Copyright: Copyright (C) 1995-2001 Umemura Taka Software Design, Inc.
Citation: Copyright (C) 1995-2001 Umemura Taka Software Design, Inc.


Index

Virtual Painter
version3.2

What is Virtual Painter ?

License

Instructions

Support

Troubleshooting

http://www.pandasw.com

http://www.LiveCraft.com
Virtual Painter is LiveCraft brand software produced by Umemura Taka Software Design, Inc.

Copyright (c) 1995-2001 Umemura Taka Software Design, Inc.
All rights reserved.


What is Virtual Painter ?

Virtual Painter (VP) is software that creates digital paintings based on photographs supplied by you. There is no need for you to "paint" the pictures - that's the job of the "virtual painters" (filters).

All you have to do is supply them with the materials and then set them to work.

You will be surprised how easy it is to get VP to create paintings. But the resulting pictures, based on your materials, are all originals. These unique paintings come about as a result of the interaction between your photographs and the VP filters.

VP is not a painting tool that you must master to create your own works of art. Rather, the filters it offers are like agents, virtual artists who have their own characteristic techniques and methods. You can preview their art and even request a few changes, but you can leave the hard work to them. Sit back and watch them paint. You're sure to be pleasantly surprised, time after time.

Happy virtual painting!

Special thanks to:

Ted & Maxine Smart

Patrick & Akiko Hochner

Isao Maruoka

Kouichi Okuno

Jun Sato

Youichi Imamura

Masayoshi Maki & Yoshiko Fujiwara

Say Soukei

John Morry

Hiromi Umemura

for their help and assistance in the development of this software.

Author

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Conditions of Use (License)

Caution

The pictures created with this software are your own works and may be used to freely by you. Publication, sale, etc. of these works is entirely at your discretion. However, this may not be the case if the photograph on which you base a painting is the copyrighted work of someone else or if it infringes a person's privacy/publicity (portrait) rights. If you use a photograph taken by somebody else and/or of somebody else, ensure that you are not infringing any copyright (usually the photographer's) or the portrait rights of the subject. While it is true that famous or public figures who seek recognition may have thereby surrendered some privacy, they may have the right to control the commercial use of their likeness.

Click on the following link for complete details on the End User License agreement:

http://www.jasc.com/eulaenglish.asp

Copyrights, trademarks

Copyright (c) 1995-2001 Umemura Taka Software Design, Inc. All rights reserved.

Virtual Painter is LiveCraft brand software.

LiveCraft is a registered trademark of Umemura Taka Software Design, Inc. in the USA and Japan.

Reverse engineering of this software is expressly forbidden.

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Support

Contact Method  Address or Number

E-mail	techsup@jasc.com

Website	http://www.jasc.com

Telephone

Technical Support	(952) 930-9171

Customer Service	(952) 930-9800

Fax	(952) 930-9172

Mail	Jasc Software, Inc.

PO Box 44997

Eden Prairie, MN  55344

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The Virtual Painters: 12 Filters

Rabica
Watercolor
In this conventional watercolor, an overall wash renders the sketch underneath visible, while a thicker application of paint is used for the details. Deformation creates freshness, enlivening human subjects and tracing scenery with a light touch. For the background material, paper textures are best.

Purts
Oil Painting
This is a conventional oil painting, with a glaze finish. Broad strokes are used for the background, while the detail is added with a finer brush. Deformation creates a solid impression. Canvas is a suitable choice.

Quapeo
Gouache
Gouache - the application of opaque watercolors or poster colors - is a technique characterized by an even spread of color across the surface. A good choice as the background material is either paper or stucco.

Plince
Color Pencil
The picture is formed from rapid strokes drawn with color pencils. Deformation creates the impression of movement, and smooth paper is a good choice as the background texture.

Saplet
Pastel
In this conventional picture executed in pastel crayons, both colors and delineation are soft. Paper is a good choice as the background material. Note that the pastel effect appears harsher on smooth paper, and softer on rough paper.

Eraqus
Rectangles
This mosaic technique combines rectangles of various sizes. Areas of emphasized focus are treated with a corresponding amount of detail. The effect resembles that of SF art, perhaps suggesting an artificial intelligence at work.

Targelin
Triangles
This mosaic technique combines triangles of various sizes. Areas of emphasized focus are treated with a corresponding amount of detail. The effect resembles that of SF art, perhaps suggesting an artificial intelligence at work.

Patomis
Impasto
This oil painting effect resembles traditional impasto, a technique in which paint is applied straight from the tube. Blocks of color suggest the use of a palette knife. The background texture is emphasized, so rough canvas makes an effective material.

