.com/photo

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/7073411.stm

www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20962060

www.pbase.com/k_amj/image/56777159

YOU NEED NOT WANDER FAR AFIELDThe world is filled with fabulous photo opportunities to be used as image sources, but your most meaningful and successful seasonal image may be right in your own back yard, just down the road or around the corner.

Beware!

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es, I know this one was too easy, but that old song by Richard Smith and Felix Bernard seems nearly perfect for setting the mood for our winter painting. It’s so familiar, you’re playing it in your mind as you read!

If autumn was the time of harvest, then winter is surely a season of fewer responsibilities, of holiday gatherings and �inally, of chilly evenings, reading, contemplating and nodding by the �ire in woollen socks. We can hardly recall our last deep, drifting snow, but snow remains a part of our winter psyche. Do you celebrate Christmas or Kwanzaa or Hanukkah or other winter holidays? Their colours will likely appear in your winter palette, along with restful greys and whites, blues and browns. Winter colours are cool, recessive, and provide respite and healing for our minds, bodies and our senses.

As you paint this scenario, you’ll be excused for imagining yourself walking in a Winter Wonderland…

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01 Greys that describe In this little abstract of crocuses pushing up through

the snow, there’s hardly any white at all, but the cool greys read as snow because of the context and because we expect cool greys to be there. If we had chosen soft tans and browns, then it probably would have read as yellow fl owers growing in beach sand.

There’s no business like snow businessThe truth about snowThe truth about snow

Pablo Picasso famously once said, “art is a lie that makes us realise truth.” Surely, if you scooped up a handful of snow, you would only describe it as �luffy and white, but if you want to describe it on canvas or paper, then you’ll have to look closer and discover ways in which to translate subtle shadows, contrasts and values. Cool purples and blues are wonderful for indicating dimension and a soft gradation among the many shades of these colours, and the white highlights will immediately read as painterly snow. Check out the image on the right.

02 Snow as highlights If the majority of the painting is fi lled with vibrant colour,

then we can get away with painting all or mostly white snow, and it just becomes a beautiful highlight, with traces of snow on the tops of branches, doorsteps and buildings. Our eyes are drawn fi rst to the white, and then we explore the rest of the painting.

03 Journey of discovery Sometimes we choose to let the viewer discover his

or her own truth about our painting. In this one, there could be patches of snow in the valley and on the mountains, but those might be glints of sunlight. And so, our painting can be like a poem that means something different to everyone who reads it.

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THINK LIKE SNOW

One way to quickly ruin the effect of snowfall is to get carried away and put it all over the image. In areas such as the trees, you need to consider how snow would land. Just as if you were painting in where light would hit an object, think about what parts the falling snow would land on.

04 Iced water Once again, we have still water but this time there is the

suggestion of ice. By refl ecting the sky and snow colours in the water, and keeping dark shadows, it feels as though the water has iced over. You could further enhance this by having small fl urries of snow on the surface.

INSPIRATION IN ABSTRACTS

However you may feel about abstract paintings, they are a great way to get the juices fl owing. Open up Painter and begin making random strokes and shapes across the canvas. Pick the colours you associate with the seasons and before long, you can have a good mood piece.

03 Pastel snow Snow is never pure white, and although you can get away

with white highlights here and there, your image will look strange with big blocks of white area. You need to think in the same colours as the sky, and have purple and blue shadows to defi ne the snowfall. Bring in touches of yellows to suggest a low wintry sun.

02 Under pastel skies The blue sky of the previous seasons is now transformed into a pastel mottling of blues, purples and lavenders.

It feels very wrong using these colours, but they perfectly suggest a sky fi lled with the possibility of more snowfall.

01 Bare branches Trees with no foliage are a clear indication of winter and work

even if you have no snow in the painting. Using grey tones of brown also help make the tree look cold and wintry. For background trees, paint some in white and have some in a muddy grey colour. Again, this gives the feeling of winter and crisp, clean temperatures.

There’s no chance of mistaking this season!Painting winterPainting winter

Like autumn, winter is packed with iconic symbols that leave the viewer in no doubt as to what season they are looking at. We’ve gone for the most obvious in the painting, namely snow and twigs and even a Christmas tree! However, even if you went for a more subtle approach, just by using crisp blues, greys and purples you would be able to give the feeling of winter.

CHANGING OF THE TIDE Doing four paintings of the same landscape, it would be tempting to make them nearly identical except for the changing colours. Just as life is never static, true landscapes are constantly changing. Celebrate the changing details in your series.

KEEP INSPIRATIONS FOLDERS

When you come across an artist’s website whose art strikes a chord, bookmark a link to it in your Inspirations folder. Or when you fi nd a single painting that speaks to you, save it in a folder on your hard drive. Then when inspiration runs low, browse your Favourites folders and fi nd that spark that gets you thirsting to create.

TAKE A STEP OUTSIDE OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE

Sometimes we lose the spark if we stop challenging ourselves. If you’re comfortable with painting watercolours, step outside your comfort zone and today paint only with coloured pencils. Move your tablet to the left of the keyboard; just change something!

The sky’s the limitChoosing a style for your landscapes

We chose a soft, rather realistic style for our ‘four seasons’ paintings, but you may want to do them again in a more abstract, collaged fashion, simply because it would be great fun. Will you choose to do them in perfect realism, transparent and splashy watercolour, scrumptious impasto oils or acrylics, coloured pencil, oil pastels or even a mosaic?

Quicktips

thirsting to create.

Beware!

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30

hen placed against the painting heavyweights of oils, acrylics, watercolours and pastels, a humble

coloured pencil seems to shrink into the background. For most people, coloured pencils are something they used as a child to �ill in colouring books. It’s hard to see their potential when used in this way, but try them out on different paper surfaces, maybe add some water to create soft washes and suddenly the coloured pencil

becomes a thing of beauty.In Corel Painter, the Colored Pencils

category offers a good range of variants to bend to your whim. To get a traditional pencil look, load the Basic paper and go for the Sharp Colored Pencil variant. The paper’s texture has enough grain

to create interesting areas, yet is smooth enough for that sheeny look a

pencil drawing has. You can use the Oily Colored Pencil or Cover Colored Pencil to add swathes of base colour and de�inition. For ultimate realism, make sure you use traditional shading techniques, such as cross-hatching and diagonal shading.

The main thing to remember with this category is that progress is slow! Traditional pencils have small points, so there’s a lot of work needed to cover areas of your canvas. You can obviously increase the brush size, but you will lose the intricate strokes that typify coloured-pencil drawings.

A successful coloured-pencil drawing is made up of many different strokes. It is these that add the texture and depth to the final image and it is these that you need to re-create when in Corel Painter. To help with this, it’s worth remembering that the pencils react to speed. If you make a slow stroke, the line will be thicker than if you made a fast stroke. By alternating how quickly you lay down your lines, you will soon build up a pleasing effect. For delicate shading, make your strokes quick and light. Take your time over more defined areas and enjoy the thick lines.

Colored Pencils

Speed strokesBuilding up thick and thin Get the perfect base

Paper choicesPaper choices

Real-world coloured pencils react to the texture of the surface they are being applied to, so you need to consider this when starting your Corel Painter pencil adventure. For most jobs you’ll embark on, the Basic paper will be a good option as it balances smoothness with a little bit of texture. Woodgrain or Gessoed Canvas are both decent options for a smoother result, while Rough Charcoal, Italian Watercolor or Thick Handmade are good for when you want lots of paper tooth showing through. Using the Grainy Colored Pencil on these thick papers is particularly pleasing.

Primer Colored Pencils

BRUSH CATEGORY

PRIMER

LAYER BY LAYERWe wanted to get a sketch feel for this image, but couldn’t face colouring the entire area with tiny strokes. Instead, we used the Variable Colored Pencil to lay down the base colour, and then added detail lines with the Sharp Colored Pencil. The Variable brush is like holding a real pencil on its side

You may not have given them a second glance, but the Colored Pencils give eager creatives a lot of choice

FIND THE FORMThe middle part of the butterfl y was partly made up of curved strokes. This helps give the impression of a three-dimensional object

TEXTURED EFFECTBy applying short, diagonal strokes, we could get a feathery effect on the butterfl y’s wing

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31

Prim

erColored Pencils

Fade to black

From light to darkFrom light to dark

Unlike the other dry media brushes, the Colored Pencils will apply an even coat of colour, regardless of how much pressure you use. However, like the other pencil variants, some will build to black if you go over the same area again and again. This works with the Colored Pencil variant, the Grainy Colored Pencil variant, the Hard Colored Pencil variant and the Sharp Colored Pencil variant. Use one of these when it comes to filling in shadows, and you will get the perfect shadow colour from whatever hue you are working with. If you find the effect too strong too quickly, just lower the Opacity of the variant to give you some extra leeway.

OPACITY CHANGEThe Colored Pencil variant was used here, but we didn’t want it to go to black in the places we knew would have overlapping strokes. To get round this, we just lowered the Opacity

Make each stroke count

Define the formDefine the form

Because the Colored Pencils work with such a small brush mark, it’s very tempting to just scribble in order to fill out large areas of colour. This is fine for some images, but for ultimate results, you need to make your brushstrokes match the form of the object you are drawing. For example, if you are drawing something curved, make sure your strokes are curved. If you are painting a landscape, draw your lines in the directions of the land. After a little practise, this will become second nature.

Your available brushesThe Colored Pencil choices

Colored Pencil

Cover Colored Pencil

Grainy Colored Pencil

Hard Colored Pencil

Oily Colored Pencil

Sharp Colored Pencil

Variable Colored Pencil

THE VARIANTSTake some time to get used to the Colored Pencils variants, and start incorporating them into your artwork Grainy Colored Pencil

There are only seven variants in the Colored Pencil category, but each brings a choice of sizes. For straightforward emulation of the coloured pencil look, the Sharp variant is the best choice, especially when used nice and small. The Variable Colored Pencil is also good for quickly laying down colour, and then you can go over with a smaller tip for more detail.

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showcase

SIMON DOMINIC BREWER TITLE Grendel WEBSITE www.painterly.co.uk JOB TITLE Digital artist

Simon’s artwork is full of life and expressive brushstrokes, and although it tends to focus on the science fi ction and fantasy scale, he also has some exceptional work in other styles. Visit his site for more or send an email to [email protected].

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Tutorial Learn to paint skin tone

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very digital artist has their own way of painting skin tones for portraits. However, not everyone is able to get a very realistic look, since at �irst glance, it seems hard to avoid a fake-looking

human face due to the nature of the media. It is easier though to achieve an organic feeling when we do it the traditional way. It’s not just a matter of airbrushing and blending colours. It’s a matter of adding your own personal touch and paying careful attention to every single detail: from the colour on the lachrymal to the crease in the lip. It looks like hard work, but it’s not what it seems to be. At the end, the results matter. Not only you can make beautiful portraits, but your observation skills will improve drastically.

The traditional technique here is no more than crosshatching. But don’t be fooled. Unlike the way you did it before with pencils, this technique achieves what it

wants to achieve. The fact that we can work on canvases several thousand pixels in height, and can zoom in for maximum detail, will let you take control of every single part of the painting. No more than three brushes are used for this technique. One is created from the Round Blender, one is freely downloaded from the internet and the other one is the Cover Pencil.

We paint the base tones with the �irst two brushes, and for the crosshatching we just need the pencil. This way, your understanding of shapes and three-dimensional environment will improve as well. After we choose the colours for shading, we will blend them, get rid of the line art and then start with the fun part, which is adding the extreme details. You’ll �ind a layered �ile on the disc to paint into, and you’ll also �ind swatches for other skin tones. You can use these with the techniques shown here to create portraits for different nationalities.

Paint realistic and natural-looking skin tone starting from scratch, using traditional techniques and just three brushes

Learn to paint skin tone

Artist

Mayrhosby Yeoshen

Tutorial info

Time needed

Skill level

On the CD

3 hours

Intermediate

Final image and skin tone swatches

35

Base all round! Choose the base image and the base coloursBeginning with the base

01 The line art First we need to begin with a sketch, be it tracing your favourite

photo, tracing from a scanned sketch or using the ‘skin tone for tutorial.psd’ fi le from the disc. In this case, we just have the line art for the face and ear. Since everything else is pretty much done, we can concentrate on painting and texturing the skin.

02 Pay attention to the environment and mood Is it day, is it night, is it dusk? Natural light, artifi cial light? Which mood do you

want to transmit? Those things will infl uence your skin, as they will with the rest of the picture. Here, the atmosphere is warm with natural light, so the skin colours pretty much won’t be altered.

Tutorial

Beginning with the base

Learn to paint skin tone

03 The colour palette Using your reference, fi nd out which base colours

you’ll choose for dark, mid and light shades. Also, pick more colours for the cornea, the iris, the lips and subtle shades like eye bags or blush, if any. There are provided swatches for this tutorial, not only Caucasian, but for other skin tones.

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Enhance the base with shadingStarting with shading

04 The brush On the CD, you will fi nd instructions on how to create the fi rst brush. Load up the Round Blender brush from the

Blenders and open the Brush Creator. Click the Stroke Designer tab and enter the settings. Start with a low Opacity of about seven per cent and Size set to around 24-30px.

Starting with shading

05 Beginning the shading Check the Preserve Transparency box on the

skin layer. Now let’s start shading the mid-dark areas. Choose a light warm brown and use your reference to see where these areas are located. In this case, the skin under the eyebrows, the eyelids, the chin and left side of her face will be shaded.

06 Blend the colours Don’t be afraid of picking more tones from your palette

mixer, like pinks and oranges darker than the base skin tone. Maintain the low Opacity and blend the colours using the brush’s inner features. Don’t forget to tackle the rest of the skin, like the neck and upper chest.

07 Keep on with the dark shading Set the brush to a smaller size (around 10-15px). Now use a darker brown for the shading. Don’t be

afraid of picking the different colours resulting from this mix using the dropper, so you can make the shading richer. Try to blend the colours using the brush’s inner features.

08 Apply light Now with a lighter version of the initial skin tone, let’s start applying the light to the right side of the nose, the forehead

and the upper cheekbone. We’re still working with big areas, in a way that’s not detailed. Always look at your reference and understand the three-dimensional shape, and why the light is hitting areas like the cheeks, centre of the nose, etc. For the brightest light tones, you may use a light cyan with low Opacity to make the skin look more organic.

09 The eyes Add the basic colours to the eyes, bearing in mind that the white of

the eye is actually greyish. Start shading the iris and pupil, and remember the spherical shape of the eye by adding shadow underneath the eyelid and close to the tear duct. In the extreme sides the eyes tend to have a reddish tone due to the blood.


The Rotate Image toolOne of the best tools Corel Painter has to offer is the Rotate Image tool. The fact that it works during real-time is reason enough to overuse it. The short-cut is E. Once you have got the desired angle, press B to use the brush again. To have the image again in its original angle, double-click while the tool is selected. It’s just like drawing on real paper or canvas, without waiting for any rendering.

The Rotate

10 The mouth Like you did with the eye, start painting the lips, fi lling them with

a red-pinkish colour, and shade with a darker red. You can also draw the line that separates the upper lip from the lower one with a smaller size and higher Opacity.

11 Subtle skin colours There are further picked colours for subtle shades, like the

ethmoid sinus, located between the upper part of the nose and the eye. In this case, we pick a nice lavender painting with very low Opacity, using the brush’s ability to blend with the colours underneath. The area close to the tear duct is often found in a yellowish tone, so with a smaller brush add that touch, rounding it.

