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Learn to paint digitally today!

Official Corel® PainterTM Magazine

Artistic advice
and inspiration
Official Magazine
Quick art with Quick Clone
Learn more about brushes
Premier issue

Loads of Corel Painter tips

FEATURED
IN THIS ISSUE
Andrew Jones
Improve your artwork with the
help of this Painter Master

Corel Painter X
Massive guide to the new features in
the latest version of Corel Painter

Paint perfect skin


Essential guide to achieving realistic
skin tones in your paintings Win prizes!
30 limited edition copies of
Corel Painter X to be won

Paint digital
masterpieces Become a better artist
with Corel Painter
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Free CD inside
PHOTOS | GUIDES | FONTS | TRIALS
PREMIER ISSUE
ISSN 1753-3155 £6.00
Techniques Drawing 101 Art history 01

Clear guides to the vital Corel Get to grips with perspective Learn about Vincent Van Gogh 9 771753 315000
Painter tools and commands and produce better art and re-create one of his paintings!

1_OPM_225+spine5mm.indd 1 6/2/07 15:13:59


Turn over for our
Quick Start guide

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

A very warm welcome to this

PREMIER ISSUE
premier issue of the Of�icial
7XWRULDO3DLQWOLNH9LQFHQW9DQ*RJK

Pg 48
Paint like::Vincent Van Gogh 7XWRULDO

Corel Painter Magazine. We


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VFRQYLQFLQJVLPXODWLRQRIUHDOOLIHPHGLD
3DLQWOLNH9LQFHQW9DQ*RJK

7XWRULDOLQIR hen it comes to painting


on screen, Corel Painter
3DLQWHUPDVWHU is in a league of its own,
+DQQDK*DO simulating real-life media
like no other application on the market.
7LPHQHHGHG
KRXUV Its impressively long list of tools

had a very clear goal in mind


includes practically everything you’d
6NLOOOHYHO expect to find in a traditional art shop.
,QWHUPHGLDWH From papers and canvases to pencils,
charcoal, watercolours, oils, acrylic,
2QWKH&' calligraphy, chalks, ink and many more.
6XQIORZHULPDJH The program’s strength, however, is
not restricted to the great number of

Paint like:
brushes and tools it offers, but in catering
for the entire creative process. Besides
the brushes, palettes, surfaces and
image collections, it offers a multitude of

when planning the title


sensitive controls over media application.
Here we will follow the traditional
artist’s work process, to turn a photo
of a vase of artificial sunflowers into a
Van Gogh creation. Van Gogh painted

Vincent Van Gogh


sunflowers in Arles, France during 1888-
1889 and in 1987, one of these paintings
9LQFHQW9DQ*RJK
VVW\OHRISDLQWLQJDQGH[SUHVVLRQKDVEHHQLQVSLUDWLRQDOWRPDQ\DUWLVWV+LVSDLQWLQJ
became the most expensive art work ever 6XQIORZHUVLVDQLPDJHLPPHGLDWHO\UHFRJQLVHGDURXQGWKHZRUOGDQGQRZ\RXFDQUHFUHDWHLW\RXUVHOI
sold when it fetched USD $39,921,750 at a
7KH%UXVK&UHDWRU Christie’s auction.
LVFHQWUDOWR
ZRUNLQJLQ&RUHO It is interesting to note that this painting embodies this characteristic There are several ways to achieve
creation is part of a Sunflowers series, perfectly. The brush is loaded with oil the end result. Many of the oil brushes

– to distil the program into a


3DLQWHU7KLVLV
ZKHUH\RXGHVLJQ made possible by newly released paint, creating a 3D artwork. are capable of creating the Van Gogh
\RXUVWURNHZLWK manufactured pigments, with never The colours are true to life in the sense style. Our main tool is Artists’ Oils. We
GHWDLOHGFRQWURO before seen vibrancy. Van Gogh is known that sunflowers are yellow, but just like use several tools within this category

Learn how to re-create


RYHUEUXVKW\SH
for his passionate strokes and this a musician layering the main melody to mould a thick, loaded brush. Central
VL]HRSDFLW\DQJOH

“Many of Corel Painter’s oil brushes are capable of


JUDLQDQGPRUH to our work is the Brush Creator where
7KHSDGPHDQV\RX we access the controls shaping a brush,
FDQVHH\RXUQHZO\ colour and stroke.
FUHDWHGEUXVK
LQDFWLRQEHIRUH
DSSO\LQJWRFDQYDV
creating the unique Van Gogh style” Once the right shade, paint amount
and brush look is in place, we turn our
attention to creating the famous Van

this artist’s trademark


with some dissonant chords, Van Gogh Gogh stroke. This is where Wacom’s tablet

magazine format that would


splashes colour that is ‘unrelated’. This comes in.
often contrasting colour creates a rich The graphics tablet works with the
and moving harmony. Corel Painter program’s technology to bridge the gap
includes an instant Van Gogh effect with between traditional and digital art,
different settings, but we will not take the letting you take digital paint application
automatic route for this project. to a higher level. The advantages of using
Instead, we will shape our brushes a stylus are too numerous to mention.

style and brush strokes


to match the artist’s expressive style, The biggest plus is in handling a brush/
controlling aspects like size and depth. pencil-like tool instead of a rigid mouse.
We will take advantage of Painter’s ability Among other sensitive touches, it reacts
to design a stroke and save it for later use. to the pressure you naturally apply to

give readers a regular jolt of inspirational


With flexibility and sensitivity in mind, the surface and responds to tilt and your
we will continuously adjust these brushes personal hand movement.
as we progress. We will sample colours off If you are serious about creating digital
the original photo as well as mix new ones art, there are no two ways about it – a
using Corel Painter’s own Mixer palette. graphics tablet is a must. You are trying to

 

tutorials and practical advice.


7XWRULDO3DLQWSHUIHFWVNLQ
So what does this mean? The core of the
Pg 58 magazine is the tutorials. These will show how
7XWRULDO

7XWRULDOLQIR ainting a character portrait that isn’t static


and emotionless is no easy task. In an
3DLQWHUPDVWHU industry as competitive and fast-paced as
:HQ;L&KHQ the art industry, your picture will really
7LPHQHHGHG
need to grab the viewers’ attention. To tell a story
with one still image requires imagination, suitable
3DLQWSHUIHFWVNLQ

PLQXWHV

to manipulate the tools and commands in order


lighting, suggestive colours and subtleties that hint
6NLOOOHYHO at something more beneath the surface. To achieve
,QWHUPHGLDWH this digitally, it is important to know your tools, your
character and your potential.
2QWKH&' In this tutorial, you will learn how to use the Palette
6NHWFKKDQGVDQG Knife and Airbrushes to create an atmospheric
ILQDOLPDJH portrait. We’re going to be creating this completely
from scratch, but there’s no need to worry if you feel
that you can’t draw – the final artwork is also on the
CD provided at the back of the magazine so you can
simply trace the contours of the face and body if you
would prefer.

to create beautiful pieces of art. There are no


The crux of this tutorial hangs around the realism

Paint perfect skin


given to the skin on the figure. It doesn’t matter how
detailed other elements such as eyes, clothes or hair
are – if a figure doesn’t have believable skin, then the
artwork automatically fails. And we’re not talking
about photo-realistic skin here – that’s a whole
different kettle of fish. Instead, we are looking at
achieving a more ‘painterly’ effect on the skin, first by
blocking in colour and then shading and blending until
the skin is smooth.
By working this way and paying so much attention

boundaries in terms of style here – we’ll cover


to the skin, we end up with a portrait that is soaked
with atmosphere and life.

Take a trip with one


artist as she reveals the
Wen-Xi Chen shows you how to
Paint perfect skin creative process behind everything from watercolours and oils through
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VPHWKRGIRUSDLQWLQJ
EHDXWLIXOJORZLQJVNLQWKDW
OOPDNH\RXUDUWZRUNFRPHDOLYH
Wen-Xi Chen juggles her Corel Painter creations with
studying for her science degree. Thankfully she took some
time out to talk us through how she created this
particular image. Follow the steps to create it yourself or
just read through to get an insight into her creative process
painting glowing skin to charcoal and ink. In addition to the creative
tutorials, we will also have in-depth guides to
 

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feature
focus
the program’s tools and functions, so you can
improve your understanding of the software.
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Using layers
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Pg 34
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ndjcZZYVlZiaVnZgid\dl^i]i]Zb#
EV^ciZgVghZcVa!aVnZg
bVh`hXVcaZindj
The Layers options
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gZVXihVh^[^ilZgZhi^aalZi!ZkZc^[ndj
Ódli]gdj\]l^i] /HDUQLQJWKRVHDOOLPSRUWDQWV\PEROV
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To supplement the program-speci�ic guidance,


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orel Painter is perhaps best iddcVcn\^kZcaVnZg# /RFN/D\HU
known for the fact that it can
mimic traditional artistic media 
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so accurately. But there would /LTXLG,QN/D\HU


be little point in using it if it didn’t offer 
you more possibilities than your old- :DWHUFRORU/D\HU
fashioned ‘unplugged’ equipment. And
perhaps the biggest single advantage in 
producing digital work with Corel Painter /D\HU*URXS &ORVHG

we will have regular features on traditional


is that you can build it all up with layers. 
Put simply, this means that you can keep /D\HU*URXS 2SHQ
all the elements of your artwork separate
from each other, and add new details 
without the fear of losing the bits you’ve /D\HU+LGGHQ
already got right. 
Layers literally ‘stack up’ one on /D\HU9LVLEOH
top of another at your command, and

Feature focus:
some pieces might only require one or

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two, while others might utilise dozens, I]^h^aajhigVi^dchiVgiZYdji
depending on the complexity of the VhVY^\^iVaeZcX^ah`ZiX] 

art theory and techniques. These will help you


artwork. As you might expect, the more VcYVXdcXZei!VcYlVh /D\HU&RPPDQGV
layers you use the larger your file will be, \gVYjVaanWj^aijejh^c\
but with today’s modern machines and

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gigantic hard drives, it’s unlikely to ever Wgjh]Zh!dcY^[[ZgZciaVnZgh#
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Using layers
DOD\HURQWKHSDOHWWH of the potential that layers offer you. You i]Ze^ZXZ#
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can also assign different effects to each of
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or make your shadows more oppressive.

become a better artist and improve your Corel


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time if you change your mind. /,48,',1./$<(56
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Get to grips with the


GURSGRZQPHQX Corel Painter’s Layers palette in detail, XdbZ^cideaVnl]ZcndjjhZi]ZA^fj^Y>c` lVnid]ZaehiVndg\Vc^hZY#L]Zc
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LQWHUHVWLQJHIIHFWV start experimenting for yourself! hiVnhlZiVcY^ciZgVXi^kZ0Vh^[ndjgZVaanlZgZ lZjhZYhZkZgVaaVnZghjci^alZlZgZ
ldg`^c\a^kZl^i]a^fj^Y^c`# ]Veenl^i]i]ZhinaZVcYiZmijgZ#

Create and organise layers Composite methods and opacity Preserving transparency Layer masks

Layers palette and see


Painter work.
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how it can help you


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Do let us know what you think of the


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magazine and happy painting!


Visit our website!
If you find that the magazine isn’t enough to satisfy your Corel Painter
appetite, you can always visit our website. Pop on over to
www.paintermagazine.co.uk and register as a user. Once this is out
of the way, explore the pages and enjoy great content such as…
• Downloadable resources
• Online galleries to share your work
• Special forum for meeting other Corel Painter users Jo Cole, Editor
jo.cole@imagine-publishing.co.uk

003_OPM01_2Welcome.indd 3 9/2/07 11:42:53


Charcoal pg 38
ON THE FRONT COVER

Get to know

P16 GET TO KNOW P99 GET STARTED WITH Special in-depth look at the
COREL PAINTER X DIGITAL PAINTING
new and enhanced features
Pgin34Corel Painter X
READ OUR SPECIAL 10-PAGE GUIDE FREE CD-ROM PACKED WITH
TO THE BEST NEW FEATURES ESSENTIAL RESOURCES FOR CREATING
FOUND IN COREL PAINTER X DIGITAL ART

Regulars in every issue WIN! Reviews


25 Competition 97 Reader’s Challenge LIMITED 84 Camera
Enter our competition and be in
with a chance to win a limited
Load up the supplied
images and see if you
EDITION The Olympus SP-510UZ is under the
spotlight this month. But will it tick
edition Corel Painter X paint can can create some art PAINT all our boxes?
26 Painter Masters 98 On the disc
See what great content
CANS! 86 Wacom tablet

Pg 25
Look out for the special pages The king of graphic tablets is here.
presenting sublime artwork is waiting for you on Intuos3 A6 Wide; take your seat on
from Painter Masters this issue’s disc the throne
73 Subscription 87 Corel Painter X
Sign up to subscribe to the Is the latest version as good as
magazine and save yourself up everyone was hoping? You bet your
to 40%! bottom dollar it is!
76 Art Class 88 Books
Come here for a host of Who said books are dead? We
valuable artistic tips, tricks look at three fantastic additions to
and techniques anyone’s library
94 Reader’s Gallery 90 PhotoArtistry canvas
Come here and get inspired by Learn how to use this company
the amazing artwork created by for ordering professionally-printed
Jeff Johnson canvases of your work

006-7_OPM01_Contents.indd 6 9/2/07 10:29:01


Interview
pg 10

Paint like: Van Gogh


pg 48

Interview
Tips from the professionals
Paint perfect skin 10 Heather Michelle Bjoershol

pg 58
We discover the techniques from a true Corel Painter
Master. Learn how the program helped her
take her work to a whole new level
Visit our
website now!
www.
tutorials painter
magazine.
Create inspirational art
co.uk
28 Discover how to use the
Quick Clone tool Primers
Take your first steps in digital Get up and running…
painting with this guide to the 46 Acrylic brushes
Quick Clone command
See what all the options do in this
38 Chiaroscuro portraits brush category and how they can
Create charcoal portraits with be used to best effect
real impact by emphasising the 64 Effects: Orientation
light and shadows Learn how to twist and turn and
48 Paint like: Van Gogh alter selections or layers with the

Drawing 101
Keep you ears intact and follow Orientation effects
the simple steps to produce

Traditional artistic techniques


work in the style of a true
painting genius Feature focus
58 Perfect skin Get to know your tools
66 Learn about perspective Being able to paint glowing 34 Layers
Being able to draw believable perspective is fundamental in creating skin is a great way of producing Layers are a fantastic way of
the impression of 3D space in a 2D environment. We explain what artwork with interest and life. controlling how your artwork is
the different theories mean See how it’s done here created – see how they work

006-7_OPM01_Contents.indd 7 9/2/07 09:41:15


Interview Heather Michelle Bjoershol

WEBSITE www.etherielle.com
JOB TITLE Professional photographer/digital artist
CLIENTS Corel, Ballistic Publishing, Dianna Lynn Photography

An interview with…
Heather Michelle Bjoershol
More and more professional photographers are turning to Corel Painter to offer
customers greater creative choice. We caught up with Heather Michelle Bjoershol
to see how the program has helped her create a fantastic business
here used to be a time when old round-faced CRT, and Photoshop 7. My How do you start a digital painting?
photography and art were kept in-laws bought me a Wacom tablet and Typically, I’ll receive a raw image and go
in distinctly separate camps, but Painter 8. I found a basic Epson printer through a detailed consultation with the
these days that distinction has in their clearance section strictly for photographer client. I’ll process it through
become more blurred. Photographers are paperwork, and used a computer chair Adobe Photoshop CS2 and make some
now turning to Corel Painter and offering I had bought at a yard sale. My friend adjustments in colour and density. In this
an art service to customers alongside the bought me a CD burner and I was in stage, I’ll do all the artistic retouching
traditional photos. business. The majority of my clients have so I have a near-perfect image to refer to
Heather Michelle Bjoershol is one such come to know Etherielle just by word of when I start painting. Once compressed
photographer who has also incorporated mouth and more recently by Corel’s use of into a TIFF, I’ll import it into Painter,
Corel Painter into her work�low. Her my ‘Little Miss’ image in its Range�inder and use it as a reference image. Every
image ‘Blue’ has been used by Corel on the ad (2006). image goes through this process. Once in
back of the Corel Painter X box artwork
and exempli�ies the program’s fantastic
[OPPOSITE PAGE] capability to turn �ine art photography
Young Winter
Heather describes this into �ine art. We caught up with Heather
image as one of her to �ind out more about her work.
absolute favourites,
even though it took a few When did you start the Etherielle site?
attempts to get it looking
as she wanted Why did you decide to do it?
I started Etherielle in April of 2005 and
built the website the same month. I had
abruptly quit my job and my husband was
still commuting to school. I took a look
at my skill set and decided it was time to
birth Etherielle. The name derived from
my artwork at the time: something with
a spiritual, or ghostly quality, something
that had a deeper meaning, with hidden
layers and captive interest in the eyes.
I started with next to nothing. It was
[RIGHT] a miracle it got off the ground. We had
Aphrodite no savings account, no credit line, and
This painting is an had barely enough in the bank to get
excellent example of
how Heather can turn
us through two months. My equipment
a normal photo into a summed up to an antiquated G3 Mac (with
serene piece of art 333MHz processor, and a 528 MB RAM),

10

010-14_OPM01_Interview.indd 10 9/2/07 09:16:11


Original photo by Gregory Georges – www.gregorygeorges.com

“Anyone who knows me knows I cannot draw


or paint a straight line to save my life ”
11

010-14_OPM01_Interview.indd 11 8/2/07 17:44:02


Interview Heather Michelle Bjoershol

“The name Etherielle derived from my artwork


at the time, something with a spiritual or even
ghostly quality”

12

010-14_OPM01_Interview.indd 12 9/2/07 09:16:29


Original photo

[ABOVE] Haunting
When Heather
Painter, I’ll block in colours and work they came in, I’d study them for hours, transforms a photo into
from the background in to the subject. and research the photographers featured. a painting, every single
Since eyes are my favourite portion to There was one in particular who stood part is covered with

Anything can be turned into fin


luscious paint, giving a
paint, I wait to do them last. If it’s an out; Darton Drake. His style was very
extreme concept piece, I will collaborate similar to my personal style. A year later
photography if you have the ‘eyee art
it. A simple stepping-stone co ’ for
more with the photographer, and email in April of 2003, I had the opportunity to
proofs in stages versus emailing a proof take a week’s Photoshop class with guru
in its �inal preapproved stage. Don Emmerich. For a few hours one day,
transformed into an interestinguld be
piece with either unique lightingart
he taught us the very basics of Painter 6,
What inspires you? and I was instantly hooked. In my free
Beautiful artwork. Delicious use of time I was browsing websites and John
exposure, or a tilt in the compo and
with a long lens. Fine art phot sition
colour. John Singer Sargent, Pino, Linda Derry’s tutorials. The studio I worked for
Bergkvist, Darton Drake. It varies at the time was gracious enough to let me
from Japanese anime to traditional oil play with Painter on its orders. It turned
is about readjusting your percepography
your way of interpreting everydtion,
paintings and it also depends on my out to be a huge success. Then in October
mood. Some days, inspiration derives of 2004, I took an intensive Painter
from a breath-taking sunset. I know it’s workshop by Helen Yancy. Helen’s class
life. It’s about looking for a ay
cheesy, but I’ll go out driving some days was phenomenal! I’ve been living and
just to see the sky at sunset. breathing Painter ever since. masterpiece in an ordinary ob
about capturing the moment ject. It’s
taking it to the next level. but
Why did you start using Corel Painter and What are your favourite Painter tools? [OPPOSITE PAGE]
when did you start? I am addicted to the Oil variants. It took Little Miss
My mother would receive Professional me several months to �inally adjust them This particular image
Photographer and PEI (Professional for my work�low. All of the oil variants was used by Corel in - Heather Michelle Bjoershol
its North American and
Electronic Imaging) magazines monthly, I use are customised, or made from Europe Rangefinder
and I could not get enough. As soon as scratch. Several of them evolved from advertising campaigns

13

010-14_OPM01_Interview.indd 13 9/2/07 09:17:01


Original photo

it?
Interview Heather Michelle Bjoershol

How d id H eath er create


SKIN UNDERBASE
In Painter 9, I clone in the
girl’s skin with a smeary
variant kept at a high
resaturation and high
opacity. Typically, I use
some sort of Smeary
Round variant for the skin.

BACKGROUND
I quickly cloned in
some extra shear in the
background where it
was torn at the top of
her head, and did a quick
colour adjustment using
selective colour and levels.

SMALL STEPS
I continued the process
of laying down paint, and
blending it, and laying more
colour, and continually
blending. I never want
to overwork an area, so I

Original portrait by Lonnie Hoke – www.lhoke.com


constantly work various
parts instead of spending 20
minutes on an eye.

GOOD HAIR DAY


I chose some teal colours to accent the hair, and tie together
the theme of materialising from the atmosphere. Using many
customised variants of the smeary round brushes, I added hair
sections one strand at a time. I finished the hair by adding all
sorts of brown and blonde tones, and starting to take that
windswept element into the background with lighter strokes
emulating the hair’s direction.

the Smeary Round brush. Another tool ‘Blue’. Those paintings re�lect more of with some adjustment layers in Adobe [ABOVE]
I’m playing with is the Sargent (Artist my personal style, and each inspires Photoshop to achieve the blue tones Blue
Using an original portrait
Category) brush. I love the chunky, me when I look at them. I keep one as before painting it further. Once I had the by Lonnie Hoke, Heather
unpredictable feel it gives an oil. Secretly, my desktop, and one as a print in my blue tones down, then I envisioned more set about creating a
I love cloning brushes, but you didn’t of�ice. Both were commissions from hair, and harsher atmosphere. I got ‘it’. fantastic image that has
hear that from me. They are a godsend amazing clients. Gregory’s piece came ‘Blue’ came second and I took one look at made it onto the Corel
Painter X box!
on straight lines. Anyone who knows me �irst. Looking at it, there was ‘something’ it and became excited. It was one of those
knows I cannot draw or paint a straight there, but I couldn’t put my �inger on it. images I worked through the evening and
line to save my life. With some images, the ‘it’ is there, but ‘it’ emailed a test proof over immediately at
doesn’t emerge until much later stages. 10 o’clock at night. I got a call from Lonnie,
What is your favourite piece of Painter I painted the image as a photo-realistic and we were both stuttering over the
work that you have created? oil in colour. It was good, but ‘it’ wasn’t image, saying, “Wow… I can’t speak… Oh
It’s a toss up between Gregory George’s there yet. Then it hit me. Again, I painted my gosh… uh, WOW!” I loved the image.
‘Young Winter’ and Lonnie Hoke’s through the inspiration, and played Every step, I just loved the image.
I have been obsessed with the two

“I know it sounds a bit cheesy but I’ll go out prints ever since.

some days just to see the sky at sunset” See more by visiting Heather’s website at
www.etherielle.com.

