First, I have every single edition of Cher's books, and am a fan and friend. Why trust a review I give? Because I do not hold back when something isn't quite right, and am interested in people truly enjoying their art experience, whether on a computer or using more traditional means. If one doesn't understand the medium one can not rise to the best of their abilities.
That being said, I unreservedly endorse this edition of Painter WOW as the current standard in Painter education. Corel's new edition of Painter brings back old familiar tools and introduces new ones, including the RealBristle Painting System, tools for photographers such as Underpainting and Auto-Painting, Divine Proportion, and more. For professionals, each new edition of the family of PeachPit's WOW series is a thorough and inexpensive way to quickly assimilate vital information to keep current, and Cher has always proven reliable in producing clear and relevant examples - one of the reasons I trust her books.
Right now, as I write this review, this edition of this book is sitting next to my side of the bed, with a bookmark for where I left off yesterday afternoon. (A microbiology book is on my wife's side, so I consider myself by far the more fortunate.) In two hours the bookmark will be a bit further along.
For anyone starting with Painter, this is THE book currently available. Cher does not try to produce clones of herself or any other artist, but instead aims (and succeeds) at equipping beginners, novices and experts alike with information particularly pertinent to them. For example, I am much more comfortable with Photoshop and enjoy traditional media, so when I want to work with oils I can feel totally overwhelmed. Her explanations on how to use oil brushes, and then manipulate them to my particular desire, is both straightforward and immediately useful. Yet with the new painting system unique to Painter X a mystery to me, and something I want to master right NOW, I am spending time on that particular subject, which is handled clearly and is immediately helpful.
From one version of a book to the other there is obviously going to be carry-through on some art and exercises, simply because the program itself isn't reinvented at each release. Many of the articles do NOT carry over from previous editions, and ALL of them have been carefully reviewed and reworked wherever necessary to reflect the changes occurring from Painter IX to Painter X. This particular edition has been thoroughly edited to cover both minute and major changes/additions to Painter, and the gallery examples contain extensive new work that, like every other edition, challenges and inspires. The galleries show how Painter and the Painter community has grown.
If you're new to Painter or to Cher's materials, you can't go wrong with this edition. If it's been awhile since you bought an edition of Painter WOW and want to find out what's going on in the world of Painter, it's time to "upgrade" to Painter X WOW!