Monthly Archives: August 2015

New Wacom Tablet Drivers Released on Aug 28th

Posted by Skip Allen on

Hello Everyone,

Wacom released new drivers for its newest products on Friday, Aug 28th. Wacom Drivers

I downloaded the driver yesterday, uninstalled my current driver and installed the new one.  I was hoping that the issue with the On Screen Menu (radial menu) titles would be fixed, but they are not.  If you use the on-screen menu, you will see that even though you have named each Panel, it doesn’t show.

What I see with my On-screen Menu

What I see with my On-screen Menu

However, one of the followers of the blog posted a possible fix.  I haven’t tried it yet, but will give it a try today.  If it works, I’ll publish more about it.

Enjoy,

Skip

Quick Look at ParticleShop Plugin for Photoshop

Posted by Skip Allen on

Hello Friends,

My class is going strong, but I had to take a break and play with ParticleShop, Corel’s new plugin for Photoshop.  I have to admit, I was pleasantly surprised.  I don’t use Photoshop to paint, just adjust my photos.  And, I better tell you straight up, I am not a photographer. So, painting in Photoshop is a big deal for me.  But, if you want to see some very special videos of Particle shop in action take a look at the ones on ParticleShop’s web page.

OK…I opened one of my photographs in Photoshop.  I took this image at St. George Island’s State Park, Florida.  A lovely storm was rolling in, but it wasn’t rainy.  I guess I am glad I couldn’t see any rain; I did not want to get my camera and myself wet.  But, I did want to see soft rain falling from the clouds.  I wanted to see if I could make it happen in ParticleShop.

Storm, St. George Island State Park, Skip Allen, Nikon D810

Storm, St. George Island State Park, Skip Allen, Nikon D810

After working in ParticleShop for just a few minutes, I had my soft rain.

Storm Altered with ParticleShop, Skip Allen

Storm Altered with ParticleShop, Skip Allen

I need a lot of practice to feel totally comfortable in ParticleShop, but it wasn’t hard to do what I did.  Of course this is a greatly simplified demonstration of what is possible in ParticleShop.  Do check out the images and videos on the web page.

I captured making the above image in a video.  Hope you enjoy it.

OK, that is a quick look at ParticleShop.  I am looking forward to playing some more in the program.  I really liked what I saw in the videos on ParticleShop’s site; I want to see if I can do work like that.

My class, Corel Painter 2016 – New Horizons is going strong.  There is still time to register if you like.  My second live session is tonight at 9:00 PM EDT.  I record all live sessions for download.  Have fun with us.  Registration is Here.

Enjoy,

Skip

Corel Painter 2016 Live Tutorial Recordings

Posted by Skip Allen on

Hello Everyone,

I had so much fun yesterday doing the webinars and talking about Corel Painter 2016.  Before I post the videos below, I want to remind you that my class starts tomorrow, Aug 15, 2015.  In class I cover all the stuff in the videos in much more detail and explore much more.

Register for Corel Painter 2016 – New Horizons

I had one session yesterday morning and it was so much fun.  My buddy Corel Painter Master Elite Tim Shelbourne was there and teased me without mercy.  It was a hoot and all in good fun.  I know you will enjoy it.  Winifred Whitfield and Hilary French were there helping, too.  Thank you so much my friends.

I held the second session yesterday evening.  Winifred was back helping manage questions.  Thank you so much Winifred.  Also attending was Corel Painter Master Elite Helen Yancy.  I quickly made her an organizer allowing her to interact with Winifred and me.  It is so much easier when I have someone to talk with while doing a demonstration.  Helen, thank you so much for letting me impose on you.

OK, now you have the two videos to watch.  They are also on You Tube.

Hey, have you discovered the link to get Corel Painter 2016 upgrade for $99.00 US.  Here it is.

Limited Special Upgrade Price for Corel Painter 2016

OK, don’t forget to register for my class.

Corel Painter 2016 – New Horizons

Enjoy,

Skip

 

 

 

Let’s Celebrate 1,000,000 Views with Live Sessions…Join Me Today. Live Corel Painter 2016 Demonstrations

Posted by Skip Allen on

Hello Everyone,

OMGosh, the blog hits 1,000,000 views today.  I cannot believe it.  I know that is small numbers compared to a lot of blogs, but it is a big number to me.  Thank you bunches and bunches for your support.  I have loved doing the blog and meeting all of you.

