Corel Painter 12 User Guide Operating Instructions UG EN

User Manual: corel Painter - 12 - Operating Instructions Free User Guide for Corel Painter Software, Manual

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Copyright 2011 Corel Corporation. All rights reserved.
Corel® Painter™ 12 User Guide
The contents of this user guide and the associated Corel Painter software are the
property of Corel Corporation and its respective licensors, and are protected by
copyright. For more complete copyright information about Corel Painter, please refer
to the About Corel Painter section in the Help menu of the software.
Protected by Patents in the United States and elsewhere.
Product specifications, pricing, packaging, technical support and information
(“specifications”) refer to the retail English version only. The specifications for all other
versions (including other language versions) may vary.
Information is provided by Corel on an “as is” basis, without any other warranties or
conditions, express or implied, including, but not limited to, warranties of
merchantable quality, satisfactory quality, merchantability or fitness for a particular
purpose, or those arising by law, statute, usage of trade, course of dealing or otherwise.
The entire risk as to the results of the information provided or its use is assumed by
you. Corel shall have no liability to you or any other person or entity for any indirect,
incidental, special, or consequential damages whatsoever, including, but not limited
to, loss of revenue or profit, lost or damaged data or other commercial or economic
loss, even if Corel has been advised of the possibility of such damages, or they are
foreseeable. Corel is also not liable for any claims made by any third party. Corel's
maximum aggregate liability to you shall not exceed the costs paid by you to purchase
the materials. Some states/countries do not allow exclusions or limitations of liability
for consequential or incidental damages, so the above limitations may not apply to
you.
Corel, the Corel logo, Corel DESIGNER, Corel Digital Studio, CorelDRAW, Corel
PaintShop Photo, Corel VideoStudio, Corel WinDVD, Corel WordPerfect Office,
Painter, Natural-Media, RealBristle, WinZip, and the Balloon logo are trademarks or
registered trademarks of Corel Corporation and/or its subsidiaries in Canada, the U.S.,
and/or other countries. Other product, font, and company names and logos may be
trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.
104281

Contents
Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
What’s New in Corel Painter? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
Using the Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
Accessing the Corel Painter Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Additional Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Registration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
Feedback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
About Corel Corporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

Workspace Tour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Corel Painter Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
The Document Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
Exploring the Toolbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
Displaying the Toolbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
Displaying the Media Selector bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
The Property Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20
The Navigator Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
The Brush Library Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
Exploring Panels and Palettes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
Working with Panels and Palettes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27
Creating and Modifying Custom Palettes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29
Managing Custom Palettes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31
Libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32
Customizing and Sharing Workspaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33
Restoring the Default Corel Painter Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34

Corel Painter for Users of Adobe Photoshop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Creating Documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44
Understanding Resolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46
Opening and Placing Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47
Creating and Opening Templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49
Switching Document Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50
Navigating Images and Viewing Image Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51
Zooming Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53
Rotating Images and the Canvas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55
Flipping Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57
Repositioning Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59

Contents

Cropping Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Resizing Images and the Canvas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Saving and Backing up Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Choosing a File Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Emailing Documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Closing Documents and Quitting the Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Using Two Monitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Wacom Intuos Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Drag-and-Drop Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Painting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Choosing a Painting Workflow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Exploring Painting Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Working With the Canvas and Layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Setting up the Drawing Cursor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Brush Tracking and Calibration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Using a Stylus vs. a Mouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Applying Freehand and Straight Brushstrokes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Constraining, Fading, and Undoing Strokes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Erasing Image Areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Aligning Brushstrokes to Paths and Shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Making 360° Strokes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Painting with Airbrushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Adjusting Spread . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Recording and Playing Back Brushstrokes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Reference: Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

Composition Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Using the Layout Grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Using the Mirror Painting Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Using the Kaleidoscope Painting Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Using the Divine Proportion tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Using Rulers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Using Guides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Using Snap to Guides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Using the Grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Using Snap to Grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Using the Perspective Grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

Contents

Photo Painting System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Creating Underpaintings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .113
Auto-Painting Photos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .116
Restoring Detail to Paintings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .119

Selecting, Managing, and Creating Brushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Understanding Brushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .121
Selecting and Searching for Brushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .122
Setting Basic Brush Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .123
Organizing and Displaying Brushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .128
Exploring Brush Categories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .130
Creating and Deleting Brush Libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .144
Opening and Importing Brush Libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .146
Creating, Restoring, and Deleting Brush Variants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .148
Creating a Brush Category . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .149
Saving a Look . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .150
Creating Brush Dabs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .151

Libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Importing and Exporting Libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .153
Creating and Removing Libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .154
Modifying the Display of Library Panels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .156
Editing Library Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .157
Restoring Default Libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .157

Paper Texture and Grain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Applying Paper Texture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .160
Creating and Deleting Paper Textures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .161
Opening and Managing the Papers Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .163
Inverting and Scaling Paper Grain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .163
Controlling Brightness and Contrast of Paper Grain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .165
Adjusting Grain Direction and Behavior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .165

Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Using the Color Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .168
Using the Temporal Colors Palette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .172
Changing the Paper Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .173
Sampling Colors From Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .173
Cloning Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .174
Creating Two-Color Brushstrokes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .174
Working with the Mixer Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .176

Contents

iii

Displaying the Mixer Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
Using the Mixer Panel Colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Mixing Colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Mixing Paint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Creating Mixer Swatches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Working with Color Sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
Customizing the Layouts of Color Sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Creating and Exporting Color Sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Editing Color Sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Annotating Colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Setting Color Variability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Setting Color Expression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Loading Multiple Colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Working with Color Fills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Applying a Color as a Fill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Limiting and Preventing Leakage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195

Patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
Applying Pattern Fills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
Painting with Patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Creating and Editing Patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
Creating Seamless Patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
Creating Fractal Patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208

Gradients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
Applying Gradients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
Replacing Image Colors With Gradient Colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
Adjusting Gradients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
Creating and Editing Gradients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
Saving Gradients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223

Weaves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Applying Weaves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Editing and Saving Weaves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
Creating Weave Patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
Using the Edit Weave Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
Defining Warp and Weft Expressions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
Defining Warp and Weft Color Expressions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
Designing the Tie-up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
Reference: Expression Operators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235

Contents

Color Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
Understanding Color Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .247
Getting Started with Color Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .252
Previewing Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .254
Changing Color Profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .255
Working with Color Profile Policies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .257
Working with Presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .258

Adjusting Brushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
Exploring the Brush Controls Palette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .262
General Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .263
General Controls: Dab Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .264
General Controls: Stroke Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .268
General Controls: Methods and Subcategories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .269
General Controls: Source, Opacity, and Grain Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .273
General Controls: Stroke Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .275
General controls: Multicore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .278
Dab Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .278
Size Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .282
Spacing Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .284
Angle Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .287
Static Bristle Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .289
Computed Circular Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .292
Well Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .292
Rake Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .294
Mouse Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .298
Cloning Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .299
Impasto Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .306
Image Hose Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .308
Airbrush Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .309
Water Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .310
Liquid Ink Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .314
Digital Watercolor Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .320
Artists’ Oils Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .320
Real Watercolor Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .323
Real Wet Oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .328
Jitter Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .333
RealBristle Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .334
Color Variability Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .334
Color Expression Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .336
Brush Calibration Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .337

Contents

Expression Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338
Hard Media Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340

Hard Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341
Using Hard Media Variants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341
Customizing Hard Media Variants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343

Markers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349
Getting Started with Markers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349
Customizing Markers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350

RealBristle Brushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 351
Getting Started With RealBristle Brushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 352
RealBristle Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 352

Watercolor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357
Working with the Watercolor Layer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358
Watercolor Brushes and Paper Texture Interaction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359
Working with Real Watercolor Brushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360
Working with Watercolor Brushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360
Working with Digital Watercolor brushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 362

Liquid Ink . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365
Working with Liquid Ink brushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365
Adjusting Attributes of the Liquid Ink Layer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 366
Using Liquid Ink Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 366

Impasto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 369
Getting Started with Impasto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 369
Adjusting Surface Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 377

Image Cloning and Sampling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379
Cloning Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379
Using Quick Clone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 384
Working with Multiple Clone Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 385
Painting in the Clone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 386
Using Brush Loading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 390
Performing Offset Sampling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 390
Applying Transformations When Sampling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 393
Using Selections and Transformations When Sampling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 402
Filling an Area With a Sampled Image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 404

Contents

Selections and Transformations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 407
Creating and Saving Selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .407
Viewing Selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .417
Adjusting Selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .418
Loading and Combining Selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .424
Transforming Selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .428

Alpha Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 435
Creating, Generating, and Importing Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .436
Managing and Editing Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .439

Layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 447
Getting Started with Layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .448
Managing Layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .458
Editing Layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .469
Working with Layer Masks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .487

Image Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 493
Applying Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .493
Correcting and Adjusting Colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .496
Equalizing Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .505
Tonal Control Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .508
Using Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .513
Working with Surface Texture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .516
Using Other Surface Control Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .529
Using Focus Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .540
Using Esoterica Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .547

Dynamic Plug-ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 567
Getting Started with Dynamic Plug-ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .568
Exploring Dynamic Plug-ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .570

Image Hose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 597
How the Image Hose Works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .598
Getting Started with the Image Hose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .599
Controlling the Image Hose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .600
Indexing Nozzle Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .604
Creating, Loading, and Saving Nozzles for the Image Hose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .607

Contents

vii

Mosaics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 621
Getting Started with Mosaics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 622
Placing and Customizing Tiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 629
Working with Tessellation Mosaics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 637

Shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 643
Getting Started with Shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 644
Creating Shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 647
Editing Shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 656
Transforming Shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 662
Combining Shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 667
Saving and Exporting Shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 671

Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 673
Understanding the Text Layer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 673
Creating and Formatting Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 674
Applying Effects to Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 676
Converting and Dropping Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 681

Web . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 683
Creating Web Page Backgrounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 683
Creating Web Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 686
Working with Rollovers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 689
Working with Image Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 690
Creating GIF Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 694
Using Web-Safe Colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 698
Selecting Brushes for the Web . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 699

Scripting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 703
Getting Started with Scripting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 703
Editing Scripts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 709
Working with Scripts and Movies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 709

Animation and Video . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 713
Creating Animations and Video . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 713
Getting Started with Movies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 718
Modifying a Movie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 724
Rotoscoping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 726
Saving and Exporting Movies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 734
Creating and Exporting Animations for the World Wide Web . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 738

viii

Contents

Printing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 743
Getting Started with Printing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .743

Notes for Users of Adobe Photoshop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 747
Comparing Terminology in Corel Painter and Adobe Photoshop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .747
Comparing Tools in Corel Painter and Adobe Photoshop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .748
Frequently Asked Questions from Users of Adobe Photoshop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .750

Setting Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 753
General Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .753
Interface Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .755
Performance Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .756
Shapes Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .758
Quick Clone Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .759

Keyboard Shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 761
Customizing Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .763
Toolbox Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .765
Panel Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .767
Corel Painter Menu Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .768
File Menu Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .768
Edit Menu Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .769
Canvas Menu Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .769
Layers Menu Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .770
Select Menu Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .770
Shapes Menu Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .770
Effects Menu Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .771
Window Menu Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .771
Screen Navigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .772
Panel Navigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .772
Panel Menu Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .773
Brush Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .774
Selection Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .775
Adjuster Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .776
Shape Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .777
Animation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .778
Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .779
Layer Selection Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .779
Mosaics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .779
Other Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .780

Contents

Getting Started
Corel® Painter™ 12 is the ultimate digital art studio. Its inventive drawing tools,
realistic brushes, cloning capabilities, and customizable features let you expand your
creative output in exciting new ways. When you use the pressure-sensitive brushes of
Corel Painter, they become fluid extensions of your hand, so the resulting brushstrokes
are unrivaled in texture and precision. What’s more, features such as the ability to
build your own Natural-Media® brushes and customize how brushes interact with the
canvas give you countless ways to develop your artistic ideas. Corel Painter takes you
far beyond what’s possible in a traditional art environment.
This section contains the following topics:
• What’s New in Corel Painter?
• Using the Documentation
• Accessing the Corel Painter Help
• Additional Resources
• Registration
• Feedback
• About Corel Corporation

What’s New in Corel Painter?
In this section, you will find information about the new and enhanced features of
Corel Painter 12.
Workflow and customization
Redesigned user interface

Getting Started

The Corel Painter workspace has been redesigned to
give you easy access to tools, media, commands, and
features. The redesigned workspace also includes an
improved Brush Library panel that integrates both
brush categories and variants.

Workflow and customization
Enhanced Cloning capabilities

The new Clone Source Panel lets you visualize and
manage clone sources. In addition, you can use one
or multiple clone sources in a document, which are
now embedded in the clone document.

New Navigator panel

The Navigator panel allows you to better orient
yourself in the document window and quickly
modify the document window display. You can also
enable various tools from the Navigator including
the drawing modes, Impasto, tracing paper, grids,
and color management.

Enhanced Library management

The libraries have been enhanced to help you better
organize and manage a collection of similar items,
such as brushes, paper textures, color sets, and
gradients.

New Temporal Colors palette

The new Temporal Colors palette is a floating color
palette that displays in the document window and
lets you view and choose colors within the context of
the image.

Enhanced Custom Palettes

The enhanced Custom Palettes feature allows you to
create custom palettes by adding items to custom
palettes that were previously inaccessible for
customization.

Enhanced New Image dialog box

The enhanced New Image dialog box lets you set
the size, resolution, paper texture, and paper color of
a new document. You can also create presets for
canvas settings that you use frequently.

Enhanced High Quality Rendering

Corel Painter 12 renders smoother-looking images
onscreen when you zoom in and increases the speed
of rendering images when you zoom out.

New Computed Circular brush dab
and controls

The Computed Circular dab type and controls let
you customize dab profiles, instead of choosing
preset profiles.

Corel Painter User Guide

Workflow and customization
Enhanced Dynamic brush
adjustments

You can now set brush size, opacity, angle, and
squeeze dynamically onscreen, which is useful for
sizing and shaping a brush within the context of the
image.

New Brush Calibration Controls

The new Brush Calibration controls let you calibrate
individual brush variants to match your stroke
strength when you use a pressure-sensitive stylus.

New Multicore support for brushes

Multicore brush support maximizes brush
performance when you work on a multicore
computer.

New Smart Blur effect

The Smart Blur effect softens the appearance of an
image by smoothing out the colors and sharp
details.

Enhanced Custom Palettes

The enhanced Custom Palettes feature allows you to
create custom palettes by adding items to custom
palettes that were previously inaccessible for
customization.

Progressive digital art capabilities
New Mirror painting

The new Mirror painting mode allows you to create
a symmetrical painting.

New Kaleidoscope painting mode

The new Kaleidoscope painting mode lets you
quickly transform basic brushstrokes into colorful
and symmetrical kaleidoscope images.

New Gel brushes and Merge Mode
controls

The new Gel brushes allow you to tint the
underlying colors of an image with the brushstroke
color. You can customize Gel brushes by using the
new Merge Modes brush control to produce
different effects.

New Digital Airbrushes

The new Digital Airbrush variants allow you to
apply brushstrokes that do not build up color on
single brushstrokes. You can achieve color buildup
by overlaying multiple brushstrokes.

Getting Started

Unmatched Natural-Media capabilities
New Real Watercolor brushes and
Controls

The Real Watercolor brushes and controls allow you
to apply pigment to the paper in a very realistic way.
The brush control options allow you to precisely
control water consistency and movement. You can
also control the way the water and pigments interact
with the paper.

New Real Wet Oil brushes and
Controls

The Real Wet Oil brushes and controls allow you to
achieve the look and feel of real-world oil paints.
The brush control options allow you to precisely
control paint consistency and movement. You can
also control the way the paint interacts with the
canvas.

The perfect complement
New Content

Corel Painter 12 includes various new content, such
as brushes, papers, nozzles, and other media, that
you can work with or integrate into your images.

Compatibility

Corel Painter 12 is compatible with your tools and
workflows:
•Mac OS® and Windows® — compatible with
both Mac OS and Windows (including Windows
64-bit) operating systems
•Adobe® Photoshop® support — lets you import
in and export to the Adobe Photoshop file format
•Wacom® Pen and Tablet support — lets you
maximize the Natural Media brush capabilities of
Corel Painter

New Web-based Help

Corel Painter 12 now includes a web-based Help
system in order to provide up-to-date help content.
However, if you’re working offline and need to
consult the Help, a Help file is installed locally.

Corel Painter User Guide

Using the Documentation
The server-based Help gives you access to a full range of up-to-date topics in a
searchable format. You need to have an active internet connection to access the serverbased help. However, if you are working offline, you can access the local help file that
is installed with Corel Painter.
The Help is also provided in PDF format, which is installed on your computer. In
addition, you can refer to the Corel Painter 12 Getting Started Guide, which provides
general overviews about Corel Painter features, presents the most commonly used
procedures, and includes Insights from the Experts.

Documentation Conventions
The following table describes the conventions used in the Help.
Convention

Description

Example

Mac OS and Windows
commands

Commands for Mac OS and
Windows sometimes appear
within the same procedural
step, with the operating
systems specified in
parentheses.

Hold down Command
(Mac OS) or Ctrl (Windows).

Modifier keys (Command,
Option, Ctrl, Alt)

Names of modifier keys for
Mac OS and Windows
sometimes appear within the
same procedural step, with
the operating systems
specified in parentheses.

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

You choose a menu name by
clicking it, and then you
click to choose a menu item
from the list.

Choose File  Quick Clone.

Menu commands (Choose X
menu  menu item)

Getting Started

(For the Mac OS, press
Command + I; for
Windows, press Ctrl + I.)

Convention

Description

Header bar

A header bar is located at the
top or side of some
workspace components, such
as the toolbox, property bar,
and panels.

Panel tab

The panel tab appears at the
top of a panel. You can click
a panel tab to expand that
panel.

Panel options menu

Clicking the Panel Options
menu button displays a popup menu with additional
commands.

Flyout

Flyouts are containers 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 Layer Adjuster
tool in the toolbox, you can
display a flyout that includes
the Transform 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 Library panel.

Example

Corel Painter User Guide

Accessing the Corel Painter Help
The Help is a fully searchable source of information about Corel Painter.

To use the Help
1 Choose Help menu  Corel Painter 12 Help (Mac OS) or Help Topics (Windows).
2 Perform a task from the following table.
To

Do the following

Browse through Help topics

Click the Contents tab.

Use the index

Click the Index tab, and scroll through the
entries to find a topic.

Search the full text of the Help

(Mac OS) Type a word or phrase in the
Search box in the upper-right corner of the
Help window, and press Return.
(Windows) Click the Search tab, type a word
or phrase in the box, and click Go. Note that
the search feature does not support
quotation marks. If you enclose the word or
expression in quotation marks, the search
will not produce any results.

Additional Resources
You can access additional Corel Painter resources online to learn more about the
product and connect with the Corel Painter community.
Resources

To access

Corel Painter page on the Corel website

http://www.corel.com/painter

Corel Painter Factory

http://www.painterfactory.com/

Corel Painter on Twitter

http://www.twitter.com/corelpainter

Corel Painter on Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/corelpainter

Getting Started

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.
If you skipped the registration process when installing Corel Painter 12, you can
register at www.corel.com/support/register.

Feedback
We value any feedback that you may have about the product or the Help content. To
provide feedback about a specific Help topic, scroll to the bottom of any Help topic and click
the “Was this page helpful?” link.

About Corel Corporation
Corel is one of the world’s top software companies, with more than 100 million active
users in over 75 countries. We develop software that helps people express their ideas
and share their stories in more exciting, creative, and persuasive ways. Through the
years, we’ve built a reputation for delivering innovative, trusted products that are easy
to learn and use, helping people achieve new levels of productivity. The industry has
responded with hundreds of awards for software innovation, design, and value.
Our award-winning product portfolio includes some of the world’s most widely
recognized and popular software brands, including CorelDRAW® Graphics Suite,
Corel® Painter™, Corel DESIGNER® Technical Suite, Corel® PaintShop Photo®
Pro, Corel® VideoStudio®, Corel® WinDVD®, Corel® WordPerfect® Office,
WinZip® and the recently released Corel® Digital Studio™ 2010. Our global
headquarters are in Ottawa, Canada, with major offices in the United States, United
Kingdom, Germany, China, Taiwan, and Japan.

Corel Painter User Guide

Workspace Tour
The Corel Painter workspace has been designed to give you easy access to tools, effects,
commands, and features. The workspace is organized by using a series of menus,
selectors, panels, and interactive palettes.
This section contains the following topics:
• Corel Painter Terms
• The Document Window
• Exploring the Toolbox
• Displaying the Toolbox
• Displaying the Media Selector bar
• The Property Bar
• The Navigator Panel
• The Brush Library Panel
• Exploring Panels and Palettes
• Working with Panels and Palettes
• Creating and Modifying Custom Palettes
• Managing Custom Palettes
• Libraries
• Customizing and Sharing Workspaces
• Restoring the Default Corel Painter Settings

Workspace Tour

Corel Painter Terms
Before you get started with Corel Painter, you should be familiar with the following
terms.
Term

Description

Canvas

The canvas is the rectangular work area inside the document
window. In addition, the canvas serves as the background layer of
the image. However, unlike other layers, it is always locked. The
size of the canvas also determines the size of the image that you
create.

Pixels per inch (ppi)

The default unit of measurement for resolution in Corel Painter.
Pixels per inch (ppi) is equivalent to dots per inch (dpi).

Layer

Layers are independent image elements that stack on top of the
canvas. You can manipulate the content of a layer without
altering the canvas. Layers let you experiment with different
compositions and effects without risking an unwanted,
permanent edit.

Brush Category

Brush categories are groups of similar brushes and media.

Brush Variant

Brush variants are specific brushes and brush settings within a
brush category.

Dab types

The dab type controls the way a brush applies color to the
painting surface. In Corel Painter, there are numerous dab types
that fall under two dab type groups: rendered and dab-based,
also known as pixel-based.

Rendered dab type

The rendered dab type produces continuous, smooth-edged
strokes. For example, Camel Hair and Airbrush use the rendered
dab type.

Dab-based dap type

The dab-based dab types produce brushstrokes that are made up
of tiny dabs of color that are closely spaced together so they
appear smooth.

Panel

A panel contains commands, controls, and settings for a specific
feature. For example, the Color panel contain controls that allow
you to choose colors.

Palette

A palette is a container for multiple panels.

Corel Painter User Guide

Term

Description

Paper

Paper allows you to control both the color and texture of the
canvas.

Clone source

The clone source determines the image, or image area, that you
want to reproduce through cloning. A document can include
multiple clone sources.

Clone document

The clone document is created by copying the original clone
source image which allows you to reproduce a painterly version of
the source image. A copy of the clone source is embedded in the
clone document. In addition, you can add multiple clone sources
to a clone document.

Image sampling

Image sampling lets you copy part of one image and reuse it
elsewhere in the image or in another image. You can sample an
image by using the Rubber Stamp tool, a Cloner brush that
supports offset sampling, or a Cloner brush that supports multipoint sampling. Sampling is similar to cloning, but, unlike
cloning, it does not create a separate document that stores clone
sources.

Composite method

A composite method, which is similar to blend modes in Adobe
Photoshop, lets you change how a layer blends with an
underlying image.

Workspace Tour

The Document Window
The document window is the area outside the canvas that is bordered by scroll bars
and application controls.

Circled numbers correspond to the numbers in the following table, which describes the
main components of the application window. (Artwork by Julie Dillon)
Part

Description

1. Menu bar

Lets you access tools and features using pull-down menu
options

2. Brush Selector bar

Lets you open the Brush Library panel to choose a brush
category and variant. It also allows you to open and manage
brush libraries.

3. Property bar

Displays commands that relate to the active tool or object. For
example, when the Fill tool is active, the fill property bar
displays commands for filling selected areas.

4. Recent brushes bar

Displays the most recently used brushes

Corel Painter User Guide

Part

Description

5. Navigator panel

Lets you navigate in the document window, change the
magnification level, and access various document viewing
options, such as Tracing Paper and Drawing Modes

6. Layers panel

Lets you manage the hierarchy of layers and includes controls
for creating, selecting, hiding, locking, deleting, naming, and
grouping layers

7. Channels panel

Lets you manage channels and includes controls for creating,
hiding, inverting, deleting, loading, and saving channels

8. Mixer pad panel

Lets you blend colors together to create a new colors

9. Papers panel

Lets you create, modify, and apply paper textures

10. Paper Libraries panel

Lets you access the Paper libraries so you can apply them to
the canvas. You can also mange and organize the Paper
libraries.

11. Toolbox

Lets you access tools for creating, filling, and modifying an
image

12. Media Selector bar

Gives you quick access to the following media library panels:
patterns, gradients, nozzles, weaves, and looks

13. Brush Library panel

Lets you choose a brush from the currently selected brush
library. It also allows you to organize and display brushes in
various ways.

14. Temporal Color palette

Lets you select a color

15. Canvas

The canvas is the rectangular work area inside the drawing
window whose size determines the size of the image you
create. The canvas acts as the image background and, unlike a
layer, it is always locked.

Workspace Tour

Exploring the Toolbox
You can use the tools in the toolbox to paint, draw lines and shapes, fill shapes with
color, view and navigate documents, and make selections. Under the toolbox is a color
selector, plus six content selectors that let you choose papers, gradients, patterns,
looks, and nozzles.
The following table provides descriptions of the tools in the Corel Painter toolbox.
Tool

Description

Color tools
The Brush tool lets you paint and draw on the canvas or a layer. Brush
categories include pencils, pens, chalk, airbrushes, oil paints, watercolors,
and more.
When the Brush tool is selected, you can choose specific brushes from the
Brush Library panel. For more information, refer to “Selecting and Searching
for Brushes” on page 122.
The Dropper tool lets you pick up a color from an existing image. The
property bar shows the values of the color. When you select a color with the
Dropper tool, that color becomes the current color in the Color panel. For
more information, see “Sampling Colors From Images” on page 173.
The Paint Bucket tool lets you fill an area with media, such as a color,
gradient, pattern, weave, or clone. The property bar shows options for the
areas that you can fill and the media that you can use. For more information,
see “Working with Color Fills” on page 192.
The Eraser tool lets you remove unwanted areas from an image. For more
information, see “Erasing Image Areas” on page 86.
Selection tools
The Layer Adjuster tool is used to select, move, and manipulate layers. For
more information, see “The Layer Adjuster Tool” on page 453.
The Transform tool lets modify selected areas of an image by using different
transformation modes. For more information, see “Transforming Selections”
on page 428.
The Rectangular Selection tool lets you create rectangular selections. For
more information, see “Creating and Saving Selections” on page 407.

Corel Painter User Guide

Tool

Description
The Oval Selection tool lets you create oval selections. For more information,
see “Creating and Saving Selections” on page 407.
The Lasso tool lets you draw a freehand selection. For more information, see
“Creating and Saving Selections” on page 407.
The Polygonal Selection tool lets you select an area by clicking different
points on the image to anchor straight line segments. For more information,
see “Creating Path-Based Selections” on page 409.
The Magic Wand tool lets you select an area of similar color by clicking or
dragging in an image. For more information, see “Creating Pixel-Based
Selections” on page 411.
The Selection Adjuster tool lets you select, move, and manipulate selections
created with the Rectangular, Oval, and Lasso selection tools and selections
converted from shapes. For more information, see “Transforming Selections”
on page 428.
The Crop tool lets you remove unwanted edges from an image. For more
information, see “Cropping Images” on page 60.

Shape tools
The Pen tool lets you create straight lines and curves in objects. For more
information, see “Using the Pen Tool” on page 648.
The Quick Curve tool lets you create shape paths by drawing freehand
curves. For more information, see “Using the Quick Curve Tool” on
page 650.
The Rectangular Shape tool lets you create rectangles and squares. For more
information, see “Using Shape Object Tools” on page 647.
The Oval Shape tool lets you create circles and ovals. For more information,
see “Using Shape Object Tools” on page 647.
The Text tool creates text shapes. Use the Text panel to set the font, point
size, and tracking. For more information, see “Text” on page 673.
The Shape Selection tool is for editing Bézier curves. You use the Shape
Selection tool to select and move anchor points and adjust their control
handles. For more information, see “Creating Shapes” on page 647.

Workspace Tour

Tool

Description
The Scissors tool lets you cut an open or closed segment. If the segment is
closed, after you click on a line or point, the shape path becomes open. For
more information, see “Cutting and Joining Shape Segments” on page 661.
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 657.
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 657.
The Convert Point tool is used to convert between smooth and corner anchor
points. For more information, see “Adjusting Curvature” on page 659.

Photo tools
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 386.
The Rubber Stamp tool gives you quick access to the Straight Cloner brush
variant, and lets you to sample form point to point in an image or between
images. For more information, see “Performing Offset Sampling” on
page 390.
The Dodge tool lets you lighten the highlights, midtones, and shadows in an
image. For more information, see “Dodging and Burning” on page 511.
The Burn tool lets you darken the highlights, midtones, and shadows in an
image. For more information, see “Dodging and Burning” on page 511.
Symmetry tools
The Mirror Painting mode lets you create a perfectly symmetrical painting.
For more information, see “Using the Mirror Painting Mode” on page 98.
The Kaleidoscope mode lets you transform basic brushstrokes into colorful
and symmetrical kaleidoscope images. For more information, see “Using the
Kaleidoscope Painting Mode” on page 100.

Corel Painter User Guide

Tool

Description

Composition tools
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 102.
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 95.
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 110.
Navigation
tools
The Grabber tool lets you scroll through an image quickly. For more
information, see “Repositioning Images” on page 59.
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 Images” on page 53.
The Rotate Page tool lets you rotate an image window to accommodate the
way you naturally draw. For more information, see “Rotating Images and the
Canvas” on page 55.
Selectors
The Color selector lets you choose main and additional colors. The front
swatch displays the main color, and the back swatch displays the additional
color. For more information, see “Using the Color Panel” on page 168.
The Paper selector opens the Papers panel. From the Papers panel, you can
choose a paper texture to alter the canvas surface and achieve more realistic
results when applying brushstrokes. For more information, see “Paper
Texture and Grain” on page 159.

Workspace Tour

Tool

Description

Selectors
The View Mode selector allows you to switch between Full Screen and
Windowed. For more information, see “Switching Document Views” on
page 50.

Displaying the Toolbox
The toolbox is open by default, but you can close it. In addition, to minimize the space
required to display the toolbox, tools of similar function are grouped together and they
are accessible from flyout menus. The button for only one of these tools is displayed at
a given time on the toolbox. A flyout menu is indicated by a triangle in the lower-right
corner of the button. You can open a flyout to access all of its tools.
You can also reposition the toolbox by moving it in the application window. In
addition, you can change the toolbox display. For example, you can change the toolbox
orientation.

To open or close the toolbox
• Choose Window  Toolbox.
You can also close the toolbox by clicking the close button on the toolbox
header bar.

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 Click the tool that you want to use.
The tool you’ve chosen appears in the toolbox.
To move the toolbox
• Drag the toolbox header bar to a new location in the application window.

Corel Painter User Guide

To change the toolbox display
1 Choose Edit  Preferences  Interface.
2 Choose an option from the Toolbox Layout list box.

Displaying the Media Selector bar
The Media Selector bar gives you quick access to the libraries for the following
Corel Painter media: patterns, gradients, nozzles, weaves, and looks. The Media
Selector bar is open by default, but you can close it at any time.

The Media Selector bar (displayed horizontally). From left to right: Pattern Selector,
Gradient Selector, Nozzle Selector, Weave Selector, Look Selector.

You can also reposition the Media Selector bar by moving it in the application window.
In addition, you can change the Media Selector bar display. For example, you can
change the toolbox orientation or increase the size of the buttons.

To open or close the Media Selector bar
• Choose Window  Media Selector.
You can also close the Media Selector bar by clicking the close button on the
header bar.

To move the Media Selector bar
• Drag the Media Selector bar header to a new location in the application window.
To change the Media Selector bar display
1 Choose Edit  Preferences  Interface.
2 Choose an option from the Media Layout list box.

Workspace Tour

The Property Bar
In Corel Painter, the property bar displays options for the currently selected tool. By
default, the property bar displays in the application window docked below the menu
bar, but you can close it. You can also move the property bar or dock it to the
application window or to other panels.

The property bar for the Grabber tool.

From the property bar 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.

To open or close the property bar
• Choose Window  Property Bar.
You can also close the property bar by clicking the close button on the header
bar.

To move or dock the property bar
• Perform a task from the following table.
To

Do the following

Move the property bar

Drag the property bar’s header bar to a new location.

Dock the property bar

Drag the header area of the property bar, and place it under
the menu bar. The property bar snaps into place.

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.

Various Reset Tool buttons for the Grabber property bar.

Corel Painter User Guide

The Navigator Panel
The Navigator panel is a convenient tool for managing many aspects of a document.
You can use the Navigator panel to better orient yourself in the document window and
modify the document window display. For example, when you’re working at a high
zoom level, or with a large image, you can use the Navigator panel’s small canvas
preview to display the entire image without having to zoom out. You can also move to
a different image area without having to adjust the zoom level. In addition, you can
change the zoom level or rotate the canvas from the Navigator panel.

The Navigator’s canvas preview allows you to view the entire image even when you’re
zoomed in.

The Navigator lets you enable various tools such as the drawing modes, Impasto
information, tracing paper, grids, and color management.
The Navigator panel also displays document information such as the X and Y
coordinates and the cursor position to help you navigate the image. You can also view
document width, height, and resolution. For more information, see “Navigating
Images and Viewing Image Information” on page 51.

Workspace Tour

The Brush Library Panel
The Brush library panel lets you choose a brush from the currently selected brush
library. It also allows you to organize and display brushes in various ways. For example,
you can create a new brush library, open a previously stored brush library, and view the
most recently used brushes. The Brush library panel displays the content of only one
brush library at a time.

You can access the Brush Library panel by clicking the Brush Selector on the Brush
Selector bar.

In the Brush Library panel, brushes are organized into categories, which contain brush
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 brush variants. You can change
the display of the categories and variants. For more information, see “Organizing and
Displaying Brushes” on page 128.

The Brush Library panel allows you to browse all of the brush categories and variants for
the currently open brush library.

To show or hide the Brush Selector bar
• Choose Window  Brush Selector.

Corel Painter User Guide

You can also close the Brush Selector bar by clicking the close button on the
header bar.

To move the Brush Selector bar
• Perform a task from the following table.

Exploring Panels and Palettes
The interactive panels in Corel Painter let you access content libraries, commands,
controls, and settings. You can reconfigure panels by grouping them together to create
a custom palette. You can also arrange panels and palettes in the application window
to quickly access the tools and controls that you use most often or to maximize screen
space. For example, you can display all color-specific panels in one color palette, or
display panels individually.
Corel Painter also includes the Brush Controls palette, which is a preset palette that
groups all panels that contain brush-related settings. You can copy an individual brush
control panel to the workspace, but you can’t remove any of the brush control panels
from the palette.

Exploring panels
Corel Painter includes several panels that you can group together to create a custom
palette.
Panel

Description

Brush Control panels
The Brush Controls panels are included in
the Brush Controls palette. They include the
following panels: General, Dab Profile, Size,
Spacing, Angle, Static Bristle, Computed
Circular, Well, Rake, Mouse, Cloning,
Impasto, Image Hose, Airbrush, Water,
Liquid Ink, Digital Watercolor, Artists’ Oils,
Real Watercolor, Real Wet Oil, Jitter,
RealBristle™, Hard Media, Color Variability,
Color Expression, and Brush Calibration.
Workspace Tour

Allow you to customize brush variants. For
more information, see “Adjusting Brushes”
on page 261.

Panel

Description

Color panels
Color

Lets you choose main and additional colors
for painting in Corel Painter documents. For
more information, see “Using the Color
Panel” on page 168.

Mixer

Lets you mix and blend colors as you would
on an artist’s palette. For more information,
see “Working with the Mixer Panel” on
page 176.

Color Sets

Displays the colors in the current color set so
you can organize groups of colors. For more
information, refer to “Working with Color
Sets” on page 184.

Paper panels
Papers

Lets you apply and edit paper textures

Paper Libraries

Lets you open and manage paper libraries.
You can also choose a paper texture.

Media library panels
Patterns, Gradients, Nozzles, Looks, and
Weaves library panels

Let you open and manage media libraries.
You can also choose media.

Image Portfolio and Selection Portfolio

Contain all images or selections in the
current library. You can view the items as
thumbnails or in a list as well as preview the
current item. For more information, see
“Storing Images with the Image Portfolio”
on page 485 and “Using the Selection
Portfolio” on page 425.

Media control panels
Patterns, Gradients, and Weaves control
panels

Lets you apply and edit patterns, gradients,
and weaves

Corel Painter User Guide

Panel

Description

Navigator and Clone Source panels
Navigator panel

Lets you navigate the document window.
You can also view document information,
such as width and height; X and Y
coordinates and the cursor position; contextsensitive information based on a selected
tool; and unit information, such as pixels,
inches, and resolution. For more
information, see “The Navigator Panel” on
page 21.

Clone Source panel

Lets you open and manage clone sources

Layers and Channels panels
Layers

Lets you preview and arrange all layers in a
Corel Painter document. You can use
Dynamic Plug-ins, add new layers (including
Watercolor and Liquid Ink layers), create
layer masks, and delete layers. In addition,
you can set the composite method and
depth, adjust the opacity, and lock and
unlock layers. For more information, see
“Layers” on page 447.

Channels

Lets you preview thumbnails of all the
channels in a Corel Painter document,
including RGB composite channels, layer
masks, and alpha channels. From the panel,
you can also load, save, and invert existing
channels, and create new channels. For more
information, see “Alpha Channels” on
page 435.

Auto-Painting panels
Underpainting

Workspace Tour

Lets you adjust tone, color, and detail in a
photo in preparation for auto-painting. This
panel is used in the first step of the photopainting process. For more information, see
“Creating Underpaintings” on page 113.
25

Panel

Description

Auto-Painting panels
Auto-Painting

Lets you specify a range of settings that
control how brushstrokes are applied. This
panel is used in the second step of the photopainting process. For more information, see
“Auto-Painting Photos” on page 116.

Restoration

Lets you fine-tune a painting by providing
brushes that help you restore detail. This
panel is used in the third step of the photopainting process. For more information, see
“Restoring Detail to Paintings” on page 119.

Composition panels
Divine Proportion

Lets you customize the Divine Proportion
guide — a tool that helps you plan a layout
according to a classic composition method.
For more information, see “Using the Divine
Proportion tool” on page 102.

Layout Grid

Lets you customize the Layout Grid — a tool
that helps you divide your canvas so that you
can plan your composition. For more
information, see “Using the Layout Grid” on
page 95.

Text and Scripts panels
Text

Lets you perform all text-related tasks, such
as choosing fonts, adjusting opacity, and
applying drop shadows. For more
information, refer to “Text” on page 673.

Scripts

Lets you access all commands and settings
related to scripts. For example, you can
open, close, play, and record scripts from the
Scripts panel. For more information, see
“Scripting” on page 703.

Corel Painter User Guide

Working with Panels and Palettes
You can rearrange the display of panels to better match your workflow. For example,
you can group task-related panels together to create a palette. At any time, you can
further customize these palettes by adding or removing a panel, repositioning a panel,
or moving a panel to another palette.
You can easily display a panel when you need it, and you can quickly close a panel
when you’re done. If you want to save screen space, but keep the panels and palettes
displayed (in the application window), you can collapse or resize them.
Most panels in Corel Painter contain option menus from which you can access a series
of related commands. For example, you can use the options menu in the Paper controls
panel to capture, make, and invert paper textures.
1
2

A typical palette features a header bar (1), panel tabs (2), and a Panel Options button
(3).

The contents of the Color panel. By default, the Color panel is open and is grouped in a
palette with the Mixer and Color Sets.

Workspace Tour

To group panels into palettes
• Perform a task from the following table.
To

Do the following

Group panels into a palette

Drag a panel by its tab to another open
panel to create a group.

Add a panel to a palette

Drag the panel tab to the palette.

Remove a panel from a palette

Drag the panel tab out of the palette.

Reposition a panel in a palette

Drag the panel tab to a new location in the
palette.

To show or hide a panel or palette
• Perform an action from the following table.
To

Do the following

Show or hide a panel from a menu

Choose Window  [Panel name].

Hide an open panel

Click the Close button

on the panel tab.

Hide an open palette

Click the Close button

on the header bar.

When you choose Window  Show Panels, only the panels that were open
when you chose Hide Panels are displayed.
You can restore a previously hidden palette by choosing Window, and
choosing the name of a panel that is contained in the palette.

To expand or collapse a panel
• Double-click the panel tab.
To resize a panel or palette
• Perform a task from the following table.

Corel Painter User Guide

Do the following

Resize a panel or palette proportionally

Point to the lower right corner of the panel
or palette. When the cursor changes to a
double-sided arrow, drag the panel or palette
to resize it.

Resize a panel or palette vertically

Point to the lower edge of the panel or
palette. When the cursor changes to a
double-sided arrow, drag the edge of the
palette to resize it.

Resize a panel or palette horizontally

Point to the right edge of a panel or palette
header. When the cursor changes to a
double-sided arrow, drag the edge of the
panel or palette to resize it.

To access additional panel options
• In the panel, click the Panel Options button

, and choose an option.

Creating and Modifying Custom Palettes
Corel Painter lets you create custom palettes that contain only the features that you
want so you can quickly access them. For example, you can place items from the Brush
library panel or any of the Media library panels in a custom palette. If the item that
you want is represented on a panel with an icon, you can create a custom palette
simply by dragging the icon out of a panel to the application window. This method
works for brush variants, paper textures, media, such as gradients and patterns, and
nozzles, looks, and scripts. You can also add commands from the main menus or panel
options to a custom palettes.
Items that appear on a custom palette are references (aliases or shortcuts) to the
original. This means that if you change the original — for example, by modifying and
saving a brush variant — the custom panel button loads the newest version. However,
if you delete the original, Corel Painter won’t be able to find the item again to load in
the custom palette.
Custom palettes behave like the standard panels. For more information about working
with panels, see “Working with Panels and Palettes” on page 27.
Workspace Tour

To create a custom palette
1 Choose Window  Custom Palette  Add Command.
2 Choose New from the Add To list box.
3 With the Add Command dialog box open, do one of the following:
• Choose a menu item from a default Corel Painter menu.
• Choose a menu item from the Other menu to add additional controls to a
custom palette.
• Choose a menu item from the Panel Menus menu to add a panel, or any of the
items included in a panel’s Options flyout menu, to a custom palette.
• Choose a menu item from the Tools menu to add a Toolbox tool to a custom
palette.
4 In the Add Command dialog box, click Ok.
You can also create a custom panel by pressing Shift and dragging a button to
the application window.

To open or close a custom palette
• Perform a task from the following table.
To

Do the following

Open a custom palette

Choose Window  Custom Palette 
[Custom Panel Name].

Close a custom palette

On the custom panel header bar, click the
Close button.

To add items to a custom panel
• Perform a task from the following table.
To

Do the following

Add a button from a panel

Drag a button from one panel to the custom
panel.

Corel Painter User Guide

Do the following

Add a menu item

Choose Window  Custom Palette  Add
Command. Choose the custom panel from
the Add To list box, and with the Add
Command dialog box open, choose a menu
item, and click OK.

Tools from the main toolbox cannot be added to a custom panel.

Managing Custom Palettes
You can manage your custom palettes in the Custom Palette Organizer. Corel Painter
names custom palettes “Custom 1”, “Custom 2,” and so on. For ease of use, you can
rename them.
Corel Painter keeps your custom palettes from one session to the next. You can also
save a custom palette to a file. If you save it to a file, you can remove it from
Corel Painter, and then load it again later. You can delete obsolete custom palettes or
those you don’t use very often.

To rename a custom palette
1 Choose Window  Custom Palette  Organizer.
2 Choose a palette from the Custom Palette list.
3 Click Rename.
4 In the Palette Name dialog box, type a name in the New Palette text box.
To save a custom palette
1 Choose Window  Custom Palette  Organizer.
2 Choose a palette from the Custom Palette list.
3 Click Export.
4 In the New Palette File dialog box, type a name in the File Name text box.
5 Choose the drive and folder where you want to save the file.
It’s a good idea to store all saved palettes in the same folder.
Workspace Tour

To import a custom palette
1 Choose Window  Custom Palette  Organizer.
2 In the Custom Palette Organizer, choose a palette from the Custom Palette list.
3 Click Import.
4 In the Open Palette File dialog box, choose the file where the custom palette is
saved.
5 Click Open.
Only custom palette files created with version 8.1 or later are supported by
Corel Painter. Custom palettes created with version 7 or earlier cannot be
loaded.

To delete a custom palette
1 Choose Window  Custom Palette  Organizer.
2 Choose a palette from the Custom Palette list.
3 Click Delete.

Libraries
A library is a storage place that helps you organize and manage a collection of similar
items, such as brushes or paper textures. For example, the default paper textures are
contained in the Paper Textures library, which is loaded by default when you open
Corel Painter. As you customize paper textures and other resources, you can save them
to your own libraries. Libraries are available for brushes, gradients, layers, lighting,
looks, nozzles, paper textures, patterns, selections, scripts, and weaves. For more
information, see “Libraries” on page 153 and “Opening and Importing Brush
Libraries” on page 146.

Corel Painter User Guide

The Paper Libraries panel lets you choose, organize, and apply paper textures.

Customizing and Sharing Workspaces
Corel Painter lets you completely customize your workspace to suit your workflow
needs. You can customize Brush Libraries, Paper Libraries, and Portfolios and save
these changes to use later. In addition, you can easily create multiple workspaces, each
with different libraries and portfolios. You can even share these customized workspaces
with others by importing or exporting them.

To create a new workspace
1 Choose Window  Workspace  New Workspace.
2 Type a name in the Workspace Name text box.
3 From the Based On list box, choose the workspace on which you want to base the
new workspace.
4 Click Save.
The application switches to the new workspace.
To switch to a different workspace
• Choose Window  Workspace  [Workspace Name].
To import a workspace
1 Choose Window  Workspace  Import Workspace.
2 Choose the workspace file that you want to import.
Workspace Tour

3 Click Open.

To export a workspace
1 Choose Window  Workspace  Export Workspace.
2 Choose the workspace that you want to export.
3 Click Save.
To revert to the default workspace
• Choose Window  Workspace  Default.
Corel Painter lets you modify the default workspace, so this workspace may
eventually differ from the factory default workspace. If you restore the factory
default workspace, you will lose all customizations unless you save the
workspace.

Restoring the Default Corel Painter Settings
All user settings are saved to a local user folder; when Corel Painter starts, it recalls
these user settings rather than the application settings. However, you can restore the
Corel Painter workspace to its default factory settings. The restoring process replaces
the settings in the user folder with copies of the settings from the original installation.
Restoring the Corel Painter workspace to its default factory settings also removes all
modifications you have made to the application — including the brushes, papers,
textures, and similar customizations. The locations of the user folders are as follows:
• Mac OS/Users//Library/Application Support/Corel Painter 12/
• Windows\Documents and Settings\\Application Data\Corel Painter 12
Restoring Corel Painter to its default factory settings is particularly useful in a
multiuser environment, where many users are working from the same installation.
Corel Painter references the location of the loaded libraries for Papers and
Color Sets. If Corel Painter cannot locate a loaded library, it reverts to the
default library. When a new library is loaded, the user is prompted to decide
whether to append to or overwrite the current library.

Corel Painter User Guide

To restore Corel Painter to its default factory settings
1 Hold down Shift and start Corel Painter.
A warning appears, asking you to verify that you want to erase all of the
modifications that you have made to Corel Painter. Restoring the default factory
settings copies the original workspace settings from the installation to the user
folder.
2 Choose whether you want to restore the current workspace or all workspaces.

Workspace Tour

Corel Painter for Users of
Adobe Photoshop
by Cher Threinen-Pendarvis
Corel Painter is known for its responsive, realistic brushes, multitude of rich textures,
and fabulous special effects, which cannot be found in any other program. The biggest
difference that you will notice between Adobe Photoshop and Corel Painter is the
warmth and texture of the Natural-Media brushes and paper textures of Corel Painter.
You’ll find brushes with realistic bristles that lay down oily paint and dry-media
brushes, such as variants in the Chalk and Pastels categories, that are sensitive to
textures on the canvas. Now, let’s get started!
Before we begin the tour, you need to make sure that you are displaying the Default
panels and palettes. To display the Default settings, choose the Window menu, and
choose Arrange Palettes  Default.

Property Bar
At the very top of the screen, you’ll see the property bar, which is similar to the
Options bar in Photoshop. The property bar changes contextually, depending on the
tool that you choose from the toolbox.

The property bar with the Grabber tool selected from the toolbox.

Brush Selector bar
On the far left of the property bar is the Brush Selector bar, which lets you open the
Brush Library panel. The Brush Library panel contains the amazing brush categories
and brush variants of Corel Painter, such as the Real Watercolor Brushes category and
its variants.

Corel Painter for Users of Adobe Photoshop

The Brush Selector bar (left) lets you choose a brush category and a brush variant (right).

Color panel
On the upper right corner of your screen you’ll see the large, beautiful Color panel,
which lets you choose colors. You can choose colors by using the Hue Ring and the
Saturation/Value Triangle. However, if you prefer to mix color by using numbers, you
can adjust the three sliders that are located under the Hue Ring. By clicking the panel
options button on the right side of the Color panel, you can set the sliders to display
either Red, Green, and Blue, or Hue, Saturation, and Value.
Also located on the Color panel is the Clone Color button, a useful control that lets you
paint with color from a source image. On the left of the Color panel are the Main Color
swatch
or Additional Color swatch . The color swatches in Corel Painter operate
differently than the Foreground and Background Color squares in Photoshop. To
change the color, you can double-click either the Main Color swatch or the Additional
Color swatch and then choose a new color on the Hue Ring. Or you can click in the
Saturation/Value Triangle to choose a new tint or shade. You can use the additional
color to create gradients or to use brushes that paint more than one color. Unlike the
Background Color in Photoshop, the additional color does not affect the canvas.
Before moving on with the tour, click the Main Color swatch to select it.

Corel Painter User Guide

Hue Ring
Saturation/Value
Triangle
Additional Color swatch
Main Color swatch

Color panel.

In Corel Painter 12, you can resize the Color panel by dragging the handle in the
lower-right corner of the panel to resize it. Resizing the Color panel lets you select
colors more accurately.

Textures
A basic paper texture is automatically loaded when you start Corel Painter. You can
access additional rich paper textures by clicking the Paper Selector from the toolbox, or
from the Paper Libraries panel (Window menu  Paper Panels  Paper Libraries).

Layers and Mask Channels
In Corel Painter, you can open Photoshop files that contain pixel-based layers and layer
masks. You can access and edit the layers and layer masks by using the Layers panel,
much like in Photoshop. The files you open in Corel Painter have multiple channels
intact.

Corel Painter for Users of Adobe Photoshop

Layers panel

Photoshop Layer Styles
If you are using native Photoshop layer styles, such as the Drop Shadow layer style,
make sure that you preserve the original Photoshop file in your archive before you
convert the layer style information. That is, save the file with the live layer styles in the
Photoshop (PSD) file format, and then save a new copy of this file. In the new file,
convert the layer style information into pixel-based layers before importing the file into
Corel Painter.
To convert a layer that has a Drop Shadow layer style, select the layer, and then choose
Layers  Layers Style  Create Layer. A word of caution: Some aspects of the effects
cannot be reproduced with standard layers.

File Formats
Corel Painter gives you the flexibility of opening Photoshop (PSD) files that are saved
in RGB, CMYK, and grayscale modes while preserving pixel-based layers and mask
channels (also referred to as alpha channels). You can also open TIFF files in
Corel Painter, but only one mask channel is preserved. Layered TIFF (TIF) files that
you create in Photoshop are flattened when you open them in Corel Painter. When
you work exclusively with RIFF (RIF), which is the native file format for Corel Painter,
you retain Corel Painter specific elements when saving files. For instance, special paint
media layers, such as Watercolor layers, require the RIFF format to retain the live
“wet” capabilities. However, if you open a Photoshop file in Corel Painter but plan on
reopening the file in Photoshop, you should continue to save the file to the Photoshop
format.

Corel Painter User Guide

Now roll up your sleeves, grab your stylus, and continue to explore Corel Painter.

About the Author
An award-winning artist and author, Cher Threinen-Pendarvis is a pioneer in digital
art. She has been widely recognized for her mastery of Corel Painter, Adobe
Photoshop, and the Wacom pressure-sensitive tablet and has used these electronic
tools since they were first released. Her artwork has been exhibited worldwide, her
articles and art have been published in many books and periodicals, and she is a
member of the San Diego Museum of Art Artist Guild. She has taught Corel Painter
and Adobe Photoshop workshops around the world and is the principal of the
consulting firm Cher Threinen Design. Cher is the author of The Photoshop and Painter
Artist Tablet Book, Creative Techniques in Digital Painting, Beyond Digital Photography, and
all nine editions of The Painter Wow! book. Visit Cher's web site at: www.pendarvisstudios.com.

Corel Painter for Users of Adobe Photoshop

Basics
The Corel Painter application provides a digital workspace in which you can create
new images, or alter existing images, by using the Natural-Media tools and effects.
Your working image, known as a document, is displayed in a document window. This
document window includes navigation and productivity features to help you work
efficiently.
As you create an image, you can save your document in various file formats, such as
RIFF (the native Corel Painter format), JPEG, TIFF, and PSD (Adobe Photoshop).
Corel Painter also lets you open or import images saved in many other file formats.
This section contains the following topics:
• Creating Documents
• Understanding Resolution
• Opening and Placing Files
• Creating and Opening Templates
• Switching Document Views
• Navigating Images and Viewing Image Information
• Zooming Images
• Rotating Images and the Canvas
• Flipping Images
• Repositioning Images
• Cropping Images
• Resizing Images and the Canvas
• Saving and Backing up Files
• Choosing a File Format
• Emailing Documents
• Closing Documents and Quitting the Application
• Using Two Monitors
• Wacom Intuos Support
• Drag-and-Drop Features
Basics

Creating Documents
To start an image from a blank canvas, you must create a new document. This allows
you to specify the canvas settings, such as width, height, and resolution. You can also
specify the canvas color and texture. The size of the canvas determines the size of the
image when it is printed. To quickly get started, you can choose from a list of preset
canvas settings. However, you can also specify custom settings, which you can save as a
preset for future use.

You can resize the canvas (left) to prepare an image for printing (right).

Canvas size and resolution
When setting the canvas size and resolution, you can choose options that correspond
to the image’s destination, however, you may want to choose a larger image size to
preserve more image details. For example, you can set the resolution of a new image at
300 pixels per inch (ppi), the width to 16 inches, and the height to 20 inches. This
large size makes it easier to maintain image quality when you need to produce a
smaller version of the image. For more information, see “Understanding Resolution”
on page 46 and “Resizing Images and the Canvas” on page 60.
Pixels per inch (ppi) is equivalent to dots per inch (dpi).

Corel Painter User Guide

To create a new document
1 Choose File  New.
2 Type a filename in the Image Name text box.
3 From the Canvas Preset list box, choose one of the following options to
automatically determine the size, resolution, color of the canvas, and the paper
texture:
• Painter 12 default
• Painter 11 default
• Portrait
You can also
Change the unit of measurement for the
document

Choose a unit of measurement from the
list box located to the right of the Width
and Height boxes.

Change the document size

Type values in the Width and Height
boxes.

Change the number of pixels per inch (ppi) or
pixels per centimeter that make up an image

Type a value in the Resolution box.

Change the resolution type

Choose a resolution type from the list box
located to the right of the Resolution
box.

Change the color of the canvas

Click the Color chip, and choose a paper
color from the Color dialog box.

Change the texture of the canvas

Click the Paper chip, and choose a paper
texture from the Paper Textures panel.

In the New dialog box, setting the document’s pixels per inch is equivalent to
setting its dots per inch (dpi). For detailed information about document,
screen, and print resolutions, see “Understanding Resolution” on page 46.

To create a custom canvas preset
1 Choose File  New.
2 Choose the settings that you want to save as a canvas preset.
Basics

3 Click the Add button

4 In the Add Preset dialog box, type a name in the Preset Name text box.
A custom canvas preset is not a template. Unlike a template, it does not allow
you to store any content. A custom canvas preset allows you to store only
canvas dimensions, resolution, color, and texture.
You can delete a canvas preset by choosing the preset name from the Canvas
Preset list box and clicking the Delete button .

Understanding Resolution
When you work with images in a digital workspace, it is helpful to understand the
concept and applications of resolution. Resolution refers to how Corel Painter
measures, displays, saves, and prints images — whether as small squares of color called
“pixels” or as mathematical objects called “vectors.”
A document’s resolution affects both its appearance on your computer screen and its
print quality. You can specify a document’s resolution when you create a new
document, save, or export a file.

Resolution and Screen Appearance
Most monitors have a resolution of 72 pixels per inch (ppi). The Corel Painter display
default is 72 ppi, which means that each pixel in the Corel Painter image occupies one
pixel on your monitor. The display resolution does not affect the document’s actual
number of pixels per inch — it affects only how the image is displayed on the monitor.
For example, a 300-ppi image is displayed on-screen at approximately four times its
actual size. Because each pixel in the Corel Painter image occupies one pixel on your
monitor, and the monitor’s pixels are approximately four times the size of the image’s
pixels (72 ppi versus 330 ppi), the image must appear four times larger on-screen in
order to display all of the pixels. In other words, your 330-ppi document will be
printed at approximately one-quarter of its on-screen size. To view the image at its
actual size, you can set the zoom level to 25%.

Corel Painter User Guide

If you set the dimensions in pixels and then change the number of pixels per inch
(resolution), this change will affect the size of the printed image. If you set your
document size in inches, centimeters, points, or picas and then change the resolution,
the dimensions of the printed image will not be affected.
Pixels per inch (ppi) is equivalent to dots per inch (dpi).

Resolution and Print Quality
The resolution of output devices (printers) is measured in dots per inch, and in the case
of halftones, lines per inch (lpi). Output device resolutions vary, depending on the type
of press and paper used. In general, a photograph is output at a crisp 150 lpi if printed
on glossy magazine stock, and at 85 lpi if printed on newspaper stock.
If you are using a personal laser or inkjet printer, set your document size in inches,
centimeters, points, or picas at the dots-per-inch setting specific to your printer. Most
printers produce excellent output from images set at 300 ppi. Increasing the file’s
pixels-per-inch setting does not necessarily improve the output and may create a large,
unwieldy file.
If you are using a commercial printer or a more sophisticated output device, the
dimensions of the image should always be set to the actual size that you want the
image to appear in the printed piece. A good rule of thumb is to set the number of
pixels per inch to twice the desired lines per inch. So, at 150 lpi, the setting should be
twice that, or 300 ppi; at 85 lpi, the setting should be 170 ppi. If you have questions
about the resolution of specific output devices, it’s a good idea to check with the print
service provider.

Opening and Placing Files
You can open files that were created in Corel Painter or in other applications. For
example, you can open a file from another graphics application and use Corel Painter
to add brushstrokes, tints, or paper textures.
You can also place a file in an existing Corel Painter document. The placed image
becomes a new reference layer in the document — you can transform (resize, rotate, or
slant) it on-screen by dragging its handles. A placed file maintains its link to the source
file until you commit it to the standard layer format.

Basics

You can scale a file before placing it in a document.

For general information about working with reference layers, see “Working with
Reference Layers” on page 474.

Supported File Formats
Corel Painter lets you open the following file formats:
• RIFF (RIF) — native Corel Painter format
• TIFF (TIF)
• PNG
• CMYK TIF (TIF) — Because Corel Painter works with RGB colors, the CMYK
TIF files that you open or import in the application are converted to an RGB color
profile.
• Adobe Photoshop formats (PSD) — Corel Painter preserves layers, layer masks,
alpha channels, and composite methods. Layer effects and adjustment layers are not
supported and should be merged or flattened in Adobe Photoshop.
• Windows Bitmap (BMP)
• PC Paintbrush (PCX)
• TARGA® (TGA)
• GIF — Corel Painter does not convert GIF animations to frame stacks.
• JPEG (JPG)
• Frame stacks (FRM) — Corel Painter animation files
• QuickTime® (MOV), Video for Windows (AVI), and numbered files. For more
information, refer to “Opening a Movie” on page 719 or “Working with Numbered
Files” on page 737.

Corel Painter User Guide

Corel Painter does not support LZW compressed TIFF file format. Only
uncompressed TIFF files can be opened in Corel Painter.

To open a document
1 Choose File  Open.
Corel Painter displays the folder of the last file you opened.
2 In the Open dialog box, locate the file that you want to open.
For each image, Corel Painter lists the dimensions (in pixels), file size, and file
format. Files saved in Corel Painter include thumbnails for browsing.
3 Click Open.
To browse for a document (Mac OS)
1 Choose File  Open.
2 Click Browse.
The Browse dialog box shows thumbnails for all the RIFF files in a folder.
3 Double-click the filename, or select a file, and click Open.

To place a file
1 Choose File  Place.
2 Select an image file, and click Open.
The Place image dialog box appears.
3 Perform a task from the following table.
If the placed image contains a mask and you do not enable the Retain Alpha
check box when placing, the image mask is discarded.

Creating and Opening Templates
If you regularly work with documents that contain similar dimensions, formatting,
and resolution, you can create document templates so that you don’t have to start each
document from scratch. When creating a template, you can add content to the canvas
and save it as part of the template.
Basics

To save a document as a template
1 Create a file with the sizing, formatting, and resolution attributes you want.
2 Choose File  Save As.
3 In the Save (Mac OS) or Save Image As (Windows) dialog box, save the file to one
of the following folders in your user folder:
• (Mac OS) Corel Painter 12\Support Files\Templates
• (Windows 7) AppData\Roaming\Corel\Painter 12\Default\Templates
If you want the template to display under File  Open Template, you need to close
and then reopen Corel Painter.
In a multiuser environment, only users with Administrator status can add files
to the Templates folder.
In Windows, you need to ensure that all hidden files are displayed in order to
access the AppData folder.

To open a document template
• Choose File  Open Template.
You can also open a template by choosing Help  Welcome, and then
choosing a template from the Open a Template list box.

Switching Document Views
Corel Painter offers two document viewing modes: Windowed and Full-screen.
Windowed mode is the default viewing mode for documents, which displays all
standard tools in the workspace. For example, the property bar, Brush selector bar,
toolbox, and a few additional panels are readily accessible.
Full-screen mode lets you hide your computer’s desktop and view the document
window without scroll bars. When full-screen mode is enabled, the document window
is centered over a solid background. All of the Corel Painter features work when you
use full-screen mode.
You can also change the default document view mode for the application. For more
information, see “Interface Preferences” on page 755.
50

Corel Painter User Guide

To switch viewing modes
• From the toolbox, click the View Mode button
Mode and Windowed Mode.

to toggle between Full Screen

You can also
Toggle the viewing modes

Press Command + M (Mac OS) or
Ctrl + M (Windows).

Reposition the canvas anywhere on the
screen

Hold down the Spacebar and drag.

You can also switch viewing modes from the Navigator panel.

Navigating Images and Viewing Image Information
You can use the Navigator panel to better orient yourself in the document window. For
example, when you’re working at a high zoom level or with a large image, you can use
the Navigator panel’s small canvas preview to display the entire image without having
to zoom out. You can also move to a different image area without adjusting the zoom
level. In addition, you can highlight which area is currently displayed in the document
window.

Basics

The Navigator’s canvas preview allows you to view the entire image even when you’re
zoomed in.

The Navigator also lets you view the X and Y coordinates and cursor position to help
you navigate the image. You can also view document information, such as width and
height; and unit information, such as pixels, inches, and resolution.

To display the Navigator panel
1 Choose Window  Navigator.
2 Perform a task from the following table.
To

Do the following

Move to a different area of the image
without adjusting the zoom level

In the Navigator panel, click a different area
of the canvas preview.

Indicate in the Navigator’s canvas preview
window the area that is currently displayed
in the document window

Click the Navigator Options button , and
choose display Show Navigator Frame.

Zoom to a specific magnification level in the
document window

Open the Zoom Canvas slider, and adjust
the zoom level.

Corel Painter User Guide

Do the following

Rotate the image in the document window

Open the Rotate Canvas slider, and adjust
the rotation.

From the Navigator panel, you can also enable various tools by clicking the
Open Navigator Settings button , and choosing an option. The available
tools include the drawing modes, Impasto, tracing paper, grids, and color
management.

Zooming Images
You can change the level of magnification by zooming. You can zoom in and out by
using the Magnifier tool, resetting magnification, or zooming to fit the screen. You can
even zoom in and out while working with other tools.

The Magnifier tool lets you zoom in and out by clicking in the document window.

To zoom in
1 In the toolbox, click the Magnifier tool .
The Magnifier cursor shows a plus sign (+), which indicates that you are increasing
the magnification (zooming in).
2 Click or drag in the document window.
Each click increases the magnification to the next level, as defined in the Scale box
at the bottom of the image window.
Basics

When you drag, Corel Painter chooses the magnification level that most closely
conforms to the selected area and centers the screen view on that area.
You can also zoom in using the following keyboard shortcuts:
• (Mac OS) Hold down Command, and press + (plus sign).
• (Windows) Hold down Ctrl, and press + (plus sign).

To zoom out
1 In the toolbox, click the Magnifier tool , and hold down Option (Mac OS) or Alt
(Windows).
A minus sign (–) appears on the Magnifier cursor, which indicates that you are
decreasing the magnification (zooming out).
2 Click in the document window.
Each click reduces the magnification to the next level, as defined in the Scale box at
the bottom of the image window.
You can also zoom out using the following keyboard shortcuts:
• (Mac OS) Hold down Command, and press – (minus sign).
• (Windows) Hold down Ctrl, and press – (minus sign).

To zoom to a specific magnification level
• Choose Window  Navigator, and type a value in the Zoom Canvas box.
If you prefer, open the Zoom Canvas slider, and adjust the zoom level.
To reset magnification to 100%
• Double-click the Magnifier tool

in the toolbox.

You can also reset magnification to 100% by clicking the Reset tool
on the
property bar or the Reset Zoom to 100% button
in the Navigator panel.

Corel Painter User Guide

To zoom to fit the screen
• Choose Window  Zoom to Fit.
Corel Painter generates a view of the entire document to fit your document
window.
You can also zoom to fit the screen by clicking the Fit Screen button
the property bar.

Rotating Images and the Canvas
You can rotate an image on the screen to accommodate the way you draw naturally.
You can also rotate the canvas to change the image orientation.

Rotate an image to accommodate the way you naturally draw.

Rotating an image onscreen is meant for drawing purposes only; whereas rotating the
canvas modifies the appearance of the image. For example, if you print an image that
you rotated onscreen, the rotation is not reflected in the printed image. However, if
you rotate the canvas of the image, the rotation is reflected in the printed image.
You can rotate an image or the canvas by a predefined amount, or you can choose the
amount of rotation. You can also reset the original orientation of an image.

To rotate an image
1 From the toolbox, click the Rotate Page tool .
If you prefer using a keyboard shortcut, hold down Option + Spacebar (Mac OS)
or Spacebar + Alt (Windows).
Basics

The cursor changes to a hand with a pointing finger

2 Drag in the document window to rotate the image.
The new rotation angle appears on the property bar.
You can also
Constrain rotation to 90° increments

Hold down Shift while rotating.

Rotate an image by specifying a rotation
angle

Type a rotation angle in the Rotation Angle
box on the property bar or in the Navigator
panel.

You can also rotate an image from the Navigator panel by typing a value in
the Rotate Canvas box or by opening the Rotate Canvas slider and adjusting
the rotation.

To reset the original orientation of an image
1 In the toolbox, click the Rotate Page tool .
2 Do one of the following:
• Click once in the document window.
• Double-click the Rotate Page tool.
• On the property bar, click the Reset Tool button

You can also reset image rotation from the Navigator panel by clicking the
Reset Rotation button .

To rotate the canvas
1 Choose Canvas  Rotate Canvas.
2 Perform a task from the following table.
You can also
Rotate the Canvas layer 180 degrees

Choose Canvas  Rotate Canvas  180.

Rotate the Canvas layer 90 degrees clockwise

Choose Canvas  Rotate Canvas  90 CW.

Corel Painter User Guide

You can also
Rotate the Canvas layer 90 degrees
counterclockwise

Choose Canvas  Rotate Canvas  90 CCW.

Rotate the Canvas layer by a user-defined
amount

Choose Canvas  Rotate Canvas Arbitrary,
and type a value in the Angle box.

If your document has layers of different types, you are prompted to commit
all of them to default, pixel-based layers.

Flipping Images
You can flip the canvas and all of its associated layers together, or you can flip a layer,
selection, or the canvas individually. You can flip all or parts of an image horizontally
(from left to right) or vertically (from top to bottom).

Original image.

Basics

Image flipped horizontally.

Image flipped vertically.

To flip the canvas and layers together
1 Choose Canvas  Rotate Canvas.
2 Choose one of the following:
• Flip Canvas Horizontal
• Flip Canvas Vertical
If your document has layers of different types, you are prompted to commit all of
them to a default, pixel-based layer.
To flip the canvas, a layer, or a selection individually
1 Perform a task from the following table.
To flip

Do the following

The canvas

Click the Canvas in the Layers panel.

Corel Painter User Guide

To flip

Do the following

A layer

Click one or multiple layers in the Layers
panel.

A selection

Click a selection tool from the toolbox, and
drag in the document window to select an
area.

2 Choose Edit, and choose one of the following:
• Flip Horizontal
• Flip Vertical

Repositioning Images
You can reposition an image in the Corel Painter workspace in order to view, or work
on, a different area of an image. You can also view a different area of an image when
you’re zoomed in.

To reposition a document
1 In the toolbox, click the Grabber tool .
The cursor changes to the Grabber tool.
2 Perform a task from the following table.
To

Do the following

Scroll through the image

Drag in the document window.

Center the image

Click once in the document window.

You can also activate the Grabber tool by holding down the spacebar.

To reposition a document while zoomed in
1 Choose Window  Navigator.
2 In the Navigator panel, click a different area of the preview area.
If the Navigator frame is displayed, you can drag the frame to a different area of
the canvas preview.
Basics

Cropping Images
You can remove unwanted edges from the image with the Crop tool. You can adjust
the aspect ratio of the cropped image and choose to maintain the aspect ratio. You can
also remove unwanted areas of an image by resizing the canvas area. For information,
see “Resizing Images and the Canvas” on page 60.

To crop an image
1 In the toolbox, click the Crop tool .
2 Drag inside the image to define the rectangular area that you want to keep.
You can adjust the rectangle by dragging a corner or any of its edges.
3 When you’re ready to execute the crop, click inside the rectangle.
To constrain the cropping rectangle to a specific aspect ratio, enable the Ratio
check box on the property bar, and type values in the Crop Ratio Width and
Crop Ratio Height boxes.

To constrain cropping to a square
1 In the toolbox, click the Crop tool .
2 Hold down Shift, and drag to define the area for cropping.
3 Click inside the square.
To adjust the aspect ratio of the cropped image
1 In the toolbox, click the Crop tool .
2 On the property bar, type values in the Crop Ratio Width and Crop Ratio Height
boxes.

Resizing Images and the Canvas
You can change the physical dimensions of an image by resizing the canvas and the
image together, or by resizing the canvas area only. It is important to understand the
distinction between the two resizing techniques.

Corel Painter User Guide

When you resize the canvas and image together, the image dimensions and resolution
change, but the image appearance doesn’t change. For example, if you resize a 300 ppi
image to 150 ppi, the image size is smaller, but it looks the same.

The image was resized by modifying the resolution.

Alternatively, when you resize only the canvas area, both the image dimensions and
appearance change. For example, if you increase the size of the canvas, a border
appears around the image. If you decrease the size of the canvas, the edge of the canvas
is trimmed. In addition, the image resolution is affected.

Basics

The canvas area is resized in order to apply an empty border around the edge of an image.

It is also important to note that the size of the onscreen image is affected by the pixel
height and width of the image, the zoom level, and the monitor settings. As a result,
an image may be displayed as a different size onscreen than when it is printed. For
more information, see “Understanding Resolution” on page 46 and “Creating
Documents” on page 44.

To resize the canvas and image content together
1 Choose Canvas  Resize.
To avoid distortion by maintaining the width-to-height ratio of the image, enable
the Constrain File Size check box.
2 In the New Size area, type values in the Width and Height boxes.
If you enable the Constrain File Size check box, you need to type values only in the
size box; the other values are adjusted automatically.
If you choose pixels or percent as the unit and enter a value, the Constrain File Size
check box is automatically disabled.
Increasing the image dimensions significantly may cause the image to appear
stretched and pixelated.
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Corel Painter User Guide

To resize the canvas area
1 Choose Canvas  Canvas Size.
2 In the Canvas Size dialog box, specify the number of pixels you want to add to any
side of the canvas.
To reduce, or trim, the canvas size, specify negative values.

Saving and Backing up Files
You can save a file in its current format or in a different format. You can also track the
changes that you make to a file by saving multiple versions of the file, also known as
iterations. In addition, you have the option of creating backup files every time you save
a document.
When you save an iteration of a file, an updated version of the file is saved with a
version number added to the filename. For example, if you saved the original file as
Image. RIF and then save an iteration of the file, the latest version of the file is saved as
Image_001.RIF. For each subsequent iterative save that you perform, the number
added to the filename increases by 1, for example, Image_002.RIF and
Image_003.RIF. Iterative saving is useful if you need to revert to an older version of a
file, or simply to track your progress over time.

To save a file in its current format
• Choose File  Save.
To save a file with a different name or in a different format
1 Choose File  Save As.
2 In the Save (Mac OS) or Save Image As (Windows) dialog box, use the controls to
specify a location, file name, and format.
To perform an iterative save
• Choose File  Iterative Save.
The location of the last file saved is stored and used for iterative saves unless you
specify a new location.

Basics

You can also perform an iterative save by pressing Command + Option + S
(Mac OS) or Ctrl + Alt + S (Windows).

To create a backup file when saving
1 Do one of the following:
• (Mac OS) Choose Corel Painter 12 menu  Preferences.
• (Windows) Choose Edit  Preferences.
2 In the Preferences list of categories, click General.
3 Enable the Create Backup on Save check box.

Choosing a File Format
When you save a file, you must choose a file format. The following section contains
information about some of the supported file formats.

Saving RIFF Files
RIFF is the Corel Painter file format, which retains special information about your
document. For example, a RIFF file maintains all layers.
RIFF files are best used as “work-in-progress” files. It is recommended that you always
save files in RIFF format, and then save to GIF, JPEG, TIF, or another file format
when a file is ready for production.
Corel Painter lets you compress files and save disk space with a lossless compression
method. When saving in RIFF format, you can minimize the file size on your hard disk
by ensuring that the Uncompressed option is disabled by default.

Saving JPEG Files
Corel Painter supports the JPEG file format. Unlike GIF, the JPEG file format displays
a full range of colors.
The JPEG file format lets you compress your file on a scale of Fair to Excellent, where
quality is directly proportional to file size. These quality settings will let you achieve
compression ratios ranging from less than 10:1 to greater than 100:1. JPEG is a
“lossy” file format, meaning that a compressed JPEG file will not be identical, pixel-

Corel Painter User Guide

for-pixel, to the original. However, because the JPEG algorithm takes into account the
sensitivity of the eye to different colors, the higher-quality settings should achieve
visually satisfying results.
You can assign a URL to layers and placed images and then save the file in GIF or
JPEG format to produce an image map. For more information, see “Client-Side Image
Mapping” on page 691.
When you save a file in JPEG format, Corel Painter displays the JPEG Encoding
Quality dialog box, with the following options:
• The Quality options — Excellent, High, Good, and Fair — let you set the degree
of file compression.
The Excellent option compresses the least, but retains the most data. Fair
compresses the most, but loses the most data.
You can also use the Quality slider to adjust file compression.
• The Smoothness slider applies smoothing to the entire image. This is useful when
using the Fair option to blur the edges of JPEG artifacts. The default is 0. Keep in
mind that using a high smoothness setting can cause blurring.
• The Progressive JPEG check box creates a progressive JPEG file. The progressive
format is useful for files designed for the Web. As the name implies, the progressive
format displays an image in stages — as a series of scans — while the file
downloads. The first scan is a low-quality image; the following scans improve in
quality. This allows the user to see the whole image quickly.
• The HTML Map Options — NCSA Map File, CERN Map File, and Client Side
Map File — let you generate an image map. (NCSA refers to the National Center
for Supercomputing Applications, and CERN refers to the Conseil Europeén pour
la Recherche Nucléaire.) Use the NCSA Map File or CERN Map File option to
generate a server-side image map. Use the Client Side Map File option to generate
a client-side image map.
For more information about image map types, see “Working with Image Maps” on
page 690.
It is best not to decompress and recompress a file multiple times. Although JPEG can
compress and discard data that is not visible or obvious, the degradation of the data
can affect the condition of your file.
When a file has lost a significant amount of data, block patterns may appear in areas of
the image. If you try to use the Apply Surface Texture feature on a JPEG file, you may
find that the block patterns become more prominent.
Basics

Saving GIF Files
Corel Painter lets you save documents as GIF files. GIF, a file format using 8 or fewer
bits, is commonly used to display graphics on the Web. When you save a GIF file, you
can choose settings from 4 Colors to 256 Colors. You can choose how your colors will
be displayed and what part of your image will be transparent.
You can enable the Color Set option to force all colors in the color table of the GIF file
to match the colors in the current color set. This option can be useful when you are
doing Web work, especially if you want to constrain colors to a specific color set or
control the number of colors on a Web page, thus controlling the image file size.
The Imaging Method setting determines how a 24-bit Corel Painter document will be
converted to the limited number of colors that GIF uses. If you choose Quantize to
Nearest Color, Corel Painter may replace some colors with colors that are located next
to each pixel. If you choose Dither Colors, Corel Painter applies a pattern to the chosen
colors to generate a more accurate, less banded result.
Corel Painter can also save a frame stack as a GIF animation file. For more
information, see “Creating Animated GIFs” on page 696.
If you want your image to have transparency, enable the Output Transparency check
box. Most programs that display GIF files support transparency, but for those that
don’t, you should specify the color of the “transparent” area. If your image will be
displayed on the Web, enable the Background is WWW Gray option. You can also
choose to use the background color of your Web page by enabling the Background is
BG Color option.
For programs that support transparency, your selection will determine which areas are
transparent. The Threshold slider determines which selection (loaded mask) value
becomes transparent. You can see how the Threshold slider affects the transparency of
your image in the Preview window of the dialog box. Transparency is displayed in the
Preview window by a rectangular lattice. You can toggle between the Preview window
and your Save As GIF options to the results you want. Enable the Interlaced check box
if your image will be displayed on a Web page.
For information on creating masks, see “Selections and Transformations” on page 407.

Saving RGB TIF Files
The TIF format facilitates exchange between applications and computer platforms. It
is a widely supported bitmap image format that lets you save RGB color profile
information.
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Corel Painter User Guide

Saving Adobe Photoshop (PSD) Files
Corel Painter can save files in Adobe Photoshop (PSD) format. For optimum
compatibility, shapes and text are rasterized, and masks are placed in channels.
When you save a file in PSD format, you can embed the RGB color profile, as you do
when saving in TIF format.

Saving Encapsulated PostScript (EPS) Files
The encapsulated PostScript® (EPS) files in Corel Painter conform to the Desktop
Color Separation (DCS) 2.0 format (EPS-DCS 5 file format). Although Corel Painter
saves files in EPS-DCS, it can’t read EPS-DCS. If you plan to save an image in
EPS-DCS, it’s a good idea to save it in another format first, so that you’ll have a copy
of it that you can reopen in Corel Painter.
When you save an image as an EPS-DCS file with Preview Options turned on,
Corel Painter uses the loaded International Color Consortium® (ICC) profile to
prepare the separation files. For more information on Preview Options and color
management, see “Printing” on page 743.
Although you can save your images as CMYK EPS separations, Corel Painter can’t
open or edit CMYK files.
When you save a file in EPS-DCS, Corel Painter opens the EPS Save Options dialog
box, with these options:
• Hex (ASCII) Picture Data provides another way of storing PostScript information.
Some page design programs require that this option be checked. The file sizes will
be approximately twice as large when saved with this option.
• Preview Options — No Preview, Black and White Preview, and Color Preview —
specify whether to save preview data and in what format. The resulting preview file
is a low-resolution (72-ppi) file.
If you have an older laser printer, you must use the black and white preview to
print these files. Although the preview or display is black and white, the color
information remains intact.

Emailing Documents
Corel Painter lets you email documents by using the default email application installed
on your computer.
Basics

To email a document
1 Choose File  Email Image.
2 Type the image name in the Image Name text box.
3 In the Select Image Format area, enable one of the following options:
• JPEG
• PNG
• TIFF

Closing Documents and Quitting the Application
You can close documents or quit Corel Painter by using menu commands, keyboard
shortcuts, or the Close button of the current window.

To close a document
• Choose File  Close.
You can also
Close the current window

Click the Close button.

Close the current document by using a
keyboard shortcut

Press Command + W (Mac OS) or Ctrl
+ W (Windows).

To quit Corel Painter
• Do one of the following:
• (Mac OS) Choose Corel Painter 12 menu  Quit Corel Painter 12.
• (Windows) Choose File  Exit.
You can also quit Corel Painter by pressing Command + Q (Mac OS) or Ctrl
+ Q (Windows).

Corel Painter User Guide

Using Two Monitors
The Corel Painter user interface can be displayed across two or more monitors. You can
drag any of the Corel Painter panels, palettes, the property bar, and the toolbox to any
monitor; however, each panel or palette must be displayed entirely on one monitor at a
time. If a panel or palette straddles two monitors, it automatically snaps to the nearest
vertical edge of the monitor displaying the large portion of the panel or palette. If the
panel or palette is displayed equally on both monitors, it snaps to the vertical edge of
the left monitor.
For best performance, make sure that both monitors are set to the same resolution. In
Windows, you must stretch the application window to straddle both monitors, then
redesign your workspace. For information about configuring your system so that Corel
Painter is displayed across two or more monitors, refer to the documentation of your
operating system.

Wacom Intuos Support
Corel Painter supports the use of Wacom® Intuos® tablet, pen, and airbrush
technology.

Painting with an Intuos Tablet and Pen
The Intuos tablet provides increased pressure sensitivity to help you create smooth
curves, gradual transitions, and precise brushstrokes. When using an Intuos tablet
with Corel Painter, you can take advantage of tilt and bearing input in exciting ways.

Customizing Brush Tracking
Every artist uses different pressure when drawing on an Intuos tablet. The
Corel Painter Brush Tracking preferences help you customize your Intuos tablet to
meet your pressure sensitivity needs. For more information, see “Brush Tracking and
Calibration” on page 79.

Basics

Linking Stylus Features to Expression Settings
The settings that you adjust in the Expression panel in the Brush Controls palette let
you to tie brush features like Opacity, Grain, Angle, Size, Jitter, Resaturation, Bleed,
Flow, and Depth to stylus data, such as Velocity, Direction, Pressure, Wheel, Tilt, and
Bearing. For more information about using the Expression controls, see “Expression
Settings” on page 338.

Using the Min Size Setting
In Corel Painter, the Min Size setting lets you take full advantage of stylus input data.
When Size is set in the Expression panel of the Brush Controls palette to respond to
stylus pressure, and the Min Size setting is set to a small percentage of the brush size,
the strokes you make with the stylus create amazingly realistic results.

Using the Intuos Airbrush Wheel
The Intuos Airbrush — the first true computer airbrush — provides fingertip media
flow control. Corel Painter airbrushes respond to angle (tilt), bearing (direction), and
flow (wheel setting) data from the Intuos stylus, allowing for a truly realistic
brushstroke. For example, as you tilt your stylus, specks of media land on the paper in
a way that reflects that tilt. Corel Painter airbrushes create conic sections that mirror
your stylus movements.
Corel Painter airbrushes take advantage of the Intuos Airbrush stylus wheel control.
Like the needle control on a real airbrush, the Intuos wheel control adjusts airbrush
flow, or how much medium is applied. For more information about using the new
airbrushes, see “Painting with Airbrushes” on page 89.

Using Multiple Intuos Pens
All Intuos pens — both standard and airbrush — feature Tool ID™, which lets you
configure and work with multiple pens during a Corel Painter session. For example,
let’s assume you have two Intuos pens: Pen 1 and Pen 2. Pen 1 is set to an Oil brush
variant; Pen 2 is set to an Artists variant.
Every time you bring Pen 1 into the tablet’s proximity, Corel Painter automatically
changes the active brush to the Oil brush. Every time you bring Pen 2 into the tablet’s
proximity, Corel Painter switches to the Artists brush. If you’ve adjusted the tool
assigned to a pen’s size or other settings, Corel Painter remembers those changes for
the next time you use that pen.

Corel Painter User Guide

Drag-and-Drop Features
Corel Painter supports drag-and-drop copying of documents and layers from one
window to another.

Dragging Layers Between Documents
You can copy layers between Corel Painter documents by dragging from one window
to the other. When you drag a layer to a new document, the layer keeps its original
properties. For information, see “Moving Layers” on page 459.

Dragging Between Programs
Corel Painter supports drag-and-drop functionality between applications. This can be
a quick, convenient way to acquire images. For example, you can drag files from
Adobe Photoshop directly into Corel Painter.

Basics

Painting
The Corel Painter application lets you draw and paint as you might with real artists’
tools and media. In your studio, you use brushes, pens, pencils, chalk, airbrushes, and
palette knives to make marks on a canvas or piece of paper. With Corel Painter, an
infinite variety of marks are possible.
This section contains the following topics:
• Choosing a Painting Workflow
• Exploring Painting Media
• Working With the Canvas and Layers
• Setting up the Drawing Cursor
• Brush Tracking and Calibration
• Using a Stylus vs. a Mouse
• Applying Freehand and Straight Brushstrokes
• Constraining, Fading, and Undoing Strokes
• Erasing Image Areas
• Aligning Brushstrokes to Paths and Shapes
• Making 360° Strokes
• Painting with Airbrushes
• Adjusting Spread
• Recording and Playing Back Brushstrokes
• Reference: Troubleshooting

Choosing a Painting Workflow
Corel Painter includes a wide array of tools and features that allow you to create
original artwork. The purpose of this topic is to introduce you to the two mostcommon Corel Painter workflows and refer you to Help topics that provide more
information about each of these workflows.
Painting

Workflow 1: Start with a photo
Using Corel Painter’s powerful cloning tools, you can quickly transform a digital photo
into a painting.

The photo (left) was cloned (right) to begin the painting process.

Workflow step

Help topic

1. Open a photo for painting

“Opening and Placing Files” on page 47

2. Prepare a photo for cloning

“Using Quick Clone” on page 384

3. Paint the clone

“Painting in the Clone” on page 386

4. Save the photo painting

“Saving and Backing up Files” on page 63

You can also create a photo-painting by using the Auto-painting feature. For
more information, see “Auto-Painting Photos” on page 116.

Workflow 2: Start with a blank canvas
You can also start a project from scratch by choosing a paper texture and a brush, and
applying color to the canvas.

Corel Painter User Guide

You can start with a blank canvas (left) and use your imagination, and the Corel Painter
tools, to create a work of art.
Workflow

Help topic

1. Choose a paper texture

“Applying Paper Texture” on page 160

2. Choose a brush

“Selecting and Searching for Brushes” on page 122

3. Choose a color

“Using the Color Panel” on page 168

4. Apply a brushstroke to the canvas

“Applying Freehand and Straight Brushstrokes” on
page 83

Exploring Painting Media
Corel Painter lets you apply a wide variety of media to the canvas. For example, you
can use a brush to apply colors directly from a color panel or apply a color that you
mixed on the Mixer Pad. You can also paint by using a gradient, pattern, or clone.
The following table lists the media that you can apply to the canvas or layer and
references to the related topic in the Help.
Media

For information

Color

“Using the Color Panel” on page 168

Mixer pad

“Using the Mixer Panel Colors” on page 179

Two-color

“Creating Two-Color Brushstrokes” on page 174

Painting

Media

For information

Gradients

“Applying Gradients” on page 213

Patterns

“Painting with Patterns” on page 199

Cloners

“Painting in the Clone” on page 386

Working With the Canvas and Layers
In Corel Painter, you have the option of painting directly on the canvas by applying
brushstrokes or by creating a layer and applying brushstrokes on it. Working with
layers allows you to protect the canvas from any unwanted changes. When you select a
layer in the Layers panel, that layer becomes the target for your brushstrokes. For more
information, see “Getting Started with Layers” on page 448.
The result of any brushstroke you make depends on the following:
• The brush category (or drawing tool) you choose
• The brush variant you select within the brush category
• The brush controls you set, such as brush size, opacity, and the amount of color
penetrating paper texture
• The paper texture
• The color, gradient, or pattern you use as media
• The brush method
If you are using a Watercolor brush, you can paint only on a Watercolor layer. If you
are using a Liquid Ink brush, you can paint only on a Liquid Ink layer. For more
information, refer to “Working with the Watercolor Layer” on page 358 and “Working
with Liquid Ink brushes” on page 365.
If you try to paint on a shape, dynamic layer, or reference layer, you must commit it to
a standard layer so that your brushstrokes are accepted.
You can also select a channel or a layer mask as the target for your brushstrokes. For
more information, see “Managing and Editing Channels” on page 439 or “Creating
Layer Masks” on page 487.
When you have an active selection, painting is confined to the selection by default. For
more information, see “Selections and Transformations” on page 407.

Corel Painter User Guide

When you use complex brush variants, you see a dotted line on the canvas before the
mark appears. For example, the Gloopy variant of the Impasto brush is complex, and it
delays the appearance of the stroke onscreen. When you experience a delay, you can
continue applying strokes, without losing any stroke data, while waiting for the stroke
to appear on the screen.

Setting up the Drawing Cursor
You can choose the icon and orientation of the drawing cursor. You can also set the
drawing cursor to show a brush ghost — a representation of the brush variant you
choose from the Brush Selector bar.

The brush ghost (left) gives you information about the size of your brush variant. The
Enhanced brush ghost (right) gives you information about the tilt, bearing, and rotation
of your pen.

To choose a drawing cursor icon
1 Do one of the following:
• (Mac OS) Choose Corel Painter 12  Preferences  Interface.
• (Windows) Choose Edit  Preferences  Interface.
2 In the Cursor Type area, enable the Iconic option.
3 Choose an icon from the Iconic list box:
• Brush
• Cross
• Torus
• Triangle
• Hollow Triangle
• Gray Triangle

Painting

You can also
Change the cursor color

Click the Main Color button, and click a
color in the Color dialog box.

Change the cursor orientation

Drag the Angle slider.

If you want the drawing cursor icon to be a single pixel, enable the Single
Pixel option in the Cursor Type area.

To set brush ghost options
1 Do one of the following:
• (Mac OS) Choose Corel Painter 12  Preferences  Interface.
• (Windows) Choose Edit  Preferences  Interface.
2 In the Cursor Type area, enable one of the following options:
• Brush Ghost — gives you immediate visual feedback on the cursor, showing
you the shape and size of the selected brush
• Enhanced Brush Ghost — gives you visual feedback about the brush size as well
as the tilt, bearing, and rotation of the pen. The outer ring indicates the brush
size, and the line indicates the tilt and bearing of the pen. If you have a flat-tip
pen that supports 360-degree rotation, a dot appears along the outer ring to
indicate the pen rotation.

The Enhanced brush ghost gives more visual feedback about your pen in relation to the
tablet.

Corel Painter User Guide

Brush Tracking and Calibration
When you draw with traditional media, the amount of pressure that you use with a
tool determines the density and width of your strokes. Using a pressure-sensitive stylus
with Corel Painter gives you the same kind of control. Because each artist uses a
different strength or pressure level in a stroke, you can adjust Corel Painter to match
your stroke strength for all brushes by using the Brush Tracking preferences, or for a
specific brush, by using the Brush Calibration controls.

Brush Tracking for all brush variants
Brush Tracking is particularly useful for artists with a light touch. If a light stroke
leaves no color on the canvas, you can use Brush Tracking to increase sensitivity for all
brushes. Corel Painter saves Brush Tracking between sessions, so whatever tracking
sensitivity you set will be the default the next time you open the application.
The most common way of adjusting brush tracking is to apply a typical brush stroke,
such as a wavy stroke, to the scratch pad. Corel Painter then uses your stroke to
calculate the appropriate pressure and velocity settings for all brush variants.

Use the scratch pad in the Brush Tracking dialog box to customize how Corel Painter
responds to your stroke pressure and speed.

Brush Calibration for individual brush variants
The Brush Calibration controls are very useful for adjusting individual brush variants.
You can modify the pressure of your stroke on the scratch pad to achieve different
results. For example, you could use a light touch when sketching with a pencil brush
variant, but set more pressure when using an oil paint brush variant. Corel Painter
saves Brush Calibration control settings with the brush variant, so whatever sensitivity
you set will be the default the next time you choose the brush variant. If you set Brush
Calibration for a specific brush in addition to general Brush Tracking preferences, the
Brush Calibration settings override the Brush Tracking preferences.

Painting

Manually adjusting pressure and velocity
When you use the scratch pad to set brush tracking and calibration, Corel Painter
calculates the pressure and velocity settings for you. However, you can manually adjust
these settings. For example, you can adjust the stroke pressure to achieve a full
pressure range (Pressure Scale slider) using a softer or harder touch (Pressure Power
slider). You can also adjust the stroke velocity to achieve a full velocity range (Velocity
Scale slider) with a slower or faster stroke (Velocity Power slider).
To ensure that a brush control is using the pressure or velocity settings, you need to set
the brush control Expression setting to Pressure or Velocity. For more information, see
“Expression Settings” on page 338.

To set brush tracking
1 Do one of the following:
• (Mac OS) Choose Corel Painter 12  Preferences  Brush Tracking.
• (Windows) Choose Edit  Preferences  Brush Tracking.
2 Drag in the scratch pad by using a “normal” stroke.
Use the pressure and speed you prefer when drawing or painting. This allows the
Brush Tracker to calculate the appropriate speed and pressure settings for the
brush.
To adjust the settings manually, perform a task from the following table:
To

Do the following

Achieve a full pressure range with a softer or
harder touch

Adjust the Pressure Scale and Pressure Power
sliders.

Achieve a full velocity range with a slower or
faster motion

Adjust the Velocity Scale and Velocity Power
sliders.

To set brush calibration
1 In the toolbox, click the Brush tool .
2 Click the Brush Selector on the Brush Selector bar.
3 In the Brush Library panel, click a brush category, and click a brush variant.
4 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Brush Calibration.
5 Enable the Enable Brush Calibration check box.
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Corel Painter User Guide

6 Click the Set Brush Calibration Settings button

7 Drag in the scratch pad by using a “normal” stroke.
Use the pressure and speed you prefer when drawing or painting. This allows the
Brush Tracker to calculate the appropriate speed and pressure settings for the
brush.
To adjust the settings manually, perform a task from the following table:
To

Do the following

Achieve a full pressure range with a softer or
harder touch

Adjust the Pressure Scale and Pressure Power
sliders.

Achieve a full velocity range with a slower or
faster motion

Adjust the Velocity Scale and Velocity Power
sliders.

Using a Stylus vs. a Mouse
With Corel Painter, you can produce realistic brushstrokes that fade in and out;
change width, tilt, and angle; and penetrate based on the stylus or mouse input.
Overall, the stylus provides more control and interactivity because it gives you the
most responsive digital painting experience by allowing your hand and brush to work
fluidly as one. However, if you don’t have a stylus, you can adjust the mouse so it
simulates stylus pressure, tilt, bearing, and fingerwheel settings. For more information,
see “Mouse Controls” on page 298.

Edges
When you reach for a wide, flat brush, the stroke you make is affected by how you
hold the brush. A stroke made with the face of the brush comes out wide. A stroke
made with the edge is narrow.

Paint with the face of a flat brush for a wide stroke; use the edge for a narrow stroke.

Painting

Tilt
Some brush variants, such as the Smeary Flat variant in the Oils category, react to
stylus tilt (how close to vertical the stylus is held) and bearing (the compass direction in
which the stylus is pointing).
Tilt can significantly affect brushstrokes. If you get unexpected results, especially with
bristle-type brushes or airbrushes, you can try reducing the tilt of your stylus. Extreme
tilt angles are usually undesirable. For information about adjusting tilt, see “Expression
Settings” on page 338.

Pressure
Many Corel Painter brushes respond to stylus pressure (how hard you press with the
stylus). Depending on the variant settings, greater stylus pressure can increase the
width of a brushstroke, the penetration of color, or the degree of other effects. The
Corel Painter airbrushes also respond to the fingerwheel on the Wacom Intuos
airbrush, simulating a needle control that adjusts how much ink is sprayed.
You can link brush settings (such as size, opacity, and angle) to stylus input data (such
as velocity, direction, pressure, airbrush fingerwheel, tilt, and bearing). Refer to
“Expression Settings” on page 338 for more information about linking brush settings
to stylus input controls.
In theory, a mouse has no pressure information because a mouse button is either “on”
(button down) or “off ” (button up). However, with Corel Painter you can simulate
stylus pressure.
If you are using a mouse with Corel Painter, you can compensate for the lack of
pressure information by adjusting size, opacity, and grain on the property bar. For
example, reducing opacity or grain can produce the same results as pressing more
lightly with a stylus.

To adjust pressure, tilt, and bearing when using a mouse
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Mouse.
2 Move the Pressure slider.
A 100% setting uses maximum pressure.
3 Move the Tilt slider.
A 90° setting simulates a stylus that is perpendicular to the tablet.
4 Move the Bearing slider.
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Corel Painter User Guide

A setting of zero indicates that if a stylus were in use, it would be pointing left.
5 Move the Rotation slider.
A 360° setting simulates a stylus that complete a 360°-barrel rotation.
To see the effect of the tilt setting, apply a stroke to the drawing window
using the Fine Spray variant of the Airbrush category.

To adjust fingerwheel settings when using a mouse
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  General.
2 Choose Wheel from the Expression list box.
3 Choose Mouse.
4 Move the Wheel slider.
A 90% setting indicates that if a stylus were in use, it would be perpendicular to
the tablet.

Applying Freehand and Straight Brushstrokes
You can draw unconstrained lines by using the freehand drawing style, or you can
draw straight lines.
When you draw a freehand stroke, you can drag with any motion or in any direction.
The stroke follows your path.

Dragging to create freehand strokes.

When you draw a straight line stroke, Corel Painter connects points with a straight
line.

Painting

To create a straight line stroke, you click to add the first point and then click or drag to
create the stroke.

To draw freehand lines
1 On the Brush property bar, click the Freehand Strokes button
2 Drag on the canvas.

You can use shortcut keys to toggle between the freehand and straight line
drawing styles. Press B to choose the freehand style, or V to choose the
straight-line style.

To draw straight lines
1 On the Brush property bar, click the Straight Line Strokes button .
2 Click a point on the canvas where you want to start your line.
3 Do one of the following:
• Click the point where you want to end the line.
• Drag to place the end point exactly where you want it.
Corel Painter connects the first and second points with a straight line.
4 To continue drawing from the second point, click or drag to create additional
points on the canvas.
Corel Painter connects each point with a straight line.
5 To end a line, do one of the following:
• Press Return (Mac OS) or Enter (Windows) to close the polygon. The final point
is connected to the origin with a straight line.
• Click the Freehand Strokes button
to return to the freehand drawing style
without closing the polygon.
• Press V to end the current polygon without closing it, so that you can begin a
new one.
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Corel Painter User Guide

Constraining, Fading, and Undoing Strokes
Using the freehand stroke drawing style, you can constrain your strokes to a straight
line. The angle you draw depends on the orientation of the stroke.
You can also make a stroke less opaque, or more translucent, by fading the stroke.

In this example, a brushstroke was applied to the canvas (left) and then fade was applied
to the brushstroke (right) by using the Fade dialog box (center).

In addition, you can undo a stroke. You can also control how many individual strokes
can be undone, see “Performance Preferences” on page 756.

To constrain freehand strokes
• Hold down Shift as you drag.
To fade a stroke
1 Choose Edit  Fade.
2 Drag the Undo Amount slider.
The Preview window displays the results of your selection.
To undo a stroke
• Choose Edit  Undo Brush Stroke.
You can also undo a stroke by pressing Command + Z (Mac OS) or Ctrl + Z
(Windows).
Painting

Erasing Image Areas
You can erase any part of your image and control the opacity of erased areas. You can
also link the opacity to stylus pressure or specify a fixed opacity value.

You can set the Eraser opacity to Hard (left) or Soft (right).

To erase an image area
1 In the Layers panel, choose the layer on which you want to erase.
2 Choose the Eraser tool
in the toolbox.
3 On the property bar, adjust the Size pop-up slider
and the Opacity pop-up
slider .
4 Click one of the following buttons:
• Soft Mode
— sets opacity based on stylus pressure. The more pressure you
apply, the higher the opacity. The initial opacity level is determined by the
Opacity pop-up slider.
• Hard Mode
— sets opacity based on the value specified by the Opacity popup slider
You can toggle between Soft Mode and Hard Mode by holding down Option
(Mac OS) or Alt (Windows) as you drag in the image window.
You can erase in straight lines by clicking the Straight Line Strokes button
on the property bar, clicking a point on the canvas where you want to start
your line, and clicking where you want to end the line.

Corel Painter User Guide

You can also erase image areas by choosing the Brush tool
in the toolbox
and choosing Erasers from the Brush Category selector on the Brush Selector
bar.

Aligning Brushstrokes to Paths and Shapes
You can automatically align a brushstroke to a path or the edge of a shape. You do this
by determining the tolerance area, that is, how close the brushstroke must be to the
path or shape for automatic alignment to occur. If the brushstroke is within the
tolerance area, the brushstroke snaps to the path or shape; if the brushstroke is outside
of the tolerance area, no brushstroke is applied.

You can align brushstrokes to paths (left) and to shapes (right).

To align a brushstroke to a path or shape
1 Click the Brush Selector on the Brush Selector bar.
2 In the Brush Library panel, click a brush category and a brush variant.
3 On the property bar, click the Align Brush to Path button .
Brushstrokes within the tolerance area of a path or shape are automatically aligned.
If there are multiple shapes within the tolerance area, the brushstroke is
aligned to the shape on the selected layer.

Painting

To set the tolerance area for brushstroke alignment
1 Choose one of the following:
• (Mac OS) Corel Painter 12  Preferences
• (Windows) Edit  Preferences
2 In the Preferences list of categories, click General.
3 In the Align to Path area, type a number in the Tolerance box.
The tolerance area is measured in pixels and must be between 1 and 999.

Letting Media Pool
Corel Painter computed brushes allow media to build up or “pool” when you move a
brush slowly. Pooling creates very realistic strokes, especially with airbrushes. You can
also cause media to pool by simply touching and pausing with the selected brush.

With an airbrush, paint pools when you pause in a stroke for 1 second (left), 4 seconds
(middle), and 7 seconds (right).

To enable media pooling
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Spacing.
2 Enable the Continuous Time Deposition check box.
When the Continuous Time Deposition check box is disabled, you must move
the brush (even just slightly) to cause media to be deposited.

Making 360° Strokes
Because there are no restrictions on bearing (stylus direction) in Corel Painter, you can
create full 360° strokes with noncomputed brushes by completing an arc without
interruption. Computed brushes use bearing, with the exception of those that use the
Rendered dab type, so you cannot use them to create 360° strokes.
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Corel Painter User Guide

Painting with Airbrushes
The Corel Painter computed airbrushes are so realistic, you feel as though you’re using
a real thing airbrush. For more about computed brushes, refer to “General Controls:
Dab Types” on page 264.
The best way to get used to the Corel Painter airbrushes is to play with them. Select
each variant and spray paint onto the canvas without worrying about running out of
compressed air. With computed airbrushes, you can paint with color, patterns, or
variants. One variant blows hairlike strokes; another variant just blows existing paint
around on the canvas, like a hose without an airbrush attached.
Try using the Fine Spray variant in the Airbrushes category for an example of how
Bearing and Flow settings combine to give realistic airbrush results.
For information about the Airbrush controls, see “Airbrush Controls” on page 309.

Conic Sections
Previous versions of digital airbrushes projected a thin mist of dots (or paint dabs) onto
the canvas. The Digital Airbrush variant (named Fat Stroke in previous versions of
Corel Painter) is included in the default brush library. With a digital airbrush, dots are
laid down, or sprayed, within a circular area, resembling the circle thrown by a
flashlight that is perfectly perpendicular to a piece of paper. The area of application
remains circular, regardless of tilt, bearing, or stylus pressure. Density, or flow,
adjustments can be mimicked with adjustments to the Opacity setting.

Previous versions of airbrushes sprayed a thin layer of dots within an area that was
always circular, like a circle of light from a flashlight that is perpendicular to a piece of
paper.

Now, airbrushes respond to angle (tilt), bearing (direction), and flow (fingerwheel
setting) data from a stylus, allowing for a truly realistic brushstroke. For example, as
you tilt your stylus, specks of media land on the paper in a way that reflects that tilt.
Painting

Imagine, again, the circle of light thrown by a flashlight. The moment the flashlight is
no longer perpendicular to the paper, the shape of the cone of light changes, creating a
conic section. In the same manner, Corel Painter airbrushes create conic sections that
mirror your stylus movements.

Angle and tilt determine the shape and size of the conic section created by Corel Painter
airbrushes, which resembles a circle of light from a flashlight that is no longer
perpendicular to the paper.

Extreme-tilt angles affect large areas of the canvas. This can slow the brush down as it
tries to squirt paint too far from the stylus.

Adjusting Spread
You can adjust airbrush spread, which affects how paint spreads out as it is applied. In
other words, it sets the size of area where the paint will be applied.
A good range for the Spread setting is 30° to 40°. Narrow settings for Spread and
Angle can cause problems. Combined with a very tilted stylus, a narrow setting for
Spread can cause paint to be deposited away from the cursor.

Varying Edges
You can vary the edges of the paint sprayed from an airbrush to achieve desired
softness by selecting a brush tip profile. Each profile gives you a different edge to the
paint you spray. For more information, refer to “Brush Tip Profiles” on page 279.

Corel Painter User Guide

Airbrush edges created with the Watercolor profile (left) and the Medium profile (right).

Adjusting Flow
Although you can still adjust Opacity to apply fainter or darker dots of media, some
Corel Painter airbrushes, for example, the Fine Wheel Airbrush variant, take
advantage of stylus fingerwheel controls. Like the needle control on real airbrushes, the
wheel fingerwheel control adjusts airbrush flow — that is, how much media is applied.

With the fingerwheel control, you can adjust airbrush flow on many airbrush styluses.

Controlling Droplet Size
You can control the size of the airbrush droplets. This is not the same as adjusting the
size of the brush (the larger the brush, the more droplets are sprayed).

To change the size of airbrush droplets
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  General.
2 Choose Airbrush from the Dab Type list box.
3 In the Brush palette, click the Size tab to open the Size panel.
4 In the Size panel, move the Size slider.
5 Move the Feature slider to the left for smaller droplets, or to the right for larger
droplets.

Painting

Very large droplets may produce unexpected results.
The Feature setting is not available for variants that use the Pixel Airbrush or
Line Airbrush dab types.

To increase or decrease media flow from an airbrush
• Move the stylus fingerwheel toward the tip (or forward), to decrease flow. Move it
away from the tip (or backward), to increase flow.
You can also control media flow from an airbrush by adjusting the Flow and
Min Flow sliders in the Airbrush panel in the Brush Controls palette. Flow
sets the maximum flow. Min Flow sets the minimum amount of flow as a
percentage of Flow.
Depending on the Airbrush variant, you can reverse the effect of moving the
airbrush fingerwheel by enabling the Invert button
in the Color
Expression panel, or by clicking the Invert Flow Expression button
in the
Airbrush panel in the Brush Controls palette.
In the Airbrush panel in the Brush Controls palette, you can also determine
flow based on stylus information, such as velocity or pressure, by choosing an
expression from the Flow Expression list box.

Recording and Playing Back Brushstrokes
Corel Painter plays back any stroke you record, wherever you click in the document
window. In this way, you can easily create a series of identical strokes — for example,
when you create hatching effects.

A brushstroke (top) is recorded and played back within a triangular selection.

Corel Painter User Guide

Another way to use a recorded stroke is with Auto Playback, which lets you repeat the
recorded stroke at random positions on the page.
You can also save recorded strokes for later use. You can play back saved strokes, and
you can paint with the data from a saved stroke. This way of working can be
particularly useful if you work sometimes with a stylus and sometimes with a mouse:
you can record the brushstrokes you make with a stylus, save them for later use, and
then use a mouse to obtain the data from that stroke, allowing stylus-quality results.
Corel Painter has a number of brushstroke scripts that can be played back on their own
or used in conjunction with an original brushstroke. When you use a brushstroke
script, your freehand brushstrokes adhere to the stroke data in the script. This allows
you to emulate features of a tablet and stylus while using a mouse.

To record a stroke
• Choose Brushes  Record Stroke.
The next brushstroke you make is saved in memory.
To play back a stroke
1 Choose Brushes  Playback Stroke.
2 Click where you want to repeat the stroke.
Corel Painter centers the stroke on the point on which you click. You can repeat the
stroke as many times as you want.
3 Choose Brushes  Playback Stroke to turn off playback.
To play back strokes randomly
• Choose Brushes  Auto Playback.
Corel Painter repeats the stroke at random positions until you click.
To save a stroke
1 Choose Brushes  Save Stroke.
2 In the Save Stroke dialog box, type a name.
Corel Painter adds the stroke to the list of saved strokes.
To select a saved stroke
• Choose Brushes  Strokes, and choose a saved stroke.
Painting

The selected stroke is used when you play back strokes or use stroke data.

To use stroke data
1 Choose Brushes  Strokes, and choose one of the following:
• Pressure Modulate — varies the stylus pressure in a brushstroke
• 360° Bearing Rotate — rotates the stylus bearing by 360°
• Size/Bearing Modulate — varies the size of the brush tip and stylus bearing in a
brushstroke
• Size/Tilt Modulate — varies the size of the brush tip and tilt of the stylus in a
brushstroke
• Fade In/Out fades — the start point and endpoint of a brushstroke
• Short Stroke — decreases the length of a brushstroke
• Bearing Rotate — rotates stylus bearing in a brushstroke
You can also base stroke data on brushstrokes that you’ve already saved.
2 Choose Brushes  Use Stroke Data.
3 Draw brushstrokes.

Reference: Troubleshooting
This topic describes some of the reasons why a brushstroke may not appear:
• Main color — In the Color panel, what color is the Main Color (front) swatch? Is it
a color that will show up when applied to your image? If not, click the Main Color
swatch, and then set a different color.
• Opacity — Check the Opacity setting on the property bar and, if necessary, adjust
the pop-up slider to increase opacity.
• Brush method — The brush method determines the basic nature of a brush. To
check the brush method, choose Window  Brush Control Panels  General. If
you’re drawing with a light color on a dark background, the method must be set to
Cover in order to show the lighter color.
• Drawing mode — When you make a selection, the drawing mode determines what
part of the selection is protected. For more information, see “Protecting an Area of
the Canvas” on page 415.

Corel Painter User Guide

Composition Tools
The placement of objects in a painting can dramatically affect the overall appearance of
the finished work. Corel Painter includes many tools and features to help you compose,
size, and position images and image elements. For example, you can display the rulers
or the grid to help you position image elements with precision. You can also use
composition tools, such as the Mirror Painting tool, to achieve visual balance.
This section contains the following topics:
• Using the Layout Grid
• Using the Mirror Painting Mode
• Using the Kaleidoscope Painting Mode
• Using the Divine Proportion tool
• Using Rulers
• Using Guides
• Using Snap to Guides
• Using the Grid
• Using Snap to Grid
• Using the Perspective Grid

Using the Layout Grid
The Layout Grid provides an easy way to 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. From the Layout Grid panel, you
can access grid settings, such as the number of divisions, size, angle, color, and opacity
of the grid. You can adjust these settings while you work and save them as a preset for
future drawings and paintings. You can also move the grid to a new position.
The Layout Grid also lets you divide the canvas into compositional sections based on
the proportions of the canvas. This nonprinting grid is used primarily for composing
artwork before you begin drawing or painting.
Composition Tools

The Layout Grid helps you compose images.

To show or hide the Layout Grid
• Choose Canvas  Compositions, and choose either Show Layout Grid or Hide
Layout Grid.
You can also show or hide the grid by clicking the Layout Grid tool
toolbox and clicking the Enable button
on the property bar.

in the

You can also show or hide the grid from the Navigator panel by clicking the
Open Navigator Options button
in the toolbox, and choosing Display
Grids.

To set Layout Grid options
1 Choose Window  Composition Panels  Layout Grid.
In the Layout Grid panel, ensure that the Enable Layout Grid check box is enabled.
2 Perform a task from the following table.
To

Do the following

Set the number of vertical and horizontal
divisions

In the Divisions area, type values in the
Vertical box and the Horizontal box.
If you want to link the Vertical and
Horizontal values, click the Synchronize the
Divisions button
.

Corel Painter User Guide

Do the following

Resize the grid

In the Size area, move the Vertical slider to
set the height, and move the Horizontal
slider to set the width.
If you want to resize the grid proportionally,
enable the Synchronize the Sizes button
.

Change the angle of the grid

Type a value in the Rotate box to set the
degree of the angle.

Change the color of the vertical or horizontal
gridlines

In the Display area, click the Horizontal or
Vertical color picker, and choose a color from
the list box.

Change the opacity of the grid

Move the Opacity slider to the left to
increase transparency. Move the slider to the
right to increase opacity.

You can also set some Layout Grid options by clicking the Layout Grid tool
in the toolbox, and modifying the settings you want on the property bar.

To save Layout Grid settings as a preset
1 In the Layout Grid panel, modify the settings you want, and click the Add Preset
button .
2 In the Add Preset dialog box, type a name for your preset in the Preset Name box.
3 Click Save.
The preset appears in the Type list box.
You can also save a preset by clicking the Layout Grid tool
and clicking the Add Preset button
on the property bar.

in the toolbox

To delete a Layout Grid preset
1 In the Layout Grid panel, choose the preset you want to delete from the Type list
box.
2 Click the Delete Preset button

Composition Tools

You can also delete a preset by clicking the Layout Grid tool
in the
toolbox, selecting a preset from the Presets list box on the property bar, and
clicking the Delete Preset button .

