Corel Painter X Operating instructions

User Guide

Table of contents i

Table of contents

Welcome to Corel Painter X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

What’s New in Corel Painter? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

How to Use the Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Registration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

About Corel Corporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

A Workspace Tour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

The Menus and the Document Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

The Toolbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

The Property Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

The Brush Selector Bar and the Brush Creator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

The Palettes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

Custom Palettes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21

Libraries and Movers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24

Brush Libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27

The Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Working with Documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33

Working with Composition Tools, Rulers, and Guides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43

Setting Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50

Using Two Monitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58

Understanding Plug-ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59

Textures, Patterns, and Weaves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Using Paper Texture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61

Using Patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .65

Using Weaves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .71

Color. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Getting Started with Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75

Working with the Mixer Palette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79

Working with Color Sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .84

Setting Color Variability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .89

Viewing Color Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .90

Setting Color Expression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .90

Working with Gradients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .91

Painting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

Exploring Brushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .97

Understanding Brush Categories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .98

Choosing Brush Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .107

Marking the Canvas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .110

Exploring Painting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .113

Working with Fill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .122

Working with RealBristle Brushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

Getting Started with RealBristle brushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .127

RealBristle settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .127

ii Corel Painter User Guide

Watercolor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

Getting Started with Watercolor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .131

Working with Digital Watercolor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .132

Liquid Ink . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135

Working with the Liquid Ink Layer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .135

Using Liquid Ink Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .135

Impasto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

Getting Started with Impasto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .137

Adjusting Surface Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .142

Customizing Brushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145

Getting Started with the Brush Creator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .145

Managing Settings and Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .149

Managing Custom Brushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .184

Photo Painting System. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189

Creating Underpaintings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .189

Auto-Painting Photos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .191

Restoring Detail to Paintings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .193

Cloning and Tracing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195

Cloning Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .195

Using Clone Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .197

Turning Other Brushes into Cloners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .203

Using Selections and Transformations with Cloning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .204

Selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209

Getting Started with Selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .209

Creating Selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .211

Saving, Loading, and Combining Selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .214

Editing Selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .217

Alpha Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223

Creating, Generating, and Importing Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .223

Managing and Editing Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .225

Layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231

Getting Started with Layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .231

Managing Layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .236

Editing Layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .243

Working with Layer Masks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .255

Image Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259

Applying Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .259

Working with Third-party Plug-ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .261

Using Orientation Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .261

Correcting and Adjusting Colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .264

Equalizing Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .270

Other Tonal Control Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .271

Using Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .274

Working with Surface Texture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .277

Using Other Surface Control Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .286

Using Focus Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .293

Table of contents iii

Using Esoterica Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .297

Dynamic Plug-ins. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311

Getting Started with Dynamic Plug-ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .311

Exploring Dynamic Plug-ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .313

Image Hose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331

How the Image Hose Works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .331

Getting Started with the Image Hose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .332

Controlling the Image Hose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .333

Indexing: Choosing Images from a Nozzle File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .335

Creating, Loading, and Saving Nozzles for the Image Hose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .336

Mosaics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347

Getting Started with Mosaics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .347

Placing and Customizing Tiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .351

Working with Tessellation Mosaics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .356

Using Shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 361

Getting Started with Shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .361

Creating Shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .363

Editing Shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .368

Transforming Shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .372

Combining Shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .375

Saving and Exporting Shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .378

Working with Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379

Understanding the Text Layer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .379

Creating and Formatting Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .379

Applying Effects to Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .380

Converting and Dropping Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .384

The Web . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 385

Creating Web Page Backgrounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .385

Creating Web Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .387

Using the Image Slicer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .388

Working with Rollovers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .393

Working with Image Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .395

Creating GIF Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .397

Using Web-Safe Colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .399

Selecting Brushes for the Web . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .400

Scripting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 403

Getting Started with Scripting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .403

Editing Scripts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .406

Working with Scripts and Movies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .407

Animation and Video . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 409

Creating Animations and Video . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .409

Getting Started with Movies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .411

Modifying a Movie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .415

Rotoscoping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .416

Saving and Exporting Movies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .421

