If you’re going to practice a skill, you want to make the most of your time. A variety of software tools can be helpful in helping you learn a new skill or expand your repertoire. A painting program can help you with texture and color theory, and help you create realistic paintings from your diagrams.

Both Corel Painter and Krita offer a wide variety of features and tools. However, Krita is more focused on comic book creation and digital painting, while Corel Painter is more geared towards traditional art styles and printmaking.

In this article, we’ll examine the core differences between Corel Painter and Krita. After reading, you’ll have a better understanding of which one is the right fit for your needs.

Corel Painter: What you need to know

Corel Painter is a vector drawing program that’s included in the Corel Creative Suite.  It’s been around since 2002 and has been continually updated since then with new features, including support for GPU acceleration, a new AI importer, and new brushes.  It’s compatible with Microsoft Windows, macOS, and Linux.

The program has a simple, straightforward interface. You start by selecting a canvas size, which determines how many pixels per inch your drawing will be. You can also change the canvas size by holding the Alt key and using the mouse wheel.

The Advantages of Corel Painter

Corel Painter has a simple and intuitive interface. It is specifically designed for digital painting. Corel Painter has a wide number of advanced features such as the ability to create paintings with complex shapes, panoramic images, and more. Corel Painter is an affordable program with numerous free updates and new versions.

Corel Painter Key Features

As with any design platform, the tools available can make or break whether or not it is the application for you.

Corel Painter has a variety of features including:

1. Painting tools
2. Panoramic Images

These features are certainly not available with every software, so Corel including them makes this program very enticing for some artists.

1. Painting tools

Corel Painter has a wide variety of tools that enable you to create your own unique paintings. The tools include: Pencil, Brush, Airbrush, Spray, Eraser, and Line. Paintbrush is useful for creating artwork with a brush stroke effect.

You can also use the Airbrush tool to create realistic-looking clouds and other fine details. Create images with complex shapes such as spheres, columns, and cones by using the Shape tool.

2. Panoramic Images

Panoramic images can be created by using various tools to build up the structure of your image from different angles or perspectives. The Panorama tool enables you to pan around an image and take in all sides at once.

Rotate images 360 degrees by using the Rotate tool for greater flexibility when creating slide shows, multimedia projects, or presentations that include multiple images or videos. You can also add backgrounds to your paintings using various tools.

The Disadvantages of Corel Painter

The biggest disadvantage of Corel Painter is its price tag. The program is not free with an annual subscription fee which may be too expensive for some artists. In addition, Corel Paint can be difficult to use if you are not familiar with the program or have little experience using it.

Krita: What you need to know

Krita is a complete painting program that’s accessible to novices and professionals alike. It’s an open-source program that supports Linux, macOS, and Windows. Krita focuses on digital painting for artists of all skill levels. It’s available for free and open source, with a fully functional version available for download.

Krita’s interface is similar to the interface of Adobe Photoshop. A big difference between Krita and Photoshop is the interface of Krita is much more artist friendly. Krita comes with an abundance of features, including support for vector images, layers, importing and exporting images as well as vector or bitmap files, and more.

The Advantages of Krita

Krita is a free and open source alternative to Photoshop. It is a drawing application available for Linux, Windows, and Mac OS X. Krita was originally released in 2008, but the version supported by this guide is Krita 4.0 which was released in 2017.

Krita Key Features

When it comes to Krita, there are many features that people will laud as the best part of the program. Krita’s main features are:

1. Easy to Use Interface
2. Open Source
3. Importing Capabilities
4. Painting Tools

For many artists, features like these make Krita very hard to pass up!

1. The Free and Easy to Use Interface of Krita

The interface of Krita is very easy to use. In fact, it has been described as being “as easy as a pencil”. It is intuitive, and it is designed for people who do not have a lot of experience with computer programs. You can easily start creating artworks in Krita. You can also use pre-made artwork or import your own images into the program.

2. Krita’s Open Source Nature

Krita is completely free and open source software available for Linux, Windows, and Mac OS X. This means that anyone has access to the source code which means you can freely contribute your own improvements or fix bugs that you may find in the program as well as make new additions to the project without having to pay any licensing fees or royalties. The availability of all this information makes it easier for users to contribute back to the program.

3. Krita’s Importing Capabilities

Krita has a wide variety of image file formats that you can import into the program. You can use the Krita native format which is optimized for speed and performance, or you can use other formats like the widely used .PSD format for Photoshop. Krita has a built-in support for manipulating photos and images using layers, color correction, perspective correction, texturing, and even painting effects.

You can also draw with Krita using brushes and shapes. There are also many pre-made brushes with different styles to choose from. You can export your artwork in many different formats including SVG vector graphics which is great if you want to create icons or logos.

4. The Powerful Toolset of Krita

Krita’s toolset includes a large number of tools that enable you to produce professional quality artwork in a very short time period. The tools allow you to edit bitmap images, edit vector images, apply filters and effects, create textures, perform image compositing, and even draw with brushes.

The Krita painting tools are very powerful and allow you to create a wide variety of artistic effects. You can use the painting tools to paint directly on the images or you can choose from a wide selection of brushes that you can import into Krita. The brush tool is very easy to learn and use if you’re just starting out with Krita. It allows you to paint directly on your images or select a brush from the brush panel.

You can also use layers in Krita to adjust the opacity of each layer individually so that you can create different effects for each layer. The layer panel gives you the option of applying special filters such as blur or sharpen on top of your layers which is a great feature for creating realistic looking paintings.

