FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
METACREATIONS ANNOUNCES PAINTER 6, POWERFUL UPGRADE TO THE ULTIMATE
PAINTING TOOL
New Version of the World’s Premier Natural-Media Software Offers
Breakthrough Paint Technology, Updated Interface, Faster Performance
Los Angeles, Calif., (SIGGRAPH), August 10, 1999 -MetaCreations Corporation
(Nasdaq: MCRE), the Creative Web company, today announced Painter 6, the
feature-packed upgrade to the world’s indisputable leader for
Natural-Media image creation, enhancement, retouching and compositing.
Painter 6 features the next-generation of brush engine technology, as well
as remarkable new capabilities to offer unprecedented realism and unlimited
creative paint options. Enhanced ease-of-use via an updated user interface,
significantly faster performance, superior tablet support, and better
workflow integration through industry standard tools and file support make
Painter 6 the must-have computer application for artists, graphic
designers, and Web content creators.
Since the introduction of Painter, hundreds of thousands of users have
embraced the product for its ability to faithfully capture the subtleties
of an artist’s gestures and translate them to print or the Web. Painter’s
revolutionary Natural-Media digital technology faithfully recreates
traditional artists’ mediums – in unlimited quantities – such as oils and
acrylics, airbrushes, colored pencils, chalk, charcoals, crayons and felt
pens, combined with hundreds of papers, patterns and textures. Painter 6
goes well beyond previous versions to truly enable limitless creativity for
art, fine art, graphic design or Web content development.
Painter 6 includes many new features such as the ability to paint in
incredible depth with impasto brushes, run text along a curve, and layer
vector and bitmap images in one file for high-quality output for print and
the Web. Functionality enhancements include an updated, more intuitive
interface, significant speed improvements, industry-standard layers
implementation and CMYK TIFF support. Additionally, Painter 6 offers
extensive support for the Wacom Intuos tablet, pen and airbrush technology.
From real-world paint simulation to super-natural tools, Painter
incorporates sophisticated technology that offers the power to create
amazing graphics for a variety of uses.
“With Painter 6, we’ve really returned to our original product vision of
providing limitless supplies, true-to-life brushes, textures and materials
to enable extraordinary art in digital formats,” said Mark Zimmer, artist,
Painter co-creator, and chief technology officer, MetaCreations
Corporation. “The vision of Painter is, and has always been, that with
infinite
supplies and tools comes infinite creativity and uses. Painter 6, with
incredible brush technology, better usability, speed, memory handling,
tools, colors, file formats, tablet support and other great features, is
that and more. We firmly believe that Painter 6 can expand your creative
universe.”
“My background in animation has always hinged on my striving to craft the
visual message into different illustrative looks. When Painter came along,
I had already used a few different paint applications with some success,
but the capabilities and depth of Natural-Media brushes made Painter a real
dream come true for me,” said John Ryan, animation director, Click3X. “I
found myself routing my production path into Painter on a more and more
regular basis. Painter has now become an integral part of my toolset.”
Painter 6 new features include:
Next-generation brush engine technology provides unprecedented realism,
depth and creative control for artists working within Painter 6. Brush
controls provide more options per tool than ever before.
Brush loading for painting with multiple colors in each brush stroke – up
to a different color loaded on each individual bristle.
Impasto (painting with depth) adds extreme realism to artwork and
interactively renders painted surfaces in 3D. Impasto painting can both
build up above the canvas or cut through multiple layers of paint all the
way down to the canvas.
Responsive palette knife that interacts with your individual brush stroke
– bearing and pressure – plus takes advantage of the new multi-color brush
loading.
Interactive Image Hose that sprays images in real-time on your canvas
with interactive rotation and scaling based on the bearing, tilt and
pressure of your hand. Includes hundreds of incredibly realistic new Image
Hose nozzles added for instant image creation or enhancement.
Text on a Curve and more is available with Painter 6’s improved Dynamic
Text. Reshape the baseline by moving Bezier curve handles; insert, edit,
tilt, rotate, stretch, scale and type words directly on a curve – all with
automatic, configurable drop shadows.
Updated user interface improves workflow through expandable palettes in
an intuitive, accessible, easy-to-use environment.
Faster performance via a revamped memory architecture dramatically
reduces processor wait times.
Fastest, smoothest painting ever using multi-stroke spooling, motion
damping and cubic interpolation.
Industry-standard extensible layers are incorporated into Painter 6,
enabling unprecedented, powerful combinations of paint layers and effects.
CMYK TIFF format support allows easy and fast opening and saving of CMYK
TIFF images without the use of an additional software application.
Extensive support for the Intuos tablet, pen and airbrush technology for
more intuitive painting, freedom of illustration and faster image editing.
Painter 6 provides support for Tilt and Bearing to capture more nuances of
the artist’s expressive gesture. Take advantage of 1,024 levels of pressure
sensitivity for smooth curves, gradual transitions and precise control.
Pricing and Availability
Painter 6 is expected to be available in September, 1999 for an estimated
retail price of US $399. Upgrades from previous releases of Painter are
$149. For more information customers may look on the Web at
http://www.metacreations.com/products/painter6 or call 800-846-0111.
Minimum System Requirements
Windows: Pentium, Windows 95/98/NT 4.0, 32 MB system RAM (64+ recommended),
color display (24-bit recommended), CD-ROM drive Macintosh: Power
Macintosh, System 8 or later, 32 MB of application RAM (64+ MB
recommended), color display (24-bit recommended), CD-ROM drive
About MetaCreations
MetaCreations Corporation, the Creative Web company, is focused on
developing and marketing 2D and 3D visualization software for graphic
artists, and the World Wide Web. MetaCreations’ Creative Web strategy is
centered on the company’s new MetaStream and MetaFlash technologies, and
employs an array of MetaCreations’ software development tools to accelerate
the creation of 2D and 3D graphics for online applications, and to make
fast, interactive use of photorealistic 3D on the Web practical and
pervasive. MetaCreations offers a complete product line of award-winning
graphics desktop software for both professional users, with products
available in more than 50 countries. The company is headquartered in Santa
Barbara County, California, and has development centers in Scotts Valley,
Calif., and Princeton, N.J., as well as an International Operations Center
in Dublin, Ireland. MetaCreations can be reached on the World Wide Web at
http://www.metacreations.com
This release contains forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe
harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Actual results may differ materially as a result of a number of risks and
uncertainties affecting the Company’s business, including the timely
release of Painter 6. For a more detailed discussion of factors that affect
MetaCreations’ operating results, interested parties should review
MetaCreations’ SEC reports, including MetaCreations’ Annual Report on Form
10-K for the year ended December 31, 1998, and Quarterly Reports on Form
10-Q.