Creating and Exporting Animations for the World Wide Web . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .423

iv Corel Painter User Guide

Printing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 427

Understanding Printing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .427

Getting Started with Printing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .427

Understanding Color Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .429

Managing Files Saved in EPS Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .433

Keyboard Shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 435

Toolbox Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .436

Palette Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .437

Corel Painter Menu Commands (Mac OS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .437

File Menu Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .437

Edit Menu Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .437

Canvas Menu Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .438

Layers Menu Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .438

Select Menu Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .438

Shapes Menu Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .438

Effects Menu Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .438

Window Menu Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .439

Screen Navigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .439

Palette Navigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .439

Palette Menu Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .439

Brush Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .440

Selection Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .440

Adjuster Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .441

Shape Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .441

Animation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .442

Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .442

Layer Section Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .442

Mosaics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .443

Other Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .443

Welcome to Corel Painter X 1

Welcome to Corel Painter X

Corel® Painter™ X is the leading digital painting application. The Natural-Media® features in Corel Painter let you

simulate the use of a wide range of art tools — from felt pens, charcoal, and colored pencils to watercolor and oils.

What’s New in Corel Painter?

Corel Painter X offers a broad range of tools and features that inspire creativity, increase performance, and further extend

compatibility with other industry-standard tools and applications.

Creativity

Corel Painter X delivers an array of powerful new features that mimic traditional art media as never before — right down

to the individual bristles on a brush.

RealBristle Painting System

The new RealBristle Painting System, which reproduces the natural movement of an artist’s brush, represents a major

milestone for digital painting. This new feature heightens the responsiveness of your brush in a totally new way. With

Corel Painter X, you can now faithfully replicate the sensation of the interaction between the paint, canvas, and brush. For

more information, see “RealBristle settings” on page 127.

Divine Proportion

The new Divine Proportion composition tool helps you visually arrange your canvas before drawing or painting. Widely

used throughout history, divine proportion is a ratio of 1:1.61803398874989, or approximately 3:5, which is generally

recognized as aesthetically pleasing to the eye. It has been used by many of the world’s most recognized artists, designers,

and architects, such as Sargent, Seurat, Michelangelo, and Le Corbusier.

This tool can help you create visually stunning compositions, whether you are painting from a blank canvas or are

cropping a photo that you want to transform into a painting. Corel Painter X provides palette controls for the Divine

Proportion composition tool, which let you adjust the orientation, size, angle of rotation, display colors, opacity, and grid

levels.

For more information, see “Using the Divine Proportion tool” on page 44.

Layout Grid

The new Layout Grid composition tool divides the canvas into equal sections. Similar to the Divine Proportion

composition tool, the Layout Grid helps you visually arrange the canvas or a photo before you draw or paint. You can

choose from three preset grids: the Rule of Thirds, 3 × 5, or 5 × 5. In addition, you can customize the Layout Grid to

virtually any configuration. For more information, see “Using the Layout Grid” on page 43.

Photo Painting System

The enhanced Photo Painting System makes it easier than ever for you to create beautiful paintings from photos. With

Corel Painter X, new controls provide you with more options when creating an underpainting. In addition, the new Smart

Stroke Painting option uses brush strokes that dynamically adhere to the forms of the original photo. For more

information, see “Photo Painting System” on page 189.

The Underpainting Palette

Throughout history, artists have used underpaintings to establish the overall color values for their paintings. Similarly, the

Underpainting palette lets you prepare a photo for cloning — the first step in transforming a photo into a painting. You

can adjust the photo’s contrast, lightness, or saturation and add an edge effect, such as a rectangular, circular, or jagged

vignette.

2 Corel Painter User Guide

With Corel Painter X, the Underpainting palette has been enhanced to include color schemes based on various media

styles, such as Impressionist, Classical, Modern, Watercolor, Sketchbook, and Chalk Drawing. In addition, you can choose

a color scheme that matches the colors of any opened image.

The Auto-Painting Palette

The Auto-Painting palette lets you transform a photo into a painting by automatically applying random paint strokes that

vary in stroke type, direction, and pressure. You choose the type of brush stroke and adjust the preset options to determine

how the brush interacts with the canvas.

