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Corel Painter X Curriculum Part 1Seascape tutorial by Stephanie Reese

Lesson One

For the first lesson, students will learn to

create a new Corel Painter X document

create a new layer and rename it

choose a brush and adjust the brush settings

choose a color by using the Colors palette

sketch an outline of a seascape

Creating a new document

When you create a new Corel Painter X document, you can specify

the canvas size, resolution, and paper color.

To create a new document

1 Start Corel Painter X, and click Create new document in theWelcome book.

The seascape requires a landscape orientation, so youll need toresize the default document dimensions.

This tutorial contains five

lessons, each requiring approximately

45 minutes to complete.

Some of the steps can be finished in a

matter of seconds, others will require

several minutes to complete.

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2 In the New dialog box, type 11 in the Width box, and chooseinches from the corresponding list box. Then type 8 in the

Height box, choose inches from the corresponding list box,and click OK.

Creating a new layer and renaming it

Next, youll add a new layer on which to start your painting. The

Canvas layer is locked so its recommended that you always startpainting on a new layer, which can be changed and moved up

and down the layer stack as needed.

To create a new layer and rename it

1 Click Layers menu New Layer.

A new layer appears in the Layers palette on the right side of

your screen. The new layer is automatically named Layer 1.

This layer will become the outline sketch for the seascape.

2 On the Layers palette, double-click Layer 1.

3 In the Layer Attributes dialog box, type outline in the Name

box, and click OK.

Resolution is the number of

dots of color per inch in an image. The

higher the resolution, the sharper the

image. If you are creating an image

that will be blown up and printed, youneed high enough resolution to

maintain the sharpness of your image.

Enlarging an image with low

resolution will not create more dots or

pixels per inch. Instead, it will make

the existing dots larger resulting in a

fuzzy, pixilated image. For print

medium, 300 ppi (pixels per inch) is

recommended. For this tutorial,

however, youll use the default 72 ppi.

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The layer name is updated in the Layers palette.

Choosing a brush and adjusting brush settings

In Corel Painter X, the property bar changes dynamically to reflect

the selected tool. The property bar gives you quick access to tool

options and settings.

Located on the top right corner of the screen, the Brush Selector

bar lets you choose a brush. The first icon is the Brush Category

selector and the second is the Brush Variant selector. Every paint

brush category has its own selection of brush variants.

To choose a brush and adjust brush settings

1 In the toolbox, click the Brush tool.

With the property bar controls, you can choose between

freehand or straight-line strokes, adjust the size of the brush,determine whether paint will appear transparent or opaque on

the canvas, and more.

2 On the Brush Selector bar, choose Art Pen Brushes from the

Brush Category selector and Soft Flat Oils from the BrushVariant selector.

3 On the property bar, type 8 in the Size box.

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Choosing a color and creating your sketch

The Colors palette gives you fine control over color selection. In

the Corel Painter X toolbox, icons let you switch between a main

color and an additional color.

The outline drawing for the seascape is a simple sketch. It should

provide placement on the page for the horizon line (where water

meets sky), clouds, rocks, boats, trees, shoreline, etc.

To choose a color and create your sketch

1 In the toolbox, click the Main Color icon .

2 On the Colors palette, use the color wheel to choose a neutral

color. After you choose a color, the Main Color icon in thetoolbox will update automatically.

3 Sketch a seascape by using different brush types, sizes, andcolors.

Keep in mind that you can undone any unsatisfactory brushstrokes by clicking Edit menu Undo, or by using the keyboard

shortcut Command + Z (Mac) or Ctrl + Z (Windows).

To wrap up todays lesson, save your work.

4 Click File menu Save.

5 In the Save (Mac) or Save Image As (Windows) dialog box, type

Lesson1 in the File name box, and click Save.

On the Colors palette, the

color wheel lets you select differenthues or color. Simply click anywhere

on the wheel to change the current

color. The triangle provides

adjustment in saturation and value.

Click the triangle towards the right to

add more saturated or pure color.

Click the triangle towards the left to

add more black or white.

To change color, the icon inside the

triangle must not be on either pure

white or black. If the icon is on white

or black, the color will not change nomatter which color you choose.

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Lesson 2

During the first lesson, you practiced using different brushes and

colors to sketch a seascape outline. For the purpose of this tutorial,

you will replace your seascape outline with an original sketch to

use as a guide.

For the second lesson, students will learn to

replace previous work with an original sketch for use as a guide

add base colors for the painting on a new layer

create a horizon line

Replacing previous work with an original sketch

The first step is to retrieve your work from the first lesson. Then,

youll replace that image with an original sketch to use as a guide.

