Three days ago I mentioned there were new Wacom Product Drivers for Macs. Apparently, there were issues with the release and Wacom has pulled the new drivers from their site.
If you did download and installed the driver, you are probably having problems. You will want to uninstall the new driver and re-install the old driver. The old driver is available at Wacom Drivers.
To correct the problem,
Back up your Wacom preferences
Detach your Wacom tablet from your computer
Uninstall the new driver
Restart your computer
Install the old driver
Reboot your computer
Reconnect your Wacom Tablet
Don’t be mad at Wacom…these things happen…just hold tight and I bet they will put out a new driver soon.
If you decide to try it, don’t forget to back up your settings. disconnect your tablet, uninstall the current driver, re-start, install the new driver, re-start, and then connect your tablet again.
I was playing around with the technique I used in the last posted videos. I started the same way, but this time I tried adding gradients to a layer mask to vary the look of the black brush strokes. I wanted color, so I added gradient to layers and changed the composite method. On the first try, I got the following. Not bad for a first try, right?
Corel Painter 2016, Watercolor, Gradients
I thought the technique was worth sharing, so in the next 4 videos I created the following image. Hope you like it. It reminds me of flying at dusk.
Corel Painter 2016, Watercolor, Gradients
In the first video, I make the black inky watercolor underpainting.
In the next video, I altered the look using a gradient in a layer mask.
It gets interesting in the third video. I added gradients to several layers and change the composite method coloring the gray-scale image.
In the fourth video I planned to add another gradient to a layer mask, but tried something different and liked the results. I copy merged the image and placed it in place. I transformed it a bit and then changed the composite method. I loved the moody nighttime feel of this image.
A couple of posts ago, I mentioned that did a bunch of videos for Corel about making paper in Painter 2016. Corel released the videos yesterday. Making and using paper in Corel Painter is very important; I can say that it is one of the most important functions in Painter. In this set of videos and the set before, I used papers to create the landscape. You can get papers for Painter from a lot of sources, but why? It is so easy to make papers and it is fun, too. Take a look at the following videos. Some techniques are basic and perfect for the beginner, but others are for the advanced user. Take a look and while you there, check out Painter Tutorials. There are a ton of video tutorials.
It’s that time again; there are some new Wacom Tablet Drivers available for PC. Wacom posted the drivers on 4/27/2016 and I saw them, but at that time, the new 27″ QHD, 27″ QHD Touch, 22″ HD, 22″ HD touch Cintiqs plus the Cintiq Companion 2 were the only products suggested for the update. So, I didn’t post about it. However, a couple of funny things happened with my display and I wasn’t sure if it was the Cintiq or the Video Card. There was a recent video card update, which I applied, but it didn’t seem to help. So I kept checking my Wacom Desktop Center for updates. The Center continued to tell me no updates were available. As a double-check, I went to Wacom site. Surprise, now the products listed for the new driver included my Cintiq 24″ HD Touch. Wacom listed the Intuos Pro and Intuos models, too. Oddly, as I go down the page, the old posting for the Cintiq HD 24″ touch is still showing. I can’t find the links for the older products anymore. It seems confusing to me.
I don’t understand why the Wacom Desktop Center doesn’t notify me about updates. Sometimes it does, and sometimes it doesn’t.
Anyway, I am giving the new driver a try. If you decide to try it, don’t forget to back up your settings. disconnect your tablet, uninstall the current driver, re-start, install the new driver, re-start, and then connect your tablet again.
After my last post about using the Wacom On-screen Controls with multiple applications, I thought it might be nice to show you how I paint using Wacom’s On-screen controls. When I demonstrate, I have tons of panels open because it is easier for the viewer, but it does clutter the screen. I have heard some complaints about Corel Painter’s user interface being cluttered, and I have to admit it can be, but Painter is also highly customizable. Over time, I have customized Painter a great deal and I love it. The following three videos will give you an idea of how I paint when not demonstrating. There is a surprise in the third video.
I paint the following image in the videos. I call these types paintings inky landscapes. I love working with custom watercolor variants and inky black color. At the end of the blog I have a couple of gifts for you. I hope you like them.
Corel Painter 2016, Custom watercolor variants
In the first video, I show how I like to create a paper texture at the top of the layer stack. I do this to give me the illusion that I am painting on watercolor paper. To make it easier for me, I created a script to do the task. A script is the same thing as an action in Photoshop. Basically, it is a series of recorded commands that can be played back. I keep the user interface pretty clean. OK, I better shut up before I give away the ending. I hope you enjoy the first video.
At the end of the first video, I finished one watercolor layer. In the second video, I add two more watercolor layers. Papers are key to my techniques, which is obvious in the first two videos. With real watercolors, you can adjust the variant to work with flow maps or paper textures. I find I get subtle textures with flow maps and more aggressive textures with papers. I love the surprises that happen.
The last video is the longest and I do the least. I add a few lines here and there to help solidify the landscape. I am not interested in making an image that screams landscape. I like to leave it open for the viewer to interpret. Oh yes, I did mention there was a surprise in the last video. Prior to making the video, I touched base with Winifred Whitfield and asked her if she would like to sit in on the video. She said yes. Winifred gave me some sound advice and helpful tips.
That’s about it. I hope you enjoy watching the watercolor painting, the use of scripts, and the Wacom on-screen controls. Oh yes, I promised gifts. Unfortunately, they are only for Corel Painter 2016 users. Please do not try to load them in any other version of Painter.
Click on this link to download a zip file containing the following three files. Inky Landscape Tools
Unzip the file and install per the following directions.
Inky Landscape.BOX, is the custom palette that I used for the painting. To install, go to Window > Custom Palettes > Organize > and click import and navigate to where you saved the file.
Show Paper.txt is the script I used to place the currently selected paper on the canvas layer. Be sure you are on the canvas layer when you activate it. To install, go to Window > Scripts > and click the option button on the top right corner of the Scripts window and select Import Script from the drop down menu.
Paper Overlay.txt is the script I used to place a paper layer at the top of the layer stack. Use the import directions I give above.
Skip Allen Paints 