Cross Post from Weekend Drawing Event - Lilacs

[Elainepsq]

There were so many wonderful paintings from a particular photo of Lilacs this weekend that I felt inspired to paint them.
I started this one in Painter IX.5 watercolors, but fell back into my comfort zone by using a pastel layer above it.

I'm still not happy with the way that program handles watercolor, I thought it went backwards a step from version 4. I really enjoyed wetting and drying the paper, and adding just water like you could in version 4, but I haven't found it in IX.5, or am I missing something?
C&C always welcome.

[LavenderFrost]

It really has a watercolour look to it.

Sometimes I think it is better to stick with programs we are comfortable with than to upgrade. I tried Photoshop Elements 3 lately, and ended up going back to the original.

[zoozyq]

Elaine, that's really lovely! And I'm glad you mentioned missing the "just water" addition. I had used an earlier version of Painter a handfull of times before I bought IX.5. A year had passed, so when I couldn't find it in IX.5, I began to doubt that I had used it--you know, the AGE thing. (It gets blamed for everything once you hit 60.) I've been playing around with making my own brushes, hoping to stumble on the way to come up with a similar effect. Cross referencing effects between two different media is interesting.

[Siffer1]

Beautiful painting.

Dee

[DSPIT]

still looks good though. I never could figure out painter wc very well, then again, in real world either lol.
but see how you have the deeper purple on the one grouping. I think you could do more with that around the rest of the piece.

[Jin]

Originally Posted by Elainepsq

There were so many wonderful paintings from a particular photo of Lilacs this weekend that I felt inspired to paint them.
I started this one in Painter IX.5 watercolors, but fell back into my comfort zone by using a pastel layer above it.

I'm still not happy with the way that program handles watercolor, I thought it went backwards a step from version 4. I really enjoyed wetting and drying the paper, and adding just water like you could in version 4, but I haven't found it in IX.5, or am I missing something?
C&C always welcome.

Pretty flowers, Elaine!

Edit: I just remembered Painter 7 came with Painter 4 default brush library, and checked to make sure the Water Color brush category contains brush variants that appear in the Digital Watercolor category.

If you want the old Water Colors, use Digital Watercolor. All of the Water Color brush variants that were in Painter 4, Painter 5, and Painter 6 are found in the Digital Watercolor brush category.

Painter's Digital Watercolor now stays dry until you either dry it yourself or save the file in another format than Painter's native RIFF. (That was not the case in Painter 8 as wet Digital Watercolor paint was dried whether the artist wanted it dried or not, when the file was saved, closed, and reopened... Fixed in Painter IX!).

Digital Watercolor can be used on both the Canvas and on Layers and their are lots more brush variants in that category than we ever had in the older Painter versions.

The Watercolor brush category uses a different brush technology, more complex, and simulates traditional watercolor more closely than the old Water Color or Digital Watercolor. Many artists find those brush variants difficult to control, but with practice, some lovely work can be done.


Jin

[Jin]

Originally Posted by zoozyq

Elaine, that's really lovely! And I'm glad you mentioned missing the "just water" addition. I had used an earlier version of Painter a handfull of times before I bought IX.5. A year had passed, so when I couldn't find it in IX.5, I began to doubt that I had used it--you know, the AGE thing. (It gets blamed for everything once you hit 60.) I've been playing around with making my own brushes, hoping to stumble on the way to come up with a similar effect. Cross referencing effects between two different media is interesting.

The brush variant you and Elaine are talking about is named Just Add Water and it's located in the Blenders brush category.


Jin

[zoozyq]

Originally Posted by Jin

The brush variant you and Elaine are talking about is named Just Add Water and it's located in the Blenders brush category.


Jin

Thanks, Jin. I've used it with the digital watercolor brushes, but you can't use it with the traditional watercolor brushes, which as you observed, are more like the studio watercolor experience. So if you want the new better watercolor effects of Painter IX.5, you still can't "just add water." Since I use a lot of water in the studio, I miss that capability. I have been able to get a brush defined that allows me to puddle the color a bit more, as it might if I had wet the canvas well first, which I like very much.
Here's a painting I just finished using the watercolor brushes, including the one I fine-tuned to puddle a bit more. Unfortunately, I had to save it at a lower quality to make it fit WC requirements and detail was lost, but you can see the effect of the puddling:

[Elainepsq]

Thanks Jin and Linda for pointing me to the direction of the Digital Watercolors. I still don't see where "Just add water" is quite what I'm expecting, but I'll play around in there more. I just find the infinite number of controls in painter a little overwhelming!!!
DSPIT, thanks for the suggestion, I will get in there and try it.

[Lin1945]

This is beautiful.. wish PhotoImpact had this type of watercolor capability, but, it doesn't, so I have to play with the blending and merge etc.. someday.. lol..

[Annie*M]

Very nice indeed. Beautiful colours.

[TxAggieDarlin]

Oh it turned out very pretty. I don't get along with any watercolor I have ever tried...digital or traditional, but you GOT IT