Digitalwatercolor on Painter 8

**zegorg** · February 22nd, 2004, 10:32 AM

Hi everyone .As a professionnal artist working for the film industry , I've been "painting" with Photoshop for some time now , but I've always wanted to try Painter . Now , I have recently installed the Painter 8 trial , and after a few days of test , I face some big problems with the Digitalwatercolor : first , when I use it , there are dark lines usually on the fringe of the stroke , wich remain no matter what , like marks on the canvas which no paint with the same medium can cover .
Then there is the fact that when I close a document and reopen it , the digital watercolor has "dried" , and any further use of it on the same layer will use the "build up" method .
Also , I can't use the digitalwatercolor on a layer other than the canvas to cover the paint beneath , because if the layer is set to "default" or "normal" , a white fringe appears around each stroke where it meets the color underneath ...
I would be really grateful if someone could help me with these issues , as they are preventing me from purchasing the full retail version of this otherwise really powerful application ...

**Jin** · February 22nd, 2004, 08:12 PM

Hi,

These are known problems, unfortunately.

Some things that may help:

If you paint with a diffused edge Digital Water Color variant, then either paint over those brushstrokes using, for instance, the Digital Water Color's Broad Water Brush variant, or use Undo or use Ctrl/Command+A and Ctrl/Command+X to clear the brushstrokes, then paint over that area using, for instance, the Digital Water Color's Broad Water Brush variant, you'll see the brushstrokes' diffused edges (or Undone or deleted brushstrokes' diffused edges) appear beneath the Broad Water Brush variant brushstrokes.

To prevent this, dry the Digital Water Color before using the Broad Water Brush variant. (See below for a possible solution to the buildup effect.)

The above combination of brush variants was only an example and it may also happen with other brush variants in addition to the Digital Water Color's Broad Water Brush variant.

Unfortunately, and you're not the only user to find this exasperating, Digital Water Color paint is automatically dried when we save the image and is not to my knowledge "rewettable" when the image is opened again.

As you say, when we paint over dried Digital Water Color, the color builds up. This is not because the brush variant uses the Buildup Method. In fact, in their default state, all Digital Water Color variants use the Digital Wet Method (though the result is similar to that of the Buildup Method).

Even when the Digital Water Color is not dried, if we use, for instance, the Broad Water Brush variant and paint over existing Broad Water Brush brushstrokes, the color can also build up (darken), though it doesn't always do this. Color buildup seems to depend on where the brushstroke begins. If you're painting on a white Canvas, and begin the brushstroke on the white Canvas, the color remains the same. If instead your brushstroke begins on a previous brushstroke, color buildup occurs. In other words, the same color is "multiplied" when the brushstroke begins on a previous brushstroke.

One thing you might try, to prevent this, is to open the Brush Creator, Stroke Designer tab, and in the General section, change the Method to Cover. The Subcategory will automatically change to Soft Cover. I've only tested this with the Broad Water Brush variant and it may or may not work so well with other Digital Water Color variants.

If the problem is the brushstroke's diffused edge or wet fringe, go to the Brush Creator, Stroke Designer tab, and in the Digital Water Color section, adjust the Diffusion and Wet Fringe sliders.

About white edges:

Any Painter brush variant that has blending or smearing characteristics will leave white edges on transparent areas of a Layer. There are several options you might use to prevent this, depending on your image. Here are four options that come to mind:

1. Allow the Layer to remain in Composite Method Gel (automatic when we begin painting on a Layer with Digital Water Color variants).

2. Go to the Brush Creator, Stroke Designer tab, and in the Well section, move the Resaturation slider to 100%. You may then need to either change the Opacity or make the color lighter, whichever works best for your needs. Now you should be able to change the Composite Method to Default without a white edge problem.

3. Check the Pick Up Underlying Colors box at the top of the Layers palette. Be aware that if you later decide to add another New Layer beneath this Layer and paint using other colors on the New Layer, the result may look pretty awful if the newly added colors contrast with color picked up from underlying Layers on the previous Layer.

4. Go to the Brush Creator, Stroke Designer tab, and in the General section, change the Method to Cover. Now you can have the Layer set to Composite Method Default but the result may still not be what you're after. It's worth a try, though, and you won't have the white edge problem.

None of these suggestions eliminate the need for Corel to fix these problems and I think it would be helpful if you sent your message, exactly as you typed it here, and with any additional information you think might help, directly to:

Corel Painter Program Manager Rick Champagne, [email protected]

Good luck,