To choose a Layout Grid preset
• In the Layout Grid panel, choose a preset from the Type list box.
To move a Layout Grid
1 In the toolbox, click the Layout Grid tool
The cursor changes to a hand icon .
2 Drag the grid to a new position.

Using the Mirror Painting Mode
In Corel Painter, you can create a symmetrical painting by using the Mirror Painting
mode. When you enable the Mirror Painting mode, a plane appears in the drawing
window that lets you paint one half of an object while Corel Painter automatically
replicates a mirror image of the opposing side of the object by reproducing the
brushstrokes. For example, if you want to paint a symmetrical face, simply paint one
half of the face and Corel Painter automatically completes the other half.
When using the Mirror Painting mode, the brushstrokes that you apply on one side of
the plane may occasionally look different in the opposite plane. For example, if you
start the Mirror Painting on a canvas that contains previously applied brushstrokes, the
mirrored brushstrokes blend with the colors that are already on the canvas. In
addition, if you’re applying randomized brushstrokes, such as a nozzle, the mirrored
brushstrokes are also randomly applied.

Corel Painter User Guide

The green line that displays in the middle of the document window represents the mirror
plane.

You can display the mirror plane vertically, horizontally, or display both at the same
time. You can also control the placement of the mirror plane in the drawing window
by moving or by rotating the plane.

To create a mirror painting
1 In the toolbox, click the Mirror Painting tool
.
2 On the property bar, click any of the following buttons:
• Vertical Plane
— positions the mirror plane vertically in the drawing
window
• Horizontal Plane
— positions the mirror plane horizontally in the drawing
window
3 Click the Brush Selector on the Brush Selector bar.
4 In the Brush Library panel, click a brush category, and click a brush variant.
5 Apply a brushstroke on either side of the mirror plane.
To

Do the following

Hide the mirror plane while painting

Click the Toggle Planes button
property bar.

Disable mirror painting mode

Click the Toggle Mirror Painting button
on the property bar.

Composition Tools

on the

The Brush tool is the only tool that you can use to create mirror and
kaleidoscope paintings. Other tools, such as the Shape tool, are not supported.

To control the display of the mirror plane
1 In the toolbox, click the Mirror Painting tool
2 Perform a task from the following table.

Do the following

Specify an angle of rotation

On the property bar, type a value in the
Rotation Angle box.

Rotate the plane in the drawing window

Point to a plane until the cursor changes into
a rotation angle cursor
, and then drag to
rotate the plane.

Change the plane position

Point to over the center point of the plane
until the cursor changes into a four-headed
arrow
, and then drag the plane to a new
location in the drawing window.

Change the color of the plane

Click the Symmetry Plane Color button, and
click a color swatch.

Reset the mirror plane to the default position

Click the Reset Mirror Painting button
on the property bar.

Using the Kaleidoscope Painting Mode
Corel Painter lets you to transform basic brushstrokes into a colorful and symmetrical
kaleidoscope image. When you paint a brushstroke in one kaleidoscope segment,
multiple reflections of the brushstroke appear in the other segments. You can apply
between 3 to 12 mirror planes to a kaleidoscope. You can also rotate or reposition the
mirror planes to expose different colors and patterns.

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Corel Painter User Guide

The green lines that display in the document window delineate the symmetrical planes.

To create a Kaleidoscope painting
1 In the toolbox, click the Kaleidoscope Painting tool .
2 In the Segment Number box on the property bar, type the number of planes that
you want to display.
3 Click the Brush Selector on the Brush Selector bar.
4 In the Brush Library panel, click a brush category, and click a brush variant.
5 Apply brushstrokes in any of the kaleidoscope segments.
If you want to achieve a spiralling effect, apply brushstrokes across multiple
segments.
To

Do the following

Hide the kaleidoscope planes while painting

Click the Toggle Planes button
property bar.

Disable the Kaleidoscope Painting mode

Click the Toggle Kaleidoscope Painting
button
on the property bar.

on the

The Brush tool is the only tool that you can use to create mirror and
kaleidoscope paintings. Other tools, such as the Shape tool, are not supported.

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101

To control the display of the kaleidoscope planes
1 In the toolbox, click the Kaleidoscope Painting tool
2 Perform a task from the following table:

Do the following

Specify an angle of rotation

On the property bar, type a value in the
Rotation Angle box.

Rotate the plane in the drawing window

Point to a plane until the cursor changes to a
rotation angle cursor
, and then drag to
rotate the plane.

Change the plane position

Point to the center point of the planes until
the cursor changes into a four-headed arrow
, and then drag to it to a new location in
the drawing window.

Change the color of the plane

Click the Symmetry Plane Color button, and
click a color swatch.

Reset the mirror plane to the default position

Click the Reset Kaleidoscope Painting
button
on the property bar.

Using the Divine Proportion tool
The Divine Proportion tool lets you use guides based on a classical composition
method of the same name. When planning your artwork, you can use the guides to
create a sense of proportion, which helps maintain interest as the eye of the viewer
travels across a drawing or painting.
Divine Proportion — helps identify where to place focal areas in artwork by using
classical composition. This nonprinting layout is primarily used for composing artwork
before you begin drawing or painting.

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Corel Painter User Guide

The Divine Proportion tool can help you establish focal areas.

The Divine Proportion panel lets you change the orientation, size, angle, color, and
opacity of the Divine Proportion guide that appears on the canvas. You can also adjust
the number of levels to determine how many times a section divides within itself,
creating a spiral. You can adjust these settings while you work, and you can save them
as a preset. You can also move the Divine Proportion guide to a new position.

To show or hide the Divine Proportion guide
• Choose Canvas  Compositions, and then choose either Show Divine Proportion or
Hide Divine Proportion.
You can also show or hide the Divine Proportion guide by clicking the Divine
Proportion tool
in the toolbox and clicking the Enable button
on the
property bar.

To set Divine Proportion options
1 Choose Window  Composition Panels  Divine Proportion.
The Divine Proportion panel appears.
2 In the Divine Proportion panel, enable the Enable Divine Proportion check box,
and perform a task from the following table.
To

Do the following

Set orientation

In the Orientation area, click one of the
Landscape or Portrait buttons.

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103

Do the following

Resize the guide

Move the Size slider to the right to increase
the size. Move the slider to the left to
decrease the size.
Size is measured as a percentage of the width
or height of the canvas, depending on
whether the orientation is Landscape or
Portrait.

Change the angle

Type a value in the Rotate box to set the
degree of the angle.

Change the color of the grid, spiral, or axis

In the Display area, click the Grid, Spiral, or
Axis color picker, and choose a color.

Change the opacity

Move the Opacity slider to the left to
increase transparency. Move the slider to the
right to increase opacity.

Change the numbers of levels

Move the Levels slider to the right to
increase the number of levels. Move the
slider to the left to decrease the number of
levels.

You can also set some Divine Proportion options by clicking the Divine
Proportion tool
in the toolbox and modifying the settings that you want
on the property bar.

To save Divine Proportion settings as a preset
1 In the Divine Proportion panel, modify the settings you want, and click the Add
Preset button .
2 In the Add Preset dialog box, type a name for your preset in the Preset Name box.
3 Click Save.
The preset appears in the Type list box.
You can also save a preset by clicking the Divine Proportion tool
in the
toolbox and clicking the Add Preset button
on the property bar.

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Corel Painter User Guide

To delete a Divine Proportion preset
1 In the Divine Proportion panel, choose the preset you want to delete from the Type
list box.
2 Click the Delete Preset button .
You can also delete a preset by clicking the Divine Proportion tool
in the
toolbox, selecting a preset from the Presets list box on the property bar, and
clicking the Delete Preset button .

To choose a Divine Proportion preset
• In the Divine Proportion panel, choose a preset from the Type list box.
To move the Divine Proportion guide
1 In the toolbox, click the Divine Proportion tool
The cursor changes to a hand icon .

2 Drag the Divine Proportion guide to a new position.

Using Rulers
Corel Painter lets you show or hide rulers along the top and left sides of the document
window. Each mark on a ruler is known as a tick and represents the selected unit of
measurement. You can set the unit of measurement to pixels, inches, centimeters,
points, or picas.
As you rotate an image in the document window, the rulers scroll to show the position
of the canvas in the document window. The origin of the document is the intersection
of the zero (0) ticks on each ruler. By default, the origin is the upper left corner of the
canvas. Changing the origin resets the location of the zero ticks on the rulers.

To show or hide rulers
• Choose Canvas  Rulers, and choose either Show Rulers or Hide Rulers.

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105

To set the ruler units
1 Choose Canvas  Rulers  Ruler Options.
2 In the Ruler Options dialog box, choose a unit of measurement from the Ruler
Units list box.
You can also open the Ruler Options dialog box by holding down Option
(Mac OS) or Alt (Windows) and clicking the ruler.

To change the document origin
1 Click the box at the intersection of the rulers (upper-left corner of the document
window).
2 Drag diagonally into the document window.
Crosshairs mark the new origin point.
3 Drag the crosshairs to the desired position.
The ruler numbers update to show the new origin as 0,0.
To restore the origin
• Double-click the box at the intersection of the rulers (upper-left corner of the
document window).

Using Guides
Guides are nonprinting lines that appear over the image in the document window.
They are very helpful in aligning image elements. You can place guides at any position
in the document window and easily reposition and remove them. If you enable the
Snap to Ruler Ticks option, the guides you create will land precisely on the tick marks.
Each guide also has options that let you change its color and lock it so that it can’t be
dragged.

To show or hide guides
• Choose Canvas  Guides  Show Guides or Hide Guides.

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Corel Painter User Guide

To create a guide
1 Show the rulers and the guides.
2 Click in a ruler at the position where you want to place the guide.
A guide appears in the document window and a triangular marker appears in the
ruler.

A black triangle marks the guide’s position in the ruler.

To reposition a guide
• Drag the guide’s marker to any point of the ruler.
You can also double-click the guide’s marker to display the Guide Options
dialog box, and enter a value in the Guide Position box.

To enable the Snap to Ruler Ticks option
• Choose Canvas  Rulers  Snap to Ruler Ticks.
To set a guide’s color
1 Double-click the guide’s marker.
2 In the Guide Options dialog box, click the Guide Color chip, and choose a color.
To change the color of all guides, enable the Same Color for All Guides check box.
To lock or unlock a guide
1 Double-click the guide’s marker to display the Guide Options dialog box.
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107

2 Enable or disable the Lock Guide check box.

To remove a guide
• Drag the guide’s marker off the edge of the document window.
To remove all guides
1 Double-click the guide’s marker to display the Guide Options dialog box.
2 Click Delete All Guides.

Using Snap to Guides
The Snap to Guides option enables selections and tool operations to “snap” to a guide
within 6 pixels of the cursor (or edge).
The following operations respect Snap to Guides:
• Dragging with the Rectangular Selection
and Oval Selection
tools
• Dragging with the Crop tool
• Drawing straight lines with the Brush tool
• Clicks made with the Pen tool
• Clicking with the Text tool
to create a text entry point
• Clicking and dragging with the Paint Bucket tool
and Magnifier tool
• Dragging shapes and selections. The edges of the content and the selection
rectangle for the shapes and selections snap to the guides. The cursor — wherever
it might be in the object — also snaps to the guide.
• Dragging the handles of reference layers, shapes, and selections to transform them
• Dragging with the Selection Adjuster tool
or Layer Adjuster tool

To enable Snap to Guides
• Choose Canvas  Guides  Snap to Guides.
The option is enabled when the menu item has a check mark beside it.

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Corel Painter User Guide

Using the Grid
Corel Painter provides a grid to help you in laying down brushstrokes or creating
shapes. You can align and snap image elements to a basic grid. You can set the types,
size, line thickness, and color of the grid. You can also print gridlines.

To activate the grid
• Choose Canvas  Grid  Show Grid.
A non-printing grid appears.
You can also activate the grid from the Navigator panel by clicking the Open
Navigator Settings button and choosing Show Grid.

To set grid options
1 Choose Canvas  Grid  Grid Options.
2 In the Grid Options dialog box, choose a grid type from the Grid Type list box.
3 Type values in any of the following boxes:
• Horizontal Spacing
• Vertical Spacing
• Line Thickness
The unit of measure can be in pixels, inches, centimeters, points, picas, columns (2
in. wide), or percent.
4 Click the Grid Color chip to set the color of the gridlines.
5 Click the Background chip to set the grid’s background color.
To print gridlines
• Choose Effects  Esoterica  Grid Paper.

Using Snap to Grid
The Snap to Grid option enables certain tool operations to “snap” to a grid within
6 pixels of the cursor.

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109

The following tools respect Snap to Grid:
• Pen tool
• Shape Selection tool
• Convert Point tool
• Text tool

To enable Snap to Grid
• Choose Canvas  Grid  Snap to Grid.
The option is enabled when the menu item has a check mark beside it.

Using the Perspective Grid
Corel Painter provides perspective grids to help you create three-dimensional images.
Perspective grids are a nonprinting array of lines that converge at a single vanishing
point. In Corel Painter you can set the type, line color, and spacing of the perspective
grid. You can modify the location of the vertical plane and horizon line by using the
Perspective Grid tool. Any perspective grid that you create or modify can also be
opened for use in another drawing.
Perspective Grid — helps you create three-dimensional images by displaying a
nonprinting array of lines that converge at a single vanishing point.

Use perspective gridlines to help you create 3D images.

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Corel Painter User Guide

To activate or hide the default perspective grid
• With an image open, click the following from the menu bar: Canvas  Perspective
Grids  Show Grid or Hide Grid.
To create a new perspective grid
1 Choose Canvas  Perspective Grids  Show Grid.
2 If necessary, adjust the perspective gridlines.
For more information, see “To adjust the perspective gridlines” on page 112.
3 On the property bar, click any of the following buttons:
• Horizontal Gridlines
• Vertical Gridlines
4 Choose a color for the horizontal and vertical gridlines in the Horizontal Grid Color
and Vertical Grid Color boxes.
5 Enter a value in the Spacing box.
6 On the property bar, click the Add Preset button .
7 In the Add Preset dialog box, enter a name in the Preset Name box.
8 Click Save.
To reset the perspective grid defaults at any time, click the Reset Tool button
on the property bar.

To open a perspective grid
1 In the toolbox, click the Perspective Grid tool .
2 On the property bar, choose a grid from the Presets list box.
To remove a grid preset
1 In the toolbox, click the Perspective Grid tool .
2 On the property bar, choose an option from the Presets list box.
3 Click the Delete Preset button .
The grid preset disappears.

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111

To adjust the perspective gridlines
1 Choose Canvas  Perspective Grids  Show Grid.
2 In the toolbox, click the Perspective Grid tool .
3 To move the horizontal plane grid, hold the cursor over the nearest edge of the
horizontal plane grid.
The cursor becomes a double-pointed arrow .
4 Drag to move the horizontal plane grid up or down.
5 To move the vertical plane grid, hold the cursor over the nearest edge of the vertical
plane grid.
The cursor becomes a double-pointed arrow .
6 Drag to move the vertical plane grid left or right.

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Corel Painter User Guide

Photo Painting System
The Photo Painting System consists of three panels that help you transform a photo
into a painting. The process involves three basic steps:
• Creating an underpainting — You create an underpainting to prepare a photo for
painting. An underpainting is a version of the photo in which you adjust the
photo’s colors, tones, and sharpness. After adjusting these elements, you can clone
the underpainting to preserve it.
• Auto-painting — You use the Auto-Painting panel to apply brushstrokes to the
canvas.
• Fine-tuning — You fine-tune your artwork by using the Restoration panel to
restore some detail to the image.
This section contains the following topics:
• Creating Underpaintings
• Auto-Painting Photos
• Restoring Detail to Paintings

Creating Underpaintings
Historically, an underpainting was used to establish the overall color values for a
painting. Similarly, the Underpainting panel lets you adjust the color, tone, and detail
of a photo to prepare it for auto-painting. For example, you can darken colors to
simulate the colors used in an 18th-century painting, or you can soften colors to
simulate the colors found in watercolor paintings.

Photo Painting System

113

One method you can use to prepare a photo for painting (left) is to choose a source image
(center) that contains the colors and tones you want to use. The color and tone of the source
image can be applied to your photo to create an underpainting (right).

Choosing an Underpainting Method
Depending on the effect you want to achieve, you can choose one of the following
methods for creating an underpainting:
• Quickly simulate the color and tone used in some popular art styles, such as
watercolor paintings or chalk drawings, by using a Color Scheme preset.
• Match the color and tone of your underpainting to an existing image, such as a
photo, scanned image, or digital artwork.
• Quickly lighten, darken, or shift the color or contrast of your photo by using a
Photo Enhance preset.
• Adjust individual settings in the Photo Enhance area, and save the settings as a
custom preset. You can use the following settings:
• Brightness — lets you brighten or darken the photo
• Contrast — lets you increase or decrease the difference in tone between the dark
and light areas of the photo
• Hue — lets you shift the color balance of the photo. For example, you can
correct a color cast or apply a cast to create a special effect.
• Saturation — lets you adjust the vividness of colors
• Value — lets you brighten or darken the photo by using the HSV color space
values
• Smart Blur — lets you adjust the level of detail in the photo. More detail is
maintained in high-contrast areas than in low-contrast areas.

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To create an underpainting
1 Choose File  Open, choose an image from the Open dialog box, and click Open.
2 Choose Window  Auto-Painting Panels  Underpainting.
3 In the Underpainting panel, choose a preset from one of the following list boxes:
• Color Scheme
• Photo Enhance
4 In the Photo Enhance area, adjust any of the sliders.
A preview of the change is shown in the photo, but the change is not applied until
you click the Apply button .
5 Click the Apply button .
Before clicking the Apply button
state by clicking the Reset button

, you can return the photo to its original
.

To save Photo Enhance settings as a preset
1 In the Underpainting panel, adjust the Photo Enhance sliders to achieve the style
you want.
2 Click the Add Preset button .
3 In the Save Preset dialog box, type a name for your preset.
The preset appears in the Photo Enhance list box.
You can delete a preset by choosing it in the Photo Enhance list box and
clicking the Delete Preset button .

To create an underpainting by matching the color and tone of another image
1 Open the image that you want to use as a source for color matching.
2 Open the image that you want to use as an underpainting.
This image is now the active document.
3 In the Underpainting panel, choose the filename for the source image from the
Color Scheme list box.
The underpainting is automatically updated with the color scheme from the source
image.

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115

If you want to fine-tune the underpainting, you can adjust the Photo Enhance
settings.
4 Click the Apply button

If you want more control over the matching process, you can use the Match
Palette effect. For more information, see “Matching Color and Brightness
across Images” on page 508.

Adding Edge Effects to Underpaintings
You can add an edge effect to simulate the unpainted edge of a canvas or to create a
frame effect. You can choose from rectangular, circular, or jagged vignettes.

To add an edge effect to an underpainting
1 In the Underpainting panel, choose an edge from the Edge Effect list box.
2 Adjust the Amount slider.
3 Click the Apply button .

Cloning Underpaintings
After you create an underpainting, it is recommended that you clone the image.
Creating a clone lets you preserve the underpainting before the image is auto-painted.

To clone an underpainting
• In the Underpainting panel, click the Auto Clone button

Auto-Painting Photos
Even if you have no experience with digital art, the Auto-Painting panel lets you create
paintings based on digital images or scanned photos. You simply choose a Smart Stroke
Brush variant and let Smart Stroke Painting and Smart Settings do the work. If you
want more control over how the brushstrokes interact with the canvas, you can set
individual stroke settings. Although the Smart Stroke Brush variants are optimized for
auto-painting, you can also use any Cloner brush variant.

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Auto-painting applies brushstrokes to the canvas.

Using the Auto-Painting panel
The Auto-Painting panel lets you specify how paint strokes are applied to a photo. You
can choose from the following options:
• Smart Stroke Painting — automatically applies paint strokes that follow forms in
the photo
• Smart Settings — changes the size, length, and pressure of brushstrokes in areas of
greater detail. This option can be used with Smart Stroke Painting to preserve
detail from the source photo.
• Stroke — lets you choose a brushstroke. You can also add custom brushstrokes to
the list.
• Randomness — introduces an “accidental” quality in color and stroke. Randomness
contributes to the appealing, unique look of artwork created with Corel Painter.
You can control the randomness of the following settings:
• Pressure — lets you set a value from 0 to 100 to specify the amount of pressure
with which brushstrokes are applied. This setting represents the percentage of
the preset pressure for the Stroke option.
• Length — lets you set a value from 0 to 100 to specify the length of the
brushstrokes. This setting represents the percentage of the preset length for the
Stroke option.
• Rotation — lets you set a value from 0 to 360 degrees to specify the rotation of
the brushstrokes.
• Brush Size — lets you set the brush size
You can control the speed of auto-painting so that you can see how and where
individual strokes are applied. You can also stop the auto-painting process at any time.
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To auto-paint a photo by using Smart Stroke Painting
1 In the document window, select the image that you want to auto-paint.
2 Choose Window  Auto-Painting Panels  Auto-painting.
3 In the Auto-Painting panel, enable the Smart Stroke Painting check box.
If you want the paint strokes to adjust automatically in size, length, and pressure to
areas of greater detail, enable the Smart Settings check box.
4 In the Auto-Painting panel, adjust the Speed slider to control the speed at which
brushstrokes are applied.
5 Click the Play button .
Brushstrokes are applied automatically. You can view the auto-painting progression
more easily when Tracing Paper is turned off. If Tracing Paper is turned on, you can
turn it off by pressing Command + T (Mac OS) or Ctrl + T (Windows).
6 Click the Stop button
when you are satisfied with the results.
If you do not click the Stop button, auto-painting stops at the end of the
brushstroke cycle.
To auto-paint a photo by using Stroke settings
1 In the document window, select the image that you want to auto-paint.
2 In the Auto-Painting panel, choose a stroke from the Stroke list box.
3 Adjust any of the following settings: Randomness, Pressure, Length, Rotation, or
Brush Size.
4 Adjust the Speed slider to control the speed at which brushstrokes are applied.
5 Click the Play button .
Brushstrokes are applied automatically.
6 Click the Stop button
when you are satisfied with the results.
If you do not click the Stop button, auto-painting stops at the end of the
brushstroke cycle.

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You can also
Randomize the brushstrokes

Adjust the Randomness slider. The settings
in the slider determine the range of
randomness for Pressure, Length, and
Rotation. For example, if the Randomness
for Pressure slider is set to 32% and you set
the Randomness slider to 64%, the pressure
for each stroke is between 0% and 32% with
a variation of 64%.

Randomize the pressure of the brushstrokes

Click the Randomness for Pressure
button, and then adjust the slider.

Randomize the length of the brushstrokes

Click the Randomness for Length
button, and then adjust the slider.

Randomize the rotation of the brushstrokes

Click the Randomness for Rotation
button, and then adjust the slider.

You can use a custom stroke by clicking the menu arrow beside the Stroke list
box and choosing Record Stroke. Paint a stroke on the canvas, and choose
Save Stroke from the same menu. Your stroke is added to the Stroke list box.
For general information about recording brushstrokes, see “Recording and
Playing Back Brushstrokes” on page 92.

Restoring Detail to Paintings
After using the Auto-Painting panel, you can use the Restoration panel to recover
detail in the portrait from the original photo. For example, the Restoration panel is
ideal for restoring some detail in the area of a subject’s eyes.

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You can restore detail from the original photo by using brushes in the Restoration panel.

Using the Restoration Panel
The Restoration panel gives you access to two cloner brushes, which you can use in
specific areas of your photo to restore detail. You can adjust the settings for these
brushes on the property bar.

To restore photo detail
1 Choose Window  Auto-Painting Panels  Restoration.
2 In the Restoration panel, click one of the following buttons:
• Soft Edge Cloner Brush — activates the Soft Edge Cloner brush variant,
which restores detail gradually
• Hard Edge Cloner Brush — activates the Straight Cloner brush variant,
which restores detail quickly with a few brushstrokes
3 Adjust the Brush Size slider .
4 Paint over the area in which you want to restore detail.

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Selecting, Managing, and
Creating Brushes
Corel Painter offers an impressive array of realistic and responsive brushes that you can
use to apply media to the canvas. For example, you can choose a brush with realistic
bristles that apply oily, watercolor, or acrylic paint. You can also choose a dry media
brush, such as chalk or charcoal. In addition, you can create custom brushes that are
tailored to your specific requirements.
This section contains the following topics:
• Understanding Brushes
• Selecting and Searching for Brushes
• Setting Basic Brush Attributes
• Organizing and Displaying Brushes
• Exploring Brush Categories
• Creating and Deleting Brush Libraries
• Opening and Importing Brush Libraries
• Creating, Restoring, and Deleting Brush Variants
• Creating a Brush Category
• Saving a Look
• Creating Brush Dabs

Understanding Brushes
Corel Painter offers users a wide range of preset painting and drawing tools called
brush variants. Brush variants are organized into categories, such as Airbrushes, Oils,
Pens, Pencils, and Watercolor. They are designed with the real media in mind, so you
can predict how a tool will behave.
In an art store, if the tools in one aisle don’t produce the results you want, you can try
a different aisle. Similarly, with Corel Painter, you can try different brush categories to
find the variant you want.

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You can use the Corel Painter brush variants as they are, or you can adjust them to suit
your purposes. Many artists use Corel Painter brush variants with only minor
adjustments — to size, opacity, or grain (how brushstrokes interact with paper
texture).
To modify a brush extensively or create a totally new brush variant, you can adjust the
brush controls. For more information, see “Adjusting Brushes” on page 261; for
information about saving custom variants, see “Creating, Restoring, and Deleting
Brush Variants” on page 148.
Most Corel Painter brushes apply media, such as a color, gradient, or pattern, to an
image. Some brushes, however, do not apply media. Instead, they make changes to
media already in the image. For example, the Just Add Water brush variant (in the
Blenders brush category) smudges and dilutes existing colors in the image with
smooth, anti-aliased brushstrokes. Using one of these brushes on a blank area of the
canvas has no effect.
Corel Painter includes a batch of Natural-Media brushes that use a media application
method called “rendered dab types” to produce wonderfully realistic, continuous,
smooth-edged brushstrokes. They are fast and more consistent because the
brushstrokes appear as you draw, and are not created by applying dabs of color. In fact,
you can’t draw fast enough to leave dabs or dots of color in a brushstroke. These
brushes allow for rich features that are not possible with the application of dab-based
media. You can take better advantage of tilt and angle, and you can paint with
patterns or gradients. For information about using rendered dab types when
customizing brushes, refer to “General Controls: Dab Types” on page 264.
The Corel Painter brushes are stored in the default brush library, which displays in the
Brush Library panel when you open it for the first time, or until you load a new brush
library. You can also create or import new brush libraries. For more information, see
“Creating and Deleting Brush Libraries” on page 144 or “Libraries” on page 153.

Selecting and Searching for Brushes
The Brush Library panel displays a brush library’s brush categories and variants. This
allows you to choose which variant you want to use. The default brushes are organized
in recognizable categories that are named according to traditional art media.

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When you choose a brush variant, you can preview the variant’s brush dab and brush
stroke at the bottom of the panel. The Brush Library panel also displays the most
recently used brushes at the top of the panel, which let you quickly access the last
brushes that you used.

The Brush Library panel lets you choose a brush category (left) and a brush variant
(right).

The default Corel Painter brush variants display in the Brush Library panel until you
open or import a different brush library. In addition, the Brush Library panel displays
only the brush variants for the open library. For information, see “Opening and
Importing Brush Libraries” on page 146.
If you’re looking for a brush from a previous version of Corel Painter, you can reload
the old version’s brush library. For more information, see “Opening and Importing
Brush Libraries” on page 146.

To select a brush category and variant
1 In the toolbox, click the Brush tool .
2 Click the Brush Selector on the Brush Selector bar.
3 In the Brush Library panel, click a brush category, and click a brush variant.

Setting Basic Brush Attributes
To quickly get started in Corel Painter, you specify basic brush attributes, such as
brush size, opacity, and grain, on the property bar. Size determines the dimension of a
single brush dab. You can also use the ghost brush to determine if a change in size is
required. For information about the brush ghost, see “Setting up the Drawing Cursor”
on page 77.

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123

The ghost brush, the circle displayed to the left of the brushstroke, appears when a brush is
selected and positioned over the canvas. It mirrors the size and shape of the brush dab.

Opacity controls the degree to which a stroke covers or builds up on the underlying
pixels.

80% opacity (top) and 20% opacity (bottom).

Grain controls the interaction of color with the paper texture.
You can also set brush attributes, such as angle and squeeze, dynamically onscreen. A
circle appears onscreen in the document window that lets you size and shape the brush
within the context of the image.

The circle provides a visual representation of the brush size onscreen.

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You can also access additional brush controls to further customize brushes. For
example, you can set a minimum brushstroke size to control the tapering and
widening of brushstrokes as stylus pressure or direction is varied. For more
information, see “Adjusting Brushes” on page 261.

To set brush size
1 In the toolbox, click the Brush tool .
2 Click the Brush Selector on the Brush Selector bar.
3 In the Brush Library panel, click a brush category, and click a brush variant.
4 On the property bar, adjust the Size slider , or type a value in the Size box.
If you want to scale the brushstroke feature proportionally with the brush size, click
the Scale Feature With Brush Size button
on the property bar.
Corel Painter may need to rebuild the brush after you resize it; therefore, you can
expect a short delay.
You can also increase brush size incrementally by clicking the right square
bracket ( ] ) key or decrease brush size by clicking the left square bracket ( [ )
key.
You can specify the default brush size increment value in pixels by choosing
Corel Painter 12  Preferences (Mac OS) or Edit  Preferences (Windows),
clicking General in the Preferences list of categories, and typing a pixel value
in the Brush Size Increment box.
You can also disable the scaling option in all areas by choosing
Corel Painter 12 menu  Preferences  General (Mac OS) or Edit menu 
Preferences  General (Windows), and enable the Disable Feature Scaling
When Resizing Brush.

To set opacity
1 In the toolbox, click the Brush tool .
2 Click the Brush Selector on the Brush Selector bar.
3 In the Brush Library panel, click a brush category, and click a brush variant.
4 On the property bar, adjust the Opacity slider , or type a percentage in the
Opacity box.

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When the Opacity setting is low, the applied color is thin, so you can see through
to the underlying colors. When the setting is high, the applied color covers
underlying pixels more completely.
Some methods and dab types do not allow you to adjust opacity.
When the Brush tool is active, you can set opacity by pressing a number key.
Each number key is mapped to a fixed percentage. For example, 1 equals 10%
opacity, 5 equals 50% opacity, and 0 equals 100% opacity.

To set grain
1 In the toolbox, click the Brush tool .
2 Click the Brush Selector on the Brush Selector bar.
3 In the Brush Library panel, click a brush category, and click a brush variant.
4 On the property bar, adjust the Grain box slider, or type a percentage in the Grain
box.
Adjust the slider to the left to reduce penetration and reveal more texture. Move it
to the right to increase penetration and reveal less grain.
For liquid media brushes, Grain controls the amount of “pull.” For
Image Hose brushes, Grain controls the mixture with the additional color. For
other brushes, such as airbrushes, the Grain slider is not available.

To set brush attributes onscreen
• Perform a task from the following table.
To

Do the following

Change the brush size

Hold down Command + Option (Mac OS)
or Ctrl + Alt (Windows), and drag the
Radius circle in the document window until
the circle is set to the size that you want, and
then release the stylus or mouse button.

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Do the following

Change the brush opacity

Hold down Command + Option (Mac OS)
or Ctrl + Alt (Windows) to display the
Radius circle. While pressing the stylus, or
holding down the left mouse button, press
Command (Mac OS) or Ctrl (Windows),
drag the Opacity circle in the image window
until the circle is set to the opacity that you
want, and then release the stylus or mouse
button.

Change the brush squeeze setting

Hold down Command + Option (Mac OS)
or Ctrl + Alt (Windows) to display the
Radius circle. While pressing the stylus, or
holding down the left mouse button, press
Command (Mac OS) or Ctrl (Windows)
twice, drag the Squeeze circle in the
document window until the circle is set to
the brush squeeze that you want, and then
release the stylus or mouse button.

Change the brush angle

Hold down Command + Option (Mac OS)
or Ctrl + Alt (Windows) to display the
Radius circle. While pressing the stylus, or
holding down the left mouse button, press
Command (Mac OS) or Ctrl (Windows)
three times, drag the Angle circle in the
document window until the circle is set to
the angle that you want, and then release the
stylus or mouse button.

You can also revert to the Corel Painter legacy onscreen brush sizing feature
by choosing Corel Painter 12 menu  Preferences  General (Mac OS) or
Edit menu  Preferences  General (Windows), and enabling the Use Legacy
Brush Resizing Control check box.

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Organizing and Displaying Brushes
You can modify the appearance of the Brush Library panel by changing the way
brushes are organized and displayed. This allows you to set up the Brush Library panel
to best suit your needs. For example, you can hide the recently used brushes to give
you more space. In addition, you can also hide brush categories and variants to expose
the brushes that you use most. You can also rename variants and restore variants to
their default settings if you modified their attributes using the brush controls.

To modify the Brush Library panel
1 Click the Brush Selector on the Brush Selector bar.
2 In the Brush Library panel, perform a task from the following table.
To

Do the following

Resize the Brush Library panel

Point to the edge of the panel. When the
cursor changes to a double-sided arrow, drag
the edge of the panel to resize it.

Hide the recently used brushes

In the Brush Library panel, click the Brush
Library Options button , and choose
Recent Brushes.

Hide the the dab and stroke preview window

In the Brush Library panel, click the Brush
Library Options button , and choose Dab
& Stroke Preview.

To modify the display of brush categories and variants
1 Click the Brush Selector on the Brush Selector bar.
2 In the Brush Library panel, perform a task from the following table.
To

Do the following

Modify the display of brush categories

In the Brush Library panel, click the Brush
Library Options button , choose Category
Display, and choose one of the following:
•Categories as Icons
•Categories as Lists

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Do the following

Modify the display of brush variants

In the Brush Library panel, click the Brush
Library Options button , choose Variant
Display, and choose one of the following:
•Variants as Icons
•Variants as Lists

Hide a brush brush category

Right-click a brush category, and choose
Hide Category.

Hide a brush variant

Right-click a brush variant, and choose Hide
Variant.

Unhide all brush categories

In the Brush Library panel, click the Brush
Library Options button , choose Category
Display, and choose Show All Categories.

Unhide all brush variants

In the Brush Library panel, click the Brush
Library Options button , choose Variant
Display, and choose Show All Variants.

Customize a brush category or brush variant
icon

Right-click a brush category or variant, and
choose Set Custom Icon. Choose the drive
and folder where the image is stored. Click
the image file and click Open.

To rename brush categories and variants
1 Click the Brush Selector on the Brush Selector bar.
2 In the Brush Library panel, perform a task from the following table.
To

Do the following

Rename a brush category

Right-click a brush category, choose Rename
Category, and type a name for the category.

Rename a brush variant

Right-click a brush variant, and choose
Rename Variant, and type a name for the
variant.

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To restore a default brush variant
1 Click the Brush Selector on the Brush Selector bar.
2 Click the brush category of the brush variant that you want to restore.
3 Click the brush variant.
4 In the Brush Library panel, click the Brush Library Options button , choose
Restore Default Variant.
If you want to restore all brush variants to their default settings click the Brush
Library Options button , and choose Restore All Default Variants.
You can also restore a default brush variant by clicking the Reset button
on the Brush property bar.

Exploring Brush Categories
In the following section, descriptions of the brush categories are presented in
alphabetical order. It includes a description of the category and highlights some of the
brush variants that you can find in Corel Painter.

Acrylics
The Acrylic brush variants, much like their real world counterparts, are versatile
brushes that let you apply quick-drying paints to the canvas. Most of the brushes allow
you to cover underlying brushstrokes and many are capable of multicolored
brushstrokes. In addition, a few Acrylic brush variants interact with underlying pixels
to create realistic effects.

Captured Bristle

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Thick Acrylic Flat

Wet Acrylic

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Airbrushes
Airbrushes apply fine sprays of color, which carefully mirror the feel of a real airbrush
in action. However, some variants have a different way of building up color. Most
airbrushes support color buildup on a single brushstroke. However, some of the digital
airbrushes do not. To achieve color buildup with the digital airbrushes, you need to
overlay multiple brushstrokes.

Digital soft flow
airbrush

Digital hard edge
airbrush

Digital soft flat
airbrush

The Wacom airbrush styluses are fully compatible with the variants in the Airbrushes
category. For more information, see “Airbrush Controls” on page 309.

Coarse Spray

Fine Spray

Digital Airbrush

Artists
Artist brush variants help you paint in the styles of master artists. For example, you
can paint in the style of Vincent Van Gogh, with multishaded brushstrokes, or in the
style of Georges Seurat, with multiple dots combining to form an image.
When you use any of the Artist brush variants, dragging quickly produces wider
brushstrokes. You can use the Color Variability settings to adjust how the Artist
brushstrokes are colored.

Impressionist

Sargent Brush

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Blenders
Blenders affect underlying pixels by moving and mixing them. The variants can
reproduce the effects of blending paint by applying water or oil. You can also smooth
drawing lines and create shading just as you would on a pencil sketch or charcoal
drawing.

Just Add Water

Smear

Smudge

Chalk and Crayons
Chalk brush variants produce the thick, rich texture of natural chalk sticks, and have
strokes that interact with the paper grain. The opacity is linked to stylus pressure.

Blunt Chalk

Square Chalk

Variable Chalk

Crayons offer a range of styles. From soft and dull, to waxy and grainy, they produce
textured strokes that interact with the paper grain. As with other dry media brush
variants, the opacity is linked to stylus pressure.

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Grainy Hard Crayon

Waxy Crayon

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Charcoal and Conte
Charcoal brush variants range from pencils to hard or soft charcoal sticks. As with
other dry media brush variants, the opacity is linked to stylus pressure. Blender brush
variants can be used to soften and blend the charcoal strokes. For a smooth workflow,
keep your favorite Charcoal and Blender brush variants together in a custom palette.

Charcoal

Soft Vine Charcoal

Hard Charcoal
Pencil

Similar to Chalk, Conte brush variants produce textured strokes that interact with the
paper grain. As with other dry media brush variants, the opacity is linked to stylus
pressure.

Dull Conte

Square Conte

Tapered Conte

Cloners
The Cloner brush variants behave like other brush variants, except that they take color
from a cloned or sampled source. These variants recreate the source imagery while
effectively filtering it, reproducing the image in an artistic style, such as pastel chalk or
watercolor. For more information, see “Cloning Controls” on page 299 and “Image
Cloning and Sampling” on page 379.

Original photo

Soft Cloner

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Impressionist
Cloner

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Digital Watercolor
Digital Watercolor brush variants produce watercolor effects that react with the canvas
texture. Unlike Watercolor brush variants, which work with the Watercolor Layer,
Digital Watercolor brushstrokes can be applied directly to any standard pixel-based
layers, including the canvas. For example, if you’re applying watercolor effects to a
photo, Digital Watercolor brushstrokes can be applied directly to the image. If you’re
creating a realistic watercolor from scratch, the Real Watercolor or Watercolor brush
variants allow colors to flow, mix, and absorb more realistically. For more information,
see “Real Watercolor Controls” on page 323 and “Digital Watercolor Controls” on
page 320.
The width of Digital Watercolor brushstrokes is affected by stylus pressure, with the
exception of the Wet Eraser brush variant.

Simple Water

Diffuse Water

Dry Brush

Erasers
There are three types of Eraser brush variants: Eraser, Bleach, and Darkener. Eraser
brush variants erase down to the paper color. Bleach brush variants erase to white,
gradually lightening by removing color. Darkener brush variants are the inverse of
Bleach variants. Darkener brush variants gradually increase color density, building
colors toward black. With all Eraser brush variants, pressure determines how much
you erase.

Bleach

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Eraser

Flat Eraser

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F/X
F/X brush variants can give you an array of creative results. Some add color; others
affect underlying pixels. The best way to appreciate the F/X brush variants is to
experiment with them on an image and a blank canvas.

Fairy Dust

Glow

The Fire brush
(works with
underlying colors)

Some variants, such as Grainy Distorto, or Grainy Mover, produce blending effects.
Other variants, such as Hurricane, Turbulence, and Water Bubble, produce more
dramatic effects.

Bulge

Confusion

Hurricane

Gel
Gel brushes allow you to tint an image’s underlying colors with the brushstroke color.
For example, a yellow brushstroke gives the underlying color a yellow cast. The Gel
brushes use the Merge Modes brush control to produce the effect. For more
information, see “General Controls: Stroke Attributes” on page 275. The Gel effect is
similar to blending layers by using the Gel composite method, however, you do not
require any layers to achieve the same results.

Gel coarse

Gel broad

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Gouache
Gouache brush variants let you paint with the fluidity of watercolors and the opacity of
acrylics. These variants range from fine, detail brushes, to flat or thick brushes.
Brushstrokes created with Gouache brush variants cover underlying brushstrokes.

Detail Opaque

Thick Gouache Flat

Wet Gouache
Round

Image Hose
The Image Hose is a special brush that applies images instead of color. The images it
“paints” with come from special image files called nozzles. Each nozzle file contains
multiple images that are organized by characteristics such as size, color, and angle.
Each characteristic (parameter) can be linked to a stylus attribute (animator), such as
Velocity, Pressure, and Direction. For more information, see “Image Hose Controls” on
page 308 and “Image Hose” on page 597.
The name of each Image Hose variant tells you which parameter and animator are in
effect. For example, the Linear-Size-P Angle-R brush variant links size to stylus
pressure (P) and sets the angle randomly (R).

Linear-Angle-B
(Bearing)

Linear-Size-P
(Pressure)

Spray-Size-P
(Pressure) controls
size and spread

Impasto
Impasto brush variants let you create the classic technique of applying thick paint on a
canvas to create depth. The depth information for the brushstroke is stored with the
layer, but you need to display the Impasto information to view it. For information, see
“Impasto Controls” on page 306 and “Getting Started with Impasto” on page 369.

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Some variants, such as Acid Etch, Clear Varnish, Depth Rake, and Texturizer-Clear,
apply depth effects to underlying pixels, . Other variants apply three-dimensional
brushstrokes with the current paint color.

Opaque Flat

Smeary Round

Loaded Palette
Knife

Liquid Ink
Liquid Ink brush variants combine ink and paint to create a thick, liquid paint effect.
There are three main types of Liquid Ink brush variants: ones that apply ink, ones that
remove ink to create a resist effect, and ones that soften edges. A new layer is created
automatically when you first apply a brushstroke. You can also create 3D effects with
Liquid Ink. For information, see “Liquid Ink Controls” on page 314 and “Working
with Liquid Ink brushes” on page 365.

Clumpy Ink

Coarse Bristle

Smooth Flat

Markers
The brush variants in the Marker category replicate conventional, real-world markers.
The brush variants range from fine point to blunt and have a variety of nib shapes and
opacity levels.
The strokes that you make with some of the Marker variants closely reflect those of
traditional, high-quality markers, mainly because of the way the Marker variants
interact with the canvas. For example, the Flat Rendering Marker in Corel Painter
allow color buildup and pooling. For more information, see “Using Hard Media
Variants” on page 341.

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Round Tip Marker

Leaky Marker

Flat Rendering
Marker

Art Marker

Dirty Marker

Felt Marker

Oils
Oil brush variants let you create effects you’d expect from oil paints. Some variants are
semitransparent and can be used to produce a glazed effect. Other variants are opaque
and cover underlying brushstrokes.

Fine Camel

Opaque Flat

Smeary Round

Some Oil brush variants let you mix media as though you were working with
traditional oil paints. You can use colors mixed on the Mixer pad and apply them
directly to the canvas. The colors can then be blended with the oils already on the
canvas. In addition, you can load multiple colors from the Mixer pad. Each brushstroke
created with some Oil brush variants load the brush with a finite amount of oil, which
is then transferred to the image. As you apply a brushstroke to the canvas, the brush
loses oil, and the brushstroke becomes fainter. Because layers don’t have the oily
properties of the canvas, brushstrokes applied to a layer don’t fade as rapidly.
Some Oil brush variants are palette knives that let you to mix paint directly on the
canvas. There are six brush tip profiles designed specifically for Oil brushes. For more
information, see “Artists’ Oils Controls” on page 320 and “Artists’ Oils Brush Tip
Profiles” on page 280.
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Palette Knives
You can use Palette Knife brush variants to scrape, push, or pick up and drag colors in
your image. Only one Palette Knife brush variant, the Loaded Palette Knife, applies
the current paint color. Palette Knife dabs are always parallel to the shaft of the stylus.

Loaded Palette
Knife

Palette Knife

Smeary Palette
Knife

Pastels
Pastels, which include oil pastels, range from hard pastel styles that reveal the paper
grain to extra soft pastels that glide on to completely cover existing strokes. Opacity is
linked to stylus pressure.

Artist Pastel Chalk

Soft Pastel

Square Soft Pastel

The oil pastel brush variants produce the thick, rich texture of natural pastel sticks.
Most oil pastel brush variants cover existing strokes with the current paint color.
However, the Variable Oil Pastel brush variants blend the underlying color into the
stroke. As with other dry media brush variants, opacity is linked to stylus pressure.

Oil Pastel

Chunky Oil Pastel

Variable Oil Pastel

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Pattern Pens
Pattern Pen brush variants let you use a brush to apply a pattern to an image. You can
vary features such as the size of the pattern and the transparency. For example,
Pattern Pen Micro decreases the size of the pattern, and Pattern Pen Transparent
applies a semitransparent version of the pattern. For more information, see “Painting
with Patterns” on page 199.

Pattern Pen

Pattern Pen Masked Pattern Pen Marker
(based on the
current color)

Pencils
The Pencils category includes Pencil and Colored Pencil brush variants.
Pencil brush variants are great for any artwork that would traditionally require pencils;
from rough sketches to fine line drawings. Like their natural counterparts, Pencil brush
variants interact with canvas texture. All of the variants build to black and link opacity
to stylus pressure. The width of Pencil strokes varies according to the speed of the
stroke, so dragging quickly produces a thinner line and dragging slowly leaves a
thicker line.

2B Pencil

Cover Pencil

Greasy Pencil

Colored Pencil

Hard Colored Pencil

Oily Colored Pencil

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Pens
The Pen brush category includes Pen and Calligraphy brush variants.
Pen brush variants, like the Scratchboard Rake and Bamboo Pen, create realistic effects
without the drawbacks of traditional pens, which can clog, spatter, or run dry.

Croquil Pen

Scratchboard Tool

Thick and Thin Pen

Whether you want to reproduce the look of calligraphy pen strokes on a grainy
texture, or the smooth strokes of a calligraphy brush, the Calligraphy brush variants
offer you a range of creative options.

Calligraphy

Calligraphy Brush

Dry Ink

Photo
Photo brush variants let you modify digital images or existing artwork. For example,
you can clean up photos by adjusting color or removing scratches, add a blur effect, or
sharpen an image. You can also add color to a grayscale image.

Blur

Dodge

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Burn

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Real Watercolor
The brushstrokes of the Real Watercolor brush variants flow and apply pigments in a
very natural way, helping you create realistic watercolor paintings. In addition, the
brushstrokes interact with the paper texture and grain to produce results you would
expect from real world watercolors. You can modify the Real Watercolor brush controls
to achieve different effects. For more information, see “Real Watercolor Controls” on
page 323.

Light fringe

Wet on wet paper

Dry on dry paper

Real Wet Oil
The Real Wet Oil brush variants help you achieve realistic oil brushstrokes. The Real
Wet Oil brush variants let you control paint viscosity and color concentration, similar
to mixing oil paint and a medium. You can also modify the Real Wet Oil brush
controls to achieve different effects. For more information, see “Real Wet Oil” on
page 328.

Turp grainy

Liquid oil

Wet oil

Smart Stroke
Smart Stroke brush variants are based on popular brush variants from other brush
categories, but they are optimized to work with the Photo Painting System. For more
information about the Photo Painting System, see “Auto-Painting Photos” on
page 116.

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Sponges
Sponges let you create a variety of textures by applying the current paint color to cover
or blend existing colors. Some Sponge brush variants apply dabs of paint at random
angles with each click of a stylus. Wet sponge brush variants, such as Grainy Wet
Sponge, apply sponge dabs as you drag across the canvas. Smeary Wet Sponge variants
let you blend the current paint color with existing colors as you drag across the canvas.

Dense Sponge

Grainy Wet Sponge

Smeary Wet
Sponge

Sumi-e
Sumi-e brush variants let you create flowing sumi-e-style brushstrokes. In addition,
various brush sizes and shapes are available to help you recreate traditional sumi-e
brushstrokes.

Sumi-e Brush

Detail Sumi-e

Coarse Bristle Sumi-e

Tinting
Tinting brush variants let you apply effects to photos or existing artwork. For example,
you can apply translucent color to areas of a black-and-white photo by using the Basic
Round brush variant. Applying each color to a separate Gel or Colorize layer lets you
adjust the opacity of each color layer independently for a more subtle or dramatic
effect. Some of the Tinting brushes are based on the Merge Modes brush control. For
more information, see “General Controls: Stroke Attributes” on page 275.

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Basic Round

Blender

Soft Grainy Round

Watercolor
Watercolor brush variants paint onto a watercolor layer, which enables the colors to
flow, mix, and absorb into the paper. The watercolor layer is created automatically
when you first apply a brushstroke with a Watercolor brush variant. The layer lets you
control the wetness and evaporation rate of the paper to effectively simulate
conventional watercolor media. Most Watercolor brush variants interact with the
canvas texture. You can use Watercolor brush variants to apply a watercolor effect to a
photo by lifting the canvas to the watercolor layer. For more information, see “Water
Controls” on page 310 and “Watercolor” on page 357.
For more information about additional watercolor brush variants, see “Real
Watercolor” on page 142.
To paint directly on the canvas, use a Digital Watercolor brush variant.

Diffuse Flat

Splatter Water

Wet Camel

Creating and Deleting Brush Libraries
You can create a brush library to organize brushes for a specific project or workflow, or
to store the brush variants that you create.
Each folder within the Painter Brushes default library folder is a brush category. The
brush category folders contain the following:
• XML files, which are the available brush variants
• JPEG graphics, which are the icons seen on the Brush Selector bar
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• other files generated by Corel Painter, such as NIB and STK files
To delete a brush library, you need to delete the folder from the Brushes folder. Be
careful not to delete the default Painter Brushes library. Corel Painter needs this
default library, along with its category subfolders and variant files, to start properly.
Corel Painter comes with several brush libraries. You can also create new libraries for
brushes and looks and add your custom brushes to them. You can create as many brush
libraries as you need.
The Brush library has unique features that are not shared by the libraries’ of other
resource types, such as papers, looks, patterns, gradients, weaves, scripts, layers, and
images. For more information about these libraries, see “Libraries” on page 32.
Changes that you make to brush variants are saved in the Brushes subfolder of
your user folder. When you start Corel Painter, the application accesses these
modified brush variants instead of the original default brush variants and
settings, which are stored in the application folder. When you reset a brush
variant, the customized brush files are deleted from your user folder.

Brush Libraries and Memory Usage
Brushes are loaded into memory when you open Corel Painter, so adding brushes to
the default brush library increases the need for RAM. If you’re working close to the
memory threshold, you can organize new brushes into secondary libraries. It is also a
good idea to limit the number of items in each library.
When you want a different brush set, just switch libraries. This helps Corel Painter be
more efficient with memory usage, and makes it is easier to find a particular item.

To create a brush library
1 In Corel\Painter 12\Brushes application folder, create and name a new folder for
the library.
2 In the new folder, create and name a new folder for each brush category that you
want.
3 Locate and copy the XML files for the brush variants that you want to include in
the new library.
4 In the brush category folders you created in step 2, paste the XML files.

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The access the brush library in Corel Painter, choose Brushes  Brush Library, and
choose the brush library from the list.
If you want an icon to appear in the Brush Library panel, you must create a
JPEG and save it with the same name as the brush variant and then save it at
the same level as the brush category folder. To apply it, you can right-click the
brush category in the Brush Library panel, and choose Set Custom Icon.

To delete a brush library
• Perform a task from the following table.
To

Do the following

Delete a brush library on the Mac OS

Use the Finder to locate the library folder,
and drag the library folder to the Trash.

Delete a brush library in Windows

Use Windows Explorer to find the brush
library folder. Right-click the folder, and
press Delete, or drag the folder to the
Recycle Bin.

Opening and Importing Brush Libraries
You can open brush libraries that were created in an older version of Corel Painter. You
can also import additional libraries from the Corel Painter 12 DVD. However, it is
important to note that you can display only one library at a time in the Brush Library
panel.

Corel Painter 7 or Later Versions
In Corel Painter 7 and later versions, brush variants are individual XML files organized
in brush category folders within brush libraries. To use brush libraries created in
version 7 and later, you must first copy them to Corel\Painter 12\Brushes. After you
copy the files, you can access them through the Brush Library panel or the Brushes
menu.
Brush libraries that are not in the Brushes folder are not recognized or visible within
Corel Painter. The folder structure of brush libraries must match that of the default
Painter Brushes library folder (Corel\Painter 12\Brushes\[library folder]\[category
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folder]\[variantFile.xml]). If you want to copy only a few brush variants, you must still
add them to a brush library while following the correct folder structure. For more
information about the default library folder structure, see “Creating and Deleting
Brush Libraries” on page 144.

To open a Corel Painter 7 or later brush library
1 In the operating system, browse to the location where the Corel Painter 7 or later
brush library folder is stored.
2 Copy the files.
3 Paste the library folder in the Corel\Painter 12\Brushes folder.
You need to ensure that the library folder is writable by doing the following:
• (Mac OS) While pressing Control, click the brush library folder, and click Get
Info. In the Info dialog box, disable the Locked check box. Repeat for subfolders
and files.
• (Windows) Right-click the brush library folder, and choose Properties. On the
General page, disable the Read-only check box, and click Apply. In the Confirm
Attribute Changes dialog box, enable the Apply Changes to This Folder,
Subfolders and Files option.
4 In Corel Painter, choose Brushes  Brush Library, and choose the brush library from
the list.
To open a brush library folder from the DVD
1 On the Corel Painter 12 DVD, locate the Brushes folder.
2 Locate and copy the custom library folder that you want to use.
3 Paste the library folder in the Corel\Painter 12\Brushes folder.
4 In Corel Painter, choose Brushes  Brush Library, and choose the brush library from
the list.
If you want to copy a brush library from a location other than the DVD, keep
in mind that the library folder must contain folders for each brush category. In
turn, the brush category folders must contain XML files for each brush
variant.
If you’re downloading custom brushes from the Web, you need to know how
they’re organized, whether they’re compressed, and in which version of
Corel Painter they were created.
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Creating, Restoring, and Deleting Brush Variants
If you want to keep a customized brush variant for future use, you can save the new
variant to the currently selected brush library. In addition, you can save the variant as a
look. Variant settings are included when you save a look, but looks can also include
paper texture, pattern, gradient, and nozzle data. For more information, see “Saving a
Look” on page 150.
It’s easier to find a variant when the variant list is short. You can manage the number
of variants in a brush category by creating new categories in which to save the variants
you create. If you prefer, you can also store the variants in their own category or library.
For more information, see “Creating a Brush Category” on page 149.

To save a brush variant to the brush library
1 Choose Brushes  Save Variant.
2 In the Save Variant dialog box, type a name for the new variant.
If you want the current main and additional colors to be saved with the variant,
enable the Save Current Colors check box. You do not need to enable the option if
the variant uses the Clone Color option.
The new variant appears on the variant menu, in the currently selected brush
category.
You can also
Copy the variant to another category

With a variant selected, click the Brush
Library Options button , and choose
Copy Variant. Choose the destination brush
category from the Copy Variant To list box.
(Remember to delete the variant in the
category from which it was copied.)

When you create a new variant, the variant files are saved in the Users folder.
The variant is stored in the brush category folder that was selected when the
variant was saved.
You can also copy brush variants at the root of the category folder by copying
the XML files to the desired category. This is a useful method when you need
to copy multiple variant files to a new category.
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To restore a brush variant’s default settings
1 Click the Brush Selector on the Brush Selector bar.
2 In the Brush Library panel, click a brush category, and then click the brush variant
that you want to restore.
3 Click the Brush Library Options button , and choose Restore Default Variant.
Choose Restore All Default Variants to reset settings for all brush variants that you
may have adjusted.
You can also restore the brush variant by clicking the Reset button
property bar.

on the

To delete a brush variant
1 Click the Brush Selector on the Brush Selector bar.
2 In the Brush Library panel, click a brush category, and then click the brush variant
that you want to delete.
3 Click the Brush Library Options button , and choose Delete Variant.
4 Click Yes to delete the variant.
The variant’s related XML file is deleted from the Brushes category folder.

Creating a Brush Category
If you created brush variants, or you plan on creating brush variants, you can also
create a brush category to store the new variants. Moreover, you can create a brush
category to organize existing variants to reflect a specific workflow or project.

To create a new brush category
1 On a white canvas, draw a small image so you can use it as an icon for the new
brush category.
2 Choose the Rectangular Selection tool
from the toolbox.
3 Drag to select the image on the canvas.
4 Choose Brushes  Capture Brush Category.
5 Type a name in the Save as text box.

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The new brush category, identified by the icon that you created, appears in the
Brush Category list of the Brush Library panel.

Saving a Look
A look retains all brush variant settings, plus the paper, pattern, gradient, or nozzle
settings. For example, if you customize a brush variant and paper texture to achieve a
specific effect that you want to use in the future, you can save these settings as a look.
When you save a look, it is added to the Look Libraries panel.
A brush variant is not itself associated with information about underlying texture or
other elements. The look, on the other hand, is associated with additional information
about a particular variant. Regardless of a document’s current libraries, when you
select a look, you use the elements that are part of that look.

To save a look
1 Choose Window  Media Library Panels  Looks.
2 Create a look by choosing a brush variant, and any additional settings that you
want to save with the look.
3 Apply a brushstroke to the canvas.
4 Click the Rectangular Selection tool , press Shift and drag to select a square
portion of the image or brushstroke, so you can use it as an icon for the look.
5 Click the Brush tool in the toolbox.
6 Click the Looks Library Options button

, and choose Save Look.

7 In the New Look dialog box, type a name for the look in the Save As text box.
The new look appears as the last item in the Brush Looks panel.

To apply a saved look
1 From the Media Selector bar, click the Look Selector button.
2 Choose a look from the Brush Looks panel.
Corel Painter loads the correct variant and materials for the saved look.
3 Paint in the document window.

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Creating Brush Dabs
You can create your own brush dab shapes by creating a shape, selecting it, then
capturing it as a dab.

This musical note was captured as a brush dab.

To create a brush dab shape
1 On a white background, draw a shape in black.
Use shades of gray to define the transparent areas of the dab.
To follow stroke direction, a captured brush set must face toward the right side.
2 Choose the Rectangular Selection tool
from the toolbox.
3 Drag across your brush shape to create a square selection.
Corel Painter uses the selected area to set the brush size. When the brush is created,
the selected area is sampled to compute each brush dab.
If the original area requires scaling to the size of the brush dab, sampling can
appear aliased. The greater the scaling, the more aliasing is apparent. To prevent
too much aliasing from appearing, create a shape with soft (grayscale) edges that is
close to the size you’ll be using.
4 Click the Brush Selector on the Brush Selector bar.
5 In the Brush Library panel, choose the brush category in which you want to save
the variant for the captured dab shape.
6 Click Brush Library Options button , and choose Capture Dab.
7 If necessary, choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Size, and change the
settings.
8 Draw with the brush on the canvas.

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If you like the results you’ve captured, you can save the brush as a new variant. For
information about how to save customized brushes for later use, see “Creating,
Restoring, and Deleting Brush Variants” on page 148.

You can paint with a captured brush just as you would with other brushes.

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Libraries
A library is a storage place for a collection of tools or media. In Corel Painter, default
libraries are available for the following resources: brushes, paper, color sets, gradients,
looks, nozzles, textures, patterns, selections, scripts, images, and weaves. The default
libraries contain a vast array of resources that are ready for you to use. In addition, you
can create your own libraries to better organize resources, or to store customized
resources.
This section contains the following topics:
• Importing and Exporting Libraries
• Creating and Removing Libraries
• Modifying the Display of Library Panels
• Editing Library Resources
• Restoring Default Libraries

Importing and Exporting Libraries
Corel Painter lets you import and export libraries. For example, you can open a library
that was created in a previous version of Corel Painter. You can also open multiple
libraries at once, except in the Brush Library panel. For more information, see
“Creating and Deleting Brush Libraries” on page 144.
All of the Corel Painter tools and media that are included in the application are stored
in default libraries. For example, the default papers that are included in Corel Painter
are contained in the Papers libraries. When you first open a library panel, the content
of the default library for that given tool or media is displayed in the panel.
You can also import additional libraries from the Corel Painter 12 DVD.

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153

To import a library
1 In a library panel, click the Import [Resource type] Library button .
For example, if you want to open a paper textures library from the Paper Libraries
panel, click the Import Paper Library button .
2 Choose the drive and folder where the library is stored.
3 Click Open.
The imported library displays at the bottom of the panel window.
To import a library created in a previous version of Corel Painter
1 Click the library panel’s Options button , choose Import Legacy [Resource type]
Library.
2 Choose the drive and folder where the library is stored.
3 Click Open.
The imported library displays at the bottom of the panel window.
To export a library
1 In a library panel, click the Export [Resource type] Library button .
For example, if you want to open a gradient library from the Gradient Libraries
panel, click the Export Gradient Library button .
2 In the Choose Library dialog box, choose the library that you want to export from
the Library list box.
3 Choose the drive and folder where you want to store the library.
4 Click Save.

Creating and Removing Libraries
Libraries allow you to store and organize tools and media to make it easier for you to
locate and access them. When you create a new resource, such as a gradient, it is
automatically saved to the current library. However, you can create a custom library
and move the resource to that library. In addition, you can copy any of the default
resources to a custom library. If you no longer need a library, you can remove it.

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The method for creating a library is the same for most tools and media, except for
brush libraries. For more information, see “Creating and Deleting Brush Libraries” on
page 144.

To create a library
1 In a library panel, click the New [Resource type] Library button .
For example, if you want to open a pattern library from the Pattern Libraries panel,
click the New Pattern Library button .
2 In the New Library dialog box, type a name in the Save As box.
A header bar for the new library appears at the bottom of the library panel and its
title appears in the list of available libraries. The new library also contains one
swatch by default.
When you save an item, Corel Painter stores it in the currently selected
library. If this is not where you want it, be sure to select the correct library
before saving the item. You can move items between libraries later, but
switching libraries before saving the resource will spare you that extra step.

To add an existing resource to a library
• From the library panel, drag a resource from one library to the library where you
want to add the resource.
When you create a new resource, such as a brush variant, paper, or weave, it is
automatically saved to the currently selected library. For more information
about creating resources, please refer to the Help chapter that pertains to the
resource.
Over time, with additions and deletions, library file sizes are compounded. In
some cases, you may lose items if you restore a default library. For best results,
save new resources to new libraries, and limit the number of resources in each
library.

To remove a library
1 Click the library panel’s Options button , choose Remove [Resource type]
Library.
2 Choose the library that you want to remove from the Library list box.
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Modifying the Display of Library Panels
You can modify the appearance of the library panels by changing the way they are
organized and displayed. You can resize a library panel to control the space that it
takes in the application window. You can also change the display size of the resource
icons. If you do not need to use some of the resource swatches, you can hide them. In
addition, if you create a new resource, you can create a custom icon for the resource.

To modify the display of a library panel
1 Open a library panel.
2 Perform a task from the following table.
To

Do the following

Resize the library panel

Point to the edge of the panel. When the
cursor changes to a double-sided arrow, drag
the edge of the panel to resize it.

Resize the library swatches

Click the library panel’s Options button ,
choose [Resource type] Library View, and
choose one of the following options:
•Small
•Medium
•Large

Display the library swatches as a list

Click the library panel’s Options button ,
choose [Resource type] Library View, and
choose List.

Hide a library swatch

Right-click a library resource swatch, and
choose Hide [Resource type].

Unhide all swatches

Click the library panel’s Options button ,
choose [Resource type] Library View, and
choose Show All Hidden Items.

Customize a swatch icon

Right click a resource swatch, and choose Set
Custom Icon. Choose the drive and folder
where the image is stored. Click the image
file and click Open.

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Editing Library Resources
You can rename items in libraries to suit your preference. You can also delete an item
from a library, including a default library. However, can can restore the default library
to the factory settings. For information, see “Restoring Default Libraries” on page 157.

To rename a library resource
1 In a library panel, right-click the resource that you want to rename, and choose
Rename [Resource]. (e.g. Rename Paper)
2 In the Rename dialog box, type the new name in the Rename [Resource] text box.
To delete a library resource
1 In a library panel, click the resource that you want to delete.
2 Click the Delete [Resource] button.
Do not delete default resource files or folders.

Restoring Default Libraries
You can restore a default library at any time. When you restore the default libraries, all
custom resources are removed for all libraries.

To restore a default library
• In a library panel, click the library Options button
[Resource] Library.

Libraries

, choose Restore Default

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Paper Texture and Grain
With traditional art media, the results from using a marking tool depend on the
texture of the surface to which it is applied. Corel Painter allows you to control the
texture of the canvas to achieve the results you would expect from using traditional
media on a given surface — pencil on watercolor paper, felt pens on cotton paper,
chalk on the sidewalk, and so on. You can also create your own paper textures and
adjust the grain of paper textures.
You can use paper textures in many ways. Brushes interact with paper “grain,” just as
traditional tools react with the texture of the surfaces beneath them. Working with
paper grains is useful when you use the Apply Surface Texture command or other
effects, such as Glass Distortion. You can select different paper textures, modify them,
organize them in libraries, and even create your own custom textures.
In Corel Painter, brushes that react with paper texture have a “grainy” method. For
more information about brush methods, see “General Controls: Methods and
Subcategories” on page 269.
The terms “paper grain” and “paper texture” are used synonymously.
This section contains the following topics:
• Applying Paper Texture
• Creating and Deleting Paper Textures
• Opening and Managing the Papers Library
• Inverting and Scaling Paper Grain
• Controlling Brightness and Contrast of Paper Grain
• Adjusting Grain Direction and Behavior

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Applying Paper Texture
Corel Painter allows you to apply paper texture to the canvas. In general, you can
define texture as the roughness or coarseness of a surface, which you can both see and
feel. In Corel Painter, however, texture modifies only the appearance of the image, to
give you the illusion of surface roughness. It also interacts by subtly or dramatically
altering the appearance of brushstrokes.
In addition, certain brushes include a “grainy” method subcategory that is specifically
designed to react with the paper texture and grain. Some brushes also let you
determine the amount of grain that is revealed by each brushstroke. For more
information about brush methods, see “General Controls: Methods and Subcategories”
on page 269.

One brushstroke applied to three different paper textures.

It is important to note that some brushes, such as those in the Airbrushes category,
don’t reveal paper texture in their brushstrokes. This behavior corresponds with that of
a traditional airbrush.
Corel Painter includes several default paper textures that are stored in the Papers
library. For more information about working with libraries, see “Libraries” on page 32.
Additional paper textures are also provided on the Corel Painter DVD and on the
Corel Web site.

To apply a paper texture
1 Click the Paper selector button in the toolbox.
2 In the Paper Textures library panel, click a paper texture swatch.
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The currently selected paper is saved with the document. This includes
custom paper textures that may not be saved in a paper texture library.
You can also choose a paper texture from the Papers panel by choosing
Window  Paper Panels  Papers, clicking the Paper Textures library button
in the Papers panel, and clicking a paper texture swatch in the Paper Textures
library panel.

Creating and Deleting Paper Textures
You can create your own paper texture by choosing a pattern and then modifying the
spacing of the pattern elements. You can also modify the angle of the pattern elements
to alter the direction of the texture.

You can create a paper texture from a selected pattern.

You can also create a paper texture by selecting an area of an image and converting it
into a paper texture.

A paper texture was generated by selecting an area of the image (left). An example of
applying a brushstroke to the canvas using the new paper texture (right).

To create a paper texture
1 Choose Window  Paper Panels  Papers.
2 In the Papers panel, click the Papers Options button , and choose Make Paper.
3 In the Make Paper dialog box, choose a pattern from the Pattern list box.
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4 Adjust the Spacing slider.
Moving the Spacing slider to the right opens up the space between rows and
columns in the selected pattern. It also increases the size of the pattern.
5 Adjust the Angle slider.
Moving the Angle slider changes the direction of the texture rows.
6 Type a name in the Save As text box.
The paper texture appears as the last selection in the Papers panel.
You can also make a paper texture from the Paper Libraries panel by clicking
the Make Paper button .

To capture paper texture
1 Open or create an image.
2 Choose the Rectangular Selection tool
from the toolbox.
3 Drag in the document window to select the area of the image that you want to
capture as a paper texture.
4 In the Papers panel, click the Papers Options button , and choose Capture
Paper.
If you want to blend the distinction between tile borders, in the Capture Paper
dialog box drag the Crossfade slider to the right.
5 Type a name in the Save As text box.
The paper texture is added to the currently selected library.
The Make Fractal Pattern feature and certain weaves also produce excellent
paper textures. For more information, see “Creating Fractal Patterns” on
page 208.
You can also capture a paper texture from the Paper Libraries panel by
clicking the Capture Paper button .

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Opening and Managing the Papers Library
You can organize and manage paper textures from the Paper Textures library panel.
The Paper Textures library panel displays the default Papers library, the custom
libraries that you create, and any custom libraries that you import.

To open the Paper Textures library panel
• Choose Window  Paper Panels  Paper Libraries.
You can also open the Paper Libraries panel by clicking the the Paper selector
button in the toolbox.

To delete a paper texture
1 Choose Window  Paper Panels  Paper Libraries.
2 Click a paper texture swatch.
3 Click the Delete Paper button .
To rename a paper texture
1 Choose Window  Paper Panels  Papers.
2 Click the Paper Textures library button .
3 Click a paper texture swatch from the Paper Textures library panel.
4 Click the Paper Options button , and choose Rename Paper.
5 Type a name in the New Name box.

Inverting and Scaling Paper Grain
Paper texture can be visualized as a three-dimensional landscape made up of grains.
The size, shape, and spacing of the grains determine the pattern and direction of the
paper texture. When applying media to the canvas, brushes react to paper texture by
coloring the grain peaks and ignoring the valleys. However, Corel Painter allows you
to invert this effect to make color fill the grain valleys instead of the peaks. You can
also resize the paper grain by adjusting the scale.

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To invert paper grain
1 Choose Window  Paper Panels  Papers.
2 Click the Paper Textures library button .
3 Click a paper texture swatch from the Paper Textures library panel.
4 In the Papers panel, click the Invert Toggle button .
You can also invert paper texture by clicking the Paper Options button in the
Papers panel, and choosing Invert Paper.

The green brushstroke was painted with the paper grain inverted.

To scale paper grain
1 Choose Window  Paper Panels  Papers.
2 Click the Paper Textures library button .
3 Click a paper texture swatch from the Paper Textures library panel.
4 In the Papers panel, adjust the Paper Scale slider
to resize the paper grain.
As you move the slider, the Paper Preview Window updates to display the new
grain size. You can scale texture down to 25% or up to 400%.
Scaling large textures can use a great deal of Random Access Memory (RAM).
Most textures in Corel Painter range from 50 to 400 pixels square at 100%
scaling.

Brushstrokes on paper grains with different scale values.

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Controlling Brightness and Contrast of Paper Grain
Brightness can be thought of as controlling the depth of the paper grain. The effect of
lowering the paper’s brightness is similar to that of using a more shallow grain.
Contrast can be thought of as controlling the steepness of the paper grain. The grain in
higher-contrast paper changes from high to low more quickly and with fewer
intermediate levels than the grain in lower-contrast paper.

To change paper grain brightness
1 Choose Window  Paper Panels  Papers.
2 Click the Paper Textures library button .
3 Click a paper texture swatch from the Paper Textures library panel.
4 In the Papers panel, adjust the Paper Brightness slider .
To change paper grain contrast
1 Choose Window  Paper Panels  Papers.
2 Click the Paper Textures library button .
3 Click a paper texture swatch from the Paper Textures library panel.
4 In the Papers panel, adjust the Paper Contrast slider .

Adjusting Grain Direction and Behavior
When you use a brush that interacts with paper grain, the results appear with each
stroke. If you have a stylus and tablet, you can adjust paper grain by changing the
stroke of the stylus on a pressure-sensitive tablet. In most cases, a light stroke colors
only the peaks and ridges of the grain. A heavy stroke fills color deep into the pockets
and valleys. You can also affect the brush interaction with paper grain by changing the
brush grain settings.
If you want a uniform paper grain across an image, create your artwork first, and then
apply the grain as a surface texture. If you apply paper texture before you create an
image, the texture is erasable, and you cannot erase the paper texture without erasing
brushstrokes at the same time. For this reason, it is usually best to add paper texture as
a last step in developing your image.

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By default, paper grain is fixed, which means that the texture is in the same position
each time you apply a brushstroke. You can change this setting if you want grain to be
applied randomly.
You can also change the look of brushstrokes by having the paper grain interact with
stroke direction. This option works best when you paint with a stylus and use certain
papers and brushes.
When you find a brush and paper combination that you really like, you can save it as a
new look in the Look Selector. For more information about saving looks, see “Saving a
Look” on page 150.

To randomize paper grain
1 Choose Window  Brush Controls  General.
2 Enable the Random Brush Stroke Grain option.
The Random Brush Stroke Grain option is not available for all brushes.

To enable directional paper grain
1 Choose Window  Paper Panels  Papers.
2 Click the Paper Textures library button

3 Click a paper texture swatch from the Paper Textures library panel.
4 In the Papers panel, click the Directional Toggle button

Factors such as stylus pressure, paper, and brush variant affect the appearance
of brushstrokes when the Directional Toggle button is enabled. Papers with
pronounced grain, such as Wood Grain and Gessoed Canvas, produce the best
results.

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Color
Corel Painter offers many ways to select color and apply it to your image. For example,
you can change the paper color, choose colors for your brushstrokes, or apply a color fill
to an entire image or selection.
You can select colors in several ways. You can use
• the color swatches in the Color panel
• the temporal color palette
• the Dropper tool, which samples color from the image
• the Use Clone Color setting, which pulls color from a source
• the Mixer panel
• the Color Sets panel
This section contains the following topics:
• Using the Color Panel
• Using the Temporal Colors Palette
• Changing the Paper Color
• Sampling Colors From Images
• Cloning Color
• Creating Two-Color Brushstrokes
• Working with the Mixer Panel
• Displaying the Mixer Panel
• Using the Mixer Panel Colors
• Mixing Colors
• Mixing Paint
• Creating Mixer Swatches
• Working with Color Sets
• Customizing the Layouts of Color Sets
• Creating and Exporting Color Sets
• Editing Color Sets
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•
•
•
•
•
•
•

Annotating Colors
Setting Color Variability
Setting Color Expression
Loading Multiple Colors
Working with Color Fills
Applying a Color as a Fill
Limiting and Preventing Leakage

Using the Color Panel
You can use the Color panel to select a color and view information about the selected
color. You can also customize the Color panel by resizing it or by changing the
information that it displays. For instance, you can increase the panel size in order to
select colors more accurately, and then decrease the panel size in order to focus on the
canvas.

Hue ring
Saturation/
Value Triangle
Additional
color

Clone color

Main color

Color panel

By default, the Color panel displays the color wheel and color information for a
selected color, but you can hide these elements. You can also choose to show or hide
color tooltips, which appear by default when you point to a color in the Color panel.
Tooltips provide information about individual colors.
The color wheel includes the Hue Ring and the Saturation/Value Triangle. The
following information can help you use the color wheel.

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• Color values span the Saturation/Value Triangle from top to bottom. The top of the
triangle represents the highest value (white), and the bottom of the triangle
represents the lowest value (black).
• Saturation levels increase from left to right. Dragging to the right, or clicking on
the right, produces purer colors within the predominant hue. Dragging to the left,
or clicking on the left, reduces the color saturation and produces “muddier” or
grayer colors.
You can also set the HSV and standard RGB values for the selected color. These values
can be adjusted by moving the sliders or by typing new values in the corresponding
boxes.
You can also enable the Clone Color option from the Color panel. For more
information, see “Cloning Color” on page 174.
The main and additional colors display in the Color Panel, temporal color panel, and
the toolbox. They include two overlapping swatches: the front swatch displays the
selected main color and the back swatch displays the selected additional color.
The additional color is used when applying more than one color, as in two-color
brushstrokes, two-point gradients, and Image Hose effects. It is not what other
graphics applications refer to as the “background color.” In Corel Painter, the
background color is the paper color.

The main and additional colors display in overlapping swatches.

To display the Color panel
• Choose Window  Color Panels  Color.
To choose a hue and color from the Color panel
1 Choose Window  Color Panels  Color.
2 Drag the circle on the Hue Ring to select the predominant hue.
The Saturation/Value Triangle displays all available colors within that selected hue.
3 Select a color on the Saturation/Value Triangle by dragging the circle or by clicking
the color you want.

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Drag in the Hue Ring to select a hue. Drag in the Saturation/Value Triangle to pick the
saturation.

You can also select a hue by clicking anywhere on the Hue Ring (in the
Standard Colors view) or on the hue indicator (in the Small Colors view).

To resize the Color panel
• Drag the lower-right corner of the Color panel.
To hide the color wheel
• In the Color panel, click the Color Options button
Wheel.

, and choose Hide Color

To set RGB or HSV values
1 In the Color panel, click the Color Options button , and choose one of the
following:
• Display as RGB
• Display as HSV
2 Move the sliders to adjust the values, or type new values in the boxes.
You can preview the new color in the Main Color (front) swatch
and the
Additional Color (back) swatch .
To hide the color information
• In the Color panel, click the Color Options button

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To hide the color tooltips
• In the Color panel, click the Color Options button
Tooltip.

, and choose Hide Color

To choose the main color
1 Choose Window  Color Panels  Color.
2 Double-click the front swatch in the Color Selector.
3 Choose a color from the Colors dialog box.
Main color
Click the front swatch to set the main color.

You can toggle between the main and additional color by pressing Shift + S
or Shift + X.

To choose the additional color
1 In the Color panel, double-click the back swatch.
2 Choose a color from the Colors dialog box.
Additional color

Click the back swatch to set the additional color.

To work with the main color, click the front swatch to reselect it.
You can toggle between the main and additional color by pressing Shift + S
or Shift + X.

To swap the main and additional colors
• Click the Color Swap icon
in the lower-left corner of the Color Selector.

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Using the Temporal Colors Palette
The temporal colors palette is a floating color palette that displays in the document
window which allows you to view and choose colors within the context of the image.
The temporal colors palette, which is similar to the Color panel, consists of two
components that help you choose a color and its intensity: the Hue Ring and the
Saturation/Value Triangle.

Hue Ring
The Hue Ring lets you choose a color.

Saturation/Value Triangle
The Saturation/Value Triangle lets you choose the intensity of the color as well as,
black, white, or shades of gray.
Saturation levels can be set from left to right. Dragging or clicking to the right
increases the saturation and produces purer colors within the predominant hue.
Dragging or clicking to the left reduces the level of color saturation, producing
“muddier” or grayer colors.
Values can be set from top to bottom. The top of the triangle is the highest value
(white), and the bottom is the lowest value (black).
The current color is displayed in a round swatch to the left of the Saturation/Value
Triangle.

To display the temporal colors palette
• Press Command + Option + 1 (Mac OS) or Ctrl + Alt +1 (Windows).
You can also customize the temporal color palette keyboard shortcut by
choosing Preferences  Customize Keys. In the Customize Keys dialog box,
choose Other from the Shortcuts list box, and click Toggle Temporal Color
Palette from the Application Commands list. You can then type a new
shortcut key in the Shortcut column and click OK.
If you are using a Wacom tablet, you can also assign a shortcut to the stylus
button.

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To choose a color on the temporal colors palette
1 On the Color palette, click a color on the Hue Ring.
2 Inside the Hue Ring, click the Saturation/Value Triangle to set the exact shade that
you want.
The color is displayed as the current color.

Changing the Paper Color
You can change a document’s paper color — the color of the background canvas — at
any time.

Example of changing the paper color.

To change the existing paper color
1 Choose a main color from the Color panel.
2 Choose Canvas  Set Paper Color.
Do not use a bleach variant to expose the new paper color unless the paper
color is white. Bleach variants erase to white, regardless of the paper color.

Sampling Colors From Images
You can select, or sample, a color from an existing image so that you can apply it to
other areas in an image.

To paint with a color already in an image
1 On the Color Selector in the toolbox, click the main or additional color.
2 Click the Dropper tool
in the toolbox.
3 Move the cursor to the color that you want to sample, and click.
The color swatch is updated to display the color you’ve selected.
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The Dropper tool picks up visible color only; it cannot be used to select a
hidden color.
The Dropper tool works with the Brush, Crop, Pen, Rectangular Shape, Oval
Shape, Text, Shape Selection, Scissors, Add Point, Remove Point, Convert
Point, and Paint Bucket tools.
You can quickly access the Dropper tool from the toolbox by clicking the
Brush tool
in the toolbox, and then pressing Option (Mac OS) or Alt
(Windows) or by pressing D on the keyboard.

Cloning Color
Cloning a color lets you pick up dabs of color from an original (source) image and
apply the same color to a clone (destination). Brushes that use dab-based dab types
produce a color based on samples of color from the clone source, which results in an
approximation of the original color. Brushes that use rendered dab types sample
several colors and load each color onto individual bristles, which allows startlingly
realistic results. For more information, see “Painting in the Clone” on page 386.

Creating Two-Color Brushstrokes
Selected brush categories include variants that support two-color brushstrokes. For
example, the Acrylics, Calligraphy, and Chalk categories include variants that allow
you to produce two-color brushstrokes. They are also known as noncomputed dab
types, which are dab-based, as opposed to rendered. For more information, see
“General Controls: Dab Types” on page 264.
You can choose the two colors used by the brushstroke by specifying both a main and
an additional color. If you have only a main color selected, you produce a solid-color
brushstroke. You can then use Color Expression panel to determine when Corel Painter
uses one color or the other. For more information, see “Setting Color Expression” on
page 191.

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You can use two colors at once in a brushstroke.

To set up a two-color brushstroke
1 In the Color panel, click the Main Color (front) swatch .
2 Click a color on the Saturation/Value Triangle.
3 Click the Additional Color (back) swatch .
4 Click a color on the Saturation/Value Triangle.
5 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Color Expression.
Displaying the Color Expression panel helps you determine which brush variants
support two-color brushstrokes.
6 Click the Brush Selector on the Brush Selector bar.
7 In the Brush Library panel, click a brush category and a brush variant.
If the Expression list box is grayed out in the Color Expression panel, the brush
variant does not support two-color brushstrokes.
8 In the Color Expression panel, choose Direction from the Expression list box.
For information about using the Color Sets panel, see “Working with Color
Sets” on page 184.
For information about using Color Expressions, see “Setting Color Expression”
on page 191.
For different results, try different Expression settings. For example, choose
Pressure to create color transitions based on the pressure you apply with your
stylus.
You can also choose a color from a color set. For more information, see
“Working with Color Sets” on page 184.

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Working with the Mixer Panel
The Mixer panel lets you mimic the experience of mixing colors on a traditional artist’s
palette. In the Mixer panel, you can access color swatches and various tools that let you
mix colors. You can then apply two or more colors to the Mixer pad, the mixing area at
the center of the Mixer panel, and then blend them together to create a new color.
Mixer color swatches

Mixer pad

Tools

You can save, load, and reset colors in the Mixer panel. In addition, you can save colors
as Mixer swatches and save colors to color sets.

Understanding the Mixer panel Controls
The controls in the Mixer panel are used to apply, mix, sample, and clear color on the
Mixer pad.
Mixer panel tools

The following table describes all of the Mixer panel tools.
Mixer panel tool

Description

Dirty Brush Mode tool

Lets you apply colors that were mixed in the Mixer
panel to the canvas. The Dirty Brush Mode tool is
active by default and can be used with brush variants
that support mixing. For more information, see
“Mixing Paint” on page 182.

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Mixer panel tool

Description

Apply Color tool

Acts as a loaded paint source; applies color to the
Mixer pad. Color loaded on the Apply Color tool
blends with color already in the Mixer pad.

Mix Color tool

Mixes colors already in the Mixer pad; does not add
new colors to the Mixer pad.

Sample Color tool

Samples color in the Mixer pad for use on the canvas.
The sampled color becomes the main color in the
Color panel.

Sample Multiple Colors tool

Samples multiple colors in the Mixer pad. The size of
the sample area is determined by the Change Brush
Size slider. You can use the sampled color on the
canvas.

Zoom tool

Lets you zoom in and out of areas in the Mixer pad.

Pan Tool

Lets you scroll through the Mixer pad.

Using the Clear and Reset Canvas Button
The Clear and Reset Canvas button
erases the contents of the Mixer pad and resets
the zoom level to 100%. It does not, however, reset the brush size.

Using the Change Brush Size Slider
The Change Brush Size slider
lets you increase or decrease the size of the Apply
Color tool and the Mix Color tool. The Change Brush Size slider also lets you set the
size of the sample area in the Mixer pad when sampling with the Sample Multiple
Colors tool. If you adjust the Change Brush Size slider, the new value is retained when
you reopen the application.

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Displaying the Mixer Panel
To display the Mixer panel, you can use the Window menu, or you can use a keyboard
shortcut. If you need more space to mix your colors, you can undock the Mixer panel
and resize it. Increasing the size of the Mixer panel also gives you access to additional
Mixer swatches. For more information, see “Creating Mixer Swatches” on page 183.
You can also change the background of the Mixer pad, the surface on which you mix
color.

Mixer panel before (left) and after (right) resizing.

To display the Mixer panel
• Choose Window  Color Panels  Mixer.
You can also display the Mixer panel by pressing Command + 2 (Mac OS) or
Ctrl + 2 (Windows).

To resize the Mixer panel
• With the Mixer panel undocked, drag the resize handle at the lower-right corner of
the main window of the panel.
To change the Mixer pad background
1 Choose Window  Color Panels  Mixer.
2 Click the Mixer Options button , and choose Change Mixer Background.
3 In the Color dialog box, choose a background color.

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Using the Mixer Panel Colors
You can store commonly used colors in Mixer swatches at the top of the Mixer panel
and then use these colors on the Mixer pad. A series of colors appears by default;
however, this color series can be changed to suit the individual preferences of the artist.
Mixer colors can be saved, loaded, and reset to the default.

To change colors in the Mixer panel
1 Choose Window  Color Panels  Mixer.
2 Choose Window  Color Panels  Color.
3 In the Color panel, choose a color.
4 In the Mixer panel, choose the Mixer swatch that you want to change.
5 In the color Mixer swatch, press Command + click (Mac OS) or Ctrl + click
(Windows).
The new color appears in the Mixer swatch.
You can also change a Mixer panel color by sampling a color in the Mixer pad.
In the Mixer pad, click the color that you want to sample, choose the Mixer
swatch that you want to change, and press Command + click (Mac OS) or
Ctrl + click (Windows).

To save colors in the Mixer panel
1 Choose Window  Color Panels  Mixer.
2 Click the Mixer Options button , and choose Save Mixer Colors.
3 In the Save Mixer Colors dialog box, type a name for the Mixer colors and choose
where you want to save the Mixer swatches (MSW) file.
4 Click Save.
To load colors in the Mixer panel
1 Choose Window  Color Panels  Mixer.
2 Click the Mixer Options button , and choose Load Mixer Colors.
3 In the Load Mixer Colors dialog box, choose the Mixer swatch (MSW) file that you
want to load.
4 Click Open.
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You can also load a color set in the Mixer panel. Click the Mixer Options
button , and choose Load Mixer Colors. In the Load Mixer dialog box, go
to Corel\Painter12\Support Files\Color Sets\[Color Set Name], type *.* in the
File Name box, and press Enter. A list of hidden user files appears. Doubleclick a color set.

To reset colors in the Mixer panel
• Click the Mixer Options button

, and choose Reset Mixer Colors.

To reset the default Mixer panel
1 Click the Mixer Options button , and choose Open Mixer Pad.
2 Browse to the following folder: Program Files\Corel\Painter12\Resources\12.0
(Windows).
3 Type *.* in the File name box.
4 Press Enter.
A list of hidden user files appears, which includes the default Mixer Pad.mxs file.
5 Choose Mixer Pad from the list.
6 Click Open.

Mixing Colors
You can create new colors for your documents by using the Mixer pad, Mixer swatches,
and Apply Color, Mix Color, Sample Color, Sample Multiple Colors, and Dirty Brush
Mode tools.
When you have finished mixing and sampling colors, you can clear the mixer pad, or
save it as a mixer pad (MXS) file that you can open and use later.

To mix colors
1 Choose Window  Color Panels  Mixer.
2 Click the Apply Color tool

in the Mixer panel.

3 Choose a color from the Mixer swatch, and paint on the Mixer pad.
4 Choose a second color from the Mixer swatch, and paint on the Mixer pad.
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5 Do one of the following:
• Use the Apply Color tool to add to and blend the colors.
• Use the Mix Color tool
to blend the colors.

To sample a color from the Mixer pad
1 Choose Window  Color Panels  Mixer to display the Mixer panel.
2 Click the Sample Color tool .
3 On the Mixer pad, click the color you want to sample.
The sampled color becomes the main color in the image.
Some brush variants let you sample multiple colors from the Mixer pad. For
more information, see “Mixing Paint” on page 182.
You can also paint on the canvas with an Artists’ Oils palette knife variant.
Unlike palette knives in other brush categories, Artists’ Oils palette knives do
not apply color. For more information, see “To sample multiple colors” on
page 183.

To clear the Mixer pad
1 Choose Window  Color Panels  Mixer.
2 Do one of the following:
• Click the Mixer Options button , and choose Clear Mixer Pad.
• In the Mixer panel, click the Clear and Reset Canvas button .
To save a new version of the Mixer pad
1 Choose Window  Color Panels  Mixer.
2 Click the Mixer Options button , and choose Save Mixer Pad.
3 In the Save Mixer Pad dialog box, type a name for the Mixer colors, and choose
where you want to save the Mixer pad (MXS) file.
4 Click Save.
To load a different version of the Mixer pad
1 Choose Window  Color Panels  Mixer.
2 Click the Mixer Options button
Color

, and choose Open Mixer Pad.
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3 In the Open Mixer Pad dialog box, choose the Mixer pad (MXS) file that you want
to open.
4 Click Open.

Mixing Paint
On its own, the Mixer panel mimics the traditional experience of mixing color on a
panel. When used in tandem with brush variants that support mixing, the Mixer panel
offers digital artists as much color-mixing flexibility as its traditional counterpart. You
can create a color in the Mixer panel and apply it to the canvas. You can also sample
and paint with multiple colors.

You can sample multiple colors in the Mixer panel and paint directly on the canvas.

You can mix colors with brush variants that use the following dab types: Camel Hair,
Flat, Bristle Spray, Watercolor Camel, Watercolor Flat, and Watercolor Bristle. The
dab type for a brush variant appears in the General panel of the Brush Controls
palette.

To paint from the Mixer panel
1 Mix the color you want in the Mixer panel.
The Dirty Brush Mode tool
is active by default. If it is not active, click the
Dirty Brush Mode tool.
2 Click the Brush Selector on the Brush Selector bar.
3 In the Brush Library panel, choose a brush category and variant that supports
mixing.
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4 Paint in the document window.
The last color on the Apply Color tool
brushstroke.

or Mix Color tool

is used in the

You can also mix paint on the canvas with the Artists’ Oils palette knife
variant. Unlike palette knives in other brush categories, Artists’ Oils palette
knives do not apply color.

To sample multiple colors
1 Mix the color you want in the Mixer panel.
2 Move the Change Brush Size slider
to set the size of the sample area.
The size of the sample area is displayed to the right of the slider and is measured in
pixels.
3 Click the Sample Multiple Color tool , and click the area of the Mixer pad that
you want to sample.

Creating Mixer Swatches
If you have mixed colors that you are particularly happy with, you can save them as
Mixer swatches and add them to color sets. For more information, see “Working with
Color Sets” on page 184.
Mixer swatches that you create in the Mixer panel can be saved.

To add a Mixer swatch to the color set
1 In the Mixer panel, click the Sample Color tool
that you want to save to a color set.

, and choose the Mixer swatch

2 Click the Mixer Options button , and choose Add Swatch to Color Set.
The selected color is added to the current color set.

To create a color set from the Mixer pad
1 Choose Window  Color Panels  Mixer to display the Mixer panel.
2 Click the Mixer Options button , and choose New Color Set from Mixer Pad.
3 To access the new colors, choose Window  Color Panels  Color Sets.
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Working with Color Sets
Corel Painter uses color sets to organize groups of colors. Some color sets are organized
by both name and color relationship. Corel Painter provides several color sets —
Corel Painter Colors, Mac OS and Windows system palettes, and the PANTONE
MATCHING SYSTEM® are a few. You can open any of the available color sets,
choose a color from the color set, and then apply it to a brushstroke. You can open
multiple color sets at a time.
In addition, you can import a color set to access additional colors. For example, you
import a color set that you created in a previous version of Corel Painter.
If you need to find a specific color in a color set, you can search for the color by name or
have Corel Painter find the color that comes closest to matching the current color.

Color Sets panel

To display the Color Sets panel
• Choose Window  Color Panels  Color Sets.
To open a color set
• In the Color Set Libraries panel, click the Color Set Options button
Color Set Libraries, and choose a color set from the list.

, and choose

To choose a color from a color set
• In the Color Set Libraries panel, click a color.

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To import a color set
1 In the Color Set Libraries panel, click the Import Color Set button .
2 In the Select Color Set dialog box, do one of the following:
• (Mac OS) Click the Color Sets folder, choose a color set, and click Open.
• (Windows) Choose a color set, and click Open.
To find a color in a color set
1 In the Color Set Libraries panel, do one of the following:
• Click the Search for Color button .
• Click the Color Set Options button , and choose Find Swatch.
2 In the Find Color dialog box, do one of the following:
• Enable the By Name option, and type a name in the box.
• Enable Closest to Current Color.
3 Click Begin.
4 Click OK when the desired color is found.
If the color set is visible, Corel Painter surrounds the found color with a selection
frame.
If you search for a color by name, but a color with that name is not found, the OK
button is not available (it is grayed out).

Customizing the Layouts of Color Sets
You can arrange colors in a color set in various ways. You can sort by hue, luminance,
and saturation; determine the size of color swatches; and display the colors in a list in
order to view the color names.

To change how colors are sorted
1 Choose Window  Color Panels  Color Sets.
2 In the Color Set Libraries panel, click the Color Set Options button
and choose
Sort Order.
3 Choose one of the following options:
• Saved sorts colors in the order in which they were originally entered.
• HLS sorts colors by hue, luminance, and saturation.
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• LHS sorts colors by luminance, hue, and saturation.
• SHL sorts colors by saturation, hue, and luminance.

To adjust the size of the color swatches
• In the Color Set Libraries panel, click the Color Set Options button
Color Set Library View, and choose one of the following options:
• Small
• Medium
• Large
To display the color swatches as a list
• In the Color Set Libraries panel, click the Color Set Options button
Color Set Library View, and choose List.

, choose

Creating and Exporting Color Sets
You can create color sets to control the colors in particular projects or to create groups
of favorite painting colors. Creating clearly named color sets can be very useful. For
example, you could name a color set Shades of Purple, Hero Image, My Crayons, or
Rollover Buttons — all offering you easy access to recognizable color sets.
You can create color sets from
• an image
• a selection on an image
• a layer
• the Mixer panel
Once a color set is created, you can add additional colors to the color set. You can also
export the color set.

To create a color set
1 Choose Window  Color Panels  Color Sets.
2 In the Color Set Libraries panel, click the New Color Set button , and choose one
of the following options:
• New Color Set from Image — Includes all image colors in the color set. This
option is available only if an image is open.
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• New Color Set from Layer — Includes all colors that are found in the active
layer in the color set. This option is available only if an active layer is selected in
the image.
• New Color Set from Selection — Includes all colors in the selected area of the
image in the color set. This option is available only if the image has an active
selection.
• New Color Set from Mixer Pad — Includes all colors that are used in the Mixer
panel in the color set.
For information about adding colors to a color set, see “Editing Color Sets” on
page 187.
For more information about selecting colors, see “Using the Color Panel” on
page 168.

To export a color set
1 In the Color Set Libraries panel, click the Export Color Set button .
2 Choose the name of the color set that you want to export from the Library list box.
3 Click Ok.
4 Choose the drive and folder where you want to save the file.
If you want to rename the color set, type a name for the color set in the File Name
box.
5 Click Save.

Editing Color Sets
You can customize color sets by adding, deleting, or replacing colors. You can also
append colors to a color set. This is useful if you want to use colors from multiple color
sets. In addition, you can name or rename individual colors in a color set.
Naming colors in a color set can be useful. You can then search for a color by name, or
annotate the colors you use, right in the document window. For more information
about searching for a color, see “To find a color in a color set” on page 185. For more
information about annotating colors, see “Annotating Colors” on page 189.

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To add a color to a color set
1 In the Color panel, choose a color.
2 In the Color Set Libraries panel, choose the color set where you want to add the
selected color.
3 Click the Add Color to Color Set button .
4 In the Color Set Libraries panel, click the Add Color to Color Set button .
You can also
Add a sampled color to a color set

Click the Dropper tool
in the toolbox,
click a color in the image, then click the Add
Color to Color Set button
.

Add a color from another color set

Drag a color swatch from one color set to
another.

To delete a color
1 In the Color Set Libraries panel, choose a color and click the Delete Color from
Color Set button .
2 In the warning dialog box, click Yes.
Corel Painter deletes the chosen color from the color set.

To replace a color
1 Choose the color you want to add from the Color panel, a color set, or an existing
image.
2 Hold down Command (Mac OS) or Ctrl (Windows), and click the color you want
to replace.
The new color replaces the old one in the color set.
To hide or display color
• Perform a task from the following table.
To

Do the following

Hide a color

Right-click a color swatch in the Color Set
Libraries panel, and choose Hide Color.

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Do the following

Display all hidden colors

In the Color Set Libraries panel, click the
Color Set Options button
, choose Color
Set Library View, and choose Show All
Hidden Items.

To name or rename a color
1 Right-click a color swatch in the Color Set Libraries panel, and choose Rename.
2 Type a color name in the New Name text box.
Color names can contain up to 31 characters.
To restore the default color set
• In the Color Set Libraries panel, click the Color Set Options button
Restore a Default Color Set.

, choose

Annotating Colors
The Annotation feature uses color names as labels for the colors in your images. Labels
are small text boxes connected to lines that point to an individual color in your onscreen or printed image. Annotating colors in an image can help you track, and limit,
which colors are used, which can help you control image size. After you create
annotations, you can hide, show, or delete them.
You must name color swatches in the active color set to generate useful annotations.
You can change color names after you have added them as annotations. For
information about naming color sets, see “To name or rename a color” on page 189.

Create labels or annotations for individual colors in your image.

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Annotations are kept in a separate layer on top of the image and can be saved in RIFF
format with your image. Annotations are included when you record a script and are
properly scaled when you play the script back at a different resolution.
When you move a layer, its annotations go with it. If you move an annotated layer on
top of another, the visible annotation might actually belong to the underlying layer,
even though it appears to be labeling the top one.
When you annotate a color that doesn’t exactly match a color in the active color set —
for example, when you annotate brushstrokes applied at less than 100% opacity —
Corel Painter approximates the color, displays the name of the nearest match, and adds
an asterisk after the color name to indicate a near match.
When you refill an annotated area, the annotation is updated to reflect the new color.
For more information, see “Working with Color Fills” on page 192.

To create annotations
1 Use a color set that includes names for the colors.
2 Choose Canvas  Annotations  Annotate.
3 Position the cursor on the color you wish to annotate and drag to an area outside
the color’s boundaries.
A color name appears, attached to a line that points to the annotated color.
4 After you annotate as many colors as you need, click Done in the Annotation dialog
box.
To delete an annotation
1 Choose Canvas  Annotations  Annotate.
2 Click the annotation (color name) to select it.
3 Press Delete (Mac OS) or Backspace (Windows).
To show or hide annotations
• Choose Canvas  Annotations  Show Annotations or Hide Annotations.
To change color names after annotating an image
1 Choose the annotation you want to rename.
2 Press Delete (Mac OS) or Backspace (Windows).
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3 In the Color Sets panel, double-click the color swatch of the color you want to
rename.
4 Type a new name in the Set Color Name dialog box.
5 Choose Canvas  Annotations  Annotate.
6 Re-create the deleted annotation.
7 Repeat the procedure for each annotation you want to rename.

Setting Color Variability
Color variability allows you to create brushstrokes of more than one color. Variability
can be used to enhance the Natural-Media appearance of your work. For more
information, see “Color Variability Controls” on page 334.

Setting Color Expression
Color expression determines where Corel Painter should use the main or additional
color in an image. For more information, see “Color Expression Controls” on page 336.

Loading Multiple Colors
Imagine the ability to load color at a bristle level, picking up different colors with each
“hair” of a brush — as though filling tiny ink wells. Imagine also the ability to move
multiple colors along with a palette knife, dragging them across your canvas or paper.
The Brush Loading feature affects how paint comes off a brush and what happens to
the pixels underneath.
When Brush Loading is not active, brushes interact with previously applied colors by
sampling underlying pixels and then loading the brush with one new color — the
average of those that were sampled. With Brush Loading active, brushes can literally
“pick up” existing colors, hair by hair. This capability offers truer color interaction,
astounding color variations, and better cloning results.

To paint with multiple colors
1 Click the Brush Selector on the Brush Selector bar.
2 In the Brush Library panel, click a brush category and a brush variant.
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3 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  General.
4 Choose Static Bristle from the Dab Type pop-up menu.
5 Choose Multi from the Stroke Type pop-up menu.
6 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Well.
7

In the Well panel, enable the Brush Loading check box.
This step activates the brush’s ability to pick up underlying colors.

8 Adjust the Resaturation and Bleed sliders.
The Bleed setting determines how much underlying paint is affected by the
brushstroke. A higher Bleed setting, combined with a low Resaturation setting, can
enhance the Brush Loading feature. A resaturation value of 0, combined with
different levels of bleed, will cause your brush to smear image color, rather than
deposit it. In this case, the lower the bleed, the longer the smear.
9 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Spacing.
10 In the Spacing panel, adjust the Spacing and Min Spacing sliders to create fewer
“echo” artifacts in your smeared stroke.
11 Drag a brushstroke through existing paint to see how the paint is “picked up” from
the underlying pixels and moved across the canvas.
It is easier to see the Brush Loading feature if the canvas is not white. To fill
the canvas with another color, see “Applying a Color as a Fill” on page 193.
You can tie brush controls like Bleed to the Controller setting in the
Color Expression panel. For example, if you choose Pressure, each stroke
bleeds more or less, depending on how hard you press the stylus. For more
information, refer to “Expression Settings” on page 338.

Working with Color Fills
Corel Painter gives you many options for filling images with color. You can apply a
color fill to only part of an image, to a layer of an image, to an alpha channel, or to an
entire image. You can also fill image areas based on pixel color.
In addition, you can apply gradients, patterns, and weaves as fills. The following table
lists the various ways to apply fills to an image and where to find more information.

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Fill type

For more information see

Color

“Applying a Color as a Fill” on page 193

Gradient

“Applying Gradients” on page 213

Pattern

“Applying Pattern Fills” on page 197

Weaves

“Applying Weaves” on page 225

Applying a Color as a Fill
Corel Painter gives you different options for applying a color as a fill. You can quickly
apply a fill to a selected area of an image or you can apply a fill to the entire image
based on a selected pixel color. When filling an image with a selected pixel color, you
can apply the fill directly to the canvas or to a channel. Corel Painter fills areas of the
image based on color boundaries, as well as the specified tolerance and feather settings.
Tolerance allows you to set the amount of variance allowed from the color of the
selected pixel. With a low tolerance setting, Corel Painter fills only contiguous pixels
that are very close to the selected pixel color. With a high tolerance setting,
Corel Painter fills a greater range of colors.
Feathering softens the edges of the fill by controlling the fill opacity for pixels with
colors outside the tolerance range. For example, if feather is set to zero (the default),
only pixels in the tolerance range are filled. With a low feather setting, pixels with
colors just outside the Tolerance range receive partial fill. Increasing the feather setting
increases the range of colors that receive partial fill. Pixels with colors farther from the
tolerance range receive a more transparent fill. Typically, when feather is set high,
tolerance is set low.
You can also fill the interior of an area that is bound by lines. This is especially useful
for producing solid fills of regions bounded by anti-aliased lines. If you want to fill
regions completely, without affecting the lines, you can first copy the lines to a
selection. Then, when you fill the cells, the lines are protected.

To apply a color fill
1 In the Color panel, double-click the Main Color (front) swatch
Selector.
2 Choose a color from the Colors dialog box.
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3 To apply a gradient to:
• The canvas — Click the Canvas in the Layers panel.
• A selection — Click a selection tool from the toolbox, and drag in the
document window to select an area.
• A layer — Click a layer in the Layers panel.
• A channel — Click a channel in the Channel panel.
4 Choose Edit  Fill.
If you prefer, press Command + F (Mac OS) or Ctrl + F (Windows).
5 In the Fill dialog box, enable the Current Color option in the Fill With area.
6 Adjust the Opacity slider.

To apply a pixel-based color fill
1 Choose Window  Color Panels  Color Sets.
2 In the Color Sets panel, click the Color Sets Options button , and choose New
Color Set From Image.
3 Choose the Paint Bucket tool
from the toolbox.
4 On the property bar, click one of the following buttons:
• Fill Image
• Fill Cell
5 Choose the Current Color option from the Fill list box.
6 Open the Select Fill panel, and choose a color.
The image color set displays in the Select Fill palette.
7 Click the image in the drawing window.
If the result is not what you want, undo the fill, change the settings, and try again.
You can also
Specify the range of colors to be filled

On the property bar, type a value in the
Tolerance box or adjust the slider.

Specify the fill opacity for pixels outside of
the tolerance range

On the property bar, type a value in the
Feather box or adjust the slider.

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You can also
Soften the edges of the fill

On the property bar, click the Anti-Alias
button
.
Anti-aliasing is desirable when the Feather
setting is set to zero or extremely low.

You can constrain the fill to a rectangular area by dragging with the
Paint Bucket tool.

Limiting and Preventing Leakage
In complex drawings, lines don’t always meet, which can cause the fill to leak into
areas that you don’t want filled — sometimes through the whole image. You can’t
always tell if there’s a leak just by looking at your image. If you click a small area and
see the prompt, “Now Looking for Extent of Fill,” there’s probably a leak, and
Corel Painter is preparing to fill a bigger area than you had in mind. In this case, you
can abort the fill.
You can limit leakage to a specific rectangular area. In typical cartoon line work,
unbounded areas — for example, hair, tail feathers, and brush bristles — sometimes
must be filled. By limiting leakage to a specific area, you can close off these items. You
can also close leaks by copying the lines to a selection, saving the selection to a
channel, editing the channel, and then reloading it to the selection. For more
information about editing channels, refer to “Managing and Editing Channels” on
page 439.

To undo a fill
• To undo a fill, do one of the following:
• Choose Edit  Undo Paint Bucket Fill.
• Press Command + Z (Mac OS), or Ctrl + Z (Windows).
To limit leakage
1 Choose the Paint Bucket tool
from the toolbox.
2 On the property bar, click the Fill Cell button
or the Fill Image button
3 Drag to create a rectangle that just covers the area you want to fill.
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If there is no leak, only the area within the lines is filled. If there is a leak, the fill
goes outside the area, but not beyond the constraints of your rectangle.

To close a leak
1 Copy the lines to a selection.
2 Choose Select  Save Selection.
3 In the Save Selection dialog box, choose New from the Save To pop-up menu.
4 Click OK.
A new channel is displayed in the Channels panel.
5 In the Channels panel, display and select the channel.
6 Click the Brush Selector on the Brush Selector bar.
7 In the Brush Library panel, choose the same brush you used to create the lines.
8 In the Color panel, set Black as the current main color.
9 Paint in the channel to close the gaps.
10 Choose Select  Load Selection.
11 In the Load Selection dialog box, choose the modified channel from the Load From
pop-up menu.
12 Enable the Replace Selection option to replace the original with the edited version.
If you want to adjust the mask threshold, double-click the Paint Bucket tool
in
the toolbox, and move the slider.
The channel does not have to be selected to contain the fill. If you deselect the
channel in the Channels panel, the loaded selection is still in effect.

Edit the channel to close leaks. Remember to load the channel back into the selection after
editing.

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Patterns
With Corel Painter, you can apply patterns to an image by filling or painting. In
addition, you can can customize patterns by modifying sample patterns or by creating
them from scratch.
All patterns, including both the sample and custom patterns, reside in libraries. You’ll
find more libraries, with additional materials, on the Corel Painter DVD and on the
Corel website. For more information, see “Libraries” on page 32.
This section contains the following topics:
• Applying Pattern Fills
• Painting with Patterns
• Creating and Editing Patterns
• Creating Seamless Patterns
• Creating Fractal Patterns

Applying Pattern Fills
Corel Painter lets you apply preset pattern fills to images. A pattern is a repeating
design, and the smallest unit of a pattern is known as a “tile.” When you fill an area
with a pattern, the tile, which is rectangular, is repeated across the selected area.
You can adjust the appearance of a pattern in various ways. For example, you can
change the tile size, also known as the scale, and offset tiles in a fill. When you offset
the tiles, you adjust the horizontal or vertical position of the first pattern, relative to
the top of the object, which affects the rest of the pattern fill.

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Left: A pattern scaled at 20%. Right: The same pattern scaled at 100%.

Left: The pattern offset set to 50% produces a seamless pattern. Right: The pattern offset
set to 100% increases the pattern tile visibility. The tiles also appear misaligned.

To apply a pattern as a fill
1 Choose Window  Media Control Panels  Patterns.
2 Click the Pattern selector, and click a pattern in the Painter Patterns library panel.
3 To apply a pattern to:
• The canvas — Click the Canvas in the Layers panel.
• A selection — Click a selection tool from the toolbox, and drag in the
document window to select an area.
• A layer — Click a layer in the Layers panel.
4 Choose the Paint Bucket tool from the toolbox.
5 In the document window, click the canvas, selection, or layer.
You can also
Specify the range of colors to be filled

On the property bar, type a value in the
Tolerance box or adjust the slider.

Specify the pattern opacity for pixels outside
of the tolerance range

On the property bar, type a value in the
Feather box or adjust the slider.

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You can also
Soften the edges of the pattern

On the property bar, click the Anti-Alias
button
.
Anti-aliasing is desirable when the Feather
setting is set to zero or extremely low.

The image must be larger than the tile in order for the tiling to be visible in
an image.
You can also choose a pattern from the Pattern Selector in the toolbox or by
choosing Edit  Fill.

To adjust the appearance of a pattern
1 Choose Window  Media Control Panels  Patterns.
2 Click the Pattern selector, and click a pattern in the Painter Patterns library panel.
3 Enable one of the following options:
• Rectangular Pattern Type
— places the tiles in a rectangular grid for fills.
This options disables the Pattern Offset slider.
• Horizontal Pattern Type
— offsets the tiles in subsequent rows
• Vertical Pattern Type
— offsets the tiles in subsequent columns
If applicable, adjust the Pattern Offset slider
to control the amount of offset.
4 Adjust the Pattern Scale slider
to control the size of each tile in the pattern.
After you set these options, the pattern is ready to use.

Painting with Patterns
Corel Painter lets you paint patterns directly onto an image using a brush that uses the
rendered dab type. When painting with a pattern, you can apply the pattern as is, or
you can modify its appearance. For example, you can paint a pattern with a mask,
which generates a pattern with a transparent background. You can also paint subtle
patterns by using opacity, which produces a translucent effect.

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Painted pattern type

Example

Pattern

Pattern with mask
Pattern with opacity

To paint with a pattern
1 Choose Window  Media Control Panels  Patterns.
2 Click the Pattern selector, and click a pattern in the Painter Patterns library panel.
3 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  General.
4 Click the Brush Selector on the Brush Selector bar.
5 In the Brush Library panel, click a brush category and a brush variant.
If the Source pop-up menu in the General controls panel is not available (appears
gray), the selected brush category does not support patterns. For example, the
Pattern Pens brush category supports patterns.
6 From the General controls panel, choose a dab type from the Dab Type pop-up
menu.
If the Source pop-up menu in the General controls panel is not available (appears
gray), the dab type does not support patterns. For example, the Projected and
Rendered dab types support patterns.
7 From the Source pop-up menu in the General controls panel, choose one of the
following options:
• Pattern — paints with a pattern containing no mask information
• Pattern with Mask — paints using the mask data contained in the pattern (not
all patterns contain mask data)
If you want to change the size of the painted pattern, you should resize the brush
instead of scaling the pattern. To achieve the best results, set the Pattern Scale to
100%.
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8 Paint in the image.
You can also paint with a pattern by choosing a brush variant from the
Pattern Pens category.
If you have not set a clone source, Corel Painter uses the current pattern in
any operation related to clone source colors or luminance. This means you can
paint with a pattern by using a Cloner brush.
When painting with a pattern, keep in mind that direction matters.
Corel Painter flips the pattern you’re painting when you change directions, so
apply strokes in the same direction to achieve a uniform effect.

