Mom and I have tossed around the idea of writing a children's book and wanted to use our own photos converted to illustrations, so the Paint It Program sounded perfect!
Corel Paint it! gives you a whole new way to enjoy your photos. The painting software includes multiple painting styles, brushes and realistic effects that let you add a personal touch to any creative project. Much more than a photo-painting filter, Corel Paint it! relies on your input, letting you control the photo painting process while encouraging your creative spirit.
The Photo Painting panel provides several preset painting styles. All of the painting presets pick up color, intensity and lightness from the original photo, then apply brushstrokes in the style that you choose.I chose a phot from yesterday morning where I took advantage of some early morning filtered light and used it to test the program and provide you with some examples! Here's the original photo:
Oil – applies a combination of short dabs and longer brushstrokes to produce the color and texture of oil paint. This turned out really well as you can see, except for a weird shadow under her eye. I was able to use the brush detail on this one to make it less purple in 3 strokes. Then I stopped (this was the first use of the program and I experimented more on it)
Impressionist – applies short and very visible brushstrokes to create the illusion of movement and light This one was interesting and if a family member really liked Impressionist paintings, then this is super. It could work for illustrations as well! Great tool for your child to use if doing a report on Impressionism!
Modern – applies bold brushstrokes and adds vibrance to colors to produce an abstract reinterpretation of a photo This one was one step up from the Watercolor Sketch below and really NOT pretty! Too blurry and you lost the facial detail which is the beauty of the shot with the morning light.
Illustration – applies a wide variety of brushstrokes to produce an illustration-style painting You would think this one would be perfect for what Mom and I had in mind, right? Nope! Check it out- just UGH. Maybe on a simpler picture, but not thrilled with this at all!
Watercolor – classic watercolor style THIS is the one I would pick probably pick for illustrating a book with- A clear winner! Detail isn't lost but it' still soft!
Detailed Watercolor – applies a translucent wash to produce the smooth, soft effect of watercolor paint on your photo This is actually my favorite. I love the softness to the picture and the wash reminds me of a true watercolor!
Watercolor Sketch – applies a combination of drawn lines and watercolor brushstrokes that add depth, texture and contrast Don't know why this one looks this bad!Having an outline should not be THIS bold- definitely not for this type of pix!
Colored Pencil – applies fine-tipped colored pencil strokes Pretty in an unusual way. I think I would use it for scenics or flowers or buildings though.
Pencil – applies graphite pencil strokes that appear to be drawn by hand Almost the same as the next one, so no pix
Pen and Ink – applies sketchy strokes with a pen and black ink that appear to be drawn by hand
My second favorite- I LOVE the simplicity of the pix and how the light and shadow are done correctly- you get the mood of the morning sun hitting her face. This is a winner!
All in all I was really impressed with HOW simple the program is to use! My ONLY complaint was that as usual the instructions are NOT printed, and you have to learn as you go so to speak. I really don't know why manufacturers can't put a "getting started/basics to know" cheat sheet in the box. I don't need the 100 page instruction booklet to start. I need to know what all the buttons DO/are FOR. SIGH. It's every program you buy anymore- thanks internet! But again, it's simple to figure out if you've used any type of Paint, photo editing, Printshop, graphics program in the last 5 years. I'm glad I got the chance to try it out!
System requirements are Mac OS X 10.5 or 10.6 with Intel Macintosh and/or Windows XP, Windows Vista or Windows 7 (with latest Service Pack) with Pentium IV, 700 MHz or greater, 1 GB of RAM, 24-bit color display, 1024 × 768 screen resolution, 140 MB of hard disk space for installation, and a Mouse. The cost: $39.99 Pretty good steal to me if you're gonna use the finished products for gifts! Start thinking Christmas! I know we'll be using it alot this year!
You can even download a free trial of it to see if you like it for yourselves!
AND through May 31st, you can save up to 60% on certain other Corel programs on their site! So check them out too!