Tag Archives: Watercolor

Karen Bonaker’s Nature Water Brushes – Fabulous

Posted by Skip Allen on

Corel Master Painter Karen Bonaker has just posted her new Nature Water Brushes to her Blog.  These are fabulous brushes.  They are not watercolor brushes; Karen made them with painting rivers, lakes, oceans and waterfalls in mind, but in reality, they are so much more useful.  In this image she used her Pure Water brush a lot.  It is an amazingly versatile brush.  Following is what she says on her blog:

“My Fall Open Studio is just coming to an end and I wanted to share with you the brushes that were used in this session and some of the wonderful paintings created by my students. Open Studio is always special and so much individual growth takes place with each artist, it is wonderful to see.

Nature water brushes are not Watercolor brushes, they are derived from a blender brush variant called Water Rake. Please view the videos to understand how to use them in your creative process.”

Do visit Karen’s blog and download her brushes!

Karen Bonaker’s Nature Water Brushes

Enjoy,

Skip

Quick Tip on Blending Watercolor Digitally

Posted by Skip Allen on

I was in Karen Bonaker’s Paint with Me class recently and was working in watercolor. Frequently, I will mix watercolor and digital watercolor variants to get the look I want. I guess I never noticed this before, or never tried it with watercolor, but the Pickup Underlying Colors option was active in the layers panel. And when I began to paint with a digital watercolor variant over the watercolor layer, it picked up the colors and began to blend them. I know what most of you are thinking. He never tried Pickup Underlying Colors before, right? Well, I have; I use it all the time with other media, but for some reason I had not used it with watercolor.

“And you think I am going to believe you?”

“Kevin, leave me in peace. May I write one blog post without your interruptions.”

“I’m just trying to keep it real.”

“But, you are not rea….”

“I am to real! We established that with Uncle Tim. I am a good virus like Glenda the good witch in the Wizard of Oz,” he screeched.

“Whatever.”

I turned back to my computer and began typing, but I guess you know that. Sometimes I get confused and wonder who I am talking with, the imaginary virus or the imaginary folks who may be reading the blog. But I digress.

So I was in Karen’s class, and I started applying paint using my Splashing Water > Digital Sq Pool Blender and was shocked to see very rich colors and some cool blending happening. As you would expect, color from the previous layers added to the richness of the current layer colors. To demonstrate, I didn’t know which would be better, a painting or a video. I decided a video, but in the video, I mentioned that I hadn’t used the technique in a painting, which is only partially true. There was the painting in Karen’s class, but I haven’t actually finished the painting. That means I haven’t actually used it in a painting, right?

“Exactly, now do you see why I cannot believe you. Your thoughts are so frigging convoluted.”

“Oh good grief.”

To continue: I then decided it would be fun to use the Kaleidoscope Painting tool and make a finished example, which I did. However, even though I used the blending technique, it doesn’t show very well. I lost myself in the pretty colors. That Kaleidoscope Painting tool is addictive. It is hypnotic. I know it can be used to make beautiful paintings; one of my students used it to make an umbrella being held by a bathing beauty. It was terrific and very creative. I was just playing for the sake of playing. Hey, I’m retired, I can do that.

Next is the image I made and following that will be the video tip. I hope you enjoy them. Don’t be afraid to leave comments.

Watercolor blended Kaleidoscope
Painted in Painter 12 with Real Watercolor variants and Digital Watercolor variants.

Next is the quick tip video.

That’s it for this post. I am getting a fair number of hits these days and I really appreciate the visitors. Stop by often.

Skip

Splashing water download

Posted by Skip Allen on

Hello Friends,

I am trying to do a bit more with this blogging and add another download of one of my watercolor brush sets for Corel Painter 11.  Actually, there are two downloads.  One is called PIX Splashing Water and the other is called P11 Splashing Water.  Why two downloads?  Well, when I make brushes in Painter 11, they are not backward compatible to earlier versions of Painter.  David Gell , an incredible brush master for Corel Painter, has a way of making the brushes backwardly compatible, and he generously makes them compatible for me.  However, this time, there were two brushes that were using the Hard Media brush engine, which is not backwardly compatible.  To alleviate the problem, David changed the two brushes in a way that it is impossible to tell the difference from the ones that I originally made and the ones that are backwardly compatible.