To paint with pattern opacity
1 Choose Window  Media Control Panels  Patterns.
2 Click the Pattern selector, and click a pattern in the Painter Patterns library panel.
If you want to resize the pattern tile, adjust the Pattern Scale slider.
3 Choose Window menu  Brush Controls  General.
4 Click the Brush Selector on the Brush Selector bar.
5 In the Brush Library panel, click a brush category and a brush variant.
If the Source pop-up menu in the General controls panel is not available (appears
gray), the selected brush category does not support patterns. For example, the
Pattern Pens brush category supports patterns.
6 From the General controls panel, choose a dab type from the Dab Type pop-up
menu.
If the Source pop-up menu in the General controls panel is not available (appears
gray), the dab type does not support patterns. For example, the Rendered dab types
support patterns with opacity.
7 In the General controls panel, choose Pattern As Opacity from the Source pop-up
menu.
Pattern As Opacity is the only computed dab type that responds to methods (Cover
and Buildup), allowing it to respond to Graininess.
8 Apply a brushstroke to the image.

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You can also paint with a pattern by choosing a brush variant from the
Pattern Pens category.
Corel Painter applies the current color, using luminance in the pattern to
control opacity. Light colors in the pattern are rendered as transparent (or as
having very low opacity). Dark colors in the pattern are rendered as very dark
(or as having high opacity).

Creating and Editing Patterns
You can create a pattern from scratch or from an existing image. When creating a
pattern from an exisitng image, you can base the pattern on the entire image or a
selected area. You can also create a pattern from a mask, which produces a pattern
with a transparent background. The image or selection that you choose is converted
into a tile that, when repeated, generates a pattern.

A pattern tile was created by applying brushstrokes to the canvas.

If you want to edit an existing pattern, or if a pattern preview isn’t detailed enough,
you can open the pattern tile in its own window so you can view the pattern closely to
modify it. For example, you can manipulate a pattern to be a half-drop design,
traditionally used in wallpaper designs.
After creating a pattern tile, you may want to refine it so that it tiles seamlessly. For
more information, see “Creating Seamless Patterns” on page 205.
Images that you turn into patterns are saved in the RIFF format, and they maintain
their pattern characteristics even after you save and reopen them. You can switch
libraries whenever you want to use a different set of patterns. For more information,
see “Libraries” on page 32.
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To create a pattern from scratch
1 Choose File  New.
2 Type values in the Width and Height boxes.
If you want to create a pattern, you should set a small canvas size, such as 400
pixels by 300 pixels at 300 ppi.
3 Choose Window  Media Control Panels  Patterns.
4 In the Patterns panel, click the Pattern Options button , and choose Define
Pattern.
5 Apply brushstrokes to the canvas.
If you apply a brushstroke to the edge of the canvas, wrap-around colors are
enabled so that you can drag a brushstroke off one edge of an image, while
simultaneously applying the brushstroke to the other side of the image.
6 Click the Pattern Options button, and choose Add Image to Library.
7 In the Save Image dialog box, type a name for the pattern.
You can also create a pattern by choosing Edit  Fill, modifying the pattern,
and then choosing Add Image to Library.

To create a pattern from an image
1 Open the image file you want to use in creating a pattern.
2 Choose Window  Media Control Panels  Patterns.
3 In the Pattern panel, click the Pattern Options button
Pattern.

, and choose Define

4 Click the Pattern Options button, and choose Add Image to Library.
5 In the Save Image dialog box, type a name for the pattern.
You can also create a pattern by choosing Edit  Fill, modifying the pattern,
then choosing Add Image to Library.

To create a pattern from a selection
1 Open the image file you want to use in creating a pattern.
2 Choose Window  Media Control Panels  Patterns.
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203

3 Choose the Rectangular Selection tool

from the toolbox.

4 Drag in the document window to select the area that you want to save as a pattern
tile.
5 In the Pattern panel, click the Pattern Options button
Pattern.

, and choose Capture

6 In the Capture Pattern dialog box, enable one of the following options:
• Rectangular Tile — places the tile in a rectangular grid for fills. This option
disables the Bias slider.
• Horizontal Shift — offsets the tiles in subsequent rows
• Vertical Shift — offsets the tiles in subsequent columns
If applicable, adjust the Bias slider to control the amount of offset.
7 Type a name in the Name text box.
8 Click OK to save the pattern tile to the current library.
You can also create a pattern that is based on a 4-point clone source, such as
perspective or bilinear. For more information, see “Applying Transformations
When Sampling” on page 393.

To create a masked pattern
1 Open the image file that you want to use in creating a pattern.
2 Choose Window  Media Control Panels  Patterns.
3 Choose the Lasso tool
from the toolbox.
4 Draw a freehand border around the area that you want to convert to a masked
pattern in the document window.
5 In the Pattern panel, click the Pattern Options button , and choose Capture
Pattern.
6 In the Capture Pattern dialog box, enable one of the Rectangular Tile option.
7 Type a name in the Name text box.
8 Click OK to save the masked pattern to the current library.
To quickly apply a pattern mask, click the Brush Selector. In the Brush
Library panel, choose the Pattern Pens category, and then choose the Pattern
Masked Pen variant.
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You can apply pattern masks by using any brush variant that supports them.
For more information, see “To paint with a pattern” on page 200.

To edit a pattern
1 Choose Window  Media Control Panels  Patterns.
2 Click the Pattern selector, and click a pattern in the Painter Patterns library panel.
3 Click the Pattern Options button , and choose Check Out Pattern.
Corel Painter opens the selected pattern tile in its own document window.
4 On the canvas, modify the pattern tile image.
5 Click the Pattern Options button , and choose Add Image to Library.
6 In the Save Image dialog box, click OK to save the pattern to the library.
If you want to rename the pattern, type a new name in the Save As text box. For
example, you may want to modify a default pattern, but keep a copy of the default
pattern intact.
The Check Out Pattern mode supports wrap-around colors. When you drag a
brushstroke off one edge of an image, the brushstroke is simultaneously
applied to the other side of the image. This allows you to quickly modify the
edges of an individual pattern tile.

Creating Seamless Patterns
Patterns are created by repeating a rectangular image tile across an area. Ideally, the
pattern tiles should seamlessly blend into one another so that the eye doesn’t
distinguish the tile edges. Corel Painter allows you to generate seamless patterns by
modifying the edges of a pattern tile before applying the pattern. However, you can
also fix a pattern’s seams by directly modifying the pattern fill.

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Left: The pattern tile includes a visible white edge, which delimits each tile. Right: The
white edge was filled with the background color to produce a seamless pattern.

To achieve seamless tiling, Corel Painter gives documents defined as pattern tiles two
special characteristics: wrap-around colors and wrap-around seams.
• The wrap-around colors feature lets you to drag a brushstroke off one edge of an
image, while simultaneously applying the stroke to the other side of the image.
This allows you to quickly modify the edges of an individual pattern tile.
• The wrap-around seams feature lets you shift the edges of pattern tiles to the center
of the image, where their tonal differences are more apparent and easier to correct.
This allows you to modify a pattern after applying it as a fill.

Left: The pattern tile before the edges were modified. Right: The same pattern tile after
the edges were painted by using the Straight Cloner brush and the wrap-around colors
feature.

To ensure a seamless pattern, you can also apply an effect, such as the Glass Distortion
effect, the Super Soften effect (with the Wrap Around check box enabled), and most of
the Tonal Control effects. Some effects, such as Apply Surface Texture, can result in a
noticeable seam. For information, see “Applying Effects” on page 493.

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To create a seamless pattern from a pattern tile
1 Choose Window  Media Control Panels  Patterns.
2 Click the Pattern selector, and click the pattern whose tile you want to fix from the
Painter Patterns library panel.
3 Click the Pattern Options button , and choose Check Out Pattern.
The pattern tile appears in a document window.
4 Use any color brush to paint out the edge lines, or use a brush with a Water or Drip
method to smear across the lines.
5 Click the Pattern Options button, and choose Capture Pattern.
6 In the Capture Pattern dialog box, type a name in the Name box.
To preserve detailed images, set the Straight Cloner brush to clone from
somewhere inside the image. For more information, see “Painting in the
Clone” on page 386.
You can also copy a selection to a layer and move it over the edge. To produce
clean transitions, feather the layer, and reduce opacity. Drop the layer when
you’re satisfied with the result. For more information about working with
layers, see “Layers” on page 447.

To create a seamless pattern from a pattern fill
1 Open a new blank document.
2 Choose Window  Media Control Panels  Patterns.
3 In the Patterns panel, click the Pattern selector, and click the pattern whose seams
you want to modify in the Painter Patterns library panel.
4 Click the Canvas in the Layers panel.
5 Choose the Paint Bucket tool
from the toolbox, and click the canvas.
6 In the Patterns panel, click the Pattern Options button , and choose Define
Pattern.
7 In the toolbox, click the Grabber tool .
8 Hold down the Shift key and drag inside the image to display where the tile’s
horizontal and vertical edges meet.
9 Do any of the following:

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• Use any color brush to paint out the edge lines, or use a brush with a Water or
Drip method to smear across the lines.
• Use the Straight Cloner brush to paint out the edge lines to preserve image
details. For more information, see “Painting in the Clone” on page 386.
You can also copy a selection to a layer and move it over the edge. To produce
clean transitions, feather the layer, and reduce opacity. Drop the layer when
you’re satisfied with the result. For more information about working with
layers, see “Layers” on page 447.
The changes that you make to a pattern fill are not reflected in the original
pattern tile.

Creating Fractal Patterns
You can create interesting landscapes by using fractal patterns. You can also convert a
fractal pattern into a paper texture and save it to the Paper library. For more
information, see “Paper Texture and Grain” on page 159.

Using Fractal Pattern Controls
When you create fractal patterns, the following controls allow you to fine-tune your
creation:
• Power controls the intricacy of the pattern’s definition, as if you were “zooming” in
and out on a textured surface with a microscope.

The Power slider determines the degree of detail. The image on the left is set to -200%
and the image on the right is set to 0%.

• Feature Size defines the number of prominent features within the tile.

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The Feature Size slider determines the number of repetitions per tile. The image on the left
is set to 90% and the image on the right is set to 20%.

• Softness adjusts the edge softness of the pattern.
• Angle changes the direction from which you view the fractal.
• Thinness emphasizes the direction suggested by the lines of the fractal pattern.
Thinner lines produce a more linear look.
• Size determines the size of the tile you are creating. If your computer has a lot of
memory, you can make a large file with a high resolution. If you do not have a lot of
available memory on your computer, some of the size options may not be available.

Low Thinness settings display the fractal as streaks. Use the Angle slider to change the
direction of streaking.

Corel Painter uses four channels to store graphic information: Red, Green, Blue, and
Alpha. When creating fractal patterns, you can place information other than color
values in these channels, which allows you to visualize this information in different
ways.

To create fractal patterns
1 Choose Window  Media Control Panels  Patterns.
2 In the Patterns panel, click the Pattern Options button
Fractal Pattern.
3 The Make Fractal Pattern dialog box appears.
4 Perform a task from the following table.
Patterns

, and choose Make

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Do the following

Control the intricacy of the pattern

Move the Power slider to the right to zoom
out and see many small patterns, or move it
to the left to zoom in and see fewer large
patterns.

Modify the number of prominent features
within the tile

Move the Feature Size slider to the right to
decrease the repetitions per tile, or move it
to the left to increase the number of
repetitions per tile.

Adjust the edge softness of the pattern

Move the Softness slider to the left to
decrease the softness, or move it to the right
to increase the softness.

Change the direction from which you view
the fractal

Move the Angle slider to the left to decrease
the angle, or move it to the right to increase
the angle.

Create a more linear pattern by emphasizing
the direction suggested by the lines of the
fractal pattern

Move the Thinness slider to the left to
increase the appearance of lines, or move it
to the right to decrease the appearance of
line.

5 In the Size area, enable the option that corresponds to the size of the tile that you
want to create.
6 From the Channel list box, choose one of the following options:
• Height as Luminance — displays pseudo-height information as luminance.
White areas are represented as peaks, and dark areas become depressions.
Images generated with this option can be used with the Apply Surface Texture
effect.
• Gradient Bearing — uses the Red channel to display the bearing of the down
angle of a height field
• Surface Normal — uses the Green and Blue channels to represent the X and Y
components of the surface normal (angle perpendicular to the surface at a given
point) of the height field (Green=X, Blue=Y)
Creating the new pattern may take some time. When the pattern file is ready, it
appears in a new document window.
7 In the Patterns panel, click the Pattern Options button, and choose Capture
Pattern.
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8 In the Capture Pattern dialog box, type a name in the Name box.
The Gradient Bearing and Surface Normal options for viewing a fractal
texture are offered for purely aesthetic reasons. One way to take advantage of
them is to create color variations of the texture with the Adjust Colors feature.
To colorize a fractal pattern, you can replace the greyscale tones with colors
from a gradient fill by using the Express in Image feature. For information,
see “To replace image colors with gradient colors” on page 216.

To convert a fractal pattern into a paper texture
1 Choose Window  Media Control Panels  Patterns.
2 In the Patterns panel, click the Pattern selector, and click a pattern in the Painter
Patterns library panel.
3 Click the Pattern Options button , and choose Check Out Pattern.
The fractal pattern is displayed in a new image window.
4 Choose Effects  Tonal Control, and adjust image elements such as brightness,
contrast, and luminance.
For more information, see “Equalizing Images” on page 505.
5 Choose Select  All.
6 Choose Window  Paper Panels  Papers.
7 In the Papers panel, click the Pattern Options button, and choose Capture Paper.
8 In the Save Paper dialog box, set the crossfade to 0.00.
9 Type a name in the Name box.

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Gradients
A gradient is a type of fill that displays a smooth progression of two or more colors and
adds the illusion of depth to an image. Gradient fills are also known as blends or
fountain fills. Corel Painter offers a wide selection of preset gradients, but you can also
create gradients.
This section contains the following topics:
• Applying Gradients
• Replacing Image Colors With Gradient Colors
• Adjusting Gradients
• Creating and Editing Gradients
• Saving Gradients

Applying Gradients
Corel Painter allows you to apply a gradient to an image by filling an area, such as the
canvas, a selection, layer, or channel. For more information, see “Selections and
Transformations” on page 407, “Layers” on page 447, and “Alpha Channels” on
page 435.
When applying a gradient as a fill, you can apply one of four gradient types: linear,
radial, circular, and spiral.

Left to right: Linear, radial, circular, and spiral gradients.

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You can also apply a gradient in a fluid way by painting it onto an image with a brush
and dab type that support gradient painting. For more information, see “General
Controls: Dab Types” on page 264.

To apply a gradient as a fill
1 Choose Window  Media Control Panels  Gradients.
2 Click the Gradient selector, and click a gradient from the Painter Gradients library
panel.
3 Click one of the following gradient types:
• Linear Gradient
• Radial Gradient
• Circular Gradient
• Spiral Gradient
4 Perform a step from the following table.
To apply a gradient to

Do the following

The canvas

Click the Canvas in the Layers panel.

A selection

Click a selection tool from the toolbox, and
drag in the document window to select an
area.

A layer

Click a layer in the Layers panel.

A channel

Click a channel in the Channels panel.

5 Click the Paint Bucket tool

from the toolbox.

6 In the document window, click the selected area, layer, or channel.
You can also
Specify the range of colors to be filled

On the property bar, type a value in the
Tolerance box, or adjust the slider.

Specify the gradient fill opacity for pixels
outside of the tolerance range

On the property bar, type a value in the
Feather box, or adjust the slider.

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You can also
Soften the edges of the gradient fill

On the property bar, click the Anti-Alias
button
.
Anti-aliasing is desirable when the Feather
setting is set to zero or extremely low.

You can also apply a Gradient by choosing the Paint Bucket tool
from the
toolbox, choosing Gradient from the Fill list box on the property bar, then
clicking the selected area, layer, or channel.
You can also modify the gradient fill opacity by choosing Edit  Fill, and
adjusting the Opacity slider in the Fill dialog box. Decreasing the gradient
opacity increases the transparency of the gradient fill.

To paint a gradient
1 Choose Window  Media Control Panels  Gradients.
2 In the Gradients Control panel, click the Gradient Selector.
3 Click a gradient in the Gradient Libraries panel.
4 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  General.
5 Click the Brush Selector on the Brush Selector bar.
6 In the Brush Library panel, click a brush category, and a brush variant.
If the Source pop-up menu in the General controls panel is not available (appears
gray), the selected brush category or variant does not support gradients. For
example, the Pattern Pens brush category supports gradients.
7 From the General controls panel, choose a dab type from the Dab Type pop-up
menu.
If the Source pop-up menu in the General controls panel is not available (appears
gray), the selected dab type does not support gradients. For example, the Line
Airbrush, Projected, and Rendered dab types support gradients.
8 From the Source pop-up menu in the General controls panel, choose one of the
following options:
• Gradient — applies the current gradient across the width of the stroke
• Gradient Repeat — repeats the current gradient along the length of the stroke
9 Paint in the document window.
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215

Painting with a gradient by using Gradient (left) and Gradient Repeat (right).

When painting with a gradient, only the Linear gradient type is supported.
Direction matters when you paint with a gradient. Corel Painter flips the
gradient when you change direction. To achieve a uniform effect, apply
strokes in the same direction.

Replacing Image Colors With Gradient Colors
You can replace an image’s colors with those of a gradient. This effect applies gradient
colors to the pixels of the image, based on their luminance values. For more
information, see “Using Image Luminance to Create Texture” on page 521.

You can choose an image (left) and replace its colors with the colors of a selected gradient
(right).

To replace image colors with gradient colors
1 Open the image that you want to use.
Select part of the image, or use the entire image.
2 Choose Window  Media Control Panels  Gradients.
3 Click the Gradient selector, and click a gradient from the Painter Gradients library
panel.
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4 Click the Gradient Options button

, and choose Express In Image.

5 In the Express in Image dialog box, adjust the Bias slider to define how the
gradient is mapped.
Corel Painter replaces the colors in the image with the colors in the gradient, based
on matching luminance.

Adjusting Gradients
You can adjust gradients to control the display of the gradient colors. For example, you
can change the order of the colors and the angle of the gradient.

The gradient order set to display from Left to Right (left) and Right to Left (right).

The gradient angle set to display at a vertical angle (left) and at a horizontal angle
(right).

You can also modify the spirality of the gradient. For example, a higher amount of
spirality produces a tighter spiral effect.

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217

The gradient with low spiral tension (left) and high spiral tension (right).

To gradient direction
1 Choose Window  Media Control Panels  Gradients.
2 In the Gradients panel, click one of the gradient order buttons:
• Left to Right Gradient
• Mirrored Right to Left Gradient
• Double Left to Right Gradient
• Right to Left Gradient
• Mirrored Left to Right Gradient
• Double Right to Left Gradient
To change a gradient angle
• In the Gradients panel, drag the Set the Angle of the Ramp slider
gradient.

to adjust the

If you prefer, type an angle in the corresponding numeric value box.

To modify the spiral gradient appearance
1 From the Gradients panel, click the Spiral Gradient
2 Perform a task from the following table.

button.

Do the following

Increase the spiral tension

Drag the Scale the Spiral Rate of the Ramp
slider
to the right.

Decrease the spiral tension

Drag the Scale the Spiral Rate of the Ramp
slider
to the left.

Change the direction of the spiraling effect

Click the Spirality Direction button

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Creating and Editing Gradients
Although Corel Painter comes with libraries full of gradients, you can create custom
gradients or edit existing gradients.
You can create very simple to very complex gradients. For a simple two-point gradient,
you choose a main and an additional color, and then Corel Painter generates the
gradient colors between them.

Additional color
Main color
Two-point gradient

A two-point gradient (right) generated from the main and additional colors (left).

You can also create a new gradient by editing an exiting gradient. For example, you
can modify the gradient color blend or add additional colors to a gradient, which are
also known as color control points.

New color control point

A new color was added to the gradient by adding a color control point to the color ramp
bar.

In addition, you can modify the gradient hue to change the appearance of a particular
gradation of color.
You can use any existing image as a source for creating new gradients. For example,
you can capture the colors in a photo of a sunset, or paint your own range of colors as
the content of a gradient.

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219

To create a perfect blend between a series of colors, it is better to work with a row of single
pixels than a large piece of an image.

You can save all of your new and modified gradients in the Gradient Library so you can
use them in future projects. For more information, see “Libraries” on page 32.

To create a two-point gradient
1 Choose Window  Color panels  Color.
2 From the Color panel, click the Main Color (front) swatch , and choose a main
color.
3 Click the Additional Color (back) swatch , and choose an additional color.
4 Choose Window  Media Control Panels  Gradients.
5 Choose Two-Point from the Gradient Selector.
6 Click the Gradient Options button , and choose Save Gradient.
7 In the Save Gradient dialog box, type a name for the gradient in the Save as box.
To edit a gradient
1 Choose Window  Media Control Panels  Gradients.
2 Click the Gradient selector, and click a gradient from the Painter Gradients library
panel.
You can modify only default gradients. You cannot edit the customized gradients
that you saved to the Painter Gradients library.
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3 Click the Gradient Options button

, and choose Edit Gradient.

4 In the Edit Gradient dialog box, drag a color control point to modify the color
transition.
Color control points

Color ramp bar

Drag a color control point to adjust the color transition at a specific point in the gradient.

To modify a two-point gradient, you can add additional color control points
by clicking in the color ramp bar where you want to set the control points.
You can blend the gradient color ramp by disabling the Linear check box and
dragging the Color Spread slider to control the color smoothness at each color
control point.

To add color to a gradient
1 Choose Window  Color panels  Color.
2 Choose Window  Media Control Panels  Gradients.
3 Click the Gradient selector, and click a gradient from the Painter Gradients library
panel.
4 Click the Gradient Options button , and choose Edit Gradient.
5 In the Edit Gradient dialog box, click in the color ramp bar where you want to set
the control point.
The control point is added, without affecting the color.
6 Click the new color control point to select it.
7 In the Color panel, choose the color you want to add to the gradient.
You can press Option + click (Mac OS) or Alt + click (Windows) in the color
ramp bar to create a control point that is set to the current color.
You can delete a control point by clicking a control point and pressing Delete
(Mac OS) or Backspace (Windows).

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221

To change the gradient hue
1 Choose Window  Media Control Panels  Gradients.
2 Click the Gradient selector, and click a gradient from the Painter Gradients library
panel.
3 Click the Gradient Options button , and choose Edit Gradient.
4 In the Edit Gradient dialog box, click a square box above the color ramp bar.
Color hue options

The Color hue options allow you to change the hue of the blend within that segment.

5 Select an option from the Color list box:
• RGB — blends the red, green, and blue components of the two colors
• Hue Clockwise — blends the endpoint colors by rotating around the color
wheel clockwise
• Hue Counterclockwise — blends the endpoint colors by rotating around the
color wheel counterclockwise
To understand this concept better, refer to the standard display of the Color
panel (Hue Ring and Saturation/Value Triangle), and note the order of the
colors on the Hue Ring. Notice that as you change parameters within the Edit
Gradient dialog box, gradient previews are updated in the Gradients panel.

To create a gradient from an image
1 Click the Rectangular Selection tool

from the toolbox.

2 Drag in the document window to select a horizontal or vertical area, making the
selection as narrow as possible.
If the selection is horizontal, Corel Painter creates the gradient from the first row of
pixels starting at the upper left.
If the selection is vertical, Corel Painter creates the gradient from the first column
of pixels, starting at the upper left.
3 Choose Window  Media Control Panels  Gradients.
4 In the Gradients panel, click the Gradient Options button
Gradient.

, and choose Capture

5 In the Save Gradient dialog box, type a name for the gradient in the Save as box.

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The new gradient is saved in the current library. In the future, you can choose it by
name from the Painter Gradients library panel.
After a gradient is captured, it can no longer be edited. To change a captured
gradient, change the artwork from which it was captured, and then recapture
the gradient.

Saving Gradients
You can save the gradients that you create for future use. When you save a gradient, it
is stored in a library. You can load alternate libraries of gradients to increase your
choices. For more information about working with libraries, see “Libraries” on page 32.

All gradients are stored in the Painter Gradients library.

To save a gradient
1 Choose Window  Media Control Panels  Gradients.
2 Click the Gradient Options button , and choose Save Gradient.
3 In the Save Gradient dialog box, enter a name for the gradient.
Once you save a gradient, it can no longer be edited. To change a captured
gradient, change the artwork from which it was captured, and then recapture
the gradient.

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Weaves
Corel Painter includes an assortment of weave samples that you can apply as fills. You
can also edit a weave sample to make it your own. In addition, Corel Painter includes a
powerful programing language that allows you draft custom weave patterns from
scratch.
Weaves reside in default libraries. You’ll find more libraries, with additional materials,
on the Corel Painter DVD and on the Corel Web site. For more information, see
“Libraries” on page 32.
This section contains the following topics:
• Applying Weaves
• Editing and Saving Weaves
• Creating Weave Patterns
• Using the Edit Weave Dialog Box
• Defining Warp and Weft Expressions
• Defining Warp and Weft Color Expressions
• Designing the Tie-up
• Reference: Expression Operators

Applying Weaves
You can choose a weave from the Weave panel, or from one of the Weave libraries that
are included with Corel Painter, and apply it as a fill. For more information, see
“Libraries” on page 32.

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225

The Weave Library is accessible from the Media Selector bar.

You can also display a weave as two-dimensional or show the interwoven threads threedimensionally, complete with shadows.

Left: A weave displayed as two-dimensional. Right: The same weave displayed as
three-dimensional produces a more jagged effect.

To apply a weave as a fill
1 Choose Window  Media Control Panels  Weaves.
2 Click the Weave selector, and click a weave in the Painter Weaves library panel.
3 Click one of the following buttons:
• Two-Dimensional Weave
— produces a weave that looks like blocks
• Three-Dimensional Weave
— produces a weave that looks like textured
fabric
4 To apply a weave to:
• The canvas — Click the Canvas in the Layers panel.
• A selection — Click a selection tool from the toolbox, and drag in the
document window to select an area.
• A layer — Click a layer in the Layers panel.
5 Choose the Paint Bucket tool
from the toolbox.
6 In the document window, click the canvas, selection, or layer.
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Editing and Saving Weaves
You can edit a sample weave from the Weaves panel to make it your own. For example,
you can scale the weave or modify the thickness of the threads.
After altering the scale, thickness, or color of a weave, you can save the changes as a
new weave to the Weaves library for future use. For more information, see “Libraries”
on page 32.

To adjust weave scaling and thickness
1 Choose Window  Media Control Panels  Weaves.
2 Click the Weave selector, and click a weave in the Painter Weaves library panel.
The weave appears in the Weave Preview Window.
3 Click the Three-Dimensional Weave button .
For most weaves, the preview does not change until you adjust the scale and
thickness values.
4 Move the Horizontal Scale slider
and Vertical Scale slider
to the right to
increase the scale or to the left to decrease the scale.
5 Move the Horizontal Thickness slider
and Vertical Thickness slider
to the
right to increase the thickness or to the left to decrease the thickness.
Thickness sliders affect only the three-dimensional display. When you select a
two-dimensional display, the thickness sliders have no effect.

To save a weave
1 Choose Window  Media Control Panels  Weaves.
2 Click the Weave Options button , and choose Save Weave.
3 In the Save Weave dialog box, type a name for the weave.
If you want to preserve the default weave, type a new name for the modified
weave. If you don’t type a new name, Corel Painter saves the modified weave
using the default weave’s name.
The new weave pattern appears in the current Painter Weaves library.

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Creating Weave Patterns
Corel Painter lets you create weave patterns to simulate fabrics, such as wallpaper,
carpet, clothing, and furniture, using the Edit Weave dialog box combined with the
Corel Painter weaving language.
In this section, actual weaving terminology is used so that weavers can become familiar
with these techniques more easily.

Introduction to Weaving
A weave consists of vertical threads (warp) and horizontal threads (weft) that are
interlaced on a loom to form a fabric. Each warp thread is connected to exactly one
harness in the loom. The harnesses are connected in a pattern to treadles. Pressing a
treadle raises a set of harnesses, lifting the associated warp threads. A weft thread is
then passed horizontally through the loom. The particular set of harnesses that are
raised determines which warp threads are in front of the weft thread and which are
behind. For the next weft thread, a different treadle is pressed, raising a different set of
harnesses and, hence, a different set of warp threads.

An example of a simple weave using 1) grey horizontal weft threads and 2) black vertical
warp threads.

In traditional weaving, you need to follow a draft to create a weave. A draft is a set of
instructions for setting up a loom to produce a weave. The draft contains the following
details:

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• warp threading definition — describes how to set up the loom for threading the
vertical threads (number of threads, sequence, and color)
• weft threading definition — describes how to set up the loom for treadling the
horizontal threads (number of threads, sequence, and color)
• tie-up — instructs the weaver which of the warp rows to use when weaving a
given weft thread
In Corel Painter, the Edit Weave dialog allows you to draft a weave pattern. For
information, see “Using the Edit Weave Dialog Box” on page 229.

Using the Edit Weave Dialog Box
You can draft a weave using the Edit Weave dialog box, which is intended for an 8harness, 8-treadle loom.
2

5
3

Edit Weave dialog box: the numbers above correspond to the numbers in the following
table, which describes the main components of the dialog box.
Component

Description

1. Warp

The values in the Warp area specify the threading sequence of the
vertical threads in the weave.

2. Warp colors

The values that appear in the Warp Colors area control the color
and number of vertical threads in the weave.

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Component

Description

3. Weft

The values in the Weft area specify the treadling sequence of the
horizontal threads in the weave.

4. Weft colors

The values that appear in the Weft Colors area control the color
and number of horizontal threads in the weave.

5. Tromp as Writ

The Tromp as Writ buttons allow you to copy the warp values
and apply them to the weft threads.

6. Tieup

The Tie-up area allows you to control the interlacing of the
threads by determining which warp rows to use when weaving a
weft thread.

To access the Edit Weave dialog box
1 Choose Window  Media Control Panels  Weaves.
2 In the Weaves panel, click the Weave Options button

, and choose Edit Weave.

Defining Warp and Weft Expressions
The warp and weft expressions use the information in the tie-up to extend and evolve
the weave into larger, more complex patterns. For more information, see “Designing
the Tie-up” on page 233.

Warp and Weft Expressions in Traditional Weaving
In traditional weaving, the warp expression represents the threading sequence, in other
words, it describes which warp threads are connected to which harnesses. The weft
expression is the treadling sequence that determines which treadle is pressed (and
therefore which harnesses are raised) for each successive weft thread.
The following table describes which warp threads are connected to which harnesses for
the warp sequence 234123:
Connect warp thread

To harness

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Connect warp thread

To harness

The sequence repeats for subsequent threads.
#7

The threading sequence above, 234123, has a length of 6, which indicates that the
pattern runs for 6 threads before repeating.
The following table describes which treadle is pressed (and therefore which harnesses
are raised) for each successive weft thread for the weft sequence 654:
Press treadle

For weft thread

The sequence repeats for subsequent threads.
#6

Warp and Weft Expressions in Corel Painter
In Corel Painter, you need to use the weave pattern expression language to generate a
weave. You may find working with the pattern expression language more logical than
working with very complex expanded sequences. For more information see,
“Reference: Expression Operators” on page 235.
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The following table includes an example of a traditional pattern expression expressed
in the Corel Painter pattern language.
Traditional expression

Pattern language expression

1223334444333221

(1-4-1)[](1-4-1)

To define a warp or weft expression
• In the Edit Weave dialog box, type an expression in the Warp box.
As you type a warp or weft sequence, the “Expands to n”message above the panel
displays the length n (number of digits) of the expression. This describes the
number of threads in the sequence.
If Corel Painter cannot resolve the expression, the expansion length message
displays “!” (error).
If you want to copy the Warp expression to the Weft expression, press the
Tromp as Write (pattern) button.

Defining Warp and Weft Color Expressions
You can use one color for all the warp threads and another for all the weft threads, or
you can set up a sequence of colors for each.
When defining thread color sequences using the pattern expression language, you
must identify the colors alphabetically. Therefore, you are limited to 26 colors of
thread in the weaving.
Using the warp and weft color panels, you can create expressions that describe the
color sequences that you want.
The following table includes an example of a simple color sequence expressed in the
Corel Painter pattern language.
Thread color sequence

Description

[B 8 D 4]

Use color B for 8 threads, use color D for 4
threads.

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To define a warp or weft color expression
• In the Edit Weave dialog box, type an expression in the Warp Colors box.
To display the weave color set
• In the Weaves panel, click the Weave Options button , and choose Get Color
Set.
The color set for the selected weave appears in the Color Sets panel in its own color
set library.
To display the letter associated with a color set color
1 In the Weaves panel, click the Weave Options button , and choose Get Color
Set.
2 In the Color Sets panel, click the Color Sets Options button , choose Color Set
Library View  List.
Scroll to the newly created color set to view the letters associated with the weave
colors.

Designing the Tie-up
The purpose of the tie-up is to describe which of the warp rows to use when weaving a
given weft thread. It works in conjunction with the Warp and Weft expressions to
generate the weave pattern.

The tie-up describes which threads are in front at which point in the weaving process.

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In the Edit Weave dialog box, the tie-up is a grid that measures 8 threads wide by 8
threads high. A black cell indicates that the warp thread should be placed in front of
the weft. A white cell indicates that the weft thread should be placed in front of the
warp.

Tie-up

In this tie-up, the white cells instruct the weft thread (black) to be placed in front of the
warp thread (white) in the weave pattern. Notice that the white cells that are positioned
in the fourth row and column cause the weft thread (black) to be more prominent in the
weave pattern.

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Tie-up

In this tie-up, alternate black cells that are positioned in the fourth row and column
instruct the warp thread (white) to be placed in front of the weft thread (black). Notice
that the addition of the black cells in the fourth row and column produces a checkerboard
effect.

To modify the tie-up
• In the Edit Weave dialog box, click a cell in the grid.
If you click a white cell, the cell changes to black, which places the warp thread in
front of the weft.
If you click a black cell, the cell changes to white, which places the weft thread in
front of the warp.

Reference: Expression Operators
You need to learn how to use the weaving pattern language expression operators to
effectively draft a weave pattern.
The Weaving Pattern Expression Language is designed around a group of values,
called the domain of the pattern. For the warp or weft sequences, the domain is made
up of the numbers 1 through 8, which correspond to the harnesses and treadles in the
tie-up.

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Patterns wrap around on their domain so the number one higher than 8 is actually 1,
and the number one lower than 1 is actually 8. This is called modular arithmetic. For
example, some are found in the sequences 5678123 or 3218765.
The following table defines a few commonly used terms.
Term

Definition

Operands

In all examples, the operands used for the
operators are numeric sequences. However,
the operands may be other patterns created
from other operators. In this case, use
parentheses to distinguish operands.

Expansion

Refers to the actual warp or weft numeric
sequence created when the expression is
translated from the shorthand pattern
language.

Length

Describes the number of elements in the
expanded sequence. For example, (1-41)[](1-4-1) expands to 1223334444333221,
which has a length of 16.

BLOCK
Operator Usage

Short form

block

[]

The left operand is a sequence of any length. The right operand is a pattern of digit
characters for specifying block lengths from 0 to 9.
If either operand is shorter than the other, it is extended (via repeating) to exactly the
length of the other operand.
Then, with equal length operands, each element of the left operand is repeated
individually by the value of the corresponding digit in the right operand.
The length of the expansion is the sum of the digits in the (possibly lengthened) right
operand.
Individual elements of the right operand (lengths) can be replaced by {number} for
counts from 1 to 127.
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Example

Expansion

1234 [] 2

11223344

34512 [] 23

334445511122

12345678 [] 87654321

111111112222222333333444445555666778

12 [] 123494321

12211122221111111112222111221

123 [] 1{12}3

1222222222222333

Block Expressions
Block expressions may be used in an interleaved format. This is particularly useful for
color sequences like those used in the Scottish tartan plaids. For example, one of the
Drummond color sequences is expressed as follows:
[G 8 R 2 G 2 R 56 G 16 B 2 G 2 B 2 G 36 R 2 G 2 R 8|].

REPEAT
Operator Usage

Short form

repeat

rep, *

The left operand is a pattern of any length. The right operand is an integer count. The
expansion is the repeated times.
Example

Expansion

1234567 repeat 3

123456712345671234567

EXTEND
Operator Usage

Short form

extend

ext, ->

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The left operand is a pattern of any length. The right operand is an integer that is
interpreted as a length. The left operand is reshaped to be the length as specified by
the right operand. If the left operand is shorter that the desired length, it is repeated
out to the right length. If the left operand is shorter, it is merely trimmed.
Example

Expansion

123 -> 8

12312312

123456787654321 -> 10

1234567876

CONCAT
Operator Usage

Short form

concat

The left and right operands are both patterns of any length. The result is the left
operand concatenated with the right operand. Note that when a pattern is spelled out
(e.g. 1234), the concat operation is implicit between each of its members (i.e. 1234 is
equivalent to 1,2,3,4). The concat operator is used only when needed—for example, to
separate parenthetical operands.
Example

Expansion

(1-4|),(4-1|)

1234321

1-8,(1-8 [] 2)

123456781122334455667788

INTERLEAVE
Operator Usage

Short form

interleave

int, ~

The left and right operands are both patterns of any length. If either operand is shorter
than the other, it is extended (via repeating) to exactly the length of the other operand.
Then, the operands are interleaved. Interleaving alternates the elements of the left
operand with the elements of the right (like lacing your fingers together). The
expansion contains the first element of the left, the first element of the right, the
second element of the left, the second element of the right, and so on.
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Example

Expansion

123 interleave 76

172637

12345678 ~ 4321

1423324154637281

123456787654321 ~ 121221222

112231425261728272615241322211

UPTO
Operator Usage

Short form

upto

<, -

The“-” may be used as an upto operator only when the last element of the left operand
is strictly less than the first element of the right operand.
The left and right operands are both patterns of any length.
The expansion is the left operand concatenated with the sequence between the last
element of the left operand and the first element of the right operand, concatenated
with the rest of the right operand.
Upto wraps around on the domain. For example, 7 upto 2 expands to 7812.
The upto operator may be followed immediately (with no intervening characters) by
any number of tick marks ( ' ). A tick mark indicates to cycle through the domain
before running up to the right operand. The number of tick marks sets the number of
cycles.
Example

Expansion

1-8

12345678

1-''5

123456781234567812345

123-765

123456765

2<1

23456781

13 upto'' 5812

13456781234567812345812

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DOWNTO
Operator Usage

Short form

extend

ext, ->

Operator Usage: downto Short form: >, The “-” may be used as an downto operator only when the last element of the left
operand is strictly greater than the first element of the right operand.
The left and right operands are both patterns of any length.
The expansion is the left operand concatenated with the descending sequence between
the last element of the left operand and the first element of the right operand,
concatenated with the rest of the right operand.
Downto wraps around on the domain. For example, 2 downto 7 expands to 2187.
The downto operator may be followed immediately (with no intervening characters) by
any number of tick marks ( ' ). A tick mark indicates to cycle through the domain
before running down to the right operand. The number of tick marks sets the number
of cycles.
Example

Expansion

8-1

87654321

1-8-1

123456787654321

5-''1

543218765432187654321

567-321

567654321

2>1

13 downto'' 5812

132187654321876543218765812

TEMPLATE
Operator Usage

Short form

template

temp, :

The right and left operands are patterns of any length.

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Template allows texturing (sub-articulation) of a master pattern (the left operand) with
a texture pattern (the right operand).
The first element of the template is taken as the root. All other elements in the
template sequence are considered with respect to their difference from the root. For
example, if 342 is the template pattern, the first element (3) is the root (r). The second
element (4) is r+1, and the third element (2) is r-1. The template is then r, r+1, r-1.
This template is then applied to each element in the left operand, with the element’s
value replacing the root.
Remember that the values wrap around on the domain.
Example

Expansion

1-8 temp 121

121232343454565676787818

1-8 : 12121

1212123232343434545456565676767878781818

12321 temp 878

878181212181878

12321 : 3

34543

PALINDROME
Operator Usage

Short form

palindrome

pal, |

This operator takes only one operand, the left operand. That operand can be a pattern
of any length. The resultant expansion is the left operand concatenated with itself
backwards.
However, the center element is not repeated, and the last element of the result is
dropped automatically. This is essential when the palindromed sequence is repeated
and helps to remove flaws from a weaving draft.
A palindrome word is the same, spelled backwards or forwards, like “madam.”
Example

Expansion

1-8|

12345678765432

1223334444555|

122333444455555444433322

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PERMUTE
Operator Usage

Short form

permute

perm

The left operand is a pattern of any length. The right operand is a permutation vector.
The left operand is extended to a length that is an integer multiple of the right
operand's length.
Then the left operand is permuted in chunks of the right operand's length. The
organization of the permutation pattern is used to reorganize the elements in each
chunk of the pattern.
For example, a permutation of 312 puts “the third element first, the first element
second and the second element third.”
Example

Expansion

123456787654321 permute 312

312645778465132

1-8 perm 1324

13245768

PBOX
Operator Usage

Short form

pbox

none

The left operand is a pattern of any length. The right operand is a permutation vector.
Its length will be adjusted, if necessary, (by trimming or repeating) to equal the length
of the left operand.
Then, the organization of the permutation pattern is used to reorganize the elements
of the pattern.
Pbox maintains the length of the left operand pattern.
Example

Expansion

123456787654321 pbox 21436587

214365878563412

1-'8 pbox 4-18-5

4321876543218765

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UPDOWN
Operator Usage

Short form

updown

The left and right operands are both patterns of any length. If either operand is shorter
than the other, it is extended (via repeating) to exactly the length of the other operand.
Then, UPDOWN generates alternating ascending and descending runs. An odd
number of runs is always generated. The expansion contains the ascending run from
the first element of the left operand to the first element of the right operand, followed
by the descending run from there to the second element of the first operand, etc. The
operation is complete with the ascending run from the last element of the left operand
to the last element of the right operand.
The updown operator may be followed immediately (with no intervening characters)
by any number of tick marks ( ' ). A tick mark indicates to cycle through the domain
before completing the up and down runs. The number of tick marks sets the number
of cycles.
Example

Expansion

1234 updown 5678

12345432345654345676545678

12 <>' 567

12345678123454321876543234567812345654321876543212
3456781234567

DOWNUP
Operator Usage

Short form

downup

The left and right operands are both patterns of any length. If either operand is shorter
than the other, it is extended (via repeating) to exactly the length of the other operand.
Then, DOWNUP generates alternating descending and ascending runs. An odd
number of runs is always generated. The expansion contains the descending run from
the first element of the left operand to the first element of the right operand, followed
by the ascending run from there to the second element of the first operand, etc. The
operation is complete with the descending run from the last element of the left
operand to the last element of the right operand.
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The downup operator may be followed immediately (with no intervening characters)
by any number of tick marks ( ' ). A tick mark indicates to cycle through the domain
before completing the up and down runs. The number of tick marks sets the number
of cycles.
Example

Expansion

1234 downup 5678

18765678121876781232187812343218

12 ><' 567

18765432187656781234567812187654321876781234567818
765432187

ROTATE
Operator Usage

Short form

rotate

rot, #

The left operand is a pattern of any length. The right operand is an integer (which may
be negative) that is interpreted as a length. Rotate takes the set of elements specified
by from the start of the pattern and moves them to the end. A negative
number takes a set of elements from the end of the pattern and moves them to the
beginning.
Example

Expansion

12345678 rotate 3

45678123

1-4-1 rotate -3

3211234

REVERSE
Operator Usage

Short form

reverse

rev, `

This operator takes only one operand, the left operand. That operand may be a pattern
of any length. The resulting expansion is the left operand written backwards.
Example

Expansion

1-8 reverse

87654321

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Example

Expansion

1223334444555`

5554444333221

Precedence Ordering
When several operators are used in an expression, they are evaluated in order of
precedence. That is, some operations are performed before others. The precedence
levels for the pattern language are shown in the following:
• upto, downto, concat
• downup, updown
• repeat, extend, template, interleave,
• permute, pbox
• palindrome
When two operators have the same precedence, left to right ordering is followed.
Example

Interpreted as

1-4-2

((1 upto 4) downto 2)

1234[]4321|

((1234 block 4321) palindrome)

1-4 block 4-1

((1 upto 4) block (4 upto1))

(1-4|),(4-1|)|

((((1 upto 4) palindrome) concat ((4 upto 1) palindrome))
palindrome)

If precedence does the wrong thing, or if it is unclear, use parentheses to bring out the
intended order of evaluation.

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Color Management
Corel Painter lets you manage colors when you create or open images, or place images
in a document. The color management controls help ensure that colors are consistent
when you work with images from various sources, such as Adobe Photoshop or a
digital camera. In addition, you can store color information in a document by
embedding a color profile in the file when you save it.
This section contains the following topics:
• Understanding Color Management
• Getting Started with Color Management
• Previewing Images
• Changing Color Profiles
• Working with Color Profile Policies
• Working with Presets

Understanding Color Management
This section provides answers to some commonly asked questions about color
management.

What is color management?
Color management is a process that lets you predict and control color reproduction,
regardless of the source or destination of the image. For example, a monitor displays a
different set of colors than a printer reproduces, so you may see colors on-screen that
cannot be printed. If you want to reduce color discrepancies, you can use color
management to ensure a more accurate color representation when an image is viewed,
modified, or printed.
During the digital imaging process, different tools are used to capture, modify, and
print images. In a typical workflow, you capture an image by using a digital camera,
upload the image to a computer, modify the image in a photo-editing application, and
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print the image. Each of these tools has a different way of interpreting color. In
addition, each has its own range of available colors, called a color space, which is a set
of numbers that define how each color is represented. A color space is a subset of a
color model (for example, CMYK or RGB). In other words, each tool speaks a unique
language when it comes to color. One number in the color space of a digital camera
may represent an entirely different color in the color space of a monitor. As a result,
when an image moves through the workflow, the colors get lost in the translation and
are not accurately reproduced. A color management system is designed to improve the
communication of color in the workflow.

This is an example of a typical digital imaging workflow.

A color management system, also known as a color engine, uses color profiles to
translate the color values from the source, which ensures a more accurate color
reproduction at the destination. A color profile contains the data that the color
management system requires to translate colors. Many standard color profiles are
available. In addition, color profiles exist for different brands of monitors, scanners,
digital cameras, and printers.

Why do I need color management?
If your document requires accurate color representation, you should consider using
color management. The complexity of your workflow and the ultimate destination of
the images are also important considerations. If your documents are destined only for
online viewing, color management may not be as important. However, if you plan to
open images in another application, such as Adobe Photoshop, or if you are creating
images for print or multiple types of output, the use of color management is essential.
Color management lets you do the following:
• reproduce colors consistently across your digital imaging workflow, especially when
opening documents that were created in other applications
• reproduce colors consistently when sharing files with others
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• preview, or “soft-proof ”, colors before they are printed
• reduce the need to adjust and correct images when sending images to different
destinations
A color management system does not offer identical color matching (this is not
technically possible), but it greatly improves the color representation.

Is my monitor displaying the right colors?
How you perceive the color that your monitor displays is another important factor in
managing color consistency. Your perception is influenced by the environment in
which you are viewing the images. Here are some ways to neutralize your viewing
environment.
• Ensure that your room has a consistent flow of light. For example, if the room is
filled with sunlight, use a shade, or if possible, work in a room without windows.
• To ensure accuracy in perceiving colors, some graphics professionals work in
windowless rooms with gray or neutral walls and ceilings. If these conditions do not
match the room you work in, you can invest in a monitor hood, or you can create
one by using black cardboard and tape.
• Don’t wear bright clothing that can clash with the display of colors on the monitor.
For example, wearing a white shirt reflects on the monitor and alters your
perception of color.
• Set the monitor background to a neutral color, such as gray, or apply a grayscale
image. Avoid using colorful wallpapers and screensavers.
Calibration and profiling of the monitor, also known as characterization, are also
important steps for ensuring color accuracy. Calibration helps ensure consistency in the
colors that are displayed on the monitor. After calibration, you can create a color
profile of the monitor, which contains the details of how the monitor interprets colors.
The profile is then shared with other devices. Calibration and profiling work together
to achieve color accuracy: If a monitor is incorrectly calibrated, its color profile is not
useful.
However, calibration and profiling are complex and usually require a special
calibration device and specialized software. Furthermore, improper calibration may do
more harm than good. You can find additional information about monitor calibration
and custom color profiles by researching color-management techniques and products.
You can also refer to the documentation that was provided with your operating system
or monitor.

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Should I assign or convert color profiles?
In deciding whether to assign or convert a color profile, you should first consider the
results that each action produces. When you assign a color profile in Corel Painter, the
color values, or numbers, in the document do not change. Instead, the application
simply uses the color profile to interpret the colors in an image. However, when you
convert a color profile, the color values in the document change. Instead of assigning a
color profile, the application translates one color profile to another. Converting a color
profile does more than affect the display of colors — it produces irreversible changes to
the colors in the document.
The best practice is to choose a working color space, such as sRGB, when you create an
image and to use the same color profile throughout your workflow. You should avoid
assigning and converting color profiles. However, you may encounter scenarios that
require you to switch to a different color profile.
For example, if you receive a file from someone, and no color profile is embedded in the
file, you should assign a color profile to the file. In this way, you can retain the file’s
original color values.
You should choose the conversion option only if you are preparing the file for a specific
output, such as a printer. After the data has been changed to accommodate the
destination profile, conversion back to the original color profile is often not suitable.

What is a rendering intent?
A color management system can perform effective translation of colors from the source
to multiple outputs. However, when matching colors from one color space to another,
a color management system may be unable to match certain colors. These “out-ofgamut” colors can dramatically change the look of the image, depending on how they
are interpreted by the color management system. Fortunately, you can choose a
rendering intent to instruct the color management system how to interpret the out-ofgamut colors. The rendering intent that you choose depends on the graphical content
of the image.

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Saturated

Perceptual

Relative Colorimetric

This is an example of three types of images and their corresponding rendering intents.

• Perceptual — Choose this rendering intent for photographs and bitmaps that
contain many out-of-gamut colors. The overall color appearance is preserved by
changing all colors, including in-gamut colors, to fit within the destinations range
of colors at the destination. This rendering intent maintains the relationships
between colors to produce the best results.
• Saturated — Choose this rendering intent to produce more concentrated solid
colors in business graphics, such as charts and graphs. Colors may be less accurate
than those produced by other rendering intents.
• Relative Colorimetric — Choose this rendering intent for logos or other graphics to
preserve original colors. If a match is not found for the source colors, then the
closest possible match is found. This rendering intent causes the white point to
shift. In other words, if you are printing on white paper, the white areas of an
image use the white of the paper to reproduce the color. Therefore, this rendering
intent is a good option for printing images.
• Absolute Colorimetric — Choose this rendering intent for logos, or other graphics,
that require very precise colors. If no match is found for the source colors, then the
closest possible match is used. The Absolute Colorimetric and Relative Colorimetric
rendering intents are similar, but the Absolute Colorimetric rendering intent
preserves the white point through the conversion and does not adjust for the
whiteness of the paper. This option is used mainly for proofing.

What is “soft-proofing”?
Soft-proofing lets you generate an on-screen preview of what the image will look like
when it’s reproduced. This technique simulates the “hard-proofing” stage in a
traditional printing workflow. However, unlike hard-proofing, soft-proofing lets you
look at the final result without committing ink to paper. For example, you can preview
what the printed image will look like when a specific brand of printer is used. You can
also preview what the image will look like on another type of monitor.
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Soft-proofing also lets you verify whether the document’s color profile is suitable for a
specific printer or monitor and can help you prevent unwanted results. For information
about soft-proofing with Corel Painter, see “Soft-Proofing Images” on page 254.

Getting Started with Color Management
If you want to use color management in Corel Painter, you can start by specifying the
default RGB color profile that you want to assign to all new documents. When you
create images in another application, such as Adobe Photoshop, you should use the
same default color profile that you will use when opening the file in Corel Painter. In
addition, you should always embed the color profile when saving a document in Corel
Painter or Adobe Photoshop, so that the document retains the color information.
Corel Painter also lets you choose the default CMYK profile for converting CMYK
images to RGB.

Specifying the Default RGB Color Profile
To ensure that all new documents use the same RGB color profile, you can change the
default color profile for Corel Painter. The factory default color profile for Corel Painter
is sRGB, which is the default color profile for many monitors, digital cameras, and
even some printers.

To change the default RGB color profile
1 Choose Canvas  Color Management Settings.
2 Choose a color profile from the Default RGB Profile list box.
You can also access the Color Management Settings dialog box from the
Navigator panel by clicking the Open Navigator Settings button , clicking
Color Management, and choosing Color Management Settings.

Embedding Color Profiles When Saving Files
You can embed a color profile in a file. When you embed a color profile, the assigned
color profile is embedded. However, if you did not assign a color profile to the file, the
default color profile is embedded. The following file formats support color profile
embedding:
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•
•
•
•
•

RIFF (RIF)
TIFF (TIF)
Photoshop (PSD)
JPEG
Portable Network Graphics (PNG)

To embed a color profile when saving a file
1 Choose File  Save As.
2 In the Save As dialog box, use the controls to specify a location and filename.
3 From the Format list box (Mac) or the Save As Type list box (Windows), choose one
of the following file formats:
• RIFF Files (*.RIF; *.RIFF)
• TIF Files (*.TIF; *.TIFF)
• Photoshop Files (*.PSD)
• JPEG Files (*.JPG; *.JPEG)
• PNG Files (*.PNG)
4 Enable the Embed Profile check box.
If you do not want to embed the color profile, you need to disable the Embed
Profile check box.

Specifying the Default CMYK Color Profile for Converting CMYK
Images to RGB
Because Corel Painter works with RGB colors, all CMYK images that you open or
import in the application are converted to an RGB color profile. You can specify the
default CMYK profile that Corel Painter uses to convert the CMYK images to RGB.
The following file formats are supported for CMYK images:
• RIFF (RIF)
• TIFF (TIF)
• Photoshop (PSD)
• JPEG
• Portable Network Graphic (PNG)

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To specify the default CMYK color profile for converting CMYK images to RGB
1 Choose Canvas  Color Management Settings.
2 Choose a color profile from the Default CMYK Conversion Profile list box.
You can also access the Color Management Settings dialog box from the
Navigator panel by clicking the Open Navigator Settings button , clicking
Color Management, and choosing Color Management Settings.

Previewing Images
After an RGB profile is selected for the document, you can preview the image with the
default color profile applied. You can also “soft-proof ” images, which means to preview
on-screen what the image will look like when it is printed with a specific printer, or
when it is displayed on another type of monitor.

Previewing a Color Profile
The Color Management Preview option lets you see what your image will look like
with the default color profile applied.

To preview a color profile
1 Choose Window  Navigator.
2 Click the Open Navigator Settings button , click Color Management Settings,
and choose the name of the color profile that you want to preview.

Soft-Proofing Images
With Corel Painter, you can soft-proof images, which means preview on-screen what
the image will look like when it’s reproduced by a specific printer or monitor. You can
also soft-proof by using a specific rendering intent. For more information, see “What is
a rendering intent?” on page 250. After soft-proofing an image, you can turn off the
soft-proofing feature.

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To soft-proof an image
1 Choose Canvas  Color Proofing Settings.
2 Choose a profile from the Simulate Device list box.
3 Choose a rendering intent from the Rendering Intent list box.
4 Enable the Turn On Color Proofing Mode check box.
To turn off soft-proofing
• Choose Canvas  Color Proofing Mode.

Changing Color Profiles
Corel Painter is an RGB-based program that lets you to assign different RGB color
profiles to documents. You can also convert the color profile of a document to a new
color profile. A color profile contains the data that the color management system
requires to translate colors from one color space to another. The default color profile
for Corel Painter is sRGB IEC61966-2-1 noBPC, but you can choose from a list of
Standard ICC color profiles. In addition, if you have color profiles installed on your
computer, Corel Painter includes them in the list of available color profiles.

Assigning or Removing Color Profiles
You can change the appearance of a document by assigning a new color profile. When
you assign a new profile, the color values, or numbers, in the document do not change.
When you enable color management and display a document, the colors in the
document represent an interpretation of the assigned color profile. For more
information, see “Should I assign or convert color profiles?” on page 250.
You can also remove an assigned color profile from a document. In other words, color
management is no longer applied to the document. The color values are retained,
however.

To assign or remove a color profile
1 Choose Canvas  Assign Profile.
2 Enable one of the following color profile options:
• Use Default RGB Profile — applies the default RGB profile to the document

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• Use Profile — applies a color profile to the document but does not convert the
original colors. If you enable this option, you must choose a color profile.
• Do Not Color Manage — retains the color values without associating them
with a color profile
You can also assign a color profile from the Navigator panel by clicking the
Open Navigator Settings button , clicking Color Management, and
choosing Assign Profile.

Converting Color Profiles
Corel Painter lets you convert the color profile of a document to another color profile.
Converting a color profile differs from assigning a color profile, which involves only the
translation of one color profile to another and affects only the display of color. When
you convert one color profile to another, the color values in the document are
irreversibly changed. For more information, see “Should I assign or convert color
profiles?” on page 250.
Corel Painter also lets you choose the color management engine that is used for
converting color profiles. The color management engine, also known as a color
management module (CMM), uses the information in the color profiles to translate the
color values. The resulting translation of the color values may differ, depending on the
color management engine.
In addition, you can flatten images when converting color profiles. Flattening images
drops all the layers onto the background canvas.

To convert a color profile
1 Choose Canvas  Convert To Profile.
2 Choose a new color profile from the New Color Profile list box.
You can also
Choose a color engine

Choose a color engine from the Color Engine
list box.

Choose a rendering intent

Choose a rendering intent from the
Rendering Intent list box.

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You can also
Flatten all layers in the image

Enable the Flatten Image option.

You can also convert the color profile from the Navigator panel by clicking
the Open Navigator Settings button , clicking Color Management, and
choosing Convert To Profile.

Working with Color Profile Policies
Corel Painter lets you create color profile policies for opening and placing both RGB
and CMYK images. The options that you choose for the Color Profile Policy determine
how colors are managed in images that you open and work with in the application.

Creating Color Profile Policies for Opening and Placing Images
When creating a color profile policy for opening and placing images, you can specify
the following:
• RGB color profile to apply to images
• CMYK color profile for converting images to RGB
• color engine
• rendering intent (depends on image content)
For more information, see “What is a rendering intent?” on page 250.
The color profile policy lets you display warning messages when a document has a
mismatched or missing color profile. In the case of a mismatched color profile, you can
choose a new color profile. If the document does not have a color profile associated
with it, you can apply a new color profile or choose not to use color management with
the document.

To create a color profile policy
1 Choose Canvas  Color Management Settings.
2 Choose one of the following options from the RGB Images list box:
• Use Embedded Profile — applies the embedded RGB color profile to RGB
images that you open or import
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• Use Default RGB Profile — converts the image by using the default RGB color
profile that you specify in the color management settings
3 Choose one of the following options from the Convert CMYK Images list box:
• Use Default CMYK Profile — converts to RGB by using the default CMYK
color profile that you specify in the color management settings
• Use Embedded Profile — converts to RGB by using the embedded CMYK
color profile
4 Choose a color engine from the Color Engine list box.
5 From the Rendering Intent list box, choose one of the following options:
• Perceptual — is recommended for a variety of images, especially bitmaps and
photographs
• Saturation — is best for vector graphics (lines, text, and solid-colored objects,
such as charts)
• Relative Colorimetric — is ideal for producing proofs on inkjet printers
• Absolute Colorimetric — preserves the white point and can be used to proof
images
If you want to display a warning message when you open a document that has a
mismatched color profile, enable the Profile Mismatch check box.
If you want to display a warning message when you open a document that has a
missing color profile, enable the Profile Missing check box.
For more complete descriptions of rendering intents, see “What is a rendering
intent?” on page 250.
You can also access the Color Management Settings dialog box from the
Navigator panel by clicking the Open Navigator Settings button , clicking
Color Management, and choosing Color Management Settings.

Working with Presets
Corel Painter provides color management presets, which are default settings that you
can apply to a document. You can also create your own presets, which allows you to
retain all of your selections in the Color Management Settings dialog box and reuse
them in other documents. If you no longer need a preset, you can delete it.
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Choosing a Default Preset
If you do not feel comfortable changing the settings in the Color Management Settings
dialog box, you can choose a default preset, or you can also choose a preset that you
created.

To choose a preset
1 Choose Canvas  Color Management Settings.
2 Choose a preset from the Presets list box.
You can also access the Color Management Settings dialog box from the
Navigator panel by clicking the Open Navigator Settings button , clicking
Color Management, and choosing Color Management Settings.

Adding and Deleting Presets
Corel Painter lets you add or delete presets.

To add a preset
1 Choose Canvas  Color Management Settings.
2 In the Color Management Settings dialog box, use the controls to specify color
management settings.
3 Click the Add button
next to the Presets list box.
4 Type a name for the preset in the Preset Name box.
You can also access the Color Management Settings dialog box from the
Navigator panel by clicking the Open Navigator Settings button , clicking
Color Management, and choosing Color Management Settings.

To delete a preset
1 Choose Canvas  Color Management Settings.
2 Choose a preset from the Presets list box.
3 Click the Delete button
next to the Presets list box.
A warning box appears and asks you if you want to delete the preset.
4 Click Yes.
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You can also access the Color Management Settings dialog box from the
Navigator panel by clicking the Open Navigator Settings button , clicking
Color Management, and choosing Color Management Settings.

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Adjusting Brushes
Like a fully stocked art store, Corel Painter supplies you with many different brushes
and drawing tools, each with modifiable characteristics. This chapter provides
descriptions and procedures for customizing and saving the many parameters of any
brush type.
This section contains the following topics:
• Exploring the Brush Controls Palette
• General Controls
• General Controls: Dab Types
• General Controls: Stroke Types
• General Controls: Methods and Subcategories
• General Controls: Source, Opacity, and Grain Settings
• General Controls: Stroke Attributes
• General controls: Multicore
• Dab Profile
• Size Controls
• Spacing Controls
• Angle Controls
• Static Bristle Controls
• Computed Circular Controls
• Well Controls
• Rake Controls
• Mouse Controls
• Cloning Controls
• Impasto Controls
• Image Hose Controls
• Airbrush Controls
• Water Controls
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•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

Liquid Ink Controls
Digital Watercolor Controls
Artists’ Oils Controls
Real Watercolor Controls
Real Wet Oil
Jitter Controls
RealBristle Controls
Color Variability Controls
Color Expression Controls
Brush Calibration Controls
Expression Settings
Hard Media Controls

Exploring the Brush Controls Palette
You can apply media to the canvas by using a ready-to-use default brush variant from
the impressive Corel Painter brush library. You can also modify a brush variant to meet
a particular need. The Brush Controls palette is comprised of multiple brush control
panels that allows you to adjust a brush variant while you work, or alter an existing
variant to create a new variant.
You can use the brush controls palette to adjust the Corel Painter brushes in many
different ways, such as change their size, shape, angle, flow, and much more. In fact,
the Corel Painter default brush variants are built by adjusting the same set of brush
controls in order to emulate a real-life painting or drawing tool.
Changes that you make to brush variants, including basic controls, including changes
to Size and Opacity, are retained until you restore the brush variant. You can also save
custom brushes as the default, as new variants, or as looks. For more information, see
“Creating, Restoring, and Deleting Brush Variants” on page 148 and “Saving a Look”
on page 150.
Some controls are specific to a brush category, such as Artists’ Oils or Impasto. Other
controls and settings are specific to a type of variant. For example, Rake controls are
active only when a rake brush variant is selected, regardless of brush category.

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Modifying Brush Variants
When you modify a brush variant using the brush controls palette, the modified brush
variant information is stored in the variant’s XML, NIB, and STK files that are found
in the operating system’s User folder:
• Users\(user name)\AppData\Roaming\Corel\Painter12\Default\Brushes\Painter
Brushes folder (Windows 7)
When you start Corel Painter, the application applies the modified settings to the
brush variant, instead of the default settings. However, the default settings are not
lost, they remain stored in the application folder. If you decide to reset a brush
variant’s default settings, the modified brush variant files are automatically deleted
from the Users folder.

To open a brush control panel
• Choose Window  Brush Control Panels, and choose a brush control panel from the
list.
To close a brush control panel
• Click the Close button on the brush control panel title bar.

General Controls
Corel Painter provides extensive control over brush properties and dab types. You can
also choose how brushstrokes interact with existing color in the image. Some General
controls work in conjunction with Expression settings. For more information about
Expression settings, see “Expression Settings” on page 338.
To learn about the controls included in the General panel, see the following topics:
• General Controls: Dab Types
• General Controls: Stroke Types
• General Controls: Methods and Subcategories
• General Controls: Source, Opacity, and Grain Settings
• General Controls: Stroke Attributes
• General controls: Multicore

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General Controls: Dab Types
When you choose a dab type, you’re choosing a method for applying media to the
canvas. Corel Painter uses rendered dab types that are computed during the stroke.
Earlier versions of Corel Painter used “dab-based” media application, in which brushes
applied small dots of media to create brushstrokes. With the spacing between dabs set
small, strokes appear smooth. If you zoom in enough, you can probably tell that the
brushstroke is made up of tiny dabs of color. If you make a rapid brushstroke or set
large spacing between dabs, strokes can become trails of dots.
Rendered dab types create continuous, smooth-edged strokes. They’re fast and less
prone to artifacts than dab-based media application. In fact, you can’t draw fast
enough to leave dabs or dots of color showing in a stroke, because they’re just not
there. Rendered dab types allow rich new features that were not possible with
dab-based media application.

The Scratchboard Tool variant of the Pen brush category illustrates the smooth stroke that
can be accomplished with the rendered dab types.

Corel Painter brushes use dab-based or rendered dab types:
Dab-based dab type

Description

Circular

Dabs are controlled by the sliders in the Size
and Angle brush control panels.

Single-Pixel

Consists of one pixel only. You can’t change
its size. You use single-pixel brushes when
you zoom in for editing at the pixel level.

Static Bristle

Controlled by the sliders in the Size brush
control panel. When the Static Bristle dab
type is selected, the preview grid displays a
bristly profile.

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Dab-based dab type

Description

Captured

Shapes that you create and capture. For more
information, see “Creating Brush Dabs” on
page 151.

Eraser

Dabs that let you erase parts of images

Computed Circular

Controlled by the sliders in the Computed
Circular brush control panel. This dab type
allows you to customize the brush dab
profile.
For more information, see “Computed
Circular Controls” on page 292.

A captured dab lets you paint with specific shapes and designs that you create.

Rendered dab type

Description

Camel Hair

Creates bristle brushes with circular arrays of bristles. Individual
brush hairs can have their own color, and they can also pick up
underlying colors independently of the Brush loading option. By
increasing color variability in Corel Painter, you can make each hair a
separate color. For more information, see “Setting Color Variability”
on page 191.
The Feature slider in the Size area separates bristles. The higher the
setting, the farther apart the hairs will appear. Using a low setting
makes the strokes more solid. For more information about the Size
controls, see “Size Controls” on page 282.

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Rendered dab type

Description

Flat

Creates flat brushes such as those used to apply paint to houses or
walls. Brushes that use Flat dabs respond to bearing and allow for
flat or narrow strokes, depending on how the stylus is held. Flat dabs
are always perpendicular to the shaft of the stylus.
The Feature setting in the Size area separates bristles.

Palette Knife

Creates brushes that are the opposite of Flat dab brushes. With
resaturation set low, you can use these brushes to scrape, push, pick
up, or rapidly drag colors along. Palette Knife dabs are always
parallel to the shaft of the stylus.
The Feature setting in the Size area separates bristles.

Bristle Spray

Creates brushes that can use airbrush controls. These brushes
recognize tilt, which separates bristles on the opposite side of the tilt.
By adjusting the Feature slider in the Size area, you can separate
bristles.

Airbrush

Creates brushes that act like airbrushes. Bearing (direction) and
angle (tilt) affect the eccentricity of the resulting conic section. The
Feature slider in the Size area controls the size of the individual
droplets of media. Setting the Feature slider too high might produce
undesirable artifacts.
You can reverse the spray direction when you paint by enabling the
Continuous Time Deposition option in the Spacing panel, and by
holding down Option + Shift (Mac OS) or Alt + Shift (Windows).

Pixel Airbrush

Creates brushes that work like airbrushes. Brushes that use Pixel
Airbrush dabs cannot use the Feature slider to control the size of
individual droplets of media.
You can reverse the spray direction when you paint by enabling the
Continuous Time Deposition option in the Spacing panel, and by
holding down Option + Shift (Mac OS) or Alt + Shift (Windows).

Line Airbrush

Creates brushes that work like airbrushes. Brushes that use Line
Airbrush dabs spray lines instead of droplets of media.
You can reverse the spray direction when you paint by enabling the
Continuous Time Deposition option in the Spacing panel, and by
holding down Option + Shift (Mac OS) or Alt + Shift (Windows).

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Rendered dab type

Description

Projected

Creates brushes that act like airbrushes. Brushes created with
Projected dabs work similarly to the airbrush from previous versions
of the application, but react to bearing and angle data. They create
conic sections with an overall softness.
You can reverse the spray direction when you paint by enabling the
Continuous Time Deposition option in the Spacing panel, and by
holding down Option + Shift (Mac OS) or Alt + Shift (Windows).

Rendered

Creates brushes that conform the source to a stroke. Use the Source
list box to control what is mapped into the computed brushstrokes.
For more information, see “General Controls: Source, Opacity, and
Grain Settings” on page 273.

The effects of Feature on the stroke.

Corel Painter also includes additional dab types that do not fall under the dab-based or
rendered dab types.
Additional dab types
Liquid Ink

Liquid Ink dabs create liquid paint effects that simulate
traditional ink-based media. You can give a Liquid Ink
brushstroke the appearance of height by applying lighting
effects. There are five types of Liquid Ink dab types: Liquid Ink
Camel Hair, Liquid Ink Flat, Liquid Ink Palette Knife, Liquid
Ink Bristle Spray, and Liquid Ink Airbrush.

Watercolor dabs

Watercolor dabs create brushes that work like watercolor
brushes. The colors flow and mix and absorb into the paper.
You can control the wetness and evaporation rate of the paper.
There are five types of Watercolor dab types: Watercolor Camel
Hair, Watercolor Flat, Watercolor Palette Knife, Watercolor
Bristle Spray, and Watercolor Airbrush.

Artists’ Oil dabs

Artists’ Oil dabs produce brushes that work like real-world,
high quality oil brushes.

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To choose a dab type
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  General.
2 Choose a dab type from the Dab Type list box.

General Controls: Stroke Types
The Stroke type determines how a brushstroke applies media. Corel Painter brushes
use one of the following stroke types.
• The Single stroke type draws one dab path that corresponds exactly to your
brushstroke.
You can use Static Bristle, Captured, or one of the bristly rendered dab types (such
as Camel Hair) with the Single stroke type to create the effect of multiple bristles.

The Single stroke type has one dab path.

• The Multi stroke type draws a set of randomly distributed dab paths, positioned
around the brushstroke you make. These dabs leave dab paths that are not parallel
and might overlap. The Multi stroke type may produce different results each time
you use it.
Increasing the Jitter value in the Random area spreads out the strokes in a
multi-stroke brush.
Multi-stroke brushes are computed before you apply them, therefore, the
computing process can delay their appearance on the canvas. Because of this delay,
multi-stroke brushes work best when you apply short, controlled strokes.

The Multi stroke type draws a set of randomly distributed dab paths.

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• The Rake stroke type draws a set of evenly distributed dab paths. The several dab
paths in a rake brushstroke are parallel. You can control all other aspects of the
stroke by using settings in the Rake brush control panel.
Each bristle in a Rake brush can have a different color. Increasing Color Variability
in Corel Painter causes bristles to be colored differently.

A Rake stroke is composed of evenly distributed dab paths.

• The Hose stroke type applies only to the Image Hose. It’s a single stroke composed
of the current Image Hose Nozzle file. For more information about the Image Hose
and Nozzle files, see “Image Hose” on page 597.

The Hose stroke type uses the current Nozzle file as media.

To choose a stroke type
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  General.
2 Choose a stroke type from the Stroke Type list box.
If a stroke type is not available (appears greyed out), it’s not supported by the
currently selected brush variant and dab type.

General Controls: Methods and Subcategories
The brush method defines the most basic level of brush behavior and is the foundation
on which all other brush variables are built. The method and method subcategory
represent attributes of the stroke’s appearance.

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Because the method sets a brush variant’s most basic behavior, you can alter a variant’s
behavior by changing its method. For example, suppose you want a stroke that looks
like charcoal, but instead of hiding underlying strokes, you want the brushstrokes to
build to black. You can get this effect by changing the method to Buildup. Perhaps
you want a variant of the Pens brush category to smear underlying colors. You can
change its method from Cover to Drip. Some brush effects are less easily affected by
other methods, and results may differ.
Each method can have several variations, called method subcategories. These
subcategories further refine the brush behavior. The following terms are used in
describing most method subcategories:
• Soft methods produce strokes with feathered edges.
• Flat methods produce hard, aliased strokes with pixelated edges.
• Hard methods produce smooth strokes.
• Grainy methods produce brushstrokes that react to paper texture.
• The words “edge” and “variable” are sometimes used to describe a method
subcategory. Edge strokes are thick and sticky-looking. Variable strokes are affected
by tilt and direction.
Combining a method with a method subcategory results in a specific brush style that
you can assign to a given brush. For example, Grainy Hard Cover brushstrokes interact
with paper grain and are semi anti-aliased so that they hide underlying pixels. Grainy
Hard Cover is the default method for Chalk and Charcoal.

Grainy Hard Buildup was used to create the brushstroke on top. Soft Variable Buildup
was used to create the stroke on the bottom.

Corel Painter supplies the following methods:
• Buildup
• Cover
• Eraser
• Drip
• Mask (Cover)
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•
•
•
•

Cloning
Wet
Digital Wet
Marker
Plug-in

The Buildup methods allow you to produce brushstrokes that build towards black as
they are overlaid. A real-world example of buildup is the felt pen: scribble on the page
with blue, then scribble on top of that with green, and then red. The scribbled area
keeps getting darker, approaching black. Even if you were to apply a bright color like
yellow, you couldn’t lighten the scribble — it would stay dark. Crayons and Felt Pens
are buildup brushes.

An example of the Buildup method.

The Cover methods produce brushstrokes that cover underlying strokes, as oil paint
does in traditional painting. No matter what colors you use, you can always apply a
layer of paint that completely hides what’s underneath. Even with a black background,
a thick layer of yellow remains pure yellow. Some Chalk and Pen variants are examples
of brushes that use the Cover method.

An example of the Cover method.

The Eraser methods erase, lighten, darken, or smear the underlying colors.

An example of the Eraser method.

The Drip methods interact with the underlying colors to distort the image.
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An example of the Drip method.

The Mask method is provided only for compatibility with earlier versions of the
application. You do not need to use the Mask method because the masking capabilities
of Corel Painter are provided by the Cover method.
The Cloning methods take images from a clone source and re-create them in another
location, often rendering them in a Natural-Media style. For more information about
painting a clone, see “Painting in the Clone” on page 386.

The image on the left was created with a brush that used the image on the right as the
clone source.

The Wet method applies brushstrokes to a Watercolor layer. For more information, see
“Working with the Watercolor Layer” on page 358.
The Digital Wet method applies digital watercolor brushstrokes to the canvas or a
regular layer. For more information, see “Working with Digital Watercolor brushes”
on page 362.
The Marker method lets you simulate the use of professional markers for drawing and
creating renderings. For more information, see “Markers” on page 349.
Plug-in is a special category of method subcategories. It defines no specific brush
behavior, but is an open door to a wide range of subcategories.
It’s well worth your time to browse through the Plug-in method subcategories. There,
you’ll find methods such as Left Twirl, which simulates the dab and brushstroke of an
Impressionist performing left-handed twirls.

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You can give any built-in brush the power of a plug-in by changing its method and
subcategory.

To choose a method and subcategory
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  General.
2 Choose a method from the Method list box.
3 Choose a subcategory from the Subcategory list box.
The Method and Subcategory options are available only with circular, singlepixel, static bristle, captured, and eraser dab types.

General Controls: Source, Opacity, and Grain Settings
The Source setting lets you specify the media that is applied by the brush variant.
Source applies only to some dab types, such as Line Airbrush, Projected, and Rendered.
For more information about setting a media source, see “Exploring Painting Media” on
page 75.
Corel Painter brushes use one of the following source types:
• Color applies primary or secondary color.
• Gradient applies the current gradient across the length of the stroke. For more
information, see “Applying Gradients” on page 213.
• Gradient Repeat applies the current gradient repeatedly along the stroke. For more
information, see “Applying Gradients” on page 213.
• Pattern paints with a pattern containing no mask information. For more
information, see “Painting with Patterns” on page 199.
• Pattern With Mask paints with a pattern limited by the pattern’s mask. For more
information, see “Painting with Patterns” on page 199.
• Pattern As Opacity paints a pattern in which the luminance of the pattern becomes
the opacity of the stroke. For more information, see “Painting with Patterns” on
page 199.

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Opacity lets you control how Corel Painter should vary the density of the media that
you apply to the canvas. It lets you set the maximum opacity of the selected brush.
The opacity of an Airbrush variant is often set to be determined by stylus pressure.
Heavier pressure produces more opaque strokes. You can also use the Expressions
settings to link opacity to stylus or mouse data. For more information, see “Expression
Settings” on page 338.
Grain lets you control the amount of paper texture that Corel Painter reveals in a
brushstroke. The grain component of some default variants is determined by pressure.
Increasing pressure causes the pencil to “dig into” the paper. You can use the
Expressions settings to link grain to stylus or mouse data.
Normally, when you make a brushstroke, the paper grain is fixed. Strokes repeated
over an area bring out the same grain. However, you can specify to randomly move the
paper grain for each dab of each stroke.

Brushstrokes with Random Brush Stroke Grain disabled (top) and enabled (bottom)

In addition, you can use the paper’s brightness and contrast settings to control brush–
grain interaction. For more information, see “Paper Texture and Grain” on page 159
and “Expression Settings” on page 338.

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To choose a media source
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  General.
2 Choose a source from the Source list box.
To set brush opacity
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  General.
2 Move the Opacity slider to the left to reduce opacity, or to the right to increase
opacity.
You can also set brush opacity dynamically onscreen. For more information,
see “To set brush attributes onscreen” on page 126.

To set grain
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  General.
2 Move the Grain slider to the left to reduce the penetration into the grain. Move it
to the right to increase the penetration.

To randomize the brushstroke grain interaction
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  General.
2 Enable the Random Brushstroke Grain check box.

General Controls: Stroke Attributes
You can apply a merge mode to a brush variant to control how brushstrokes interact
with the underlying colors within the currently selected layer or, if your painting
directly on the canvas, the canvas. This technique allows you to produce similar results
to applying a composite method using layers, however, you do not need to use layers to
achieve the same results. In addition, it allows you to control where the effect is
applied. For more information about composite methods, see “Blending Layers by
Using Composite Methods” on page 477.

To apply a merge mode
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  General.
2 Enable the Use Stroke Attributes check box.
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3 Adjust the Stroke Opacity slider.
4 From the Merge Mode list box, choose one of the following merge modes:
Merge Mode

Description

Color

Creates a new color by combining the
luminance of the underlying color with the
hue and saturation of the brushstroke color.
This method is the opposite of Luminosity.

Colorize

Replaces the hue and saturation of the
underlying color with the hue and saturation
of the brushstroke color. You can use this
mode to apply color to a grayscale image.

Darken

Darkens the underlying color with the
brushstroke color — whichever is darker

Default

Covers and hides the underlying
brushstrokes

Difference

Subtracts one color from the other,
depending on which color has a greater
brightness value

Dissolve

Combines the underlying color with the
brushstroke color, based on opacity

Gel

Tints the underlying color with the
brushstroke color. For example, a yellow
brushstroke gives the underlying color a
yellow cast.

GelCover

Uses a combination of the Default method
and the Gel method

Hard Light

Multiplies, or screens colors, depending on
the luminance of the underlying color

Hue

Creates a color by combining the luminance
and saturation of the underlying color with
the hue of the brushstroke color

Lighten

Colors with the underlying color or the
brushstroke color — whichever is lighter

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Merge Mode

Description

Luminosity

Creates a new color from the hue and
saturation of the underlying color and the
luminance of the brushstroke color. This
method is the opposite of Color.

Magic Combine

Combines the brushstroke color with the
underlying color based on luminance. The
parts of the brushstroke that are lighter than
the underlying color are visible. The parts
that are darker are replaced by the lighter
area of the underlying color.

Multiply

Combines colors to create a darker color

Normal

Works like the Default method; the
brushstroke covers the underlying color.

Overlay

Combines colors while preserving the
highlights and shadows of the underlying
color

Pseudocolor

Translates the brushstrokes luminance into
hue

Reverse-Out

Inverts the colors beneath it

Saturation

Creates a color by combining the luminance
and hue of the image color with the
saturation of the layer color

Screen

Combines colors to create a lighter color

Shadow Map

Blocks light and combines colors while
preserving the shadows of the underlying
color

Soft Light

Darkens or lightens colors depending on the
luminance of the underlying color

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General controls: Multicore
Corel Painter helps you maximize brush performance when working on a multicore
computer.

To enable brush multicore support
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  General.
2 Enable the Multicore check box.
Not all brush variants support the Multicore option.

Dab Profile
The Dab Profile panel allows you to preview dabs and brushstrokes as you modify
brush control options. It also allows you to choose a dab profile.
The Gap Profile panel includes a Brush Dab Preview Window to show how your
changes affect the brush dab. For example, if you change the brush size (Size panel) or
dab type (General panel), you can preview the impact of the changes on the dab.

The preview window lets you toggle between Size and Shape, Hard Media, and Brush
Dab views.

In the Size and Shape view, concentric circles show the minimum and maximum sizes
of a brush. The inner (black) circle shows the minimum dab width. The outer (gray)
circle shows the maximum dab width. Remember that some brushes vary the line
width based on pressure or stroke speed. The difference between the diameter of the
two circles shows the range in which the stroke width can vary.
In the Hard Media view, you can preview what a Hard Media, such as a Pencil variant,
will look like at various angles. This is useful when modifying the settings in the Hard
Media brush control panel. The dab appears in the Brush Dab Preview Window at the
corresponding angle.

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Corel Painter User Guide

In the Brush Dab view, shading shows the density distribution of the brush tip. The
density distribution describes how much of the medium is conveyed by a given point
on the brush dab. For example, an individual dab made by an airbrush produces a softedged circular mark with minimum density at the outer edge of the dab. Density
increases inward to a maximum value at the exact center of the dab. The Brush Dab
view cannot be used for the Image Hose or rendered dab types.

Brush Tip Profiles
The brush tip profile shows a cross-section of density distribution across the diameter
of the dab. You can think of a brush tip profile as a bell-curve graph representing the
density spread across the brush dab.
Different media have different density distributions. Changes in the density
distribution produce different marking qualities in a brushstroke. For rendered
airbrush dab types, the brush tip profile controls the concentration of the spray.
Each Corel Painter brush uses one of the following brush tip profiles.
Profile

Description

Pointed Profile

Provides maximum density at the center,
with rapid falloff to the edge.

Medium Profile

Has a wide area of greater density at the
center, with rapid falloff to the edge.

Linear Profile

Provides maximum density at the center,
with even falloff to the edge.

Dull Profile

Provides maximum density at the center,
with high density weighting to the edge.

Watercolor Profile

Provides maximum density at the outer edge
in a ringlike fashion, with medium internal
density. This tip may be used with the
rendered dab types to yield a hollow dab or a
spray concentration.

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Profile

Description

1-Pixel Edge

Provides maximum density throughout,
with rapid falloff at the edge, producing a 1pixel, anti-aliased edge.

Artists’ Oils Brush Tip Profiles
There are six brush tips designed specifically for Artists’ Oils brushes. You can also use
any brush tip, listed in the table above, with Artists’ Oils brushes.
Artists’ Oils profile

Description

Soft Round

Provides maximum density throughout,
with rapid falloff at the edge.

Pointed Rake

Provides a range of bristle lengths, with
bristles longer in the center and tapering in
length toward the edge.

Flat Rake

Provides a range of bristle lengths and
maximum density throughout, producing
pronounced, even bristling.

Flat

Designed for Artists’ Oils palette knives, it
provides maximum density throughout, with
rapid falloff at the edge.

Chisel

Designed for Artists’ Oils palette knives, its
maximum density is off-center, with uneven
falloff.

Wedge

Designed for Artists’ Oils palette knives, it
provides maximum density at one edge, with
consistent falloff to the other edge.

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Hard Media Profiles
There are six tip profiles designed specifically for the Hard Media variants.
Hard Media profile

Description

Pencil Profile

Provides a sharper tip when perpendicular to
the tablet and a wider, softer tip when at an
angle.

Medium Profile

Has a wide area of greater density at the
center, with rapid falloff toward the edge.

Linear Profile

Provides maximum density at the center,
with even falloff toward the edge.

Pointed Profile

Provides maximum density at the center,
with rapid falloff toward the edge.

Dull Profile

Provides maximum density at the center,
with high-density weighting toward the
edge.

1-Pixel Edge

1-Pixel Edge provides maximum density
throughout, with rapid falloff toward the
edge, producing a 1-pixel, anti-aliased edge.

To choose a brush tip profile
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Dab Profile.
2 In the Dab Profile panel, click a brush tip profile icon.
To change the brush dab preview mode
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Dab Profile.
2 In the Dab Profile panel, click one of the following buttons:
• Preview Size and Shape
• Preview Hard Media
• Preview Brush Dab

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You can toggle between the different preview modes by clicking in preview
window.
The Preview window supports only views of dab based brushes.

Size Controls
The Size brush feature determines how Corel Painter varies the width of the
brushstroke. Some Size controls work in conjunction with Expression settings. For
more information, see “Expression Settings” on page 338.

Stroke Size
Size lets you control the width of the brush and the brushstroke. As size changes, you
may need to adjust the spacing controls for brushes that use nonrendered or dab-based
dab types to prevent gaps from appearing in the stroke.

Size controls the width of the brush.

When working with traditional media, you expect the pressure that you exert on a
brush or drawing tool to affect the width of the resulting brushstroke. The Min Size
control allows you to create a brushstroke that is amazingly realistic. You can set up a
brush that responds to subtle hand movements. As stylus pressure eases, brushstrokes
taper. As pressure increases, brushstrokes widen, just as they would with a real brush.
Min Size represents the smallest stroke size for the selected brush and is expressed as a
percentage of the Size setting. Knowing that Size sets the largest stroke size and that
Min Size sets the smallest stroke size (in relationship to the Size setting), you can easily
control the overall variation in stroke size.

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The minimum and maximum sizes of a stroke can be linked to stylus settings, such as
pressure or velocity. The small black circle shows the minimum stroke size, and the gray
circle shows the maximum stroke size.

Size Step controls the transition between narrow and wide sections of a stroke.

Brushstrokes with Size Step set to 1% (top) and 100% (bottom)

Feature determines the size of the dabs of paint applied by brushes that use rendered
dab types.
You can also specify that brushstroke features scale relative to the size of the brush.
This ensures that the feature, such as an Airbrush spray, is distributed proportionally to
match the size of the brush.

To set brush size
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Size.
2 Move the Size slider to the right to make the brush larger, which makes the
transition appear more abrupt. Move the slider to the left to make the brush
smaller, which produces a smoother transition.
You can also set the brush size dynamically onscreen. For more information,
see “To set brush attributes onscreen” on page 126.
You can also change the brush size from the property bar by adjusting the Size
slider , or typing a value in the Size box.
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You can also press the square brackets, ( [ or ] ), to decrease and increase the
brush size according to the value specified in General Preferences. For more
information, see “General Preferences” on page 753.

To set minimum stroke size
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Size.
2 Move the Min Size slider to the right to increase the minimum brush size. Move it
to the left to decrease the minimum brush size.
To set stroke transition
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Size.
2 Move the Size Step slider to the right to increase the transition between brush sizes.
Move it to the left to make the transitions smaller.
To switch the brush size preview mode
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Dab Profile.
2 Click the Preview Size and Shape button

To scale a brushstroke’s features with the brush size
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Size.
2 Enable the Scale Feature With Brush Size check box.
You can also scale a brushstroke’s features with the brush size by clicking the
Scale Feature With Brush Size button
on the Brush property bar.
You can also disable the scaling option in all areas by choosing
Corel Painter 12 menu  Preferences  General (Mac OS) or Edit menu 
Preferences  General (Windows), and enable the Disable Feature Scaling
When Resizing Brush.

Spacing Controls
When a brushstroke uses a dab-based dab type, Corel Painter creates the stroke with a
series of dabs. By adjusting the spacing between those dabs, you can control the
continuity of the brushstroke.
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Spacing controls the distance between brush dabs in a stroke. The Min Spacing slider
specifies the minimum number of pixels between dabs. If you don’t want a continuous
stroke, you can adjust the Min Spacing to create a dotted or dashed line. Each dot or
dash represents one brush dab.

Brushstrokes with Min Spacing set to 2.0 (top) and 10.5 (bottom)

Damping smooths otherwise jagged brushstrokes for brushes that use rendered dab
types. Higher values make the stroke smoother. (Damping suspends a stroke in a
mathematical spring area by using calculations to even out edges and reduce
jaggedness.)
High values of Damping round out corners of a stroke. A value of 50% works best.
Higher values might be necessary for jittery input devices such as a mouse.
Continuous Time Deposition controls whether you must move a brush before a
medium is applied. With Continuous Time Deposition enabled, the medium begins
flowing at the first touch.
Brushes that use rendered dab types take full advantage of this setting, which causes
the medium to pool realistically when the stroke is slowed or paused. Brushes that use
dab-based dab types require a full pause in the stroke before the medium begins to
pool. You use Continuous Time Deposition mostly with airbrush tools.
With Continuous Time Deposition disabled, you must move a brush before the
medium flows.
Cubic Interpolation smooths jagged brushstrokes by adding points to dab paths,
primarily for brushes that use dab-based dab types. Unlike Damping, which uses
mathematical calculations to smooth jagged edges, Cubic Interpolation inserts
additional points into dab paths, which are used to replot brushstrokes.
Cubic Interpolation is best for dab-based dab types, while Damping is best for
rendered dab types.

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Boost allows you to optimize the performance of brushstrokes. However, a high-boost
level may produce a less accurate brushstroke that appears a bit jagged. This setting
applies only to specific brush dab types, such as Flat and Camel hair.

To set spacing between brush dabs
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Spacing.
2 Perform a task from the following table.
To

Do the following

Increase the distance between dabs

Move the Spacing slider to the right.

Decrease the distance between dabs

Move the Spacing slider to the left until the
dabs begin to overlap. Overlapping increases
the density of the stroke and makes it look
more continuous.

Set the size of the dab to equal the spacing

Move the slider to the right to 100%. For
example, a dab that is 10 pixels across is
repeated every 10 pixels.

To set minimum dab spacing
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Spacing.
2 Move the Min Spacing slider to the right to increase the minimum spacing between
dabs. Move it to the left to decrease the minimum spacing between dabs.

To set smooth rendered dab strokes
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Spacing.
2 Move the Damping slider to the right to even out jagged strokes. Move it to the
left to allow for more ragged transitions between points on the stroke.
To set continuous time deposition
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Spacing.
2 Enable the Continuous Time Deposition check box.

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To set smooth strokes by adding path points
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Spacing.
2 Move the Points slider to the right to add points and even out jagged strokes. Move
it to the left to decrease the number of additional points.
To boost brushstrokes
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Spacing.
2 Move the Boost slider to the right to increase brush performance. Move it to the
left to decrease brush performance.

Angle Controls
The Angle controls gives you extensive control over brush shape. Some Angle controls
work in conjunction with Expression settings. For more information, see “Expression
Settings” on page 338.
The Squeeze setting lets you control the shape of the brush dab. Squeezing a brush
changes it from round to elliptical. You use the Squeeze controls with Circular and
Captured dab types.

Brushstrokes with Squeeze set to 100% (left) and 25% (right)

This brushstroke created with Pen brush uses the Squeeze control to produce a Calligraphy
effect.

The Angle slider controls the angle of an elliptical brush dab and the length of the
ellipse. It is significant only for dabs with Squeeze settings under 100%. You can use
Angle controls with Circular and Captured dab types.

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Brushstrokes with Angle set to 90° (top) and 45° (bottom)

For dab-based brushes, the Ang Range setting lets you specify a range of dab angles
that may appear in a brushstroke. To take advantage of this feature, you must use the
Expression settings to base the angle on some factor, such as stroke direction or
bearing. For more information, see “Expression Settings” on page 338.

Brushstrokes with Ang Range set to 0° (left) and 180° (right)

For dab-based brushes, the Ang Step slider controls the increment of change for
brushes with an Ang Range setting greater than 0°. For example, setting the Ang Step
to 5° produces a brush dab every 5° within the current Ang Range setting.

Brushstrokes with Ang Step set to 0° (left) and 90° (right)

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To set brush shape
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Angle.
2 Move the Squeeze slider to the left to make the brush dab more elliptical. Move it
to the right to make it rounder.
You can also change the brush shape dynamically onscreen. For more
information, see “To set brush attributes onscreen” on page 126.

To set elliptical brush dab angle
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Angle.
2 Move the Angle slider to the right to rotate the dab counterclockwise. Move the
slider to the left to rotate the brush clockwise.
To set brush dab angle range
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Angle.
2 Move the Ang Range slider to the right to increase the range of angles that can
appear in a dab. Move the slider to the left to reduce the range of angles that can
appear in a stroke.
Setting this slider to 360° allows for any angle in your stroke.
To set brush angle increment
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Angle.
2 Move the Ang Step slider to the right to produce fewer angles between dabs. Move
it to the left to create more angles between dabs.

Static Bristle Controls
The Static Bristle controls help you create the look of a real brushstroke, complete
with the striations that hairs on a real brush make. Use the Bristle controls to design
the individual bristles in a single brush dab.
You can also preview a “soft” view of the dab to display the bristle dabs change. For
more information, see “To switch the brush size preview mode” on page 284.

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If you choose Rake as the stroke type, you can adjust brush scale and contact angle.
For more information, see “Rake Controls” on page 294.
The Thickness slider controls the diameter of separate bristles.

Brushstrokes with Thickness set to 17% (left) and 87% (right)

Clumpiness lets you control how bristles adhere to each other by applying a random
variance to the thickness of each bristle, which makes some of the bristles look like
they are clumping together. Clumpiness is proportional to Thickness.

Brushstrokes with Clumpiness set to 0% (left) and 100% (right)

The Hair Scale lets you control the density of bristles in the brush dab and, therefore,
the number of bristles in the dab.

Brushstrokes with Hair Scale set to 410% (top) and 990% (bottom)

Scale/Size lets you control the degree of size variation applied to the bristles of a brush.
At 0%, there is no size change applied to the bristles. Setting this slider to a value
greater than 0% creates a set of scaled iterations of the dab.

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Brushstrokes with Scale/Size set to 0% (top) and 100% (bottom)

At a Scale/Size setting of 100%, when the brush size changes, the bristles scale in
proportion to the size. At a Scale/Size setting of 8%, when the brush size changes, the
bristles remain a constant absolute size. The Scale/Size control is invalid if a size range
is not specified (that is, if Size Min is set to 100%).

To set bristle thickness
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Static Bristle.
2 Move the Thickness slider to the left to reduce the density of the medium left by
the stroke. Move it to the right to increase brush density.
When the slider is moved fully to the left, the brush leaves a faint stroke — even if
Opacity is set to 100%.

To set clumping of bristles
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Static Bristle.
2 Move the Clumpiness slider to the left to reduce bristle clumping. Move it to the
right to increase bristle clumping.
To set bristle density
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Static Bristle.
2 Move the Hair Scale slider to the left to reduce the amount of bristle density and
create a fine-hair brush. Move it to the right to increase density.

To scale bristles according to brush size
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Static Bristle.
2 Move the Scale/Size slider to the left to reduce the degree of size variation. Move it
to the right to increase size variation.
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Computed Circular Controls
The Computed Circular controls allow you to specify the tip profile of brushes using
the Computed Circular dab type. For example, you can customize the dab opacity and
hardness, which controls the color density at the outer edge of the dab.

To customize a Computed Circular dab profile
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Computed Circular.
2 Perform a task from the following table.
To

Do the following

Modify dab opacity

Move the Dab Opacity slider to the left to
reduce the opacity. Move it to the right to
increase the opacity.

Control the color density at the edge of the
dab

Move the Dab Hardness slider to the left to
reduce the color density and create a soft
dab. Move it to the right to increase the
color density and create a hard dab.

Well Controls
The Well controls determine how a brush conveys its medium (color) to the paper. The
Resaturation, Bleed, and Dryout controls work together to determine how much color
a brush has at the start and finish of a stroke. Some Well controls work in conjunction
with Expression settings. For more information, see “Expression Settings” on
page 338.
Brush Loading affects how dab-based brushes interact with underlying pixels. When
Brush Loading is active, brushes can pick up existing colors, hair by hair. This
capability offers truer color interaction, astounding color-variations, smearing, and
better cloning results. For more information about dab-based brushes, see “General
Controls: Dab Types” on page 264.
When Brush Loading is not active, brushes interact with previously applied colors by
sampling underlying pixels and then loading the brush with one new color — the
average of those colors that were sampled. When you use Brush Loading, it’s best to
use a very low setting for spacing. For more information, see “Spacing Controls” on
page 284.
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Resaturation lets you control the amount of color that is replenished in a stroke. If it is
set at zero, the brush does not produce any color. When Resaturation is less than 10%
(and Bleed is less), a brushstroke fades in gently. When the Resaturation slider is set at
zero and Bleed is set high, an airbrush can move underlying colors, as when just the
airbrush hose is used to blow paint around on the canvas.
Bleed lets you control how much the brush colors smear underlying colors, including
the paper color. When Bleed is higher than resaturation, more color bleeds than
covers, so the stroke never reaches full opacity.

Brushstrokes with Bleed set to 55% (left) and 1% (right)

Brushstrokes with Resaturation set to 25% (top) and 100% (bottom)

The Dryout control determines how quickly a brush runs out of medium. Dryout is
measured in pixels. Moving the slider to the left causes a brush’s reservoir empty more
quickly. This can produce brushstrokes that fade out gently. If Dryout is set high, the
brush never runs out of color.
Dryout works in conjunction with Bleed, so Bleed must be set above zero if you want
to take advantage of Dryout. You can modulate the Dryout effect by changing the
Bleed setting.

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Brushstrokes with Dryout set to 724 (left) and 22026 (right)

To set resaturation
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Well.
2 Move the Resaturation slider to the left to reduce the amount of color replenished
in a stroke. Move it to the right to increase the amount of color.
To set color bleed
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Well.
2 Move the Bleed slider to the left to reduce the amount of interaction with
underlying pixels. Move it to the right to increase the interaction.
To set brush dryout
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Well.
2 Move the Dryout slider to the left to shorten the distance the brush can move
before it dries out. Move it to the right to lengthen the distance.

Rake Controls
The Rake controls let you control the sophisticated features of a Rake stroke, which
maintains the angle of the brush head as the stroke changes direction. As the brush
turns, bristles come in and out of contact with the painting surface.
The Contact Ang slider adjusts how much of the brush touches the painting surface —
in other words, the number of rake “tines” that touch the canvas at any one time.

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Brushstrokes with Contact Ang set to 180° (left), 125° (middle), and right=0°
(right), with a Brush Scale setting of 450%

Brush Scale controls the spacing between individual bristles that compose the Rake.
The size of each dab is determined in the Size brush control panel. For more
information, see “Spacing Controls” on page 284.

Brushstrokes with Brush Scale set to 2500% (left) and 0% (right)

When you turn a real brush to paint a curve, bristles at the edges move in and out of
contact with the painting surface, depending on the brush’s location on the curve
(inside or outside). Turn Amount simulates this bristle displacement by controlling the
displacement of inside and outside bristles.

Brushstrokes with Turn Amount set to 0% (left) and 150% (right)

The Bristle controls set the number of bristles or dabs used for Multi and Rake stroke
types.
The Spread Bristles control dynamically adjusts brush scale on the basis of stylus
pressure. The harder you press, the more the brush fans out. If you want to maintain
the spread, regardless of pressure, disable the option.

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Brushstrokes with Spread Bristles enabled (left) and disabled (right)

Soften Bristle Edge makes a brush’s outer dabs semitransparent. This option is
particularly effective when used with Turn Amount.

Brushstrokes with Soften Bristle Edge disabled (left) and enabled (right)

To set brush contact angle
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Rake.
2 Move the Contact Ang slider to the left to create a low contact angle (few of the
dabs are in contact with the paper). Move the slider all the way to the right to
create a high contact angle (all the dabs are in contact with the paper).
To set brush scale
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Rake.
2 Perform a task from the following table.
To

Do the following

Bring the scale closer to equaling the dab
width

Move the Brush Scale slider to the right.
When the scale is 100%, the stroke width
equals the dab width multiplied by the
number of dabs.

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Do the following

Cause dabs to overlap

Move the Brush Scale slider to the left.
When the scale is less than 100%, the dabs
overlap. Overlapping dabs create a natural,
subtle stroke when used with Turn Amount
and Soften Bristle Edge.

To set bristle displacement
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Rake.
2 Perform a task from the following table.
To

Do the following

Increase the degree to which the
displacement changes are based on the
direction of the brush

Move the Turn Amount slider to the right.

Decrease the degree to which the
displacement changes are based on the
direction of the brush

Move the Turn Amount slider to the left.

To set bristle number
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Rake.
2 Move the Bristle slider to the right to increase the number of bristles, or to the left
to decrease the number of bristles.

To set bristle spacing
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Rake.
2 Enable the Spread Bristles check box.
To soften bristle edge
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Rake.
2 Enable the Soften Bristle Edge check box.

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Mouse Controls
In theory, a mouse has no pressure information. A mouse button is either on (button
down), or off (button up). However, the Corel Painter Mouse controls let you simulate
the following stylus settings:
• Pressure (how hard you would be pressing with a stylus)
• Tilt (how close to vertical the stylus is held)
• Bearing (the compass direction in which the stylus is pointing)
• Rotation (to simulate using a flat-tip stylus that supports 360-degree rotation)
• Wheel (how much ink is sprayed).
For more information, see “Using a Stylus vs. a Mouse” on page 81.
You can record and save brushstrokes created with a stylus and then have Corel Painter
use the saved settings for the stroke when you switch to a mouse. For more
information about using saved brushstrokes to further enhance mouse functionality,
see “Recording and Playing Back Brushstrokes” on page 92.

To set pressure for the mouse
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Mouse.
2 Drag the Pressure slider.
A 100% setting uses maximum pressure.
To set tilt for the mouse
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Mouse.
2 Drag the Tilt slider.
A 90º setting indicates that if a stylus were in use, it would be perpendicular to the
tablet.
To set bearing for the mouse
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Mouse.
2 Drag the Bearing slider.
A setting of zero indicates that if a stylus were in use, it would be pointing left.

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To set rotation for the mouse
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Mouse.
2 Drag the Rotation slider.
A 360° setting simulates a stylus that completes a 360° barrel rotation.
Rotation is supported only when you are using a brush with the Expression
setting set to Rotation. For more information, see “Expression Settings” on
page 338.

To set ink flow for the mouse
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Mouse.
2 Drag the Wheel slider.
A setting of 100% indicates that maximum flow is in effect.

Cloning Controls
The Cloning controls are specific to brushes that use the cloning method and affect
other brushes only when the Clone Color option is enabled.
The Clone Color control directs a brush to pick up color from a source image. Clone
Color takes averaged samples of color from the clone source, resulting in an
approximation of the original. The Clone Color option is also available on the Color
panel. For information about using different clone types, see “Cloning Color” on
page 174.
The Clone Type control lets you choose between several cloning variations. These
variations are arranged according to the number of reference points used. With two or
more reference points, you can apply a transformation (rotate, skew, scale mirror, and
perspective) during cloning. For complete information on using the different clone
types, refer to “Image Cloning and Sampling” on page 379.
The Obey Source Selection option uses any selection in the clone source region to
constrain painting in the destination. If a transform Clone Type is used, the selection is
appropriately transformed. This option is available only with the Cloning method.
When Copy Source Selection is enabled, the Cloner brush reproduces the source
selection information in the destination selection. This option is available only with the
Cloning method.
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With the 4-Point Tiling option enabled, your clone source is tiled in a repeating
pattern.
• Normal (0), or zero-point, cloning references the upper-left corners of the source
and destination documents and patterns. This means that the pixels of the
destination document correspond directly to the pixels of the source document.
This type of cloning, in which no transformations occur, is valid only between
documents. This type of cloning is the basic type of cloning between documents.
• Offset (1) cloning offsets the image from the source. The source and destination
areas can be at different locations in the same or different documents. Offset
cloning is basic point-to-point cloning and is useful for retouching photographs.
For more information, see “Performing Offset Sampling” on page 390.
• Rotate & Scale (2) cloning rotates and scales the source image using two reference
points.

Rotate & Scale cloning. Note that the source and destination reference points are numbered
and connected by a line.

• Scale (2) cloning scales the source image using two reference points. The distance
between the two destination points, in relation to the distance between the two
source points, determines the scaling transformation.

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Scale cloning.

• Rotate (2) cloning rotates the source image using two reference points. The line
between the two destination points in relation to the line between the two source
points determines the rotation transformation.

Rotate cloning.

• Rotate & Mirror (2) cloning rotates and mirrors (flips) the source image using two
reference points.

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Rotate & Mirror cloning.

• Rotate, Scale, & Shear (3) cloning rotates, scales, and shears (slants) the source
image using three reference points. The relative positions of the three source and
destination reference points determine the transformation effect.

Rotate, Scale, & Shear cloning.

• Bilinear (4) cloning applies a bilinear warp to the source image using four reference
points. The relative positions of the four source and destination points describe the
bilinear transformation.

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Bilinear cloning.

• Perspective (4) cloning applies perspective to the source image using four reference
points. The relative positions of the four source and destination points describe the
perspective transformation.

Perspective cloning.

When you work with brushes using the Cloning method, you can modify the
Variability to control the offset of the clone based on the location of the source image.
When Variability is set at zero, the pixels of the source and destination images
correspond precisely. Using a cover brush at full Opacity (and no Grain) simply recreates the source image.

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Brushstrokes with Variability set to 0 (top) and 12 (bottom)

Introducing a degree of randomness disturbs the pixel-to-pixel correspondence. The
resultant variations in the image distance the clone from its photographic source,
which can contribute to a Natural-Media appearance.
The How Often controls allow you to set the period between random offsets.

Brushstrokes with How Often set to 0 (top) and 15 (bottom)

Random Clone Source randomly samples the source document and then places strokes
on the clone destination. There is no correspondence between the samples taken from
the source and where they are placed on the clone. The result is a random pattern of
the predominant colors and edges of the source. The brush and stroke determine the
nature of the pattern.
You might use Random Clone Source with a faint stipple brush to add “noise” to an
image. In this case, the clone source image merely contains the noise colors that you
wish to add.

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Brushstrokes with Random Clone Source disabled (left) and enabled (right)

To set clone color
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Cloning.
2 Enable the Clone Color check box.
To set clone type
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Cloning.
2 Choose a type from the Clone Type list box.

To constrain painting in the destination
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Cloning.
2 Enable the Obey Source Selection check box.
To reproduce the source selection information in the destination selection
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Cloning.
2 Click the Copy Source Selection check box to enable or disable the option.
To tile clone source
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Cloning.
2 Enable the 4-Point Tiling check box.

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To set clone location variability
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Cloning.
2 Perform a task from the following table.
To

Do the following

Increase the range (distance) that the sample
can be offset

Move the Clone Location Variability slider to
the right.

Limit offset so that source and destination
images correspond more precisely

Move the Clone Location Variability slider to
the left.

Clone location sliders have no effect when Clone Color is enabled in the Color
panel. They have an effect only when a Clone method is used.

To set the period between random offsets
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Cloning.
2 Perform a task from the following table.
To

Do the following

Offset a greater number of samples and give
the clone image a rough, distorted look

In the Clone Location area, move the How
Often slider to the left.

Offset samples less frequently and keep the
clone image more coherent

In the Clone Location area, move the How
Often slider to the right.

To choose the Random Clone Source option
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Cloning.
2 Enable the Random Clone Source check box.

Impasto Controls
Impasto controls let you create brush variants that give the illusion of depth. For more
information about Impasto techniques, see “Impasto” on page 369.
Some Impasto controls work in conjunction with Expression settings. For more
information, see “Expression Settings” on page 338.
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There are three Impasto Drawing Methods: Color, which applies only color, Depth,
which applies only depth, and Color and Depth, which applies both color and depth to
the image.
The Depth Methods in Corel Painter use the luminance information in the control
medium to determine how much depth is applied within a stroke. You can use the
Invert and Negative Depth options to affect the stroke’s appearance. For more
information about Depth methods, see “Setting Depth Method” on page 372.
The Depth control determines how much depth is applied to Impasto brushstrokes.
When you set Depth Expression to Pressure and the Invert option is enabled, less
depth is applied as you press harder, just as it would if you were using a real brush. For
more information about painting with depth, see “Creating an Impasto Effect” on
page 370.
Smoothing controls the transition of the texture applied to a stroke.
Plow controls the degree to which a stroke interacts with other Impasto brushstrokes.
In essence, your brushstroke “plows” through existing strokes.

To choose a drawing method
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Impasto.
2 Choose a drawing method from the Draw To list box.
To choose a depth method
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Impasto.
2 Choose a depth method from the Depth Method list box.

To invert a depth method
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Impasto.
2 Enable the Invert check box.
To specify negative depth
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Impasto.
2 Enable the Negative Depth check box.

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To set depth
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Impasto.
2 Drag the Depth slider to the right to increase depth, or to the left to decrease it.
To set smoothing
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Impasto.
2 Move the Smoothing slider to the right to increase the effect, or to the left to
decrease it.
To set Plow effect
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Impasto.
2 Move the Plow slider to the right to increase the effect, or to the left to decrease it.

Image Hose Controls
The Image Hose controls let you design nozzles designated Rank 1, 2, and 3. For more
information, see “Creating, Loading, and Saving Nozzles for the Image Hose” on
page 607.
The settings for each rank consist of the Expression settings plus the Sequential
setting. For more information, see “Expression Settings” on page 338.

Rank 1
The Rank 1 control lets you assign an input to locate Rank 1 imagery within an Image
Hose nozzle.

Rank 2
The Rank 2 control lets you assign an input to locate Rank 2 imagery within an Image
Hose nozzle.

Rank 3
The Rank 3 control lets you assign an input to locate Rank 3 imagery within an Image
Hose nozzle.

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To choose expression settings for ranks
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Image Hose.
2 Choose a setting from each of the Rank list boxes.
To pick out nozzles from the index in order, you can choose Sequential from any of
the Rank list boxes.
For more information, see “Expression Settings” on page 338.

Airbrush Controls
Airbrush controls adjust Spread, or the amount of media that spreads out as it is
applied, and Flow, or the amount of media that is actually applied. Some Airbrush
controls work in conjunction with Expression settings. For more information, see
“Expression Settings” on page 338.
Spread controls how paint spreads out as it is applied. In other words, it sets the size of
the cone of spread from the tip of the airbrush or spray can. A good range for the
Spread setting is 30% to 40%. Narrow settings for Spread and Angle can cause
problems. Narrow settings for Spread and Tilt can cause paint to be deposited away
from the cursor.
The Min Spread control determines the smallest amount of paint that can spread out
as it is applied. The Min Spread setting represents a percentage of the Spread setting.
Flow controls how much media is applied by an airbrush stroke. The Flow control acts
like the needle control on a real airbrush. You can also use the Expression settings to tie
flow to the wheel on an airbrush stylus. Because the airbrush dab types deposit many
small dabs to create their spray-paint look, you might need to cut down on the flow to
speed up the airbrush.
The Min Flow control determines the smallest amount of paint flow that can be
applied during a stroke. The Min Flow setting represents a percentage of the Flow
setting.

To set paint spread
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Airbrush.
2 Move the Spread slider to the left to reduce the amount of spread, or to the right to
increase the amount of spread.
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To set minimum paint spread
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Airbrush.
2 Move the Min Spread slider to the left to reduce the smallest amount of spread
allowed, or to the right to increase the smallest amount of spread allowed.
To set ink flow
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Airbrush.
2 Move the Flow slider to the left to reduce the smallest amount of media applied
with a stroke, or to the right to increase it.
To set minimum ink flow
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Airbrush.
2 Move the Min Flow slider to the left to reduce the smallest amount of flow allowed,
or to the right to increase it.

Water Controls
Water controls work with Watercolor layers. A Watercolor layer is automatically
created when you apply a stroke with a Watercolor brush. The layer can be edited from
the Layers panel.
Wetness controls the dilution and the spread of paint. As Wetness is increased, the
resulting stroke expands over a larger area, eliminating the appearance of brush hairs.

Brushstrokes with Wetness set to 0 (top) and 40 (bottom)

Pickup controls how much dry paint gets picked up during diffusion. Lower values
mean that there is no mixing or leaching of paints. Higher values produce more
leaching.

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Brushstrokes with Pickup set to 0% (top) and 100% (bottom)

Dry Rate controls the rate at which water dries during diffusion. Lower values cause
greater spread; higher values reduce the amount of spread.

Brushstrokes with Dry Rate set to 1% (top) and 50% (bottom)

The evaporation threshold (Evap Thresh slider) controls the minimum amount of
water that can still diffuse. Lower values cause greater spread; higher values reduce the
amount of spread.

Brushstrokes with Evap Thresh set to 1% (top) and 50% (bottom)

The diffusion setting (Diffuse Amt slider) controls the amount of paint diffused. Using
high diffusion creates soft edges that feather into the grain, as though you were
painting on wet absorbent paper. Using low diffusion is similar to painting on dry
paper.

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311

Brushstrokes with Diffuse Amt set to 0% (top) and 8% (bottom)

The capillary factor (Cap Factor slider) controls the grain’s effect on diffusion. Lower
values result in a smoother edge.
The grain soak-in (Grn Soak-In slider) controls the amount of paint that soaks into the
grain when paint is drying. You can lower both capillary factor and grain soak-in
values to reduce grain effects.

Brushstrokes with Grn Soak-In set to 0% (top) and 100% (bottom)

Enable the Accurate Diffusion check box to use a smaller diffusion window. Disabling
Accurate Diffusion results in a larger, less accurate window being used.