The Disadvantages of Krita

Although the price tag of Krita is much lower than Photoshop it does have its disadvantages as well. One of the most significant disadvantages of Krita is the lack of support for some advanced features such as layers and filters. In addition, there are a number of bugs that may be experienced with Krita’s latest release version 4.0 due to its new features and improvements that were not thoroughly tested before they were released.

Which One Should You Choose?

Both programs are solid options, and each has advantages over the other. If you’re completely new to painting or interested in trying out the process of painting digitally, Corel Painter is a good place to start. It has a simple, straightforward interface that makes it easy to get started.

If you prefer a more artistic interface and want to spend as little time drawing as possible, Krita has a great interface. It makes it easy to create realistic paintings from your diagrams. If you have a solid grasp of Photoshop, Krita is going to be a more familiar and comfortable interface for you.

Conclusion

When you’re just getting started, it makes sense to start with a program that’s relatively simple. Corel Painter is a great place to start with painting. The program has a simple, straightforward interface that makes it easy to get started.

Krita is a more artistic and painterly program that makes it easy to create realistic paintings from your diagrams. If you have some experience with Photoshop, you may prefer the interface of Krita. Either one of these programs can help you learn about texture, color theory, and how to create realistic paintings from vector diagrams. Both are good choices for beginners.

Instagram is the largest photo-sharing app with over a billion users, providing you with an opportunity to showcase your photography skills. Although not all of us are gifted the photography skills, many have considered using other people’s images to grow their Instagram accounts, with popular sites like Unsplash gaining attention. The question remains: is it possible to use Unsplash images on Instagram?

Unsplash images are copyright-free and both personal and commercially usable, making them possible to use on your Instagram account. However, it’s always best to edit and alter them to make them unique.

That’s not all, as you still need to know whether you can use Unsplash images commercially, whether Instagram allows copyrighted images on their platform, and how to avoid copyright claims on Instagram, which you will learn if you read on.

Is it Legal to Use Unsplash Images on Instagram?

Instagram has billions of users sharing their favorite photography skills. Besides that, it’s also a very popular social media site that attracts big companies to market their products and paying influencers to do the marketing gigs. With billions of images posted on Instagram, it’s a bit hard to trace all the images and ensure they are original and authentic.

Unsplash is a royalty-free image-sharing platform where you’re allowed to use the images as you see fit. With this in mind, many have considered using the images from Unsplash to grow and keep their Instagram accounts active. However, there’s a concern about the legitimacy of these images, and the last thing you want is for Instagram to block or ban an account you’ve spent years growing.

However, Unsplash has ‘all inclusive’ rights, where you’re allowed to use the photos you download from their platform as you see fit without attributing the owner or Unsplash. This freedom means you can download and use these photos on your Instagram account without worrying about copyright claims. However, it’s always best to do the following to spare your account from Instagram’s policies:

• Edit the images – try changing a few things to make the photos unique. You could add more text, change the background color, or blend in other photos.
• Attribute the owner – it’s always best to appreciate other people’s work by giving them credit.
• Check with the owner – make sure you contact the photo’s owner and let them know how you wish to use their work.

Nonetheless, you can still use Unsplash photos on Instagram without facing any legal procedures.

Can you Use Unsplash Images Commercially?

Commercial use here applies to blog posts, YouTube videos, product descriptions, or any business that generates income, like printed T-shirts. However, you should only use images from reputable photographers to avoid any legal issues of copyright infringement.

Unsplash has made it clear that all the photos on their database are uploaded by owners and give any user a right to use them as they see fit, which includes commercial use. However, it would help if you attributed the credit to the image owners.

Are Unsplash Images Safe for Business?

Many photographs on Unsplash are safe to use on any business since they’re posted by original photographers. Even so, you shouldn’t pick and use any photo you find on Unsplash without taking any precautions.

For instance, there have been cases where people have gotten into copyright problems after using Unsplash images. That’s because they used images that were stolen and uploaded by other people. Although Unsplash is doing everything to combat this problem, it’s crucial if you research the Unsplash user by reading feedback from other people who have used their photographs.

Can you Use Copyrighted Images on Instagram?

Instagram is against using other people’s work without their consent. Although the platform doesn’t have a way of filtering copyrighted media from its database, it can still block or ban your account if someone holding the copyright to the images lounges a complaint.

If you must use other people’s work, it’s always best to attribute credit to them or contact them seeking permission to use their work.

Besides getting warnings, getting the content pulled down, or deactivating the account, you can still suffer other consequences after passing someone else’s work as yours, and they include:

• Damaged reputation – the public doesn’t react very well to fraudsters or scammers, and that’s how they will see you if you use other people’s work without their consent.
• Bad business – this usually affects huge Instagram accounts that attract business brands and companies to advertise on their accounts. You’d find it hard to convince them as no business likes to be associated with a bad reputation.
• Losing authenticity – an Instagram account’s identity is associated with the content you post, and it would lose its authenticity once people realize you post other people’s work.
• Losing followers – although you might regain a huge portion of them, losing followers is not something any Instagram account owner would wish.

Although many don’t know, but using copyrighted images on Instagram can have far fetching effects on your account.

How to Avoid Copyright Claim on Instagram

Now that we’ve seen what a copyright claim can do to your account, it’s time to know how to protect yourself and avoid this problem. First, you must avoid using other people’s work without giving them a mention.

Secondly, you should opt to use photographs you took to avoid any copyright issues. If you’re not good with the camera, you can always ask a friend or partner to help out. You’d be surprised how small gestures can have bigger effects.

Outro

Instagram is a great place to grow your influence and connect with like-minded people. The account grows fast when you post regularly, and it’s okay to use Unsplash images, although you should edit them or credit the owner.

