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Corel Painter Essentials 4 - Create Paintings From Photos Or From Scratch
October 11 2007
Corel has released Painter Essentials 4 which supports the entire Wacom product line, including the Graphire pen tablets, the Cintiq 21 UX interactive pen display, the Intuos3 pen tablet, and the Wacom 6D Art Pen.
There's also a glowing recommendation from MacWorld which gave Corel Painter Essentials 4 a perfect 5 out of 5 rating, saying: "If you’re the least bit creative, Painter Essentials 4 could be the most fun you’ve had in front of a computer in years (though you’ll want to spring for a graphics tablet). It’s affordable and the new interface makes it an absolute joy to use."
Here's some promo material I wrangled up:
Corel has unveiled Painter Essentials 4, the latest release from the company's digital media portfolio. Based on Corel Painter, the world's most powerful painting and illustration software, Corel Painter Essentials 4 includes everything new users need to set up their own home art studio.
Featuring a wide selection of paint brushes, pencils, paper textures and built-in tutorials, Painter Essentials 4 is the perfect program to help users get started with digital art and create stunning paintings -- either from existing photos or from scratch.
Working closely with its customers, Corel redesigned the Painter Essentials user interface to make it even easier for users to discover the tools they need to create stunning artwork. Available on the Windows and Mac platforms, Painter Essentials 4 is ideally suited to digital camera users, scrapbookers, arts and craft enthusiasts, art teachers and students of any age. With art tools that faithfully replicate their traditional counterparts, it is easier than ever before for users to achieve more expressive hand painted works of art.
New Features In Corel Painter Essentials 4
- Redesigned Workspace -- To make it easier for users to get started with digital art, Corel Painter Essentials 4 features two distinct workspaces: Drawing & Painting and Photo Painting. Each workspace is easily accessible from tabs within the application and each presents customers with the tools specifically needed for the task they selected. Both workspaces offer a reconfigured toolbox, making it easier to identify and select brushes, media and paper.
- Brush Drawer -- The new Brush Drawer makes brush identification and selection easier than ever before. Users can browse all brushes by category, quickly recall recently used brushes and easily add their favorite brushes to the Brush Drawer column.
- Color and Mixer Palettes -- With the new Color Palette, users can choose a color with just one click. By simulating the traditional experience of mixing colors on an artist's paint palette, the Mixer palette makes it easier for users to get the precise color they want.
New And Enhanced Tools
- Photo Painting System -- The Photo Painting System has been redesigned and enhanced, making it easier for users to turn photos into paintings within seconds. Now organized in a separate workspace, all of the brushes within the Photo Painting System now act as cloners that take their color from the source image. As a result, users can now create a painting from a photo in as little as 3 easy steps.
- Smart Stroke Technology -- The new Smart Stroke Technology paints with brush strokes that follow the forms of the original photo, dynamically changing brush size, stroke length and pressure, based on the detail and focal areas of the photo. As a result, users can quickly achieve impressive paintings or sketches with no prior training or experience required.
New Natural Media Materials
- RealBristle Painting System -- Introduced in Corel Painter X, the new RealBristle Painting System heightens brush responsiveness and represents a major milestone for digital painting. Corel Painter Essentials 4 includes RealBristle brushes in two different brush categories. By authentically reproducing the sensation of the interaction between paint, canvas and brush, RealBristle brushes take realism to a whole new level.
- Pens -- Corel Painter Essentials 4 introduces pens in the Pencils & Pens brush category. With new options such as the Scratchboard Tool and Smooth Edge Calligraphy, it's easy for users to ink their own comic books or do calligraphy.
- Paper Textures -- Corel Painter Essentials 4 features an expanded selection of paper textures that faithfully reproduce the feeling of using traditional art materials. Users can control the texture of the canvas to achieve the results expected from using traditional media on a given surface- for example pencil on watercolor paper, felt pens on cotton paper or chalk on a sidewalk.
Built In Tutorials
- Tutorial-Based Guidebook -- The Corel Painter Essentials 4 Guidebook provides step-by-step tutorials that help users discover the full capabilities of the software while completing fun projects. With options for both beginners and more advanced users, the guidebook introduces various Corel Painter Essentials media and educates new users about artistic principles and elements.
- Video Tutorials -- Built in video tutorials by John Derry, noted Corel Painter Master and Ambassador, guide users through a variety of digital art projects, all included in the guidebook.
Enhanced User Experience
- Additional Undo Levels -- With 32 undo levels, Corel Painter Essentials 4 provides users with maximum flexibility and freedom to experiment with techniques and effects- always confident that they can return to a previous step or design.
- Online Print Services -- Once users have created their masterpiece, they can order prints of their artwork on canvas, watercolor paper or other fine art materials -- directly from within Painter Essentials 4.
- Support for Wacom Products -- Corel Painter Essentials 4 fully supports the entire Wacom product line, including the Bamboo(tm) Fun pen tablets, the Intuos pen tablet, the Wacom 6D Art Pen and the Cintiq 21 UX interactive pen display.
For a complete list of new and enhanced features in Corel Painter Essentials 4, visit the Painter Essentials 4 pages on the Corel site.