14

010-14_OPM01_Interview.indd 14 9/2/07 09:17:41


Feature Get to know Corel Painter X

Get to know

Read on for an in-depth look at the new


and enhanced features in Corel Painter X

Original artwork by Philip Straub

016-25_OPM01_PainterX.indd 16 8/2/07 18:56:44


Corel’s Painter software has always been dedicated to
bringing users the ultimate digital art studio. From its
very beginning, the program has merged real media
effects with digital technology and enabled tens of thousands
of users to produce art above and beyond what they had ever
dreamed of. For years, the program has allowed professional
artists, designers and photographers to edit and create images
to be proud of. Digital creatives from the entertainment industry
use the program to make matte paintings, design characters or
manufacture special textures. Corel Painter has been used to
make popular videogames as well as movies from household
names such as Lucas�ilm and Disney. Professional photographers
have also been drawn to the program, having noticed the
potential in turning their photos into paintings. This has provided
them with a new client base and helped increase revenue. See
page 10 for one photographer who has been doing just that.

Within its diverse audience, the


program is most popular with �ine
artists, with more and more moving
from traditional methods of creating
art to working in Corel Painter. Artists
can get such outstanding results that
their work is being exhibited around
the world. And this is the perfect
demonstration of what Corel Painter is
all about – acting as a bridge between
traditional art techniques and cutting-
edge digital technology, giving users
the best of both worlds.
While it’s true that the professional community loves the
program, it can also be found in the homes of curious creatives
eager to try their hand at digital art. Whatever a person’s ability,
there is a function in Corel Painter that will allow them to create
something to be proud of. Whether it’s using a photo as a basis
for a painting or sketching out a form freehand and then applying
layers of virtual paint, there’s enough functionality to keep
everyone’s imagination busy.
With Painter X, Corel has built and expanded on all of the core
features and produced a program that blurs the distinction
between traditional art media and the digital format even more.
Corel worked closely with the world’s best Painter users and
responded to their ideas about how the program should develop.
The result is a piece of software that gives users the ability to
emulate the look of real media like never before. Features include
the new RealBristle Painting System, which delivers an incredibly
responsive brush system, the Divine Proportion tool, for
composing images using traditional art theory and the new and
enhanced features of the Photo Painting System, giving �irst-time
users an excellent automatic base to start from. Over the next few
pages we’re going to look at these features in more depth, as well
as have dedicated tutorials in future issues. There’s a trial on the
disc, so you can see exactly what we are talking about and there’s
even a chance to win a limited edition Corel Painter X paint can. So
sit back, see how Corel Painter X can improve your work and then
get creating!

17

016-25_OPM01_PainterX.indd 17 8/2/07 18:57:32


Feature Corel Painter X

The Corel
DIVINE PROPORTION
Alongside the new Layout Grid tool,

Painter X the Divine Proportion option lets


you bring up a guide that helps you

workspace compose your artwork or photo


according to a ratio used by famous
artists such as Leonardo da Vinci.
Find your way around
the new workspace
and see where the
new features live
Anyone who is familiar with Corel
Painter won’t be too horrified when
they open up the new version. The
overall look is the same as previous
versions, although once you start
delving deeper, there are new
goodies to be found.
We’re going to look at the new
features in more depth on these
pages, and will show exactly
how they can be used to create DODGE AND BURN
outstanding artwork in future These two new additions to the
issues. For now, though, here’s toolbox enable users to highlight
a whistle stop tour of where and darken areas of a photo or
everything lives in the interface. image. By adjusting the opacity
and size, you can apply your
changes very intuitively and
achieve amazing results.

In addition to looking like the real thing,


the RealBristle set also interacts with the
canvas as a real brush would

RealBristle Painting System


This new brush category ROUNDNESS Determines BRISTLE RIGIDITY
illustrates the core values of Corel how round the width of the
brush is. If you start with a
This is a very interesting
setting, as it allows you to
Painter perfectly round brush, a low value will control how �lexible the
The brushes have always been at the heart of the program and give you an elliptical shape. A bristles are. If you go for a
with this new set, the line between traditional art media and low value on a �lat brush will low value, the bristles will
digital art media is blurred beyond recognition. The RealBristle give angular corners. be more �lexible. Set them
brush category was developed by Painter Master Cher Threinen- higher and the brush will be
Pendarvis and replicates traditional art media with phenomenal BRISTLE LENGTH more rigid.
precision. With this brush category, users can work as they Use this slider to set the length
would do with a traditional brush. You can see the individual of your bristles. This setting FANNING Pretty obvious
bristles of the brush and also determine how the paint �lows and revolves around some maths one this – the higher the
in what direction. As the brush moves, the bristles will splay and – the length is worked out by Fanning value, the more
bend just as if you were working a traditional brush on a canvas. multiplying the brush size by spread out the bristles.
The brush variants of this category replicate what you would the length you set. So if you
expect a ‘real’ artist to use. The different brush tips give you all have a size 15 brush and you FRICTION Sets how the
the control you need to create exactly the art you want but they set the Bristle Length to 2, the bristles glide over the canvas.
can be further tweaked with the RealBristle palette (found in bristles will be 30. A low value will result in
Enjoy the look Window>Brush Controls). From here you can determine the smooth brush strokes; a high
of a fan brush
with the new
dynamics of the brushes. You can start by clicking an icon to PROFILE LENGTH setting will give much more
RealBristle set the tip pro�ile and then further re�ine your choice using This sets the length of the textured results. Use this
brush category the subsequent sliders. Here’s a look at what they do: brush’s pro�ile. setting alongside the Rigidity

18

016-25_OPM01_PainterX.indd 18 8/2/07 18:59:16


REALBRISTLE
PAINTING SYSTEM The RealBristle
MATCH PALETTE This exciting new brush
category allows users
variants in full
The Effects menu houses a new addition to mimic the effect of Helping your image blossom
in the shape of the Match Palette effect. traditional brushes to
You can use this to match the colour the extent of revealing
values of one image to another. individual bristle marks!

Real Blender Flat

Real Blender Round

Real Blender tapered

Real Fan Short

Real Fan Soft

UNIVERSAL MIXER PALETTE


Mixing colours has never been easier
than with the new Universal Mixer Real Flat Opaque
palette. When used with the right
brushes, you can mix colours up and
apply them directly on the canvas.
Real Flat

Real Oils Short

Real Oils Smeary

Real Oils Soft Wet


The RealBristle
setting for some category allows you
to emulate traditional
spectacular results. brush effects like
Real Round Bristle
HEIGHT This never before

setting is very interesting


indeed. A traditional artist
Real Round
will change how much of the
brush is pressed on the canvas.
This setting does the same – a
high value will only use the Real Tapered Bristle
very tip of the brush, while low
values compress the bristles
against the canvas. This causes
them to spread out. Real Tapered Flat

This brush category will delight any artist who


works from scratch and will be very intuitive Real Tapered Round
to anyone who has worked with traditional art
materials. But you can also apply the RealBristle
palette settings to the existing Static Bristle,
Camel Hair, Bristle Spray and Blend Camel Real Tapered Wet Flat
brushes and turn them into RealBristle brushes!

19

016-25_OPM01_PainterX.indd 19 8/2/07 19:00:15


Feature Get to know Corel Painter X

The Layout Grid also allows you to improve the composition in your photos or images

Leonardo da
Vinci applied the
principles of divine
The options within the Divine proportion in his
Proportion box give you total control work, including on
over the tool the Mona Lisa

Compositional tools
Before any painting can take most useful. It’s possible to change the size, angle and orientation
of the guide and also save out certain presets for common tasks.
place, an artist needs to work out By using this tool, you can arrange your photos or paintings
the arrangement of a piece, and according to tried and tested artistic methods. Even if you don’t
the next couple of new features we’ll look follow it exactly, the guide can be used to see where the important
areas of an image are, and will help you position accordingly. You
at help with exactly this can use it to roughly mark out a blank canvas, or apply it to a photo
The Divine Proportion tool takes a classic compositional theory before cropping.
and brings it direct to your digital art studio. It works around the Another great compositional tool is the new Layout Grid. This
ratio of roughly three to �ive, which results in a composition that’s works along similar principles to the Divine Proportion tool, in
aesthetically pleasing. The term ‘divine proportion’ was created that it allows you to visually divide the grid up into sections and
by Luca Pacioli way back in 1509. He wrote a treatise about the plan where your most important features go. It comes with three
subject, which was illustrated by none other than Leonardo da presets ready to use (Rule of Thirds, 3x5, 5x5) but you can use the
Vinci, who also applied the ratio to his own work such as the Mona Layout Grid palette to create divisions of your choosing. Simply
Lisa and The Last Supper. adjust the Divisions slider to the setting you want.
The concept is simple. According to the ratio, there are certain The Layout Grid is an exceptionally useful feature. For example,
‘hot spots’ in an area. By placing focal points of an image in these if you are creating a painting from a photo reference, you can apply
hot spots, an artist can ensure that as a viewer’s eye travels around the same grid to the source image as to your canvas. This allows
an image it will �ind the points of interest. you to break the reference down into separate chunks and you can
The Divine Proportion tool is found in the toolbox. Once enabled, then sketch the information in each of these chunks to create the
a guide will appear on the canvas consisting of a grid, a spiral and basics for the painting. It is also a good way of seeing how best to
an axis. You can keep all lines on, or just select the ones you �ind crop a photo or image according to where the lines lie.

20

016-25_OPM01_PainterX.indd 20 8/2/07 19:00:51


Using the Divine Proportion tool allows you to arrange artwork in the most aesthetically pleasing way

Applying divine proportion


Get the best composition
Using the Divine Proportion tool means you can see how an artwork is shaping up and whether you are
missing a potential compositional no-no. Even if you don’t stick to the guides exactly, a rough adherence will
reap rewards.

01 Enable the tool Before you can start


positioning anything, you need to first
03 Remove lines You may find that you don’t need all of the
apply the tool. Go to Window>Show Divine
Proportion to call up the palette. Once the palette
appears, click Enable Divine Proportion.
02 Resize to fit To make sure the grid fits with
your image, use the Size slider to increase or
decrease the grid. You can also rotate the grid.
guidelines. To remove one, simply click the tick box next to it.
In this case we removed the spiral and instead lined the horses’s eye with
one of the axes. The tail could be expanded to reach the other one.

21

016-25_OPM01_PainterX.indd 21 8/2/07 19:01:29


Feature Get to know Corel Painter X
Create an Auto-Painting
Set Corel Painter X up to do the hard work
The Auto-Painting option is a handy tool to get to know because it allows
you to test out effects without having to do any actual work. Of course,
if you’re a beginner to the program, it is an excellent way of creating a
rough painting to then practise your skills on.

01 Set the scene Open up the photo you want to use and then
go to Window>Show Underpainting. This will bring up the
palette with all the options for applying settings to your photo.

You can apply colour sets to a photo

Auto art
and then let the Auto-Painting
controls turn it into art

Although a lot of creative professionals use


Corel Painter, you shouldn’t for one minute
think that it is the sole domain of accomplished
artists. There are lots of tools and functions that mean
anyone can get started with the program, whatever
their artistic ability may be 02 The scheme Visit the Color
Scheme pull-down menu and
apply one of the presets. We picked the
Watercolor option here. You can then
A great command to introduce you to the program is the Photo use the new Photo Enhance menu to
Painting System. With this you can literally sit back while further tweak the effect or apply an
Corel Painter does the hard work for you. Created edge effect. Click Quick Clone.
in three stages, you get to set up some controls
and then hit a Play button. Corel Painter will
apply paint strokes to a clone of a photo and
produce a painting.
03 Paint away Time to visit the Auto-
Painting palette. Click the new Smart
Stroke Painting and Smart Settings checkboxes
Your �irst step is to open up the and set the Speed slider to something high like
Underpainting palette. In traditional art, 80%. Hit the Play button and watch as brush
strokes are dynamically applied to the photo.
an underpainting establishes the basic
colour values of a painting. The same
principle applies in Corel Painter – open up
the Underpainting palette and choose one of incredible feature automatically detects
the default selections from the Color Schemes the edges of the original photo, and will
menu to set the photo’s colours. These are based dynamically alter the brush size, stroke
on media styles such as Watercolor, Impressionist, length and pressure according to the detail on
Sketchbook and Chalk Drawing. You can then make use the original photo. Once you set Corel Painter off to do
of the new Photo Enhance menu to further edit the photo, its thing, you can stop the process at any time to adjust the
whether it’s adjusting the lightness or contrast, or adding a settings and begin again.
Bring detail back to your
decorative border effect. images by using the Once your painting is prepared, you can improve upon it even
The next stage takes you into the Auto-Painting palette. This Restoration tools more by opening up the Restoration palette to bring back detail
is where you make the �inal adjustments before setting Corel from the original photo. This is particularly useful for people
Painter loose on your photo. From this palette, you set the portraits, because you can bring back important details such as
program to automatically apply strokes of paint that change eyes and other facial features.
direction, pressure and size. You set the type of brush stroke and The Auto-Painting command is a useful creative tool to have.
determine how the brush works with the canvas. It’s a great way to quickly try out a photo and see if it will work as
To enhance this process even further, Corel Painter X also a painting, plus it is also a handy method of generating a starting
bene�its from the new Smart Stroke Painting option. This base on which to start laying down manual brush strokes.

22

016-25_OPM01_PainterX.indd 22 8/2/07 19:02:07


Match colours
Alter the look of an image by applying different colours
The new Match Palette effect is a handy tool that allows you to transfer the colour values of one
image onto another. You can control how much colour is applied and also the brightness.

01 The two
images
First, open up the
two images that
you wish to use.
The image you
want the colours
applied to needs to
be the one selected.
Go to Effects>
Tonal Control>
Match Palette.

Colour control
Having complete control over
colour options is of utmost
importance to any artist and
Corel Painter X comes with new tools to
help users get the exact colour they want

02 Slide around In the palette that appears, pick the image you’re taking
the colour from in the Source drop-down. Now alter the sliders to get the
desired effect. Don’t put the values too high or you risk over-saturation.

First up is a new effect. The Match Palette effect will match are also useful in paintings, because you can apply shadow and
colour and intensity between two images. This means that highlights without having to paint in anything extra.
to alter the overall colour of one image, you can just open up The Dodge and Burn tools come with their own options to
another image with the desired colour and bring the effect into make sure that you get the exact effect you want. With these
play. The Match Palette command also comes with controls options, you can adjust the size of the tool as well as how opaque
for dictating the level of colour, brightness and intensity. The it is. A low opacity and large size will produce a subtle, soft
command is excellent for adjusting photos, but it is also good for effect. The Jitter setting lets you set random dabs outside the
quickly trying out new effects. Let’s say you have a landscape brush stroke. These can be very effective and soften the �inal
painting with very blue colours. Open up the Match Palette look even more.
command and import a sunset photo. Apply the colour values The Mixer palette revolutionised the way colour was blended
to your painting and you can get an idea of whether it’s worth and applied and the task has got even more sophisticated with
turning the painting into a sunset scene! the new Universal Mixer palette. With this users can blend their
Photographers have been using Dodge and Burn tools for colour and paint straight onto the canvas, as long as they are
years to selectively darken and lighten areas of an image. You using one of the brush variants that supports mixing. These are
can enjoy the same control with the brand new Dodge and Burn Artists’ Oils, RealBristle brushes, Camel Hair, Flat, Bristle Spray,
tools. Found inside the toolbox, you use the Dodge tool to lighten Watercolor Camel, Watercolor Flat and Watercolor Bristle. After
Lighten areas in pixels and the Burn tool to darken them. Although they are very mixing your colours in the palette, you can now paint directly on
a photo with the simple, they are also powerful creative tools. If you are prepping the canvas using one of these brushes. The last colour that was
Dodge tool, or
darken sections a photo for painting, you can use the Dodge and Burn tools to used on the Apply Color tool or Mix Color tool is loaded onto the
using the Burn tool lighten or darken areas without affecting the whole image. They brush and can be applied to the canvas.

23

016-25_OPM01_PainterX.indd 23 9/2/07 11:20:27


Feature Get to know Corel Painter X

Set up workspaces
Custom displays for improved performance
Just as an artist will use certain paints or brushes for different types of
work, you can set up specific workspaces for various types of art. They
are easy to do and can be exported or imported from other machines.

02 Check it out When you’ve finished,


click Done. Have a look in one of the
palettes and see what’s happened. As you can
see here there’s fewer brushes than normal.

03 Save for the future You can save


your customised workspaces for

01 Start customising Go to Window>Workspace>Customize


Workspace to bring up this window. Click an arrow to open a
palette and click the eye icon shut to deselect a tool. Go through all of
future use. Go to Window>Workspaces>New
Workspace and then save. You’ve now got
your on specialised area for the type of work
them until you have only the ones you want. you prefer.

Performance
Access extra learning tools from the
Welcome book enhancements
To help with all the new features,
Corel Painter X also offers extra
performance capabilities
First up is Universal Binary support, so the program is optimised
for both Intel and PowerPC-based Macs. There is also support for
Windows Vista and Mac OS x 10.5, which has resulted in a much
faster and far superior creative environment.
Another bonus for users is the new Secure Saving and Auto-
Backup system. This helps ensure that you won’t lose any of your
precious work if you suffer a power surge or computer crash.
To help users get the very best from Corel Painter X, there
are a number of excellent learning resources that ship with the
program. The �irst of these is a series of tutorials from Painter
Masters. These help you get started with the program and
provide an insight into how the professionals work. There are
also training videos from Jeremy Sutton that help you become
attuned to the program and also a Painter on the Net tab. Found
on the Welcome book, this directs you straight towards the very
best online resources for the Painter community. There are also
handy tips and tricks for getting more from the program.

24

016-25_OPM01_PainterX.indd 24 8/2/07 19:03:20


30
cans up !
grabs
er
Corel Painftor

Corel Painter X Limited


Win!
Edition Paint Can
Enter our fantastic competition to win one of 30
amazing paint cans
Now you’ve read the feature on all the new What you need to do
tools in Corel Painter X, you’re no doubt The paint can packaging was used for
eager to get your hands on the software earlier versions of the program and
and take it for a creative spin. We’ve teamed promotional artwork used to have the
up with Corel to bring you this amazing can featured in a painting. Some examples
competition to win one of the limited edition included a painting being poured out
Corel Painter X paint cans! Worth nearly of a can, or a traditional-style painting
£305 each, the cans are stuffed with creative with the can in the scene. We’d like you
goodies to enhance your Corel Painter X to create your own piece of art, featuring

The perfect
experience. In addition to the software, the Corel Painter X paint can somewhere
you get a colour printed user guide, HTML in the image. It can be a major focal point,
and PDF help �iles, the complete Learning or just somewhere in the background – as

creative tool
Corel Painter X videos with Jeremy Sutton, long as it’s there (and as long as you create
a collector’s edition poster and a hand-held the image using Corel Painter) we don’t
composition guide for working en plein air. mind what you do!
With this new version, has
Corel come up with the
perfect painting software?
It’s a tough question, and perfection
is a term which shouldn’t be used
freely. However, Corel Painter X has a
slew of new features that improve the
program overall, and help users get
more from their photos and art. By far
the most impressive new addition is
the RealBristle painting system. With
this, Corel has shown that the term ‘real
media software’ isn’t just some clever
PR spin. The fact that these brushes look
and behave so much like traditional art
materials means that it is impossible to
tell what has been done on a canvas and
what has been done with Corel Painter.
Hopefully this feature will have
whetted your appetite for what Corel Deadline for all entries is 25 April 2007
Entries need to be 300ppi, and if they are under
Painter, speci�ically version X, can do. 2MB you can email them to competition@
We’ll be looking at all of the features paintermagazine.co.uk. Alternatively, pop This competition is open to residents of the United Kingdom, EU
in more detail over coming issues, and your entry on a CD and post it to: and North America. Corel has the right to substitute the prize for
a similar item of equal or higher value. Employees of Imagine
producing targeted tutorials to help you Paint Can competition, Publishing (including freelancers), their relatives or any agents
get the most from the program. Whether Official Corel Painter Magazine, are not eligible to enter. The Editor’s decision is final and no
you’re a �ine artist looking for some Imagine Publishing, correspondence will be entered into. Prizes cannot be exchanged
Richmond House, for cash. Full terms and conditions are available on request.
inspiration, a keen photographer eager
33 Richmond Hill,
to try out something new, or you’ve just Bournemouth,
From time to time Imagine Publishing or its agents
may send you related material or special offers.
always been interested in the program Dorset, BH2 6EZ, UK. If you do not want to receive this, please state it clearly
but didn’t know where to start, this Unfortunately we can’t return any CDs on your competition entry.
magazine is for you!

25

016-25_OPM01_PainterX.indd 25 8/2/07 19:03:44


026-027_OPM_01_ERIK.indd 26 8/2/07 17:46:33
ERIK TIEMENS
WEBSITE www.watersketch.com
JOB TITLE Art director, Lucasfilm Animation
CLIENTS Industrial Light and Magic, consultant for film studios
Erik is a very gifted artist who has travelled all over the world studying art.
After winning an intern position at the MGM animation studios in Florida,
Erik started work on films and designs. He has been senior art editor at
Industrial Light and Magic and a concept design supervisor on Star Wars:
Episode II and III. He achieved an Emmy nomination for designing the
opening of Star Trek: Voyager and was part of the Oscar-winning effects
team for both Jurassic Park and Forrest Gump. His image here was a
quick study made while waiting for a connection at Vancouver airport.

