"Capture the Magic Of Corel IX!"

If you were to walk into an art supply store to buy supplies to start painting, you might be overwhelmed by the choices before you. The long rows of paint tubes, pencils, pastel, charcoal and the many different styles of brushes such as camel hair and bristle, not to mention the various supports of canvas, tinted and textured paper. The very sight of it all might be so intimidating that you may just say "Forget it!" and walk out.

Don't allow yourself to become overwhelmed! This is exactly the reaction of many people who buy Corel IX Painter! They open the program, take one look and close it. But, think about it, how many artists do you know who go to the art supply store and bring home everything that they see? Keep in mind that Corel IX is the whole store, which is great to have accessible right there at your finger tips, but no one is expecting you to recognize and know how to use each and every tool the first day, or even the first year.

Working as a traditional artist for most of my life and I only had a few mediums that I was comfortable with and enjoyed using. They were acrylic, water soluble oil, water color and my drawing tools of choice were charcoal, graphite and color pencil. So when my art went digital and I bought Corel IX, I already knew what my mediums of choice were. I was familiar with the brushes and pencils and the way that they responded to different surfaces. The same with brushes, I have tried plenty but there are only a few that are my favorites. I like to experiment, but I also like to keep things simple.

So, before you open the door to the Corel IX store, you need to think about what kind of artist you are or want to be. If you're saying "Well, I'm not an artist at all", then there must be a reason that you bought painter software and my guess is that you want to exercise some creative muscle and add a more artistic flare to your images and I think with this software you can do just that. My first advice would be to get to know the tools even if that means taking a trip to the art supply store and feeling the physical difference between the soft camel hair brush and the stiffer bristle, then go for it! I do think this would help you in the learning process. Then start with a blank canvas and just play around with the different brushes and drawing tools and I promise you will come across a few that you love and many more that you may never want to bother with again, but this is valuable experience! The point is that you need to know how these tools respond and become acquainted with the behavior of each, how some will go crazy with slight pressure (such as the water blenders) and some require more pressure to achieve the desired effect.

Doing some web surfing to check out other Painter artists will really help you to understand what particular style or effect you are hoping to achieve. Read some of their bios and find out what that artist prefers to use and what their painting approach is. This will give you a good idea of where to begin. For me, the artist I found that inspired me was 'Don Seegmiller' his portrait work, both on the easel and the computer are inspirational. I did some research on his techniques and read every article I could find on him, including some of his own tutorials and then spent my tax refund on Corel IX and a intuos 3 wacom tablet and there is no turning back!.

This brings us to the wacom tablet. If you want the full painting experience and complete control over exact pressure and preciseness of your brush or pencil then a wacom tablet and stylus is a necessity. I noticed a huge difference in control after getting used to the stylus. I will guarantee that, once you become comfortable with the stylus, (give it a month) then you will bury the mouse and celebrate his passing! The stylus fits in your hand just like a pencil or brush and responds just like one on your virtual canvas. So if you want an incredibly natural experience that can not be matched by any mouse on the planet, buy a wacom! (This is why you can buy Corel IX bundled with the wacom tablet as they are the perfect couple!)

If you are a traditional artist making the transition from easel to monitor you will be delighted to recognize all the materials that you have been accustomed to working with. It is incredibly convenient to have a warehouse of materials at your fingertips! Having this new ability to paint directly over the 'reference' photo, (once overcoming the guilt) will be a welcome change in the conservation of time and the elimination of supply cost!

This means a vast increase in productivity and an increase in customers. For the non traditional artist that has always wanted to venture into this realm, the clone tools make painting a breeze! Features such as the 'quick clone' enable the digital artist to toggle the tracing paper back and forth to either 'trace' a drawing right over the image in an illustrative style or to use the underlying image as a painting guide. In the 'clone' mode one can paint directly on the image using brushes that 'clone' or lift the paint from the canvas layer creating brush strokes from pixels. You also have the option of turning off the 'use clone color' in your painting palette and choose your own colors , either by using the color picker directly from the color range of your image, or by using your imagination and painting any color that you choose! Colors can even be mixed right there in your color palette in much the same way as a traditional artist. If you feel that too much detail has been lost you can switch to the soft cloner brush and uncover chosen sections of your original image. If you love using layers in Photoshop then you will be happy to know that this technique is also available in painter and the two programs can share files.

One of my favorite brush categories are the blenders which work by blending the pixels rather than applying color over them. The blenders are a great place for the beginner to start .

I bought the academic version of Painter so I did not receive a copy of the training manual. However I did acquire the book by Cher Pendarvis entitled 'Painter IX Wow' and it is an excellent reference for an explanation of everything that Painter is capable of along with some samples of excellent digital art and the artists who created them. Cher even writes about animation, web design and printing with painter. If you are a student or teacher you can save BIG by buying academic software!

I like to start my digital paintings by first editing the photo in Photoshop, painting in Corel Painter and then finalizing in Photoshop. I find that the two programs work well together and one compliments the other. Photoshop shines in photo editing, but there are some features in Painter that are superior for straight photography editing. Notably, the special effects area of surface lighting. The effects in painter are so varied and dramatic that I find myself using them on almost every studio portrait that I edit. Ditto for the texture effects, painter can really make an oil painting look as though it was painted on fine linen.

Should you buy Corel IX? If you are a traditional artist I say "What the heck are you waiting for?" If you are a photographer wanting more creativity than a filter or action can provide, then I ask you this: Are you a patient person who is willing to put in the time and practice to learn something new? Do you love a challenge and delight in seeing yourself improve over time? Depending on your nature, Painter will not be as hard as you imagined it to me, and for others it will not be as easy as you were hoping it would be. The most common e-mail I receive from people who have asked for my help with a painting is "I tried everything you said and my painting doesn't look anything like yours" My answer: "Well, we are different people with different styles and experience and I hope that anyone learning the program hopes to discover their own style even with the use of the same tools. Also, if you just got the program last week, please be patient and persistent and do not give up! No one expects to learn piano after one lesson so give yourself a break and keep your expectations in check! I guarantee that you will evolve and uncover the artist in you and you will see a delightful and noticeable improvement as the months go by.

My first Cd tutorial "Portrait Magic" was created in complete visual step by step easy to follow on screen video which will show you how to use Corel IX to paint and fine tune facial features, hair and create beautiful backgrounds for your portraits. I sincerely hope that these videos will provide the needed assistance and build the confidence you need to get you on your way! (You can e-mail me for more info )

Needless to say I highly recommend Corel IX Painter! I can say, without hesitation, that this program has opened up exciting new opportunities in my photography and art combining and enhancing one another beyond my imagination. Being able to produce an oil portrait in a day or two rather than weeks has vastly increased productivity and has made for much happier customers. Having the capability of painting over a photo may still be considered 'cheating' by many traditional artists, but to the digital artist it is a match made in heaven! (No more complaints that the portrait doesn't quite look like the sitter) I believe, as long as the artist is upfront and honest about the creation process, then the digital medium offers a valid and professional product. It may remain controversial for years to come but it is most definitely here to stay.

Bravo Corel IX! Hats off to the best painting program available!