Paint like a pro
COREL PAINTER 2016
Web: http://www.corel.com
Price: £315 / $429.00
Corel Painter’s hyper-realistic brushes can behave
like real media, including thick, fat impasto paint or
runny liquid inks. It’s fully compatible with
Photoshop, allowing you to save in PSD format and
even use Photoshop brushes, although some layer
types are unique to Painter and will need to be
merged down or converted before you take your
work into Photoshop. A new Photoshop plug-in,
Corel ParticleShop, allows Photoshop users to
make use of some of Painter’s brushes in
Photoshop itself.REBELLE
Web: http://www.escapemotions.com
Price: $60 (£39 approx)
Escape Motions specialises in interesting digital art
effects, as seen in its Amberlight and Flame Painter
products. Rebelle, however, comes away from
these crisp digital glows and into the world of
watercolour, acrylic and dry media, which it
reproduces remarkably well. Its proprietary .reb file
format isn’t compatible with Photoshop, but you
can save in other formats so you can bounce your
artwork over to your favourite software. You’ll need
to remember to hit the Fast Dry button and ‘dry’
your watercolour paint before exporting!MISCHIEF
Web: http://www.madewithmischief.com
Price: Free or $25 (£16 approx) for the
premium version
Mischief was recently acquired by The Foundry
(makers of Nuke and modo amongst other
VFX programs) and is best known for its
unique infinitely-scalable canvas, which allows
you to create fine details and huge images. You
can play with this in the free version, but to get
the most from Mischief, invest in the $25
premium version for full Photoshop
compatibility so that you can really make use
of its fantastic resolution capabilities.PAINTSTORM STUDIO
Web: http://www.paintstormstudio.com
Price: $19 (£12 approx)
If you like making your own brushes in Photoshop, then give
Paintstorm Studio a whirl, as it allows you to create and customise an
almost infinite variety of mark-making tools. For fans of blending and
the Mixer brush, it has a smart Dirty mode that replicates the look of
brushes that have built up several different hues of paint, and it can
pick up colours across layers for really true-to-life blending. It’s PSD
compatible too, so you can easily bounce your work in and out of
Photoshop to make further adjustments to your images.KRITA
Web: http://www.krita.org
Price: Free
This free painting program was created as an Open
Source project and was originally based on GIMP.
Since 2009 it has focused solely on painting, and it
can produce lush brush effects. As a Linux-based
project it can be a bit of a pain to run on Macs – it is
possible, although the developers admit that it’s
buggy – but don’t let that put you off; there are
high-end design and VFX studios using Krita in
both Windows and Linux for its painting
capabilities. On the plus side, it can load some
Photoshop brushes in the .abr format, which is a
nice addition, and of course it can save PSDs. There
is a version on Steam called Krita Gemini that
retails for £29.00, but this is PC-only.ENHANCE YOUR PHOTOSHOP PAINTINGS
FIVE OUTSTANDING DIGITAL PAINTING PROGRAMS THAT PERFECTLY COMPLEMENT PHOTOSHOP
AND HELP YOU TAKE YOUR PAINTINGS TO THE NEXT LEVELEFFECTS AND ADDITIONS
REFINE THE PIECE AND ADD FINISHING TOUCHES BY APPLYING
YOUR PHOTO BLENDING AND CUSTOM BRUSH KNOWLEDGE
Detailing your artwork with various brushes is not
the last step in bringing a piece to life. Photographs
add a realistic element that cannot be matched by
brushes alone. And photographs, when used in
conjunction with certain brushes, will give the piece
a life-like element with a painted feel. Often, you’ll
find certain photos online that match your piece
compositionally, but don’t fit your line art perfectly.
Don’t struggle with following your line art exactly,
and be willing to change your final composition.
The most effective way to incorporate images is by
creating Alpha Channels. Select an area of your
canvas with either the Lasso tool, or make a selectionwith the Pen tool, and then add a layer mask via the
Layers panel. This will be your alpha channel. When
inserting a photo, always go to File>Place
Embedded instead of just opening an image and
dragging it in. Placing it converts it to a Smart Layer,
ensuring the quality isn’t damaged no matter how
many times you resize it. Place the image above
your alpha channel layer in the Layers palette,
Right-click on the alpha channel layer in the Layers
palette, and create a clipping mask. This confines it
to your new channel.
Images don’t have to be confined to alpha
channels, however. Place them in the correct layerorder, and they can build your architecture. Use
Transform tools often, such as Distort and Warp,
making sure to still follow your perspective guides.
Also incorporate layer adjustments (clipped to your
layer) to ensure any change to your image is
reversible. Cmd/Ctrl+clicking the layer is a very
effective method in keeping your brush strokes
confided to your layer.
If you then want to add the finishing touches to
your piece, such as haze, window highlights, or
defined shadows within the layer parameters, you
can create a new clipped mask layer for brushes right
above your image.The Professional Photoshop Book 103
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