026-027_OPM_01_ERIK.indd 27 8/2/07 17:46:59


Tutorial Learn how to Quick Clone

Original photo Quick Clone painting

Learn how to Quick Clone


Corel Painter has a great feature called Quick Clone. We are going to show how easy it is to do a
painting using this command
e’re going to use this magically appear on the screen. The colours. This will be done by laying the
tutorial to show you how painting will draw all its colours from the paint on the image instead of using the
to create a painting using original image and that essentially is the originals colours to paint from.
Tutorial info Corel Painter’s Quick Clone basis for the entire painting. You will be able to create your own
command. The Quick Clone feature When clone painting, there is a choice soft edge for this painting by not bringing
Painter master
Marilyn Sholin creates a copy of your image with to use either the Cloner Brushes or to through the entire image. The Tracing
Tracing Paper over it. The paper can be use other brushes that are easily turned Paper will effectively create the canvas
Time needed any colour, but the default is white. The into a Clone Brush with one click. We you are painting on. With so many
30 minutes cloned image is under the paper and the will explore the brush choices and mix different choices available it may seem
paper can be turned on and off. Also, the brushes together to give different brush easy to get confused, but Corel Painter
Skill level opacity of the paper can be changed to strokes. The beauty of Corel Painter is that keeps things nice and simple and with
Beginner your speci�ications. different media can be mixed to create each step, we will create a beautiful
We are going to paint through the original results. painting while showing you the options
On the CD
tracing paper and as we paint with As a �inishing touch, we will add paint you can use to explore the power and
Source photo various brushes, the painting will to the image and blend it to accentuate the beauty of this software.

28

028-032_OPM01_QuickClone.indd 28 9/2/07 09:21:21


02 Tracing
paper
Brush direction

Tutorial
opacity Note the Follow a photo’s contours
small black and white It’s important to follow the flow of the image and not to go across it
box in the upper right or just up and down. Notice the difference in these two brush strokes
of the frame. Click on on the painting. Note in the first image the brush direction follows the
it and a menu appears flowers lines. This is the correct way of painting. Notice the second
with the tracing paper image painted straight across and up and down. This is an example of
opacity. These little what your painting should NOT look like! Use a mixture of strokes that

Learn how to Quick Clone


boxes also turn the are long and short and also try doing some half moon shapes with your
paper off and on strokes and see how easy it is using those strokes to go around the
which we will do as curves of the flower. See the half moon type strokes in the third image.
Because we have changed the canvas colour to a colour already in the
01 Start the Quick Clone Copy the
tutorial file from the disc to your desktop
and go to File>Open. Then go to File>Quick
we paint. When the
paper is turned off, we
can see our painting
image, it’s not necessary to absolutely cover every inch of the image.
The painting will look more interesting if some of the solid pink areas
are allowed to show through.
Clone. Notice now your image has the Tracing emerging. When it is
Paper over it and that the file name has changed on, we see the image
to: Clone of pinkflowers.jpg. Always be sure you we are painting from
are painting on the Clone version. below it.

03 Acolour
different
It is
at this point that we
can change the colour
of the tracing paper
if we like, using the
Color Picker tool. We
like to use a colour
from the original
Using brush strokes in many different directions is the best way to go
photo, so we brought
the original back up
and chose one of the
pinks. Using the Paint
Bucket tool, position
it over the Clone copy
and click. The tracing
paper will now turn a
lovely shade of pink.

Picking your brushes


Control the clone effect

This is definitely not what your image should look like!

04
brush
Choose
your
Go to the
Brush Categories.
By default, since we
Quick Cloned the
image, the category
reverts to the Cloner
Brushes. Click the
brush and the drop-
down menu will come
up for all the brushes
05 Brush Controls The default brush
setting for the size of this brush is too
small to paint this painting. See the brush controls
in that category. at the top of the screen and change the size from
Choose the first one: 12 to 40. All the other settings, however, should Half moon strokes can create a nice effect for your image
Bristle Brush Cloner. stay the same.

29

028-032_OPM01_QuickClone.indd 29 9/2/07 09:22:11


Tutorial Learn how to Quick Clone

Put paint onto canvas


Brush over the photo

Experiment
for results
If you are new to using
Quick Clone, try and
spend a bit of time
using each brush on
a photo. By doing this
you can build up a feel
for which ones are
suitable for certain
jobs (for example,
detail, background,
06 Begin painting Zoom in on the flowers and begin to paint.
Follow the natural lines of the flowers. Use a mix of long strokes and
short ones. Turn the paper off and on to see your painting and zoom in closer
07 Vary brush size It really is a case of just following the original
picture to create your painting. To get into smaller areas, vary the
brush size in the brush controls. Small brushes are also preferable for the more
texture etc). to see the brushstrokes. See the box on brush strokes (p29) for more on this. detailed areas.

09
Experiment with
other brushes
You can mix brushes
together in one
painting. Try the
Camel Oil Cloner and
when using it, also
paint over some of
the painted areas with

08 Block out the rest At this point you


should decide how much of the flowers
you want to paint. An easy way to block areas out
the Bristle Oil Cloner
brush. This gives a
nice layered look. The 10 Saving work Corel Painter has a nifty
built-in Save feature, found by going to
is to turn off the paper, go around the area with Impressionist Cloner File>Iterative Save. The first time you use this it will
your brush that you want to keep and turn the is also fun for accents save the file name ‘clone of pinkflowers.jpg’. Every
paper back on. Now you can see exactly where to and areas to add some time you save your image it will automatically add
keep painting. more texture. the next number so each version is saved in order.

Learn more about digital painting online


There is a wonderful online
forum for Corel Painter at www.
digitalpaintingforum.com. This is for
11 Bring
detail
back
that you have the
Now

all levels of painting from beginning painting filled in, you


to advanced. Get a free 30-day trial to may want to bring
The Digital Painting Forum, hosted by back some of the
Corel Painter Master, Marilyn Sholin. detail. To do this ,the
The forum has thousands of members best brush is Soft
and over 30,000 posts about Corel Cloner. Set the brush to
Painter, Corel Painter Essentials 3, digital size 38 and the Opacity
painting, art and the business of creating, will vary between
marketing and selling digital art. To get
10-20 per cent as
your free 30-day trial, send one email to
paintoutsidetheframe@gmail.com with you work back some
the subject line: “IMAGINE”. Put your full details. To see the
name and state or country in the email. details in order to paint
You will receive the access code for your them back in, turn the
account via. Join thousands of others like paper off again so the
yourself that enjoy Corel Painter. Sign up for your free trial to learn some excellent tips image is seen.

30

028-032_OPM01_QuickClone.indd 30 9/2/07 09:23:12


Built in help
12 Add accent

Tutorial
Help is only a click
colour away with Corel
Change the brush Painter’s built in Help.
category to Acrylics At the top of your
and pick the Capture screen all the way
Bristle variant. Click to the right, you will
the stamp icon in the see the word Help.
Color Selector so the Click that and you

Learn how to Quick Clone


colours are bright. have the options to
This means we are no search the index or
longer cloning colour to go online and read

13 Add more background


but laying down paint. This same brush can be turned into a more tutorials on the
Corel site. Click Help
Pick a yellow colour cloner by reclicking the rubber stamp in the Color Selector. It’s helpful
Topics and there is a
with a brush size of to go back and forth doing this to lay down colour and then blend it slightly as list alphabetically of
20 and opacity of 50. a Cloner Brush. Pick the Splattery Clone Spray with the Opacity down to 50% everything in Corel
Lightly brush over to paint into the edges of the flowers and spread out to the rest of the canvas. Painter. Click the word
some of the white This has given the painting another dimension and again, the pink canvas has and the lesson pops
areas in the painting. added to the depth of having the splatter paint on top of it. up on the right side.

Those all-important final details


It’s the little things that count

15 Sign
work
your
There
are many ways to sign
the painting. We’re
going to use the Text
tool and use a font to
sign the painting. Go
to Window>Show
Layers. Add a layer and
go to the toolbox and
click the ‘T’ icon. At
the top of the screen
the box appears to
show all the fonts you
have available. Choose
your font and click in
the image and type.

14 Sharpening Sharpening is one of the last steps to finishing your


painting. It will ‘pop’ all the brush strokes and give much more
detail to the painting. Go up to Effects>Focus>Sharpen. If you feel you have
Because the text is on
a layer, it can be moved
around the image
sharpened too much, go to Edit>Fade. using the Move tool.

16 Rotate and alter the signature Go to Effects>Orientation>


Free Transform. You will be able to change the look of the font by
stretching or compressing it. Once you are done it needs to be rotated, so go 17 Drop the layer of text Next go to
Layers>Drop to drop the layer. This is
to Effects>Orientation>Rotate. Put a number around 20 or more in the box the home straight of the painting and where
and you will see where it rotates your signature right there on the screen. everything becomes final.

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028-032_OPM01_QuickClone.indd 31 9/2/07 09:23:53


Tutorial Learn how to Quick Clone

Near the end


The end of the Quick Clone

19 Add an edge One thing that adds a


nice touch to a painting is an edge. Go
to Select>All. This will now show on your screen
the traditional ‘marching ants’ around the image.
Be sure the Captured Bristle Brush is selected in
the brush category and use the Color Picker to

18 Saving the painting Go to File>Save


As. Since this is the final version, remove
the words ‘clone of’, leave the version number but
select a dark pink. Brush size should be 50. Go to
Select>Stroke Selection. Magically you will see the
paint go around your painting and add the edge!
add an underscore and the letters FIN to denote Turn the selection off by going to Select>None
it’s the final version. and save the file.

Brushes used in the painting


Building up the brush strokes
When you first open up the Quick Clone tool, it’s
easy to just stick to the one type of brush and
only dabble with altering the brush size or maybe
the opacity as well. But the fact is any brush
can become a cloner, so there’s no reason to not
mix things up a bit and try using multiple types
of media on the one image. We used only a few
brushes in this painting to illustrate how they
can all work together and have different looks,
but even just by using a few, you will hopefully
appreciate how easy it is to get a thick painted
effect. The Captured Bristle brush was used as
both a Cloner Brush and a paint brush to lay down
colour. The choice of brushes for a painting like
this is unlimited, so when you start on your next
Quick Clone, maybe set yourself the task of using Bristle Brush Cloner Camel Oil Cloner
three different brush categories in it! Bristles create the look of a real brush stroke, complete with The Camel Oil Cloner emulates a smooth, oily
the striations that hairs on a real brush make. look when cloning.

Captured Bristle Splattery Clone Spray Soft Cloner Brush


The captured bristle is soft and has many different ways of Just what it says. It sprays almost like an airbrush and This brush adds no texture or paint strokes to the image. It
being used. spatters paint wherever it is used. only brings back information from the clone source.

32

028-032_OPM01_QuickClone.indd 32 9/2/07 09:24:21


Feature focus Layers
FEATURE
FOCUS WATERCOLOUR LAYERS
While many of the tools in Corel Painter

Using layers
can be used on a normal, ‘dry’ layer,
when you use watercolour brushes
you need a wet layer to go with them.
Essentially this means that the paint
reacts as if it were still wet, even if you
take a break for several hours!

To get the most of Corel Painter you’ll


need to make the most of layers
orel Painter is perhaps best
known for the fact that it can
mimic traditional artistic media
so accurately. But there would
be little point in using it if it didn’t offer
you more possibilities than your old-
fashioned ‘unplugged’ equipment. And
perhaps the biggest single advantage in
producing digital work with Corel Painter
is that you can build it all up with layers.
Put simply, this means that you can keep
all the elements of your artwork separate
from each other, and add new details
without the fear of losing the bits you’ve
already got right.
Layers literally ‘stack up’ one on
top of another at your command, and
some pieces might only require one or WET PAPER
two, while others might utilise dozens, This illustration started out
depending on the complexity of the as a digital pencil sketch
artwork. As you might expect, the more and a concept, and was
layers you use the larger your �ile will be, gradually built up using
Simple but but with today’s modern machines and various Corel Painter
gigantic hard drives, it’s unlikely to ever brushes, on different layers.
effective be a problem. We’ve used various layer
Right/Ctrl-click over However, stacking them up is just part techniques to complete
a layer on the palette of the potential that layers offer you. You the piece.
and you’ll see a can also assign different effects to each of
short set of options.
Try duplicating a
your layers on the �ly, via what are known
layer, then adjusting as ‘composite methods’. They’ll let you
the position of the add an extra sheen to your highlights,
upper copy by a or make your shadows more oppressive.
small amount. Now Best of all, you can cancel the effect at any
try changing the time if you change your mind.
composite blending
method from the Over the following pages we’ll explore
drop-down menu Corel Painter’s Layers palette in detail,
for some rather but the real fun is to be had when you
interesting effects. start experimenting for yourself!

Create and organise layers Composite methods and opacity


Organisation is the key to success Blend layers together
Try clicking the arrow to the top right of The drop-down menu at the top left of the Layers
the Layers palette. This provides a text palette represents and controls the ‘composite
alternative to said icons, plus some additional method’ of the layer, so you can combine each
options, such as ‘Drop Layer’, which flattens layer with others in different ways. Knowing which
the selected layer onto the canvas. Try adding one to use is critical when you have a particular
a few layers from either this menu, or using effect in mind. Once you’ve got at least two
the icon at the bottom of the palette. Double- different layers, try altering the composite method
click on the layer to name them, click on a of the top layer, and then the one below. When
layer to select it. You can easily drag one layer combined with the opacity slider, the possibilities
above another, and vice versa. Shift-click to are endless. Set a black and white drawing to the
select multiple layers, and use the icon or ‘Multiply’ method, and the white will disappear,
menu to add them into a group. allowing you to paint beneath, for instance.

34

034-037_OPM01_featurefocus.indd 34 9/2/07 09:57:24


LAYER MASKS
Another essential
part of your Corel
Painter arsenal, layer
masks can let you
The Layers options

Feature focus
flow through with Learning those all-important symbols
long brush strokes,
The top-left drop-down menu represents the ‘Composite Method’
without overlapping of the layer, and controls how it blends with others. The slider
something on another controls layer opacity, and then you also have the ‘Preserve
layer below. They Transparency’ and ‘Pick Up Underlying Color’ options. Below the
work as a stencil layers themselves you have a set of icons for the basic functions
basically, so you only you’ll need over and over.
reveal what you want
to on any given layer. Lock Layer

Layers
Liquid Ink Layer

Watercolor Layer

Layer Group (Closed)

Layer Group (Open)

Layer Hidden

Layer Visible

Standard Layer

Layer Commands

Dynamic Plugins

New Layer

New Watercolor Layer

New Liquid Ink Layer

LAYER GROUPS Create Layer Mask


LIQUID INK LAYERS When you build up lots of layers,
Like Watercolor Layers, Liquid Ink Layers combining layers into groups is a great
come into play when you use the Liquid Ink way to help stay organised. When
Delete Layer
brushes. Essentially this means that the layer we were creating the water effects
stays wet and interactive; as if you really were we used several layers until we were
working live with liquid ink. happy with the style and texture.

Preserving transparency Layer masks


Keeping things clear and simple Now you see it… now you don’t
Beneath the layer opacity and composite method Layer masks are an essential tool for you to
options you’ll find the Preserve Transparency utilise. It’s like putting a stencil shape over your
tickbox. Select it and you can keep painting on layer, so that you can hide anything that you want
a layer without replacing any transparent areas to. Importantly, you’re not erasing anything when
with data. This makes it easy to build up the detail you hide it, so you can keep the mask the same
on an object without going over any of the edges shape and move the content within if required.
of the shape that you’ve painstakingly created, You can add a layer mask from the icon at the
and can be particularly useful when you want to bottom of the palette. Select the layer mask
shade the edges of something with a large brush. and paint in black to hide, or white to reveal
It’s not really a million miles away from using the image. Painting in grey tones allows you to
a layer mask, but it certainly can be faster in a fade the mask out with a gradient, or reduce the
number of situations. opacity with a flat tone.

35

034-037_OPM01_featurefocus.indd 35 9/2/07 09:58:08


Feature focus Layers
FEATURE
FOCUS
Using layers to create art
Every element has its place
When a slip of
the wrist turned
a magazine page
into a wavy line, we
thought that this
could be a great
way to demonstrate
layers in Corel
Painter, using
different techniques
to illustrate both
the real and the
surreal elements of
the piece.

01 A sketchy start We’ve started with a


digital sketch (on the CD) that we created
in Corel Painter, but you may have something
02 Under the lines Create a new layer
and make sure it’s beneath the line
drawing and above the Canvas on the Layers
03 Back round to the background
Now go down to the Canvas layer and
repeat the process for the background. You can
that you’ve scanned in yourself, in which case it’ll palette. We’ve used a combination of Acrylics, deliberately keeps things nice and loose here, as
have a white background. Set the layer composite Chalks and Blenders to build the basic character ultimately it’s the character and the water effects
method to Multiply (from the drop-down menu at details up. Use a low ‘Resat’ to blend tones that will become the focal point. For some strong
the top left of the layers palette) so you can paint together. At this stage you’re really just blocking in sweeping strokes with texture, such as those around
beneath the lines. the basic shading, and detail can be added later. the wave, try using the Dry Ink Calligraphy brush.

Name as
you go
When you’ve got the
creative bug, and are
desperate to get your
ideas out on your
(digital) canvas, it
always makes sense
to name your layers as
you go along. Unless
you keep track of all

05 Can you sea? 06 Real watercolour texture


your elements, even We could dedicate It’s
with the thumbnails set
to large it’s easy to get
lost among the layers.
At the very least, create
04 More detail needed Add a new
layer (still beneath the drawing) and
start adding more details and shading to the face,
a whole tutorial to illustrating water
effects, but in essence the key is to build it up one
layer at a time. Use oil paints to give you the initial
always good to incorporate some ‘real’
texture into your work, so some watercolour on
heavy textured paper seemed ideal, given the
groups when a distinct hair and clothing. Acrylics, Chalks and the Dry textures, and specifically the Palette Knives to theme here. Once you’ve scanned the artwork in,
element, made from Ink Calligraphy brush have been our weapons of drag the waves around and define them. Make paste and position it above the water layers you’ve
multiple layers, has choice here. Create a layer mask so you can remove sure you create enough contrast, and for flowing created so far, and set the composite method to
been completed. any overlap with actually erasing anything. marks use that same calligraphy brush again. Darken. Erase any elements you don’t need.

Watercolor layers Pick up underlying colour


Sometimes wetter is better Blend like the best of them
Even if you’re familiar with the concept of layers Beneath the ‘Preserve Transparency’ tickbox
from other creative software packages, you won’t you’ll find another for ‘Pick Up Underlying Color’.
be familiar with Watercolor Layers. What’s great Even though you might want to keep all your
about them is that they make the watercolour elements on separate layers, this doesn’t mean
brushes perform as if they were actually wet. that you don’t want them to blend together,
So even if you close your file and come back to as if you were really working with oil paints,
it after a few days, it’ll still be wet when you for example. Check this box so that when you
return. Basically it means that, should you want are using a brush with low ‘Resaturation’, or a
to, you can mimic the look of actual watercolours Blender brush, you can blend and ‘pull’ colours
extremely accurately, so that even when a brush from the layers beneath, without editing them.
stroke has been placed, it can be smeared and This is a key part of how Corel Painter mimics
merged into another. traditional media so uncannily.

36

034-037_OPM01_featurefocus.indd 36 9/2/07 11:22:14


Layer stack
Build an image from layers

Feature focus
14
Colour tint to adjust
colour balance
13
Water and character

Layers
glow effect
07 A bigger splash Select all the water
layers, and then click the arrow to the
top-right of the Layers palette. Select Group, to 08 Table details Leaving the water
group, add a new layer and paint in the 12
compress the layers into a folder. Add a new layer other elements on the table. Add a layer mask to Eye highlights and
for the spray and sheen. Try setting the composite make sure you don’t need to overlap the edges headphone cable
method to Screen, and using various light even if using big strokes. On another layer, use the
airbrushes you’ll be able to bring the wave crest to Calligraphy brush to add more interesting strokes 11
life. Don’t forget the boat either! to the table.
Liquid Ink layer brushes

Special layers 10

Just like the real thing Watercolor layer brushes


09

Initial line drawing


08

Character details
07
Water highlights and
finishing touches
06
Desk elements and
09 Watercolor
Layers
and Liquid Ink
From the icon at the bottom
of the layers palette, add a new Watercolor Layer
10 Making her glow Create a new
layer above everything else, setting
the composite method to Overlay. With large 05
character details

above the drawing. Experiment with the different soft airbrushes and light tones, paint in some
brushes, but really you just want to add a few highlights on the water and the girl’s face and
subtle marks here and there to bring it all together, clothing. This brings everything to life and draws Boat
and add interest. The Splatter Water lets you add attention to the wave and character. Add some
04
wet rings, for example. Add a Liquid Ink layer for tighter marks to the inside of the chin and nose for
subtle table details. an extra sheen.
Water effects
03

Dynamic Plugins Extra effects Basic character painting


Preset effects More options for you 02
Although we’ve not used As well as the Dynamic White copy of the
these in our illustration, Layers, there are line drawing
it’s always good to be many other effects
aware of the effects that available for each
01
are available to you. In layer of your artwork.
Corel Painter, plug-ins To access them, simply
are the equivalent of select the layer you want and go to the Effects Background
Photoshop’s filters, although rather than editing menu at the top of the Corel Painter interface.
the selected layer, the chosen effect is rendered in Some of them will create pretty drastic changes
a new (Dynamic) layer above all the existing ones. to your work, and you want to drive the software,
Be sure to experiment with them all because they’re rather than letting it drive you. But the Tonal
bound to be useful at some point. Control adjustments are always useful.