So what does this mean to you? When you click on the link below, if you are using Painter 11 select the P11 Splashing Water brushes for download.  If you are using Painter IX or X, then select the PIX Splashing Water Download.  If you have all three versions, then PIX Splashing Water will work for IX, X or 11.  Or shoot, if you like, just download both.

“Now you are confusing folks,” quipped Kevin.

“Oh hey, Kevin.  I was wondering if you were going to show up.”

“Present and here to help.”

“Oh good grief,” I sighed.  “Look it isn’t really hard.  If you are working in Painter 11 and would like the set as designed, then download P11 Splashing Water.  But, if you have all three versions, you can get by with just PIX Splashing Water and you will not really miss the original design because to be honest, I can’t tell the difference after David changed the variants.”

BTW, both zip files are compatible with StudioChris Brush Manager. Here is the link for the brush downloads:

Splashing Water

Now for the next surprise.  I am experimenting with videos added to the blog.  Here are a couple that are 10 minutes long and show a bit about how I envisioned the use of the brushes.  However, I find that folks use them in very different ways than I expect, which is great.  I love to see what folks do with the brushes.

Here is the second video and it is a little longer than 10 minutes.  I didn’t demo all the brushes, but if you have any problems or questions, please feel free to add a comment and I’ll try to help in any way I can.

Well that is it for this post.  I hope it is enjoyable and useful to you.

“I’m impressed.  You did good.”

“What? Kevin you are giving me a compliment,” I replied skeptically.

“Yes, you are learning about blogging and are picking up a few new tricks.  For an old dog, that is pretty impressive.”

I don’t think I’ll answer him.  I know there is a catch here, so it is best to just leave it alone.

I just noticed something.  The second video doesn’t seem to have the HD option in the upper right corner like the first video does.  Both were done in HD format and the video press upgrade is supposed to show the videos in HD.  I have deleted the video several times, reproduced it several times, but it always posts as if it isn’t HD.  Got to figure that one out.  Anybody having the same problem?

Enjoy!

After a year’s absence

Posted by Skip Allen on

Where has the time gone?  I meant to come back each week and have a chat with you, but I have been so busy.

“Busy! You procrastinated and you know it!” Kevin interrupted.

“OMGosh.  Are you back to heckle me?”

“You couldn’t write without me.”

“Kevin, I assure you I can write without you, but I have to admit, it isn’t as much fun when you are not around.  Now let me get back to the reader.”

I am so excited.  With a little help from a friend, I have figured out how to add my brushes to the blog.  That means, dear Reader, you can download the zip file and install them using StudioChris Brush Manager.  Or, you can unzip the file and load them manually.  Following is the zip file for Eastern Water.  They should be compatible from Painter IX to Painter 11.

Eastern Water

“Do you think everyone knows how to install brushes with or without the brush manager?”

“I don’t know, Kevin.  I suppose if anyone has trouble they will add a comment asking questions,” exasperatedly I replied.  I know I shouldn’t be exasperated, but I was just beginning to feel the flow of writing.

If the test for Eastern Water works, I think I will add a brushes page with all of my brushes listed.

Enjoy, Skip

Bamboo on Silk

Posted by Skip Allen on

Sue made a comment on the last post that the bamboo would look good printed on silk.  It was a timely comment because I had just finished a piece with a background that looks like the piece was printed on silk.   I called this one wind.

Enjoy,

Skip

Bamboo in the wind

Wind

Eastern Water Brushes; What’s the Big Deal

Posted by Skip Allen on

I love watching You Tube videos of sumi-e paintings.  There is something intriguing about the process.  When I found out that Open Studio at Digital Art Academy was going to focus on sumi-e, I was delighted.  I began to practice.