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37

TutorialLearn to paint skin tone

Draw and get drawn in by the eyes and mouthContinuing with crosshatching

14 Time to get rid of the lines Now you want to leave all the features

defi ned, preparing the skin for texturing. Hiding and showing the line-art layer while defi ning the contours of the skin, use the Cover Pencil set to around two pixels and 30 per cent Opacity. Always using a darker (or lighter) colour, fi ll in the gaps with this pencil in a bigger size, or the brush created earlier in a small size and high Opacity.

15 Let the texturing begin What we’ve done up until now is prepare the skin

for the massive texturing job. We’re now going to start working on a macro method. Create another layer called ‘texture’. Uncheck Preserve Transparency and check Pick Up Underlaying Color. With the Cover pencil, size one to six pixels and Opacity at 20 per cent, start to crosshatch. You can practise in the Brush Creator.

Continuing with crosshatching

12 A touch of blush For the cheeks, use a bright carmine red. With a big brush

(around 30px), shade the cheeks, blending it with the colour underneath.

13 Blending the colours Now that you have the basic colours on the skin,

blend them using Rob’s Blender Round brush with an Opacity about 25-30 per cent and size between 35-40px. You can fi nd details of where to download this on the disc. This will give us a smooth feeling, making what we have done look less sketchy.

16 Start crossing You can start crosshatching from whichever point you want. We’ve gone with the right cheek. With fast movements,

start crosshatching with arc lines that go along with the shape of the surface. A common mistake is to get in a very different angle than the one the face is shaped. If you are not happy with what you’re doing, erase and do it again, until you get the trick of it. The use of the Rotation tool is a must.

Flaky skin?If you feel that your skin is lacking something, you can always play around with the levels, the contrast or saturation, making your skin tone even richer. Another way of making your skin richer is with crosshatching. Making little bits of crosshatching here and there, almost in a random way, will help give the appearance of small bumps or even pores.

Flaky skin?

17 Pay attention This technique’s success resides on the amount of subtleties we

can control. Pay close attention to the creases, the folds of the skin and the very different tones on it. You may also want to use the Dropper tool as much as you can. We’re now focusing on the used tones on the painted skin and the colour wheel, not in the mixing palette any more.

18 Refi ning the eyes The eyes are often the very fi rst thing we see in anyone’s face. And that’s why we must focus on them more than any

other feature of the face. Details like the tear duct, the inner of the eyelids, the iris lines and the usual shine will make them pop out, making the face richer and giving it more personality. Do not forget the lower eyelid creases.

19 More of the mouth

Another big feature of the face, it deserves great study and detailing. The most common mistake is to draw lines randomly, without even bothering studying why they are there, and the three-dimensional shape. Take your time to notice all the lips features, seeing where to add the light and where the shadow.

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Adjust skinto perfectionIf you feel that one area of the skin needs something, be it a darker tone or lighter, more saturated or not, then take into consideration the following. Add a new layer on top of your skin, make a selection of the area you want to modify, and feather it. The amount of feathering needed depends on how big the area is, but most of the time a number between 20 and 40 per cent works. Then fill in with a colour you think might make the skin change, let’s say, if you need more shadow, then add a darker tone. Set that layer to the Multiply blending mode. If you need more saturation, try Overlay. For a lighter tone, try Screen. To achieve the desired effect, change the Opacity to the desired level. Then erase the bits you don’t need and flatten it with the original skin layer.

Pay attention to the other detailsFinishing the faceFinishing the face

20 The nose The nose can be very fun to draw, due to its subtle colours. It can have the lightest tone on the whole skin, yet the

darkest one at the same time (the nostrils). Pay attention to the skin around the nostrils. Usually on Caucasian skin tone, this area is full of bright oranges and carmine reds.

21 The ears If you decide to include ears, bear in mind that like the nose, the ears in Caucasian skin can have a lot of bright red, pink and

orange tones. Ears don’t require detailed attention like the eyes or mouth.

22 The neck and upper chest After working on the face, we can concentrate on the rest of the skin. As they are much bigger areas

with much less attention to detail, the result can be a little bit boring. Usually, it’s good to switch to other elements of the painting before boarding this part. Notice the very dark shadow below the chin, and don’t forget the shadow cast from the hair and dress, for instance.

23 Eyebrows Although eyebrows are not skin per se, they still sort of blend with it. In a new layer, start drawing the eyebrow with the same

pencil, this time a little bit bigger (two and a half to three pixels) and Opacity set to 50 per cent, beginning with the darkest shading and fi nishing with the lightest one. Pay attention to the fl ow of it, don’t overdo it or else it will look fake. For more blending with the skin, draw some strands the same colour as the skin underneath.

24 Eyelashes For the eyelashes, use the same brush as for the ears and a very

dark colour (almost black). To avoid a fake look, draw them more randomly but in an accurate way, don’t get messy either. Follow the direction of the eyelid they come out from. Whenever you draw an eyelash you think looks wrong, Undo and try it again.

25 Finishing upWe now have all

the skin features done. What’s left to do is to make sure everything is all right. Make sure that the shadow from the hair or clothes are cast onto the skin. If you see any part of the texturing too dark, you can always take the Eraser and with a very low Opacity (fi ve to ten per cent), erase the tiny bits. Or you can use the Blender with low Opacity as well. Or even correct the colours. The world is your oyster!


Adjust skin

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Tutorial Painting a still life

40

utch art critic Albert Plasschaert wrote, “Seek in a still life stillness and meditation. You may �ind

there action, drama and passion, but the best still life is that wherein inward calm is attained in quietness.”

Still-life paintings feature either simple or complex arrangements of inanimate, common subjects such as �lowers and fruit, tableware, books, newspapers and musical instruments, though insects or animals are sometimes included. Traditionally, still-life paintings and still-life elements of larger compositions had complex iconographic signi�icance. For example, the inclusion of books, maps or writing materials in portraiture referred to the sitter’s knowledge and education. Objects such as cut �lowers, a snuffed-out candle or signs of decay in fruit and other food represented the transience of life, and were meant to remind us of our own mortality.

Some of our best-loved still-life paintings are from the 17th Century Dutch school of painters, who sometimes created in a style known as chiaroscuro, and feature the mysterious and dramatic interplay of light and shadow. By utilising lush, thoughtfully placed brushstrokes and bright lights for the area of focus, artists like Johannes Vermeer and Rachel Ruysch achieved an aura of duality, that of tranquillity and excitement by incorporating primarily dark tones, several very light tones and none or few in the middle range. Still-life painters

specialised in various subgenres such as kitchen or market images, vanitas (which refers to the transient nature of vanity), fruit, food and trompe l’œil (an optical illusion suggesting existence). Technique and materials in traditional still-life painting are as important as the image itself. Fine lead-primed linens, pure pigments and resin/oil media allow the paint to take on a unique, glowing quality. The focus of the painting is illuminated, as if in a spotlight, leaving the surrounding �ield dark and sombre – heavy, burnt browns blending to black. The varnish that has now crackled with age only adds to the timeless quality of the painting.

For our still life, let’s begin with a simple fruit arrangement as the source photo. We won’t adhere to the rules of chiaroscuro, but we do want to achieve that dramatic spotlight effect against a deep, dark background. We will create rich, impasto brushstrokes that glide across the canvas like soft butter from a palette of luscious colours, discover a brush that will let our canvas peek through the paint in random areas, and �inish off with a realistic crackle paper texture.

Let’s explore some possibilities for capturing one moment in time in a painting that speaks of timelessness and quiet hours

Painting a still life

Artist

Time needed

Skill level

On the CD

Cat Bounds

Two hours

Intermediate

Final image for reference

Tutorial info

Let’s explore some possibilities for capturing one moment in time in a painting that speaks of timelessness and quiet hours

Painting a still lifeLet’s explore some possibilities for capturing one moment in time in a painting that speaks of timelessness and quiet hours

Painting a still lifeOther subjects

Flowers are another excellent subject for still-life paintings and benefit

from the same thick paint application used here

Different stylesCézanne was an excellent still-life painter and gives you another style to base

your images onWorking from a photoOur inspiration came from this photo, taken by Cynthia Berridge. See the box over the page for more details

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TutorialPainting a still life

“The focus of the painting is illuminated, as if in a spotlight, leaving the surrounding field dark and sombre - heavy, burnt browns blending to black”

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Finding a source imagePart of the fun of painting a still life is setting up the scene. Taking a photo is the best way and it’s easy to do at home. Alternatively, you can search the internet for free photos. Our source image was taken by a reader. Cynthia Berridge has kindly offered readers the use of her photos in projects. To access them, just visit her Stock.xchng account. If you’d like to download the photo used here, go to www.sxc.hu and search for image number 786282. Be sure to leave a note of thanks!

Set up your canvas ready to paintThe first principles

01 A ritual for new beginnings A step we may neglect in the rush to create is the one where we prepare our minds. Go for a walk,

meditate, put on your headphones and listen to meditative music, or limber up by simply playing with Painter brushes, anything to wipe away worldly cares and connect you with that small voice within that says ‘you can’.

The first principles

02 Create a still-life custom palette You might like to set up a custom palette of tools. Drag the following brushes: Dull Grainy

Chalk (Chalk category), Burn (Photo category), Glow (F-X category), Soft Cloner (Cloners category), Captured Bristle Acrylic (Smart Stroke category), Dry Palette Knife, Dry Clumpy Impasto and Dry Bristle (all from Artists’ Oils category). In the Palette Organizer, add buttons for Clone, Revert and Save As. Go to Stock.xchng and download the image we have used (see box on left for details) or open your own still-life reference image.

03 Source photo An uncomplicated source image like this bowl of fruit

lends itself to myriad possibilities. As we’re being inspired by the Dutch Masters, we’re thinking form, brushstrokes and rich colour, and as we shall see later, we can embellish with added elements or leave it uncluttered.

04 Preparing our image

The background appears almost pure black, so we ran Equalize and recovered some of the vanishing detail, sharpened a bit and pulled some of the yellow towards red for more richness with Color Correction. Go with your own instincts though, as it would be boring if we all ended up with the same painting!

05 Save, save, save! Thank goodness for huge hard drives! Click the Clone button to save before you begin painting, and then save

regularly and systematically throughout, so that at any time it’s easy to go back and fi nd an earlier point. We all evolve over time into our own numbering or naming systems.

06 Creating the Color Set We will create a new Color Set from the image itself, and then as we progress, we can add new colours.

When you mix up a colour in the Mixer pad that you would like to add to the Color Set, go to the bottom and click on the + symbol. Remember to save your Color Set if it ends up being one you might use again.


Finding a

Texture resourcesYour camera is the best resource for discovering and creating textures; go hunting for textures on your walls, ceiling, carpet, pavement, etc. Also check out these excellent sites that offer textural images.

Mayang’s Free Textureswww.mayang.com/textures

Image*Afterhttp://imageafter.com

MorgueFilewww.morguefile.com

Stock.XCHNGwww.sxc.hu

Texture Warehousewww.texturewarehouse.com/gallery/index.php

Texture Stationwww.nepthys.com/textures/backgrounds_miscrock.htm

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TutorialPainting a still life

The best way to crackleYou can set about creating a brush that gives a crackle effect, but by far the best way is to use a photo. We’ve shown how to use a crackle photo as a paper over the page, but for another quick way, use it with composite methods. Open your photo in Painter, select the image (Ctrl/Cmd+A), then copy and paste or drag it onto your painting and select Soft Light, Overlay or one of the other methods to give the effect of cracked or peeling varnish. You may choose to reduce the overall Opacity of the cracked image or erase at varying Opacities to achieve an authentic effect.

Add a little extra to your still lifeCracking on

09 Adding colour Green was a logical colour to add to our pears, and it forms a beautiful complementary colour scheme with the

reds we already had, so we played around with greens, yellows, oranges and reds, keeping in mind as we went the need to place dark colours in the shadowed areas, and light colours where our highlights were. Use the same brushes and to apply colour, click on the Clone Color button to deselect it.

10 Background – dark, but

not black Our painted background may read as black, but there’s not one black there. We pulled colours from the main image and dragged the circle in the Saturation/Value triangle toward black, resulting in a very dark background that relates to the image without competing for attention.

Cracking on

07 First strokes Often we begin a cloned painting by ‘mucking up’ as Jeremy Sutton teaches, but this time all we want to do is soften

the image. Pick the Captured Bristle Acrylic brush and create a new layer. Make sure the Clone Color button is pressed in the Colors palette. You need to do this each time you change your brush. Now zoom in to achieve broad brush strokes, and drag colour in and out of areas.

08 Impasto effect Alternate among the Artists’ Oils brushes (Dry Bristle and Dry Clumpy Impasto) and the Palette Knife. First use the

brushes to spreading on thick paint and then move it around with the Knife. You’ll fi nd the effect and the experience is amazingly real. Set Impasto to Color and Depth, alternate Depth between 59 per cent and 138 per cent.

11 Additional elements Some of the most wonderful Dutch still-life

masterpieces are those brimming with elements tucked away within the arrangement, waiting to be discovered; a small nest fi lled with speckled eggs, a single shell on the table, a feather, a book and so on. Choosing the elements you want to add to our basic still life will be an adventure.

The best way

12 Putting them together Open your base image and then gather some alternative images, such as extra fruit or insects. Mask off or

erase the backgrounds, then copy and paste them onto the base image.

13 Experiment with positioning Here, you’ll be able to decide how you want

the viewer’s eye to enter and exit your painting. A well-thought-out composition will guide the viewer through the painting. As each element is on its own layer, use the Layer Adjuster to try out different arrangements.

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It looks so good, you could eat it!Redefine the last linesRedefine the last lines

14 Painting the new elements When introducing various elements with

differing light sources, it’s necessary to redefi ne the highlights and shadows according to the lighting on the base image, and this is done by painting them on. The Photo Burn brush is great for adding low lights, and the F-X Glow to bring out soft edges and glints of light.

15 Canvas texture and crackle We’ve already outlined how to apply crackle

below, but sometimes you might want the canvas texture to show. In traditional oil or acrylic painting, the texture will show through in areas where the paint is thinnest. Select Linen Canvas set to 60 per cent, the Dull Grainy chalk and a colour a shade lighter than where you’re painting. Apply random strokes and watch the canvas appear.


16 Are we done yet? Sometimes knowing when to stop is the hardest part; in a still life like this, we could add elements and play

with textures and crackle endlessly, and it would just grow more beautiful.

01 Let’s begin Open up your crackle glaze fi le in Corel Painter and go to

Select>All. Open your Papers palette and from the options menu, select Make Paper. Give it a name (crackle works best!). Choose the Dull Grainy Chalk 30 variant and set Opacity to 50% and Size to 90.

Applied as a protective coating, traditional varnish, which is derived from tree resin, may enhance a painting’s colour at first, but it gradually degrades and typically forms a cracked and yellowed crust. The cracking results partially because the dried layers of paint and varnish are painted on a flexible surface, canvas that stretches and relaxes with time and fluctuating temperatures. Once your digital painting is printed on canvas, there are techniques and glaze formulae for creating a faux crackle finish on it, but we can also apply a crackle glaze effect within Painter using a photo of some cracked mud. If you can’t find your own, send an email to [email protected] and we can send you one! While tweaking your final colours, keep in mind that a slightly yellow or gold cast will add to the aged look and lend credence to your crackle finish. As with most effects, less is more, so begin with a light hand as you apply the crackle and build up slowly.

03 Finishing touches You may be painting right on the image, but if you have chosen to work on transparent

layers, turn off the canvas image occasionally (close the Eye icon in the Layers palette) to judge your progress and fi ll in any holes. Painting crackle on the background is less fun but just as important for a fi nished appearance.

A fi nal fl ourishCrackle glaze

02 Through the cracks When applying the crackle texture, keep in

mind that we’re looking through the cracks in the varnish at the painted image below, so we will choose colours that fi t with whatever is under the cracks. For example, pick a dark green for the pears, a dark red for the apples and so on!

