want to buy a copy of painter, help

[LEN]

which is the best version of painter (speed + optoins)

also where is the best place to buy?

regards,

[meowy]

Hi,

since i am a learner myself, the following are just my personal opnion, please see it only as reference. ;)

i think that Painter7 is the best amount all, then it's the Painter5.0.3, the way they organize the software make more sense for painting and drawing. (p.s. i tried Painter9 few weeks ago, and i don't think i can love it... =_=.)

You could try e-Bay, but a lot of them don't come with user's manual, though. >_<. (according to what i see, i think these CDs are real, but i wonder why they don't come with box nor maunual... sigh~) :nohope:
however, on the other hand, the price are much cheaper than buying at retail store, though. (that is a bonus if you are a poor old man like me. :p)

Cheers, and happy painting. :wink:

M.

[nafa]

If you have no financial constraint, it would be a shame if you go with anything but the newest version. Buying and learning Painter is a long term investment, so it is best to avoid wasting time and money to buy an older version and learn the user interface, only to spend more of both to upgrade to new versions because you need the new features.

Suggest you download a trial version of Painter 9 and try it out. If you don't like its features, then Painter is not for you. If you like the features, then spend the energy to get use to the user interface.

[Jin]

Hi,

First, before you read any further, I do not work for Corel so you'll know that what I say is based on personal experience with the software, experience working to help other Painter users over the past decade, and experience working as a volunteer on both the Painter 8 and Painter IX Beta teams.

I've been using Painter since 1995 beginning with Painter 4.

I now have Painter 5.0.3, Painter 6.1, Painter 7.1.357, Painter 8.1 and Painter IX installed on my computer and use all of them frequently.

I also have both Metacreations Painter Classic 1 (based on the full Painter version Painter 5) and procreate Painter Classic 2 (based on the full Painter version Painter 7) installed on my computer and use both when answering questions.

I teach Painter classes part time on my TutorAlley Forums site and teach for free on a daily basis around the Painter community and beyond, wherever Painter users need help.

I can tell you without a doubt that Painter IX is the best version so far, with:

• great improvements in speed

• improvements in the Digital Watercolors (that are even better than the beloved Painter 6 Water Colors)

• the new Artist's Oils brush category that works with the Mixer palette (introduced in Painter 8 and now better in Painter IX)

• the option to use the Brush Creator to make setting adjustments to brush variant, or to use the Brush Controls palettes for making on the fly brush setting adjustments without having to open the Brush Creator each time

• the ability to arrange the palettes however we want (all palettes are individual palettes and can be docked with other palettes as needed for various projects)

• the ability to customize keyboard shortcuts however we want - to open and close groups of docked palettes with a single keyboard shortcut to get them out of the way while working or quickly open them when needed, and to perform a great many other functions)

I would not recommend buying either Painter 5 or Painter 7, even with the patches installed making them Painter 5.0.3 and Painter 7.1.357 as there are too many things still not fixed in those versions that make them both buggy and harder to use.

Painter 5 did not have Layers. Instead it had Floaters and did not work so well with Photoshop for people who use both programs to complete a single image. Besides, there were problems editing Floater Masks and Floaters were primitive and clumsy to use IMHO.

Painter 7 had Layers but there were still serious problems editing Layer Masks. The Water Color technology was completely changed so any of the simpler Painter 6 Water Colors would not look the same when Imported into Painter 7. There was no real substitute for simple Water Colors, though with the Painter 7 Update (patch) installed, we did have the Tinting brush category which was a halfway solution but certainly not what we really wanted.

Painter 8 was a bit better with Layers and Layer Masks, and the addition of Digital Water Colors (that still had some problems) but we were forced to open the Brush Creator to make brush setting adjustments beyond the simplest things like Size, Opacity, Grain. The Brush Creator opened like another program inside Painter and seperated the user from the artwork and had a different interface. It was just annoying and time consuming to use it.

Now back to the only older version I would even consider recommending, and only if you can find a full, legal, registerable software package:

Painter 6 (after the 6.1 patch was installed), while it had problems with Layer Mask editing did run more smoothly than Painter 5, Painter 7, or Painter 8 (even with their patches installed) and the Painter 6 Water Colors were very nice, even if not as nice as Painter IX Digital Watercolors. In addition, it had the Brush Controls palette for on the fly brush setting adjustments.

So...

My first recommendation would be to save your pennies and buy Painter IX.

My alternate recommendation would be to buy a full, legal, registerable Painter 6 software package but you'll need to be extremely careful to ensure you're getting a full, legal, registerable Painter 6 software package.

I, too, suggest that you download the free 30 day trial version of Painter IX and play with it for a month. Ask questions if you get stuck so you can make the most of those 30 days.

Good luck,


Jinny

[LEN]

wow, thanks