Instagram is against any copyright infringement actions, and your content might be pulled down or banned if you continuously post copyrighted content. Getting sued for copyrighted content can also affect your reputation, business, and losing followers. Try uploading content you created to avoid any copyright claims.

Something you may want to check out is Placeit.net for their Instagram images and templates. They have thousands of post templates, story templates, and more, and tons of copyright-free images you can use without worrying.

The ability to create and transmit high-quality images is key to the success of any content marketing campaign. Now more than ever, audiences are looking for high-quality visual content to keep them engaged and interested in your brand. The problem is, creating images that are both visually appealing and highly compressible. 

Vector images tend to have a smaller file size than their raster counterparts. Compression is the process of reducing the size of a digital object so that it takes up less storage space. Reducing file size without losing detail is essential all images, especially those that will eventually be scaled up.

As someone who works with vector graphics often, you know there are ways to compress vector images. That being said, not all compression methods are created equal. In this article, you’ll learn about the six most common compression methods for vector images, and how they can help you reduce the file size of your vector assets.

What Is Compression?

Compression is the process of reducing the size of a digital object so that it takes up less storage space. When you reduce the size of a picture or an image, you’re reducing how much computer memory or hard drive space it takes up.

That can be useful depending on how many people access the file or how much storage space it’s taking up. But there are other advantages to compressing a file, too. Depending on the type of file you’re working with, there are a variety of different ways to reduce the file size.

For example, you can reduce file size by reducing the quality of the image, or you can reduce file size by removing the size of parts of the image. The most common form of compression is reducing the size of individual pixels.

Though this method can reduce the file size of an image quite a bit, it’s not good for printing. It’s easy to create images that look blocky and pixelated — especially if the image contains a lot of white space.

How to Compress Vector Images

There are a number of ways you can compress vector images. The first is to reduce the size of each individual object. For example, if you’re creating an infographic that includes a certain type of building, like a skyscraper, you could reduce the size of the building by creating a vector version of it that includes only the parts of the building you want in the final image.

There are also some tools that can automatically optimize your file. You can use these tools to find which parts of your image should be removed so your file can be as small as possible.

JPEG

Joint Photographic Experts Press (or JPEG) is the most common compression method for images. It was developed by the Joint Photographic Experts Group in the mid-1990s.

JPEG is a lossy format, meaning that it’s capable of reducing the image quality of images without losing their basic structure or the way they look. The amount of image loss depends on the image, as it’s typically decided by how much a file is compressed.

 There are two different kinds of JPEGs:

• Trim level 0
• Trim level 1

“Trim level 0” JPEGs don’t store the exact dimensions of each object in the image. “Trim level 1” JPEGs, on the other hand, store the exact dimensions of each object in the image. While “trim level 0” JPEGs are much smaller, they can look blocky and pixelated when printed.

GIF

A GIF image is a type of image that is made up of a series of images that have been compressed into a single file. GIFs are usually 8 bits per color channel and have a maximum resolution of 256 colors per channel.

GIFs use a “raster-based” compression method. This means it stores images as a series of pixels with no loss of detail. GIFs are usually viewed as a single image when they’re downloaded and viewed. Because they’re so small, GIFs use very little storage space.

PNG

PNG is a “pure” format that can store images with no loss of detail. It was also developed by the Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG’s creator). PNG is a “lossless” format, which means that it doesn’t reduce the image quality of images.

The resolution of a PNG image is either 1-4 megapixels or 8-16 megapixels. Though it’s a “lossless” format, the images are still small. The PNG format is very popular in web design, as it’s a good option for storing images that will be viewed in many different ways.

BMP

A “Windows Bitmap” is a type of image that is used exclusively in Microsoft Windows applications. BMP files are usually only 8 bits per color channel and have a maximum resolution of 256 colors per channel.

Because they’re only used in Windows applications, BMPs are often very small. The resolution of a BMP image is usually only 256 pixels tall and wide.

EPUB/Mobi/Kindle Format

EPUB (Electronic Publication) is a standard for digital books that can be read on computers, tablets, or smartphones. EPUB files are usually only 8 bits per color channel and have a maximum resolution of 256 colors per channel.

Though they’re only used in digital books, EPUB files are often very small. The resolution of an EPUB image is usually only 256 pixels tall and wide. As a result, these typically do not need to be compressed.

Conclusion

As you can see, there are a number of ways to compress vector images. And, with the amount of data being sent over the internet increasing, it’s more important than ever to reduce the file size of your images. Knowing the types of files you can compress to will allow you to better find quality compression when using applications like Placeit.net.

With the right tools and techniques, you can compress your vector images to reduce the amount of disk space they take up and save them for future use. The good news is that as long now you know what to look for in a good vector image compression tool, and which methods work best for your content, you should be able to create and compress your vector assets efficiently and effectively.

Wacom tablets are a popular accessory for Mac users who want to add a bit of extra functionality to their computers. Users who draw or use graphics software on a regular basis can find the stylus-like Wacom tablets helpful, as they make it easier to draw onscreen.

Wacom tablets are compatible with Mac operating systems, but they are designed to work best with Windows. If you want to use a Wacom tablet with a Mac, you might need to download drivers for the tablet if they are not natively compatible with Mac operating systems.

These Wacom devices are compatible with a variety of operating systems, including Mac. However, you’ll need to take a few extra steps to make sure your tablet works with your Mac. This article covers how to get your Wacom tablet to work with you Mac, whether you have an M1 Mac or an M2 Mac.

What is a Wacom Tablet?

