Painting for Photographers: Steps and Art Lessons for painting Photos in Corel Painter and Adobe Photoshop
Used by both painters and photographers alike, Corel Painter has long been established as one of the world's greatest tools for creating digital art. This book by Karen Sperling walks anybody who has a passion for photography through the basics of taking a photograph and then translating it into a fantastic piece of art.Painting for Photographers opens with a chapter focusing on the basic lessons of creating wonderful art. You'll discover how to look for strong contrast between highlights and shadows, choose an interesting colour scheme, create a focal point, use the Rule of Thirds and accurately paint areas of the face. Although it's aimed at photographers, it makes a good reference for all digital artists.Once you have learned how to establish an interesting image, Sperling takes a look at the tools used within Painter and Photoshop. She goes into great detail, explaining the function of each tool, and uses quick steps to help you become familiar with how they work. You'll quickly learn how to customise brushes, use the Clone tool and work with colour palettes. The Layers feature and Image Hose are also investigated in great detail, each given a double-page spread.The second half of the book takes a more hands-on approach, using step-by-step tutorials to teach painting techniques and concepts.This is split into four sections--the first looking at portraits, followed by landscapes, painting pets, and finally an interesting section that takes a look at printing your art onto canvas and painting over the top using acrylics or oils. It's a fascinating idea that mixes digital and traditional art--and is an effecdtive way to gain confidence in your painting skills.Sperling explains the features of Painter with clarity and authority--which is to be expected, because she authored the manuals for the early versions of the program. As a result, this is a wonderful tome that's not only suitable for creative photographers but also for anyone looking to take their first steps in the world of digital painting.--Corel Painter Magazine(added by author)Creating painterly art from photographs is ideal for the professional photographer, who can use this to add a new dimension to their studio's offerings. The guidance and education inKaren Sperling's Painting for Photographerstakes the intimidation out of turning photographs into painted masterpieces. ---- Picture Soup Blog, Diane Berkenfeld(added by author)The book is packed with information, but never forgets who its intended audience is: beginners. It's what I call a workshop book, and it's very much learn by doing. Each exercise is explained in detail, showing you exactly which brushes to use, what settings to use, so that you are led by the hand as in a well-run workshop. There isn't a lot of fluff here, as in many computer books. It's all meat and potatoes. Though I've been using Corel Painter almost daily in my business for almost five years, I still learned a lot from this book. Sperling really knows Painter. ---Digital Image Magazine(added by author)Painting For Photographersis a compact, yet very informative book. It is very systematic in its approach and is filled with many examples that clearly illustrate the author's points. In many ways the book's approach is much like being in a workshop where the first part is the prep and the second is hands-on.Obviously there is only so much that can be taught about Painter and Photoshop in a book like this, but the author does a good job about focusing on exactly what you need to know. There are plenty of other books that cover these products in more detail and I like the fact that she concentrates on the art - something that is missing in many books.If you have looked at images made into works of art using Corel Painter and Photoshop, but were intimidated because you felt that you did not have the talent to paint, then I suggest you check outPainting For Photographers. For photographers who want to learn to paint, and for painters who want to move to the digital world, I highly recommend this book. --T. Michael Testi, Blogcritics(added by author)