Why Should I Start Learning Painter?

[Kan Muftić]

Can anyone give me some good reasons to start learning the Painter? I mean, BESIDES the rotate canvas effect.
I really am terribly lazy but i see everone goes horny when talking about this software, so i'd really like to know if it's worth starting practice.

Thanks for feedback,

[Evil_Sloth]

the pimpen brushes.
e.g. simple water, glow, scratchboard....

[Red_Rook]

absolutely no more reason then you should learn to paint with oils, or draw with a pencil. Its simply another tool. Try it or don't there are free demos available. However i seriousely suggest you stop being "terribly lazy" either way.

[NoSeRider]

However i seriousely suggest you stop being "terribly lazy" either way.


Have you looked at his sketchbook?
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=67265

I just think people use Painter because it looks like 'paint'. It looks more traditional. Photoshop usually ends up looking sterile and less 'traditional'.

Besides, you can use both. Most digital artists do.

[Kan Muftić]

Evil_Sloth: That sounds teasing...

Red_Rook: I actually did paint with oils for years.. And am yet used to photoshop really. So, if the painter gets me closer, great!
And the reasons that i've became lazy are:
photoshop, flash, sound forge, acid, wave lab, dreamweaver, after effects, combustion, shake, poser, vue d'esprite, etc... - i had to teach myself all this crap to work in postproduction. So it's a pain to learn new stuff:)

NoSeRider: Yeah, but why? Brushes?

Thanks guys,

[Red_Rook]

photoshop, flash, sound forge, acid, wave lab, dreamweaver, after effects, combustion, shake, poser, vue d'esprite, etc...


dude! thats NOT lazy then is it ;)
forgive me i cant abide truly lazy people, and I see you most certainly dont fall into that category.

[NoSeRider]

Well, I'm not an expert in Painter, and I'm still learning it, but if you look at the 'Oil' brushes under 'Smeary'......you'll note the pigment tapers from light to dark.

However, I guess with pressure sensitivity you could mimic that in Photoshop.

I guess what it really comes down to is the brushes are already made. So you don't have to go thru a lot of trial and error discovering them and making them in Photoshop.

The water color effects cannot be duplicated in Photoshop, least not as quickly. You can get some really organic looking textures with the water colors.

[Zram]

Chupacabra wrote:
Why Should I Start Learning Painter?


because you want to...

:confident

[mwillustration]

cause it rocks.

i look at this way:
i can create images that look like traditional media, but i don't have to mix my colors if i don't want, (you can in version 8 and up) i don't have to wait for paint to dry, i don't have to worry about the toxicity of some traditional mediums like some oil solvents etc, and i can create quicker than with traditional media.

also there's the all important undo.

just try it out.
if you already know how to paint traditionally, you'll probably like using it.
it may take some getting used to at first, but it'll be totally worth it.
plus, make sure you use a wacom tablet so you don't have to try and paint with a mouse, which in my opinion, is just torture.

[_Mario]

If the rotate canvas is the only thing that is really pushing you to learning painter then you should wait. IIRC someone at sijun worte that the next Photoshop update will have that feature. Then it would be wisr to just upgrade Photoshop and learn one additional feature instead of a whole different interface.

[Rascar Capac]

I paint mostly in photoshop but when it comes to drawing, if Im not using a pen or pencil, its straight to painter...I use some of the airbrush and conte tools set at small sizes with your pen pressure at a firm level on your control panel...very nice control.

[llothcat]

'cause I hate waiting for the paint to dry.

[Mamoth]

Never wonder how a life supply of paint and brushes may cost? Id rather click and try to see if it fit me rather than spend load of money in oil paint, solvent, markers, ink, watercolor, acrylic ect. Painter costed quite alot at first (+ the wacom) but a least I don't have to go to an artstore every week from now on ;p

[NoSeRider]

Oh, Oh, Oh....I know why...I know why!

How often do you have the courage to mix media 'traditionally'?