A Wacom tablet is a drawing surface and pen that connect wirelessly to your computer. It’s a way to add a bit of extra functionality to your computer — in particular, the stylus makes it easier to draw onscreen. The most common types of Wacom tablets are the Cintiq line, which are connected to a monitor, and the Intuos line, which are wireless.

How to Setup a Wacom Tablet for Mac

Before you can use your Wacom tablet with your Mac, you’ll need to first install the drivers and software. Before installing software or drivers, you’ll first need to make sure your computer supports Wacom tablets.

You can open the “System Preferences” on your Mac and click on “Appearance” to see if there’s a checkbox for “Pen and Print.” If there is, your Mac supports Wacom tablets. Once you know your Mac supports Wacom tablets, you can use the provided installation guide to get everything set up.

A straightforward installation will typically take around 15 minutes — not including the time it takes you to launch the guide and follow its instructions.

Where to find Wacom drivers?

If you’re using a Mac, you may need to install Wacom drivers in order to use your tablet. You can find these drivers on the Wacom Drivers and Downloads page. When you’re setting up your tablet for the first time, you may need to pair it with your computer.

To do this, hold down the button on the tablet until the LED starts blinking. Then, open the Wacom Preferences program on your computer, and click the “Add Device” button. Select the tablet from the list of devices that pops up, and click “Next”.

Once the computer has recognised the tablet, click “Next” again. Now you’ll see a code on the tablet’s display. Type this code into the box in Wacom Preferences, and click “Next”. Now you’ll need to configure your tablet for use with the program you want to use it with.

For example, if you’re using Photoshop, click “Photoshop”. Select the type of program you’re using, and click “Next”. Once you’ve clicked “Next”, the tablet will be paired with your computer.

How to Set Up a Wacom Tablet for M1 Macs

If you have an M1 Mac, you’ll need to make a few changes to make sure your Wacom tablet works with that computer. The most important thing to know is that you’ll need to install drivers on your Mac. 

You can either do this yourself or you can have it done at the Apple Store — just tell them you’re getting your tablet drivers from Apple. If you haven’t turned on FileVault on your Mac yet, you’ll need to do so before you can install the drivers. You can do this in the same “System Preferences” window you’d open to turn on FileVault — look under the “Security & Privacy” section. 

After you’ve turned on FileVault and installed the tablet drivers, you’re ready to go. Your Wacom tablet should work with your M1 Mac.

How to Set Up a Wacom Tablet for M2 Macs

If you own an M2 Mac, you don’t need to do much to get your Wacom tablet working. The only thing you’ll need to do is make sure you installed the correct driver, and you can use your tablet as soon as it arrives. When you get your M2 Mac, go to the Apple Store and get your tablet driver.

You’ll also want to make sure you’ve installed the required software on your computer. Make sure to launch any software that has a built-in tablet support, like your email software. You can also set up your tablet to work automatically when your computer starts up.

How to Use Wacom Tablet With M1 Macs

If you have an M1 Mac, your tablet should work with almost all of the software you use. If you want to double check, you can visit the “Input” section of your software’s help menu and look for “stylus.”

That’s usually where your stylus will be listed. You can also use almost all of the software that comes pre-installed on your Mac. For example, Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, and OmniGraffle all have built-in tablet support.

Set Up Wacom Tablet With an M2 Mac

When you get your M2 Mac, you’ll want to make sure your tablet is set up and ready to go. You can check that it’s connected to your computer and that it’s charged by going to the “System Preferences” window, clicking on:

• Windows
• Devices
• Wacom

You should see “Penabled” next to your tablet’s name. You’ll also want to make sure your tablet is charged. If it’s not, you may need to charge it before using it for the first time.

Conclusion

While many graphic design applications, like Placeit, are universal for any type of OS, you may worry that your exterior tools may not be. The good news is that a Wacom tablet is compatible with almost all Macs. The bad news is that you’ll need to make sure your Mac supports Wacom tablets, install the correct driver, and charge your tablet before you can use it — so it’s not for everyone. If you’re interested in getting one, you can check out reviews of the best Wacom tablets in this article.

Adobe XD is an excellent collaborative tool for any design team looking to bring their vision to life through realistic prototypes. It offers the ability to have a focused shared experience with your team members at any phase of the project— and when you have deadlines, you want to be sure your software and applications are reliable in getting you across the finish line.

If you’re experiencing lag or freezing when using Adobe XD, it could be due to the following reasons:

1. System Update Needed
2. Application Version Update Needed
3. Graphics Driver Update Needed
4. Corrupt Files
5. Application Memory Usage

Let’s look at each of these possibilities and how they affect your hardware’s ability to function while using the application. Luckily, there are troubleshooting steps and solutions for these problems.

5 Reasons Adobe XD is So Slow

Having an application you rely on for work or personal projects consistently have issues with performance is frustrating. It can also affect individual and corporate-wide deadlines if other team members are experiencing the same hiccups. Fortunately, problem-solving allows you to narrow down the cause and find a solution— here is a jump start to that process. If you’d rather forgo the problem-solving route, you can always use another application or even a website like Placeit.net for your design needs.

1. System Update Needed

When we don’t have the latest version of your system’s software installed on time, it can cause problems with applications we are using that create their own updates based on the most recent version of your system. If you’re having issues with an application, like Adobe XD, glitching or lagging, the first and easiest step to resolving the problem is checking if your system is up-to-date.

Most tech users have their devices set to automatic updates, but on occasion, a device will miss an update if there isn’t enough power supply to install. So, whether you are a Windows or Mac user, it would benefit you to check your system for updates and install them if there are any available. Once you’ve done so, you can revisit your application and assess its performance with the update. If you’re still experiencing lags or freezing, take the next troubleshooting step.