"With Corel Painter Essentials 4, anyone can produce truly exciting artwork even if they have never picked up a sketching pencil or a paint brush," said John Derry, Corel Painter Master. "With a welcoming interface that encourages experimentation and creative 'play', Corel Painter Essentials 4 is designed to help users express themselves in ways they may have never thought possible. The features are easy to find and understand making for an intuitive, fun and rewarding user experience."
Pricing and Availability
With a suggested retail price of $99 U.S. for the full version and $69 U.S. for the upgrade, Corel Painter Essentials 4 is available starting today through http://www.corel.com and in the coming weeks through Corel's global channel partners. To learn more about Corel Painter Essentials 4 or to download a free, fully-functional trial version of the software, please visit the Corel site.
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Photoshop CS3 Upgrade Options And Bundles From The Adobe Store
Photoshop CS3 Extended is ideal for film, video, and multimedia pros and for graphic and web designers using 3D and motion. Get the full version for US $999, or upgrade for US $349. The standard version of Photoshop CS3 is available for US $649, or as an upgrade for US $199. See all upgrade options at the Adobe Store. See our CS3 Resource Center for free Photoshop CS3 tutorials.
Photoshop Extended is also available as part of Adobe Creative Suite 3 Design Premium, which combines all-new CS3 versions of Photoshop, Flash Pro, Dreamweaver, Illustrator, InDesign and Acrobat 8 Pro. Upgrade options for customers in Europe, the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Asia can be found at the Adobe International Store.
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Available At The Adobe Store
There are tons of new features in Adobe Lightroom 1.0 that you won't find in the beta version. From Clone and Healing functionality to metadata browsing, you'll be able to free-up post-processing time like never before. Get it now at the Adobe Store. Customers in Europe, the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Asia can find special pricing and offers at the Adobe International Store. For free Lightroom tutorials see our Lightroom tutorials page.
SiteGrinder Photoshop Plugin - Create Websites Instantly
There often seems to be a strict division of labor within the world of web design and development. Creative professionals tend to stick to the Photoshop domain, while those well-versed in scripting are left to the task of implementing their work. Indeed, the two realms are quite different from each other, to which any of us even vaguely familiar with either can easily attest.
Essentially, Photoshop is a no-holds-barred design studio, offering the artist a seemingly endless array of creative options. On the other hand, HTML, CSS, Java and the like follow strict rules of engagement, requiring the developer to take any number of esoteric concerns into consideration in order to ensure that designs are properly displayed on the web.
Turn Photoshop Into A Complete Web Design Tool
SiteGrinder seeks to bridge this gap between design and development. Basically, this program turns Photoshop into an easy-to-use and fully functional web design tool. With SiteGrinder, designers will now have the freedom to totally let their creativity loose and then, without skipping a beat, transfer their designs to the web. Bringing esthetic concerns together with more practical considerations, this program is an amazingly powerful tool that would make a fantastic addition to any web designer's bag of tricks.
Generate Your Web Pages Directly From Photoshop
By generating web pages directly from Photoshop, you'll be able to spend much more time on the creative end of the spectrum, since you'll know right off the bat how well particular designs will translate to the web. No more going back to the Photoshop drawing board after getting a phone call from your development team, telling you that what you had envisioned doesn't have a chance of being displayed on the web. You can immediately visually and interactively test your designs, which permits you to then make changes to either esthetics or functions while it's still relatively early on in the design process.
Pricing and Availability
Mac OS X and Windows versions of the SiteGrinder unlockable demo are available now via download. SiteGrinder can be ordered from Media Lab's online store.
Photoshop CS3 Book - CS3 Essential Skills - By Mark Galer And Philip Andrews
Brimming with beautiful pictures, Photoshop CS3 Essential Skills guides you through a project-based, progressive curriculum so that you can build all the essential skills to enhance photographs creatively and professionally with Photoshop CS3. If you are an aspiring professional, enthusiastic amateur photographer, or a student learning photography, digital imaging, art and design, or design graphics, you'll be amazed at the stunning results you can achieve. A DVD is included free.
The Essential Skills Photography Series from Focal Press uniquely offers a structured learning experience for photographers of all ages, with both the underlying theory and loads of invaluable 'how to' and real-life practice projects - all from the most talented photography practitioners/educators in the world.
Read 2 free sample chapters:
Adjusting Exposure in Adobe Camera Raw CS3
Photoshop CS3 Tutorial High Dynamic Range
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Photoshop CS2 Book - Photoshop CS2: Essential Skills - By Mark Galer And Philip Andrews
An inspirational and user-friendly guide to creative image editing, Photoshop CS2: Essential Skills provides direction for photographers and designers alike who have ventured into the realm of the 'digital darkroom.' The book offers a progressive curriculum to guide you through Photoshop with a series of clear, step-by-step projects designed to place knowledge into a practical context.
Whether you simply want to retouch an image, create a glamour makeover or create a highly sophisticated montage - this book will give you the essential skills to complete the work to a professional standard.
Read 2 free sample chapters:
How To Sharpen An Image In Photoshop — Advanced Sharpening Techniques
Working With Shadows In Photoshop - Advanced Shadow Techniques
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Photoshop CS2: Essential Skills (Amazon.com - $20.76 - save 37%)
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Learn Adobe Photoshop with 21 hours of interactive Adobe Photoshop tutorials. This is training for real-world situations and includes additional tips and techniques used by the pros.
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