Ponit
Pointillism
Soft stippling, the technique of pointillism, results in a delicate watercolor rendering, not unlike that of the Impressionists.

Liks
Silk Screen
The stencil technique of silkscreen is especially good for contoured portraits of people and sharply defined landscapes. Smooth paper is a good choice as the background material.

Estpa
Collage
Impulsive black lines are sketched over a base comprised of pieces of colored paper or other background material. A good choice is canvas or wood as the orientation of the weave or grain results in a distinctive collage effect with a solid feel.

Illena
Drawing
The use of bold strokes and vivid inks creates abstract works expressing a lyrical beauty. Often the original subject is not easily recognizable owing to this dynamic approach.

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How to use Virtual Painter

Using the VP dialog box

From the plug-in filter menu of your master application choose Virtual Painter.

The VP dialog box will then appear.

For further details regarding plug-in filter selection, see the instructions for your master application.

Original & Preview

Clicking the Preview button allows you to quickly see what sort of result you will achieve.

Clicking the Original button redisplays the original photograph.

Adjust

Clicking Adjust opens the Adjust dialog box.

This provides a visual representation of how the various settings will affect the end result.

OK

Click OK and Virtual Painter will begin generating your painting.

The larger the picture, the longer it will take to execute.

You can cancel at any time by pressing ESC on your keyboard.

There may be a short interval while processing is aborted.

Cancel

Clicking Cancel closes the dialog box without generating a painting.

Size

Select the desired output size from the pull-down list.

Your painting will be executed at the optimum resolution for the chosen output size.

For example, if you wish to print out at postcard size, select Postcard.

If the output is for viewing on screen, select Screen.

If Master is specified, the resolution will be the same as that chosen in the master application.

Usually, Screen is the appropriate choice.

Tuning

You can make the following adjustments to the way in which an individual VP filter is applied:

[Material]	...Degree of Background texture

[Rendering]	...Degree of rendering

[Colors]	...Degree of coloration

[Deformation]	...Degree of deformation

[Focus]	...Degree of differentiation between subject and background

You can choose from 3 degrees of expression:

[Intense]	...Free expression (more removed from the original photograph)

[Normal]	...Standard expression

[Subtle]	...Restrained expression (closer to the original photograph)

Choosing the material

You can also choose from various types of paper, canvas, etc. as the texture for your picture.

The selected texture will form the backdrop inside the preview window. Move the mouse cursor onto this area and it will change shape thus:

When the cursor changes to the material icon, click the mouse button and you will be able to select or change the background material for your painting.

Identifying focus points

VP automatically detects the principal subject(s) within the original photograph, and these are treated differently when the painting is executed.

However, if necessary you can decide on what portions of the original photograph are important and identify your own focus points accordingly.

Popup menu

Right-clicking anywhere on a blank area inside the dialog box brings up the popup menu, which offers further options.

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Popup menu

Right-clicking anywhere on a blank area inside the dialog box brings up the popup menu, which offers further options.

Recall Settings

Clears current settings and restores settings previously saved in a file (with extension .vpo).

Save Settings

Saves current settings in a named file (with extension .vpo).

You can restore these settings at any time using the Recall settings menu item.

Material

Allows you to choose the background material.

This is useful during Adjusting as it you do not have to return to the main preview dialog box.

Clear Focus Points

Clears all focus points. Not available if no focus points have been identified.

Adjusting Mode

Standard mode means that there are 3 available degrees of expression: Intense, Normal, and Subtle.

In Fine mode there are a total of 11 degrees, from maximum (+5) to minimum (-5) intensity, corresponding to 4 levels of Intense, Normal, and 4 levels of Subtle, thus:

[Intense]	...+4

[Normal]	... 0

[Subtle]	...-4

Adjusting a setting by such fine increments creates only small differences in the final result, so usually Standard mode is sufficient.

Screen Resolution

It is easy to measure the resolution of your monitor and adjust VP operation accordingly.

Setting the resolution will ensure that the software will generate pictures at the optimum resolution.

It is recommended that you do this when you use VP for the first time.

Help

This offers advice and version identification.

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Adjust

Tuning allows you to adjust settings while previewing the different effects.

In the center of the Adjust display you can see current settings and their effect in the form of a preview.

In the upper row are 5 previews demonstrating the effect with each setting at an extra degree of intensity.

Conversely, the lower row demonstrates all 5 settings at one lower degree of intensity.

When you are happy with the preview in the center, tuning is complete. But if you prefer a preview in either the upper or lower row, click on it.

This will then become the central preview picture, with appropriate settings displayed alongside, and the other previews will change accordingly to demonstrate each setting at greater or lower intensity.

