Corel Painter brushes are organized in brush libraries, and the brushes in each library are grouped in brush categories. This topic contains descriptions of brush categories included in the Painter brush libraries as well as sample brushstrokes. The brush categories are presented in alphabetical order. Note that not all brush categories are available in each Painter brush library. Also, brush category names may vary slightly across the different brush libraries.
To change the brush library, click the Brush tool in the toolbox, click the Brush Selector on the Brush Selector bar, and choose a brush library from the Brush library list box.
The Acrylic brush variants, much like their real-world counterparts, are versatile brushes that let you apply quick-drying paints to the canvas. Most of the brushes allow you to cover underlying brushstrokes and many are capable of multicolored brushstrokes. In addition, a few Acrylic brush variants interact with underlying pixels to create realistic effects.
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Gouache brush variants let you paint with the fluidity of watercolors and the opacity of acrylics. These variants range from fine, detail brushes, to flat or thick brushes. Brushstrokes created with Gouache brush variants cover underlying brushstrokes.
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Airbrushes apply fine sprays of color, which carefully mirror the feel of a real airbrush in action. However, some variants have a different way of building up color. Most airbrushes support color buildup on a single brushstroke. However, some of the digital airbrushes do not. To achieve color buildup with the digital airbrushes, you need to overlay multiple brushstrokes.
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The Wacom airbrush styluses are fully compatible with the variants in the Airbrushes category. For more information, see Airbrush controls.
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The Artists’ Favorites brush variants help you paint in the styles of master artists. For example, you can paint in the style of Vincent Van Gogh, with multishaded brushstrokes, or in the style of Georges Seurat, with multiple dots combining to form an image.
When you use any of the Artist brush variants, dragging quickly produces wider brushstrokes. You can use the Color Variability settings to adjust how the Artist brushstrokes are colored.
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The Audio Expression brushes let you use audio from your computer’s microphone, or internal audio to modify the look and feel of brushstrokes. For more information, see Audio Expression.
Blenders brushes affect underlying pixels by moving and mixing them. The variants can reproduce the effects of blending paint by applying water or oil. You can also smooth drawing lines and create shading just as you would on a pencil sketch or charcoal drawing.
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Chalk brush variants produce the thick, rich texture of natural chalk sticks, and have strokes that interact with the paper grain. The opacity is linked to stylus pressure.
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Crayons offer a range of styles. From soft and dull, to waxy and grainy, they produce textured strokes that interact with the paper grain. As with other dry media brush variants, the opacity is linked to stylus pressure.
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Charcoal brush variants range from pencils to hard or soft charcoal sticks. As with other dry media brush variants, the opacity is linked to stylus pressure. Blender brush variants can be used to soften and blend the charcoal strokes. For a smooth workflow, keep your favorite Charcoal and Blender brush variants together in a custom palette.
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Similar to Chalk, Conte brush variants produce textured strokes that interact with the paper grain. As with other dry media brush variants, the opacity is linked to stylus pressure.
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The Cloner brush variants behave like other brush variants, except that they take color from a cloned or sampled source. These variants recreate the source imagery while effectively filtering it, reproducing the image in an artistic style, such as pastel chalk or watercolor. For more information, see Cloning controls and Image cloning and sampling.
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The Dab Stencil brush variants knock out areas of the brush dab by making them more transparent. They use stencil media such as papers, flow maps, or textures. For more information, see Dab Stencil controls.
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Digital Watercolor brush variants produce watercolor effects that react with the canvas texture. Unlike Watercolor brush variants, which work with the Watercolor Layer, Digital Watercolor brushstrokes can be applied directly to any standard pixel-based layers, including the canvas. For example, if you’re applying watercolor effects to a photo, Digital Watercolor brushstrokes can be applied directly to the image. If you’re creating a realistic watercolor from scratch, the Real Watercolor or Watercolor brush variants allow colors to flow, mix, and absorb more realistically. For more information, see Real Watercolor controls and Digital Watercolor controls.
The width of Digital Watercolor brushstrokes is affected by stylus pressure, with the exception of the Wet Eraser brush variant.
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The Dynamic Speckles brush variants generate a continuous brushstroke from discrete spots of color or speckles. For more information, see Dynamic Speckles controls.