Brushstrokes with Accurate Diffusion enabled (top) and disabled (bottom)

You can specify the amount of wind force exerted on the diffusing particles. Set the
Wind Force to zero to turn off directional diffusion.

Brushstrokes with Wind Force set to 0% (top) and 25% (bottom)

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You can specify wind direction, which controls the direction in which the particles
diffuse. This can be used to simulate tilting of a wet watercolor image to introduce the
paint migration effects of gravity.

Brushstrokes with Wind Angle set to 270° (top) and 180° (bottom)

To adjust watercolor controls
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Water.
2 Perform an action from the following table.
To

Do the following

Adjust wetness

Move the Wetness slider to the left to create
a more uniform brushstroke, or to the right
to have the water flow more in the direction
of the wind.

Set paint pickup

Move the Pickup slider to the right to
increase the amount of leaching, or to the
left to reduce it.

Set the dry rate

Move the Dry Rate slider to the right to
reduce the amount of spread, or to the left to
increase it.

Set the evaporation threshold

Move the Evap Threshold slider to the right
to reduce the amount of spread, or to the left
to increase it.

Set the diffusion amount

Move the Diffuse Amt slider right to create
soft edges that feather into the grain, or to
the left to emulate painting on dry paper.

Set the effect of grain on diffusion

Move the Cap Factor slider to the right to
create rougher edges, or to the left to create
smoother, more continuous results.

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313

Do the following

Set grain soak-in

Move the Grn Soak-In slider to the right to
create rougher surfaces, or to the left to
create smoother, more continuous results.

Set accurate diffusion

Click the Accurate Diffusion check box.

Set wind force

Move the Wind Force slider to the right to
increase wind force, or to the left to decrease
it.

Set wind direction

Move the Wind Angle slider to the right to
increase angle.

Delay diffusion

Enable the Delay Diffusion check box.
Diffusion begins when you finish the
brushstroke.

When you enable the Delay Diffusion check box, you increase the speed of
Watercolor brush variants.

Liquid Ink Controls
Liquid Ink controls work with Liquid Ink layers. You can use the Liquid Ink controls to
specify qualities such as type, smoothness, and volume of a brushstroke. You can adjust
the Liquid Ink controls when you select a Liquid Ink brush. Some Liquid Ink controls
work in conjunction with Expression settings. For more information, see “Expression
Settings” on page 338.
Liquid Ink is divided into two basic properties: Ink and Color. The Ink component
provides the form of the brushstroke, while the Color component applies color to the
Ink form. The Ink and Color components can be used together or controlled
separately.
The following describes the available Ink types.

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Example

Description
Ink Plus Color applies the currently
selected color to the Ink form.

Ink Only applies only the ink component.

Color Only applies only the color
component.

Soften Ink Plus Color applies color to an
ink form, causing inks and colors to blend
into one another.

Soften Ink Only applies only the ink
component.

Soften Color Only applies only the color
component.

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315

Example

Description
Resist repels ink.

Erase deletes ink and color.

Presoftened Ink Plus Color is applied in
conjunction with surface depth effects.

Smoothness controls the “tack” of the brushstrokes. Lower values result in coarser
brushstrokes. Higher values cause brushstrokes to appear smoother.

Brushstrokes with Smoothness set to 0% (top) and 100% (bottom)

Volume controls the height of the brushstroke, or the amount of medium applied to
the image. Higher values result in thicker strokes.
The Wheel option in the Expression list box allows you to control the amount of spray
from the Liquid Ink airbrush by adjusting the wheel on the airbrush stylus (especially
the Intuos Airbrush Stylus). The wheel on the stylus acts like a needle control on a real
airbrush.

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You can use the Depth controls to give Liquid Ink brushstrokes the appearance of
height. For more information about Depth controls, see “Impasto Controls” on
page 306.

Brushstrokes with Volume set to 100% (top) and 500% (bottom)

Min Volume controls the maximum variation in volume. A value of 100%, for
example, produces no variation in volume during the brushstroke.

Brushstrokes with Min Volume set to 100% (top) and 0% (bottom)

Rand Vol controls the randomness in volume within the brushstroke. A value of zero
results in a perfectly smooth brushstroke.

Brushstrokes with Rand Vol set to 0% (top) and 100% (bottom)

Rand Size controls the randomness in size within a brushstroke. A value of zero results
in a perfectly smooth brushstroke.

Brushstrokes with Rand Size set to 0% (top) and 100% (bottom)

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317

The bristle fraction (Bristle Frac slider) controls the thickness of the bristles. Higher
values cause the bristles to stick together and result in a smoother brushstroke. Lower
values cause the individual brushstrokes to become visible.

Brushstrokes with Bristle Frac set to 3% (top) and 20% (bottom)

Rand Br Vol controls the variation in bristle height. A value of zero signifies that all the
bristles are of equal height.

Brushstrokes with Rand Br Vol set to 0% (top) and 75% (bottom)

Rand Br Size controls the variation in bristle width. A value of zero signifies that all the
bristles are of equal width.

Brushstrokes with Rand Br Size set to 0% (top) and 100% (bottom)

To choose an ink type
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Liquid Ink.
2 Choose a liquid ink type from the Ink Type list box.

To set smoothness
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Liquid Ink.
2 Adjust the Smoothness slider.
Lower values result in coarse brushstrokes. Higher values cause brushstrokes to
blend into one another and appear smoother.
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To set ink volume
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Liquid Ink.
2 Adjust the Volume slider.
Higher values result in thicker strokes.
To set maximum variation in volume
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Liquid Ink.
2 Adjust the Min Volume slider.
If you want volume to respond to stylus pressure, choose Pressure from the
Expression list box.
To set random volume
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Liquid Ink.
2 Adjust the Rand Vol slider.
Lower values result in more uniform brushstrokes.
To set random size
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Liquid Ink.
2 Adjust the Rand Size slider.
Lower values result in more uniformly sized brushstrokes.
To set bristle fraction
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Liquid Ink.
2 Adjust the Bristle Frac slider.
Higher values result in strokes in which individual bristles are less visible.
To set random bristle volume
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Liquid Ink.
2 Adjust the Rand Br Vol slider.
Higher values result in a greater variation in the length of brush bristles.

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319

To set random bristle size
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Liquid Ink.
2 Adjust the Rand Br Size slider.
Higher values result in a greater variation in the length of brush bristles.

Digital Watercolor Controls
Digital Watercolor controls let you create effects similar to those of watercolor brushes
without requiring a separate layer.
You can use diffusion to create soft, feathery edges on the brushstrokes.
Wet Fringe controls the amount of pooling of water and paint at the edges of Digital
Watercolor brushstrokes. For more information about wet fringe, see “Working with
Digital Watercolor brushes” on page 362.

Artists’ Oils Controls
The Artists’ Oils controls are divided into three critical components: Paint, Brush, and
Canvas. You can control Artists’ Oils brush size and opacity with a tablet expression.
For more information about setting brush size, grain, and opacity, see “General
Controls” on page 263. For more information, see “Expression Settings” on page 338.
Grain affects the look of Artists’ Oils by controlling the level at which paper absorbs
paint. When the Grain slider is set to 0%, the paper absorbs a very limited amount of
paint; no paper grain is visible in the stroke and the paint color appears lighter. When
Grain is set to 100%, the paper completely absorbs the paint; no paper grain is visible,
and the paint color appears darker. Grain is visible with Artists’ Oils when Grain is set
between 1% and 99%. As an Artists’ Oils brush runs out of paint, paper grain
becomes more visible, so Amount also affects how much grain appears.

Paint
Amount determines how much paint is loaded before each new brushstroke. The more
paint you load, the longer the brushstroke lasts.
Viscosity controls the rate of paint transfer to the canvas. The higher the viscosity, the
faster the brush runs out of paint, creating shorter brushstrokes.

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Blend controls how the paint color mixes with paint already on the canvas. High blend
levels allow paint on the brush to blend easily with existing paint.

Brush
Bristling controls the amount of bristling at the tail and tip of a brushstroke. For
example, you can adjust bristling to increase the irregularity of the brush bristles.
Clumpiness controls brush bristle fineness. For example, you can increase the amount
of brush hair variation, or clumpiness.
Trail-off determines the length of a brushstroke tail when the brush is running out of
paint. This doesn’t change the length of the brushstroke, just the look of the end of the
stroke. For example, you can adjust the trail-off to produce a longer trail-off effect of
the brushstroke tail.

Canvas
Wetness determines the wetness of the paint on the canvas. This affects how paint
from a brushstroke interacts with paint already on the canvas.

Painting in Dirty Mode
Painting in Dirty Mode allows you to further replicate the experience of using artists’
oil paints in the real world. In this mode, any paint remaining on the brush upon
completion of a brushstroke is left to interact with paint loaded for the next
brushstroke. When you select another color, the brush is cleared of remaining paint.

To set the amount of Artists’ Oils paint loaded
1 With an Artists’ Oils brush selected, choose Window  Brush Control Panels 
Artists’ Oils.
2 Move the Amount slider to the right to increase the amount of paint loaded for
each brushstroke.

To set the viscosity of Artists’ Oils paint
1 With an Artists’ Oils brush selected, choose Window  Brush Control Panels 
Artists’ Oils.
2 Move the Viscosity slider to the right to increase the rate at which paint is
transferred to the canvas.
It is important to note that higher viscosity settings make for a shorter brushstroke.
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321

You can also set the viscosity of Artists’ Oils on the Viscosity slider on the
Artists’ Oils property bar.

To set Artists’ Oils paint blending
1 With an Artists’ Oils brush selected, choose Window  Brush Control Panels 
Artists’ Oils.
2 Move the Blend slider to the right to increase the blending of brushstroke paint
and existing paint.
You can also set how Artists’ Oils paint blend on the Blend slider on the
Artists’ Oils property bar.

To set Artists’ Oils brush bristling
1 With an Artists’ Oils brush selected, choose Window  Brush Control Panels 
Artists’ Oils.
2 Move the Bristling slider to the right to increase the length of the bristling and the
tip and tail of the brushstroke.

To set Artists’ Oils brushstroke trail-off
1 With an Artists’ Oils brush selected, choose Window  Brush Control Panels 
Artists’ Oils.
2 Move the Trail-off slider to the right to increase the length of brushstroke trail-off.

To set canvas wetness for Artists’ Oils
1 With an Artists’ Oils brush selected, choose Window  Brush Control Panels 
Artists’ Oils.
2 Move the Wetness slider to the right to increase the mixing of brushstroke color and
existing color.
You can also set how Artists’ Oil paints blend on the Blend slider on the
Artists’ Oils property bar.

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To paint in Dirty Mode
1 With an Artists’ Oils brush selected, choose Window  Brush Control Panels 
Artists’ Oils.
2 Enable the Dirty Mode check box.
You can also click the Dirty Brush Mode button
property bar.

on the Artists’ Oils

Real Watercolor Controls
The Corel Painter Real Watercolor brush controls help you achieve very realistic
watercolor brushstrokes. The controls simulate working with a watercolor brush,
watercolor paper, pigments, and a glass of water. You can adjust pigment levels and
water consistency to achieve natural flow and pigment settling effects. The following
section describes the Real Watercolor brush controls in more detail.

Brush controls
The Real Watercolor brush-related controls let you set the amount of water and
pigment that the brush deposits on the paper.

Brushstrokes set at a lower Wetness setting (left) and higher Wetness setting (right)

Water controls
The Real Watercolor water-related controls let you adjust the water viscosity, or
thickness, in order to control the way it flows and spreads on the surface of the paper.
For example, if the water viscosity is high, it will produce a runny effect and the water
will flow and spread easily. If the water viscosity is low and thick, it will have a
tendency to pool, instead of flow. You can also adjust the speed at which the water
dries, which influences how and where the pigment settles on the paper.
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323

Brushstrokes set at a lower Viscosity setting (left) and higher Viscosity setting (right)

Pigment controls
The pigment controls let you adjust how much pigment is deposited on the paper after
the water evaporates and how quickly the pigment settles on the paper. You can also
specify the degree to which water is able to lift dry pigment from the paper.

Brushstrokes set at a lower Settling Rate (left) and higher Settling Rate (right)

Paper controls
With the paper controls, you can adjust how the Real Watercolor brushes interact with
paper texture and grain. You can adjust the paper roughness, which affects all other
paper settings.

Brushstrokes set at a lower Roughness setting (left) and higher Roughness setting (right)

You can also adjust the flow resistance to control the effect the paper grain has on the
direction of the water flow. In addition, you can set the rate at which the paper grain
can absorb water and control the amount of pigment that settles into the valleys of the
paper grain when it dries.
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Brushstrokes set at a lower Flow Resistance setting (left) and higher Flow Resistance
setting (right)

Wind controls
The wind controls let you control the angle at which water flows on the paper. You can
also specify the amount of wind force exerted on the water.

Brushstrokes set at a lower Angle and Force settings (left) and higher Angle and Force
settings (right)

Diffusion controls
The diffusion controls allow you to manage how and when the pigment is diffused on
the paper. You can specify that diffusion be precisely applied to ensure accurate water
flow. You can also delay diffusion so the effect is applied only after you complete a
brushstroke. In addition, you can choose to suspend diffusion temporarily. This lets
you apply multiple brushstrokes to the paper before applying the diffusion, to apply
the effect to all brushstrokes at once. You can also specify the number of flow steps to
be completed during animation. For example, you can specify a lower number of steps
for smaller brushes and a higher number of steps for bigger brushes.

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325

To adjust the Real Watercolor controls
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Real Watercolor.
2 Perform an action from the following table.
To

Do the following

Set the amount of water the brush deposits
on the paper

In the Brush area, move the Wetness slider
to the left to decrease the amount of water or
to the right to increase the amount of water.

Set the amount of pigment the brush
deposits on the paper

In the Brush area, move the Concentration
slider to the left to decrease the amount of
pigment or to the right to increase the
amount of pigment.

Adjust the water thickness to control the
way it flows and spreads on the surface of the
paper

In the Water area, move the Viscosity slider
to the left to decrease the thickness or to the
right to increase the thickness.

Adjust the speed at which the water dries

In the Water area, move the Evaporation
Rate slider to the left to decrease the water
evaporation effect or to the right to increase
the effect.

Adjust the amount of pigment deposited on
the paper after the water evaporates

In the Pigment area, move the Settling Rate
slider to the left to decrease the amount of
pigment or to the right to increase the
amount of pigment.

Control how quickly the pigment settles on
the paper

In the Pigment area, move the Weight slider
to the left to achieve a lighter pigment or to
the right to achieve a heavier pigment. A
lighter weight pigment flows with the water
longer, whereas a heavier pigment settles
onto the paper very quickly.

Specify the degree to which water is able to
lift dry pigment from the paper

In the Pigment area, move the Pickup slider to
the left to decrease the amount of pigment
pickup or to the right to increase the amount of
pigment pickup.

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Do the following

Adjust the paper roughness

In the Paper area, move the Roughness slider
to the left to decrease the paper roughness or
to the right to increase the paper roughness.
This impacts flow resistance, dry rate, and
pigment granulation.

Control the effect paper grain has on the
direction of the water flow

In the Paper area, move the Flow Resistance
slider to the left to decrease the resistance or
to the right to increase the resistance.

Adjust the rate at which the paper grain can
absorb water

In the Paper area, move the Dry Rate slider
to the left to decrease the speed of absorption
or to the right to increase the speed of
absorption.

Control the amount of pigment that settles
into the valleys of the paper grain when it
dries

In the Paper area, move the Granulation
slider to the left to decrease the effect or to
the right to increase the effect.

Control the angle at which water flows on
the paper

In the Wind area, move the Angle slider to
the left to decrease the angle or to the right
to increase the angle.

Specify the amount of wind force exerted on
water, which affects the way it flows on the
paper

In the Wind area, move the Force slider to
the left to decrease the force or to the right
to increase the force.

You can optimize the performance of Real Watercolor and Real Wet Oil
brushes by temporarily disabling High Quality Display. Click the Magnifier
tool
in the toolbox, and click the High Quality Display button on the
property bar.

To control Real Watercolor diffusion
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Real Watercolor.
2 Perform an action from the following table.

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327

Do the following

Apply diffusion precisely to ensure accurate
water flow

Enable the Accurate Diffusion check box.

Delay diffusion until the brushstroke is
complete

Enable the Delay Diffusion check box.

Suspend diffusion temporarily

Enable the Pause Diffusion check box or
click the Pause Diffusion button
on the
property bar to suspend the diffusion. You
need to disable the check box to perform the
diffusion.

Specify the speed at which the pigment is
revealed onscreen

Move the Animation Step slider to the left to
lower the speed of the animation or to the
right to increase the speed.
Specifying a lower Animation Step, such as
0, produces a smoother effect.

Real Wet Oil
The Real Wet Oil brush variants help you achieve realistic oil brushstrokes. For
example, you can control paint viscosity and color concentration, similar to mixing oil
paint and a medium. The following section describes the Real Wet Oil brush controls
in more detail.

Brush controls
The Real Wet Oil brush-specific controls let you set the amount of liquid and paint
that the brush deposits on the canvas.

Brushstrokes set at a lower Wetness setting (left) and higher Wetness setting (right)

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Liquid flow controls
The Real Wet Oil liquid flow controls let you adjust the liquid viscosity, or thickness,
in order to control the way it’s applied to the canvas. For example, if the liquid
viscosity is high, the paint spreads easily and looks smooth. If the liquid viscosity is low
and thick, the paint does not spread as easily and creates the illusion of texture.

Brushstrokes set at a lower Viscosity setting (left) and higher Viscosity setting (right)

You can also adjust the speed at which the liquid evaporates, which influences how the
paint dries on the canvas.

Brushstrokes set at a lower Evaporation Rate (left) and higher Evaporation Rate (right)

Paint controls
The paint controls let you to modify the look and feel of paint on the canvas. For
example, you can adjust the opacity of the paint deposited on the canvas after the oil
dries. You can also specify how easily the paint blends and the degree to which oil is
able to lift dry paint from the canvas.

Brushstrokes set at a lower Settling Rate (left) and higher Settling Rate (right)

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Canvas controls
With the canvas controls, you can adjust how the Real Wet Oil brushes interact with
canvas texture and grain. For example, you can adjust the canvas roughness, which
affects all other canvas settings.

Brushstrokes set at a lower Roughness setting (left) and higher Roughness setting (right)

You can also adjust the flow resistance to control how paint spreads on the canvas. In
addition, you can set the rate at which the paper grain can absorb liquid and control
the amount of paint that settles into the valleys of the canvas grain when it dries.

Brushstrokes set at a lower Flow Resistance setting (left) and higher Flow Resistance
setting (right)

Wind controls
The wind controls let you to set the angle at which the paint spreads on the canvas.
You can also specify the amount of wind force exerted on the paint.

Brushstrokes set at a lower Angle and Force settings (left) and higher Angle and Force
settings (right)

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Diffusion controls
The diffusion controls allow you to manage how and when the paint is diffused on the
canvas. You can specify that diffusion be precisely applied to ensure accurate paint
dispersion. You can also delay diffusion so the effect is applied only after you complete
a brushstroke. In addition, you can choose to suspend diffusion temporarily. This lets
you apply multiple brushstrokes to the canvas before applying the diffusion, to apply
the effect to all brushstrokes at once. You can also specify the number of flow steps to
be completed during animation. For example, you can specify a lower number of steps
for smaller brushes and a higher number of steps for bigger brushes.

To adjust the Real Wet Oil controls
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Real Wet Oil.
2 Perform an action from the following table.
To

Do the following

Set the amount of oil the brush deposits on
the canvas

In the Brush area, move the Wetness slider
to the left to decrease the amount of liquid
or to the right to increase the amount of
liquid.

Set the concentration of paint the brush
deposits on the canvas

In the Brush area, move the Concentration
slider to the left to decrease the amount of
paint or to the right to increase the amount
of paint.

Adjust the oil thickness to control the way it
spreads on the surface of the canvas

In the Liquid Flow area, move the Viscosity
slider to the left to decrease the viscosity
effect or to the right to increase the viscosity.

Adjust the speed at which the paint dries

In the Liquid Flow area, move the
Evaporation Rate slider to the left to
decrease the evaporation effect or to the
right to increase the effect.

Adjust the opacity of the paint deposited on
the canvas after the oil dries

In the Paint area, move the Settling Rate
slider to the left to decrease the amount of
paint (more opacity) or to the right to
increase the amount of paint (less opacity).

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Do the following

Control how easily the paint colors mix on
the canvas

In the Paint area, move the Blend Rate slider
to the left to decrease the blending capacity
or to the right to increase the blending
capacity.

Specify the degree to which oil is able to lift
dry paint from the canvas

In the Paint area, move the Pickup slider to
the left to decrease the amount of paint
pickup or to the right to increase the amount
of paint pickup.

Adjust the canvas roughness

In the Canvas area, move the Roughness
slider to the left to decrease the canvas
roughness or to the right to increase the
canvas roughness. (This impacts flow
resistance, dry rate, and paint granulation.)

Control the effect canvas grain has on the
direction of the paint flow

In the Canvas area, move the Flow
Resistance slider to the left to decrease the
resistance or to the right to increase the
resistance.

Adjust the rate at which the canvas grain can
absorb paint

In the Canvas area, move the Dry Rate slider
to the left to decrease the speed of absorption
or to the right to increase the speed of
absorption.

Control the degree to which paint settles
into the valleys of the canvas grain when it
dries

In the Canvas area, move the Granulation
slider to the left to decrease the effect or to
the right to increase the effect.

Control the angle at which paint spreads on
the canvas

In the Wind area, move the Angle slider to
the left to decrease the angle or to the right
to increase the angle.

Specify the amount of wind force exerted on
paint, which affects the way it spreads on the
canvas

In the Wind area, move the Force slider to
the left to decrease the force or to the right
to increase the force.

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To control Real Wet Oil diffusion
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Real Wet Oil.
2 Perform an action from the following table.
To

Do the following

Apply diffusion precisely to ensure accurate
water flow

Enable the Accurate Diffusion check box.

Delay diffusion until the brushstroke is
complete

Enable the Delay Diffusion check box.

Suspend diffusion temporarily

Enable the Pause Diffusion check box to
suspend the diffusion. You need to disable
the check box to perform the diffusion.

Specify the speed at which the paint is
revealed onscreen

Move the Animation Step slider to the left to
lower the speed of the animation or to the
right to increase the speed.
Specifying a lower Animation Step, such as
0, produces a smoother effect.

Jitter Controls
The Jitter control introduces a randomized jitter to the brushstroke. Instead of
appearing directly along the stroke, dabs appear randomly outside the brushstroke
path. You can also set an expression setting to further control the Jitter effect. For
more information, see “Expression Settings” on page 338.

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Brushstrokes with Jitter set to 0 (top) and 3.13 (bottom)

To set jitter
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Jitter.
2 Move the Jitter slider to the left to decrease deviation from the stroke path, or to
the right to increase the deviation.
If you want to use an expression setting, choose a setting from the Expression list
box.

RealBristle Controls
RealBristle controls let you choose a brush tip profile, adjust the brush, and determine
how the brush interacts with the surface of the canvas. For more information about
RealBristle controls, see “RealBristle Settings” on page 352.

Color Variability Controls
Color variability allows you to create brushstrokes of more than one color. Color
variability can be set for HSV or RGB mode, and it can be based on the current
gradient or color set.

To display the Color Variability panel
• Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Color Variability.
To set color variability in HSV mode
1 In the Color panel, choose a main color.
2 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Color Variability.
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3 Choose HSV from the list box.
4 Adjust the Hue, Saturation, and Value sliders to control hue, saturation, and value
ranges for color variability:
• Moving the ±Hue slider to the right increases the number of hues in the
resulting brushstroke. These colors are the ones adjacent to the selected color on
the color wheel.
• Moving the ±Saturation slider to the right increases variability in the color
intensity of the brushstroke.
• Moving the ±Value slider to the right increases variability in the brightness of
the brushstroke.
You can try different ±HSV settings with any of the brushes to produce interesting
results.
When you save a brush variant, the current color variability setting is also
saved.
When working with brushes like the Van Gogh and Seurat variants of the
Artists brush, you can add a natural, almost 3D appearance to your Web page
images by moving the Hue, Saturation, and Value settings to the right.

To set color variability in RGB mode
1 In the Color panel, choose a main color.
2 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Color Variability.
3 Choose In RGB from the list box.
4 Move the R, G, and B sliders to control color variability of red, green, and blue
values.

To set color variability based on the current gradient
1 In the Color panel, choose a main color.
2 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Color Variability.
3 Choose From Gradient from the list box.
Color variability is now based on random colors from the current gradient.

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To set color variability based on the current color set
1 In the Color panel, choose a main color.
2 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Color Variability.
3 Choose From Color Set from the list box.
Color variability is now based on random colors from the current color set.
To ignore color set variability
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Color Variability.
2 Enable the Ignore Color Variability From Color Sets check box.

Color Expression Controls
Color expression determines whether Corel Painter should use the main or additional
color in an image. Using color expression, you can introduce input (such as direction)
which controls output when you apply two-color brushstrokes.

To display the Color Expression panel
• Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Color Expression.
To set Color Expression controls
• In the Color Expression panel, choose one of the following options from the
Expression list box:
• None — applies no adjustment to the color expression
• Velocity — adjusts the color expression based on the dragging speed
• Direction — adjusts the color expression based on the direction of the stroke,
and according to the value you set with the slider or in the box
• Pressure — adjusts the color expression based on stylus pressure
• Wheel — adjusts the color expression based on the wheel settings on an
airbrush stylus, specifically the Wacom Intuos Airbrush stylus
• Tilt — adjusts the color expression based on the angle of the stylus from the
tablet
• Bearing — adjusts the color expression based on the direction in which the
stylus points
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• Rotation — adjusts the color expression based on the rotation of the stylus
• Source — adjusts the color expression based on the luminance of the clone
source
• Random — adjusts the color expression at random
If you want to switch the main and additional colors, click the Invert button

Brush Calibration Controls
When you draw with traditional media, the amount of pressure that you use with a
tool determines the density and width of your strokes. Using a pressure-sensitive stylus
with Corel Painter gives you this same kind of control. Because each artist uses a
different strength or pressure level in a stroke, you can calibrate individual brush
variants to match your stroke strength.
The most common way of adjusting brush calibration is to apply a typical brush
stroke, such as a wavy stroke, to the scratch pad. Corel Painter then uses your stroke to
calculate the appropriate pressure and velocity settings for the brush variant.
For example, you can set less pressure when sketching with a pencil brush variant, but
set more pressure when using an oil paint brush variant. Corel Painter saves Brush
Calibration control settings with the brush variant, so whatever sensitivity you set will
be the default the next time you choose the brush variant. If you set Brush Calibration
for a specific brush in addition to general Brush Tracking preferences, the Brush
Calibration settings override the Brush Tracking preferences. For more information,
see “Brush Tracking and Calibration” on page 79.
When you use the scratch pad to set brush calibration, Corel Painter calculates the
pressure and velocity settings for you. However, you can manually adjust these
settings. For example, you can adjust the stroke pressure to achieve a full pressure
range (Pressure Scale slider) using a softer or harder touch (Pressure Power slider). You
can also adjust the stroke velocity to achieve a full velocity range (Velocity Scale slider)
with a slower or faster stroke (Velocity Power slider).
To ensure that a brush control is using the pressure or velocity settings, you need to set
the brush control Expression setting to Pressure or Velocity. For more information, see
“Expression Settings” on page 338.

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To calibrate a brush variant
1 With a brush variant selected, choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Brush
Calibration.
2 Enable the Enable Brush Calibration check box.
3 Click the Set Brush Calibration Settings button .
The brush tracker appears.
4 Drag in the scratch pad using a “normal” stroke.
Use the pressure and speed you prefer when drawing or painting. This allows the
Brush Tracker to calculate the appropriate speed and pressure settings for the
brush.
If you want to adjust the settings manually, perform a task from the following
table:
To

Do the following

Achieve a full pressure range with a softer or
harder touch

Adjust the Pressure Scale and Pressure Power
sliders.

Achieve the full velocity range with a slower
or faster motion

Adjust the Velocity Scale and Velocity Power
sliders.

Expression Settings
Corel Painter lets you control brush effects along the stroke based on a number of
real-time input factors. For example, many brushes vary their Opacity or Size in
response to changes in stylus pressure. These responses reflect their default settings.
You can use the Expression settings to vary these effects in response to other factors,
such as stroke direction or velocity.
Expression settings are linked to the following controls: General, Size, Angle, Well,
Jitter, Impasto, Airbrush, and Liquid Ink.
Direction adjusts the angle value of the direction controller. When the Expression list
box is set to Direction, it specifies the angle at which a brushstroke narrows or widens,
which is particularly useful for calligraphic effects.

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To choose an Expression setting
1 Open any of the following Brush Control panels: General, Size, Angle, Well, Jitter,
Impasto, Airbrush, and Liquid Ink.
2 Perform a task from the following table.
To

Do the following

Disable the expression setting

Choose None from the Expression list box.

Adjust the brushstroke based on the
dragging speed

Choose Velocity from the Expression list box.
Dragging quickly minimizes the setting;
dragging slowly increases it.

Adjust the selected brushstroke based on the
direction of the stroke

Choose Direction from the Expression list
box.

Adjust the brushstroke based on stylus
pressure

Choose Pressure from the Expression list
box. Greater pressure increases the setting
for that brush feature.

Adjust the brushstroke based on the wheel
setting on an airbrush stylus, specifically the
Intuos Airbrush stylus

Choose Wheel from the Expression list box.
The maximum value is set when the wheel is
pushed all the way forward. The minimum is
set when the wheel is pushed all the way
back.

Adjust the brushstroke based on the angle of
the stylus from the tablet

Choose Tilt from the Expression list box. For
example, when the stylus is perpendicular to
the tablet, Tilt is set at zero.

Adjust the brushstroke according to the
direction in which the stylus points

Choose Bearing from the Expression list box.

Adjust the brushstroke as you turn a flat-tip
Intuos Art Pen that supports 360-degrees of
barrel rotation sensitivity

Choose Rotation from the Expression list
box.

Adjust the brushstroke according to the
luminance of the clone source

Choose Source from the Expression list box.
Higher luminance (closer to white) increases
the setting for that component, producing a
wider stroke.

Adjust the brushstroke on a random basis

Choose Random from the Expression list
box.

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Do the following

Reverse the effect of an Expression setting

Click the Invert button

Not all stylus models convey tilt or bearing information.

To set controller direction
1 Open any of the following Brush Control panels: General, Size, Angle, Well,
Random, Impasto, Airbrush, and Liquid Ink.
2 Choose Direction from the Expression list box.
3 Drag the Direction slider until the desired angle is achieved.

Hard Media Controls
The Hard Media controls let you customize drawing and sketching tools with more
precision. You can adjust several Hard Media variants, which include blenders, pencils,
chalks, Conté, crayons, pastels, markers, and erasers. The Hard Media controls can be
used only with the Circular, Captured, and Eraser dab types. For more information, see
“Hard Media” on page 341.

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Hard Media
Corel Painter lets you simulate many different types of traditional hard media, such as
pencils, pens, and markers. The hard media controls and variants give you a wide
range of options for creating drawings, sketches, and renderings. You can use the
preset variants or create your own collection of customized Hard Media variants.
This section contains the following topics:
• Using Hard Media Variants
• Customizing Hard Media Variants

Using Hard Media Variants
Corel Painter includes a vast array of preset Hard Media variants. You can use the
variants as they are or customize them by using the Hard Media controls. For more
information, see “Customizing Hard Media Variants” on page 343.

You can modify select chalk (top) and pencil (bottom) variants using the Hard Media
controls.

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Choosing a Hard Media Variant
The Hard Media variants are found in many different brush categories. The following
table lists the Hard Media variants found in each of these brush categories.
Brush category

Hard Media variant

Pencils

Real 2B Pencil
Real 6B Soft Pencil
Real 2H Drafting Pencil
Real 4H Hard Pencil
Real Soft Colored Pencil
Real Sharp Colored Pencil

Erasers

Real Pointy Eraser
Real Soft Eraser
Real Hard Eraser

Pens

Real Fine-Point Pen
Real Variable-Width Pen
Real Drippy Pen
Real Variable-Tip Pen

Chalk and Crayons

Real Soft Chalk
Real Fat Chalk
Real Hard Chalk

Charcoal and Conté

Real Hard Conté
Real Soft Conté

Pastels

Real Soft Pastel
Real Hard Pastel

Blenders

Real Pointy Blender
Real Stubby Blender

Sumi-e

Real Sumi-e Wet Brush
Real Sumi-e Dry Brush

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Brush category

Hard Media variant

Markers

Most of the Marker variants

To choose a Hard Media variant
1 Click the Brush Selector on the Brush Selector bar.
2 In the Brush Library panel, click one of the following brush categories:
• Pencils
• Erasers
• Pens
• Chalk and Crayons
• Charcoal and Conté
• Pastels
• Blenders
• Sumi-e
• Watercolor
• Acrylics
• Markers
3 Click a Hard Media brush variant.

Customizing Hard Media Variants
The Hard Media controls let you modify Hard Media variants, which include blenders,
pencils, chalks, Conté crayons, crayons, pastels, markers, and erasers. The controls let
you build your own Hard Media toolkit with your own customized variants. For a
complete list of the Hard Media variants, see “Choosing a Hard Media Variant” on
page 342.
The Hard Media controls are usable only with the Circular, Captured, and Eraser dab
types. For more information about dab types, see “General Controls” on page 263.
You can also save your customized Hard Media variant. For more information, see
“Adjusting Brushes” on page 261.

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Modifying Hard Media Profiles
You can modify Hard Media profiles to change the shape and size of the dabs that you
apply to the canvas. By changing the profile, you can simulate the real-world hard
media that have different shapes, sharpness, or thickness. Using the Hard Media
controls, you can change the size, and choose one of six profiles to modify the shape.
Hard Media profile

Description

Pencil Profile

Provides a sharper tip when perpendicular to
the tablet, and provides a wider, softer tip
when at an angle.

Medium Profile

Has a wide area of greater density at the
center, with rapid falloff toward the edge.

Linear Profile

Provides maximum density at the center,
with even falloff toward the edge.

Pointed Profile

Provides maximum density at the center,
with rapid falloff toward the edge.

Dull Profile

Provides maximum density at the center,
with high-density weighting toward the
edge.

1-Pixel Edge

1-Pixel Edge provides maximum density
throughout, with rapid falloff toward the
edge, producing a 1-pixel, anti-aliased edge.

When changing the shape, you can use the Squeeze controls to specify the vertical and
horizontal ranges of the dab. For example, tilting the tool while drawing can change
the dab shape from round to elliptical. You can also change the size of the tip.

To choose a Hard Media tip profile
1 With a Hard Media variant active, choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Hard
Media.
2 Click the Hard Media tip profile that you want to use.

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To set the Hard Media tip size
1 With a Hard Media variant active, choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Size.
2 Move the Size slider to the right to increase the size of the tip, or move the slider to
the left to decrease the size of the tip.
To set the Hard Media tip shape
1 With a Hard Media variant active, choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Hard
Media.
2 In the Squeeze area, do any of the following:
• Move the V Min slider to the left to increase the amount of squeeze applied to
the dab on the vertical axis. This setting represents the dab at its smallest.
• Move the V Max slider to the left to increase the amount of squeeze applied to
the dab on the vertical axis. This setting represents the dab at its maximum size.
• Move the H Min slider to the left to increase the amount of squeeze applied to
the dab on the horizontal axis. This setting represents the dab at its smallest.
• Move the H Max slider to the left to increase the amount of squeeze applied to
the dab on the horizontal axis. This setting represents the dab at its maximum
size.

Controlling the Behavior of Hard Media Variants
Corel Painter lets you control how a Hard Media variant behaves when you apply
strokes to the canvas. The Stepping slider controls the transition between narrow and
wide sections of a stroke. Moving the slider to the right makes the transition appear
more abrupt, and moving it to the left makes the transition smoother.
The Transition Range sliders lets you determine the angle at which you transition from
a fine point to a wider stroke when tilting your stylus. This control lets you simulate
the look and feel of hard media such as pencils or markers. A real-world example of
this would be holding a sharp pencil perpendicular to a piece of paper. When you draw
at a 90° angle, you produce a very narrow or hard line. If you tilt your pencil to a 60°
angle, you produce a wider or softer line.

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At the top of the image, a stylus is shown tilting at different angles and the stoke that
corresponds with the angle is displayed at the bottom of the image. The graph in the
middle of the image identifies the start (green arrow) and the Finish (red arrow) of the
Transition Range.

To set the Hard Media size step
1 With a Hard Media variant active, choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Hard
Media.
2 Move the Size Step slider to the right to produce fewer angles between dabs, or
move it to the left to create more angles between dabs.
To set the Hard Media transition range
1 With a Hard Media variant active, choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Hard
Media.
2 Move the Start slider to set the angle at which the transition will start.
Moving the slider to the right increases the angle; moving the slider to the left
decreases the angle.
3 Move the Finish slider to set the angle at which the transition will finish.
Moving the slider to the right increases the angle; moving the slider to the left
decreases the angle.

Previewing Hard Media Dabs
As you modify the Hard Media variants, you can preview your changes to see how they
affect the dab shape and size in the Dab profile panel. You can toggle between different
views of the dab, including the Hard Media view. For more information about these
views, see “Dab Profile” on page 278.

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To choose a brush dab preview option
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Dab Profile.
2 In the Dab Profile panel, click the Brush Dab Preview Window until the desired
preview appears.

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Markers
Corel Painter includes a Markers brush category to simulate the professional markers
that are used by illustrators, graphic designers, industrial designers, and architects for
drawing and creating renderings.
This section contains the following topics:
• Getting Started with Markers
• Customizing Markers

Getting Started with Markers
The brush variants in the Marker category replicate traditional markers used for
drawing and creating renderings.
The strokes that you make with the Marker variants closely reflect those of traditional,
high-quality markers, mainly because of the way the Marker variants interact with the
canvas. For example, the Flat Rendering Marker in Corel Painter allow color buildup
and pooling. One continuous brushstroke at a constant speed lays down one consistent
color. However, if you lift the stylus, or release the mouse button, the color builds up,
as it would with conventional markers. The Marker variants also let you overlay
strokes, and because the applied color is somewhat transparent, the underlying colors
show through.
The color builds up only when you either lift your stylus up from the tablet or let go of
the left mouse button. Slowing down or stopping does not cause build up.

With a marker, you can build up or pool color.

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349

Choosing a Marker Variant
You can choose any of the following variants from the Markers brush category:
• Chisel Tip Marker
• Dry Chisel Tip Marker
• Fine Tip Marker
• Flat Rendering Marker
• Leaky Marker
• Pointy Rendering Marker
• Round Tip Marker
• Scratchy Dry Tip Marker
• Sharp Marker
• Variable Chisel Tip Marker

To choose a Marker variant
1 Click the Brush Selector on the Brush Selector bar.
2 In the Brush Library panel, click the Markers brush category, and click a Marker
brush variant.

Customizing Markers
You can customize a preset Marker variant by using various Brush Controls, such as
General controls or Size controls. In addition, you can change the look of Markers
more precisely by using the Hard Media controls that are specifically designed for
modifying drawing media, such as markers and pencils. For more information about
customizing brushes, see For more information about the Hard Media options, see
“Customizing Hard Media Variants” on page 343.
You can also save your customized Marker variant.

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RealBristle Brushes
RealBristle brushes bring a new level of realism to the digital painting experience by
simulating the natural movement of an artist’s brush. The resulting brushstrokes and
their interaction with the canvas more closely reflect the look and feel of working with
a traditional art brush.

RealBristle Painting System.
Artwork by Cher Threinen-Pendarvis.

RealBristle brush variants are based on brush variants from different brush categories,
such as Acrylics, Oils, and Watercolor.
When you work with RealBristle brushes, enabling the Enhanced Brush Ghost option
gives you more visual feedback about your brush.
This section contains the following topics:
• Getting Started With RealBristle Brushes
• RealBristle Settings

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351

Getting Started With RealBristle Brushes
RealBristle brush variants are stored in various brush categories. They consist of a
broad range of bristle-based brushes that let you apply brushstrokes to the canvas or a
layer.

To choose a RealBristle brush variant
1 Click the Brush Selector on the Brush Selector bar.
2 In the Brush Library panel, click a brush category that contains a RealBristle
variant, and click a RealBristle brush variant.
You can find RealBristle brush variants in brush categories such as Acrylics, Oils,
and Watercolor. Their names begin with the word “Real.”

RealBristle Settings
You can work with a preset RealBristle brush variant or customize a preset brush and
save it as a new brush variant. The RealBristle panel gives you easy access to settings
that let you modify a brush variant.
The following diagram outlines some key terminology used to describe RealBristle
brushes and their settings.
Ferrule

Profile
Brush Tip
Bristle Length

The RealBristle Panel
The RealBristle panel contains the following settings:
Roundness — lets you control the rounding along the width of the brush and overall
shape of the brush. With a round brush, lower values flatten the brush to create an
elliptical shape (can be flattened to a minimum thickness of 10% of the diameter).
With a flat brush, lower values create a brush with more angular corners (90 degree
edges as opposed to rounded edges).
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The brush on the left approximates the rounded edges created by a flat brush with a
Roundness setting of 100%; the brush on the right approximates a round brush with a
Roundness setting of 100%.

Bristle Length — lets you control the length of the bristles, from the end of the
ferrule to the tip of the brush. The Bristle Length is calculated by multiplying the
Brush Size value by the Bristle Length value you choose. For example, if your Brush
Size setting is 20, and your Bristle Length setting is 2, the length of the bristles is 40.

The brush on the left approximates a brush with a Bristle Length setting of 1; the brush
on the right approximates a brush with a setting of 2.

Profile Length — lets you control the length of the profile as a percentage of the
overall length of the bristles.

Although quite different in shape, both brushes have a Profile Length of approximately
50%.

Bristle Rigidity — lets you control the flexibility of the bristles. Lower values create a
more flexible brush, similar to a sable hair brush; higher values create a more rigid
brush, similar to a hog hair brush.

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353

The brush on the left approximates a Bristle Rigidity setting of approximately 90%; the
brush on the right approximates a setting of approximately 30%.

Fanning — lets you control how the bristles spread out from the ferrule. Lower values
keep the bristles closer together, creating a more pointed tip; higher values spread the
bristles out.

The brush on the left represents a Fanning setting of 100%; the brush on the right
represents a setting of 0%.

Friction — lets you control how smoothly the bristles move across the canvas. This
setting works in conjunction with the Rigidity setting. Lower values produce smoother
strokes; higher values produce more textured, splayed brushstrokes.
Height — lets you control the minimum distance between the ferrule and the canvas.
Higher values let you paint with the tip of the brush only; lower values let you
compress the bristles against the canvas, causing the bristles to splay in different
directions.

The brush on the left represents a Height setting of 100%; the brush on the right
represents a height setting of 50%.

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To open the RealBristle panel
• Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  RealBristle.
To customize a RealBristle brush variant
1 Click the Brush Selector on the Brush Selector bar.
2 In the Brush Library panel, click a brush category that contains a RealBristle
variant, such as Acrylics, Oils, and Watercolor, then click a RealBristle brush
variant.
3 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  RealBristle.
If the selected brush variant is a true RealBristle brush, the controls in the
RealBristle panel are available.
4 In the RealBristle panel, enable the Enable RealBristle check box.
5 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Dab Profile.
6 In the Dab Profile panel, click the brush tip profile that you want to use.
7 In the RealBristle panel, adjust any of the Brush sliders.
8 In the RealBristle panel, adjust any of the Surface sliders.
By enabling the Enable RealBristle check box, you can create RealBristle
brushes from the any brush variant that uses the following Dab types: Camel
Hair, Flat, Palette Knife, or Bristle Spray.

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Watercolor
Corel Painter features different tools and controls that allow you to produce naturallooking watercolor effects. The tools include watercolor brushes that are stored in the
following brush categories.
Brush category

Description

Real Watercolor

The Real Watercolor brushes allow you to apply pigment to
the paper in a very realistic way. They include brush control
options that allow you to precisely control water and paper
interactions. The Real Watercolor brushes are applied to the
Watercolor layer.

Watercolor

The Watercolor color brushes are designed to produce
natural-looking effects. They include brush control options
that allow you to control color diffusion and some water and
paper interactions. The Watercolor brushes are applied to the
Watercolor layer.

Digital Watercolor

The Digital Watercolor brushes let you apply watercolor
effects directly to the canvas or a default layer, without the
need for a Watercolor Layer. However, the brush control
options for Digital Watercolor are limited.

You can also alter the appearance of watercolor by changing the paper texture and
modifying the brush controls.
This section contains the following topics:
• Working with the Watercolor Layer
• Watercolor Brushes and Paper Texture Interaction
• Working with Real Watercolor Brushes
• Working with Watercolor Brushes
• Working with Digital Watercolor brushes

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Working with the Watercolor Layer
Both the Real Watercolor and Watercolor brushes paint into a watercolor layer, which
enables the colors to flow and mix and absorb into the paper. In Corel Painter, you can
edit the Watercolor layer as you would any other layer without changing anything in
the image layer. For example, you can draw pencil outlines in the image layer and then
overlay watercolor shading without smudging the pencil lines.

You can sketch on one layer and paint with watercolors on a separate Watercolor layer.

You can transfer, or lift, information from the canvas to the Watercolor layer. This is
useful if you want to apply Watercolor effects to a photograph. You can also wet the
Watercolor layer, which activates a diffusion process.

To create a new Watercolor layer
1 Choose Window  Layers.
2 In the Layers panel, click the Layer Options button
Watercolor Layer.

, and choose New

If you select a Real Watercolor or Watercolor brush variant from the Brush
Library, a Watercolor layer is automatically created when you apply a
brushstroke to the document window.

To transfer the canvas to a Watercolor layer
1 Open the image that you want to convert to a watercolor in the document window.
2 Choose Window  Layers.
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If the image contains multiple layers, you can drop all of the layers onto the canvas
by clicking the Layer Options button
in the Layers panel, and choosing Drop
All.
3 In the Layers panel, click the Layer Options button, and choose Lift Canvas to
Watercolor Layer.
Once the layer content is lifted from the canvas, the canvas is blank.

To wet the Watercolor layer
1 Choose Window  Layers.
2 In the Layers panel, click the Layer Options button
Watercolor Layer.

, and choose Wet Entire

To work with a dry surface, click the Layer Options button
panel, and choose Dry Watercolor Layer.

in the Layers

Watercolor Brushes and Paper Texture Interaction
The watercolor brushes interact with paper texture and grain — the colors flow, mix,
and are absorbed into the paper. The luminance information of the paper grain is used
to determine how the paint diffuses into the paper. It also affects how the pigment
settles onto the paper when it dries.
You can experiment by adjusting the sliders in the Papers panel to see their effect on
the watercolor brushes. The Scale slider controls the size of the grain. The Contrast
slider, as it applies to the Watercolor layer, controls the height of the grain surface.
Adjusting the Contrast slider to the right increases the height of the grain and adds
more texture as a result. For more information, see “Controlling Brightness and
Contrast of Paper Grain” on page 165.

The Scale slider controls the size of the paper grain. The image on the left is set to 50%
and the image on the right is set to 200%.

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In addition, the Real Watercolor brushes include controls that allow you to further
control the paper interaction. For more information, see “Working with Real
Watercolor Brushes” on page 360.

Working with Real Watercolor Brushes
The Real Watercolor brush variants let you produce very realistic watercolor
brushstrokes because they replicate real world watercolor media. Corel Painter
simulates the look and feel of blending pigments with water so they interact with
paper in a very natural way. When working with Real Watercolor brushes, the
brushstrokes are applied to the Watercolor layer.

Using Real Watercolor brush variants
You can get started quickly with the Real Watercolor brushes by choosing one of the
available brush variants. However, you can also customize a brush variant by using the
Real Watercolor brush controls. For more information, see “Real Watercolor Controls”
on page 323.

To choose a Real Watercolor brush variant
1 In the toolbox, click the Brush tool .
2 Click the Brush Selector on the Brush Selector bar.
3 In the Brush Library panel, click the Real Watercolor brush category, and click a
brush variant.
To customize a Real Watercolor brush variant
• Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Real Watercolor.
For more information about each of the Real Watercolor controls, see “Real
Watercolor Controls” on page 323.

Working with Watercolor Brushes
The Watercolor brush variants produce natural-looking watercolor effects. When
working with Watercolor brushes, the brushstrokes are applied to the Watercolor
layer. All Watercolor brush variants, except Wet Eraser, interact with the canvas
texture.
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Stylus pressure affects the width of the brushstroke for all Watercolor brush variants
except Wet Eraser. Increased pressure widens a brushstroke; less pressure narrows a
stroke.
If too many strokes are made within a short period, particularly with slow-drying
brushes, the application can become slower. In this situation, it is best to wait for the
drying process to finish before continuing.

Watercolor Dab Types
For more information about Watercolor Dab Types, see “General Controls: Dab Types”
on page 264.

Water Controls
When you select a Watercolor brush, you can adjust the Water controls which allow
you to specify various settings for the Watercolor brushes. For example, you can adjust
brush size, control diffusion, and determine how the paper texture will interact with
the brushstrokes. For more information, see “Water Controls” on page 310.

A watercolor stroke before (left) and after (right) diffusion.

To choose a Watercolor brush variant
1 In the toolbox, click the Brush tool .
2 Click the Brush Selector on the Brush Selector bar.
3 In the Brush Library panel, click the Watercolor brush category, and click a brush
variant.
To customize a Watercolor brush variant
• Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Water.
For more information about each of the Watercolor controls, see “Water Controls”
on page 310.

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Working with Digital Watercolor brushes
The Digital Watercolor brushes paint directly on both the Canvas layer or a default
layer so you can create effects similar to those of Watercolor brushes without using a
separate layer.

You can use Digital Watercolor brushes to create effects similar to those produced with
Watercolor brushes, without having to create a separate layer. Settings such as Diffusion,
Opacity, and Wet Fringe control the appearance of the stroke.

Digital Watercolor Diffusion
Digital Watercolor brushes also use diffusion to create soft, feathery edges on the
brushstrokes. You can adjust the amount of diffusion by using the controls on the
property bar.

Wet Fringe
The Wet Fringe slider controls the amount of water pooling and paint at the edges of
Digital Watercolor brushstrokes. You can adjust dynamically the wet fringe on any
Digital Watercolor brushstroke before you dry it. Dynamically adjusting the Wet
Fringe affects every wet Digital Watercolor brushstroke, which remains wet until you
dry it.
When you’re satisfied with the wet fringe, it’s a good idea to dry Digital Watercolor
brushstrokes. This allows you to dynamically adjust the Wet Fringe on future Digital
Watercolor brushstrokes without affecting existing brushstrokes that you’re satisfied
with.

To choose a Digital Watercolor brush variant
1 In the toolbox, click the Brush tool .
2 Click the Brush Selector on the Brush Selector bar.
3 In the Brush Library panel, click the Digital Watercolor brush category, and click a
brush variant.
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To adjust diffusion
1 With a Digital Watercolor brush variant selected, adjust the Diffusion pop-up
slider on the property bar.
Drag the slider to the right to increase diffusion, or to the left to decrease diffusion.
2 Apply one or more strokes with a Digital Watercolor variant.
If you would like to restrict the diffusion to a region, make a selection with any
selection tool. The diffusion effect will apply only within the selection.
The Diffusion slider is also accessible from the Digital Watercolor panel. You
can open the panel by choosing Window  Brush Control Panels  Digital
Watercolor.

To adjust wet fringe
1 Apply one or more strokes with a Digital Watercolor variant.
If you would like to restrict the diffusion to a region, make a selection with any
selection tool. The pooling effect will apply only within the selection.
2 On the property bar, adjust the Wet Fringe pop-up slider on the property bar.
Drag the slider to the right to increase pooling, or to the left to decrease pooling.
You can also adjust wet fringe before applying brushstrokes by adjusting the
Wet Fringe slider.
The Wet Fringe slider is also accessible from the Digital Watercolor panel in
the Brush Controls palette. You can open the panel by choosing Window 
Brush Control Panels  Digital Watercolor.

To dry Digital Watercolor brushstrokes
• Choose Layer  Dry Digital Watercolor.
After you dry a Digital Watercolor brushstroke, you can no longer adjust its
wet fringe.

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Liquid Ink
Liquid Ink brushes in Corel Painter create liquid paint effects that simulate traditional
ink-based media.
This section contains the following topics:
• Working with Liquid Ink brushes
• Adjusting Attributes of the Liquid Ink Layer
• Using Liquid Ink Controls

Working with Liquid Ink brushes
To work with Liquid Ink brushes, you need to create a Liquid Ink layer. Liquid Ink
layers are displayed in the Layers panel.

To create a new Liquid Ink layer
1 Choose Window  Layers to display the Layers panel.
If the Layers panel is not expanded, double-click the Layers panel tab.
2 In the Layers panel, click the Layers Options button , and choose New Liquid
Ink Layer.
When you apply a brushstroke to the document window using a Liquid Ink
brush, a Liquid Ink layer is automatically created.

To choose a Liquid Ink brush variant
1 In the toolbox, click the Brush tool

2 Click the Brush Selector on the Brush Selector bar.
3 In the Brush Library panel, click a the Liquid Ink brush category and click a brush
variant.
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Adjusting Attributes of the Liquid Ink Layer
You can experiment with the Liquid Ink layer settings to control the appearance of
depth and adjust the threshold of the edges of the ink.

To adjust Liquid Ink layer attributes
1 In the Layers panel, double-click the Liquid Ink layer you want to modify.
2 Click the Layers Options button , and choose Layer Options.
3 In the Liquid Ink Layer Attributes dialog box, perform a task from the following
table.
To

Do the following

Name the layer

Type a name in the Name box.

Adjust the position of the layer

Type values in the Top and Left boxes.

Add layer notes

Type layer information in the Notes box.

Increase or decrease the width of the
brushstroke

Adjust the Threshold slider.

Increase or decrease the height, or
three-dimensional appearance, of the
brushstroke

Adjust the Amount slider.

Using Liquid Ink Controls
You can adjust the Liquid Ink controls. For example, you can select Liquid Ink brush
type, size, smoothness, and stroke volume. For more information, see “Liquid Ink
Controls” on page 314.

Size
The Feature slider lets you determine the space between bristles. You can experiment
with the Feature slider and its effect on different Liquid Ink brushes; the higher the
setting, the farther apart the bristles appear. Lower settings produce more solid
strokes. With Liquid Ink brushes, the adhesion of the bristles minimizes the
appearance of individual bristles.

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The Feature slider and its effect on Liquid Ink brushstrokes.

Expression
You can use the Expression settings to vary Liquid Ink effects. For example, you can
vary the stroke volume by adjusting controllers such as Direction or Velocity. You can
also use the Pressure controller to create layered Liquid Ink strokes. For more
information, see “Expression Settings” on page 338.

Light pressure is used to apply overlapping strokes (left). Increased pressure produces a
heavier layering effect (right).

Lighting Effects
You can use the Surface Lighting controls to add light sources and change lighting
angles to give the appearance of height to a Liquid Ink brushstroke. Refer to “Using
Lighting” on page 513 for more information about applying lighting effects.

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By adjusting lighting angles and adding multiple light sources, you can add height to
Liquid Ink brushstrokes.

To customize a Liquid Ink brush variant
• Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Liquid Ink.
For more information about each of the Liquid Ink controls, see “Liquid Ink
Controls” on page 314.

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Impasto
Impasto is the classic technique of applying thick paint on a canvas to create depth. In
Corel Painter, impasto refers to the brush feature that allows brushes to paint with the
illusion of depth. You can use different brushes to simulate different types of traditional
art media, such as thick oil paint or chalk with texture.
This section contains the following topics:
• Getting Started with Impasto
• Adjusting Surface Lighting

Getting Started with Impasto
To create an impasto effect, you need to choose the Impasto brush category and an
Impasto brush variant. Impasto brushstrokes appear textured and three-dimensional.
You can alter the appearance of impasto brushstrokes by using depth and lighting
controls.
In Corel Painter, you can transform most brush variants into custom impasto brushes
from the Brush Controls palette.

With Impasto, you can create wonderfully textured paintings.

Displaying Impasto
When you use an Impasto brush, you accumulate depth information as you paint.
However, you need to display the impasto information to view it.

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The Canvas layer holds the depth information for the entire image, including any
additional layers. When you display the impasto information, it also shows how the
Impasto Lighting affects your strokes.

To activate or deactivate the Impasto view
1 Choose Window  Navigator.
2 In the Navigator panel, click the Open Navigator Settings button , and choose
Show Impasto.
If you want to deactivate the Impasto view, click the Open Navigator Settings
button
in the Navigator panel, and choose Hide Impasto.
You can also activate the Impasto view by choosing Canvas  Surface
Lighting, and enabling the Enable Impasto check box.

To clear the Impasto information
• Choose Canvas  Clear Impasto.

Creating an Impasto Effect
You can apply a variety of Impasto brushstrokes by using an Impasto brush variant.
These brushes simulate different types of depth effects achieved with traditional art
media, such as thick oil paint. You control the Impasto effect by changing the paint
thickness, or depth. For more information, see “Impasto Controls” on page 306.
You can control the appearance of depth by using the Amount, Picture, Shine, and
Reflection settings in the Surface Lighting dialog box. At any time, you can change
these settings to produce different texture effects:
• The Amount setting affects the thickness of the Impasto. It does not affect
individual brushstrokes, nor does it affect other Impasto strokes.

You can control the appearance of depth in Impasto by adjusting the Amount slider.

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• The Picture setting controls how much color appears in the image. At its lowest
value, all color is washed out, leaving only the highlights.
• The Shine setting controls how much highlight appears on the surface of strokes.
Higher Shine values make the stroke look metallic.
• The Reflection setting maps a clone source image or pattern onto the texture at a
variable percentage. For more information, see “Working with Reflection Maps” on
page 526.
Adjustments affect all Impasto brushstrokes. To change the depth of individual
brushstrokes, you can vary stylus settings or build up media. Refer to “Controlling the
Depth Interaction of a Medium” on page 373 for more information.
You can also set how light sources shine on the Impasto brushstrokes, add or delete
lights, and change light color and position. Refer to “Adjusting Surface Lighting” on
page 377 for more information.
If you want to create your own custom brush variants, use the Brush Controls palette
to adjust brush properties. Refer to “Creating Custom Impasto Brushes” on page 371
for more information.

To create an Impasto effect
1 Choose Window  Navigator.
2 In the Navigator panel, click the Open Navigator Settings button , and choose
Show Impasto.
3 Click the Brush Selector on the Brush Selector bar.
4 In the Brush Library panel, click the Impasto brush category, and click an Impasto
brush variant.
5 Choose Canvas  Surface Lighting.
6 In the Surface Lighting dialog box, use the sliders to set attributes for
Appearance of Depth and Light Controls.
7 Paint on the canvas or layer.

Creating Custom Impasto Brushes
You can change most brush variants into Impasto brushes by using the Impasto brush
settings in the Brush Controls palette. The controls let you set drawing and depth
methods, the amount of depth applied, and the brush interaction. The Impasto
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settings act identically to other brush settings, in that they can be saved as part of a
brush variant or applied to any active brush. For more information on creating new
brush variants, see

Setting Drawing Method
All of the drawing methods affect the next strokes you make in the document.
Impasto has three drawing methods:
• The Draw to Color method applies color. You can set the color in the Color panel.
• The Draw to Depth method applies depth to the image.
• The Draw to Depth and Color method applies both color and depth to the image.

Setting Depth Method
The Depth Method lets you choose a control medium for applying depth.
Corel Painter uses the luminance (brightness) information in the control medium to
determine how much depth is applied within a stroke. Light areas of the medium
receive more depth; dark areas receive less. Black areas appear flat.
For example, when you use Paper as the Depth Method, the bright and dark areas of
the paper grain determine where grooves and bumps appear in the stroke.

This Impasto stroke is produced when Paper is used as the Depth Method.

You can choose from five depth methods:
• The Uniform method applies depth evenly. Strokes have little texture.
• The Erase method levels the depth layer. If you’ve created texture strokes that you
don’t like, you can use this setting to remove them.
Erase applies only to depth, not to color. With the Depth and Color drawing
method, the Erase method removes depth while applying color.
The amount of depth removed depends on the value of the Depth slider. If you
want to remove the entire Impasto stroke, set Depth to 0.

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• The Paper method uses the current paper method to control depth. You can choose
different papers and change their scale by using the Paper Selector in the toolbox.
For more information, see “Inverting and Scaling Paper Grain” on page 163.
• Original Luminance uses a clone source’s luminance to control depth. Refer to
“Using Clone Source Luminance to Create Texture” on page 522 for more
information.
• Weaving Luminance controls depth using the current Weave. You can choose
different weaves by using the Weaves Selector in the toolbox.

Inverting a Depth Method
You can invert the depth method by using the Invert option. When a method is
inverted, the negative of the source is used in the stroke. For example, using the Invert
option with Weave luminance switches the luminance values of the current weave so
that light areas of the weave become dark and vice versa. This change results in an
inverted texture within the Impasto brushstrokes.

Controlling the Depth Interaction of a Medium
When you use a depth method, you paint with a new medium that has texture and
builds up depth as you layer brushstrokes.
The Impasto sliders let you set how much depth is applied with a stroke, the amount
of texture applied within a stroke, and how each stroke interacts with other Impasto
brushstrokes.
• The Depth slider controls the depth of individual strokes. Higher values produce
strokes that have deeper grooves.
• The Smoothing slider controls the transition of the texture applied to a stroke.
• The Plow slider controls how much a stroke interacts with other Impasto
brushstrokes.
When a stroke with a high Plow value encounters another Impasto stroke, it
displaces the depth of the existing stroke. In essence, your brushstroke “plows”
through existing strokes.
By adjusting the Plow slider, you can produce incredibly realistic effects.

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The effects of high (left) and low (right) Plow settings.

• The Negative Depth option changes the direction of depth. When Negative Depth
is enabled, the brush digs valleys instead of raising ridges.

Normally, Impasto raises ridges and bumps. The Negative Depth option forces Impasto to
excavate instead.

To create an Impasto brush variant
1 Choose the Brush tool
from the toolbox.
2 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Impasto.
3 Choose a drawing method from the Draw To list box.
4 Choose an application method from the Depth Method list box.
5 Adjust the Depth slider to set how much depth the brush applies.
6 Adjust the Smoothing slider to set the transitions in the texture.
Higher Smoothing values produce less textured strokes.
7 Adjust the Plow slider to control how much a depth stroke displaces other strokes
that it intersects.
You can create Impasto brush variants using only dab-based dab types, such
as Circular, Static Bristle, and Computed Circular.
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Varying Input to Control Depth
In addition to the Impasto controls, you can also use the Depth slider in the Brush
Controls palette (Impasto panel) to add more complexity to your strokes. The Depth
slider can alter the flow of depth as you paint. By using one of the nine input
controllers, you can control the flow of depth based on pressure, velocity, or bearing.
For more information, see “Impasto Controls” on page 306.

To use the Depth brush feature
1 Choose the Brush tool
from the toolbox.
2 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Impasto.
3 Choose Depth from the Draw To list box.
4 Choose a depth method from the Depth Method list box.
5 Adjust the Depth slider, and choose an expression from the Expression list box.
For a realistic effect, try varying Depth inversely with Pressure. Set the
Expression list box to Pressure, and enable the Invert option. This lets you
apply paint more thickly when you press lightly, but more thinly when you
press firmly, just as if you were using real paint.

Blending Impasto with Other Layers
You can control how Corel Painter blends Impasto brushstrokes with images on other
layers by selecting a composite depth method in the Layers panel.
The Composite Depth menu provides the following methods for combining Impasto
brushstrokes:
• The Add method, which is the default composite depth method, combines depth
information between layers. Brushstrokes on different layers build up where they
overlap. If the composite depth method is set to Add and you paint with an
Impasto brush variant on a layer, the composite depth setting does not change.

An example of the Add composite depth method.

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375

• The Subtract method removes depth information between layers. Impasto
brushstrokes on top layers create grooves in the image data beneath them. If the
composite depth method is set to Subtract and you paint with an Impasto brush
variant on a layer, the composite depth method does not change.

An example of the Subtract composite depth method.

• The Replace method uses layer masks to replace the depth information from lower
layers with information from top layers. Wherever strokes overlap, only the top
strokes are visible; the lower strokes are completely covered. If the composite depth
method is set to Replace and you paint with an Impasto brush variant on a layer,
the composite depth method does not change.

An example of the Replace composite depth method.

• The Ignore method prevents impasto brushstrokes from interacting with image
data on different layers. With the Ignore method active, the display of depth for
the layer is turned off, even when the View Depth icon on the document window is
active. This makes it possible to disable display of depth for individual layers. If the
composite depth method is set to Ignore and you paint with an Impasto brush
variant on a layer, the method changes back to Add.
You can set a different composite depth method for every layer in a document. Refer to
“Blending Layers by Using Composite Methods” on page 477 for more information.

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Adjusting Surface Lighting
Lighting can be a big part of the overall depth effect that Impasto creates. Just as the
right lighting can bring out the deep-textured look of a stroke, the wrong lighting can
wash out the effect altogether. The Surface Lighting controls let you set up the
position and attributes of light sources that shine on your Impasto brushstrokes. These
controls are global — they affect all the Impasto brushstrokes on all layers.

Setting Light Position
The lighting sphere shows all of the possible surface angles and how the lights
illuminate them. The light indicators on the sphere show the current positions of all of
the light sources.
The Display slider beneath the sphere controls the brightness of the sphere, so that it’s
easier to see light positions. It does not affect the lights themselves. The Show Light
Icons check box lets you show or hide the light indicators on the sphere.

The lighting sphere with a light indicator.

To change a light’s angle
1 Choose Canvas  Surface Lighting.
2 In the Surface Lighting dialog box, drag a light indicator on the sphere.

Adding and Deleting Lights
You can add as many light sources as your system’s memory allows. Remember, each
light interacts with all the Impasto brushstrokes, so be careful not to set up colored
lights that clash with the colors in your composition or light sources that create
unwanted shadows.

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To add a light
1 Choose Canvas  Surface Lighting.
2 In the Surface Lighting dialog box, click on the lighting sphere. A new light
indicator (small circle) appears where you click.
To delete a light
• In the Surface Lighting dialog box, click on a light indicator and press Delete.

Setting Light Properties
The three Light Controls sliders let you set the intensity and brightness of a light
source.
• The Brightness slider indicates how much light the light source contributes to the
overall lighting color.
• The Conc (concentration) slider adjusts the spread of the light over the surface.
• The Exposure slider globally adjusts the overall lighting amount from darkest to
brightest.
You can also change a light’s color by using the Light Color control. You can have
multiple colored lights interact with the depth to produce different textural effects.

The image above uses two different colored light sources.

To change light color
1 In the Surface Lighting dialog box, click a light indicator.
2 Click the Light Color icon.
3 Choose a color from the Color dialog box.

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Image Cloning and Sampling
Corel Painter includes powerful image cloning tools to help you transform an existing
image, such as a photograph, into a work of art. You can also use image sampling tools
and techniques to sample a portion of an image so you can use it elsewhere.
This section contains the following topics:
• Cloning Images
• Using Quick Clone
• Working with Multiple Clone Sources
• Painting in the Clone
• Using Brush Loading
• Performing Offset Sampling
• Applying Transformations When Sampling
• Using Selections and Transformations When Sampling
• Filling an Area With a Sampled Image

Cloning Images
Corel Painter lets you clone an image to create a work of art. In other words, you can
use cloning techniques to give your digital photographs a second life.
This section explains the manual process of cloning an image. The manual process
involves choosing the image, creating the clone, and then setting up the workspace to
start painting in the clone. However, if you prefer, you can choose an image and let
Corel Painter automatically set up the workspace for painting in the clone. For
information, see “Using Quick Clone” on page 384.

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Setting up the clone
To begin the cloning process, you need to select the image that you want to clone.
Corel Painter then duplicates the source image and embeds the image as a clone source
in the clone document. The clone document appears in a new document window, and
the clone source is displayed in the Clone Source panel.
The clone source is best described as a snapshot of a selected image at a given time.
Once the clone is created and the clone source is embedded, the relationship with the
source image is broken. Therefore, if you make changes to the source image, the
changes are not reflected in the clone source. The source image that you used as the
clone source remains open in a document window, but it’s only for you to use as a
reference. You can modify the source file, but if you want the changes to be reflected in
the clone, you will need to update the clone source.

A snapshot of the source image (left) is embedded as a clone source in the clone document
(right).

Once the initial clone is created, you can add additional clone sources to the clone
document, which allows you to clone colors from different sources. For more
information, see “Working with Multiple Clone Sources” on page 385.
When the clone document opens in the document window, you need to clear the
canvas to begin painting in the clone by using the painterly technique of your choice.
For more information, see “Painting in the Clone” on page 386.

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Cloning with tracing paper
Before you begin painting in the clone, you can also enable tracing paper. Tracing
paper displays a faded-out version of the source image beneath the clone document,
which lets you precisely apply clone colors to the canvas.
Unlike traditional tracing paper, the Corel Painter tracing paper is a viewing mode
that you can use as a reference for painting or tracing images. It’s not a real object,
such as a layer or a document. This viewing mode provides a faded-out version of the
source image in the document window, as if it were displayed on top of a light box.
When you apply media to the image with tracing paper enabled, the media is applied
to the clone document, not the tracing paper.

The clone with the tracing paper turned on (right) allows you to see a faded-out image of
the clone source image (left).

When the tracing paper is turned on, not all image details are clearly visible. To keep
track of the changes, you may want to toggle between enabling and disabling the
tracing paper. You can also control the opacity of the tracing paper.

Outlining with tracing paper
In addition to painting in a clone, you can use a clone with tracing paper enabled to
outline an image. You can then use the outline as a starting point for a painting.

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Use the Tracing Paper feature to view the image source for outlining (left). When you turn
Tracing Paper off, you can see the outline (right).

To clone an image
1 Open the image that you want to clone.
2 Choose File  Clone.
The clone is displayed in its own document window.
If you want to paint in the clone colors on a blank canvas, you can clear the clone
document by choosing Select  All, and then choosing Edit  Clear.
3 Apply brushstrokes to the canvas by using a cloner brush, or choose any brush and
set it to clone color.
If you want to open the Clone Source panel, choose Window  Clone Source.
When you create a clone, the source file is automatically embedded in the
clone document. Consequently, if you make changes to the source image, the
changes are not reflected in the clone. If you want to use the most up-to-date
version of the image, you need to add it as a new clone source and then delete
the older version. For more information, see “To update a clone source” on
page 383.
If a source image has layers, cloning creates a fully composited copy — that is,
all layers in the image are dropped automatically. This aspect of cloning lets
you flatten an image for faster printing.

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If you select a Cloner brush and switch to offset sampling while cloning an
image, the Offset Sampling check box is automatically enabled in the Clone
Source Panel. It is also important to note the the sampling reference point is
not treated as a clone source and does not display in the Clone Source panel.
For more information, see “Performing Offset Sampling” on page 390.

To enable tracing paper
1 Choose Window  Clone Source.
2 In the Clone Source panel, click the Toggle Tracing Paper button .
To use a keyboard shortcut, press Command + T (Mac OS) or Ctrl+ T
(Windows).
A faint rendering of the source image is displayed through the tracing paper.
3 Do one of the following:
• Apply brushstrokes to the canvas by using a clone tool or brush variant set to
clone color.
• Outline the image using, for example, a Pencil brush variant.
You can also
Change the opacity of tracing paper

In the Clone Source panel, adjust the Set
Tracing Paper Opacity slider.

To disable the tracing paper

In the Clone Source panel, click the Toggle
Tracing Paper button.

You can also enable tracing paper from the Navigator panel by clicking the
Open Navigator Settings button
and choosing Tracing Paper.

To update a clone source
1 Choose Window  Clone Source Panel.
2 In the Clone Source panel, click the Open Image button , and choose the
original clone source image from the list.
3 In the Clone Source panel, choose the older version of the clone source from the list.
4 Click the Delete button .

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Using Quick Clone
You can use Quick Clone to automatically set up everything you need to clone an
image. When you use Quick Clone, it automatically:
• creates the clone document
• embeds the clone source
• closes the source image
• clears the canvas
• enables tracing paper
• selects a cloner brush
You can also change the Quick Clone preferences, which lets you customize the cloning
process. For example, you can choose to always use the last selected cloner brush
variant or leave the source image open.

To clone an image using Quick Clone
1 Open the image that you want to clone.
2 Choose File  Quick Clone.
3 Apply brushstrokes to the canvas by using the selected cloner brush.
If you enabled the Switch to Cloner Brushes check box in the Preferences dialog
box, the last Cloner brush that you used is automatically selected.
To customize Quick Clone behavior
1 Do one of the following:
• (Mac OS) Choose Corel Painter 12  Preferences  Quick Clone.
• (Windows) Choose Edit  Preferences  Quick Clone.
2 Perform a task from the following table.
To

Do the following

Close the image that was used as the clone
source

Enable the Close Source Image check box.

Open the Clone Source panel automatically

Enable the Open Clone Source panel check
box.

Start painting in the clone colors on a clear
canvas

Enable the Clear Canvas check box.

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Do the following

Activate tracing paper

Enable the Turn On Tracing Paper check
box.

Activate the last Cloner brush variant

Enable the Switch To Cloner Brushes check
box.

Use the current brush variant to clone the
underlying color

Enable the Clone Color check box.
To enable the Clone Color check box, you
must disable the Switch to Cloner Brushes
check box.

Working with Multiple Clone Sources
Corel Painter lets you add multiple clone sources to a clone document, which lets you
borrow elements from multiple images and combine them in the clone. You can use
any open document as a clone source if you add it as a clone source using the Clone
Source panel. In addition, the Clone Source panel lets you quickly switch between
clone sources.
2

1
4

The starfish (1) and beach (2) images were set as clone sources. They were then merged
into the clone image (3). Both clone sources display in the Clone Source panel (4).

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To add a clone source to a clone document
1 Open the clone image to which you want to add a clone source.
2 Choose Window  Clone Source.
3 In the Clone Source panel, click the Open Image button , and choose Open
Image.
4 Locate the image that you want to add as a clone source.
5 Click Open.
The clone source is added to the Clone Source panel, and it’s also embedded in the
document.
If you want to add additional clone sources, repeat steps 3 to 5.
To work with multiple clone sources
1 Choose Window  Clone Source.
2 In the Clone Source panel, choose a clone source from the clone source list.
3 Apply brushstrokes to the canvas.
To work with a different clone source, choose the clone source from the clone source
list.

Painting in the Clone
After creating a clone, you can choose which brush you want to use to apply cloned
colors to the canvas.

Cloners
Painting with a cloner brush is a great way to obtain an artistic rendering from
photographic source material. You can choose the Cloner tool, which automatically
enables the brush variants in the Cloners brush category. Some cloner brush variants,
such as the Straight Cloner, reproduce a source image directly, but most variants let
you reproduce a source image with media effects, such as paper grain and specialized
dabs.

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The Oil Brush Cloner is just one of many cloner brush variants.

Cloning method brush variants
You can also expand Corel Painter’s cloning capabilities by turning almost any brush
variant into a cloner. Using a cloning-method brush variant is the most common way
to develop an image in a clone destination. The variant re-creates the source image
while it effectively “filters” it, which allows you to reproduce an artistic rendering of
the image in the clone document.

Cloning allows you to “filter” source images to create an artistic rendering of the image.

You can create new cloner brushes or refine existing cloner brush variants by using the
brush controls. For more information about customizing brushes, refer to
Brushes that use buildup methods, like pencils and felt pens, build toward black. If
you clone with one of these brushes in a dark area of your image, you may not achieve
the desired results. You can use the Opacity pop-up slider on the property bar to
control how rapidly these brushes build up to black. You can also choose chalk or one
of the other tools that cover underlying colors.
Because the cloning methods use a full set of pixels from the original document for
each brush dab, you get a truer copy of the original than you might by using the Clone
Color button. Unlike the Clone Color option, the cloning methods preserve the
original image texture in the clone. Cloning methods are good to use when you want
to precisely re-create portions of a source image.
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Auto cloning
Using a cloner brush can take a long time if you’re working on a large area. To work
more quickly, you can have Corel Painter make brushstrokes for you, using the Auto
Clone feature. For more information, see “Using Auto Clone” on page 550. You can
also have Corel Painter place directional brushstrokes to produce a Van Gogh–like
rendition of a cloned image. For more information, see “Using Auto Van Gogh” on
page 552.

Additional clone painting techniques
The following table describes different techniques for painting a clone:
To

For information, see

Create a mosaic or tessellation by using a
source image

“Creating a Mosaic Effect” on page 624

Add three-dimensional effects by applying
surface texture

“Using 3D Brushstrokes to Create Texture”
on page 519

Create a selection or channel

“Selections and Transformations” on
page 407 and “Alpha Channels” on page 435

To choose a cloner brush
1 With a clone source selected, click the Cloner tool
in the toolbox.
The Cloners brush category and a cloners brush variant are automatically selected.
If you want to change the brush variant, click the Brush Selector, and then click a
different Cloners brush variant in the Brush Library panel.
2 On the property bar, adjust any of the brush properties, such as size, opacity, and
resat.
3 Apply brushstrokes to the canvas.
For increased color accuracy, you can enable the Brush Loading option. For
more information, see “Using Brush Loading” on page 390.

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To transform a brush variant into a cloner brush
1 With a clone source selected, click the Brush tool
in the toolbox.
2 Click the Brush Selector on the Brush Selector bar.
3 In the Brush Library panel, click a brush category and brush variant.
4 Click the Clone Color button
in the Color panel.
Enabling the Clone Color option disables the Color panel. This is a reminder that
the color information is pulled from the clone source.
5 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  General.
6 In the General panel, choose Cloning from the Method list box.
7 From the Subcategory list box, choose one of the following options:
• Hard Cover Cloning — results in partially anti-aliased brushstrokes that hide
underlying strokes
• Soft Cover Cloning — produces anti-aliased brushstrokes that cover layered
ones
• Grainy Hard Cover Cloning — works like Hard Cover Cloning, but
brushstrokes also interact with paper grain
• Grainy Soft Cover Cloning — works like Soft Cover Cloning, but brushstrokes
also interact with paper grain
• Drip Cloning — pushes color around as if it were wet, cloning the original with
distortions based on your stroke
8 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Cloning.
9 In the Cloning panel, choose Normal from the Clone Type list box.
The additional cloning types allow you to apply transformation to the clone. For
more information, see “Applying Transformations When Sampling” on page 393.
10 Apply brushstrokes to the canvas.
If you change brushes while cloning images, you must click the Clone Color
button again.
If you change the brush or variant, the clone color is automatically disabled.
To continue working with the clone color, re-enable the clone color.
For more information about methods and subcategories, see “General
Controls: Methods and Subcategories” on page 269.

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Using Brush Loading
For greater color accuracy while cloning, you can use the Brush Loading option. This
causes the brush to pick up individual colors in different regions of the brush dab.
Without Brush Loading, the Clone Color option uses a single, averaged color from the
source for each brush dab. This results in an approximation of the original. You can use
the Clone Color button without Brush Loading to create an artistic impression of the
source.

To enable the Brush Loading option
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Well.
2 In the Well panel, enable the Brush Loading check box.

Performing Offset Sampling
Offset sampling, also known as “point-to-point cloning,” lets you sample an area of an
image and then reuse it elsewhere within the document, or in separate document.
Sampling is a useful technique for retouching photographs.
To perform offset sampling, you must set a sampling reference point and then set
destination reference points. Sampling reference points specify the area of the
document that you want to reuse, or clone. Destination reference points determine the
area where you want the sampled image to appear. To identify which area of the source
document you are sampling, you can turn the crosshairs cursor on.

The green dot (left) represents the sampling reference point. The red dot (right) represents
the destination point.

It is important to note that the sampling reference point, also know as the source, is
not treated as a clone source. The sampled area does not display in the Clone Source
panel.
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To perform offset sampling within a document
1 Click the Rubber Stamp tool
in the toolbox.
If you want to adjust the size of the sampled area, type a value in the Size box, or
adjust the slider on the property bar.
2 Hold down Option (Mac OS) or Alt (Windows), and click to set the source
reference point.
A green marker appears on the image, indicating the reference point for the source
image.
3 Hold down Option + Shift (Mac OS) or Alt + Shift (Windows), and click to set
the destination reference point.
4 Apply brushstrokes to the destination area to reveal the sampled area.
You can disable offset sampling by clicking the Clone Color button in the Color
panel or by clicking the Brush Selector on the Brush Selector bar, and choosing a
non-Cloner brush variant.
You can also
Adjust the clone color opacity

On the property bar, type a percentage in
the Opacity box, or adjust the slider.

Adjust the randomized jitter of the
brushstroke

On the property bar, type a value in the
Jitter box, or adjust the slider.

You can also enable offset sampling by clicking the Cloner tool
toolbox.

in the

You can set the destination area before painting by clicking while holding
down Option + Shift (Mac OS) or Alt + Shift (Windows). A red marker
indicates the destination area.

To perform offset sampling between documents
1 Open both the image that you want to use as the sampling source and the image
that you want to use as the destination.
If you want to view both images at once, you may want to arrange the images sideby-side.
2 With the source image selected, click the Cloner tool
in the toolbox.

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If you want to change the brush variant, click the Brush Selector, and click a
Cloners brush variant in the Brush Library panel.
3 Hold down Option (Mac OS) or Alt (Windows), and click the source document to
set the sample source area reference point.
A green numbered marker appears on the image to indicate the reference point for
the source area.
4 Hold down Option + Shift (Mac OS) or Alt + Shift (Windows), and click the
destination document to set the destination reference point.
5 In destination document, apply brushstrokes to the canvas.
You can disable offset sampling by clicking the Clone Color button in the Color
panel or by clicking the Brush Selector on the Brush Selector bar, and choosing a
non-Cloner brush variant.
You can also
Adjust the size of the brushstroke

Type a value in the Size box, or adjust the
slider on the property bar.

Adjust the clone color opacity

On the property bar, type a percentage in
the Opacity box, or adjust the slider.

Control the amount of color that is
replenished in a stroke

On the property bar, type a percentage in
the Resat box, or adjust the slider.

Control how much the brush colors smear
underlying colors, including the paper color

On the property bar, type a percentage in
the Bleed box, or adjust the slider.

Adjust bristle separation

On the property bar, type a value in the
Feature box, or adjust the slider. The higher
the setting, the farther apart the bristle hairs
will appear.

Scale the brushstroke proportionally with
the brush size

Click the Scale Feature With Brush Size
button
on the property bar.

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To change to the crosshair cursor for sampling
1 Do one of the following:
• (Mac OS) Choose Corel Painter 12  Preferences  General.
• (Windows) Choose Edit  Preferences  General.
2 In the Preferences dialog box, enable the Display Crosshairs To Identify Rubber
Stamp Sampling Source option.
The crosshairs indicate which area of the original image you’re sampling as you
paint.

Applying Transformations When Sampling
Corel Painter allows you to sample part of an image and apply a transformation to the
sample when you reuse it elsewhere. This technique is also referred to as multi-point
cloning. You can apply transformations such as, scaling, rotating, shearing (also
referred to as skewing), or you can apply perspective.

Multi-point sampling brush variants
To apply transformations when sampling, you can select a multi-point cloning brush
variant from the Cloners brush category or you can use any brush variant that supports
the cloning method. For more information, see “To transform a brush variant into a
cloner brush” on page 389.
The following table describes the available multi-point sampling brush variants.
Multi-point Cloners brush variant

Example

Rotate, Scale 2P lets you turn the sampled
area around its center of rotation and size it
to a percentage of its original size. Rotate,
Scale 2P uses two reference points.

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Multi-point Cloners brush variant

Example

Scale 2P lets you size the sampled area to a
percentage of its original size. Scale 2P uses
two reference points.

Rotate 2P lets you turn the sampled area
around its center of rotation. Rotate 2P uses
two reference points.

Rotate, Mirror 2P lets you turn the sampled
area around its center of rotation while
creating a horizontal or vertical mirror image
of the clone source. Rotate, Mirror 2P uses
two reference points.

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Multi-point Cloners brush variant

Example

Rotate, Scale, Shear 3P lets you turn the
sampled area around its center of rotation,
while sizing it to a percentage of its original
size, and skewing its appearance. Rotate,
Scale, Shear 3P uses three reference points.

Bilinear 4P lets you stretch, or warp, the
sampled area disproportionately. You can
also tile the clone source. Bilinear 4P uses
four reference points.

Perspective 4P lets you give the sampled area
the appearance of depth. Perspective Tiling
4P also lets you tile the sampled area.
Perspective 4P uses four reference points.

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Reference points
After selecting a brush variant, you need to set the sample and destination reference
points in the image. The number of reference points depends on the type of
transformation that you choose. The reference points allow you to identify the sample
area, position the destination, and control the transformation. After the points are set,
you can then apply brushstrokes to the destination area to gradually reveal the
transformed sample. You can insert source points in one document and destination
points in another, or you can insert both sets of points in the same document.

Sample source (left) and destination (right) reference points are set for Perspective cloning.

Tiling
Tiling allows you to fill a space by repeating a small sampled image. The 4-Point
Tiling option is available for Bilinear or Perspective cloning only.
The four sample reference points define the sampled area, which is temporarily
converted into a pattern tile. In the clone destination, the tile is warped according to
the relative positions of the source and destination reference points and repeated as
necessary to cover the area. If you want to save the sampled area for future use, you can
capture it as a pattern. For more information, see “Creating and Editing Patterns” on
page 202.

With 4-Point Tiling, the source image is repeated.

Tiling is particularly useful when you want to fill an area with the sample source. For
more information, see “Filling an Area With a Sampled Image” on page 404.
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To scale the sample source
1 Click the Cloner tool
in the toolbox.
2 Click the Brush Selector on the Brush Selector bar.
3 In the Brush Library panel, click the XScale 2P brush variant.
When you choose the XScale 2P brush variant, the Scale (2) clone type is
automatically selected in the Cloning panel.
4 Hold down Option (Mac OS) or Alt (Windows), click in the image to set the two
sample reference points.
5 Hold down Option + Shift (Mac OS) or Alt + Shift (Windows), and click to set
the two destination reference points.
The relative distance between the two destination points and the two source points
determines the amount of scaling that is applied to the sample. For example, if the
line length between the two destination points is longer than the line length
between the two source points, the sample is scaled up. Conversely, if the line
length between the two destination points is shorter than the line length between
the two source points, the sample is scaled down.
6 Apply brushstrokes to the destination area.
You can disable offset sampling by clicking the Clone Color button in the Color
panel or by clicking the Brush Selector on the Brush Selector bar, and choosing a
non-Cloner brush variant.
To achieve the best scaling results, set the sample reference points at the outer
edges of the object that you want to sample to better delineate its size. This
ensures that the object will be scaled proportionally.

To rotate the sample source
1 Click the Cloner tool
in the toolbox.
2 Click the Brush Selector on the Brush Selector bar.
3 In the Brush Library panel, click the XRotate 2P brush variant.
When you choose the XRotate 2P brush variant, the Rotate (2) clone type is
automatically selected in the Cloning panel.
4 Hold down Option (Mac OS) or Alt (Windows), and set the two sample reference
points.

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5 Hold down Option + Shift (Mac OS) or Alt + Shift (Windows), and click in the
image to set the two destination reference points.
The relative difference between the angle of the line of the two destination points
and the two sample reference points determines the angle of rotation of the sample.
If the line angle does not change, the position of the destination points relative to
the sample points also affects the rotation. For example, if you set the sample points
vertically from bottom to top, but then set the destination points at the same
vertical angle but from top to bottom, the sampled image will be flipped 180
degrees.
6 Apply brushstrokes to the destination area.
You can disable offset sampling by clicking the Clone Color button in the Color
panel or by clicking the Brush Selector on the Brush Selector bar, and choosing a
non-Cloner brush variant.
The line length does not affect the rotation.

To rotate and mirror the sample source
1 Click the Cloner tool
in the toolbox.
2 Click the Brush Selector on the Brush Selector bar.
3 In the Brush Library panel, click the XRotate, Mirror 2P brush variant.
When you choose the XRotate, Mirror 2P, the XRotate & Mirror (2) clone type is
automatically selected in the Cloning panel.
4 Hold down Option (Mac OS) or Alt (Windows), and click in the image to set the
two sample reference points.
5 Hold down Option + Shift (Mac OS) or Alt + Shift (Windows), and click to set
the two destination reference points.
The relative difference between the angle of the line of the two destination points
and the two sample points determines the angle of rotation of the mirrored clone
image.
If the line angle does not change, the position of the destination points relative to
the sample points also affects the rotation. For example, if you set the sample points
vertically from bottom to top, but then set the destination points at the same
vertical angle but from top to bottom, the sampled image will be flipped 180
degrees.

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If you want to mirror the sample, without any rotation, set both the sample and
destination points in the same position.
6 Apply brushstrokes to the destination area.
You can disable offset sampling by clicking the Clone Color button in the Color
panel or by clicking the Brush Selector on the Brush Selector bar, and choosing a
non-Cloner brush variant.

To rotate and scale the sample source
1 Click the Cloner tool
in the toolbox.
2 Click the Brush Selector on the Brush Selector bar.
3 In the Brush Library panel, click the XRotate, Scale 2P brush variant.
When you choose the XRotate, Scale 2P brush variant, the XRotate & Scale (2)
clone type is automatically selected in the Cloning panel.
4 Hold down Option (Mac OS) or Alt (Windows), and set the sample reference
points.
5 Hold down Option + Shift (Mac OS) or Alt + Shift (Windows), and set the two
destination reference points.
The relative distance between the two destination points and the two sample points
determines the amount of scaling that is applied to the sample. In addition, the
relative difference between of the angle of the line of the two destination points and
the two sample reference points determines the angle of rotation of the mirrored
sample image. In cases where the line angle does not change, the position of the
destination points relative to the sample points also affects the rotation.

Two destination reference points are set in preparation for Rotate & Scale sampling.

6 Apply brushstrokes to the destination area.
You can disable offset sampling by clicking the Clone Color button in the Color
panel or by clicking the Brush Selector on the Brush Selector bar, and choosing a
non-Cloner brush variant.

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399

To rotate, scale, and shear the sample source
1 Click the Cloner tool
in the toolbox.
2 Click the Brush Selector on the Brush Selector bar.
3 In the Brush Library panel, click the XRotate, Scale, Shear 3P brush variant.
When you choose the XRotate, Scale, Shear 3P brush variant, the XRotate, Scale,
Shear (3) clone type is automatically selected in the Cloning panel.
4 Hold down Option (Mac OS) or Alt (Windows), and click in the image to set the
three sample reference points.
5 Hold down Option + Shift (Mac OS) or Alt + Shift (Windows), and click in the
image to set the three destination reference points.
When all three points are inserted, a triangle is created. The length of the line
segments controls the scaling of the sample, the angling of the line segments
controls the rotation, and the degree of slanting controls the shearing, also referred
to as skewing.

Sample source–destination reference points are set for Rotate, Scale, & Shear.

To warp the sample source
1 Click the Cloner tool

in the toolbox.

2 Click the Brush Selector on the Brush Selector bar.
3 In the Brush Library panel, click the XBilenear 4P brush variant.
When you choose the XBilenear 4P brush variant, the XBilenear 4P clone type is
automatically selected in the Cloning panel.
4 Hold down Option (Mac OS) or Alt (Windows), and click to set the four sample
reference points.

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5 Hold down Option + Shift (Mac OS) or Alt + Shift (Windows), and click to set
the four destination reference points.
The relative positions of all four sample and destination points affects the warping
of the sample.
6 Apply brushstrokes to the destination area.
You can disable offset sampling by clicking the Clone Color button in the Color
panel or by clicking the Brush Selector on the Brush Selector bar, and choosing a
non-Cloner brush variant.
You can tile the sample by enabling the 4-Point Tiling check box in the
Cloning brush control panel.

To add perspective to the clone source
1 Click the Cloner tool
in the toolbox.
2 Click the Brush Selector on the Brush Selector bar.
3 In the Brush Library panel, click the XPerspective 4P brush variant.
If you want the clone to produce a tiling effect, click the XPerspective Tiling 4P
brush variant.
When you choose the XPerspective 4P brush variant, the XPerspective 4P clone
type is automatically selected in the Cloning panel.
4 Hold down Option (Mac OS) or Alt (Windows), and click in the image to set the
four sample reference points.
5 Hold down Option + Shift (Mac OS) or Alt + Shift (Windows), and click to set
the four destination reference points.
The relative position of the four sample and destination points controls the
perspective transformation. To achieve a simple perspective transformation, set the
four sample points to form a rectangle, and then set the four destination points to
form a trapeze.
6 Apply brushstrokes to the destination area.
You can disable offset sampling by clicking the Clone Color button in the Color
panel or by clicking the Brush Selector on the Brush Selector bar, and choosing a
non-Cloner brush variant.

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401

To move previously set reference points
1 Do one of the following:
• Hold down Option (Mac OS) or Alt (Windows) to display the sample points.
• Hold down Option + Shift (Mac OS) or Alt + Shift (Windows) to display the
destination points.
2 With the reference points displayed, drag a point to a new location.

Using Selections and Transformations When Sampling
You can use a selection when sampling an image area in two ways: by making
brushstrokes in the destination image obey the selection in the sample source image, or
by copying the active selection in the sample source region. These two options can be
used individually or together.
These selection options require a Cloning method. They do not work for brushes of
other methods that use the Clone Color button on the Color panel.

Use Obey Source Selection to paint in the area that corresponds to the source selection.

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Use Copy Source Selection to sample both the selection and the color.

To sample an area of an image by using a source selection
1 Choose a selection tool from the toolbox, and select the area of the image that you
want to sample.
If you want to closely outline the sample source area, choose the Lasso tool . For
information about setting up a selection, refer to “Creating Path-Based Selections”
on page 409.
2 Click the Cloner tool
in the toolbox.
3 Click the Brush Selector on the Brush Selector bar.
4 In the Brush Library panel, click the Cloners category, and click a brush variant.
5 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Cloning.
6 In the Cloning panel, enable the Clone Color check box.
7 Enable any of the following options:
• Obey Source Selection — respects the content of the active sample source
selection. When you paint in the destination, the brushstrokes are constrained
to a region that corresponds to the sample source selection. For sampling types
that apply a transformation, the selection is transformed.
• Copy Source Selection — copies the active selection in the source region. When
you paint in the destination, your brushstrokes sample the selection’s pixels as
well as the RGB pixels. For sampling types that apply a transformation, the
copied selection is transformed. Copy Source Selection is often used together
with Obey Source Selection.
8 Hold down Option (Mac OS) or Alt (Windows), and click to set the sample source
reference points.
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9 Hold down Option + Shift (Mac OS) or Alt + Shift (Windows), and click to set
the destination reference points.
The number of points depends on the brush variant that you chose.
10 Apply brushstrokes to the destination area.
You can disable offset sampling by clicking the Clone Color button in the Color
panel or by clicking the Brush Selector on the Brush Selector bar, and choosing a
non-Cloner brush variant.

This image uses Rotate & Scale sampling with both Obey Source Selection and Copy
Source Selection enabled.

Filling an Area With a Sampled Image
You can apply a transformed sample by filling, instead of using a brush. Filling allows
you to cover a large area evenly, without much effort. Filling is supported only when
you use perspective or bilinear sampling, with or without tiling.
To apply a transformed sample as a fill, you need to set both sample source and
destination reference points, as you would when applying a sample with a brush. For
information, see “Applying Transformations When Sampling” on page 393.
If you want to save the sample source reference area as a pattern for future use, you can
capture the pattern. For more information, see “Creating and Editing Patterns” on
page 202.

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To fill with a transformed source image
1 Click the Brush Selector on the Brush Selector bar.
2 In the Brush Library panel, click the Cloners category, and click a brush variant
that allows you to select four sample source and destination points:
• XPerspective 4P
• XPerspective Tiling 4P
• XBilenear 4P
3 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Cloning.
4 In the Cloning panel, enable the Clone Color check box.
5 Hold down Option (Mac OS) or Alt (Windows), and click to set the four sample
source reference points.
6 Hold down Option + Shift (Mac OS) or Alt + Shift (Windows), and click to set
the four destination reference points.
7 Click the Paint Bucket tool
from the toolbox.
8 Choose Source Image from the Fill list box on the property bar.
9 Click in the destination area to apply the fill.
You can disable offset sampling by clicking the Clone Color button in the Color
panel or by clicking the Brush Selector on the Brush Selector bar, and choosing a
non-Cloner brush variant.

The destination points determine where the transformation occurs.

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By using transformed clone information, the brick pattern becomes a steep wall.

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Selections and Transformations
Corel Painter includes various tools that let you mark off areas of the canvas for special
treatment. Marking off these areas is referred to as “making selections.” A selection
either designates an area that you want to change or protects an area that you don’t
want to change.
If you save selections as alpha channels, you can store the selections and later use
brushes and image effects to edit them. For more information, see “Alpha Channels” on
page 435.
You can use one selection but have multiple channels. This method of working is both
convenient and a powerful time-saving strategy. It’s easy to save selections and then
reactivate them later. You can also create a selection by adding, subtracting, or
intersecting multiple channels.
You can also transform selections by moving, rotating, scaling, skewing, and distorting
them.
This section contains the following topics:
• Creating and Saving Selections
• Viewing Selections
• Adjusting Selections
• Loading and Combining Selections
• Transforming Selections

Creating and Saving Selections
Corel Painter provides many tools and commands for creating selections in a
document. Whenever you create a selection, Corel Painter deactivates the previous
selection.
You can use selections for various purposes:
• To constrain brushstrokes to protect the area inside or outside the selection
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• To transform an area by moving, scaling, rotating, scaling, skewing, or distorting it
• To isolate an area of the canvas for applying an image effect, so the effect is applied
only to the selected area. You can also set different levels of protection within a
selection to create partial intensity of the effect.
• To choose the area of the canvas that you want to cut or copy
• To choose the area of the canvas that you want to move or copy to a new layer
• To apply a brushstroke along a selection border
You can also save a selection by creating a channel.
The method you use to create a selection determines its type. The two types of
selections are path-based and pixel-based.
• Path-based selections are defined by a closed path. They provide two levels of
selection: what is inside the path is selected, and what is outside the path is not
selected.
• Pixel-based selections are defined at the pixel level. These selections can be moved,
but not resized or rotated. However, pixel-based selections can be transformed into
path-based selections.
Pixel-based selections provide 256 levels of protection to the canvas. Each pixel in the
selection sets a level of protection for its corresponding color pixel in the RGB image.
Opaque areas of the selection provide 100% protection and prevent brushstrokes and
effects from marking the canvas. Clear areas of the selection provide no protection and
allow brushstrokes and effects to mark the canvas. Brushstrokes and effects are
partially applied to areas where the selection is shaded or semitransparent. As a result,
you can paint and apply effects with varying levels of intensity within a selection.
When you save a selection, it becomes a channel, which is pixel-based. When you load
a channel to a selection, the selection is always pixel-based. A pixel-based selection can
be converted to a path-based selection. For more information, see “To convert a pixelbased selection to a path-based selection” on page 411.
The method that you use to create a selection determines the selection type. Pathbased selections result from using the Rectangular Selection, Oval Selection, or Lasso
tool. Pixel-based selections result from converting shapes, using the Magic Wand tool,
or using the Auto Select or Color Select command.

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Creating Path-Based Selections
You can create path-based selections that are rectangular or oval. If you need more
flexibility, you can create freehand selections by using the Lasso tool or the Polygonal
Selection tool. The Lasso tool lets you create selections based on freehand segments.
The Polygonal Selection tool lets you select an area with more precision by clicking
different points on the image to anchor straight-line segments.
In addition, you can create path-based selections by converting shapes or pixel-based
selections. You can create a selection from the border, or outline, of the current pathbased selection. You can also select the entire canvas.
Converting a shape to create a path-based selection is useful if you need to select an
area that is identical to an existing shape or text.
You can also convert a pixel-based selection to a path-based selection to apply
transformations to it. However, when you convert a pixel-based selection, the modified
selection is reduced to having two levels of protection.

To make an oval or a circular selection
• Perform a task from the following table.
To select

Do the following

An oval area

Choose the Oval Selection tool
from the
toolbox. Drag in the document window to
select an area.

A circular area

Choose the Oval Selection tool
from the
toolbox. While dragging the selection in the
document window, hold down the Shift key.

To make a rectangular or square selection
• Perform a task from the following table.
To select

Do the following

A rectangular area

Choose the Rectangular Selection tool
from the toolbox. Drag in the document
window to select an area.

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To select

Do the following

A square area

Choose the Rectangular Selection tool
from the toolbox. While dragging the
selection in the document window, hold
down the Shift key.

To make a freehand selection
• Perform a task from the following table.
To

Do the following

Make a freehand selection

Choose the Lasso tool
from the toolbox.
Draw a freehand border around the area that
you want to select in the document window.

Make a freehand selection with straightedged segments

Choose the Polygonal Selection tool
from
the toolbox. Click where you want to set the
anchor points of the polygon selection, and
double-click to set the last anchor point.

If you draw an open path with the Lasso tool, the endpoints are connected
automatically with a straight line before the selection is created.
When using the Lasso tool or Polygonal Selection tool, you can switch from
one tool to another by pressing Option (Mac OS) or Alt (Windows).

To select the entire canvas
• Choose Select  All.
To convert a shape to a selection
1 Select the shape that you want to convert.
The shape must be closed.
2 Choose Shapes  Convert to Selection.
The outline of the shape creates the selection path. Everything within the outline is
fully selected.

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You can also convert the current selection to a shape. For more information,
see “To convert a selection to a shape” on page 651.

To convert a pixel-based selection to a path-based selection
1 Create a pixel-based selection.
For more information, see “Creating Pixel-Based Selections” on page 411.
2 Choose Select  Transform Selection.
Corel Painter generates paths from the outlines of the pixel-based selection. You
can now use the Transform tool
for transformations.

Creating Pixel-Based Selections
The Magic Wand tool lets you create pixel-based selections. Groups of pixels are
selected according to color. You can adjust settings to control the range of colors, and
you can choose to include only adjacent colors (colors) or only nonadjacent colors
(noncontiguous).
You can use the Auto Select command to create a pixel-based selection from your
choice of image characteristics. You can also create a noncontiguous pixel-based
selection based on a range of colors.

To select an area by using the Magic Wand tool
1 In the toolbox, click the Magic Wand tool

2 On the property bar, adjust any of the following settings:
• Tolerance controls the amount of variance allowed from the selected color.
Higher values create a larger range of colors.
• Anti-Alias creates intermediate selection values on the selection boundaries.
This setting gives soft edges to the selection.
• Contiguous creates a selection with contiguous pixels.
3 On the property bar, click one of the following buttons:
•
New Selection
•
Add to Selection
•
Subtract from Selection
4 In the document window, do one of the following:
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• Click to select the color in the middle of the range of colors that will be used for
the selection.
• Click and drag over an area to define the range of colors that will be used for the
selection.
It may take a moment for the selection to be calculated and loaded.
The default tolerance for selections is 32. This can be adjusted from 1 to 255.
If you add to the current selection, you add to the range of values that the
Magic Wand tool selects rather than create an additional selection with a
unique seed color.
If you want to restrict your selection to a rectangular area, press Option +
Shift (Mac OS) or Alt + Shift (Windows), and drag a bounding rectangle in
your image.
You can restore the default settings by clicking the Reset Tool button
the property bar.

Adding to a selection by using the Magic Wand tool.

To generate a selection by using the Auto Select command
1 Choose Select  Auto Select.
2 In the Auto Select dialog box, choose an image characteristic from the Using list
box.
• Paper — creates a selection by using the current paper texture

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• 3D Brush Strokes — creates a selection that is based on the difference between
the current image and the clone source. If no clone source is selected, the
current pattern is used. For information about clones, see “Image Cloning and
Sampling” on page 379.
• Original Selection — imports the selection from the clone source document.
You can use this feature to transfer a selection from another document. For best
results, the dimensions of the source and working document should match. You
must establish a clone source file, and create a selection in this file, for this
option to be valid. For information about clones, see “Image Cloning and
Sampling” on page 379.
• Image Luminance — creates a selection based on the light and dark areas of the
current image
• Original Luminance — produces a selection in the current document based on
the light and dark areas of the clone source. This option lets you import an
image into the selection. If no clone source is selected, the current pattern is
used.
• Current Color — creates a selection of pixels of the current main color. Before
using this option, you may want to use the Dropper tool to pick a color from
the image.
If you want to invert the selection, enable the Invert check box.

To generate a color-based selection
1 Choose Select  Color Select.
2 With the Color Select dialog box open, click in the document window to pick a
color.
3 Adjust the H Extents (hue), S Extents (saturation), and V Extents (value) sliders to
control the range of colors.
These sliders control the selected range. You can drag the limits of the range in
either direction.
4 Adjust the H Feather (hue), S Feather (saturation), and V Feather (value) sliders to
control the feathering at the edges of the color space extents.
Feathering helps soften the selection edge.
5 The Preview window shows the selected area as a red overlay on the image. Drag in
the Preview window to see other parts of the document.

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Creating Selections from Layers
You can create a selection from a layer, multiple layers, or layer group. You can also
add the transparency mask of a layer, or layer group, to a previous selection. You can
also subtract from a layer-based selection or intersect the transparency mask of a layer,
or layer group, with a previous selection. Intersecting lets you include only those parts
that are common to all selected layers. For more information about layers, see “Getting
Started with Layers” on page 448.

To create a selection from a layer
• With the Layers panel open, perform an action from the following table:
To

Do the following

Select the content of a layer

Choose Select  Select Layer Content.
You can also select the content of a layer
from the Layers panel, by holding down
Command (Mac) or Ctrl (Windows), and
clicking the title of the layer that you want
to select.

Select the content of a group of layers

Choose Select  Select Group Content.
You can also select the content of a layer
group from the Layers panel, by clicking the
group, and then holding down Command
(Mac) or Ctrl (Windows), and clicking the
title of the layer group that you want to
select.

Add the transparency mask of the layer or
layer group to the previous selection

In the Layers panel, hold down Shift +
Command (Mac) or Shift + Ctrl (Windows),
and click the titles of the layers that you
want to add.

Subtract the transparency mask of the layer
or layer group from the previous selection

In the Layers panel, hold down Option +
Command (Mac) or Alt + Ctrl (Windows),
and click the title of the layer that you want
to subtract.

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Do the following

Intersect the transparency mask of a layer or
layer group with the previous selection

In the Layers panel, hold down Shift +
Option + Command (Mac) or Shift +Alt +
Ctrl (Windows), and click the title of the
layer that you want to intersect.

Create a selection from a Dynamic, Shape, or
Text layer

In the Layers panel, click the Layer Options
button
, and choose Convert to Default
Layer.
Choose Select  Load Selection. In the Load
Selection dialog box, choose the
transparency of the selected layer from the
Load From list box, and enable the Replace
Selection option.

You can also create a selection from a layer by choosing Load Selection from
the Select menu. In the Load Selection dialog box, choose the transparency of
the selected layer from the Load From list box, and enable the Replace
Selection option.

Protecting an Area of the Canvas
The drawing mode determines whether the inside or outside of a selection is protected
when you paint.

To protect an area of the canvas
1 Choose Window  Navigator.
2 Click the Open Navigator Settings button , choose Drawing Mode, and then
choose one of the following options:
• Draw Anywhere — disables protection by the selection. Brushstrokes are
allowed anywhere on the canvas. The selection is active only for applying effects
and using the Cut or Copy command.
• Draw Outside — protects the area inside the selection
• Draw Inside — protects the area outside selection. This drawing mode is similar
to using a stencil in that only the selected region accepts brushstrokes.

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Saving Selections
Saving a selection generates a channel. Channels let you save selections for future use
and give you more editing control. When you save a selection, you can create a
channel, or modify or replace an existing channel. You can also add a selection to an
existing channel, subtract a selection from an existing channel, or intersect a selection
with an existing channel. For more information, see “Combining Selections by Using
Boolean Operations” on page 425.

To save a selection to a new channel
1 Create a selection.
2 Do one of the following:
• Choose Select  Save Selection.
• In the Channels panel, click the Save Selection as Channel button .
3 In the Save Selection dialog box, choose New from the Save To list box.
If you want to specify a name, type a name in the Name box.
If you do not specify a name, new the channel is named incrementally with
the previous channel: Alpha 1, Alpha 2, and so on.

To modify an existing channel
1 Create a selection.
2 Do one of the following:
• Choose Select  Save Selection.
• In the Channels panel, click the Save Selection as Channel button .
3 In the Save Selection dialog box, choose an existing channel from the Save To list
box.
4 In the Operation area, enable one of the following options:
• Replace Mask — replaces the channel with the saved selection
• Add to Mask — combines the current selection with the chosen channel
• Subtract from Mask — subtracts the current selection from the chosen channel
• Intersect with Mask — determines the intersection of the selection and the
chosen channel, and saves the intersection to the channel

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Viewing Selections
You can turn a selection on or off. You can also show or hide the selection marquee.
The marquee is the visible border of the selection.

Turning Selections On and Off
You can turn a selection off and reactivate it when you need it later.

To turn off a selection
• Choose Select  None.
You can also turn off a selection by clicking outside it with the Oval Selection
tool , the Rectangular Selection tool , or the Lasso tool .

To reactivate a selection
• Choose Select  Reselect.
This command is available only if you have turned off a selection.

Hiding and Showing the Marquee
You can control the display of the selection marquee.

To hide or show the selection marquee
• From the menu bar, choose one of the following:
• Select  Hide Marquee.
• Select  Show Marquee.
The drawing mode remains in effect even when the marquee is hidden.

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Adjusting Selections
Corel Painter lets you adjust selections in various ways. You can invert a selection,
which deselects the previously selected area and selects the previously unselected area.
You can also change the look of the edges of a selection by feathering, anti-aliasing,
stroking, or changing the borders. In addition, you can adjust the size of selections by
expanding and contracting the pixels. You can also add or subtract areas of the
selection.

Inverting Selections
Inverting a selection switches the selected and unselected areas. For example, in an
image of a boat on water, if you've created a precise selection of the boat, you can select
everything but the boat by inverting the selection.

The flower is selected (left). After inverting the selection, everything but the flower is
selected (right).

A pixel-based selection can have 256 values in it, like a grayscale image. An inverted
pixel-based selection is equivalent to the negative of a grayscale image. For example, a
pixel that has 80% luminance will have 20% luminance when inverted.

To invert a selection
1 In the toolbox, click the Selection Adjuster tool , and then click a selection.
2 From the menu bar, choose Select  Invert Selection.
For a unique effect, you can nudge the selection by a few pixels and choose the
command again. To nudge the selection, use the Selection Adjuster tool to
click the selection, and then press an arrow key on your keyboard a few times.
This technique works only when the selection is directly on the canvas, it does
not work if the selection is on a layer.
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Softening the Edges of Selections
You can soften the edges of a path-based selection by anti-aliasing or feathering. Antialiasing smooths the edges of a selection by modifying the color transition between the
pixels. Feathering, on the other hand, softens the edges by gradually increasing the
transparency of the pixels along the edge of the selection.

To apply anti-aliasing to a selection
1 Create a selection by using one of the selection tools.
2 On the property bar, click the Anti-Alias button .
To feather the edge of a selection
1 In the toolbox, click the Selection Adjuster tool , and then click a selection.
2 From the menu bar, choose Select  Feather.
3 In the Feather Selection dialog box, specify the number of pixels that you want to
feather.
When the selection marquee is shown, feathering may be difficult to see. It is
easier to see the effect of feathering if you save the selection to a channel and
view the channel. For more information, see “To view or hide a channel” on
page 440.

Stroking Selections
You can apply a stroke to a path-based selection. Corel Painter uses the current brush
variant, brush size, color, and paper texture to apply a stroke along the border of a
selection. Stroking selections is an excellent way to make brushstrokes follow specific
contours.
You can set the drawing mode to control whether brushstrokes are placed inside the
selection border, outside the selection border, or on both sides of the selection border.
For more information, see “Protecting an Area of the Canvas” on page 415.

To stroke a selection
1 Create a path-based selection.
2 In the toolbox, click the Brush tool
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3 Click the Brush Selector on the Brush Selector bar.
4 In the Brush Library panel, click a brush category, and click a brush variant.
5 Click a color in the Color panel.
6 On the property bar, type a value in the Size box, or adjust the pop-up slider.
7 Click the drawing mode icon in the lower-left corner of the document window, and
choose a drawing mode.
8 From the menu bar, choose Select  Stroke Selection, and repeat the command to
build strokes.
You can use different brushes while building strokes.
For a unique effect, you can nudge the selection by a few pixels and choose the
command again. To nudge the selection, use the Selection Adjuster tool to
click the selection, and then press an arrow key on your keyboard a few times.
This technique works only when the selection is directly on the canvas, it does
not work if the selection is on a layer.

Stroking a selection while using the Draw Anywhere drawing mode lets you apply strokes
to both sides of the selection border.

Modifying the Borders of Selections
The Select menu has several options for modifying the borders of path-based
selections. You can increase the border width. You can smooth a selection by removing
sharp edges, rounding corners, and straightening the outline path.

To modify the border of a selection
1 In the toolbox, click the Selection Adjuster tool

, and then click a selection.

2 From the menu bar, choose Select  Modify  Border.

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3 In the Border Selection dialog box, specify the number of pixels for the width of the
border.

Border selection with airbrush strokes applied.

To smooth a selection
1 In the toolbox, click the Selection Adjuster tool , and then click a selection.
2 From the menu bar, choose Select  Modify  Smooth.
3 Repeat the command from the previous step until the path is sufficiently smooth.

Selection before (left) and after (right) smoothing.

Expanding or Contracting Selections
You can expand or contract a selection by a set number of pixels. When you expand a
selection, it is expanded on all sides by the specified number of pixels. When you
contract a selection, it shrinks on all sides by the specified number of pixels.

To expand or contract a selection
To

Do the following

Expand a selection

Choose Select  Modify  Widen. In the
Widen Selection dialog box, specify the
number of pixels.