2. Application Version Update Needed

Just like your system needs to be kept up-to-date, so do your applications. Technicians and developers consistently take in customer feedback and learn from user experience to improve the application and resolve the issues being vocalized to enhance the user experience.

Check the version of the application you are using to ensure it is the latest version available. If not, update your application. Chances are, the solution to your lagging problem will be found in that newest update. Be sure to save your work and exit the application before updating. Once you’ve downloaded the latest version, you can open the updated application and assess its performance after some use. If you’re still experiencing the same problems, take the next troubleshooting step.

3. Graphics Drivers Update Needed

If you’re not already aware, a graphics driver dictates how graphic components work with your computer software, monitor, applications, etc. So, if you’re working on a design project and noticed that the components are slow to load or update when you’ve made a change, it could be due to the graphics driver.

You can do two things if your graphics driver is responsible for your issues with Adobe XD, you can update, or you can uninstall and reinstall. Your system may have a troubleshooter you can use on your graphics driver to determine if it is corrupt. Updating should always be the first step before uninstalling. Be sure to save your work and close the application before updating. Assess any changes in performance before trying the next option.

4. Corrupt Files

Technical support will ask a few questions if you seek help from Adobe support about Adobe XD. This article has already laid out most of those questions/troubleshooting steps. The last one will prompt you to determine if your lagging problem is due to one file or if the issue is consistent across any file you open in the application.

If lagging or freezing is only present when working on one particular file or perhaps a few, then corrupt files may be your dilemma. The recommendation for resolving this problem is to uninstall the application using Adobe’s Cleaner Tool. This tool is specifically designed to clean up corrupt files and installations. Once it removes or fixes the problem files and takes care of permission issues in the registry key, you can reinstall the application.

Before using the tool, be sure to take a backup of your log files, wait for all files to sync, and save a copy of all content in Adobe product files, as well as old installer files. After reinstallation, assess the application’s performance to determine if this fixed the problem.

5. Application Memory Usage

Some Adobe XD users have noticed at various times that the application will use a large amount of memory, causing the application to slow down, regardless of whether or not other applications are opened simultaneously. Some users have reported Adobe XD using 95% of their memory and 75% of their CPU. If none of the fixes mentioned above have worked, check how much memory the application is taking up.

There are a few ways to approach fixing the memory issue. Using the cleaner tool and reinstalling it did the trick for some users. If that doesn’t work for you, changing the proxy settings under network/internet settings could be the solution. Once you’re in the settings, be sure the option to not use the proxy server for local (intranet) addresses is turned on or enabled.

Conclusion

One other honorable mention fix is checking any malware protection and adding exceptions for Adobe XD if needed. If none of the fixes mentioned above worked for you, contact Adobe support for further assistance. They will ask for specific information to hone in on what is causing your particular issue and help to find a solution.

When researching industry standard applications for illustration and design, you expect to see an industry standard price tag. When looking up more niche applications, like Corel Painter, you may not expect their price to be comparable, especially since it isn’t as widely used as an application like Photoshop. However, you might be disappointed to find the subscription for Corel Painter only slightly less expensive.

Corel Painter is expensive because the application offers a stunningly accurate intuitive traditional painting simulation in a digital medium. When comparing it to other subscriptions for comparable applications, it’s right on par with other prices. 

With a $429 one-time purchase or a $199 yearly subscription for the latest version, you might be wondering if you would be getting your money’s worth with this application. Keep reading to get into the details of Corel Painter and how it compares to its top competitors.

What Features Make Corel Painter Expensive?

At first glance, Corel Painter seems like the cheaper software compared to other comparable competitors. Potential users seeing the comparative subscription prices might have some scratching their heads when they read reviews, and one of the chief complaints is the cost of the application. Keep in mind that most companies will come out with a new version of their product every year or every couple of years.

What makes Corel Painter expensive is the upgrades. If you have a previous version of Corel Painter, you can upgrade to the latest version for $229, only $200 less than the full price. By comparison, Photoshop has been a subscription model since 2013 and offers updates to each latest version for free.

Now, Photoshop wasn’t always this way— there was a point where it functioned similarly to Corel Painter, and it cost hundreds of dollars to obtain the latest version. However, that was at a time when the subscription model of payment wasn’t utilized the way it is now. Even websites that offer similar services, like Placeit.net, offer subscriptions.

Is Corel Painter Worth the Expensive Price Tag?

Most industry professionals or serious hobbyists don’t mind handing over a couple of hundred dollars for an application that will turn out a worthy finished product— which is why so many graphic designers and photo editors are willing to pay Photoshop’s subscription cost of $239 annually. Is $40 in upfront savings worth taking up Corel Painter as your primary tool for illustration or design?

Corel Painter is worth the expense if you are a painter by trade or an illustrator (professional or hobbyist). The application offers an easy user experience that brings you as close to your real mediums as digitally possible.

Here are the factors that make the application worth the expense:

1. Compatibility and Performance
2. Tools and Features
3. Customization and Workflow
4. User Learning Curve

Let’s dive into these elements to understand why Corel Painter is worth the one-time or annual cost.

1. Compatibility and Performance

While some may view Corel Painter as being a more niche application, the creators have ensured that anyone can download the program no matter what PC you’re using. The application is compatible with both Windows and Mac, and more importantly, it runs smoothly on both systems.

Additionally, Corel Painter works well alongside external or sister programs within their suite, and this offers its users flexibility when moving from one application to another on the same project. Any work can be saved in various file formats, like JPG and PNG, to suit your needs.