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There are three types of Eraser brush variants: Eraser, Bleach, and Darkener. Eraser brush variants erase down to the paper color. Bleach brush variants erase to white, gradually lightening by removing color. Darkener brush variants are the inverse of Bleach variants. Darkener brush variants gradually increase color density, building colors toward black. With all Eraser brush variants, pressure determines how much you erase.
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F-X brush variants can give you an array of creative results. Some add color; others affect underlying pixels. The best way to appreciate the F-X brush variants is to experiment with them on an image and a blank canvas.
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Gel brushes allow you to tint an image’s underlying colors with the brushstroke color. For example, a yellow brushstroke gives the underlying color a yellow cast. The Gel brushes use the Merge Mode brush control to produce the effect. For more information, see Stroke Attributes controls. The Gel effect is similar to blending layers by using the Gel composite method; however, you do not require any layers to achieve the same results.
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In Glazing brushes, opacity builds up smoothly from a minimum to a maximum along the brushstroke, eliminating harsh transitions and evenly blending colors. Glazing brushes can help you fill an area with long continuous strokes that have a very soft gradation from the beginning of the mark to the end. For more information about glazing controls, see Glazing controls.
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A Glazing brush variant with (from left to right) a Captured, Circular, and Static Bristle dab type
The Image Hose is a special brush that applies images instead of color. The images it "paints" with come from special image files called nozzles. Each nozzle file contains multiple images that are organized by characteristics such as size, color, and angle. Each characteristic (parameter) can be linked to a stylus attribute (animator), such as Velocity, Pressure, and Direction. For more information, see Image Hose controls and Image hose.
The name of each Image Hose variant tells you which parameter and animator are in effect. For example, the Linear-Size-P Angle-R brush variant links size to stylus pressure (P) and sets the angle randomly (R).
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Impasto brush variants use the classic technique of applying thick paint on a canvas to create depth. The depth information for the brushstroke is stored with the layer, but you need to display the Impasto information to view it. For information, see Impasto controls and Impasto.
Some variants, such as Acid Etch, Clear Varnish, Depth Rake, and Texturizer-Clear, apply depth effects to underlying pixels. Other variants apply three-dimensional brushstrokes with the current paint color.
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Liquid Ink brush variants combine ink and paint to create a thick, liquid paint effect. There are three main types of Liquid Ink brush variants: ones that apply ink, ones that remove ink to create a resist effect, and ones that soften edges. A new layer is created automatically when you first apply a brushstroke. You can also create 3D effects with Liquid Ink. For information, see Liquid Ink controls and Liquid Ink.
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The brush variants in the Marker category replicate conventional, real-world markers. The brush variants range from fine point to blunt and have a variety of nib shapes and opacity levels.
The strokes that you make with some of the Marker variants closely reflect those of traditional, high-quality markers, mainly because of the way the Marker variants interact with the canvas. For example, the Flat Rendering Marker allows color buildup and pooling. For more information, see Hard Media.
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Oils brush variants let you create effects you’d expect from oil paints. Some variants are semitransparent and can be used to produce a glazed effect. Other variants are opaque and cover underlying brushstrokes.
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Some Oil brush variants let you mix media as though you were working with traditional oil paints. You can use colors mixed on the Mixer pad and apply them directly to the canvas. The colors can then be blended with the oils already on the canvas. In addition, you can load multiple colors from the Mixer pad. Some Oil brush variants load the brush with a finite amount of oil, which is then transferred to the image. As you apply a brushstroke to the canvas, the brush loses oil, and the brushstroke becomes fainter. Because layers don’t have the oily properties of the canvas, brushstrokes applied to a layer don’t fade as rapidly.
Some Oil brush variants are palette knives that let you mix paint directly on the canvas. There are six brush tip profiles designed specifically for Oil brushes. For more information, see Artists’ Oils controls and Artists’ Oils brush tip profiles.
You can use Palette Knives brush variants to scrape, push, or pick up and drag colors in your image. Only one Palette Knives brush variant, the Loaded Palette Knife, applies the current paint color. The Palette Knives dabs are always parallel to the shaft of the stylus.
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Particle brushes are physics-inspired brushes that give a unique look and feel to your artwork. They emit particles from a central point, and in turn the particles draw a pattern of lines (paths) as they move across the canvas. For more information, see Particle brushes.