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Do the following

Contract a selection

Choose Select  Modify  Contract. In the
Contract Selection dialog box, specify the
number of pixels.

Adding to or Subtracting from Selections
You can adjust the size and shape of a selection by adding or subtracting selection
areas.

To add to a selection
1 Create a selection by using one of the selection tools.
2 On the property bar, click the Add to Selection button .
3 Select the area that you want to add.
If you are using the Oval Selection tool
or the Rectangular Selection tool ,
you can select a circular or square area by holding down Shift while dragging.
You can also add to a selection by holding down Shift and selecting the area
that you want to add. If you are using the Oval Selection tool or the
Rectangular Selection tool and you want to select a circular or square area,
you need to release Shift for a moment and then hold down Shift again while
dragging.
When making selections, you can use any combination of selection tools,
including the Magic Wand tool . If you combine pixel- and path-based
selections, the result is a pixel-based selection. For more information about
creating pixel-based selections with the Magic Wand tool, see “To select an
area by using the Magic Wand tool” on page 411.

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Adding to a path-based selection.

To subtract from a selection
1 Create a selection by using one of the selection tools.
2 On the property bar, click the Subtract from Selection button .
3 Select the area that you want to subtract.
If you are using the Oval Selection tool
or the Rectangular Selection tool ,
you can select a circular or square selection by holding down Shift while dragging.
You can also subtract from a selection by holding down Option (Mac OS) or
Alt (Windows) and selecting the area you want to subtract. If you are using
the Oval Selection tool or the Rectangular Selection tool and you want to
select a circular or square area, you need to hold down Option + Shift (Mac
OS) or Alt + Shift (Windows) while dragging.

Subtracting from a path-based selection.

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Loading and Combining Selections
When you save a selection, you create a channel, which you can later reuse as a
selection. Loading a selection reactivates a selection that was previously saved as a
channel. You can also load selections from the Selection Portfolio, a library of ready-touse selections. In addition, you can use Boolean operations to combine existing
selections with alpha channels.

Loading Selections
Loading a selection reactivates a selection that was saved as a channel. When you load
a selection, you can replace the current selection, add it to the current selection,
subtract it from the current selection, or intersect it with the current selection.
Loading a selection reactivates it on the canvas, where it controls your painting and
image effects. You can combine selections in powerful ways. For more information, see
“Combining Selections by Using Boolean Operations” on page 425.

To load a selection from a channel
1 Do one of the following:
• Choose Select  Load Selection.
• In the Channels panel, click the Load Channel as Selection button .
2 In the Load Selection dialog box, choose a channel from the Load From list box.
3 In the Operation area, enable one of the following options:
• Replace Selection — replaces the current selection with the chosen channel
• Add to Selection — adds the channel to the current selection
• Subtract from Selection — subtracts the channel from the current selection. In
other words, the channel is “cut away” from the selection.
• Intersect with Selection — determines the intersection of the channel and the
current selection. This intersection becomes the new selection.

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Using the Selection Portfolio
Corel Painter provides a library of sample selections in the Selection Portfolio. You can
use any of the selections in the portfolio. If you create a path-based selection that you
want to use again, you can store it in the portfolio. You can add your selections to the
sample library, or you can create your own library. For information about creating and
using your own libraries, see “Libraries” on page 32.

To store a selection in the portfolio
1 Create the path-based selection you want to store.
2 Choose Window  Media Library Panels  Portfolio.
3 In the toolbox, click the Selection Adjuster tool .
4 In the Selection Portfolio panel, click the Selection Portfolio options button
choose Add Image to Portfolio.
5 In the Save Selection dialog box, type a name for the selection.

, and

To use a selection from the portfolio
• Double-click a selection in the Selection Portfolio panel.
The selection replaces the previous selection and appears in its original position on
the canvas, provided that the document dimensions are the same.

Combining Selections by Using Boolean Operations
When you save selections, you can use Boolean operations (add, subtract, and
intersect) to combine the saved selection with an existing channel. Adding a selection
combines it with the existing channel. Subtracting a selection cuts it out of the existing
channel. When you intersect a selection, you include only those parts that are common
to the selection and the existing channel. For information about specifying Boolean
operations when saving selections, see “To modify an existing channel” on page 416.
You can also use Boolean operations to combine loaded selections, or channels, with
the current selection. Adding a channel combines it with the current selection.
Subtracting a channel cuts it out of the current selection. When you intersect a
channel, you include only those parts that are common to the current selection and the
loaded channel. For information about specifying Boolean operations when loading
selections, see “Loading Selections” on page 424.

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Using Boolean operations to load selections has many practical advantages. For
example, in the following set of owl images, the artist created and saved selections for
each area that she wanted to work with separately — the eyes, the beak, and the
outline. To show the selections clearly in these images, the selections were saved to
channels, reloaded, and displayed as red overlays. For information about displaying
channels as colored overlays, see “To view or hide a channel” on page 440. The stepby-step creation of a precise "face" selection that excludes the beak and eyes is shown in
the following.
The image

The eye and beak channels (saved selections)
are loaded and added. The combined
selection is saved to the “eyebeak” channel.

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The “outline” channel is loaded.

The “eyebeak” channel is loaded and
subtracted from the “outline” channel. The
resulting selection is saved to the “head”
channel.

A “face” selection is drawn roughly by using
the Lasso tool. The eyes, the beak, and a
portion of the background are included.

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The “head” channel (the outline with eyes
and beak subtracted) is loaded and
intersected with the rough “face” selection.
This step removes the eyes, beak, and
background portion. The resulting selection
is saved to the “face” channel.

Now, with a precise selection of the face, it’s easy to control brushstrokes and constrain
effects. You can also combine selections when you create them by adding to, or
subtracting from, the current selection. You can combine selections made with
different tools. For more information, see “To convert a pixel-based selection to a pathbased selection” on page 411 and “To add to a selection” on page 422.

Transforming Selections
Path-based selections support many transformations that pixel-based selections do not.
However, you can convert a pixel-based selection to a path-based selection to apply
transformations to it. When you convert a pixel-based selection, the protection of the
modified selection is reduced to two levels.
To determine whether a selection is pixel- or path-based, you can use the Selection
Adjuster tool. If the selection displays handles when the Selection Adjuster tool is
active, the selection is path-based. If the selection does not have handles, it is pixelbased. For more information about selection types, see “Creating and Saving
Selections” on page 407.

Setting the Reference Point for Transformations
When performing a transformation on a selection, you can choose the reference point
for the transformation. The reference point is located at the center of the selection by
default. However, you can move the reference point. The transformation is performed
around this point.

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To set the reference point for a transformation
1 For a selection made by using the Selection Adjuster tool , choose the Transform
tool
from the toolbox.
If the Transform tool is not displayed in the toolbox, click and hold the Layer
Adjuster tool
to open the flyout, and then choose the Transform tool.
2 Point to the center of the selection’s bounding box.
3 Drag the Reference Point to new location on the canvas.
You can place the Reference Point outside the selection.
You can reset the Reference Point to its default location by clicking the Reset
Reference Point button
on the property bar or choosing the Edit 
Transform  Reset Reference Point.

Moving Selections
You can move both path-based and pixel-based selections to a new location on the
canvas.

To move a selection
1 For a selection made by using the Selection Adjuster tool , choose the Transform
tool
from the toolbox.
If the Transform tool is not displayed in the toolbox, click and hold the Layer
Adjuster tool
to open the flyout, and then choose the Transform tool.
2 On the property bar, click the Move button

3 While staying within the bounding box, click the selection, and then drag it to a
new position on the canvas.
4 On the property bar, click the Commit Transformation button .
If you prefer, you can apply the transformation by pressing Enter.
You can move a pixel-based selection with the Transform tool; however, if a
portion of the selection moves off the canvas, it is subtracted from the
selection.

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To reposition a selection, use the Move tool, and drag the selection to a new position. A
rectangular marquee appears while you are dragging the selection.

Transforming a Duplicate
You can transform a copy of a selection or the contents of an active layer.

To transform a duplicate
1 Hold down Option (Mac) or Alt (Windows), and choose the Transform tool
from the toolbox.
If the Transform tool is not displayed in the toolbox, click and hold the Layer
Adjuster tool
to open the flyout, and then choose the Transform tool.
2 On the property bar, click a transformation mode.
The transformation is applied to copied content.
You can also transform a duplicate by clicking Command + Shift + Option
+ T (Mac) or CTRL + Shift + Alt + T (Windows).

Scaling and Rotating Path-Based Selections
You can scale or rotate path-based selections. Scaling lets you change the dimensions of
a selection. You can also scale an object proportionally by preserving its aspect ratio.

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To scale a selection
1 In the toolbox, click the Transform tool .
If the Transform tool is not displayed in the toolbox, click and hold the Layer
Adjuster tool
to open the flyout, then select the Transform tool.
2 On the property bar, click the Scale mode button .
3 Perform a task from the following table.
To

Do the following

Scale a selection in one dimension

Drag a side, top, or bottom handle. On the
property bar, click the Commit
Transformation button
.

Scale a selection in two dimensions

Drag a corner handle. On the property bar,
click the Commit Transformation button
.

Scale while maintaining the selection’s
shape, or “aspect ratio”

Hold down Shift while you drag a corner
handle. On the property bar, click the
Commit Transformation button
.

Scale around the reference point while
maintaining the selection’s shape, or “aspect
ratio”

Hold down Alt + Shift (Windows) or
Option + Shift (Mac), and drag a corner
handle. On the property bar, click the
Commit Transformation button
.

Scale around the reference point

Hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac),
and drag a corner handle. On the property
bar, click the Commit Transformation
button
.

Drag a side handle to scale horizontally.

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You can also scale a selection by choosing Edit  Transform  Scale, and
specifying the horizontal and vertical scale percentages in the dialog box.

To rotate a selection
1 In the toolbox, click the Transform tool .
If the Transform tool is not displayed in the toolbox, click and hold the Layer
Adjuster tool
to open the flyout, and then choose the Transform tool.
2 On the property bar, click the Rotate button .
3 Move the pointer outside the border of the selection’s bounding box.
4 Drag a corner handle.
If you want to constrain the rotation by 15-degree increments, hold down Shift
while dragging.
5 On the property bar, click the Commit Transformation button

You can also Rotate a selection by choosing Edit  Transform  Rotate, and
specifying the rotation angle in degrees in the dialog box. A positive number
rotates clockwise; a negative number rotates counterclockwise.

Rotating a selection.

Skewing and Distorting Path-Based Selections
You can skew and distort path-based selections. Skewing slants the vertical and
horizontal dimensions of a selection non-proportionally. Distorting a selection lets you
move the sides or corners of a selection in different directions. For example, you can
crush or stretch the selection. In addition, you can use perspective distortion to give an
object the appearance of depth. Skewing distortion allows you to achieve a 3D look.
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To skew a selection
1 In the toolbox, click the Transform tool .
If the Transform tool is not displayed in the toolbox, click and hold the Layer
Adjuster tool
to open the flyout, and then choose the Transform tool.
2 On the property bar, click the Skew button .
3 Move the pointer outside the border of the selection’s bounding box.
4 Drag a side handle.
If you want to skew only the selected side, hold down Alt (Windows) or Option
(Mac) while dragging the side handle.
5 On the property bar, click the Commit Transformation button .

Skewing a selection.

To distort a selection
1 In the toolbox, click the Transform tool .
If the Transform tool is not displayed in the toolbox, click and hold the Layer
Adjuster tool
to open the flyout, and then choose the Transform tool.
2 On the property bar, click the Distort button

3 Drag a corner handle.
If you want to constrain the distortion to the horizontal or vertical axis, hold down
Shift while dragging a corner handle.
If you want to distort the selection relative to the Reference Point, hold down Alt
(Windows) or Option (Mac) while dragging a corner handle.
4 On the property bar, click the Commit Transformation button

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A selection before (left) and after (right) distorting.

To distort perspective in a selection
1 In the toolbox, click the Transform tool .
If the Transform tool is not displayed in the toolbox, click and hold the Layer
Adjuster tool
to open the flyout, and then choose the Transform tool.
2 On the property bar, click the Perspective Distortion button .
3 Drag a corner handle.
If you want to constrain the distortion to the horizontal or vertical axis, hold down
Shift while dragging a corner handle.
4 On the property bar, click the Commit Transformation button .

A selection before (left) and after (right) perspective distorting.

Canceling Transformations
If you are not satisfied with the transformation, you can cancel it and return the
selection to its previous state.

To cancel a transformation
• Click the Cancel Transformation button

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Alpha Channels
The primary function of an alpha channel, also referred to simply as a channel, is to
store a selection you might want to use later. You can save multiple selections in a
channel.
An alpha channel is a mask through which you can paint on, and apply effects to, an
image. The alpha channel stores 8 bits of information per pixel, which means that each
pixel can be assigned one of 256 (28) levels of gray — from 0 (black) to 255 (white).
White areas of the channel are selected, and black areas of the channel are protected.
Intermediate levels of gray are partially protected. For example, areas that are 50%
gray will allow 50% of the brushstroke or effect to get through the channel to the
image.
Alpha channels work like selections. Selections, however, are available only when
working with the active image during the current session. You can save your selection,
which creates an alpha channel. Channels remain inactive (for canvas control) until you
load them to a selection. You can think of a channel as a dormant selection. For more
information about selections, refer to “Selections and Transformations” on page 407.
Corel Painter lets you create up to 32 alpha channels. The channels are listed in the
Channels panel, where you can select and control them. You can edit a channel in a
number of ways and then load it as a selection.
Stored channels remain part of the file when you save in Corel Painter or Photoshop
format. No matter how many times you work on a file, the channels are available
whenever you need them.
This section contains the following topics:
• Creating, Generating, and Importing Channels
• Managing and Editing Channels

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Creating, Generating, and Importing Channels
You can create channels, generate them based on lightness and darkness of one of
several sources, or import channels them other applications.

Creating Channels
You can create a channel from a selection or create a new, blank channel. You can also
create a new channel by copying an existing channel.

To save a selection to a channel
1 Click a selection tool in the toolbox and make a selection.
2 Choose Window  Channels.
3 In the Channels panel, click the Save Selection As Channel button
4 Type a name in the Name box.

You can also open the Channels panel by pressing Command + 5 (Mac) or
Ctrl + 5 (Windows).
For more information, see “Loading and Combining Selections” on page 424.

To create a new, blank channel
• In the Channels panel, do one of the following :
• Click the Channel Options button , and choose New.
• Click the New Channel button .
To copy a channel
1 In the Channels panel, choose a channel from the list.
2 Click the Channel Options button , and choose Duplicate.
3 In the Duplicate Channel dialog box, choose New from the Destination list box.
You can also copy a channel to an existing channel, so that the existing
channel is replaced. To do this, choose the existing channel from the
Destination list box.
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Generating Channels Automatically
Corel Painter lets you generate a channel based on the light and dark areas of a
number of sources, including paper, pattern, and clone source. You can also create a
channel based on a range of colors.

To generate a channel based on luminance
1 In the Channels panel, do one of the following:
• To generate a new channel, choose the RGB channel from the list.
• To replace a channel, choose it from the list.
2 Click the Channel Options button , and choose New From.
3 In the New From dialog box, choose one of the following options from the list box:
• Paper — uses the current paper texture to create the channel
• 3D Brush Strokes — creates a channel based on the difference between the
current image and the clone source. If no clone source is selected, Corel Painter
uses the current pattern. For information about clones, refer to “Alpha
Channels” on page 435.
• Original Selection — imports the selection from the clone source document.
You can use this feature to transfer a selection from another document. For best
results, the dimensions of the source and working document should match. You
must establish a clone source file, and create a selection in this file, for this
option to be available. For information about clones, refer to “Image Cloning
and Sampling” on page 379.
• Image Luminance — creates a channel based on the current image’s light and
dark areas. For Image Luminance to be effective, the image must have high
contrast. Images with low contrast produce a semisolid channel, without clear
delineation between the selected and protected areas.
• Original Luminance — produces a channel based on the clone source’s light and
dark areas. This option lets you import an image to the channel. If no clone
source is selected, Corel Painter uses the current pattern.
• Current Color — creates a channel based on pixels of the current main color.
Areas of the current color are protected; the rest of the image is selected. You
might want to use the Dropper tool to pick a color from the image before using
the Current Color option.
If you want to invert the channel, click the Invert Channel button .

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Like a grayscale image, a channel can have 256 values in it. Inverting a
channel is equivalent to creating the negative of a grayscale image. For
example, a pixel with 80% luminance will have 20% luminance when
inverted. A pixel with 30% luminance will have 70% luminance when
inverted.

An image (left), the channels created using image luminance (middle), and inverted
image luminance (right).

To generate a color-based channel
1 In the Channels panel, do one of the following:
• To generate a new channel, choose the RGB channel from the list.
• To replace a channel, choose it from the list.
2 Click the Channel Options button , and choose New From Color Range.
3 With the Color dialog box open, click in the document window to pick a color.
The color you select is the middle of the range of colors used to create the channel.
4 In the Color dialog box, adjust the H Extents (hue), S Extents (saturation), and V
Extents (value) sliders.
These sliders control the selected range. You can drag the limits of the range in
either direction.
5 Adjust the H Feather (hue), S Feather (saturation), and V Feather (value) sliders to
control the feathering at the edges of the color space extents.
This helps soften the edges of the channel.
If you want to invert the channel, click the Invert Channel button .

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The Preview window in the Color dialog box shows the channel as a red
overlay on the image. You can drag in the Preview window to see other parts
of the image.

Importing Channels from Other Programs
When RGB files that were created in Photoshop are opened in Corel Painter, anything
in the alpha channels (#4 and above) will appear as a channel in Corel Painter.
Conversely, when you save your Corel Painter file in Photoshop format, all channels are
placed into channels #4 and above.

Managing and Editing Channels
The Channels panel lists the RGB color image and each channel you’ve saved. If a layer
is selected, and the layer has a layer mask, the Channels panel also lists the layer mask.
For information about layer masks, refer to “Working with Layer Masks” on page 487.
A channel allows certain types of editing that are not possible in a selection.

Selecting and Viewing Channels
Selecting and viewing a channel are distinct operations — you can view a channel
without selecting it, and you can select a channel without viewing it. If you want to
edit a particular channel, you must select it.
You can view or hide a channel by clicking the eye icon next to the channel’s
thumbnail in the Channels panel. When the eye is open, the channel displays in the
document window. When the eye is closed, the channel is hidden.
Corel Painter offers two ways to view a channel — as a colored overlay on the image or
in grayscale. Colored overlays are red by default, but you can change the color. For
more information, refer to “To set channel attributes” on page 441.
You can view the RGB image and more than one channel, but your editing applies
only to the one item selected in the Channels panel — either the RGB image or a
channel.

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To display the Channels panel
• Choose Window  Channels.
If the panel is not expanded, double-click the panel tab.
To select a channel
• In the Channels panel, choose a channel from the list.
When you want to work on the image again, choose RGB from the list.

To view or hide a channel
To

Do the following

View a channel as a colored overlay

In the Channels panel, click the eye icon
next to the channel’s thumbnail. In this
mode, the RGB image is always displayed.

View a channel as a grayscale image

In the Channels panel, make sure the
channel is hidden (eye closed
) and not
selected, and click the channel name. In this
mode, the RGB image is hidden.

Hide a channel

Click the eye icon
next to the channel
item to close the eye
.

Left: The “wings” channel and the RGB image are displayed. Right: The “wings” and
“body” channels are displayed as red overlays on the RGB image. The eye icons for both
channels and for RGB are open.

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A channel protecting the wings and body is displayed in grayscale. The RGB image is
hidden.

Setting Channel Attributes
Each channel has a set of display attributes that can make it easier to use and help you
distinguish it from the other channels. These attributes do not affect the function of
the channel; they affect only how the channel displays as you work on it.
Corel Painter names new channels incrementally: Alpha 1, Alpha 2, and so on.
Renaming a channel makes it easier to work with, especially if you have several in the
document. You can find the channel you want immediately if you’ve given it a
descriptive name.

To set channel attributes
1 In the Channels panel, choose a channel from the list.
2 Do one of the following:
• Click the Channel Options button , and choose Channel Attributes.
• Double-click the channel name in the list.
3 In the Channel Attributes dialog box, drag the Opacity slider to set the channel
display strength.
4 Click the Color chip, and choose a display color in the Color dialog box.
If you want to see the color overlay in grayscale, choose black.
A channel is easiest to use as an overlay when its color contrasts strongly with the
predominant hue of the RGB image. You might want to use a different color for
each channel.
5 Click OK.

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6 Enable one of the following options to specify where the color overlay displays:
• Masked Areas
• Selected Areas
If you want to rename the channel, type a name in the Name box.
If you want the channel displayed at its full intensity, move the Opacity slider
to 100%. Choose a lower value to display the channel more transparently so
you can follow the underlying RGB image as you edit the channel.

Deleting and Clearing Channels
If you’ve finished working with a particular channel you can delete it. You can also
clear a channel without deleting it, leaving you with a blank channel.

To delete a channel
1 In the Channels panel, choose a channel from the list.
2 Do one of the following:
• Click the Channel Options button , and choose Delete.
• Click the Delete button
at the bottom of the Channels panel.
To clear a channel
1 In the Channels panel, choose a channel from the list.
2 Click the Channel Options button , and choose Clear.

Editing Channels
You can paint in a channel or apply effects to it. Feathering a channel softens the
transitions between light and dark areas. In addition, because a channel is a grayscale
image, you can make dark pixels light and light pixels dark by inverting it.
You can also fill a channel with a color, pattern, gradient, or weave. You can fill an
entire channel or an area of a channel, or you can fill a channel based on existing color.
For more information, refer to “Working with Color Fills” on page 192.

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When you edit a channel, you are making modifications to the channel, and not the
image. Because the alpha channel is a grayscale image, separate from the RGB image,
you can use shades of gray only; no colors are available. You can use the resulting
channel afterwards to make changes to your image.
If you want to modify a specific area of a channel, you can create a selection. The
current selection is available to the RGB image and all channels. For more information,
refer to “Creating and Saving Selections” on page 407.
Editing a channel does not affect how the channel displays. For information about
setting the color and opacity of the displayed channel overlay, refer to “Setting Channel
Attributes” on page 441.

To paint in a channel
1 In the Channels panel, display and select the channel you want to work with.
If you want to paint only on a specific area of the channel, make a selection.
2 Choose the Brush tool
from the toolbox.
3 Click the Brush Selector on the Brush Selector bar.
4 In the Brush Library panel, click a brush category, and brush variant.
The Pen and Airbrush brush categories make good choices.
5 In the Color panel, choose a color.
Only grayscale values are available. Black adds to the channel. White erases from
it.
When you paint in the channel, hue is irrelevant. The channel carries 8 bits of
information and you need only set a level in that range. The value scale is between
black and white.
6 On the property bar, type a value in the Opacity box, or adjust the pop-up slider.
7 Type a value in the Size box, or adjust the pop-up slider.
8 Paint in the document window.
To apply an effect to a channel
1 In the Channels panel, display and select the channel you want to work with.
If you want to apply the effect to a specific area of the channel, make a selection.
2 Choose an effect from the Effects menu.
To learn more about image effects, see “Image Effects” on page 493.
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To feather a channel
1 In the Channels panel, display and select the channel you want to work with.
2 Click the Channel Options button , and choose Feather.
3 In the Feather dialog box, type a number of pixels.

A channel — before and after feathering.

To invert a channel
1 In the Channels panel, choose a channel from the list.
2 Click the Invert Channel button .

A channel — before and after inversion.

To fill a channel
1 In the Channels panel, display and select the channel you want to work with.
If you want to fill only a specific area of the channel, make a selection.
2 In the toolbox, choose a color, pattern, gradient, or weave from the corresponding
selector.
3 Choose Edit  Fill.
4 In the Fill dialog box, enable one of the following options on which to base the fill:
• Current Color (the current shade of gray)
• Pattern
• Gradient
• Weave
5 Adjust the Opacity slider.
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To fill a channel based on color
1 In the Channels panel, display and select the channel you want to work with.
2 Choose the Paint Bucket tool
from the toolbox.
3 On the property bar, click the Fill Image button .
4 Choose one of the following from the Fill list box:
• Current Color — fills with the current color (a shade of gray). For information,
see “Working with Color Fills” on page 192.
• Gradient — fills with the selected gradient. For information, see “Applying
Gradients” on page 213.
• Source Image — fills using the current clone source image. If you haven’t
defined a clone source, Corel Painter fills with the current pattern. For
information, see “Filling an Area With a Sampled Image” on page 404.
• Weave — fills with the selected weave. For information, see “Applying Weaves”
on page 225.
5 Open the Fill selector, and choose a fill from the media library panel.
6 To specify the range of gray to be filled, type a value in the Tolerance box, or adjust
the pop-up slider.
7 To specify the fill opacity for pixels outside the Tolerance range, type a value in the
Feather box, or adjust the pop-up slider.
If you want to create intermediate fill values on the boundaries, enable the AntiAlias button
on the property bar. This gives soft edges to the fill. Anti-aliasing
is desirable when Feather is zero or extremely low.
8 Click the area of the channel you want to fill.
If the result is not what you want, undo the fill, change the settings, and try again.
The Paint Bucket tool applies a fill only to a visible channel. Make sure the
channel’s eye icon
is open before using the Paint Bucket tool.
You can return to the default Paint Bucket tool settings by clicking the Reset
Paint Bucket button
on the property bar.

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Layers
When you open a new document and create an image, your work appears on a
background layer known as the Canvas layer. You can add additional layers to a
document, which allows you to manipulate the visual elements in the image
independently of the canvas.
Layers provide one of the great advantages of creating images in a digital workspace
— the freedom to experiment with different compositions and effects without risking
an unwanted, permanent edit. The Corel Painter file format preserves layers when you
save a document, so you can easily make changes at a later time. There’s no need to recreate the entire composition — just modify one or more layers. The result is a
dynamic and flexible design environment.

Think of layers as sheets of clear material, such as acetate. Painting on a layer obscures
the image below it. Areas of a layer that don’t contain images remain transparent.

This section contains the following topics:
• Getting Started with Layers
• Managing Layers
• Editing Layers
• Working with Layer Masks

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Getting Started with Layers
Corel Painter uses different types of layers; how you work with each layer depends on
the type of data it contains. You can manage layers by using the Layers panel, and
modify layers by using the Layer Adjuster tool. You can also create, name, save, and
delete layers.

Layer Basics
In Corel Painter, layers are objects that contain image data. Because each layer is a
distinct object, you can move it around and edit it without interfering with the image
data on the canvas or other layers. Likewise, you can work on the canvas without
interfering with any of the other layers.
Layers can contain either pixel-based or vector-based images. How you work with a
layer depends on the type of data it contains. When you work with layers, you use the
Layers panel and the Layer Adjuster tool.

Layer Types
Layers can contain two types of images:
• Pixel-based images
• Vector-based images
Corel Painter also features specialized types of layers:
• Floating object layers
• Reference layers
• Dynamic layers
• Watercolor layers
• Liquid Ink layers
• Shape layers
• Text layers
Some features in Corel Painter can be applied only to default, pixel-based layers. If you
want to use these features on shapes, Watercolor layers, Liquid Ink layers, dynamic
layers, and so on, you must convert them to default layers.

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Pixel-based Layers
You can create pixel-based images on a layer using any brush variant, with the
following exceptions: Watercolor brushes, Liquid Ink brushes, brushes that use the
Wet method. You can also create pixel-based images on a layer by pasting or placing
an image.
Layers play a role in more specialized functions, such as building an image hose nozzle,
embedding a URL in an image, or creating an animation.

Vector Shape Layers
Shapes are vector-based objects. When you create a shape with one of the shape tools
(Pen, Quick Curve, Rectangular Shape, Oval Shape, or Text), Corel Painter
automatically adds a new layer to the document. Each new shape becomes a separate
layer; you can group multiple shapes together or merge them into a single shape.
Shapes cannot contain pixel information. To perform pixel-based operations — such as
painting in a shape with a brush or filling it with a gradient — you must convert the
shape to a pixel-based layer.
The information in this chapter can help you manage shapes in the Layers panel. For
detailed information about creating and working with shapes, see “Shapes” on
page 643.

Floating Object Layers
Floating object layers contain images that can be moved around the layer. For more
information, refer to “Working with Floating Objects” on page 472.

Reference Layers
Reference layers are low-resolution representations of other layers. Using reference
layers lets you more easily manipulate standard layers. For more information, refer to
“Working with Reference Layers” on page 474.

Dynamic Layers
Dynamic layers provide dynamic effects to the underlying image. Some dynamic
layers, such as Glass Distortion and Equalize, interact with the underlying images in a
specific area to produce effects. Other dynamic layers, such as Liquid Metal, interact
with the underlying images as you apply brushstrokes.

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Dynamic layers are different from other effects because they are distinct objects — you
can access them in the Layers panel and update their controls to modify them at any
time.
This chapter can help you manage dynamic layers in the Layers panel. For detailed
information about creating and working with dynamic layers, see “Dynamic Plug-ins”
on page 567.

Watercolor Layers
The Watercolor layer is reserved for Watercolor and Real Watercolor brushes. It
enables the paint applied with these brushes to mix and flow together. You can create
multiple Watercolor layers in a document. These layers are part of the layer hierarchy
and appear in the Layers panel, where the layer name includes the prefix “Watercolor.”
In earlier versions of the application, if you applied watercolor brushstrokes, they were
applied to the Canvas layer and, as such, were uneditable. Now, when you apply a
Watercolor brush to the canvas or to a standard layer, a new Watercolor layer is
automatically created. You can edit Watercolor layers as you would any other layer,
including erasing and blurring, without affecting other layers.
For more information, see “Working with the Watercolor Layer” on page 358.

Liquid Ink Layers
The Liquid Ink layer is reserved for Liquid Ink brushes. You can create multiple Liquid
Ink layers in a document. These layers are part of the layer hierarchy and appear in the
Layers panel, where the layer name includes the prefix “Liquid Ink.”
When you apply one of the Liquid Ink brushes to the canvas or to an image layer, a
new Liquid Ink layer is automatically created. You can edit Liquid Ink layers without
affecting other layers.
For more information, see “Working with Liquid Ink brushes” on page 365.

Shape Layers
When you create a shape, a new Shape layer is added to the Layers panel. Many of the
options and controls for working with pixel-based layers apply equally to shapes. For
example, you can move shapes in the same way you move layers, you can apply effects
to shapes, and you can change the composite method to control how the shape
interacts with the underlying image. For more information, see “Getting Started with
Shapes” on page 644.
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Text Layers
When you insert text with the Text tool, a text layer, which holds a single text block, is
added to the Layers panel. With the text on a separate layer, you can work with your
image without changing any text attributes. You can select the text layer and edit it at
any time. For more information, see “Understanding the Text Layer” on page 673.

The Layers Panel
All layers in a document are listed in the Layers panel. The Layers panel manages the
hierarchy of layers and includes controls for selecting, hiding, locking, deleting,
naming, and grouping layers.
You can access many layer functions and commands using the buttons at the bottom of
the panel, and the Layers menu.
The Layers panel displays icons that identify layer types and characteristics. The
following table lists the icons that appear in the Layers panel.
Icon

Description
Canvas layer
Pixel-based layer
Shape layer
Floating object
Reference layer
Dynamic layer
Watercolor layer
Liquid Ink layer

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Icon

Description
Text layer
Layer group
Expanded group
Visible layer
Hidden layer
Locked layer

In the Layers panel, you can also set layer opacity and choose a composite method. For
information, see “Setting Layer Opacity” on page 476 and “Blending Layers by Using
Composite Methods” on page 477.
The Navigator panel displays information about the dimensions and position of layer
content. For more information, refer to “Navigating Images and Viewing Image
Information” on page 51.

To display the Layers panel
• Choose Window  Layers.
If the panel is not expanded, double-click the Layers panel tab.

To convert to a default layer
1 In the Layers panel, select the layer that you want to convert.
Types of layers that you may want to convert include shape, Watercolor, Liquid Ink,
and dynamic layers.
2 Click the Layer Options button , and choose Convert to Default Layer.

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The Layer Adjuster Tool
With the Layer Adjuster tool, you can select and work with layers. When you choose
the Layer Adjuster tool from the toolbox, the property bar contains options for
selecting layers automatically and for changing a layer’s position in the hierarchy. For
information, see “Selecting Layers” on page 458 and “Changing Layer Hierarchy” on
page 463.
You can also cut, copy, paste, and duplicate layers using the Layer Adjuster tool. For
more information, see “Creating Layers” on page 453.

Creating Layers
You can create new pixel-based, Watercolor, or Liquid Ink layers directly from the
Layers panel. You can also duplicate layers and copy layers between documents.
How you create a layer determines its place in the layer hierarchy in the Layers panel.
When you create a layer, the new layer is placed directly above the selected layer in the
panel. If the selected layer belongs to a group, the new layer is added to the group. If a
group of layers is selected, the layer is placed above the group. For more information,
see “Grouping Layers” on page 466.
Another way to create a layer is to base it on a selection. To do this, you can copy or
convert the contents of a selection to a new layer. For more information, see “Creating
and Saving Selections” on page 407. You can also use the selection to copy the contents
of multiple layers.
For information about creating dynamic layers, refer to “Creating Dynamic Layers” on
page 568. For information about creating vector shape layers, see “Creating Shapes” on
page 647.

To create a new layer
• Perform a task from the following table.
To

Do the following

Create a layer

In the Layers panel, click the New Layer
button
.

Create a Watercolor layer

In the Layers panel, click the Layer Options
button
, and choose New Watercolor
Layer.

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Do the following

Create a Liquid Ink Layer

In the Layers panel, click the Layer Options
button
, and choose New Liquid Ink
Layer.

If you choose a Watercolor, Real Watercolor, or Liquid Ink brush, a new layer
for that brush type is automatically created when you apply a brushstroke to
the document window.

To duplicate or copy and paste a layer
1 Choose the Layer Adjuster tool
from the toolbox.
2 On the property bar, click the Auto Select Layer button
3 Perform an action from the following table.

Do the following

Duplicate a layer

In the document window, hold down Option
(Mac OS) or Alt (Windows), and click the
layer.
A duplicate layer is created on top of the
original layer. Drag the new layer to reveal
the original layer in the document window.

Copy a layer between documents

In the document window, select a layer, and
do one of the following:
•In the document window, drag the layer to
another document.
•Choose Edit  Copy, display the other
document, and then choose Edit  Paste.

For more information about selecting layers, refer to “Selecting Layers” on
page 458.
You can also paste a copied layer from the Clipboard to a new document by
choosing Edit  Paste Into New Image.

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To create a layer based on a selection
1 Make a selection.
2 Perform an action from the following table.
To

Do the following

Convert the selection to a layer

Choose Select  Float or click the selection
with the Layer Adjuster tool
.

Convert, cut, and move the selection to layer

Drag the selection with the Layer Adjuster
tool
.

Copy the selection to a layer

Hold down Option (Mac OS) or Alt
(Windows), and click the selection with the
Layer Adjuster tool
.

Copy and move the selection to a layer

Hold down Option (Mac OS) or Alt
(Windows), and drag the selection with the
Layer Adjuster tool
.

You can also convert a selection to a layer by rotating, scaling, distorting, or
flipping a selection. For more information, see “Transforming Selections” on
page 428.
You can also create a new layer by copying or cutting a selection and then
pasting it.

To copy a selection from multiple layers
1 Make a selection.
2 Choose Edit  Copy Merged.
You can also copy from multiple layers by pressing Command + Option+C
(Mac OS) or Ctrl + Alt + C (Windows).

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Naming Layers
Corel Painter assigns each layer or group a default name when you create it. This name
references the object’s type and creation order. For example, pixel-based layers are
titled Layer 1, Layer 2, and so on. A shape’s title is based on the tool you use to create
it — Rect # for the Rectangular Shape tool, Oval # for the Oval Shape tool, and
Shape # for the Pen and Quick Curve tools.
As you add more layers and groups to a document, it can become difficult to
remember which image data each layer contains. By assigning descriptive names to
layers and groups, you can easily keep track of the separate pieces of an image.

To name a layer or group
1 In the Layers panel, double-click a layer or group.
2 Type a new name in the text box.
You can also rename a layer by clicking the Layer Options button
choosing Layer Attributes, and typing a name in the Name box.

You cannot rename the Canvas layer.
You can add extra information to a layer using notes. For more information,
see “Adding Notes to a Layer” on page 485.

Saving Files That Contain Layers
You can save your Corel Painter document in the RIFF format with “live” layers — the
layers continue to function when you reopen the file. RIFF is the only format that
preserves layers in their original state.
If you save a Corel Painter document in PSD (Photoshop) format, all layers convert to
standard Photoshop transparent layers. Photoshop does not preserve groups; each
layer in a group becomes its own Photoshop layer. For information about grouping
layers in Corel Painter, refer to “Grouping Layers” on page 466.
If you save a Corel Painter document to PSD format, keep in mind how layer
composite methods in Corel Painter convert to blend modes in Photoshop:

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Corel Painter
Composite
Method

Photoshop Blend
Mode

Gel
GelCover
Colorize
Reverse-Out
Shadow Map
Magic Combine
Pseudocolor
Normal
Dissolve
Multiply
Screen

Darken
not converted
Color
Normal
Multiply
Lighten
Normal
Normal
Dissolve
Multiply
Screen

Corel Painter
Composite
Method

Photoshop Blend
Mode

Overlay
Soft Light
Hard Light
Darken
Lighten
Difference
Hue
Saturation
Color
Luminosity

For more information about composite methods, refer to “Blending Layers by Using
Composite Methods” on page 477.
If you save a file to a file format other than RIFF or PSD, the layers drop (or merge)
into a single background image.

Deleting Layers
You can delete layers from the Layers panel, but you cannot delete the canvas.

To delete a layer
1 In the Layers panel, select one layer or multiple layers.
2 Do one of the following:
• Click the Delete button
at the bottom of the Layers panel.
• Click the Layer Options button , and choose Delete Layer.
• Right-click a layer, and choose Delete Layer.
You can also delete vector shape layers by pressing Delete (Mac OS) or
Backspace (Windows).
You cannot delete the Canvas layer.

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Managing Layers
To manage layers in a document, you can select, lock, view, or hide them, or change
their position in the hierarchy.

Selecting Layers
Selecting a layer lets you make changes to it. If no layers are selected, any changes you
make apply to the canvas. The Auto Select Layer option changes your ability to select
and move layers with the Layer Adjuster tool.
By default, the Auto Select Layer option is disabled. This means that the layer selection
is “locked in” — the Layer Adjuster tool affects only the selected layer or layers. In
other words, you cannot select a layer by clicking it in the document window; you
must select a layer by clicking it in the Layers panel. When the Auto Select Layer
option is enabled, you can select layers automatically with the Layer Adjuster tool by
clicking an area of layer content in the document window.

To select a layer
To

Do the following

Select a single layer

Do one of the following:
•Click a layer in the Layers panel.
•Choose the Layer Adjuster tool
from the toolbox. With
the Auto Select Layer button
on the property bar
enabled, click anywhere in a layer’s content.

Select multiple layers

Do one of the following:
•In the Layers panel, hold down Command + Shift (Mac OS)
or Ctrl + Shift (Windows), and click each layer you want to
select.
•Choose the Layer Adjuster tool
from the toolbox. With
the Auto Select Layer button
on the property bar
enabled, drag over the layers you want to select in the
document window.

Select all layers in a
document

In the Layers panel, click the Layer Options button
, and
choose Select All Layers. All layers, except the canvas, are
selected.

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You can also press the F key to activate the Layer Adjuster tool.
If you are working with a shape, you can switch to the Shape Selection tool
by double-clicking a shape with the Layer Adjuster tool.

To deselect layers
• In the Layers panel, click the Canvas.
Deselecting one or more layers automatically selects the Canvas layer.
You can also deselect a layer by clicking the layer you want to deselect in the
Layers panel, then clicking the Layer Options button , and choosing
Deselect Layer.

Moving Layers
When a layer is selected, you can move its content anywhere in the document to create
a new image layout.

The pink rose was added to an individual layer. The rose layer (left) was repositioned on
top of the white roses (right).

Think of a layer’s content as being contained by an invisible bounding box. This
bounding box is a rectangle that marks the left, right, top, and bottom edges of the
layer’s content. When you move or align a layer, you work with the dimensions and
position of this bounding box, not with the entire area of the layer. This allows you to
easily position the contents of a layer in relation to the canvas.

This layer contains a brushstroke. The content area is defined by an invisible bounding
box (indicated by a dashed outline in the image).
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459

The layer indicators provide a visual representation of the bounding box. Refer to
“Showing Layer Indicators” on page 465 for more information.

To move or nudge a layer
1 In the Layers panel, select the layer or group you want to move.
2 Perform an action from the following table.
To

Do the following

Move a layer

Click the Layer Adjuster tool
in the
toolbox, and drag the selected layer in the
document window.

Move a layer one pixel at a time

Press the Arrow keys to move the selected
layer one pixel at a time.

Move a layer to a new document window

With two or more documents open in the
application window, click the Layer Adjuster
tool
in the toolbox, and drag the selected
layer to another document window.

To move a layer to a specific location
1 In the Layers panel, select a layer or group.
2 Click the Layer Options button , and choose Layer Attributes.
3 In the Position area, type values in the following boxes:
• Top — defines the distance in pixels from the top edge of the canvas to the top
edge of the layer’s content. Increase to move the layer down, or decrease to
move the layer up.
• Left — defines the distance in pixels from the left edge of the canvas to the left
edge of the layer’s content. Increase to move the layer to the right, or decrease
to move the layer to the left.
If you use negative values, or values larger than the canvas dimensions, the
layer is placed partially or wholly outside the canvas.

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You can also open the Layer Attributes dialog box for pixel-based and
reference layers by double-clicking the item in the Layers panel, or by
selecting an item and pressing Return (Mac OS) or Enter (Windows).

Aligning Layers
You can align layers horizontally or vertically. When you align layers, Corel Painter
calculates the “destination” point for alignment. For example, if you align layers to the
left, the destination is the leftmost point of all selected layers. If you align horizontally
to the center, the destination is the midpoint between the leftmost edge and the
rightmost edge of the selected layers.
Next, Corel Painter aligns the corresponding edge of each selected layer’s bounding
box with the destination point.
For example, if you align layers to the left, each layer is moved so that the left edge of
its bounding box lines up with the destination point. If you align horizontally to the
center, each layer is moved so that the horizontal midpoint of its bounding box lines up
with the destination point.

The left edge of the image is the leftmost point of all the layers (left). The layers are
aligned horizontally to the left so that all the layers line up with the leftmost point
(right).

To align layers
1 Select the layers or groups that you want to align.
2 Choose Effects  Objects  Align.
3 In the Align Shapes dialog box, enable any of the following Horizontal options:
• Left — aligns the left edges of the layers’ content
• Center — aligns the midpoints of the layers’ content horizontally
• Right — aligns the right edges of the layers’ content
• None — preserves the existing horizontal alignment
4 Enable any of the following Vertical options:
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461

•
•
•
•

Top — aligns the top edges of the layers’ content
Middle — aligns the midpoints of the layers’ content vertically
Bottom — aligns the bottom edges of the layers’ content
None — preserves the existing vertical alignment

Locking Layers
You can lock layers to avoid accidentally changing them. When a layer is locked, you
cannot select it with the Layer Adjuster tool in the document window. You can,
however, move a locked layer or shape by nudging it. For more information, refer to
“Working with Reference Layers” on page 474.

To lock or unlock a layer
1 Select the layer in the Layers panel.
2 Do one of the following:
• In the Layers panel, click the Lock Layer button .
• Click the Layer Options button , and choose Lock or Unlock.
The Locked Layer icon
appears next to a locked layer in the Layers panel.

Viewing Layers
You can control your view of an image in the document window by changing layer
visibility settings. This is helpful in both compositing an image and applying effects.
You can hide one layer to gain better visibility of the layer below it. Or, you can set up
different states of an image to create rollover effects for use on the Web. For more
information about creating rollovers, refer to “Creating Rollovers” on page 690.

In the example on the right, the layer containing the background is hidden; in the
example on the left, the layer containing the background is visible.

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Layer visibility settings stay active when you print or save documents to certain file
formats. In other words, the content of hidden layers does not print and is not saved.
However, saving a document in RIFF or PSD format preserves hidden layers as part of
the document. For more information, see “Saving Files That Contain Layers” on
page 456.

To show or hide a layer or the canvas
• In the Layers panel, click the eye icon next to the layer name or the canvas.
When the eye is shut , the layer is hidden in the document window. When the
eye is open , the layer is visible in the document window.

Changing Layer Hierarchy
The hierarchy of layers determines how the layers in a document interact. When you
create a new pixel-based layer, it appears on top of the existing layers (when the canvas
is selected) or on top of the selected layer. New Watercolor, Liquid Ink, and dynamic
layers are always created on top of existing layers. Depending on its transparency,
masking, and compositing characteristics, the layer will obscure or otherwise affect the
underlying layers.
A document’s layer hierarchy is reflected in the Layers panel. The bottom layer is
always the canvas.

In this example, the picture of the brush is contained in a layer. The brush layer is
displayed in the top position (left) and in the bottom position (right).

To change a layer’s position in the hierarchy
1 Choose the Layer Adjuster tool
from the toolbox.
2 In the Layers panel, select the layer you want to reposition in the hierarchy.
3 Perform an action from the following table.

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463

Do one of the following

Move a layer to the bottom
Move a layer to the top

•From the menu bar, choose Layers  Move to Bottom.
•On the property bar, click the Move to Bottom button
•From the menu bar, choose Layers  Move to Top.
•On the property bar, click the Move to Top button

.
.

Move a layer down one

•From the menu bar, choose Layers  Move Down One
Layer.
•On the property bar, click the Move Down One Layer
button
.

Move a layer up one

•From the menu bar, choose Layers  Move Up One Layer.
•On the property bar, click the Move Up One Layer button
.

When you have nonoverlapping layers in a document, the Move Up One
Layer and Move Down One Layer commands may move the selected layer
past multiple layers. This is because nonoverlapping layers are considered to
be at the same level. The Move Up One Layer and Move Down One Layer
commands move the selected layer (or layers) above or below the next level.
To move a layer to a position between nonoverlapping layers, drag it in the
Layers panel.

Viewing Layer Position
The Navigator panel contains information about the size and position of the selected
layer’s content on the canvas. Think of the area of a layer that contains images as being
marked by a bounding box. The Navigator panel displays the dimensions and position
of the bounding box, not the entire area of the layer. This makes it easy to determine
the exact size and location of a layer’s content in the document.
The following list describes information displayed in the Navigator panel:
• X is the x-coordinate of the pointer on the canvas, measured in pixels.
• Y is the y-coordinate of the pointer on the canvas, measured in pixels.
• W is the width of the layer’s content, measured in pixels.
• H is the height of the layer’s content, measured in pixels.

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• T is the position of the top edge of the layer’s bounding box, measured in pixels
from the top edge of the canvas.
• L is the position of the left edge of the layer’s bounding box, measured in pixels
from the left edge of the canvas.
• B is the position of the bottom edge of the layer’s bounding box, measured in pixels
from the top edge of the canvas.
• R is the position of the right edge of the layer’s bounding box, measured in pixels
from the left edge of the canvas.
In the document window, you can also view indicators that mark the corners of the
selected layer’s content. For more information, see “Showing Layer Indicators” on
page 465.

Showing Layer Indicators
You can show the layer indicators to see display handles at the corners of a layer’s
content when it is selected. You can also display information about the size of a layer’s
content and its position on the canvas. For more information, see “Viewing Layer
Position” on page 464.

Show the layer indicators to mark the corners of a selected layer.

To display the layer information
• Choose Window  Navigator.
If the panel is not expanded, double-click the Navigator panel tab.
To show layer indicators
1 In the Layers panel, select a layer.
If you selected the canvas, the function will not work. You need to select a layer.
2 Click the Layer Options button , and choose Show Layer Indicators.
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465

To hide the layer indicators, click the Layer Options button, and choose Hide
Layer Indicators.

Grouping Layers
Grouping layers enables you to control layers as a unit. A group can contain any
combination of layers: pixel-based layers, Watercolor layers, Liquid Ink layers,
vector-based shapes, and dynamic layers.
You can move, rename, hide, show, lock, and set options for a group just as you do for
a single layer. However, you cannot paint across layers in a group or change the
composite method for a group; you must collapse the group into a single layer if you
want to paint on it.
To work with individual layers in a group, you must open the group. To regain control
of the group as a unit, you must close the group. Collapsing a group reduces its
contents to a single layer.
If you create a new layer while you have a layer within a group selected in the Layer
panel, the new layer is added to the group. If the group is selected, the layer is placed
above the group.

To create a group
1 In the Layers panel, select the layers you want to group.
For more information about selecting multiple layers, refer to “Selecting Layers” on
page 458.
2 Do one of the following:
• Click the Layer Commands button , and choose Group Layers.
• Click the Layer Options button , and choose Group Layers.
The layers are collected under a group item in the Layers panel.
If you select nonsequential layers (layers not next to each other in the list),
Corel Painter creates the group at the position of the topmost layer. To select
nonsequential layers, in the Layers panel, hold down Shift and click each layer
you want to select.

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To open or close a group
• In the Layers panel, click the arrow to the left of the group.
When the arrow points down
and you can see the group items, the group is
open. When the arrow points to the right
and the names of the group members
are hidden, the group is closed.
To add or remove a layer in a group
1 In the Layers panel, open the destination group.
2 Perform an action from the following table.
To

Do the following

Add a layer to a group

Drag a layer to the group.

Remove a layer from a group

Drag the layer out of the group.

You can create a nested group by dragging a closed group to the open
destination group.

To ungroup layers
1 In the Layers panel, select the group.
If the group is open, close the group.
2 Do one of the following:
• Click the Layer Commands button , and choose Ungroup Layers.
• Click the Layer Options button , and choose Ungroup Layers.
To collapse a group
1 In the Layers panel, select the group.
2 Click the Layer Commands button , and choose Collapse Layers.
If the group contains shapes, Liquid Ink layers, or dynamic layers, the Commit
dialog box is displayed. Click Commit All to convert the items to pixel-based layers
before collapsing the entire group.

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467

If you want to collapse a group containing a Watercolor layer, you must first
convert the Watercolor layer to a default layer and change its composite
method to Default. For more information about composite methods, refer to
“Blending Layers by Using Composite Methods” on page 477.
You can also collapse layers by clicking the Layer Options button
choosing Collapse Layers.

, and

If you have enabled the Commit and Don’t Ask Again check box in the
Commit dialog box, you can reinstate the display of the Commit dialog box
when collapsing layers by choosing Corel Painter 12 menu  Preferences (Mac
OS) or Edit  Preferences (Windows), then clicking General from the
Preferences list of categories, and enabling the When Show Commit Dialog
When Converting to Layer check box.

Merging Layers with the Canvas
Dropping a layer or group merges its contents with the canvas. After you drop a layer,
you can no longer access the layer’s content separately from the canvas. You can drop
specific layers or you can drop all layers at once.
When you drop a layer, you can choose to create a selection based on the layer
contents. If the layer has a layer mask, the mask is used to make the selection. For
more information, see “Working with Layer Masks” on page 487 and “Selections and
Transformations” on page 407.

To drop a layer
To

Do the following

Drop specific layers

In the Layers panel, select the layers (or
groups) that you want to drop, and do one of
the following:
•Click the Layer Commands button
,
and choose Drop.
•Click the Layer Options button
, and
choose Drop.

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Do the following

Drop all layers

In the Layers panel, click the Layer Options
button
, and choose Drop All.

Make a selection by dropping a layer

In the Layers panel, click the Layer Options
button
, and choose Drop and Select.

Editing Layers
You can paint on layers, and preserve layer transparency to prevent painting on
transparent areas. You can also move layer content to change the overall image layout.
Using selections, you can turn an area of a layer into a floating object so that you can
move it separately. Reference layers, low-resolution representations of an image, let
you quickly manipulate images in ways that might otherwise require more time.
You can edit a layer’s content by applying effects to it, such as drop shadows and
patterns, and by transforming its dimensions. You can also change a layer’s opacity,
and use composite methods to change how a layer blends with other layers. The
Image Portfolio lets you save the contents of a layer for future use.

Painting on Layers
When a layer is selected, you can use the brushes to paint, draw, erase, or clone. When
painting on layers, keep the following points in mind:
• Watercolor brushes can be used only on Watercolor layers.
• Liquid Ink brushes can be used only on Liquid Ink layers.
• You can’t paint across grouped layers — you must collapse the group first. For
more information, see “To collapse a group” on page 467.
• Before painting on a shape, you must commit it to a pixel-based layer.
Corel Painter prompts you to commit a shape if you attempt to paint on it. After
you commit the shape, you cannot re-access the shape’s vector controls. For more
information, see “To paint a shape” on page 666.
• You can protect areas of a layer from painting by creating a selection. For more
information, see “Creating and Saving Selections” on page 407.
• You can control what parts of a layer are visible and hidden by creating a layer
mask. For more information, refer to “Working with Layer Masks” on page 487.
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469

To paint on a layer
1 In the Layers panel, select a layer.
2 Click the Brush Selector on the Brush Selector bar.
3 In the Brush Library panel, click a brush category and brush variant.
4 Paint on the layer in the document window.
The Preserve Transparency button in the Layers panel affects what areas of a layer
you can paint on. For more information, see “Preserving Layer Transparency” on
page 470.

Brush Methods and Painting on Layers
The Natural-Media environment allows brushstrokes on different layers to interact
with each other. However, mixing brushstrokes that use the Cover and Buildup
methods on the same layer can produce unexpected results. This is caused by a conflict
between the brush method and the layer’s composite method.
• Brushes that use the Buildup method — such as those in the Felt Pens or Pencils
category — work best on layers that use the Gel composite method. In fact, when
you use the Buildup method to paint on a blank layer, Corel Painter automatically
sets the layer’s composite method to Gel.
• Brushes that use the Cover method work best on layers that are set to the Default
composite method.
For more information about layer composite methods, see “Blending Layers by Using
Composite Methods” on page 477. For more information about brush methods, see
“General Controls: Methods and Subcategories” on page 269.

Preserving Layer Transparency
Areas of a layer that don’t contain images are transparent. You can preserve the
transparent areas of a layer with the Preserve Transparency check box in the Layers
panel. This option affects which areas of a layer you can create images on. It also affects
the results of erasing or deleting images on a layer.
By default, Preserve Transparency is disabled, which lets you paint anywhere on the
layer. When Preserve Transparency is enabled, the transparent areas are preserved, and
you are confined to painting on areas of the layer that already contain images.

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The results of painting on a layer with Preserve Transparency disabled (left) and enabled
(right).

If you want to paint on a shape, you must first commit the shape to a pixel-based layer.
For more information, see “To paint a shape” on page 666.
A good way to think about the Preserve Transparency option is in terms of a layer
mask. As described in “Working with Layer Masks” on page 487, a layer mask defines
the visible areas of a layer.
Preserve Transparency provides a powerful selective editing capability to create
interesting effects by altering the strokes you’ve already applied. For example, you can
enable Preserve Transparency to fill a set of hand-drawn letters with a pattern, a color
gradient, or other brushstrokes.
Preserve Transparency also affects the results of cutting or erasing on a layer.
• When Preserve Transparency is disabled, erasing or deleting images restores
transparency to the area and reveals the underlying image.
• When Preserve Transparency is enabled, erasing or deleting images reveals the
document’s paper color. In effect, erasing or deleting with Preserve Transparency
enabled is the same as painting or filling with the document’s paper color.

Erasing part of a layer (the woman’s hair) with the Preserve Transparency check box
disabled restores transparency (left). When the option is enabled, erasing reveals the paper
color (right).

You can create a layer mask based on the layer’s transparency. A layer mask defines
which areas of a layer are visible in the document window. For more information, see
“Creating Layer Masks” on page 487.

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To preserve layer transparency
• In the Layers panel, click the Preserve Transparency button

You can also load a layer’s transparency to a selection. In the Layers panel,
hold down Control and click the layer (Mac OS), or right-click the layer
(Windows), and choose Select Layer Content. You can also click the Layer
Options button
in the Layers panel, and choose Create Mask From
Transparency. For more information about selections, refer to “Selections and
Transformations” on page 407.

Picking up color from underlying layers
You can choose to pick up colors from underlying layers when you use brush variants
that push paint, rather than apply paint. For example, if you have red paint on the top
layer, and blue paint on the bottom layer, you can use the Subtle Palette Knife brush
variant to blend the red and blue paint. In most cases, brush variants that allow you to
blend colors within an individual layer will also support the picking up of colors on
underlying layers.

To pick up color from underlying layers
• In the Layers panel, click the Pick Up Underlying Color button

Working with Floating Objects
You can make a selection on a layer using the Rectangular Selection, Oval Selection,
Lasso, or Magic Wand tool. Selections on layers function in the same way as selections
on the canvas — you can use them to constrain brushstrokes, to isolate an area of the
layer for applying an effect, or to choose an area of the layer to cut or copy. For more
information, see “Selections and Transformations” on page 407.
By default, when you move a selection, only the selection marquee moves, not the
images. To move selected images on a layer, you must “float” the selection. In effect,
this turns the selected area of the layer into a floating object. You can move floating
objects around a layer to create new compositions.
Each layer in a document can have only one floating object at a time. You can drop a
floating object to merge it with the layer. Many operations automatically drop (or
merge) the floating object back to its parent layer.
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Floating objects are created by making a selection on a pixel-based layer. Shapes
cannot be floating objects because they are vector-based. However, you can turn a
shape into a pixel-based layer. For instructions, see “To convert a shape to a pixel-based
layer” on page 645.
When you save a document to RIFF format, Corel Painter preserves all floating
objects. However, saving a document in a non-RIFF format automatically drops
floating objects onto their parent layers.

To create a floating object
1 Create a selection on a layer using a selection tool.
2 Do one of the following:
• Click the selection with the Layer Adjuster tool .
• Choose Select  Float.
The floating object appears as an item below the parent layer in the Layers panel.
To reposition or drop a floating object
1 In the Layers panel, select the floating object.
2 Perform an action from the following table.
To

Do the following

Reposition a floating object

In the document window, drag the floating
object to the new location with the Layer
Adjuster tool . Then, press the arrow keys
to move the floating object one pixel at a
time.

Drop a floating object

Click the Layer Commands button
choose Drop.

, and

Adding Drop Shadows
Adding shadows to a layer’s content can enhance the appearance of an image. You can
add a drop shadow to a single layer or to a group.
Drop shadows are also helpful for developing Image Hose nozzles. For more
information, see “Preparing Images” on page 609.

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When you add a drop shadow, Corel Painter creates a new layer for the shadow and
groups it with the original. This enables you to select and modify the drop shadow
layer independently from the original layer.

To add a drop shadow
1 Select a layer or group.
2 Choose Effects  Objects  Create Drop Shadow.
3 In the Drop Shadow dialog box, type values in the following boxes:
• X-Offset and Y-Offset — specifies the distance, in pixels, from the center of the
layer image to the shadow
• Opacity — specifies the degree to which the shadow covers underlying images.
Setting Opacity to 100% obscures underlying images; lower values create a
more transparent shadow.
• Radius — specifies the amount of blur at the edge of the shadow. The radius is
half the distance across the blurred region. If you set Radius to zero, you create
a sharp-edged shadow.
• Angle specifies the direction of the blur.
• Thinness specifies the amount of blur applied perpendicular to the Angle. If a
blur shows streaks, increase Thinness to soften it.
If you want to merge the drop shadow layer with the image layer, enable the
Collapse to One Layer check box.

Creating Patterns on Layers
You can use the same techniques to create patterns on layers as you do to create them
on the canvas. However, a pattern’s wrap-around features do not apply to layers. This
is because the canvas has edges, but layers do not — they are unlimited in size. If you
shift a pattern on a layer, the pattern does not wrap around. For more information, see
“Patterns” on page 197.

Working with Reference Layers
Reference layers get their image content from an external source — either a pixelbased layer in the current document or a separate file. They provide a low-resolution
representation of the original image that you can quickly manipulate in ways that
would otherwise require more time. Working with a reference layer allows you to
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resize, rotate, or slant a layer onscreen by dragging its handles. The changes are
immediately displayed in the document window. When you finish making changes,
you can commit the reference layer back to a standard layer. Corel Painter examines
the source image to restore the original resolution.
You cannot edit the image data in a reference layer. If you try to paint on or apply
effects to a reference layer, Corel Painter prompts you to commit it back to a
pixel-based layer.
You can create a reference layer by basing it on an existing layer or by placing an
image. For more information about placing images, see “Opening and Placing Files”
on page 47.

To create a reference layer
1 Select a layer.
2 Choose Layer  Convert to Reference Layer.
The layer’s icon in the Layers panel changes to an eight-handled shape , and an
eight-handled box marks the boundary of the layer’s contents in the document
window.
To modify a reference layer
• Select a reference layer.
To

Do the following

Resize a reference layer in one direction

Drag a side handle to resize the layer in one
direction only.

Resize a reference layer in more than one
direction

Drag a corner handle to resize the layer in
two directions at once. If you want to
maintain the layer proportions, hold down
Shift as you drag. The pointer changes when
you position it over a corner handle
.

Rotate a reference layer

Hold down Command (Mac OS) or Ctrl
(Windows), and drag a corner handle. The
pointer changes when you position it over a
corner handle
.

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Do the following

Skew a reference layer

Hold down Command (Mac OS) or Ctrl
(Windows), and drag a side handle. The
pointer changes when you position it over a
side handle
.

To commit a reference layer
• In the Layers panel, right-click a reference layer, and click Commit.
The conversion process might take a few seconds, depending on the size and
quality of the layer.

Setting Layer Opacity
You can adjust a layer’s opacity to create different levels of transparency. The Opacity
slider covers a range of 0% (completely transparent) to 100% (completely opaque).

To change a layer’s opacity
1 Select the layer you want to change.
2 In the Layers panel, do one of the following:
• Move the Opacity slider .
• Type a percentage in the Opacity box, and press Return (Mac OS) or Enter
(Windows).

The example on the left shows the background layers at 100% opacity. The example on
the right shows them at 50% opacity.

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Blending Layers by Using Composite Methods
A layer’s composite method controls how it interacts with the underlying image. You
can change composite methods to create special effects without changing the actual
images that make up a document.
Corel Painter provides two types of composite settings:
• Composite Method sets the standard composite method.
• Composite Depth controls how a layer’s image data interacts with depth
information on the canvas and other layers.
For example, if the canvas contains Impasto brushstrokes, the Composite Depth
setting determines what happens when these brushstrokes intersect with brushstrokes
on the layer. For more information, see “Blending Impasto with Other Layers” on
page 375.
You can set a different composite method for every layer in a document. Keep in mind
the role of the underlying image in creating an effect — you might achieve an
unexpected result if the underlying image is solid black or white.
The best way to understand the different composite methods is by seeing them in
action. Quickly cycle through a layer’s composite methods to create new and
interesting versions of your image. For a comparison of Corel Painter composite
methods and Adobe PhotoShop blend modes, see “Saving Files That Contain Layers”
on page 456.
The available composite methods are described in the following table:
Composite method

Example

Default
In the Default method, the layer covers and
hides the underlying image.

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Composite method

Example

Gel
The Gel method tints the underlying image
with the layer’s color. For example, a yellow
layer gives the underlying image a yellow
cast.
Corel Painter automatically sets a layer’s
composite method to Gel if you paint on it
with a brush that uses the Buildup method.

GelCover
The GelCover method uses a combination of
the Default method and the Gel method.
The edges of the layer’s content tint the
underlying image with their color (the Gel
method). The rest of the layer covers the
underlying image (Default method).
If you save a file that uses a GelCover
composite method layer to the PSD file
format, the GelCover information will be
lost.
Colorize
The Colorize method replaces the hue and
saturation of the canvas pixels with the hue
and saturation of the layer pixels.
You can use this feature to convert a color
image to grayscale, or a grayscale image to
color. A black layer turns the underlying
color image into a grayscale image. A
colored layer adds color to an underlying
grayscale image.

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Composite method

Example

Reverse-Out
In the Reverse-Out method, the layer inverts
the colors beneath it. This method is a great
way to remove text. Place a layer over black
text to turn it white.
A color’s inverse, also known as its
complementary color, is the color on the
opposite side of the color wheel.
With Reverse-Out, the colors in the layer are
ignored; the layer content becomes
transparent and reveals the inverse of the
colors beneath it.
Shadow Map
Shadow Map blocks light, letting you create
shadows without changing the image.

Magic Combine
In the Magic Combine method, the layer is
combined with the underlying image based
on luminance. The parts of the layer that are
lighter than the underlying image are
visible. The parts that are darker are
replaced by the lighter area of the
underlying image.
One way to use this method is to fill text.
With a photograph as the top layer and
black text as the underlying image, choosing
Magic Combine fills the text with the image.

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Composite method

Example

Pseudocolor
The Pseudocolor method translates the
layer’s luminance into hue. You can use this
method to turn a grayscale layer into a
spectrum of color.

Normal
The Normal method works like the Default
method; the layer covers the underlying
image. The Normal method is the default
mode in Photoshop.

Dissolve
Dissolve combines the image color with the
layer color based on opacity.

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Composite method

Example

Multiply
Multiply combines colors to create a darker
color.

Screen
Screen combines colors to create a lighter
color.

Overlay
Overlay combines colors while preserving
the highlights and shadows of the image
color.

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Composite method

Example

Soft Light
Soft Light darkens or lightens colors
depending on the luminance of the layer
color.

Hard Light
Hard Light multiplies or screens colors,
depending on the luminance of the layer
color.

Darken
Darken colors with the image color or the
layer color — whichever is darker.

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Composite method

Example

Lighten
Lighten colors with the image color or the
layer color — whichever is lighter

Difference
Difference subtracts one color from the
other, depending on which color has a
greater brightness value.

Hue
Hue creates a color by combining the
luminance and saturation of the image color
with the hue of the layer color.

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Composite method

Example

Saturation
Saturation creates a color by combining the
luminance and hue of the image color with
the saturation of the layer color.

Color
Color creates a new color by combining the
luminance of the image color with the hue
and saturation of the layer color. This
method is the opposite of Luminosity.

Luminosity
Luminosity creates a new color from the hue
and saturation of the image color and the
luminance of the layer color. This method is
the opposite of Color.

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To change a layer’s composite method
1 Select a layer.
2 In the Layers panel, choose a composite method from the Composite Method list
box.

Adding Notes to a Layer
In the Layer Attributes dialog box, you can attach additional information to a layer by
adding notes to it.

To record notes for a layer
1 Select a layer or group.
2 Do one of the following:
• Choose Layers  Layer Attributes.
• Click the Layer Options button
in the Layers panel, and choose Layer
Attributes.
3 Type in the Note box.
You cannot record notes for a layer if you enable the WWW Map Clickable
Region check box for image mapping.
You can also record notes for pixel-based layers and reference layers, by
double-clicking the item in the Layers panel, or selecting an item and pressing
Return (Mac OS) or Enter (Windows).

Storing Images with the Image Portfolio
The Image Portfolio is a convenient place to store images you that want to use again.

To display the Image Portfolio panel
• Choose Window  Media Library Panels  Images.
If the Image Portfolio panel is not expanded, double-click the Image Portfolio
panel tab.

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To add a layer to the Image Portfolio
1 Select a layer.
2 In the toolbox, click the Layer Adjuster tool .
3 In the Image Portfolio panel, click the Image Portfolio options button
choose Add Image to Portfolio.
The layer is cut from the current document.
4 In the Save Image dialog box, type a name in the Save As box.

, and

The Image Portfolio holds only pixel-based layers. If you want to add a shape,
Watercolor, Liquid Ink, or dynamic layer to the Image Portfolio, you must
first convert it to a default layer. In the Layers panel, click the Layer Options
button , and choose Convert to Default Layer.

To use an image from the Image Portfolio
1 Choose Window  Media Library Panels  Images.
2 Double-click an item in the Image Portfolio panel to add it to the document
window.

Corel Painter places the Image Portfolio item on a new layer.

Organizing Layers with Image Portfolio Libraries
You can create your own Image Portfolio libraries to organize layers by category. When
you’re creating a library, keep in mind that the smaller the library, the easier it will be
to see its contents at a glance.
You can also move items between Image Portfolio libraries. For more information
about moving items between libraries, refer to “Libraries” on page 32.

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Working with Layer Masks
You can create a layer mask to define what areas of a layer are visible in the document
window. Masking originated as a technique for creating color separations, where sheets
of masking material were hand-cut to define the color regions in an image. In the
Corel Painter digital workspace, the layer mask is a powerful tool for controlling image
composition and effects.

Layer Masks vs. Channels
A layer mask is similar to an alpha channel. Both are grayscale images that you can
create and edit. Although the Channels panel provides access to both channels and
layer masks, their characteristics and functions are different:
• A layer mask is attached to a layer, but an alpha channel is independent.
• The canvas can have up to 32 alpha channels; each layer can have only one layer
mask.
• Channels don’t influence the visibility of the canvas image; a layer mask defines
what areas of a layer’s image are visible.
• An alpha channel, when loaded, protects designated areas of an image; a layer
mask does not provide protection.
• A channel is enabled by loading it to a selection. A layer mask can be enabled and
disabled at any time, and it can also be loaded to a selection.
For more information, see “Creating, Generating, and Importing Channels” on
page 436.

Creating Layer Masks
A layer mask is a grayscale image. In the white areas of the mask, the layer content is
visible; in the black areas of the mask, the layer is transparent, revealing the images
below it. Intermediate levels of gray are partially transparent.
You can create a new, blank layer mask, or you can create a layer mask based on the
layer’s transparency. A layer mask based on transparency is white wherever the layer
has content, and black in other areas. For more information, see “Preserving Layer
Transparency” on page 470.

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A layer mask for the butterfly layer is created based on its transparency. Black areas are
transparent; white areas reveal the image.

To create a blank layer mask
1 Select a layer.
2 Do one of the following:
• In the Layers panel, click the Create Layer Mask button .
• Choose Layers  Create Layer Mask.
The blank layer mask icon displays next to the layer name in the Layers panel.
The layer mask icon varies in appearance depending on how you’re viewing
the layers. If you are displaying layers as No Thumbnails, the icon is the same
as the Create Layer Mask button. If you’re viewing layers as any size of
thumbnail, a small-scale representation of the mask displays as the icon.

To create a layer mask based on transparency
1 Select a layer.
2 Choose Layers  Create Layer Mask from Transparency.
The layer mask icon displays next to the layer name in the Layers panel.
You can create layer masks based on transparency for pixel-based layers only.
Other layers must first be converted to default layers by clicking the Layer
Options button
in the Layers panel, and choosing Convert to Default
Layer.
Earlier versions of Corel Painter used layer visibility masks. If you have a file
with a modified visibility mask that was created with an earlier version of
Corel Painter, use this procedure to load the visibility mask to a layer mask.

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Selecting and Viewing Layer Masks
Before you work with a layer mask, you must select it. You can also view a layer mask
as a grayscale image. Selecting a layer mask and viewing it are distinct operations —
you can select a layer mask without viewing it.

To select a layer mask
1 In the Layers panel, choose a layer that has a layer mask.
The layer mask is displayed in the Channels panel.
2 Do one of the following:
• In the Channels panel, click the layer mask.
• In the Layers panel, click the layer mask icon next to the layer name.
To select a transparency mask from the Layers Panel
• In the Layers panel, perform an action from the following table:
To

Do the following

Select the transparency mask for a layer

Press Command (Mac) or CTRL (Windows),
and click the title or preview icon of a layer
or layer group.

Add the transparency mask for a layer to
another layer

Press Shift + Command (Mac) or Shift +
CTRL (Windows), and click the title or
preview icon of a layer or layer group.

To view a layer mask
1 Select a layer with a layer mask.
2 In the Channels panel, click the layer mask.
In this mode, the RGB image is hidden.
To hide a layer mask
• In the Channels panel, click the eye icon
the icon changes to a closed eye .

Layers

next to the layer mask item, so that

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Managing Layer Masks
You can copy a layer mask to an alpha channel. If you’ve finished working with a layer
mask, you can delete it. You can also clear a layer mask without deleting it, leaving you
with a blank mask.
The layer mask is a grayscale image. By inverting it, you can make dark pixels light,
and light pixels dark. When you move a layer, Corel Painter also moves the layer mask
to maintain the pixel correspondence.
You can disable a layer mask, which lets you view the entire layer. The layer mask can
be re-enabled at any time. If you like the result of a layer mask, you can apply it.
Applying the layer mask permanently removes the hidden parts of the layer and
deletes the layer mask.
Although a layer mask does not protect areas of a layer from being edited, you can
load a layer mask to a selection. The selection provides protection to the hidden parts
of the layer. For more information about selections, refer to “Selections and
Transformations” on page 407.
The name of a layer mask in the Channels panel reflects the name of the layer ([Layer
Name] [Layer Mask]). Although you cannot change the name of a layer mask, it
automatically updates if you change the layer name. You can also copy a channel to a
layer mask.

To copy a layer mask to a channel
1 Select a layer mask.
2 In the Channels panel, click the Channel Options button , and choose
Duplicate.
3 In the Duplicate Channel dialog box, choose New from the Destination list box.
You can also copy a layer mask to an existing channel, which replaces that
channel. To do this, choose the channel to be replaced from the Destination
list box.

To copy a channel to a layer mask
1 Select a layer in the Layers panel.
2 Click the Create Layer Mask button
A blank layer mask is created.
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3 In the Channels panel, select the channel you want to copy.
4 Click the Channel Options button

, and choose Duplicate.

5 In the Duplicate Channel dialog box, choose the layer mask from the Destination
list box.
Corel Painter copies to the layer mask the portion of the channel that coincides
with the layer content.

To delete or clear a layer mask
• Select the layer mask you want to delete or clear.
To

Do the following

Delete a layer mask

Do one of the following:
•Choose Layers  Delete Layer Mask.
•In the Channels panel, click the Channel
Options button
, and choose Delete.
•Click the Delete button
at the bottom
of the Channels panel.

Clear a layer mask

In the Channels panel, click the Channel
Options button
, and choose Clear.

To invert a layer mask
1 Select a layer mask.
2 In the Channels panel, click the Channel Options button

, and choose Invert.

To enable or disable a layer mask
• Select a layer mask.
To

Do the following

Enable a layer mask

Choose Layers  Enable Layer Mask.

Disable a layer mask

Choose Layers  Disable Layer Mask. A red
‘X’ is displayed over the layer mask icon.

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To apply a layer mask
1 Select a layer mask.
2 Choose Layers  Apply Layer Mask.
To load a layer mask to a selection
1 In the Layers panel, select a layer that has a layer mask.
2 Control + click the layer mask icon (Mac OS), or right-click the layer mask icon
(Windows), and choose Load Layer Mask to Selection.

Editing Layer Masks
When you select a layer mask, you can edit it as you would edit a channel. You can
paint in a layer mask; apply effects to it; fill it with a color, pattern, gradient, or weave;
and feather it. You do not have to view a layer mask to edit it; you can select the layer
mask, make changes to it, and view the resulting image immediately.

A layer mask before (left) and after (right) feathering.

When you edit a layer mask, you are making modifications to the mask, not to the
layer’s image. You can use shades of gray only; no colors are available. This is because
the layer mask is a grayscale image that is separate from the RGB image.
The paint and effects you apply to a layer mask are reflected as follows:
• Applying white removes areas from the mask and reveals more of the layer.
• Applying black adds to the mask, which conceals more of the layer.
• Applying an intermediate gray value makes the mask semitransparent.

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Image Effects
Inspired by traditional artistic methods, the Corel Painter image effects let you do
everything from correcting colors to retouching images to creating a completely new
image from a source. The effects range from practical tools, like the orientation, tonal
control and focus effects, to artistic expressions, like embossing, color overlay, and
posterize.
For some effects, you use other Corel Painter features such as clones, special brushes, or
layers. This chapter contains most of the information you’ll need to use an effect;
however, you will find cross-references provided when you need more detailed
information about specific Corel Painter features.
There are two Objects effects — Drop Shadow and Align. These effects work only on
layers and are explained in “Adding Drop Shadows” on page 473 and “Working with
Reference Layers” on page 474.
This section contains the following topics:
• Applying Effects
• Correcting and Adjusting Colors
• Equalizing Images
• Tonal Control Effects
• Using Lighting
• Working with Surface Texture
• Using Other Surface Control Effects
• Using Focus Effects
• Using Esoterica Effects

Applying Effects
You apply most of the Corel Painter effects in the same manner:
• Select where to apply the effect.
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• Choose a specific effect.
• Set effect options, and click OK to apply the effect to your image.
Each effect can have several options and parameters that might require you to use
other features, such as selections, layers, colors, paper textures, and gradients. In
addition to working with other panels, you can get the most out of the effects if you
understand more about application methods and the Fade command.

Where to Apply Effects
You can apply special effects to a selection, a layer, or the entire image.
• If there is no selection, the effect is applied to the entire image.
• If you want to apply an effect to a region of the canvas, use any selection tool to
select that area before you choose an effect command. For more information about
these tools, refer to “Creating and Saving Selections” on page 407.
• If you want to apply an effect to a layer, select that layer before you choose an effect
command. Corel Painter applies the effect to the entire layer. For more information
about selecting a layer, refer to “Selecting Layers” on page 458.
• If you apply an effect to a shape, dynamic layer, text layer, or reference layer, you
must first commit the layer to an image layer.

Changing Effects with Open Panels
You can change settings such as colors, papers, patterns, and gradients while you
experiment with an effect. To do this, you must display all required panels before
choosing an effect. For example, the Color Overlay effect combines the selected paper
texture and main color to define the overlay. If the Papers and Color panels are open
when you choose the effect, you can change paper grains and colors to create different
overlays before applying the effect to your image. Any changes in the paper or color
appear in the Preview window in the Color Overlay dialog box. You can move an
effect’s dialog box around on your screen, if necessary, for full access to other panels.

Using Fade with Effects
The Fade command lets you undo a percentage of the last effect applied to the image.
You can use this feature to control the intensity of an effect.

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Use the Fade command to undo a percentage of your last effect.

To experiment with Fade
1 Open a new document.
2 Paint a colorful image, or fill the document window with a pattern.
3 Choose an effect, adjust the settings, and click OK to apply the effect.
4 Choose Edit  Fade.
5 In the Fade dialog box, move the slider.
The image in the Preview window changes.
6 When you are satisfied with the settings, click OK to apply the effect.
If you change your mind, choose Edit  Undo.

Applying Recently Used Effects
At the top of the Effects menu, Corel Painter displays the last two effects you applied.
This lets you quickly reapply frequently used effects. You can also use keyboard
shortcuts to apply the last two effects.

To reapply a recently used effect
• Do one of the following:
• Choose Effects, then choose one of the options at the top of the menu.
• Press Command + / (Mac OS) or Ctrl + / (Windows).

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You can also apply a shortcut key to the 2nd Last Effect effect command by
clicking Edit  Preferences  Customize Keys. Clicking the Effects category in
the Application Commands list, clicking the 2nd Last Effect command to
select it, and typing a shortcut key in the Shortcut column.

Understanding the Using list box
Many of the Corel Painter effects dialog boxes have a Using list box that lets you
specify a source, or method. The source determines how an effect is applied to different
areas of an image. A larger degree of change is applied to light areas of the source, and
a smaller degree of change is applied to dark areas. For example, when you use the
Paper method, the effect is applied according to the light and dark areas of the selected
paper texture.
The choices available in the Using list box vary between effects. The choices include:
• Uniform Color
• Paper
• Image Luminance
• Original Luminance (clone source)
• 3D Brushstrokes
• Alpha channel or layer mask
This option is available only if your document has a channel or a layer with a layer
mask.
These options are explained in greater detail in the overview for each effect.
In most cases, you can see the results of choosing different options in the Preview
window of an effect’s dialog box. The best way to see how these options affect your
images is to try them.

Correcting and Adjusting Colors
Color correction lets you adjust the relative amounts of the color components in an
image. Color correction is often used to improve a color-casted or washed-out photo.
You can also use it to create surreal color effects. If a layer is selected, color correction is
applied only to the layer; if no layer is selected, the entire image is color corrected.

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Color correction is based on adjusting gamma response curves. You can adjust the
gamma curves for red, green, blue, or all three color components. The black Master
curve controls all color components equally. The curves describe how the input color
values are adjusted to create the output (corrected) color values.
Light

Corrected
Values

Dark
Original Color Values

A gamma curve.

The horizontal axis represents the input (original color) values. The vertical axis
represents the output (corrected) values. Before you adjust a curve, it appears perfectly
diagonal (45°), which indicates that all input and output values are equal.
Corel Painter maps light values at the top of the graph and darker values at the
bottom. When you edit RGB curves, the current color is indicated by a colored point
on the curve.

Use the Color Correction dialog box to correct colors.

The Color Correction dialog box provides access to four methods of adjusting a gamma
curve:
• Contrast and Brightness
• Curve
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• Freehand
• Advanced
You can use a single method or a combination of methods to adjust the image.
You can also adjust an image by matching the colors and brightness of another image.

Using Contrast and Brightness to Correct Colors
You can adjust the contrast or brightness of colors while maintaining the tonal
transitions in the original image. As you adjust the Contrast or Brightness sliders, the
endpoints of the curves remain fixed. Because the effect maintains the levels from the
original image, there are always 256 distinct levels, regardless of how much you adjust
the sliders.
Contrast adjusts the difference between light and dark values. As you increase
Contrast, the curve takes on an “S” shape, indicating that light colors are becoming
lighter and dark colors darker.

Original image.

Contrast method of color correction.

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Brightness moves all values on a curve to a brighter tone or darker tone.

Brightness method of color correction.

To correct colors by using contrast and brightness
1 Choose Effects  Tonal Control  Correct Colors.
2 In the Color Correction dialog box, choose Contrast and Brightness from the list
box.
3 For each color you want to adjust, click the color icon and adjust the Contrast and
Brightness sliders.
Click the Master button to adjust all color curves at once.
Color icons in the Color Correction dialog box.

Using Curve to Correct Colors
Curve lets you drag the color curves to reshape them. This method lets you to create
very specific changes in color values.

Curve method of color correction.

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You can control the overall effect of your changes using the Effect slider. The slider
controls how much of the curve moves in response to your dragging. When the slider
is all the way to the right, the entire curve moves. As the value is reduced, a smaller
portion of the curve moves.

To correct colors by reshaping curves
1 Choose Effects  Tonal Control  Correct Colors.
2 In the Color Correction dialog box, choose Curve from the list box.
3 Click the color icon for the curve you want to reshape.
If you want to reshape all color curves at once, click the Master button.
4 Adjust the position of the Effect slider to set the intensity of your changes.
5 Move the crosshair cursor over the curve; when the crosshair cursor changes to a
black arrowhead, drag the curve.

Using Freehand to Correct Colors
The Freehand method lets you draw the curve as you want it. This color correction
method is particularly useful when you want posterized or solarized effects.

Freehand method of color correction.

To correct colors by using the Freehand method
1 Choose Effects menu  Tonal Control  Correct Colors.
2 In the Color Correction dialog box, choose Freehand from the list box.
3 Click the color icon for the color you want to adjust.
If you want to redraw all color curves at once, click the Master button.
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4 Move the pointer over the graph; when the pointer changes to a pencil, drag to
draw a new curve.

Using the Advanced Method to Correct Colors
The Advanced method lets you set the red, green, and blue curves numerically at five
points: Highlight, 1/4 Tone, Midtone, 3/4 Tone, and Shadow. These points coincide
with the vertical gridlines.

Advanced method of color correction.

To correct colors by using the Advanced method
1 Choose Effects  Tonal Control  Correct Colors.
2 In the Color Correction dialog box, choose Advanced from the list box.
3 Click a color icon, and drag the corresponding curve.
If you want to redraw all color curves at once, click the Master button.
You can also correct colors using the Advanced method by choosing Advanced
from the list box and typing values in the boxes.

Adjusting Colors
The Adjust Colors effect lets you control the hue, saturation, and value of an image in
much the same way as you would adjust your television.

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Use the Adjust Color dialog box to change the hue, saturation, and value of an image.

To adjust colors
1 Select a layer or area of the canvas.
If you want to adjust colors in the entire image, do not make a selection.
2 Choose Effects  Tonal Control  Adjust Colors.
3 In the Adjust Color dialog box, choose one of the following methods from the
Using list box:
• Uniform Color — adjusts all pixels equally
• Paper — uses the selected paper grain to control the color adjustment
• Image Luminance — uses the luminance of the image as the model for color
adjustment. Areas of greater luminance are adjusted more.
• Original Luminance — uses the luminance of the clone source as the model for
color adjustment. If you have not set up a clone source, the current pattern is
used.
• [Alpha channel] or [Layer mask] — sets the selected alpha channel or layer
mask as the model for controlling color adjustment. For example, a
black-to-white gradation in the channel or mask lets you adjust the color
progressively across the image. In black areas of the channel or mask, colors are
not changed. In white areas of the channel or mask, the adjustment applies
fully. Transitional areas receive proportional color adjustments.
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4 Adjust the sliders to control the overall hue, saturation, and value levels in the
selection.
• The Hue Shift slider adjusts the colors of the pixels by changing their hue.
Moving the slider to the right increases the hue.
• The Saturation slider adjusts the amount of pure hue in the color. Moving the
slider all the way to the left creates a grayscale image.
• The Value slider adjusts color brightness. Moving the slider to the left darkens
colors.
You can see changes in the Preview window. To see areas of the image that aren’t
visible, drag in the Preview window.
If you want to reset the sliders to the default settings, click Reset.
With all methods other than Uniform Color, a greater color adjustment
results for pixels that are assigned higher luminance.

Adjusting Selected Colors
The Adjust Selected Colors effect is similar to the Adjust Colors effect, but it works
only on a specified range of colors within an image. You choose a color in an image and
adjust colors within a range of that color. You could, for example, change yellow
peppers to red peppers. You can adjust colors that are exactly the same as the color you
select, or you can choose colors within a range, based on proximity (on the color wheel
or the color space) to the selected color.

Selective color adjustments change only certain colors in the image.

The Extents sliders determine the extent of the HSV color space around the selected
center color:

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• H Extents controls the number of hues adjusted. Only hues within the specified
percentage of hues on the color wheel are adjusted.
• S Extents controls the range of saturation adjusted. Only saturations within this
range are adjusted.
• V Extents controls the range of values adjusted.
By combining these three settings, you can set up a very specific range of colors to
adjust. For example, you can limit changes to a precise shade of red.
The Feather sliders affect the softness at the edge of the selected colors. These sliders
can help you create smoother transitions between the replaced color and the original.

A replaced color with and without feathering.

The choice of methods is the same as for Adjust Colors. For more information, refer to
“To adjust colors” on page 502.

To adjust a selected color
1 Choose Effects  Tonal Control  Adjust Selected Colors.
The Adjust Selected Colors dialog box appears.
2 Move your cursor over the original image in the document window (your cursor
becomes a dropper), and click the color you want to adjust.
The Color panel displays the selected color as the main color.
3 Choose a method from the Using list box to determine the source that
Corel Painter will use for the color adjustment.
4 Adjust the Extents and Feather sliders to select a range of colors to adjust.
Move the Extents sliders to the right to increase the amount of color space affected.
5 Adjust the bottom three sliders to control the overall hue, saturation, and value
levels.
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You can see changes in the Preview window. To see areas of the image that aren’t
visible, drag in the Preview window.
If you want to reset the sliders to the default settings, click Reset.

Adjusting Brightness and Contrast
You can adjust the brightness and contrast of the overall image in RGB in the
Brightness/Contrast dialog box. You can also adjust brightness and contrast as a
function of dye densities by adjusting the dye concentration. For more information, see
“Adjusting the Dye Concentration” on page 532.

Before (left) and after (right) applying the Brightness/Contrast effect.

To adjust RGB brightness and contrast
1 Select a layer or area of the canvas.
If you want to apply the effect to the entire image, do not make a selection.
2 Choose Effects  Tonal Control Brightness/Contrast.
The Brightness/Contrast dialog box appears.
3 Move the upper slider to adjust image contrast. Move the lower slider to adjust
image brightness.
The image is adjusted when you stop dragging.
If you want to reset the sliders to the default settings, click Reset.
4 Click Apply.

Equalizing Images
Equalizing an image involves increasing the contrast by resetting the darkest and
lightest points and then evenly distributing the values across those two points.
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Using Curve to Equalize Images
The Curve feature lets you produce an equalizing effect by adjusting the black and
white points in your image. You can set the black and white points for your image
automatically or manually.

To automatically set black and white points
1 Choose Effects  Tonal Control  Correct Colors.
2 In the Color Correction dialog box, choose Curve from the list box.
3 Click Auto Set.
To manually set black or white points
1 Choose the Dropper tool
from the toolbox.
2 In the document window, click the color you want to assign as the darkest or
lightest point.
3 Choose Effects  Tonal Control  Correct Colors.
4 In the Color Correction dialog box, choose Curve from the list box.
5 Click one of the following:
• Black Point — assigns all colors equal to or darker than the current main color
to black
• White Point — assigns all colors equal to or lighter than the current main color
to white

Using the Equalize Effect to Equalize Images
The Equalize effect improves contrast, adjusting black and white points, and
distributing the brightness levels throughout the entire range of available levels.
Corel Painter lets you equalize an image by creating a histogram showing the number
of pixels for each brightness level value and then allowing you to adjust those values.
The Equalize effect also allows gamma adjustment, which lightens or darkens an
image without changing highlights or shadows.

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Before (left) and after (right) applying the Equalize effect.

To equalize colors
1 Select a layer or area of the canvas.
If you want to apply the effect to the entire image, do not make a selection.
2 From the menu bar, choose Effects  Tonal Control  Equalize.
Corel Painter automatically adjusts the image or selection so that the lightest color
is white and the darkest color is black.
3 In the Equalize dialog box, adjust contrast by dragging the black and white
markers under the histogram.
Any values in the image located to the right of the white marker become white;
any values to the left of the black marker become black.
4 Move the Brightness slider to adjust the gamma.
Moving the slider to the right darkens the image; moving the slider to the left
lightens the image.
Changing the gamma adjusts only the midtones of an image and leaves the black
and white areas untouched.
5 Click OK to apply changes.
A preview of the changes is applied to the original image, but the changes are not
final until you click OK. If you want to revert to the original image, click Cancel.
If you made a selection and you want to equalize the entire image, enable the
Apply to Entire Image check box in the Equalize dialog box.

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Tonal Control Effects
Corel Painter has a variety of effects that let you adjust color and tone. Some effects are
designed primarily for correcting colors, while others let you adjust colors for special
effects. For example, you can match colors across images, invert colors, or posterized
colors.
You can also use tools, such as the Dodge tool and the Burn tool, to adjust color and
tone in specific areas.
For information about color correction, see “Correcting and Adjusting Colors” on
page 496.

Matching Color and Brightness across Images
The Match Palette effect lets you apply the color and brightness of a source image to a
destination image. For example, you can match the colors in a photo to the colors in a
favorite painting. You can then clone and paint your photo in the same style as your
favorite painting. You can also use the Match Palette effect to ensure that the color and
brightness in a group of photos is consistent.

You can apply the color and brightness from a source image (centre) to your working image
(left) to create a new effect (right).

To match colors across images
1 Open both the source image and the destination image.
2 Select the destination image.
3 Choose Effects  Tonal Control  Match Palette.
The Match Palette dialog box appears.
4 From the Source list box, select the source image.
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The filenames for all open images appear in the list box.
5 Adjust any of the following sliders:
• Color — lets you determine how the colors from the source image blend with
the colors in the destination image. At higher settings, more source color is
applied.
• Variance (Color) — lets you adjust the range of the source colors. Higher
settings increase the number of shades used from the source image.
• Brightness — lets you determine how the luminance from the source image
blends with the luminance in the destination image. Higher Brightness settings
pull more highlights and shadows from the source image into the destination
image.
• Variance (Brightness) — lets you adjust the range of highlights and shadows.
Higher settings increase the contrast between the highlights and shadows.
6 Move the Amount slider to specify the overall intensity of the other settings.
Start at 100%, and decrease the amount until you are satisfied with the results.

Inverting Colors
The Negative effect inverts all the colors in your image or in the selected layer.

Positive (left) and negative (right) versions of an image.

To invert colors
1 Select a layer or area of the canvas.
If you want to invert the entire image, do not make a selection.
2 Choose Effects  Tonal Control  Negative.

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Posterizing an Image
Posterizing reduces the number of color levels contained in an image.

To posterize an image
1 Select a layer or area of the canvas.
If you want to apply the effect to the entire image, do not make a selection.
2 Choose Effects  Tonal Control  Posterize.
3 In the Posterize dialog box, specify a number of levels.
The fewer levels you specify, the more dramatic the effect.
To posterize an image combined with a paper grain, refer to “Applying a
Screen” on page 529.
To posterize to two levels and also adjust the brightness, refer to “Using the
Equalize Effect to Equalize Images” on page 506.

Posterize by Using a Color Set
Corel Painter can posterize your image based on a color set. This effect lets you create
an image with only a specified set of colors in it. This is useful for multimedia work, as
well as applications such as silkscreening.
This effect can also be used to reduce an image’s colors so that the image appears
correctly on the Web. For more information, refer to “Working with Posterize Using
Color Set” on page 698.

To posterize an image by using a color set
1 Select a layer or area of the canvas.
If you want to apply the effect to the entire image, do not make a selection.
2 Open or create a color set.
For instructions on creating a color set, refer to “Creating and Exporting Color
Sets” on page 186.
3 Choose Effects  Tonal Control  Posterize Using Color Set.
The image is reduced to the colors in the current color set.

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Applying Video Legal Colors
The Video Legal Colors effect makes the colors in an image compatible with video.
Colors that aren’t possible in video are converted to video legal colors.
Only bright yellows and cyans are not video legal. Corel Painter supports both the
National Television System Committee (NTSC) for video systems in the United States,
U.S. and Phase Alternation by Line (PAL) for video systems in Europe.

To apply Video Legal Colors
1 Select a layer or area of the canvas.
If you want to apply the effect to the entire image, do not make a selection.
2 Choose Effects  Tonal Control  Video Legal Colors.
3 In the Video Legal Colors dialog box, choose NTSC or PAL from the System list
box.

Dodging and Burning
The Dodge and Burn tools let you adjust the highlights, midtones, and shadows in an
image. The Dodge tool lightens the tone; the Burn tool darkens it. You can dodge and
burn anywhere in a photo, affecting an area as large or as small as you like.

To lighten the tone
1 Choose the Dodge tool
from the toolbox.
2 On the property bar, move the Size slider , or type a value in the Size box, to
adjust the size of the Dodge tool.
3 Move the Opacity slider , or type a value in the Opacity box, to adjust the
opacity of the Dodge tool.
4 Move the Jitter slider, or type a value in the Jitter box, to specify the amount of
randomness in the stroke.
5 Drag the brush in the image to apply the effect.

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The Dodge tool was used to lighten the girl’s eye.

To darken the tone
1 Choose the Burn tool
from the toolbox.
If the Burn tool is not displayed in the toolbox, hold down the Dodge tool
to
open the tool flyout.
2 On the property bar, move the Size slider , or type a value in the Size box, to
adjust the size of the Burn tool.
3 Move the Opacity slider , or type a value in the Opacity box, to adjust the
opacity of the Burn tool.
4 Move the Jitter slider, or type a value in the Jitter box, to specify the amount of
randomness in the stroke.
5 Drag the brush in the image to apply the effect.

The Burn tool was used to reduce the strong highlights on the faces.

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Using Lighting
The Apply Lighting effect lets you shine one or more light sources on an image. Using
this effect is like hanging your artwork in a gallery and adjusting colored spotlights to
illuminate it. You can choose different lighting effects from the Corel Painter library, or
you can create your own effects by defining brightness, distance, color, and other
characteristics.

Before (left) and after (right) Apply Lighting.

Applying Preset Lighting Effects
The Lighting library contains several preset lighting environments. You can use these
directly or as a starting point for customized lighting.

To apply preset lighting effects
1 Select a layer or area of the canvas.
If you want to apply the effect to the entire image, do not make a selection.
2 Choose Effects  Surface Control  Apply Lighting.
3 In the Apply Lighting dialog box, click a preset thumbnail.
The lighting effect is displayed in the Preview window.

Creating Custom Lighting
You can use the controls in the Apply Lighting dialog box to add, delete, and position
light sources. You can also set light properties to create unique lighting effects.
The Preview window shows the current position of each light source and the angle of
its projection.
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The four steps to creating custom lighting are
• Adding or deleting light sources
• Positioning lights
• Setting light properties
• Saving light settings

Adding, Deleting, and Repositioning Light Sources
The lighting effect is created by applying light from different sources to the image.
You can add or delete as many light sources as you wish. Your only limit is your
system’s memory.
When you add a light source, a new indicator appears in the preview window. The
small part of the light indicator is the origin (the point from which the light is shining).
The large part of the indicator is the point toward which the light is shining.
The type of lighting effect you create is determined by the position of light on the
image. You can use the light indicators to move and direct light sources.

Light source indicator.

To add, delete, or reposition a light source
1 Choose Effects  Surface Control  Apply Lighting.
2 Perform a task from the following table:
To

Do the following

Add a light source

Click anywhere in the Preview window.

Delete a light source

Click an indicator, and press Backspace.

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Do the following

Move a light source

Drag the large end of the indicator to the
point where you want the light to originate.

Change the direction of a light

Drag the small end of the light indicator
until the light is pointing in the desired
direction.

Setting Light Properties
You can set light properties such as brightness, distance, elevation, and color. Light
properties have a cumulative effect. For example, if you turn up a light’s brightness,
you might need to adjust exposure.

To change a light’s properties
1 Choose Effects  Surface Control  Apply Lighting.
2 In the Preview window, click an indicator to select it.
3 Adjust any of the following sliders:
• Brightness — is like a dimmer knob. Moving it to the left turns down the light
source; moving it to the right increases brightness.
• Distance — controls how far the light is from the image. If you move the light
source closer, you can compensate for the increased light by adjusting the
Exposure slider to compensate.
• Elevation — sets the light’s angle in relation to the canvas. At 90°, the light is
shining straight down, and at 1°, it’s nearly horizontal.
• Spread — sets the angle of the light cone
• Exposure — controls the image’s brightness, as in photography. Moving the
slider to the left decreases exposure and darkens the image; moving it to the
right increases exposure and lightens the image.
• Ambient — controls the surrounding light in an image. If you have no
individual lights in your image, the ambient lighting governs the overall
lightness of the image. Moving the slider to the left darkens the overall lighting;
moving it to the right increases the light.

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To change light color
1 Choose Effects  Surface Control  Apply Lighting.
2 In the Preview window, click an indicator.
3 Click the Light Color chip, choose a color from the Color dialog box, and click OK.
4 Click the Ambient Light Color chip, choose a color from the Color dialog box, and
click OK.

Working with Surface Texture
The Apply Surface Texture effect lets you add a three-dimensional (3D) surface texture
to your image. You can use this feature to apply a paper texture across the image, to
give depth to the brushstrokes of an oil painting, or to create 3D mosaic tiles.
Surface texture is created either by applying a paper texture or by using information
from a clone source to determine depth and height. There are five methods for creating
texture:
• Using a paper texture
• Using the difference from a clone source
• Using image luminance
• Using the luminance from a clone source
• Using a channel or layer mask
The Apply Surface Texture effect also lets you apply a reflection map to your surfaces,
which can make the textured parts of the image look metallic or glasslike. Refer to
“Working with Reflection Maps” on page 526 for more information.

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Examples of effects created with Apply Surface Texture.

Setting Appearance of Depth Properties
The surface texture you apply is made up of a material. That material can be subtle
and blend with the original image, or it can be highly reflective or shiny, distorting the
original image.
The Appearance of Depth sliders on the Apply Surface Texture dialog box let you
control material properties.
• The Amount slider controls how much surface texture is applied to the image.
Moving the slider all the way to the right applies the maximum amount.
• The Picture slider controls how much of the color from the original image is
applied to the texture. At 100%, the full color of the picture shines through.
Moving the slider to the left displays more black, leaving only the shine.
• The Shine slider controls how much highlight appears on the surface of the texture.
Higher Shine values make the texture look metallic.
• The Reflection slider maps a clone source image or pattern onto the texture at a
variable percentage.

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Using Paper to Create Texture
When you create a texture by using the Paper method, the current paper texture is
applied to your image. If the Papers panel is open, you can choose different papers and
change their scale to try different textures. The Preview window is updated
automatically to reflect paper changes.

Before (left) and after (right) creating texture by using paper grain.

To create surface texture by using paper
1 Select a layer or area of the canvas.
If you want to apply the effect to the entire image, do not make a selection.
2 Choose Effects  Surface Control  Apply Surface Texture.
3 In the Apply Surface Texture dialog box, choose Paper from the Using list box.
If you want to apply an inverted paper texture, enable the Inverted check box.
4 Adjust the Softness slider to control the amount of distortion created by the
texture.
Increasing softness creates more intermediate steps, which produces a smoother
distortion.
5 Adjust the Appearance of Depth sliders.
For more information, see “Setting Appearance of Depth Properties” on page 517.
6 Adjust the Light Controls sliders.
For more information, see “Applying Lighting to a Texture” on page 528.

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Using 3D Brushstrokes to Create Texture
When you create a texture using the 3D Brushstrokes method, the difference in
luminance between the clone source and the current document is used to determine
the look of the texture.
If you change the colors in the clone or posterize the clone, the texture is based on
color differences. If you paint on the clone, however, you can make the brushstrokes
appear three-dimensional, giving them the illusion of oil paints. For information about
cloning, refer to “Image Cloning and Sampling” on page 379.

An example of the texture created when Posterize (right) is applied to the clone source
(left).

An example of the texture created when brushstrokes (right) are applied to a cloned image
(left).

To create surface texture by using 3D Brushstrokes
1 Open the original image.
2 Choose File  Clone.
If you want to alter the clone before using the 3D Brush Strokes method, apply an
effect or paint on it.
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3 Select a layer or area of the canvas.
If you want to apply the effect to the entire image, do not make a selection.
4 Choose Effects  Surface Control  Apply Surface Texture.
5 In the Apply Surface Texture dialog box, choose 3D Brush Strokes from the Using
list box.
If you want to apply an inverted texture, enable the Inverted check box.
6 Adjust the Softness slider to control the amount of distortion created by the
texture.
Increasing softness creates more intermediate steps, which produces a smoother
distortion.
7 Adjust the Appearance of Depth sliders.
For more information, see “Setting Appearance of Depth Properties” on page 517.
8 Adjust the Light Controls sliders.
For more information, see “Applying Lighting to a Texture” on page 528.

Creating 3D Oils
Because the 3D Brushstrokes method uses the difference between the clone source and
its clone to define a 3D texture, you can create the illusion of dimensional oils by
painting on the clone. The look of the strokes on the clone determines how realistic the
final 3D strokes appear. So, you may want to set up a more complex brush before
painting. For example, you can apply a paper texture to the stroke. Many of the brush
variants reveal the paper texture automatically in their strokes.

An example of 3D brushstrokes with paper texture.

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You can apply a paper texture when you first create an image, and then paint or draw
over it to make a textured canvas for your strokes. However, the texture is erasable, so
you might not end up with the same texture across the document surface. As a rule,
you add the paper texture as the last step in producing artwork.
You can also use advanced brush settings to make realistic strokes. For example, you
can use the Brush Loading option to move underlying colors as you make
brushstrokes. You can also apply other settings, like Bleed, or adjust brush size to
create complex strokes. For more information, see “Adjusting Brushes” on page 261.

An example of 3D brushstrokes with Brush Loading (left) and Bleed (right) settings
applied.

Using Image Luminance to Create Texture
When you create a texture by using the Image Luminance method, the current
image’s luminance, or lightness, determines where surface texture is added. Light parts
of the image create dents; darker parts create raised areas. The overall effect gives an
embossed look to the edges of the image.

Before (left) and after (right) adding texture based on Image Luminance.

To create surface texture by using Image Luminance
1 Select a layer or area of the canvas.
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If you want to apply the effect to the entire image, do not make a selection.
2 Choose Effects  Surface Control  Apply Surface Texture.
3 In the Apply Surface Texture dialog box, choose Image Luminance from the Using
list box.
If you want to apply an inverted texture, enable the Inverted check box.
4 Adjust the Softness slider to control the amount of distortion created by the
texture.
Increasing softness creates more intermediate steps, which produces a smoother
distortion.
5 Adjust the Appearance of Depth sliders.
For more information, see “Setting Appearance of Depth Properties” on page 517.
6 Adjust the Light Controls sliders.
For more information, see “Applying Lighting to a Texture” on page 528.

Using Clone Source Luminance to Create Texture
When you create a texture by using clone source luminance, the dents and bumps in
the texture are determined by the light and dark areas in the clone source and are
applied to its clone. What is unique about this method is that you can create
interesting embossed looks by changing the clone source.

Texture based on clone source luminance.

Any image effects or brushstrokes that you apply to the source result in different
textures. For example, you can create raised areas in the clone by darkening the area in
the source image.

To create surface texture based on clone source luminance
1 Open an image.
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2 Choose File  Clone.
3 Alter the clone by applying an effect, by painting, or by choosing a pattern or
gradient.
4 Select a layer or area of the canvas.
If you want to apply the effect to the entire image, do not make a selection.
5 Choose Effects  Surface Control  Apply Surface Texture.
6 In the Apply Surface Texture dialog box, choose Original Luminance from the
Using list box.
If you want to apply an inverted texture, enable the Inverted check box.
7 Adjust the Softness slider to control the amount of distortion created by the
texture.
Increasing softness creates more intermediate steps, which produces a smoother
distortion.
8 Adjust the Appearance of Depth sliders.
For more information, see “Setting Appearance of Depth Properties” on page 517.
9 Adjust the Light Controls sliders.
For more information, see “Applying Lighting to a Texture” on page 528.

Creating Embossing Effects
One of the most effective ways of using the Original Luminance method is to create an
embossed image. Unlike standard emboss effects, Apply Surface Texture lets you
control not only the height of the texture, but also the lighting and material properties
of the embossing.

Before (left) and after (right) applying the embossed effect.

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To create an embossed effect
1 Open an image.
2 Choose File  Clone.
3 Choose a color other than black from the Colors or Color Sets panel.
If you want the embossed image to be white, select all, and then press Delete (Mac
OS) or Backspace (Windows).
4 Choose Edit  Fill.
5 In the Fill dialog box, enable the Current Color option.
6 Adjust the Opacity slider to set the opacity of the fill.
7 Click OK to fill the clone file with color.
8 Choose Effects  Surface Control  Apply Surface Texture.
9 In the Apply Surface Texture dialog box, choose Original Luminance from the
Using list box.
The Preview window shows how the embossed image will look.
10 Adjust any of the Appearance of Depth or Light Controls sliders.
11 Enable a Light Direction option to change the location of highlights and shadows.
If you want to change the light color, click the Light Color chip, and choose a color
from the Color dialog box.

Using Channels and Layer Masks to Create Texture
Corel Painter lets you produce surface texture based on an alpha channel or a layer
mask. You can use this method only if your image has a saved alpha channel or a layer
with a layer mask.
When you choose a channel, the texture is applied around the edges of the channel so
that the area it covers appears raised. When you choose a layer mask, the layer mask is
used to determine the boundaries of the texture. In this case, texture is applied to the
edges of the layer mask. For more information, see “Working with Layer Masks” on
page 487.

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Before (left) and after (right) adding texture based on a saved alpha channel.

Before (left) and after (right) adding texture based on a layer mask.

To create surface texture based on a channel or layer mask
1 Select a layer or the canvas.
If you want to use a layer mask, you must select the layer to which the layer mask
is attached. Make sure that the layer mask is not blank.
2 Choose Effects  Surface Control  Apply Surface Texture.
3 In the Apply Surface Texture dialog box, choose the channel or layer mask from the
Using list box.
If you want to apply an inverted texture, enable the Inverted check box.
4 Adjust the Softness slider to control the amount of distortion created by the
texture.
Increasing softness creates more intermediate steps, which produces a smoother
distortion.
5 Adjust the Appearance of Depth sliders.
For more information, see “Setting Appearance of Depth Properties” on page 517.
6 Adjust the Light Controls sliders.
For more information, see “Applying Lighting to a Texture” on page 528.

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Working with Reflection Maps
A reflection map is an image mapped onto a texture to produce the illusion that it’s
reflecting light from the surrounding environment. You can use the reflection map
pattern to quickly apply a realistic reflection. In most cases, a reflection map makes
your texture look like chrome or polished metal.

Before (left) and after (right) applying a typical reflection map.

You can use either a pattern or a clone source image as a reflection map. By adjusting
the Reflection slider, you control how much of the image appears in the texture. If your
image has a clone source, the source image is mapped onto the texture. Otherwise,
Corel Painter uses the current pattern as the reflection map.
You can use the Image Warp effect to approximate the reflection from a curved
surface. For more information, see “Warping an Image” on page 534.

To create a reflection map from a clone source
1 Open an image or create a new image to use as the reflection.
If you want to approximate the reflection from a curved surface, apply the
Image Warp effect.
2 Choose File  Clone.
3 Select the area that you want to be reflective.
4 Choose Edit  Cut.
5 Choose Edit  Paste in Place.
A new layer is created.
6 In the Layers panel, select the layer, and click the New Layer Mask button

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Using a layer mask simplifies the process because the layer mask exactly matches
the shape of the reflection area. Refer to “Working with Layer Masks” on page 487
for more information.

A selected image area, ready to become reflective.

7 Choose Effects  Surface Control  Apply Surface Texture.
8 In the Apply Surface Texture dialog box, choose the layer mask from the Using list
box.
9 Adjust the Reflection slider to control the amount of reflection you want.
10 Adjust the Softness slider to control the mapping from the edges of the layer’s
image.
Increasing Softness gives a rounder, more 3D look to the surface.

The resulting chrome-plated butterfly.

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Applying Lighting to a Texture
A large part of the final look of your textures is determined by the lighting you apply.
Bad lighting can obscure details in a pattern or surface. Good lighting can add
interesting highlights and enhance reflections.
You can add, delete, and position light sources, and you can set light properties. You
can also position lights by enabling one of the Light Direction options, which represent
eight different preset lighting angles. You can also create a custom lighting setup by
working in the sphere.
The lighting sphere shows all possible surface angles and how they are illuminated.
The light indicators on the sphere show the current positions of each light source.

The lighting sphere with a light indicator.

The Display slider beneath the lighting sphere controls the brightness of the sphere so
that it’s easier to see light positions. It does not affect the lights themselves.
Sliders for the three Light Controls let you set the properties of a light source. You can
also change a light’s color.
• The Brightness slider indicates the intensity of the light.
• The Conc (concentration) slider adjusts the spread of the light’s shine over the
surface.
• The Exposure slider globally adjusts the overall lighting amount from darkest to
brightest.

To add or delete a light
To

Do the following

Add a light

In the Apply Surface Texture dialog box,
click the lighting sphere. A new light
indicator (a small circle) is added to the
lighting sphere.

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Do the following

Delete a light

In the Apply Surface Texture dialog box,
click a light indicator, and press Delete (Mac
OS) or Backspace (Windows).

The Show Light Icons check box lets you hide or show the light indicators.

To change a light’s position
• In the Apply Surface Texture dialog box, drag a light indicator on the lighting
sphere.
You can also change a light’s position by selecting a light indicator on the
sphere and enabling one of the Light Direction options.

Using Other Surface Control Effects
The Surface Control effects let you manipulate paper, color, and light to produce a
variety of interesting visual effects. Many of these effects also let you add texture to an
image, producing the illusion of paint on a canvas or paper.

Applying a Screen
The Apply Screen effect is another way to add texture to an image. It combines
luminance, the selected paper texture, and the three colors you pick, to add a
three-color screen to an image.

Before (left) and after (right) using Apply Screen with Image Luminance.

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To apply a screen
1 Select a layer or area of the canvas.
If you want to apply the effect to the entire image, do not make selection.
2 Choose Effects  Surface Control  Apply Screen.
3 In the Apply Screen dialog box, choose three colors by clicking each color chip and
choosing a color from the Color dialog box.
4 Move the Threshold 1 slider to determine how much of the second and third colors
will be in the image.
Moving the slider to the left increases the amount of the third color. Moving it to
the right increases the amount of the second color.
5 Move the Threshold 2 slider to determine how much of the first color will be in the
image.
Moving the slider to the left decreases the amount of the first color. Moving it to
the right increases the amount of the first color.
6 Choose one of the following methods from the Using list box:
• Paper — produces a screen using the paper grain. If the Papers panel is open,
you can choose different textures while the Apply Screen dialog box is open.
• Image Luminance — creates texture based on the image’s brightness. It is
similar to a three-level posterization.
• Original Luminance — adds texture based on the clone source document’s
brightness
• [Alpha channel] or [Layer mask] — adds texture based on the luminance of a
channel or layer mask. The list box lists each alpha channel in the document. If
a layer with a layer mask is selected, the layer mask is also listed.

Creating a Color Overlay
Use the Color Overlay effect to simultaneously add color and texture to an image. The
color is taken from the current color in the Color panel. Both color and texture are
applied using one of five methods:
• The Uniform Color method adds a flat tint to the image.
• The Paper method overlays a color using the paper texture as a mapping model.
More color is applied to light areas in the paper grain; less color is applied to dark
areas.

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• The Image Luminance method uses the image’s brightness as the model for the
color overlay. More of the effect is applied to light areas in the original image; less
color is applied to dark areas.
• The Original Luminance method uses the luminance of the clone source as the
model for the color overlay. Light areas in the clone source produce more color in
the image.
• [Alpha channel] or [Layer mask] sets the values in the channel or layer mask as the
model for the color overlay. More color is applied to the light areas of the channel or
mask; less color is applied to dark areas.
You can use this method only if you have a saved alpha channel or a layer mask in
your image.

Before (left) and after (right) applying the Color Overlay effect.