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46

n your day-to-day use of Corel Painter, you probably call upon the Brush tool the most, maybe followed by the Colors palette and then the

Papers. But have you ever delved into the world of masks? These not only allow you to make selections for creating collages or composites, but you can also use them to protect parts of your painting while you concentrate on other areas. This means the paint can’t leak into places you don’t want it to.

You can create a Layer Mask to de�ine what areas of a layer are visible in

the document window. Masking originated as a technique for

creating colour separations, where sheets of masking material were hand-cut to de�ine the colour regions in an image. In this exercise, you will see how to create a selection to mask an area,

much as if you were working with traditional media watercolours

and needed to protect an area of the painting from being painted on. You will experiment with Layer Masks

and use the Lasso tool. Once you have mastered your mask and lasso, all that’s left to do is to mount your steed and ride off into the sunset!

Masks are a powerful tool in creating selections and protecting areas of your canvas. Here’s how they work

Perhaps there is an element within the source image that you want to reveal as texture in the finished painting, or you may want to create some textural effects to apply to your image. Watercolour paintings often have areas where the texture of the paper shows through, giving it that traditional look. Start with a source image to work from, or simply create your own sketch and make any colour corrections needed. From the Window menu, choose Select>All, then Select>Float. Next, add a new layer directly above the Canvas layer. Layer hierarchy should be Canvas, Layer 2, Layer 1.

Envision how you want the final image to look

Getting startedGetting startedDraw a freehand border around the selection

The Lasso toolThe Lasso tool

It is important to note that if you want to make multiple selections, you will need to enable the Add to Selection command. If you draw an open path with the Lasso tool, Corel Painter connects the end points with a straight line before creating the selection, so be sure to connect the end points to close the selection. For added flexibility as you work, you can also hold down Option (Mac) or Alt (PC), which enables you to select the area you want to subtract from the selection.

Feature focus Using masking techniques

THE LASSO TOOLThe Lasso tool is found on the Painter toolbox. To quickly call up this tool, use the short-cut key ‘L’. The Lasso tool lets you draw a freehand selection and can be very useful in your process, especially when you need a unique shape or want to protect a part of your image.

MULTIPLE SELECTIONSYou can achieve multiple selections on a layer by checking the Add to Selection icon on the Property bar. To subtract selections, choose Subtract from Selection, also located on the Property bar.

the paint can’t leak into places you don’t want it to.

You can create a Layer Mask to de�ine what areas of a layer are visible in

the document window. Masking originated as a technique for

much as if you were working with traditional media watercolours

and needed to protect an area of the painting from being painted on. You will experiment with Layer Masks

and use the Lasso tool. Once you have

FEATUREFOCUS

Masking techniques

The Lasso tool

PAINT INSIDE, OUTSIDE OR ANYWHERE Click and hold the Drawing Mode icon in the bottom-left corner of the document window to draw Inside, Outside or Anywhere. Outside protects the area outside the selection, similar to using a stencil. Only the selected region accepts brushstrokes.

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Feature focusU

sing masking techniques

Zoom in on the selection for better control

Creating a selectionCreating a selectionRefer to the original image to check your progress

Painting from a photoPainting from a photo

Create your selections on Layer 2, just as if you were painting a watercolour and wanted to protect or mask areas. On Layer 1, lower the Opacity setting on the Layers palette so you can see your selections clearly. If you want your paint strokes to move outside the selection, then refer to the lower-left corner of your interface and choose Paint Outside Selection, or if you want to mask an area inside the selection, choose Paint Inside Selection. If you are working with a highly detailed area, zoom in on your work for better control.

Lower the Opacity setting on Layer 1, your original photo reference. You have the option to delete this layer when you have completed your painting. Select the Lasso tool from the toolbox, then begin on Layer 2 and create your selections. Close the Eye symbol on the photo reference occasionally, in order to see your progress. If you will be adding multiple selections, ensure that Add to Selection on the Property bar is checked. Paintings with the Digital Watercolor variant continue to add more detail while working with selections to create your finished painting.

Feature focusU


Using m

asking techniquesU


Make very precise selectionsWork with Layer Masks

01 Creating a Layer Mask You can

control what parts of a layer are visible and hidden by creating a layer mask. A layer mask based on transparency is white wherever the layer has content, and black in other areas. To create a Layer Mask, fl oat the reference image above the Canvas layer.

When you create a Layer Mask, you are defining what areas of a layer are visible in the document window. You can create a new, blank Layer Mask, or create a Layer Mask based on the layer’s transparency. The paint and effects you apply to a Layer Mask are reflected differently as you will see in the third and final step.

02 Creating precise selections Layer

masks are another way to make selections. When you create a mask, make sure that black is selected as your main colour and white as your additional colour on the Color palette. Click on the Create Layer Mask icon located on the Layers palette. This will create a new Layer Mask.

03 Change his stripes! Make

sure you paint on the right side of Layer 1. Bear in mind that applying white removes areas from the mask and reveals more of the layer, applying black adds to the mask, concealing more of the layer, and applying an intermediate grey value makes the mask semitransparent.

TURNING SELECTIONS ON AND OFFThere may be times when you need to turn a selection off or reactivate a selection. To turn off a selection, choose Select>None. To reactivate selections, choose Select>Reselect.

INVERTING A SELECTIONInverting a selection switches the selected and non-selected areas. For example, if you have an image containing fl owers and you’ve created a precise selection around them, you can choose to select everything but the fl owers by inverting the selection.


48

There are additional ways to create selections and masking effects in your work. Rather than using the Layer Masks, we can take advantage of the Layer composite methods, or Blending modes as they are known in Photoshop. We can use this method to build up a composite mask through which your image is filtered. If you set a layer to the Screen method, the layer treats black as transparent and white as opaque. You can then use paper texture, rock texture, wash effects as well as photographic sources to create a beautiful effect.

Rock texture, paper texture… no room for scissors!

Textured masking techniquesTextured masking techniquesView a composite of the image and paper

Add a new layerAdd a new layer

Add a new layer directly below your reference image. Select an interesting paper texture from the Papers palette. Fill the new layer with the colour white and change the layer’s composite method to Screen. Change your current colour to black and launch the Color Overlay dialog. Set the Using pop-up menu to Paper and select the Hiding Power Model option. The Color Overlay preview will now display a composite of the paper with the underlying image. You can control the level of Opacity simply by adjusting the slider to achieve the effect you desire. When finished, select OK.

Feature focus Using masking techniques

01 Floating the reference image Open a reference image and fl oat it

above the Canvas layer. To fl oat your image, go to the Window menu, choose Select>All, then Select>Float. Add a new layer directly above the Canvas layer. Make your selections here.

02 Adjust Opacity After selecting the reference image, lower the Opacity

setting on the Layers palette. All your selections will be made on Layer 2. Ensure your layer hierarchy follows as Canvas, Layer 2, and Layer 1. When you have completed your painting, you can delete the reference image.

05 Work from back to front Watercolour painting is often painted

from back to front. Choose the Finer Mop variant from the Digital Watercolor brush category. Keep the Opacity setting low; you will notice that the paint does not enter the selections, but rather around the selections.

Getting started with selections

Round ‘em up with the Lasso toolRound ‘em up with the Lasso tool

The key to using Layer Masks is to recognise that in the black areas of the mask, the layer is transparent, revealing the images below it. In the white areas of the mask, the layer content is visible. An easy way to remember this is ‘black to conceal and white to reveal’.

Composite methodsIf you find your source image has become faded with the addition of additional layers, select and copy the base image. Select the topmost layer and use the Paste in Place command from the Edit menu. This action will place the base image above all of the existing stacked layers. Change the composite method to Overlay. Adjust the Opacity slider on the Layers palette to taste.

04 Selecting a Drawing mode The key to painting now lies in where you

want to apply the paint. The Drawing mode determines whether the inside or outside of a selection is protected. Use the Draw Outside mode to create some nice background washes.

FEATUREFOCUS

06 Detailed selections When you begin to add more detail but want to

maintain the watercolour look, zoom in closer so you can create detailed selections. Use Ctrl/Cmd+D to deselect your current selections and move to the centre of the fl owers.

03 Making a selection From the toolbox, select the Lasso tool. Then, with

Add to Selection enabled on the Property bar, create freehand selections around the white of the fl owers. With Add To Selections enabled, you can continue to make several selections within the image.


49

Feature focusU


Stack ‘em up for additional texture

Stacking layersStacking layersUse as many as you like – after all, it is your painting!

Add gradients and imagesAdd gradients and images

You may find that the composite method that you have chosen does not work well with the underlying image, so experiment until you find something you like. In the example, we changed the composite method from Screen to Overlay. Adjust the Opacity slider located on the Layers palette to control the strength of the texture. You can continue to stack textures, images or gradients to add even more variety. To achieve the best results when using multiple images, textures, weaves or gradients in your composition, you will need to use the same chosen composite method for all layers and keep your stacks below the original paper texture.

You can really get carried away with this technique! Continue to add additional textures and images, and try filling the layer with a gradient as well. Choose a colour, add a new layer and place it at the top, just below your reference image. From the Window menu, choose Effects>Fill>Gradient. Change the Layer composite method to Overlay. If you have created many stacked layers, you can close the Eye on some of them and see how it affects your image. To place an image on a layer, use the Copy>Paste command.

07 A clear reference Close the Eye on the reference image layer so you can

see your progress. This will give you a good idea of how your painting is shaping up and where you may want to add additional detail. Now, fi nish off the painting.

10 Create a frame Add a new layer and move the layer just below the reference

image layer. Fill the layer as the colour white and change the composite method of the layer to Screen. We wanted to retain a watercolour look, so Screen was the best choice for us.

11 Paint out the frame With the colour black selected, choose your favourite brush and, starting from the centre and working out, create

a frame around your painting. Mix the brushes up to get the best effect. Just relax and have fun with this part!

Selections gone astrayWhen we create many layers and work with lots of textures, we are utilising lots of memory on our computers and you may find that even the most powerful of computer systems may become sluggish, or Painter just may close down on you when using the Lasso tool. If this happens, save (and save often), then close Painter down and restart anew. You should be good as new!

08 Adding additional texture Add a new layer directly above the Canvas

layer, then move the layer so it is located just below the reference image layer. Select an interesting paper texture from the Paper Texture palette. Select the colour as white and fi ll the layer.

Use the mask techniques to frame images

Reveal the image behind the maskReveal the image behind the mask

09 Reveal the texture Select the colour black, and from the Window

menu, choose Effects>Surface Control>Color Overlay. The Color Overlay palette is now launched. Then experiment with the Opacity slider until you fi nd a look you like and choose OK. The composite method should be set to Overlay.

12 Simple masking This is a simple way to create a masking effect in your

painting. If you choose the colour white, notice that you can reveal strokes again. Remember, black to conceal and white to reveal. A Layer Mask based on transparency is white wherever the layer has content, and black in other areas.


Tutorial Sketch like Leonardo da Vinci

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or Leonardo da Vinci, similar to many other great artists, drawings and sketches were a vital component of both his progression as a great master of his art, and also to the planning and progression of his greatest works. These sketches, or cartoons as they were once known, could be either sketches made on the spot and spontaneously, as a kind of aide memoir or visual note-taking, or they could be a quick study to plan the tonal scheme and composition for a full-blown painting. Da Vinci was really not too concerned about the actual medium used for these sketches, and would often combine pen and ink work with shading, applied by using brown and black chalk and even touches of semi-opaque white paint to indicate highlights. Of course, these sketches looked far different when they

were �irst created, and the sketches we see now have been transformed simply by hundreds of years of wear and tear. So here we’re going to re-create a da Vinci sketch, complete with all the signs of the ravages of time. To start with, we need to arti�icially age and abuse a piece of paper, and as you’ll see, this is a fairly low-tech technique involving lots of cold tea, the odd blast from a hairdryer and even a few minutes under the grill! With the paper suitably abused, it’s then scanned and forms the base of the digital sketch.At this point, we can start sketching with a number of suitable inky and chalky variants on a suitable paper texture. This is an exercise where less is most de�initely more, as we don’t want this to look like a brand-new drawing. So turn back the clock, and become Leonardo!

Polish isn’t everything when it comes to fine art! Here we explore how you can create an antique da Vinci sketch

Artist

Time needed

Skill level

On the CD

Tim Shelbourne

1-2 hours

Intermediate

Paper, sketch and final image

Tutorial info

Leonardo da VinciSketch likeLeonardo da VinciSketch likeLeonardo da Vinci

01 More tea, Vicar? Here’s the fun bit! Take your sheet of paper and prepare to abuse it! Dunk a tea bag in warm water, then drip and dribble over the surface. The odd scrub with the tea bag works wonders too. Sprinkle a few grains of instant coffee to produce a little foxing.

Like the great man himself, get creative with what’s around you

Get inventing!Get inventing!

02 A good grilling! Dry the paper off with a hairdryer, spreading the stains around as it dries. Now scrunch the paper up a little before shoving it under the grill for a minute or so. This will dry the paper out so that it will crack easily if you fold it, giving the whole thing a real antique feel.

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TutorialSketch like Leonardo da Vinci

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Shake it up!Oddly, these sketches really do benefit from looking fast and spontaneous. Don’t concern yourself with creating perfectly smooth curves and absolutely straight lines. Sometimes shaky, spidery lines and marks actually add to an image, and that’s most definitely the case here!

No need to crack da Vinci’s code – we’ve done it for you!Sketch in the outlines

03 Scanning Scan the paper in the normal way, as an RGB image. Scan the

whole thing at a resolution of 300dpi so that you get plenty of detail. Open in Painter and you’re good to go! If you don’t fancy creating your own, you can use the supplied one on our disc.

Sketch in the outlines

04 Paste the sketch Open the paper fi le. Now open Da ‘Line Sketch.jpg’ from the CD. Go to Select>All, followed by Edit>Copy.

Close this fi le and return to the paper image. Go to Edit>Paste to paste the sketch on top. Now set the composite method for this layer to Multiply in the Layers palette.

05 Pen variant We’ll start by creating a simple outline to establish a framework

for the drawing. Choose Pens from the Category picker, and then select Reed Pen 15 as the variant. From the Color Wheel, choose a mid-tone red/brown.

06 Start sketching Click in the Paper Selector menu and choose Hot Press. Add a new layer to the drawing, naming it ‘Pen’. Increase

the size of the pen to around 20 pixels. Set the composite method to Gel and begin to roughly sketch over the underlying guidelines.

07 Loose outline Keep this stage of the sketch nice and loose, just a mere indication of the detail we’ll add later. Every now and then, it’s a

good idea to add a few small hatch lines here and there. This stops the outline looking too perfect and mechanical.

08 Fine lines Reduce the size of the pen by a couple of pixels in areas of detail, such as the eyes and nose. In these areas, you can start to

establish the dark shadow areas by using some more fi ne-hatching.


Shake it up! 09 To taste The penwork

in the hair can be very loose, adding movement and vitality to the sketch. These areas need to be very simply indicated. It’s a matter of personal taste how much penwork you add at this stage, but because this is all drawn on its own layer, any unwanted lines can always be erased later.

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Vary the size of your brush, ignoring precise details for nowMore or less… less is more!

12 Establishing mid-tones In the Properties bar, set the Grain amount to

seven per cent. Increase the size of the brush to around 40 pixels. On a new layer, start to establish the mid-tones in the image (a pinky-brown). Use a gentle scrubbing motion to establish the shadow areas around the eyes and within the eye sockets.

