A neat little trick

Hello all. Have you ever used Corel Painter or (Corel Painter evil and less good competitor
called "Photoshop") and wondered if you could change the shape of the pencil/brush tip.
Now here is the answer to do just that! Look at this image, it is very self
explained. But I can add that after you have done this, you should save up your new
costum made brush. So you can get it later on, if you want to use it again!
And also after you have pressed capture dab up in the right corner, you must
remove the marquee selection, or else you can only draw inside this selection. And that
is no good, since it is so very small ;)
Have fun doing this, I thought is was a cool little trick anyway, that maybe not all are
aware of. Can photoshop do this I ask? If you who read this knows, give me a comment on that
please!

The Hot Keys or shortcuts I use

When learning a new digital software like corel painter essentials 3, Photoshop, or Corel Painter IX, there are always a ton of buttons 
to press in order to perform simple tasks.
And if you have to press all these buttons, and go into long menues everytime, you will work very slow. So its a good idea to try to have a good workflow, with the use of some shortcuts & hot keys wich I like to call them. The hot keys im about to give you, are those that I use most often in Corel Painter. And many of them can also be used in similar software like for instance Adobe Photoshop, so I will tell you if you can use the hotkeys in that program aswell. Where I dont mention Photoshop the hotkeys are different in that program, and I wont bother to say what it really is. Because you should focus on the best program of the two (painter ofcourse).
Lets get to it shall we, these are my favorite hotkeys:

1. CTRL + Z = UNDO (Same in Photoshop)
2. CTRL + Y = REDO
3.  B = BRUSH TOOL (Same in Photoshop)
4. CTRL + F = FILL
5. E = ROTATE CANVAS
6. CTRL + / = USE LAST USED FILTER
7. ALT GR + ] = INCREASE BRUSH SIZE
8. ALT GR + [ = DECREASE BRUSH SIZE
9. SPACE + LEFT MOUSE CLICK AND DRAG = PANNING AROUND
10. CTRL + = ZOOM IN (Same in Photoshop)
11. CTRL - = ZOOM OUT (Same in Photoshop)
12 D = EYEDROPPER TOOL
13. T = TEXT TOOL ( Same in Photoshop)
14. CTRL + A = MARK ENTIRE CANVAS (Same in Photoshop)
15. CTRL + C = COPY MARKED SELECTION (Same in Photoshop)
16. CTRL + V = PASTE SELECTION (Same in Photoshop)

There you have it folks, my most used hotkeys. I know there are plenty more that is probably useful, but anyway those are the hotkeys im using.

Free download of a superb set of Brushes to Corel Painter IX or older versions

One of the first things you should do if you havent done so already, is to find out what types of brushes you like. This is important, because there are so many brushes to choose from, and they will give you lots of different results. And before you can go ahead and create high quality art, you need to master a set of brushes. I really RECOMMEND that you do the following: Go to this site, scroll down to "Corel Painter-related goodies" and : find ROBS BRUSHES hereYou will seriously thank me if you havent downloaded these brushes before, they are in my opinion EXCELLENT ;)

I recently found another site that offer you some sets of brushes, that I havent tried out yet. I will download them instantly and try them out, you should do the same buddy ;). Then go here, drag your mouse over the smal menu-bar , and then the picture that comes up, and press download ;) I will go and do the same now, damn im excited, new brushes to investigate ;)

Corel Painter .... So whats all the fuzz about?

If you are completely new, and dont know a thing about Corel Painter. This post is for you.
Ok, so you know that almost every 2D digital artist you know uses Adobe Photoshop, but whats the deal with Painter, you may ask. And why am I so hung up on this program!? Here comes the answer =)

Some people prefer Painter because it handles very similar to real life art tools. Its so realistic that it gives a nice feel, that every artist new or skilled will enjoy. Photoshop has to me always been a more Photography/graphic design-centric software, and although they've added more advanced characteristics for the drawing/painting people, it is very digital and does not function like real life art tools. It's safe to say a personal preference thing. I prefer Painter for drawing & painting because the way the brushes react is far more dynamic than Photoshop's brushes.Painter has like I said a great resemblence to natural media tools: Pastels looks like a real pastel, watercolor looks like watercolor etc.

