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Article by Melissa Findley

Corel Painter IX.5 - Full Version

One of the most important questions people can ask themselves is: “Wouldn’t it be neat if I could do ______?” (The other two very important questions being: “Did I remember to turn off the gas?” and “Is what I’m doing conductive to a long and healthy life?”) It doesn’t matter if you are an artist, a scientist, or a software programmer; this is where all true innovation starts. Wouldn’t it be neat if…? When Mark Zimmer sat down in the late 80’s/early 90’s and mulled over the future of digital art, this was the question that was occupying his mind.

Digital art, of course, was still in its infancy. Ms. Pac-man was the Mona-Lisa of her day. Programmers were only just beginning to delve into the realm of art, although no serious artist would have turned to computers as a viable medium for creating masterpieces. Corel Painter would help to change that. Introduced at the 1991 MacWorld Boston as a sidepiece to a bigger demonstration by Wacom on their wireless tablet pens, Painter, then owned by Fractal Design, quickly established itself as one of the most innovative approaches to digital art in existence.

The idea behind it was simple: Wouldn’t it be neat if digital media could mimic real life media? Using a pen, tablet, and code, could a computer replicate the effect of any kind of pencil, paint, or crayon on any kind of paper? The answer was a resounding “yes!” then an equally positive “oooh, cool!”

Corel Painter is now in its ninth (and a half) incarnation. In the last fourteen years it has improved on itself over and over again, introducing the world to the possibility that digital art is not only a neat trick, but, quite possibly, a viable means for creating high quality digital pieces that can rival the masters. DaVinci would have been impressed (although he’d probably be just as impressed by light bulbs, but that’s another matter altogether). The realm of possibility for the artist is only limited by that artist’s imagination. Here we have a program that can not only mimic the way that watercolor paint absorbs into wet cold press paper, but can also leap over the boundaries of real media to combine chalk pastels with oil paints and colored pencils. The artist can bring his knowledge of his favorite media to bear here, and then ignore the laws of chemistry to do the things that reality would never allow him to do.

At $399 (USD), Painter IX may seem to be an impractical expenditure for the starving artist. In the long run, however, it does pay off. With the impressive amount of reproducible media and effects represented, you’ll never have to replace expensive brushes, or worry about running out of a particularly hard-to-mix shade of cerulean blue. Mistakes are easily erased or painted over, without damaging the canvas or paper. And if you’re anything like me, you’ll love these words: No brush cleaning required.

Painter IX is well worth the money, too. (Although, to be honest, the packaging wasn’t really doing it for me, visually, since their latest approach to design is to use art that looks like it was done by the artistically handicapped-I’m assuming this is a matter of taste and, like books, one should not judge software by its cover.) You’ll need Mac OS X (version 10.2.8 or higher) or Windows (2000 or XP). However, I installed the trial version on my Windows machine and Windows must have sensed that Painter was cooler than it is, because it refused to play, opting instead to curl up into the corner of the hard drive and cry. My PowerBook G4, on the other hand, is having a blast. You’ll also need a good graphics card, at least 128 MB RAM (they recommend 256), and you’ll want a tablet. Painter can be used with a mouse; however, your brushes will be very limited.

In the box (that you shouldn’t be judging from the cover), you get the Painter IX application on CD-ROM (works on both Windows and Macs), the standard paperwork, and the Corel Painter IX handbook. Installation is easy and automatic, with no custom install options (although I can’t imagine that you’d need one). Keep in mind, if you’re upgrading from a previous version of Painter that Painter IX must be installed to a new folder, and cannot be installed over a previous version. After you’ve installed, make sure you explore the CD-ROM and pick up the extras that are included: several libraries full of brushes, nozzles, color palettes and more. These are nice, but their installation isn’t very intuitive. You’ll also find a nice little offer from StockPhotos.com secreted away in here, just to make sure that you’ve gotten your minimum one-ad-a-day in.