With Corel Painter X, the Auto-Painting palette has been enhanced to provide the new Smart Stroke Painting option,

which uses brush strokes that follow the forms of the original photo. When enabled, the Smart Stroke Painting option

dynamically changes brush size, stroke length, and pressure based on the detail and focal areas of the original photo.

The Restoration Palette

The Restoration palette allows you to touch up a painting manually by using one of two special brushes. These brushes

use the original photographic detail to “restore” image areas, such as facial features.

Match Palette Effect

The new Match Palette effect lets you match the color and intensity between two images. If you want to change an image’s

color scheme, you can open an image that features your desired color scheme and use the Match Palette effect to apply the

new color scheme to your image. For more information, see “Matching Color and Brightness across Images” on page 274.

Mixer Palette

Corel Painter X gives you more control over color selection when you use Artists’ Oils brushes, RealBristle brushes, or any

other bristle-type brush. For multicolor selection, the enhanced Mixer palette gives you better control over color blending

between the Mixer palette and the canvas. For more information, see “Working with the Mixer Palette” on page 79.

Performance and Productivity

Corel Painter X introduces new tools that increase productivity and streamline your workflow. This is the fastest version of

Corel Painter ever, as application performance, speed, and stability have improved dramatically.

Depending on your system hardware, Corel Painter X provides up to five times faster startup performance compared with

previous versions of the software. Plus, brush engine performance is 35% faster, opening RIFF files is two times faster,

rendering effects is two times faster, running scripts is 25% faster, and file saving is now up to 40% faster.

Universal Binary

With support for Universal binary specifications, Corel Painter X is optimized for use on both Intel®- and PowerPC®-

based Mac® computers.

Workspace Customization

With Corel Painter X it’s easy to share or switch between customized workspaces. For example, to suit specific workflows

in a professional environment, workspaces may be customized to offer only tools relevant to sketching, photography, and

painting. For more information, see “Customizing the workspace” on page 30.

Welcome to Corel Painter X 3

Corel Painter X makes it easy to share custom workspaces.

Dodge and Burn Tools

With Corel Painter X, dodge and burn capabilities have been improved with the addition of two new image enhancement

tools. The Dodge tool lets artists lighten, or overexpose, specific areas of an image. The Burn tool lets artists darken, or

underexpose, specific areas of an image. Dodging and burning are often used to prepare a photo for painting. For more

information, see “Dodging and Burning” on page 276.

Color Management

Corel Painter X includes the enhanced Color Management System, which ensures accurate color reproduction between

devices and print jobs. In previous versions of Corel Painter, color management controls needed to be reset for each new

project. Now, you specify color management options only once, and Corel Painter X retains those settings until you make

further adjustments. With support for industry-standard color profiles defined in version 4.0 of the International Color

Consortium® specification (ICC 4.0), Corel Painter X lets you focus entirely on your work. For more information, see

“Understanding Color Management” on page 431.

Session Memory

With enhanced session memory, Corel Painter X retains many different settings between sessions, including grid settings,

tracker settings, and erasers.

Secure Saving and Auto-Backup

Corel Painter X provides the new Secure Saving and Auto-Backup features, which help ensure that you will not lose your

work in the case of a power outage or system crash.

Compatibility

Corel Painter X fits into your workflow and is compatible with the industry-standard software and hardware you use

every day, including the latest operating systems from Apple and Microsoft.

Windows Vista Support

Corel Painter X is designed to run on Windows Vista™, the latest Microsoft® operating system.

Adobe Photoshop Support

Layers behave in Corel Painter much as they do in Adobe® Photoshop®, which makes it simple to move files between the

two applications. When you open files saved to the Photoshop file format (PSD) in Corel Painter, the file’s layer masks,

alpha channels, and layer sets (groups) are maintained. The enhancements include improved support for layer merge

modes and easier layer grouping and combining. Corel Painter X also supports Photoshop plug-ins for Mac OS® X.