13 Broken shading

Remember, to help with the antique feel, we need a nice broken surface to these areas of shading, so you need to use a hit-and-miss style of shading here, applying more chalk in some areas than in others. Don’t attempt any detail at the moment – simply establish areas of tone.

More or less… less is more!

10 Hatching In a few areas where there will be less detail in the fi nished sketch,

reduce the size of the pen to ten pixels and use long, spontaneous hatching lines to indicate tone and shadow. We’ll modify the Opacity of this layer later, so don’t be put off by the intensity of these drawn lines.

11 Chalk variant

Add a new layer to the image. Choose Chalk for the variant category and select Blunt Chalk 30 as the variant. Go to Window>Brush Controls>Show General. Set the Opacity Expression to Pressure and the Grain Expression to None. In the Size properties, set Minimum Size to 80 per cent.

14 Size for size Adjust the size of

the brush to suit the area you’re shading, such as using the brush at a large size over the main planes of the face, and use it at a smaller size to add the shading to the eyes, nose and mouth.

It’s important to use suitable brush variants for this project. We need to combine fine, spidery pen lines with chalky shading and some smooth highlights. As well as using the correct variants, it’s important to set up their properties properly, particularly when it comes to the Chalk variants as we need them to make the most of the chosen paper texture. Remember to set up your Brush Tracking before you start, so that the chosen variants respond properly as you draw. Do this via Edit>Preferences>Brush Tracking. Simply make a representative stroke on the scratch pad within the Brush Tracking dialog.

Get by with a little help from these friendsLeonardo brushes

PenWe used this variant for all of the penwork and spidery scribble. Opacity was set to 15 per cent and Grain to 22 per cent.

Blunt ChalkThis is the main shading brush, Blunt Chalk 30 from the Chalk variants. Grain was set to seven per cent. It’s important to set the Expression Control to None in the Brush Properties.

Fine Soft GlazingThe Fine Soft Glazing variant from the Oils category was used for the subtle white highlights. Opacity was set to just two per cent and Grain was set to ten per cent.

Sharp ChalkThe Sharp Chalk variant from the Chalk category was used for a little defining sharp-hatching in the final stages of the sketch. Set the Grain value to around 15 per cent.

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Stand back!It’s often tempting, especially when painting digitally, to continually work with your nose virtually pressed up against your screen. This re-ally can be a mistake. Particularly so on a project such as this, where the whole is much greater than its component parts, it’s vital to stand back from your screen regularly to get an impression of the entire sketch.

Add scribbling and shading to form a con-Vinci-ng imageScribbling, shading and sharpening upScribbling, shading and sharpening up

15 Hatch and scribble Reduce the size of the brush to around ten pixels. Now, using the brush at this size, add some areas of diagonal, loose

hatching to the hair areas. Some loose, spidery lines in this area will also help with the sketchy feel of the piece. You can do this on a new layer if you like.

16 Highlights brush Add a new layer. Ensure that the composite mode for this layer is set to Default in the Layers palette. From the

variant categories, choose Oils. Now choose the Fine Soft Glazing 30 variant. In the Properties bar, set the Opacity to two per cent and Grain to ten per cent. Choose a near-white from the Color Wheel.

17 Subtle highlights Use this brush at around 30 pixels to add a few highlighted areas here and there. Use the fi nished image as a guide for

this. These highlights need only be very subtle, so they appear to have faded over time. Also, add a few highlighted lines to the top outline of the hair.

18 Darker shading Add another new layer. Choose a dark brown from the Color Wheel. Now return to the Blunt Chalk 30 variant you

used earlier. Use this brush at around 20 pixels to begin adding some darker shadows around the eyes to defi ne them a little. Use quite a tight, random sketching motion for these areas.

19 Broader shadows Use the brush at a bigger size (around 40 pixels) to add some

broader areas of shadow tones, again using the fi nished image as a guide. Don’t overdo these or make them too dark, as we still want to keep the antique, broken feel.

20 Sharpening up A change

of variant now. Click in the Variant selector and choose the Sharp Chalk variant. In the Properties bar, set the Grain to 16 per cent. Now, using the same dark brown colour, and the brush size set to 11 pixels, add some tight diagonal-hatching to the darker areas in the main features.


Stand back!

Don’t fade away!Obviously, over hundreds of years, light itself has a fading effect on drawings, and this applies especially to inks. With this in mind, it’s best not to leave your pen-line layer at 100 per cent Opacity, but to reduce its Opacity towards the end of the project. Because of the colour we’ve used, and the Gel setting of the Pen layer, the lower Opacity will adopt a pleasing, antique golden shade, with some overlapping lines being a little darker than the rest.

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Finish the leftovers as if it was your Last SupperNearing completion

23 Careful adjustment Remember, because we’ve placed each stage of the sketch on a separate layer, you can always adjust the

intensity of each stage simply by playing with the layer’s Opacity in the Layers palette. Here, we’ve reduced the Opacity of the mid-tone shading layer a touch for a more subtle effect.

24 Spidery scrawl Just

as the great man himself did, we’re going to add some spidery notations to the fi nished sketch. Choose the Reed pen variant again and reduce it to a very small size. Add a new layer and zoom into the image. Using the same brown colour, add some scribbled notes in a shaky, da Vinci–like hand.

Nearing completion

21 Hatching a plot It’s also a good idea to use the Sharp Chalk variant to add some

broader hatching to the areas which have little or no shading around the outer regions of the head and hair. Place these hatching lines close together, and make sure to draw with your wrist rather than your hand to give these lines vitality.

22 An eye for detail Now you’re nearly done, you can use any of the previous

tools and techniques to add subtle areas of shading to clarify the main features, and also include some subtle hatching around the outside of the head to add a little more interest.

25 The da Vinci code It helps, although the notes are barely readable, to make the notes relate to the sketch in some way, such

as describing tones or colours. Make sure to place the notes in a random manner. When you’re happy with your masterpiece, go to Layer>Drop All.

Can’t draw, won’t draw!The advantage of creating this image digitally is the fact that you don’t have to be able to draw, as you can easily trace your initial drawing from a digital photograph. Once you’ve opened the paper file in Painter, open the image you want to use for your sketch and go to Select>All, followed by Edit>Copy. Close this image, return to the paper image and go to Edit>Paste. This will paste your copied image as a reference layer above the paper background. Use the Layer Adjuster tool to position this layer, and stretch it to fit by right-clicking and choosing Free Transform. Just drag on the handles around the image to resize it. Reduce the Opacity of this layer. Now add a new layer and trace over the image with one of the Chalk variants. Once you’re done tracing the outlines, simply delete the reference layer.

Can’t draw, won’t draw!Can’t draw, won’t draw!The advantage of creating this image digitally is

Don’t panic if drawing isn’t your strongest ability! Copy and paste your photograph onto a layer above the paper layer and reduce its Opacity to easily set up an image to trace from

With the reference layer set to low Opacity in the Layers palette, you can simply choose one of the Chalk variants and use it at a small size, on another layer, to trace over the outlines of the subject. Once you’ve finished

tracing, simply delete the reference layer

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showcase

SANJANA BAIJNATH TITLE Kyle WEBSITE www.sanjanasart.com JOB TITLE Freelance illustrator

New Zealand-based Sanjana has experience with lots of different art styles, including concept art, book covers, book illustration and character design. You can see more of her work on her website or email [email protected] with any questions.

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How to…

Let’s take a moment to ignore the bitter chill in the air, and pretend it is still summer, dressing our happy model in a casual outfit of a denim skirt and tank top. Denim is fun to paint, because we are all familiar with it. Think double stitches on thick seams, fading, creases and the like. Pick the right values and you are halfway home, but add those details and get all the way there! Just basic brushes and the creative use of the Smudge tool are all that is needed, reworking any details as needed with a brush and blender. Don’t be afraid to add depth to any creases (or brightness to any highlights, for that matter) that may seem too flat.

Den imDen im

pain t fabricHere we provide you with a quick guide to getting started in painting realistic-looking fabric

When imitating denim, it is important to get the right values from the start. The values chosen are just right to represent faded blue denim. Grab the Tapered Round Oil 15 and block in the skirt with the middle value. Grab some of the darkest value and paint in the pockets, the hems, the belt loops, some creases and the outer edges.

01

Next up, load the Tapered Round brush with some of the lightest value, and paint in highlighted areas. At the moment, focus only on blocking in strong values as the details come later.

02

Set the Paper (in the toolbox) to Retro Fabric. Grab the Smudge tool, set to about 20, and begin to merge the three values together. You can use this to easily pull the paint around to create details like oft-creased jeans.

03

Load the Tapered Oil 15 with some of the darkest value in the shirt. With a light touch, add highlights to the tops of the pockets, the zipper fl ap and the belt loops. Pick up a little orange and using short strokes, paint in the stitching.

04

Blocking in the skirt

Middle ground

Creative smudging Adding

convincing detail

Don’t miss fun details like the bunching that occurs in worn denim around stitches and seams (it is a thick coarse fabric, after all).

Art study How to paint fabric

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Now it’s out of the sun and into the ballroom, with a formal gown of satin. The bunch of tight pleats seems daunting, but with the right brushes and a good range of values, they are a snap. We will set about picking our colours and, using the Tapered Oil Round and the Round Blender brush as our weapons of choice, we will make short work of this long dress.

Art study

How

to paint fabric

Now grab a Tapered Round Oil 15, load it with the middle value and paint areas of highlight with it. When painting the pleats, start with a light touch at the beginning of your strokes down the garment to create the initial taper.

02

Sa tin

Choose three values that create a fair representation of the range of values in silky material. It is a bit easier to express the effect if the fabric is fairly dark, so the three values represented here are going to get us a nice rich turquoise. Take a dab of the darkest value and your favourite brush for basic blocking in and paint in the basic dress silhouette.

Using a Round Blender brush set to size 15, make vertical strokes along the edges of the pleats. Leave a few edges fairly sharp and a few very mixed. Double the brush size and tackle the areas near the upper torso and shoulders.

Load the Tapered Oil 15 with the lightest value. Staying inside the edges of the middle tone, paint in areas of the garment with bright highlights. Using the Round Blender brush (size 15), repeat the previous step’s procedure.

Open up a Gel layer, load the Digital Airbrush with a bit of the skin tone and paint a layer over the whole dress. Grab a Gentle Bleach Eraser 10 and resize it to 20. Then, gently pull away the paint in areas of greatest highlight.

Lay down your colours fi rst but blend away to silky-smooth fabric effect03

04 05

Blocking in the skirt

Careful blending

Apply the lightest value

A bit of colour depth

01

Blocking in the basic shape


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Art study How to paint fabric

Open a Soft Light layer and select the lightest tone. Gently paint in broad highlights with a 60 Digital Airbrush set to 50 per cent Opacity. Take your cue from the forms under the dress. Use a default Eraser of the same size set to 20 per cent Opacity to soften the edges. Flatten the image and open a Gel layer. Using the Digital Airbrush loaded with the lighter value and the default Eraser, repeat the procedure for shadows.

Flatten the image and open another Gel layer. Grab the Digital Airbrush 6, load it with the middle value and paint in the lace. A kind of worming squiggle leaves a nice mark that resembles a stitched pattern without labouring the details. Make sure you darken the outer seams and the edges a bit.

05

Digital painting is made for some tasks, and creating a translucent or nearly transparent effect is one of them. The black ensemble pictured here is wrapped in patterned lace, and though it may seem complex, it is actually very easy to paint using the right tools. The Gel layer is very useful for this sort of thing and will be put to work here. With only the Digital Airbrush and a couple of values, we will cut through this study like thin fabric.

Digital painting is made for some tasks, and creating a translucent or nearly transparent effect is one of Digital painting is made for some tasks, and creating a translucent or nearly transparent effect is one of Digital painting is made for some tasks, and creating

them. The black ensemble pictured here is wrapped a translucent or nearly transparent effect is one of them. The black ensemble pictured here is wrapped a translucent or nearly transparent effect is one of

in patterned lace, and though it may seem complex, them. The black ensemble pictured here is wrapped in patterned lace, and though it may seem complex, them. The black ensemble pictured here is wrapped

it is actually very easy to paint using the right tools. in patterned lace, and though it may seem complex, it is actually very easy to paint using the right tools. in patterned lace, and though it may seem complex,

The Gel layer is very useful for this sort of thing it is actually very easy to paint using the right tools. The Gel layer is very useful for this sort of thing it is actually very easy to paint using the right tools.

and will be put to work here. With only the Digital The Gel layer is very useful for this sort of thing and will be put to work here. With only the Digital The Gel layer is very useful for this sort of thing

Airbrush and a couple of values, we will cut through and will be put to work here. With only the Digital Airbrush and a couple of values, we will cut through and will be put to work here. With only the Digital

Tran spa ren t fabric

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Using the darkest value and the Digital Airbrush, open a Gel layer and paint in the basic shape of the dress. Select the canvas as the layer and use a Splatter Airbrush (30) and the background colour to lighten the leg lines and the shadow of the right inner thigh a bit. Keep the legs slightly visible to express the semi-transparency of the cloth.

Flatten the image and open another Gel layer. Load the Digital Airbrush with the lighter value and paint in the outer edges of the lace vest and hemline. Start building a little depth of shadow by painting into the fi gure with a large brush, darkening areas away from the light. The Eraser at 20 per cent Opacity will soften harsh edges.

Open a Lighten layer, set to 60 per cent Opacity and select the lightest value. Grab a Digital Airbrush 6 and paint inside the dress to outline the vest, belt, the two ribbons and some folds. Select the background colour to extend any folds or edges beyond the dress.

01

04

03

02Dressing upLayers

Edges

Lacing up

More depth

Vary the Opacity of the dress at different sections to preserve the modesty of the model!


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Now for a tartan-esque pattern that is simple and fun. You only need the Digital Airbrush and the default Eraser for this one. We will make good use of a few of Painter’s layers that are additive, namely Soft Light, Gel and Overlay, to help us greatly in making our pattern. Their interaction with preceding layers will make a normally difficult task quite easy.

Art study

How

to paint fabric

Pa ttern ed fabricPa ttern ed fabric

Flatten the image. Open up an Overlay layer. Load the Digital Airbrush with the red and paint in the vertical lines. Do any touch-ups as needed once the layers are merged.

Load the Digital Airbrush with the blue and block in the basic silhouette of the dress. In a Gel layer, change the size to ten and sketch in the details. Flatten, then blend with the Smudge tool.

01

Open up a Soft Light layer. With the Digital Airbrush 20 loaded with the red, paint in the vertical lines. Don’t miss the opportunity to help express the gesture by making your lines follow the contours.

02

Vertical stripes

Flatten the image and open another Soft Light layer. With the same tool and colour as in the last step, paint in the horizontal stripes. Pay every bit as much attention to contours as well.

03Horizontal stripes

Flatten the image and open up a Gel layer. Load the Digital Airbrush (sized to 13) with the blue, and paint in a large, thin square grid, cantered in every other row and column.

04

On the grid

A block left

We’ve picked two different, yet complementary colours for our tartan pattern


Artist

Time needed

Skill level

On the CD

Andreas Rocha

30-40 minutes

Intermediate

All the materials you’ll need

Tutorial info

Tutorial The principles of speed painting

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hen I �irst started painting digitally, I always wanted everything to look very smooth and �inished,

hiding the brushwork as much as possible. Throughout the years, I began to understand that a painting looked much richer if the actual painting process was made apparent in the �inal version. This could be obtained with faster execution and less care in avoiding mistakes. It was also a great way to practise painting with con�idence and concentrate on the soul of the image, rather than its �inal presentation.