I can mix water colors with oils, or pastels, or charcoal.........

[Kan Muftić]

Some good points here. But i'm pretty advanced with Photoshop, so that traditional media is way behind me.
So i rename this thread into:

"Painter vs Photoshop - the ultimate battle"!

Let's get it on!

[egerie]

If the rotate canvas is the only thing that is really pushing you to learning painter then you should wait. IIRC someone at sijun worte that the next Photoshop update will have that feature. Then it would be wisr to just upgrade Photoshop and learn one additional feature instead of a whole different interface.
WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT ? I hope it's not just a rumour! :) <3 :cheerleader: :groupie2:

I'm mostly a photoshop user and the Painter UI is not easy to get into... BUT, Painter has a few tricks up it's sleeve and can do a few things that photoshop can't. I sometimes bring my PSD in painter and go back and forth (but only 10 % of the time on select pieces). Brushes, effects, etc.

[Kan Muftić]

Look, i'll open this thread in the "Finished" section where we'll have a big Showdown between Painters and Photoshopers. Everyone should bring their best!

[jfrancis]

I mainly use Photoshop, but I'm finally warming up to Painter. For certain things, Painter is the lazy way to go - in that you accomplish more with fewer strokes

[Sinix]

Some good points here. But i'm pretty advanced with Photoshop, so that traditional media is way behind me.
So i rename this thread into:

"Painter vs Photoshop - the ultimate battle"!

Let's get it on!

I think painter's controls, layout, and color selecting are more intuitive... but I know plenty of people who think the opposite. It's mainly personal preference, although painter does have some great brush effects, photoshop has a more calculated feel (I guess painter has the easy rotation, but I don't use that). For sketching and lineart, opencanvas seems to flow better lines than both. I don't know why.

[rogfa]

For me, Painter 6 is just faster than PhotoShop CS and I like the brushes more. I found that I have to customize the brushes a lot in Photoshop to try and get similar results that I get in Painter, and I'm still miles away from it.

Painter has this awesome Bleed setting for practically every brush. Bleed is like having a brush that will Smudge edges together but I don't have to switch tools. And you have full control over how much it bleeds, you can invert pressure on it -- So the lighter you press your stylus the more it bleeds. the harder you press the less it bleeds, putting down a stroke with harder edges. That to me, mimics how a real brush works.

[Interceptor]

Why not?

[mwillustration]

painter is better for a traditional look, while photoshop is better for image manipulation and "digital" looking images.
(imo)
plus like someone else already mentioned, i wouldn't wanna sketch at all in photoshop.

but, why not use them together?
painter is made for it.

[tensai]

ive been putting up feature requests in the adobe photoshop forum. like the rotating canvas. i hope its true they will implement it.
last couple of photoshops updates were good for everybody but had some tools especially for photographers. now its time to boost up a painters/illustrators update.
put your request down here (http://www.adobeforums.com/cgi-bin/webx/.eeadb1c/)!

[carotello]

I use both. Painter is good for ..well...painting.
It doesn't have the ease of Photoshop when it comes to color adjustement, fiddling around with images, tweaking, compositing, etc. So I work in psd format, which both handle and just go back and forth endlessly. Works for me, but it would be nice if they could merge somehow.

[_Mario]

As this thread showed up again:

a google search for: photoshop cs 3 rumors shows this post (http://photoshopcontest.com/news/software/1966/photoshop-cs3-rumors.html) from here: http://photoshopcontest.com/news/index.html?l=20Thinksecret.com reports: "sources have also disclosed that Photoshop CS3 will include significant improvements to non-destructive image editing and that the software is prepped to receive a rather significant interface overhaul that will better organize tools and options. Tablet users will be pleased to learn that Photoshop CS3 will adopt a number of features Corel currently packs into Painter, including an easily rotatable canvas designed to mimic drawing on paper. Vanishing Point 2 will also improve Photoshop's perspective-based editing, introduced in CS2, by allowing objects to wrap around multiple surfaces, measure distances, and export to CAD applications. Photoshop CS3 will also deliver significant performance improvements to Camera Raw and include new measurement and scale tools."