To create a color overlay
1 From the Window menu, open both the Color panel and the Papers panel.
2 Select a layer or area of the canvas.
If you want to apply the effect to the entire image, do not make selection.
3 Choose a color from the Color panel.
If you want to base the color on a paper grain, choose a paper texture in the Papers
panel.
4 Choose Effects  Surface Control  Color Overlay.
5 In the Color Overlay dialog box, choose a method from the Using list box.
6 Move the Opacity slider until the preview reflects the desired opacity.
7 Enable or disable the following options:
• Dye Concentration— allows the paper to absorb the color
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• Hiding Power — allows the color to cover what lies beneath it

Adjusting the Dye Concentration
The Dye Concentration effect lets you adjust pigments to adjust color intensity and
add surface texture. You can use this effect to lighten an underexposed photo or to
darken an overexposed one.

To adjust the dye concentration
1 Select a layer or area of the canvas.
If you want to apply the effect to the entire image, do not make a selection.
2 Choose Effects  Surface Control  Dye Concentration.
The Adjust Dye Concentration dialog box is displayed. While the dialog box is
open, the controls in the Papers panel can be adjusted.
3 Choose a method from the Using list box:
• Uniform Color — adjusts color based solely on Maximum slider values. Setting
the Maximum slider above 100% increases color density; setting it below 100%
decreases color density. With this method, moving the Minimum slider has no
effect.
• Paper — adjusts color by using the paper texture as a mapping model
• Image Luminance — uses the image’s brightness as the model for the color
adjustment
• Original Luminance — uses the luminance of the clone source as the model for
the adjustment
• [Alpha channel] or [Layer mask] — sets the values in the alpha channel or layer
mask as the model for the dye concentration adjustment. You can use this
method only if you have a saved channel or a layer mask in your image.
4 Adjust the Minimum and Maximum sliders as needed.
If you think of texture as peaks and valleys, the Maximum slider controls the
amount of dye on the peaks, and the Minimum slider controls the amount of dye in
the valleys. You can set the Maximum slider as high as 800%.
The Minimum slider can be set as low as 0%. The lower you set the Minimum
slider, the higher the contrast between peaks and valleys. The higher you set the
Minimum slider, the flatter the paper appears.

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Applying Express Texture
The Express Texture effect generates a high-contrast version of an image in grayscale.
With this feature, you can create a visual effect similar to a custom halftone screen, like
a mezzotint or line screen. Like the Apply Screen effect, the Express Texture effect has
anti-aliasing built in.

The Express Texture effect.

To apply Express Texture
1 Select a layer or area of the canvas.
If you want to apply the effect to the entire image, do not make a selection.
2 Choose Effects  Surface Control  Express Texture.
3 In the Express Texture dialog box, choose a method from the Using list box.
You can base the effect on the current paper texture, a channel or layer mask,
image luminance, or original luminance (clone source).
4 Use the following guidelines to adjust the sliders:
• Gray Threshold — determines where the threshold is, between pure black and
pure white
• Grain — determines how deeply the texture penetrates the surface
• Contrast — determines the number of levels of black and white. For example,
low contrast generates pure gray, medium contrast produces levels of grayscale,
and high contrast produces a black and white screen.
If you want to restore some of the original color to the image after applying
this effect, choose Edit  Fade. The Fade command restores some or all of the
original colors.
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If you want to add a new set of colors, you can apply an express gradient to
the image. In the Gradients panel, choose a gradient, click the Gradient
Options button, and choose Express In Image.

Warping an Image
The Image Warp effect lets you distort the surface of an image as if it were a sheet of
pliable film. You can make images look as though they’re reflected in a fun house
mirror.

Before (left) and after (right) applying the Image Warp effect.

The Quick Warp effect lets you create some basic distortions, like stretch or bulge.
These distortions are useful for preparing images for reflection maps when applying
surface texture. For more information about surface texture and reflection maps, refer
to “Working with Reflection Maps” on page 526. Quick Warp applies to the entire
canvas — not to selections or layers.
Quick Warp lets you create five types of distortions:
• Sphere warps the image spherically, like a reflection on a polished silver ball. You
can use the Power and Angle Factor sliders to intensify and twist the effect.

An example of a Sphere distortion.

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• Bump warps the center of the image toward you, making it appear convex. Use the
Angle Factor slider to twist the effect.

An example of a Bump distortion.

• Valley warps the center of the image away from you, making it appear concave. Use
the Angle Factor slider to twist the effect.
• Swirl distorts the image in a spiral. The Angle Factor slider controls how many
times the image spirals.
• Ripple distorts the image in concentric rings, like the rings created when you drop
a stone into a pool of water. Use the Power and Angle Factor sliders to intensify and
twist the effect.

To warp an image
1 Select a layer or area of the canvas.
If you want to apply the effect to the entire image, do not make a selection.
2 Choose Effects  Surface Control  Image Warp.
3

In the Image Warp dialog box, choose one of the following warp methods:
• Linear — pulls the selected area as if you were pulling from the top of a cone
• Cubic — pulls a flat surface outward
• Sphere — pulls a surface as if it were a lens

4 Adjust the Size slider.
This slider controls the size of the area affected by dragging the cursor. The higher
the number, the smaller the affected area.
5 In the preview window, drag to distort the image.
A circle displays as you drag, indicating the area affected.

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To apply Quick Warp effects
1 Choose Effects  Surface Control  Quick Warp.
2 In the Quick Warp dialog box, enable a warp method.
3 Adjust the Power and Angle Factor sliders to control the warp effects.

Applying Woodcut Effects
The Woodcut effect is useful for creating woodcut or linoleum block prints of
photographs. You can save preset Woodcut effects to apply to other photographs or
paintings.

Before (left) and after (right) applying the Woodcut effect.

To apply Woodcut effects
1 Choose Effects  Surface Control  Woodcut.
2 In the Woodcut dialog box, enable or disable the following check boxes:
• Output Black — uses the black part of the effect in the final image. Disable this
check box if you want to use color only in the final image.
• Output Color — uses the color part of the effect in the final image. Disable this
check box if you want to use black and white only in the final image.
3 If you enable the Output Black check box, you can adjust the following sliders:
• Black Edge — determines the detail of the black edge. Larger values produce
thick, black edges around objects. Smaller values produce more intricate edges.
• Erosion Time — determines the number of erosion iterations performed on the
black edge. The higher the erosion, the simpler the edge.
• Erosion Edge — controls the amount of smoothing on the black edge. Larger
values produce a rounded appearance of the black edge.
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• Heaviness — determines the amount of black in the final image
4 Enable one of the following options:
• Auto Color — automatically computes the color set from the original image’s
colors
• Use Color Set — uses a predefined color set
5 Use the following guidelines to adjust the sliders:
• N Colors — determines the number of colors used in the effect, ranging from 2
to 256. You can adjust the number of colors only if you have enabled the Auto
Color option and the Output Color check box.
• Color Edge — determines the thickness of a colored edge applied to the image
boundaries. Moving the slider to the right increases edge thickness, which is
measured in pixels. The edge color is selected by choosing a color swatch below
the Preview window. Before you use this feature, you must enable the
Output Color check box.
You can change the colors in a color set by clicking a color and then clicking a
new color in the Color Sets panel.
You can save a Woodcut effect as a preset by clicking Save in the Woodcut
dialog box and specifying a preset name in the Save Preset dialog box.

Applying Distress Effects
The Distress effect can be used on images and text. You can base the effect on the
currently selected paper or pattern.

Before (left) and after (right) applying the Distress effect.

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To apply Distress effects
1 Choose Effects  Surface Control  Distress.
2 In the Distress dialog box, adjust any of the following sliders:
• Edge Size — determines the size of the edge enhancement
• Edge Amount — determines the amount of edge enhancement
• Smoothing — determines the roundness of the edge between black and white
• Variance — determines the amount of grain added to the edge
• Threshold — determines how much black is in the image
3 Choose a method from the Using list box.
You can base the effect on the current paper grain or on the original luminance
(clone source).

Applying Serigraphy Effects
With the Serigraphy effect, you can use photographs to generate images that appear to
be silk-screened or woodblock cuts. Each color reduction is saved as a separate layer, so
you can edit the layer individually after the effect has been applied.

Before (left) and after (right) applying the Serigraphy effect.

To apply Serigraphy effects
1 Choose Effects  Surface Control  Serigraphy.
2 In the Serigraphy color dialog box, adjust any of the following sliders:
• Smoothing — determines the smoothness of the black edge
• Threshold — determines the total amount of color difference from the center
color
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• Dist Weighting — determines the amount of color distance from the center
color
• Hue Weighting — determines how much hue contributes to the effect
• Sat Weighting — determines how much saturation contributes to the effect
• Lum Weighting — determines how much luminance contributes to the effect
3 Click the Match Color chip, and choose a color from the Color dialog box.
This is the center color — the color on which the effect will be based.
4 Click the Fill Color chip, and choose a color from the Color dialog box.
This color is used on the new layer.
5 Click Create Serigraphy Layer.
6 Click Done.
You can also specify Match and Fill Colors by clicking a color in the image.

Applying the Sketch Effect
You can use the Sketch effect to convert an image to a black and white pencil sketch.

The Sketch effect.

To apply the Sketch effect
1 Select a layer or area of the canvas.
If you want to apply the effect to the entire image, do not make a selection.
2 Choose Effects  Surface Control  Sketch.
3 In the Sketch dialog box, adjust any of the following sliders:

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• Sensitivity — determines sensitivity to detail. Low values detect only the main
edges. High values detect the main edges as well as thin lines, such as the lines
around a person’s eyes.
• Smoothing — determines how much noise is filtered out. Higher values result
in wider, lighter, and blurrier lines.
• Grain — determines how much of the paper grain is revealed in the sketch
marks. Move this slider to the right to show more of the paper grain.
• Threshold — removes noise after edge detection. Threshold High is used to flag
light pixels which may be just noise in the image. Threshold Low is used to test
surrounding pixels.
If you want to save your settings as a preset, click Save and specify a preset name in
the Save Preset dialog box.

Using Focus Effects
The Focus commands in the Effects let you create sharpening, softening, motion
blurring, and glass distortion effects.

Applying Smart Blur
The Smart Blur effect softens the appearance of an image by smoothing out the colors
and sharp details. The effect produces a result that is similar to applying soft
brushstrokes. You can use Smart Blur to quickly apply a painterly effect to an image.

Before (left) and after (right) using Smart Blur.

To apply Smart Blur
1 Select a layer or area of the canvas.
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If you want to apply the effect to the entire image, do not make a selection.
2 Choose Effects  Focus  Smart Blur.
3 In the Smart Blur dialog box, adjust the Amount slider.

Applying Camera Motion Blur
This effect creates a blur similar to what you’d get in a photograph by jostling the
camera during a long exposure. It’s particularly effective with an image showing lights
on a dark background.

Before (left) and after (right) using Camera Motion Blur.

To apply Camera Motion Blur
1 Select a layer or area of the canvas.
If you want to apply the effect to the entire image, do not make a selection.
2 Choose Effects  Focus  Camera Motion Blur.
3 In the document window, drag to create the blur motion.
The direction and intensity of the blur is determined by your cursor movement. For
example, fast movement produces a different blur than slow. A longer drag path
increases the amount of blur. Straight, curved, and zigzag movements also produce
different effects.
4 In the Camera Motion Blur dialog box, adjust the Bias slider to move the origin of
motion along the drag path.

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Applying Depth of Field
This effect creates a blur similar to the distance from the plane of camera focus in
photography. Because you’re working in a 2D image, you can use the control medium
to describe the distance of different pixels. The Depth of Field effect is a variable circleof-confusion blur. You can specify the radius of the confusion circles for different
regions of the image.

The “M” is a floating shape. The blur on the shadow was created by using Depth of
Field.

To apply Depth of Field
1 Select a layer or area of the canvas.
If you want to apply the effect to the entire image, do not make a selection.
2 Choose Effects  Focus  Depth of Field.
3 In the Depth of Field dialog box, choose a source from the Using list box.
Darker regions of the source receive greater blur.
4 Adjust the sliders to set the minimum and maximum radius of the blur regions.
The maximum size must be greater than the minimum size.
This effect can take quite a while to process — especially with higher Min Size
and Max Size settings.

Applying Glass Distortion
The Glass Distortion effect creates the kind of distortions you would see if you were
looking at your image through a sheet of glass. You can make your image appear as if
it is behind the pebble glass of a shower door, or you can distort your image beyond
recognition.

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Glass Distortion works by relocating the pixels of the image based on a displacement
map. The map is created by combining displacement information from a source with a
preset map type.

Before (left) and after (right) applying Glass Distortion.

There are five sources of displacement information:
• Paper uses the information in a paper texture to displace pixels. More displacement
is applied to light areas of the texture, and less to dark areas. Paper texture is good
for creating the pebbled glass effect. Unless you want frosted glass, you’ll probably
want to increase the scale of the paper.
• 3D Brush Strokes uses the difference in luminance between the clone source and
the current document.
• Image Luminance uses the light and dark areas in the current document to
determine the intensity of distortions.
• Original Luminance uses the clone source’s luminance. Use a tessellation as the
clone source to produce a bumpy glass effect.
• [Alpha channel] or [Layer mask] uses the luminance of a channel or layer mask.
More distortion appears in the light areas of the channel. You must have a saved
alpha channel or layer mask to use this source.
An alpha channel or a layer mask is a good source to choose for a controlled
distortion map. For example, gradations in the channel lead to a progressive
distortion effect. Shapes in the channel produce distortions with distinct outlines.
There are three types of maps:
• Refraction displaces pixels in the same way that an optical lens bends light. This is
the best map type for creating distortions that you’d expect from looking through
glass.
• Vector Displacement moves pixels in a specific direction.
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• Angle Displacement moves pixels in different directions.

To apply a Glass Distortion effect
1 Select a layer or area of the canvas.
If you want to apply the effect to the entire image, do not make a selection.
2 Choose Effects  Focus  Glass Distortion.
3 In the Glass Distortion dialog box, choose a source from the Using list box.
The amount of displacement depends on the value assigned to the image pixels
from the Using source.
If you want to work with an inversion of the selected source, enable the Inverted
check box.
4 Adjust the Softness slider to control the transitions between displaced colors.
Increasing the Softness setting creates more intermediate steps, which produces a
smoother distortion. If you experience aliasing in a glass distortion, try increasing
the Softness setting.
5 Choose a map type from the Map list box.
6 Choose a quality type from the Quality list box.
7 Adjust the following sliders:
• Amount — controls the degree of displacement. Moving the slider to the right
increases the distortion.
• Variance — creates multiple variations in the neighborhood of the
displacement. The result of increasing variance depends on the type of image
and other settings.
• Direction — controls the direction of displacement. The 3 o’clock position
corresponds to 0°. The Refraction map type is not dependent on direction.
As you make changes, the Preview window shows their effects.

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Applying Motion Blur
This effect makes an image appear as if it has been blurred by movement.

The Motion Blur effect.

To apply a Motion Blur effect
1 Select a layer or area of the canvas.
If you want to apply the effect to the entire image, do not make a selection.
2 Choose Effects  Focus  Motion Blur.
In the Motion Blur dialog box, adjust the following sliders:
• Radius — sets the amount of blur. Moving the slider to the right makes the
image look as though it’s moving faster.
• Angle — sets the direction in which the image appears to travel. A setting of 0°
blurs in the direction of 3 o’clock.
• Thinness — blurs the image in a direction perpendicular to the angle you
choose with the Angle slider.

Sharpening Focus
This effect heightens contrast by intensifying highlights and shadows. Sharper images
are created by using either the Gaussian or Circular aperture options. Gaussian
aperture sharpens the red, green, and blue components of color; Circular aperture
sharpens an image based on luminance.
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Before (left) and after (right) applying Sharpen.

To sharpen focus
1 Select a layer or area of the canvas.
If you want to apply the effect to the entire image, do not make a selection.
2 Choose Effects  Focus  Sharpen.
3 In the Sharpen dialog box, enable an aperture option.
4 Use the following guidelines to adjust the sliders:
• Amount — determines how much of the edge of an element is affected
• Highlight — determines the intensity of the bright areas. Move the slider to the
right to brighten the highlights.
• Shadow — determines the depth of the shadows. The higher the percentage,
the darker the shadows.
If you have chosen the Gaussian aperture option and you want to sharpen only
selected colors, enable any combination of the Red, Green, or Blue check boxes.

Softening Focus
The Soften effect increases the transition from one part of your image to another,
enhancing the anti-aliasing of strokes. Images are softened using either the Gaussian
or Circular aperture options. The Gaussian aperture is useful for creating smooth,
optical blurs or defocusing; the Circular aperture is useful for creating shadow maps
cast by a circular light source like the sun. The Super Soften effect is a stronger version
of Soften.

To soften focus
1 Select a layer or area of the canvas.
If you want to apply the effect to the entire image, do not make a selection.
2 Choose Effects  Focus  Soften.
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3 In the Soften dialog box, enable an aperture option.
4 Adjust the Amount slider.
The farther the slider is to the right, the more steps there are between image
elements, which creates more blurring.

Applying Zoom Blur
This effect creates a blur by zooming in on, or out from, an area. The greater the
distance from the zoom point, the more the image is blurred. This effect lets you call
attention to a particular area of the image.

Before (left) and after (right) applying the Zoom Blur.

To apply Zoom Blur
1 Select a layer or area of the canvas.
If you want to apply the effect to the entire image, do not make a selection.
2 Choose Effects  Focus  Zoom Blur.
3 In the document window, click the image to specify the zoom point.
4 In the Zoom Blur dialog box, adjust the Amount slider to determine the amount of
blur.
If you want to create the blur by zooming in, enable the Zoom In check box. If you
want to create the blur by zooming out, disable the Zoom In check box.

Using Esoterica Effects
Corel Painter lets you add interesting and specialized Esoterica effects. You can also
apply mosaic effects and tessellation. For more information, see “Mosaics” on
page 621.

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Applying Marbling
The Marbling effect creates intricate distortions of an image, following a technique
that dates back to the 12th century. Marbling is created by dragging a fork, or rake,
across an image, which produces an effect similar to a fork dragging through a mix of
chocolate syrup and melted ice cream.

Before (left) and after (right) applying the Marbling effect.

Each time you drag a rake across an image, you create a step. You can create marbling
“recipes” that include several steps — each one using a different rake, direction, and
waviness. You can save marbling recipes and reuse them.
Marbling works best with patterns or textures. The Blobs effect is an excellent way of
creating the raw materials for marbling; filling with a pattern is another. Refer to
“Applying Blobs” on page 552 for more information on the Blobs effect.

To create a marbling recipe
1 Select a layer or area of the canvas.
If you want to apply the effect to the entire image, do not make selection.
Selections can help you control the marbling when you have a particular effect in
mind. For example, the rake path normally begins from the edge of the image. If
you want the rake path to begin in the center of a blob, select an area that begins at
the blob’s center.
2 Choose Effects  Esoterica  Apply Marbling.
3 In the Apply Marbling dialog box, choose a Direction option for the rake stroke.
4 Create a rake stroke by adjusting any of the following sliders and clicking
Add Step:

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• Spacing — adjusts the distance between rake teeth. The slider controls the
number of teeth in the rake. When the slider is all the way to the right, the rake
has one tooth.
• Offset — moves the rake in a perpendicular direction to the path direction. Use
this slider to adjust the position of the rake lines.
• Waviness — changes the amplitude (height) of the waves. When this slider is
set to zero, the path is straight.
• Wavelength — determines the distance between wave peaks
• Phase — moves the wave in the rake direction. This lets you set where in the
curve (peak, downslope, valley, or upslope) the rake begins in the image.
• Pull — controls how much the rake distorts the image. Lower values produce
thin, short distortions. Higher values create stronger distortions.
• Quality — lets you control the smoothness in the marbled image. Low settings
produce an aliased effect. The marbling looks rough with scattered pixels.
Increasing the Quality setting adds anti-aliasing, making color distortions
appear smoother and more fluid.
As you adjust the sliders, the dotted lines in the preview window show the rake
path.
5 Repeat steps 3 and 4 for each rake step you want to create.
The Apply Marbling dialog box displays the current step number and the total
number of steps in the recipe. You can move between steps by clicking the forward
and backward arrow buttons.
Steps are applied in order, so subsequent steps are based on the result of each
previous one.
The final look of the marble largely depends on whether you start horizontally
or vertically, and whether you work with a fine comb or a coarse rake.
Each step you add increases the time it takes to apply the recipe.

To modify, save, or load a recipe
To

Do the following

Replace a step

In the Apply Marbling dialog box, click
Replace. The current step is replaced, based
on the current settings.

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Do the following

Clear a recipe

In the Apply Marbling dialog box, click
Reset. The current recipe is deleted.

Save a recipe

In the Apply Marbling dialog box, click
Save. In the Save Marbling dialog box,
specify a name.

Load a recipe

In the Apply Marbling dialog box, click
Load. In the Marbling Recipes dialog box,
choose a recipe.

Using Auto Clone
The Auto Clone effect automatically applies brush dabs to your image. The types of
dabs depend on the currently selected brush. The color is picked up from the clone
source. Unlike most other effects, Auto Clone has no dialog box, using the current
brush settings and the clone color instead.
The best way to produce a Natural-Media version of an image is to first clone it and
then choose a brush that produces artistic dabs. The Driving Rain variant of the Cloner
brush works well for generating a hand-drawn look. The Seurat variant of the Artists
brush also works well.

In this example, the Seurat variant was used with the Auto Clone effect.

If you apply Auto Clone to a large area, the paint may fill smaller rectangular tiles one
at a time. If you click to stop Auto Clone, it won’t automatically finish the final tile of
the overall selected area. To fill in non-rectangular areas, you can use Auto Clone with
a selection. For more information, refer to “Creating and Saving Selections” on
page 407.
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When you use Auto Clone with the Felt Pen Cloner and other tools that turn black as
you repeat strokes, areas darken rapidly. By dimming your original image, you can
slow down the color buildup and still use Auto Clone.
Another way to automate cloning is by recording and playing back individual
brushstrokes. This feature is especially useful for filling in backgrounds. For more
information, refer to “Recording and Playing Back Brushstrokes” on page 92. For
information on cloning, refer to “Image Cloning and Sampling” on page 379.

To automatically fill an area with cloned brushstrokes
1 Open an image file to use as a clone source.
2 Choose File  Quick Clone.
3 Click the Brush Selector on the Brush Selector bar.
4 In the Brush Library panel, click the Cloners brush category, and then choose a
brush variant.
If you want to apply the effect to only a portion of your image, choose a Selection
tool from the toolbox and make a selection.
If nothing is selected, the entire image is affected.
5 Choose Effects  Esoterica  Auto Clone.
Dabs of paint are automatically applied to the selected area.
6 Click anywhere in the image to turn off Auto Clone.
If you apply Auto Clone to a large area, the paint may fill areas sparsely.
When you click to stop Auto Clone, it stops at that point. It won’t continue
to fill the selected area. To fill an area completely, you must let the Auto Clone
continue.
If you use a variant with Auto Clone that isn’t a Cloner variant, you can click
Clone Color in the Color panel to make it pick up color from the source
document. For more color variety in the dabs Corel Painter applies, set the
±H, ±S, and ±V sliders in the Color Variability panel to 15% each.

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Using Auto Van Gogh
The Auto Van Gogh effect works with the Auto Van Gogh variant of the Artists brush.
This algorithmic approach to placing directional brushstrokes results in a Van Gogh–
like rendition of an image.

The Auto Van Gogh effect.

The effect requires two passes. The first pass determines the angles of the brush dabs.
The second pass applies the dabs. The image is then rendered in a set of directional
brushstrokes.

To apply Auto Van Gogh to an image
1 Select the image you want to clone.
2 Choose File  Quick Clone.
3 Click the Brush Selector on the Brush Selector bar.
4 In the Brush Library panel, click the Artists brush category, and then click the Auto
Van Gogh brush variant.
5 In the Color Variability panel, adjust any controls.
6 Choose Effects  Esoterica  Auto Van Gogh.

Applying Blobs
The Blobs effect creates a pattern similar to oil floating on water. The effect takes a
source and puts it in a swirling pattern by placing blobs on the image. The underlying
image is distorted as if it were liquid.
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You can use one of three sources to fill in the blobs:
• Paste Buffer uses the current contents of the Clipboard to fill in the blobs. You can
produce blobs that look like bubbles by creating a circular selection that’s shaded
like a sphere, and then copying it to the Clipboard.

Before (left) and after (right) applying a Blob effect created from Clipboard contents.

• Current Color uses the color selected in the Color panel to fill the blobs.

A Blob effect created from the Current Color source.

• Pattern uses the current pattern in the Patterns panel to fill in blobs.
Blobs create a nice basis for the Marbling effect because they create interesting color
patterns. You may want to apply this effect to your original image before applying
Marbling. For more information, see “Applying Marbling” on page 548.

To apply a blob effect
1 Do one of the following:
• To use the Clipboard contents to fill the blobs, make a selection and press
Command + C (Mac OS) or Ctrl + C (Windows) to copy the selection to the
Clipboard.
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• To use the current color to fill the blobs, choose a color in the Color panel.
• To use a pattern to fill the blobs, choose a pattern in the Patterns panel.
2 Open the image, or select the image area, in which you want to create the blobs.
3 Choose Effects  Esoterica  Blobs.
4 In the Create Marbling Stone Pattern dialog box, specify the number of blobs.
5 Specify the minimum and maximum sizes of the blobs.
6 Enter a value in the Subsample box to set the number of anti-aliasing steps.
7 Choose a source from the Fill Blobs With list box.
8 The value in the Seed box is used in randomizing the blobs.
Each time you apply the effect, a different seed number is generated. You may enter
a specific number if you like.

Creating Custom Tiles
This effect turns your image into tiles. Corel Painter generates tiles based on a preset
pattern, like bricks or hexagons, or from a paper pattern, clone source, or channel. If
you use a preset pattern, the tiles are uniform in size and cover the entire image evenly.
The color of each tile is determined by applying the average color of the image pixels it
covers.

Before (left) and after (right) applying tiles generated from a preset pattern.

When you generate tiles from either a paper pattern, clone source, or channel, tiles are
based on light and dark concentrations in the selected source. In this case, the shape of
the tiles is varied and may not cover your image evenly.

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Tiles generated from a paper pattern.

The Custom Tile effect functions differently from the Mosaic and Tessellation features.
For more information on Mosaics and Tessellations, refer to “Getting Started with
Mosaics” on page 622.

To apply custom tiles
1 Select a layer or area of the canvas.
If you want to apply the effect to the entire image, do not make selection.
2 Choose Effects  Esoterica  Custom Tile.
3 In the Custom Tile dialog box, choose a tile pattern or source from the Using list
box.
4 Adjust any of the following pattern properties:
• For Brick, use the Brick Width and Brick Height sliders to adjust the size of the
bricks.
• For the other built-in tile shapes, use the Angle and Scale sliders to adjust the
tile orientation and size.
• For Original Luminance, Paper, and channel or layer mask, use the Threshold
slider to draw the line between “light” and “dark.” Everything above the
Threshold value becomes tiles, and everything below becomes grout.
5 Adjust the Thickness slider to control the width of the cracks between tiles (grout
lines).
6 Adjust the Blur Radius slider to set the sampling radius for blurring the crack or
grout color. Increasing the Blur Radius adds more neighboring colors to the crack
pixels in each pass.

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7 Adjust the Blur Passes slider to set the number of times the crack pixels are blurred.
More passes mix more tile color into the cracks. Blurring occurs only when Blur
Passes is greater than zero.

The original grout appearance (left) is changed by blurring (right).

If you want grout to show between the tiles, enable the Use Grout check box.
8 Click the Color chip, and choose a grout color from the Color dialog box.

Applying Grid Paper
The Grid Paper effect adds a grid of horizontal lines, vertical lines, rectangles, or dots
to an image.
Unlike the Grid Overlay, which is a transparent layer that floats as a reference above
your image, Grid Paper becomes part of your image. For this reason, the Transparent
Background option, used for the Grid Overlay, is not available for Grid Paper.

To apply Grid Paper
1 Choose Effects  Esoterica  Grid Paper.
2 In the Grid Options dialog box, choose a grid type from the Grid Type list box.
3 Set the grid dimensions by entering values in the following boxes:
• Horizontal Spacing — determines the amount of space between horizontal lines
• Vertical Spacing — determines the amount of space between vertical lines
• Line Thickness — sets the width of grid lines
4 Click the Grid Color chip, and choose a color from the Color dialog box to set the
grid color.
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5 Click the Background chip, and choose a color from the Color dialog box to set the
background color.

Applying Growth Effects
The Growth effect generates branchlike designs from a central point and adds them to
your image. The designs resemble architectural renderings of trees.

Examples of Growth patterns.

Growth patterns are created from the current main color. You have access to the Color
panel while the Growth dialog box is open, so you can change the main color at any
time.

To create growth patterns
1 Choose a color in the Color panel.
2 Choose Effects  Esoterica  Growth.
3 In the Growth dialog box, enable any of the following check boxes:
• Hard Edges — creates growth patterns with hard edges; disable to create
growth patterns with soft, feathery edges
• Fractal — creates open-ended (fractal) patterns; disable to create nonfractal
patterns, which are closed on the outside by a ring
4 Use the following guidelines to adjust the sliders:
• Flatness — reshapes the growth pattern like a lens effect. Move the slider to the
left for a concave lens effect. Move the slider to the right for a “fish-eye” lens
effect.

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• Thinout — affects how the size of the growth pattern is distributed from the
center to the outside edges. At settings over 100%, the outside edges become
thicker. At settings under 100%, the edges become finer and more delicate.
• Random — affects how symmetrical the growth patterns appear. Lower values
generate straight-line, geometrical designs. Higher values generate distorted,
crooked designs.
• Thickness — uniformly adjusts the weight of the lines within the design. Move
the slider to the left for thinner lines, and to the right for thicker lines. The
growth pattern cannot be made thinner than one pixel.
• Branch — determines how many branches come from the center to the outside
edge. The range is 1 through 20.
• Max Level — determines the number of levels or sublevels that appear in the
tree. Specifically, Max Level determines how the branches split to the outside
edge.
• Fork — adjusts the overall intricacy of the outermost branches
• Fork Ratio — is like Fork, but it affects only the tips of the outermost branches
5 Without closing the Growth dialog box, drag to create a growth pattern in the
document window.
As you drag, you see the outline of the growth pattern. When you release, the
pattern is created.
6 Do one of the following:
• To apply the current growth pattern, click OK.
• To discard all patterns, click Cancel.
When you click Cancel, all the growth patterns you have created since you opened
the Growth dialog box are deleted. It’s a good idea to click OK to save each pattern
you create.
The sliders in the Growth dialog box affect both fractal and nonfractal growth
patterns in a similar way, with the exception of Fork and Fork Ratio, which
affect only fractal growth patterns.

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Applying Highpass
The Highpass effect suppresses low-frequency areas containing gradual or smooth
transitions of brightness levels. This leaves high-frequency areas, or just the edges of an
image, containing stark shifts between brightness levels.
Highpass uses either the Gaussian or Circular aperture options. Gaussian aperture
affects the red, green, and blue components of color; Circular aperture uses image
luminance. You can make the highpass more pronounced by using the Equalize effect.

The Highpass effect introduces stark shifts between brightness levels.

To apply a Highpass effect
1 Select a layer or area of the canvas.
If you want to apply the effect to the entire image, do not make a selection.
2 Choose Effects  Esoterica  Highpass.
3 In the Highpass dialog box, choose an aperture option.
4 Move the Amount slider to determine how much to suppress the low-frequency
areas.
This value defines a radius, in pixels, around each pixel in the selected image area.
Moving the slider to the left suppresses larger amounts of low-frequency
information. Moving the slider to the right suppresses smaller amounts of
low-frequency information.

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Applying a Maze Effect
The Maze effect generates an image of a maze. Typically, you’ll create a maze in a new,
blank image. Each maze has one “solution” — that is, an open path from the entrance
to the exit.

The Maze effect produces interesting designs.

You can capture a portion of the maze as a pattern or paper texture, or use the maze as
a source for other effects. Mazes must be rectangular and cannot be applied to nonrectangular selections.

To apply a Maze effect
1 Select a layer or area of the canvas.
If you want to apply the effect to the entire image, do not make a selection.
2 Choose Effects  Esoterica  Maze.
3 In the Maze dialog box, enable any of the following check boxes:
• Patterned — constrains barriers to the horizontal
• Display Solution — displays the path from the entrance to the exit
4 Enter a value in the Seed box to generate a random maze pattern.
5 Enter a value in the Thickness box to set the width of barriers and paths.
6 Click the Maze Color chip, and choose a maze color from the Color dialog box.
7 Click the Background chip, and choose a background color from the Color dialog
box.

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Placing Elements
Place Elements is an effect designed to automate the application of brush dabs. It’s
particularly useful with the Image Hose brush. For more information on the Image
Hose, refer to “Getting Started with the Image Hose” on page 599.

An example of the Place Elements effect used with the Image Hose.

Place Elements creates a virtual sphere within the confines of a selection rectangle.
When the selection is square, the sphere is perfectly round; when the selection is
rectangular, the sphere is elongated or flattened.
A number of points are created at random locations on the sphere. The points are then
distanced from each other, and a brush dab is placed at each point. Each dab’s
appearance is adjusted according to its location on the sphere.

An example of the Place Elements effect used with a brush.

To place elements
1 Choose the Rectangular Selection tool
from the toolbox.
2 Drag to create a selection.
This selection determines the location and size for the effect.
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3 Do one of the following:
• If you want to use the Image Hose, choose a nozzle from the Nozzle selector on
the toolbox.
• If you want to apply paint dabs, select a brush and choose a main color.
4 In the Color panel, set the additional color to black.
The effect automatically controls mixing of the additional color with Nozzle
elements to produce depth shading. Shadows tend toward black, so black is a good
color to use.
5 Choose Effects  Esoterica  Place Elements.
6 In the Place Elements dialog box, enter a number in the No. of Iterations box.
In each iteration, the points distance themselves from each other on the surface of
the virtual sphere. The points start at random locations, so if you set zero as the
number of iterations, the placement of the points is completely random. Higher
numbers of iterations increase the regularity of the spacing.
7 Adjust the Points slider to set the number of points to create on the virtual sphere.
Each point created correlates to an image element placed.
8 Enable a Number of Levels option.
• With one level, each point receives only one element.
• With two levels, each point receives an element and then is used as the center
for another virtual sphere on which point iteration and element placement
repeats.
• The third level extends sphere creation and element placement once more.
The number of elements increases rapidly with more than one level. For example, if
you choose 12 points and three levels, you’ll create 12 + (12 × 12) + (12 × 12
× 12) = 1,884 elements. Of course, many of these elements will probably be
covered by later placements.
9 Adjust the Radius Fraction slider.
Radius Fraction determines the size of the virtual spheres created at the second and
third levels. The first-level radius is multiplied by the fraction amount to determine
the radius of the second-level spheres.
The fraction is used again between the second and third levels. Higher values
(above 1.0) increase overlapping of the spheres. Lower values (below 1.0) preclude
overlapping (when sufficient iterations are used to distribute the points).
10 Adjust the Oversizing slider.

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Oversizing controls the diameter of the first-level virtual sphere in relation to the
selection marquee.
At a setting of 2.5, the sphere fits within the selection. Higher settings shrink the
sphere. Lower settings stretch it beyond the selection.
11 Adjust the Ambient Amount slider.
Ambient Amount controls the use of the additional color in elements that appear
on the virtual sphere away from the light source. This is how the clump of placed
elements exhibits coherent three-dimensional shading when black is used as the
additional color. The default setting is 0.7, which produces good shading results.
Increasing the value brings in more of the additional color. Decreasing it reduces
additional color mixing.
If you have chosen two or three levels, you can prevent overlapping elements
by enabling the Cull Interiors check box. This removes points that occur
inside other spheres, before elements are placed. This option increases
processing time for the effect.

Applying Pop Art Fill
This effect lets you cover an image with pseudo-halftone dots. You can also use the Pop
Art Fill effect with other Corel Painter features and effects to create a pop art image.

Before (left) and after (right) applying the Pop Art Fill effect.

To apply Pop Art Fill
1 Select a layer or area of the canvas.
If you want to apply the effect to the entire image, do not make a selection.
2 Choose Effects  Esoterica  Pop Art Fill.
3 In the Pop Art Fill dialog box, choose a source from the Using list box.

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If you want to work with an inverted version of the source, enable the Inverted
check box.
4 Adjust the Scale slider to set the dot size.
5 Adjust the Contrast slider to mix in the luminance of the control medium.
This is particularly useful when using Image Luminance.
6 Click the Dab Color chip and choose a dot color from the Color dialog box.

To create a pop art image
1 Open an image, and choose File  Clone.
2 Choose Effects  Tonal Control  Adjust Colors.
3 In the Adjust Color dialog box, drag the Saturation slider all the way to the left,
and click OK.
4 This reduces the image to grayscale.
5 Choose Effects  Esoterica  Pop Art Fill.
6 In the Pop Art Fill dialog box, click the Dab Color chip and choose black from the
Color dialog box.
7 Click the Background chip and choose white from the Color dialog box.
8 Adjust the Scale slider, and click OK.
The Pop Art Fill effect is applied to the clone.
9 Choose Select  All.
10 Choose Select  Float.
11 Choose Edit  Copy.
12 Close the clone file.
13 In the original image file, choose Edit  Paste.
The copied layer is pasted into the original image file.
14 In the Layers panel, choose Darken from the Composite Method list box.
This makes the background image visible through all white areas of the Pop Art
Fill layer.
If you want to change the colors in the image, deselect the layer in the Layers
panel, and apply an effect.

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A pop art image with the Express Gradient and Posterize effects applied.

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Dynamic Plug-ins
Dynamic plug-ins are a category of floating layers that let you apply effects to an
image. They are called “dynamic” because you can modify the effect any number of
times without altering the source image.
Each dynamic plug-in provides new capabilities for manipulating images. Dynamic
plug-ins can help you do one or more of the following:
• Create a new layer
• Alter an existing layer
• Adjust underlying images

The Liquid Metal dynamic plug-in lets you paint with either metal or liquid.

When you save the file in RIFF format, the dynamic layer retains its dynamic nature.
You can adjust the effect anytime you open the file.
This section contains the following topics:
• Getting Started with Dynamic Plug-ins
• Exploring Dynamic Plug-ins

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Getting Started with Dynamic Plug-ins
You can use dynamic plug-ins to apply effects to images without changing the original
images. Dynamic plug-ins are accessible from the Layers panel. You can create, modify,
and remove dynamic layers.
You can also select, move, group, hide, show, and lock dynamic layers, as well as
change their display order, opacity, and composite method, as you do other layers. For
information on these features, refer to “Layers” on page 447.

Accessing Dynamic Plug-ins
The Dynamic Plug-ins button in the Layers panel provides access to the currently
installed dynamic plug-ins, which you can use to create dynamic layers.

To access the dynamic plug-ins
1 Choose Window  Layers to display the Layers panel.
2 In the Layers panel, click the Dynamic Plug-ins button
A list of dynamic plug-ins is displayed.

Creating Dynamic Layers
The steps for creating dynamic layers vary slightly for the different types of dynamic
plug-ins. Details about creating and working with a specific dynamic layer appear later
in this chapter. For more information, see “Exploring Dynamic Plug-ins” on page 570.
Like all floating objects, dynamic layers appear in the layer list in the Layers panel,
where they are identified by the plug icon. For most dynamic plug-ins, to create a
dynamic layer of a specific size, you must first make a selection in the document
window. The new layer conforms to the dimensions and location of the selection. If no
selection is active, Corel Painter makes the new dynamic layer the same size as the
canvas. For a few dynamic plug-ins, such as Kaleidoscope, you specify the size of the
new layer in a dialog box before you create it. For more information about selections,
refer to “Creating and Saving Selections” on page 407.

To create a dynamic layer
1 Select a layer in the Layers panel or in the document window, or select an area on a
layer.
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If you select an area, Corel Painter automatically creates a new layer when you
apply the dynamic plug-in.
2 In the Layers panel, click the Dynamic Plug-ins button
plug-in.

, and choose a dynamic

3 In the dialog box, choose options to set the effect you want.
The dynamic layer is added to the layer list in the Layers panel.
If you select only an area on a layer, you are limited to the following dynamic
plug-ins: Equalize, Posterize, Liquid Metal, Brightness/Contrast, and Liquid
Lens.

Changing Dynamic Layer Settings
After you’ve created a dynamic layer, you can change its settings.

To change a dynamic layer’s settings
1 Select the dynamic layer in the document window or in the Layers panel.
2 Double-click the dynamic layer in the Layers panel.
3 In the dialog box, change any settings.

Committing Dynamic Layers
At some point, you may want to finalize the effect and make the result a standard
layer. This will enable you to work with the image in ways not possible when the effect
is held in a dynamic layer.
Committing a dynamic layer captures its current appearance to a pixel-based layer.
After a dynamic layer is committed, you can no longer adjust the effect. The following
operations automatically generate a prompt to commit a dynamic layer:
• painting on a dynamic layer
• applying an additional effect or dynamic plug-in
• dropping a dynamic layer
• collapsing a group that contains a dynamic layer
• saving to a non-RIFF format

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Deleting or Reverting Dynamic Layers
You can delete a dynamic layer at any time. You can also use the Revert command to
restore source images to their original condition. This feature is available only for
dynamic plug-ins that modify a layer — Burn, Tear, and Bevel World.

To delete a dynamic layer
• In the Layers panel, select the dynamic layer, and click the Delete button

You can also delete a dynamic layering by choosing Edit  Undo.

To revert a dynamic layer
1 Select the dynamic layer in the document window or in the Layers panel.
2 In the Layers panel, click the Layer Options button , and choose Revert to
Original.
Corel Painter discards the dynamic layer and the content appears on the canvas.

Exploring Dynamic Plug-ins
Although dynamic plug-ins share many characteristics, each has its own settings. The
following sections describe the plug-ins and give instructions for adjusting their
settings.

Brightness and Contrast
The Brightness and Contrast dynamic plug-in creates a layer that applies brightness
and contrast adjustments to the images beneath it.

The Brightness and Contrast dynamic layer affects all images beneath it.
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To create a Brightness and Contrast dynamic layer
1 Do one of the following:
• In the Layers panel, select the Canvas or another layer.
• If you want the new dynamic layer to be a specific size, select an area in the
document window.
If you select an area, Corel Painter automatically creates a new layer when you
apply the dynamic plug-in.
2 In the Layers panel, click the Dynamic Plug-ins button , and choose Brightness
and Contrast.
3 In the Brightness/Contrast dialog box, drag the sliders to adjust the image contrast
and brightness.
If you don’t like the results, you can click Cancel or you can click Reset to
restore the default settings.
You can also use the Opacity slider

in the Layers panel to adjust the effect.

Burn
The Burn dynamic plug-in applies a burn effect to the edges of a selected layer. You
can also apply a burn effect to a selected area in the Canvas layer. You can adjust the
amount and character of the burn with sliders.

Different burn settings produce different results.

To burn a layer or selection
1 Do one of the following:
• In the Layers panel, select a layer.
• If you want the new dynamic layer to be a specific size, select an area on the
Canvas.
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If you select an area of the Canvas, Corel Painter automatically creates a new layer
when you apply the dynamic plug-in.
2 In the Layers panel, click the Dynamic Plug-ins button

, and choose Burn.

3 In the Burn Options dialog box, set the following sliders and controls to adjust the
burn effect:
• Burn Margin — specifies the width of the burn effect in relation to the layer’s
size
• Flame Breadth — specifies the width of the scorched region. The burn color
appears in the scorch.
• Flame Strength — specifies how much of the layer is consumed by the burn.
Increasing Flame Strength shrinks the layer.
• Wind Direction — changes the burn amount for different sides of the layer
• Wind Strength — determines how much change the Wind Direction control
imparts
• Jaggedness — specifies the amount of irregularity in the burnt edges
• Use Paper Texture — lets you use the current paper to vary dye concentration
in the scorch region
• Burn Interior Edges — lets you burn interior edges as well as exterior edges.
Disable this option to protect the interior edges.
• Preview — lets you Corel Painter display your changes before they are actually
applied to the image
• Off — prevents Corel Painter from applying the settings to the image. You can
later turn the burn back on by disabling this check box.
• Burn Color — displays the color used in the scorch area. You can change the
color if you want. Click the Burn Color chip, and use the Color dialog box to
select a color.
• Save As Default — sets a new default based on the current settings
• Reset — restores the default settings
You can apply a Burn to a specific area of a non-Canvas layer by copying the
area to which you’d like the effect applied to a new layer and applying the
Burn dynamic plug-in to the new layer.
You can use the Revert to Original command in the Layers panel menu to
restore a source image to its original condition. Refer to “Deleting or
Reverting Dynamic Layers” on page 570 for more information.
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Tear
The Tear dynamic plug-in applies a torn-paper effect to the edge of a selected layer or
area.

You can tear a little (left) or a lot (right).

To tear a layer or selection
1 Do one of the following:
• In the Layers panel, select a layer.
• If you want the new dynamic layer to be a specific size, select an area in the
document window.
If you select an area, Corel Painter automatically creates a new layer when you
apply the dynamic plug-in.
2 In the Layers panel, click the Dynamic Plug-ins button , and choose Tear.
3 In the Tear Options dialog box, set the following sliders and controls to adjust the
tear effect:
• Margin — specifies the width of the tear effect from the edge of the layer
• Strength — specifies how much of the layer is torn away
• Jaggedness — specifies the amount of irregularity in torn edges
• Tear Interior Edges — lets you tear interior edges as well as exterior edges.
Disable this option to protect interior edges.
• Preview — lets you Corel Painter display your changes before they are actually
applied to the image
• Off — prevents Corel Painter from applying the settings to the image. You can
later turn the tear back on by disabling this check box.

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• Tear Color — shows the color used at the edge of the tear. You can change the
color if you want: Click the color chip, and use the Color dialog box to select a
color.
• Save As Default — sets a new default based on the current settings
• Reset — restores the default settings
Use a rough paper texture to create a better tear by clicking the
Paper Selector in the toolbox and choosing a paper texture from the list.
You can use the Revert to Original command in the Layers panel menu to
restore a source image to its original condition. Refer to “Deleting or
Reverting Dynamic Layers” on page 570 for more information.

Bevel World
The Bevel World dynamic plug-in applies three-dimensional (3D) bevel effects, or
angled edges, to selected layers or areas. Both bevel shape and lighting can be
controlled to create unique effects.

A wide variety of bevel profiles is possible.

To create a 3D button with text on it, you first use Bevel World to create the
background button. Then, you create text to float over the button by grouping the
text and button together and then collapsing the layer group.

Bevel Controls
The Bevel World dialog box includes the following controls in the Bevel Controls area:
• Preview shows a real-time preview based on the options you set.
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• Off prevents Corel Painter from applying the settings to the image. You can later
turn the bevel back on by disabling the check box.
• Bevel Interior Edges lets you add beveling on the interior edges of the bevel area.
• Bevel Width specifies the width of the bevel in relation to the layer diameter.
• Outside Portion controls the portion of the bevel that appears outside the layer.
• Rim Slope specifies the angle of the rim (innermost portion) of the bevel.
• Cliff Portion specifies the horizontal distance between the base and the rim.
• Cliff Height specifies the vertical distance between the base level and rim level.
• Cliff Slope specifies the angle of the cliff (middle portion) of the bevel.
• Base Slope specifies the angle of the base (outermost portion) of the bevel.
• Smoothing controls the roundness of the transitions between base, cliff, and rim as
well as the sharpness of the resulting ridges.
• Outside Color determines the color of the outside portion of the bevel. This control
applies only when Outside Portion is greater than zero. You can click the Outside
Color chip and use the Color dialog box to set the color.

Light Controls
Lighting changes can make a huge difference in the 3D appearance of the bevel. You
can change the light’s angle by dragging the circle in the preview sphere.
The Bevel World dialog box includes the following controls in the Light Controls area:
• Light Direction and Light Height change the light’s position and angle. With
Light Height at maximum, the light shines straight down on the layer, and the
Light Direction setting has no effect. When Light Height is less than maximum,
the Light Direction slider rotates the light around the center.
• Brightness controls the light’s intensity.
• Scatter adjusts the spread of the light’s shine over the surface.
• Shine controls the prevalence of highlights.
• Reflection controls how much of the source image is visible in the bevel. If you are
working with a clone, the clone source is mapped onto the surface at a variable
percentage. A discussion of reflection maps can be found in “Working with
Reflection Maps” on page 526.
• Light Color determines the color for the light. To set a color, click the chip, and use
the Color dialog box.

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To bevel a layer or selection
1 Do one of the following:
• In the Layers panel, select a layer.
• If you want the new dynamic layer to be a specific size, select an area in the
document window.
If you select an area, Corel Painter automatically creates a new layer when you
apply the dynamic plug-in.
2 In the Layers panel, click the Dynamic Plug-ins button , and choose Bevel
World.
If the Commit dialog box appears, click Commit to commit the dynamic layer to
an image layer.
3 In the Bevel World dialog box, specify the settings you want.
If you don’t like the results, click Reset to restore the default settings.
You can set a new default based on the current settings by clicking Save As
Default.
You can use the Revert to Original command in the Layers panel menu to
restore a source image to its original condition. Refer to “Deleting or
Reverting Dynamic Layers” on page 570 for more information.

Equalize
The Equalize dynamic plug-in creates a layer that improves contrast in underlying
images. It does this by adjusting black and white points and distributing the
brightness levels throughout the entire range of available levels.

The Equalize dynamic layer is applied to a rectangular selection.

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The Equalize dynamic plug-in creates a histogram showing the number of pixels for
each brightness level value. Equalize allows gamma adjustment, which lightens or
darkens an image without changing highlights or shadows.

To create an Equalize dynamic layer
1 Do one of the following:
• In the Layers panel, select the Canvas or another layer.
• If you want the new dynamic layer to be a specific size, select an area in the
document window.
If you select an area, Corel Painter automatically creates a new layer when you
apply the dynamic plug-in.
2 In the Layers panel, click the Dynamic Plug-ins button , and choose Equalize.
3 In the Equalize dialog box, adjust the contrast by dragging the small black and
white markers under the histogram.
Any values in the image located to the right of the white marker become black; any
values to the left of the black marker become white.
4 Drag the Brightness slider to adjust only the midtones of an image and leave the
white and black areas untouched.
If you don’t like the results, click Reset to restore the default settings.
You can also use the Opacity slider in the Layers panel to adjust the effect.

Glass Distortion
The Glass Distortion dynamic plug-in creates a layer that applies Glass Distortion to
the images beneath it. You can move the layer in the document to view the distortion
over different images.

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The Glass Distortion dynamic layer in action.

To create a Glass Distortion dynamic layer
1 Do one of the following:
• In the Layers panel, select the Canvas or another layer.
• If you want the new dynamic layer to be a specific size, select an area in the
document window.
If you select an area, Corel Painter automatically creates a new layer when you
apply the dynamic plug-in.
2 In the Layers panel, click the Dynamic Plug-ins button , and choose Glass
Distortion.
3 In the Glass Distortion Options dialog box, choose a displacement source from the
Using pop-up menu.
• Paper uses the selected paper texture. Paper texture is good for creating the
pebbled glass effect. Unless you want frosted glass, you’ll probably want to
increase the scale of the paper.
• Current Selection uses the currently selected area in the document window.
• Image Luminance uses the current document’s luminance.
• Original Luminance uses the clone source’s luminance.
Image pixels are displaced, based on the light and dark areas of the source.
4 Set the following sliders and controls to adjust the distortion effect:
• Inverted — when enabled, lets you work with an inversion of the selected
source
• Softness — controls the transitions between displaced colors. Increasing
softness creates more intermediate steps and produces a smoother distortion. If
you experience aliasing in a glass distortion, try increasing the softness.
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• Amount — controls the degree of displacement. A higher amount leads to
more distortion.
• Variance — creates multiple variations in the neighborhood of the
displacement. The result of increasing variance depends on the type of image
and other settings.
Preview enables or disables Corel Painter from displaying your changes to the
image.
You can set a new default based on the current settings by clicking Save As
Default.
You can also use the Opacity slider in the Layers panel to adjust the effect.
You can drag the Glass Distortion layer or selection in the document window
to distort other areas of the image.

The Glass Distortion dynamic layer using Paper (left) and Image Luminance (right)
displacement sources.

Kaleidoscope
The Kaleidoscope dynamic plug-in creates a square layer that produces kaleidoscopic
effects from underlying images. The traditional kaleidoscope is a hollow tube with a
set of mirrors and colored chips at one end. You peer into the other end and enjoy the
highly symmetrical patterns that the mirrors create from the colored chips. When you
add a Kaleidoscope dynamic layer, you first specify its size.

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To create a Kaleidoscope dynamic layer
1 In the Layers panel, click the Dynamic Plug-ins button , and choose
Kaleidoscope.
2 In the Kaleidoscope dialog box, specify the size of the dynamic layer.
Kaleidoscopes must be square, and no smaller than 8 pixels by 8 pixels, and no
larger than 500 pixels by 500 pixels.
3 Drag the Kaleidoscope layer to different areas of the image to alter the effect.
Try using the arrow keys to see animation of the Kaleidoscope layer.

Drag the Kaleidoscope layer to different areas for new effects.

To create and capture a Kaleidoscope pattern
1 On the canvas, drag the Kaleidoscope dynamic layer until it displays an image you
like.
To continue working with the Kaleidoscope layer at a later time, save the image in
RIFF format to preserve the image and the Kaleidoscope layer.
2 In the Layers panel, select the Kaleidoscope layer.
3 Click the Layers panel menu arrow, and choose Drop and Select to commit the
layer.
4 Choose Window  Media Library Panels  Patterns.
5 Click the Patterns panel menu arrow, and choose Capture Pattern.
For more information on capturing patterns, refer to “Patterns” on page 197.

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When you create a pattern from a Kaleidoscope layer, the selection is dropped
to the canvas and cut out. If you want to preserve the original image and the
Kaleidoscope layer so that you can continue working with the effect, save the
image in RIFF format before you choose Drop and Select. As an alternative,
you can set the number of Undo levels high enough so that you can back out
of the steps to restore the original image.

Liquid Lens
Liquid Lens creates a dynamic layer where you can distort and smear the underlying
images. You can create “fun house” mirror effects, melting images, and more. For best
results, you should have interesting images beneath the Liquid Lens dynamic layer.
You’ll use the Liquid Lens by choosing a tool, setting sliders to control the effect, and
then dragging in the document window to create distortion. You can change slider
settings or tools, and then drag again for different results.
Undo features are not available when you work with the Liquid Lens. Use the Liquid
Lens Eraser tool in the Liquid Lens dialog box to clear distortion from an area.

Liquid Lens Tools
You can apply different distortion effects by using the Liquid Lens tools: Circle, Left
Twirl, Right Twirl, Bulge, Pinch, or Brush tools.
Liquid Lens tool

Example

The Circle tool creates circles of distortion.
Drag in the direction you want the
distortion to move. Size and Spacing have no
effect on the Circle tool.

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Liquid Lens tool

Example

The Left Twirl tool distorts in
counterclockwise spirals.

The Right Twirl tool distorts in clockwise
spirals.

The Bulge tool distorts outward, pushing
images out.

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Liquid Lens tool

Example

The Pinch tool distorts inward, drawing
images closer.

The Brush tool distorts in the direction you
drag.

Liquid Lens Controls
You can adjust the following settings to customize the distortion effect:
• Amount controls the degree of distortion applied. With the slider close to zero, you
create minimal distortion. Negative values create distortion counter to the stroke
direction, so that the image appears broken up.
• Smooth changes the blending between the distortion stroke and the unaffected
images. Higher values create a smooth, continuous distortion. Lower values create
individual dabs of distortion.

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Low settings on the Smooth slider make abrupt distortions (left); higher settings let
distortions transition smoothly into other areas (right).

• Size changes the diameter of the distortion tool and the size of rain, which scatters
distortion droplets in the layer.

Examples of how the Size slider affects distortion.

• Spacing changes the distance between distortion dabs.

Low spacing makes a smooth, continuous stroke (left); high spacing lets the dabs appear
individually (right).

• Reset restores the default settings.
• Rain scatters distortion droplets in the layer. Raindrops distort downward, melting
the image.

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To create a Liquid Lens dynamic layer
1 In the Layers panel, click the Layer Options button , and choose Deselect Layer.
2 Click the Dynamic Plug-ins button , and choose Liquid Lens.
3 In the Liquid Lens dialog box, choose a Liquid Lens tool.
4 Use the sliders and controls to adjust the distortion effect.
For more information, see “Liquid Lens” on page 581.
5 Drag in the document window to create distortion.
If you don’t like the distortions and you want to start again, click Clear.
You can scatter distortion droplets in the layer by clicking Rain in the Liquid
Lens dialog box. Click anywhere to stop the rain. If Smooth and Size settings
are very high, the rain might continue for a moment after you click.
You can move the Liquid Lens layer to different regions of the document to
distort other images.

Rain melts the image.

To erase Liquid Lens distortion
1 In the Liquid Lens dialog box, choose the Eraser tool .
2 Set the sliders for Size, Spacing, and Smooth to describe the type of erasing you
want.
Higher settings on the Smooth slider create softer transitions from the erasure to
the remaining distortion.
3 Drag in the document window.
The original underlying image returns.
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Remove distortion by using the Eraser tool.

Liquid Metal
The Liquid Metal dynamic plug-in lets you paint on a layer with liquid and metal. This
text uses the term “metal” to refer to the media applied — even if the settings create
an effect more like water.
You can apply droplets of water that distort the underlying image through refraction.
You can also create globs of shiny metal that flow together and move like mercury. The
Refraction slider sets the difference between water and metal, which lets you achieve
intermediate effects. Negative metal can be used to create holes in metal.

The Liquid Metal dynamic plug-in creates either liquid metal or translucent, refractive
liquid.

A stroke of metal is made up of a series of discrete droplets. You can select one or
several droplets and move them or change their properties. Refer to “Liquid Metal” on
page 586 for information about which slider settings apply to selected droplets.

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The “handles” show the droplet’s circle and center point. Showing the handles on the
droplets isn’t necessary for selecting them, but it can make your work easier. The
droplets applied in the last stroke are automatically selected. Each new stroke deselects
the droplets of the previous one.
The Undo feature is not available when working with metal; however, you can remove
selected metal, the last metal applied, or all metal on the layer.
Metal is highly reflective. You can customize the look by using a clone source or a
pattern as a reflection map. For more information about cloning, refer to “Image
Cloning and Sampling” on page 379. For more information about creating and
choosing patterns, refer to “Patterns” on page 197.

Liquid Metal Tools
You can apply metal with the Brush tool, the Circle tool, or the Rain feature. You can
adjust the size of your brush or rain droplets. The Brush is the default applicator. You
can use the Brush tool to paint with metal. You can use the Circle tool to create circles
of metal. The Rain feature lets you scatter metallic droplets on the layer.
Liquid Metal tool

Example

You can create strokes of metal by using the
Brush tool.

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Liquid Metal tool

Example

You can create circles of metal by using the
Circle tool.

You can create randomly falling metal
raindrops by applying the Rain feature.

Liquid Metal Controls
You can adjust the following settings to customize the appearance of the liquid metal:
• Amount controls the emphasis of the metal effect from the Refraction slider and
applies to all droplets in the layer. The extreme left and extreme right are the
inverse of each other. To create water effects, you can set the Amount to –0.5. This
setting makes the droplets magnify the underlying images.

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Reflection and Refraction invert when you move the Amount slider to either extreme.

• Smooth changes the perimeter range. The perimeter range determines the droplet’s
tendency to “join” its neighbors. The Smooth setting applies to all selected droplets
and to any new droplets that you create.

Low settings on the Smooth slider keep droplets distinct (left); higher settings make the
droplets flow together (right).

• Size changes the diameter of the selected droplets. The Size setting applies to all
selected droplets and to any new droplets you create by using the Brush tool or
Rain. It does not affect the Circle tool.
• Volume adjusts visibility along the perimeter. The Volume setting applies to all
selected droplets and to any new droplets you create.

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Decreasing Volume below 100% shrinks the visible portion of the droplet, “drying it up”
(left). Increasing Volume beyond 100% extends visibility beyond the droplet circle into the
perimeter range (right).

• Spacing adjusts the spacing between droplets in strokes created with the Brush
tool.

A stroke with low spacing (left): the droplets flow together. A stroke with high spacing
(right): each droplet is distinct.

• Map specifies the type of metal or reflection map. The type applies to the entire
layer. You can apply metal and change the type later. For information about using
reflection maps and patterns, refer to “Liquid Metal” on page 586.
• Display Handles shows the droplet’s outline and center point.
• Refraction controls droplet appearance. The slider represents a scale between
reflection and refraction. The Refraction setting applies to all droplets in the layer.
If you want to paint with translucent liquid, you can increase the Refraction slider.
As Refraction nears 100%, the metal becomes transparent. The droplets look like a
simple liquid — oil or water.

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Low refraction means high reflection (left). High refraction creates translucent, refractive
liquid (right).

• Surface Tension makes the droplets appear more round and three-dimensional.
• Reset restores the default settings.

To create a Liquid Metal dynamic layer
1 In the Layers panel, click the Layer Options button , and choose Deselect Layer.
2 Click the Dynamic Plug-ins button , and choose Liquid Metal.
3 In the Liquid Metal dialog box, choose the Circle tool or Brush tool .
4 Choose one of the following metal types from the Map pop-up menu:
• Standard Metal
• Chrome 1
• Chrome 2
• Interior
• Clone Source
5 Use the sliders and controls to adjust the appearance of the metal.
Refer to “Liquid Metal” on page 586 for more information.
6 Drag in the document window to apply the metal.
If you want to clear the effect and start again, click Clear.
You can scatter metal droplets in the layer by clicking Rain in the Liquid
Metal dialog box. Click anywhere to stop the rain.

To create negative metal
• Press Option (Mac OS) or Alt (Windows), and drag with the Circle tool
Brush tool over existing metal droplets.
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You will create holes in your metal. As you drag through positive pools, the
negative metal will divide and separate the existing metal.

To remove metal
To

Do the following

Remove the last metal applied

Press Delete (Mac OS) or Backspace
(Windows).

Remove the selected metal droplets

In the Liquid Metal dialog box, click the
Metal Selector tool , select the metal, and
press Delete (Mac OS) or Backspace
(Windows).

Remove all metal on the layer

In the Liquid Metal dialog box, click Clear.

To show metal droplet handles
• In the Liquid Metal dialog box, enable the Display Handles check box.

When you enable the Display Handles check box (right), you can see the droplet circles
and center points.

To select metal droplets
1 In the Liquid Metal dialog box, choose the Metal Selector tool
2 Perform an action from the following table.

Do the following

Select a single droplet

If the Display Handles check box is enabled,
click the center point handle of a droplet. If
handles are not displayed, click anywhere on
a droplet.

Select a group of droplets

Drag across the droplets you want to select.

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Do the following

Add droplets to a selection

Hold down Shift, and click additional
droplets to add to the selection.

Subtract droplets from a selection

Hold down Shift, and click droplets to
subtract from the selection.

When a droplet is selected, the center point handle is displayed as a solid.

Drag over the droplets you want to select.

To move metal droplets
1 In the Liquid Metal dialog box, choose the Metal Selector tool , and select the
droplets that you want to move.
2 Drag the center of one of the droplets to move the selected group.
Notice how the droplets seek to join other droplets they encounter. You can control
this tendency by adjusting the Smooth slider.

You can drag the center of one of the droplets to move the selected group.

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To adjust the size of the Liquid Metal brush
1 In the Liquid Metal dialog box, choose the Metal Selector tool
the droplets to deselect all.
2 Move the Size slider to the desired value.
3 Click the Brush tool and paint, or click Rain.

, and click outside

You can also adjust the size of existing metal by selecting the droplets and
moving the Size slider. For information about selecting droplets, see “To select
metal droplets” on page 592.

To adjust the reflection of Liquid Metal
1 Choose a pattern by clicking the Pattern Selector in the toolbox, and clicking a
pattern from the list.
2 Deselect all layers.
3 In the Layers panel, click the Dynamic Plug-ins button , and choose
Liquid Metal.
4 In the Liquid Metal dialog box, choose Clone Source from the Map pop-up menu.
5 Adjust any settings.
6 With the Circle tool or Brush tool , drag in the document window to apply
the metal.
If you want to clear the effect and start again, click Clear.
If no clone source has been specified, Corel Painter uses the current pattern as
the reflection map.

The same piece of metal changes appearance when a pattern is used as the reflection map.
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Posterize
The Posterize dynamic plug-in creates a layer that reduces the number of color levels in
the images it floats over.

A Posterize dynamic layer modifies the right half of this image.

To create a Posterize dynamic layer
1 Do one of the following:
• In the Layers panel, select the Canvas or another layer.
• If you want the new dynamic layer to be a specific size, select an area in the
document window.
If you select an area, Corel Painter automatically creates a new layer when you
apply the dynamic plug-in.
2 In the Layers panel, click the Dynamic Plug-ins button , and choose Posterize.
3 In the Posterize dialog box, specify the number of color levels you want.
The maximum number of color levels is 128. The value applies to each color
channel — red, green, and blue.

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Image Hose
The Image Hose is a milestone in the evolution of art tools. Instead of painting with
color, the Image Hose paints with images — not just one or two at a stroke, but a
variety of changing images.
The images flowing from the hose change as you make a brushstroke. The Image Hose
lets you control the image output. For example, by increasing stylus pressure, you can
paint larger or more colorful images. By changing the direction of the stroke, you can
change the angle of the images. This is just a sample of the possible controls. By
creating your own set of images, you can paint with a unique image series.

The Image Hose feature allows you to paint with images.

The Image Hose deposits 24-bit images with an 8-bit mask. The mask enables you to
layer the images gently, without aliased edges or artifacts.
You can load the Image Hose with images of any description — leaves, bark, grass,
stones, people, or whatever you want. When you paint with these image elements, you
can build them into coherent shapes, such as a tree, hill, cobblestone street, or crowd of
people.
This section contains the following topics:
• How the Image Hose Works
• Getting Started with the Image Hose
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• Controlling the Image Hose
• Indexing Nozzle Files
• Creating, Loading, and Saving Nozzles for the Image Hose

How the Image Hose Works
The Image Hose is a brush. To use it, you must first load it with images. The images
are kept in special nozzle files. On a garden hose, you attach a nozzle to control the
flow of water; in Corel Painter, you attach a nozzle to the Image Hose to control its
medium — images.
A nozzle file can contain any number of images. Usually, the images are similar and
form a logical series — that is, the images progress along some order. For example, the
images might increase in size or advance in angle. It is not necessary for images to
progress in a logical series, but the Image Hose is more effective when they do.
“Indexing” refers to the method used to select particular images from the many images
in a nozzle file. Which method (indexing rule) to use for selecting nozzle images is
controlled by modifying the Image Hose settings. You can hose images sequentially, at
random, or based on pressure, stroke direction, or several other factors.
The images are indexed so that Corel Painter can locate and paint specific images on
request. As you paint with the Image Hose, you can request specific images from the
nozzle index by varying your input value. Increasing an input value takes images from
later in the series. For example, you can set up the nozzle so that by pressing harder
with a pressure-sensitive stylus, you paint with larger images.
You control the images themselves in the nozzle file. If you want more variety in the
images, create more images in the nozzle file. For more information about designing
and creating nozzle files, see “Creating, Loading, and Saving Nozzles for the Image
Hose” on page 607.
As your Image Hose requirements become more exacting, you can create complex
nozzles that involve two progressions — for example, images getting larger and
changing angle. In this case, you’ll use one input factor to determine image size and
use another factor to determine image angle. This creates a 2-Rank nozzle.

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A 2-Rank nozzle progresses in two dimensions. In this example, the first rank changes
angle, and the second rank changes size.

Getting Started with the Image Hose
Corel Painter lets you select nozzles containing various images to use with the Image
Hose. You can adjust the opacity, size, color, position, and spacing of the images you
paint.

Image Hose Basics
The Image Hose is easy to use and offers a number of options for the behavior of
“nozzle spray.”
As with other Corel Painter brushes, the Image Hose has several variants. These builtin variants combine nozzle control factors (indexing rules) with brush settings to create
different hose effects.

The Nozzle library panel.

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Variants are divided into two types — Spray and Linear — according to the placement
of images in relation to the stroke. Spray variants scatter images. Linear variants place
images directly on the stroke path. Variants also differ in the way they link the size and
angle of images to factors such as stylus tilt, pressure, and position.
A variant’s name contains important information. For example, the variant’s name
Linear-Size-P Angle-D indicates that this is a Linear variant that links the size of
images you paint to the stylus pressure (P) and places them at an angle based on the
direction (D) of the stroke. The letters R, W, and B in variants’ names signify Random,
Wheel, and Bearing. For more information about these settings, see “Color Expression
Controls” on page 336 and “Ranks and Indexing Rules” on page 604.
You can use these variants as a starting point and then adjust the brush and nozzle
controls to deliver the images just as you want them.

To select a nozzle and use the Image Hose
1 Choose the Brush tool
from the toolbox.
2 Click the Brush Selector on the Brush Selector bar.
3 In the Brush Library panel, click the Image Hose brush category, and click a brush
variant.
Each variant delivers the images differently.
4 Choose Window  Media Library Panels  Nozzles.
5 In the Nozzle Libraries panel, choose a nozzle from the list box.
6 Make a brushstroke on the canvas.

Controlling the Image Hose
The Image Hose can be controlled by changing the Image Hose brush and the nozzle
file.
You can change the opacity, size, and spacing of nozzle images and determine the
placement of images in the stroke. In addition, brush expression settings let you use
different stylus attributes, such as pressure, tilt, and bearing to change the size and
angle of images on the fly.

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You can index a nozzle file to control the order in which nozzle images are delivered.
For more information, see “The Rank Indexing System” on page 607. You can also
create your own nozzle files to determine the image content and ranking. For more
information, see “Designing Nozzles: 1, 2, or 3 Ranks” on page 607.

Adjusting Opacity and Grain
You can use the property bar to adjust the opacity of nozzle images or to mix them
with an additional color. The Opacity slider allows you to make nozzle images
semitransparent.
If you move the slider all the way to the left, the images become invisible.

You can change the opacity of Image Hose strokes. Settings shown are 100% opacity (left)
and 20% opacity (right).

The Grain slider allows you to mix the additional color with the nozzle images. If the
slider is set to 100%, the nozzle images remain pure. As you move the slider to the left,
more of the additional color appears in the images. If the slider is set to 90%,
Corel Painter mixes 10% of the additional color to 90% of the image. This is a handy
way to adjust the shading of image elements. For information on selecting an
additional color, refer to “Using the Color Panel” on page 168.

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You can turn down the Grain to mix in the additional color. Settings shown are 100%
grain (left) and 39% grain (right).

For more information about opacity and grain, see “Setting Basic Brush Attributes” on
page 123.

Scaling Images
The Set Nozzle Scale command in the Nozzle Selector menu lets you control the size of
image elements delivered by the Image Hose. At 100%, the images are the same size
as they are in the nozzle file.

To adjust the scale
1 Choose Window  Media Library Panels  Nozzles.
2 In the Nozzle Libraries panel, click the Nozzle Options button
Nozzle Scale.
3 Type a value in the New Scale box.

, and choose Set

You can also use the Size slider on the property bar to change the size of
images delivered by the Image Hose, just as you would with other brushes.

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Spacing Images
You control the space between images from the Spacing panel in the Brush Controls
palette. Moving the Spacing slider to the right increases the spacing between image
elements.

The Spacing slider controls the spacing of the images. Settings shown are 85% (left) and
20% (right).

Because spacing is based on the diameter of the brush, the Size settings also affect
image spacing. Increasing the brush size adds space between the images applied with
the hose. Size settings affect the size of the image elements themselves. Increasing the
brush size adds space between the images applied with the hose.
The Min Size slider also affects the size of images applied by the Image Hose. When
set to stylus pressure or direction, the Min Size setting determines the range in which
the images you apply will vary in size.
For more information on the Spacing settings, see “Spacing Controls” on page 284. For
more information on the Size and Min Size controls, see “Size Controls” on page 282.

Placing Images Randomly
You randomize the proximity of images to the stroke path with the Jitter slider on the
property bar. When the slider is all the way to the left, images are directly in the
stroke. Moving the slider to the right increases the scattering of the images.
You can also adjust the Jitter. For more information, refer to “Jitter Controls” on
page 333.

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Expression Settings
The Expression settings in the Expression panel in the Brush Controls palette offer
dynamic control over the brush settings described above. You can use these settings to
produce interesting effects. For example, angle settings apply when you use the
Image Hose to paint on images. For more information on the Expression settings, refer
to “Expression Settings” on page 338.

Indexing Nozzle Files
As you paint with the Image Hose, Corel Painter selects images from the nozzle file
based on one or more rules. This selection process, known as indexing, determines
which images from the many in the nozzle file are delivered from the Image Hose. The
Image Hose panel in the Brush Controls palette lets you change the rules for indexing
the images.

Ranks and Indexing Rules
Image nozzle files can be created with one, two, or three image progressions known as
“ranks.” Corel Painter offers these three rankings, so each nozzle file can be identified
as a 1-Rank, 2-Rank, or 3-Rank nozzle. For more information about the rank system,
refer to “Designing Nozzles: 1, 2, or 3 Ranks” on page 607.
The following indexing rules are available for each rank in Corel Painter:
• None returns one element only — the last in the rank.
• Velocity indexes images from the rank based on the speed of the stroke. A faster
stroke delivers elements from later in the rank. Velocity is often used with a mouse
to mimic pressure. Velocity can be difficult to control. For this reason, you might
want to use it in a rank with few elements.
• Direction indexes images from the rank based on the direction of the stroke. The
first item in the rank corresponds to a left-to-right stroke (toward 3 o’clock). As the
stroke direction progresses counterclockwise, the Image Hose delivers subsequent
images from the rank. The number of elements in the rank determines the
directional change required to index a different element. For example, a nozzle file
that contains 72 images at progressive angles delivers a different item at every 5° of
stroke direction (360° divided by 72 equals 5°).

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This Arrow nozzle is an example of indexing based on Direction.

• Pressure indexes images based on stylus pressure. Greater pressure selects images
from later in the rank. Pressure works only with pressure-sensitive tablets. Pressure
is a great control for requesting images from a nozzle. For example, if you set up
your nozzle file to progress from small to larger images, heavier strokes deliver
larger images.
• Wheel indexes images based on the wheel setting on an airbrush stylus.
• Tilt indexes images based on the tilt of the stylus. Not all stylus models convey this
information. This control does not work with a mouse.
• Bearing indexes images based on the position of the stylus. Not all stylus models
convey this information. This control does not work with a mouse.
• Rotation indexes images based on the rotation of a flat-tip stylus that supports
360-degree rotation.
• Source delivers images based on the luminance of pixels in the clone source (or
current pattern if you have not set a clone source). The pixels of the working
document have a direct correspondence with the pixels of the clone source image.
As the luminance increases, Source delivers images from later in the rank. For best
results, the clone source should have the same dimensions as the document in
which you’re working. For more information on setting up and using a clone
source, refer to “Painting in the Clone” on page 386. Depending on the nozzle
you’re using, Source can be quite useful. For example, if the source image is black
on the left and progresses through gradations to white on the right, the Image
Hose delivers images from the start of the rank at the left of the document, in the
dark area. As the brush moves to the right into the lighter area, the Image Hose
delivers images from later in the rank. To take advantage of this feature, you may
want to create a special source image for the single purpose of controlling the
Image Hose. The clone source image or pattern for controlling the Image Hose
may be grayscale. Remember, Corel Painter uses only the luminance values.

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Indexing based on Source.

• Random selects images from the rank at random. Randomness can add irregularity
of color and texture to the areas you paint with the Image Hose. This contributes
to the aesthetics of the painting, because minor irregularities occur in natural
structures.
• Sequential indexes images in the order they appear in the rank — moving left to
right, and top to bottom.

Left: sequential indexing. Right: random indexing.

To change the indexing rule
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Image Hose.
2 For each rank in the nozzle, choose an indexing rule from the list box.
3 If necessary, adjust the Direction slider.
If you want to invert the effect of the indexing rule, enable the Invert Rank check
box. For example, if you choose Pressure for an indexing rule, greater stylus
pressure selects images from later in the rank. Inverting the rank produces the
opposite result — greater stylus pressure delivers images from earlier in the rank.
The indexing rules for Rank 2 and Rank 3 have no effect on a 1-Rank nozzle.
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Creating, Loading, and Saving Nozzles for the Image Hose
You can create custom nozzles for the Image Hose using ranks and indexing rules.
After you save the custom nozzles, you can load them at any time to use in an image.

The Rank Indexing System
A 1-Rank indexing system is simply a numbered sequence. You can locate any element
in the sequence by specifying its number — for example, “Item 3.”
In Corel Painter, you locate and deliver images by varying input — for example, by
pressing harder with the stylus or changing the direction of the stroke. For information
on the input factors you can use to control indexing, refer to “Ranks and Indexing
Rules” on page 604.
A 2-Rank indexing system uses two perpendicular indexes. The first rank extends
horizontally and the second extends vertically. Again, you’ll vary input to locate an
item for either rank. You can think of indexing in the two ranks as “selecting a
column” and “selecting a row.” The Image Hose delivers the image that is located
where the selected column and row intersect. For this to work properly, you must use
different indexing rules (input factors) for selecting in each rank.
A 3-Rank indexing system extends the 2-Rank model. The third rank is created by
repeating the 2-Rank “set.” Within the selected set, the 1-Rank and 2-Rank indexing
(described above) is used. You must use different indexing rules for selecting in each
rank.
A 3-Rank indexing system can be used with calendar dates. Any day — past, present,
or future — can be located by specifying the month, day, and year. For example,
“February 25, 1962 (2/25/1962).”

Designing Nozzles: 1, 2, or 3 Ranks
A nozzle file contains a series of images arranged in a regular grid. Usually, the images
are progressive in terms of size, shape, angle, or color. Progression is not necessary, but
it increases the sophistication of the Image Hose. For example, a nozzle file with
images progressing in size can be set up so that greater stylus pressure paints
incrementally larger images.

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A 1-Rank nozzle progresses in one dimension. In this example, changing angle is the first
rank.

What if you want a two-dimensional progression, such as having image elements
increasing in size and changing angle? To do this, you’ll need to set up your images as
a 2-Rank nozzle file. Painting with a 2-Rank nozzle, you can control where your image
comes from in terms of both progressions. In this case, you use a different input factor
to control the location of the image elements in each rank.
In the following image, Rank 1 is a progression in angle, and Rank 2 is a progression
in size. It would make sense to use direction to control Rank 1 and pressure to control
Rank 2.

A 2-Rank nozzle progresses in two dimensions. In this example, changing angle is the
first rank, and changing size is the second rank.

You can extend the nozzle to a third progression, creating a 3-Rank nozzle. Again, you
use a separate indexing rule (input factor) to control the location in each rank. If you
use one indexing rule to control two ranks, some image elements become unavailable.
In the following image, Rank 3 is a progression in color. You might control this final
rank with randomness, velocity, or source — depending on your plans for the image.

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Color is the third rank in this 3-Rank nozzle.

It is recommended that you consider how you will control each rank before you build a
nozzle. The way you lay out the images can limit the ways you can control the
indexing. Before you begin building a nozzle, you must decide which rank level you
need as well as how many elements you want in each progression. For information on
setting the indexing rule for each rank, refer to “To change the indexing rule” on
page 606.

Preparing Images
Regardless of the rank level of the nozzle you are making or the method you use to
build it, the following tips will help you develop the individual images.
Each element in an Image Hose nozzle must be selected. The selection allows you to
paint with images of irregular shape. Only what is inside the selection will flow from
the Image Hose.
You might want to work by creating a silhouette of the image shape as a selection, and
then fill in the color information later. With soft edges to the selection, you can create
images that are anti-aliased automatically. This improves the continuity across an area
of hosed images.

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You can create Image Hose nozzles from layers. As you create image elements, turn
them into layers. If the layer looks good when dropped on different backgrounds, the
image will look good as a nozzle element. Building a nozzle from layers offers
advantages in convenience as well.
Another technique is to float the image on a black background and add a drop shadow.
This will enhance the appearance of three dimensions, as image elements build up in
layers. When all elements have the shadow in the same position, the light source
appears the same across the painted area.
For more information on working with layers, refer to “Layers” on page 447.

Creating a 1-Rank Nozzle from a Group of Layers
To create a 1-Rank nozzle, you start by creating each image to be included in the
nozzle as a separate layer. Then, you select and group the layers and create a new file
by using the Make Nozzle from Group command. As a last step, you save the new
nozzle file in RIFF format. To use the new 1-Rank nozzle, you first need to load it. For
information about loading nozzle files, see “Loading Nozzle Files” on page 618
In a 1-Rank nozzle, the images do not need to be in one line. Corel Painter wraps
images onto several lines to create a document of reasonable shape. Corel Painter
follows a mathematical rule in reconstructing the rank of images. This rule is
contained in the Nozzle Definition. You’ll learn more about this in “To build a 2-Rank
nozzle” on page 613.

Nozzles are most useful when they deliver similar images with some irregularity — for
example, butterflies on flowers.

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To create a 1-Rank nozzle from layers
1 Create image elements as layers for the nozzle.
The alignment of layers in the document doesn’t affect the nozzle-building process.
2 From the menu bar, choose Window  Layers to show the Layers panel.
The top layer on the list will be the first element in the nozzle sequence. Moving
down the list advances through the element progression.
3 Rearrange the layer hierarchy to create the progression you want in the nozzle.
4 If any item in the Layers panel is a group, click the Layer Commands button ,
and choose Collapse Layers to convert it to a standard layer.
5 Hold down the Shift key, and select each item in the list.
6 Click the Layer Commands button, and choose Group Layers.
All items are now part of the same group.
7 Choose Window  Media Library Panels  Nozzles.
8 In the Nozzle Libraries panel, click the Nozzle Options button , and choose
Make Nozzle From Group.
Corel Painter creates a new, untitled image. This is your nozzle file.
9 From the menu bar, choose File  Save.
10 Give the file a descriptive name and save it in RIFF format.

Creating a nozzle from layers.

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Creating a 2-Rank Nozzle on a Grid
Nozzles of two and three ranks cannot be created from a layer group. You must build
these nozzles manually. The indexing system requires the nozzle images to fit in a
regular grid. You can create a nozzle file by setting up a grid and placing an image
element at the center of each cell.
The cell size is based on the smallest rectangle that will hold the largest image element
(including its selection). To make sure that your images fit in the grid, copy your
largest image element to a layer. After you have set up the nozzle images in the grid,
you can build your nozzle. Refer to “Creating Layers” on page 453 for more
information.

To determine the grid cell size and nozzle dimensions
1 In the toolbox, click the Layer Adjuster tool , and choose the layer with the
largest image element that you want to include in the nozzle.
Corel Painter displays the pixel width and height of the layer’s content in the
Navigator panel. To display the Navigator panel, choose Window  Navigator.
You might want to use slightly larger values for the grid cell size.
2 Determine the number of elements you want in each rank.
3 Multiply the number of items in Rank-1 by the cell width.
This value is the nozzle’s width.
4 Multiply the number of items in Rank-2 by the cell height.
This value is the nozzle’s height.
To create the grid
1 From the menu bar, choose File  New, and enter the nozzle’s width and height in
the Width and Height boxes.
You must enter the nozzle’s width and height that you calculated in steps 3 and 4
of “To determine the grid cell size and nozzle dimensions” on page 612.
2 From the menu bar, choose Canvas  Grid  Grid Options.
3 In the Grid Options dialog box, set the Horizontal Spacing and Vertical Spacing to
the values of the cell width and height, and click OK.
You need to enter the cell width and height from step 1 of “To determine the grid
cell size and nozzle dimensions” on page 612.
4 Show the grid by choosing Canvas  Grid  Show Grid.
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The grid should describe the number of elements you want in each rank — Rank 1
horizontally and Rank 2 vertically.

To build a 2-Rank nozzle
1 Place one image element in the center of each grid cell.
The easiest way to do this is with layers. When you bring image elements into the
grid as layers, they bring their layer mask with them. If the image elements are
layers in different files, it is easier to open the files one at a time.
Follow an appropriate progression based on your intentions for controlling this
nozzle.
2 From the menu bar, choose Window  Layers.
3 In the Layers panel, select all layers.
4 Click the Layer Options button , and choose Drop and Select.
5 From the menu bar, choose File  Save As, and save the file in RIFF format.

In this finished 2-Rank nozzle, variety is the first rank, and size is the second rank.

To paint with your new nozzle file, you’ll need to load it first. For information
on loading 2-Rank nozzles, see “To load a nozzle file” on page 618.

Creating a 3-Rank Nozzle
You can create a 3-Rank nozzle using the grid method.

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Rank 3 (Shape)

Rank 2 (Size)

Rank 1 (Variety)

This nozzle file has three items in Rank 1, three items in Rank 2, and three items in
Rank 3.

Painting with the 3-Rank nozzle “Broken Shells.”

To create a 3-Rank nozzle
1 Build or open a 2-Rank file.
2 Determine the number of elements you want in the third rank.
3 Choose Window  Navigator to display the Navigator panel, and check the height
of the current nozzle file.
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4 Multiply the number of items in the third rank by the height of the file.
The result will be the height of your 3-Rank nozzle file.
5 Choose Select  Reselect.
6 Choose Select  Float.
7 Choose Edit  Copy.
Now you must extend this file vertically to accommodate the items in the third
rank.
8 In the Layers panel, select the canvas.
9 From the menu bar, choose Canvas  Canvas Size.
10 To set the canvas to the height of your 3-Rank nozzle, add the correct number of
pixels in the Add Pixels to Bottom box.
The value you need is the difference between the height of the 3-Rank nozzle
calculated in step 4 and the height of the open 2-Rank nozzle.
Now you can develop images for each item (set) in the third rank.
11 Choose Edit  Paste, and position the pasted layer in the area you added.
The images should be centered in the grid cells.
If necessary, modify the images in this layer.
12 Choose the Layer Adjuster tool
Layers panel.

from the toolbox, and select both layers in the

13 Click the Layer Options button

, and choose Drop and Select.

14 Choose File  Save, and save the file in RIFF format.
If you previously defined this file as a nozzle, you must edit the definition to
describe the three ranks you created.
15 Choose File  Get Info, and edit the nozzle definition in the File Information dialog
box.
For example, the nozzle definition “image hose 3 by 3” describes a 2-Rank nozzle
with three image elements (items) in Rank 1 and three image elements in Rank 2.
Suppose the new nozzle has three image elements in Rank 3. To paint with images
from all three ranks, you need to change the nozzle definition to “image hose 3 by 3
by 3”.
To paint with your new nozzle file, you first need to load it. For information
on loading nozzle files, see “To load a nozzle file” on page 618.
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Creating a Nozzle from a Movie
Frame after frame of a Corel Painter movie can flow from the Image Hose. The frame
size describes the “Item Size.” If you’re creating a movie just to turn it into a Nozzle,
set the frame size just large enough to hold your largest image element. You can use
the selection in each frame to control the shape of the images.
The Make Nozzle from Movie command automatically creates a 1-Rank nozzle. If you
want, you can use this technique to create a 2-Rank nozzle.

To make a nozzle file from a movie
1 Open the movie you want to turn into a nozzle file.
2 Choose Window  Media Library Panels  Nozzles.
3 In the Nozzle Libraries panel, click the Nozzle Options button , and choose
Make Nozzle from Movie.
An untitled image file appears containing each movie frame.
4 If you didn’t create selections in a frame of the Frame Stack, you can create the
selections now.
Remember, each image element must be included in the selection.
5 Save the file in RIFF format.
You can now load and use this file as you would any 1-Rank nozzle file.
To make a 2-Rank nozzle from a movie
1 Choose File  New, and start a movie.
The frame size (canvas width and height) should be just large enough to hold your
largest image element.
The total number of frames must equal the number of elements in Rank 1
multiplied by the number of elements in Rank 2. For example, for a 2-rank nozzle
with three items in Rank 1 and three items in Rank 2, the movie needs to contain
nine frames.
2 Add an image element to the first frame. You can add image elements by using
selections or layers.
3 In the Layers panel, click the Layer Options button , and choose Drop and
Select.

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4 Move to the second frame, and add an image element. Edit the image element if
necessary, and repeat step 3 before moving to the next frame.
5 Continue adding image elements to the remaining frames. Make sure to apply the
Drop and Select command before moving to a new frame.
You need to arrange image elements in sets according to the second rank. In the
following example, the second rank progression for the new nozzle is changing
color. The movie is organized in three color sets. Frames 1 to 3 form the red set;
frames 4 to 6, the green set, and frames 7 to 9, the yellow set. Each set is the first
rank progression (changing angle) for the new nozzle and contains images that are
the same color but are placed at a different angle.

The image elements in this movie are arranged in color sets according to the second rank.

6 In the Frame Stacks panel, click the Rewind button
of the movie.

to return to the first frame

7 Choose Window  Media Library Panels  Nozzles.
8 In the Nozzle Libraries panel, click the Nozzles Options button
Make Nozzle from Movie.
A new file appears.

Image Hose

, and choose

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The resulting nozzle file from the movie in the previous example.

9 From the menu bar, choose File  Get Info.
The File Information dialog box holds the information Corel Painter uses to index
in this file.
10 Edit the statement to describe the nozzle index you created.
For example, the statement “image hose 9 items” describes a 1-Rank nozzle with
nine image elements. To describe a 2-Rank nozzle with three items in Rank 1 and
three items in Rank 2, you need to change the statement to “image hose 3 by 3
items”.
11 Save the file.
To paint with the new nozzle file, you need to load it first. For more information,
see “To load a nozzle file” on page 618.
Do not allow empty frames at the end of the movie.

Loading Nozzle Files
To paint with a separate nozzle file that isn’t part of a library, you first need to load it
into the Image Hose library.

To load a nozzle file
1 Choose Window  Media Library Panels  Nozzles.
2 In the Nozzle Libraries panel, click the Nozzles Options button
Load Nozzle.
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3 Choose a nozzle from the Open dialog box, and click Open.
You can now paint with the nozzle.
If the Nozzle Definition dialog box appears, you are trying to load a 2- or 3-Rank
nozzle and need to complete steps 4 through 6.
4 In the Item Width and Height boxes in the Nozzle Definition dialog box, enter the
values you set in the nozzle file. These values describe the grid cell size.
If you are not sure about these values, first open the nozzle file, and choose File 
Get Information. The File Information dialog displays all the information you
need. For example, “image hose 3 by 2 items (height 100, width 100)” indicates
that this is a 2-Rank nozzle, with three image elements in Rank 1 (horizontal
progression) and two image elements in Rank 2 (vertical progression). Item width
and height are 100 pixels each (grid cell size of 100 by 100 pixels).
5 In the Index Rank box, enter 2 for a 2-Rank nozzle and 3 for 3-Rank nozzle.
6 In the Rank columns, enter the number of image elements used in each rank of the
nozzle file.
If this is a 2-Rank nozzle file, enter 1 in the Rank 3 column.
If the values you enter do not describe the file, Corel Painter won’t accept them. In
other words, the “number of items” in Rank 1 (horizontal progression) multiplied
by the “item width” must equal the width of the nozzle file; the “number of items”
in Rank 2 (vertical progression) multiplied by the “item height” must equal the
height of the nozzle file.
Remember, you still need to describe the indexing rule for each rank.
Corel Painter needs the information you enter in the Nozzle Definition dialog
box to index images correctly.

Nozzle Libraries
Nozzle libraries let you save and retrieve sets of nozzle files. For information on loading
alternate libraries, creating new libraries, and moving items between libraries, refer to
“Libraries” on page 32.

To add a nozzle to the library
1 Choose Window  Media Library Panels  Nozzles.

Image Hose

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2 In the Nozzle Libraries panel, click the Nozzles Options button
Load Nozzle.

, and choose

3 Locate your nozzle file in the dialog box, and click Open.
4 If necessary, enter the values to define the number of elements, their size, and rank.
5 Choose Window  Media Library Panels  Nozzles.
6 In the Nozzle Libraries panel, click the Nozzles Options button, and choose Add
Nozzle to Library.
7 In the Save dialog box, name the nozzle.

To retrieve and edit a nozzle
1 Choose Window  Media Library Panels  Nozzles.
2 In the Nozzle Libraries panel, click the Nozzles Options button , and choose
Check Out Nozzle.
Corel Painter opens the nozzle file in an image window.
3 Choose Select  Reselect.
4 If necessary, edit the file.
Make sure to keep the selections.
5 Choose File  Save As, and save the file to the folder you want.
If you want to protect your original nozzle, save the file under a different filename.
6 Choose Window  Media Library Panels  Nozzles.
7 In the Nozzle Libraries panel, click the Nozzles Options button, and choose Load
Nozzle, and select the nozzle you just saved.
8 To put the nozzle back in the library, click the Nozzles Options button, and choose
Add Nozzle to Library.

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Mosaics
Making mosaics is a classical art technique that creates pictures from colored tiles and
grout. In Corel Painter, the Make Mosaic feature and its companion, Make
Tessellation, let you create tile mosaics and stained-glass window formations. For more
information about tessellations, see “Working with Tessellation Mosaics” on page 637.
The Make Mosaics feature lets you paint with a mosaic medium. In essence, you’re
painting with tiles. The medium you paint with can be simple colored tiles or colors
cloned from an original image. In this way, you can paint an original image on a blank
canvas or re-create an image from a cloned photo.
Each tile is an independent object and carves its shape so that it fits perfectly with
surrounding tiles. You can erase and/or reshape tiles to create the perfect mosaic
design.

A mosaic image.

The Make Tessellation feature takes an original image and creates tile inlay patterns
from nonrectangular tiles. This feature divides your image into polygonal shapes and
then converts the shapes into tiles.

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A mosaic based on Tessellation.

After creating a mosaic, using either of the two methods, you can give it a
three-dimensional (3D) appearance. You can also apply brushstrokes to the mosaic. A
brush such as Distortion will smear the tile colors. For instructions on adding
dimension to the tiles, refer to “Giving Tiles a 3D Look” on page 633.
This section contains the following topics:
• Getting Started with Mosaics
• Placing and Customizing Tiles
• Working with Tessellation Mosaics

Getting Started with Mosaics
The Mosaic feature differs from the other Natural-Media tools in Corel Painter. With
the mosaics medium, you’re actually working in a different mode. This means that you
must have the Make Mosaic dialog box open, and you cannot access any other tools or
features — except for the Colors panel.
When in Mosaics mode, you can add, remove, and reshape mosaic tiles. You can choose
a color to paint with or use the Clone Color option in the Colors panel. You can also set
grout thickness.
The Make Mosaic dialog box provides all the controls needed for working in this
medium. When painting with mosaic tiles, you work with one of four tools: Apply
Tiles, Remove Tiles, Change Tile Color, or Select Tiles.
Whether you are cloning from an existing image or creating a mosaic design from
scratch, you may find the following guidelines helpful:

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• Use your first few courses of mosaic tiles to delineate the most important contours
of your subject — just as if you were drawing with a pencil. Describe the most
important lines of your scene first. Additional courses of tiles should follow the
initial contours.

Tiles applied to the outline of an image.

• Use larger tiles in areas of flat color and smaller tiles in regions where you must add
more detail. In flat-color areas, you may want to introduce some color variability
for a more realistic effect. Tiles used in traditional mosaics rarely have uniform
color.
• If you’re working in a clone, turn on the Tracing Paper feature by enabling the Use
Tracing Paper check box in the Make Mosaics dialog box. This helps you follow the
source images.

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Clone without source images showing (the Use Tracing Paper check box in the Make
Mosaic dialog box is disabled).

Creating a Mosaic Effect
You can create a mosaic from scratch or based on a clone of another image. For more
information about cloning images, see “Image Cloning and Sampling” on page 379.
After you create a mosaic, keep the Make Mosaic dialog box open so that you can
continue to work on the mosaic. After you apply tiles to a mosaic, you can select or
deselect tiles to change their color or apply effects to them.

To display the Make Mosaic dialog box
1 Do one of the following:
• Start a new document by choosing File  New.
• Clone an existing document by choosing File  Open and locating the file that
you want to clone. Then, choose File  Quick Clone.
2 Choose Effects  Esoterica  Make Mosaic.

To create a mosaic from scratch
1 Start a new document by choosing File  New.
2 Choose Effects  Esoterica  Make Mosaic.
3 In the Make Mosaic dialog box, click the Apply Tiles button
4 Drag in the document window.
New tiles flow from your stroke.
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5 Keep the Make Mosaic dialog box open so that you can continue to work on the
mosaic.
You can also have Corel Painter do the tile work automatically with the
Stroke Selections and Fill Selection commands located in the Make Mosaic
dialog box in the Options list box. For information on how to use the Stroke
Selections and Fill Selection options, see “Using Stroke Selections and Fill
Selection Commands” on page 635.

To create a mosaic based on a cloned image
1 Clone an existing document by choosing File  Open, and locating the file that you
want to clone. Then, choose File  Quick Clone.
2 Choose Effects  Esoterica  Make Mosaic.
3 In the Colors panel, click the Clone Color button
to enable it.
4 In the Make Mosaic dialog box, click the Apply Tiles button .
If you don’t want to work with Tracing Paper, disable the Use Tracing Paper check
box.
5 Drag in the document window.
New tiles flow from your stroke.
6 Keep the Make Mosaic dialog box open so that you can continue to work on the
mosaic.
You can monitor the progress of the clone-based mosaic by viewing the image
with Tracing Paper on, by enabling the Use Tracing Paper check box. This lets
you see a faded out version of the clone source. You can also enable or disable
Tracing Paper by choosing Canvas  Tracing Paper. A check mark indicates
that it is enabled.

To select tiles
To

Do the following

Select tiles

In the Make Mosaic dialog box, click the
Select Tiles button
. Drag across the tiles
you want to select. Red borders appear on
selected tiles.

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Do the following

Select contiguous tiles of the same color (no
variability allowed)

In the Make Mosaic dialog box, click the
Select Tiles button
. Press Command +
Control (Mac OS), or Ctrl (Windows), and
drag across part of a line of tiles, so that the
whole line of tiles is selected. A magic wand
appears as you select the tiles.

Select every tile

With the Make Mosaic dialog box displayed,
press the A key.

To deselect tiles
To

Do the following

Deselect an individual tile

In the Make Mosaic dialog box, click the
Select Tiles button
. Click on a tile that is
already selected to deselect it.

Deselect all tiles

With the Make Mosaic dialog box displayed,
press the D key.

Specifying Tile Color
There are several ways to change tile color. You can adjust the value, change the hue,
or randomize variability. You can adjust the color for individual tiles or for larger areas
across the mosaic.
The tile color is determined by the main color selected in the Colors panel. You might
want to add some color variability to build visual interest. When working in a clone
document, you can color the tiles based on the clone source.
Normally, each tile is given a single color. If you want more options for coloring tiles,
render the tiles to a channel. You can then convert the channel to a selection to paint
directly on the tiles, apply effects, or fill them with a pattern, weave, gradient, or
image. Refer to “Giving Tiles a 3D Look” on page 633 for more information.

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To change the color of selected tiles
1 In the Make Mosaic dialog box, click the Select Tiles button .
2 Click or drag across the tiles you want to select.
Red borders appear on selected tiles.
3 Choose a color from the Colors panel.
4 Press one of the following keys to apply the described color change to the selected
tiles:
• C (Color) Changes the tiles to the current main color.
• T (Tint) Applies a small amount (10%) of the current main color. Repeat to
accentuate.
• V (Vary) Adds color variability, based on the variability settings in the Colors
panel. In the Colors and Color Variability panels, choose the color and
variability settings you want to use. Repeat until you are satisfied with the
results.
To change tile color individually
1 In the Make Mosaic dialog box, click the Change Tile Color button .
2 Choose one of the following color adjustment modes from the menu:
• Color — changes the tiles to the current main color
• Darken — applies a small amount of black
• Lighten — applies a small amount of white
• Tint — applies a small amount (10%) of the current main color
• Vary — adds color variability, based on the variability settings in the Colors
panel. In the Colors and Color Variability panels, choose the color and
variability settings you want to use.
3 Click individual tiles you want to change or drag across a group of tiles.
To use multicolored tiles
1 Choose Window  Brush Control Panels  Color Variability to display the Color
Variability panel.
If the Color Variability panel is not expanded, double-click the panel tab.
2 Choose a color variability method from the list box.
3 Move the sliders or type values in the boxes to adjust the color variability settings.
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If the Color Variability panel is not open, you must first close the Make
Mosaic dialog box. Then, display the Color Variability panel, and open the
Make Mosaic dialog box again.

To base colors on a clone source
• After cloning an image, enable the Clone Color button
in the Colors panel.
For more information about creating mosaics based on cloned images, see “To
create a mosaic based on a cloned image” on page 625.

Specifying Grout Color
Any area not covered by tiles is considered grout. The grout color is assigned to the
mosaic background when you begin working.

To change the grout color
• In the Make Mosaic dialog box, click the Grout color chip.
Use the Color dialog box to select a grout color. You can change the grout color at
any time. However, changing the grout color automatically re-renders the mosaic,
which erases any part of the image that is not a tile or grout.

Removing Tiles
If you want to remove tiles selectively, use the Remove Tile tool. The Reset Mosaic
command removes all tiles from the document; Corel Painter clears the canvas, leaving
only the grout color.

To remove tiles
To

Do the following

Remove specific tiles

In the Make Mosaic dialog box, click the
Remove Tiles button
. Click or drag
across the tiles you want to remove.

Remove all tiles

In the Make Mosaic dialog box, from the
Options list box, choose Reset Mosaic.

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Saving a Mosaic in the RIFF File Format
If you save a mosaic in the RIFF format, you can open the file later, choose the
Make Mosaic command, and continue working.
RIFF is the only file format that will save the resolution-independent mosaic tile
objects. Saving in any other format prohibits you from resuming the mosaic process.
All file formats will save the rendered image of the mosaic tiles on the canvas. For more
information about saving files, see “Saving and Backing up Files” on page 63.

Placing and Customizing Tiles
The Make Mosaic dialog box includes several powerful features for placing tiles and
developing and improving your mosaic. The commands in this section are accessible
from the Settings and Options list boxes.

Adjusting Dimensions and Randomness
Tile shapes have two categories of control: Dimensions and Randomness. These
categories can be controlled by using the Settings list box.
The Dimensions sliders let you control the basic size of the tiles and grout spacing.
The Randomness sliders allow you to control the uniformity of the tile shapes.
Increasing randomness makes the shapes more erratic, each different from the last. For
example, if the Length dimension is 10 pixels, a Length randomness of 25% creates
tiles that are randomly given a length in the range of 7.5 to 12.5 pixels.

To adjust tile dimensions or randomness
1 In the Make Mosaic dialog box, from the Settings list box, choose one of the
following:
• Dimensions
• Randomness
2 Adjust the sliders.
3 Drag in the document window to apply tiles with the new dimensions or
randomness settings.

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Dimension control

Example

The Width control sets the width of the tiles
in pixels.

In this example, the width is set to 3.5 pixels
(top) and 30.4 pixels (bottom).

The Length control sets the length of the
tiles in pixels.

In this example, the length is set to
4.1 pixels (top) and 24.2 pixels (bottom).

Pressure determines how tile dimensions are
affected by stylus pressure. The Pressure
slider allows you to control the width
variance under differently weighted strokes.

In this example, the pressure slider is set to
0% (top) and 100% (bottom).

With the Pressure slider set to zero, a light
stroke produces narrow tiles, and a heavier
stroke creates wider tiles.
Increasing the Pressure slider increases the
effect of pressure on the width of the tiles.
By increasing the Pressure setting, you can
prevent the creation of narrow tiles in
response to a light stroke. Setting Pressure to
100% creates uniformly wide tiles,
regardless of the pressure.

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Dimension control

Example

The Grout control sets the spacing between
tiles in pixels.

In this example, the spacing between tiles is
0% (top) and 15% (bottom).

Randomness control

Example

Increasing Width randomness allows the
width to vary by the set percentages.

In this example, Width randomness is set
to 92%.

Increasing Length randomness allows the
length to vary by the set percentage.

In this example, the Length slider is set
to 98%.

With Cut randomness set to zero, the edges
of the tile are created perpendicularly to the
stroke. Increasing Cut randomness allows
the angle of the tile ends to vary.

In this example, the Cut slider is set to 90°.

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Randomness control

Example

Increasing Grout randomness allows the
spacing between tiles to vary by the set
percentage.

The Grout randomness is set to 100%.

Fitting Tiles Together
When you work with real ceramic tiles, it is physically impossible to merge them. You
can put them close to each other, but you can’t make them occupy the same space.
Likewise, the mosaic tiles in Corel Painter respect each other’s space and do not overlap
or merge. Corel Painter adjusts the shape of the tiles to fit them together while
maintaining the grout lines. So, when you want to re-lay the tiles in an area, you must
remove the existing tiles. For more information on removing tiles, refer to “Removing
Tiles” on page 628.

Starting with a Triangle
When the Start With Triangle command is enabled, Corel Painter creates a triangle as
the first tile in each stroke. This command is particularly useful when you want to fill a
“V”-shaped space with tiles.

The Start With Triangle command makes a perfect wedge in the “v.”

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Respecting the Edge of an Image
When the Respect Edge Of Image command is enabled, Corel Painter maintains a
grout line at the perimeter of the image. Tiles you create at the edge of the image do
not violate the grout line.

The Respect Edge Of Image command ensures that the tiles you create at the edge will not
violate the grout line. In this example, the white tiles respect the edge, while the black tiles
do not.

Giving Tiles a 3D Look
The Render Tiles Into Mask command places the tile shapes in a new channel named
Mosaic Mask (in the Channels panel). This feature has several uses. The most common
is adding depth to the tiles.

Use the Apply Surface Texture command to create a look of 3D tiles.

With the tiles in a channel, you can load the mosaic pattern as a selection or you can
invert the channel to use the grout as a selection. The result can be particularly
interesting when you work with a tessellated mosaic.

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To give mosaic tiles a 3D look
1 After creating the mosaic, choose Render Tiles Into Mask from the Options list box
in the Make Mosaic dialog box.
2 Click Done to exit the Make Mosaic dialog box.
3 Choose Effects  Surface Control  Apply Surface Texture.
4 In the Apply Surface Texture dialog box, choose Mosaic Mask from the Using
pop-up menu.
5 Change the Amount and Softness sliders to achieve the level of relief you want.
In most cases, the best results are obtained with the Picture slider set at 100%. For
more information on surface texture options, refer to “Working with Surface
Texture” on page 516.
Because Corel Painter uses the tile shapes from the channel, the resulting surface
texture gives the tiles a realistic 3D appearance.

Re-Rendering Mosaic Tiles
You can use this command to change the resolution of the tiles, after you change the
resolution of your document. This command re-creates the mosaic from the grout
color and the tile object information. Re-rendering first fills the image with the grout
color and then re-renders the mosaic tiles at the resolution of the document. However,
after you choose Re-render Mosaic, Corel Painter erases any image that is not a tile or
grout.

To re-render tiles
1 Open an image that is the size you want.
2 Create a mosaic, and click Done to exit the Make Mosaic dialog box.
3 Choose Canvas  Resize.
In the Resize dialog box, disable the Constrain File Size check box, and set the
resolution to a higher value.
When Corel Painter finishes resizing, you’ll notice that the tiles have blurred. You
can correct this problem by re-rendering the mosaic.
4 Choose Effects  Esoterica  Make Mosaic.
5 In the Make Mosaic dialog box, choose Re-Render Mosaic from the Options
pop-up menu.
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Corel Painter replaces the resized, blurry tiles with tiles rendered at the higher
resolution.
After you choose Re-render Mosaic, Corel Painter erases any part of the image
that is not a tile or grout.

Using Stroke Selections and Fill Selection Commands
The Stroke Selections and Fill Selection commands let you apply mosaic tiles to
selections. These features work only with path-based selections created with the
Rectangular Selection, Oval Selection, and Lasso tools. You might need to use the
Transform Selection command to convert a channel-based selection to a path-based
selection when you work with mosaics. For more information, refer to “Creating and
Saving Selections” on page 407.
Stroking and filling a selection are appropriate only when you change a parameter
between operations — for example, if you change the tile color or dimensions. The
Stroke Selection command applies a single row of tiles as an outline along the selection
path. To fill an entire selection with tiles, you can make the selection using the Lasso
tool. To fill an oval or rectangular selection, you must first use the Stroke Selection
command to apply tiles to the selection path, and then use the Fill Selection command
to fill the rest of the selection.

To fill an oval or rectangular selection, you must first use the Stroke Selection command to
apply tiles to the selection path (left), and then use the Fill Selection command to fill the
rest of the selection (right).

To create a mosaic in a selection
1 Set up the area you want to tile as an active selection.
2 Choose Effects  Esoterica  Make Mosaic.
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3 In the Make Mosaic dialog box, choose Dimensions or Randomness from the
Settings list box.
4 Choose the color for the tile and the grout.
5 Use the Options list box to select the command you want:
• Stroke Selections — creates one row of tiles along each selection path
• Fill Selection — applies multiple rows of tiles, working in from the path until
the selected area is filled with tiles
The Fill Selection command works with selections made using the Lasso tool .
To fill an oval or rectangular selection, you must first choose the Stroke Selection
command, and then choose the Fill Selection command.
In some cases, Corel Painter might not put a tile in every space. You can fill
openings by choosing the Apply Tiles tool
and putting the tiles in
yourself.
If you want to change the tiling of an area, you can use the Remove Tiles tool
to clear it. Then you can reapply tiles manually.

Working with Mosaics and Layers
Each mosaic tile you create is stored as a resolution-independent object within the
Corel Painter image database. This means that if you resize an image composed of
mosaic tiles, your image can be displayed at the same quality as if it had been created
at a higher resolution originally.
The image that you see displayed is the set of all mosaic tiles rendered as an image
onto the canvas. Mosaics can be re-rendered at any time. After you exit the Make
Mosaic dialog box, you can treat this rendered image just like any photograph or
painting. You can paint it, apply effects to it, select portions of it, or increase the
canvas size. However, after you choose Re-render Mosaic, Corel Painter erases any
image that is not a tile or grout.
The first thing the Mosaic feature does is cover the entire canvas with grout. This
obliterates images that are on the canvas, but leaves objects that hover above the
canvas, such as layers and shapes. These objects are not deleted, but they do cover up
the mosaic you’re working on. The Mosaic feature works with the entire canvas. You
cannot apply mosaic tiles inside a layer.

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Compositing Mosaics with Other Images
If you want to composite a mosaic with another image, you have several options:
• Using multiple documents — You can create the mosaic in its own document.
When you’re satisfied with the result, float and copy the mosaic to the document
where you want to composite it. For information on creating floating objects, see
“Working with Floating Objects” on page 472.
• Using layers — You can float the non-mosaic portion of the image. Create the
mosaic on the canvas. When you’re satisfied with the mosaic, you can drop the
layers.
• Layering mosaics — If a mosaic already exists in the document when you open the
Make Mosaic dialog box, it is assumed that you want to keep existing tiles, and
Corel Painter does not apply new grout. To avoid this, you can use a layer to create
a mosaic on top of an image.

To layer mosaics
1 Create a mosaic, and then click Done to exit the Make Mosaic dialog box.
2 Fill, paint, and drop layers to create your background.
3 When you return to the Make Mosaic dialog box, your background image remains,
and you can place tiles over the top of it.
Removing tiles placed on an image reveals the grout, not the image.

Working with Tessellation Mosaics
A tessellation is a type of mosaic that uses nonrectangular tiles. Tessellation tiles are
subject to the same rules as the rectangular mosaic tiles.
The Make Tessellation feature works by dividing the canvas into polygonal shapes,
which become the mosaic tiles. The polygons themselves are sets of points, connected
by line segments. You can control the number of points and their distribution. You can
also specify how the points are connected.

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A tessellation mosaic uses nonrectangular tiles.

After choosing the Make Tessellation feature, the polygons appear as mosaic tiles, are
given the main color, and are surrounded by the grout lines described in the
Make Mosaic dialog box.

Creating and Adding Points to Tessellations
You can use the tools in the Make Mosaic dialog box to remove tiles and change their
color. However, you can’t reapply tiles.

To create a tessellation
1 Open a new document.
2 Choose Effects  Esoterica  Make Mosaic.
3 In the Make Mosaic dialog box, choose Dimensions from the Settings list box.
4 Adjust the Grout slider to describe the thickness you want for the grout lines, and
select a grout color.
5 Click Done to exit the Make Mosaic dialog box.
6 Choose Effects  Esoterica  Make Tessellation.
7 Do one of the following:
• Click or drag in the document to create points. Repeat to add more points.
Corel Painter connects the points to form the polygons.
• In the Make Tessellation dialog box, choose one of the commands from the
Options list box. You can add 500 points randomly, evenly spaced, or based on a
clone source document.

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8 Choose a tessellation tile shape from the Display list box. Corel Painter forms
polygons by connecting the points according to the Display type.
You can choose from one of three display options:
• Triangles
• Cracks
• Pieces
If you want to clear all points, choose Reset from the Options list box.
Corel Painter converts the polygons to mosaic tiles, then renders the mosaic image
to the canvas.

You can base your Tessellation on Triangles, Cracks or Pieces.

Adding points based on a clone source is a powerful option. The 500 points
are distributed according to the luminance of the clone source. Lighter regions
receive a greater density of points, so the polygons are smaller.
The number of points appears in the corner of the Make Tessellation dialog
box.
Repeat a command from the Options menu to create more points. You can
alternate between dragging and using an add-points command. The points
accumulate.
You might want to convert a regular image to a tessellation. If so, set up the
image as the clone source. Enable the Clone Color button in the Colors
panel, and then make the tessellation.
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A finished tessellation resembles stained glass.

