Apple released a new OS X 10.11 also called El Capitan. Chris Pierce, the Corel Digital Arts Product Manager posted the following at Painter Factory several days ago.
Painter Update – New Apple OS X 10.11 AKA El Capitan
As you know, Apple released its new OS X 10.11 – AKA El Capitan today. Our top priority is to ensure that you always have a great experience with Painter, and while the Painter team is diligently working on certification testing, we wanted to make our Mac users aware that there is potential for some disruptions with Painter on the new OS.
We strongly encourage you to experiment with the new OS on a test system and not your production system.
We’re working on identifying and fixing any potential issues and will have more news to report shortly. Rest assured, Painter 2016 will be supported on OS X 10.11.
Stay tuned to the Painter Factory for further updates and thank for your patience!!
Happy painting!
Chris Pierce
Corel Digital Arts Product Manager
Wacom released a similar warning for their users, but yesterday posted an updated driver for Mac users. So, if you have upgraded to El Capitan, you may want to update your Wacom device to the latest driver for Mac.
Winifred Whitfield has created another class at the Digital Art Academy; Portrait Painting with Winifred Whitfield. Her classes are very popular and I know this one will be, too. Winifred is no stranger to portrait painting and has received national and international awards for her portraits. The class will include demonstrations of many painting techniques, but will focus primarily on blending. Winifred also shows the important step of preparing the photograph to paint. She gets the photograph ready in Painter, which negates the need for photography software…everything is done in Painter.
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.
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.
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)
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
And y’all know I love anything in a Sumi-e style.
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
Since I usually work in watercolor, I might try playing with oils and dry media in the Webinars.
What a difference a day makes. Yesterday, I wondered if I had done the right thing installing the new Wacom driver; today, I am glad I did. OMGosh, the new driver can make custom palettes…actually they are like the radial menu, but I believe that the users will embrace the new way to create radial menus more than they did previously. But, first…let’s talk about other stuff I discovered today.
First thing I did was uninstall the driver I had installed yesterday. Then I downloaded the driver directly from Wacom. BTW, the legacy drivers have not been updated…just the Cintiqs, Cintiq Companion products, Intuos Pro and Intuos. You can download the driver from Wacom Drivers. I didn’t have the trouble with the installation, so, if you plan on updating, I would suggest uninstalling your current driver, disconnect your tablet from your computer, install the new driver, and finishing, then reconnect your tablet.
Unfortunately, some of the issues I saw yesterday were still there this morning. I talked with my mate, Tim Shelbourne in England, and we met via G2M and had a great deal of fun sorting it all out. This first video talks about some of the stuff we discovered and what I needed to do to correct any problems that occurred yesterday. If you are not interested in that, but want to find out about the Custom Palettes, skip to the next video.
In the next video I talk about a really neat function available with the new driver. You can now display the radial menu in single column, double column, single row, or double row. It seems more familiar than the radial method and reminds me a great deal of the way Painter handles custom palettes. I think Painter users will love it. In the video I wasn’t so sure, but I have changed my mind. And, I think Photoshop users are going to really love it the most because this will be the first time they can make custom palettes. Remember, it is the same as the radial menu, but that configuration never caught the public’s eye. I think the new method will. Here is the video…enjoy.
Give the new driver a try and let me know if you like the new way of doing the Radial Menu. Don’t forget, you can go back a few posts and get my custom shortcut keys for Painter and for the Wacom.
Here is something really new. I just noticed that Corel Painter has a new product available, Brush Packs. There are nine different brush packs created by professionals in specific fields. All look very interesting.
Don’t have Painter 2015, no problem, six of the sets are compatible with Painter X3 and 12. Three of the sets are particle brushes and those, of course, are not compatible with versions earlier than 2015.
I haven’t downloaded and played with any of the brushes, but I will. I’m reviewing them now to decide what I want to buy. There is a watercolor set; I must have those. 🙂 I am very curious about the Particle sets, so I am sure I will try one of those.