I came to this conclusion when I found out about the works of such artists as Craig Mullins and John Wallin Liberto. It was amazing how much energy they could transmit through their paintings. It seemed that all the brushwork was laid out in front of you without hiding behind smooth, clean textures. I believe that speed painting is very closely related to these kinds of paintings. At �irst I thought that it would be just a quickly executed image. But speed painting is so much more than that. As soon as I grasped the

Capturing the essence of an image in a quick painting session

The principles of speed painting

idea behind it, I understood its value as practice for putting down the essential ingredients of a painting in the least amount of time, like line, value, colour, composition, light, theme and mood. Concentrating on the essentials infuses the painting with character. Digital speed-painting bene�its from some really helpful tools software has to offer these days, like custom brush creation, painting at different magni�ications, ease in picking colours, layers and their associated blending modes and keyboard short cuts for almost every command. Everything converges to a creation process where the mind goes beyond the tools and focuses only on content.

Regarding the image of the tutorial, it was inspired by one of several giant World War II bunkers that I saw in Vienna, Austria. These giant structures are truly amazing and their concrete mass is something to behold. Taking this form as a starting point, I aimed for a dark, post-apocalyptic scenario. Even if these subjects are synonyms of war, they can produce some interesting environments, full of fantasy and mystery.

Andrea s Rocha shows you...

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TutorialThe principles of speed painting

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Preparation is the key to creating a well-thought-out paintingBe prepared

01 New document Create a new document, 48cm wide and 30cm high,

with a resolution of 150ppi. This will be half the resolution of the fi nal image, which guarantees speed and suffi cient texture to look good when upsampling the image. Later on, when you start detailing the image, you can resample the image to double its size.

Be prepared

02 Creation of custom

watercolour paper Make the Papers palette visible by going to Window>Library Palettes>Show Papers. Then open ‘paper_watercolour.jpg’ from our disc. This will quickly lay down texture and pattern. Select>All, go the Papers palette, open the side menu, click on Capture Paper then name it ‘Watercolour’. Close this document without saving.

03 Reference images and laying out the documents It’s helpful to collate some images in a document for quick

reference during the painting process. These images can feed you with visual information during the actual painting. Open ‘medley.jpg’ from the disc and put it side by side with your document. Also, zoom out the main document to about 25 per cent. Depending on your hardware, this could be more or less.

04 Initial value pass Click the Chalk brush category, select one of the Square Chalk variants and drag it out to a new custom palette.

In the Papers palette, select the recently created Watercolour paper. During painting, tweak the paper’s parameters to obtain more or less texture, depending on the desired effect. For initial brushstrokes, use a 150-pixel brush while for fi ner ones, use a 15-pixel brush. Lay down marks to compose something that looks more or less balanced in terms of value.

05 Colourize pass Go to Effects>Fill, and reduce the Opacity to 80 per cent. Select a dark grey/blue from the Colors palette and

press OK. The introduction of colour in this initial phase helps to establish an overall mood early on. Also, all subsequent colours will always relate to this dominating one, which helps in keeping colour harmony throughout.

06 Brightness/Contrast pass Go to Effects>Tonal Control>Brightness/Contrast. Reduce the Brightness and Contrast

as seen in the screenshot. The image needed a contrast boost after the previous step. Since this was envisioned as a cloud-fi lled moody sky, the overall scenario ought to be quite dark.


Speed painters to admireAs already stated, you can find some truly wonderful speed paintings at Craig Mullins’ (www.goodbrush.com) and John Wallin Liberto’s (www.johnwallin.net) home pages. Other fantastic digital artists are Ryan Church (who has some great tutorial DVDs at Gnomon) and Erik Tiemens. To really contemplate the work of these two artists, check out the artbook The Art of Star Wars – Episode III to be really impressed. Last but not least, check out the astonishing artwork of Matthias Verhasselt (http://mv.cgcommunity.com), who also has work up on YouTube.

Speed

Zoom keyboard short cutsIt is very useful to assign short-cut keys to the Zoom In/Out, Zoom to Fit and Zoom to Actual Pixels commands. Go to Edit>Preferences>Customize Keys. The Zoom In/Out and Zoom to Fit are in the Shortcut>Application Menu>Window, and the Zoom to Actual Pixels can be found in the Shortcut>Application>Other. If you assign these to the F1, F2, F3 and F4 keys, this enables you to do all your Zoom commands with one hand. After a while, these actions will become intuitive and really speed up the painting process.

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Palette KnivesIf you harness the power of the Palette Knives, you can have some truly amazing tools at your disposal. First change the Angle property in the Brush Creator palette to Bearing. The only other thing that you need to do magic is own a tablet with tilt sensitivity. Depending on the bearing, pressure and tilt of the stylus, you now have an endless possibility of brushstrokes to apply. This possibility makes this brush category both expressive and impressive.Check out the brush selection box for our favourites

Just you and your tools

09 The last three tools Go to Brush Selector and the F-X category, then drag the Glow variant to your custom-created palette. Do the

same for the Eraser in the Eraser category and the Croquil Pen 5 in the Pens category. Now you are ready to rock!

10 The magic of the Glow

brush Select the Glow brush from your custom palette, pick a dark saturated brownish colour, start painting in light with a large brush and watch the magic happen. It’s like illuminating the scene! Try to paint in light where you know it will probably hit, and keep resizing the brush with Alt+Ctrl/Cmd to add both large and small areas of light.

Just you and your tools

07 The wonderful

Palette Knives Go to Brush Selector>Palette Knives, and drag both the Palette Knife and Loaded Palette Knife to your custom-created palette. Go to Window>Show Brush Creator to tweak these brushes. In both variants, go to the Angle Property and change the Expression to Bearing, and change the value to one per cent in the Color Variability Property of the Loaded Palette Knife.

08 The wonderful Blenders Go to the Blenders bar and drag the Just Add

Water variant to your custom-created palette. Again, open the Brush Creator and select the Just Add Water variant. Then go to Variant>New Variant and name it ‘Just Add Water Hard’. Select this new variant and change the profi le icon in the Size Property to 1-Pixel Edge.

11 Let the details begin With

the Loaded Palette Knife, start defi ning the structures. This is where the reference images come in handy. Also, try to stick to the colours already on the canvas to keep the present colour harmony by using the Alt modifi er while painting. This will pick up underlying colours.

Palette

12 Lighten the sky Going back to the initial Square Chalk brush with the Watercolour paper selected, paint in a dark-blue sky. If you paint

and no colour appears on the canvas, try to reduce the scale or brightness in the Papers palette.

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ResolutionEach painting phase should have its appropriate resolution. Start paintings with low resolutions for two reasons: first, the brushstrokes are applied in real-time, and second, the image will always be seen at 100 per cent magnification and no resampling has to be applied to the image, which sometimes can result in some ugly textures when viewed at 66.6 per cent magnification for example. As soon as you established the overall look of the painting, resize the image to the final resolution and start detailing. Many times it is also beneficial to oversize the image to add even more details. However, reserve this for the final steps, as sometimes this can make your computer somewhat slow.

Increase the depth and textureImportant detailsImportant details

13 Blending the sky Using a mixture of the Palette Knife, the Loaded Palette Knife and the Just Add Water Hard brushes, paint and smooth

the brushstrokes in the sky. However, try not to overdo it in order to retain some brushwork. These brushstrokes are mostly applied in vertical and horizontal movements.

14 Going on with detailing With

the Loaded Palette Knife, more details are added to the structure, the sky and the fi re. Zoom in to 50 per cent in some areas to apply more precise brushstrokes. You will probably have to rearrange the open documents, making the main document occupy as much as possible on your desktop. This is important so you don’t lose notion of the overall picture. Use Tab to hide the palettes.

15 Detailing the main tower With the Loaded Palette Knife and the Croquil Pen,

details are added to the main tower. A good way to make details appear is to paint in the refl ected light from the fi re.

16 New papers to add details To hint at detail in the structures, create two new

papers. Open a new document about 500px by 450px, paint some stripes with the Square Chalk brush, Select>All, in the Paper Palette>Capture Paper and name it ‘Stripes’. Do the same with a narrower document but this time paint in a metallic structure and name it ‘Structure’. You can also use the ones provided on the disc.

17 Adding metallic structures In the Layer palette, click the Create New Layer

button and name it ‘Structures’. With the Square Chalk and the new Structure paper selected, paint in these new elements, taking care to pick colours depending on distance. When you are satisfi ed with the results and don’t need to paint behind this layer, you can drop it on the canvas.

18 Adding depth There are several ways to add depth to the image. A great effect

is to add dark silhouettes in front of bright areas, like the bridge-like structure in the centre. Also, paint in lines of bright orange to simulate puddles of water or metallic structures refl ecting light. Try to do this in perspective with larger lines in front and narrower ones further away. You can also blend some of the structures with the sky using the Palette Knife or the Just Add Water brushes.

19 Liven up the sky Using the Loaded Palette Knife and the Just Add Water Hard,

apply and blend some blue hues to the upper part, and some dull green hues closer to the horizon. The fi rst is to show patches of blue sky seen through the smoke and the second for green light refl ected from chemical fi res in the ground.


Resolution

062-067_OPM_11-speedp.indd 66 15/11/07 15:47:36

67


22 Overall detailing Following the techniques described above, using the

several custom-created papers, go ahead and add detail to the overall image. Remember to hide the palettes, leaving only your custom-created palette visible and working as close as possible to 100 per cent magnifi cation. Keep panning with Spacebar, and don’t forget to zoom out to keep track of the overall image.

23 Final sharpening In the end, go to Effects>Focus>Sharpen, with an amount

of three to enhance the overall brushwork. And that’s all, folks!

20 Detailing the fi re

Now zoom to 100 per cent and with the Loaded Palette Knife and the Just Add Water Hard brushes, detail the fi re, referring to the photo of the burning car. Also, use the Digital Airbrush variant from the Airbrush category in the Brushes palette to soften the fi re and add a slight glow.

21 Check Brightness/Contrast Again, go to Effects>Tonal Control>Brightness/Contrast, and adjust these settings to make the

image even darker and moodier. However, be careful not to exaggerate this step. It is sometimes better to do it several times in small increments along the painting process.

With so many brushes and tools at your disposal in Painter, you will often find yourself wondering which ones achieve the best results. We have supplied you with a selection of the brushes that we used, however, art is

very much a subjective medium, so you may find that with a blend of knowledge and experimentation, you end up using different brushes to those suggested and create something very personal to you.

The brushes used in this tutorialBrush selection

Square Chalk This brush is great for filling large areas quickly, at the same time adding interesting textures. This was mainly used for the initial value-establishing phase.

Glow A great tool to add light to a painting, it works best on darker scenes and with dark, saturated colours. This brush was used to add the fire and its reflected light.

Croquil Pen 5Other variants in the Pen category could probably have achieved the same effect, but it’s good to use what you have at your disposal. This was used to add precise opaque details.

Just Add Water This is a wonderful tool for blending. Together with its hard-edged variant, both these tools are perfect for all kinds of blending. They were used in the sky and the fire.

Loaded Palette Knife This tool has great versatility and expression. This is best employed when used with tilt-sensitive tablets. After tweaking it, this was the most-used tool in the painting.

Digital Airbrush The Airbrush is fantastic for adding atmospheric effects, whether they are glows, clouds, halos, dust… Preferably used at low Opacity for best results.

062-067_OPM_11-speedp.indd 67 15/11/07 15:48:07

68

Drawing 101 How to sketch cats

Love them or hate them, cats make wonderful subjects for your drawings. We take a look at some of the rules in capturing their character

sketch catsHow to…

Love them or hate them, cats make wonderful subjects for your drawings. We take a look at some of the rules in capturing their character

sketch catsHow to…

rawing cats is a real treat because they have a relatively simple shape, but they are packed with elements to test

your drawing skills. It’s best to take photos of a cat when you want to capture an action composition but the fact that they sleep so much also means you can try your hand at drawing from life!

Cats have two basic head shapes – the pointy shape of a Siamese or Burmese, and the round head of the Tabby. The body is generally made up from a series of circles, ovals and triangles. Once the basic shapes are down, it’s then just a case of re�ining the detail.

The important thing to remember is to think of the cat as a three-dimensional object. Think about what the cat would be like in real life; imagine the roundness or wedge-feel of the head, how podgy or smooth the middle section would be. Shading can bring the image to life and all of the cat’s character to the paper.

We will look at rules for getting that cat shape, examining some good poses for your drawing and then looking at how we drew a classic pose. We’ve supplied some photos on the disc but also visit free sites such as morgueFile or Stock.XCHNG. Failing that, visit a cat-owning friend with a can of tuna and get sketching!

Different cat poses can be found on the discFree reference photos

SOURCE FILES ON THE CD!

068-071_OPM_11_drawing.indd 68 14/11/07 14:15:29

69

Draw

ing 101

How

to sketch cats

When it comes to drawing a cat, you should first lay down some faint lines to give you your base. You can then refine these to bring out the final cat. All you need to begin is a circle, an oval and a C-shaped tail

Begin by drawing a circle for the head. This is a good thing to start with, as it can be refi ned depending on the breed of cat you are drawing. Now draw an egg-shape for the body. This is generally twice as long as the head, although do check with the cat you are drawing. You can draw a C shape for a curved tail.

Useful shapes

The head

Now add the ears, back leg, front leg and feet. The ears are simple triangles, while the feet are more like ovals. Remember to use the head to determine how high the legs should come up. Draw an oval in the lower part of the head – this will form the nose and mouth.

Next, start to fi ll in the details. Start to shave away the initial circle and oval shapes to bring out the true defi nition. Now look at how the cat is sat and whether it is perfectly straight, or if its weight is leaning to one side, as is the case here.

When it comes to drawing a cat, you should first lay down some faint lines to give you your base. You can then refine these to bring out the final cat. All you need to begin is a circle, an oval and a C-shaped tail

Now add the ears, back leg, front leg and feet. The ears are simple triangles, while the feet

to bring out the final cat. All you need to begin is a circle, an oval and a C-shaped tail

Next, start to fi ll in the details. Start to shave away the initial circle and oval shapes to bring

Begin with the basic circle for the cat’s head, with the triangles added for the ears. Divide the circle into four equal parts and draw an oval for the muzzle. Draw a cross in this oval, with the lines crossing dead centre.

Draw the nose in the centre of the muzzle, and use the middle-bottom of this to draw diagonal lines outwards. The eyes sit on the horizontal line and are an angled oval shape. Use the diagonal lines from the nose lines to set where the top eye detail extends to.

Now you can fi ll in the rest of the details, giving the ears their ruffl ed, rounded edge, fi nishing the eyes and working-up the mouth area more. The oval of the muzzle helps defi ne the bottom of the mouth.

Draw the nose in the centre of the muzzle, Now you can fi ll in the rest of the details, giving

0101 02 03

0101 02 03

068-071_OPM_11_drawing.indd 69 14/11/07 14:17:19

70

Drawing 101 How to sketch cats

Go beyond the norm

Different poses

ON THE MOVEIf you are comfortable with drawing quickly, you can try sketching a cat as it is moving towards you. Otherwise, use a photo. We have picked an image from morgueFile (reference number 121564). The photographer, Mary R. Vogt, has photographed a cat trotting towards her. The important thing with this image was to get the proportions correct. By using the head, we could decide how long to make the back and legs. Because the cat is in a lot of shadow, the focus in on shape rather than detail. What’s really nice about this image is that the shadow makes a nice frame, almost like a companion.

CROUCHINGThis is a classic cat pose and one that affords plenty of drawing interest. With a pose such as this, you can study the back leg and how it sticks out. You have to think three-dimensionally with this pose, especially around the middle section.

The most tempting thing when you start drawing cats is to stick to reclining or sitting poses. There’s nothing wrong with this – we use a sitting pose over the page – but to get a true feeling of the anatomy of a cat, you need to try other poses. Here are three to get started with.