2. Tools and Features

Corel Painter comes with pre-installed brushes and offers brush packages created by other users for download. The variety and accuracy are hard to beat, ranging from watercolor brushes to chalk to oil and so on. With so much versatility in the brushes, you can create a digital rendering with the same texture and feel as a traditional painting.

The two features unique to Corel Painter, when compared to industry standards, are Auto Painting Palette/Smart Auto Painting and Perspective Grid. The Smart Auto Painting feature lets you take virtually any image and turn it into a painting with just a few natural brush strokes, and it’s a lot simpler than using a bevy of tools to accomplish the same task.

The perspective grid feature comes pre-installed in Corel Painter. With this feature, you can adjust the gridlines and horizontal lines according to your needs and desires. This user-friendly tool offers guidelines for simple drawings or 3D images.

3. Customization and Workflow

Corel Painter is extremely customizable, and you can tailor design features to suit your overall needs or the needs of a single project. Customization in Corel Paint includes a custom palette for brushes and commands, a custom layout, and menus. These custom palettes allow you to single out certain features you want at your disposal and make them easier and faster to access.

The option to customize and create shortcuts saves the user from interrupting workflow and boosts productivity. Users also want customization to be a user-friendly and fast process to get right into work. Creating the custom palette is a simple three-step process that any level of experience users can easily accomplish. The process is Choose Window>Custom Palette>Add Command.

4. User Learning Curve

One reason why industry standards in design have remained in their position isn’t just because of the features and performance of these applications but because of how long it took the user to learn the application.

Certain applications could take hours of tutorials and tinkering to become acquainted enough to go beyond the basics and use the application for various professional projects.

Corel Painter is extremely user-friendly and nowhere near as daunting or time-consuming as some comparable competitors. The application allows users to jump right in and start creating art without taking a college-level course on learning the application first.

Conclusion

There may come a time when Corel Painter offers a more affordable way to upgrade its application. For the time being, only the individual user can decide if it’s worth getting an application you may not be able to afford to keep updated or continue to pay hundreds of dollars every time a new update arrives.

For a species that is so heavily communal and capable of detecting subtle differences in faces in order to communicate, faces are a pretty hard thing to grasp artistically. They rank up there pretty solidly with hands and feet as far as difficult anatomy goes. It feels a little odd, since everyone has been seeing faces since they were born, so why is it so hard?

Thankfully, people have been drawing faces for ages. That means that people also have a pretty good understanding as to why it’s so hard. Keep reading for some of those common reasons.

1. The Proportions are Wrong

Proportions are hard in anything, and faces are up there as some of the most complicated things to draw. There’s a lot of muscles and subtle variations that can take it from looking nice to looking awkward with just a line. There’s also a well-recorded phenomenon that people tend to draw eyes specifically in the wrong place. People tend to draw eyes slightly too far up even with the use of visual aid.

Additionally, ears and mouths tend to get drawn in the wrong places as well pretty consistently. They all get close, but that imperfect placement really does a number to the overall piece.

2. Shading isn’t Quite There

A face has a lot of very subtle curves. Just drawing them without trying to shade at all tends to leave the face looking awkward unless it’s very stylized. Even then, shading or color choices matter to sell the illusion. There’s also the likelihood that the shading isn’t being done from a consistent light source or doesn’t have the right balance of light and dark space. For a realistic portrait, shading is everything. Therefore, if it’s off, the whole thing is going to look off too.

3. Avoiding the use of References

Drawing from memory might be a good flex in some situations, but a reference is the golden ticket to making sure things are correct. They help with proportions, shading, or anything else if good ones have been picked out. Not using references is a common mistake for newer artists who haven’t learned their use or think that real artists don’t need them.

4. Not Enough Practice

It has been said countless times and will continue to be said countless times. Practice makes perfect. A possibility for why drawing faces is so difficult could easily be a lack of practice. Art of any kind takes far more practice than expected. For every good face drawn, there’s countless failures in its wake. It might seem like progress isn’t happening fast enough, but it has to happen.

5. Skipping Breaking it Down to Basic Shapes

Everything can be broken down into basic shapes and forms. A common mistake is to not break things down quite enough to be able to build from it. For some people that means literally drawing geometric shapes and fitting them into the correct spaces before building onward. For some it means sketching out a skeleton or some other figure to build off of. Whatever the breakdown looks like, skipping that phase or not breaking it down enough could make everything look wonky as it goes on.

6. Forgetting that Hair is Attached

Often times when drawing, hair tends to get perceived more like a hat than anything. It gets drawn on like it can be taken off, setting on the head instead of growing from it. With this also comes the fact of where it’s attached. Beard hair isn’t going to be growing in the eyes for example, nor is head hair going to be sprouting from the void as it drapes over a shoulder.

7. Letting Eyes Face Different Directions When They Aren’t Supposed To

Eyes will always be facing the same direction, with few exceptions such as making a silly face or with certain conditions. It only takes a slight error to take eyes from pointing the same way to having a bit of a lazy or crossed eye, which will in turn throw off the whole thing.

8. Trying to be too Symmetrical

A human face has the illusion of symmetry but is rarely that. A perfectly symmetrical face is going to look uncanny and uncomfortable. On the flip side, having a face to asymmetrical will also look awkward. There’s a lot of subtlety that goes into the different halves of the face which is why a perfect mirror doesn’t work.

9. Not Striking the Right Balance with Hair

It can be really tempting to try and draw every single hair when drawing a face. That will inevitably turn into a flat mess. Part of drawing faces is mastering the illusion that everything is there when it’s really more of a game of light and dark space. This goes for any hair on the face, from eyelashes to facial hair to what’s on top.