OK…go check the New Brush Packs out. As soon as I download one and give it a try, I’ll let you know what I think.
I am still tweaking my new watercolor variants, but I decided that I would share a few brushes with you and even a couple of watercolor papers. One of the brushes, Skip’s Real Water, actually flows almost like traditional watercolor, but unfortunately, it does require a lot of computer power to render in a timely fashion. I will explain more later in the Tutorials at the end of the post.
In the first example from the class, I made the chops in the upper right corner. I downloaded the calligraphy from one of the sites that will translate your name. I hope it is my name; I really don’t know. The square chop has my name placed in the four corners, but you cannot read it…sigh. Karen gives us a few pointers in the class and I made better chops later.
Lonely Pine, Corel Painter 2015 Watercolor, Skip Allen
My second image continued with the same theme.
Life, Watercolor in Corel Painter 2015, Skip Allen
The chops were my two again, but I added some chops provided by Karen that mean Yin Yang, Hope, and Learn from Nature.
Next, I tried my hand at creating a new chop. I do not believe I created one that is intensely personal or spiritual; I need to try again. Here are my two attempts.
Watercolor in Sumi-e style with my chop, Corel Painter 2015, Skip Allen
I like the soft feel of this painting, and the linear quality is very important to me. I made pots for nearly 3 decades and my surface decorations were always linear. The chop is also linear. I do have my name in English running up the right side. The S is at the bottom and the P is at the top. It is kind of strange, right? The second chop is identical, but I used my name in calligraphy.
Strong Bamboo, Watercolor in Corel Painter 2015 with my chop, Skip Allen
THE TUTORIALS:
OK, would you like to see how I did the above images? I hope so. In this first video, I mainly talk about the brushes used and paper and flow maps play an important part. Actually, the brushes are useless without proper manipulations of the paper and flow maps. The Expressions settings are also very important. For instance, I may use Pressure or Velocity as an Expression. If I do, then you need to have your brush tracking or brush calibration set properly for your hand. Otherwise, you will not get the same look and feel that I get. Also, I use a Wacom Art Pen almost exclusively. The Art Pen allows barrel rotation, meaning you can rotate the pen in your fingers and get the same look and feel of a traditional flat brush. If you are using a Grip Pen, then the brush will remain rigid…it will not twirl as you see mine do. For more information go to Art Pens.
Video 1: Tips and Tricks, Corel Painter 2015, Wet Watercolor
After the first video, I decided to paint a piece similar to the ones done in class and capture the experience for you. It wasn’t that easy. Some tutorials are easy, and then others are full of challenges. I actually made two complete sets of tutorials. I had so much difficulty with the first set that I remade the videos. There is a lot of stuff in the first set that might be useful, so I may post it anyway. I haven’t decided, yet.
OK…here is the painting that I created in the tutorials.
Isolation, Watercolor in Corel Painter 2015, Skip Allen
Before I actually start painting, I usually create a paper layer. I like seeing the paper texture; it makes me think I am actually painting on paper. Check out how I do it in this video.
After I created the paper texture, I started the painting. Using three layers, I painted the sky and mountains.
In the next video, I added another mountain and the isolated tree. Establishing the focal point was crucial. I did this as someone from the West. The Asian focal point is very different, I believe.
In the last video, I place a texture over the image. The texture came from Media Militia. This is an incredible free resource of textures. On their website they state: “All of our resources are free for personal and commercial use. We put a lot of time and energy into creating them. If you found something useful, help us out by making a donation. Even a donation of a buck helps pay for the crazy bandwidth costs. Thank you!” If you do go to their site and download materials, do donate. The service offered is well worth a donation and it is so helpful to get them. I seldom get donations, but when I do, it’s delightful. It is so rewarding and inspires me to produce more. Plus, it helps with expenses. When you donate to Media Militia, think about donating here, too.
That was the last video. I give the brushes, papers, and flow maps used, except those from Tim Shelbourne, in the following link.
