Karen Sperling's Q&A August 2005

Each month, Painter expert Karen Sperling answers a question from one of our Painter Canvas readers. Here's June's question.

Question:
How can I share a custom brush with other Painter users?

Answer:
Sharing custom brushes in Painter IX is easy!

First, if you're wondering what a custom brush is, it's a variant.

Painter comes with hundreds of variants, and you can create your own.

For the most part, the variants in Painter are combinations of the sliders found in the Property Bar and in the Brush Controls palettes (some variants are created with additional Painter tools). For instance, you can create a custom variant to save a simple change such as adjusting the Size slider in the Property Bar. To save your adjustment, you choose the Brush Selector icon (the little triangle in the upper right hand corner) > Save Variant.

The Save Variant dialog box appears. You type in the name of the new variant, say, Smaller Crayon, then click OK. The Smaller Crayon variant—your new custom brush—now appears in the variant list in the Brush Selector.

When you choose Save Variant, Painter creates an .xml file containing the relevant information for that variant. When you create a variant with a custom tip, technically called a captured dab brush, it also creates a .jpg file.

To share this custom brush with a friend, all you need do is to copy the .xml file (and .jpg if it is a captured dab brush) into one of the folders in the Brushes folder. Then you can access the brush by choosing it in the variants menu.

You'll see elsewhere in this issue of Painter Canvas a custom brush that I created for leaves. Here's an example of the leaves painted with this brush.

If you have a custom brush that you'd like to share with all of your Painter friends, submit it to The Painter Canvas.

Do you have a Painter question for Karen? Email us at enewsfeedback@corel.com.

Artist, author, photographer and Painter Master Karen Sperling wrote the manuals for the first several versions of Painter, authored several Painter books, has had many Painter tutorials published in magazines and has taught Painter to artists and photographers at movie companies, design firms, universities and professional photography organizations. She currently publishes Artistry Corel Painter tutorials and Artistry Tips and Tricks newsletter, and leads Artistry Corel Painter Retreats. She paints commissioned portraits, and her Painter art has been displayed in several group shows. To see Karen's Painter images and for information about her tutorials and classes, visit www.artistrymag.com.