HIDDEN DRAGON?When sketching this position, note the arched back, and how low the body is compared to the head, legs and tail

WASHING THE FACECats spend a lot of time washing themselves, and it makes a great subject to draw. You get to see the body in action, and can study the movement of the shoulder blades and neck. Alternatively, you can go for a cropped composition, as we have here. Because the cat has been washing itself, the fur is nice and ruffled. This gives you plenty of opportunity to practise drawing fur. Mixing media is a good way of creating shadows and detail. Here, we have watercolour for the shadows and pen for the very dark areas. The closed eyes gives the cat a sense of business and purpose.

LEAN AND MEANOutline the shadow cast by the prowling cat. Be sure to keep the tail in proportion to the rest of the body

068-071_OPM_11_drawing.indd 70 14/11/07 14:18:19

71

Draw

ing 101

How

to sketch cats

You’ve now seen some ideas for drawing cats and been given some rules for getting correct proportions. All that’s left is to show how they can all be put together to create a cat drawing. We completed this drawing in pen, just because it gives a good effect for the fur and detail, but feel free to use anything. If you want to draw this image, go to www.morgue�ile.com/archive/?display=141600&

Breakdown of drawing a cat Breakdown of drawing a cat Breakdown

With some base rules in place and a keen eye for your subject, it’s time for a proper drawing!

DIVIDE THE PAPERWhen working from a photo, it’s good to draw some guidelines on it and then draw corresponding lines on your paper. In this example, we divided the paper into four equal sections. Do more divisions if you’d feel more comfortable.

BASIC SHAPENow the lines are on, it’s possible to draw the shapes that appear in each section. The body is sketched very roughly and we use the earlier principles to mark out the guidelines for the face.

HONING DETAILSome of the initial guidelines have been erased to prevent confusion. We’ve kept some for the face though, as they will come in handy later. Sometimes it feels odd drawing a subject in isolation, so we lay down some lines for the background.

STAGE 1

STAGE 2

STAGE 3

SQUINTY EYEThe time has come to sketch out some shapes for shading and fur detail. The easiest way is to half-close your eyes, so the image is reduced to patches of colour. Mark out the sections to be defined further.

STAGE 4

DARKNESS COMESWith long, sweeping strokes, we establish the darkest areas. All of a sudden, the cat is coming to life and you can begin to see the defined areas. Since we’re dealing with the dark areas, we shaded the background too.

STAGE 5

SITTING PRETTYAll the shading is now done. The pen has been scribbled in a line, and then scribbled again just underneath. Where lines have overlapped, it has given a nice effect of fur. This helps give the impression of the cat being a three-dimensional object. The left-side of the cat has been given a fluffy impression by small parallel lines being applied quickly.

STAGE 6

068-071_OPM_11_drawing.indd 71 14/11/07 14:18:56

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072-073_OPM_11_Sandra.indd 73 15/11/07 16:06:10

In the third dimensionI’ve used Impasto, but how do I pick out bits to make them look really 3D? Someone said it might have

something to do with lighting?

L�� C��

The Surface Texture effect in Painter is a wonderful command that can create perfect 3D impasto effects

from either your painting’s brushstrokes or your chosen paper texture. It works wonders on oil paintings to help give the effect of thick and luscious paint, and watercolour paintings also benefi t as it shows the texture of watercolour paper. Of course, the possibilities do not stop there. To apply the Surface Texture effect, choose Apply Surface Texture from the Effects menu. Inside the Apply Surface Texture dialog box, there are many options to experiment with, as well as a preview of the fi nal effect. In most cases, you will probably want to choose Original Image Luminance from the Using: drop-down menu. This will create the 3D effect from your actual brushstrokes. After you’ve set

74

Official Painter Magazine Q&A, Imagine Publishing Ltd, Richmond House, 33 Richmond Hill, Bournemouth, Dorset, BH2 6EZ.

Alternatively you can email us [email protected]

Your questions answeredYour questions answered

chosen paper texture. It works wonders on oil paintings to help give the effect of thick and luscious paint, and watercolour paintings also benefi t as it shows the texture of watercolour paper. Of course, the possibilities do not stop there. To apply the Surface Texture effect, choose Apply Surface Texture from the Effects menu. Inside the Apply Surface Texture dialog box, there are many options to experiment with, as well as a preview of the fi nal effect. In most cases, you will probably want to choose Original Image Luminance from the Using: drop-down menu. This will create the 3D effect from your actual brushstrokes. After you’ve set

74

[email protected]

Send in your questions for our experts to answer

at [email protected]

What you’ll find in this section

Send in your queries to…

Software Don’t get bogged down in a Corel Painter black hole – write to us and we’ll help you work harmoniously

Fine art When it comes to creating art, you often find little niggles that ruin your masterpiece. We sort them out

Illustration Make sure your illustrations are in top form by following our advice

On this issue’s panel…

SHAREYOUR

PROBLEMS!

all the settings to taste, click the OK button and the magic happens; you now have a painting with 3D brushstrokes!

Light of my lifeIs there a trick for getting Painter to set my light source? I get confused as to how light should behave.

I�� C��

Often, the lighting in an image is a little bland and boring, and it can be diffi cult to imagine another

Chris PriceChris Price is an artist with specialities in digital fine and commercial art. Through his company, Studio|chris, he shares his knowledge of digitally created art online

Chris PriceChris Price is an artist with specialities in digital fine and commercial art. Through his company, Studio|chris, he shares his knowledge of digitally created art online

Tim ShelbourneTim returns for a stab at your Painter problems, dealing with issues such as lighting effects, creating shadows and producing patterns

On this issue’s panel…

Tim ShelbourneShelbourneShelbourneTim returns for a stab at your Painter problems, dealing with issues such as lighting effects, creating shadows and producing patterns

TOPThis graceful swan,

painted in an Impressionistic style, was missing the right

amount of impact with the flat paints chosen to

create it. Painter’s Surface Texture effect took the

flat painting and created a gorgeous oil painting

074-079_OPM_11_artclass.indd 74 15/11/07 15:04:00

lighting scenario. Although Painter cannot actually simulate the effect of light on three-dimensional objects, the Apply Lighting command, found by following Effects>Surface Control, can give a wonderfully different kind of overall lighting scheme to your image. The command itself includes a good and varied selection of preset light arrangements, and the Preview panel lets you move and rotate these lights as you please. The dialog box contains many sliders for controlling the strength and spread of the lights, in addition to which, you can even choose different colours for both the lights themselves, as well as the overall ambient light. If your preference is to use cloning as a way to start off your paintings, then this command can quickly transform your target clone image into something quite dramatic! Of course, you can also use Apply Lighting on fi nished paintings to add impact and atmosphere.

lighting scenario. Although Painter cannot actually simulate the effect of light on three-dimensional objects, the Apply Lighting command, found by following Effects>Surface Control, can give a wonderfully different kind

75

Q&A

Art class

01 Type and highlight Choose the Text tool and

click in your image roughly where you want the text to appear. Now type your words. Don’t worry about the font used, we can change that later. Position your cursor at the end of the text, within the blue text box, and click and drag over the text within the text to highlight it.

The Apply Lighting effect is a great way to

manipulate the light distribution in an image prior to cloning. Within

the dialog itself, you can choose from a number of preset schemes and

even move and adjust the individual lights

After completing an image, I tend to feel it needs an extra �inish. How can I incorporate

text into my paintings?C�� D��

To work with text in Painter you need to use the Text tool. This will add a special layer to your image as

soon as you click on your image with it. This is because text in Painter is based on vector shapes and not pixels, which allows you to re-edit and resize the text easily. All of the controls and variables for text are displayed in the Properties bar as soon as the Text tool is active, and from here you can change every aspect of the text, including the font used, the size and even the colour of the text. Follow the steps to fi nd out how to use the Text tool.

Text and images

02 Choose font and size Click in the Font box in the

Properties bar and choose More Fonts. Now you can click on a font name and see what it looks like in your image. Click OK when you’re happy. Click in the Size box and drag the slider to the font size you require.

03 Position and colour To move your text, simply

choose the Layer Adjuster tool and drag the text into position. Click back on the Text tool and choose a colour from the colour swatch in the Properties bar. When you’ve fi nished your text, simply click on another tool to exit Edit mode.

01

02

03


Feeling glazyCan I emulate a watercolour glaze? I’m not sure which brushes to use, and I don’t really want to waste

time experimenting.

T�� S��

With Painter in your corner, of course a watercolour glaze can be emulated! The quickest and simplest set of

brushes to use is Digital Watercolor. Unlike the regular Watercolor brushes, Digital Watercolor brushes do not require an additional layer, and they perform very quickly without taxing your system too much. Colours are also accurate as the build-up method is not used for Digital Watercolor. To use them, just choose a brush and colour, then paint directly onto your blank or totally painted canvas. Digital Watercolors do not affect any paint under them unless that paint happens to be more Digital Watercolour that has not been dried using the Dry Digital Watercolors command from the Layers menu. The colours are also very transparent; they work much like paint on a separate layer set to the Gel composite method. With these very versatile brushes, paint your glazes with ease and no worries. The brush set also contains Erasers that only affect Digital Watercolor in case you make a mistake.

Seeing blackI’m having problems with the Watercolor brushes as the colours always come out dark. What am I

doing wrong? Also, if I want the effect of wet paint dripping down the canvas, what should I do?

R�� S��

76

Q&A Art class

Realistic shadowsWhat’s a good colour to use for shadows when painting? I’ll be the �irst to admit I’m new to art!

V�� H��

There is not just one right answer to this question. Shadow colours depend heavily on the colours of your painting,

the colour of your light source, the colour and texture of the objects in your painting and any number of other factors. Shadows can be almost black, very grey or even bright crimson red, depending on the painting itself. As a starting point, if your painting allows for it, try mixing the colours of your objects which are making shadows and affected by shadows, and use a darker value of that resulting colour. This may get you by in most cases if the light source is white, or even close to white. You may also try simply using a darker value or more saturated version of the colour on which the shadow is projected. Finally, try to mix in complementary colours to get a richer shadow. Do stay away from straight black or shades of grey though; always have some colour, no matter how faint, as black and grey will wash out and fl atten your painting very quickly, which is something you want to avoid.

Q&A Q&A Q&A Art class

01 A Captured Dab variant

Via File>New, create a new canvas with a white background. Here we’ve used a canvas measuring 6 x 3 at 300dpi. Choose a variant from the Variant Selector. Click the small arrow beside the Variant Selector and choose Save Variant. Enter a meaningful name for your brush.

02 Capture the dab

Choose your named brush from the Variant Selector, making the foreground colour black. On the canvas, write your signature. With the Rectangular Selection tool, drag a around the signature. Click the right-pointing arrow and choose Capture Dab.

03 Adjust Brush

Expression Go to Window>Brush Controls>Show General. Ensure that the Expression Controls for Opacity, Size, Spacing and Angle are all set to None. Now you can use the brush with one click to add your captured signature to any image. The brush will be affected like any other.

Stamp your authorityIs there a way in Painter of saving my signature, in order to use it almost like a stamp to apply to my paintings?

M�� C��

You can actually capture your signature as a Captured Dab brush in Painter X, then whenever you need to sign a painting in the future, simply click with your custom

signature brush. You could also write the original signature with any kind of variant, an Oils brush for oil paintings and so on.

Shadow colour varies from subject to subject in painting. This blue ball, while the same object, placed in various colour settings, will have a different shadow colour for each setting

The Digital Watercolour on top of this painting is very transparent, completely editable and a great addition to any workflow where glazing is needed


77

Q&A

Art class

What’s the best way of giving the impression of really strong sunlight through a �lower petal?

T�� A��-L��

Flower petals can be compared to waxed paper for light transmittance; they both effectively spread light throughout their

internal surfaces. To capture this effect in Painter

with a fl ower petal, fi rst you need your light source or the sun. Its position will determine where the light will be the strongest, and where it will spread and eventually fade. In the example shown, the sun is directly behind the fl ower, so light spreads from the centre of the fl ower, the brightest point, outwards. Also, fl ower petals have a semi-transparent appearance when lit directly, so there may be areas where the colour of the sun shines directly though, overpowering the colour of the fl ower and making

brighter, saturated colours. Shadows will form where any opaque areas of the fl ower block light from travelling full-strength through the petals, just like with any other painting, though with the semi-transparency, it is very important to make sure those elements show through in the fi nal painting. Deeper colours, also shadows, will form where petals overlap. In Painter terms, this would be like overlaying a colour on itself, using a layer set to the Multiply composite method.

Let the light shine

Painter’s Watercolor brushes can be tricky to master, especially with the quick build-up of colour. This was

implemented in Painter so that these brushes act as real as possible when compared to the genuine article. Real watercolour, when applied on top of itself, will gain in intensity and also value until the true colour of the paint is reached. Unfortunately, Painter’s Watercolors don’t stop until they reach black, red, blue or green. This can be an annoyance, but there are controls to help tone down the build-up effect. The most prominent is to lower the Opacity of your brush. For most colours, an Opacity setting of around ten per cent will give the best results. If the Opacity setting does not give you favourable results, choose colours many shades lighter than your intended fi nal colour. Both of these options will control the build-up effect.

For runny watercolour paint, simply choose any one of the brushes named Runny. Paint from these brushes will run down your canvas after you have fi nished your stroke. Extra controls for the diffusion that causes this effect can be found in the Water tab of the Brush Controls palette.

Thanks to the wonder of Painter’s extra brushes hidden away on the CD, you don’t have to physically throw paint to get superrealistic brush splats! Simply copy the Splatter brushes into you Painter brushes folder and start throwing paint around!

01 The Base Coat Start with a fl ower sketch or partially painted

fl ower. Lay down the most common colour in your petal as a midtone. This should be the colour formed by light passing through the petal. This will be your base for the steps to follow.

02 Detail, Shadow & Light On top of your base coat, lay down colour to

establish shadows and highlights. Painter’s Burn and Dodge tools may also be useful in this step. Keep in mind that colours should be saturated and shadow areas where petals overlap should maintain intensity, and don’t forget those sepal and stem shadows.

03 Beautifully Blended For the fi nal touches, blend your colours together to simulate the light and shadows spreading

throughout the petal. Continue painting the rest of your fl ower with the same colours and technique. As a fi nal step, add a touch of rim lighting, if applicable to your light source, for the perfect fi nal touch.

Splat it onHow do I make paint brush splats? It’s for my kid’s art class so doesn’t have to be photo-realistic.

L��-J�� G��

Painter X comes complete with some extras which are contained on the Painter X CD. Open the CD and

browse to the Extras folder, within which you’ll fi nd some extra brushes. You’ll see that there is actually a folder of Splatter brushes there. Simply copy both the icon and the Splatter folder itself to your Program Files>Corel>Corel Painter X>Brushes folder, and restart Painter. Now you’ll be able to choose the Splatter brushes from the Category Selector. Each of these brushes create very convincing splats! The best way to work with these particular variants is simply by tapping your stylus on the tablet surface. Make sure that you play with the Volume and Smoothness sliders in the Properties bar as you work. The effect they create is so convincing that soon you’ll actually feel as if you’re throwing paint at the canvas!

Painter’s Opacity setting for brushes has the most noticeable effect on toning down the build-up of the Watercolor brushes. Notice how the colours are affected with each step down in Opacity


Q&A Art class

78

How do I get the Auto-Painting feature to work in Painter X? Can I adjust the brush size manually?

K�� A��

Auto-Painting in Painter X is an incredibly easy way to create a base painting from existing art or photographs through

cloning. It has several programmable settings that open up many possibilities. These options allow for choosing a prerecorded stroke path or

pattern, brush size, randomness and more. All of these settings are completely customisable and are located in the Auto-Painting palette.

