Description

In the next four weeks we will delve into expressionistic painting using a pastel technique.

We will take a peek at the history of traditional media pastels, some differences in the different types of pastels and how the ground, substrate, or paper will make a big difference in the look of your images. We will have the opportunity to paint three images using a pastel technique.

Skill Level

This class is a beginner to intermediate skill level class. For best results the student must be familiar with the Corel Painter user interface, be able to import an image into Photoshop and Corel Painter, select brushes, and save files.

Software Requirements

The software required for this class is Corel Painter 9 or newer, and either Photoshop CS2 or newer or PS Elements 7 or newer.

Hardware Requirements

Your computer that will work with your version of PS and Corel Painter.

Week four we will be printing out an image and laying down some traditional media pastels as an embellishment. You will need your own printer and a few sheets of water color paper to print out on. If you don’t have a printer that can do that you can use a local  printer to help you out.

If neither of those are available you can use our partner and sponsor for speaking tours, Allied Photo at http://www.alliedphoto.com/ or call them at 616-452-3941/800-368-6113

Other Requirements

As mentioned we will apply some traditional media pastels to a printed image in week four.  There will be an alternative assignment for those that do not want to go through with that project. If you do want to participate, you will need some pastels. Go to your local art/craft store and purchase some pastel pencils. Below is the complete list of supplies for the class IF you want to embellish a print.

• 1-2 sheets of water color paper that will go through your printer (or a lab/studio in town to print for you)

• 2-Spray fixative to seal your image after printing and before applying pastels

• 3-Pastels of some sort to use for your embellishment

Course Gallery

Before Class

There are a few things that will help you get a jump on this class. In the fourth week we will print one of the images from the first three weeks and embellish it with pastels. You will want to have on hand a few sheets of water color paper for your printer or find someone locally to print an image for you if you want to participate in that portion of the assignment. The other thing is that you will want some pastels to embellish with. If you are new to pastels I would suggest pencil pastels or soft chalk pastels. Purchase them at your local art supply store or a big box hobby store like Hobby Lobby or Michaels. Pastels are expensive. There is no requirement that you have to buy these for the class. There is an alternative assignment. Invest in the material if you desire to pursue pastels further.

To save you time here are a few online sources:

You can get a starter set of soft pastels or pencils at Dick Blicks or Cheap Joes for roughly $50.

http://www.dickblick.com/products/sennelier-soft-pastel-sets/

http://www.dickblick.com/products/stabilo-carbothello-pastel-pencil-sets/

http://www.cheapjoes.com/art-supplies/4598_pastel-supplies.asp

http://www.cheapjoes.com/art-supply/132230_5247_sennelier-soft-pastel-set-assorted-half-stick-colors.asp

The other thing needed is a fixative.  Sealing your paper will allow you to use your pastels on the print without rubbing off the emulsion. Here are some easy rattle can spray fixatives NOTE: DO NOT USE THESE SPRAY FIXATIVES IN AN ENCLOSED AREA.

The other thing to keep in mind about embellishment is that a lot of testing  needs to take place for your particular printer/ink/paper combination. Your setup will differ from mine. My recommendation is test, test, test. I have ruined many prints because the combination I was tying to use would not work. I have used Breathing color, and Golden Artist Colors  Varnishes as well as premier art sprays with good success but please don’t expect to have great results on the first try with your paper printer combo. It could happen but most likely will not.

http://www.cheapjoes.com/art-supply/3044913_5286_winsor-newton-artists-workable-fixative-spray.asp

This is an article written by my friend Michael Townsend. Mike is a super-tech from Golden Artist Colors. It tells you a bit about the importance of sealing images from a ink jet printer.

http://www.goldenpaints.com/justpaint/jp14article3.php

Week One

Brush Research

Watch the brush research video or read the Brush Research PDF.

Start by experimenting and see how each type of brush specific to pastels reacts to your stroke and how you can make various changes in the brushes.

Watch the Pastel technique video to get an idea of one method of creating a pastel emulation.

The first assignment is to create a loose piece based on a photo of a sphere, the file to use is located in the resource area  for week one. There are no rules, you can do anything you want with the image. The emphasis will be on using the brushes from your research to emulate a pastel drawing.

As points of interest there are a few other documents that are released in week one. A PDF file on the history of Pastels, A PDF document with various books on traditional media pastels and a PDF document with other pastel resources.

Week Two

Paper Color and Texture

Watch the Video or read the document on paper color and texture.

Experiment with paper texture combinations. Come up with three version that you like.

Use one of  these combinations to create your second pastel image of an overall landscape scene with a horse and rider. The image can be found in the Week two resource area.

Share your work.

Week Three

Read the PDF file on the differences in traditional pastel media.

Create your next digital pastel painting using the dancer reference image located in the Week Three resource area.

Week Four

Embellishment of Your Digital Pastel Image

Read the PDF file on embellishment.

Read the Pastel accessory document.

Read the document Common Pastel Mistakes.

