Liquid Metal

The Liquid Metal dynamic plug-in lets you paint on a layer with liquid and metal. You can apply droplets of water that distort the underlying image through refraction. You can also create globs of shiny metal that flow together and move like mercury. A slider (Refraction) sets the difference between water and metal, so you can achieve intermediate effects.

Negative metal can be used to create holes in metal.

This text uses the term "metal" to refer to the media applied-even if the settings turn the effect more toward water.

The Liquid Metal dynamic plug-in creates either liquid metal or translucent, refractive liquid.

Liquid Metal Tools

You can apply metal with the Brush tool, the Circle tool, or the Rain feature. You can adjust the size of your brush or rain droplets.

The Brush is the default applicator. You can use the Brush tool to paint with metal. You can use the Circle tool to create circles of metal. The Rain feature lets you scatter metallic droplets on the layer.

Brush

You can create strokes of metal with the Brush tool.

Circle

You can create circles of metal with the Circle tool.

Metal raindrops fall randomly with the Rain feature.

Liquid Metal Controls

You can adjust the following settings to customize the appearance of the liquid metal.

• Amount-controls the emphasis of the metal effect (from the Refraction slider) for all droplets in the layer. The extreme left and extreme right are the inverse of each other. To create water effects, set the Amount to -0.5. This will make the droplets magnify the imagery underneath them.

Reflection and Refraction invert when you move the Amount slider to either extreme.

• Smooth-changes the perimeter range. The perimeter range determines the droplet's tendency to "join" its neighbors. The Smooth setting applies to all selected droplets and new droplets you create.

Low Smooth settings keep droplets distinct (left). Higher Smooth settings make the droplets flow together (right).

• Size-changes the diameter of the selected droplets. The Size setting applies to all selected droplets and new droplets you create with the Brush tool or Rain. It does not affect the Circle tool.
• Volume-adjusts visibility along the perimeter. The Volume setting applies to all selected droplets and new droplets you create.

Increasing Volume beyond 100% extends visibility beyond the droplet circle into the perimeter range. Decreasing Volume below 100% shrinks the visible portion of the droplet, "drying it up."

• Spacing-adjusts the spacing between droplets in strokes you create with the Brush tool.

A stroke with low spacing-the droplets flow together. A stroke with high spacing-each droplet is distinct.

• Map-specifies the type of metal or reflection map. The type applies to the entire layer. You can apply metal and change the type later. For information about using reflection maps and patterns, refer to "Using Reflection Maps".
• Refraction-controls droplet appearance. The slider represents a scale between reflection and refraction. The Refraction setting applies to all droplets in the layer.

If you want to paint with translucent liquid, increase the Refraction slider. As Refraction nears 100%, the metal becomes transparent. The droplets look like a simple liquid-oil or water.

Low refraction means high reflection (top). High refraction creates translucent, refractive liquid (bottom).

• Surface Tension-makes the droplets appear more round and three-dimensional.
• Reset-restores the default settings.

To create a Liquid Metal dynamic layer

1. Deselect all layers.
2. On the Layers palette, click the Dynamic Plug-ins button and choose Liquid Metal.
3. In the Liquid Metal dialog box, choose the Circle or Brush tool.

Refer to "Liquid Metal Tools" for more information.

4. Choose one of the following metal types from the Map pop-up menu:

• Standard Metal
• Chrome 1
• Chrome 2
• Interior
• Clone Source

5. Use the sliders and controls to adjust the appearance of the metal.

Refer to "Liquid Metal Controls" for more information.

6. Drag in the document window to apply the metal.

If you want to clear the effect and start again, click Clear.

7. Click OK to end the Liquid Metal session.

To use Rain

1. Deselect all layers.
2. On the Layers palette, click the Dynamic Plug-ins button and choose Liquid Metal.
3. In the Liquid Metal dialog box, set the sliders and controls to adjust the metal.
4. Click Rain.

Corel Painter scatters metal droplets on the layer.

5. Click anywhere to stop the rain.

To create negative metal

• Press Option (Mac OS) or Alt (Windows), and drag with the Circle or Brush tool.

You will create holes in your metal. As you drag through positive pools, the negative metal will divide and separate the existing metal.

To adjust the size of the brush or drops of rain

1. In the Liquid Metal dialog box, choose the Liquid Metal Selector tool , and click outside the droplets to deselect all.
2. Change the Size slider to the desired value.
3. Click the Brush tool and paint, or click Rain.

• You can also adjust the size of existing metal by selecting the droplets and moving the Size slider. For information about selecting droplets, refer to "To select metal droplets:".

Using Reflection Maps

Metal is highly reflective. You can customize the look by using a clone source or a pattern as a reflection map. For more information about cloning, refer to "Cloning a Document". For more information about creating and choosing patterns, refer to "Using Patterns".

To use a reflection map

1. Specify a clone source or choose a pattern.
2. Deselect all layers.
3. On the Layers palette, click the Dynamic Plug-ins button and choose Liquid Metal.
4. In the Liquid Metal dialog box, choose Clone Source from the Map pop-up menu.
5. Adjust any settings.
6. With the Circle or Brush tool, drag in the document window to apply the metal.

If you want to clear the effect and start again, click Clear.

7. Click OK to end the Liquid Metal session.

• If no clone source has been specified, Corel Painter uses the current pattern as the reflection map.

The same piece of metal changes appearance when a pattern is used as the reflection map.

Working with Metal

A stroke of metal is made up of a series of discrete droplets. You can select one or several droplets and move them or change their properties. Refer to "Liquid Metal Controls" for information about which slider settings apply to selected droplets.

The "handles" show the droplet's circle and center point. Showing the handles on the droplets isn't necessary for selecting them, but it can make your work easier.

The droplets applied in the last stroke are automatically selected. Each new stroke deselects the droplets of the previous one.

The Undo feature is not available when working with metal; however, you can remove selected metal, the last metal applied, or all metal on the layer.

To show the handles

• In the Liquid Metal dialog box, enable Display Handles.

When you enable "Display Handles," you can see the droplet circles and center points.

To select metal droplets

1. Choose the Metal Selector tool.
2. Do one of the following:

• Drag across the droplets you want to select.
• If Display Handles is enabled, click the center point handle of a droplet.
• If handles are not displayed, click a droplet anywhere.

Hold down Shift, and click additional droplets to add to (or subtract from) the selection.

When a droplet is selected, the center point handle is displayed as a solid.

Drag over the droplets you want to select.

To move metal

• Drag the center of one of the droplets to move the selected group.

Notice how the droplets seek to join other droplets they encounter. You can control this tendency with the Smooth slider.

You can drag the center of one of the droplets to move the selected group.

To remove metal

• Do one of the following:

• Press Delete (Mac OS) or Backspace (Windows) to remove the last metal applied.
• Using the Metal Selector tool, select the metal and press Delete (Mac OS) or Backspace (Windows).
• In the Liquid Metal dialog box, click Clear to remove all metal on the layer.