To add points using strokes
1 Open a new document.
2 Choose Effects  Esoterica  Make Mosaic.
3 In the Make Mosaic dialog box, choose Dimensions from the Settings list box.
4 Adjust the Grout slider to describe the thickness you want for the grout lines, and
select a grout color.
5 Click Done to exit the Make Mosaic dialog box.
6 Choose Effects  Esoterica  Make Tessellation.
7 In the Make Tessellation dialog box, choose Add 500 Evenly Spaced Points from
the Options list box.
8 Create a shape by making strokes in the document.
The points along the stroke will have increased density.

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Adding points in the shape of a letter by stroking. The letters appear as a swath of smaller
polygons.

You can continue stroking to add higher concentrations of polygons in very
specific areas. This way, you can create specific patterns or shapes.
It is possible to create a huge number of points. More points mean more
polygons, which increase the time it takes to convert to a mosaic. Keep this in
mind to avoid overwhelming your system.

Coloring Tessellations
After the tessellation appears as a mosaic, you can open the Make Mosaic dialog box
and modify the tile colors using the Change Tile Color tool. When you create a
tessellation with the current color and the grout color set to black, and choose
Make Mosaic, the image appears totally black. Don’t worry — your image is not lost.

To color tessellations
1 In the Make Mosaic dialog box, select the Change Tile Color tool

2 From the list box below the Change Tile Color tool, choose Color.
3 In the Colors panel, choose a bright main color.
4 Drag to create a stroke in the document, or click individual tiles.
Colored, tessellated tiles appear beneath your stroke.

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After you have a tessellation, you can use Make Mosaic to paint on the tiles.

You can also base the color on the color in a clone source if you enable
Clone Color in the Colors panel.

Advanced Settings for Tessellations
The following commands for tessellations are available from the Options list box in the
Make Mosaic dialog box:
• The Reset Mosaic command removes all tiles from the document, leaving only the
grout color.
• The Re-render Mosaic command re-creates the mosaic from the grout color and the
tile object information.
• The Render Tiles Into Mask command places the tile shapes in a new channel.
The other mosaic commands are for creating tiles and do not apply to tessellations.

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Shapes
Shapes are vector-based objects that you can draw, modify, and fill. Shapes can be open
or closed. They can be simple lines, curves, or text outlines. You can create and edit
shapes with the precision of a drawing program and integrate them with the
Natural-Media environment in Corel Painter.

An image created with shapes.

In this chapter, you’ll learn how to create shapes and set their stroke and fill attributes.
You’ll learn how to modify shapes, edit their outlines, and convert them to pixel-based
layers.
This section contains the following topics:
• Getting Started with Shapes
• Creating Shapes
• Editing Shapes
• Transforming Shapes
• Combining Shapes
• Saving and Exporting Shapes

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Getting Started with Shapes
In Corel Painter, you work mainly with bitmaps, or raster images. Bitmaps are
composed of tiny squares called pixels; each pixel is mapped to a location in an image
and has a numerical color value. The location and color value data are stored as bits —
hence, the name bitmaps.
Shapes are vector objects, and you can work with them in Corel Painter in much the
same way you work with vector objects in drawing programs like CorelDRAW and
Adobe Illustrator. For more information, see “Acquiring Shapes from Adobe
Illustrator” on page 652. Vector graphics are made up of lines, curves, objects, and fills
that are all calculated mathematically.
Corel Painter draws shapes in an anti-aliased fashion. This anti-aliasing gives objects a
smooth edge, as opposed to the jagged edges apparent in some drawing programs.
Some clipart objects actually look like photographic elements when they are imported
into Corel Painter and displayed with anti-aliasing.
Anti-aliased shapes are typically slower to appear on the screen in Corel Painter than
are aliased objects in drawing programs, so you may want to use your drawing
program for most of your object creation. You can then import the vector artwork into
Corel Painter, tweak it with the drawing tools, and add some Natural-Media effects.
Shapes in Corel Painter can be interleaved with pixel-based layers, so you can layer
both styles of artwork in a single composition. You can convert vector objects and
groups into pixel-based layers and use any of the effects or painting tools on these
floating objects to create Natural-Media artwork.
You can also convert shapes to selections and vice versa. The tools for adjusting shapes
allow precise control over the outline path, so you may want to use shapes to create
some of your selection paths. For more information about selections, refer to
“Selections and Transformations” on page 407.

Understanding Shapes as Layers
In Corel Painter, shapes are implemented as layers. When you create a shape, a new
layer is added to your document. The shapes you create are listed in the Layers panel.
Many of the options and controls for working with pixel-based layers apply equally to
shapes. For example, you can move shapes in the same way you move layers, you can
apply effects to shapes, and you can change the composite method to control how the
shape interacts with the underlying image.
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Shapes follow the same layering rules as pixel-based layers, and you can manipulate
them in many of the same ways. Shapes differ from pixel-based layers by the type of
data they contain. Shapes are vector objects; pixel-based layers are constructed of
pixels.
If you want to work with pixel information in a shape, you can convert the shape to a
pixel-based layer. In many cases, Corel Painter will do this for you automatically. For
example, if you want to apply a fill to a shape, Corel Painter asks if you want to
commit the shape to an image layer. You can also deliberately convert a shape or group
of shapes to a pixel-based layer.
For more information about layers, refer to “Layers” on page 447.

To convert a shape to a pixel-based layer
1 Choose the Shape Selection tool
in the toolbox.
2 Click the shape to select it.
3 Do one of the following:
• Choose Shapes menu  Convert To Layer.
• Click the Convert To Layer button
on the property bar.
• In the Layers panel, click the shape’s layer, click the Layer Options button
and choose Convert To Default Layer.

You can paint a shape, but you must first convert the shape to a pixel-based
layer. For more information, see “Painting Shapes” on page 666.

Working with Bézier Lines
The paths used to create shapes are known as Bézier lines. They can be straight or
curved, and they consist of anchor points connected by line segments.
When the path is a curve, “wings” extend from the anchor points. The wings are
represented by a straight line and are tangent to the curve. The wings have control
“handles” on them. By dragging the wing handle, you can change the curvature of the
line segment.

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Swing handle

Anchor point

Paths can be modified by using anchor points and wing handles.

Shapes can be open (with endpoints) or closed (without endpoints).
endpoint

Open paths contain endpoints; closed paths do not.

Anchor points can be either smooth or corner points. A smooth point allows you to
manipulate the segments on both sides of an anchor point by dragging a handle. A
corner point restricts the manipulation of the segments to the one side of the anchor
point that has a handle. For information about converting smooth or corner anchor
points, see “To convert a smooth or corner point” on page 660.

An anchor point can be a smooth point (top) or a corner point (bottom).

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Creating Shapes
You can create shapes in the following ways:
• by using the Pen, Quick Curve, Rectangular Shape, Oval Shape, or Text tool
• by converting a selection path to a shape
• by acquiring an Adobe Illustrator file (File menu  Acquire)
• by pasting an Adobe Illustrator object from the Clipboard
As you create shapes, Corel Painter gives them default attributes for stroke and fill. For
instructions on setting the default shape attributes, refer to “Shapes Preferences” on
page 758 and “Setting Shape Attributes” on page 652.
The shape manipulation tools are in the toolbox. By holding down Command
(Mac OS) or Ctrl (Windows), you can toggle between the Shape Selection tool and any
of the shape design and editing tools. Toggling makes it convenient to quickly select a
wing handle or anchor point before editing it.

Using Shape Object Tools
You can create shapes by using the Rectangular Shape tool or Oval Shape tool.

Shapes created with the Rectangular Shape tool and Oval Shape tool.

To create a rectangle or an oval
1 Choose the Rectangular Shape tool
or the Oval Shape tool
in the toolbox.
2 On the property bar, set any of the following attributes:
• Stroke check box — when enabled, lets you create a shape with a stroke, or an
outline

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• Stroke Color pop-up menu — lets you choose a stroke color if the Stroke check
box is enabled
• Fill check box — when enabled, lets you create a shape with a fill
• Fill Color pop-up menu — lets you choose a color for the fill if the Fill check
box is enabled
3 Drag in the document window.
If you want to create a perfect square or circle, hold down Shift while you
drag.
The property bar and the Navigator panel display information about the
shape. To display the Navigator panel, choose Window  Navigator.

Using the Pen Tool
The Pen tool lets you use Bézier lines to create shapes. You can use the Pen tool to draw
straight lines or smooth, flowing curves, and you can create shapes containing any
combination of straight and curved lines.
You can easily adjust shapes after you create them. For more information, refer to
“Editing Shapes” on page 656. You can also convert between smooth and corner
points. For more information, refer to “Adjusting Curvature” on page 659.

Clicking creates anchor points connected by straight line segments.

Dragging curves the segments between points.

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To draw a Pen tool shape
1 Choose the Pen tool
in the toolbox.
2 In the document window, click where you want to begin.
3 Do one of the following:
• To make a straight line segment, click where you want to end the segment.
Corel Painter draws a straight line between the two anchor points.

Shapes created with straight line segments.

• To make a curved line segment, drag to create a new anchor point and wing.
The angle and length of the wing determine the curvature of the path. The
farther you drag, the longer the wing and the deeper the curve.

Shapes created with curved line segments.

4 Repeat step 3 as often as necessary, combining straight and curved segments until
you have the shape you want.
5 Finish the shape by doing one of the following:
• Close the shape by clicking or dragging the first anchor point.
• Close the shape by clicking the Close Shape button
on the property bar.
• Hold down Command (Mac OS) or Ctrl (Windows) to temporarily access the
Shape Selection tool , and click outside the shape to deselect it.
You can constrain the placement of the points by snapping to the grid. For
information about displaying and snapping to the grid, refer to “Using the
Grid” on page 109.

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Each click or drag adds to the path. If you unintentionally add to the path,
press Delete (Mac OS) or Backspace (Windows) to remove the last anchor
point.

To add to an open shape path
1 Click an endpoint with the Pen tool .
2 Click or drag where you want to add an anchor point.
You can add to a path from an endpoint only. You cannot add to a closed path,
or to the middle of an open path.
You can also select an endpoint by holding down Command (Mac OS) or Ctrl
(Windows) and clicking the endpoint or dragging a marquee over it.

Using the Quick Curve Tool
The Quick Curve tool allows you to create Bézier curves by drawing freehand lines, as
if you were drawing with a pen or pencil.

To draw a freehand shape
1 Choose the Quick Curve tool
in the toolbox.
2 Click where you want to start the shape or line, and drag.
As you drag, a dotted line appears. When you stop dragging, the Quick Curve
shape appears.
If you want to close the shape, finish at the same point where you began.
You can add to either endpoint of a Quick Curve shape by selecting the
endpoint and dragging out from it. To select an endpoint, hold down
Command (Mac OS) or Ctrl (Windows), and click the endpoint or drag
over it.

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Draw freehand shapes with the Quick Curve tool.

Converting Selections to Shapes
Converting a selection to a shape enables you to edit the contour by using the Shape
Edit tools. When you are satisfied with the contour, you can convert the shape outline
back to a selection. For more information, refer to “To convert a shape to a selection”
on page 410.
If you are simply scaling, rotating, or skewing a selection path, use the Selection
Adjuster tool. If you must edit the profile of the curve, convert the selection to a shape.
Working from a selection path also lets you create shapes based on regions of the
image. For example, if you used the Magic Wand tool to select a region of common
color, you could convert the Magic Wand selection path to a shape. When the selection
is pixel-based, Corel Painter may create multiple shapes.

You can convert a selection to a shape.

To convert a selection to a shape
1 Do one of the following:
• Create a selection in the image.
• Double-click a selection in the Selection Portfolio panel to add it to the
document window.
2 Choose Select menu  Convert To Shape.
Corel Painter converts the selection to a shape, giving it the default shape
attributes. The new shape appears in the Layers panel.
For best results, the selection should be path-based. If the selection is
pixel-based, from the menu bar choose Select  Transform Selection to convert
it to a path-based selection.
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Acquiring Shapes from Adobe Illustrator
Corel Painter lets you work with shapes that were created in Adobe Illustrator and
saved to the AI format (version 3 or earlier).
Adobe Illustrator layers are supported in Corel Painter, but several Adobe Illustrator
shape elements, such as patterns, placed images, gradients, masks, and text are not
supported. If the file includes text, you must convert text to outlines when saving the
file.
If both Corel Painter and Adobe Illustrator are running on your computer, you can
copy content from Adobe Illustrator and paste it in Corel Painter.

To acquire shapes from Adobe Illustrator
1 Before acquiring the shape in Corel Painter, you need to ensure that the AI file was
saved as Adobe Illustrator version 3 or earlier.
2 In Corel Painter, choose File menu  Acquire  Adobe Illustrator File.
3 In the Adobe Illustrator File dialog box, select the Adobe Illustrator file, and click
Open.
To convert text in Adobe Illustrator
1 In Adobe Illustrator, select the text using a selection tool.
2 Choose Type menu  Create Outlines.

Setting Shape Attributes
When you apply a stroke, also known as an outline, to a shape, you can choose the
color, opacity, and width of the path outlining the shape. You can also control the way
line ends are drawn and joined. In addition, you can apply a fill to a shape by coloring
the area enclosed by the stroke. When you fill a shape, you can choose the color and
opacity of the fill.
Stroke and fill attributes apply to both open and closed shapes. Before filling an open
shape, Corel Painter closes the shape by connecting the endpoints with a straight line.
The Flatness attribute controls how many straight lines the program uses to
approximate a curve when printing. PostScript output devices create curved lines by
linking a series of short, straight lines that progress in angle. The smaller the flatness
setting, the greater the number of straight lines, and the more accurate the curve.
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You can also change the default shape attributes. For more information, refer to
“Shapes Preferences” on page 758. In addition, you can paint a shape after the shape
has been committed to a pixel-based image layer.

To set shape stroke attributes
1 With the Shape Selection tool , click a shape whose stroke attributes you want
to change, and press Return (Mac OS) or Enter (Windows).
You can select multiple shapes by holding down Shift while clicking the shapes.
2 In the Set Shape Attributes dialog box, enable the Stroke check box to apply an
outline to the selected shape.
To remove the stroke, disable the check box.
3 Double-click the chip, choose a color from the Color dialog box, and click OK.
4 Adjust the Opacity and Width sliders to control the opacity and width of the
stroke.
5 Click one of the following Line Cap icons to control the endpoints of open shapes.
Choose Projecting , Round , or Butt .
6 Click one of the following Line Join icons to determine how corners are created
when two segments meet.
Choose Miter , Round , or Bevel .
7 Adjust the Miter Limit slider.
When lines are joined at a sharp angle, a sharp corner is created. You can set the
miter limit to smooth out the sharpness.
8 Click Set New Shape Attributes.
When you select a shape with the Shape Selection tool, you can also specify
the following attributes by using the buttons on the property bar:
• Toggle Stroke Color
• Select Stroke Color
• Toggle Fill Color
• Select Fill Color

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To set shape fill attributes
1 With the Shape Selection tool , click a shape whose fill attributes you want to
change, and press Return (Mac OS) or Enter (Windows).
You can select multiple shapes by holding down Shift while clicking the shapes.
2 In the Set Shape Attributes dialog box, enable the Fill check box to apply a stroke
to the selected shape.
To remove the fill, disable the check box.
3 Double-click the chip, choose a color from the Color dialog box, and click OK.
4 Adjust the Opacity slider to control the opacity of the fill.
5 Click one of the following icons:
• Fill Overlaps to fill overlapping areas of multiple shapes.
• Don’t Fill Overlaps to leave overlapping areas unfilled. Multiple overlaps
alternate between filled and not filled.
6 Click Set New Shape Attributes.
You can also specify some fill and fill color attributes on the property bar
when you select a shape with the Layer Adjuster
tool or the Shape
Selection tool.
You can also use the Edit menu  Fill command or the Paint Bucket tool
to fill a shape. Because these methods apply pixel data to the region,
Corel Painter first converts the shape to a pixel-based layer. For more
information, refer to “Working with Color Fills” on page 192.

To set shape flatness
1 With the Shape Selection tool , click a shape whose flatness you want to change,
and press Return (Mac OS) or Enter (Windows).
You can select multiple shapes by holding down Shift while clicking the shapes.
2 In the Set Shape Attributes dialog box, adjust the Flatness slider.
3 Click Set New Shape Attributes.
Usually, it is not necessary to change the flatness setting. You may want to
change it to adjust for a particular high resolution printer or to avoid a
PostScript limitcheck error. Check with your output service to find out if they
have a recommended flatness setting.
A change in flatness appears only in your output, not on your screen.
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Setting preferences for drawing shapes
If you want to modify the default appearance of the shapes that you draw, you can
modify the shape preferences. When you change a preference, the new preference is
applied to all the new shapes that you draw. If you want to clearly distinguish a shape
that’s in the process of being drawn from a shape whose paths are closed, you can
specify preferences for each state. You can also modify the appearance of Bezier handles
and various elements such as outlines and wings, to make it easier for drawing.

To set preferences for drawing shapes
1 Do one of the following:
• (Mac OS) Choose Corel Painter 12  Preferences  Shapes.
• (Windows) Choose Edit  Preferences  Shapes.
2 Perform a task from the following table.
Shape Preferences

Description

On Draw - Fill with current color

Fills the shape with the currently selected
Main color when drawing.

On Draw - Stroke in current color

Outlines the shapes with the currently
selected Main color when drawing.

On Close - Fill with current color

Fills the shape with the currently selected
Main color once the shape paths are closed

On Close - Stroke in current color

Outlines the shapes with the currently
selected Main color once the shape paths are
closed.

Big Handles

Controls the size of the anchor points and
the direction of the wing handles. This can
make them easier to grab and drag. If you
want big points, enable this option.

Colors - Wing/Bezier/Handle

Sets the color of the wings, Bezier, and
handles.

Colors - Outline/Path

Sets the color of the shape outline paths.

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Shape Preferences

Description

Colors - Selected Point/Anchor

Sets the color of the selected anchor points.
The unselected anchor points appear
“hollow.”

Align with hidden shape

Aligns a brushstroke with a hidden shape or
path.

Tolerance

Determines how close the brushstroke must
be, in pixels, to the path or shape for
automatic alignment to occur.

Editing Shapes
Corel Painter provides five tools for editing shapes. As you work, you’ll switch tools
based on the type of changes you’re going to make. From any other editing tool, you
can toggle to the Shape Selection tool by pressing Command (Mac OS) or Ctrl
(Windows).
Tool

Description

Shape Selection — drags anchor points and control handles
Scissors — cuts the segment at the point you click
Add Point— adds an anchor point where you click on the curve
Remove Point— deletes the anchor point you click
Convert Point— changes anchor points from corner points into smooth points,
and vice versa

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Selecting a Shape
If you don’t see the shape’s outline path, you’ll want to select the shape — to display
the path and anchor points — before proceeding. It is easier to work when you can see
the path and points. For information about selecting shapes as layers, refer to
“Selecting Layers” on page 458.

To select shapes
To

Do the following

Select a shape

With the Shape Selection tool
shape.

Select multiple shapes

Hold down Shift, and click the shapes with
the Shape Selection tool.

, click a

If you are using the Layer Adjuster tool, you can double-click a shape to
switch to the Shape Selection tool and select the shape.

Adding, Deleting, and Moving Anchor Points
You can add anchor points to create new vertices or curves. You can delete anchor
points to change the shape of the path or to smooth a contour that has unnecessary
points. This might occur when you draw with the Quick Curve tool or create a shape
from a selection.
You can move one or several anchor points by dragging. You can also move one or
several points by averaging, which moves two or more anchor points with respect to
each other.
Averaging is useful when you need to join the endpoint of one curve to the endpoint of
another. Averaging the endpoints in both directions brings them precisely on top of
each other. Now, when you join the endpoints, Corel Painter merges them to a single
point, through which the path continues. If you don’t average points that are near each
other, Corel Painter joins them with a segment.

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To add or delete an anchor point
• With the Shape Selection tool , select a shape.
To

Do the following

Add an anchor point

Choose the Add Point tool
in the
toolbox, and click where you want to add the
point.

Delete an anchor point

Choose the Remove Point tool
in the
toolbox, and click the anchor point you want
to delete.
The anchor point is deleted, but the path
remains connected.

Use the Add Point tool to add anchor points to the path.

Use the Remove Point tool to delete anchor points.

To move anchor points
1 Choose the Shape Selection tool

from the toolbox.

2 Click an anchor point to select it, or marquee select a point by dragging over it.
If you want to select several points, marquee select them by dragging over them.
All anchor points within the marquee are selected, including those from other
shapes.
If you want to add to the selection, hold down Shift and select more points.
3 Drag the point to a new location.
If you have selected several points, dragging one moves them all.

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Drag an anchor point to move it.

To average anchor points
1 With the Shape Selection tool , select the anchor points you want to average.
It is often easiest to drag a marquee around the points you want.
2 Choose Shapes menu  Average Points.
3 In the Average Points dialog box, enable an option to determine the axis for the
averaging.

Adjusting Curvature
The angle and length of the wing determine the curvature of the segments on either
side of the anchor point. The longer the wing, the deeper the curve.
The result of moving a wing depends on whether the anchor point is defined as a
smooth point or a corner point. Two connecting curves (or straight lines) share one
anchor point, which can be a smooth or corner point. The wings on smooth and corner
points behave differently.
When you drag the handle on one wing of a smooth point, the curves on both sides of
the point change. With a smooth point, you adjust the angle of the wings concurrently.

A corner point is converted to a smooth point.

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When you drag the handle on one wing of a corner point, only the curve on that side
of the point changes. With a corner point, you can adjust the angle of the wings
independently.

To adjust a curve
1 Choose the Shape Selection tool
from the toolbox.
2 Click a shape to select it.
If an anchor point’s wings are not displayed, drag over the anchor point to display
them.
3 Drag a wing handle to set the curve you want.
You can also adjust a curve by dragging a line segment with the
Shape Selection tool.

Use the Shape Selection tool to drag a wing handle.

To convert a smooth or corner point
1 With the Shape Selection tool , select an anchor point.
If the anchor point’s wings are not displayed, drag over the anchor point to display
them.
2 Choose the Convert Point tool
from the toolbox.
3 Click one of the anchor point’s wing handles.
After converting a point, you must use the Shape Selection tool for further
adjustments. If you try to adjust an anchor point with the Convert Point tool,
the anchor point will be converted again.

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Cutting and Joining Shape Segments
You may want to open a shape so that you can add new curves or connect another open
shape. You can do this with the Scissors tool. You can also connect any two endpoints
— of the same shape or of different shapes. This lets you close an open shape or attach
one shape to another.

To cut a shape
1 Choose the Scissors tool
from the toolbox.
2 Click where you want to split the shape (you cannot click an endpoint).
The hot spot of the Scissors tool is where the blades cross. Position the cross on the
line.
The scissors snap closed momentarily, and two new anchor points are created.

The Scissors tool opens and closes to cut the path.

3 Choose the Shape Selection tool
from the toolbox, and drag the new anchor
points or segments.
The new anchor points are on top of each other, and both are selected. If you try to
drag one of the new anchor points with the Shape Selection tool and both move,
deselect them, then drag one point away.

After a path is cut, it can be moved.

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To join endpoints
1 Choose the Shape Selection tool
from the toolbox.
2 Select the two anchor points you want to join.
You can do this either by marquee selecting both points, or by clicking the first
point and then holding down Shift and clicking the second point.
3 Choose Shapes menu  Join Endpoints.
A straight line is created between the two points.

Use the Shape Selection tool to select two endpoints.

Use the Join Endpoints command to connect two endpoints.

Transforming Shapes
Corel Painter lets you manipulate and modify shapes in a number of ways. You can
resize, rotate, or skew shapes. You can also create shape duplicates and groups. Before
you can work with a shape, you must select it. For more information, see “To select
shapes” on page 657.

Resizing Shapes
You can resize a shape or group of shapes by directly manipulating the objects with the
Layer Adjuster tool or by using the Scale command.

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To resize a shape
1 Choose the Layer Adjuster tool
from the toolbox.
2 Select the shape or group you want to resize.
A selection rectangle appears around the shapes. The rectangle has a handle on
each corner and side.
3 Drag one of the handles to resize the selected shape.
To resize in one dimension, drag one of the side handles. To resize in both
dimensions, drag one of the corner handles.
You can maintain the proportions by holding down Shift as you drag.

Resizing a shape.

Rotating Shapes
You can rotate a shape or group of shapes by directly manipulating the objects with the
Layer Adjuster tool or by using the Rotate command. For more information on the
Rotate command, see “Rotating Images and the Canvas” on page 55.

To rotate a shape
1 Choose the Layer Adjuster tool
from the toolbox.
2 Select the shape or group you want to rotate.
A selection rectangle appears around the shapes. The rectangle has a handle on
each corner and side.
3 Hold down Command (Mac OS) or Ctrl (Windows) and drag a corner handle.
This command works for both shapes and pixel-based layers.

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Rotating a group of shapes.

Skewing Shapes
You can skew a single shape or a group of shapes. When you skew a shape, you drag a
middle selection handle to give the shape a unique slant.

To skew a shape
1 Choose the Layer Adjuster tool
from the toolbox.
2 Select the shape or group you want to skew.
3 Hold down Command (Mac OS) or Ctrl (Windows), and drag a middle handle.

A rectangle (upper left) is skewed by dragging a side middle handle (upper right) and by
dragging the top middle handle (bottom).

Flipping Shapes
You can flip a shape horizontally or vertically.

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To flip a shape
1 Select a shape.
2 Choose one of the following:
• Edit menu  Flip Horizontal
• Edit menu  Flip Vertical
You can also flip a shape by first selecting it with the Layer Adjuster tool
Then, to flip horizontally, drag a top or bottom handle past the opposite
handle. To flip vertically, drag a side handle past the opposite handle.

Duplicating Shapes
Duplicating creates an identical copy of the selected shape. Corel Painter also lets you
duplicate shapes by using compound transformations. Transformed duplicates are
created according to the options you set.

To duplicate a shape
1 Choose the Layer Adjuster tool
from the toolbox.
2 Hold down Option (Mac OS) or Alt (Windows), and drag across the shape.
To change duplication settings
1 Choose Shapes menu  Set Duplicate Transform.
2 In the Set Duplicate Transform dialog box, specify any of the following settings:
• Translation — controls where Corel Painter creates duplicate shapes in relation
to the original. The offset values are in pixels. When H. Offset and V. Offset are
both zero, the duplicate is created precisely on top of the original. If both values
are 100, the duplicate appears 100 pixels lower and 100 pixels to the right.
Negative values offset the duplicate up and to the left, respectively.
• Scaling — controls the size of duplicates in relation to the original. The scale
values are percentages.
• Constrain Aspect Ratio — maintains the aspect ratio of the shape. If you want
to create distorted duplicates, disable this option and specify different
percentages for horizontal and vertical scaling.
• Rotation — lets you specify a number of degrees to rotate duplicates. Positive
values rotate counterclockwise, and negative values rotate clockwise.
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• Slant — controls the degree of slant applied to duplicates. Positive values slant
duplicates to the right. Negative values slant them to the left. Slant accepts
values between –90° and 90°. However, as values approach the extremes, the
duplicate shape becomes a streak.

To create a transformed duplicate
1 Select the shape you want to transform.
2 Choose Shapes menu  Duplicate.
Corel Painter creates a duplicate shape according to the specifications you’ve set.
This duplicate is now the selected shape. You can choose the Duplicate command
again, or press Command + ] (Mac OS) or Ctrl + ] (Windows), to repeat the
transformation on the new shape.

The oval shape was duplicated by using rotation only (left). The number 5 shape was
duplicated by using translation, scaling, and rotation (right).

Painting Shapes
You can paint on a shape, but you must commit it to a pixel-based layer. After you
commit the shape, you cannot re-access the shape’s vector controls.

To paint a shape
1 Click the Brush Selector on the Brush Selector bar.
2 In the Brush Library panel, click a brush category and click a brush variant.
You cannot use Watercolor or Liquid Ink brushes to paint a shape.
3 Click the shape in the Layers panel.
4 Click the Layer Options button , and choose Convert To Default Layer.
The shape is committed to a pixel-based layer.
5 Enable the Preserve Transparency button
in the Layers panel.
6 Paint on the shape.
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After a shape has been committed to an image layer, none of the
shape-specific editing features are available. To modify the content of a new,
pixel-based image layer, see “Editing Layers” on page 469.
You cannot paint on a shape using Watercolor brushes or Liquid Ink brushes,
because they automatically create their own special layers.

Combining Shapes
You can combine shapes in various ways to achieve particular results. You can group
shapes so that you can manipulate several at the same time. You can also compound
two or more shapes to create a single shape. You can also blend single shapes or groups
of shapes, so that they appear to be one shape morphing into another.

Grouping Shapes
Shapes can be grouped, allowing you to manipulate multiple shapes as a single unit.
Shapes are created on layers, so you can group them in the same way you group layers.
You cannot scale, rotate, flip, or distort groups that contain a mixture of pixel-based
layers and shapes. You must manipulate these two types of entities independently
before you group them. For more information about grouping, refer to “Viewing Layer
Position” on page 464.

Creating Compound Shapes
In a compound shape, two shapes are combined into a single shape. The resulting
shape takes on the attributes of the shape on the topmost layer. If the shape is filled,
any overlapping areas are not filled. Compound shapes can be used to cut a void in one
shape using another shape. You can release a compound shape, which reverts it to the
original shapes.

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The rectangle and the oval are combined to create a compound shape.

To create a compound shape
1 Choose the Shape Selection tool , hold down Shift and select both shapes, or
drag over the shapes to marquee select them.
2 Choose Shapes menu  Make Compound.
You can combine a shape with a compound shape to create a nested
compound shape.

The resulting compound shape can itself be used again to create another compound shape.

To release a compound shape
1 Select a compound shape.
2 Choose Shapes menu  Release Compound.

Blending Shapes
Blending creates intermediate shapes between two or more selected shapes, which is
useful for morphing one shape into another. It is also used to simulate shading on
irregular shapes. Blending applies to stroke and fill attributes as well as to the shape
size.

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You can blend a shape group with another group, but you can’t blend a single shape
with a group.
Blending groups with other groups offers interesting effects, especially if the groups
are blends themselves.

The small circle is blended with the large circle to create a shading effect.

To blend shapes
1 Position the shapes you want to blend.
2 In the Layers panel, arrange the shape layers.
Blends will progress from lower to higher layers.
3 Choose the Shape Selection tool
from the toolbox.
4 Hold down Shift, and select the shapes you want to blend.
5 Choose Shapes menu  Blend.
6 In the Blend dialog box, type a value in the Number of Steps box to control how
many intermediate shapes are created.
7 Enable one of the following ramp type options:
• Equal — Blend shapes are evenly spaced.
• Decrease toward end — Spacing starts wide and decreases toward the end of
the blend.
• Increase toward end — Spacing starts small and increases toward the end of the
blend.
• Increase toward/from middle — Spacing is wide in the middle and decreases
toward both ends.
8 Choose one of the following Color Space options:
• RGB — to progress color directly over the course of the blend
• Hue CW — to progress color clockwise in the color wheel to reach the
destination color
• Hue CCW — to progress color counterclockwise in the color wheel to reach the
destination color

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9 Type a value between 0.01 and 100 in the Perspective Factor box to control the
spacing of intermediate shapes.
With a Perspective Factor of 1.0, the shapes are spaced evenly. With a Perspective
Factor of less than 1.0, shapes are closer at the beginning of the blend and farther
apart at the end of the blend. With a Perspective Factor greater than 1.0, shapes
are farther apart at the beginning of the blend and closer at the end of the blend.
10 Enable any of the following check boxes:
• Arc Length Matching — to blend shapes containing a different number of
anchor points
• Align Shape Start Points — to base the orientation of intermediate shapes on
the orientation of the start and end shapes. When disabled, Corel Painter bases
the orientation of intermediate shapes on the starting point (first anchor point)
of the start and end shapes. This can create a “tumbling” appearance in the
intermediate shapes.

Clockwise from the top left picture: Two shapes with no blending; blending with a
perspective factor of 1.0; blending with a perspective factor of 4.0; and blending with a
perspective factor of 0.1.

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Saving and Exporting Shapes
You can save the outline of a shape as a selection, and then convert the selection back
to a shape. You can also export shape data to the Adobe Illustrator (AI) format.

Saving Shapes
Corel Painter doesn’t have a shapes library. However, because of the close relationship
between shape outlines and selection paths, you can save shape outlines in the
Selection Portfolio as selections. Then, you can easily convert the saved selection to a
shape. For more information about using the Selection Portfolio, see “Using the
Selection Portfolio” on page 425. For information about converting selections to
shapes, see “To convert a selection to a shape” on page 651.
When you save files in the RIFF format, Corel Painter maintains shapes as vector
objects on separate layers. In other formats, shapes merge with the canvas. In the
Photoshop (PSD) format, shapes are converted to bitmaps and assigned to appropriate
layers.

Exporting Shapes to Adobe Illustrator
Exporting to the AI format saves only the shapes, not the canvas or any other layers in
the document. Transparency and compositing methods are lost when shape data is
exported to the AI format.

To export shapes to Adobe Illustrator
1 Choose File menu  Export  Adobe Illustrator File.
2 In the Export as Illustrator File dialog box, specify a location and filename, and
click Save.

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Text
Corel Painter lets you position and manipulate editable text on your image.
This section contains the following topics:
• Understanding the Text Layer
• Creating and Formatting Text
• Applying Effects to Text
• Converting and Dropping Text

Understanding the Text Layer
A text layer holds a single text block. When you create a new text layer with the text
tool, that layer becomes visible in the Layers panel, and is represented by a T icon .
With the text on a separate layer, you can work with your image without changing any
text attributes. You can select the text layer and edit it at any time. Your text remains
fully editable until you drop it onto the canvas. For more information, see “Dropping
Text” on page 682.

Accessing Text Options
You can edit text using controls in the Text panel. The Text panel is not displayed by
default. The most commonly used options are also available on the property bar when
the Text tool is selected in the toolbox.

To display the Text panel
• Choose Window  Text.
You can adjust many text elements on the property bar when the Text tool
is selected.

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Creating and Formatting Text
The Text tool property bar contains basic controls for setting text appearance and flow.
You can change the font, size, and position and adjust the spacing between letters or
lines. You can also perform these tasks from the Text panel, where you’ll find
additional text controls.

Adding Text
You can add text to images and change text properties. You can specify text properties
using the property bar or Text panel either before or after you type in the document
window. For more information about changing text properties, see “Creating and
Formatting Text” on page 674 and “Applying Effects to Text” on page 676.

To add text to an image
1 Choose the Text tool

from the toolbox.

2 Click anywhere in the document window, and type.
You can adjust many text elements on the property bar when the Text tool is
selected, or in the Text panel.

Changing the Font, Point Size, and Color of Text
You can change the font and point size of text by selecting a text layer in the Layers
panel and then setting options on the property bar or in the Text panel. You can also
fill your text with color from the Colors panel.

To change the font, point size, and color of text
1 Choose the Text tool
from the toolbox.
2 In the Layers panel, select a text layer.
To

Do the following

Choose a font

On the property bar, choose a font from the
Font list box.

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Do the following

Choose a point size

On the property bar, choose or type a point
size in the Point Size box
.

Choose a color

Choose a color from the Colors panel.

To display a list of all available fonts, choose Other Fonts from the
Font pop-up menu.
You can also choose a font, point size, and color before you type any text.
You can adjust many text elements in the Text panel, or on the property bar
with the Text tool selected.

Aligning Text
A text block can be aligned to the left, right, or center. The text baseline origin is used
as the reference point for the text alignment. You can specify alignment in the Text
panel.

To align text
1 Choose the Text tool
from the toolbox.
2 In the Layers panel, select a text layer.
3 On the property bar, enable one of the following buttons:
• Align Left
• Align Center
• Align Right
You can also align text by choosing the Layer Adjuster tool
from the
toolbox, clicking the text on the canvas, and clicking one of the alignment
buttons in the Text panel.

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Kerning and Leading
Kerning refers to adjusting the amount of space between letters. Corel Painter does
this automatically with most fonts. However, you can fine-tune the spacing with the
Tracking slider.
Leading refers to the amount of space between lines of text. You may want to change
the Leading from the default. The default spacing between lines is set at 100%.

To kern text and adjust leading
To

Do the following

Adjust the space between letters

In the Text panel, adjust the Tracking slider
. Drag left to decrease letter spacing or
right to increase it.

Adjust the space between lines of text

In the Text panel, adjust the Leading slider
. Drag to the right to increase space
between lines or to the left to decrease it.

Applying Effects to Text
Before you drop a layer, you can apply any of the effects available in the Text panel.
You can stretch, rotate, and skew text. You can apply a shadow to your text and adjust
shadow attributes.
You can change the composite method for text or the shadow of a selected text layer by
making a choice from the pop-up menu in the Text panel. You can specify whether
you’re modifying the composite method for the text body or the drop shadow. Refer to
“Blending Layers by Using Composite Methods” on page 477 for more information
about changing the composite method.

Stretching, Rotating, and Skewing Text
Stretching text affects both the horizontal and vertical size. As you stretch vertically,
the text appears thinner and taller. As you stretch horizontally, the text appears flatter
and shorter.

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Rotating pivots the text from the end point of the text block. Depending on the
alignment of the text, it pivots from the lower-left corner, lower-right corner, or center.
You can also skew the text by slanting the text to the right or left.

Rotated text (right).

To stretch, rotate, or skew text
1 Select text using the Layer Adjuster tool
2 Choose a task from the following table:

Do the following

Stretch text

Drag a handle in the direction you want to
stretch the text.

Rotate text

Hold down Command (Mac OS) or Ctrl
(Windows), and drag one of the corner
handles.

Skew text

Hold down Command (Mac OS) or Ctrl
(Windows), and drag one of the center
handles on either side of the text.

If the bounding box is not shown, click the Layers panel menu arrow and
choose Show Layer Indicators.

Adding and Adjusting Shadows
You can apply a shadow to text. You can also select an external shadow, which places
the shadow behind the text, or an internal shadow, which places the shadow inside the
text.

To add a shadow
1 Choose the Text tool
Text

from the toolbox.
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2 In the Layers panel, select a text layer.
3 On the property bar, enable one of the following buttons:
• External Shadow
— makes your letters look as though they’re casting a
shadow onto a sheet of paper held beneath them
• Internal Shadow
— makes your letters look like cutouts held above a sheet
of paper that is the same color as the text
• No Shadow
— removes a shadow
You can also add a shadow by choosing one of the shadow buttons in the Text
panel.

To move the shadow
1 In the toolbox, click the Zoom tool
.
2 Click the text in the document window to zoom in on the text.
3 In the toolbox, click the Layer Adjuster tool , and drag the shadow to where you
want it.

Setting Opacity
Opacity controls the transparency of text or shadows. Your text’s shadow should be
semitransparent. You can also use opacity to fade the color of text.

To adjust opacity
1 In the Text panel, click one of the following buttons:
• Shadow Attributes
— to adjust the text’s shadow opacity
• Text Attributes
— to adjust the color of text
2 In the Text panel, move the Opacity slider
to the right to increase opacity.

to the left to increase transparency or

Adding a Blur
You can add either a focus blur or a directional blur to text and shadows. Focus blurs
make text fuzzy. You can use the focus blur to soften the edges of text characters. With
directional blurs, you can specify the direction in which the blur occurs.

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To add a blur
1 In the Layers panel, select the Text layer or the Shadow layer.
2 In the Text panel, click either the Text Attributes
or the Shadow Attributes
button.
3 Adjust the Blur slider .
If you want to apply a directional blur, enable the Directional check box, and adjust
the Directional Blur slider .
The first half of the slider adds a left-to-right blur on the text; the second half adds
an up-and-down blur.

Changing the Curve of Text and Centering on Baseline
You can define a curve style and path (baseline) along which your text will flow. The
baseline created by a curve style is a Bézier curve, meaning that the shape can be
controlled by using control handles and anchor points. Refer to “Working with Bézier
Lines” on page 645 for more information on working with anchor points and control
handles.
There are four curve styles to choose from:
Curve Style

Example

The Curve Flat style flows along a straight
line.

The Curve Ribbon style flows the text along
a curve and keeps the letters in an upright
position. When you apply the Curve Ribbon
style, you can use the Shift key and the
Rotate tool to control how the text moves
around the baseline.

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Curve Style

Example

The Curve Perpendicular style places the
text along the curve, with each letter
perpendicular to the curve.

The Curve Stretch style actually changes the
shape of the letters to fill in the space that
would be left when the curve bends. For
example, if text is set on a circular path,
Corel Painter makes the tops of the letters
heavier and thicker to fill in space.

You can control how the text is centered on the line. You can move the center point by
dragging on the slider or by changing the alignment. Dragging the Centering slider
also changes where the text starts and stops on a line. The Centering slider has no
effect on the Curve Flat style. After you apply a curve style, you can change the curve
of the path.

To set a curve style and change centering
1 Choose the Text tool
from the toolbox.
2 In the Layers panel, select a text layer.
3 In the Text panel, click a Curve Style icon:
• Curve Flat
• Curve Ribbon
• Curve Perpendicular
• Curve Stretch
4 Drag the Centering slider
to the right or left.
The text moves along the curve.
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You can also change the alignment of text on a path by clicking a text layer in
the Layers panel and clicking an alignment button in the Text panel. For more
information about aligning text, see “To align text” on page 675.

To change the path
1 Choose Window menu  Layers.
2 In the Layers panel, select a text layer.
3 Choose the Shape Selection tool
from the toolbox.
4 Click an end point on the path.
Drag the handles to change the shape of the path.

Converting and Dropping Text
You can convert text layers into shapes or default layers so that you can apply effects,
gradations, blends or surface textures to text. You can also drop a text layer to the
canvas, allowing you to apply effects to it.

Converting Text Layers to Standard Masked Layers
After text layers have been converted to standard layers, you can fill text with a
gradation, use the paint bucket, or paint the inside of the letters. You can also apply
Surface Control Textures to give the text a three-dimensional appearance. Refer to
“Image Effects” on page 493 for information about applying effects. After you convert
a text layer to a standard layer, you can still adjust the compositing method and
opacity of the new layers.

To convert a text layer to a standard layer
1 In the Layers panel, choose a text layer.
2 Click the Layer Options button , and choose Convert to Default Layer.
If the text has an outside or an inside shadow, then two layers — one for the
text and one for the shadow — are created within a group.

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Converting a Text Layer to Shapes
After a text layer has been converted to shapes, you can kern letters individually and
edit the outlines of the characters themselves. You can also edit the shape attributes of
the new text — for example, to give it an outline. For more information, see “Shapes”
on page 643.

To convert a text layer to shapes
1 In the Layers panel, choose a text layer.
2 Click the Layer Options button , and choose Convert Text to Shapes.
The text layer is replaced by a group of shape layers.
Text shadows and blurring effects are not converted when you use this
command.

Dropping Text
While you are working with text, it resides on a layer and is not yet a part of the
image. When a text layer is dropped, it integrates with the canvas and can no longer
be edited.

To drop a text layer onto the canvas
1 In the Layers panel, select a text layer.
If you want to select more than one text layer, highlight several layers and group
them.
2 Click the Layer Commands button
at the bottom of the Layers panel, and
choose Drop.

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Web
Corel Painter provides Web features that help you take natural media to the next level.
Felt pens, charcoal, colored pencils, watercolors, oils, paint brushes, plug-in effects,
and text merge with image-slicing, client-side image maps, and rollovers to create
breathtaking Natural-Media effects for any Web site.
This chapter offers tips and techniques for using Corel Painter features to create images
for the Web. It introduces you to the Image Slicer, rollovers, and image maps — all
features specifically designed to help you create Web content.
This section contains the following topics:
• Creating Web Page Backgrounds
• Creating Web Buttons
• Working with Rollovers
• Working with Image Maps
• Creating GIF Files
• Using Web-Safe Colors
• Selecting Brushes for the Web

Creating Web Page Backgrounds
Corel Painter lets you create interesting, effective Web page backgrounds.

Designing Backgrounds
One secret to designing good backgrounds for your Web pages is to make them subtle
and unobtrusive. This is particularly important if the background is used behind text.
You can lighten patterns by using the Edit menu  Fade command, to make them
more suitable for displaying behind text.

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Choose Edit menu  Fade to lighten the pattern.

Controlling Background Color
Using a background color closely matched to your background image takes no
additional download time and creates a pleasing transition. For example, suppose your
page loads a dark green seamless background tile. The tile takes a little time to
download. While it’s loading, the browser displays the page, using the page
background color (which, if not explicitly defined, is usually gray or white). This can
cause a jarring visual transition. Depending upon the text color used, it can even make
a page impossible to read until the background image has finished loading.
Using HTML, you can achieve a solid background color for a page, table, or Cascading
Style Sheet (CSS) element. Although Corel Painter can’t assist you with actually
setting the background color in your HTML code, you can use Corel Painter to
determine the hexadecimal format of a color, which is used in HTML.

To display the current color’s RGB values in hexadecimal format
1 In the Colors panel, click Color Options button , and choose Display as RGB.
If that command is not available, the HSV/RGB Square in the Colors panel is
already displaying RGB values.
2 Press Shift and click the HSV/RGB Square.
The values in the HSV/RGB Square are displayed as hexadecimal numbers.
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3 Concatenate the three values (R, G, and B) to determine the hexadecimal number
required for your HTML code.
For example, “FF0000” is the hexadecimal value for red.

Using Tiled Backgrounds
When a background image is smaller than the boundaries of the display area for a
page, table, or Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) layer, Web browsers automatically repeat
the image, effectively creating a tiled pattern. Corel Painter makes it easy to create
tiling background images for use in Web pages.
The CSS features in modern browsers let you apply background tiles to more elements
than ever before. In the past, you could apply them only to a page itself, or possibly to
a table. Now, with CSS, layers or block-level elements — anything you can display on
its own line in traditional HTML layout — can have a background image. Since
authors are no longer limited to using tiled backgrounds for just pages, possibilities
open up for the creative use of tiles behind such elements as borders, call-out boxes, or
sidebars.
You can use any image or selection to define a pattern. An image designed for use as
part of a pattern is normally created so that it tiles seamlessly. That is, the eye should
not be able to distinguish the edges between tile repetitions. Corel Painter has features
that can help you create seamless tiles, which you can then use as interesting Web
backgrounds. For more information, refer to “Creating Seamless Patterns” on
page 205. For information about creating, editing, saving, and filling with patterns,
refer to “Patterns” on page 197.
The Glass Distortion effect, the Super Soften effect (with the Wrap Around check box
enabled), and most of the Tonal Control effects preserve the seamless quality of the
pattern. Some effects, such as Apply Surface Texture, can result in a noticeable seam,
so experiment.

Example of using seamless and non-seamless tiles in a pattern

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A way to partially avoid seams that occur with effects such as Apply Surface Texture is
to apply the effect several times at lower strengths (by reducing the Amount slider).
Shift the pattern a little (using Shift-Spacebar) between each application. This tends to
“distribute” the seams and make them less noticeable.
Tile dimensions should be as small as practical, but should probably never go below 20
x 20 pixels. If a tile is too small, it actually takes the browser longer to render it over a
large area.
When you’ve finished creating your tile, save the image in RIFF format, in case you
must work with it later in Corel Painter. Then, save it in either JPEG or GIF format
for later use on the Web.
Web backgrounds should, ideally, be saved as GIFs, with as few colors as possible, to
reduce file size. You can also use JPEGs, but JPEGs often have larger file sizes. As a
rule of thumb, any background tile over 20 KB is probably too large. For more
information about saving an image in GIF or JPEG format, refer to “Saving and
Backing up Files” on page 63.

Creating Tiles with the Make Fractal Pattern Command
Another easy way to design seamless tiles is to take advantage of the neat effects you
can create with the Make Fractal Pattern command. Make Fractal Pattern is a pattern
generator that creates organic patterns, which can make interesting background tiles.
The patterns it generates can be filled with color and even enhanced with a paper
texture.
For more information about the Make Fractal Pattern command, refer to “Creating
Fractal Patterns” on page 208.
Color Overlay, the Watercolor brushes, and Cloning are other options you can apply to
a pattern. Beautiful, complex effects can also be achieved by applying Glass Distortion
to a pattern created with Make Fractal Pattern.

Creating Web Buttons
Corel Painter has a wide array of features that help you create Web buttons. You can
apply textures and effects to your Web buttons.

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Using Shapes and Selections
You can create Web buttons using shapes or by choosing a selection from the Selection
Portfolio. For information about creating shapes, refer to “Creating Shapes” on
page 647. For information about using selections, refer to “To use a selection from the
portfolio” on page 425.

Using 3D Techniques
You may want to use one or more of the texturing options in Corel Painter to create
3D effects. The following sections describe several powerful ways to quickly add 3D
effects to the buttons you create.
After you’ve added a desired 3D effect, try altering the light source to create a second
image that represents the button in a different state, or try using the Hue Shift slider
in the Effects menu  Tonal Control  Adjust Colors dialog box.

Adding Shadows
Shadows lend a definite 3D flare to a Web page. You can quickly add drop shadows to
text, buttons, shapes, and layers. When you apply a drop shadow to a shape, the shape
loses its vector quality and becomes a pixel-based layer. For more information about
creating drop shadows, refer to “Adding Drop Shadows” on page 473.

Applying Surface Texture
Leading the array of Corel Painter Web-friendly tools, the Apply Surface Texture
feature could easily become a Web designer’s best friend. You can use Apply Surface
Texture to apply 3D effects to Web buttons, bars, or other elements.
You can use the Reflection option to create an effect you would expect to see in objects
made of glass or polished metal, like a chrome bumper on a classic car. The Image
Luminance option gives your buttons an embossed look. For more information about
applying surface texture, refer to “Working with Surface Texture” on page 516.

Using the Impasto Technique
The Impasto feature lets you create the illusion of depth by applying thick paint to the
canvas. You can use the Impasto technique to add a 3D appearance to all or discrete
areas of your image. For more information, refer to “Impasto” on page 369.

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Using Bevel World
No discussion of creating Web buttons would be complete without mentioning Bevel
World. Bevel World is a dynamic plug-in that can add 3D angled edges to your shapes
and selections.

You can bevel any element in your painting, then turn it into a 3D button.

Bevel World has controls that affect the 3D bevel shape being applied, as well as
controls to adjust lighting. Try experimenting with lighting controls. By changing the
lighting on a bevelled surface, you can easily create different states for your Web
buttons.

Altering lighting in the Bevel World dialog box is an easy way to create images that
indicate button states.

For more information about Bevel World, refer to “Bevel World” on page 574.
You can decide later to change settings, as long as you have not committed the layer.
Double-click the Plug-in Layer in the Layer List. Corel Painter opens the dialog box so
you can change the settings. To understand more about committing a layer, refer to
“Committing Dynamic Layers” on page 569.

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Indicating Button States
You can create a rollover effect by displaying a second image when a Web button is
clicked. This creates two states for the button (“normal” and “clicked”). For more
information about creating rollover effects, refer to “Working with Rollovers” on
page 689.

Working with Rollovers
Rollovers are interactive objects that can change in appearance when you click or point
to them. They are often used as navigation tools on the Web. For example, you can
make a button change color when it is clicked or display text when you point to it.
The rollover effect is accomplished in the Web browser using JavaScript image
swapping. The idea is simple: each rollover area uses two or more separate images of
the same dimensions. In response to a user action (like moving the pointer over the
image), one image is quickly replaced by another.

A rollover in the Mouse out state (left) and the Mouse over state (right).

In effect, this creates a simple animation, and each of the separate images can be
thought of as frames in that animation. For our purposes, we refer to each frame as a
“state.” Corel Painter supports three possible states for each rollover:
• The Mouse out state displays the default image. Corel Painter displays it when the
page first loads, and also when the pointer moves off the rollover. If the Web
browser doesn’t support JavaScript image swapping, this image is the only one that
will be displayed.
• The Mouse over state displays an image when the pointer moves over the rollover.
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• The Mouse click state displays an image when the user clicks the rollover. When
the user releases the mouse button, the Mouse out image is displayed again.
Not all browser versions support these states. The Mouse over and Mouse out states
display in browsers that support JavaScript 1.1 (Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 and
higher).
The Mouse click state displays in browsers that support JavaScript 1.2 (Microsoft
Internet Explorer 4.0 and higher). Browsers that do not support these versions of
JavaScript, or that don’t implement JavaScript at all, do not display rollover effects.

Creating Rollovers
Before creating a rollover, you must carefully analyze your image.
• Which image areas should have rollover effects?
• Which rollover state combinations will be used for each area?
• How will you create the rollover states for each of these areas?
The third item in this list deserves special note. Since each rollover area must have two
or three separate states, you must decide how you will represent each of these states.
The most common method of representing states is to use multiple layers (one for each
state), and then hide and show them, as necessary. Another option is to use Shapes or
Dynamic Text, and then redefine their attributes (color, opacity, size, and so on) for
each state.
Hold down Option and click (Mac OS), or hold down Alt and click (Windows) to
control alignment when duplicating layers for use in rollovers. If in doubt, check layer
alignment by double-clicking each layer and verifying the Position  Top and Position
 Left fields. Make any necessary adjustments in alignment by typing numbers into
these fields.

Working with Image Maps
An image map is a Web feature that lets you jump to different locations by clicking on
specific areas within an image.
There are two types of image maps:

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• Client-side image maps store image map information right in your HTML
document. URL information appears at the bottom of the browser window when a
cursor is moved over the mapped areas.
• A server-side image map works differently. Image map information is saved in a
separate file that is stored on a server and accessed by a Common Gateway
Interface (CGI) script. Coordinate information, not URL information, is displayed
at the bottom of the browser window when a cursor is moved over a mapped area.
Client-side image maps are faster and more efficient because all the image information
is present in the HTML for the page. A server-side image map, in contrast, requires an
extra round trip of information between the browser and the Web server. However,
client-side image maps are not supported by very old browsers.

When a hotspot is clicked (left), the browser jumps to the page referenced by that link
(right).

Client-Side Image Mapping
A client-side image map is an image that has “hotspots” directly associated with URL
information. When a hotspot is clicked, the browser jumps to the page referenced by
that link information.
A client-side image map recognizes circular and rectangular “hotspots.” Therefore,
Corel Painter treats a circular area as a circle and a rectangle as a rectangle. Oval areas
are exported as rectangles.
Image maps are created using layers. The size of the layer determines the clickable
area. For information about working with layers, refer to “Layers” on page 447.

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The size of the layer determines the size of the clickable area, or hotspot.

Server-side image mapping handles circles and ovals differently. With server-side
mapping, you can export ovals. For more information on server-side image maps, refer
to “Server-Side Image Mapping” on page 693.

To define a client-side image map
1 Select or create a layer or shape in the exact place in your image where you want a
link created.
If you can’t see the layer’s marquee, click the Layer Options button
in the
Layers panel, and choose Show Layer Indicators.
2 Click the Layer Options button , and choose Layer Attributes.
3 In the Layer Attributes dialog box, specify a name for the layer.
4 Enable the WWW Map Clickable Region check box.
5 In the URL box, specify a URL to associate with this portion of your image, for
example, http://www.corel.com.
6 Click OK to return to the image.
7 Deselect the layer, then define the next area of your image map.
If there are two or more overlapping areas in an image map, the topmost one takes
priority.
8 Export your image to the GIF or JPEG file format. In the Save As GIF Options or
Save As JPEG Options dialog box, enable the Client Side Map File check box to
indicate that Corel Painter should export an HTML file containing the image map
definition.
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The RIFF format contains data about your image that is lost when you
convert it to GIF or JPEG. If you want to edit the file later, save a RIFF copy
before you generate a GIF or JPEG version.
When a client-side image map is exported, Corel Painter exports both the image and
an HTML file. You can then open the HTML file in a text or HTML editor and copy
the code into another Web page.

To define a default URL for an image map
1 To define a default, or base, URL to use when a user clicks outside of defined
hotspot areas in an image map, choose File menu  Get Info when no layers,
shapes, or plug-ins are selected.
The File Information dialog box is displayed.
2 Select WWW Map default URL.
3 Enter a URL address.
4 Click OK.
If you don’t provide a default URL, clicking outside the defined hotspot areas has no
effect.

Server-Side Image Mapping
In Corel Painter, you can define a layer as a clickable region. Corel Painter saves this
image map information within a separate text file, which you can upload to your Web
server. It can then be accessed by a CGI script.
Because server-side image mapping is becoming obsolete, be sure to read the previous
section on client-side image mapping support.

To create a server-side image map
1 Select or create a layer or shape in the exact place in your image where you want a
link created. For information about working with layers and setting general layer
preferences, refer to “Layers” on page 447.
2 In the Layers panel, select a layer in the Layer list.
3 Click the Layer Options button , and choose Layer Attributes.
4 In the Layer Attributes dialog box, specify a name for the layer.
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5 Enable the WWW Map Clickable Region check box.
6 In the URL box, specify a URL to associate with this portion of your image, for
example, http://www.corel.com.
7 Click OK to return to the image.
8 Deselect the layer, then select the next hotspot in your image map. Try to avoid
overlapping hotspot areas within an image map.
You can set a default base URL to use if the user clicks outside of your defined
hotspot areas. See “To define a default URL for an image map” on page 693.
9 Export your image to the GIF or JPEG file format. In the Save As GIF Options or
Save As JPEG Options dialog box, enable either the NCSA Map File check box or
the CERN Map File check box, depending on which format is recommended by
your Internet Service Provider.
When you save the image, Corel Painter creates an additional text file that
describes the clickable regions and their associated URLs.
10 Store both files (the image file and its associated image map definition file) on your
Web server, as directed in the documentation for your image mapping CGI script/
program. Both files must be present for the server-side image map to work.
The RIFF format contains data about your image that is lost when you
convert it to GIF or JPEG. If you want to edit the file later, save a RIFF copy
before you generate a GIF or JPEG version.

Creating GIF Files
The GIF file format is widely used on the Web. Corel Painter lets you create Webready transparent and animated GIFs. To keep file sizes small and download times fast,
you can easily reduce the number of colors in a GIF file without compromising its
usability.

Creating Transparent GIFs
If designed correctly, GIFs with transparent areas are very effective when displayed
over background colors or tiles.

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A GIF with a transparent background (the airplane) is displayed over a blue
background image.

In Corel Painter, the method of defining transparency during GIF export is to define
the transparent areas based on the content of the selected layers. The edges of the
floating elements on the layers help define the transparent areas. For more information
about layers, refer to “Layers” on page 447.
When saving to the GIF file format, you can reduce the number of colors, which
translates into smaller files. For more information about reducing the number of
colors, refer to “Reducing the Number of Colors” on page 696.
For information about other options available for saving GIF files, refer to “Saving GIF
Files” on page 66.

To create a transparent GIF from a layer or group of layers
1 From the Layers panel, select a layer or group of layers.
To output transparency in a GIF, you need an active selection.
2 Choose Select  Select Layer Content.
3 Choose File  Save As.
4 Choose GIF from the Save as type list box.
5 Specify a location and filename, and click Save.
6 In the Save As GIF Options dialog box, enable the Output Transparency check box
to make the selected area the only part of the canvas displayed on your Web page.
7 Enable one of the following options:
• Background is WWW Gray — sets the transparent color to 75% gray

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• Background is BG Color — sets the transparent color using the additional
color specified in the Colors panel. Note that this setting does not refer to the
HTML page’s background color.
8 In the Preview window, verify that the selected area is correctly masked and that
the transparent area is correctly positioned. Transparent areas are designated with a
grid.
If necessary, drag in the Preview window to view all parts of the image.
9 Choose one of the following imaging methods:
• Quantize to Nearest Color option — causes Corel Painter to look at each pixel
and pick the nearest color. This is useful when the image you are saving has
broad areas of a single color.
• Dither Colors option — causes Corel Painter to apply a stippled effect to the
colors chosen to generate a more accurate, less banded result. Unfortunately,
Dither Colors can reduce the effectiveness of GIF file compression.
The RIFF format contains image data that is lost when saving to GIF or
JPEG. To edit the file later, save a RIFF copy before saving to the GIF or
JPEG file format.

Creating Animated GIFs
Corel Painter can open a QuickTime movie, which can be painted on, then saved as an
animated GIF. Additionally, you can create a new movie or animation from scratch in
Corel Painter and save it as an animated GIF, QuickTime, or Audio/Video Interleaved
(AVI) movie.
For information about creating movies, refer to “Creating a Movie” on page 718. For
information about creating and exporting animated GIFs, refer to “Creating and
Exporting Animations for the World Wide Web” on page 738.

Reducing the Number of Colors
Web designers are always seeking a careful balance when creating graphics for the
Web. Artwork and images must be as rich and vibrant as possible while remaining
small and easily downloadable.

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One way of keeping an image’s file size small is to reduce the number of colors used to
create that graphic element. Reducing the number of colors used reduces file size and,
therefore, download time.
A Web artist may end up saving multiple versions (varying in the number of colors
used) of the same graphic element. These versions must then be placed on a page,
loaded to the page, and viewed to determine if the quantity of colors used is
acceptable. This whole process can be time-consuming and confusing.
In Corel Painter, you can make this decision during the process of saving the image to
GIF format, by using the Preview window on the Save As GIF Options dialog box.

To visually reduce the number of colors
1 Choose File menu  Save As and name your image file.
2 Choose the GIF file format, and click Save.
3 Click OK to dismiss the layer warning, if displayed.
4 In the Save As GIF Options dialog box, in the Number of Colors area, enable the
256 Colors option.
5 Enable the 128 Colors option.
In the Preview window, the image appears in 128 colors.
6 Continue reducing the number of colors in the graphic until you find the minimum
number of colors necessary for adequate display on your Web page.
7 Enable the Quantize to Nearest Color option if you want Corel Painter to look at
each pixel and pick the nearest color. Enable Dither Colors if you want
Corel Painter to apply a pattern to the colors chosen to generate a more accurate,
less banded result.
You can now either save the graphic element to place on the Web page or return to
Corel Painter to work on the design and color balance.
The RIFF format contains data about your image that is lost when you
convert it to GIF. If you want to edit the file later, save a RIFF copy before
you generate a GIF version.

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Using Web-Safe Colors
Using a Web-safe color table becomes important when you expect to deliver your Web
page to viewers who use monitors displaying 256 or fewer colors. On such a monitor,
Web browsers dither colors that aren’t found in the Web-safe palette. So, depending
on your audience, making sure that some or all of your image conforms to the Websafe palette can make good sense.

Selecting Web-Safe Color Palettes
The colors in the default palette included with Corel Painter are the same 216 colors
present in the Netscape browser-safe palette. Included with Corel Painter are Web-safe
color palettes that identify colors by a hex value displayed immediately under each
color chip — values used in HTML code to identify a color.

To select a Web-safe color palette
1 Click the Options button
in the Color Sets panel, and choose Open Color Set.
2 In the Select Color Set dialog box, select the Hexadecimal folder within the Color
Sets folder.
3 Choose a hex file from the list, and click Open.
The selected color palette displays in the Color Sets panel.

Working with Posterize Using Color Set
You can use the Posterize Using Color Set option to force your image to use the default
color set. Posterize Using Color Set can help make colors in your resulting image ready
for delivery to the Web — without a lot of dithering or shifting of colors.
Posterizing means adjusting the number of color levels an image contains.
Corel Painter can automatically constrain all the colors in your image to a Web-safe,
216-color palette. Although the Posterize Using Color Set option is not designed to be
a highly sophisticated method of reducing color (it offers you no control over exactly
how color reduction is performed), Posterize Using Color Set can be a real time-saver.
In addition, you can constrain the colors you use to the default or another
Corel Painter Web-safe palette, utilize new Web-safe single color brushes (refer to
“One-Color Brushes” on page 699) and keep the number of colors in your image to a
minimum.
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To use Posterize Using Color Set to adjust color levels
1 Select an area of your image you want affected or select nothing if you want the
entire image affected.
2 Make sure the proper color set is active.
3 Select Effects menu  Tonal Control  Posterize Using Color Set.
It’s important to note that exporting to GIF format can compromise the color set
values used when Posterize Using Color Set has been performed. For best results in
those cases:
• First, save your reduced-color image in a 24-bit format, like Windows Bitmap,
TIFF, or PICT. This maintains the benefits of defining Web-safe colors in
Corel Painter.
• Next, open the image in a tool that supports indexed color to save the GIF — one
that offers “constrain to color set” features.
• Finally, save the image to GIF format. The Web-safe colors from Corel Painter are
maintained and your image is ready to go right on the Web.

Selecting Brushes for the Web
Web artists are pulled between the desire for beautiful images and the need for small
image file sizes, with faster download times.
Bitmapped images can be roughly divided into two general types — images with areas
of flat color and continuous-tone images. Continuous-tone images (which most of the
normal features in Corel Painter produce) are best saved as JPEG images. Images with
flat areas of color are best saved as GIF images. The more regions of flat color
contained in an image, the more compressed (smaller) the resulting GIF file. For more
information about reducing colors in the final GIF file, refer to “Reducing the Number
of Colors” on page 696.
The strength of Corel Painter is its Natural-Media brushes; however, Corel Painter is
also versatile in the creation of flat color suitable for GIF images on the Web.

One-Color Brushes
You can set the brush controls to create areas of flat color, while keeping all the feeling
and nuance of a Natural-Media brush. These brush edges are aliased, meaning they
have jagged edges. For example, if a brush color is black, there are no intermediate
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gray pixels at the brush’s edge. There is either black or the background color. In
addition to a flat color, this brush type responds to paper texture. Different paper
textures cause the same type of brushstroke to look different.

Magnified detail of the stroke is shown to the left of each W-stroke. In this image, the
identical brush and stroke is applied using a different paper texture.

To make a brush with a flat-edged appearance, change the method to Cover and the
subcategory to Grainy Edge Flat Cover. If you have created some of your own brush
variations in Corel Painter, you can convert them to Web-friendly brushes, too.

To change the brush method and subcategory
1 Choose Window  Brush Controls  General.
2 From the Method pop-up menu, choose Cover.
3 From the Subcategory pop-up menu, choose Grainy Edge Flat Cover.
The result is the current brush with a Web-friendly hard edge.
4 Save your creation as a variant.
For more information, see “Creating, Restoring, and Deleting Brush Variants” on
page 148 and “Creating a Brush Category” on page 149.
Brushes that require a particular method, such as Wet, Eraser, or Plug-in, will
not work as well with the Cover method. If you use another brush method,
you will not be working with a one-color brush.

Web-Friendly Brushes
Included with Corel Painter are brushes that have been converted from the default
Corel Painter brushes to Web-friendly, low-bandwidth brushes.
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To load Corel Painter Web-friendly brushes into a library
1 Click the Brush Selector.
2 In the Brush Library panel, click the Brush Library Options button , and choose
Import Brush Library.
3 In the Select Brush Library dialog box, locate the Web brushes library on the DVD.
4 Click Open.
A set of one-color Web brushes, along with some one-color Calligraphy brushes, is
included with Corel Painter.
Experiment with these brushes, using different papers for Web-friendly Natural-Media
effects.
Install the brushes, then use the file browsing feature (accessed from the Open dialog
box) to review all the Web-friendly variations on standard Corel Painter brushes. Here
are some samples of what you’ll find:

Examples of brushstrokes produced by Web-friendly brushes

A few of the new brush variants included in Corel Painter are not one-color brushes. If
you are concerned about having Web-safe colors, make sure the Corel Painter Color set
or the Corel Painter Colors-WEB Color Set is loaded, then change the image into
Web-safe colors by choosing Effects menu  Tonal Control  Posterize Using Color Set.
For more information about the Posterize Using Color Set command, refer to
“Working with Posterize Using Color Set” on page 698.

Calligraphic velocity (left) and calligraphic velocity posterized (right)

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Use a digitizing tablet for the brush’s colors to work properly. When the first color is
darker than the second color, dark areas show up in the thicker parts of the
brushstrokes — the places where brush velocity is slower. After posterizing, the stroke
has the appearance of pigment that has pooled in one place and dried darker. The
result is a very Web-efficient, limited-color image, with the appearance of natural
media.

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Scripting
Scripts allow you to record every action you make in the Corel Painter application.
Scripts can replay the artist’s process of creating an image, or they can hold procedures
and operations. For example, if you must apply color adjustments to a collection of
images, you can script these operations. Playing back the script lets you perform color
correction on other images with the click of a button.
By default, every action you perform is recorded in an “always script” that’s used for
operations such as undo.
This section contains the following topics:
• Getting Started with Scripting
• Editing Scripts
• Working with Scripts and Movies

Getting Started with Scripting
A script is similar to a video. You can record, edit, and play it back at any time from
the Scripts panel. The ability to edit scripts step-by-step also gives you control over
recorded action sequences. You can record anything in a script — from a single edit
command to an entire work session.
There are a number of ways to take advantage of scripting:
• Scripts offer the ultimate in Undo. If you record your work, you can revert to any
stage in the project by playing the script and stopping it at the stage you want.
• You can use scripts to create macros. If you have a repetitive task or an operation
you use frequently, you can record that series of commands. Whenever you want to
perform the task, play the script.
• You can play back a script at a different resolution. You can record at a low
resolution, then automatically produce the same results at a higher resolution.
• You can record a script that plays back using the current art materials. For
example, you can record a script of a pencil drawing, then open a new document,
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•

choose a different paper texture, color, and brush, and play back the script. Then,
you can watch Corel Painter repeat your drawing with the selected art materials.
Scripts are a great educational tool. Playing the script of an art project lets you see
the step-by-step process used to make the image. It’s like looking over the artist’s
shoulder.
Scripts are particularly useful for working with movies. When you have an
operation you want to apply to each frame in a movie, record the set of commands
in a script. You can then apply the script to the entire movie as one command.
When you play a script, you can output it to a movie. Every action you take
becomes a frame in the movie. This is a great way to create special effects for your
QuickTime or Video for Windows (VFW) movies.
You can enable the automatic saving of the background script, which allows you to
repeat the last actions you performed. The background script automatically records
all of the operations that you perform when you creating an image.

How Scripts Work
The Script recorder saves each instruction you give Corel Painter, including what
values, locations, colors, and textures are used. By repeating the instructions, you can
reproduce the artwork “from scratch.”
Because Corel Painter saves instructions, scripts are efficient and flexible. For example,
you can play a script one instruction at a time. You can also edit scripts, taking a few
instructions from one script and inserting them into another one.

Understanding the Scripts Panel
The Scripts panel supplies the basic tools for recording, playing, and storing scripts.

To show the Scripts panel
• Choose Window  Scripts.
To hide the Scripts panel
• Choose Window  Scripts.

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Preview window
Record and
playback
buttons

Script library
viewer

Importing and
exporting buttons
Delete script
button

Create new
script button

The Scripts panel

The Script Options button
commands to choose from.

in the Scripts panel gives you several

Record and Playback Buttons
The Script buttons on the bottom of the panel make it easy to stop, play, record, pause,
and step forward when you’re working with scripts.
Script buttons, from left to right: Stop, Play, Record, and Pause.

Recording Scripts
When you record a script, first you set up your Script Options. Record Initial State
records the tools and art materials you use during the session, including brushes,
colors, and paper textures. Corel Painter plays the session using the materials you
recorded.
When Record Initial State is disabled, Corel Painter uses the tools and art materials
selected at the time you play back the script. So, by disabling Record Initial State, you
can use a different brush, color, and paper texture each time you play the script.
Save Frames on Playback and the frame rate option are for playback. For more
information on these options, refer to “Converting a Scripted Session into a Movie” on
page 710.

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After you have set the Script Options, you begin the recording and perform the actions
you want scripted.
Corel Painter saves new scripts to the current library, however, you can move scripts
between libraries. For more information, see “Libraries” on page 32.
Because Corel Painter always saves your script data, this data can build up in your
Corel Painter Script Data file. You can control the number of days these scripts persist
in the file by entering a number of days into the Auto Save box in the General
Preferences dialog. For more information, refer to “Setting Preferences” on page 753.

To record a script
1 In the Scripts panel, click the Script Options button , and choose Script
Options.
2 In the Script Options dialog box, set your options.
If you want to record a script where you can change art materials on playback,
disable the Record Initial State option.
3 In the Scripts panel, click the Record button .
The Record button appears red while recording.
4 Draw, paint, or use any features and effects you want to record.
5 When you’re finished, click the Stop button .
6 In the Script Name dialog box, type a name.
Corel Painter automatically adds an icon for the script in the Script library viewer.
If brushes, papers, patterns, or other materials required by the script are
stored in alternate libraries, these libraries must be available during playback.

Saving Background Scripts Automatically
When you create an image, Corel Painter records all the operations you perform. This
recording is known as a background script and is saved in the Scripts panel. The AutoSave Scripts preference controls how long Corel Painter saves background scripts
before deleting them.

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To enable the Auto-Save Scripts preference
1 Do one of the following:
• (Mac OS) Choose Corel Painter 12 menu  Preferences  General.
• (Windows) Choose Edit  Preferences  General.
2 Enable the Auto-record Script check box.
3 Specify the number of days for which you want Corel Painter to save background
scripts in the Auto-Save Scripts For box.

Playing a Script from the Scripts Panel
When you play your recorded script, you can sit back and watch the operations unfold.
In Corel Painter, replaying a script of a painting is like watching the artist at work.

To play a script
1 In the Scripts panel, choose a script from the Script library viewer.
To load another script library, click the Script Options button , and choose
Import Script Library.
2 In the Script library, click the script that you want to play.
3 Click the Play button .
The button appears green during playback.
4 Use the Stop
button, the Pause button , and the Step Forward button to
control playback.
You can also use Command + . (Mac OS) or Ctrl + . (Windows) to stop a
script from playing.

Replaying a Script at a New Resolution
Replaying a script at a higher resolution is a good way of creating a high-resolution
image without working on a high-resolution image. When you’re creating the image,
you can get smoother, more responsive performance by working at low resolution.
Then, when you play back the script at a higher resolution, you get the benefit of a
higher quality image.

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The record-to-playback scaling ratio is limited. A factor of 4 is probably too much. For
best results, experiment.

To record for resolution-independent playback
1 Before you start recording, open a new document at the resolution in which you
want to work.
2 Before painting or drawing, choose Select  All, or press Command + A (Mac OS)
or Ctrl + A (Windows).
This action creates a reference rectangle that is part of the recording. The rectangle
must be recorded to play a session back into a higher resolution file later.
3 In the Scripts panel, click the Record button .
4 Deselect the reference rectangle by doing one of the following:
• Choose Select  None.
• Draw inside the selected area.
• Press Command + D (Mac OS) or Ctrl + D (Windows).
5 Proceed with your script recording as usual.
To play back at a different resolution
1 Create a new document with the resolution at which you want to play the script.
If you want the resulting image to be a higher resolution than the original, create a
document with proportionally larger dimensions. For example, if the original
document is 500 X 500 pixels, make the new document 1000 X 1000 pixels to
double the size.
If the destination document has a different aspect ratio from the original, the image
created by the script will be proportionally distorted.
2 In the Scripts panel, click the resolution-independent script you recorded in the
Script library viewer.
3 Before playing back the script, choose Select  All, or press Command + A (Mac
OS) or Ctrl + A (Windows) in the new document. The rectangle recorded at the
outset of the original script is referenced to the selected rectangle in this document.
4 Click Play.
The original script replays into the new document. All brushes, paper textures, and
related functions are appropriately scaled for the new resolution.

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Editing Scripts
Corel Painter lets you edit your scripts by modifying script instructions.

Modifying Script Instructions
You can edit a script by opening the Script list, which displays the script as a series of
instructions that contain parameters. You can edit most of these parameters.

To edit script parameters
1 In the Scripts panel, click the script that you want to edit from the Script library
viewer.
2 Click the Scripts Options button , and choose Edit Script.
Corel Painter displays the script’s instructions in the Script list.
3 In the Script list, expand the instruction that you want to edit.
4 Double-click a parameter within the instruction.
5 In the parameters dialog box, make the necessary changes.
6 Close the dialog box.
7 Click Done to save the changes to the script.
The open script becomes the current script and is displayed in the Script
library viewer. If you choose another script from the Script library viewer, the
open script does not change.
You can also edit a script by exporting the script and then opening the script
file in a text editor. You can export a script by clicking the Scripts Options
button in the Script panel, and then choosing Export Script.

Working with Scripts and Movies
Corel Painter allows you to play back a script in a movie file. This allows you to create
some interesting effects, as well as automate processes. Corel Painter also lets you
apply a script to a movie. This feature is particularly useful when you have a script that
functions as a macro.
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For example, you might want to apply an effect like Motion Blur to a video clip. You
can record a script that applies the Motion Blur effect to a single image. Then, with a
single command, you can apply the script to each frame of a movie. You can also use a
script to set grain position in a movie.
For more information about applying a script to a movie, refer to “Applying Scripts to
Movies” on page 727. For more information about setting the resolution of a movie,
refer to “Replaying a Script at a New Resolution” on page 707.

Converting a Scripted Session into a Movie
You can convert a script into a Corel Painter movie and save it as a QuickTime or AVI
movie. Every action you take becomes a frame in the movie. This is a great way of
creating special effects for your movies. For more information about creating movies,
see “Creating a Movie” on page 718.
If the script was recorded to be resolution-independent, you can replay your session
into a movie with different dimensions. For additional information, refer to “Replaying
a Script at a New Resolution” on page 707.
If the script is not resolution-independent and the new image window is larger, the
script plays back in the upper-left corner of the movie. If the new image is smaller than
the script dimensions, only the upper-left portion of the scripted session appears in
the movie.

To replay a script into a movie
1 In the Scripts panel, click a script in the Script library viewer.
2 Open a new image at the size you want the movie to be.
3 In the Scripts panel, click Script Options button

, and choose Script Options.

4 In the Script Options dialog box, enable the Save Frames on Playback check box.
This is the option that directs Corel Painter to create a movie on playback.
5 Type the number of tenths of a second that you want between frames.
The lower the number, the more frequently a frame is created and the more fluid
the movie is. More frames, however, use more disk space.
6 In the Scripts panel, click Play.
7 In the Enter Movie Name dialog box, type a name, choose a destination folder, and
click Save.
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8 In the New Frame Stack dialog box, choose the number of layers of onion skin and
the storage type you want. Corel Painter plays the script into the Frame Stacks
dialog box.
Not all actions can be converted into a movie. For example, a script that
contains a File  New command will not be converted.

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Animation and Video
An animation is a series of drawings with progressive change. When viewed in rapid
succession, they create a moving image.
Because Corel Painter has its full suite of Natural-Media tools and effects available for
each image in a frame stack, it’s an extraordinary program for creating original
animation.
The animation features give you the power to work with video and create animations,
including onion skinning and rotoscoping. Onion skinning is a feature animators use
to view previous and future frames while working in the current frame. Rotoscoping is
the ability to paint on and apply effects to existing movies. You can clone, trace, edit,
and combine movies.
In this chapter, you’ll learn animation and compositing techniques. You’ll learn how to
create, open, and modify movies, how to navigate the Frame Stacks panel, and how to
export movies to QuickTime or VFW/AVI format (Windows only).
This section contains the following topics:
• Creating Animations and Video
• Getting Started with Movies
• Modifying a Movie
• Rotoscoping
• Saving and Exporting Movies
• Creating and Exporting Animations for the World Wide Web

Creating Animations and Video
Corel Painter lets you create animation as well as modify QuickTime or AVI movies. It
also offers you a range of options for critical elements of your animation, such as color,
frame rate, and file size.

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Creating Animations
Corel Painter offers several methods to create original animations:
• Cloning or tracing video. For more information, refer to “Cloning a Movie” on
page 732.
• Manipulating layers
• Drawing each frame by hand
Corel Painter has powerful features that simplify animation and help you get the best
quality possible. You can use the Natural-Media tools in Corel Painter to create your
own animations with a traditional look. Onion skinning allows you to see multiple
frames at the same time. You can view up to five frames at a time: the current frame
and four other frames adjacent to it. This will help you determine where the next
frame of motion should be drawn. You can play back your animation over and over as
you create it, to be sure you have the correct flow of movement.

Working with Video
Corel Painter offers certain ways of working with video that are not offered by
QuickTime or Audio Video Interleaved (AVI) applications. You can use any of the
Corel Painter brushes, textures, and effects to modify a QuickTime or AVI movie. You
can paint directly into video frames, you can clone video using the Natural-Media
tools, and you can combine or composite portions of one video clip with another.
When you open a QuickTime or AVI movie, Corel Painter automatically converts it to
a frame stack. A frame stack is a series of images, each equal in size and resolution.
Corel Painter does not provide features for working with audio.
When you’re finished with the movie in Corel Painter, you can save it as a QuickTime,
AVI, or animated GIF file. You can then open the QuickTime or AVI movie in a
video-editing application, like Adobe Premiere, in which you can add sound effects and
other finishing touches.

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Considering Color
You might want to create a color set for the animation. Creating a color set helps you
better control the use of color. For example, you wouldn’t want the colors of your
characters shifting between frames. Using a particular color set prevents this from
happening. You might want to set up an image of each character with annotations to
specify which colors to use in which areas.
Not all colors are suitable for video. For more information about using color, refer to
“Using the Color Panel” on page 168.

Considering Frame Rate
Frame rate describes the number of image frames displayed per second (fps). The frame
rate can determine not only how big a file your animation is, but also how smooth the
motion appears.
When you save a movie as an AVI file, you can specify the rate of display. This doesn’t
necessarily mean that what you specify is what you’ll experience. Factors like frame
size, compression method, and computer speed can prevent some movies from
achieving their set rate. If your animations will be viewed on the computer only, frame
rates of 8, 10, and 12 fps are good choices. If your animations will be viewed
elsewhere, you should consider the following frame rates:
• The frame rate of film is 24 fps.
• The frame rate of National Television System Committee (NTSC) video is 30 fps
(29.97 fps in broadcast video). NTSC is the video standard used in the United
States.
• The frame rate of Phase Alternating Line (PAL) video is 25 fps.
These frame rates are sufficient to produce smooth, continuous motion with filmed or
video-recorded subjects.
Animation drawings contain far less detail than live-action images. The difference in
the level of detail allows animations to be produced at frame rates significantly lower
than those designed for live action. Because of the smoothness of color fills and
continuity between images, animations can look quite nice at rates between 10 and
15 fps.
You must consider frame rates to know how many drawings are needed to make
actions smooth, natural, and consistent throughout the project.

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The computer can display frames at any reasonable rate. The Frame Stacks panel
provides control over frame display rates. You can preview an animation at a rate of 1
to 40 fps.
You can’t display different sections of a movie at different rates. What you can do is
create sections separately at different rates and then modulate them to the same rate
before joining them. This is the kind of work you’ll do in your video-editing
application.
For more information, see “To set the preview frame rate” on page 719.

Considering Movie File Sizes
Keep in mind that video and animation can produce huge files. When planning a
project, be careful not to overestimate your available disk space. For an idea of disk
requirements, consider this example: Each 640 by 480-pixel, 24-bit color frame is 1.2
MB. At this size, a 12-fps, 30-second animation would consume more than 400 MB of
disk space.

To calculate the disk space required for a frame stack
1 Using pixels as the unit of measurement for width and height, calculate the
number of bytes required to save the frame stack with the following formula:
(Frame Width) × (Frame Height) × (Bytes per Pixel) × (Number of Frames)
2 Divide the product of the formula in step 1 by 1,024 to convert to kilobytes.
Bytes per pixel is determined by the storage type. For example, 24-bit color
with an 8-bit alpha channel uses 4 bytes per pixel. For more information
about storage types, refer to “Creating a Movie” on page 718.
When you save a movie as QuickTime or AVI, the file size can be reduced by
compression. For more information on compression, refer to “Saving and
Exporting Movies” on page 734.

Understanding the Frame Stacks Panel
In Corel Painter, digital video and animation files are known as movies or frame stacks.
Whether you’re working with imported video or building a new animation, the tools
are the same. They’re found in the Frame Stacks panel and in the Movie menu.
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The number of frames displayed in the Frame Stacks panel is determined by the number of
onion skin layers. A red triangle appears above the current frame.
Icon

Keyboard shortcut

Comment

Rewind

Home

Returns to the first frame
in a stack

Step Reverse

Page Down

Moves back one frame

Stop

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

Halts a frame stack that’s
playing

Play

Plays the frame stack

Step Forward

Page Up

Advances to the next
frame. When a frame is the
last in the stack,
Corel Painter adds a new
frame to the end and
advances.

Fast Forward

End

Advances to the last frame
in the stack

The frame stack format is a series of images, each equal in size and resolution. The
Frame Stacks panel appears whenever you open or create a movie file. The Frame
Stacks panel must stay open while you work with a movie.
You work in one frame at a time — the one appearing in the document window. The
Frame Stacks panel helps you navigate the frames in the stack and choose which frame
to modify.
Each frame in a frame stack can have one layer. For example, if you add an item from
the image portfolio onto a frame, Corel Painter places the image on a layer. You can
move the image around using the Layer Adjuster tool. However, when you move
between frames or close the file, Corel Painter drops all layers — the layer is deleted,
and the layer’s content is flattened onto the background canvas. Refer to “Layers” on
page 447 for more information about working with layers.
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The Frame Stacks panel displays thumbnails of several frames. The frame numbers
appear under the thumbnails. The current frame is shown with a red triangle over it.
The number of thumbnails is determined by the layers of onion skin you’ve chosen. By
default, QuickTime and AVI files are opened with two layers of onion skin. For more
information on onion skinning, refer to “Understanding Onion Skinning” on
page 721.

Getting Started with Movies
You can create movies with Corel Painter, or you can open movies created in common
animation formats, such as QuickTime or Video for Windows (AVI).

Creating a Movie
The first step in creating a new animation is to create a movie file. Corel Painter
automatically saves movie files as you proceed from frame to frame.

To create a movie
1 Choose Movie  New Movie.
2 Type a filename in the Movie Name text box.
3 In the Canvas Settings area, type values in the Width and Height boxes.
The standard digital video frame is 640 by 480 pixels, which is a 4:3 aspect ratio.
Many people work at sizes consistent with this aspect ratio.
4 Click the Color chip and choose a paper color from the Color dialog box.
5 Click the Paper chip and choose a paper texture from the Papers Textures panel.
6 Type a value in the Resolution box.
7 In the Movie Settings area, type a value in the Number of Frames box.
Remember, you can add and delete frames at any time.
8 In the Layers of Onion Skin area, enable the number of onion skin layers that you
want.
The number of onion skin layers determines the number of frames displayed in the
Frame Stacks panel. For more information about onion skinning, refer to
“Understanding Onion Skinning” on page 721.
9 In the Storage type area, enable one of the following options:
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•
•
•
•

8-bit gray (for 256 levels of gray)
8-bit color system palette (for 256 colors)
15-bit color with 1-bit alpha (for 32,768 colors and a layer for a channel)
24-bit color with 8-bit alpha (for 16.7 million colors and a layer for an
anti-aliased channel)
When the movie opens, the Frame Stacks panel appears, and the document
window displays the first frame of the movie.
The storage type lets you specify the color depth for saving each frame. This
applies to the saved frame stack, not to your work in the current frame. For
example, choosing 256 colors as the storage type still allows you to work with
a selection and 24-bit tools in the document window for the current frame. As
soon as you change frames, however, the image is saved in the 256-color
format, and the selection is lost. If you want to maintain selections in saved
frames, you’ll need to choose the 15-bit or 24-bit storage type. These storage
types allow you to take advantage of compositing options that require a
selection layer.

To set the preview frame rate
• In the Frame Stacks panel, adjust the Playback slider.
The frame rate is displayed to the right of the slider.

Opening a Movie
Quite often, you’ll start by opening a movie created in another program — like a
captured video segment. You’ll also open an existing movie if you worked on a frame
stack earlier and now want to return to it.
For efficiency, don’t bring in more video frames than you’re going to work on. For
example, if you have a two-minute video clip and you want to paint on the first 10
seconds, don’t open the entire clip. You’re better off separating the first 10 seconds in
your editing application and bringing in just those frames. After finishing that clip in
Corel Painter, you can join it to the other part in your editing application.
You can also import a movie that has been saved as a series of numbered files. For more
information, refer to “Working with Numbered Files” on page 737.

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To open a Corel Painter frame stack
1 Choose File  Open.
2 In the Open (Mac OS) or Select Image (Windows) dialog box, locate the frame
stack, and click Open.
When a file is selected, the dialog box shows the frame size, file size, and number of
frames. If a preview is available, it shows a thumbnail of the first frame.
3 In the Open Frame Stack dialog box, choose the number of onion skin layers you
want to appear in the Frame Stacks panel.
The number you choose also determines the number of thumbnails visible in the
Frame Stacks panel.
4 Click OK.
The Frame Stacks panel appears and the document window displays the first frame
of the movie.
To open a QuickTime or AVI movie
1 Choose File  Open.
2 In the Open (Mac OS) or Select Image (Windows) dialog box, locate the movie,
and click Open.
When a file is selected, the dialog box shows the frame size, file size, and the
number of frames. If a preview is available, it shows a thumbnail of the first frame.
3 In the Enter Movie Name dialog box, type a name in the Save As (Mac OS) or File
name (Windows) box, and click Save.
The Frame Stacks panel appears, and the document window displays the first frame
of the movie.
When you open a QuickTime or AVI movie, Corel Painter makes a frame
stack copy of the movie. This ensures that the original won’t be changed.
Frame stacks are uncompressed, so you need an adequate amount of disk
space to create them. For example, a 1-MB QuickTime or AVI movie can
become a 20-MB frame stack.

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Navigating through a Movie
You can select a frame by clicking its thumbnail in the Frame Stacks panel. You can
also easily jump to any frame in a movie.

To select a frame
To

Do the following

Select a frame

In the Frame Stacks panel, click the frame’s
thumbnail.

Jump to a particular frame

Choose Movie  Go To Frame, and type the
frame number in the Go To Frame dialog
box.

Understanding Onion Skinning
Traditional cartoon animators work on an onion skin paper that allows them to see a
sequence of frames through transparent layers. They then draw successive frames,
using the previous frames for reference. Seeing the several images superimposed helps
increment the action evenly.

Onion skin view (Tracing Paper on). Each frame in the frame stack represents one onion
skin layer.

Corel Painter lets you work in two to five layers of onion skin. You specify the number
of layers when you open a frame stack. To change the number of onion skin layers, you
must close the file and reopen it.

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The Frame Stacks panel displays a linear view of the onion skin layers. Each thumbnail
represents one onion skin layer, and the thumbnail of the current frame has a red
triangle above it.
You can change the current frame by clicking any thumbnail in the Frame Stacks
panel. This lets you view a frame in any position of the onion skin sequence. For
example, if you want to display the reference frames before the current frame, set the
current frame to the far-right position in the panel. If you want to display the frames
before and after the current frame, set the current frame to the middle thumbnail in
the panel.

To use the onion skin feature
• Choose Canvas  Tracing Paper.
In the document window, the current frame appears darkest. Each frame moving
away is progressively fainter.
You can also turn Tracing Paper on and off by pressing Command+T
(Mac OS) or Ctrl+T (Windows) or by clicking the Open Navigator Settings
button
in the Navigator Panel, and choosing Toggle Tracing Paper.

Animating with Layers
One of the simplest ways to create animation in Corel Painter is to add an item from
the Image Portfolio panel across a series of frames. This is the most basic example of
animating with layers. Adding multiple layers allows you to make more complex
animations.
You can also group layers and move them simultaneously, but be careful. When you
leave a frame, Corel Painter drops the layers in that frame. When a layer is dropped, its
contents are merged with the canvas and can no longer be accessed separately. For this
reason, you may want to work from the background forward; start by animating
what’s farthest from your point of view. For more information, refer to “Merging
Layers with the Canvas” on page 468.
You can also rotate a layer. Rotating a layer can degrade its on-screen image quality,
but this does not affect its printed quality.

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To create motion with layers
1 Choose Movie  New Movie.
2 Type 1 in the Frames box.
3 In the Enter Movie Name dialog box, choose a location, enter a name for the file,
and click Save.
4 In the New Frame Stack dialog box, enable one of the Layers of Onion Skin
options.
5 Choose Window  Media Library Panels  Images.
6 Double-click an item in the Image Portfolio panel to add it to the document
window.
A new layer is created.
7 Position the layer to the far left of the document window.
8 Click the Step Forward button
in the Frame Stacks panel.
A new frame is added and becomes the current frame. The layer in the previous
frame is merged with the canvas. In the new, current frame, the layer is active.
9 On the keyboard, press the arrow keys to move the portfolio image.
10 Repeat steps 6 and 7 for as many frames as you want to add.
11 In the last frame, deselect the layer.
12 Click the Play button
in the Frame Stacks panel.

Repeating Actions
You can repeat actions to create an animated cycle. Take, for example, a blinking eye.
For this type of action, draw the cycle once, and repeat it as many times as needed.

This example shows a blinking eye as an animated cycle. You draw the frames once, and
then repeat them.
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To create a clean cycle, the beginning and ending images must be the same. For
example, in an animation of a blinking eye, the eye would be open at the beginning
and the end. This way, when the end of one cycle is “hooked up” to the beginning of
the next, the action continues smoothly.
Scrolling a background is another example of a cycled action. Commonly, a subject
remains in one place while the background slides by.

Modifying a Movie
Frames can be added to, or deleted from, a movie. You can also erase the contents of a
frame while leaving the frame in the movie. These changes cannot be undone, so it’s
best that you create your animation in segments and combine them when you are
finished.

Adding Frames and Movies to a Movie
You can add frames at any time to your movie. Frames can be added at the end or
beginning of a movie or between any frame in the stack. You can also repeat the last
frame at the end of the stack.
You can combine movies by inserting the contents of one movie into another. You can
insert only a Corel Painter movie, not a QuickTime or AVI movie or numbered files.
You need to convert a QuickTime or AVI movie to a Corel Painter frame stack before
you insert it into another Corel Painter movie.
The movie you insert must have the same frame size (width and height) as the current
movie. You’ll get better results if the movie you insert is designed for the same frame
rate as the current movie. You can insert a movie before or after a specific frame, at the
start of a movie, or at the end of a movie.

To add frames to a movie
1 Choose Movie  Add Frames.
2 In the Add Frames dialog box, type the number of frames in the Add box.
3 Enable an option for frame placement.
For example, to add six blank frames before frame 10, type 6 in the Add box,
enable the Before option, and type 10 in the Frame box.

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To repeat the last frame
1 In the Frame Stacks panel, click the Fast Forward button .
2 Choose Movie  Clear New Frames to disable this command.
The check mark beside the Clear New Frames command is removed.
3 Click the Step Forward button
in the Frame Stacks panel.
You can add blank frames at the end of a movie with the Step Forward button
when the Clear New Frames command is enabled.

To insert a movie
1 Choose Movie  Insert Movie.
2 In the Insert Movie dialog box, choose where to insert the movie, and click OK.
3 In the Select Movie dialog box, locate the movie you want to insert, and click
Open.
The movie you insert must have the same frame size (width and height) as the
current movie. You’ll get better results if the movie you insert is designed for
the same frame rate as the current movie.

Deleting Frames and Erasing Frame Contents
When you delete frames, the frames are removed from the movie, and subsequent
frames are renumbered as necessary. Erasing clears the image to the paper color. The
frames themselves remain in the movie.

To delete or erase frames
To

Do the following

Delete frames from a movie

Choose Movie  Delete Frames. In the
Delete Frames dialog box, enter the range of
frames you wish to delete.

Erase frame contents

Choose Movie  Erase Frames. In the Erase
Frames dialog box, enter the range of frames
you wish to erase.

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Rotoscoping
Rotoscoping is the process of painting on a movie, applying effects to a movie, or
compositing a portion of the images from one movie with the images of another. This
is often done to make the action of a person filmed in one place appear on a
background filmed in another. You can also use rotoscoping to remove an element
from a video clip, as shown below in the frames from a short movie of an owl on a
roost. After the video was captured digitally, it was imported it into Corel Painter, and
the roost was removed frame by frame, using the masking tools.
1

(1) The frame shows an owl perched on a roost. (2) The frame shows the owl without the
roost. (3) The frame shows the mask used to hide the roost.

Rotoscoping is also useful for adding a background to an animation. The process is the
same whether you work with digitized video or painted animation cells.

Applying Effects to a Single Frame
You can paint on, or apply effects to, any frame in a movie. You can do anything in a
frame that you can do in a single image: paint with a brush, add layers, or apply an
effect to a selection or to the entire image. Frames are automatically saved when you
select another frame, and the changes cannot be undone.

To paint on or apply an effect to a single frame
1 In the Frame Stacks panel, go to the frame you want to work in.
To go to a frame, you can click on the thumbnail of the frame or click the Step
Forward button
to advance to the frame. The selected frame appears in the
document window.
2 Modify the image in the document window.
3 When you’re ready to work on the next frame, click the Step Forward button.

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Changing frames automatically saves the frame. You cannot undo changes after the
frame is saved.

Applying Scripts to Movies
The Script feature lets you repeat the same actions for each frame in a movie. For
example, you might want to apply an effect like Glass Distortion to a video clip. You
can record a script that applies the Glass Distortion effect to a single image and then,
with a single command, apply that script to the entire movie. A script can contain
almost any action — a single command, a series of commands, or the many steps in
creating an original drawing. You’ll devise scripts based on the needs of your project.
You cannot undo changes after applying a script to a movie. Before applying a script to
a movie, you should become familiar with scripting and experiment with a separate
sample image. You might want to work with a copy of the movie, or you might apply
the script to a short sample movie to test it. For complete information on working with
scripts, refer to “Scripting” on page 703.

Using scripts to set grain position
You might use a script to apply a surface texture (paper grain) to an entire movie. In
this case, you have several options for the position of the grain in each frame. You can
put the grain in exactly the same position, move the grain randomly, or move it
linearly by a set number of pixels. For instructions on applying surface texture and dye
concentration, refer to “Applying Effects” on page 493.

Using scripts to apply brushstrokes
You can apply a recorded brushstroke to a movie. Corel Painter divides the stroke into
as many segments as there are frames and places the segments in successive frames.
This feature is most useful when used with the Image Hose. When you apply a
brushstroke to a movie using the Image Hose brush, one or more Nozzle images are
deposited on each frame. If the Nozzle file is an animated sequence — for example, a
person walking — Corel Painter can drop successive images on successive frames. Play
the movie back, and the person walks across the document window. For this to work,
you must set up the Nozzle file appropriately and have the right Image Hose brush
size. For more information, refer to “Getting Started with the Image Hose” on
page 599.

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To create a script for a movie
1 Choose Window  Scripts.
2 In the Scripts panel, click the Script Options button , and choose Record Script.
3 Perform the actions you want included in the script, and click the Stop button
in the Scripts panel.
4 In the Script Name dialog box, type a name for the script in the Save As box.
To apply a script to a movie
1 Open the movie to which you want to apply the script.
2 Choose Window  Scripts.
3 In the Scripts panel, click the Script Options button , and choose Apply Script
to Movie.
4 In the Apply Script to Movie dialog box, double-click a script.
Corel Painter applies that script to each frame in the stack. If you have few small
frames in your movie, and the script is not a complicated one, the script can be
applied quickly. If the movie has several large frames, a complicated script could
take a long time.
You can apply only scripts that do not create new images.

To set grain position with a script
1 Record a script that applies surface texture or dye concentration to an entire image.
2 Choose Movie  Set Grain Position.
3 In the Set Grain Position dialog box, enable one of the following options:
• Grain Stays Still — allows the grain to remain in the same position throughout
the movie
• Grain Moves Randomly — moves the grain as the movie plays. To use this
option, you must disable the Record Initial State option when recording your
script. In the Scripts panel, click the Script Options button , and choose
Script Options. In the Script Options dialog box, disable the Record Initial
State check box.
• Grain Moves Linearly — increments the grain movement. Specify the number
of pixels you want the grain to move horizontally and vertically from one frame
to the next.
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4 Click OK.
5 Choose Window  Scripts.
6 In the Scripts panel, click the Script Options button , and choose Apply Script
to Movie to apply the grain script. Each frame is textured according to your
selected method.

To apply a brushstroke script
1 Choose Brushes  Record Stroke.
2 Create a brushstroke in the document window.
3 Open a movie file.
4 Choose Movie  Apply Brush Stroke to Movie.

Compositing Movies
You can composite two movies together into one — for example, you can composite a
foreground action against a new background. To do this, you must create a selection in
each frame of the foreground movie. For information about selections, refer to
“Creating and Saving Selections” on page 407. You can also create an alpha channel for
each frame and load it as a selection as you work. For more information, refer to
“Creating, Generating, and Importing Channels” on page 436.
When creating selections in the foreground movie, if the background is uniform — all
white, for example — you can take advantage of the automatic selection and script
features.
The drawing mode determines whether Corel Painter draws inside or outside of a
selection, so you can create selections that either include or exclude the foreground
image — whichever is easiest — then set the drawing mode accordingly. For more
information about drawing modes, refer to “Protecting an Area of the Canvas” on
page 415.
When you composite movies, it can take a long time to generate selections and paint
in the background for each frame. Using scripting in conjunction with the Auto Select
or Color Select commands can make this operation much easier and faster.
You can create a selection based on image characteristics or color. You do this once,
record the process as a script, and then apply the script to all frames in your movie. For
information about creating selections based on image characteristics, refer to “To
generate a selection by using the Auto Select command” on page 412. For information
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about creating selections based on color, refer to “To generate a color-based selection”
on page 413. For information about recording scripts, refer to “Scripting” on
page 703.

To composite one movie with another
1 Open the foreground movie.
If the Navigator panel is not open, choose Window  Navigator.
2 In each frame, create a selection that defines the foreground image.
Because the foreground image continues to move, the selection in each frame must
be different.
3 In the Frame Stacks panel, click the Rewind button
to go back to the first frame
in the stack.
4 Open the background movie or image.
If the background is a movie, click the Rewind button.
5 Select the background movie and choose Movie  Set Movie Clone Source.
6 Select the foreground movie.
7 In the Navigator panel, click the Open Navigator Settings button , choose
Drawing Mode, and choose one of the following:
• Draw Outside if you selected the portion of the image that you want to keep.
• Draw Inside if you selected the portion of the image that you want to replace.
You can also invert the selection instead of changing the drawing mode.
8 Click the Brush Selector on the Brush Selector bar.
9 In the Brush Library panel, click the Cloners brush category, and click a brush
variant.
If you want to bring the background across perfectly, select the Straight Cloner
brush variant.
10 Paint in the foreground movie to replace the background by using the clone source.
11 Click the Step Forward button
and paint the background of the next frame.
If your clone source is a movie, Corel Painter automatically advances the
foreground and clone source movies by one frame. The movies stay synchronized as
you proceed.
12 Repeat step 10 for each frame in the movie.

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If you want to automate the painting process, you can record the complete
painting of one frame as a script and then apply that script to the entire
movie. This assumes that the entire movie can use the cloned background. For
more information, refer to “Applying Scripts to Movies” on page 727.

The frame stack of the background movie.

The frame stack of the foreground movie where selections of the dog are generated.

The composited movie.

To composite movies using scripting
1 Working in a sample image, determine whether Auto Select or Color Select works
best with your image.
Those selection methods are accessible by choosing Select  Auto Select or Color
Select.
2 When you’ve determined the settings for the best method, start over. This time,
record the Auto Select or Color Select process as a script.
To record a script, click Script Options button
in the Scripts panel, and choose
Record Script.
3 Open the frame stack in which you wish to create selections.
4 Choose Window  Scripts.
5 In the Scripts panel, click the Script Options button , and choose Apply Script
to Movie.
6 In the Apply Script to Movie dialog box, double-click the Auto Select or Color
Select script you saved.
Corel Painter applies the script to each frame in the stack.
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Cloning a Movie
Cloning from one movie to another is almost like cloning from one image to another.
The only difference is that you are cloning from one sequence of frames to another
sequence of frames. In this case, by advancing one frame in the clone frame stack,
Corel Painter automatically advances one frame in the source frame stack.
When you set a movie clone source, the current frame in the clone is matched to the
current frame in the source. If both movies are rewound to frame 1, the
clone-to-source correspondence is 1-1, 2-2, 3-3. This means that the source for frame 1
in the clone movie is frame 1 in the source movie, and so on. If you like, you can create
a different correspondence by choosing other frames before setting the movie clone
source. For example, if the current frame of the clone movie is frame 1 and the current
frame of the source movie is frame 5, the correspondence would be 1-5, 2-6, 3-7. This
means that the source for frame 1 in the clone movie is frame 5 in the source movie,
and so on. For information on cloning brushes, refer to “Image Cloning and Sampling”
on page 379. You can control the areas cloned by setting up a selection in the clone
movie. For complete information on creating selections, refer to “Selections and
Transformations” on page 407.
You can also use Auto Clone to do the cloning, or you can record an Auto Clone script
and apply the script to the new movie with a Cloner brush selected. For more
information about using Auto Clone, refer to “Using Auto Clone” on page 550. For
information about working with scripts, refer to “Recording Scripts” on page 705.

To clone a movie
1 Choose File  Open, and open the source movie you want to clone.
2 In the Open (Mac OS) or Select Image (Windows) dialog box, note the information
on movie dimensions and number of frames given under the thumbnail window,
and click Open.
3 Create a new movie with the same dimensions and number of frames as the source.
With these two frame stacks open, you’re ready to clone the source into the new
movie.
4 Select frame 1 of the new movie.
5 With the source movie selected, choose the first frame you want to clone.
6 Choose Movie  Set Movie Clone Source.
7 Select the new movie.

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8 Using any Cloner brush, paint on the document window.
You will be painting the source movie into the clone.
9 When you finish cloning in a frame, advance to the next one by clicking the Step
Forward button
in the Frame Stacks panel.
Corel Painter automatically advances the clone source to maintain the
frame-to-frame correspondence.
If you have a Corel Painter movie open and you choose File  Clone,
Corel Painter will create a clone only of the frame in the image window.

To apply an Auto Clone script to a movie
1 Record the Auto Clone effect on a sample image, and save the script.
2 Open the frame stack in which you wish to clone.
3 Choose Window  Scripts.
4 In the Scripts panel, click the Script Options button , and choose Apply Script
to Movie.
5 In the Apply Script to Movie dialog box, select a saved Auto Clone script, and click
Playback.
Corel Painter clones the source movie into the destination movie.

Tracing a Movie
Have you ever wanted to animate your own cartoon, but didn’t know where to start?
The Tracing Paper feature makes it possible to trace the contents of a movie into a
brand-new animation.
For best results, the source should have the same frame rate you intend for the
animation. For more information on frame rates, refer to “Considering Frame Rate” on
page 715.

To trace a movie
1 Choose File  Open, and open the source movie you want to trace.
2 In the Open (Mac OS) or Select Image (Windows) dialog box, note the movie
dimensions and number of frames information under the thumbnail window, and
click Open.
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3 Create a new movie with the same dimensions and number of frames as the source.
With these two frame stacks open, you’re ready to trace the source into the new
movie.
4 Select the source movie, and click the Rewind button
to select frame 1.

in the Frame Stacks panel

5 Choose Movie  Set Movie Clone Source.
6 Select the new movie and choose Canvas  Tracing Paper.
The first frame of the original movie appears ghosted in the first frame of the new
movie.
7 Trace the first frame using any of the Corel Painter tools, textures, and effects.
8 When finished, click the Step Forward button
trace the second frame.

in the Frame Stacks panel, and

9 Continue frame by frame.

Saving and Exporting Movies
Corel Painter provides several options for saving and exporting your finished movies.
Some file formats, like QuickTime and Video for Windows, have compression options
available.

Exporting a Single Image from a Movie
You can save and export a movie frame in several file formats.

To export a frame as a single image
1 Display the frame you want to export in the document window.
You can click on the frame thumbnail in the Frame Stacks panel or use the controls
in the Frame Stacks panel to display the frame.
2 Choose File  Save As.
3 In the Save Movie dialog box, enable the Save current frame as image option, and
click OK.
4 In the Save (Mac OS) or Save Image As (Windows) dialog box, choose a location
and file format, enter a name for the file, and click Save.

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Exporting Movies as QuickTime Movies
You can export a movie as a QuickTime movie on either the Macintosh or Windows
platform.
QuickTime supports several compression schemes. The following descriptions should
help you choose one; however, you’ll probably want to experiment with different
compressors and settings to identify the best settings for your work. You may also have
additional compression methods available.
• The Animation method works well with areas of continuous tone. If you set the
Quality in the Compression Settings dialog box to Best and make every frame a key
frame, this compressor is lossless. For most Corel Painter animations, this
compressor is a good choice.
• The Cinepak method produces acceptable motion and image quality at remarkably
small file sizes. It is the preferred format for CD delivery and transfer across the
Internet. Cinepak can take a long time to compress, and it can be difficult to find
the best compression settings for certain image types and frame rates.
• The Graphics method is limited to 256 colors. It compresses the file at a greater
ratio than the Animation compressor, but does not play as quickly.
• The None option uses no compression, so the images retain all of their quality.
With a large frame size, some computers might not be fast enough to play at a high
frame rate.
• The Photo-JPEG method allows high compression ratios while maintaining
excellent image quality. However, it does not play at high rates. JPEG is an
international standard for image compression.
• The Video method is designed for recording and playing back digitized video at
high rates. Because of the spatial compression method it uses, the Video compressor
does not provide optimal results for images with large areas of continuous tone,
such as those in most animations.
The compression ratio is inversely proportional to image quality. The Quality slider
allows you to set an optimum level between the amount of compression and image
quality. For most work in Corel Painter, it is best to set the Quality slider to High.
You can specify the number of frames you want displayed per second and, with some
compression methods, the frequency of key frames. Key frames are used in temporal
compression methods. Each key frame is stored in its entirety. The next set of frames,
up to the next key, are saved only as changes.

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With some compression methods, you can also limit the speed of data transmission
with the Limit Data Rate option. The data rate limit overrides the Quality setting, if
necessary, to keep the compressed movie within the set limit.

To export a Corel Painter movie as a QuickTime movie
1 Choose File  Save As.
2 In the Save Movie dialog box, enable the Save Movie as QuickTime option.
3 In the Enter Movie Name dialog box, choose a location, enter a name for the file,
and click Save.
4 In the Compression Settings dialog box, choose a compression method from the list
box.
5 Specify the options you want.

Exporting a Movie as an AVI Movie
If you are using a Windows operating system, you can export your movie as an AVI
movie.
The AVI format supports several compression schemes. The following descriptions
should help you choose one; however, you’ll probably want to experiment with
different compressors and settings to identify the best settings for your work. You may
also have additional compression methods available.
• The Cinepak method produces acceptable motion and image quality at remarkably
small file sizes. It is the preferred format for CD-ROM delivery and transfer across
the Internet. Cinepak takes a long time to compress, and it can be difficult to find
the best compression settings for certain image types and frame rates.
• The Microsoft Video 1 method is designed for recording and playing back digitized
video at high rates.
• The Full Frames (Uncompressed) method uses no compression, so the images retain
all of their quality. With a large frame size, some computers might not be fast
enough to play at a high frame rate. This is the preferred format for transferring
Corel Painter movies to AVI-editing applications.
The compression ratio is inversely proportional to image quality. In the
Video Compression dialog box, the Compression Quality slider allows you to set an
optimum level between the amount of compression and image quality.

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Key frames are used in temporal compression methods. Each key frame is stored in its
entirety. The next set of frames, up to the next key, are saved only as changes. With
some compression methods, you can specify the frequency of key frames with the Key
Frame Every [Number] Frames option.
With some compression methods, you can also limit the speed of data transmission
with the Data Rate option. The data rate limit overrides the Quality slider setting, if
necessary, to keep the compressed movie within the set limit.

To export a Corel Painter movie as an AVI movie
1 Choose File  Save As.
2 In the Save Movie dialog box, enable the Save Movie as AVI option, and specify the
number of frames per second.
3 In the Enter Movie Name dialog box, choose a location, enter a name for the file,
and click Save.
4 In the Video Compression dialog box, choose a compression method from the
Compressor pop-up menu.
5 Specify the options you want.
For some compression methods, you can click Configure to specify additional
options.

Working with Numbered Files
Corel Painter supports importing and exporting numbered files. Numbered files are
any series of files that are the same size and resolution, and named following a specific
style, which includes a number at the beginning or end of each file name. For example,
the first frame might be called “Movie01,” the second frame “Movie02,” and so on.
When you export a movie as numbered files, you can import the numbered files into
an application that may not support other movie formats. When exporting, you
specify the filename for the first file. You must include zeros so that all numbered files
have the same number of digits. For example, to create numbered files from 1 to 24,
include “01” in the filename. To create numbered files from 89 to 110, include “089”
in the filename.
Importing numbered files is an excellent method of bringing an animation from
another 3D or animation program into Corel Painter. The file format of the numbered
files you are importing must be supported by Corel Painter, and the number of digits
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in each filename must be the same. When you import numbered files, you create a new
frame stack, and you are prompted to choose a number of onion skin layers and a
storage type. For more information, refer to “Creating a Movie” on page 718.

To export a movie as numbered files
1 Choose File  Save As.
2 In the Save Movie dialog box, enable the Save Movie as Numbered Files option,
and click OK.
3 In the Save (Mac OS) or Save Numbered File As (Windows) dialog box, choose a
location and file format, enter a name for the first file, and click Save.
You must begin or end the filename with a number — for example, “01Movie” or
“Animation14.”
To import numbered files
1 Choose File  Open.
2 Enable the Open Numbered Files check box in the Open (Mac OS) or Select Image
(Windows) dialog box.
3 Do one of the following:
• (Mac OS) Select the first numbered file. When “Choose Last Numbered File”
appears under the Open Numbered Files check box, select the last numbered
file, and click Open.
• (Windows) Select the first numbered file, and click Open. Then, select the last
numbered file, and click Open.
4 In the Enter Movie Name dialog box, choose a location to save the imported movie,
enter a filename, and click Save.
5 In the New Frame Stack dialog box, choose a number of onion skin layers and a
storage type, and click OK.
Corel Painter sequences the images into the frames of a new frame stack.

Creating and Exporting Animations for the World Wide
Web
Corel Painter lets you export a frame stack as an animated GIF file. The animated GIF
format is ideal for displaying simple animations on the World Wide Web.
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Animated GIFs are easy to create and add to your Web pages. You give them the same
HTML tag you would give any GIF image. The only difference is that the browser
displays the file as an animation. A GIF can be used as a link anchor or as an image
map. However, it cannot be used as a background.
Your browser must support GIF animations for the images to display properly. Refer to
“Web” on page 683 for more information about creating content for Web pages.