A triangle displayed in place of any preview picture indicates the central preview has already reached the upper (upward-facing triangle) or lower (downward-facing triangle) limit for that particular setting.

The number of available degrees of expression is determined by whether you have chosen Standard or Fine as the adjusting mode. Standard mode provides 3 degrees of expression: Intense, Normal, and Subtle.

In Fine mode there are a total of 11 degrees, from maximum (+5) to minimum (-5) intensity. Start with Standard mode to approximate the effect you are looking for, and then switch to Fine mode if you want to make incremental adjustments.

OK

Confirms current settings and closes the Adjust dialog box.

Click OK when you are happy with the settings, or alternatively click on the central preview picture.

Cancel

Cancels any adjustments and closes the Adjust dialog box.

Help

Activates Help.

Popup menu

The popup menu is available and can be activated in the same way as it is with the main dialog box.

Note: Maximizing the Adjust window makes it easier to see the differences between different preview images, but it can also make processing slower.

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Identifying focus points

VP automatically detects the principal subject(s) within the original photograph and sets one or more focus points accordingly.

These areas are processed more finely than the rest of the picture.

However, you can if necessary identify your own focus points.

Focus points can be positioned manually on the original photograph within the preview window of the main dialog box.

If you already clicked Preview, you must first click on Original to return to the photograph.

When you move the mouse cursor over this, it changes into the hand icon thus:

You can then manually draw ellipses to identify the focus points.

1. First, left-click to position one end of the ellipse.

2. Next, move the cursor to the where you want the other end of the ellipse to be and left-click a second time.

3. The cursor now changes to an open hand icon. Use it to expand the ellipse to the desired width and left-click a third time to complete the focus point.

4. Repeat steps 1 to 3 for any additional focus points, up to a maximum of 8. Focus points are allowed to overlap and extend beyond the edges of the photograph.

5. To adjust or remove any focus point, right-click within the ellipse. Further right-clicks act as a multiple undo function, reversing the procedure used for creating the ellipse. If you want to remove all ellipses, choose the Clear Focus Points item from the popup menu.

You need only encircle the important areas of the photograph roughly. The effect can be maximized by picking Intense from the pull-down menu under Focus. If you want to emphasize focus even more, create multiple overlapping ellipses.

Effect of focus points

Manual focus points are a good idea for photographs that have little contrast or when you want to draw attention to a small but important detail near the edge of the photograph.

Note that the effect is not absolute but relative to the other parts of the picture, so creating more ellipses will not necessarily make that portion increasingly distinct.

In fact, it is best to avoid such attempts at over-emphasis as they can result in "muddying" the effect.

If the ellipsis shapes can be clearly seen in the final painting, then the effect is overdone.

You should therefore take especial care when overlapping ellipses in the same area.

Automatic saving of focus points

All of the settings you make are stored with the respective filter and are automatically recalled when you next select that filter.

Focus points, however, apply only to the content of a particular photograph and are therefore not used when processing a different photograph.

Saving focus points in a file

Focus points will be stored along with the other settings in a file when you choose Save Settings from the popup menu, but they are only applied if the same photograph is being processed.

Advice

Focus points stored automatically with a filter or in a file are applied if the photograph is the same one that was being processed when the settings were originally saved.

However, there is a slight chance (approximately 1 in 4.2 billion) that they will be applied even if the photograph if different. If this should occur, simply clear all focus points using the popup menu before continuing with processing.

For the above reasons, unless you have a special purpose in mind, it is advisable to clear all focus points before saving your settings in a file.

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Choosing the material

Select from the following 12 materials for your painting:

Paper (Smooth)	...Smooth paper

Paper (Medium)	...Textured paper

Paper (Rough)	...Rough paper

Washi	...Japanese handmade paper

Canvas (Fine)	...Fine-weave canvas

Canvas (Medium)	...Medium-weave canvas

Canvas (Rough)	...Rough canvas

Stucco (Smooth)	...Lightly applied stucco

Stucco (Rough)	...Thickly applied stucco

Stucco (Sand)	...Granular stucco

Wood	...Wooden board

Cork	...Corkboard

Each material has characteristic features - texture, color, transparency, etc.

However, the processing involved with each VP filter is complex, and this affects the degree to which any material's characteristics are brought out.

Also, the "granularity" of any material differs with the output size you select.

If a large amount of image data is to be output in a small format, the texture effect will appear rough, but this will be adjusted to the optimum granularity for the final output size.

The effect of a material can be maximized by picking Intense from the pull-down menu under Material.

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Setting screen resolution

This dialog enables you to determine the screen resolution of your monitor and input the appropriate figure for use by VP.