4 Corel Painter User Guide

Wacom Support

Wacom® pen tablets and pens have long been staples in the creative professional’s toolbox. With Corel Painter X, you can

use the entire Wacom product line — including the Cintiq® 21 UX interactive pen display, the Intuos®3 pen tablet, and

the Wacom 6D Art Pen. The new RealBristle Painting System in Corel Painter X was developed to take full advantage of

the Wacom 6D Art Pen. Combined with the pen’s six dimensions of control, Corel Painter X takes realism to new heights.

For more information, see “Art Pens” on page 99 and “Working with RealBristle Brushes” on page 127.

Corel Painter X and a Wacom tablet bring true expression from the artist’s hand to the canvas.

Artwork by Chet Phillips.

Learning

With a printed user guide, training videos and tutorials from Corel Painter Masters, online Help, and courseware

specifically designed for educators, getting started with Corel Painter has never been easier.

Printed User Guide

With Corel Painter X, you get a printed user guide, which provides information and fast solutions.

Jeremy Sutton Training Videos

For guidance and inspiration, Corel Painter X includes a new collection of step-by-step training videos by Corel Painter

Master Jeremy Sutton.

Tutorials by Corel Painter Masters

Corel Painter X provides a new series of tutorials by recognized industry professionals to help you learn to use the

application.

“Painter on the ’Net” Tab in the Welcome Book

The new “Painter on the ’Net” tab provides links to online resources for the Corel Painter community, including Tips &

Tricks, tutorials, and special offers. Launching on startup, the Welcome book lets you quickly begin working on your

current project. The Welcome book also provides quick access to recently used files, brush settings, and color management

settings, and it showcases artwork from renowned Corel Painter Masters.

The Welcome book

Welcome to Corel Painter X 5

How to Use the Documentation

You can find answers to many of your questions in the Corel Painter User Guide and in the Help available from within

the Corel Painter workspace. The Corel Painter User Guide contains commonly used procedures and information. The

Help gives you access to a full range of topics in a searchable format. An Adobe® Portable Document Format (PDF)

version of the Help is installed when you install the application.

If you have any comments or suggestions about the Corel Painter X documentation, please contact Corel Corporation at

www.corel.com/painterx/feedback.

Documentation Conventions

The following table describes important conventions used in the Corel Painter User Guide and in the Help.

Convention Description Example

Mac OS® / Windows®

commands

The Corel Painter User Guide is intended for both the

Mac OS and Windows platforms. Throughout the

guide, Mac OS commands precede Windows

commands.

Hold down Command (Mac OS) or Ctrl

(Windows).

Modifier keys (Command,

Option, Ctrl, Alt)

When a modifier key differs between Mac OS and

Windows, the Mac OS modifier is listed first.

Command + I (Mac OS) or Ctrl + I (Windows)

(For the Mac OS, you press Command + I; for

Windows, you press Ctrl + I.)

Menu commands (Choose

X menu ` menu item)

You choose a menu name by clicking it, and then you

click to choose a menu item from the list.

Choose File menu ` Quick Clone

Title bar A title bar is located at the top or side of some UI

elements, such as the toolbox, the property bar, and

the palettes. It may not display title text.

Examples of the toolbox title bar on the Mac OS

(top) and the Windows platform (bottom):

Palette title bar The palette title bar appears at the top of a palette.

When the palette is expanded, the color of the bar

changes to dark gray. When a palette is collapsed,

the color of the bar changes to light gray.

Palette title bars for the Underpainting and Auto-

Painting palettes are collapsed, and the

Restoration palette is expanded.

Palette arrow The palette arrow is used to expand or collapse a

palette.

The Auto-Painting palette arrow is collapsed, and

the Underpainting palette arrow is expanded.

Palette menu arrow or

selector menu arrow

Clicking a palette menu arrow or a selector menu

arrow displays a pop-up menu with additional

commands.

The palette menu arrow for the Mixer palette

displays the Mixer palette menu.

6 Corel Painter User Guide

Using Corel Painter Help

The Help is the documentation that can be accessed from within the Corel Painter workspace. It is fully searchable and

includes more comprehensive information than is found in the printed documentation.