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Pastels, which include oil pastels, range from hard pastel styles that reveal the paper grain to extra soft pastels that glide on to completely cover existing strokes. Opacity is linked to stylus pressure.
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The oil pastel brush variants produce the thick, rich texture of natural pastel sticks. Most oil pastel brush variants cover existing strokes with the current paint color. However, the Variable Oil Pastel brush variant blends the underlying color into the stroke. As with other dry media brush variants, opacity is linked to stylus pressure.
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Pattern Pens brush variants let you use a brush to apply a pattern to an image. You can vary features such as the size of the pattern and the transparency. For example, Pattern Pen Micro decreases the size of the pattern, and Pattern Pen Transparent applies a semitransparent version of the pattern. For more information, see Painting with patterns.
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Pencil brush variants are great for any artwork that would traditionally require pencils, from rough sketches to fine-line drawings. Like their natural counterparts, Pencil brush variants interact with canvas texture. All variants build to black and link opacity to stylus pressure. The width of Pencil strokes varies according to the speed of the stroke, so dragging quickly produces a thinner line and dragging slowly leaves a thicker line.
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Pens brush variants, like the Scratchboard Rake and Bamboo Pen, create realistic effects without the drawbacks of traditional pens, which can clog, spatter, or run dry.
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Whether you want to reproduce the look of calligraphy pen strokes on a grainy texture, or the smooth strokes of a calligraphy brush, the Calligraphy brush variants offer you a range of creative options.
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Photo brush variants let you modify digital images or existing artwork. For example, you can clean up photos by adjusting color or removing scratches, add a blur effect, or sharpen an image. You can also add color to a grayscale image.
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The brushstrokes of the Real Watercolor brush variants flow and apply pigments in a very natural way, helping you create realistic watercolor paintings. In addition, the brushstrokes interact with the paper texture and grain to produce results you would expect from real-world watercolors. You can modify the Real Watercolor brush controls to achieve different effects. For more information, see Real Watercolor controls.
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The Real Wet Oil brush variants help you achieve realistic oil brushstrokes. The Real Wet Oil brush variants let you control paint viscosity and color concentration, similar to mixing oil paint and a medium. You can also modify the Real Wet Oil brush controls to achieve different effects. For more information, see Real Wet Oil controls.
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The Simple brush category includes commonly used brush variants from other brush categories to help you get started with your sketching and painting tasks. You can access quickly a pencil, pen, marker, airbrush, blender brush and an eraser.
Smart Strokes brush variants are based on popular brush variants from other brush categories, but they are optimized to work with the Photo Painting System. For more information about the Photo Painting System, see Auto-painting photos.
Sponges let you create a variety of textures by applying the current paint color to cover or blend existing colors. Some Sponge brush variants apply dabs of paint at random angles with each click of a stylus. Wet sponge brush variants, such as Grainy Wet Sponge, apply sponge dabs as you drag across the canvas. The Smeary Wet Sponge variant lets you blend the current paint color with existing colors as you drag across the canvas.
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Sumi-e brush variants let you create flowing sumi-e-style brushstrokes. In addition, various brush sizes and shapes are available to help you recreate traditional sumi-e brushstrokes.
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Texture brushes let you add textures to your projects by taking the color and luminance components of a source image — the texture — and transposing them onto another surface — your painting — using different brush methods. For more information, see Texture painting.
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Tinting brush variants let you apply effects to photos or existing artwork. For example, you can apply translucent color to areas of a black-and-white photo by using the Basic Round brush variant. Applying each color to a separate Gel or Colorize layer lets you adjust the opacity of each color layer independently for a more subtle or dramatic effect. Some of the Tinting brushes are based on the Merge Modes brush control. For more information, see Stroke Attributes controls.
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Watercolor brush variants paint onto a watercolor layer, which enables the colors to flow, mix, and absorb into the paper. The watercolor layer is created automatically when you first apply a brushstroke with a Watercolor brush variant. The layer lets you control the wetness and evaporation rate of the paper to effectively simulate conventional watercolor media. Most Watercolor brush variants interact with the canvas texture. You can use Watercolor brush variants to apply a watercolor effect to a photo by lifting the canvas to the watercolor layer. For more information, see Water controls and Watercolor.
For more information about additional watercolor brush variants, see Real Watercolor.
To paint directly on the canvas, use a Digital Watercolor brush variant.
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