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Monday, March 10, 2008

Painter Essentials 4

Based on Corel Painter, the world’s most powerful painting and illustration software, Corel Painter Essentials 4 includes everything new users need to set up their own home art studio. Featuring a wide selection of paint brushes, pencils, paper textures and built-in tutorials, Painter Essentials 4 is the perfect program to help users get started with digital art and create stunning paintings—either from existing photos or from scratch.

Working closely with its customers, Corel redesigned the Painter Essentials user interface to make it even easier for users to discover the tools they need to create stunning artwork. Available on the Windows and Mac platforms, Painter Essentials 4 is ideally suited to digital camera users, scrapbookers, arts and craft enthusiasts, art teachers and students of any age. With art tools that faithfully replicate their traditional counterparts, it is easier than ever before for users to achieve more expressive hand painted works of art.

“With Corel Painter Essentials 4, we wanted to make it as easy as possible for our customers to tap into their creativity, whether they want to create a painting from a favorite photo or develop a custom piece of artwork from scratch,” said Robert MacDonald, Product Manager, Corel Painter. “By further simplifying the user interface and including new training videos and tutorials, our goal is to educate and inspire our customers while giving them the creative freedom to develop something truly unique.”

New Features

With a simplified user interface, streamlined workflow and even more creative options, Corel Painter Essentials 4 provides the tools and guidance to help users create unique digital art keepsakes that are perfect for framing, using in craft projects and sharing as special gifts with family and friends.

New features in Corel Painter(tm) Essentials 4 include:

• New! Redesigned Workspace—To make it easier for users to get started with digital art, Corel Painter Essentials 4 features two distinct workspaces: Drawing & Painting and Photo Painting. Each workspace is easily accessible from tabs within the application and each presents customers with the tools specifically needed for the task they selected. Both workspaces offer a reconfigured toolbox, making it easier to identify and select brushes, media and paper.

• New! Brush Drawer—The new Brush Drawer makes brush identification and selection easier than ever before. Users can browse all brushes by category, quickly recall recently used brushes and easily add their favorite brushes to the Brush Drawer column.

• New! Color and Mixer Palettes—With the new Color Palette, users can choose a color with just one click. By simulating the traditional experience of mixing colors on an artist’s paint palette, the Mixer palette makes it easier for users to get the precise color they want.

New and Enhanced Tools

• New & Enhanced! Photo Painting System—The Photo Painting System has been redesigned and enhanced, making it easier for users to turn photos into paintings within seconds. Now organized in a separate workspace, all of the brushes within the Photo Painting System now act as cloners that take their color from the source image. As a result, users can now create a painting from a photo in as little as 3 easy steps.

• New & Enhanced! Smart Stroke Technology—The new Smart Stroke Technology paints with brush strokes that follow the forms of the original photo, dynamically changing brush size, stroke length and pressure, based on the detail and focal areas of the photo. As a result, users can quickly achieve impressive paintings or sketches with no prior training or experience required.

New Natural Media Materials

• New! RealBristle Painting System—Introduced in Corel Painter X, the new RealBristle Painting System heightens brush responsiveness and represents a major milestone for digital painting. Corel Painter Essentials 4 includes RealBristle brushes in two different brush categories. By authentically reproducing the sensation of the interaction between paint, canvas and brush, RealBristle brushes take realism to a whole new level.

• New! Pens—Corel Painter Essentials 4 introduces pens in the Pencils & Pens brush category. With new options such as the Scratchboard Tool and Smooth Edge Calligraphy, it’s easy for users to ink their own comic books or do calligraphy.

• New! Paper Textures—Corel Painter Essentials 4 features an expanded selection of paper textures that faithfully reproduce the feeling of using traditional art materials. Users can control the texture of the canvas to achieve the results expected from using traditional media on a given surface- for example pencil on watercolor paper, felt pens on cotton paper or chalk on a sidewalk

Built in Tutorials

• New! Tutorial-Based Guidebook—The Corel Painter Essentials 4 Guidebook provides step-by-step tutorials that help users discover the full capabilities of the software while completing fun projects. With options for both beginners and more advanced users, the guidebook introduces various Corel Painter Essentials media and educates new users about artistic principles and elements.

• New! Video Tutorials—Built in video tutorials by John Derry, noted Corel Painter Master and Ambassador, guide users through a variety of digital art projects, all included in the guidebook.

Enhanced User Experience

• New! Additional Undo Levels—With 32 undo levels, Corel Painter Essentials 4 provides users with maximum flexibility and freedom to experiment with techniques and effects- always confident that they can return to a previous step or design.

• New! Online Print Services—Once users have created their masterpiece, they can order prints of their artwork on canvas, watercolor paper or other fine art materials—directly from within Painter Essentials 4.

• Enhanced! Support for Wacom Products—Corel Painter Essentials 4 fully supports the entire Wacom product line, including the Bamboo(tm) Fun pen tablets, the Intuos pen tablet, the Wacom 6D Art Pen and the Cintiq 21 UX interactive pen display.

For a complete list of new and enhanced features in Corel Painter Essentials 4, please visit http://www.corel.com/painteressentials.

“With Corel Painter Essentials 4, anyone can produce truly exciting artwork even if they have never picked up a sketching pencil or a paint brush,” said John Derry, Corel Painter Master. “With a welcoming interface that encourages experimentation and creative ‘play’, Corel Painter Essentials 4 is designed to help users express themselves in ways they may have never thought possible. The features are easy to find and understand making for an intuitive, fun and rewarding user experience.”

Pricing and Availability

With a suggested retail price of $99 U.S. for the full version and $69 U.S. for the upgrade, Corel Painter Essentials 4 is available starting today through http://www.corel.com and in the coming weeks through Corel’s global channel partners. To learn more about Corel Painter Essentials 4 or to download a free, fully-functional trial version of the software, please visit http://www.corel.com/painteressentials.