To use the Help

1 Choose Help menu ` Corel Painter X Help (Mac) or Help Topics (Windows).

2 Perform a task from the following table.

(Windows) To search for a phrase, type the phrase, and enclose it within quotation marks (for example, “Divine

Proportion” or “Match Palette”).

Registration

Registering Corel products is important. Registration provides you with timely access to the latest product updates,

valuable information about product releases, and access to free downloads, articles, tips and tricks, and special offers.

About Corel Corporation

Corel is a leading global packaged software company with more than 40 million users. With hundreds of industry awards

for leadership in software innovation, design, and value, Corel’s products have built a loyal following of customers and

partners around the globe. For more information, please visit www.corel.com.

Flyout Flyouts are spaces shared by certain tools in the

toolbox. You can open a flyout by clicking and

holding down the tool on the flyout that is

displayed.

By clicking and holding down the Grabber tool in

the toolbox, you can display a flyout that includes

the Rotate Page tool.

A note contains information that is important to the

steps that precede it. Often, a note describes

conditions under which the procedure can be

performed.

This command is available only if you have

turned off a selection.

A tip contains suggestions related to the procedure.

Some tips present alternative methods of performing

the steps or information about other benefits and

uses of the procedure.

You can choose a brush category and variant in

the main application or in the Brush Creator.

To Do the following

Browse through Help topics Click the Contents tab.

Use the index Click the Index tab and scroll through the entries,

or type a word or phrase in the box.

Search the full text of the Help (Mac) Type a word or phrase in the Search box in

the top right corner of the Help window, and

press Return.

(Windows) Click the Search tab, type a word or

phrase in the box, and click List Topics.

Convention Description Example

A Workspace Tour 7

A Workspace Tour

The Corel Painter workspace has been designed to give you easy access to tools, effects, commands, and features. The

workspace is organized across a series of menus, selectors, and interactive palettes. Some features are also available in the

frame of the document window.

The Menus and the Document Window

Using the commands on the Corel Painter menu bar, you can

• work with files and editing commands

• apply and adjust effects

• perform selection operations, work with shapes, and create animations

• control the document window or the Corel Painter workspace

The document window lets you access the following features with the click of a button:

• Tracing Paper — Lets you trace a clone source. When Tracing Paper is in use, you see a faded-out version of the

clone source, as if it were displayed under real tracing paper on top of a light box.

1. Menu bar 6. Navigation icon 11. Brush Selector bar

2. Tracing Paper icon 7. Drawing Mode icon 12. Document title bar

3. Colors palette 8. Selectors 13. Toolbox

4. Layers palette 9. Color Selection box 14. Property bar

5. Scale slider 10. Canvas

8 Corel Painter User Guide

• Grid — Helps you position brush strokes and shapes. You can set the types, size, line thickness, and color of the

grid.

• Color Correction — Lets you apply the current color management style to an image. When the icon shows colors,

the color management style is applied to the image; when the icon shows black, the color management style is not

applied to the image.

• Impasto Effect — Lets you view the depth effect of the Impasto layer.

• Drawing Mode — Lets you choose where you can apply brush strokes to your image when you have an active

selection. Click and hold down the icon to choose between drawing anywhere, drawing outside the selection only, or

drawing inside the selection only.

• Navigation — Lets you view a pop-up window of the entire image and choose which area is displayed in the

document window. For example, when you are working at a high zoom level or with a large image, you can find a

different image area without having to adjust the zoom level.

The Toolbox

You can use the tools in the toolbox to paint, draw lines and shapes, fill shapes with color, view and navigate, and make

selections. Under the toolbox is a color selector, plus six content selectors that let you choose papers, gradients, patterns,

weaves, looks, and nozzles.

Toolbox Basics

The toolbox is open by default; however, it can be closed. You can move the toolbox around the application window, and

you can attach the toolbox to the document window or to other palettes.

To open or close the toolbox

• Perform a task from the following table.

To move or dock the toolbox

1 Place the cursor over the title bar of the toolbox.

2 Perform a task from the following table.

Accessing Tools in the Toolbox

The toolbox contains flyout menus, in which tools of similar function share a space. The button for only one of these tools

is displayed at a given time. A flyout menu is indicated by a triangle in the lower-right corner of the button.