Also included in Auto-Painting, and new to Painter X, is the Smart Stroke Painting system. It works by following the lines of the selected clone source, whereas traditional Auto-Painting simply plays back prerecorded strokes. Smart Stroke Painting combined with its own Smart Stroke Settings is very dynamic, but it does not allow for choosing your own brush size. It starts with a large

brush, like many traditional painters, and works down to a very small brush to pull in details. To have control over the brush size, disable Smart Stroke Settings and your current brush, including the size, is used until you choose to stop the playback. This can be really useful for paintings where you already know which brush size you would like to use for the fi nal look, or you don’t want to wait on the fi nal brush size for details.

Q&A Q&A Q&A Art class

01 Starting Auto-Painting Open the Auto-Painting palette from the Window menu and check the Smart Stroke Painting

checkbox. If the Smart Stroke Settings checkbox is checked by default, uncheck it so you will have control of your brush size. Choose your brush and click the green Play button in the Auto-Painting palette.

Painting on autopilot

and click the green Play button in the Auto-Painting palette.

02 Reduce brush size When your painting is completely fi lled with Auto-Painting strokes, stop Auto-Painting by clicking the

red Stop button or by clicking anywhere inside of Painter. Reduce your brush size and change any necessary settings and click the Play button for Auto-Painting once more. With the smaller brush size, you should see more detail worked into your painting.

03 The fi nal reduction Once your painting has

reached the level of detail available with your current brush, stop Auto-Painting once more and go through step two once again to bring in more details with an even smaller brush. After the fi nal run of Auto-Painting, you should have a good underpainting base for your own hand-painted strokes.


Pattern makerI’m inspired by William Morris and am making a large poster. Is there a good way to quickly make a seamless

pattern out of a design? At the moment, I am copying and pasting the same design.

B�� G��

Fortunately, Painter can automate this task for you. No more endless copying and pasting! First, create your pattern

element by drawing and colouring it in Painter on a small canvas. It’s important to make sure that your design has a constant background colour, and keep the main design away from the edges of the canvas. Drop all the layers in your design and display the Patterns palette via Window>Library Palettes>Show Patterns. Hit the small right-pointing arrow in the palette and choose Capture Pattern. Enter a name for your pattern. You can choose to off-set your pattern tiles either vertically or horizontally by choosing one of the Radio buttons, or choose Rectangular Tile to tile your design in line with the pattern. Horizontal and Vertical Shift bring the Bias slider into play, which controls the amount of shift. Click OK to save your pattern. Now you can make a new fi le and fi ll it with your seamless pattern using the Paint Bucket tool.

Pattern makerI’m inspired by William Morris and am making a large poster. Is there a good way to quickly make a seamless

pattern out of a design? At the moment, I am copying and pasting the same design.

B�� G��

Fortunately, Painter can automate this task for you. No more endless copying

79

Q&A

Art class

01 Preparing for mist

Open your painting in Painter and create a new layer using the Layers palette. Select the Digital Airbrush and make it huge and transparent. It is not possible to make the brush too big!

02 Bring on the

fog Paint over your entire painting with the airbrush. Paint will build up unevenly across the painting, but that is completely normal and desired. This step will create a dense fog. You may stop here if you’d like, but for more detail, move on to step three.

03 The fi nal touches To

transform your thick fog into mist, use a Layer Mask to create holes in the mist and to accentuate your foreground elements. Repeat all steps as many times as needed to complete your misty painting. Try different colours and different amounts of fog to create totally different effects.

Mist opportunities How do I paint realistic mist? I don’t need anything too over the top, just a good example of painting nice mist.

T�� F��

Mist can add a lot of mood and feeling to a painting, especially those depicting suspenseful or mysterious situations. Despite its apparent complexity, mist is

simple to create in Painter with only one brush.

Painter adds a touch of automation to the process and enables you to adjust the horizontal and vertical positioning of the individual tiles

Make a quick sketchHelp! I can’t draw, but I want to be able to paint in Painter! Is there any way I can get Painter to give me a

head start when it comes to getting an initial sketch, other than having to trace over my reference image?

R�� P��

There absolutely is! Painter comes complete with a Sketch effect. To access this, with your reference

image open, go to Effects>Surface Control>Sketch. Increase the Sensitivity slider until you’re happy with the intensity of the outlines around the subject. If you fi nd that you have too much incidental fi ne detail and noise showing within the sketch, increase the Smoothing slider until most of this disappears. The Grain slider does exactly what it says, in that it allows the Grain of your current paper to show within the sketch lines. You can change your paper choice from the Papers palette while you are still within the dialog box. Keep the Threshold Low slider at a low level to keep the sketch lines nice and dark. Finally, click OK when you’re happy.

Don’t worry if you can’t draw your initial sketch for a painting! Let Painter sketch it for you via the Effects>Surface Control>Sketch command


81

Read about the best products out there to extend and improve your Corel Painter experience

Corel Painter Essentials 4 was used in turning a photo into a swirly piece of art, courtesy of Auto-Painting

Using the products

Book reviewsThere’s a good mixture of digital, traditional and inspirational art in this issue’s book reviews, including a fabulous book about painting flowers

oUTPUTWe tested the MyPublisher service to see what its photo books were like and whether they are the perfect presentation system for Painter creatives

UlTimaTe klara medkova Find out how we got on with this resource disc from Ballistic Publishing. It offers 300 high-resolution photos for your use R

evie

wsThe creative products on test this issue…

Corel PainTer essenTials 4With a mind-boggingly small price tag, we see what the latest version of Essentials 4 has to offer users

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Reviews Corel Painter Essentials 4

82

ften bundled with graphics tablets or inherited by those upgrading, Corel Painter Essentials has always been something of a mixed bag. To some a

�irst love that led to bigger and better things, to others a frustrating experience due to the cut-down nature of ‘lite’ versions of applications. Thankfully, the introduction of Corel Painter Essentials 4 is likely to attract many more admirers than doubters. While earlier Essentials have resembled full versions minus some functionality, this welcome upgrade looks nothing like Corel Painter X. Corel, to its credit, has worked with users to redesign the interface, adding a clean, clutter-free workspace worthy of Apple. If you’re an enthusiast, hobbyist or keen to explore painting digitally without the investment of time and money, then Corel Painter Essentials 4 is for you.

Two distinct workspaces, one for Drawing and Painting, the other for Photo Painting, are easily accessible from tabs at the top

£35.00 | Essentials makeover impresses with intuitive interface and welcome upgrade

Photo Painting SystemRedesigned and enhanced, the Photo Painting System allows the novice artist to turn a photo into a painting. All brushes within this workspace act as cloners, taking their colour from the source image

RealBristle Painting SystemThe RealBristle Painting System gives an air of authenticity to your artwork when you select brushes with the prefix ‘Real’, reproducing the interaction between paint, canvas and brush

right of your screen. Both workspaces offer a recon�igured toolbox for the task at hand. In the Photo Painting workspace, for instance, users are provided with the Source Image, Auto-Painting, and Restore Detail palettes. You’ll soon know which workspace you are in, as you’ll always be prompted to open an image in Photo Painting before you begin work. To the left of your workspace is a new Brush Drawer that offers an instant visual list of brushes available to you, sensibly bundled under groups such as Pencils and Pens, Paint, Dry Media, Blenders and Effects. Select a brush and the Drawer neatly slides back so you’ll never be distracted by a cluttered interface. A neat Mixer

palette adds to the natural media experience, which simulates the traditional experience of mixing colours on an artist’s paint palette.

First introduced in Corel Painter X, the RealBristle Painting System is another advancement that distinguishes Corel Painter Essentials 4 from previous versions. Ideally armed with a graphics tablet, brushes with the pre�ix ‘Real’ authentically reproduce the sensation of the interaction between paint, canvas and brush. It gives an additional hands-on reality to virtual painting and signi�icantly adds to the intuitive pleasure of making marks digitally. Although a little gimmicky, a new brush inspired by John Singer Sargent, the

Tutorial-based guidebookMore than a manual, the full-colour guidebook available in the box or as a PDF download includes several tutorials to get you started, including options for both beginners and more advanced users

Smart Stroke technologyThe new Smart Stroke technology, built into the Auto-Painting palette, automatically paints with brushstrokes that follow the forms of the original photo to turn them into paintings

Corel Painter Essentials 4

Brush DrawerA new Brush Drawer gives easy access to all your brushes, pens and pencils, without cluttering your workspace. Users can browse all brushes by category, quickly recall recently used brushes and easily add their favourite brushes to the Brush Drawer column

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83

verdict

9.0Overall score

Streamlined, intuitive workspaceExcellent brush responsivenessBargain price

What we don’t likeAuto-Painting option can look a little fake on some photosGraphics tablet is a must

What we like

Corel Painter Essentials

4 is a great upgrade, and

also a fantastic stepping stone

for the artist curious about

digital painting

Features8.0Ease of use9.0Quality of results9.0Value for money10

celebrated painter and watercolourist, is a nice touch. New Sumi-e brushes and Charcoal brushes offer more choice, while new options Scratchboard tool and Smooth Edge Calligraphy add to the pen range.

Added to the value-for-money deal is a 130-page guidebook, either included in the box or as a PDF with the download. Divided into tutorials, reference and art tips, it’s more than a manual and links well with built-in video tutorials from noted Corel Painter Master, John Derry. Tutorial images are easily found under the File menu, which is a bonus as online tutorials are limited compared to those available to say, Photoshop users. A decent range of digital paper textures is also included and there is enhanced support for the entire Wacom range, including the new Bamboo tablet family. Support for Windows Vista and both PowerPC and Intel-based Macs ensures future compatibility. If you’re still not convinced, a lengthy 60-day trial gives even busy bees a chance to start being creative.

Regrettably, though, the Smart Stroke technology is a bit of a disappointment. Aimed at those with no prior experience, the results of auto-painting over your photos can look a little ‘fake’ if left to run its entire course. However, if you use it with the tracing paper off, you can see the strokes build up and then use this as a basis for a more developed painting. This actually makes it quite a powerful tool. Oh, and despite

the entry-level price, you should also budget for a graphics tablet to really enjoy the full bene�its of all the features.

Minor quibbles aside, this is a vast improvement on previous Essentials, and an absolute bargain that’s particularly suited to new users keen to start creating without the toil. If you choose to upgrade to the full version of Corel Painter at a later date, an investment now in Corel Painter Essentials 4 still represents money well spent.

“The introduction of Corel Painter Essentials 4 is likely to attract many admirers. Corel has worked with users to redesign the interface, adding a clean, clutter-free workspace worthy of Apple”

we say

Redesigned workspaceEssentials 4 now features two distinct workspaces, Drawing & Painting and Photo Painting. Each offer a reconfigured toolbox, making it easier to identify and select brushes, media and paper

Video tutorialsCorel Painter Essentials 4 includes video tutorials accessible from within the application, fronted by acclaimed Corel Painter Master John Derry. The video tutorials guide users through a variety of projects, including those in the guidebook

Color and Mixer palettesEssentials 4 now includes a Mixer palette, simulating the traditional experience of mixing colours on an artist’s paint palette. A new Colors palette lets users choose a colour with a single click, and see how colours harmonise side by side

Essen

tials’

specs

Price£35

Websitewww.corel.com/painteressentials

Operating systems

PC and MacPC requirements

Windows XP Mac requirements

Mac OS X 10.4G4, 700 MHz

(or greater)256 MB RAM

Mouse or tablet24-bit colour display

CD-ROM

1024 x 768 screen resolution1 GB of HD space

for installationPC requirements

Windows Vista or Windows XP (with

latest Service Pack)Pentium III, 700 MHz

or greater256 MB RAM

Mouse or tablet24-bit colour display

1024 x 768 screen resolution

CD-ROM1 GB of HD space

for installation

Corel Painter Essentials 4

082-083_OPM_11_Essentials.indd 83 14/11/07 14:10:28

Reviews Ultimate Klara Medkova

84

The categories mean that you have plenty of �iles that will suit you, whatever image you are thinking of creating. The Head and Emotions categories will delight portrait artists. The Body section will help those trying to master the human form. There are also photos of the model dressed as a femme fatale, which include a series of action poses. Again, these are great for studying anatomy, as well as providing an obvious hotbed of potential for character development or sci-�i styles.

The images come from the excellent 3D.SK site (www.3d.sk), and you can see more samples of its work on this issue’s disc. The Ultimate disc set takes the same principles of gathering together loads of resources that you might need to create a piece of art. There are all types of poses, different facial expressions, detailed shots of body parts and the femme fatale theme for character fans. The interactive index system means that it’s really easy to �ind a suitable image, and the quality of the photos means that they are �lexible enough to blow up, crop into or do whatever you like. In short, this disc set is like having a life model in your room.

ny artist needs resources to work from, whether it’s creating a painting from what you see in front of you, or studying reference photos

to understand a subject better. While it’s quite easy to create your own still-life scene at home, or gather photos together of landscape scenery, things get trickier when it comes to the human form. Although you may be able to snap a few photos of faces, getting close-ups of body parts or taking different poses and out�its are more elusive. But with this disc set on hand, you have everything you need in one package.

The Ultimate Klara Medkova disc set has 300 images of a female model. Each image comes in TIFF or RAW format, and the 16-megapixel resolution yields crystal-clear results, meaning that you can zoom in and crop to speci�ic areas without suffering poor quality. You can browse the images through an index that opens in your web browser and allows you to scoot through the categories and see the thumbnails for each image. Then you can locate the high-res version on the discs, or click the thumbnail for it to open in your browser.

$65 | All your resource needs are taken care of with this useful disc set from Ballistic Publishing

Ultimate Klara Medkova

BrowsingLocate photos through the easy-to-search browser-based interface

Anatomy studiesThe Body section is perfect for anyone looking to draw the human form

we say

verdict

Lots of photosExcellent quality Intuitive browsing interface makes locating images easy

What we don’t likeCan get a bit repetitive looking at the same face!

9.0Overall score

What we like

A very useful companion to

have which will substantially

help you improve your artwork, however good

you are already!

Features9.0Ease of use9.0Quality of resultsn/aValue for money9.0

CompanyBallistic Publishing

Price$65

Websitewww.

ballisticpublishing.com

Operating systems

Windows and Mac OS

Minimum requirementsRecent model graphics card with at least 512MB graphics memory. Also need a disc drive

Ultimate Klara Medkovaspecs

CharactersThe clothed images helps artists looking for character references

ResolutionThe 16-megapixel resolution allows you to crop clearly into photos

084_OPM_11_Ballistic cd.indd 84 14/11/07 12:36:30

Reviews Books

86

t’s been a while since we indulged in a Ballistic Publishing book, and so we were delighted when our copy of Exotique 3 arrived. Although we

must admit we were also a little hesitant. After the previous great titles, was it possible for Ballistic to pull it off again and produce a book �illed with inspirational and invigorating artwork? You bet your bottom dollar it was!

The format of this title is the same as the other Exotique titles. Images are placed on glossy black pages to show their subject matter off to the best advantage, and the subjects range from science �iction to stylised realism. The artwork on offer is created using a variety of programs – some come from 3D camps, there’s the expected Photoshop and, of course, Corel Painter. This means you get to see how people manipulate the different programs to get the very best effect. The featured artists come from around the world, so you also get to enjoy the different trends from other countries and cultures.