No matter how hard I practiced, the process felt muddled.  Did I just need more practice? Of course, but who has time for practice.  Good brush painters hone their skills for decades; I had a matter of weeks.  Surely (tongue in cheek) with the right brush I could be a Master in less than a few days.  I knew it was impossible, but what else is a hardhead good for, if not for banging it against an impossible goal.

Bang one.  What is necessary for a good sumi-e brush? “Kevin?” (Dear reader, I know you do not know Kevin, but if you will bear with me, I’ll make a page explaining all about my computer Kevin, but right now, let’s just chat about the brushes.)

“Many things,” he replied rather too simply.

“Well, duh.  You champion the obvious.  I’m asking for one essential behavior.” Sometimes Kevin can be so obtuse.

“The ability to load the brush tip with one value of a color and the base with a lighter or darker value. But you will never remedy that conundrum.”

“Exactly, a perfect function of the brush.  What? Never remedy? Don’t be rude or I’ll run the CCleaner you hate?

“What we need is the ability to sample multiple colors with one brush, and Painter has that exact function.  It is located in the Mixer Pad.

Sample Multiple=

  1. This is the dropper tool, which will sample a single pixel of color
  2. This is the sample multiple colors dropper.  It will sample a range of colors from a single pixel to 50 pixels.
  3. The slider determines the range of colors.  Currently it is set to sample 24 pixels; slide it all the way to the right and it will sample 50 pixels.”

“Aha…you jest.  Are you telling me that you can eyeball 50 pixels on the screen?  I think not,” he chuckled; well it was more like a giggle.

“No, of course not.  I do a little trial and error to get the right range, but most of the time, I leave it at 50 pixels and change when needed.  Check this out.

Sample Strokes

Sample Brushstrokes with 50 Pixel Range

“The slider is set for 50 pixels and I sampled color from just beyond the tips of each arrow.  You can see the resulting strokes.  Obviously, 50 pixels is not very big; plus, there is a bigger problem.  Not all brushes can use the sample multiple function.

“Artist’s Oils Category variants can use the function, but many, for example, in the Acrylic Category cannot.  The determining factor is the Brush Dab Type, which can be found in the General Palette.”

Kevin coughed, hacked, cleared his throat; he made a noise, “Sputter. Is this the first time you have mentioned this palette?  Will the readers understand what it is?”

“Some, yes; others, no.  But I get your point.  Explain the General Palette.

“Under Window > Brush Control you will find a palette group consisting of a number of palettes relating to brush controls.  The General Palette is first in the list.

Brush controls Group Palette

Brush Controls Group Palette with Emphasis on General Palette

“If one of the following four words is listed in the first drop down menu, then the brush can sample multiple colors from the Mixer Pad: camel, flat, and bristle spray.  The illustration identifies all dab types that can use this function.

“Bang one resolved.  And you said it couldn’t be done.  All I have to do is use Camel, Flat, and Bristle Spray Brush Dab Types.”

“You got lucky.  There are many more obstacles ahead,” he said with a certain amount of glee.  He delights in my struggles.  I wonder if all computers are like that, or if I got the only one.

I promised to give you the Eastern Brushes.  Download them here.

The Eastern Brushes conversation will continue.  In the meantime, you may want to download a free webinar that Karen Bonaker and I did about how to use the Eastern Brushes.  The webinar lasted for an hour and 20 minutes, so the zipped file is around 170 MB.  You can download it at Painter Talk, but you will need to register.  It is a free forum; lots of Painter enthusiasts are members.

April edition of Digital Paint Magazine is available. It is a free subscription.

A few paintings I did in the first week of Open Studio:

Dragon Fly

Dragon Fly and Japanese Magnolia

Orchid in a Tree

Orchid in a Tree

The next image is referred to as a Haiga, a combination of Haiku and ga.

