HOME | DD

Serio555 β€” Tutorial - Painter basics

Published: 2009-01-19 12:04:53 +0000 UTC; Views: 23335; Favourites: 481; Downloads: 708
Redirect to original
Description A few people have asked me about corel painter in the past, so here's a quick intro to it.

As I mention in the tut, this is not about CG-ing with corel painter. Rather, it is meant to be an intro for those who don't know where to get started with Painter, or those who are unfamiliar with traditional media. I don't think you can really do a tut on Painter per se, because it would simply be a general drawing and colouring tutorial. Painter is a traditional art simulator - as such, the brushes are meant to behave similarly to their real-life counterpart. So fas far as the actual colouring technique goes, it's about your own brushwork and drawing skill. As such, when it comes to painter, I think it's best to approach it like you would traditional method. Forget layer modes, CG, selections, vectors, gradients, etc and think of it a a blank piece of paper on which you can use any media you want.

Painter offers a wealth of brushes, but not as much options or depth as Photoshop on image editing. Which is why I use both, with Painter for drawing and shading and photoshop for things such as texturing, bg, and finishing.

Note that I only have the ancient version of Painter (8), but I believe the main brushes should remain the same. There are some nifty little things in painter X that I wish I have, but since I don't have the latest version I'll have to make do with what I have.
Related content
Comments: 49

stargranat [2019-06-19 23:34:51 +0000 UTC]

πŸ‘: 0 ⏩: 0

StarboardWatch [2013-12-28 22:06:26 +0000 UTC]

I've had painter (12)Β for MONTHS and there's so much I haven't learned about it yet. This is so helpful.

πŸ‘: 0 ⏩: 0

powerchord0 [2012-01-22 17:22:40 +0000 UTC]

How can you use the smeary palette knife? Any tips? Great tutorial

πŸ‘: 0 ⏩: 1

Serio555 In reply to powerchord0 [2012-01-24 15:48:46 +0000 UTC]

The smeary palette knife is used a bit like the smudge tool in photoshop, for example to get the wispy edges on fur or fire. The resaturation value controls the paint loading on the brush, so at high resaturation it works more as a brush while at low resaturation it works more like the smudge tool

πŸ‘: 0 ⏩: 1

powerchord0 In reply to Serio555 [2012-01-24 17:35:17 +0000 UTC]

Oh! Thanks! It's a really nice brush for fur Not so much for hair because it didn't help me out for it. But thanks a lot i love it! <3

πŸ‘: 0 ⏩: 0

SiennaBlue [2011-11-21 05:51:45 +0000 UTC]

Thank you!

πŸ‘: 0 ⏩: 0

kuina46 [2010-10-14 18:19:31 +0000 UTC]

this is very helpful!! thank you!!

πŸ‘: 0 ⏩: 0

AdamantAngel [2010-08-15 03:06:22 +0000 UTC]

This is extremely helpful--good job, and thank you so, so much.

πŸ‘: 0 ⏩: 0

whimsicalsun [2010-08-10 21:23:17 +0000 UTC]

Thank you for this!

πŸ‘: 0 ⏩: 0

Nyffetyff [2010-08-02 19:56:56 +0000 UTC]

I love you. I transfered from Paint Tool SAI, so Corel was confusing and difficult untill I read this

πŸ‘: 0 ⏩: 0

hikethekilt [2010-07-05 06:13:38 +0000 UTC]

Thank you so much for this; it's helped immensely. I understood the way the media worked, for example, but didn't know you could rotate the display! The sheer number of different tools is staggering, so your examples of what you used them for was also helpful. 8)

πŸ‘: 0 ⏩: 0

chou-roninx [2010-05-28 14:54:53 +0000 UTC]

Thank you for this! I have painter but it's so intimadating!

πŸ‘: 0 ⏩: 0

xStelmariax [2010-05-14 15:00:09 +0000 UTC]

Thanks a lot for the tuto But I still don't get what the "preserve transparency" is good for.. Could you help me out, please?

