Customer Reviews

Advanced Painter Techniques

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is far and away the best Painter instruction book I have ever seen. I admire Don Seegmiller's style for combining technical expertise with a touch of whimsey, so when "Advanced Painter Techniques" came out I got it by overnight express and read it cover to cover. I learned something new in every chapter - really every page. Patterns, paper textures, painting shiny metal - I was fairly familiar with them, but Seegmiller takes them to new heights. Of all my digital painting books I have never seen one that explains so clearly how so many esoteric Painter techniques work, including fractals, tesselations, liquid metal, and the image hose. I have never seen, anywhere, a source that even begins to explain the use of layer Composite Methods as well as Seegmiller does. And the different methods for painting reflections in water alone were worth the price of the book. All of this is coupled with good, solid painting instruction. It also provides a wealth of custom brushes, paper textures and tutorial materials for download.

This book is just what it says it is: ADVANCED. It is not for people unfamiliar with the program who need to have every step spelled out. It is also not for those who want to turn photos into paintings with one mouse click. But for those really interested in clear instruction in complex features, and in taking their digital painting to the highest level, it is the best.

I just finished lesson 3 and I picked up some new tips which is good. I also like the step-by-step instruction format which is a nice change of pace from the "Painter Wow Book" (which is actually a good book too but it's a bit more chaotic in its presentation).

What really prevents this book from getting 5 stars is the editing. There are some moments when steps are missing and you have to figure out it out for yourself. There are other times when I could use some clarification; I find myself scanning the text over and over again at certain times. Don Seegmiller is a pretty good author though. He has a certain style to his artwork so you won't see anything wildly different chapter to chapter but thats ok.

I recommend this book if your really truely are advanced in Painter and you want to study another artist's style. This is more of a 3.5 rating to be honest.

If you are serious about using Painter X, by all means buy this book. Don`s easy way of teaching makes this book very useful and informative. However, this book is not for beginners. You must have some knowledge of the software in order to make the most out of this book. I`d give it ten stars if I could!!

There are very few books that teach one how to USE Painter. The WOW books snowed me with techniques, but Don's tutorials showed me how to actually transfer my painting skills to the digital world. This is a must-have for aspiring Painter artists.

This book really helped me get a handle on the power of Corel Painter. I learned how to make my own brushes, load those brushes into a nozzle and use those tools in creative ways. I also learned how to use the Make Fractal Pattern in the Pattern palette. I happened to be doing an illustration with a windblown puddle so the fractal reflection tutorial in chapter 2 was timely.

I also finally understand when to use a layer and when to just paint right on the canvas. This is a concept that when it becomes intuitive saves a lot of time. I also learned how to generate fractal based textures as well as photo derived or hand drawn textures (to make papers). I never really realized how important textures can be until I read this book.

If you enjoy Painter but have been struggling trying to put it all together this book will be a great help. Each tutorial is sprinkled with great shortcuts and tips. I can't wait until the next installment.

This is a great book for those who want to get those unique artistic features in their paintings. Don Seegmiller makes it so easy to follow his directions which produce effects that would take hours to figure out by yourself. He walks you through from the starting sketch to the finishing touches. Not only that but you can download gradients and brushes produced by the artist and save them for future work. I highly recommend this book for both the beginner and the professional PAINTER software user.Advanced Painter Techniques

This is a very useful book to develop a technique in Painter. It doesn't point just to tips and tricks but to the steps you need to follow to improve your work-flow.
You find several different examples in each of the themes: portraits, landscapes even fantastic art.
I'm really pleased with the detailed explanation of the development of a realistic the painting.

I've been using software to draw now for only a couple years, and I'd been doing that with free software like Paint.net and Gimp. But while I was enjoying myself I wasn't quite getting the effects that I wanted. So I bought Painter--wow! What a difference! So, I've been having fun with it, discovering that I've got all kinds of room to stretch out, but I started to feel my lack of experience with such full-featured software (not to mention formal art training). So, I got this book.

I'd say that it's a just-right fit for anyone that's been using drawing/painting programs. The biggest draw for me is that the level of the book opens me up to a painting process that really helps me learn Painter. For example, the author lays out keyboard shortcuts that have given me access to often-used tools (like color sampling), and this has really sped up my painting. When the author says that there really is no need to touch the palette at a certain point, he's RIGHT! I'm fascinated by how Painter uses layers--so different than the free software that I was using, and this book opens up the mystery and entices me to experiment. I was looking for process and an inside look at Painter, and I fully get it in this book. An especial treat is the fact that this book was done by a single author, so seeing how the same process gets applied to different techniques is just awesome. The keyboard shortcuts get repeated, but I don't get tired of seeing them--just excited to see how the author uses the techniques THIS time.