To replace your work with the original sketch

1 Click File menu Open, navigate to the folder in which yousaved yesterdays sketch, select Lesson1.RIF, and click Open.

2 Insert the Corel Painter X Curriculum CD in your CD drive.

3 Click File menu Open, navigate to the Part 1 SeascapetutorialSample files folder, and choose seascape1.TIF.

The original outline sketch appears.

4 Click Select menu All to select theseascape.TIFfile.

5 Click Edit menu Copy, and close theseascape.TIFfile.

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6 Click Edit menu Paste.

The seascape outline is pasted over your outline sketch on a

new layer.

7 On the Layers palette, select the outline layer that you created

previously, right-click and choose Delete from the pop-upmenu.

8 Double-click the new layer, and rename it outline guide.

9 Click File menu Save As, type Lesson2 in the File name box,

and click Save.

Adding color on a new layer

Next, youll create a new layer on which to add base colors to the

painting. These are just starter colors. Before the seascape is

finished, youll add layers of additional color and eventually more

surface detail.

Youll use the Colors palette to choose colors for painting base

items in the seascape.

To create the new layer for painting

1 Click Layers menu New.

2 On the Layers palette, ensure that the new layer is selected.

3 On the Brush Selector bar, choose Oils from the Brush Category

selector and Bristle Oils 20 from the Brush Variant selector.

4 To provide a color base for your image, use the Colors palette tochoose different colors and then paint blocks of color over youroutline.

5 Using different blues for water and sky, browns for rocks, etc.,color in your image by following the outline sketch as a guide.

It is important to note that thelightness of color you start with on a

painting will be determined by the

medium used. If you are using oils,

you can start with darker colors and

layer lighter colors on top. If you are

painting with watercolors, however,

you must start with the lightest color

and work your way to the darker

colors. You can not easily lighten a

dark watercolor.

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As you can see, it doesnt look like a finished painting just yet.

Creating the horizon

Next, youll create the horizon for your painting. Keep in mind

that you do not want the horizon line to divide the page in half.

The horizon should lie either above or below the midline to make

it more visually appealing.

In addition, youll use the Layers palette to keep the outline guide

on top of your painting.

To create the horizon

1 On the Layers palette, drag the outline guide layer up on top

of the new drawing layer (Layer 1).

The outline will appear over the new layer so you can continue

to use it as a guide.

With the Layers palette, you

can manage the layers of your

painting. You can change layer

hierarchy by moving layers up and

down. You can also collapse or group

layers.

The eye icon beside each layer

name lets you turn layers on and off.

During this tutorial, you will use this

icon to turn theoutline guide

layer on and off as you paint.

When the eye icon is open, so is the

layer it represents. Conversely, when

the eye icon is closed, so is the layer it

represents.

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2 On the Layers palette, select Layer 1.

You can now continue to add color without painting over theoutline guide. On the Layers palette, click the eye iconbeside the outline guide layer to turn it on or off as you paint.

3 Use varying brush sizes to add some darker colors to the rocksand water.

4 In the toolbox, choose the Rectangular Selection tool.

5 Click and drag a rectangular selection at the top of your picture

where you want to place the sky.

6 On the Colors palette, choose a pale blue.

7 In the toolbox, click the Paint Bucket tool, and click in theselection to fill it.

8 In the Commit dialog box, click Commit.

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This gives you a straight line for your horizon.

9 Save your work.

Lesson 3

During lesson two, you used an original sketch as a guideline to

add base colors to your seascape.

For lesson three, students will learn to

add more color to the painting

add shadows to the painting

add light and highlights to the painting

Adding more color

Now, its time to refine the colors in your painting to create the

appearance of shadows. Youll use RealBristle brushes to add color,

and an Impasto brush to manipulate color already on the canvas.

To add more color

1 Open Lesson2.RIF.

2 On the Brush Selector bar, choose RealBristle Brushes fromthe Brush Category selector and Real Round Bristle from the

Brush Variant selector.

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3 Next, start painting with some additional colors to formshadows under rocks, in crevices, etc. Remember to paint with

brush strokes that follow the direction of the rocks, water, etc.

4 Add some color to the water and rocks. Use varying colors of

blue and green in the water. Use varying colors of red, yellow,gray, and even some blue on the rocks.

After you have several colors in your image, you can start tomove them around by using an Impasto brush.

5 On the Brush Selector bar, choose Impasto from the Brush

Category selector and Impasto Distorto from the BrushVariant selector.

Notice that the Distorto brush variant does not use its owncolor. Instead, it can only move around the colors that are

already on the canvas.

Experiment with moving the colors around until you aresatisfied with their appearance.