πŸ‘: 0 ⏩: 1

Serio555 In reply to xStelmariax [2010-05-19 10:18:12 +0000 UTC]

Basically when you turn on "preserve transparency" you can only paint on areas that are already painted - that is, you cannot paint on blank pixel.

It's easier just to try it out. make a new layer, scribble something on, turn on preserve transparency, and try to scribble something over it

πŸ‘: 0 ⏩: 1

xStelmariax In reply to Serio555 [2010-05-19 16:03:54 +0000 UTC]

Okay, thanks!

πŸ‘: 0 ⏩: 0

FellTheWolf [2010-01-26 23:42:49 +0000 UTC]

Do you know how I can get two windows of the same file to open? So I can have one zoomed out, while the other I have zoomed in?

I can do it in photoshop, but I'm not sure if it works here. Great tutorial by the way.

πŸ‘: 0 ⏩: 1

Serio555 In reply to FellTheWolf [2010-02-05 08:22:43 +0000 UTC]

If you meant the navigation window in PS, I don't think there's an equivalent tool in Painter. There's the info window, but it's completely useless.

πŸ‘: 0 ⏩: 0

LuzifersTear [2010-01-22 21:50:56 +0000 UTC]

Wow your tutorial is really great!
Thanks for that, I'm a corel painter newbie and your tutorial is really helpful for someone like me ^-^
Would you like to join the #TutorialsClub?

πŸ‘: 0 ⏩: 1

Serio555 In reply to LuzifersTear [2010-01-26 14:02:17 +0000 UTC]

No probs

So how do I do that? do I just go to the club and join?

πŸ‘: 0 ⏩: 1

LuzifersTear In reply to Serio555 [2010-01-26 15:03:06 +0000 UTC]

Yep ^^
On top you can find the button "Join Group"
Just click it and wait for your acceptance ^^

πŸ‘: 0 ⏩: 0

BleacheD-InK [2010-01-18 23:14:56 +0000 UTC]

Fantastic! Thanks you I've really wanted to get into Painter for a long time, it's been installed forever but I've never picked it up, this will be a huge help ^^

Thanks again!

πŸ‘: 0 ⏩: 0

daydrifter [2009-09-14 06:17:22 +0000 UTC]

Thanks for this, my computer died a while back and I was without Painter for half a year! This tut helped me refresh some things I'd forgotten as well as pick up some great new tips!

πŸ‘: 0 ⏩: 0

Ecija [2009-09-03 05:37:30 +0000 UTC]

Very good! Thank you for this tutorial, very useful. Thanks for introducing the TINTING BRUSHES to me... those were exactly what i needed

πŸ‘: 0 ⏩: 0

HyperactivePop [2009-08-20 06:52:27 +0000 UTC]

This is a really useful tutorial. :3

Thanks for making this!

πŸ‘: 0 ⏩: 0

junearc [2009-08-20 02:30:32 +0000 UTC]

This is a great start to 'relearn' painter. Step aside Photoshop! Painter has gotten my attention. Thanks!

πŸ‘: 0 ⏩: 0

RainbowxPurr [2009-07-29 11:17:20 +0000 UTC]

This is awesome.. Just what I needed to go from Photoshop to Painter. Thanks a million ^_^

πŸ‘: 0 ⏩: 0

estelaa [2009-07-05 21:34:23 +0000 UTC]

awesome tutorial, so helpfull^^

πŸ‘: 0 ⏩: 0

Pandamore-spirit [2009-06-19 19:33:19 +0000 UTC]

Thank you so much ^_^ I've been using photoshop but this thing confused the hell out of me.

πŸ‘: 0 ⏩: 0

TheSharkGirl [2009-05-12 17:21:04 +0000 UTC]

Finnaly! I've just messed up all my outlines, and I was kind of tired of making them so wierd, but then I found you tutorial! 8D Now I know what kind of brushes I should use. ^^

πŸ‘: 0 ⏩: 0

mystiquedragoness [2009-05-01 19:36:50 +0000 UTC]

I am an old Photoshop user as well and Corel seems a bit foreign to me although I like what it can do - this helps so much, I can't thank-you enough for sharing!

