This is my first Corel Painter software and although I have loved painting with oils and watercolors (which is a tough medium for me); I really wanted to see what digital offerings this program had. It downloads quickly and comes with a thorough hardcover 112 page manual. The Menu bar setup is confusing at first, but if you've used any program like Windows Media or Paint, you'll catch on. The Menu bar gives you all the pull down options, a Brush Selector bar, Property bar, Recent brushes bar, Navigator panel, Layers panel, Channels panel, Mixed pad panel, Papers panel, Paper Libraries panel, Toolbox, Brush library panel, Temporal Color palette and Canvas. This sounds like a lot, but they are all described in detail for each use.
The Basics section tells you how to create documents, from a blank canvas with options to change document size, resolution type, color of the canvas and texture of the canvas. Corel advises you to start with a photo to transform it into a painting. You can place brush strokes on `layers', meaning you can protect the canvas from an unwanted changes. Remember this is all digital. If you are fond of watercolor or Liquid ink, you can only use one layer unfortunately. However, the watercolor option is very cool, with the color bleeding into the `digital' water, which you can easily control. The mimicking of real paint is remarkable. Mirror and Kaleidoscope painting modes are fun.
The selection, management and creation of brushes are full of possibilities and options. Some of the categories include acrylics, airbrushes, chalk, crayons charcoal, watercolor erasers (these allow you to darken or lighten colors) F/X, Gel, Gouache (combination of watercolors and acrylics - a nice mixed media option), oils, pencil, pens, markers, and on and on.
I found setting up a `rough sketch' was fun, always allowing you to add color, texture while zooming in on certain areas. When you take a break, all your work is easily stored and easily retrieved. The final results can be as detailed or loose as you want. There are examples in the book that show everything from cartoons, to Andrew Wyeth detail to Norman Rockwell precision. Don't be intimidated by these. Your own creativity can be found by experimenting with your favorite topic. Although digital can never replace to true color, texture and warmth a real piece of artwork contains, it sure comes close and this program allows you to get your `design on' for further creativity. I don't see this as a replacement at all - it's a valuable tool for practicing your intuitive talents on a computer. I truly never thought I'd see the day when such precision could be had digitally.
I do want to add that this works best on a computer with high RAM, processing and storage capabilities and the price is a bit high, but I imagine that will come down soon.