The above painting was done primarily with the Paintbrush Ribbon Tool using a texture for the mountains and the Bristle Brush Grass Settings for the Foreground

This will be a series on using each of the paint tools in PhotoImpact.

General Notes
There are a few basic things to remember when using the paint tools:
First you must set your Preset with the various tools prior to setting your color because when you click on the Preset it will default to a color chosen by PI.

Remember to Save often, once you save - clear your undo history.
If you find a setting you like or think you will use often refer to this snapshot tutorial by Debbie Hardisty on how to save your favorite brushes.
Saving Brush Settings to your Easy Palette

Make a folder for your painting textures so if you happen to see a texture you think would work you can crop it out and save it and know where to find it..Then next time you paint just add it to your painting texture panel in PI.

Painting in Mode versus not

Please note that you may find it much easier to manipulate your painting if you were to paint in object mode.

Advantages to painting in mode is that you can paint a little bit at a time making it an object. If you decide later on down the line that you don't like that particular tree in that spot but it might look better on the other side of the canvas, you can simply move it over.

It also makes it easier should you require to blend certain aspects of your painting.

When you first start painting:
Start out by sticking with 3 or 4 different tools to finish your work.Try a variety of images.As you get familiar with these tools and know what they do, then move on to another 3 or 4 tools and do the same thing until you have explored all of the paint and retouch tools. As you work with the first 3 or 4 you can change the look by using different textures ,brush sizes ,transparencies etc.
Start with some very basic tuts or by looking at pictures and trying to duplicate them or make it look similar.Don't be afraid to experiment and to add your own style to the tutorial or the picture.The only eye you have to please is your own.

OK Let's get started and see what basic tools are available. Remember these are only the basic tools and presets.By altering,sizes,soft edge,transparency and textures and using the various retouch tools the possibilities are realy unlimited.

There are 14 presets available with the Paintbrush tool but you can also use textures(basic textures available in PI or create your own) transparency and the soft edge which will either allow you to blend or no soft edge which gives you a nice clean line.Also you have the options of straight lines, freehand or connected lines which gives you even more possibilites.
So let's take a look at some of these options

Preset (Fine Brush,Fine Pen,Round Stroke 1 ,Round Stroke 2,) these are all similar but there are subtle differences in the pressure and density .You can do the same with each one but if you learn what each does then you can do it without resetting anything.Experiment.All strokes shown here are done with the fine brush.

I have set the size at 13 and the color at purple .I have not changed these settings for any of these brush strokes.The variances are done only with the soft edge, texture, lines and making use of the muticolor sliders and settings on the brush panel.

These only touch the surface of this the most basic tool and the most basic Preset (a round shape) .Becoming familiar with the Brush Panel is one of the most important steps in learning what each tool can do.

Now that you know a little about using the textures ,soft edge and the brush panel we will cover a few of the straight line tools

The straight line tools can be used for almost anything that requires a texture either standing alone or using over the top of another color such as mountainside, cliffs,rockface,water,lakes. etc.