Painting with Gradients and Patterns

With the Corel Painter computed brushes, you can brush on gradients, which are gradual transformations of one color into another. Refer to "Using Gradients" for more information. The Corel Painter computed brushes can also brush on patterns (repeating designs). Refer to "Using Patterns" for more information.

When you paint with a pattern, you can adjust the pattern's scale. Scale affects a pattern brush stroke in a special way-it determines the resolution of the painted patterns. Small scale causes blurry computed brush strokes. Large scale causes sharper strokes. Here's why:

The brush stroke is always drawn as the entire pattern, sized to fit in the current dab size. Scaling the pattern down very small (say to 20%), makes the brush stroke appear blurry, because the dab is significantly bigger than the pattern. Scale the pattern up to 100% and the dab is as clear as it can get. Settings over 100% have no effect on the appearance of the brush stroke.

Here's how to picture what's going on:

Imagine that the current pattern is 100 pixels across and the current brush size is fifty pixels across. With the pattern set to 100%, Corel Painter shrinks 100 pixels into a 50 pixel area, which is easy for it to do without visible loss of accuracy. If you scale the pattern up to 200%, it looks just as clear as the original, and fitting it into the 50-pixel brush size creates a brush stroke that looks the same as when the pattern was scaled at 100%. Scale the pattern to 50% and the original will be the same size as the brush, so still there is no difference in the resulting brush stroke.

Now, keep scaling downward. As the size of the pattern is scaled below the size of the brush, Corel Painter must increase the size of the pattern to fit the 50 pixel area of the brush stroke. When images are scaled up, after being first scaled down, the image becomes blurry. This is especially noticeable if you scale the pattern well below brush size. At 20%, the pattern now only consists of 20 pixels and has lost eighty percent of the original data. When Corel Painter expands that to 50 pixels (the brush stroke size), the loss of data becomes very visible. Smaller scale settings result in even blurrier brush strokes. Go down to 2%, and the pattern is only 2 pixels across and is able to contain, at most, four colors (two across and two down). When Corel Painter expands that to fit the brush stroke, you won't see any of the original pattern, just a fairly uniform color, across the dab.

To paint with a gradient

1. Select a brush that applies media to a document.

If the Gradients palette is not displayed, choose Window menu > Show Gradients.

If the Gradients palette is not expanded, click the palette arrow.

2. On the Gradients palette, choose a gradient from the Gradient selector.

In the center of the palette, the Preview window shows the selected gradient.

3. Click one of the following Gradient Order buttons:

• Left to Right
• Mirrored Left to Right
• Double Left to Right
• Right to Left
• Mirrored Right to Left
• Double Right to Left

The preview above the Order buttons illustrates how the selected order affects the gradient. Refer to "Using Gradients" for more information about gradient order.

4. On the Stroke Designer page of the Brush Creator, click General.
5. From the Dab Type pop-up menu, choose a dab type that activates Source; for example, Rendered.
6. Choose one of the following from the Source pop-up menu:

• Gradient-apply the current gradient across the width of the stroke.
• Gradient Repeat-repeat the current gradient along the length of the stroke.

Painting with a gradient using Gradient (left) and Gradient Repeat (right)

• If the Source option is not available (grayed out), the selected brush can apply color only. In that case, select a computed brush or choose a dab type that activates Source.
• Although you can choose a gradient type (Linear, Radial, Circular, or Spiral) on the Gradients palette, a Linear gradient type is always used when painting with a gradient.

• You can also choose a gradient from the Gradient selector in the toolbox. Corel Painter uses the current gradient order.
• Keep in mind when painting with a gradient that direction matters. Corel Painter flips the gradient when you change direction, so apply strokes in the same direction for a uniform effect.

To paint with a pattern

1. Select a brush that applies media to a document.

If the Patterns palette is not displayed, choose Window menu > Show Patterns.

If the Patterns palette is not expanded, click the palette arrow.

2. On the Patterns palette, choose a pattern from the Pattern selector.
3. Adjust the Pattern Scale slider.
4. On the Stroke Designer page of the Brush Creator, click General.
5. From the Dab Type pop-up menu, choose a dab type that activates Source, for example, Rendered.
6. Choose one of the following from the Source pop-up menu:

• Pattern-paint with a pattern containing no mask information.
• Pattern with Mask-paint using mask data contained in the pattern.

• If the Source option is not available (grayed out), the selected brush can apply color only. In that case, select a computed brush or choose a dab type that activates Source.

• Keep in mind when painting with a pattern that direction matters. Corel Painter flips the pattern when you change direction, so apply strokes in the same direction for a uniform effect.

To paint with pattern opacity

1. Select a brush that applies media to a document.
2. On the Patterns palette, choose a pattern from the Pattern selector.
3. On the Stroke Designer page of the Brush Creator, click General.
4. From the Dab Type pop-up menu, choose a dab type that activates Source, for example, Rendered.
5. Choose Pattern As Opacity from the Source pop-up menu.

Pattern As Opacity is the only computed dab type that responds to methods (Cover and Buildup), allowing it to respond to Graininess.

6. Paint on your image.

Corel Painter applies the current color, using luminance in the pattern to control opacity. Light colors in the pattern are rendered as transparent (or very low opacity). Dark colors in the pattern are rendered as very dark (or high opacity).