My Haiku:

Parrot tulips bright

Bring spring inside the dwelling

Winter returns grey

A Haiga...Parrot Tulip

Enjoy and see you next post,

Skip

Open Studio Assignment, Cherry Blossoms

Posted by Skip Allen on

Today was the first day of Open Studio at the Digital Art Academy.  Time to give my shiny new brushes a try.  I dubbed them Eastern Water in deference to sumi-e style paintings.  I wish I could tell you that I successfully culled them, but strangely the numbers increased to a colossal number, 42, which has cult status and is the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything.

Armed with the answer to everything, I began to paint the assignment, cherry blossoms.  My first attempt was rather stiff, as was my second, third, fourth and fifth.  Then I had an “aha” moment.  I noticed the weeping cherry in full bloom outside my window.  Duh, it is much easier to paint when you have the real thing as your reference.  I cut a branch and brought it inside.

Have you ever tried to put weeping cherry in a vase.  I’m sure florist know how to do it, but my little weepy branch kept falling out.  I finally propped it and vase in a vertical position, which meant the flowers were upside down.  I found a workaround.  I painted a little; extracted the branch from the vase and observed the flowers in their normal position, and then returned them to the vertical.  Hey, the answer to everything is pretty handy. 

Alpha channels are pretty handy in Painter, too.  Alpha channels are defined as a storage device for selections, but I think of them as super selectors.  To start this painting, I first created an alpha channel.  My intent is not to make a tutorial about this painting, but simply show the workflow through a series of screen shots.  This is the alpha channel after painting it with short vertical strokes.  When a selection is created the black areas will be protected and the lighter areas are available for paint, which is just the opposite of a layer mask.

Texture applied to alpha channel

Alpha channel prepared with texture

I added a watercolor layer.  Using my Textured Fill Wet variant I lightly and softly identified the areas where the blossoms would be.

Placement of flowers

Determining the placement of the flowers

Added an additional watercolor layer; I work with a lot of layers.  I used my Chrysanthemum Sharp variant to give some form to the flowers.  I inadvertently continued painting on this layer with Iris Blade, but I wanted to be on another layer.  I deleted what I could.

Giving form to the flowers

Giving some form to the flowers.

On the third watercolor layer I used Iris Blade to give a soft overlay that looks like a petal.

Adding soft petals

Adding soft petals

The center of the flowers and the branch was painted on layers 4, 5, and 6.  I used several brushes, Chrysanthemum Sharp, Bamboo Texture Sharp, Thistle, and Plum Anther.

Flower details and the branch

Added flower details and the branch in the next three layers.

Layers 7 to 10 finished the details of the painting, buds and the first early leaves just barely showing.  At this point I did an Iterative Save and then dropped all layers.

Added buds and the beginning of leaves opening.

Added green buds and leaves just beginning to open.

I didn’t like the composition and added some canvas to the left and bottom of the image.  Also added my name in Chinese characters, at least I think that is what it is.  I got it from one of those sites that claims to write your name in Chinese; it could be profanity for all I know.

Improved composition

Improved composition by adding area to the left and bottom of the canvas, and added my signature in Chinese characters.

When I increased the size of the canvas, the alpha channel did not have any texture in the extra area.  I created a new alpha channel that was the correct size and with the same style texture.  I loaded the selection from this channel and in two layers painted the background.  I reduced the opacity of the layers for the finished piece, but in this screen shot I left the background at 100% opacity so you can see the texture.

Texture layer

Added texture from alpha channel selection. In the final piece, the texture will be reduced in opacity greatly.

I added a frame to finish the work.  I hope you enjoyed this quick look at the workflow of this painting.

Finished with frame

Added a frame for the final image

Here is the zip file of the Eastern Water Brushes.  They are compatible with Painter IX, X, and 11, thanks to Brush Master David Gell, who has created a script to automatically adjust the brushes for backward compatibility.  The brushes can be installed using the Studio Chris Brush Manager.

Zip file will be added later; I can’t figure out how to add it now.

Enjoy,

Skip