37

034-037_OPM01_featurefocus.indd 37 9/2/07 11:24:35


Tutorial Chiaroscuro charcoal portrait

Chiaroscuro
charcoal portrait
Charcoal is one of the oldest and most versatile drawing mediums.
Here we create a classic portrait drawing in Corel Painter
Tutorial info raditionally, to test a student’s very subtle, ghost-like images, or more Painter’s charcoal brushes, the degree of
mettle, art teachers would set dramatic studies of light, shade and realism and the similarity to real charcoal
Painter master the task of creating a charcoal contrast. Here we’re going to use Corel we can achieve is truly breathtaking. You
Tim Shelbourne portrait, giving no other tools Painter to concentrate on the latter, are left with a �inished image that you
than a sheet of paper and a charred and actually take the contrast effect really feel could be smudged with just the
Time needed
willow stick to create tones of grey to one stage further, producing a dramatic touch of an outstretched �inger.
1 hour
describe form and tone. Charcoal is the Chiaroscuro picture. This is where the This project is all about the beautiful
Skill level quintessential drawing medium which portrait is dominated by deep shadows art of drawing but to help get you started,
Intermediate has been used for millennia, its history and midtones, with a few, super-bright we have supplied a simple line drawing
stretching back to the days when the �irst sparkling highlights. on the disc, which you can use to establish
On the CD human beings sketched images of wild This is one of those fantastically juicy a framework for the portrait. Use this
Starter sketch animals on cave walls. Such is the power of techniques where you begin with rather drawing, alongside making frequent
the black and white drawing that charcoal vague, loose shading to establish the references to the �inished in the magazine,
is every bit as relevant now as it was at the overall tonality, and then gradually coax and you are sure to be delighted with the
very dawn of drawing itself. more detail from the image by building end result! It will be your enthusiasm and
In essence, monochrome drawing upon this tone pattern with increasingly Corel Painter’s sophistication that work
techniques can be used in one of two �iner shading and line work. By using the together to create a masterpiece. What a
ways. With charcoal we can create either right technique, in conjunction with Corel winning combination!

A thousand shades of grey


Outlining the foundations

01 Rough sketch Open the supplied


portrait sketch from the disc. Go to
03 Brush and paper We’ll use this layer
for establishing the overall background
tones in the image. Choose the Brush tool from the
Select>All, followed by Edit>Copy. Now go to
Edit>Paste to paste the copy onto a separate layer.
In the Layers palette, set the Blending mode for
02 Underpainting layer We need to fill the canvas with white, so
go to Effects>Fill. For Fill With choose Current Colour and 100%
Opacity. Click OK to fill the canvas. Now click again on the sketch layer and
Toolbox and click in the Category section of the
Brush Selector, choosing the Charcoal set. Now
choose the Soft Vine Charcoal 30 variant from the
this layer to Gel. Make sure that your Foreground add a new layer via Layers>New Layer. Double-click the name for this layer Variants. Click the Papers swatch in the Toolbar
swatch is white and click on the Canvas layer. and rename it ‘Underpainting’. and choose French Watercolor Paper.

38

038-043_OPM01_charcoal.indd 38 9/2/07 09:54:02


Tutorial
Chiaroscuro charcoal portrait

39

038-043_OPM01_charcoal.indd 39 9/2/07 09:54:18


Tutorial Chiaroscuro charcoal portrait

05 Background tones Set the brush


Opacity to 40% and Grain to 100%.

04 Modify brush properties


Choose black for your Foreground
Colour from the swatches. Go to Window>Brush
Now begin to paint in the background around
the head. Use lots of broad, lively strokes here
with the brush at a fairly large size. Use plenty of
Controls>Show General. Click in the Angle
category and reduce Squeeze to 58%. Now click
the Size category and set Expression to None, then
pressure on your stylus to create some nice dark
tones. Rather than try to ‘draw’ around the head,
try and paint up to its outline. Make sure to paint
06 Establish the tones Now begin to establish the tones in the
face, reducing Grain to 70%. Make these tones lighter than they
will be in the finished piece as we’ll work over these areas again later. Begin by
close this palette to give yourself more workspace. over the hair. blocking in the main tonal areas, using the brush at a fairly large size.

Building up mid and dark tones


Adding the shading that will bring your image to life

07 Midtone
range Don’t
add any of the darkest
tones in the face yet,
just establish the
midtones range over
the whole head. Refer
The whole to the finished drawing
in the magazine for
picture the placement of these
It’s all too easy to tones and use lively
get bogged down in brushwork. Build the
unnecessary detail too tones up gradually by
soon in a project such repeatedly working
as this. To avoid this,
over the areas rather
you need to remember
to treat the image as a
whole, and not just a
collection of individual
than painting tones
in one hit. Add a few
lively strokes over the
08 Darker tones Add a new layer and increase the brush Opacity
to 50%. Reduce the size of the brush and start to sketch in the
darker tones in and around the eyes. Use very small strokes here, using a little
facial components. shoulders and chest. crosshatching and very little pressure on your stylus to build up the tones.
For instance, when
you’re creating the
initial shading and
tones, do this over the
entire head, and don’t
be tempted to get
distracted by starting
to add detail to an
eye or the nose in the
portrait. It’s essential
that detail is added in
the later phases of the
drawing, once a good

10 Soften
solid underpainting and
has been established.
smudge By

09 Refine and deepen tones


Continue to add the darker tones
around the nose and mouth. Again, use lots of
reducing the Resat
value to 0% in the
Properties Bar, you can
small crosshatch strokes, slowly building up the now use this brush to
tones. Refer to the finished drawing to help in the soften a few areas and
positioning of these tones. Now increase the size confuse a few of the
of the brush and add the darker tones over the outlines and break up
broader areas of the face and head. some of the edges.

40

038-043_OPM01_charcoal.indd 40 9/2/07 09:54:35


The art of Chiaroscuro and charcoal The shining light from the darkest shadows

Tutorial
Chiaroscuro, in its literal translation means ‘Light
and Dark’, and this can be seen in the images
which result from using this technique. Among
others, two of history’s greatest exponents of
Brushes
this dramatic drawing and painting technique Who would’ve
were Caravaggio and Rembrandt. We’ve supplied thought that

Chiaroscuro charcoal portrait


a couple of website links below where you can see charcoal had so
examples of how these painters used Chiaroscuro
to great effect.
many different
Chiaroscuro is characterised by the contrast personalities?
between very deep shadows and bright
highlights. Generally, the light source is directed
from a very acute angle to the subject, to produce
dramatic and pronounced cast shadows, and
is especially suited to dramatic and moody
portraits. There is a school of thought which Soft Charcoal
proposes that the origins of Chiaroscuro lay in As the name implies,
the need for artists of the past to work with their this is a very soft
models in candlelight which is very directional charcoal variant,
and casts deep shadows. which makes it ideal
Although many examples of Chiaroscuro you’ll for the kind of effect
see will be in colour, black and white is ideally we want here. It
suited to this lighting scheme, and can increase responds well to
the drama and impact. paper texture. Grain
One of the most effective black and white needs to be set very
drawing mediums is charcoal. Charcoal, in terms high in the brush
of Chiaroscuro, gives you the opportunity to properties, and Grain
create tones which can vary from barely off- Expression should be
white to absolute jet black. Even though we’re set to Pressure.
working in Corel Painter here, rather than using
charcoal for real, it’s worth following the links
we’ve provided to websites all about charcoal,
so you can get a feel for this ancient and often
overlooked drawing medium, and see how
different artists use it. You can easily create your own Chiaroscuro effect on a digital photograph in Corel Painter.
We’ve also supplied illustrations of the Corel Simply go to Effects>Surface Control>Apply Lighting. Use the default lighting scheme and drag Soft Vine Charcoal
Painter charcoal brushes used in this project, the light sources over your subject. Now play with the Distance, Brightness and Ambient Light This charcoal variant is
showing the strength and characteristics of each. sliders until you’re happy. a little harder and more
expressive than the
Soft Charcoal variant. It
is great for blocking in
Online resources tones, especially when
the Opacity Expression
Know more about your subject is set to Pressure in the
Brush Controls palette.
Use the brush set to a
medium opacity in the
Brush Properties.

Hard Charcoal
Stick
Given its name, there’s
no surprise as to this
brush’s qualities. It’s a
variant of charcoal with
a much harder edge,
which makes it ideal
http://www.charcoalfactory.com/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ http://gallery.sjsu.edu/arth198/ for defining details and
Articles/Secrets.html Chiaroscuro painting/charcoal.html nice sharp brushwork.
Here’s a great website for anything charcoal! The number one reference for the history For a staggeringly in-depth guide to the Even when you have it
With links to everything you need to know and use of the chiaroscuro effect! You can history and use of charcoal throughout set to low Opacity in the
about this ancient drawing material, some always count on Wikipedia to give you the the existence of humankind, you’ll need Brush Properties, you
really fine examples of charcoal masterpieces most comprehensive guide to almost anything, to go a long way to beat this site. Come can achieve some really
and even an e-book all about charcoal that you and this is no exception. Here you’ll find the here and see how charcoal has been used dense blacks with this
can download, it’s a ‘must see’ if you’re serious complete definition and some great examples from the days of the cavemen right up to variant. Try it out on
about black and white drawing. of its use. the present. detailed areas.

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038-043_OPM01_charcoal.indd 41 9/2/07 09:54:56


Tutorial Chiaroscuro charcoal portrait

Concentrating on the details


It’s the small things that make the difference between good and great

11 Change
charcoal
variant Time to
change your brush
now. Click in the
Variant Picker and
choose Soft Charcoal.
Go to Window>Brush
Controls>Show
General. Expand the
Angle category and
reduce the Squeeze
slider to 60%. Expand
the Size category
and set Minimum
Size to 70%. Set size
12 Adding detail Add a new layer. Now use this brush at a very small
size to add some real detail to the eyes. Use small hatching strokes
in various directions and don’t be afraid to build up some real blacks here.
Expression to Pressure. Remember to leave the small highlights in the eyes, but don’t worry if you miss
Now close this panel. them as we’ll be adding more highlights later.

15 Texture
sketching
By reducing the brush
to a very small size,
you can add some fine
diagonal scribbles here
and there over the

13 Contour shading With this brush you


can really begin to clarify the features in
midtone areas of the
head to add interest
the face. Once you’ve added the real darks to the
eyes, begin to add the various dark tones in the
skin detail around the features. Increase the brush
14 Build tones gradually Remember
to refer to the finished illustration in the
magazine to help you with the placement of these
and texture. Make
sure to draw from the
wrist, using plenty of
size for broader areas and use the same angled tones. It’s much better and more effective to build movement to produce
strokes, varying the angle to reflect the contours these tones up slowly rather than try and use lively spontaneous
of the surface. individual heavy strokes. diagonal marks.

Laying on 16 Another
charcoal
variant Time to
the layers change the brush
You will notice that variant again now.
throughout this Click in the Variant
project that we Picker and choose Hard
complete each phase Charcoal Stick 30. Now
of this drawing on go to Window>Brush
separate layers. By
Control>Show

17 Refi
working on separate ne the background and
General. Set Minimum
layers, you have
far more flexibility Size to 80%. Now set outlines Add a new layer and use this
when it comes to the brush Angle to brush to add some real blacks into the background
making additions or 55 degrees and the around the head, diagonal lines work well here.
corrections without Squeeze to 30%. Set Use the brush at around 20 Pixels size, adding sharp
actually affecting an the Brush Opacity lines to delineate the outline of the head and neck.
earlier or later stage to 50% and Opacity Also add some real darks into the hair, around the
of the drawing. Expression to Pressure. hairline and over the shadowed ear.

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038-043_OPM01_charcoal.indd 42 9/2/07 09:55:13


20 Drop the

Tutorial
layers In
a traditional charcoal
drawing, highlights
are added in the final
stages of drawing by
‘lifting’ small areas of
charcoal with a soft

Chiaroscuro charcoal portrait


eraser so that the

18 Refining with detail Reduce the size


of this brush to around five pixels. Add
original white paper
shows through the
another new layer. Now, with this brush, you can
add some very fine line work to the main features
in the face to add focus. Refer to the finished
19 Erase the sketch lines Click on the
Sketch layer and choose Erasers from
the brush Categories. Now choose the Tapered
charcoal. We’re going
to create the same
effect here in Painter.
drawing to see where to add these sharp marks. Bleach 30 variant. Set the brush Opacity to 50%. First, click on the
Although we’re only adding a few lines to the Now use this eraser to remove the remaining first layer above the
eyes, nose, mouth and hairline here they will add unwanted sketch lines over the face. Don’t erase Canvas layer and go to
real focus and detail to the finished image. any of the sketching from over the eyes. Layers>Drop.

Finishing touches
The light at the end of the tunnel
When black
is white
Remember, even

22 Add some
highlights
Zoom into the eyes
though this entire
image is made up of
various shades of grey,
throughout the project
and use this brush
your foreground
at a tiny size (four or colour is black. By
five pixels) to add the using just black as
really sharp, bright foreground, you can
catchlights to the eyes. achieve tones of barely
Now, using the brush off-white, through
at a slightly larger size, a myriad of greys,
and using the finished right down to solid

21 Choose an Eraser Repeat this for


each of the other drawing layers, each
time clicking on the one directly above the Canvas
drawing as a constant
reference, add the
other highlights to the
black, simply because
all of the charcoal
brushes we use are
layer before returning to Layers>Drop. Do this head. Use a very light all set to respond to
pressure from your
until you have just the single Canvas layer left with pressure on your stylus
stylus to determine
the complete drawing on it. Now Choose Erasers and gradually build
the opacity of the
from the brushes. Click in the Variant Picker and up the intensity of charcoal. The more
choose the Tapered Bleach 30 variant. the highlights. pressure you apply to
your stylus, the more
charcoal is deposited
onto the paper, just
as it would be in ‘real
world’ drawings. To

23 More
highlights
Be sure to add the
make sure of this,
go to Window>Brush
Controls>Show
highlights to the nose General. Then, in the
and the lips, as these General section of the
will add form and palette, make sure that
volume to these areas. the Opacity Expression
Well placed, small and is set to Pressure.
numerous highlights
throughout the head
will add sparkle and
polish to your finished
drawing. Make sure
to add some small
highlights over
the hair to indicate
24 Finishing touches Now’s the time to sit back and study
your finished image. You can use any of the brushes we’ve used
throughout this project to add any final accents and line work that you feel
light reflecting off necessary. It’s important to keep this image quite loose and sketchy, so don’t
individual strands. be tempted to overwork the detail.

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038-043_OPM01_charcoal.indd 43 9/2/07 09:55:30


STEWART MCKISSICK
WEBSITE www.stewartmckissick.com
JOB TITLE Freelance illustrator and college professor
CLIENTS Metacreations, Promark, Portfolio, Compuserve
In addition to teaching design and illustration to eager students at
Columbus College of Art & Design, Stewart also produces freelance work
for various clients. His work tends to lean towards the humorous and
cartoon-based, but he is also a fan of the realistic airbrush-style.

044_OPM_01.indd 44 8/2/07 17:23:03


Primer Acrylic brushes
OPAQUE VARIANTS
Opaque Acrylic variants have
much more opacity than the
wet variants we used first, so

BRUSH CATEGORY
are great for building up the
main areas of colour. Although

Acrylics
this variant is opaque, it doesn’t
feature too much impasto, so
it can be used in short dabbing
strokes to create interest within
fairly solid areas.

We look at Corel Painter Acrylic brushes and


how they are best used in your paintings!
n terms of ‘real world’ painting,
acrylics are one of the most versatile
mediums around and the same
applies within Corel Painter itself.
Here we’re going to take a detailed look
at these acrylic brushes, explaining how
they are best used, and how to take full
advantage of their unique features.
It’s worth looking at the characteristic
of real acrylics here to give you a feel for
its digital equivalent. One of the main
characteristics of acrylic paint is that
it is very quick drying. This means that
you can build up areas of really thick,
opaque paint that hold the marks from the
bristles in the brush. But here’s the real
versatility! With acrylic you can also use
it very thinly, mixed with lots of water or
medium to create very subtle, translucent
coloured glazes. For really great
expressive textures it can also be used
quite dry on the brush so that the
colour just catches the high spots on
you painting surface.

PRIMER
Corel Painter has acrylic brushes
that are designed to mimic all of
DETAIL WITH IMPASTO
these capabilities very accurately.
For small areas of detail and interest, use
Because acrylic brushes work with
the Thick Opaque Acrylic variant at a
the surface texture you’re painting small size to place small accents of thick
on, it’s worth choosing a good, strong colour with lots of impasto. This variant
surface from the Papers palette before is also great for some defining line work
you begin. Don’t forget to check back next here and there to reinforce the important
issue, where we look at the next brush hard edges in the painting.
category in the list!

Brush Size The Brush Creator is your friend!


Because size really does matter Finding the perfect brush for you
Corel Painter sets the default For real creativity, you don’t need to use an Acrylic brush
Minimum Size for size expression exactly as it is supplied. Playing around with a brush’s
on a lot of brushes a little too preset properties is exactly what the Brush Creator was
small. Generally with acrylic designed for!
brushes it’s best to increase Display the Brush Creator panel via Window>Show
this Minimum Size value to Brush Creator. Any brush properties that don’t apply
around 75% before you actually to this particular variant will be greyed out but you can
begin painting. You can quite click in any of the other characteristics and change them.
easily do this by accessing the We’ve changed the Hue setting in Color Variability, to
Brush Controls palette, which simulate the brush having picked up more than one colour
is displayed via Window>Brush from the palette. Test your modified brush in the panel to
Controls>Show General. the left. Keep any changes by closing the Brush Creator.

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046-047_OPM01_brushes.indd 46 9/2/07 10:06:07


Main Acrylic brushes

Primer
Every brush brings its own, unique effect
There are 31 variants for the Acrylic brushes, although a lot of these are
just different sizes of the same variation. We’ve put together a visual
WET ACRYLIC guide of the main brush types here, so you can quickly see what type of
UNDERPAINTING effect can be achieved by each one
Wet Acrylic versions

Acrylics
were used first in the
image. Because they are
very soft and smudgey,
these variants are Thick Acrylic Round
fabulous for establishing
your underpainting. Use
this variant for blocking
in tone and colour over
the painting before
adding in any extra detail Thick Opaque Acrylic
with thicker, sharper
acrylic brushes.

Wet Acrylic

BRUSH PALETTE
Selecting a brush requires
nothing more than clicking the Wet Soft Acrylic
brush variant menu and then
clicking on the brush you want
from the menu.

Thick Acrylic Flat

ACRYLIC WITH IMPASTO


By using the Thick Acrylic Thick Acrylic Bristle
Bristle variant, beautiful areas
of life-like heavy impasto
can be created, giving the
surface of the painting a truly
three-dimensional quality. This Opaque Detail Brush
brush, with the Impasto level
increased a little in the Brush
Controls is fabulous for thick,
sparkling highlights!

Opaque Acrylic

Bristling with opportunities


Glazing Acrylic
Different sized bristles? That’s a stroke of genius
A lot of the Acrylic brush variants are made
up from many individual bristles, and you can
dramatically change the look of the marks made
by these brushes in the Brush Controls palette.
Click in the Bristles section and you can easily
Dry Brush
experiment with the Clumpiness, Thickness and
Size of the bristles within the brush itself. This
way, you can work with a brush that is packed
with loads of fine bristles that cover the canvas
almost entirely, or work with one which has a
few large bristles which leave gap between each Captured Bristle
other. Experimentation is the key!

