Corel Painter
 Corel Painter X | |
| Developer(s) | Corel |
|---|---|
| Operating system | Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X |
| Type | Raster graphics editor |
| License | Proprietary |
| Website | www.corel.com |
Painter is the name of a raster graphics software package used to create natural-looking artistic images using a computer. Originally available on the Macintosh, it is now also available for Windows. Using a graphics tablet, the user is able to create remarkably realistic images freehand, with the package simulating a wide range of classical effects such as watercolor and oil paints, as well as a wide range of unique effects and filters. Resulting imagery can be printed on any printable media including paper or canvas it is made by the company corel.
Painter was originally developed for the Macintosh system by Mark Zimmer and Tom Hedges, founders of the Fractal Design Corporation. Zimmer and Hedges had previously developed ImageStudio and ColorStudio, both image-editing applications, for Letraset. John Derry joined Zimmer and Hedges during the release cycle of Painter 1.2. Derry had gained previous paint software expertise at Time Arts, a developer of the early desktop-based paint applications Lumena and Oasis. Fractal Design later merged with RayDream, then with MetaTools to become MetaCreations. Metacreations sold off all their creative interests and Painter was acquired by Corel Corporation where it was temporarily rebranded "Procreate" Painter during its transition into the Corel Suite of applications. Painter is now wholly owned and marketed by Corel.
Painter had two companion applications. A vector-based natural media twin called Fractal Design Expression, and a scaled-down version of Painter developed for beginners called Art Dabbler. After the Corel acquisition, Corel Art Dabbler 2 was reintroduced as Corel Painter Essentials[1], now in its third incarnation. The much evolved Expression application is today known as Microsoft Expression Design and is available as a part of the Microsoft Expression Studio [2] suite.
In 2007 Corel released version Painter X, which was at first available in a limited edition paint can.
References
Further reading
- Corel's Official Website
- Discussion of Apple's resolution-independent interface patent from Cabel Sasser of Panic Software (PDF copy of patent filing included)