Copyright: Discover Painting for Kids V1.0
Citation: Copyright 1999 by Crescent Vision Interactive, LLC


Welcome to Discover Painting for Kids
Welcome to Discover Painting for Kids!

Discover Painting for Kids is painting program designed especially for young artists to explore their creativity. Discover Painting is far more than a basic click and fill coloring program and features over 30 easy to use painting and drawing tools, including a library of 144 stamps, wacky special effects, cool sounds, and an expandable set of coloring pages and starter backgrounds. Discover Painting also includes an option that is designed to conserve printer ink. This feature is especially helpful to parents who find that their young artists just love to print every one of their creations so they can give them away to family and friends or put them up on the refrigerator door.

Although Discover Painting is intended for youngsters, it includes many sophisticated image processing and painting effects disguised as easy to use painting tools that allow you to create some very cool special effects without having to worry about complicated technical details.

Discover Painting has been designed for kids of all ages.  Young children will find the Coloring Pages easy to use and the Toy tools loads of fun, while older children (and adults) will marvel over the cool special effects that can be created with the Bump and Magic tools.  Our testing has revealed that children as young a 1yr old can enjoy Discover Painting as long as they are assisted by an adult.  For unassisted use, we recommend this program for children 7 years old and older.

Click on any of the topics below to learn more about using Discover Painting for Kids:

(You can click the Back button or the Contents button above to return to this page.)

The Main Screen

Choosing Colors

Using the Remote

The Desk

The Tools

More on Using the Tools

System Requirements

Technical Support

Registering Discover Painting for Kids

License Agreement


System Requirements

Discover Painting requires the following hardware and software,

Operating System: Window 95 or 98

Hardware: Pentium Processor or better, 16MB RAM, 20MB HD space, Mouse Required

Recommendation: Discover Painting has been optimized to work best at 640x480 or 800x600 display resolution and 24 bits per pixel (millions of colors) color mode.

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The Main Screen

Discover Painting uses a very unique interface designed to encourage exploration of the program's features in an intuitive way. For example, the main screen shows a yellow desk at the bottom of the screen where the painting and drawing tools are laid out. Each tool is represented by a rendered picture indicative of the tool's function. So, for example, if you want to paint with the brush, simply grab the brush from the desk and start painting. If you prefer to draw with the pencil then pick it up and start drawing. All of the tools work this way and virtually everything shown on the main screen can be clicked and will do something, so don't be afraid to click on an object to find out what it does.

To help identify what each object is, a short help tip is displayed at the bottom of the window when the mouse cursor is moved over an object. So if you're not sure what something is, then just move the mouse cursor over it and read the description that appears.

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Choosing Colors

On the right side of the desk, in the main window, you will find a set of eight paint cans, a paint tube and a paint blot. The paint blot shows the currently selected color that will be used for painting and drawing; as you select a new color, the blot color will change to reflect your selection.

There are several ways to select a new color:

1.	Click on the tube of paint to open the color palette. Once the color palette is visible you can select any color you see by clicking on the palette over the desired color. Note, that the mouse cursor resembles an eyedropper whenever the cursor is over the palette. After clicking you well see a small square appear to the left of the palette, which shows the selected color. You can continue clicking the palette until you find the color that you like. Once you've found a color, click on the color square or the green check mark to return to the main window. If you want to cancel your selection, then click the red X.

2.	Click on one of the paint cans to select the color shown in the can. Note, as you move the mouse over the paint cans, the cursor will resemble an eyedropper indicating that you can select a color. You can change the color shown in any can by double clicking the paint can. This will open the color palette allowing you to select a new color for that paint can. This is helpful when you reuse certain colors over and over and don't want to go to the color palette each time (by pressing the tube of paint) to reselect a color.

3.	Use the eyedropper tool to select a color directly off of your painting by clicking anywhere on your painting.

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Using the Remote

You'll notice that Discover Painting does not have a menu bar at the top of the screen. Instead, Discover Painting has a remote control allowing access to certain functions and features.  (Discover Painting does have a popup menu that contains the same menu items as the remote.   You can access this popup menu by right-clicking with the mouse or by pressing the F1-dey).

The remote control is located on the desk, just to the right of the computer monitor, and is always visible.

