Now is the time to announce that there are many changes coming up in the beginning of 2013 connected with my website and more. What is more…will remain a secret for now. Trust me, it’s not easy for me to keep it a secret since it wants to burst out of me like an alien, but I’ll do my best.

So, while we are on the subject of changes, one of the projects that is coming up required some research on digital drawing software. My Wacom Bamboo tablet and Corel Painter Essentials software are serving me well( I don’t know if you remember my project with the hand drawn illustrations from  last spring) but I kind of felt that it might be time for a little upgrade. I was eying a new tablet, maybe even Adobe Creative Suite, but the prices are ridiculous. We’ll see, Christmas is coming. 🙂

Anyway, while I was looking for an upgrade on CPE, I saw that Corel actually has a new and better version, Corel Painter 12. How much better is the better version, I was asking myself. A quick trial of the software gave me the answer. MUCH BETTER. I  mean, I knew it will be better than what I have ( I have the 2007 version, duh), but I didn’t expect what I saw. The mixer capabilities, the brushes and materials, not to mention the mirror drawing- it’s insane!
In short, I LOVE IT!

The software is so much more intuitive than Corel Painter Essentials, I was able to do this in 30 minutes with no prior experience with the software or with manga.

 I watched this tutorial a couple of days ago and I meant to try it with real pencils on a real piece of paper, but I didn’t have time, so downloading Painter 12 today was the perfect opportunity to give it a go.
 Of course, it was a trial-error experience,that is why it took me so much time. I am still not familiar with all the features of Painter 12, but it is simply amazing what it can do.
I was so excited, I wanted to share. Stick around, there will be more new and exciting developments I will share soon. 🙂

Annie