However, if it is graphic design and photography that you are after, I would recommend Photoshop because in that department Photoshop beats Painter by a long shot. Editing Photo`s while making lots of selections, cropping them and so on.. is a bit easier with Photoshop. But hey! Isnt it much cooler and more satisfiyng to create a masterpiece with some awesome brushes, that you wont find in other programs (as far as I know). That covers this Corel Painter training for today. It is real late, and Im going to bed now ;)

To clearify a common misunderstanding

I want to make a quick post about the history of this software program.
For a long time ago when I was searching on the net trying to find out where to buy Painter, I ran into a little problem. A common misunderstanding that many have. And that is: What is the difference between the program called Procreate Painter and Corel Painter? The answer is : NONE. Procreate IS Painter, the thing is that Painter was temporarily rebranded Procreate Painter during its transition into the Corel Suite of applications. But that time is over now, and the program is just know for Corel Painter, or just Painter among the advanced users. In addition it can be mentioned here, that in 2005 Corel released "scaled-down version of Painter developed for home users" called Painter Essentials 3.

FREE online Tutorials for your learning pleasure

Ok, in the previous post I gave you suggestions on how to train with Corel Painter the professional way (and very expensive way). Now its time to give you lots and lots of free options instead. For lets face it, after buying a copy of Corel Painter IX or IX.5 , you probably dont have much money left to spend on tutorials. I recently found a page with the most free tutorials for Painter, that I have ever seen on one page alone. So here you have it, have fun ;) : Probably the biggest list of Corel Painter tutorials on the net today!

Corel Painter Training !

Yes, so you say to yourself "Im totally new to this, whats the quickest and best way to learn this type of software!?". I must admit that before I became a true Painter fan, I too used adobe Photoshop. And they way I learned that program, was to watch their "Total training dvds". Then you wont miss a thing, it is professionals that go thru every aspect of the program, and train you up to master all the somewhat difficult techniques. Ok enough about Photoshop already. I meant to say that Corel Painter has ofcourse several professional training dvd`s aswell. And here are you can find them: computer-training-software.com & Official Painter site, with a bunch of high quality tutorials on DVD and in books.

My favorite Corel Painter Artists

If you want to get motivated to really learn and be a good digital artist. You could
just look at what this guy named Ryan Church can do with his copy of Painter.
Go to his website and have a look: Also get download his painter brushes, and his dvd`s are high quality as well!! You dont get much more pro than him. He has worked for all the big companies like Walt Disney Imagineering, Universal Studios, Industrial Light + Magic and so on and so on.

For more painter artists that are truly amazing go to this site: Corel Painter Masters

There you have it tons of inspiration to get you going ;)

This is how it all looks in Corel Painter IX

Well well, This post is for all you people out there, who havent even seen how the interface is in Corel Painter. And I always feel when entering into a new program, that it is important with good looking interface. Or else it might get rather confusing and difficult to use. This picture is taken from the Corel Painter IX version.

Hello World and Welcome to this blog dedicated to one of the best digital software programs out on the market: corel Painter

This blog will give you all the information you need to know about Corel Painter.
Either you are completely new to the program or not, this site should certainly be useful. In addition to useful tips, painter news. I will also give you links, pictures, downloadable content, and lots lots more in the future, so stay tuned !! ;)

The idea of creating this site, started ofcourse with a great interest for the program. Corel Painter and the newest version Corel Painter IX.5, is in my mind greatly underestimated. Its big brother Photoshop made by adobe, has for a long time dominated the market. And it is sadly still much much more popular than Painter.Therefore you should certainly pay attention, and see for your self 
how great 
this digital software really is.