47

046-047_OPM01_brushes.indd 47 9/2/07 10:08:05


Tutorial Paint like Vincent Van Gogh

Paint like: Vincent Van Gogh


What better way to illustrate Corel Painter’s power, than re-creating Van Gogh’s famous loaded
brushes? These are the perfect illustration of the program’s convincing simulation of real life media
Tutorial info hen it comes to painting
on screen, Corel Painter
Painter master is in a league of its own,
Hannah Gal simulating real-life media
like no other application on the market.
Time needed
2 hours Its impressively long list of tools
includes practically everything you’d
Skill level expect to �ind in a traditional art shop.
Intermediate From papers and canvases to pencils,
charcoal, watercolours, oils, acrylic,
On the CD calligraphy, chalks, ink and many more.
Sunflower image The program’s strength, however, is
not restricted to the great number of
brushes and tools it offers, but in catering
for the entire creative process. Besides
the brushes, palettes, surfaces and
image collections, it offers a multitude of
sensitive controls over media application.
Here we will follow the traditional
artist’s work process, to turn a photo
of a vase of arti�icial sun�lowers into a
Van Gogh creation. Van Gogh painted
sun�lowers in Arles, France during 1888-
1889 and in 1987, one of these paintings
Vincent Van Gogh’s style of painting and expression has been inspirational to many artists. His painting
became the most expensive art work ever Sunflowers is an image immediately recognised around the world, and now you can re-create it yourself
sold when it fetched USD $39,921,750 at a
The Brush Creator Christie’s auction.
is central to
working in Corel It is interesting to note that this painting embodies this characteristic There are several ways to achieve
Painter. This is creation is part of a Sun�lowers series, perfectly. The brush is loaded with oil the end result. Many of the oil brushes
where you design made possible by newly released paint, creating a 3D artwork. are capable of creating the Van Gogh
your stroke with manufactured pigments, with never The colours are true to life in the sense style. Our main tool is Artists’ Oils. We
detailed control before seen vibrancy. Van Gogh is known that sun�lowers are yellow, but just like use several tools within this category
over brush type
for his passionate strokes and this a musician layering the main melody to mould a thick, loaded brush. Central
size, opacity, angle,

“Many of Corel Painter’s oil brushes are capable of


grain and more. to our work is the Brush Creator where
The pad means you we access the controls shaping a brush,
can see your newly colour and stroke.
created brush
in action before
applying to canvas.
creating the unique Van Gogh style” Once the right shade, paint amount
and brush look is in place, we turn our
attention to creating the famous Van
with some dissonant chords, Van Gogh Gogh stroke. This is where Wacom’s tablet
splashes colour that is ‘unrelated’. This comes in.
often contrasting colour creates a rich The graphics tablet works with the
and moving harmony. Corel Painter program’s technology to bridge the gap
includes an instant Van Gogh effect with between traditional and digital art,
different settings, but we will not take the letting you take digital paint application
automatic route for this project. to a higher level. The advantages of using
Instead, we will shape our brushes a stylus are too numerous to mention.
to match the artist’s expressive style, The biggest plus is in handling a brush/
controlling aspects like size and depth. pencil-like tool instead of a rigid mouse.
We will take advantage of Painter’s ability Among other sensitive touches, it reacts
to design a stroke and save it for later use. to the pressure you naturally apply to
With �lexibility and sensitivity in mind, the surface and responds to tilt and your
we will continuously adjust these brushes personal hand movement.
as we progress. We will sample colours off If you are serious about creating digital
the original photo as well as mix new ones art, there are no two ways about it – a
using Corel Painter’s own Mixer palette. graphics tablet is a must. You are trying to

48

048-054_OPM01_Gogh.indd 48 9/2/07 09:43:48


Tutorial
Paint like Vincent Van Gogh

49

048-054_OPM01_Gogh.indd 49 9/2/07 09:44:04


Tutorial Paint like Vincent Van Gogh

simulate the real-life painting experience


and using a stylus instead of a mouse is an “Many of the oil brushes are capable the edges with a slightly darker shade.
We will use layers for the different

of creating the Van Gogh style”


essential part of the process. elements but once these are in place, we
We start by loosely outlining the will �latten the image (Drop) and continue
composition and go on to apply paint to from there. It is customary to create
canvas. We cover one part of the image a clone of your image so your original
after another, examining the nature Impasto is central to our creation as remains untouched. We will create a clone
of the stroke and adjusting settings to well as the three Draw To settings in the to familiarise ourselves with the process
Using a graphics
match. If the strokes are short and brisk, tablet with Corel Impasto Brush Controls palette (Depth but will at a later stage move to work
long or curvy, we adjust settings and our Painter means you and Color, Color, Depth). These are used to directly on the image itself.
hand movement accordingly. Brown and can then set up re�lect the varying depth of the stroke. We will also use Corel Painter’s editing
black �lower centres are a good example. the Brush Tracking Van Gogh’s colour is as unique as the features to Scale and Rotate parts of the
These call for short brisk strokes applied Preferences so painting style. One way to achieve this image. Its Tonal Controls will help us
that the program
in circular motion, following that of the unique look is by covering an area adjust colours for experimentation with
responds to how you
original painting. naturally work with one main colour, and then going over �inal painting ‘atmosphere’.

Prep the canvas


Position the source photo

01 Clone In Corel Painter, create a new


file measuring 240mm wide by 307mm
high. Import the provided Sunflower image as
03 Contour lines In the Colors palette,
choose a yellow or brown colour, or sample
off the original photo. Choose a small brush size.
a separate layer and name it. Go to File>Quick
Clone to create a clone of the image at hand. You
create a clone as a safety measure, to prevent any
02 Bristle Brush Go to Effects>Orientation and rotate and scale so
the sunflowers cover the canvas. In the Layers palette, create a new
layer for the contour lines. In the Brush Selector, top right of the screen, select
Expression can be set to Pressure for greater tracing
sensitivity, or None for a clear contour line around
the image. If you’re worried about mistakes, go to
changes being applied to the original. Artists’ Oil>Bristle Brush. Set to 80% Opacity, 10% Grain and 6.9 Size. Preferences>General>Undo and set a high number.

50

048-054_OPM01_Gogh.indd 50 9/2/07 09:44:44


Inspiration

Tutorial
When researching
Van Gogh’s original
‘Sunflower’ painting,
we found various
versions. When doing
a re-creation such
as this, the aim is to

Paint like Vincent Van Gogh


not produce an exact
replica, but rather an
image that suggests
the original. Have a
look through art books
to get a feel for Van

04 The background Create a new


layer for the background and choose
the Selection tool from the Toolbox. Create a
05 The first wash of colour Go to
Window>Color Palette>Show Mixer. In
the Mixer pad, choose an available green shade.
06 Vase Create a new layer for the vase
and choose a small brush to draw the
shape of the vase at the bottom of the picture.
Gogh’s style, or, have
a look online for some
more help. A good site
selection around the sunflowers, Invert, Cut and Set the Bristle Brush to 50-60 opacity. In the Draw the two horizontal lines stemming from the we would recommend
Paste as the background layer. The photo will help Impasto Brush Controls palette, choose Draw To vase towards the right and left of the picture. This is http://alloilpaint.
you paint the shapes freehand and will ultimately Color and Depth option and use a big brush to is just a guide and at this stage it can be any colour com/flower/zflower
be turned off. loosely cover the entire background area. you like, set to Color only, or Color and Depth. 2.jpg.

Build up the sunflowers


Helping your image blossom
Here’s a good guide for painting the sunflowers. Open Brush
Creator>Stroke Designer. Set Draw To to Color and make sure Artists’
Oils>Bristle Brush is selected. Use the Eye Dropper to sample a shade
of yellow and at 30 Opacity, in circular motion, cover the centre
of flower on the left. Select a darker shade and loosely, in circular
motion, go over parts of the previously applied yellow.
In Brush Creator set Draw To to Color and Depth, Depth 74,
07
Composition To
Expression Pressure, Grain to 14 and Opacity to 15. Choose a shade make the composition
of yellow and go round the centre in circles. Sample the brown colour look more like the
and moving the brush in circles, loosely go over the yellow. Repeat the original Van Gogh, we
two previous steps to paint in the centre of the right flower. While still need to move a few
moving in circular motions, these strokes are short and brief. Apply flowers around. In the
one shade, choose a different shade and apply another layer over the Tools palette choose
first. For the centre of the third flower below, dab with a brown and a selection tool and
black brush rather than drag over the canvas. Sample bright yellow
select the droopy
and with the same brush use brisk strokes from the centre outwards,
to colour in the petals. sunflower bottom
right. Go to Effects
to Scale Rotate, Copy
and Paste on the top
right-hand corner.

Using circular motions gives you the


08 Brush Creator Open the Brush Creator and select the Stroke
Designer tab. Set Impasto to Draw To Color and Depth, with a
Depth of 54. Set Grain to 20 and Expression to Pressure. With a size 10 brush
best effect for your sunflowers and a yellow tint, start painting the top sunflower. See the box on the left for
building up the painting.

51

048-054_OPM01_Gogh.indd 51 9/2/07 09:45:22


Tutorial Paint like Vincent Van Gogh

Flowery painting
Work up your sunflowers

Plan your 09 Brown


centre
Once you’ve
colours covered much of the
It’s always wise to plan sunflower, move to
which colours you the brown centre.
intend to use. You can We will revisit these
sample colours from flowers later on.
an existing image or Sample a brown or
pick ones from the create a new colour
Mixer palette. It’s in the Mixer pad.
always useful to make With a 55-60 Opacity,
sure the colours and Grain set to 11 and
tones you’ll require are
Size to 15, apply the
accessible. Choose the
Artists’ Oil category, Bristle Brush to the
select a brush like centre of the flower.
the Oily Bristle brush Apply brown at the
and in the Mixer
palette choose Sample
Multiple Colors tool.
very centre with a
slightly ‘shaky’ hand.
The lines here are not
10 More flowers Keep the Bristle Brush in place and move onto the
other sunflowers. Sample yellows, browns and shades in between as
you progress and apply strokes to cover the yellow petals. The strokes vary in
completely smooth. length, size and shade so examine the final piece for inspiration.

11 Mixer pad The many tones of yellow


and brown add richness to the painting.
12 Droopy flower Use the Artists’
Oil>Bristle Brush to colour this flower. Use
the Mixer pad to create the yellow-green shade
To create different shades, use the Mixer pad. of this sunflower. With Opacity at 84 and Grain
Pik the Apply Color tool, sample one shade of at 36, apply colour to fill in the flower area first.
brown and stroke in the pad, sample another and
stroke next to the first, with slight overlap. Clicking
on different points within the pad will produce
Change setting to Draw To Color and Depth, and
cover the flower with greenish strokes. Use a small
brush at 6-7 Opacity, Color only, to draw slightly
13 In the middle Use the Color and Depth setting to fill in the brown
centre. Strokes should be curved but not smooth, enhanced by some
straight strokes as well. With a dark colour, put some rough dabs to indicate
different shades. darker green strokes next to lighter ones. the texture.

15
flower
The right
droopy
Preferences Paint in the
rest of the table. Use
Begin the painting the Selection tool
experience by going to create the shape
to Preferences. Adjust of this flower and
settings to suit your cut unneeded parts.
needs from Brush
Create the orange
Tracking to Shapes,
Save and others.
These settings are not
for life and might need
14 Vase paint Choose Artists’ Oil>Bristle
Brush, set Opacity to 30-40, Grain to
12-14 and Draw To Color. Fill in the top and bottom
shade and apply at low
opacity, Draw To Color
only mode and colour
changing as your work part of the vase. Now change Draw To to Depth it in. Sample green
progresses. Don’t and Color, increase brush size and apply strokes of shades off the original
be afraid to revisit yellow to the top, and brown to the bottom part. flower and paint the
Preferences to make Pick an orangey colour, set Draw To Color and with stem and green around
further adjustments. a small 4-5 brush, work your way around the vase. the orange petals.

52

048-054_OPM01_Gogh.indd 52 9/2/07 09:45:48


17 Build up

Tutorial
texture Set
Grain to 14-16, Size
to 4-5 and Opacity
between 90 and 100.
Apply very short, brisk
stubby strokes. Start
with brown, move to

Paint like Vincent Van Gogh


a lighter shade and
then a brown/orange.
Finish with dark
brown stubby strokes
that go in a circular

16 Brown centre Before designing the short spiky strokes for the
round, pom-pom-like bushy centre flowers, use a Bristle Brush to
paint in the green at the very centre and brown that surrounds it. Now open
motion around the
centre. Select, Copy
and Paste this flower
Brush Creator>Stroke Designer, pick Impasto and set to Draw To Color and to go between it and
Depth. Set Depth to 200-260 and Expression to None. Apply this brown the yellow flower on
Impasto brush to the pad to try it out. the left.

Moving to the left


Add in extra detail to the flowers

19 Red flower
In the Mixer,
find a red tone to match
the red of the flower
on the middle right. Go

18 Dark red left The dark green and red


flower on the left requires some detail.
Use the Bristle Brush to paint in the red area in the
to Artists’ Oils and set
Opacity to 100. Use a
small 6-7 brush and set
centre, followed by the green all around. Paint in the Grain to 30-40, apply a
green petals that stem from the green flower and red circle to the centre of
the mustard yellow in the middle. Sample colours of the flower with Draw To
the original and keep the same brush size. Color and Depth.

Impasto brushes
Some of the strokes in Van Gogh’s original
painting have oil paint gathered around the
edges. This tends to happen when the brush,
loaded with paint, is applied to the canvas and
left to dry.
The Impasto brushes apply a particularly
convincing loaded brush. In an attempt to
achieve the look mentioned here, try the
following settings. Choose your Artists’ Oils
Thick Wet Impasto Brush and open the Artists’
Oils Brush Controls palette. Set Paint amount to
60, Viscosity to 40 and Blend to 40. Set Brush
Bristling to 15, Clumpiness to 75, Trail-off 40 and

20 Now the petals Sample yellow off the original and use the same
brush as in previous steps to colour in the yellow petals. Apply
medium to long, curvy but not too smooth strokes. Apply a few straight
Wetness to 85.
Paint over the same spot repeatedly without
lifting the stylus off the canvas. You will see the
stokes too. Now sample a brown colour, change setting to Draw To Colour, paint gathering around the edges. For an even
and loosely draw brown petal shapes as in the image. deeper stroke, increase the Depth level.

53

048-054_OPM01_Gogh.indd 53 9/2/07 09:46:18


Tutorial Paint like Vincent Van Gogh

Thick, heavy paint


Apply the custom Van Gogh look

22 Step back
With every
creative work, it is
important to step
back and look at the
whole piece. Zooming
out will give you the
equivalent of taking a

21 Different strokes Van Gogh’s creations are made of strokes of


different length and colour. Shades of the same colour blend with one
another to give a richer feel to the piece. Zoom in and apply lighter and darker
few steps away from
your canvas. This helps
evaluate the piece.
shade strokes to those already in place. To do this, open the Colors Palette You can judge the
and use the Eye Dropper to click on any coloured area. This shade will now be effectiveness of the
marked with a spot in the palette. Drag the spot to a darker tone of the same strokes and how well
colour, reduce brush size and apply. they blend together.

23
Knife
Use the
Palette
The original
painting shows brush
work as well as flat
palette knife in use. In
the background, you
can see strokes going
both horizontally and
vertically with paint
building up around
the edges. Open your
Brush Creator, choose
Artists’ Oils>Wet Oily
24 Background Palette Knife Go to
Palette Knives> Loaded Palette Knife, set
to 50-60 Size, Depth only and again, apply strokes
Customise Palette Knife, set Draw across the image. Apply one horizontal Palette
To to Depth only and Knife stroke and follow with a vertical one over
Arrange your palettes
to flow with your
try out the strokes on it. Repeat several times to create a small area of
work. It will not only the pad. cross-hatch pattern.
tidy up your screen
but makes often-used
tools more accessible.
Every palette can
be dragged into
any location on the
desktop and grouped
with others. Once
you’ve dragged and
arranged the palettes,
go to Window>Arrange
Palettes>Save layout.
(Under Window you
can also delete any
earlier layouts that
you created).
The idea is to create
the ideal workspace
for different types of
projects, so you have
a palette specific for
drawing for example,
25 Final touches Zoom in to 100% and slowly examine your image.
Enhance light areas with bright-yellow strokes and dark areas with
browns and blacks. Use a thick Impasto, loaded oil brush and sample colour 26 Adjust Colours Go to Effects>Tonal Control>Adjust Colours and
choose Uniform Color. Drag the Hue Shift and Saturation sliders,
or one set up for oil off the relevant area in the painting. Here we wanted the sunflower at the very very slightly to the left. In the Preview window, examine the final result. If not
and so on. top to be less picture perfect and more expressive in style. convinced, click to Reset and start again.

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048-054_OPM01_Gogh.indd 54 9/2/07 09:46:47


056-057_OPM_01.indd 56 8/2/07 17:21:42
CHET PHILLIPS
WEBSITE www.chetart.com
JOB TITLE Freelance illustrator
CLIENTS American Airlines, Borders Books & Music, Honda and Warner Brothers
Chet is one of those artists whose work you can instantly recognise. His
bright colours and distinctive woodcut effect – usually coupled with
lots of humour – has made him a favourite among Corel Painter users.
Originally trained in traditional media, and sporting a Bachelor of Fine
Arts in Painting and Drawing, Chet swapped his papers and pens for
digital media way back in 1992. During his long and illustrious career,
Chet has created work for some of the world’s biggest companies. Visit
his website and see some more of his art.

056-057_OPM_01.indd 57 8/2/07 17:21:57


Tutorial Paint perfect skin

Wen-Xi Chen shows you how to


Paint perfect skin
Discover the creative process behind one artist’s method for painting
beautiful glowing skin that’ll make your artwork come alive

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058-063_OPM01_skin.indd 58 9/2/07 10:00:58


Tutorial
Tutorial info ainting a character portrait that isn’t static
and emotionless is no easy task. In an
Painter master industry as competitive and fast-paced as
Wen-Xi Chen the art industry, your picture will really
Time needed
need to grab the viewers’ attention. To tell a story
with one still image requires imagination, suitable

Paint perfect skin


40 minutes
lighting, suggestive colours and subtleties that hint
Skill level at something more beneath the surface. To achieve
Intermediate this digitally, it is important to know your tools, your
character and your potential.
On the CD In this tutorial, you will learn how to use the Palette
Sketch hands and Knife and Airbrushes to create an atmospheric
final image portrait. We’re going to be creating this completely
from scratch, but there’s no need to worry if you feel
that you can’t draw – the �inal artwork is also on the
CD provided at the back of the magazine so you can
simply trace the contours of the face and body if you
would prefer.
The crux of this tutorial hangs around the realism
given to the skin on the �igure. It doesn’t matter how
detailed other elements such as eyes, clothes or hair
are – if a �igure doesn’t have believable skin, then the
artwork automatically fails. And we’re not talking
about photo-realistic skin here – that’s a whole
different kettle of �ish. Instead, we are looking at
achieving a more ‘painterly’ effect on the skin, �irst by
blocking in colour and then shading and blending until
the skin is smooth.
By working this way and paying so much attention
to the skin, we end up with a portrait that is soaked
with atmosphere and life.

Wen-Xi Chen juggles her Corel Painter creations with


studying for her science degree. Thankfully she took some
time out to talk us through how she created this
particular image. Follow the steps to create it yourself or
just read through to get an insight into her creative process

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058-063_OPM01_skin.indd 59 9/2/07 10:01:22


Tutorial Paint perfect skin

Apply the basic shapes


Sketch an outline and then start to colour

01 The rough sketch Set up a document


that’s 297mm high by 230mm wide and
fill it with a burgundy colour. It’s good to work on a
02 Block in the colours Create a palette
of the colours you plan to use. See if it
looks right and then just pick from the palette rather
coloured base for paintings; it allows the mood to
be established from the start and when you paint
on it, you don’t get white patches showing through.
than going to the Color Selector. Start to block in the
mid tones; you can then establish the highlights and
the shadows from that. This is done using a large
03 Defining the features With a smaller-sized Airbrush, start to
define the features and add the eyes. Yes – it looks terrible! There’s
usually always a stage in a painting when it looks so strange it hurts. But don’t
Make a rough sketch of the face using a flesh colour. Airbrush to get the colour in quickly. be put off by that, it can only get better.

04 Shadows and highlights At this stage I had a vague idea about


the light source. The Palette Knife tool is good for adding this. It
requires some practice (see box on opposite page) but once you build up a feel
for it, it’s indispensable. Instead of overpowering the painting, it works with
your existing art to blend seamlessly. To paint highlights and shadows, a good
understanding of the contours of the face helps. The areas of the face that ‘stick
05 Fine-tuning Any adjustments to the shape of the face should
be made now, so they don’t affect anything on the body. In this
particular painting, I felt that her jaw line was a little too strong, so narrowed it
out’ are lighter, and those that don’t are darker. for a more feminine look. The Palette Knife is still being used at this stage.

Flip your
canvas
Experienced digital
07 Neaten I zoomed
in at this point and
painters will have neatened up the
heard this many times painting of the eyes.
before, but it’s one of You don’t have to
the most useful tips do this, and I would
I’ve ever received. advise against is adding
When painting, agonising detail to one
flip your canvas part of the painting
horizontally at regular when the rest is in
intervals to check all is much disarray; you
going well. Sometimes
mistakes in proportion
are hard to spot until
this method is applied.
06 Adjustments To add drama to the
picture, make the light source slightly
stronger and shift its position downwards. It is
never know what you
may have to sacrifice
in order to achieve
Work in the flipped sometimes unrealistic to expect a painting to work the painting you really
version for a while straight away, so use placeholders for items that want in the end. I also
until it looks right, and will be returned to later. For example, I made the flipped the canvas to
then flip again. hair just a scribble to return to later. get a new view.

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Use the Palette Knife

Tutorial
The best way to apply shading
In addition to the Airbrushes, the Palette Knife is the major tool of
choice here. It’s really good for blending colour and building up that
all-important shading.

Paint perfect skin


08 Extended canvas It’s time to apply
a hint of the body. This is done once
more with the Palette Knife tool for all the rough
09 Free-thinking Up until now, I wasn’t
entirely sure where this image was
leading, just goes to prove that an open mind is
working, partly for the texture it generates. In important for the painting process. I painted in
order to involve the figure without a lot of work some backlight (sometimes called ‘hair light’ in
at all, simply make the edges darker; this creates a photography) at her left side where the hair is. This
spotlight effect on the figure… see? was with a small airbrush setting.

Move to other elements


Expand to other areas

01 Control When
pressed firmly on the

10 Make up! Small but interesting details tablet, the colour

11 Butterfly
like the make up can change a whole Create a new layer. I drew out produced is true to
painting. I used a mixture of the Palette Knife the shape of the butterfly first with a thin that on the colour
and Airbrush for the eye area. It is a good idea to black airbrush, any other tool is fine for this, as wheel, when pressure
build the make up in layers of low opacity strokes long as the outlines can be drawn. Fill in the main is soft, the Palette
rather than one heavy stroke. Just select, colour colour of the butterfly with an Airbrush – this tool Knife is good for
and apply. I also built up the neck and back as with gives you more control over the tricky small areas. blending colours
the face. Use a reddy-brown colour. already on the canvas.

02 Stroke To blend the colour, I used a Palette Knife and


with relatively low pressure on the graphics tablet, smeared
the coloured area outwards following the contour of the face. Keep
building up with soft strokes of the Palette Knife until you have
achieved even blending.

03 Highlight
To apply
strong highlights,
shorten the length of
your Palette Knife and
press down strongly
on the tablet. The

12 Light make the


To

butterfly look like it’s


brush may be used on
its side to create thick
lines or edgeways
glowing, use a slightly to create thin lines.
lighter colour on the A mixture of both
wings. Again, use one thick and thin can be
of the Airbrushes for achieved if you can
this at quite a soft and control the tool well.
small setting.

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Tutorial Paint perfect skin

Applying hair effects


It’s all in the brush strokes

13 Hair I always start hair with the dark


base; the darkest colour you find in hair,
and build the layers from there. There’s no real 14 Impression The girl in this picture has
curly hair; this can be daunting, but you can
need to paint hair strand by strand, instead I used make your life easier by painting just where hair has
the Palette Knife to block in chunks of highlights caught the light. Use the Palette Knife to paint little
and a small Airbrush to pick out little areas of wisps, make the middle part of each ‘wisp’ stronger
flyaway strands that are most highlighted. than the two ends for a realistic feel.

