Painter Brushes Up With Fresh Features and a New Interface

MetaCreations' Painter is one of the best tools out there for composing eye-catching graphics and embellishing ho-hum images. But after years of accumulating features, Painter's trove of effects and tools has become cluttered, making it hard to use and harder to learn.

With Painter 6 ($399; $149 upgrade), MetaCreations adds considerably to that feature set, with a new painting engine that promises greater control over brush strokes, and improved text tools. At the same time, the company has tried to tidy up the program, retooling the interface and reorganizing access to its many features. Unfortunately, the new interface isn't any easier to navigate.

New Interface Needs Work

Rather than simplify, Painter's new interface creates more opportunities for confusion. As always, Painter is controlled through six main control palettes--Tools, Brushes, Controls, Art Materials, Brush Controls, and Objects. The first three remain unchanged, with icons representing each feature, but the latter three have been reorganized, listing features as menu items. Click on a menu item in a control palette, and down drops the appropriate sub-palette.

Pros familiar with Painter's features will likely enjoy the faster access these menus provide, but novices risk getting lost in the depths of these menus. Opening several menu items from a main palette quickly eats up screen real estate, covering your work space. Moreover, the palettes lack minimizing buttons. To clear up the screen, you have to resize or move palettes manually, or click the "X" icon to close them altogether.

Painter needs roll-up palettes like those in Jasc's Paint Shop Pro 6--they minimize when your pointer isn't nearby, and can float outside the program window. That way, your view is never obstructed.