Latest Corel Painter Update Keeps It Real
Natural-media paint program adds some new tricks for even more-naturalistic effects.
Harry McCracken
As always, Painter's natural-media art implements, from watercolor brushes to felt-tip pens, produce uncannily realistic results--and the new Artists' Oils are the program's most sophisticated tools yet. You can load up a brush with oil paints that you've mixed yourself and then lay down a brushstroke that slowly dries.
Other refinements in this version include watercolors that stay "wet" even when you save a painting and come back to it later. Corel also has enhanced performance by up to 1000 percent, so that working with the virtual art supplies feels even more lifelike.
Mastering Painter still takes time, but Corel made a few smart tweaks. For instance, cloning, which lets you paint over a photograph, now takes one step instead of five.
At $429, Painter isn't cheap,and the complete package costs $130 more than version 8 did. You also need a pen tablet such as Wacom's Intuos 3 to fully explore its potential. If you're a serious artist, this ingenious package is a rewarding investment in your creativity.
Corel's classic natural-media paint program gets even more powerful and imaginative.
List: $429, $229 upgrade
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