Painting straight hair


Things to remember…
Hair can be painted in chunks, and you only need single strands at
the very top to show the highlights. Paint with long definite strokes.
Remember to follow the shape of the head and remember that (most)
hair conforms to the law of gravity!

15 Unity At this
point I thought
that the girl and the
butterfly were too
separate. In order to
unit the two, I decided
to add hands. It’s
always a good idea
to have a rethink of
your image as you go.
Things change so it
pays to be flexible.

16 The hands If you don’t fancy drawing your own hands, load up the hand file from the disc.
To obtain the right lighting for the hand, I held my own hand against a lamp and looked at the
colours of different parts of my hand. It is always useful to have a model or photo reference on hand for
realistic painting!

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058-063_OPM01_skin.indd 62 9/2/07 10:02:15


Don’t use
18 Cloth Different

Tutorial
cloth has different
black!
weight; they fold in When trying to
different ways, they are achieve a darker
affected by tension and shadow colour, don’t
gravity. If you’re going give up and resort to
for a realistic-looking using black. It simply
picture it is advisable washes out your

Paint perfect skin


colours and makes the
to lay out some cloth
skin tones look dirty.
to see how the folds Pick a complementary
look, for this picture I colour to the main
have only hinted at the skin colour instead.
cloth detail to avoid
distracting the eye from

17 More hands Create a new layer and trace out the outline of the
hand sketches. At this point you may delete the layers with the
sketches on them and paint onto the layer with the trace. The light source
the main character. In a
situation like this, a few
well-placed sweeps of
here is the butterfly so the parts of the hands facing inwards are lit and those colour with a Palette
facing out are in shadow. Shade as you did the skin. Knife should suffice.

Adding that extra bit of sparkle


Intensify your image with just a few finishing touches

20 Sparkly sparkly More work in the


eyes; this time with long sparkly eyelashes.
I wanted to create a sense of magic and sparkly

19 Cloth – lighting The cloth closer to


the light source is, of course, lighter, and
the folds at her back are barely visible as her body
things always suggest ‘magic’ to me. This is done
with a few dots of white from an Airbrush. I’ve
accented the iris where it could catch the light
blocks the light. coming from the butterfly to add a sense of mystery.

22 Refine Now that


the picture is almost
Work big
So you’ve just finished
finished, this step is a painting and you’re
very much up to you. very proud of it. You
You may do as little want everyone to see
or as much refining as what a great painting
you wish depending you’ve done. And yes
indeed, they love it.
on the sort of style you
You want to make
are looking to achieve. it into prints, get it
The tip is to zoom in published… but oh
here to 100% and no, the size is too

21 Red outline I added a slight red tinge


to the dark side of the right hand as skin
is a reflective surface and reflects the red of the
work on the details,
sharpening edges,
defining strands of
small. Work at 300ppi
with a recommended
minimum side of
background. Also it prevents that hand from hair, whatever you 2000px. Better safe
disappearing into the background. may wish. than sorry.

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Tutorial Effects menu

PRIMER
EFFECTS MENU
Orientation
Learn how to twist and turn objects
using the Orientation effect
or any artist – whatever their skill
level – the ability to view objects
in different ways and imagine new
compositions is very important.
In a lot of ways, creating successful art is
like piecing a jigsaw together. Only when
all the objects in your picture are all
correctly placed do you get to enjoy the
whole picture.
The best way to place elements in
different positions is by heading up
to the Effects menu and exploring the
Orientation options. From here you can
rotate, scale, �lip and distort objects in
your canvas and see how they might
look if they were in a different position.
You can apply an Orientation effect to
a selection or an entire layer, but if you
make a selection it will be converted to
a new layer before the effect is applied.
The selection will remain on a new layer
Too big to unless you merge it with the canvas.
handle On these pages we will look at the
options available in the Orientation WHAT A DRAG
If you are rotating a effects and look at what creative uses When you call up one of
canvas, you may find the Orientation effects, a
they have. We’ll show them applied to an
that it is too big to border will appear around
fit in the document image and also brie�ly visit the world of
reference layers. your selection or image with
window once the small squares. You can hold
rotation has taken These pages herald the �irst of a series
your mouse button down on
place. To see the big on the Effects menu. In each issue, we will these and then drag inwards
picture, hit Ctrl and work our way through all of the effects
zero (PC) or Cmd and or outwards to make the
zero (Mac) and your
and explain what all the options do, how alterations you need.
canvas will fit inside to use them and what kind of art they are
your window, ready good for. Check back next issue where we
for the next step. take a look at the Tonal Control group.

Rotate an object Flipping out


The power to turn things on their head Quick repositioning trick
You may want to rotate an image for various When you open up the Effects>Orientation menu,
reasons. Maybe you have started to make a you have the choice to flip horizontally or flip
sketch only to discover that it’s a little bit wonky. vertically. The horizontal option lets you move
No problems – rotate it to straightness! To rotate the image from the left to right, while the vertical
an image, go to Effects>Orientation>Rotate. Now choice lets you move from top to bottom.
you have a couple of choices for how to set the To flip an image, go to Effects>Orientation and
rotation. You can either drag one of the corner then pick either Flip Horizontal or Flip Vertical.
handles that appear in the document window to These commands are great for quickly scattering
the angle you want, or you can enter a value in the objects. Let’s say you’re working on a painting
Rotate Selection dialog. A positive number will with birds in the sky. Paint one bird, duplicate the
rotate anti-clockwise, while a negative number layer and then flip the layers. Before you know it,
rotates clockwise. you’ll have a sky of birds going in all directions.

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Scaling your images
Alter the dimensions of an object

Primer
DIALOG WINDOW Bringing the Scale effect into play allows you to quickly increase or
In addition to being able to drag the decrease the size of an image. Like the other Orientation effects, you
carry out the command by dragging out handles, although there are
handles out to make your orientation
some other options, which we’ll look at here…
edit, you can also enter manual settings
in the dialog window that appears. You
can also find various other options in

Orientation effects
these, all of which are explained in the
boxes at the bottom of this page.

01 Make the selection


Start by clicking on the
layer to scale, or making the
selection to scale. Once done,
go to Effects>Orientation>
Scale. Drag one of the handles
outwards to increase scale or
inwards to decrease.

LAYER SIGNS
All of the Orientation effects take place
on a new layer, so you might want
to merge all of the layers when you
have finished with your edits. The Free
Transform option will turn a layer into
a reference layer, which is indicated by
02 Manual scaling
rather perform a more
If you’d

mathematical scale, you can enter


this little icon. specific horizontal and vertical scale
values in the Scale Selection box.

03 Check boxes The Scale Selection box also has a couple of check
boxes that are worth investigating. Constrain Aspect Ratio will
ensure that any scaling will still maintain the current proportions. Preserve
Center will anchor the selection or image in its place from the centre.

Distort the view Free-transforming images


Have fun with some extreme manipulation Welcome to the world of reference layers
The Distort effect is a really fun option and can be The final three options in the Orientation
as crazy or as subdued as you like. Once you go command (Free Transform, Set Transform
to Effects>Orientation>Distort, selection handles and Commit Transform) can only be applied to
will appear around your layer or selection and reference layers. Reference layers give users a
a small window will pop up. All you have to do low-res representation of the original image that
now is drag the handles to alter the image. Drag can be manipulated quickly. Once you make the
out to accentuate features and drag in to reduce changes, the reference layer becomes a normal
them. When you’re happy, click the OK box in the layer once more.
Distort Selection window (the one that appeared). To set up a reference layer, go to Effects>
There’s a checkbox in this window called Better Orientation>Free Transform. An eight-handled
(Slower). Check this if you want to see a more square appears in the Layers palette to show that
accurate render of your changes. you are working on a reference layer.

65

064-065_OPM01_effects.indd 65 9/2/07 09:59:31


Drawing 101 Perspective

Understand the rules of


Perspective
Being able to correctly convey the feeling of depth and distance is essential for any
artist. Here Andrew Jones lifts the lid off perspective and uses it in his art

hen I was asked to give a Put very simply, perspective is a tool reality. As children our �irst recognisable
tutorial on perspective, to help achieve the illusion of depth. It is drawings are of �lat bi-lateral space, they
my very �irst instinct was an attempt to represent tri-dimensional may have been of animals or people. Our
to cringe. I’m sure many objects on a bi-dimensional surface. minds had to develop before we began
artists also share this natural aversion Perspective is not a constant. It’s not a law placing these objects in space, a typical
to this particular technique, so I decided of nature. It’s a technique to trick the eye. children’s drawing would be of a stick
that it was about time for someone to But perspective is more than just a cheap �igure and beside them is a drawing
take away some of the long-running parlour trick. The perspective that we of a house. Elements like scale may be
prejudices associated with this concept know and use today has been the product arbitrary. It’s only later do you see the use
and show how you can actually use this of tens of thousands of years worth of of depth or overlap in a child’s drawing, it
very powerful tool to realise the illusions art history and a direct re�lection of represents a more sophisticated view of
of your imagination. our attempt to visually reproduce our the world around them.

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066-072-OPM01_Drawing+1.indd 66 9/2/07 09:49:24


to better understand the world they
lived in. We can begin by looking back Linear perspective
at the evolution of perspective. From Everything is parallel

Drawing 101
some of the earliest art ever created you
In the example below, you can see how linear perspective works in straight
can see hints of perspective, in one of lines. The viewpoint is being directed to the vanishing point in the photo by
the greatest human works of art ever the line of trees on the right
created – the magni�icent fresco from
the Lascaux Caves in Dordogne, France.
There are animals and bulls seen running
with varying sizes overlapping each
other. Even 2000 years ago artists were
thinking about how to depict the depth of

Perspective
the reality around them!
Early cave paintings show how perspective used to When the middle ages hit the
be linear. As people began to understand depth, the iconoclasts all but destroyed any
figures started to be placed in front of one another progress that was made in depicting
three-dimensional form, thankfully the
Before I begin there is one point I want 14th century bore us artists like Van Eyck
to make perfectly clear as to not confuse and Giotto who breathed new life into the
you. Many people take the subject of lost science. But it was the Renaissance
perspective very seriously – to some period that made perspective at the heart
artists it seem almost like a religion. I am or artwork. A Florentine architect and
not one of those artists. In my opinion engineer, Filippo Brunelleschi, started to
perspective is a trick. A lie, an illusion. analyse lines and points of perspective.
It may appear to give the impression of Through his work, artists truly began
a greater reality to objects, people and to understand what was involved in
places in space, but in actuality it doesn’t giving the illusion of 3D space within
really exist. There are no totally �lat a 2D environment. His work on linear
horizon lines in our world. We live on perspective gave us the theory that
a round planet with a naturally curved objects get smaller and closer together
horizon. From our limited viewpoint the further away they are. Artists like
it is easy to make the comparison to a Picasso tried their best to destroy
perfectly �lat horizon line but it’s just traditional perspective, but yet tradition
not the truth. So why and how did it still lives on. So let’s proceed and see how
originally come about? perspective can be another tool within
An easy place to start is to talk about our arsenal to scratch away at the nature
the intention of perspective. Artists of reality around us to make a more
have always striven to manifest images accurate depiction of our imagination.

In this painting, you can see a good example of one point perspective. The eye is being moved towards one point in
the images (the bridge)

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066-072-OPM01_Drawing+1.indd 67 9/2/07 09:49:56


Drawing 101 Perspective

Types of perspective
Understand the three basic choices
One of the first places to stop when you’re thinking about perspective is
vanishing point. There are three main types of vanishing point, and how
many point there are determines how complicated the viewpoint is. We’ve
demonstrated those three types below, and shown how they can be used
when creating art

One point (linear perspective)


One point perspectives relies upon a horizon line and one
vanishing point on that horizon line, and from that vanishing
point you will reference the angles of any object that you wish
to fall back into space. A typical image of one point perspective POINT 1
is of a straight road for as far as the eye can see. Objects at the
front sides are parallel to the picture plane and the side edges
disappear into a single point.
In this drawing there is a central vanishing point which all
of the buildings’ perspective is based upon and by placing a HORIZON LINE
bright light at the vanishing point I can emphasise the side of
the structures and help de�ine their form.

Two point
You guessed it – instead of one vanishing point you add another. This
means that you can have objects that face different directions. With two-
point perspective, you need to make sure that the front, back and side
POINT 1 POINT 2
edges of an object have to recede towards a vanishing point.
You can normally �ind this type of perspective when buildings are added
to a painting. It helps create interest in a piece and also make structures
appear as though they are solid buildings.
The example on the right is of two point perspective. You can notice
there are two vanishing points that I am creating the space from. This
helped de�ine the �igure resting in space. One of the renaissance notions
was that ‘artists must �irstly create the space and only then he is able
to situate the �igures and the object. It is in the Quattrocento that man
understood that to acquire the power of God, you had to do just like God; to
create the Earth before and then Man; not the opposite.’ Or in other words,
organise your space before you try
and add in any �igures.

Three Point
Three-point perspective is an interesting one, in that it uses the
principles of two-point perspective, ie having two vanishing
points, but it also introduces another vanishing point either
above or below the horizon line. This sets the point that the
vertical objects will vanish to. If the vanishing points are near POINT 1
each other, the objects will appear larger. Push the vanishing
points back and the objects will recede.
This was a collaboration between Marko Dejuervic and myself
and is an example of three-point perspective; the camera is tilted
POINT 2
way up and pointed down, the third vanishing point is placed far
down beyond the horizon line.
I intentionally broke some rules here by adding building
shapes in the foreground that challenge the perspective. One
fortunate aspect of digital painting is the ability to create
whatever size canvas you desire, for example I could expand
down as far as I wanted to plot whatever distance I wished the
third vanishing point to be.

POINT 3
68

066-072-OPM01_Drawing+1.indd 68 9/2/07 09:50:58


Foreshortening

Drawing 101
All you need is just a little perspective
e’ve already mentioned that a vertical position, which meant that his
perspective is an illusion, and viewpoint foreshortened the model. The
that is perfectly demonstrated result was that the parts of the model that
with the foreshortening principle. This is were furthest away from him appeared to
basically an optical illusion that an object be smaller.
or distance is shorter simply because Sometimes when you are working

Perspective
it is angled to the viewer. That object with foreshortening, your brain can be
isn’t actually shorter, but it needs to be resistant to how abstract the distortion
represented as such in order to look as may appear. Dürer’s use of the grid
though the perspective is realistic. To get system helped alleviate this. Because the
an idea of how the shapes change, pick up grid system in front of the model matched
a pencil. Hold it in front of you and then the grid system on his paper, he was able
gradually tilt it backwards and to the to transfer what he saw in each grid in
side. Each time you move it, the pencil front of him onto that grid on the paper.
becomes a different shape. By forcing himself to draw exactly what
Foreshortening normally comes into he saw, Dürer avoided drawing how he
play when drawing living beings, and thought it should look.
as such means you can’t rely on the Foreshortening can be used to make an
same constructed viewpoint as you can image far more dramatic. Many modern
with the other types of perspective. advertisements use foreshortening by
The trouble is, it can be very dif�icult to having someone hold a product close
imagine how foreshortening should look. up to the TV or camera. This extreme
The Renaissance artist, Albrecht Dürer foreshortening is an aggressive way of
came up with a clever way of helping getting attention.
him draw in correct foreshortened I used foreshortening on this white
perspective. He placed a wire grid in horse to make it the focal point of the
front of his model, and then drew what he image and increase the dynamic of the
saw on his paper, which also had a grid image. Although it’s quite subtle, it does
drawn over it. He viewed his model from make the �inal image more powerful.

Apply the grid system


Ensure accurate sketches without any stress
Sitting in front of a reference and trying to sketch it can be a stressful and ultimately fruitless
task. Once you add trying to capture complex perspective into the mix and you could be doomed
before you start. The brain can work against you and make you add lines according to how you
think they should look, as opposed to how they actually look! Using a grid system avoids all this,
though. Instead of seeing the image as a complete whole, you only have to comcentrate on what
appears in each grid and then transfer that to your paper that has corresponding grids.

Foreshortening is an obvious trick when it comes


to grabbing viewers’ attention, but if you apply it
subtly, it can be very effective

69

066-072-OPM01_Drawing+1.indd 69 9/2/07 09:51:51


Drawing 101 Perspective

Aerial perspective
Use colour to give the appearance of distance
he name of this is quite intimidating
– when I �irst heard it I thought
is was some kind of perspective
drawn from the view of an air plane. Can
you imagine, calculating the movement
of vanishing points over distances?
Thankfully it turns out aerial perspective
doesn’t involve a vanishing point, horizon
lines or any maths at all.
Aerial perspective, or atmospheric
perspective, is the principle that as
objects move further away, the contrast
between them and the background
decreases. It also becomes bluer. So
basically, background detail in a painting
should be fainter and bluer!
This technique was discovered by
Leonardo da Vinci and you can see it
clearly demonstrated in the painting
of the Mona Lisa. Basically, air is full of
particles, vapours, smoke, pollution;
many things that are almost invisible at
short distances, but when there is a great
deal of atmosphere between you and an
object in the distance, all these things add
In the painting above,
up and slightly obscure the object. On a objects that are close to the viewpoint to focus. If you really want something to you can clearly see
sunny day you can see a �ilm of blue haze and lightly ‘dust’ over objects I want in sit far in the background, set it back with how the distant
between you and the object. the distance, the farther back, the more some atmospheric Airbrush, then knock it mountains are bluer
I incorporate aerial perspective in opaquely I paint. You will be surprised by slightly out of focus with the Blur or Just and lighter the
farther away they are
many of my works by creating a new how successful the results. Add Water tool. I took advantage of aerial
layer, selecting the Airbrush tool and Never forget that aerial perspective perspective in this image to make the
setting the opacity to 2%. I mask off only affects contrast. It has no relation buildings seem farther back.

Apply aerial perspective


Make your distant objects blue and light

PALE BUT SHARP


If you have objects in the distant, don’t be
tempted to blur them in order to show they are
far away. Although the colour and opacity might
change, objects still have crisp lines

FRONT TO BACK
Here you can see how aerial perspective works on a colour
scale. Objects that are to the forefront are always in their
true colours, but they get bluer and paler the further back
they recede into the distance

70

066-072-OPM01_Drawing+1.indd 70 9/2/07 09:53:12


Perspective grid in Corel Painter

Drawing 101
Save yourself some time and let Corel Painter do the work for you
s an artist, my time is of the utmost value
to me. Perspective and vanishing points
take time and concentration to create,
time I could be spending enjoying my life away
from a computer monitor! If I can use a computer
program to lay down a complicated scene with

Perspective
perfect perspective, I will opt for that every time
rather than put in the effort it takes to attempt the
same results by hand. Fortunately, Corel Painter X
comes with a perspective
guide that saves you the
effort of accurately plotting
and drawing an endless
amount of lines.
Perspective is not only
reserved for buildings
and objects, you can use
perspective for anything,
Using the grids built into Corel Painter, you can even apocalyptic angels
position your objects with no fuss riding white horses.
This is also an example
of foreshortening and
overlapping shapes to

Using the Perspective Grid create space and depth.

Eight tips
to using the
perspective
grids in Painter

TIP 1: FIND IT
You can find
the grid under
Canvas>Perspective
Grid>Show Grid.

TIP 2: TOGGLE
When adjusting the
perspective grid,
switch to Screen
Toggle mode to
see an expanded TIP 8: SAVE YOUR
version of the grid’s OPTIONS
boundaries. Corel Painter has the
ability to remember
and save different grid
TIP 3: layout options.
CONTRASTING
GRID COLOURS
Painter gives you TIP 7: HORIZONTAL LINES
the ability to change The horizontal lines will establish
the colours of your TIP 4: SPACING SLIDER the vanishing linear, vanishing
grid; I usually choose The spacing slider bar will change point and the horizon line,
compliments that the frequency of the grid lines; whereas the vertical lines are
have a great contrast increase the number for less lines, TIP 5: MODIFY YOUR GRID TIP 6: VERTICAL guides for the perspective marks
to the pallet at hand. down for more frequent lines. You can manipulate the grid by LINES you will be drawing.
grabbing it at its vanishing point. Define your horizon
Follow the grid lines to where they point first and then begin
would converge to find this handle. adjusting the vertical lines.

71

066-072-OPM01_Drawing+1.indd 71 9/2/07 09:54:00


Drawing 101 Perspective

Use perspective in art


Apply the rules to create an image
Even though the rules of perspective are quite strict, it doesn’t mean that using them
will result in a linear and uniform image. Here we apply the principles to an image
that is anything but linear and ordered!

STEP 01 For this first step I begin by making a very impulsive mass
of marks and gestures. I am operating in a heightened state of instinct
and I make my marks freely. I am switching tools between a softer digital
airbrush for the fluid organic shapes, and a 2b coloured pencil with the
straight line option selected to create hard geometric lines and scratches.

STEP 02 With the Straight Line tool still selected STEP 03 More
I change the colour to white and scratch out some form linear refinement

01
using the guidelines of perspective. I pick multiple of form. A general
horizon lines at random and skew them. I do this to avoid shape is beginning to
anything too predictable. I scatter various vanishing emerge and evolve, I
points around the image. In my mind I’m visualising can now feel a sense
several large 3D rectangles and stacking them unevenly of weight and volume
on each other to create more of a chaotic feeling. in the image.

02 03 04

06 STEP 04 Here I add a new focal point to give the eye somewhere to
focus on amidst the confusion. I’m also introducing a new technique to
create the illusion of depth, using the Just Add Water tool I deliberately
soften areas of form in contrast to sharp areas. This variation in edges fools
the eye into perceiving atmosphere and depth of field focus. It’s a great way
to create volume with a few strategic strokes.

05 STEP 05 Here I
concentrate on adding
value and texture to
the image, I choose to
establish this nameless
form in a floating
surreal type of space,
and I deliberately
opt for no definite
horizon. As I paint this
I am reminded of the
work of artists like mc
Escher who had the
ability to create space
that contradicted the
logic I had developed.