The remote allows access to the following functions and features:

Quit -- pressing the quit button will close Discover Painting

Save -- pressing the save button will activate the standard "Save As" dialog allowing you to save your painting

New -- pressing the new button will clear the painting area and prepare it for a new painting. This feature has several "special" ways to clear the painting area that include both visual and audio effects. (You can turn these on or off from within the preferences window.) After the painting area has been cleared, the Gallery window will popup allowing you to view the available starter pages and backgrounds, including a blank page; you can then select the one you'd like to start with.

Open -- pressing the open button will activate the standard "Open" dialog allowing you to open a previously saved file for editing. Note, Discover Painting supports only 24 bits per pixel bitmaps.

About -- pressing the about button will activate the about dialog that contains information about Crescent Vision Interactive, and a link to our web site.

Help -- pressing the help button activates this help window.

Prefs -- pressing the preferences button activates the preferences window where you can change certain program settings. These settings include:

Sound: you can toggle Discover Painting's sound effects on or off

New: you can toggle the "New" special effects (when pressing the "New" button on the remote) on or off

Open: you can control the way pictures are opened in Discover Painting. "Stretch" means that any picture that does not fit in the painting area will be stretched (or compressed) to just fit within the painting area. "Center" means that any picture that does not fit in the painting area will be centered within it (whether it is larger or smaller than the painting area.) If the picture you are trying to open is larger than the painting area, then it is a good idea to activate "stretch" so that you can see the whole picture when it is opened.

Print: this option is designed to conserve printer ink. Select the full ink jar to print normally, or select the nearly empty ink jar to print conservatively.

Gallery -- pressing the gallery button will activate the picture gallery, where you can browse your saved paintings as though they are appearing in an art gallery. This allows you to look through several paintings to find the one that you want to work on in the main window painting area.

The Gallery always browses the "Gallery" folder that is automatically created by Discover Painting. The "Gallery" folder is always the default folder when you Open and Save picture files.

Use the left and right arrows to page through the available painting files in the "Gallery" folder. If you find one that you want to show in the main window, then click the green check mark (or click the picture in the frame) to close the gallery and go back to the main window; your selected painting will be shown in the painting area. If you do not want to open a picture, but would like to exit the gallery, then simply click the red X.

Note that you can see the name of any painting shown in the gallery by clicking the silver name plate to the right of the picture frame.

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The Desk

The yellow desk appears at the bottom of the main window and contains various tools to painting as well as for controlling the program.

To the right of the desk you will find eight paint cans, a paint tube and a color blot. Together, these items allow you to choose various colors for painting. This is discussed in detail in the section entitled "Choosing Colors" at the beginning of this document.

Also on the right side of the desk are two icons; one is the zoom tool and the other toggles the sound effects on and off. To zoom in on your painting, click the zoom icon, then click on your painting to zoom in on that point. To zoom out, click the zoom icon again.

To the left of the desk you will find several items, including a computer monitor, a keyboard, a cleaner bottle and a remote control. These items are always visible on the desk and function as follows:

The Monitor: The monitor allows you to control the behavior of certain painting tools. If a particular painting tool has several features then, when that tool is active, a set of simple controls will appear in the monitor allowing you to change these settings. The most common tool setting that can be changed is the thickness or size of the painting tool, e.g., the size of the paint brush stroke. In this case several black rectangles will be shown on the monitor indicating the various sizes you may choose from. The currently selected setting is shown with a green border. Simply click any of the controls shown in the monitor to select it.

If a particular tool does not have an settings that can be changed, then the monitor will simply display some random static.

The Cleaner Bottle: The cleaner bottle allows you to undo your last painting action. After performing a painting action using any of the tools, you can undo (erase) that action by immediately pressing the cleaner bottle.

The Remote Control: The remote control provides access to certain program functions and features as described in detail in the section entitled "Using the Remote" at the beginning of this document.

The middle of the desk is reserved for displaying the various painting and drawing tools. The tools that are displayed will change depending on the currently selected tool category (see the section entitled "The Shelves" for a description of the various tool categories, and the section entitled "The Tools" for a description of the various tools.) The currently active tool will always be indicated by a little blue arrow pointing at that tool on the desk.

As you move the mouse over any of the tools shown on the desk, the mouse cursor will resemble and open hand indicating that you can grab and use that tool. Also, you will see a short help tip displayed at the bottom of the main window as the mouse cursor passes over a tool.

