The program is built from the ground up to mimic the look and feel of actual paints, markers and more—a complete toolset that artists are accustomed to. The interactions of these tools with one another—plus the integrated features of the program’s pen tablet—help make the mediums in Painter 11 work and feel like their real-world counterparts.
The program also uses an interface similar to that of Photoshop, which helps keep the workspace familiar.
After spending a few weeks using Painter 11, I can say that the program is a powerful tool for artists and photographers. Since the program’s tools work very much like real art tools, in order to appreciate the full potential of the software a certain degree of artistic knowledge is needed. In other words, just like with the real tools, you’ll need some level of artistic talent and experience with various mediums to fully appreciate Painter 11.
There are also some automated tools that can convert photographs into paintings or drawings in a convincing manner—which may prove useful to photographers, even if they don’t plan to use the other features of the program.
A Digital Canvas
The software is dual compatible for both Mac and PC. I ran Corel Painter 11 on a Macbook Pro with 2 GB of RAM and a 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor.
I did some research before using the program and was drawn in by the vivid, often highly detailed works created by artists using Painter 11. Many of the pieces truly resemble real paintings.
Once I started using the program myself, I found it equally as difficult as painting—which is actually a good thing.
Painter 11 is not the kind of program where you can pull a few shapes together, create some layers, and make a work of art (unless you’re making some modernist piece). Just as with real paints, you need to know how different colors interact and mix, the effect certain paints or mediums have when placed over each other, and how different paints and brushes interact.
The program has more than 900 different brushes, as well as customizable brushes that can be used. Even the way each of these interacts with different paints, chalks, markers and so on is highly realistic.
The feel and look of each tool will also change accordingly with the type of canvas you’re working with. For example, on a canvas with more defined textures the paints will show small gaps for the textures—until you paint them on a bit thicker.
The Tools of Painter 11
The true-to-life feel of the tools is impressive, to say the least.
If you have a pen tablet—which I used for this review—the program really starts to shine. Using a pen tablet, rather than a mouse, will not only give you better control over your brushes and tools, but will also allow for quick access to some of the more advanced features of Painter 11.
If you tilt your pen, the function of the tool will change just as if you tilted it. For example, if you tilt your pen while using the pencil tool it will make a mark as if you were drawing with the side of a pencil—giving a much thicker line. If you’re drawing with the chalk tools, it will also do this. This function is also highly sensitive, and it will detect a range of tilts between a slight tilt to a full, nearly laying on its side, tilt.
The program also picks up on brush rotation. If you twist your pen on the tablet, Painter 11 will respond by twisting the digital tool. For example, if you are using a wide, flat brush and you twist your pen, the digital brush will twist and paint circular or semi-circular marks along with you.
It is also pressure sensitive. So if you press hard, your lines will be thicker and darker, while a lighter press will give a much lighter line.
Keep in mind though that the tilt and rotation sensitivity features do not work with lower-end pen tablets.
The Painter’s Palette
Color mixing in Painter 11 is very interesting. I’ve yet to see another program that uses the same method.
The program features a menu called the “Mixer” which works like a true-life paint palette. Painter 11 also lets you choose colors in the conventional fashion—selecting them from a detailed color set or from a customizable wheel with different shades—but the Mixer is more like working with real paint.
Just as with a paint palette, you can select colors and paint them onto the Mixer. From there, you can mix different colors together to create any color you’d like.
I was particularly impressed by how the colors slowly blended. Similar to real paints, you can see the brush marks and the colors carry from one blob of color to the next. The digital paint on your brush also slowly wears out as you continue to mix with a certain color—also adding to the realism.
For traditional artists, this tool is much more preferable than using the normal color selectors, as it allows you to create colors yourself and in a way that is more familiar. You can also keep your unique color palette if you close and reopen the program, or you can discard it and start anew whenever you’d like.
The Advanced Features
Aside from the vast range of brushes and traditional art features, Painter 11 also incorporates several features more tailored for the digital art community. Among them are layers, lighting effects, and several functions that could not be used in a real-world setting.
Some artists may prefer to stick with the basic painting and drawing features of the program, but for those who master the other functions, Painter 11 becomes a much more powerful tool.
One of the more easy-to-use features is “Auto-Painting.” As the name would suggest, this allows you to quickly turn any photograph into a painting. To test this out, I loaded one of the photos I’d taken, selected the gouache paint tool, and set it in motion. The photo suddenly came alive with small brush strokes moving across it.
The feature will paint or draw over your picture and will move from creating the larger details to the smaller details. The process can also be stopped at any time if you want a more stylized look.
You can also customize the brush size, type of paint or other medium, as well as other features used to render your picture into a painting. The finished product makes this a great feature to have.
I did run into some problems using Painter 11. A few times I got stuck trying to navigate the program’s broad list of features. This is partly due to the fact that while testing the program I was activating, deactivating, and playing with just about every tool the program has to offer.
However, Corel does include several Painter 11 tutorials on their Web site that teach how to use a good range of the program’s tools. I found them very helpful.
In a Nutshell
I found the program mostly easy to use, although there is a bit of a learning curve for some of the more advanced features. Still, this is not to say it is difficult—with a little effort one can figure out how to use these effectively. Most users should be able to access the basic painting and drawing functions of Painter 11 right from the get-go.
Corel Painter 11 is certainly a program that should be at the top of the list for painters wanting to enter the world of digital art. Since it is tailored to work as closely to real-world tools as possible, the program creates a soft transition for artists.
The program is both useful and effective at what it does, enabling users to create impressive works of art with digital renditions of familiar tools.
[etDetailsBox Score Card]
Effectiveness: A+Interface: A
Usability: A-
Installation: A
Overall: B+
[/etDetailsBox]
Web site: www.corel.com
Price: $399.00