STEP 06 This finished image is a violation of traditional


perspective, but at the same time it takes advantage of each of the
types of defined perspective, linear, one point and three-point.

066-072-OPM01_Drawing+1.indd 72 9/2/07 09:55:50


074-075_OPM_01_WenXI.indd 74 8/2/07 17:27:26
074-075_OPM_01_WenXI.indd 75
WEN-XI CHEN
WEBSITE www.acidlullaby.net
JOB TITLE Enthusiastic painter
Wen-Xi Chen is a very talented artist, who uses her knowledge and love
of traditional art to produce beautiful images in Corel Painter. Her figures
have a haunting atmosphere to them, drawing the viewer into the piece.
Turn to the tutorial on page 58 for an insight into her creative process.

8/2/07 17:27:46
Your questions answered
Classic cartoons
I love the look of the early
Disney cartoons but can’t
seem to get the same effect
when I try at home. I don’t know if
there’s a certain brush that I need to
use – can you advise me of one?
P������ K����
Your experts
Stewart McKissick The early Disney cartoons
Stewart is a long-time user were defined by many things,
of Corel Painter and is a including the character designs
big fan of the airbrush and and the backgrounds. The artists
illustration potential offered
by the program. Here he working on them were some of the
answers your questions on creating cartoons greatest of the era, and we wouldn’t
and character design. even presume to be their equal! No
one brush or little trick can do all they
managed to accomplished.
Tim Shelbourne However, we do have some
Tim shares his knowledge of
the Corel Painter software with
suggestions for a classic 1930’s-
you here, taking care of any era animated ‘cartoon look’. The
problems you may have. He also characters were mostly very rounded;
imparts some fine art advice the so-called ‘rubber-hose’ style. They
to help you improve your
creations and take them to the next level.
were usually inked with a solid line on
a clear acetate cel and placed over a
painted background, quite often done
What you’ll find in this section in watercolour.
For this example here, we used
Software Don’t get bogged
Corel Painter’s Felt Pens brush, Thick
down in a Corel Painter black hole
– write to us and we’ll help you and Thin Marker 10 variant to digitally
work harmoniously ink the scanned-in bunny drawing on
Fine art When it comes its own layer. This may take practice
to creating art, you often find to get the line smooth. The shapes
little niggles that ruin your were then filled in with flat colours
masterpiece. We sort them out Using a layer for the ‘cel’ and
using the Paint Bucket. The final stage was to paint Corel Painter’s Digital Wat
Illustration Make sure the Canvas layer with Digital Watercolor, mostly this style emulates the look
of traditional animated cart
ercolor for the background,
your illustrations are in top form help create a vintage feel. oon design. Rounded shap
the Tapered Diffuse Water variant. es
by following our advice

Send in your queries to… Colour collection


I want to create a painting based
Offical Painter Magazine Q&A, Imagine
Publishing Ltd, Richmond House, 33 Richmond on a photograph using the original
Hill, Bournemouth, Dorset BH2 6EZ. colours. I don’t want to use cloning,
but don’t want the hassle of constantly
Alternatively you can email us at sampling colours from the original
opm@imagine-publishing.co.uk.
photograph with the Eyedropper tool.
Surely there must be a way I can sample
all of these original colours in one go?
SHARE S���� D����

YOUR There certainly is! The answer to this

PROBLEMS! particular prayer lies in the use of Color


Sets. With your original image open,
Send in your questions go to Window>Color Palettes>Show Color
Sets. In the Color Sets palette, look for the
for our experts to small arrow in the top right of the palette. Click
answer at artclass@ You don’t have to invent colours in Corel Painter; you can grab them wholesale from any
this arrow and choose New Color Set From
Image. This command does exactly what it
paintermagazine.co.uk open image, selected layer, or even from your Mixer pad. Once you’ve hijacked all the
colours, Corel Painter will even organise them any way you like! says and within the blink of an eye you have a

76

076-80_OPM_artclass.indd 76 9/2/07 11:15:06


Quick on the draw
I really can’t draw and don’t
consider myself to be an artist.

Q&A
I’d still like to use Corel Painter.
Is there any way that the software
can help me to create beautiful
Creative textures
paintings without me having to I’ve created a digital oil painting that
create a complicated drawing �irst?

Art Class
has worked really well, but I think it
H���� S����� would be better with a pronounced
canvas texture, so it looks just that bit more
Absolutely! You can use Cloning like the real thing. Is there any quick way in
to create a painting from a digital which I can add this to my painting once it
photograph without having to
do any drawing whatsoever. Cloning
is �inished?
allows you to use a photograph as a base R��� S�����
then use the brushes to add the texture
and expression of natural media brushes, It’s easy to add a canvas, or indeed
while gathering colour and detail from the any other texture, to the surface
original start image.
02 Choose Brush and surface The Cloning Brushes will
automatically be loaded in the Properties Bar. You can now
choose a cloning variant from the Variant Picker. Choose a suitable surface
of an image in Corel Painter. Go to
Window>Library Palettes>Show Papers. In the
Papers palette, click in the Papers Picker swatch
from the Papers swatch at the base of the Toolbar. Begin to paint over in the top right and choose the surface you’d
your tracing image. You’ll see your strokes much easier with tracing paper
like to apply. Adjust the Scale slider dependent
toggled Off.
on how large you want the individual features
of the texture to be in your image. Now go
03 Paint away!
If you want to
see more of your surface
to Effects>Surface Control>Apply Surface
Texture. In the Surface Texture dialog, from
texture, simply increase the the Using box, choose Paper. This filter will use
Feature value slider in the the surface texture you just chose. Now you
Properties Bar. The Resat can play with all the sliders until the surface
slider controls how quickly appears as you’ll like it on your image in the
the brush refills with colour, Preview pane. When you’re happy with the
so if you want to achieve look, click OK to apply the surface texture.
really smudgy marks, reduce
Often, you’ll need to fade the effect a little Via
01 Prepare to clone Open your start
image and go to File>Quick Clone.
A duplicate image will open with a ‘Clone Of’
this value. Remember to
save your finished painting
under a new filename via
Edit>Fade.
by adding a surface texture
filename prefix. You’ll see the ghosted tracing File>Save As. Bring your paintings to life
paper of your original image. You can switch
the tracing paper on and off with the toggle in
the top right of the document window.

swatch for every colour of the rainbow present


in your reference image. However, you may
not like the way they’ve been organised in
the palette. Thankfully, you can rearrange the
order of these swatches. Hit the small arrow
again and go to Sort Order. From here you can
select any one of three orders based on Hue,
Lightness and Saturation of the swatches in
the set. From the same palette arrow you can
also choose to save the set for later use, or
even change the swatch size if the current size
is too small to use easily.
It’s possible to use the above procedure
for creating a colour set from your Mixer pad.
This can be very handy if you’ve mixed lots of
beautiful colours for your current painting and
think that you might like to use them again
in the future. To do this, make sure that your
Mixer pad and Color Sets palette are both
displayed and follow the method already
outlined, but this time choose Mixer Pad as
your source.

77

076-80_OPM_artclass.indd 77 9/2/07 11:15:53


Q&A Art Class

Colour theory
I’m not happy with my illustrations,
and I think it’s because of the colours
I’ve been using. They just don’t
seem to ‘pop’ and it’s driving me mad! Are
there certain colours that work best for
character design? I’m guessing the bolder
the better?
M������ W���

Funnily enough, bold isn’t always


better. Two main things colour does
in an image are to keep characters
readable against the background and to
establish mood. How ‘bold’ something feels
comes not only from strong colour but also
value contrast (lights and darks) and how
warm (red/orange/yellow) or cool (blue/green/
purple) colours are compared to one another.
In the Fence Cat picture here, we’ve
coloured it two ways: ‘Day’ uses warmer
brighter colours while ‘Night’ uses cooler duller
ones. The cat is actually darker overall in the
night piece, but stands out more because he’s
painting by
now more colourful than the background, and It’s easy to apply lighting to a finished
and. You
has stronger lights and darks on him than his using the Apply Surface Lighting comm
as you
surroundings. This works the best. can place, direct and colour as many lights
t of the
like. Once placed, you control every aspec
light’s appearance.

The light stuff


I’ve �inished my latest painting and
I’d like to mess around with the
lighting in the image. I think the
whole thing would be improved if I could
focus the light on just the main point of
interest. Obviously I don’t want to have to
repaint the whole thing.
S���� G���

The answer here lies in a command


found in the Effects menu. With your
image open, go to Effects>Surface
Control>Apply Lighting. You’ll see that there
are a number of preset lighting schemes you
can choose from by clicking on your chosen
preset swatch. These range from simple,
subtle lighting schemes to very dramatic
brightly coloured ones. Alternatively, you can
arrange your own lights, and control every
characteristic of them. By default, you’ll start
with just one light visible in the Preview pane.
You can drag and direct this light wherever
you like, simply by dragging with the mouse.
The sliders allow you to control all aspects of
this lights brightness and focus. The colour
Corel Painter’s Adjust Color Effects helps create different swatches let you choose the colour of the
moods for the same painting. A warmer, lighter set of
colours creates ‘day’ while cooler and greyer ones create light. You can add more lights simply by right-
‘night’. The cat is even more prominent in the night scene. clicking within the preview pane.

78

076-80_OPM_artclass.indd 78 9/2/07 11:17:18


Face value
I’ve always admired
character design and

Q&A
have decided to start
creating my own. My drawing
skills aren’t particularly
brilliant, so I’d like an easy
01 Simple shapes We’ve started by making
basic shapes with the Selection Tools in Corel 02 Lay out the main features Create a new layer and sketch in
dashed lines to define the centre of the shapes – this helps you to

Art Class
way of making a cartoon face. Painter: An oval, a rectangle, and a more random form. locate features on the face and keep things like eyes even. Of course, in the
How can I do this? We used the 2B Pencil Brush in the program, but a ‘real’ case of the third fellow this wasn’t so important. Start by sketching in the
S�� E����� pencil and a piece of paper is also a good way to practice. eyes and then move onto the noses and mouths. Play about with things
You can scan in shapes you like and trace them. like hair and eyebrows until you can ‘see’ the character and like the feeling.
The easiest way to draw Using layers allows you to
a cartoon face is to start erase or re-do without losing
with a basic shape. It’s the basic shape underneath.
best to begin with something
simple and add details – this helps
you keep the proportions you
want and visualise the character
as you go along.
The type of shape you use
can help define the character’s
personality. Round shapes are
softer – here we’ve used an oval
03 Final details
On another new
layer, redraw your features
to make an average-looking guy. more carefully and add extra
A rectangle with its hard edges details. You can then delete
makes a harder-looking ‘tough’ the layers with your basic
guy. And a somewhat less shapes and loose sketches
regular, active shape makes for a so all you have left is a nice
much more unique-looking guy. clean finished drawing.

As you can see in this painting, the areas of white paper which
have been left uncovered play as big a part in making the finished
Negative values
image successful. Bear this in mind when creating your paintings In terms of drawing and painting,
and make sure not to cover all of your paper. I’ve heard artists talk about negative
space, but I’m not sure what they’re
Water world referring to. Is there a simple explanation of
I love the dynamic watercolour this term, and would it bene�it my work for
brushes in Corel Painter, and I’m me to know about it?
pleased with my latest watercolour S���� M�D�����
painting. However, when I compare it to
‘real world’ watercolour paintings, there In simple terms, negative spaces are
seems to be something wrong about my the space around and within objects in
image, and it seems to lack sparkle. Am I your painting or drawing, and they can
missing something? be very important not only in compositional
P���� K����� terms, but also when it comes to ensuring that
your drawing is accurate. It’s often all too easy
The charm of watercolour is that it is to become too focused on the object you are
a transparent medium but to make drawing, and it can be a very useful exercise
watercolour paintings sing, it is vital that to instead concentrate on drawing the space
some of the white paper beneath remains in the around and within that object. After a little
finished painting. For instance, you can leave practice you’ll find that just by drawing these
areas of white paper untouched in your painting spaces, the shape of the actual objects will
to indicate highlights. But it’s not just highlights appear in you picture almost as if by magic!
where paper needs to show through. By making
the entire surface of your painting broken, with Here, just the negative
shapes around the tulips
small accents of white paper here and there, and leaves are shown.
you’ll end up with a far more effective and lively Although there is no detail,
image. Because watercolour is very liquid, and or any drawing within
watercolour paper can be quite rough, in real- the flowers and leaves
themselves, the negative
world painting when you drag a large brush space around and within
full of colour quickly across the paper, you get the objects describe their
the ‘hit and miss’ effect where the colour from shape perfectly. Try to
the paper catches just the peaks of the paper make a habit of seeing
the negative spaces in an
texture and leaves areas of white still visible in image before you begin to
the deeper parts of the paper grain. draw or paint.

79

076-80_OPM_artclass.indd 79 9/2/07 11:18:08


Q&A Art Class

Image tweaking
I love soft, bright high-key photographs, and I’d like to
produce a painting with a similar tonal scheme. With
having to use another image-editing program, can I
produce this high key effect on my start image in Corel Painter?
S���� M����

Corel Painter is, of course, first and foremost a painting


program, but many users don’t realise the extent of its
capabilities when it comes to manipulating photographs.
You can easily re-create this high key effect simply by a little tonal
tweaking and clever use of layers. You can then either use this
manipulated photograph to copy from or even clone over to create
your high key painting.

02 Tweak Brightness and Contrast Now, on this duplicated layer, go to Effects>Tonal


Control>Brightness/Contrast. Drag both the Brightness and Contrast sliders to the right. This
will give lots of really nice light tones, but will maintain the contrast between the lights and darks. Click
Apply when you’re happy.

03 Duplicate
and erase
Hold down the Alt key
and click the image
with the Layer Adjust
Tool to duplicate this
layer. Set the Composite
Method for this new
layer to Darken in the
Layers palette. Choose
Erasers from the brush
categories and then
choose the Erase All

01 Duplicate layer Choose the Layer Adjuster Tool and check


Auto Select Layer. Hold down the Option/Alt key and click the
image to duplicate the Canvas layer. In the layers palette, set the composite
Soft variant. Now erase
any areas of the light
skin that have been
method for this layer to Screen. darkened by this layer.

Here we have eight


Eye instruction
01 02 examples of basic
cartoon eyes: 1- dots
2- ovals with dots 3
I’m hoping to create my own comic than any other part of the body. We’re going
– highlights 4- run
strip, and thought it might be an idea to look at eight different ways you can draw
together 5 – lids to gather a library of character parts. cartoon eyes.
6- outside the head 7- I’m okay with body shapes and face shapes They can be as simple as just dots. The classic
different sizes 8- brows and things like clothes and hairstyles, cartoon eye is simply a circle or oval with the
and wrinkles
but always seem to draw a blank when it dot inside. Adding highlights makes them more
comes to eyes. Can you cute and expressive. Running them together

03 04 05 06
give me some quick
examples of making
or adding just a few eyelids increases the
numerous emotive possibilities.
cartoon eyes? Keep in mind that nearly all rules can be
T������ S�������� broken – maybe they can go outside the edge
of the head shape, or be different sizes from
Eyes are one one another. Finally, they can start to get a bit
of the most more realistic with brows and wrinkles to add
important parts of another layer of expression.
07 08 any character you design
– they do more to convey
Experiment! Who says a character has to
have two eyes or even that they have to
emotions and attitudes be on the head?!

80

076-80_OPM_artclass.indd 80 9/2/07 11:18:52


Use this section to discover what creative
products can boost your use of Corel
Painter, learn about the best artistic books
and discover ideas for outputting artwork

Using the
products
We used the Olympus
camera, Wacom
graphics tablet and
Corel Painter to paint
this photo

The creative products on test this issue…


Reviews

OLYMPUS SP-510UZ WACOM INTUOS3 A6 COREL PAINTER X BOOK REVIEWS


Many Corel Painter users use WIDE TABLET Its here…! Discover the ins and Start to explore traditional art
photos as their creative starting Graphics tablets are a must-buy. outs of the latest version of books and see how they can help
point. We test this Olympus We test a model here that gives our favourite piece of creative improve your artwork. You’d
camera, which is perfect for you sublime functionality but software and learn what the new be amazed at what tips and
capturing shots on the move won’t break the bank features do techniques you pick up

p90 Output your masterpieces


Each issue we will look at a product or service that lets you print your
creations. This issue it’s a professional canvas printing company

83

083-91_OPM01_reviews.indd 83 9/2/07 11:26:20


Reviews Olympus SP-510UZ

Olympus SP-510UZ
£229 | Olympus offers consumers a super zoom at a super price
he prosumer market has become ergonomic. On the rear, alongside the 2.5-inch
saturated with ultra-zoom prosumer, LCD screen, is a view�inder – a pretty uncommon
with cameras like the Panasonic Lumix sight on most new digital camera releases. This
FZ7 and the Kodak EasyShare Z612 is a welcome touch and it means that you can
Connections
Connections are under rubber flaps.
offering 12x optical zoom for around the £300 turn off the LCD to save precious battery power, a These feel secure when they are
mark. The Olympus SP-510UZ drops the zoom must when you’re using AA batteries rather than closed, but could snap off when
ration to 10x, but ups the sensor to 7.1 megapixels lithium-ion. To the right of the screen, you have open. You get AV, USB and DC,
which is standard
at a super-low price, making this attractive to shortcuts for the LCD display, the menu system,
both advanced users and beginners. self-timer/delete and a d-pad, which gives you
In our experience, ultra-zoom models typically quick view, focus options, �lash and exposure
weigh in at around 300g, but the Olympus is a compensation at the touch of a button. The centre
little heavier at 325g, which you might notice if button on the d-pad doesn’t link to the menu as
you have it slung around your neck – using the expected, but is instead a function button. This
professional-looking strap supplied along with enables you to change the ISO, white balance and
Navigating the camera in the box – for long periods of time. metering in manual modes.
your on-screen But despite the weight and the hefty dimensions, On the top of a camera is a built-in pop-up
options
The camera’s menu this is an attractive piece of kit. It looks very much �lash, which has a great range, but you have to
system is intuitive to like a miniature SLR in many respects, with a remember to pop it up otherwise you can’t change
use, with big icons and large grip on the right-hand side making it easy to the �lash modes. As a useful extra, it would be nice
text denoting each area. keep hold of. The silver �inish is pretty standard, if a reminder came up on screen if you tried to Batteries
Options that are not Unusually for a prosumer, this
relevant to the shooting but it doesn’t feel like it would scratch easily, and adjust your options without popping up the �lash. camera takes AA batteries rather
mode you’re in are greyed it avoids the problem of mucky �ingers leaving The Mode dial offers users a decent amount than a lithium-ion option. You don’t
out so you can keep things prints all over the casing. of shooting options. If you’re a beginner, then get as many shots per charge, but
nice and simple. There’s a whole host of buttons and knobs to you can stick to the impressive Automatic mode, they are easily available anywhere
in the world
get to grips with, though most are pretty self- or select from one of the 21 scene options. As
explanatory. The zoom lever encases the shutter your skills advance, you’ll have the con�idence
release button in a position that’s reasonably easy to move into programmable Auto mode, which
to �ind when composing a shot, though back- gives you access to the function button options.
mounted zoom levers tend to be that bit more More advanced users can use aperture or shutter

Main menu
Flash control LCD display
options
Viewfinder

Memory card
The amount of internal memory
is not specified, but you can fit 11
images at the highest quality, which
is more than most cameras. The SP-
Playback menu 510UZ also takes xD Picture Cards
inserted into the side

Menu
74.5mm

button
xD Picture
Card house

Function menu OK/


Function
button

Maximum zoom
You can achieve really great results
d-pad from using the 10x optical zoom,
2.5-inch LCD which allows you to get in close to
objects without having to physically
Shooting guide 105.5mm move yourself nearer!

