Painter 2021

AI and a wealth of creative tools will help you make digital art that’s as good as the real thing

- HOLLIN JONES

$429 From Corel, painterartist.com/en/product/painter

Needs macOS 10.14 or later

Corel’s graphics applications were among the first to become available to users with personal computers. Several decades on, Painter 2021 represents the latest evolution of what it’s possible to achieve in art without ever having to actually go near a real paintbrush.

A powerful package with a dizzying array of tools and options, Painter rewards skill, like any professional creative software, but is also accessible for less–experienced users to experiment and learn to create. At its heart is a configurable canvas onto which you draw content using a massive selection of over 900 brushes, each with its own settings and, if required, several types of layers. These layers — watercolor, liquid, or thick paint — have their own tools and properties and can be used together to create art that might be near impossible when using real materials.

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