The Keyboard: The keyboard tool allows you to add text to your painting. When you click the keyboard, the text control window will appear.

In this window you can type in the text that you want to display, choose its size and control the text's appearance ("Font" and "Style"). After making your selections and typing your text, press the green check mark to close the text window and place the text where you like. To close the text window without adding the text, press the red X.

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The Tools

The shelves located on the left side of the main window serve to allow access to the various tools in an organized fashion. The shelves contain five items representing five tool categories. The lower shelf also contains a printer, that when clicked allows you to print your painting.

The currently active category of tools is indicated by a little blue star shown next to the item on the shelf. When you click any tool category, its set of tools will be laid out in the middle of the desk for you.

The five tool categories are described below (starting at the top shelf):

Rock: The rock tool category, represented by a rock located on left side of the top shelf, contains six bumpy brushes. Each of these bumpy brushes, allows you to draw a cool 3D-looking bumpy texture anywhere on your painting. The effect is really cool when you apply the bumpy texture over an area of you painting that already has something drawn there. The six bumpy tools are shown below:

Books: The books tool category, represented by the two books located on the right side of the top shelf, contains a three volume set of books of stamps that you can add to your painting. These stamps include animals and plants, everyday objects, and symbols and shapes. The three books are shown below:

Artist's Tool Box: The artist's tool box, represented by the wooden box of tools located on the left of the middle shelf, contains nine standard painting and drawing tools that you can use to paint and draw anything you want. This is the default set of tools, that is, the set of tools that is selected first when you start Discover Painting. The nine standard tools are shown below:

Magic Hat: The magic tool category, represented by the magic hat and wand located on the right of the middle shelf, contains six magical tools that allow you to apply various special effects to your painting. Most of these tools are designed to work when you apply them to areas of your drawing that already have something drawn there. The six magic tools are show below:

Toys: The toy tool category, represented by the teddy bear and model rocket located on the right of the lower shelf next to the printer, contains six toy tools that allow you to apply various fun and silly special effects to your painting.  The six toy tools are shown below:

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More on Using the Tools

The drawing and painting tools are displayed in the middle of the desk towards the bottom of the main window. The tools are organized in five different tool categories accessible by the items on the shelves on the left of the main window These categories are discussed in the section entitled "The Tools."

All of the tools are activated by simply clicking the tool when it is shown on the desk. The currently active tool will have a little blue arrow pointing at it. Depending on the active tool, certain tool settings will be shown in the monitor located on the left side of the desk. You can change the tool's settings at any time by pressing the controls shown in the monitor.

When you move the mouse over any tool, a short description of that tool will be displayed at the bottom of the main window.

All of the tools work by either clicking in the painting area or by clicking and dragging (while holding down the mouse button) in the painting area.

There are a few tools that require a few more instructions:

Scissors: The scissors tool allows you to copy a selected portion of your painting. It works like this: select the scissors tool, then click and drag a selection rectangle around the area that you want to copy (let go of the mouse when the rectangle is the size you want). After releasing the mouse button the selected area will appear next to and move with the mouse cursor, now you can simple point and click to copy the selected area to any location in your painting. When you're finished copying, either press the "C" key or click anywhere outside of the painting area to cancel copying.

Stamps: The stamp tools allow you to add pre-drawn stamps to you drawing. When you select one of the given books of stamps, an open book will be displayed allowing you to select one of the various stamps. You can turn the book pages either forward or back by pressing on the upturned corners of the pages in either the upper left (to go back a page) or the upper right (to move forward a page) of the book. To choose a stamp, simply click on it and the book will close allowing you to copy that stamp on to your painting. To close the book without choosing a stamp, simply click on the red X.

Once you have selected a stamp you can copy it to your painting by pointing and clicking anywhere on your painting. When your finished copying that stamp, press the "C" key or click anywhere outside of the painting area to cancel copying that stamp.

Zoom: To zoom in on your painting, click the zoom icon (spy glass with a plus sign in it) located on the lower right side of the desk. Note that the mouse cursor changes to a spy glass, and you can now click any spot on your painting to zoom in on that spot. Once zoomed in, the zoom icon on the desk changes to a spy glass with a minus sign, indicating that you can zoom back out by clicking on it.

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Technical Support

If you require support on using Discover Painting, then email your question(s) to support@crescentvision.com.

