Using the Automatic Color Set Tools in Painter X
By Cher Threinen-Pendarvis
This month’s Painter Wow! tip focuses on the Mixer. The Mixer allows you to mix colored digital paint as an artist would mix conventional paint on a palette. Exciting brushes in Painter allow you to paint with multiple colors picked up from the Mixer palette.
Accessing the Mixer. The Mixer is nested with the Colors and Color Sets palettes. If the Mixer palette is not open, open it by choosing Window>Color Palettes>Show Mixer.
1. Adding color to the Mixer Pad. The tools at the bottom of the Mixer are from left to right: the Dirty Brush, Apply Color (chosen), Mix Color, Sample Color, Sample Multiple Colors, Zoom, and Pan.
Open the Colors palette by clicking the arrow to the left of its name. Choose a color in the Colors palette (or click on one of the Color Wells at the top of the Mixer), and dab the colored paint onto the Mixer Pad using the Brush tool in the Mixer palette.
The open Colors and Mixer palettes. Using the Apply Color tool on the Mixer palette to paint the first color on the Mixer Pad.
2. Mixing colors on the Mixer pad. Next, add a second color and use either the Mix Color tool (selected in the illustration) or the Dirty Brush to mix the colors.
Using the Apply Color tool to apply a second color to the Mixer Pad.
Using the Mix Color tool like a palette knife, to blend the brown and orange paint.
3. Painting with multiple colors from the Mixer. Repeat the process in Steps 1 and 2 to add new colors to the Mixer Pad and blend them to make combinations of the colors. The colors shown here will be used in a twilight seascape painting.
The Pick Up Multiple Colors tool allows you to sample an area that contains more than one color. Brushes using these dab types can paint with the multiple colors: Camel Hair, Flat, Bristle Spray, Blend Camel Hair and Blend Flat. All of the Artists’ Oils and the Real Bristle Brushes are capable of painting with multiple colors that are sampled from the Mixer Pad.
Using Artists’ Oils variants to paint strokes of blue and green. Strokes were painted with (from top to bottom) Bristle Brush, Dry Bristle and Dry Brush.
Using three Real Bristle variants to paint brown and orange strokes. Strokes were painted with (from top top bottom) Real Flat, Real Oils Short and Real Round.
4. Saving a Mixer pad. You can save a Mixer Pad for use later (as I did here), or you can add Add Swatch to Color Set, or create a New Color Set from the Mixer Pad. To access the pop-up menu, click the right triangle on the Mixer section bar.
Choosing Save Mixer Pad from the pop-up menu on the Mixer Palette bar.
Images and text © Cher Threinen-Pendarvis
An award-winning artist and author, Cher Threinen-Pendarvis has always worked with traditional art tools. A pioneer in digital art, Cher has created illustrations using the Macintosh computer for two decades. She has been widely recognized for her mastery of Painter, Photoshop and the Wacom pressure-sensitive tablet, and has used these electronic tools since they were ?rst released. Exercising her passion for Painter’s artist tools, Cher has worked as a consultant and demo-artist for the developers of Painter. Her artwork has been exhibited worldwide and her articles and art have been published in many books and periodicals. Cher holds a BFA with Highest Honors and Distinction in Art specializing in painting and printmaking, and she is a member of the San Diego -Museum of Art Artist Guild. She has taught Painter and Photoshop workshops around the world, and is the principal of the consulting ?rm Cher Threinen Design.
Cher is the author of The Photoshop and Painter Artist Tablet Book, Creative Techniques in Digital Painting and all eight editions of The Painter Wow! Book. The Painter X Wow! Book is the latest edition of this highly-praised volume of techniques and inspiration.
To learn more about Cher, please visit her Web site at www.pendarvis-studios.com.
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