Print out or have printed one of your images from the first three weeks and use your pastels to create a unique original mixed media piece.

If you don’t want to embellish one of your images then create a fourth digital pastel using one of your files or the file provided in the Week Four resource area.

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Description

From Traditional to Digital: Painting Fundamentals: As painters, our job is twofold. First, we must develop a powerful understanding of light, and second, we learn to interpret that information through the medium of brushstrokes. This course provides an intensive, fundamental study of light, how it works, and how to paint it using digital painting tools. We will study from reference photography, and create paintings both from photographs and imagination.

Skill Level

All levels can benefit from this class.

Software Requirements

nstructor is using Adobe Photoshop CS5, but this course is not software specific. Students may use the digital painting software of their choosing. Recommended softwares are: Adobe Photoshop (CS or higher), Corel Painter (any version), ArtRage.

Hardware Requirements

Computer that can run the software properly. Mac or PC will suffice.

Wacom Tablet (Intuos or Bamboo, any size)

Course Gallery

Before Class

A familiarity with your chosen digital painting software is highly recommended. This is not an advanced software class, so a basic familiarity is all you need.

Week One

Introduction to Light

Your Instructor will introduce the concept of painting light, and will begin to deconstruct and analyze selected photographs to communicate some fundamental concepts of how light works, as well as introduce the student to common lighting situations found in nature. Students will be asked to find their own photographs that demonstrate the various lighting conditions discussed in the lecture.

Week Two

Quick Digital Studies from Photography

We will examine some more photographs, and instructor will demonstrate quick digital studies, with the goal of accurately reproducing the effect of light seen in the photos. These studies are fast and loose, and will use traditional techniques, rather than relying on ‘digital trickery’. The goal at this stage is for the student to begin to learn what elements are essential to capture, what elements must be simplified, and what must be edited out. Students will be asked to do their own digital studies from photos of their choosing. Some digital brush creation will be discussed as well.

Week Three

Critique of Student Studies

Students will submit their work to the class, and the instructor will choose studies at random, and critique them for the class’ benefit. Critiques will be performed by directly painting over the top of the work, as well as a verbal discussion of how to improve upon the study.

Week Four

Painting from Imagination

The instructor will draw upon information learned during the previous studies, and will paint a scene entirely from imagination, without using any reference material, and discussing the process as the painting evolves. Students will learn how to directly apply their knowledge of light to any subject, and create believable and beautiful images.

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Description

Jump in and get your feet wet. This “little sister” version of big brother Photoshop has tons of hidden tricks up her sleeve. In this class, we’ll cover getting started with Quick as well as Guided Edit options. Never fear, there are still many things  you can do with this inexpensive photo editing software you never thought possible! Join us for this introductory class at a special rate!

Super-duper possibilities:

•shortcut keys to save you time & effort

•variations – version 8.

•Correct color – fix wrong color balance
& skin tones

•Correct contrast – save highlight &
shadow details!

•Make Blue skies & colors pop

•Remove Red Eyes, touching up
blemishes

•Critical info on saving your photos!

•Sharpening – overdoing it is easy.
Subtle is key!

•quick selection tool – breaking it down!

•recompose tool & scene cleaner -
version 8 – these will totally knock your
socks off! So worth the price of
admission!

•Web photo galleries

Skill Level

Beginner
New or occasional user. This class is an introduction to digital photo editing but includes some VERY cool tools & amazingly eye-popping editing capabilities.

Software Requirements

This class will be using Photoshop Elements 8 with all sorts of new tricks & options. You can download a 30 day trial of this version if you do not yet own it by going to Adobe
Photoshop Elements download

Hardware Requirements

Windows for version 8: 1 GB RAM, 2 GB Hard disk space, Windows Vista or Windows 7 w/1.6GHz processor
Mac version 8: Intel processor! Mac 10.4.11 or newer.

Course Gallery

Before Class

You can download a 30 day trial of this version if you do not yet own it by going to Adobe Photoshop Elements homepage Students may use a previous version if they already own one but may not have some of the latest options available to them. It will be beneficial to download a current trial version.

Week One

Getting to know Elements.

• Exploring the interface.

• Ingesting images.

• Critical info when saving images.

• Quick & guided interface.

• Quick Fixes: whiter teeth, bluer sky, better crop,…

• Crop & Straighten

Week Two

Tools & shortcuts

• Quick & guided tools & their shortcuts

• Variations – color, brightness, contrast, highlights, shadows

• Histogram – lighting, exposure, contrast

• Breaking it down: Quick selection

Week Three

Eye-Popping Features

• Sharpening

• Blemishes, Red Eye

• Recompose

• Scene Cleaner

• Other way cool tools & tricks!

Week Four

Share! & Review

• Saving for web

• Web photo galleries

• Photo Collage

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Description

New Digital Painting Features in Photoshop CS5. With this latest version of Photoshop, Adobe has introduced an assortment of new and exciting painting tools that will change the way you paint in Photoshop. This course will explore what these new tools are, discuss their capabilities and limitations. Most importantly, this course will show you how to use these new features to bring your Digital Painting skills to a whole new level.

