Corel Painter 12 and a Wacom Art Pen, It Doesn’t Get Any Better!

Posted by Skip Allen on

Hello Everybody,

UPDATE:  Sorry, but I forgot to take video 5 off private.  I have set it correctly now and it is available for viewing.  I can’t help it; I’m a dunce. LOL.

I follow Painter Factory, a forum for Painter users provided by Corel Painter.  It is a great forum; you can ask questions or answer them; you can even suggest enhancements and new functions for future versions of Corel Painter.

I notice a thread that someone who is new to Painter asked if an art pen would be proper for a newbie.  All the answers were terrific.  But, it gave me the idea to follow my post about setting up the Intuos 5 with posts about the Wacom Art Pen and how you can tame it in Painter 12.  It is a fabulous tool, and I would highly recommend it to traditional artists.

I have created 6 videos, each around 5 minutes long.  This first video shows the enhanced brush ghost as the best cursor to use with Art Pen, and I explain the advantages of barrel rotation.

In this video, part 2, I take a look at a variant that doesn’t have any rotation function and try to change it to a variant that does have rotation ability, however, I found that Expression Rotation in the Angle Brush Control Panel doesn’t always work…why?

In this video, part 3, I find what dab types will work with rotation and which ones will not.

In this video, part 4, I discover the RealBristle brush control panel; I will explore it next.

In the fifth video we explore the RealBristle brush control panel. It has lots of sliders all geared to help you make the perfect variant based on traditional values.

In the last video, I review what I have learned.  I also talk about sample multiple colors and how the realbristle brushes can use sample multiple colors…very cool.

Well, there you have it.  My take on the Wacom Art Pen.  I love mine and when not demonstrating, I use it exclusively.  I hope you will give it a try.

Have a great week,

Skip

18 responses to “Corel Painter 12 and a Wacom Art Pen, It Doesn’t Get Any Better!”


  1. Hello Skip,

    It looks like the 5th video is set to private for some reason.

    Thank you so much for these videos. That changing expression to rotation not doing anything for my art pen has been driving me crazy! Now I at least have a better handle on trying to get rotation to work on my own variants.

    Reply

    • Hi Jason,

      Thanks for the heads up. I goofed and forgot to set it to public. It is fixed now. Video 5 covers the RealBristle control panel, which is very important. The whole process makes a lot of sense using the RealBristle control panel.

      Thanks again,
      Skip

      Reply

  2. Just to show the difference in the old/new art pens – see attached. I haven’t switched over to the newest tablets because I just couldn’t live without my art pen with the wedge! Have you ever tried one?Bettie            http://www.MinerWorksofArt.com 

    Reply

    • Hey Bettie,

      Yes, I still have my Intuos 3 with my 6D Art Pen. I remember the big wedge. Have you tried one of the new ones. Unlike the 6D Art Pen, the new Art Pen can use multiple nibs. The nibs are pointed or wedged. You have the option. I followed the link, but I am not seeing a comparison…was I supposed to see two pictures one done with the 6D Art Pen and the other done with the Art Pen? But…Hey…whatever works…definitely use that.

      Thanks,
      Skip

      Reply

  5. Hi Skip ad thank you so much for your sharing of knowledge – I have an art pen but never really was able to understand and explore its real power.
    I tried to watch Part 5 but it errored saying that the video was private.
    Please advise.
    Thank you again
    Rich

    Reply

  7. Hi Skip! Great info. I’ve been so confused about my art pen! I have an unrelated issue. I’ve become a member of Painter Factory, and for some reason, for the past year since I joined, I’ve never been able to sign in. I just changed my password again. No luck. What do you think is wrong? When I try to rejoin, there is an error message that says I am already a member.

    Nowhere on the site is a place where I can email someone concerning this.

    Is there something I can do?

    Kathleen

    Reply

    • Hey Kathleen,

      I’m glad the videos are helping with the art pen.

      I’m not sure what to tell you about Painter Factory. I just went to the site to see if there was a contact person for the site and I didn’t see one, but it is late and I could have missed it. I’ll check tomorrow and see if there is a way to contact someone to help you.

      Thanks,
      Skip

      Reply

        • Hi Kathleen,

          I found this in the FAQ on the site:

          What if I’ve registered but still cannot login?
          If you’ve registered and can’t login, check to ensure you have a valid username and password. If you are sure the username and password are valid, but still can’t login you may either require account activation or your account may be on hold. In this case it is best to contact the PainterFactory.com administrators per email at painterfactory@corel.com.
          Back to top

          Send them an email and I’m sure they will have you up and running again.

          Skip

          Reply

  8. Thank you, Skip, for the in-depth presentation of the grip and art pens. I have the art pen, but never clearly understood how to use the rotation feature until now!!! Also, your videos helped me to understand the different brush attributes/selectors affect the stroke. I’ve heard others speak of your outstanding abilities in ‘engineering’ brushes – tis great to see first hand your approach. I’m amazed at the number of attributes/functions go into making a brush – now, if only my swiss-cheese brain can remember!!!!!
    Again, thank you so much for your generosity in sharing.

    Reply

    • Hello Easily Distracted (Marie),

      I understand Swiss Cheese brain; I have one too. I frequently forget what does what, but I can still try this slider or that one until I find the results that I want. If I mess up the brush, there is always the reset button on the Brush Property Bar…a life saver for sure.

      I’m really not a brush engineer…just a button pusher, who likes to see what happens when the button is pushed. LOL.

      Thank you so much for your comment,
      Skip

      Reply

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