Adding light and water highlights

The next step is to add some light and highlights in the water.

Youll use an Eraser tool to achieve the effect of reflective water.

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To add light and water highlights

1 On the Brush Selector bar, choose Erasers from the BrushCategory selector and Gentle Bleach 7 from the Brush Variant

selector.

2 Brush over any areas in the water where you want to add white

reflections.

Experiment with changing the brush size to achieve the effect

you want.

3 On the Brush Selector bar, choose Impasto from the Brush

Category selector and Distorto Impasto from the Brush

Variant selector.

4 Use the Distorto brush to give the appearance of additional

movement to the reflections.

5 Save your work as Lesson3.RIF.

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Lesson 4

During lesson three, you added shadows, highlights, and

additional colors.

For lesson four, students will learn to

add more layers of color use a gradient fill to color the sky

add texture to give the painting more depth

Adding more color to the sky

You'll now add more color to the sky by using a gradient fill.

To add more color to the horizon

1 Open Lesson3.RIF.

2 In the toolbox, click the RectangularSelection tool

3 Make a selection over the horizon area that you created inlesson two.

4 In the toolbox, click the Paint Bucket tool.

5 On the property bar, choose Gradient from the Fill list box.

6 On the property bar, click the Select Fill icon and choose

Summer Sunset from the drop-down list.

7 Click in your selection to fill the sky with the selected gradient.

You may need to click several times to achieve the desired

result.

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Accent with darker and more saturated colors for greater effect.

2 Use both the RealBristle brushes and the Impasto brushes toadd texture to the painting.

RealBristle brush strokes give an authentic look to the painting.

3 Use the Distorto brush to move the color around in the skyuntil it looks more like clouds and less linear than the gradientused.

4 Use variants of the Airbrushes brush category to create whitespray from the water over the rocks.

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Experiment with the Pixel Spray variant and Soft Airbrushvariants to give a soft water effect.

5 Save your work as Lesson4.RIF.

Lesson 5

During lesson four, you added color and texture to refine your

painting. There are a couple of Corel Painter X effects for lighting

and texture that youll use to finish your painting.

For lesson five, students will learn to

use the Apply Lighting effect to add light to the painting

use the Apply Surface Texture effect to add texture to thepainting

Working with lighting effects

The Apply Lighting effect lets you shine one or more light sources

on an image. You can choose different lighting effects from the

Corel Painter library, or you can create your own effects by

defining brightness, distance, color, and other characteristics. For

this tutorial, youll use an effect from the Corel Painter library.

To create a lighting effect

1 Open Lesson4.RIF.

2 Click Layers menu Drop All.

The Layers palette now shows a single image layer (Canvas).

If you want effects added to

single layers of a painting only, use

the Layers palette to select the layer towhich you want an effect applied.

However, if you want an effect such

as lighting applied to an entire image,

all layers must be dropped to a single

layer.

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3 Click Effects menu Surface ControlApply Lighting.

4 In the Apply Lighting dialog box, click the Warm Globe preset

thumbnail, and click OK.

The lighting changes to darken the edges and highlight themiddle of the painting.

If you wish to experiment with other lighting selections, simplyclick Edit menu Undo to reverse the previous change.

Working with surface texture effects

Now, youll add more texture to your painting by using a Corel

Painter effect. The Apply Surface Texture effect lets you add athree-dimensional (3D) surface texture to your image. Surface

texture is created either by applying a paper texture or by using

information from a clone source to determine depth and height.

For the purpose of this tutorial, youll use the Image Luminance

method. This effect uses the current images luminance, or

lightness, to determine where surface texture is added. Light parts

of the image create dents; darker parts create raised areas. The

overall effect gives an embossed look to the edges of the image.

To apply surface texture effects

1 Click Effects menu Surface ControlApply Surface

Texture.

By default, the Apply SurfaceTexture effect uses the currently

selected paper texture.

To experiment with different paper

textures, click thePaper Selector

in the Toolbox and choose a paper

texture from the drop-down list.

You can see the effect of your choice

in the Preview area of the Apply

Surface Texture dialog box.

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2 In the Apply Surface Texture dialog box, choose ImageLuminance from the Using list box.

The texture in the Preview window changes to reflect the brush

strokes in your painting.

3 Click OK.

4 When you are happy with the results, save your work asseascapefinal.RIF.

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For this tutorial, you have been experimenting with using an

original sketch as a guideline. For the rest of this lesson, you will

create your own painting from scratch.

Have fun and remember to experiment by using the various

brushes, paints, textures, and effects.

About the author

Stephanie Reese is an accredited high school art teacher who holds

a BA in Curriculum Development and a Masters in Education.

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