The current tool can be modified by options on the property bar, which change as you change tools. For more information,

see “Property Bar Basics” on page 12.

To Do the following

Open the toolbox Choose Window menu ` Show Toolbox.

Close the toolbox Click the close button on the title of the toolbox. You can also

choose Window menu ` Hide Toolbox.

To Do the following

Move the toolbox Drag the toolbox title bar to a new location in the application

window.

Dock the toolbox Drag the toolbox title bar to the edge of the application window

or a palette. When the toolbox lines up with the edge of the

application window or palette, it will snap into place.

A Workspace Tour 9

To access tools grouped in flyouts

1 In the toolbox, click and hold the tool icon whose flyout you want to open.

A flyout menu of the entire group of related tools appears.

2 Choose the tool you want to use.

The tool you’ve chosen now appears on the toolbox.

Some tools are located in flyout menus on the toolbox. To open a flyout menu, click and hold down a tool button

that has a triangle in the lower-right corner.

Exploring the Toolbox

Tool Description

Navigation and Utility Tools

Magnifier tool The Magnifier tool lets you magnify areas of an image when you

are performing detailed work, or reduce areas to get an overall

view of an image. For more information, see “Zooming” on

page 36.

Grabber tool The Grabber tool gives you a quick way to scroll an image. For

more information, see “Repositioning Documents” on page 37.

Rotate Page tool The Rotate Page tool lets you rotate an image window to

accommodate the way you naturally draw. For more information,

see “Rotating and Flipping the Canvas” on page 39.

Crop tool The Crop tool lets you remove unwanted edges from the image.

For more information, see “Cropping Images” on page 38.

Perspective Grid tool The Perspective Grid tool lets you select and move the location of

the perspective grid lines, the vanishing point, the horizon line,

the ground line, and the picture plane. For more information, see

“Using the Perspective Grid” on page 49.

Divine Proportion tool The Divine Proportion tool lets you plan compositions by using

guides based on a classical composition method. For more

information, see “Using the Divine Proportion tool” on page 44.

Layout Grid tool The Layout Grid tool lets you divide your canvas so that you can

plan your composition. For example, you can divide your canvas

into thirds vertically and horizontally to use the compositional rule

of thirds. For more information, see “Using the Layout Grid” on

page 43.

10 Corel Painter User Guide

Tools that Apply Color or Adjust Tone

Brush tool The Brush tool lets you paint and draw on the canvas or a layer.

Brush categories include pencils, pens, chalk, an airbrush, oil

paints, watercolors, and more.

When the Brush tool is selected, you can choose specific brushes

from the Brush Selector bar. For more information, refer to

“Selecting a Brush” on page 97.

Paint Bucket tool The Paint Bucket tool lets you fill an area. The property bar shows

choices for what area to fill and what to fill it with. For more

information on the Paint Bucket tool, refer to “Filling an Area with

Media” on page 123.

Dropper tool The Dropper tool lets you pick up a color from an existing image.

The property bar shows you values for the color. When you select a

color with the Dropper tool, that color becomes the current color

on the Colors palette. For more information, see “Sampling Colors

from Images” on page 77.

Dodge tool The Dodge tool lets you lighten the highlights, midtones, and

shadows in an image. For more information, see “Dodging and

Burning” on page 276.

Burn tool The Burn tool lets you darken the highlights, midtones, and

shadows in an image. For more information, see “Dodging and

Burning” on page 276.

Cloner tool The Cloner tool gives you quick access to the last Cloner brush

variant you used. For more information, see “Painting in the

Clone” on page 198.

Rubber Stamp tool The Rubber Stamp tool gives you quick access to the Straight

Cloner brush variant, allowing you to clone point to point in an

image or between images. For more information, see “Using

Point-to-Point Cloning” on page 199.

Eraser tool The Eraser tool lets you remove unwanted areas from the image.

For more information, see “Erasing Image Areas” on page 112.

Selection Tools

Rectangular Selection tool The Rectangular Selection tool lets you create rectangular

selections. For more information, see “Creating Selections” on

page 211.