Before purchasing, I was a bit worried because the book is a bit old. The reviews were so good, however, I went for it. I don't think a single tutorial here is dated. They cover subjects that I have been painting ineffectively--and it has given me techniques and tools to do so more effectively. For example, I've never been able to nail clouds to my liking. Now I DO and it's like night and day. Although this book was made for Painter X, I've had no problems carrying the lessons forward to my version. The fact that the publisher still has the brushes and such still available on-line really just skyrockets my good-feelings about this purchase. THAT is further reason I'll definitely purchase with this publisher again.

I wouldn't consider myself a great artist, just a hobbiest. I like painting digitally because it's much easier to put things away and then pick things up where I left off. This book, coupled with Painter, has really opened up my creativity. Am I suddenly Michaelangelo? No. But the book and software together really excite me to paint more! (Since I've recieved this book, not a day has gone by without me painting and/or reading this book--and after all those frustrated and hard-won discoveries with previous software, this is pure fiery inspiration!)

If you're looking for practical methods (including brushes!) to accomplish certain looks, then this is a great book. If, like me, you're relatively new to Painter but comfortable with drawing software, then this book offers a workflow access that is priceless.

So very highly recommended. BUY IT!

This is really a book of demo's. it shows many demo's of different painting techniques.so far i haven't seen alot of explanation on what certain tools do.more so its on when/how to use them.Alot of videos on digital painting i have seen just grab a brush and start painting.this book is very different.it uses 'tricks' if you will.he has demo's on oil paintings,cartoons and fantasy works.he shows you how he paints things like candles,wallpaper,trees,hair,jewelry and much more.all with a very professional result.if you want to master Corel Painter you WILL have to know the things he teaches in this book.its really a 'must have' for intermediate Painter users.

The Painter program allows you to use traditional artist tools, such as brushes, ink pens, colored pencils and more with mediums such as oils, acrylics, tempura, etc. to create original art work. To someone new to the program, the possibilities are truly dizzying. While a main Painter ability is turning photographs into digitally painted equivalents, I wanted to create original work.

This book appealed to me because it was presented as a way to learn Painter's features as part of the process of creating a finished work. That's exactly what it is. Each chapter is a different project. As you walk through the steps, from empty canvas to completed painting, new and different techniques are presented. Follow the steps, and at the end of the lesson you not only have a completed painting, you have a new understanding of Painter.

Almost every lesson begins with an initial sketch (provided in the download). This was a major saving grace. While my final result rarely duplicated the author/artist's completed version, working through each one gave me new insights into the program. I learned a myriad of new ways to work with the program, from working with patterns for paper and brush to creating my own brushes and other resources.

This is an excellent way to learn. You know what your final results is supposed to look like. From the moment you open a new canvas, each step in the process is given. You're told which brush, which paper pattern, which nozzle to use and when. All the resources you're told to use are provided. It took several days to complete each project (or to get as far as I could) and every time I felt like I'd learned a great deal.

My main difficulty stems from a personal shortcoming - I'm not an artist. All my image experience has been with digital photos or the equivalent. But when working in a blank canvas, instructions such as "Paint and refine the features in the face. Place the brushstrokes across the forms in the face to give a sense of roundness..." only gave me a helpless feeling, looking back and forth from the small printed detail in the book to the flat ovalish area on my monitor that was supposed to somehow turn into a face.

I finally learned to work each lesson to the point that I exhausted my "artistic" ability, and then move on to the next lesson. I might not be able to paint in facial features, but now I can make a leaf nozzle and add foliage to my trees, by golly!

Careful reading of the instructions is important (oddly enough). Over and over again, I was tripped up either because I missed a step or misunderstood a term. Usually the latter was because I assumed I understood the function of a Painter tool or feature. The "Crop" tool, for instance. When cropping in other programs, everything past the crop boundaries is deleted. In Painter, Crop is much more a "Resize Canvas" tool. The canvas shrinks, but "paint" on layers above the canvas is still there, albeit unseen. Move that layer and the "paint" returns to view.

To successfully complete each lesson/project/chapter you can download the support files (initial sketches, brushes, papers, patterns, nozzles, etc.) from the book's companion website. I could have left everything in the downloaded folder, but it wasn't going to stay on my desktop forever. I had to research a little to figure out where to put everything so Painter could find it. A little more information about that would have been really helpful, particularly when it came to loading new brushes.

This was the perfect book for me, exactly what I wanted. It's over my head, but that's good, because I'm learning. Highly recommended.