So, to celebrate, I scheduled two live sessions.  One this morning and one this evening.  Please feel free to join one or both of them.  What will the webinar be about?  I don’t know…you tell me.  I know I will play in Corel Painter 2016 and the rest is up to you.  I will answer questions and take requests; as long as the requests are about painting.  I can’t sing or dance, but I can juggle oranges.  Shoot, I just checked and I don’t have any oranges, so that is not an options.  Anyway, come on by and let’s talk Painter 2016

The first webinar starts today, Aug 13, 2015 at 11:00 AM EDT (Eastern Daylight Savings Time)

Register Here for Morning Webinar

The second webinar starts today, Aug 13, 2015 at 8:00 PM EDT (Eastern Daylight Savings Time)

Register Here for the Evening Webinar

You can join either webinar during the session…just click the link.

Here are a couple of images created in Painter 2016

I love doing this style.  It is pretty fast…just make a few quick strokes and let the water flow do the rest.

Waterfall, inky landscape done in Corel Painter 2016

Waterfall, inky landscape done in Corel Painter 2016

And y’all know I love anything in a Sumi-e style.

Orchid, Watercolor, Done in Corel Painter 2016

Orchid, Watercolor, Done in Corel Painter 2016

This last one is a work in progress.  I need to get back to it.  Images that take a while to do, tend to bore me and I stop working on them, but I like the way this one was going.

Great Blue Heron, Work in Progress, Watercolor, Corel Painter 2016

Great Blue Heron, Work in Progress, Watercolor, Corel Painter 2016

 

Since I usually work in watercolor, I might try playing with oils and dry media in the Webinars.

OK…hope some of you can make the webinar.

Enjoy,

Skip

Corel Painter 2016 Launches Today…New Class, Corel Painter 2016-New Horizons

Posted by Skip Allen on

Hello Everybody,

I am so excited.  Download your free trial copy of Painter 2016.

 

Branch, Painter 2016, Liquid ink and watercolor particle brushes

Branch, Painter 2016, Liquid ink and watercolor particle brushes

Yes it is that time again; Corel released a new version of Painter.    I think you will want Painter 2016; it is the best version I have seen to date.  I have outlined some of the new features for you:

  1. A completely new Welcome Window.  Corel added tutorials plus a few other surprises.
  2. New color schemes for your workspace.
  3. A new shift start that protects custom content, like brushes, custom palettes, etc.
  4. Enhanced layer blending, which allows blending to transparency without the white or black issues in earlier versions.
  5. ABR import…you can import Photoshop ABR dabs into Painter.  Wow!
  6. New custom palette toolbox, which allows you to send a custom palette as a toolbox to your friends.  The box includes brushes, papers, and flow maps, which will be automatically installed on your friend’s computer.
  7. New full-screen mode allows an immersive painting experience.
  8. Rotate papers.
  9. Rotate flow maps
  10. Particle technology added to liquid inks.  Love it!
  11. Particle technology added to watercolor.  Love it!
  12. Impasto can be added to particle brushes.  Amazing!
  13. New Dynamic Speckle particles…think tamed particle technology that can be used with any other brush method.
  14. New Dynamic Speckle bristles…think particles can work like bristles.  One of my favorite new features.
  15. Audio Expression…what?  Watch your brushes explode to the beat of your favorite music…what?
  16. Painter is more stable than ever.
  17. Painter is faster than ever.

I am sure I have forgotten something, but those are the major features.  BTW, I can’t test it myself, but others have and Painter 2016 works well with Windows 10.

Weathered, Corel Painter 2016, watercolor particles, dynamic speckle bristles, and impasto particles. So much fun.

Weathered, Corel Painter 2016, watercolor particles, dynamic speckle bristles, and impasto particles. So much fun.

As with earlier versions, I am offering a class exploring all new features in Corel Painter 2016.  Registration for Registration Corel Painter 2016, starts today, Aug 10, 2015, at the Digital Art Academy.  Class begins, Aug 15, 2015.  I cover each new feature in-depth, but I did something different with this class.  Because there is the new shift start and it is easier than ever to import workspaces from earlier versions, I started with a complete clean Painter 2016 and show you how to build or customize your Painter to use your work flow.  Join the class and develop your Painter workspace and learn all about the new features in the process.  It will be fun, I promise.

Here is a teaser video showing a little bit about Dynamic Speckle Bristle brush technology.

Download the free 30 day trial of Painter 2016.

Registration for Corel Painter 2016 – New Horizons class.  Class begins Aug 15, 2015.

Hope to see you in class!