Oval Selection tool The Oval Selection tool lets you create oval selections. For more

information, see “Creating Selections” on page 211.

Lasso tool The Lasso tool lets you draw a freehand selection. For more

information, see “Creating Selections” on page 211.

Magic Wand tool The Magic Wand tool lets you click or drag in the image to select

an area of similar color. For more information, see “Creating Pixel-

based Selections” on page 212.

Adjuster Tools

Layer Adjuster tool The Layer Adjuster tool is used to select, move, and manipulate

layers. For more information, see “The Layer Adjuster Tool” on

page 233.

Tool Description

A Workspace Tour 11

Using Selectors

The selectors in the toolbox give you quick access to the libraries for the following Corel Painter elements: papers,

gradients, patterns, weaves, looks, and nozzles. You can display items in selectors as thumbnails or in a list. You can also

access commands from each selector menu. If the command you want is not available, you can display the entire palette

that corresponds to the selector.

Selection Adjuster tool The Selection Adjuster tool lets you select, move, and manipulate

selections created with the Rectangular, Oval, and Lasso selection

tools and those converted from Shapes.

Shape Tools

Shape Selection tool The Shape Selection tool is for editing Bézier curves (shape paths).

You use the Shape Selection tool to select and move anchor points

and to adjust their control handles. For more information, see

“Creating Shapes” on page 365.

Text tool The Text tool creates text shapes. Use the Text palette to set the

font, point size, and tracking. For more information, see “Working

with Text” on page 381.

Shape Design Tools

Pen tool The Pen tool lets you create straight lines and curves in shape

objects. For more information, see “Using the Pen Tool” on

page 366.

Quick Curve tool The Quick Curve tool lets you create shape paths by drawing

freehand curves. For more information, see “Using the Quick Curve

Tool” on page 367.

Shape Objects Tools

Rectangular Shape tool The Rectangular Shape tool lets you create rectangular shape

objects. For more information, see “Using Shape Object Tools” on

page 365.

Oval Shape tool The Oval Shape tool lets you create oval shape objects. For more

information, see “Using Shape Object Tools” on page 365.

Shape Edit Tools

Scissors tool The Scissors tool let you cut an open or closed segment. If the

segment is closed, after you click on a line or point to cut the

shape path, the shape path becomes open. For more information,

see “Cutting and Joining Shape Segments” on page 373.

Add Point tool The Add Point tool lets you create a new anchor point on a shape

path. For more information, see “Adding, Deleting, and Moving

Anchor Points” on page 371.

Remove Point tool The Remove Point tool lets you remove an anchor point from a

shape path. For more information, see “Adding, Deleting, and

Moving Anchor Points” on page 371.

Convert Point tool The Convert Point tool is used to convert between smooth and

corner anchor points. For more information, see “Adjusting

Curvature” on page 372.

Color Selector The Color Selector lets you choose main and additional colors. The

front square displays the main color, and the back square displays

the additional color. For more information, refer to

“Understanding Main and Additional Colors” on page 77.

Tool Description

12 Corel Painter User Guide

The selectors give you quick access to the libraries.

To use a selector

1 Click the selector you want to open.

2 Perform a task from the following table.

Clicking the selector menu arrow lets you access the menu for each selector.

The Property Bar

In Corel Painter, the property bar displays options for the tool that is currently selected in the toolbox. Here, you can

access and change tool options and settings. Tool settings are retained when you switch from one tool to another. You can

also use the property bar to restore the default settings of the selected tool. By default, the property bar is docked below the

menu bar. You can move the property bar or dock it again. You can also hide the property bar.

Property Bar Basics

The property bar is docked horizontally below the menu bar by default. You can move the property bar anywhere in the

application window, dock it under the menu bar again, or close it.

The property bar for the Rectangular Selection tool.

To show or hide the property bar

• Perform a task from the following table.

To Do the following

Display items as thumbnails or in a list Click the selector menu arrow, and choose List or Thumbnails.

Display a selector’s palette Click the selector menu arrow, and choose Launch Palette. The

Look Selector and Nozzle Selector do not have palettes, so this

command is not available for them.