Additionally, there’s a problem of trying to make hair too rigid.

10. Ears are Causing Trouble Again

Ears are deceptively difficult to draw. They look like there isn’t much too them, but they have a lot of uniqueness, varying planes, and smooth curves which can get lost quickly.

They also tend to be drawn too high on the face. The tops of the ears proportionately line up to the corners of the eyes, while the bottom lobe lines up with the corner of the mouth. On top of all that, they also tend to be drawn facing too far out from the sides of the head, when they really lay pretty close to the skull.

Conclusion

Drawing a face is hard. There’s a lot of subtleties, tones, and basic shapes hiding in plain sight. There’s also a heavy dose of perfect imperfection, where the face has an illusion of being perfectly symmetrical. Unfortunately, this means that it will look awkward if that near perfectness isn’t achieved. Too perfect and it looks uncanny and uncomfortable, whereas too imperfect looks like a bleeding Picasso. In the end, it comes down to needing a ton of practice and good references in order to nail drawing faces.

InDesign uses highlighter cues to draw the user’s attention to text that has a technical issue. Depending on the color of the highlight, the text could have one of several problems that the person editing the document needs to address. 

When InDesign highlights text in pink, this indicates that the text’s programming contains a font typeface that isn’t available on the computer’s current software. The pink highlight can be fixed by replacing the missing font with another font from the system. 

A pink highlight on your InDesign document can be frustrating, but it’s an easy fix if it happens to you. Keep reading to learn more about what a pink highlighted text in InDesign means and how to solve it. 

Pink Highlights in InDesign Mean Missing Fonts

In InDesign, text becomes highlighted with pink highlights to show the person editing the document that the font originally included in the text is not available on the computer it is being viewed on. There can be a few separate reasons for this error in InDesign text (Source: Adobe): 

• The font is not available. Pink highlights usually mean that the original font in the document could not be found. InDesign replaces this missing font with a different default font, but highlights the text so the user can either add in the missing font or choose their own substitute.
  
• The font is under a different name. If you have the same font on your computer but it’s under a slightly different name, the InDesign software may not be able to find it automatically. The InDesign user can solve this issue by going into their computer’s software and finding the font they want to use manually. (Source: Chron)

Fixing a pink highlight in InDesign is relatively easy, but you need to know where to find the solutions in the InDesign menu system. 

Will InDesign Alert With Text for Missing Font?

Along with highlighting text that includes missing font with pink highlights, InDesign will also pop up a text alert letting the user know that missing fonts are present. If there are missing fonts present, the following error will appear:

“[Filename] uses one or more fonts that are not currently available on your system. The text will use a substitute font until the original font becomes available.” 

Along with the error text, InDesign will also present a list of the missing fonts. This list can help the InDesign user figure out which font packages they need to download to make the error disappear. 

How to Fix Highlighted Pink Text in InDesign

The best way to remove pink highlights from your InDesign text is to replace the missing fonts with a font present in the system. To fix the highlighted pink text in an InDesign document, perform the following: 

1. Find the pink text on the InDesign document and select it with the mouse. 
2. Go to the Font sub-menu and replace the current default font with a font present in the InDesign program. This should cause the pink highlight to disappear. 

If you want to use the original missing font and it isn’t installed, you’ll need to find the font online download it, and activate it before using it in the InDesign text. If you are sure you have the font downloaded but it isn’t showing up, go to the program where the fonts are stored on your computer and ensure that the fonts have been activated for use. 

Remember that it might be necessary to restart your computer once new fonts have been installed or activated for the InDesign program to recognize them. (Source: Adobe Help)

Can Pink Highlighting in InDesign Be Disabled? 

It’s possible to disable the highlight function in InDesign if you don’t want to be alerted to missing fonts and other technical issues with your documents, However, it isn’t recommended to change this setting since it can make conversion errors in the text more difficult to spot and correct.

If you want to disable the missing font highlight in InDesign, perform the following to disable this setting (Source: Adobe): 

1. Click on the main Indesign menu. 
2. Select Preferences. 
3. Select Composition.Far.

A better solution for removing pink highlighting from your InDesign text is to download the missing fonts onto your computer, or choose an alternative font for your InDesign text. 

If you prefer to have the highlighting feature in InDesign to be disabled, here’s another method you can use to figure out which fonts are missing in the text: 

1. Select Type in the InDesign menu.
2. From the Type menu, select Find Font. This will give you a list of all fonts available in the text.
3. Identify missing fonts. Missing fonts will be shown in this font list with a triangular warning symbol. 

Once you identify which fonts in the text are missing, you can replace the missing texts or substitute an alternative font.  

InDesign Highlights Are Designed to Alert the User

It might be annoying when you have random highlights in your InDesign text if you aren’t aware of why they’re showing up. But now that you know pink highlights mean you have font styles missing, you can go into InDesign and solve the problem. 

Anyone who works in graphic design is familiar with Adobe InDesign. Although Photoshop is the most well-known, InDesign has proven itself to be a versatile program that can create professional-level e-publications and special effects in texts, logos, brochures, and more. However, there is a bit of a learning curve for those who use it. One thing that often happens in InDesign is that the text will disappear. Why does this happen?

The reason text will disappear in InDesign is that there is overset text. What that means is that there are too many words to fit within the amount of space of the text box, therefore, the excess gets cut off.

If this has happened to you, your initial reaction may have been panic or worry that you would have to start your whole project over again. However, you can rest easy. Fixing an overset text and getting all the text in your project is an easy fix. There are a couple of different ways you can fix it. Read on to find out what to look for and how to make sure your project is just the way you want it.