The subtitle of this book is The World’s Finest CG Characters, which means that the subject matter does revolve around the realms of science �iction and fantasy – you won’t �ind any portraits of dogs or �lowers here! But even if you don’t usually partake in the sci-�i/fantasy genres, we would still recommend getting hold of the book. The quality of work is truly

$45.00 | Get a hefty shot of inspiration in one place

Exotique 3

Get inspiredThere’s so much to inspire you in this book. Whether you are a fan of sci-fi and fantasy or not, this book is for fans of art, and it fulfils that purpose gloriously

No divisionThe movement between the artwork is helped by the mixture of smaller images alongside the full-page offerings. This helps give pace to the book

Edited by Daniel Wade and Paul HellardPrice$45.00 (soft cover)PublisherBallistic Publishing ISBN978-1-921002-45-8

Different stylesBecause the contributing artists are from all around the globe, you are able to get a really good mixture of worldly styles from different countries and cultures

Many programsObviously, Corel Painter artists are well-represented in the book, but it’s also interesting to see creations of other programs such as Photoshop or 3D software

spectacular, and there’s always something to inspire. Maybe a colour scheme will capture your imagination, or a particular composition. The fact is that the work on display is of such a calibre, the subject matter almost becomes irrelevant – it’s the kind of inspiration you can often only really get from walking around an art gallery.

Unlike the Exposé range of books, Exotique 3 isn’t sorted into categories. This means that you just get to relax and enjoy a meander through the different pieces or art. Oddly enough, this relaxed structure still feels quite ordered, maybe because you have a mixture of smaller images with full-page bleeds. These help give pace and slow the eye down enough to take in the gems on offer.

The quality of the book is also very pleasing, with thick, black glossy pages to show the art off to its best effect. You can also buy various editions depending on your budget! This is a truly lovely title – a prime example of art for the sake of art!

Glorious artworkThere’s a good mixture of full-page artwork and smaller entries to keep the eye interested and also let you see all of the detail

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Final workA selection of different artists’ work is found at the end of each chapter, with a brief summary of how they went about creating it

87

£42.99 | Valuable advice for Corel Painter X users

he Wow! series of books have a well-deserved reputation as being a treasure-trove of invaluable hints, tips and advice.

This is the newest one for Corel Painter users and is dedicated to version X.

The book’s author has so much experience and knowledge that it’s hard for this book to be anything other than good. The chapters move through Corel Painter’s tools and commands, with step-by-steps and examples of artwork from lots of different artists. The book also boasts a CD-ROM with custom brushes, papers, patterns and lighting effects, as well as stock photos and video clips.

The written advice is �lawless and the supporting artwork helps with the inspiration. Our only gripe is that fact that a lot of the content is the same as the version nine edition of the book. This is no problem if you’re a �irst-time user of the title, but you might feel a little short-changed otherwise.

AuthorCher Threinen-

PendarvisPrice

£42.99Publisher

Peachpit PressISBN

0-321-50325-2

£12.99 | Lots of advice for perfecting your floral skillslthough this is another traditional media book, you don’t have to paint in traditional media to get the

most from it – as ever, Painter will do nicely. In fact, you don’t even have to paint using the Acrylic brushes to enjoy this book. The techniques and advice in The Acrylic Flower Painter’s A to Z can be adapted for anything.

It begins with a look at the techniques for painting �lowers, from the shapes of the petals, stems and all that makes up different �lowers, to working with tone and composition. Then the book moves to the A-Z part of the title. Here you are treated to detailed spreads devoted to the most popular �lowers. In addition to large, beautiful paintings, you also get a summary of how to paint that �lower, as well as a special focus on one technique used. This is really useful and makes The Acrylic Flower Painter’s A to Z a vital title for anyone interested in �lower painting, whether traditionally or with Painter.

Author

Lexi SundellPrice

£12.99Publisher

Search PressISBN

1-84448-294-4

The Acrylic Flower Painter’s A to Z

Solid art adviceEssential skills such as composition and tone are covered within The Acrylic Flower Painter’s A to Z, with plenty of examples to show what works

Into the A-ZThe main part of the book looks at different flowers and how to paint them. There are also closer looks at a specific technique for that flower

Get the correct shapesThe book begins with essential techniques for flower painting, such as this useful guide to drawing flower shapes

Learn Corel Painter XAll of Painter’s important tools are explained in the book, giving you the foundations to go on and use them how you wish

Step-by-step adviceThe small walkthroughs are really useful in seeing how a painting comes to life, and also how the tools and commands work in a real situation

The Painter X Wow! Book

086-087_OPM_11_books.indd 87 15/11/07 14:23:51

Output MyPublisher photo books

88

here was once a time when the only way to create an album for your images was to get them printed out and then physically

stick them in a book. Now, of course, there are lots of companies offering users the ability to create their own photo albums and then have them printed out. In fact, there are so many companies offering the service, it can be quite stressful deciding which one to go with!

MyPublisher is a company that deals exclusively with photo books. After downloading the BookMaker software (and yes Mac users, there’s a version for you!), you can get busy designing your book and then just wait while MyPublisher gets it all together. The process is very simple and the quality of results is excellent. We created a book with a mixture of photos and Painter

Artist

Time needed

Skill level

Jo Cole

20 minutes

Beginner

Tutorial info

MyPublisher photo booksSo many different companies offer users the ability to create photo books; we were keen to see how the MyPublisher company stood out from the crowd

artwork, and both types of images were treated to faithful colour reproduction and sharp printing.

Prices start at £19.99 for a 20-page linen hardcover that’s 28.5cm wide by 22cm high. You can add additional pages for 79p or opt for a very professional book

jacket cover for an additional £2.95. In addition to this one, you can also go for a Deluxe Hardcover set at a price of £39.99 for 20 pages and this measures 38cm by 30cm. Alternatively, go for a 20cm x 15cm Paperback Pocketbook, which starts at a very reasonable £6.99 for 20 pages. Anyone smell a last-minute stocking �iller?

All you need to get started is the BookMaker software, which can be downloaded free from the site, and then your images. The process is very easy, with a detailed guide and plenty of options for you to get just the look you want. You can have images cover

the whole of a page, so you can show off Painter artwork to maximum effect, and the ability to add captions means you can make something really special. To top it all off, you’re able to share your photo books with family and friends. Visit www.mypublisher.com and have a go yourself. You’ll be delighted with the results.

“The process is very easy, with a detailed guide and plenty of options for you to get just the look you want”

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89

03 Get ordered With all folder images loaded, you need to decide which ones

to use. Highlight the best ones and then drag into the lower panel. They’ll all appear in a row. Click the Organize button at the bottom. To move an image, just click and drag to its new position.

01 Get started Open up the BookMaker software and you’ll see this interface. You’ll be prompted to enter a name for your book and then

you get to select a book size and style. Each style comes with some example spreads and a short description. We went for Deluxe Hardcover and Bestseller for the style.

02 Import images The fi nal decision as far as the type of book goes is the cover

style. For now, it’s just a case of picking a design of cover – you get to pick colour later on. Once that’s out of the way, it’s into the BookMaker software. Go to File>Add Folder to pick the folder with your images. It will appear in the left-hand panel, so click on it.

06 The perfect design Click the Page Layout button to decide how you want

that page to look. These layouts change according to how many images you have set for that page, and you get the option for pages with or without captions, as well as setting different paper colours.

Create a personalised photo book in your own timeMyPublisher – your photosMyPublisher – your photos

04 Start creating With the images in the perfect order, click the Make Book

button. A blank page will appear – this is your front cover. Drag your image in from the top bar into the space and then click the Next arrow to get to the next page. Here we have some text – click the area and then you can choose the font, size and format.

05 See it all Creating pages is just a case of dragging images from the top into the marked spaces and adding text as needed. You

can choose to see one spread at a time and also click the Page Type menu to decide how many images to have on a page.

In the loopOne thing we really liked about the MyPublisher service is that after submitting an order, it kept you informed as to how the order was going. We received an email to say the order had been received, one to say the book was in production and then another to say it was being dispatched.

07 Tweak for perfection As you drag images in to the spaces, they will be adjusted to fi t the space. If you need to fi ddle with the image,

just click it once it’s in place. An Image Controls palette appears, allowing you to adjust size or angle, but also allowing colour correction or conversion to black and white.

08 Final tasks Once all of your images are in place, click the Preview button. This lets you fl ick through the book and see if everything

looks good. If it does, click Make Book. You need to enter all your details, pick a colour for your cover and then complete the order!

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92

Readers’ gallery issue eleven

espite having such a distinctive style, Susi Lawson’s work is very hard to pin down. It has hyperrealistic tendencies,

dabbles in photorealism but also has a feeling of classic portrait style. The mixing of backgrounds with focal �igures gives an almost surreal feel and the silky smooth �inish adds the �inal polish.

See more of Susi’s work at www.paintermagazine.co.uk/user/susi Lawson or her website at http://susilawsonphotography.biz.

How long have you been using Painter?I bought Painter and my Wacom tablet in February 2005, and have used them both almost every day since.

Why did you start using it?I have worked as a traditional portrait artist all my life, and was using photography as a reference tool for my art. I was always frustrated at the amount of time it would take to paint a portrait; customers were always in a hurry to receive the �inished piece in time for a special occasion, and it was hard for them to understand the time involved.

When my photography went digital in 1999, I started playing around with Picture It Express software, and I found myself

enjoying the sheer art of photography more. In 2004, I started using Photoshop and loved the ability to transform my photography into art. I surfed the internet for digital art and discovered Don Seegmiller’s work. I emailed him asking how he was getting such a traditional look to his paintings and he replied, “You need to buy Corel Painter software and a Wacom tablet”. So I followed his advice and it made a huge difference in my work. I packed up my easel and traditional supplies and now use the computer for all my portrait work. Completing a painted portrait in a day or two makes for happier customers and a happier artist!

What’s your favourite Painter tool?It changes with each image I am working on. If I am painting human hair, it would be the Airbrush or Oils; if I am painting an animal, it would be the F-X Furry brush. I also love the Sponges for texturing and the ability to use layers to vary the Opacity for background work. The Variable Splatter airbrush is great for subtle skin texture and the Gritty Charcoal is great for painting leaves.

What’s the best advice you can give for those new to Painter?If you are a traditional artist, you will feel more at home in Painter and the brushes will be familiar to you. If you have never used traditional art supplies, then I think it would be helpful to visit an art-supply store and become familiar with the tactile properties of the brushes. Or start with the basics by playing with a blank canvas and see how the brushes respond. Read books (the Wow! books by Cher Threinen-

Susi Lawson’s work is instantly recognisable, dabbling in the areas of hyperrealistic portraits. We caught up with her to find out how she got started, how she describes her own artwork and where her inspiration comes from

Gallery

espite having such a distinctive

“There may be influences, mentors and other styles that you admire, but reveal what is in your own heart and you can’t go wrong!”

Pendarvis and the Don Seegmiller books are excellent). Also, I have beginner video lessons called Portrait Magic which, I am proud to say, have been very well-received and has helped a lot of newbies dive into the program with ease.

Who or what inspires you?Inspiration comes at me from many directions; I can be listening to a musical piece on my back porch and an image will appear, or I will see the neighbour’s children playing and run out to photograph them, and �ind one real gem in the many shots taken. I do believe my style of art is in�luenced by the art of my childhood and what I was immersed in at the time. I have always loved magazine illustrations and so Norman Rockwell was a big in�luence and all that wholesome ‘retro’ art of that time tends to show up in my current paintings.

Are there any art styles you fancy trying?Well, style is such a personal thing isn’t it? But I have always wanted to be a lot bolder in my art. I tend to be very detail-oriented and have clean, polished pieces, but there is part of me that wants to abandon all that and lash out irrationally!

How would you describe your work?I was a very sensitive child and so the world was a painful place. I think that is why the art of Norman Rockwell was so riveting to me as he made everything seem okay. I love the world of the child, the trust, the magic, the dreams. I guess I am still trying to preserve and re-create that essence. But I also like to reveal the reality of childhood and the helplessness of it, so not all my work is ‘Pollyanna’.

Portrait work has always been my main interest. When other children were drawing houses on their Etch A Sketches, I was drawing faces, so the portrait has always been the foundation for all my artwork.

What’s your best Painter tip?Try to experiment and make the work you do your own. There may be in�luences and mentors and other styles that you admire, but reveal what is in your own heart and you can’t go wrong!

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93

01

Title: Catharsis“I did this recent painting completely freehand in Painter X, using one of Don Seegmiller’s brushes in a fi gure-painting class taught by him at CGSociety. It was a wonderful class and helped me to branch out more in my subject matter.”

02Title:

02

01Title: Golden Egg“I shot this in the studio and changed the background and painted over the image to portray an idealist setting.”

01“I shot this in the studio and changed the

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Readers’ gallery issue eleven

Gallery

Title: Checking It Twice“This is from a recent client shoot for a professional Santa. This was completely painted in Painter with the Oil brushes, except for the cup of chocolate which was done in Photoshop.”

03

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95

Title: Moon’s Mystery“I love the interaction of children with natural objects from the earth. It is a shame that we lose this fascination as we grow older. I mostly used the Airbrush for this one.”

04 Moon’s Mystery

Title: Laughter“This is my daughter, Cassidy. I love the joy-fi lled look on her face. This was painted with Acrylic brushes in Painter X.”

05

Share your art with other readers

These pages of the magazine are completely given over to you as a place for you to share your creations with fellow readers all around the world, and also to publicise your gallery on our website. If you have a gallery that you’re particularly proud of, send an email to us at [email protected].

other readersThese pages of the magazine are completely given over to you as a place for you to share your creations with fellow readers all around the world, and also to publicise your gallery on our website. If you have a gallery that you’re particularly proud of, send an email to us at imagine-publishing.co.u

www.paintermagazine.com

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e announced the demise of the Readers’ Challenge last issue, but have one last crop of entries to display taken from issue nine.

You can see the standard of entries is getting really high, with lots of you trying different

techniques to the straightforward paint effects. The standard has also got high with the website challenge, too. Well done Adrian Beamish who won us over with his 2001: Space Odyssey-inspired artwork. But a big round of applause to all the other entrants. We were impressed with

all that you did. And although this challenge is now over, if you visit www.paintermagazine.co.uk and visit the Competition area, you’ll �ind the latest batch of images for you to download and see how you can improve. Send the results to us and you could win a year’s free subscription!

Visit www.paintermagazine.co.uk/competitions.php, download the images and send us an email. You can also download the images from the CD and email your entries to [email protected]. If they are over 2MB, you can send them on a CD to:

Website Challenge, Offi cial Corel Painter Magazine, Imagine Publishing, Richmond House, 33 Richmond Hill, Bournemouth, Dorset BH2 6EZ, UK

We can’t return any CDs.

How to enter the challenge…

Remember! You can email your entries to [email protected]

Website challenge issue eleven

ChallengeSee some of the entries we received for the fifth Creative Challenge

WIN! A YEAR’S

SUBSCRIPTIONTO THE OFFICIAL COREL PAINTER

MAGAZINE

Website

Adrian Beamish Michael David

Carol Carmichael

WINNER!Adrian Beamish

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Remember! You can email your entries to [email protected]

challengeReaderschallenge

It’s the last of our Readers’ Challenges this issue, so pay your respects to the entries that caught our eye. Hoorah to Daniel Crossland who took the crown.

Linda Noren Adams

WINNER!Daniel

Crossland

2ND PLACEAndy Fisher

3RD PLACE

Georgia Montano

RUNNER UPLeah

Schmaman

Hugo Patao

,

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classic still-life paintingsSetting up a still life is something anyone can do, so we thought it would be fun to look at the subject, but show how to re-create the look of the Dutch masters. We’re talking lovely thick, oily paint and an overlay of crackly texture to give the impression of old glaze. See how it works on pg 40.

Official Magazine

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Documents

CorelPainCorel Painter - 11 - Magazine, Art, Digital Painting, Drawing, Draw, 2d