By setting your screen resolution you can ensure that when Screen size if chosen for output, VP will execute paintings at the optimum resolution.

At installation the default values of 2.2 inch and 90 dpi (dots per inch) are displayed. Use a ruler to measure the actual length of the indicated line in inches, and if necessary edit the 2.2 inch appropriately.

This informs VP of your actual screen resolution, which will be between 50 and 200 dpi. When you are ready, click OK.

This screen resolution information is stored on your computer and used by all VP filters.

You only need to repeat this procedure if you change your monitor or related hardware, or if you change the screen area setting in the display properties of (R)Microsoft Windows.

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Troubleshooting

Users of Paint Shop Pro 4.2

If you are using the plug-in version of Virtual Painter with Paint Shop Pro 4.2, make a selection of the image you want to process before activating the plug-in.

To select the target image you can either choose Select All from the Selections menu of Paint Shop Pro 4.2, or use the Ctrl-A shortcut.

If you attempt to run the plug-in without first selecting the target image, you will receive the following error message: "The plug-in module made an invalid request to Paint Shop Pro. The plug-in module will be terminated."

If this happens, click OK to close the dialog box, and start again.

This error will not adversely affect the operation of either Paint Shop Pro or Virtual Painter.

If you select the target image and activate the plug-in, but then click the Cancel button, you will receive the following error message: "The plug-in module returned an undefined error." Click OK to close the dialog box.

This error will not adversely affect the operation of either Paint Shop Pro or Virtual Painter.

Memory requirements

Image processing is typically memory-intensive, and the memory required by VP depends on the size (area in pixels) of the image being processed.

Even when processing compressed images, such as those in the JPEG format, the amount of memory required depends not on file size but on image size.

Therefore, avoid processing very large images that are likely to demand more memory or hard disk space than is available on your computer.

If the amount of memory required to process an image is greater than available memory, part of the hard disk will be used as virtual memory.

Virtual memory is slower than RAM so there may be a significant drop in processing speed. If the demand for memory exceeds even virtual memory then processing will not be possible.

Virtual memory is controlled by your Windows settings, but it typically employs unused space on drive c: of your computer.

Should there be insufficient space on your hard drive, VP will not be able to process multiple large images.

If possible, open only one or two images at the same time.

The amount of memory required by VP for processing can be calculated from the size of the image thus:

Memory (in bytes) = height (in pixels) x width (in pixels) x 10

Processing time

VP processing time depends on image size (in pixels).

Thus, an image of 2x2 pixels will require four times what it takes for an image of 1x1 pixel in size, and an image of 3x3 pixels will take 9 times that figure.

Such calculations assume that all memory is accessed at the same speed.

In reality, larger images may require virtual memory, which is slower to access.

Effect of focus points

Manual focus points are a good idea for photographs that have little contrast or when you want to draw attention to a small but important detail near the edge of the photograph.

Note that the effect is not absolute but relative to the other parts of the picture, so creating more ellipses will not necessarily make that portion increasingly distinct.

In fact, it is best to avoid such attempts at over-emphasis as they can result in "muddying" the effect.

If the ellipsis shapes can be clearly seen in the final painting, then the effect is overdone.

You should therefore take especial care when overlapping ellipses in the same area.

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Author

Taka Umemura
Born in Tokyo (1962), living in Yatsugatake, Japan.
Software Designer

2000, Virtual Painter Plus ver 3.0j CD-ROM release (P&A)

1999, Virtual Painter Plus ver 2.45j CD-ROM release (P&A)

1999, Genetic agent Typography@LiveCraft release (LiveCraft)

1997, Estampes French Virtual Painter CD-ROM release (WSKA)

1997, Virtual Painter ver 2.0j CD-ROM release (P&A)

1997, 5th Online Software Prize (Virtual Painter)

1994, Private exhibition: Painting with Computer (Triton College, Chicago)

1993, Digital Image Exhibition (Washington Art, Ginza, Tokyo)

1992, Art Art 92 (Sony Bldg., Ginza, Tokyo)

1992, Digital Image Exhibition (Washington Art, Ginza, Tokyo)

1992, Imagina 92 (Monte Carlo)

1991, Hi-Tech Art Exhibition (Matsuya Dept. Store, Ginza, Tokyo)

1991, Digital Image Exhibition (Washington Art, Ginza, Tokyo)

1990, 2nd Pixel CG Grand Prix

1989, 1st Pixel CG Grand Prix

1987, 4th Illustration "Choice" Award

http://www.LiveCraft.com

Umemura Taka Software Design, Inc.

We aim to foster a creative partnership between man and computer.

For details of our latest products, please drop by our web site.

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