PLEASE NOTE: I made the tools (brushes, flow maps, and papers) in Corel Painter 2015, and they are not compatible with other versions. Do not install in earlier versions. If I get many requests for an earlier version set , I’ll produce and post it.
I have decided not to post the other videos. I may change my mind later, but the image was pretty awful. In a week or two, I’ll check them again and see if the information is valid and would be helpful to you. If so, I’ll post them
Spring Open Studio starts Saturday at the Digital Art Academy. The instructor is Corel Painter Master Elite, Karen Bonaker, and the topic is Contemporary Japanese Ink Paintings. Registration closes Friday, March 27, 2015…so hurry and register before it is too late. The course will include a custom brush category, paper textures, overlays and reference materials. Karen provides video and PDFs, plus moderates and comments on all student work.
I’m excited about anything that talks about watercolor in painter and this class focuses on it. Karen talks about flow maps, watercolors, selections, and demos tons of new brushes. Check out the following work by Karen. This is the type of work demonstrated in the class.
I love that the images also have a Sumi-e feel to them.
Finch on Bamboo, Karen Bonaker, Corel Painter 2015
The textured backgrounds are wonderful.
Landscape with Growth Effect, Karen Bonaker, Corel Painter 2015
Of course I love anything with flowers.
Orchids in a Pot, Karen Bonaker, Corel Painter 2015
OK, I can’t stand it. I had to do a practice one. I used a new brush of mine and a texture overlay. Loads of fun, but I can’t wait to learn Karen’s new techniques.
Practice Sumi-e Style, Skip Allen, Corel Painter 2015
Melissa Gallo and I were having a Go To Meeting, and we started playing with the new Corel Painter Essentials 5. After playing for a while, we decided to record the rest of the session and share with you.
Corel Painter Essentials 5 is and upgrade to Corel’s popular Painter Essentials 4. It is an extremely rich program for a small price. Melissa and I barely touched the features included with Essentials 5. I did a quick watercolor from scratch and a auto-painting with some extra brush work using oil type brushes. I hardly touch oil brushes anymore, but Melissa made me…just kidding. Do go to Corel Painter Essentials 5 web site and check out all the new stuff added to this version of Essentials. The list includes NEW…particle brushes, mirror and kaleidoscope painting, user interface, navigator, brush tracking utility, 2 in 1 mobile painting interface, real-time effects preview, transformation tools, native 64 bit for Mac and PC, plus more. And I didn’t even get to the enhanced features. The best part, Corel Painter Essentials 5 is on sale for $39.99 until November 28th. I think that is an amazing price.
During the recorded video I created two images, one from scratch and the other using Essentials Photo Painting features. I wasn’t thinking when I finished the watercolor roses and I deleted the image without saving. I was not interested in saving the image, but without it, I didn’t have anything to post on my blog. So…I made a similar image off camera for the blog.
Here is the recreated watercolor rose:
Watercolor Roses, Corel Painter Essential 5, Skip Allen
Next we explored the photo-painting capabilities of Corel Painter Essentials 5. It was fun. Here is the image created during the meeting:
Butterfly and the Rose, Corel Painter Essentials 5, Skip Allen
Video of meeting between Melissa Gallo and Skip Allen. Skip paints two images…check it out.
Believe it or not, for the first time my Wacom Desktop Center notified me of a new driver. This time, instead of downloading the driver from the Wacom site, I let the Wacom Desktop Center download and install the new driver. A follower mentioned that he used the Wacom Desktop Center last time and it worked fine. I haven’t used it before because it never notified me of a new driver…so, I figured that something was amiss.
But, apparently nothing is amiss. I just followed the prompts and my Wacom Desktop Center downloaded and installed the new driver. It worked like a charm. And, my tablet settings were still in place. I didn’t need to back up and restore my settings. I’m very excited about this. It means I do not have to keep checking for updates. Yippee! Great job Wacom.
In case your Wacom Desktop Center didn’t do the job, go to Wacom Drivers and download the latest drive for your tablet.
