Quick links to procedures on this page:

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To save a selection to a channel
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To create a new, blank channel
•
 
To copy a channel
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To generate a channel based on luminance
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To generate a color-based channel

Creating, Generating, and Importing Channels

You can create channels, generate them based on lightness and darkness of one of several sources, or import channels them other applications.

Creating Channels

You can create a channel from a selection or create a new, blank channel. You can also create a new channel by copying an existing channel.

To save a selection to a channel Back to Top
1
 
Click a selection tool in the toolbox and make a selection.
2
 
Choose Window Channels.
3
 
In the Channels panel, click the Save Selection As Channel button .
4
 
Type a name in the Name box.
You can also open the Channels panel by pressing Command + 5 (Mac) or Ctrl + 5 (Windows).
For more information, see Loading and Combining Selections.
To create a new, blank channel Back to Top
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In the Channels panel, do one of the following :
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Click the Channel Options button , and choose New.
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Click the New Channel button .
To copy a channel Back to Top
1
 
In the Channels panel, choose a channel from the list.
2
 
Click the Channel Options button , and choose Duplicate.
3
 
In the Duplicate Channel dialog box, choose New from the Destination list box.
You can also copy a channel to an existing channel, so that the existing channel is replaced. To do this, choose the existing channel from the Destination list box.

Generating Channels Automatically

Corel Painter lets you generate a channel based on the light and dark areas of a number of sources, including paper, pattern, and clone source. You can also create a channel based on a range of colors.

To generate a channel based on luminance Back to Top
1
 
In the Channels panel, do one of the following:
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To generate a new channel, choose the RGB channel from the list.
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To replace a channel, choose it from the list.
2
 
Click the Channel Options button , and choose New From.
3
 
In the New From dialog box, choose one of the following options from the list box:
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Paper — uses the current paper texture to create the channel
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3D Brush Strokes — creates a channel based on the difference between the current image and the clone source. If no clone source is selected, Corel Painter uses the current pattern. For information about clones, refer to Alpha Channels.
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Original Selection — imports the selection from the clone source document. You can use this feature to transfer a selection from another document. For best results, the dimensions of the source and working document should match. You must establish a clone source file, and create a selection in this file, for this option to be available. For information about clones, refer to Image Cloning and Sampling.
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Image Luminance — creates a channel based on the current image’s light and dark areas. For Image Luminance to be effective, the image must have high contrast. Images with low contrast produce a semisolid channel, without clear delineation between the selected and protected areas.
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Original Luminance — produces a channel based on the clone source’s light and dark areas. This option lets you import an image to the channel. If no clone source is selected, Corel Painter uses the current pattern.
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Current Color — creates a channel based on pixels of the current main color. Areas of the current color are protected; the rest of the image is selected. You might want to use the Dropper tool to pick a color from the image before using the Current Color option.
If you want to invert the channel, click the Invert Channel button .
Like a grayscale image, a channel can have 256 values in it. Inverting a channel is equivalent to creating the negative of a grayscale image. For example, a pixel with 80% luminance will have 20% luminance when inverted. A pixel with 30% luminance will have 70% luminance when inverted.

An image (left), the channels created using image luminance (middle), and inverted image luminance (right).

To generate a color-based channel Back to Top
1
 
In the Channels panel, do one of the following:
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To generate a new channel, choose the RGB channel from the list.
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To replace a channel, choose it from the list.
2
 
Click the Channel Options button , and choose New From Color Range.
3
 
With the Color dialog box open, click in the document window to pick a color.
The color you select is the middle of the range of colors used to create the channel.
4
 
In the Color dialog box, adjust the H Extents (hue), S Extents (saturation), and V Extents (value) sliders.
These sliders control the selected range. You can drag the limits of the range in either direction.
5
 
Adjust the H Feather (hue), S Feather (saturation), and V Feather (value) sliders to control the feathering at the edges of the color space extents.
This helps soften the edges of the channel.
If you want to invert the channel, click the Invert Channel button .
The Preview window in the Color dialog box shows the channel as a red overlay on the image. You can drag in the Preview window to see other parts of the image.

Importing Channels from Other Programs

When RGB files that were created in Photoshop are opened in Corel Painter, anything in the alpha channels (#4 and above) will appear as a channel in Corel Painter. Conversely, when you save your Corel Painter file in Photoshop format, all channels are placed into channels #4 and above.

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