84

083-91_OPM01_reviews.indd 84 9/2/07 09:50:05


Olympus SP-510UZ

Camera specs
Price Exposure modes
£229 A, P, AP, seven
Megapixels (effective) scene modes, nine
7.1 advanced scene
Max resolution modes
3,072 x 2,304 Flash modes
Lens data A, Fl, Foff, RE, RE+Fl,
f/2.8-8 (38-380mm) SS
Zoom Connectivity
10x opt, 5x dig AV, DC, USB
Focus/Macro Weight
60cm-Inf/3cm 325g (excl. batteries)
Shutter speeds Dimensions
15-1/1000sec 105.5 x 74.5 x 70mm
ISO sensitivity Batteries
A, 50, 100, 200, 400, AA, Ni-MH
800, 1600 (2500, Storage
4000 in 3MP mode) xD, 21MB
Metering options LCD
ESP, CW, S 2.5”

Zoom control Microphone Pop-up flash

on the front
Build design
This camera has a typical prosumer
build to it with a protruding zoom lens
and a large grip over the battery casing.
It’s easy to hold, and we think the carry
strap is a rather nice extra

AF assist
priority options, or opt for fully manual shooting. noisy shot is arguably better than no shot at lamp
10x optical zoom lens
A smart option is the My stop on the Mode dial, all, so it’s a nice extra to have. The Macro mode
Zoom control
which enables you to save your favourite settings focuses down to 3cm (if you switch to Super Shutter release
for use in the future. Beginners can also make Macro), which is enough for most users and
the most of the Guide, which is an in-camera help produces above-average results, though the
and advice screen; advanced users can delve colours are a little soft at times. The 10x optical Power
into the Advanced Manual supplied as a PDF on zoom is indispensable, and if you activate image button
the CD-ROM and �ind out about all the options stabilisation, you get sharp shots even when it’s
available for creative shooting. It’s great that two at full extension.

on the top
help options are available. Overall, this is a wonderful camera that
Image quality is very impressive, with suits all digital creatives. The 10x zoom, 7.1 Mode dial
accurate colour rendition and sharp details in megapixels and the high ISO capabilities, along Image stabilisation button
all conditions. Especially of note is low-light with image stabilisation and custom settings,
performance, which is aided by the ISO 1600 make this an attractive model that delivers high
What we like What we don’t like

we say
setting, though a degree of noise does creep in. If quality photos for turning into paintings. Also
you’re in a really dark location, you can crank the keep your eye out for the new Olympus SP-550 Strong build design Easy to lose Len’s cap
ISO up to 4000, but this means dropping down Ultra Zoom. Scheduled for release in March, this 10x optical zoom Simple to forget to
to three megapixels and it’s not recommended model offers a world-�irst wide 18x optical zoom.
lens pop up the flash
as shots suffer from high noise levels. Still, a And we’ll review it in a future issue! Manual shooting Zoom control not
options too ergonomic

Macro shot
The macro enables you A bridge camera features
verdict

to focus to 3cm, and with enough 9.8


though the image isn’t
as sharp as we’d like,
features to keep ease of use
the depth of field has more advanced 9.9
great effect users happy, and
enough basic quality of results
In the box automatic and 10
– Olympus SP-510UZ scene functions value for money
digital camera
– Advanced manual
for beginners 9.5

9.8
(PDF)
Minimum zoom
Even on minimum zoom, the detail
– AV cable
– USB cable Overall
score
and colour quality is exceptional with
this camera. It is the perfect model – Software CD-ROM
for going out and taking reference – Support neck strap
photos for your art – User manual

85

083-91_OPM01_reviews.indd 85 9/2/07 09:50:38


Reviews Wacom Intuos3 A6 Wide/Corel Painter X

Wacom Intuos3 A6 Wide


£187.99 | It’s the baby of the Intuos3 range, so does the A6 Wide induce
users to throw a temper tantrum? We take it for a test drive
acom enhanced its professional (although it has one set instead of two). The
Intuos3 graphics tablet range ExpressKeys are handy devils that can be used
last year with the A5 Wide. as modi�ier keys. The Touch Strip can also be
Created to meet the demand of the customised, although its default job of zooming
widescreen monitor brigade, the tablet was in and out is pretty much perfection. The Modifier keys
designed to perfectly map the screen area – no inclusion of these keys means you’re one step The Grip Pen has two
more �itting a square peg into a rectangle hole, closer to a keyboard-free existence, and can buttons that you can set as
your most-used modifier
as it were. enjoy the freedom a graphics tablet gives. keys for on-the-fly edits
The latest addition to the Wide range is the Now, this is the part of the review where
A6. Wacom has pitched this tablet at mobile we usually point out a �law that shatters all
professionals and widescreen notebook users, the goodness. But that’s not going to happen,
ExpressKeys but we think it’s also perfect for creative home simply because there is no �law! The tablet is
You can use these ExpressKeys to
act as modifier keys – or anything users who are interested in digital painting. easy to install and use, and it really is a case of
else you fancy for that matter! All Intuos3 tablets come with a Grip Pen to no going back once you’ve taken it for a spin.
control the cursor, and it’s very comfortable The A6 Wide even comes with a full version
to hold. It also has Stroke and Felt Pen nibs, of Corel Painter Essentials 3, which allows
enhancing its use even more. The pen boasts you to really go to town with digital painting.
1,024 levels of pressure sensitivity, allowing Although it’s not the biggest tablet, the screen Familiar face
you to control variables such as brush size and mapping means you can still be expressive and Corel’s Painter Essentials 3
is bundled with the tablet,
paint �low by just pushing harder. This greatly cover your entire screen and not have to give and allows you to create
enhances digital painting and generally makes up desk space for the privilege. A bonzer buy! brilliant real media effects.
using the brushes far more intuitive.
As with the other Intuos3 tablets, the A6
Wide has ExpressKeys and a Touch Strip “The A6 Wide even comes
Grip Pen
Work area
with a full version of Corel
The A6 Wide comes with the Intuos3 Grip
Pen. There are two nib types – Stroke Painter Essentials 3, which
and Felt Pen – to help your creativity
allows you to really go to town
with digital painting”
What we like What we don’t like
we say

Unsurpassed Pretty difficult to


brush control think of any. Hang
Won’t hog desk space on, we’ve got one…
Bundled with Painter …Might strike
Essentials some as pricey

As close to Company
verdict

graphics tablet Wacom


Grip Pen Web
perfection as www.wacom.com
you’re ever Operating systems
ExpressKeys likely to get PC and Mac
Minimum requirements
Windows 2000 and
XP Mac OS 10.2.8 or
later CD-ROM drive
Active USB port

Overall
score 9.5
86

083-91_OPM01_reviews.indd 86 9/2/07 09:50:59


Divine The best new features
Proportion The new features in Corel Painter X are very, very good. Here’s
tool quick look at the best but for a more in-depth guide, turn back
to our feature on page 16.

Universal
Mixer
palette

RealBristle brushes Layout Grid

RealBristle
brushes

Dodge and Burn tools Auto-Painting palette

Corel Painter X
£242.05 | Enjoy real media effects like never before!
he wait is �inally over – the new version Da Vinci even used it when composing his
of Corel Painter is here, ready for you paintings such as the Mona Lisa, so you know
to buy and enjoy! And although you you’re in good company! When coupled with
probably expect us to say this – it’s a the new Layout Grid, it means you can ensure New and improved
With new artistic and photo editing
damn �ine new version, building upon the tried your photo cropping or painting focal points features, Corel Painter X has
and tested features that make the software so are in the best place. enough power and potential for
attractive in the �irst place. If you are just starting out in Corel Painter, anyone interested in creating the
Brushes have always been at the very or you want a quick and hassle-free way of best in digital art
centre of Corel Painter, and with this new creating art, the PhotoPainting option is for
version users can enjoy revolutionary brush you. With this you open up a photo, apply What we like What we don’t like

we say
behaviour. The new RealBristle Painting one of the new colour styles (Watercolor,
New RealBristle It would have been
System is absolutely astounding and lessens Impressionist and more) and then set the brushes nice for some more
the gap between digital art materials and program to automatically paint over your Divine Proportion tool brushes, but then we
traditional art materials even more. Put simply, photo. If you enable the new Smart Strokes are very greedy!
Dodge and Burn tools
the RealBristle brushes behave as you would feature, you can sit back and relax while the
Auto-save function
expect a traditional brush to behave. You can program detects the forms in the photo and
alter the controls so you see every bristle on adjusts the size and direction of brush strokes
the brush, and even determine how close the accordingly. Once it’s �inished, you can bring Corel Painter X Company
verdict

bristles are to the canvas. You can work with detail back using the Restoration tool or start Corel
just the very tip of the brush touching the applying manual brush strokes. Web
document, or push hard and see the bristles The new Dodge and Burn tools allow users to www.corel.com
Operating systems
splay out. With the enhanced brush ghosting highlight and darken an area on an image and Mac and PC
feature enabled, you can also see the tilt, set the level of opacity and size to ensure total Minimum requirements
bearing and location of your graphics pen. control. The support for Intel-based Macs and Mac: OS X 10.3.9 or
Traditional art techniques and disciplines Windows Vista also means that the software is later, 256MB RAM,
are very important in Corel Painter, and with optimised for today’s computers. 700MHz
PC: Pentium III,
version X you get exceptional control over how Generally, this is a good new version. The 700MHz, 256MB
you present your artwork. The new Divine RealBristle brush category is absolutely RAM

9.0
Proportion tool lets you apply a special grid sublime to use and the support for the latest
over your photo or sketch to help you position Operating Systems means work�low is smooth Overall
the important elements. This grid is based
upon a traditional art ratio that has long been
thought of as being aesthetically pleasing.
and fast. Once you add the new features to the
existing ones, it’s plain to see that Corel Painter
X is a dream package for digital artists.
score

87

083-91_OPM01_reviews.indd 87 9/2/07 09:51:18


Reviews Books

Drawing Workshop:
Simple Steps To Success
£9.99 | Valuable techniques for improving your drawing skills
here may be some of you out there incorporated traditional artistic theory Author
wondering why it is we have into its pages. Although it only skims the Lucy Watson
turned our back on the digital surface of techniques such as composition, Price
format in order to review books colour and perspective, there is more than
£9.99
Publisher
based around traditional art material. You enough information for budding drawing Dorling Kindersley
may think we’ve gone mad, but we have students to hone their technique. ISBN
not. It’s a sad fact that there aren’t many There’s no denying that the book’s 1-4053-1287-4
books dedicated to the Corel Painter author, Lucy Watson, has done a fantastic
software, but in an odd way it doesn’t job in writing accessible and informative
matter too much. Because the software is text. Her tone is perfect for teaching
based around how real media works, you new skills and we never found ourselves
can dip into traditional art texts and still having to read a sentence over in order
learn loads. to work out what it meant. But the
This title here is perfect for anyone who book’s killer feature has to be the images
would like to build upon their drawing used to illustrate each point. These are
skills, or develop them in the �irst place! It absolutely beautiful and add a real feeling
is full of colour photos showing you how of plushness to the pages. You can look
to build up a drawing – from rough sketch at these to get the general idea about a
right through to detailed shading. There concept, before then reading the �ine
are various projects littered throughout detail in the text. All-in-all, this is an
the book that you can follow to create the exceptional book for keen sketchers.
end result, and these have valuable tips
and advice.
In between the information pages,
Use the you’ll �ind Gallery pages. These are a great
practical projects place to come and see what a wide range
Even though the book of style the drawing banner covers. They
is aimed at people sat also serve as an excellent idea pot to dip in
with a real pencil in their
hand, there’s plenty and out of for future projects.
of information to help One thing that we particularly
improve your drawing liked about this book was how it also

Materials
Paper choices Real-world examples
There’s plenty of opportunity to The book is stuffed with helpful
learn more about how an artist techniques for enhancing your skills
would use paper and gain a better and everything is clearly illustrated
understanding of the paper choices so you can see exactly how
within Corel Painter something works

Art theory Step-by-step guides


In addition to the amazing array of The book is peppered with
projects (see next box), you also walkthroughs on how the artist
Technique benefit from information on classic built up a drawing. Different styles
Stroke marks advice art training. These pages will help are investigated here, and the clear
your artwork, no matter what style screenshots and text make it easy
you are using to follow along

88

083-91_OPM01_reviews.indd 88 9/2/07 09:51:42


Chinese Brush Painting
Creating
seals

£10.99 | Create fresh images with this book


Author he art of Chinese brush painting
Cheng Yan is a beautiful discipline to master
Price and will help you create serene
£10.99 and delicate artwork. Although
Publisher
Search Press there is no dedicated Chinese brush
Traditional materials explained
ISBN category in Corel Painter, you can easily
1-903975-19-0 adapt the program’s Watercolor, Liquid
Ink and Sumi-e brushes and follow the
advice in this book.
You learn how to create a variety of
Chinese brush paintings in this book,
from a lovely peony to a horse, swallow
or landscape scene. The photos that
accompany the steps are all nice and
clear, plus we really like the fact that the
images being explained are achievable.
In addition to all the tuition, readers
are also treated to some background
information on the tradition of Chinese
brush painting and the typical materials Serene art Follow along Different subjects
used. This is a fascinating read and helps Thanks to this book, The step-by-step instructions are all There is loads of inspiration in this
you can discover what’s you need to turn your Corel Painter book, covering a wide range of
you understand the process behind the involved in Chinese brush brushes into Chinese brush painting painting subjects and types. Each
age-old tradition, while also giving all you painting and then have a tools. The images are clear and the starts with a nice bit of background
need to start creating your own images. go yourself text is easy to follow about the artform

Painting Flowers And Plants Final


artwork

£9.99 | Create floral watercolour masterpieces


Author he watercolour medium is one
Janet Whittle of the most popular ones out
Price there, and a quick �lick through
£9.99 this book leaves you in no doubt
Publisher Selecting source photos
Search Press as to why. Author Janet Whittle guides
ISBN the viewer through her best tips and
1-903975-58-1 techniques for painting �lowers and
plants (the book’s title kind of gives it
away!). The practical walkthroughs give
readers all they need to start painting
their own �lower portraits, with plenty of
bright and colourful photos throughtout
the book to help illustrate the process
that is being explained.
Readers also bene�it from some
techniques on setting up a watercolour
painting and although some of this is
obviously just for ‘real’ watercolours, the
advice on what colours to set up as a basic
palette and masking areas out translate
very well into Corel Painter. Flower heaven Valuable advice Clear instruction
Whittle has also made sure there This book is perfect for There’s plenty of information in All of the walkthroughs have bright
are plenty of �inished paintings, giving anyone interested in this book to help you work in Corel and colourful screenshots that show
learning how to create Painter – we particularly liked the readers exactly how to achieve the
readers a nice bit of eye candy and beautiful flower paintings pages dedicated to choosing what results being explained. You can
inspiration to use some of the techniques. in the watercolour style colours to have in your palette clearly see what needs to be done

89

083-91_OPM01_reviews.indd 89 9/2/07 09:52:12


Reviews Output

Print your
images to
canvas!
Give your creations the final finish by getting
them printed onto canvas. Here we show
you how to use the PhotoArtistry site
Tutorial info othing quite beats a nice glossy
printout of some art to add
Painter master interest to a room. Whether
Jo Cole it’s an illustration or stunning
photo, a few well-placed prints can be all
Time needed
you need to transform a dull living space
10 minutes
into something that’s in�initely more
Skill level welcoming. However, it seems a shame
Beginner to buy somebody else’s work if you’ve
created some pieces of art yourself.
To get the most out of your photos or
illustrations, get them printed out using
Get your
the PhotoArtistry service. This company best artwork
will take your image �ile and print it out
onto a variety of mediums, all of which printed free!
offer exceptional results. As well as the Turn to page 97 and enter
straightforward photoglossy and semi- our Readers’ Challenge to
gloss prints, you can also choose to have
your image converted into a poster, and
win a canvas
maybe take advantage of the MDF block

mounting option. This is where printouts canvas stretching service, where your
are mounted onto 18 or 12mm MDF print is expertly stretched onto quality
blocks and you can choose to have the stretcher bars so it’s ready to hang.
edges of the block painted matte black, We’re going to show you how to place
white emulsion or left as natural MDF. an order at the site, from prepping your
But our favourite part of the service – and image for submission through to deciding
the focus of this tutorial – is the canvas which options to go for. The quality of
Your stretched canvas comes with The texture of the canvas is very printing option. With this, your image the product really is impressive – we
hooks, ready to hang pleasing to the eye is printed onto 340gsm matte canvas had this digital painting printed onto
that meets the Fine Art Trade Guild’s stretched canvas and were blown away by
standards. The inks used are guaranteed the results. Colours were rich, the �inish
to remain crisp for over 75 years and was impeccable and it looked like a real
each print is heat-sealed to give extra painting. Visit www.photoartistry.co.uk
protection against scratches and splashes. to see how you can turn your �iles into
If you decide to go the canvas route, we’d professional prints, or enter our Readers’
also suggest taking advantage of the Challenge to win a free canvas!

“The quality of the product really is impressive - colours


are rich, the finish is impeccable and the final result looks
The corners of each canvas are
perfectly finished
In addition to the stretched canvases,
you can also order other products just like a real painting”
90

083-91_OPM01_reviews.indd 90 9/2/07 09:52:33


Prep and upload your files Clean and
Getting your work to PhotoArtistry supreme
If there is any
question over the
quality of your file,
PhotoArtistry will
contact you to make
sure it’s okay to go
ahead. Similarly, if
there are hair, dust
marks or scratches
on your image, the
company will ask
if you want them
02 Check the numbers add up If you
want to email the file, you need to get it
removed. It’ll also get
rid of red-eye.
less than 2MB. If you’re uploading to the site, as
we are here, it needs to be under 50MB. To bring 03 Save the file When you’ve made your
size adjustments, make a note of the

01 Into Photoshop Before you send


your image off to be printed, there’s a bit
of work to do. First up is saving it for submission.
the file size down, click Resample Image and with
Constrain Proportions selected, enter a new size.
If your file is huge you can post it to PhotoArtistry
dimensions of the document, in inches, and press
OK. Now go to File>Save As and give the file an
obvious name. The file format depends on your
Open your file up and go to Image>Mode. on a CD. It’s worth paying attentions to the submission method – for email submission, go for
Submissions have to be RGB so make sure yours is. resolution, too. The minimum is 150ppi, but 300 JPEG and then compress. For uploading, if you can
Now you need a trip to Image>Image Size and get is a better option. For photos, use the Superfine get away with TIFF and stay under 50MB, then do
your file sorted for uploading. setting or the highest res available. that. CD submissions should be TIFF files.

06 Commence with the order


see a price for the order. To submit
You’ll

Che
05 Yourmeasurements And here is
why you needed to make a note of
the dimensions in step three! Enter them in the
your image, click the Submit your Image button,
click Choose File on the page that appears and
then click Upload File. This could take a couple of
dre

04 Start the order Go to www.


photoartistry.co.uk and click on the
Services tab. Here’s where you can get more
relevant boxes and then pick the type of print you
want from the drop-down menu. When that’s
done, just hit Calculate Price to see how much it
minutes, depending on your connection. Press
your browser’s Back button and enter the name of
your file. Fill out the rest of the form, click Add To
information about the different prints on offer. To will be. If you’d like a different currency, use the Basket and when you’ve checked that everything
get an idea of price, click the Price Calculator link. options on the side. is correct, click Checkout.

Win a canvas print!


Enter our Readers’ Challenge and get yourself a canvas
We were so enamoured with the canvas we got back from the PhotoArtistry site that we
spoke to the PhotoArtistry team and arranged a special deal for our regular Readers’
Challenge. The winner of each challenge will have all their hard work rewarded by receiving
a stretched canvas of their winning entry. All we ask is that you send us a photo once you
have your prize hanging on the wall! To get hold of your canvas, turn to page 97 and see the
rules of the challenge. Then either post or email your entry. Here are the details:
Please post your CDs to
Creative Challenge, Official Corel Painter Magazine,
Imagine Publishing, Richmond House,
33 Richmond Hill, Bournemouth, Dorset. BH2 6EZ.

07 The final furlong Here’s the final,


final order. Click either Cheque With
Order or Pay Online. If you go the cheque way,
Unfortunately we cannot return your CDs. You can also email your entries to
challenge@paintermagazine.co.uk, but please keep your emails below 2MB otherwise
they will be rejected.
you’ll be presented with a form to print out and
Terms & Conditions: Employees of Imagine Publishing (inc freelancers), PhotoArtistry their relatives or any
send off with your cheque. If you go the online agents cannot enter. The Editor’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into. Prizes cannot be
way, you’ll be taken to the secure WorldPay site to exchanged for cash.
fill in your card details and finish the order.

91

083-91_OPM01_reviews.indd 91 9/2/07 09:52:55


readers’ gallery issue one

This is the part of the magazine where


we hand pages over to you. Send us in
the artwork you are most proud of and
you might see it printed!
s the magazine progresses, �lights of fancy, he always manages to
Gallery
these pages will eventually create paintings with depth and texture
show the results of our regular that would normally be reserved for
challenges (see page 97) but traditional art materials.
to kick off your imaginations, we thought Read on for some history behind each
we’d focus on one Corel Painter artist and painting, and load up the disc for more
show you their work. information on Jeff. Also be sure to visit
Jeff Johnson has worked for various his online portfolio and get a good idea of
clients and produced beautiful paintings what he’s capable of – http://thejeffster.
with a distinct fantasy edge. From deviantart.com.
well-known characters found in the Once you’ve enjoyed the artwork here,
most popular fantasy texts, to unique turn over and enter the challenge!

01
Title: Thar, King
Thar is a character portrait commissioned
for the vast Santharian universe (www.
santharia.com) I decided to give him
relatively understated armour and a rather
simple crown, in order to put the focus on
the features, and have them tell his story.

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03
Title: Elven Archer
Here is a panel from the cover art for the dark fantasy novel
Guardians Of The Forest, written by Graham McNeill. A little
forced perspective and strong back-lighting give the ‘first read’
more impact, which is so important in cover work.

02
Title: Mr Bilbo Baggins Of Bag End
If you decide to do fantasy illustration, you must at some point
take on Tolkien. It was hard to resist the urge to be influenced
by the Ian Holm movie version, but instead I created my Bilbo
based on some nice photos of Irish and Scottish farmers, with a
dash of the author himself added in for good measure.

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readers’ gallery issue one
Gallery

04
Title: Shhh!
I have two nephews and a niece who are
bezonkers over dinosaurs, and this was done for
them, though I admit I have wanted to paint a
scene like this since I was their age. I ended up
making a clay sketch of a triceratops in order to
get the perspective right, which is something I do
from time to time.

05
Title: One Tough Customer
I developed this as part of a friendly challenge
between a handful of epilogue.net artists
to create a mock cover for Heavy Metal
magazine. I opted for a humorous take and
it was good practice to try to get that Heavy
Metal feel. I think everyone else enjoyed
themselves as well.

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Challenge
elcome to the very �irst challenge! paper textures. Your task is to use at least one of
There will be one of these every these supplied images and create a piece of art. Once
issue, and is a chance for you to test you’ve �inished your art, send your work in to us
your creative skills. The idea behind and the winner from each issue will get their image THE WINNER
this challenge is very simple. You will be given a printed onto a canvas, courtesy of PhotoArtistry
collection of art materials on each issue’s disc, and (www.photoartistry.co.uk). There’s no deadline,
WILL GET
this collection could consist of photos, brushes or so you’ve no excuse for not entering! THEIR PAINTING
PROFESSIONALLY
PRINTED ONTO
This challenge’s materials CANVAS!

How to enter the challenge…


To share your work with others, send your pictures
in to us and you could be featured on these pages.
Just pop your images onto a CD and send it to:
Creative Challenge, Official Corel Painter
Magazine, Imagine Publishing, Richmond
House, 33 Richmond Hill, Bournemouth, Dorset
BH2 6EZ, UK
Alas, we can’t return any CDs.
If your entry is under 2MB, you can email it to
challenge@paintermagazine.co.uk

Remember! You can email your entries to challenge@paintermagazine.co.uk

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