How Do I Get My Text to Reappear in InDesign?

When it comes to InDesign, it is pretty clear when text has disappeared. Either it disappears when you press the enter/return button, or you will get to the end of the document, go to print and you will get a warning that there is an overset text. For both of these situations, there are simple ways to fix it and add the text back in. Let’s explore each more in detail.

Text Disappears When I press Enter

If you have created a text box, then copied and pasted text from a different source into that text box, but some of the text got cut off because the text box is too small for the amount of text, you can fix it by taking the following steps:

1. Locate the little red plus sign. This is located on the bottom right of the text box.
2. Press the plus sign. This will change your cursor and enable you to draw another text box. As soon as the text box is created, the missing text will automatically flow into that new text box, and you can carry on for as long as you need.

If you are on the last text box and do not want to create a new text box, you can also enlarge the text box until all the text fits into it. Simply drag the bottom line of your text box with your cursor until all of the text is back inside of it.

Error Message When Trying to Print

Sometimes you may get to the end of a project, press print, and then an error message will pop up with a message saying, “There is overset text on these pages:” and then the page numbers will be given. If your document is short, you can go back through page by page. However, if your document is long, it is much more tedious to fix it this way. Instead, you can shorten the process by doing the following:

1. Scroll to the bottom of the page. In the center slightly toward the left, you should see a red dot labeled, “Errors”.
2. Click on the down arrow beside the dot. You will be taken to the preflight panel.
3. Once you get to the preflight panel, click on the option labeled “Text.” You will see options labeled “Text frame”. These are the areas where the overset has occurred. If you click on them, you can then fix them by expanding the text box or by making another one.

Conclusion

InDesign is a great tool for a variety of graphic design projects and different needs which clients may need to be met. Whether you need to create brochures, logos, e-publications, InDesign is a great program to help make it simple to create professional products which will satisfy both you and your client.

However, if you are working with large blocks of text, one problem you may run into is that text will disappear. The reason for this is that the text block is too big for the amount of text you may have. There are a couple of ways to fix this. Either you can click the red arrow at the bottom right of the text box to create another text box for the missing text to flow into or you can enlarge the text box.

Adobe Illustrator lets you create beautiful artwork through its various tools and brushes. However, it can get finicky at times. For instance, if you try to change your brush settings, they might not always stick. Illustrator may revert them to the previous configuration for no apparent reason.

Illustrator will change your brush for numerous reasons, though most of them are configuration issues. Some are easy mistakes common among new Illustrator users. Others derive from the cryptic nature of Illustrator’s menu system. Either way, you must know why the application rejects your changes to fix the problem.  

Fortunately, most brush configuration issues have simple fixes. By reading further, you will learn how to troubleshoot and fix these problems so you can get back to work.

The Many Reasons Illustrator Will Change Your Brush Settings

Adobe Illustrator lets you create professional-quality graphics that scale seamlessly without losing resolution.  Its main drawing feature is brush tools that let you draw and change various objects on the canvas. These brushes come with numerous configuration options that let you change the color, style, and appearance of your strokes.

However, these settings do not always work. Seemingly out of nowhere, Illustrator will just stop listening to your commands and reverts any brush changes you make. Fortunately, there are only a few possible reasons why Illustrator would change your settings without asking. Most of the time, it just requires understanding how Illustrator works and configuring the right settings.

These reasons should help you troubleshoot your situation. If something works, you should be good to go. If not, feel free to ask for help on one of the many Illustrator community forums.

You Are Using the Pencil Tool and not the Brush Tool

Using the wrong tool is a common mistake among new users. Illustrator has two types of brush tools: pencil and paintbrush. These brush types have different purposes and thus work differently.

For instance, you cannot change the settings for the pencil tool and expect to retain those setting between strokes. This is because the tool is designed to work with “flat” brushes like a real pencil. Real pencils only have one consistently shaped tip. You must use a “different” pencil if you want a different stroke style. If you need something permanent, you need to use the dedicated brush tool.

You Did Not Select a Brush Type

When selecting the brush tool, you must choose a brush library type. If you do not do this, Illustrator will default to the basic type. However, the basic brush is not a brush type. It is just an internal Illustrator default. As such, you can only use the most basic settings with it.

You can fix the issue just by choosing an actual brush. That will enable the stroke, width, and color settings.

You Never Selected a Stroke Color

If selecting a brush type does not fix the issue, then you must check if you selected a stroke color. This is because Illustrator demands all brushes have a stroke color. It does not matter if you have a fill color as Illustrator sees fill color as a separate setting.

However, you can often fail to set stroke color even if you thought you selected one due to how Illustrator lets you select a color. The brush options have two entries for color. There is a dropdown menu and a color box. The problem is that the dropdown menu does not select the color, at least not on its own.

This is because the dropdown menu is for finding a color after you click the color box to activate it. You then click the color box again to lock in the color. Otherwise, the menu will just cancel your changes and close the Brush window. You must do this for both the stroke and fill color options.

You Never Enabled “Scale Strokes and Effects”

If you are having problems selecting the stroke size for the brush tool, you might not have the “Scale Strokes and Effects” option enabled. The option functions as a switch that turns on the other stroke size and effect options.

Please note that toggling the stroke scaling switch is not an immediate effect. You might have to close and reopen the brush options before you can make changes.

Conclusion

Adobe Illustrator is a great professional-quality graphics application. However, it has many cryptic menus. One such menu is the paintbrush options. If you do not configure it properly, the menu will reset to its defaults. Fortunately, there are easy fixes. Though, you may want to use some stock assets from Placeit.net to avoid the headaches.