πŸ‘: 0 ⏩: 0

kanefan [2009-04-24 23:30:47 +0000 UTC]

This is great, much better than all the other "painter" tutorials. It clearly explains just why painter is different than PS, and the good things about working with it.

πŸ‘: 0 ⏩: 0

Natsu19 [2009-04-19 17:54:37 +0000 UTC]

Useful tutorial! Thanks for taking the time to make it ^^

A Question though, do you know how I could resize the brush (any brush) to less than 1? I like to draw at 0.5 but the brush dimeter refuses to go below 1

πŸ‘: 0 ⏩: 1

Serio555 In reply to Natsu19 [2009-05-01 22:05:19 +0000 UTC]

Well, some brushes you can not resize to less than 1 (although others, such as pencils, should be able to).

My tip is to actually enlarge your image - that is, instead of halving your brush size, double your image size if possible.

πŸ‘: 0 ⏩: 1

Natsu19 In reply to Serio555 [2009-05-02 13:14:09 +0000 UTC]

Great idea! I didn't think of that! Thanks for the tip

πŸ‘: 0 ⏩: 0

Skatora [2009-03-09 17:14:33 +0000 UTC]

I love you forever because of this!

πŸ‘: 0 ⏩: 0

FeatheredDragon13 [2009-03-01 19:05:31 +0000 UTC]

;_;........I love you...

πŸ‘: 0 ⏩: 0

hentaiakumu [2009-02-28 07:45:45 +0000 UTC]

Holy shit.
I love you.

Thank you. xD

πŸ‘: 0 ⏩: 0

nado21 [2009-02-25 15:15:56 +0000 UTC]

thx this is usefull ^^

πŸ‘: 0 ⏩: 0

RMolinas [2009-02-21 14:38:27 +0000 UTC]

Great tutorial!

Good job!

πŸ‘: 0 ⏩: 0

MachinesBleedToo [2009-02-15 10:34:20 +0000 UTC]

EEEEEEEE thank you so much! I just got Painter and it was so intimidating and scary. This helped a lot. <3

πŸ‘: 0 ⏩: 0

frozensky86 [2009-02-11 23:56:25 +0000 UTC]

wow, thank you so much for taking the time to make this tutorial! this will come in very useful for me, im brand new to painter! xx

πŸ‘: 0 ⏩: 0

SqueakyToybox [2009-02-01 23:56:46 +0000 UTC]

This is really useful :3

I just want to ask, how do i make Painter recognise my pressure sensitivity?
My tablet is working in the program but it's "flat".. there's no pressure sensitivity and idk why D:

πŸ‘: 0 ⏩: 1

Serio555 In reply to SqueakyToybox [2009-02-02 03:38:01 +0000 UTC]

Firstly you must make sure your tablet driver is installed properly and the setting is right, if it's wacom then it would have a tablet setting where you can set the pressure sensitivity to "hard" or "soft" - i recommend setting it towards soft.

Then in Painter go to the Brush tracking I mention in the first screenshot.

Hope that helps.

πŸ‘: 0 ⏩: 1

SqueakyToybox In reply to Serio555 [2009-02-02 08:41:19 +0000 UTC]

Thanks! ;w;
I found out my driver thingy wasn't installed properly

I fixed it up. Yay!

πŸ‘: 0 ⏩: 0

atlantiluna [2009-01-28 19:52:56 +0000 UTC]

So useful!! I'm saving it for when I get painter and a tablet

πŸ‘: 0 ⏩: 0

MechDeactivated [2009-01-25 06:26:48 +0000 UTC]

excellent i rarely see painter tuts

πŸ‘: 0 ⏩: 0

Stephanie-Chivas [2009-01-22 19:21:18 +0000 UTC]

Great tutorial, I think I have painter somewhere but never used it.

πŸ‘: 0 ⏩: 0

Blackvegetable [2009-01-19 21:33:58 +0000 UTC]

Another interesting tutorial!

πŸ‘: 0 ⏩: 0

Mimic60102 [2009-01-19 12:15:01 +0000 UTC]

this is going to help heaps, after using Photoshop for so many years i found Corel a little confusing.

πŸ‘: 0 ⏩: 0