Creating Animated GIFs
If your movie is intended for the Web, you should consider file size and number of
colors in your animation, as these factors affect the speed of the animation.
Create your animation in a Corel Painter frame stack. Take advantage of your favorite
animation features and techniques to develop the images.
As you design your animation, consider the file size and transfer time necessary. Your
animations will be more accessible if they’re small enough to download in a reasonable
time. You can minimize file size by considering the following:
• Reduce the frame size. A smaller frame leads to a smaller file. You choose the frame
size when you create a new movie. If you import an existing animation or video,
you cannot resize the frames.
• Limit the number of frames. Good animations do not necessarily need a large
number of frames. Each frame increases the file size, so see if you can get by with
fewer frames.
• Limit the number of colors. Including fewer colors in the image reduces the size of
the color palette and leads to smaller files. For best results, choose colors from the
Windows Default 256 color set. This color set matches the color palette of
Netscape Navigator, so the colors in your GIF will be reproduced on the client
without dithering.
If the animation requires transparency, you must set up a selection for each frame. For
information about creating selections, refer to “Creating and Saving Selections” on
page 407.

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Exporting Animated GIFs
There are many options available when you save images to a GIF file. You can choose
the number of colors and the imaging method — either Quantize or Dither. If you
want to gradually display images in the Web browser as they load, you can enable the
Interlaced option.
If you have created selections in each frame, you can make your image transparent and
choose your background option. You might need to adjust the Threshold slider to
determine the selection mask value at which the image becomes transparent.
You can also set animation-specific GIF options — Frame Delay, Disposal Method, and
Looping. For more information on these GIF options, refer to “Saving GIF Files” on
page 66.
The Frame Delay option allows you to specify a pause (in 100ths of a second) between
each frame. Without a delay, the frames appear as quickly as the system can load and
display them. The display of each image (especially with larger frames) varies between
computer systems, so the actual animation display rate may be lower. You can use
Frame Delay to approximate a particular frame rate. For example, you capture some
one-quarter size video at 8 frames per second (fps). You want 8 frames to appear in one
second, so divide one second (100 hundredths of a second) by 8. The result is 100/8 =
12.5. Discard the decimal portion and enter 12 as the frame delay. Discarding the
decimal is the only allowance for the time required to display each image. For a large
frame size, you might want to allow more time for display.
The Disposal Method options let you specify what happens to an image after it has
been displayed (and its frame delay has passed), and before the next image is displayed.
The disposal method is significant only when you use transparency that differs
between frames.
• With Default, the client browser’s default disposal method is used.
• With None, the image is left on-screen and the next frame is rendered over it.
• With Background, the region covered by the image is restored to the background
color.
• With Previous, the region covered by the graphic is returned to the imagery of the
previous frame.
If you want the animation to repeat, enable the Loop option. Enter the number of
times the animation should repeat. If you want it to repeat indefinitely, enter 0.

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In the client browser, the animation appears one frame at a time during download. In
most cases, this is significantly slower than the intended display rate. After all frames
have been downloaded, the browser will loop the animation (if the loop option is used)
with the specified delay between frames. Because the animation plays from the
browser’s cache, it’s much faster.

To export a frame stack as an animated GIF
1 With the frame stack open, choose File  Save As.
2 In the Save Movie dialog box, enable the Save Movie As GIF Animation option.
3 In the Enter Movie Name dialog box, choose a location, enter a filename, and click
Save.
4 In the Save as GIF Options dialog box, specify the options you want.
You can now use your browser to open the file and view the animation. You can
place the animation on a Web page with the same HTML image tag you’d use for a
simple GIF file.
If the animation in the browser window stops playing, it’s probably finished
the set number of loops. In some browsers, you can get it started again by
resizing the window. In all browsers, you can get it started again by reloading
the page.

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Printing
You can print Corel Painter images on a wide variety of printers, including PostScript,
Windows Graphics Device Interface (GDI), and QuickDraw printers, and
high-resolution imagesetters.
This section contains the following topics:
• Getting Started with Printing

Getting Started with Printing
Corel Painter offers a wide range of printing options for various output devices. You
can preview and size the image before you print it.

Setting Up Printing
Options for setting up your file for printing depend on several factors: the type of
output device to be used, whether the printed output will be in color or in black and
white, and whether you are printing separations.

To access print settings
• Choose File  Page Setup.

Sizing an Image
If you want to print an image that is larger than a selected page size, you can size the
image to fit the page. For example, when this option is enabled, a 12-by-12-inch
image would be resized to fit on an 8.5-by-11-inch page.

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743

To size an image to fit the page
1 Choose File  Print.
2 Click the Painter 12 tab.
3 Enable the Size to Fit Page check box.
To print images larger than the page size, you must enable the Size to Fit Page
check box.

Printing an Image
After choosing options in the Print Setup dialog box (Mac OS) or the Page Setup
dialog box (Windows), you are ready to print your image.

To print an image
1 Choose File menu  Print.
The Print dialog box appears.
If you are using the Mac OS, choose Corel Painter 12 from the list box below the
Presets list box.
If you are using the Windows OS, click the Painter 12 tab.
2 In the Print Type area, choose one of the four print types that Corel Painter
supports.
• If your printer is not a PostScript printer, enable the Color QuickDraw
(Mac OS) or GDI Printing (Windows) option. Some common examples are the
HP Deskjet, the Canon Bubble Jet, and the EPSON Stylus.
• To print an image to a color PostScript device, enable the Color PostScript
option.
• To print separations, enable the Separations option. The output consists of four
pages, one each for cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. You can print separations
from Corel Painter with PostScript devices, including high-resolution
imagesetters. Corel Painter places a color bar, registration marks, and the color
name on each of the four separated plates.
• To print an image to a black-and-white PostScript laser printer, enable the
B & W PostScript option.

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Corel Painter uses the device’s default screening information to produce
high-quality color separations. If Output Preview is off when you save a file in
EPS format, Corel Painter uses the Color Studio separation tables with your
device’s default screening.

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Notes for Users of Adobe
Photoshop
If you have previously worked with Adobe Photoshop, you may notice the differences
in the tools and terminology of Corel Painter. This section describes these differences
and provides additional tips to help you move smoothly between these applications.
This section contains the following topics:
• Comparing Terminology in Corel Painter and Adobe Photoshop
• Comparing Tools in Corel Painter and Adobe Photoshop
• Frequently Asked Questions from Users of Adobe Photoshop

Comparing Terminology in Corel Painter and Adobe
Photoshop
Certain terms and concepts in Corel Painter differ from those of similar features in
Adobe Photoshop. The following table lists some common terms in Photoshop with
their equivalent terms in Corel Painter.
Adobe Photoshop term

Corel Painter term

Action

Script

Adjustment layer

Layer

Animation

Movie

Blending mode

Composite method

Indexed color mode

Web-safe color palette

Smart Object

Reference layer

Layer effect

Dynamic plug-ins

Layer style

Composite method

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747

Adobe Photoshop term

Corel Painter term

Palette

Panel

Selection

Snapshot

Clone

Comparing Tools in Corel Painter and Adobe Photoshop
The following table lists Adobe Photoshop tools and the corresponding Corel Painter
tools. Many of these tools create similar results but operate slightly differently. For that
reason, we also provided a link to a corresponding help topic that describes the Corel
Painter tool.
Adobe Photoshop tool

Corel Painter tool

For more information

Actions palette

Scripts panel

See “Understanding the
Scripts Panel” on page 704.

Blur tool

Focus effect

See “Using Focus Effects” on
page 540.

Burn tool

See “Dodging and Burning”
on page 511.

Clone Stamp tool

Rubber Stamp tool

See “Performing Offset
Sampling” on page 390.

Crop tool

See “Cropping Images” on
page 60.

Dodge tool

See “Dodging and Burning”
on page 511.

Drop shadow

See “Adding Drop Shadows”
on page 473.

Elliptical Marquee tool

Oval Selection tool

See “Creating Path-Based
Selections” on page 409.

Eyedropper tool

Dropper tool

See “Sampling Colors From
Images” on page 173.

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Adobe Photoshop tool

Corel Painter tool

For more information

Filter Gallery

Effects menu

See “Applying Effects” on
page 493.

Freeform Pen tool

Quick Curve tool

See “Using the Quick Curve
Tool” on page 650.

Gradient tool

Gradients panel

See “Applying Gradients” on
page 213.

Gradient fill, available with
the Paint Bucket tool
Hand tool

Grabber tool

See “Repositioning Images”
on page 59.

Lasso tool

See “Creating Path-Based
Selections” on page 409.

Magic Wand tool

See “Creating Pixel-Based
Selections” on page 411.

Move tool

Move mode of Transform
tool

See “Moving Selections” on
page 429.

Paint Bucket tool

See “Exploring Painting
Media” on page 75.

Path Selection tools

Shape Selection tools

See “Editing Shapes” on
page 656.

Pen tool

See “Using the Pen Tool” on
page 648.

Polygon Lasso tool

Polygonal Selection tool

See “To make a freehand
selection” on page 410.

Rectangular Marquee tool

Rectangular Selection tool

See “Creating Path-Based
Selections” on page 409.

Type tool

Text tool

See “Adding Text” on
page 674.

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749

Frequently Asked Questions from Users of Adobe
Photoshop
When I open Photoshop (PSD) files, which elements are preserved and which
are lost or modified?
The following table lets you know what changes to expect when you open a PSD file in
Corel Painter.
Adobe Photoshop element

When the PSD file is opened in Corel
Painter

Alpha channels

Alpha channels are preserved.

Blending modes

Most blending modes are preserved as
composite methods. If no equivalent
composite method exists for a particular
blending mode, the blending mode is
converted to the Default composite method.

Color

If the file does not use the RGB color model,
you are prompted to convert the file to the
default RGB color profile in Corel Painter.
To avoid this step, you may want to convert
your files to the RGB color model in
Photoshop before opening them in Corel
Painter. For more information, see “Color
Management” on page 247.

Layers

Layers and layer masks are preserved.
Layer effects and adjustment layers are not
supported. To preserve the results of using
these elements, you may want to merge or
flatten them in Photoshop before opening
the file in Corel Painter.
Shape layers, layer clipping paths, and
clipping groups are not preserved.

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When I save files to the PSD file format, which elements are preserved and
which are lost or modified?
The following table lets you know what changes to expect when you save a file to the
PSD file format.
Corel Painter element

When saved to PSD file format

Color

RGB options are available when you save to
the PSD file format.

Layers

All layers are converted to standard
Photoshop transparent layers.
All Corel Painter layer composite methods
are converted to Photoshop blend modes.
For information about comparing Corel
Painter composite methods with Photoshop
blending modes, see Saving Files That
Contain Layers.

Masks

Layer masks are preserved in the PSD file.

Shapes

Shapes are converted to bitmaps and
assigned to appropriate layers.

Text

Text is converted to a bitmap and assigned to
the appropriate layer.

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751

Setting Preferences
Corel Painter preferences allow you to customize the program to complement your
work style and to achieve optimal performance. The purpose of this section is to
describe all Corel Painter preferences and, when applicable, provide references to more
detailed information.
This section contains the following topics:
• General Preferences
• Interface Preferences
• Performance Preferences
• Shapes Preferences
• Quick Clone Preferences
You can also find set preferences for setting up the drawing cursor, brush tracking and
customizing keyboard shortcuts. For more information, see “Setting up the Drawing
Cursor” on page 77, “Brush Tracking and Calibration” on page 79, and “Customizing
Keys” on page 763.

General Preferences
The general preferences affect various aspects of Corel Painter. For example, you can
specify preferences for saving documents, controlling brushes, and saving. The
following tables categorize, list, and describe all general preferences.
Brush preference

Description

Align constrained brushstroke to canvas
when rotated

Matches the brush rotation angle to the
canvas rotation angle

Disable feature scaling when resizing brush

Disables the Scale Feature With Brush Size
option in all areas of the application.

Setting Preferences

753

Brush preference

Description

Use legacy brush resizing control

Reverts to the Corel Painter legacy dynamic
onscreen brush sizing control

Brush size increment

Lets you set the brush size increment value
in pixels. For more information, see “Setting
Basic Brush Attributes” on page 123.

Align brush to path tolerance

Determines how close the brushstroke must
be to the path or shape for automatic
alignment to occur
For more information, see “Aligning
Brushstrokes to Paths and Shapes” on
page 87.

Paint hidden shape

Aligns a brushstroke with a hidden shape or
path

Layer preference

Description

Show commit dialog when converting to
layer

Displays a dialog box every time you need to
commit content to a layer
Enable this check box if you previously
enabled the Commit And Don’t Ask Again
check box in the Commit dialog box.
For more information, see “Grouping
Layers” on page 466.

Saving preference

Description

Create backup on save

Creates a backup file every time you save a
document. For more information, see
“Saving and Backing up Files” on page 63.

Auto-record script

Enables the automatic saving of
Corel Painter background scripts

Auto-save scripts for

Controls how long Corel Painter saves
background scripts before deleting them.
For more information, see “Saving
Background Scripts Automatically” on
page 706.

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Sampling preference

Description

Display crosshairs to identify the Rubber
Stamp sampling source

Displays cross hairs onscreen to identify the
sampling source when you’re using the
Rubber Stamp tool

Product update preference

Description

Notify me of available product updates

Notifies you automatically when a product
update is available for Corel Painter 12.

To access the general preferences
• Do one of the following:
• (Mac OS) Choose Corel Painter 12 menu  Preferences  General.
• (Windows) Choose Edit  Preferences  General.

Interface Preferences
The following table describes the Corel Painter preferences for modifying the display of
the application interface. For example, you can modify the appearance of the drawing
cursor or the interface colors.
Cursor preference

Description
For more information, see “Setting up the
Drawing Cursor” on page 77.

Enhanced brush ghost

Displays a representation of the brush
variant onscreen to give you information
about the size, tilt, bearing, and rotation of
your pen

Brush ghost

Displays a representation of the brush
variant onscreen to give you information
about the size

Iconic

Allows you to change the cursor icon that
displays onscreen and modify its orientation

Setting Preferences

755

Cursor preference

Description

Single Pixel

Displays the drawing cursor icon as a single
pixel

Workspace preference

Description

Units

Lets you choose the unit of measurement
used by the application’s various sliders and
other measurement options

Background Color

Sets the window background color

Default View Mode - Windowed

Sets the default workspace view to display all
standard tools in the workspace

Default View Mode - Full Screen

Sets the default workspace view to hide your
computer’s desktop and view the document
window without scroll bars

Toolbox layout

Sets the orientation and layout of the
toolbox in the document window

Media Layout

Sets the orientation and layout of the Media
Selector bar in the document window

To access the interface preferences
• Do one of the following:
• (Mac OS) Choose Corel Painter 12 menu  Preferences  Interface.
• (Windows) Choose Edit  Preferences  Interface.

Performance Preferences
You can set various performance preferences to optimize Corel Painter. For example,
you can change memory options such as the amount of RAM used by the application
or specify the volume name (Mac OS) or drive (Windows) that you want to assign as a
scratch disk.
To ensure the optimal performance of scratch disks, consider the following:
• Choose a drive that does not contain the files that you are currently working on.

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• Choose a different drive than the one used by the operating system’s virtual
memory.
• Defragment the scratch disk drive on a regular basis.
The performance preferences are described in the following table.
Performance preference

Description

Memory usage

Changes the percentage of RAM memory
used by Corel Painter, which is set to 80%
by default. You can dedicate as much as
100% of the memory to Corel Painter. The
lowest percentage you can choose is 5%.

Scratch Drive

Allows you to specify the volume name
(Mac OS) or drive (Windows) that has free
memory to allow Corel Painter to perform
an operation if your computer runs out of
RAM.

Undo Levels

Allows you to undo and redo up to 256
levels of changes.
The number of Undo levels applies across all
open documents. For example, if you set 5
undo levels and have two open documents,
undoing three operations on the first
document leaves you with only two undo
operations on the second document.
In addition, setting multiple undo levels uses
a significant amount of disk space. If you
perform multiple operations on the entire
image, the whole image must be saved for
each undo.

Smooth objects when zooming

Applies smoothing to the current view to
minimize pixelation when zooming

Increase screen drawing speed when zoomed
out

Increases the speed at which the screen is
drawn when you are viewing an image at less
than 100% magnification. Enabling this
option may decrease accuracy.

Setting Preferences

757

To specify performance preferences
• Do one of the following:
• (Mac OS) Choose Corel Painter 12 menu  Preferences  Performance.
• (Windows) Choose Edit  Preferences  Performance.

Shapes Preferences
The shapes preferences allow you to set the default fill and stroke for creating new
shapes. You can also change the appearance of the Bézier handles when drawing or the
wing, point, path, outline, and anchor colors.
Shape preference

Description

On Draw - Fill with current color

Fills both open and closed shapes with the
currently selected color when drawing

On Draw - Stroke in current color

Outlines both open and closed shapes with
the currently selected color when drawing

On Close - Fill with current color

Fills the shape with the currently selected
color when the shape paths are closed

On Close - Stroke in current color

Outlines the shapes with the currently
selected color when the shape paths are
closed

Big Handles

Controls the size of the anchor points and
the direction of the wing handles to help you
grab and drag them easily. If you want big
points, enable this option.

Colors - Wing/Bézier/Handle

Sets the color of the wings, Bézier, and
handles

Colors - Outline/Path

Sets the color of the shape outline paths

Colors - Selected Point/Anchor

Sets the color of the selected anchor points.
The unselected anchor points appear
“hollow.”

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To change shape preferences
• Do one of the following:
• (Mac OS) Choose Corel Painter 12  Preferences  Shapes.
• (Windows) Choose Edit  Preferences  Shapes.

Quick Clone Preferences
The Quick Clone preferences let you customize the Quick Clone behavior. For
example, you can choose to always use the last selected cloner brush variant or
automatically open the Clone Source panel. For more information, see “Using Quick
Clone” on page 384.
Quick Clone preference

Description

Close source image

Closes the clone source image automatically
when the image is cloned. The clone source
is embedded in the clone document, but the
original image is closed.

Open Clone Source panel

Displays the Clone Source panel
automatically when Quick Clone is used.

Clear Canvas

Lets you start cloning with a blank canvas

Turn on tracing paper

Activates tracing paper

Switch to cloner brushes

Activates the last Cloner brush variant

Clone color

Uses the current brush variant to clone the
underlying color
To enable the Clone Color check box, you
must disable the Switch to Cloner Brushes
check box.

To change Quick Clone preferences
• Do one of the following:
• (Mac OS) Choose Corel Painter 12  Preferences  Quick Clone.
• (Windows) Choose Edit  Preferences  Quick Clone.

Setting Preferences

759

Keyboard Shortcuts
Many features in Corel Painter have keyboard shortcuts. These allow the user to access
a variety of tools quickly and easily using the keyboard, rather than selecting them
from a menu or panel.

The four modifier keys on a Mac-compatible keyboard are Command, Option, Shift, and
the Spacebar.

The four modifier keys on the Windows keyboard are Ctrl, Alt, Shift, and the Spacebar.

Keyboard Shortcuts

761

The keyboard shortcuts rely on four modifier keys on Mac-compatible and Windows
keyboards: Command, Option, Shift, and the Spacebar on the Mac OS; and Ctrl, Alt,
Shift, and the Spacebar on Windows.
Some of the same key combinations are reused to provide different actions depending
on which tool is currently selected. For example, holding down the Shift key while
using the Rectangle shape tool constrains the shape to a square; whereas holding down
the Shift key while using a Cloning brush sets the clone destination.
This section contains the following topics:
• Customizing Keys
• Toolbox Commands
• Panel Commands
• Corel Painter Menu Commands
• File Menu Commands
• Edit Menu Commands
• Canvas Menu Commands
• Layers Menu Commands
• Select Menu Commands
• Shapes Menu Commands
• Effects Menu Commands
• Window Menu Commands
• Screen Navigation
• Panel Navigation
• Panel Menu Commands
• Brush Tools
• Selection Tools
• Adjuster Tools
• Shape Tools
• Animation
• Lighting
• Layer Selection Tools
• Mosaics
• Other Commands

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Customizing Keys
Corel Painter lets you assign commands to keys on your keyboard. This saves you time
by giving you immediate keyboard access to your favorite commands. Along with
character, numeric, function, and modifier keys, you can also use Tab, Backspace
(Windows), Delete, Insert, Home, End, Page Up, Page Down, Up Arrow, Down
Arrow, Left Arrow, Right Arrow, and Spacebar. You can use keys already used for other
shortcuts.
You can also create a collection of keyboard shortcuts, or key sets, based on changes to
the default key set. For easy reference, you can generate an HTML summary of a key
set.

To assign commands to keys
1 Do one of the following:
• (Mac OS) Choose Corel Painter 12  Preferences  Customize Keys.
• (Windows) Choose Edit  Preferences  Customize Keys.
If you want to modify keyboard shortcuts that you previously stored in a key set,
choose the key set from the Key Set list box.
2 Choose one of the following options from the Shortcuts list box:
• Application Menus — lets you create or modify menu bar command shortcuts
• Panel Menus — lets you create or modify panel menu command shortcuts
• Tools — lets you create or modify tools shortcuts
• Other — lets you create or modify command shortcuts for items that are not
menus, panels, or tools
3 Choose a command from the Application Commands list.
4 In the Shortcut column next to the command, type the shortcut keys you want to
assign.
If you typed a unique shortcut key, you can click Ok to exit the Preferences dialog
box.
If the shortcut you assigned is already in use, a message appears below the
Application Commands list. To proceed, you need to perform a task from the
following table:

Keyboard Shortcuts

763

Do the following

Assign the shortcut to the selected command
while deleting the shortcut key from the
conflicting command

Click Accept.

Assign the shortcut to the new command
and then assign another keyboard shortcut
to the conflicting command

Click Accept and Go To Conflict.

To revert keyboard shortcuts
To

Do the following

Revert the last keyboard shortcut you
created or modified

Click Undo.

Revert to all keyboard shortcuts you created
or modified since you opened the Preferences
dialog box

Click Reset. In the warning dialog box, click
Yes.

Revert all keyboard shortcuts to their default
settings

Click Defaults. In the warning dialog box,
click Yes.

To manage key sets
To

Do the following

Open an existing key set

Click the Open button . In the Open Key
Set dialog box, select a key set, and click
Open.

Create a new key set from the existing key
set

Click the New from Existing button
. In
the Save New Key Set dialog box, type a
name for the key set in the Filename box,
and click Save.

Save the active key set

Click the Save Active Set button
. In the
Save Key Set dialog box, type a name for the
key set in the Filename box, and click Save.

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Do the following

Create an HTML summary of the active key
set

Click the Create HTML Summary button
. In the Save Summary dialog box, type a
name in the Filename box, and click Save.

Delete the active key set

Click the Delete button

Key set files created on the Mac OS cannot be imported into Corel Painter on
Windows. Likewise, key set files created on Windows cannot be imported into
Corel Painter on the Mac OS.

Toolbox Commands
Tool Name

Shortcut Key

Navigation and Utility Tools
Magnifier

Grabber

Rotate Page

Divine Proportion

Layout Grid

Perspective Grid

Crop

Drawing and Painting Tools
Brush (Freehand line)

Brush (Straight line)

Paint Bucket

Dropper

Dodge

‘

Burn

Keyboard Shortcuts

765

Tool Name

Shortcut Key

Selection Tools
Rectangular Selection

Oval Selection

Lasso

Polygonal Selection

Shift + L

Magic Wand

Adjuster Tools
Layer Adjuster

Selection Adjuster

Shape Selection

Shape Design Tools
Pen

Quick Curve

Text

Shape Object Tools
Rectangular Shape

Oval Shape

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Tool Name

Shortcut Key

Shape Edit Tools
Scissors

Add Point

Convert Point

Remove Point

Transform Tool
Transform tool

Option + Command + T (Mac OS)
Alt + Ctrl + T (Mac OS)

Symmetry Tools
Mirror Tool

‘

Kaleidoscope Tool

Shift + ‘

Panel Commands
Command

Mac OS

Windows

Brush Controls Palette

Command + B

Ctrl + B

Colors

Command + 1

Ctrl + 1

Mixer

Command + 2

Ctrl + 2

Color Sets

Command + 3

Ctrl + 3

Layers

Command + 4

Ctrl + 4

Channels

Command + 5

Ctrl + 5

Clone Source

Command + 6

Ctrl + 6

Navigator

Command + 7

Ctrl + 7

Gradients

Command + 8

Ctrl + 8

Patterns

Command + 9

Ctrl + 9

Keyboard Shortcuts

767

Corel Painter Menu Commands
Command

Mac OS

Windows

Preferences  General

Command + ,

Ctrl + ,

Hide Corel Painter 12

Command + H

Hide Others

Command + Option + H

Quit

Command + Q

Ctrl + Q

File Menu Commands
Command

Mac OS

Windows

New

Command + N

Ctrl + N

Open

Command + O

Ctrl + O

Command + W

Ctrl + W

Save

Command + S

Ctrl + S

Save As

Shift + Command + S

Shift + Ctrl + S

Iterative Save

Command + Option + S

Ctrl + Alt + S

E-mail Image

Option + Command + E

Alt + Ctrl + E

Page Setup

Shift + Command + P

Shift + Ctrl + P

Command + P

Ctrl + P

Exit (Windows)

768

Ctrl + Q

Corel Painter User Guide

Edit Menu Commands
Command

Mac OS

Windows

Undo

Command + Z

Ctrl + Z

Redo

Command + Y

Ctrl + Y

Fade

Command + Shift + F

Ctrl + Shift + F

Cut

Command + X

Ctrl + X

Copy

Command + C

Ctrl + C

Copy Merged

Shift + Command + C

Shift + Ctrl + C

Paste

Shift + Command + V

Shift + Ctrl + V

Paste In Place

Command + V

Ctrl + V

Fill

Command + F

Ctrl + F

Free Transform

Option + Command + T

Alt + Ctrl + T

Preferences  General

Command + K

Ctrl + K

Preferences  Brush
Tracking

Shift + Command + K

Shift + Ctrl + K

Canvas Menu Commands
Command

Mac OS

Windows

Resize

Shift + Command + R

Shift + Ctrl + R

Tracing Paper

Command + T

Ctrl + T

Show/Hide Rulers

Command + R

Ctrl + R

Show/Hide Guides

Command + ;

Ctrl + ;

Snap To Guides

Shift + Command + ;

Shift + Ctrl + ;

Show/Hide Grid

Command + ‘

Ctrl + ‘

Color Management
Settings

Option + Command + K

Alt + Ctrl + K

Keyboard Shortcuts

769

Layers Menu Commands
Command

Mac OS

Windows

New Layer

Command + Shift + N

Ctrl + Shift + N

Select All Layers

Command + Shift + 1

Ctrl + Shift + 1

Group

Command + G

Ctrl + G

Ungroup

Command + U

Ctrl + U

Collapse

Command + E

Ctrl + E

Dry Digital Watercolor

Command + Shift + L

Ctrl + Shift + L

Select Menu Commands
Command

Mac OS

Windows

All

Command + A

Ctrl + A

None

Command + D

Ctrl + D

Invert

Command + I

Ctrl + I

Reselect

Shift + Command + D

Shift + Ctrl + D

Hide Marquee

Shift + Command + H

Shift + Ctrl + H

Load Selection

Shift + Command + G

Shift + Ctrl + G

Shapes Menu Commands
Command

Mac OS

Windows

Join Endpoints

Shift + J

Duplicate

Command + ]

Ctrl + ]

Set Shape Attributes

Command + [

Ctrl + [

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Corel Painter User Guide

Effects Menu Commands
Command

Mac OS

Windows

Last Effect

Command + /

Ctrl + /

Auto Clone

Command + Shift + Z

Ctrl + Shift + Z

Correct Colors

Shift + Command + K

Shift + Ctrl + K

Adjust Colors

Shift + Command + A

Shift + Ctrl + A

Brightness/Contrast

Shift + Command + B

Shift + Ctrl + B

Equalize

Command + E

Ctrl + E

Negative

Command + I

Ctrl + I

Tonal Control

Window Menu Commands
Command

Mac OS

Windows

Panels

Tab

Zoom In

Command + Plus sign

Ctrl + Plus sign

Zoom Out

Command + Minus sign

Ctrl + Minus sign

Zoom to Fit

Command + 0

Ctrl + 0

Screen Toggle Mode

Command + M

Ctrl + M

Actual Size

Command + Option + 0

Ctrl + Alt + 0

Keyboard Shortcuts

771

Screen Navigation
Command

Mac OS

Windows

Scroll Image with Grabber

Spacebar

Center Image

Spacebar + click

Zoom In

Spacebar + Command +
click

Spacebar + Ctrl + click

Zoom Out

Spacebar + Command +
Option + click

Spacebar + Ctrl + Alt +
click

Rotate Image

Spacebar + Option + drag

Spacebar + Alt + drag

Constrain Rotate to 90
Degrees

Shift + Option +
Spacebar + drag

Spacebar + Alt + Shift +
drag

Orient Screen to Default
View

Shift + Option + click

Shift + Alt + click

Command

Mac OS

Windows

Scroll Contents of Panel

Option + click + drag

Alt + click + drag

Expand/Collapse All Panels

Shift + click on Open/
Close triangle

Panel Navigation

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Corel Painter User Guide

Panel Menu Commands
Command

Mac OS

Windows

Select All Layers

Command + Shift + 1

Ctrl + Shift + 1

Delete Layer

Command + Delete

Ctrl + Backspace

Toggle Between Main and
Additional Colors

Shift + S

Standard Colors

Shift + O

Use Clone Color

Pan tool

Spacebar

Zoom tool (zoom-in

Command+ Spacebar

Ctrl + Spacebar

Zoom tool (zoom-out)

Command+ Spacebar +
Option

Ctrl + Spacebar + Alt

New From

Command + Shift + M

Ctrl + Shift + M

Clear

Command + Shift + U

Ctrl + Shift + U

Command + Shift + E

Ctrl + Shift + E

Layers panel

Colors panel

Mixer panel
When Apply Color tool or
Mix Color tool active

Channels panel

Gradients panel
Edit Gradient

Keyboard Shortcuts

773

Brush Tools
Command

Mac OS

Windows

Dropper

Option

Alt

Layer Adjuster

Command

Ctrl

Resize Brush

Option + Command

Alt + Ctrl

Increase Current Brush
Size Incrementally

]

Decrease Current Brush
Size Incrementally

[

Constrain to 45 degrees

Shift

Adjust Opacity in 10%
Increments

1 to 0 keys

Unconstrained Draw

Shift + 1

Draw Outside

Shift + 2

Draw Inside

Shift + 3

Load Nozzle

Command + L

Ctrl + L

Set Clone Source

Option

Alt

Set Clone Destination

Option+ Shift

Alt + Shift

Re-link Clone Source

Command + Option +
Clone

Ctrl + Alt + Clone

Brush Controls

Cloners

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Command

Mac OS

Windows

Correct Colors

Command + Shift + K

Ctrl + Shift + K

Toggle Between Main and
Additional Colors

Shift + X

Command + Angle
Adjuster

Ctrl + Angle Adjuster

Limit Fill Extent

Drag

Dropper

Option

Alt

Mac OS

Windows

Constrain to Square or
Circle

Hold down Shift after you
start to drag.

Add to Selection

Shift

Subtract from Selection

Option

Alt

Add Color to Selection

Shift + click

Add Range of Colors to
Selection

Shift + drag

Remove Color from
Selection

Option + click

Alt + click

Remove Range of Colors
from Selection

Option + drag

Alt + drag

Colors

Gradations
Adjust Spiral

Paint Bucket

Selection Tools
Command
Rectangle, Oval, and Lasso
Selection Tools

Magic Wand

Keyboard Shortcuts

775

Adjuster Tools
Command

Mac OS

Windows

Layer Adjuster

Command (except when
either the Screen
Navigation or Shape Tools
are selected)

Ctrl (except when either
the Screen Navigation or
Shape Tools are selected)

Selection Adjuster

Command (when Selection
Tools are selected)

Ctrl (when Selection Tools
are selected)

Shape Selection Tool

Command (when Shape
Tools are selected)

Ctrl (when Shape Tools are
selected)

Duplicate

Option + drag

Alt + drag

Delete layer

Command + Shift + D

Ctrl + Shift + D

Move Layer by One Screen
Pixel

Arrow keys

Hide/Display Marquee

Command + Shift + H

Ctrl + Shift + H

Attribute Dialog Box for
Current Layer

Enter

Adjust Opacity in 10%
increments

1 to 0 keys

Select All Layers

Command + Shift +
Option + A

none

Deselect Layers

Command + Shift +
Option + D

none

Select/Deselect Mode

Command + Shift

Ctrl + Shift

Reposition

Click inside active
selection, and drag

Duplicate

Option + drag

Alt + drag

Move Selection by One
Screen Pixel

Arrow keys, on canvas

Delete Current Selection

Delete

Backspace

Layer Adjuster

Selection Adjuster

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Command

Mac OS

Windows

Select/Deselect Mode

Shift

Distort

Option + corner handles

Alt + corner handles

Perspective Distort

Command + Option +
corner handles

Ctrl + Alt + corner
handles

Resize

Corner handles

Resize/Preserve Aspect

Shift + corner handles

Resize/One Dimension

Side handles

Rotate

Command + corner
handles

Ctrl + corner handles

Skew

Command + side handles

Ctrl + side handles

Command

Mac OS

Windows

Shape Selection Tool
Toggle

Command

Ctrl

Mac OS

Windows

Click last point

Click and draw from
endpoint

Free Transform

Shape Tools

Shape Design Tools
Command
Pen
Add to Current Point
Quick Curve
Add to Current Endpoint

Keyboard Shortcuts

777

Shape Objects Tools
Command

Mac OS

Windows

Shift + click

Mac OS

Windows

Select Start Point of Shape

Home

Select Endpoint of Shape

End

Select Previous Point in
Shape

Page Up

Select Next Point in Shape

Page Down

Move Path by One Screen
Pixel

Arrow keys

Delete Selected (closed)
Shape

Delete

Backspace

Command

Mac OS

Windows

First Frame of Stack

Home

Last Frame of Stack

End

Next Frame

Page Up

Previous Frame

Page Down

Stop at Current Frame

Option + Stop

Alt + Stop

Stop and Return to
Current Starting Frame

Command + .

Ctrl + .

Rectangle
Constrain to Square
Circle
Constrain to Circle

Shape Selection Tool
Command
Direct Selection

Animation

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Lighting
Command

Mac OS

Windows

Lighting Mover

Shift + Command + L

Shift + Ctrl + L

Layer Selection Tools
Command

Mac OS

Windows

Group

Command + G

Ctrl + G

Ungroup

Command + U

Ctrl + U

Command

Mac OS

Windows

Get Tile Color

Option + click tile

Alt + click tile

Get Tile Shape

Command + click tile

Ctrl + click tile

Delete Tile

Shift + click tile

Select All Tiles

Deselect All Tiles

Change Selected Tiles to
Current Color

Tint Selected Tiles with
Current Color

Vary Color of Selected Tiles

Mosaics

Keyboard Shortcuts

779

Other Commands
Command

Mac OS

Windows

Add Current Color to
Color Set

Command + Shift + T

Ctrl + Shift + T

Swap Colors

Shift + S

Nudge 1 Pixel

Arrow key

Nudge 4 Pixels

Shift + Arrow key

Memory Info

Shift + I

Zoom To Actual Pixels

Command + Option + 0

Ctrl + Alt + 0

Insert Script Delay

Close All Windows

Command + Shift + W

Ctrl + Shift + W

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Corel Painter User Guide

Index
Numerics
1-Pixel Edge brush tip profile . . . . . . . 280
for Hard Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
1-Rank nozzles
creating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 610
2-Rank nozzles
building . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 613
creating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 612
making from movies . . . . . . . . . . . . 616
360° brushstrokes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
3D techniques
applying depth of field . . . . . . . . . . 542
for mosaic tiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 634
for surface textures . . . . . . . . . . . . . 517
for Web buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 687
simulating dimensional oils . . . . . . 520
simulating oil paints . . . . . . . . . . . . 519
3-Rank nozzles
creating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 613

A
Acrylics brushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
actions
automating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 703
repeating in movies . . . . . . . . . . . . 723
Actions palette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 748
Add Point tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
using . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 658
Add to Selection button
using . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 422
Adjust Colors effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 501
vs. Adjust Selected Colors effect . . . 503
Adjust Selected Colors effect . . . . . . . 503
vs. Adjust Colors effect . . . . . . . . . . 503

Index

adjuster tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
keyboard shortcuts for . . . . . . . . . . .776
Adobe Illustrator files
acquiring shapes from . . . . . . . . . . .652
converting text from . . . . . . . . . . . .652
exporting shapes to . . . . . . . . . . . . .671
Adobe Photoshop files
opening, notes on . . . . . . . . . . . . . .750
saving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67
saving layers as . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .456
saving, notes on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .751
Adobe Photoshop users
Corel Painter tour for . . . . . . . . . . . .37
FAQs from . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .750
notes for . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .747
Airbrush brush controls . . . . . . . . . . . . 309
Airbrush dab type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
airbrushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
adjusting flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .91
adjusting spread . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .90
conic sections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .89
controlling droplet size . . . . . . . . . . .91
controls for . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .309
painting with . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .89
stylus settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .89
varying edges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .90
aligning
brushstrokes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .87
layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .461
text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .675
alpha channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 435
anchor points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 657
adding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .658
averaging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .659
converting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .660

781

deleting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 658
joining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 662
moving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 658

Angle brush controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287

Artists’ Oils
brush controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320
brush tip profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
mixing paint with palette knife . . . . 183

animated GIFs
creating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 696
creating, from movies . . . . . . . . . . 739
exporting movies as . . . . . . . . . . . . 740

Auto Clone effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 550
scripting, for movies . . . . . . . . . . . . 733

animations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
calculating required disk space . . . .
considering frame rate . . . . . . . . . .
creating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
keyboard shortcuts for . . . . . . . . . .
using color sets in . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Web . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

713
716
715
714
778
715
738

Auto Van Gogh effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . 552

annotating colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189

auto-painting photos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
with Stroke settings . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
with the Smart Stroke Painting option .
118

anti-aliasing
selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 419
Apply Color tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Apply Lighting effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
changing light colors for . . . . . . . .
custom lighting with . . . . . . . . . . .
customizing light sources for . . . . .
preset lighting effects with . . . . . . .
setting light properties for . . . . . . .

513
516
513
514
513
515

Apply Screen effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 529
Apply Surface Texture effect . . . . . . .
applying lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
creating embossing effects with . . .
using 3D brushstrokes with . . . . . .
using channels or masks with . . . . .
using clone source luminance with .
using luminance with . . . . . . . . . .
using paper with . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
using reflection maps with . . . . . . .

516
528
523
519
524
522
521
518
526

Artist brushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

782

Auto Select command
selecting areas with . . . . . . . . . . . . 412
auto-cloning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 388
automating actions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 703
background scripts, auto-saving . . . 706
Auto-Painting panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
using . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

Auto-Save Scripts preference . . . . . . . 706
auto-saving, preferences for . . . . . . . . 754
AVI files
exporting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 736
opening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 720

B
background scripts
saving automatically . . . . . . . . . . . . 706
backgrounds
creating for Web pages . . . . . . . . . . 683
creating transparent . . . . . . . . . . . . 694
backing up files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
preferences for . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 754
basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
bearing, brushstroke
adjusting for mouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

Index

Bevel World dynamic plug-in . . . . . . . . 574
controlling bevel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 574
controlling light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 575
using for Web buttons . . . . . . . . . . 688

Brightness and Contrast
dynamic plug-in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .570

beveling
layers or selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . 576
Web buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 688

Bristle Spray dab type . . . . . . . . . . . . . .266

Bézier lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 645
creating shapes with . . . . . . . . . . . . 649
bleed, brushstroke . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293
blend modes
converting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 456
blenders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
blending
Impasto brushstrokes with layers . . 375
layers, with composite methods . . . 477
shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 668

Brightness/Contrast
effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .505
bristles, modifying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
clumping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .291
density . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .291
displacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .297
edge softness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .297
number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .297
spacing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .297
thickness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .291
to scale with brush size . . . . . . . . . .291
browsing for documents (Mac OS) . . . . 49
brush calibration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .80

Blobs effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 552

Brush Calibration brush controls . . . . . 337

BLOCK expression operator . . . . . . . . 236

brush categories
creating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .149
hiding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .128
list of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .130
renaming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .129
restoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .130

Blur tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 748
blurring
images, with Focus effects . . . . . . . 540
text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 678
Boolean operations
combining selections with . . . . . . . 425
boosting brushstrokes . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286
borders, selection
modifying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 420
stroking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 419
brightness
adjusting for paper grain . . . . . . . . 165
adjusting RGB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 505
correcting colors with . . . . . . . . . . . 498
matching across images . . . . . . . . . 508

Index

Brush Control panels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
closing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .263
opening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .263
brush controls
Airbrush . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .309
Angle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .287
Artists’ Oils . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .320
Brush Calibration . . . . . . . . . . . . . .337
Cloning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .299
Color Expression . . . . . . . . . . . . . .336
Color Variability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .334
Computed Circular . . . . . . . . . . . . .292
Dab Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .278

783

Digital Watercolor . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Expression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Hard Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Image Hose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Impasto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Jitter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Liquid Ink . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Mouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Rake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Real Watercolor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
RealBristle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Spacing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Static Bristle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Well . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

320
338
263
340
308
306
333
314
298
294
323
334
282
284
289
310
292

Brush Controls palette . . . . . . . . . . . .
closing panels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
exploring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
opening panels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

261
263
262
263

brush dabs
adjusting bristles . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
angling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
changing tip profile . . . . . . . . . . . .
creating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
previewing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
sizing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
spacing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
types of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

289
287
281
151
281
123
284
264

brush libraries
creating and deleting . . . . . . . . . . .
importing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
loading Web-friendly brushes into .
opening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
saving brush variants to . . . . . . . . .

144
146
701
146
148

Brush Library panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
modifying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

784

moving or docking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
using . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

Brush Loading feature . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
cloning with . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 390
painting with multiple colors . . . . . 191
brush methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269
for painting on layers . . . . . . . . . . . 470
Brush Selector bar
choosing brushes with . . . . . . . . . . 123
showing or hiding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
brush shape, setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
brush tip profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
airbrushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Artists’ Oils . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
choosing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
Hard Media, modifying . . . . . . . . . 344
Brush tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
applying Liquid Lens with . . . . . . . 583
applying Liquid Metal with . . . . . . 587
erasing image areas with . . . . . . . . . . 87
painting in channels with . . . . . . . . 443
stroking selections with . . . . . . . . . 419
brush tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
keyboard shortcuts for . . . . . . . . . . 774
brush tracking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
brush variants
calibrating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338
deleting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
hiding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
managing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
modifying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
renaming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
restoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
restoring default settings . . . . . . . . . 149
saving to brush libraries . . . . . . . . . 148
selecting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

Index

brushes
attributes, basic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
calibrating, with brush controls . . . . 337
categories, list of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
contact angle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296
creating categories . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
creating dab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
customizing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
dab profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278
dab types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
displaying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
grain settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273
grain, setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
looks, saving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
managing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
media pooling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
media source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273
methods and subcategories . . . . . . . 269
modifying bristles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
multicore support for . . . . . . . . . . . 278
one-color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 699
opacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273
opacity, setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
organizing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
scale, setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296
searching for . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
selecting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
shaping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
size controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
size, setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
stroke attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
stroke types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
tip profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
variants, managing . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Web-friendly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 699
brushstrokes
360° . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
aligning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Index

applying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .83
applying, mouse settings for . . . . . . .82
applying, to movies . . . . . . . . . . . . .729
applying, to selections . . . . . . . . . . .419
constraining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .85
controlling angles . . . . . . . . . . . . . .287
damping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .285
expression, setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . .338
fading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .85
Impasto, blending . . . . . . . . . . . . . .375
jitter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .333
optimizing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .286
playing back . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .92
Rake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .294
randomizing grain . . . . . . . . . . . . .275
recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .92
resizing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .282
saving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .93
scaling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .125
troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .94
two-color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .174
types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .268
undoing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .85
using data from . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .94

Buildup brush methods . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
Bulge tool
applying Liquid Lens with . . . . . . .582
Burn dynamic plug-in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 571
Burn tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
darkening tone with . . . . . . . . . . . .512
burning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 511
layers or selections . . . . . . . . . . . . .571

C
Calligraphy brushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Camel Hair dab type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
Camera Motion Blur effect . . . . . . . . . . 541

785

cancelling transformations . . . . . . . . . 434
canvas
applying gradients to . . . . . . . . . . . 214
changing color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
clearing Impasto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 370
displaying Impasto . . . . . . . . . . . . 370
dropping text layers onto . . . . . . . . 682
flipping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
flipping with layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
merging layers with . . . . . . . . . . . . 468
painting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
protecting from selection . . . . . . . . 415
repositioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
resizing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
resizing with images . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
rotating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
selecting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 410
size and resolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
texture, changing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
transferring to Watercolor layer . . . 358
workflow for painting . . . . . . . . . . . 74

feathering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 444
filling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 444
filling, based on color . . . . . . . . . . . 445
generating automatically . . . . . . . . 437
hiding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 440
importing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 439
inverting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 444
loading selections from . . . . . . . . . . 424
managing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 439
modifying in selections . . . . . . . . . . 416
painting in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 443
placing mosaic tiles on . . . . . . . . . . 633
saving selections to . . . . . . . . . . . . . 436
saving selections to new . . . . . . . . . 416
selecting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 439
setting attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 441
viewing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 439
vs. layer masks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 487

Channels panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
displaying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 440
editing channels with . . . . . . . . . . . 439
managing channels with . . . . . . . . 439

Canvas menu
keyboard shortcuts for commands . 769

Charcoal brushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

Captured dab type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265

Circle tool
applying Liquid Lens with . . . . . . . 581
applying Liquid Metal with . . . . . . 588

Chalk brushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Change Brush Size slider . . . . . . . . . . . 177
channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
applying effects to . . . . . . . . . . . . .
applying gradients to . . . . . . . . . . .
clearing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
copying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
copying layer masks to . . . . . . . . . .
copying to layer masks . . . . . . . . . .
creating blank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
creating texture with . . . . . . . . . . .
deleting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

786

435
443
214
442
436
490
490
436
524
442
439

Chisel brush tip profile . . . . . . . . . . . . 280

circles, creating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 647
Circular dab type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
circular selections, making . . . . . . . . . . 409
Clear and Reset Canvas button . . . . . . 177
client-side image maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . 691
default URL for . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 693
defining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 692
clone painting techniques . . . . . . . . . . 388

Index

Clone Source panel
adding clone sources with . . . . . . . . 386
updating clone sources . . . . . . . . . . 383
using to work with clone sources . . . 386
clone sources
adding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 386
basing tile colors on . . . . . . . . . . . . 628
creating reflection maps from . . . . . 526
creating texture with . . . . . . . . . . . . 522
updating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 383
working with multiple . . . . . . . . . . 385
Clone Stamp tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 748
cloner brushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
choosing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 388
multi-point variants . . . . . . . . . . . . 393
painting with . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 386
transforming brush variants into . . . 389
Cloner tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
choosing brush for . . . . . . . . . . . . . 388
performing offset sampling with . . . 391
clones
adding perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . 401
creating mosaics from . . . . . . . . . . . 625
filling areas with . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 404
moving reference points . . . . . . . . . 402
painting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 386
rotating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 397
rotating and mirroring . . . . . . . . . . 398
rotating and scaling . . . . . . . . . . . . 399
rotating, scaling, and shearing . . . . 400
scaling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 397
setting up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 380
tiling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 396
warping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 400
cloning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379
between documents . . . . . . . . . . . . 391
brush controls for . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299
color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174

Index

images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .379
images, automatically . . . . . . . . . . .550
images, transforming . . . . . . . . . . .393
images, with Brush Loading . . . . . .390
images, with multiple sources . . . . .385
images, with Quick Clone . . . . . . . .384
images, with tracing paper . . . . . . . .381
images, with Van Gogh effect . . . . .552
movies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .732
point-to-point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .390
reference points for . . . . . . . . . . . . .396
underpaintings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .116
within documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . .391

Cloning brush controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299
Cloning brush methods . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
cloning methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 387
CMYK
specifying default color profile . . . . .253
color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
adding to color sets . . . . . . . . . . . . .188
adding to gradients . . . . . . . . . . . . .221
adjusting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .501
adjusting for video . . . . . . . . . . . . .511
adjusting levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .699
adjusting selected . . . . . . . . . . . . . .503
annotating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .189
applying as fills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .193
canvas, changing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45
changing for Impasto lights . . . . . . .378
changing with Mixer panel . . . . . . .179
choosing from Color panel . . . . . . .169
choosing from color sets . . . . . . . . .184
cloning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .174
creating color sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . .186
creating overlays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .530
deleting from color sets . . . . . . . . . .188
displaying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .188
filling channels based on . . . . . . . . .445

787

filling channels with . . . . . . . . . . .
fills, using . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
finding in color sets . . . . . . . . . . . .
generating channels from . . . . . . .
generating selections from . . . . . . .
hiding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
inverting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
loading multiple . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
loading on Mixer panel . . . . . . . . .
managing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
matching across images . . . . . . . . .
mixing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
picking up from underlying layers .
posterizing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
posterizing, with color sets . . . . . . .
reducing in Web graphics . . . . . . .
renaming in color sets . . . . . . . . . .
replacing in color sets . . . . . . . . . .
replacing with gradients . . . . . . . . .
resetting on Mixer panel . . . . . . . .
sampling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
sampling from Mixer pad . . . . . . .
sampling multiple . . . . . . . . . . . . .
saving on Mixer panel . . . . . . . . . .
sorting in color sets . . . . . . . . . . . .
swapping main and additional . . . .
Temporal Colors palette . . . . . . . .
text, changing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
using in movies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
variability controls . . . . . . . . . . . . .
web page backgrounds . . . . . . . . . .
Web-safe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

444
192
185
438
413
188
509
191
179
247
508
180
472
510
510
696
189
188
216
180
173
181
183
179
185
171
173
674
715
334
684
698

color annotations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
creating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
deleting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
hiding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
renaming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
showing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

189
190
190
190
190
190

color curves, reshaping . . . . . . . . . . . . 499
color engines, choosing . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
Color Expression brush controls . . . . . 336
Color Expression panel
displaying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 336
color expression, setting . . . . . . . . . . . 191
color fills, applying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
pixel-based . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
color management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
CMYK color profiles . . . . . . . . . . . 253
color policies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
color profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
definition of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
getting started with . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
monitor calibration and profiling . . 249
presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
previewing images . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
reasons for using . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
rendering intents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
RGB color profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
soft-proofing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
Color merge mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
Color Overlay effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 530
color palettes
Web-safe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 698
Color panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
choosing color from . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
choosing hue from . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
creating color sets with . . . . . . . . . . 186
displaying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
hiding color wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
resizing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
setting color values with . . . . . . . . . 170
using . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168

Color composite method . . . . . . . . . . 484

788

Index

color policies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
creating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
color profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
assigning or removing . . . . . . . . . . 255
changing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
CMYK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
converting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
embedding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
policies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
previewing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
RGB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
Color selector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
color sets
adding colors to . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
adding Mixer swatches to . . . . . . . . 183
choosing colors from . . . . . . . . . . . 184
creating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
creating, from Mixer pad . . . . . . . . 183
customizing layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
deleting colors from . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
displaying color names . . . . . . . . . . 186
editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
exporting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
finding colors in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
hiding color names . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
ignoring color variability . . . . . . . . 336
importing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
opening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
posterizing images with . . . . . . . . . 510
posterizing Web graphics with . . . . 698
renaming colors in . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
replacing colors in . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
resizing swatches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
reverting to default . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
setting color variability based on . . . 336
sorting colors in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
using . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
using, for movies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 715

Index

using, for warp and weave . . . . . . . .232

Color Sets panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
displaying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .184
Color Variability brush controls . . . . . .334
color variability, setting . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
color wheel
hiding in Color panel . . . . . . . . . . .170
colored pencils . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Colorize composite method . . . . . . . . 478
Colorize merge mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
combining
layers with canvas . . . . . . . . . . . . . .468
selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .425
shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .667
commands
assigning to keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .763
committing
dynamic layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .569
reference layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .476
composite methods
blending layers with . . . . . . . . . . . .477
changing for layers . . . . . . . . . . . . .485
converting to blend modes . . . . . . .456
compositing
mosaics with other images . . . . . . . .637
movies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .729
movies, with scripts . . . . . . . . . . . . .731
Composition panels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
composition tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
working with . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .95
compound shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 667
creating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .668
releasing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .668
Computed Circular brush controls . . . 292

789

Computed Circular dab type . . . . . . . 265
customizing profiles . . . . . . . . . . . 292

layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 454
selections from multiple layers . . . . 455

CONCAT expression operator . . . . . 238

Corel Corporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

conic sections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

Corel Painter interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
vs. Adobe Photoshop interface . . . . . 37

constraining
fills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
freehand brushstrokes . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Conte brushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
contiguous selecting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 411
Continuous Time Deposition control . 285
contrast
adjusting for paper grain . . . . . . . . 165
adjusting RGB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 505
correcting colors with . . . . . . . . . . 498
Convert Point tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
converting
CMYK to RGB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
color profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
colors to video legal colors . . . . . . .
composite methods to blend modes
files to Adobe Photoshop files . . . .
fractal patterns to paper textures . . .
layers to default layers . . . . . . . . . .
pixel-based selections to path . . . . .
scripts to movies . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
selections to layers . . . . . . . . . . . . .
selections to shapes . . . . . . . . . . . .
shapes to pixel-based layers . . . . . .
shapes to selections . . . . . . . . . . . .
smooth or corner points . . . . . . . . .
text in Adobe Illustrator . . . . . . . . .
text layers to masked layers . . . . . .
text layers to shapes . . . . . . . . . . . .

253
256
511
456
751
211
452
411
710
455
651
645
410
660
652
681
682

copying
channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 436
channels, to layer masks . . . . . . . . 490
layer masks to channels . . . . . . . . . 490

790

corner points
converting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 660
Correct Colors effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . 496
Advanced setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 501
Contrast and Brightness setting . . . 498
correcting colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 499
equalizing images with . . . . . . . . . 506
Freehand setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 500
correcting colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 496
Cover brush methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
crayons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Crop tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
constraining to a square . . . . . . . . . . 60
cropping images with . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
setting aspect ratio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
cropping images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Cubic Interpolation control . . . . . . . . . 285
cursor preferences . . . . . . . . . . . 755, 756
curvature, adjusting in shapes . . . . . . . 659
curves, adjusting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 660
curves, color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 499
curving text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 679
custom palettes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
adding items to . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
closing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
creating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
deleting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
loading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
opening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
placing menu commands on . . . . . . . 30

Index

renaming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
saving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

default settings, restoring . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Custom Tile effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 554

depth
adjusting for Liquid Ink layers . . . .366
applying to mosaic tiles . . . . . . . . . .634
applying to surface texture . . . . . . . .517
applying to Web buttons . . . . . . . . .687
Impasto, setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .371
Impasto, varying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .375

customizing
brushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
color-set layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Hard Media variants . . . . . . . . . . . 343
Impasto brushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 371
lighting effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 513
markers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350
RealBristle brush variants . . . . . . . . 355
shortcut keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 763
tiles, image effect for . . . . . . . . . . . . 554
tiles, mosaic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 629
workspaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
cutting shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 661

default workspace, reverting to . . . . . . . 34

depth methods, Impasto . . . . . . . . . . . 371
choosing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .307
Depth of Field effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 542
deselecting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 417
layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .459
tiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .626
Difference composite method . . . . . . . 483

Difference merge mode . . . . . . . . . . . . 276

Dab Profile brush controls . . . . . . . . . . 278

diffusion, adjusting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 363

dab types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
choosing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
dab-based . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
rendered . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265

Digital Watercolor brushes . . . . . . . . . 134
adjusting diffusion . . . . . . . . . . . . .363
adjusting wet fringe . . . . . . . . . . . .363
choosing variants . . . . . . . . . . . . . .362
controls for . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .320
drying brushstrokes . . . . . . . . . . . . .363
using . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .362

dab-based dab types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
dabs, brush
adjusting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
creating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
damping brushstrokes . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
Darken composite method . . . . . . . . . 482
Darken merge mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
darkening image tone . . . . . . . . . . . . . 512
Default composite method . . . . . . . . . 477
default layers
converting layers to . . . . . . . . . . . . 452
Default merge mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276

Index

Digital Watercolor brushstrokes
drying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .363
Digital Wet brush method . . . . . . . . . . 272
directional grain, enabling . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Dirty Brush Mode tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Dirty Mode, painting in . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321
Dissolve composite method . . . . . . . . . 480
Dissolve merge mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . .276
distorting
images with Liquid Lens . . . . . . . .581

791

images, with Glass Distortion effect
images, with warp effects . . . . . . . .
perspective in selections . . . . . . . . .
selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

542
534
434
433

Distress effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 537
divine proportion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
guide, moving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
hiding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
presets, choosing . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
presets, creating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
presets, deleting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
settings, saving as presets . . . . . . . .
showing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

102
105
103
105
104
105
103
104
103

Divine Proportion panel . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
using . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Divine Proportion tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
using . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
docking
property bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
document window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
moving layers to . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 460
documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
conventions of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
documents
canvas size and resolution . . . . . . . . 44
cloning between . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 391
cloning within . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 391
closing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
copying layers between . . . . . . . . . 454
creating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
custom canvas presets . . . . . . . . . . . 45
emailing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
opening and placing . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
repositioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
repositioning, while zoomed in . . . . 59
saving as templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

792

viewing modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Dodge tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
lightening tone with . . . . . . . . . . . . 511
dodging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 511
DOWNTO expression operator . . . . . 240
DOWNUP expression operator . . . . . 243
drag-and-drop features . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
drawing
circles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 647
freehand lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
ovals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 647
rectangles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 647
shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 647
shapes, preferences for . . . . . . . . . . 655
squares . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 647
straight lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
drawing cursor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
choosing icon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
setting brush ghost options . . . . . . . . 78
drawing methods, Impasto . . . . . . . . . 371
choosing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307
drawing modes for selections . . . . . . . 415
drawing speed, setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . 757
Drip brush methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
Drop Shadow tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 748
drop shadows
adding to layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 473
adding to text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 677
Dropper tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
equalizing images with . . . . . . . . . 506
sampling colors with . . . . . . . . . . . 173
dropping
floating objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 473
layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 468
text layers onto canvas . . . . . . . . . . 682

Index

drying
Digital Watercolor brushstrokes . . . 363

Edit menu
keyboard shortcuts for commands . .769

Dryout control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293

Edit Weave dialog box . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
accessing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .230

Dull brush tip profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
for Hard Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
duplicating
channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 436
layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 454
selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 430
shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 665
shapes, settings for . . . . . . . . . . . . . 665
shapes, transformed . . . . . . . . . . . . 666
Dye Concentration effect . . . . . . . . . . 532
dynamic layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 449
Brightness and Contrast, creating . . 571
changing settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 569
committing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 569
creating selections from . . . . . . . . . 415
deleting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 570
Equalize, creating . . . . . . . . . . . . . 577
Glass Distortion, creating . . . . . . . . 578
Kaleidoscope, creating . . . . . . . . . . 580
Liquid Lens, creating . . . . . . . . . . . 585
Liquid Metal, creating . . . . . . . . . . 591
Posterize, creating . . . . . . . . . . . . . 595
reverting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 570
dynamic plug-ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 567
accessing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 568
getting started with . . . . . . . . . . . . . 568
list of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 570

E
edges
airbrush, varying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
brushstroke . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
selection, softening . . . . . . . . . . . . . 419
underpainting, adding effects to . . . 116

Index

effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 493
applying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .493
applying recently used . . . . . . . . . . .495
applying, notes on . . . . . . . . . . . . . .494
applying, to channels . . . . . . . . . . .443
applying, to movie frames . . . . . . . .726
applying, to text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .676
fading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .494
Impasto, creating . . . . . . . . . . . . . .370
settings, changing with panels . . . . .494
settings, changing with Using list box . .
496
Effects menu
keyboard shortcuts for commands . .771
Elliptical Marquee tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . 748
emailing images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
embedding color profiles . . . . . . . . . . . 252
embossing effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 523
Encapsulated PostScript (EPS) files
saving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67
endpoints, joining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 662
enhanced features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
EPS files
saving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67
Equalize dynamic plug-in . . . . . . . . . . . 576
Equalize effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 506
equalizing images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 505
with Correct Colors effect . . . . . . . .506
with Equalize effect . . . . . . . . . . . .506
Eraser brush methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
Eraser dab type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265

793

Eraser tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
erasing image areas with . . . . . . . . . 86
erasing Liquid Lens with . . . . . . . . 585
erasers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134

expression, color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
EXTEND expression operator . . . . . . 237
Eyedropper tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 748

erasing
frames from movies . . . . . . . . . . . . 725
image areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Liquid Lens distortions . . . . . . . . . 585

Esoterica effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Auto Clone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Auto Van Gogh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Blobs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Custom Tile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Grid Paper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Growth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Highpass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Marbling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Maze . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Place Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Pop Art Fill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Fade command
using with effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 494

547
550
552
552
554
556
557
559
548
560
561
563

exporting
Adobe Photoshop files, notes on . . . 751
AVI movies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 736
color sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
images from movies . . . . . . . . . . . . 734
libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
movies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 734
movies, as animated GIFs . . . . . . . 740
movies, as numbered files . . . . . . . 738
QuickTime movies . . . . . . . . . . . . 735
shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 671
workspaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Express Texture effect . . . . . . . . . . . . 533
Expression brush settings . . . . . . . . . . 338
for Image Hose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 604
expression operators . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
precedence ordering of . . . . . . . . . . 245

794

F/X brushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
factory settings, restoring . . . . . . . . . . . 34

fading
brushstrokes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 494
FAQs
from Adobe Photoshop users . . . . . 750
feathering
channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 444
selection edges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 419
features
drag-and-drop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
enhanced . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
new . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
feedback, submitting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
file formats, supported . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
choosing among . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
File menu
keyboard shortcuts for commands . . 768
files
choosing formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
embedding color profiles . . . . . . . . 252
numbered . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 737
opening and placing . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
saving and backing up . . . . . . . . . . . 63
saving shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 671

fill attributes for shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . 654

Index

Fill Selection command
using with mosaics . . . . . . . . . . . . . 635

dropping from layers . . . . . . . . . . . .473
repositioning on layers . . . . . . . . . .473

filling
areas with sampled images . . . . . . . 404
channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 444
channels, based on color . . . . . . . . . 445
leakage, controlling . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
with pattern tiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198

flow, airbrush . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

fills
applying colors as . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
applying weaves as . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
color, working with . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
constraining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
gradients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
pattern, applying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
undoing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195

Filter Gallery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 749
fingerwheel
adjusting flow with . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
adjusting mouse settings for . . . . . . . 83
fitting to screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Flat brush tip profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
Flat dab type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
Flat Rake brush tip profile . . . . . . . . . . 280
flatness, shape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 654
flattening layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
flipping
canvas, individually . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
canvas, with layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 664
floating object layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 449
floating objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 472
creating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 473

Index

flyouts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
accessing tools in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
focus
sharpening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .545
softening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .546
Focus effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 540
Camera Motion Blur . . . . . . . . . . . .541
Depth of Field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .542
Glass Distortion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .542
Motion Blur . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .545
Sharpen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .545
Smart Blur . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .540
Soften . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .546
Super Soften . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .546
Zoom Blur . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .547
font, changing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 674
formatting text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 674
fractal pattern tiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 686
fractal patterns
converting to paper texture . . . . . . .211
creating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .208
creating, controls for . . . . . . . . . . . .208
frame rate
setting for movie previews . . . . . . . .719
understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .715
frame stacks
calculating disk space for . . . . . . . . .716
exporting as animated GIFs . . . . . .741
opening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .720
Frame Stacks panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 716
frames
adding to movies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .724
applying effects to . . . . . . . . . . . . . .726

795

deleting from movies . . . . . . . . . . .
painting on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
repeating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
selecting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

725
726
725
721

Freeform Pen tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 749
freehand brushstrokes
applying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
constraining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
freehand lines, drawing . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
freehand selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 410
freehand shapes, drawing . . . . . . . . . . 650
Freehand Strokes button
drawing freehand lines with . . . . . . . 84
frequently asked questions
from Adobe Photoshop users . . . . . 750

G
gamma curves, adjusting . . . . . . . . . . . 496
gamma, adjusting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 506
Gel brushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Gel composite method . . . . . . . . . . . . 478
Gel merge mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
GelCover composite method . . . . . . . 478
GelCover merge mode . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
General brush controls . . . . . . . . . . . .
dab types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
methods and subcategories . . . . . .
multicore support . . . . . . . . . . . . .
source, opacity, and grain . . . . . . .
stroke attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
stroke types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

263
264
269
278
273
275
268

general preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 753
accessing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 755
getting started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

796

GIF files
animated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 696
animated, creating from movies . . . 739
animated, exporting movies as . . . . 740
creating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 694
reducing color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 697
saving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
transparent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 694
Glass Distortion dynamic plug-in . . . . . 577
Glass Distortion effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . 542
glossary of terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Gouache brushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Grabber tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
repositioning documents with . . . . . . 59
Gradient tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 749
gradients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
adjusting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
angle, adjusting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
applying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
color, adding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
creating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
creating, from images . . . . . . . . . . . 222
direction, adjusting . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
filling channels with . . . . . . . . . . . . 444
hue, changing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
painting with . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
replacing image colors with . . . . . . 216
saving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
setting color variability based on . . . 335
spiral, adjusting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
two-point, creating . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
types of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
Gradients library panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
grain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
behavior, adjusting . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
brightness, adjusting . . . . . . . . . . . 165

Index

contrast, adjusting . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
direction, adjusting . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Image Hose, adjusting . . . . . . . . . . 601
inverting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
randomizing for brushes . . . . . . . . 275
scaling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
setting for brushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
setting for brushstrokes . . . . . . . . . . 275
setting in movies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 728
working with . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159

grayscale images
viewing channels as . . . . . . . . . . . . 440
grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
activating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
creating 2-Rank nozzles on . . . . . . . 612
creating for 2-Rank nozzles . . . . . . 612
printing gridlines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
setting up for 2-Rank nozzles . . . . . 612
settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
snapping items to . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

panels into palettes . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .667

grout
color, specifying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .628
size, adjusting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .631
size, adjusting randomly . . . . . . . . .632
Growth effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 557
guides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
color, setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .107
creating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .107
hiding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .106
locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .107
removing all . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .108
removing one . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .108
repositioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .107
showing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .106
snapping items to . . . . . . . . . . . . . .108
snapping to rulers . . . . . . . . . . . . . .107
unlocking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .107

Grid Paper effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 556

gridlines
adjusting, in perspective grids . . . . . 112
printing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

Hand tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 749

grids, perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
grouped layers
adding layers to . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 467
closing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 467
collapsing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 467
creating 1-Rank nozzles from . . . . . 610
creating transparent GIFs from . . . . 695
naming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 456
opening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 467
removing layers from . . . . . . . . . . . 467
ungrouping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 467
grouping
layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 466

Index

Hard Light composite method . . . . . . . 482
Hard Light merge mode . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
Hard Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341
brush trip profiles, modifying . . . . .344
controls for . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .340
dabs, previewing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .346
tip profiles for . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .281
variants, choosing . . . . . . . . . . . . . .343
variants, controlling behavior of . . . .345
variants, customizing . . . . . . . . . . .343
variants, list of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .342
variants, using . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .341
header bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
using . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

797

hexadecimal format
displaying RGB values in . . . . . . . . 684
hierarchy, layer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463

displaying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 485
storing images with . . . . . . . . . . . . 485
using images from . . . . . . . . . . . . . 486

Highpass effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 559

Image Warp effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 534

HSV values
setting in Color panel . . . . . . . . . . 170

images
adding text to . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 674
applying effects to . . . . . . . . . . . . . 493
auto-painting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
blurring, with Focus effects . . . . . . 540
burning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 511
cloning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379
cloning, with Quick Clone . . . . . . . 384
color management . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
compositing mosaics with . . . . . . . . 637
creating color sets from . . . . . . . . . . 186
creating gradients from . . . . . . . . . . 222
creating patterns from . . . . . . . . . . 203
cropping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
dodging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 511
emailing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
equalizing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 505
erasing areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
exporting from movies . . . . . . . . . . 734
fitting to printed page . . . . . . . . . . . 743
flipping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Image Portfolio panel . . . . . . . . . . . 485
indexing with Image Hose . . . . . . . 604
magnifying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
matching color and brightness across 508
matching to create underpaintings . 115
navigating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
outlining with tracing paper . . . . . . 381
painting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
painting, automatically . . . . . . . . . . 116
placing randomly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 603
posterizing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 510
posterizing, with color sets . . . . . . . 510
preparing for Image Hose . . . . . . . . 609
printing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 743

Hue composite method . . . . . . . . . . . 483
Hue merge mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
Hue Shift slider . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 503
hue, choosing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169

I
image effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 493
Image Hose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
brush controls for . . . . . . . . . . . . .
controlling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
creating 1-Rank nozzles . . . . . . . . .
creating 2-Rank nozzles . . . . . . . . .
creating 3-Rank nozzles . . . . . . . . .
creating nozzles from movies . . . . .
designing nozzles for . . . . . . . . . . .
getting started with . . . . . . . . . . . .
indexing images with . . . . . . . . . . .
nozzle libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
preparing images for . . . . . . . . . . .
rank types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
ranking system for . . . . . . . . . . . . .
understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
working with . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

136
308
600
610
612
613
616
607
599
604
619
609
604
607
598
597

image maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 690
client-side . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 691
server-side . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 693
Image Portfolio libraries
organizing layers with . . . . . . . . . . 486
Image Portfolio panel
adding layers to . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 486

798

Index

replacing colors with gradients . . . . 216
repositioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
resetting orientation . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
resizing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
resizing, with canvas . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
restoring detail from . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
rotating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
sampling colors from . . . . . . . . . . . 173
sampling with source selections . . . 403
scaling with Image Hose . . . . . . . . 602
soft-proofing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
spacing from Image Hose . . . . . . . . 603
tracing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 381
transforming when sampling . . . . . 393
using stored . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 486
viewing information . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
warping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 534

importing
Adobe Illustrator shapes . . . . . . . . .652
brush libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .146
channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .439
color sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .185
legacy libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .154
libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .153
numbered files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .738
workspaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33

Impasto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 369
adding and deleting lights . . . . . . . 377
adjusting depth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 375
blending with layers . . . . . . . . . . . . 375
brush controls for . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306
brushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
clearing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 370
controlling depth interaction . . . . . 373
creating custom brushes . . . . . . . . . 371
creating effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 370
depth methods, choosing . . . . . . . . 307
displaying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 369
drawing methods, choosing . . . . . . 307
getting started with . . . . . . . . . . . . . 369
inverting depth methods . . . . . . . . . 373
lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 377
setting depth methods . . . . . . . . . . 372
setting drawing methods . . . . . . . . 372
setting light position . . . . . . . . . . . . 377
setting light properties . . . . . . . . . . 378
using on Web buttons . . . . . . . . . . 687

inverting
channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .444
colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .509
Impasto depth methods . . . . . . . . . .373
layer masks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .491
paper grain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .164
selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .418

Index

indexing images
with Image Hose . . . . . . . . . . . . . .604
indexing rules for Image Hose . . . . . . . 604
changing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .606
interface preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . .755
accessing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .756
INTERLEAVE expression operator . . . 238

Iterative Save feature
using . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63

J
Jitter brush controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333
joining endpoints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 662
JPEG files
saving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64

K
Kaleidoscope dynamic plug-in . . . . . . . 579
Kaleidoscope Painting mode . . . . . . . . 100
controlling display of planes . . . . . .102

799

hiding planes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
toggling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

Kaleidoscope patterns
creating and capturing . . . . . . . . . . 580
kaleidoscope planes
controlling display of . . . . . . . . . . . 102
hiding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Kaleidoscope tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
using . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
kerning text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 676
key sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 763
managing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 764
keyboard shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
creating key sets from . . . . . . . . . .
for adjuster tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
for animations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
for brush tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
for Canvas menu commands . . . . .
for Edit menu commands . . . . . . .
for Effects menu commands . . . . .
for File menu commands . . . . . . . .
for layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
for Layers menu commands . . . . . .
for lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
for Mac OS menu commands . . . .
for miscellaneous commands . . . . .
for mosaics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
for panel navigation . . . . . . . . . . . .
for panels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
for screen navigation . . . . . . . . . . .
for Select menu commands . . . . . .
for selection tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
for shape tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
for Shapes menu commands . . . . .
for toolbox commands . . . . . . . . . .
for Window menu commands . . . .
reverting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

800

761
763
776
778
774
769
769
771
768
779
770
779
768
780
779
772
767
772
770
775
777
770
765
771
764

L
Lasso tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
deactivating selections with . . . . . . 417
keyboard shortcuts for . . . . . . . . . . 775
making freehand selections with . . . 410
Layer Adjuster tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
keyboard shortcuts for . . . . . . . . . . 776
understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 453
layer masks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 487
applying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 492
clearing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 491
copying channels to . . . . . . . . . . . . 490
copying to channels . . . . . . . . . . . . 490
creating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 487
creating texture with . . . . . . . . . . . 524
deleting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 491
disabling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 491
editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 492
enabling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 491
hiding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 489
inverting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 491
loading to selections . . . . . . . . . . . . 492
managing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 490
selecting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 489
viewing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 489
vs. channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 487
layering mosaics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 637
layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 447
adding drop shadows . . . . . . . . . . . 473
adding notes to . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 485
adding to groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 467
adding to Image Portfolio panel . . . 486
aligning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 461
animating with . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 722
applying gradients to . . . . . . . . . . . 214
beveling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 576
blending, with composite methods . 477
burning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 571

Index

composite methods . . . . . . . . . . . . 456
composite methods, changing . . . . . 485
converting shapes to . . . . . . . . . . . . 645
converting to default . . . . . . . . . . . 452
copying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 454
copying selections from . . . . . . . . . 455
creating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 453
creating 1-Rank nozzles from . . . . . 610
creating color sets from . . . . . . . . . . 186
creating from selections . . . . . . . . . 455
creating patterns on . . . . . . . . . . . . 474
creating selections from . . . . . . . . . 414
creating transparent GIFs from . . . . 695
deleting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 457
deselecting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 459
dragging between . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
dropping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 468
duplicating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 454
editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 469
flattening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
flipping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
flipping with canvas . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
getting started with . . . . . . . . . . . . . 448
grouping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 466
hiding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463
in Image Portfolio . . . . . . . . . . . . . 486
information on, displaying . . . . . . . 465
keyboard shortcuts for . . . . . . . . . . 779
locking and unlocking . . . . . . . . . . 462
managing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 458
masking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 487
merging with canvas . . . . . . . . . . . 468
moving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 459
naming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 456
nudging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 460
ordering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463
painting on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 469
painting on, methods for . . . . . . . . 470
painting on, vs. canvas . . . . . . . . . . . 76

Index

pasting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .454
picking up color from underlying . .472
preserving transparency . . . . . . . . . .470
removing from groups . . . . . . . . . . .467
saving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .456
selecting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .458
setting general preferences for . . . . .754
setting opacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .476
showing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .463
showing indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . .465
tearing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .573
types of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .448
understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .448
ungrouping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .467
using, with mosaics . . . . . . . . . . . . .636
viewing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .462
viewing position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .464
working with floating objects . . . . . .472

Layers menu
keyboard shortcuts for commands . .770
Layers panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
deleting layers with . . . . . . . . . . . . .457
displaying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .452
managing layers with . . . . . . . . . . .458
selecting transparency masks from . .489
understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .451
Layout Grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
hiding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .96
moving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .98
presets, choosing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .98
presets, creating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .97
presets, deleting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .97
settings, adjusting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .96
settings, saving as presets . . . . . . . . . .97
showing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .96
Layout Grid panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
using . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .95
Layout Grid tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

801

layout tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
leading text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 676
leakage, fill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
learning Corel Painter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Left Twirl tool
applying Liquid Lens with . . . . . . 582
letters, spacing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 676
libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
adding to . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
changing display of . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
creating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
deleting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
deleting resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
exporting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
importing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
modifying display of . . . . . . . . . . . 156
multiuser support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
removing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
renaming resources . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
restoring default . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
library panels
modifying display . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Lighten composite method . . . . . . . . . 483
Lighten merge mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
lightening image tone . . . . . . . . . . . . . 511
lighting
applying, to images . . . . . . . . . . . .
applying, to Impasto brushstrokes .
applying, to textures . . . . . . . . . . .
keyboard shortcuts for . . . . . . . . . .

513
377
528
779

Line Airbrush dab type . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
line spacing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 676
Linear brush tip profile . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
for Hard Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281

802

lines, Bézier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 645
creating shapes with . . . . . . . . . . . . 649
liquid ink . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365
controlling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 366
Liquid Ink brushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
controls for . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314
customizing variants . . . . . . . . . . . 368
Expression settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . 367
lighting effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 367
size settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 366
using . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365
variants, choosing . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365
Liquid Ink layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 450
adjusting attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . 366
creating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365, 454
Liquid Lens dynamic plug-in . . . . . . . . . 581
controls for . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 583
tools for . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 581
Liquid Metal brush
adjusting size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 594
Liquid Metal dynamic plug-in . . . . . . . . 586
controls for . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 588
tools for . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 587
loading
color sets on Mixer panel . . . . . . . . 180
colors on Mixer panel . . . . . . . . . . . 179
custom palettes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
layer masks to selections . . . . . . . . . 492
marbling recipes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 550
Mixer pad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
multiple colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
nozzle files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 618
selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 424
Web-friendly brushes . . . . . . . . . . . 701
locking
guides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 462

Index

looks
reusing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
saving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150

customizing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .350
getting started with . . . . . . . . . . . . .349
working with . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .349

Looks library panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

marquee, selection
hiding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .417
showing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .417

luminance
creating texture with . . . . . . . . . . . . 521
generating channels from . . . . . . . . 437
mapping gradients to . . . . . . . . . . . 216

Mask brush method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272

Luminosity composite method . . . . . . 484

masked layers
converting text layers to . . . . . . . . . .681

Luminosity merge mode . . . . . . . . . . . 277

masked patterns, creating . . . . . . . . . . 204

M
Mac OS commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
keyboard shortcuts for . . . . . . . . . . 768
Magic Combine composite method . . 479
Magic Combine merge mode . . . . . . . 277
Magic Wand tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
keyboard shortcuts for . . . . . . . . . . 775
selecting areas with . . . . . . . . . . . . 411
magnification
resetting to 100% . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
zooming to specific levels . . . . . . . . . 54

masking layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 487
Match Palette effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 508
Maze effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .560
media control panels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
media library panels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
media pooling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Media Selector bar
accessing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
media source, choosing . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
Medium brush tip profile . . . . . . . . . . . 279
for Hard Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .281

Magnifier tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
resetting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
zooming in with . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
zooming out with . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

memory-usage preferences . . . . . . . . . 757

magnifying images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

merging layers with canvas . . . . . . . . . . 468

Make Mosaic dialog box . . . . . . . . . . . . 622
displaying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 624
Marbling effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 548
creating recipes for . . . . . . . . . . . . . 548
managing recipes for . . . . . . . . . . . 549
Marker brush method . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
markers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
choosing variants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350

Index

menu commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
keyboard shortcuts for Mac OS . . . .768
merge modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
metal
adjusting reflection . . . . . . . . . . . . .594
applying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .591
creating negative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .591
droplets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .593
moving droplets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .593
removing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .592
selecting droplets . . . . . . . . . . . . . .592
showing droplet handles . . . . . . . . .592

803

Mirror Painting mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
controlling display of planes . . . . . . 100
hiding planes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
toggling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Mirror Painting tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
using . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
mirror planes
controlling display of . . . . . . . . . . . 100
hiding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
mirroring clones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 398
Mix Color tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Mixer panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
changing pad background . . . . . . . 178
clearing pad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
creating color sets from . . . . . . . . . 186
creating color sets from pad . . . . . . 183
displaying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
loading colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
loading pad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
mixing colors in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
painting from . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
resetting colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
resetting default . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
resizing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
sampling pad colors . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
saving colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
saving pad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
tools for . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
using . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
using colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Mixer swatches
adding to color sets . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
creating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
mixing
colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
paint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182

monitors
calibrating color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
using two . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
mosaics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 621
compositing with other images . . . . 637
creating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 624
creating, from cloned images . . . . . 625
creating, from scratch . . . . . . . . . . . 624
creating, in selections . . . . . . . . . . . 635
customizing tiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 629
deselecting tiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 626
filling a V-shaped space . . . . . . . . . 632
filling selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 635
getting started with . . . . . . . . . . . . 622
keyboard shortcuts for . . . . . . . . . . 779
layering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 637
placing tiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 629
removing tiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 628
rendering tiles into masks . . . . . . . . 633
re-rendering tiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 634
respecting image edges . . . . . . . . . . 633
saving, as RIFF files . . . . . . . . . . . . 629
selecting strokes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 635
selecting tiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 625
specifying grout color . . . . . . . . . . . 628
tessellation, working with . . . . . . . . 637
tile color, specifying . . . . . . . . . . . . 626
using layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 636
Motion Blur effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 545
mouse
brush control settings . . . . . . . . . . . 298
brushstroke settings for . . . . . . . . . . . 82
fingerwheel settings for . . . . . . . . . . 83
using, vs. stylus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Mouse brush controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298
Move tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 749

modifier keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

804

Index

movies
adding to movies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 724
applying effects to frames . . . . . . . . 726
applying scripts to . . . . . . . . . . . . . 727
calculating required disk space . . . . 716
cloning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 732
compositing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 729
compositing, with scripts . . . . . . . . 731
considering frame rate . . . . . . . . . . 715
creating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 718
creating animated GIFs from . . . . . 739
creating nozzles from . . . . . . . . . . . 616
creating, from scripts . . . . . . . . . . . 710
deleting frames . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 725
erasing frame contents . . . . . . . . . . 725
erasing frames . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 725
exporting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 734
exporting, as numbered files . . . . . . 738
file formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 714
getting started with . . . . . . . . . . . . . 718
importing numbered files . . . . . . . . 738
inserting movies within . . . . . . . . . 725
modifying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 724
navigating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 721
onion skinning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 721
opening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 719
painting on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 726
repeating actions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 723
repeating frames . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 725
rotoscoping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 726
saving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 734
scripts for, creating . . . . . . . . . . . . . 728
setting preview frame rate . . . . . . . . 719
tracing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 733
using color sets in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 715
using layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 722
working with . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 709

Multiply composite method . . . . . . . . . 481

multicore support
for brushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278

Nozzles library panels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Index

Multiply merge mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . .277
multi-point sampling brush variants . . . 393
multiuser support
libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34
templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50

N
navigating
images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51
panels, with keyboard shortcuts . . . .772
screen, with keyboard shortcuts . . . .772
navigation tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Navigator panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
displaying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52
repositioning documents with . . . . . .59
using . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51
viewing layer position with . . . . . . .464
Negative effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 509
negative metal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 591
new features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Normal composite method . . . . . . . . . 480
Normal merge mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
adding to layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .485
nozzle files
choosing images from . . . . . . . . . . .604
loading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .618
making, from movies . . . . . . . . . . .616
nozzle libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 619
adding nozzles to . . . . . . . . . . . . . .619
editing nozzles in . . . . . . . . . . . . . .620
retrieving nozzles from . . . . . . . . . .620

805

nozzles, Image Hose
adding to libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . .
creating 1-Rank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
creating 2-Rank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
creating 3-Rank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
creating from movies . . . . . . . . . . .
designing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
editing in libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . .
ranking system for . . . . . . . . . . . . .
retrieving from libraries . . . . . . . . .
saving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
selecting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

619
610
612
613
616
607
620
607
620
607
600

nudging layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 460
numbered files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 737
exporting movies as . . . . . . . . . . . . 738
importing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 738

O
offset sampling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
between documents . . . . . . . . . . . .
preferences for . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
within documents . . . . . . . . . . . . .

390
391
393
391

oils . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
one-color brushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 699
onion skinning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 721

124
275
383
601
201
125
476
678

operators, expression . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
ordering layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463

806

orientation, image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
origin, ruler
changing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
restoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
outlining images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 381
Oval Selection tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
deactivating selections with . . . . . . 417
keyboard shortcuts for . . . . . . . . . . 775
selecting circular areas with . . . . . . 409
selecting oval areas with . . . . . . . . . 409
oval selections, making . . . . . . . . . . . . 409
Oval Shape tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
using . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 647
ovals, creating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 647

oil pastels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

opacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
brush controls for . . . . . . . . . . . . .
changing for tracing paper . . . . . . .
Image Hose, adjusting . . . . . . . . . .
pattern, painting with . . . . . . . . . .
setting for brushes . . . . . . . . . . . . .
setting for layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
setting for text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

organizing
brushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 486

Overlay composite method . . . . . . . . . 481
Overlay merge mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
overlays, channel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 440
overlays, color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 530

P
page
size, changing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
unit of measure, changing . . . . . . . . 45
page setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 743
Paint Bucket tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
filling channels with . . . . . . . . . . . . 445
paint, mixing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
painting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
brush settings for . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
brushstrokes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
brushstrokes, alignment for . . . . . . . 87
brushstrokes, recording . . . . . . . . . . 92

Index

brushstrokes, settings for . . . . . . . . . 85
choosing a workflow . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
clones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 386
drawing cursor for . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
from Mixer panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
in channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 443
in Dirty Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321
media for . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
movie frames . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 726
on canvas vs. layer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
on layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 469
on layers, methods for . . . . . . . . . . 470
photos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 666
troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
with 360° brushstrokes . . . . . . . . . . . 88
with airbrushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
with airbrushes, spread settings for . . 90
with gradients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
with media pooling . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
with multiple colors . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
with patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
with stylus vs. mouse . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
with two-color brushstrokes . . . . . . 174

paintings, restoring detail to . . . . . . . . 119
Palette Knife dab type . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
Palette Knives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
palettes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
creating from panels . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
hiding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
resizing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
showing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
using . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
palettes, custom
creating and modifying . . . . . . . . . . . 29
managing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
PALINDROME expression operator . . 241

Index

Pan tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Panel Options menu button . . . . . . . . . . . 6
panel tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
panels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
expanding or collapsing . . . . . . . . . .28
exploring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
grouping into palettes . . . . . . . . . . . .28
hiding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
keyboard shortcuts for . . . . . . . . . . .767
navigating, with keyboard shortcuts .772
showing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
using . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27
using for effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .494
paper color, changing . . . . . . . . . . . . . .173
paper grain
brightness and contrast . . . . . . . . . .165
direction and behavior . . . . . . . . . .165
inverting and scaling . . . . . . . . . . . .163
setting in movies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .728
Paper Libraries panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Paper selector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
paper textures
applying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .160
capturing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .162
creating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .161
creating, from fractal patterns . . . . .211
deleting from Paper Textures library 163
grain brightness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .165
grain contrast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .165
grain inversion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .164
grain randomization . . . . . . . . . . . .166
grain scale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .164
grain, directional . . . . . . . . . . . . . .166
renaming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .163
revealing when painting . . . . . . . . .123
using to apply surface texture . . . . .518
watercolor brushes . . . . . . . . . . . . .359

807

Paper Textures library
deleting paper textures from . . . . . . 163
opening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
using . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Papers panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
pastels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
pasting layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 454
Path Selection tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 749
path-based selections . . . . . . . . . . . . .
converting from pixel-based . . . . . .
creating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
scaling and rotating . . . . . . . . . . . .
skewing and distorting . . . . . . . . . .

408
411
409
430
432

paths
aligning brushstrokes to . . . . . . . . . . 87
curving text on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 679
shape, adding to open . . . . . . . . . . 650
pattern pens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
adjusting appearance . . . . . . . . . . .
applying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
creating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
creating on layers . . . . . . . . . . . . .
editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
filling channels with . . . . . . . . . . .
fractal, creating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
growth, creating . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Kaleidoscope type . . . . . . . . . . . . .
masked, creating . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
painting with . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
seamless, creating . . . . . . . . . . . . .
weave, creating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

197
199
197
202
474
202
444
208
557
580
204
199
205
228

Pencil tip profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
pencils . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
pens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
pens, pattern . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
performance preferences . . . . . . . . . . 756
specifying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 758
PERMUTE expression operator . . . . . 242
perspective
adding to clones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 401
distorting in selections . . . . . . . . . . 434
Perspective Grid tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
using . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
perspective grids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
activating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
adjusting gridlines . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
creating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
hiding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
presets, creating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
presets, opening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
presets, removing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Photo brushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Photo Enhance settings
saving as presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Photo Painting System . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Auto-Painting panel . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Restoration panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Underpainting panel . . . . . . . . . . . 113
photo tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

PBOX expression operator . . . . . . . . 242

photos
auto-painting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
creating underpaintings from . . . . . 113
restoring detail from . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
workflow for painting . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

Pen tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
using . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 648

Photoshop, Adobe
notes for users of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 747

Patterns library panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

808

Index

Pinch tool
applying Liquid Lens with . . . . . . . 583

Polygonal Selection tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
making freehand selections with . . .410

Pixel Airbrush dab type . . . . . . . . . . . . 266

pooling, media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

pixel-based layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 449
converting shapes to . . . . . . . . . . . . 645

Pop Art Fill effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 563
applying to images . . . . . . . . . . . . .563
creating images with . . . . . . . . . . . .564

pixel-based selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . 408
converting to path-based . . . . . . . . 411
creating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 411
pixels, selecting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 411
Place Elements effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 561
placing
elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 561
files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
images from Image Hose . . . . . . . . 603
tiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 629
planes, kaleidoscope
controlling display of . . . . . . . . . . . 102
hiding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
planes, mirror
controlling display of . . . . . . . . . . . 100
hiding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
playing
brushstrokes, last used . . . . . . . . . . . 93
brushstrokes, randomly . . . . . . . . . . 93
brushstrokes, saved . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
scripts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 707
scripts, at new resolutions . . . . . . . . 708
Plug-in brush method subcategories . . 272
plug-ins, dynamic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 567
point size, changing for text . . . . . . . . . 674
Pointed brush tip profile . . . . . . . . . . . 279
for Hard Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
Pointed Rake brush tip profile . . . . . . . 280
point-to-point cloning . . . . . . . . . . . . . 390
Polygon Lasso tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 749

Index

Posterize dynamic plug-in . . . . . . . . . . 595
Posterize effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 510
using a color set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .510
posterizing images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 510
for Web . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .698
with color sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .510
preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 753
general . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .753
interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .755
performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .756
Quick Clone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .384
shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .758
shapes, drawing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .655
presets, canvas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
pressure, brushstroke . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
adjusting for mouse . . . . . . . . . . . . .82
previewing
brush sizes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .284
color profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .254
images, with color management . . .254
print quality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
printing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 743
getting started with . . . . . . . . . . . . .743
gridlines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .109
images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .744
images, fitting to page when . . . . . .743
settings for . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .743
profiles, dab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278
programs, dragging between . . . . . . . . . 71
Projected dab type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267

809

property bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
closing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
docking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
moving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
opening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
resetting tools with . . . . . . . . . . . . .

20
20
20
20
20
20

Real Watercolor brushes . . . . . . . . . . . 142
choosing variants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360
controls for . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323
customizing variants . . . . . . . . . . . 360
using . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360
using variants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360

protecting canvas from selection . . . . 415

Real Wet Oil brushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142

PSD files
opening, notes on . . . . . . . . . . . . . 750
saving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
saving, notes on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 751

RealBristle brushes
choosing variants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 352
controls for . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334
customizing variants . . . . . . . . . . . 355
getting started with . . . . . . . . . . . . 352
settings for . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 352
using . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 351

Pseudocolor composite method . . . . . 480
Pseudocolor merge mode . . . . . . . . . 277

Q
Quick Clone
customizing behavior . . . . . . . . . . 384
preferences for . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 759
using . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 384
Quick Curve tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
using . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 650
Quick Warp effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 534
QuickTime files
exporting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 735
opening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 720
quitting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

R
Rain feature
applying Liquid Metal with . . . . . . 588
Rake brush controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294
randomizing
image placement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 603
paper grain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
rank types for Image Hose . . . . . . . . . 604

810

RealBristle panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 352
Bristle Length setting . . . . . . . . . . . 353
Bristle Rigidity setting . . . . . . . . . . 353
Fanning setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 354
Friction setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 354
Height setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 354
opening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355
Profile Length setting . . . . . . . . . . . 353
Roundness setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . 352
recipes, marbling
clearing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 550
creating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 548
loading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 550
managing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 549
replacing steps in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 549
saving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 550
recording
brushstrokes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
notes for layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 485
scripts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 705, 708
rectangles, creating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 647
Rectangular Marquee tool . . . . . . . . . . 749

Index

Rectangular Selection tool . . . . . . . . . . . 14
deactivating selections with . . . . . . 417
keyboard shortcuts for . . . . . . . . . . 775
selecting rectangular areas with . . . 409
selecting square areas with . . . . . . . 410

re-rendering mosaic tiles . . . . . . . . . . . 634

rectangular selections, making . . . . . . . 409

resizing shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 662

Rectangular Shape tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
using . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 647

resolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
of canvas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44
of images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45
of images, changing type . . . . . . . . . .45
of scripts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .707
vs. print quality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47
vs. screen appearance . . . . . . . . . . . .46

reference layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 449
committing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 476
creating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 475
modifying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 475
resizing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 475
rotating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 475
scaling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 475
skewing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 476
working with . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 474
reference points
for clones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 396
for clones, moving . . . . . . . . . . . . . 402
for transformations . . . . . . . . . . . . . 428
reflection maps
creating texture with . . . . . . . . . . . . 526
reflection, metal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 594
registering Corel products . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
releasing compound shapes . . . . . . . . . 668
Remove Point tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
using . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 658
Rendered dab type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
rendered dabs, types of . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
rendering intents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
choosing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
rendering markers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349
REPEAT expression operator . . . . . . . 237
replacing colors in color sets . . . . . . . . 188

Index

resaturation, brushstroke . . . . . . . . . . . 293
reselecting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 417
reshaping color curves . . . . . . . . . . . . . 499

resource libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Restoration panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
using . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .120
reusing
effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .495
selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .425
REVERSE expression operator . . . . . . . 244
Reverse-Out composite method . . . . . 479
Reverse-Out merge mode . . . . . . . . . . 277
reverting
dynamic layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .570
keyboard shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . .764
RGB
converting from CMYK to . . . . . . . .253
specifying default color profile . . . . .252
RGB values
displaying in hexadecimal format . .684
setting color variability based on . . .335
setting in Color panel . . . . . . . . . . .170
RIFF files
saving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64
saving layers as . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .456
saving mosaics as . . . . . . . . . . . . . .629

811

Right Twirl tool
applying Liquid Lens with . . . . . . 582
rollovers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 689
creating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 690
ROTATE expression operator . . . . . . 244
Rotate Page tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
resetting images with . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
rotating images with . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
rotating
canvas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
clones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 397
clones, while mirroring . . . . . . . . . 398
clones, while scaling . . . . . . . . . . . 399
clones, while scaling and shearing . 400
images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
reference layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 475
selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 432
shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 663
text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 676
rotoscoping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 726
Rubber Stamp tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
cloning with . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 391
rulers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
hiding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
origin, changing . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
origin, restoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
showing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
snapping guides to . . . . . . . . . . . . .
unit of measure, setting . . . . . . . . .

105
105
106
106
105
107
106

S
Sample Color tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Sample Multiple Colors tool . . . . . . . . 177
sampling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379
colors, from images . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
colors, from Mixer pad . . . . . . . . . . 181

812

colors, multiple . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 393
preferences for . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 755
selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 402
transformations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 402

sampling, offset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 390
Saturation composite method . . . . . . . 484
Saturation merge mode . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
Saturation slider . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 503
saving
Adobe Photoshop files . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Adobe Photoshop files, notes on . . . 751
background scripts automatically . . 706
brush looks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
brush variants to brush libraries . . . 148
brushstrokes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
colors on Mixer panel . . . . . . . . . . . 179
custom palettes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
documents as templates . . . . . . . . . . 50
Encapsulated PostScript files . . . . . . 67
EPS files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
files, in current format . . . . . . . . . . . 63
files, in new formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
files, iteratively . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
files, with embedded color profiles . 252
files, with new names . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
GIF files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
gradients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
Image Hose nozzles . . . . . . . . . . . . 607
JPEG files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 456
marbling recipes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 550
Mixer pad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
mosaics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 629
movies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 734
preferences for . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 754
PSD files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
PSD files, notes on . . . . . . . . . . . . . 751

Index

RIFF files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 416
selections, to channels . . . . . . . . . . 436
shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 671
TIF files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
weaves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227

scaling
brushstrokes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
clones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 397
clones, while rotating . . . . . . . . . . . 399
clones, while rotating and shearing . 400
features with brush size . . . . . . . . . 284
images with Image Hose . . . . . . . . 602
paper grain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
reference layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 475
selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 431
Scissors tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
cutting shapes with . . . . . . . . . . . . 661
scratch-drive preferences . . . . . . . . . . 757
screen
appearance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
navigating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 772
zooming to . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Screen composite method . . . . . . . . . . 481
Screen merge mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
screens, applying texture with . . . . . . . 529
scripting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 703
scripts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 703
applying Auto Clone to movies . . . . 733
applying brushstrokes to movies . . . 727
applying to movies . . . . . . . . . . . . . 727
auto-saving background . . . . . . . . . 706
compositing movies with . . . . . . . . 731
converting to movies . . . . . . . . . . . 710
creating for movies . . . . . . . . . . . . . 728
editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 709
getting started with . . . . . . . . . . . . . 703

Index

modifying instructions . . . . . . . . . .709
playing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .707
playing, at a new resolutions . . . . . .708
recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 705, 708
setting grain position for movies . . .727
understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .704
working with . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .709

Scripts panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
buttons on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .705
hiding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .704
playing scripts from . . . . . . . . . . . .707
showing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .704
understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .704
seamless patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
searching
for brushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .122
Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
segments
cutting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .661
joining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .661
Select menu
keyboard shortcuts for commands . .770
selecting
brushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .122
canvas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .410
channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .440
frames . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .721
layer masks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .489
layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .458
metal droplets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .592
paths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .409
shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .657
tiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .625
Selection Adjuster tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
inverting selections with . . . . . . . . .418
keyboard shortcuts for . . . . . . . . . . .776
modifying selection borders with . . .420

813

smoothing selections with . . . . . . . 421

Selection Portfolio
using . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 425
selection tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
keyboard shortcuts for . . . . . . . . . . 775
selections
adding metal droplets to . . . . . . . . 593
adding to . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 422
adjusting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 418
anti-aliasing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 419
applying gradients to . . . . . . . . . . . 214
beveling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 576
burning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 571
circular, making . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 409
color-based, generating . . . . . . . . . 413
combining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 424
contracting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 421
converting pixel-based to path . . . . 411
converting shapes to . . . . . . . . . . . 410
converting to shapes . . . . . . . . . . . 651
copying from multiple layers . . . . . 455
creating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 407
creating channels from . . . . . . . . . 436
creating color sets from . . . . . . . . . 186
creating layers from . . . . . . . . . . . . 455
creating mosaics in . . . . . . . . . . . . 635
creating patterns from . . . . . . . . . . 203
creating Web buttons from . . . . . . 687
creating, by dropping layers . . . . . . 469
creating, from layers . . . . . . . . . . . 414
deactivating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 417
distorting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 432
drawing modes for . . . . . . . . . . . . . 415
duplicating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 430
expanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 421
feathering edges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 419
flipping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
freehand, making . . . . . . . . . . . . . 410

814

generating automatically . . . . . . . . 412
inverting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 418
loading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 424
loading layer masks to . . . . . . . . . . 492
marquee, hiding or showing . . . . . . 417
modifying border . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 420
modifying channels . . . . . . . . . . . . 416
modifying contents . . . . . . . . . . . . 422
moving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 429
oval, making . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 409
path-based . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 408
pixel-based . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 408
reactivating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 417
rectangular, making . . . . . . . . . . . . 409
reference point for transformations . 428
reusing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 425
rotating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 430
sampling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 402
saving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 416
saving, to channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . 416
scaling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 430
skewing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 432
smoothing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 420
softening edges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 419
square, making . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 409
storing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 425
stroking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 419
subtracting from . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 423
subtracting metal droplets from . . . 593
tearing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 573
transforming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 428
viewing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 417

selectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Serigraphy effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 538
server-side image maps . . . . . . . . . . . . 693
creating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 693

Index

settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 753

Shape Selection tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
selecting shapes with . . . . . . . . . . . 657

painting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .666
preferences for . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .758
resizing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .662
rotating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .663
saving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .671
selecting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .657
setting attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .652
setting preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . .655
skewing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .664
transforming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .662
understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .644
understanding layers . . . . . . . . . . . .449

shape tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
keyboard shortcuts for . . . . . . . . . . 777

Shapes menu
keyboard shortcuts for commands . .770

shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 643
acquiring from Adobe Illustrator . . 652
adding to open paths . . . . . . . . . . . 650
adjusting curvature . . . . . . . . . . . . 659
aligning brushstrokes to . . . . . . . . . . 87
anchor points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 657
Bézier lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 645
blending . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 668
combining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 667
compound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 667
converting selections to . . . . . . . . . . 651
converting to layers . . . . . . . . . . . . 645
converting to selections . . . . . . . . . . 410
converting to text layers . . . . . . . . . 682
creating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 647
creating for brush dabs . . . . . . . . . . 151
creating Web buttons from . . . . . . . 687
cutting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 661
duplicating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 665
editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 656
exporting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 671
flipping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 664
grouping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 667
joining endpoints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 662

shaping brushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289

Shadow Map composite method . . . . . 479
Shadow Map merge mode . . . . . . . . . . 277
shadows
adding to layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 473
adding to text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 677
adding to Web buttons . . . . . . . . . . 687
shape layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 450
creating selections from . . . . . . . . . 415

Index

Sharpen effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 545
sharpening focus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 545
shearing clones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 400
shortcut keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 761
customizing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .763
Single-Pixel dab type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
size, brushstroke . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
size, canvas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
size, page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Sketch effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 539
skewing
reference layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .476
selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .433
shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .664
text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .676
Smart Blur . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 540
Smart Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
auto-painting photos with . . . . . . . .118
Smart Stroke brushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . .142

815

Smart Stroke Painting option . . . . . . . 117
using . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
smooth points, converting . . . . . . . . . 660
smoothing
display of objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 757
selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 420
snapping
guides to rulers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
items to grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
items to guides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Soft Light composite method . . . . . . . 482
Soft Light merge mode . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
Soft Round brush tip profile . . . . . . . . 280
Soften effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 546
softening
focus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 546
selection edges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 419

Static Bristle dab type . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
storing
selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 425
with Image Portfolio panel . . . . . . . 485
straight brushstrokes, applying . . . . . . . 83
Straight Line Strokes button
drawing straight lines with . . . . . . . . 84
erasing in straight lines with . . . . . . . 86
straight lines, drawing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
stretching text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 676
stroke attributes, setting . . . . . . . . . . . 653
Stroke Selections command
using with mosaics . . . . . . . . . . . . . 635
Stroke settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
auto-painting photos with . . . . . . . 118
stroking selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 419

sorting colors in color sets . . . . . . . . . 185

stylus
using the fingerwheel . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
using with airbrushes . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
using, vs. mouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

source, media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273
choosing for brushes . . . . . . . . . . . 275

Subtract from Selection button
using . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 423

spacing
images from Image Hose . . . . . . . . 603
letters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 676
lines of text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 676

Sumi-e brushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

soft-proofing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254

Spacing brush controls . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
special effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 493
speed, drawing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 757
Sponges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
spread, airbrush . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
square selections, making . . . . . . . . . . 409
squares, creating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 647
Static Bristle brush controls . . . . . . . . 289

816

Super Soften effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 546
Surface Control effects
Apply Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 513
Apply Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 529
Apply Surface Texture . . . . . . . . . . 516
Color Overlay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 530
Distress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 537
Dye Concentration . . . . . . . . . . . . . 532
Express Texture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 533
Image Warp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 534
Quick Warp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 534
Serigraphy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 538
Sketch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 539

Index

Woodcut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 536

surface lighting, Impasto . . . . . . . . . . . 377
surface texture
Apply Surface Texture effect . . . . . . 516
applying, to Web buttons . . . . . . . . 687
swapping main and additional colors . . 171
switching workspaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
symmetry tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

T
Tear dynamic plug-in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 573
tearing
layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 573
selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 573
TEMPLATE expression operator . . . . 240
templates
creating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
multiuser support for . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
opening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
saving documents as . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Temporal Colors palette
choosing color with . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
displaying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
using . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
terminology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
vs. that of Adobe Photoshop . . . . . . 747
tessellation mosaics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 637
adding points using strokes . . . . . . . 640
advanced settings for . . . . . . . . . . . 642
coloring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 641
creating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 638
text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 673
adding to images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 674
aligning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 675
applying effects to . . . . . . . . . . . . . 676
attributes, changing . . . . . . . . . . . . 674

Index

blurring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .678
converting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .681
converting, in Adobe Illustrator . . . .652
creating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .674
curving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .679
dropping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .681
formatting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .674
kerning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .676
leading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .676
opacity, setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .678
options for . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .673
rotating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .676
shadows, adding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .677
shadows, moving . . . . . . . . . . . . . .678
skewing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .676
stretching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .676

text layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 451
converting, to masked layers . . . . . .681
converting, to shapes . . . . . . . . . . . .682
creating selections from . . . . . . . . . .415
dropping onto canvas . . . . . . . . . . .682
understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .673
Text panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
displaying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .673
Text tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
texture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
adding lighting to . . . . . . . . . . . . . .528
applying, Apply Screen effect . . . . . .529
applying, Surface Texture effect . . .516
applying, to Web buttons . . . . . . . .687
canvas, changing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45
expressing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .533
tie-ups, weave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
TIF files, saving RGB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
tiled backgrounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 685
tiles, custom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 554

817

tiles, mosaic
color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
depth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
deselecting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
dimensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
fitting together . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
grout color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
randomness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
removing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
rendering into masks . . . . . . . . . . .
re-rendering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
selecting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

626
634
626
629
632
628
629
628
633
634
625

tiles, pattern
creating seamless . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
filling with . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
tiling
clones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 396
images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 554
tilt, brushstroke . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
adjusting for mouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Tinting brushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
tolerance, brushstroke alignment . . . . . 88
Tonal Control effects
Adjust Colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Adjusting Selected Colors . . . . . . .
Brightness/Contrast . . . . . . . . . . . .
Correct Colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Equalize . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Match Palette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Negative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Posterize . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Video Legal Colors . . . . . . . . . . . .

501
503
505
496
506
508
509
510
511

tone
darkening, with Burn tool . . . . . . . 512
lightening, with Dodge tool . . . . . . 511

818

toolbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
accessing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
changing layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
exploring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
keyboard shortcuts for . . . . . . . . . . 765
opening or closing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
repositioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
using flyouts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
accessing from flyouts . . . . . . . . . . . 18
changing toolbox layout . . . . . . . . . . 18
comparing vs. Adobe Photoshop . . . 748
resetting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
resetting default settings . . . . . . . . . . 20
tracing
images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 381
movies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 733
tracing paper
cloning images with . . . . . . . . . . . . 381
disabling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 383
enabling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 383
opacity, changing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 383
outlining images with . . . . . . . . . . . 381
using with movies . . . . . . . . . . . . . 722
tracking, brush . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Transform tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
distorting perspective . . . . . . . . . . . 434
distorting selections with . . . . . . . . 433
keyboard shortcuts for . . . . . . . . . . 777
moving selections with . . . . . . . . . . 429
rotating selections with . . . . . . . . . . 432
scaling selections with . . . . . . . . . . 431
setting reference point with . . . . . . 429
skewing selections with . . . . . . . . . 433
transforming duplicates with . . . . . 430
transformations
applying when sampling images . . . 393
cancelling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 434

Index

distorting selections . . . . . . . . . . . . 432
duplicating selections . . . . . . . . . . . 430
moving selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 429
reference point, setting . . . . . . . . . . 428
rotating selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . 430
sampling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 402
scaling selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 430
skewing selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . 432

transforming
duplicated shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 666
selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 428
shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 662

undo levels, setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 757
undoing
brushstrokes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .85
fills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .195
ungrouping layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 467
unit of measure
for page, changing . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45
for rulers, setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .106
unlocking
guides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .107
layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .462

transparency
creating layer masks from . . . . . . . . 488
preserving on layers . . . . . . . . . . . . 470

updating
clone sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .383
software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .755

transparency masks
adding to selections . . . . . . . . . . . . 414
copying between layers . . . . . . . . . . 489
intersecting with selections . . . . . . . 415
selecting, from Layers panel . . . . . . 489
subtracting from selections . . . . . . . 414

UPDOWN expression operator . . . . . 243

transparent GIFs, creating . . . . . . . . . . 694
troubleshooting brushstrokes . . . . . . . . 94
two-color brushstrokes, creating . . . . 174
two-point gradients, creating . . . . . . . . 220
Type tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 749

U
Underpainting panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
using . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
underpaintings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
adding edge effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
cloning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
creating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
creating, by matching images . . . . . 115
creating, methods for . . . . . . . . . . . 114
saving Photo Enhance settings . . . . 115

Index

UPTO expression operator . . . . . . . . . 239
Using list box
understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .496

V
Value slider . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .503
variability, color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
vector shape layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 449
video
applying legal colors . . . . . . . . . . . .511
working with . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .714
Video Legal Colors effect . . . . . . . . . . . 511
View Mode selector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
viewing modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
switching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51
toggling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51

W
Wacom Intuos support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Wacom stylus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

819

warp expressions
color, defining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
defining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
warping
clones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 400
images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 534
Water brush controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310
Watercolor brush tip profile . . . . . . . . 279
Watercolor brushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
choosing variants . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
customizing variants . . . . . . . . . . .
using . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
using Water controls . . . . . . . . . . .
using, with paper textures . . . . . . .

144
361
361
360
361
359

watercolor effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357
Watercolor layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 450
creating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .358, 453
transferring canvas to . . . . . . . . . . . 358
using . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358
wetting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359
weave patterns, creating . . . . . . . . . . . 228
weaves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
applying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
expression operators for . . . . . . . . .
filling channels with . . . . . . . . . . .
saving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
scale, adjusting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
thickness, adjusting . . . . . . . . . . . .
tie-ups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
warp expressions, defining . . . . . . .
warp expressions, defining color for
weft expressions, defining . . . . . . .
weft expressions, defining color for .

820

225
225
227
235
444
227
227
227
233
230
232
230
232

Weaves library panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Weaving Pattern Expression Language 235
Web animations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 738
Web buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 686
adding shadows to . . . . . . . . . . . . . 687
applying 3D techniques to . . . . . . . 687
applying surface texture to . . . . . . . 687
creating from selections . . . . . . . . . 687
creating from shapes . . . . . . . . . . . 687
indicating rollover states . . . . . . . . . 689
using Bevel World plug-in for . . . . 688
using Impasto feature on . . . . . . . . 687
Web features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 683
Web graphics
color reduction in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 696
GIF files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 694
image maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 690
Web page backgrounds . . . . . . . . . . . . 683
controlling color in . . . . . . . . . . . . . 684
creating fractal pattern tiles . . . . . . . 686
designing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 683
using tiled . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 685
Web-based resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Web-friendly brushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . 699
Web-safe colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 698
Wedge brush tip profile . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
weft expressions
color, defining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
defining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230

Index

Well brush controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
Wet brush method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
wet fringe, adjusting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 363
wetting Watercolor layers . . . . . . . . . . 359
what’s new . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Window menu
keyboard shortcuts for commands . . 771
Windows commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
windows, closing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Woodcut effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 536
workflows, painting
starting with a photo . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
starting with blank canvas . . . . . . . . 74
workspace tour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
for Adobe Photoshop users . . . . . . . . 37
workspaces
components of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
creating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
exporting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
importing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
preferences for . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 756
reverting to default . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
switching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Z
Zoom Blur effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 547
Zoom tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
zooming in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
zooming out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
zooming to
magnification levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Index

821

Source Exif Data:

File Type                       : PDF
File Type Extension             : pdf
MIME Type                       : application/pdf
PDF Version                     : 1.6
Linearized                      : Yes
Author                          : Corel Corporation
Create Date                     : 2011:04:26 12:15:22Z
Modify Date                     : 2011:04:26 15:43:15-04:00
Has XFA                         : No
XMP Toolkit                     : Adobe XMP Core 4.2.1-c043 52.372728, 2009/01/18-15:08:04
Creator Tool                    : FrameMaker 7.0
Metadata Date                   : 2011:04:26 15:43:15-04:00
Format                          : application/pdf
Title                           : Corel Painter 12 User Guide
Creator                         : Corel Corporation
Producer                        : Acrobat Distiller 9.0.0 (Windows)
Document ID                     : uuid:89471b93-cf2a-4f11-bf93-4f4b291c0550
Instance ID                     : uuid:fc017735-b92c-4b94-806e-55eff2d9622b
Page Layout                     : SinglePage
Page Mode                       : UseOutlines
Page Count                      : 833

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Corel Painter 12 User Guide Operating Instructions UG EN

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