To Do the following

Show the property bar Choose Window menu ` Show Property Bar.

Paper Selector

Pattern Selector

Look Selector

Gradient Selector

We a v e S e l e c to r

Nozzle Selector

A Workspace Tour 13

To move or dock the property bar

• Perform a task from the following table.

Using Tool Settings on the Property Bar

You can access the controls on the property bar for each tool, and you can change their settings according to your

preferences. When you activate a tool, the settings that were last specified for that tool are applied. You can also use the

property bar to restore the default settings of the selected tool.

To access tool settings on the property bar

• Choose a tool from the toolbox.

Tool settings are displayed on the property bar.

To change tool settings on the property bar

1 Choose a tool from the toolbox.

2 On the property bar, do any of the following:

•Click a button.

• Type a value in the box next to a control, or click the arrow next to a control and access a pop-up slider or menu.

• Enable or disable the check box next to the option you want to use.

Not all of these options are available for every tool. The settings change depending on the tool selected.

To reset the default tool settings

• Click the Reset Tool button on the property bar.

The Reset Tool button on the property bar has the same icon as the selected tool in the toolbox.

The Brush Selector Bar and the Brush Creator

The Brush Selector bar lets you choose from a variety of brush categories and variants. Brush categories are groups of

similar brushes and media. Brush variants are specific brushes and brush settings within a brush category. For example, in

the Pastels category, there are pencil, chalk, soft, and hard pastel variants.

The name of the selected brush category appears at the top of the Brush Selector bar. The name of the selected brush

variant appears under the brush category name.

Hide the property bar Choose Window menu ` Hide Property Bar.

Note: You can also hide the property bar by clicking the close

button on the title bar if the property bar is undocked.

To Do the following

Move the property bar Drag the left side of the property bar to its new location.

Dock the property bar Drag the title bar of the property bar, and place it under the menu

bar. The property bar snaps into place.

To Do the following

14 Corel Painter User Guide

The Brush Selector bar.

The Brush Creator lets you design custom brushes. You can use the Randomizer to create random brush variants, the

Transposer to blend two brush variants, and the Stroke Designer to adjust the settings of brush variants.

Working with the Brush Selector Bar

You can use the Brush Selector bar to choose brush categories and variants. The Brush Category selector shows you a

preview of the currently selected brush category and lets you choose a new brush category. The Brush Variant selector does

the same for brush variants.

The Brush Selector bar is displayed to the right of the property bar by default. It can be moved to a new location in the

application window, or it can be docked to the edge of the application window or other palettes.

You can preview brush categories and variants as thumbnails or in list format. Brush variants can also be previewed as

brush strokes. The Stroke view shows you both the dab type and brush stroke of the selected brush variant.

The Brush Selector bar menu commands are used for creating and loading brushes, working with brush variants, and

manipulating brush strokes. For more information, see “Customizing Brushes” on page 145.

To show or hide the Brush Selector bar

• Perform a task from the following table.

To move or dock the Brush Selector bar

• Perform a task from the following table.

To choose a brush from the Brush Selector bar

1 On the Brush Selector bar, click the Brush Category arrow and choose a brush category.

2 Click the Brush Variant arrow, and choose a variant.

To display brush categories and variants as thumbnails or lists

1 On the Brush Selector bar, click the Brush Category or Brush Variant arrow

.

2 Click the selector menu arrow , and choose List or Thumbnails.

If you’re displaying brush variants, you can also choose the Stroke view.

To Do the following

Show the Brush Selector bar Choose Window menu ` Show Brush Selector Bar.

Hide the Brush Selector bar Choose Window menu ` Hide Brush Selector Bar.

Note: You can also hide the Brush Selector bar by clicking the close

button on the title bar if the Brush Selector bar is undocked.

To Do the following

Move the Brush Selector bar Drag the left side of the Brush Selector bar to a new

location.

Dock the Brush Selector bar Drag the title bar on the left side of the Brush Selector bar ,

and move it to the edge of the application window or a palette.

The bar snaps into place.

Page is loading ...

Corel Painter X Operating instructions

Corel Painter X Operating instructions

Related papers

Other documents