Customer Reviews

Digital Painting Fundamentals with Corel Painter X

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the best book I have found on Painter. I think it will have special appeal to those like me who are not (yet!) professional artists, but wish to learn to paint and draw on the computer. The title says Painter X, but it covers versions 8 thru X. Grossman has a humorous and down to earth teaching style that pulls you right in. She uses a tutorial approach, with 10 main projects and variations, and includes an excellent CD. Rather than trying to cover every bell and whistle of Painter the way Cher Thereinen-Pendarvis does in the Painter Wow! books, Grossman focuses just on drawing and painting, with forays into pixel animation and caricature, which is her professional specialty. The book has so much substance, but is so non-intimidating and just plain fun, I think new and experienced Painter users of every artistic level will learn a great deal from it.

I purchased a wacom tablet and painter X a few months ago. I then became so overwhelmed by all the options and completely distracted by the fact that it didnt feel or behave like my real pencil that I set it all aside. I convinced I was never going to learn to go digital.

Then I saw this book on amazon and thought, Ill give it another go. Because I really really want to be able to translate my art in digital form.

WOW from page one I was hooked back into painter X and learned what I needed to do to make my wacom behave and choose the right options so that I could draw the way that felt right to my hand.

There are still some things that don't translate exactly the same as they do in real media, but the book tells you what that is and why so that you can learn to adapt.

If you ask me, this book is THE book that should come with every box of painter X. and if you boxed it with ever wacom I bet more people would give painter a try.

Im still learning how to use painter X to do what I used to do with natural media, but at least now, Im moving forward, not standing still.

I'm in advertising, work as a snr Art Director for an ad agency. I got PainterX installed way before getting lessons on it assuming it'll be easy to learn since i was already familiar with other imaging software like PS etc. But painter proved to be a little bit more difficult to learn on my own on a short time period. So after reading many reviews, i bought this book and also the PainterX wow book.
Started off with this book and gotta say it was well put together and was easy to read and practice. But within just a matter of few days i was way beyond the scope of this book.
In my opinion it's a great starter book for those who are not too familiar with graphic/painting software but it doesn't really showcase the full potential of painter. After all it does say "fundamentals"
If i had to do it again...i'd still buy this book but this is not at all enough if you really want to explore painterX.
If budget permits, buy this and also the wow book. Great combo IMHO :)
If you only want to learn the basics and slowly explore PainterX, this book should suffice. If you know your way around graphic software, frequent blogs etc that shares tips and tutorials even the Wow book should be ok as a starter.
If i had bit more time on my hands to learn basics off the www, i could have only bought the WOW book

First off like that other reviewer this book comes off totally unintimidating. Starts you off with the super basics and then takes you gradually to higher end stuff. What I like the best about this book is she gets right to the point. Painting and Drawing. First off, the corel program Painter is like going into an artist studio who is well equipped, even better his/her supplier, and just knocking them off for their best paint brushes, pencils and papers. WITHOUT EVER paying for it. Wow what a program!!! LOL, she brings you along nicely with this book and after a day or two you will be off and drawing, tracing pictures, painting, cloning and having a blast. Painter X and this book = a great combination for any skill level. Discovered it at Barnes and Nobels buying it today from amazon.

This book is probably good for helping beginners build confidence to start using Painter, but I was looking for more meat. As a beginner myself, the part of the book I liked best was her exercises for becoming familiar with the program and the graphics tablet, but I wanted more depth regarding what can be achieved using the various tools. The book title does say fundamentals, so perhaps my expectation were too high.

Finally a book that I can actually learn from and absorb. I've been using Painter off and on for years only to get frustrated and to quit using it for months at a time. I'm so glad I purchased this book. I'm really enjoying going through the chapters and doing the lessons. Rhoda has written the book in a fun way that kept me motivated and wanting to jump to the next chapter. I am retaining the information and creating art I'm proud to show off.
M Mann

This book is awesome. Author Rhoda Grossman keeps things light and interesting while also educating you on the ins and outs of Painter X. The projects provide some structure to facilitate learning, but also give you room to play and experiment with your new knowledge. The projects also give you more experience with the Wacom, and thus you gain more comfort with your tools.

If you're a non-artist or a person who just can't wade through pages and pages of dry manual this is a great book to start with and jump right into Painter X. Rhoda's style is breezy yet focused and you'll start using the major features of Painter right away. There are scads of useful tips that will start you you right from the beginning in getting the most out of Painter and getting into it right from the beginning by doing and producing. I like the book.

Since 1994, Painter has been the workhorse of my work as a medical illustrator. So, with the release of each new version of Painter, I already have a solid base of understanding of its tools, palettes, features and functions.

But for anyone -- novice artist or professional -- who wishes to start using Painter for the first time, I highly recommend "Digital Painting Fundamentals with Corel Painter X," by Rhoda Grossman. The book includes a CD-ROM disc.

Grossman's light-hearted approach to learning what could, otherwise, be daunting, is very user friendly. She starts the user at the very beginning. Her "Introduction" includes mention that Painter was the first "natural media emulation" program. That's significant because Painter -- in my opinion -- is unequaled for simulating natural artistic media. Bar none -- and that includes Photoshop. The "Introduction" includes a description of "What You Will Learn" and the helpful "How to Use This Book."

The book is divided into "The Basics" (with five chapters), "Beyond the Basics" (with five chapters), and an Appendix, "Fundamentals and Beyond." The Appendix, alone, provides a wealth of valuable information . . . such as a description of pixel-based objects/images versus vector-based objects/images as they relate to image resolution; settings for your digital tablet (made by Wacom); Painter's Preference settings; Resources -- for additional knowledge and image sources; Printing information; and Fonts information.

"The Basics" > Chapter 1 "Welcome to Painter" begins with an orientation to the necessary use of a pressure-sensitive digital tablet and electronic stylus ("pen") in order to effectively work with Painter. A mouse, alone, will not do. Someone new to the world of creating digital art might not be aware of this. "Welcome to Painter" continues with an overview of some of the Palettes you'll work with in Painter: The basic Toolbox; Brushes, aka "media" (brushes, airbrushes, chalks, pastels, pencils, pens, markers, watercolor, etc); Colors; and Papers. Later in the book, she discusses other palettes, such as Layers.

Subsequent chapters introduce new information using a tutorial approach that guides the user through the steps.

The subsequent chapters are: Chapter 2 "Basic Drawing"; Chapter 3 "Working with Layers"; Chapter 4 "The Great Outdoors" (working with landscapes and street scenes); Chapter 5 "Drawing People"; Chapter 6 "Graphic Techniques"; Chapter 7 "Mixed-Up Media" (combing media and techniques that, traditionally, would have been separate); Chapter 8 "Fine Art Challenges" (figure drawing and painting; and abstract art); Chapter 9 "Pixel-Based Animation" (yes, animation -- how to get your images to move); Chapter 10 "Illustration Projects" (artwork intended for publication -- either in print form or for websites).

If you're new to the world of creating digital art and don't know where to begin, this is the book for you.

With no experience with this software the fact I needed some lessons became really obvious, and this book which was one of 3 different books I purchased on Painter X was an excellent book to start with. The lessons are easy to follow and clear. After 4 of the lessons I had enough confidence to branch off and start doing my own thing. After producing some of my own work, I would return and continue with the lessons. I would recommend this to anyone who is just starting off .. its not a definitive book which covers every nook and cranny - its a book which gives you basic knowledge to quickly start using the program.