This course begins with an introduction to the new painting tools in CS5 and launches into project themed lessons. Students will learn techniques to turn a photo into a convincing painting, how to paint from scratch from a sketch, and finally a host of special tips and tricks to use on a personal work of art.

The course work is primarily written instruction but also includes several videos to demonstrate the techniques click for click.

BONUS: This course includes a custom CS5 Painting Panel students can download and install. This panel becomes part of the Photoshop interface and makes using the right set of tools and techniques that much more convenient.

Skill Level

Intermediate. This is not an introduction to digital painting course. Students should have some experience with digital painting and the Photoshop interface. The focus is on the new tools and how to use them.

Software Requirements

Photoshop CS5

Hardware Requirements

Machine capable of handling fairly large digital painting files.

Graphics Tablet is highly recommended.

Course Gallery

Before Class

Students are expected to attend class with an appetite for learning, a love for art, and an eagerness to grow as an artist.

Students should familiarize themselves with the Photoshop interface and the standard brush engine. Students should also have a photo they’d like to turn into a painting, a sketch they’d like to paint on, and an idea for a personal painting project at the end of class.

Week One

The All-New, All-Different brush engine.

This week we will explore the new tools like the new bristle brushes and mixer brush, make sense of the mind boggling array of new settings, find a few hidden gems Adobe hid along the way, and install a new Painting panel on the interface.

Week Two

Photo to Painting. Can it really be that easy?

This week we will go through the process of painting over a photograph with the intent to transform it into a painting. We’ll discuss how to evaluate the photo and what techniques to use where for the best results.

Week Three

Let’s paint!

Students will learn the true power of these new tools this week when we take off the training wheels and dive into the deep end of our pool of mixed paint and metaphors. The goal is simple: start with a sketch, end with a painting. The lesson will explain each step of the process along the way.

Week Four

In this final week of class, we’ll go over some final fun tips and tricks to round out this review of the new Painting features. Then students will be expected to take what they’ve learned and apply it to a personal painting project to share with the class.

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Description

This course is a beginner level course designed to acquaint the student with the most common used features of Corel^® Painter^™ 11. The participants will experience first-hand Corel Painter’s ingenious drawing tools, realistic brushes and customizable features. At least one work will be created each week designed to take you through the basics of Painter 11.

The complete course will be presented in three parts and you must complete this course before moving on to Corel Painter: Beyond the Basics, unless prior appoval is given from the instructor.

Skill Level

This class is intended for the beginner Painter user and is intended to foster a solid skill set, or for those who want to familiarize themselves with the new features in Corel Painter 11.

Students should have basic knowledge and understanding of their operating system. The class is appropriate for Painter X users as well, however you will suffer some frustration as many of the brushes that are used in exercises are using Painter 11 brush variants. Consider downloading the 30 day free trial of Corel Painter 11. Do not download the software until classes begin.

Software Requirements

• Microsoft^® Windows^® XP, Microsoft^® Windows^® Vista or Apple^® Mac OS^® X operating system
• Corel Painter 11

Hardware Requirements

• A computer capable of running Corel Painter.
• Wacom Intuos, Cintiq or comparable tablet is highly recommended. With a mouse you may suffer frustration and not be able to take full advantage of the new features that Painter 11 offers.

Course Gallery

[View with PicLens]

 

Before Class

Before you use Corel Painter with your Wacom Intuos tablet on the Mac OS, you need to ensure that the Wacom Intuos driver you’ve installed is optimized for use with Corel Painter. To do this, access the Mac OS System Preferences, and choose the Wacom Tablet command. Choose Functions from the Tool area, and then click the Touch Strip button that appears. In the Touch Strip area, make sure that the left and right Touch Strip functions are both set to Scroll.

The mouse mode option in the Wacom controls panel, which causes a stylus to behave like a mouse, is not compatible with Corel Painter. Always use pen mode when painting with an Intuos tablet and pen.

If you are a Painter X user be sure to let your instructor know before class begins.

Week One

Getting to know Painter

• The Welcome Screen
• Brush Tracking
• Opening and closing files
• Saving your documents
• Getting to know the Workspace
• The Menu Bar
• The Brush Selector
• Color Palettes
• Learning Painter by creating an abstract
• Creating a Brush Sampler for reference

Week Two

Using a photographic reference with cloning

• Introduction to Layers
• Using Photographic reference
• Learning about Clone Color
• Introduction to “scratch drawing”

Week Three

Auto Painting, a powerful feature of Corel Painter

• Discover the Underpainting palettes
• Discover the Auto-painting palettes
• Learning to enhance your reference photos
• Discover the layers Composite Methods

Week Four

Putting it all together and then some

• Color Set Palette
• Mixer Pad
• Creating your first painting based on the skills you have learned

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