Enjoy,

Skip

 

 

Windows 10 is Poison – Microsoft Help is Woefully Inadequate

Posted by Skip Allen on

Yes Dear Readers,

Windows 10 is poison to computers; stay away from it.  You know me, I seldom write anything negative.  But in this case, honesty is important; the negative stuff needs saying.  Windows 10 is ridiculous and Microsoft help is woefully inadequate for the number and scale of problems arising.  Here is an outline of my experience.  I first wrote a 2400 word document which had all the names of tech support people and case numbers, but I decided no one would read it.  Please read the shortened version…or just take my word for it…Windows 10 is poison.,

Day 1: Installed Windows 10 on my Surface Pro 3; installation was smooth.  Decided it was safe to install on my Alienware desktop and ran into problems.  Contacted Microsoft who after several hours told me I needed to let the process run for at least 1 to 3 hours.  I let it run 17 hours.

Day 2: Connected with Microsoft again with a different agent.  Explained the problem.  Worked with her another 5 hours.  At the end, she decided she needed to escalate my problem to a level 2 engineer.  She set the call for between the hours of 10 and noon the next day.

Day 3:  Microsoft level 2 engineer didn’t call.  I call them around 2 PM and a level 1 tech suggested I wait and he was sure someone would call.  I could wait, I didn’t have to install Windows 10, but it looked so neat and I believed all the press.

Day 4:  The Microsoft level 2 engineer called around 10 AM.  I worked with her for 11 hours.  Most of that was downloading time.  At the end of the day, no resolution was in sight.  She couldn’t get Windows 10 to install.  She promised to call the next day.  Odd thing happened.  My Surface Pro 3, which had worked fine before Windows 10, no longer could see my audio hardware.  I no longer had sound.

Day 5: The level 2 engineer called and we continued working, but we kept getting failed attempts and various error messages.  At 4 1/2 hours, I had to stop because I had a live session with a student scheduled.  She tried one more time and this time my computer went to the screen of death or the blue screen.  It restarted again, thank goodness.  At the end of our call, the tech said that she didn’t know of anything else to do except wipe my computer and install Windows 10.  No thank you was my reply.  I mean really, she couldn’t promise that even that would work.  We ended the call.

She had asked me to uninstall Norton and disconnect all peripherals from my computer before the last installation attempt.  I set everything back up, started my computer, and immediately crashed to blue screen.  I couldn’t correct the problem.  Horrified, I called Microsoft back.  The support tech informed me that since Windows 10 never installed and I was trying to get Windows 7 Ultimate back on the machine, I would have to call another department and pay for the support.  I remained calm on the outside, but it was good that he couldn’t see my eyes, which I am sure would have shot laser beams penetrating his skull and vaporizing his brain on the spot.  I then spent another 4 hours holding on the phone waiting for a tech at a different department, who informed me that the first tech should have never sent me to him.  The other tech should have returned me to the level 2 tech I worked with.  OK, I really am getting angry.   It is 9 PM and he tells me he will contact the tech and her manager and they would call me within 2 hours.  They didn’t call.  I wonder if he contacted anyone or was just trying to placate me.

Day 6:  My computer is still crashing to blue screen on opening.  I am trying to restore to an earlier point, which also fails.  I call Microsoft.  During the 3 hour wait time, I decided to revert my Surface Pro 3 back to Windows 8.1.  A miracle happened.  The Surface was now able to see my audio hardware and play sound again.  I then found out that Microsoft was aware of the problem and needed to give new drivers to the Window 10 users.  Would have been nice if they had notified us, right?  But, I guess it is way more fun to let its loyal customers flounder about.

OK, so I get a new level 2 tech who is very apologetic and says she will help me, right?  She started by trying to restore my computer to an earlier time, which I patiently explained wouldn’t work.  She did it anyway.  It didn’t work.  Then she asked me to do something, I couldn’t make it out.  I asked her to repeat herself and she didn’t.  Then she started saying hello and trying to get my attention.  I could hear her, but she couldn’t hear me.  She said that she had to end the call.  Not ten minutes earlier I had given her my call back number and begged her to call me if we got disconnected.  She did not call me back.  I call Microsoft back once again. One hour into the wait time I get disconnected. To this point, my writing has been kind, but let me be perfectly frank.  Microsoft’s help system sucks.  I cannot write the words I am thinking…you can read between the lines.  And, their product sucks, too.  It killed one of my computers and disabled the other.

I called Alienware support and on bended knee, I asked if they could help.  It probably took 5 minutes to reset the bad stuff that the repeated installation attempts and reverting back to Windows 7 created.  I spent another 15 minutes with the tech while he ran diagnostics on my machine to see if all was OK and it is.  Compare Alienware’s performance to Microsoft’s…15 minutes versus 6 days.

Please do not try to install Windows 10.  I know it is safe for some folks, but you will not know that until you try.  Then, you must call a help system that isn’t capable of correcting the problems that are occurring.   Please share this post with others.  Everyone needs to know the dangers here…and the appalling lack of support from Microsoft.

Alienware support is my hero, Microsoft support is the spawn of the devil.

Skip