[Cthogua]

I like how more and more 2D packages are including 3D tools and vice versa...cool to see the merging of the techs. As far as the original question...I'm not really a Painter officionado, and have tried to get into several times but I always seem to end up back in photoshop. One thing that Painter has that is really cool is the "resaturation" attribute for some of the brushes. Basically it controls the amount your brush picks up the underlying color vs puts down the color you have selected...if you have it set to 0 its basically a blender, at 100 there will be no blending with the underlying color...you can also set you pen pressure to control this. I dunno, everytime I go to use painter I seem to just get lost in the sea of brushes and not knowing which to use for what and end up with a big smeary mess...but I guess thats just something that works itself out after a while of using.

[Mungus]

....
I think we should have an FAQ answer all for this, so we don't have to go over it again.
Comparing Photoshop to Painter is very moot, they were both designed to do different jobs, -
Painter = Paint simulation,
Photoshop = Image editing and enhancing

Painter is far and away a much better painting tool, the colours blend together for a start, you don't have to fudge them together.
In this regard Photoshop is like a poor simulation of Painter.

However, image manipulation, layering and effects are Photoshops' strength, Painter shits itself when its time to start marqueeing and stretching.

But for getting some really unique and idiosyncratic painterly marks, Painter stands head and shoulders above everything. Arguing for Photoshop is like saying "hey with this frying pan I can boil water just like I do with the kettle" -

:nohope:

[carnalizer]

Hows this for a reason? I spend faaar to much time looking at pics instead of painting, so by now I begin to see a pattern. Painter stuff looks better. That's why I'm so pissed off with myself for being too lazy to get comfortable with painter...

[Moai]

But for getting some really unique and idiosyncratic painterly marks, Painter stands head and shoulders above everything. Arguing for Photoshop is like saying "hey with this frying pan I can boil water just like I do with the kettle" -

Idiosyncratic is right. I'm very much a beginner at both programs, but when I experimented with Painter often I'd need a little round blob of color and no brush would give me the effect that I wanted. Then I got photoshop 7 and voila, its default setting was the plain ol' hard round brush that I was looking for. Painter's brushes are a little too quirky for my tastes, at least for now.

However, Painter has a much better color picking system than ps7. In painter, you get a nice ring of pure colors and then a little triangle that lets you easily pick the value and saturation, plus little crosshair things that pinpoint exactly what color you've chosen. On photoshop you have a claustrophobic little strip of colors and sliders for RGB levels, and no little icon on the color strip telling you exactly where your chosen color is. On Painter I could easily choose exactly the color I wanted, but on Photoshop I have to go through some more pains to get what I'm wanting.

[chaosrocks]

I like real brushes and real Paint and the smell of turpentine in th emorning
but
Painter is another tool

chaosrocks

[BlackGuy]

I just wish Photoshop's color selection was the same as Painter's, with the color wheel and value scale set up so beautifully.

[Imp Head]

"Painter vs Photoshop - the ultimate battle"!

Essentially there is no battle, when all is said and done these two programs do exactly the same thing, edit pixels. The only real difference is the paths they take to do this.

Try Painter if you like, but don't think that it's some industry requirement. I like using it and I've developed a process to use it to the ends I want. However I've seen people use Photoshop to get pretty much the same results.

They're both a means to an end man and if you are already happy with the end then why mess with the means?

[glikster]

I agree with Imp Head, the biggest proof of this is the fact that there are brushes for PS to mimic the "Painter" look and brushes for Painter to mimic the PS look....

[Quinster]

What is painter? A better version of photoshop?

[rogfa]

What is painter? A better version of photoshop?

It's a painting application made by Corel, actually had a long history of companies it moved from, but Corel makes it now. Check out the product link for more info (LINK (http://apps.corel.com/painterix/home/index.html)).