Corel Painter Classes

Today was the official last day of class for the May session at LVS. Registration opens for the Fall session on July 27….mark your calendars! The Fall session often fills up, so don’t be left out.

I’m busy revising and amending the Painter I and Painter II classes to incorporate Painter 11, Corel’s newest member of the Painter family. Lots of things to do, not much time to do it…story of my life.

I hope to have a Painter III class ready in time for the November session, with lots of goodies for those who have been begging me to write another class. Stay tuned!

Classes are well on their way and I’m getting some really outstanding work from my Level I students. This seems to be the most eager and creative class yet. The students are doing the assignments as written and then taking them several steps further. The end result is not only some very interesting images to look at, but a group of students who are learning to use Painter by leaps and bounds.

Meanwhile, in Level II, now that the two lessons on layers have been completed, I can’t wait to see what my students will do when they begin to learn how to use some of the many Effects available in the program. There is such depth to Painter, one can use it for years and still find new things it can do.

Wouldn’t you like to learn to plumb the depths of this fabulous program? You can get a headstart by enrolling in the Painter classes at LVS online. Classes are closed for now, but registration for the Fall session will be open July 27, 2009.

Happy Mother’s Day to all who celebrate it. This is such a lovely time of year to celebrate a holiday. Spring is in full bloom in many parts of the world (although I hear it’s still snowing in Saskatchewan…my sympathies).

On Monday classrooms open for the final session at LVS until Fall. I hope you’ve registered for classes. If not, there is still time, registration officially remains open until May 13 (but there is a little extra window in there for you procrastinators ).

The first lesson will be posted on Saturday May 16. I hope to see some of you in my classroom. We always have fun. and my students seem to really enjoy the lessons. If you would like to see a small sample of some of their work, check out this page: Student Gallery

See you soon!

Hi all,

Registration for the May session at LVS is open. This is the final session until September, so if there are some classes you’ve been planning to take, now is the time to enroll.

Please be aware that there is limited enrollment for both of the Painter classes, so you may want to enroll early in order to avoid disappointment:

Painter X-Level I:

http://www.lvsassociates.com/register/product_info.php?products_id=153

Painter X-Level II:

http://www.lvsassociates.com/register/product_info.php?products_id=205

Information for new courses and other available courses is provided here:

http://lvsonline.com/blog/2009/04/new-courses-at-lvs-online-classes/

Elaina

I’ve been getting a lot of questions about cloning photos in the current class session, so I put a few suggestions together for my students and posted them to the board. I thought perhaps my faithful readers would also find them useful, so here they are:

1. Change your tracing paper transparency often. Remember that when it’s set at 90%, what you’re seeing is very close to what the final result will look like.
2. If you don’t like the way your brush is working, you can change many of the settings in the property bar until you’ve got it working just the way you like. The most important settings are going to be the size and opacity. Reset the brush to default by clicking on the Property bar button containing the brush icon.
3. Change brushes to get different effects.
4. Do not go for an exact photographic likeness. You want your clone to look like a painting. When you finish cloning, muck up the background with one of the blenders or the Distortion brushes (grainy mover works well). Then with a smaller size brush, distort some of your image so it looks more painterly.
5. Change some of your colors by using a brush from the Tinting category (Soft Glazing Round works well), choosing a color, and setting the brush opacity very low. Begin at 15 to 20%. These brushes build color upon color so don’t go over your strokes too many times.
6. Play with some of the brushes in the F-X category to jazz up your cloned images.
7. Don’t forget the Undo button. It’s your best friend.

The classrooms are open at LVS and the first lesson will be available this Saturday, March 14.

The first lesson will be posted on Saturday, March 14.

If you would like to get an idea of some of the things the students will be doing in the Painter classes, check out the Student Gallery.

I’m looking forward to teaching a whole new crew of painter newbies in the Level I class, while at the same time, I already recognize some familiar faces in the Level II class. This should be a fun session.

Note: If you are enrolled in either class and are using Painter 11, I’m sorry to say that I won’t be able to answer any program-specific questions because I haven’t been able to get the program to start up on my computer. I’ve been working with the people at Corel, but so far, no success.

Elaina

Registration for the March session at LVS is currently open. Both the Painter X Level I class and the Painter Level II class will be offered.

If you’re interested in learning to use Painter X, but don’t have the program yet, you can buy it now in plenty of time before the class begins, and in addition, Corel is offering free shipping on orders over $99 with coupon code COREL99. I just love free shipping, don’t you?

By the way, for those of you who have earlier versions of the program, all of the material in Level II is also applicable to Painter IX, and most of the material can also be used by those who have Painter 8.

In Level I, there are a few items which only pertain to Painter X, but I’ve identified each of them. Everything else in the lesson also applies to Painter IX. Again, some of the lesson content can be used with Painter 8. You will have to read the page syllabus to determine whether or not this course would be applicable since I no longer have Painter 8 installed.

Level II is a continuation of what was covered in Level I with some very interesting additions.  Registration for both classes is limited, so I suggest you don’t put it off until the last minute to avoid disappointment.

Want to get an idea of some of the things you will be doing and learning in these classes? Take a look at the Student Gallery.

Here in Florida, usually between the months of April and June, we experience a fire season. In areas which are heavily wooded, spontaneous fires sometimes start up because of lightening storms. Last year, there was a horrible fire which lasted for days and was accidentally started by a couple of teenagers. Many homes were lost, but nothing on the scale of what’s going on in Australia right now.

So many of the citizens there have lost homes, family, pets, everything. The devastation is unimaginable. I have seen posts on forums I belong to telling the most horrible and heart-wrenching stories you could ever hear. The photographs show sights that make you shudder. The wildlife is being destroyed in one of the most unique ecological systems in the world. There are photographs of Koalas begging for water, livestock in fields surrounded by fire, and more.

There is a way you can help. The Australian Red Cross is collecting donations which will go directly to those most in need. They have stated that none of the contributions will go toward administrative fees (a much criticized use of funds in the past). I’m posting the link to donate below. It will remain on this page until such time as I am able to find a direct donation page for these victims on the Salvation Army site, since I prefer to donate through them.

I hope you will find it in your hearts to give what you can to the people of Australia. I know times are tough for us here in the US, but for those who live “down under” right now, times are as tough as they will ever be.

http://tinyurl.com/Bush-Fires-directdonation

If you’re live outside of Australia and need to check the exchange rate, here is a very good link:

Bloomberg exchange rate calculator

When I first started teaching Painter, I had no idea how much my students would inspire me. They are so enthusiatic, so eager to learn, and so unbelievably grateful for the tiniest little hints, suggestions, and encouragement. The pleasure they take in their discoveries as they learn to use this very complex program is contagious.

Each week, I can hardly wait until the assignments start rolling in and I am able to see how each student has interpreted the lesson. When they go on to enroll in Level II, I have the opportunity to watch their continuing progress, and if I’m lucky, many of them will go beyond my classes and join some of the forums I belong to, and then I can see their talents unfold even more as they use the program in more creative environments.

For samples of some of my students’ work see this page.

It never ceases to inspire, gratify and amaze me when I realize that my efforts were partly responsible for their inspiration. I will never get tired of hearing about how much they have learned, and how they can now use the program effectively. It’s truly music to my ears.

For those who have never taught, you have no idea what rewards it brings and how much it inspires you to teach even more.

LVS is hosting a Blog Carnival on February 7. What’s a Blog Carnival? Visit this page to find out, and submit a link to your own page showing some inspiring work….

INSPIRATION