[P'tit Ben]

OK, I assume this question has already asked a thousand time but Ican't find where :

I'm currently coloring all my pictures on photoshop, but I would like to move on painter to experiment new color rendering (I have an opportunity to use Painter at work).

BUT each time I try Painter, I'm lost and never find a good brush to use for a start. Each brush has a strong behavior, so different from photoshop that I feel myself dumb!

Is there a good and easy way to move from PS to Painter? I'm really motivated by Painter rendering, but I feel myself lost.

[razzak]

i guess you try to use both for a while and read tutorials, and then just change fully i guess. no clue. i recon thats different from person to person

[Lunatique]

I just started to get the hang of Painter recently. There's no secret. You just try ALL the brushes and play with the brush settings until you get to know what you can do with them. I asked the same question only about a month or two ago, and since then I've used it on a couple of paintings. The experience you gain from putting time into using it is the ONLY way to really know how to use it. Other people can give you some pointers, but it won't make too much of a difference unless you get your hands dirty...a lot.

[P'tit Ben]

OK, I was feared of such an answer! But yes I agree, I think I'll have to get my hand dirty...

I'll try and post my result here then

[Sukhoi]

I'd say that i ought to ba a good idea to do a full painting to get the hang of it.

Sukhoi

[P'tit Ben]

So, after your advices, I've started to make a painting!

It is HARD! Wow! Really hard!

And I don't know how to solve my major problems

anyway, I'll try to finish this test. This is really interesting...

[ftgjcf]

i'm the other way around.. I CANT PAINT IN PHOTOSHOP!! I've tried so many times and my respect for the people using PS here grow with each try :-)

as for painter.. yes the interface can be weird.. You just need to play with it for some time... that way you'll learn which tools you can use and which to discard. in fact, I only use 3 brushes in painter:
The Airbrush, the oil-pastel and a custom thing. (and I sometimes use the Just add water tool which is similar to PS's Smudge only better heheh)


yellow: Airbrush with different edge-falloff and size-stylus settings
green: oil pastel at default settings (i think)
orange: custom (much like oil pastel only round)

here I've used the custom and oil pastel:

oil pastel:

airbrush & 'just add water':

[ftgjcf]

and I forgot.. some essential keyboard shortcuts:

Ctrl = eye-dropper

space = pan/scroll

space + ctrl = zoom in

space + right Alt = zoom out

right alt + drag = set brush size radius (very handy, I would like to have something like that in PS)

[P'tit Ben]

Thanks for all those information

Geelimp - Wow, those images as esemples are really impressive. Thanks for showing me exactly which tools give which rendering. It is extrememly interesting. And your shorcuts are even more helpful

Jin - Thanks a lot to you too! Those documents are a real treasure!


By the way guys, I've put in a thread my first tests! If you'e interested :
http://www.sijun.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=4&t=003584

Thanks again! This is definitely why Sijun is the place to be!

[ March 29, 2002: Message edited by: P'tit Ben ]

[Jin]

In all versions 5, 5.5, 6, and 7 (unless noted for a specific version), to access the Tools, click the following keys that are listed as the Tools icons appear in the Tools palette beginning in the top row and reading from left to right:

M = Magnifier
G = Grabber
E = Rotate Page (hidden below the Grabber tool)
C = Crop
L = Lasso
W = Magic Wand
P = Pen
Q = Quick Curve (hidden below the Pen tool)
I = Rectangular Shape
J = Oval Shape (hidden below the Rectangular Shape tool)
B = Brush (Freehand)
V = Brush (Straight Lines)
K = Paint Bucket
D = Dropper
R = Rectangular Selection
O = Oval Selection (hidden below the Rectangular Selection tool)
F = Layer Adjuster (Painter 6 and 7)
F = Floater Adjuster (Painter 5.5 and earlier)
S = Selection Adjuster (hidden below the Layer Adjuster tool)
H = Shape Selection (hidden below the Layer Adjuster tool)
T = Text
Z = Scissors
A = Add Point (hidden below the Scissors tool)
X = Remove Point (hidden below the Scissors tool)
Y = Convert Point (hidden below the Scissors tool)

Some of the keystroke commands in Painter 7 are different from earlier versions. There's a Visual Guide for Keystroke Shortcuts written by Painter Developer John Derry that you can download from my site at (see the Visual Guides for Water Colors and Liquid Ink too):
http://www.pixelalley.com/tutorials/jderry-guide-pdf-downloads.html

One example of the differences in keystroke commands:

Painter 5, 5.5, and 6: Hold down the Ctrl/Command+Alt/Option keys, then drag to resize your brush dab.

Painter 7: Hold down the Ctrl/Command+Shift+Alt/Option keys, then drag to resize your brush dab

While each artist finds favorite brushes for certain kinds of work, it almost (well, not quite!) seems unnecessary to use Painter if you stick to only a handful of brush variants. Certainly it's a waste of Painter's capabilities and potential for painting. Painter offers incredible possibilities when we take time to learn what even the brushes that come installed with the program can do, without changing any of their settings.

Then there are the extra brushes found on the CD, on CDs that come with third party Painter books, and custom brushes artists create and make available for download on the Web, and the many you can create yourself for each kind of painting need you have.

It's more than worth the time spent experimenting and learning what Painter brushes can do, and learning how to alter them to create your own variants. Once you begin to get the hang of it, it's so much fun you won't want to quit experimenting and creating.

Although it's mostly a fun brush and has limited use because it's dab is so specific, one of my recent custom variants can be seen in a couple of little paintings that were done entirely with this one brush, a Captured Dab brush (click the link below the image to see the other painting and read about how it was done):
http://www.pixelalley.com/2001-2002-Gallery/landscape-chlng-in-the-beginning.html