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Registering Discover Painting for Kids

There are several ways to register Discover Painting for Kids, which are described in the registration window that appears when you first start the program. (The registration window is also accessible by selecting "Register" on the remote control.)

Online registration is the fastest and easiest way to register. To order online, go to www.crescentvision.com, and have your credit card information handy.

Site licenses, with quantity discounts, are available for this product. Further, purchase orders are accepted for site licenses. Contact Crescent Vision Interactive, LLC via email at info@crescentvision.com for more information.

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License Agreement

This License Agreement (Agreement) is a legal agreement between you (either an individual or a single legal entity) and Crescent Vision Interactive, LLC (CVI) for the SOFTWARE identified above, including User's Guide, associated software components, media, printed materials and online documentation. By installing, copying, or otherwise using the SOFTWARE, you agree to be bound by the terms of this Agreement. If you do not agree to the terms contained herein, do not install or use the SOFTWARE. If the software was mailed to you, return the media envelope, unopened, along with the rest of the package to the location where you obtained it within 30 days from purchase.

1. The SOFTWARE is licensed, not sold.

2. Grant of License:

(a) Evaluation Copy -- This Agreement shall commence on the date you install the SOFTWARE and continue until the earlier of thirty (30) days or termination of this Agreement by CVI for breach by you of any of the terms and conditions set forth herein. If you do not obtain a license for the SOFTWARE, by registering with CVI and paying the required registration fee, prior to the to the expiration or termination of this Agreement, then you agree to destroy the SOFTWARE program and all applicable documentation, and all copies thereof. If you elect to obtain a license for the SOFTWARE, then the conditions set forth in (c), Registered Copy, shall apply.

(b) Redistribution of Evaluation Copy -- If you are using this SOFTWARE on an evaluation basis you are hereby licensed to make copies of the evaluation SOFTWARE as you wish; give exact copies of the original evaluation SOFTWARE to anyone; and distribute the evaluation SOFTWARE in its unmodified form via electronic means. You may not charge any distribution fee for the copy or use of the evaluation SOFTWARE itself, but you may charge a distribution fee that is reasonably related to any cost you incur for distributing the evaluation SOFTWARE. You must not represent in any way that you are selling the SOFTWARE itself. Your distribution of the evaluation SOFTWARE will not entitle you to any compensation from CVI.

(c) Registered Copy -- After you have purchased the license for SOFTWARE, and have received the file enabling the registered copy, you are licensed to copy the SOFTWARE only into the memory of the number of computers corresponding to the number of licenses purchased. Under no other circumstances may the SOFTWARE be operated at the same time on more than the number of computers for which you have paid a separate license fee. You may not duplicate the SOFTWARE in whole or in part, except that you may make one copy of the SOFTWARE for backup or archival purposes. You may terminate this license at any time by destroying the original and all copies of the

SOFTWARE in whatever form. You may permanently transfer all of your rights under this Agreement provided you transfer all copies of the SOFTWARE and retain none, and the recipient agrees to the terms of this Agreement.

3. Restrictions:

You may not reverse engineer, decompile, or disassemble the SOFTWARE, except and only to the extent that such activity is expressly permitted by applicable law notwithstanding this limitation. You may not rent, lease, or lend the SOFTWARE.

4. Termination:

Without prejudice to any other rights, CVI may terminate this Agreement if you fail to comply with the terms and conditions of this Agreement. In such event, you must destroy all copies of the SOFTWARE.

5. Copyright:

The SOFTWARE is protected by United States copyright law and international treaty provisions. You acknowledge that no title to the intellectual property in the SOFTWARE is transferred to you. You further acknowledge that title and full ownership rights to the SOFTWARE will remain the exclusive property of CVI and you will not acquire any rights to the SOFTWARE except as expressly set forth in this Agreement. You agree that any copies of the SOFTWARE will contain the same proprietary notices which appear on and in the SOFTWARE.

6. No Warranties:

CVI expressly disclaims any warranty for the SOFTWARE. The SOFTWARE and any related documentation is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind, either express or implied, including, without limitation, the implied warranties or merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or noninfringement. The entire risk arising out of use or performance of the SOFTWARE remains with you.

7. Limitation of Liability:

In no event shall CVI or its suppliers be liable to you for any consequential, special, incidental, or indirect damages of any kind arising out of the delivery, performance, or use of the software, even if CVI has been advised of the possibility of such damages. In any event, CVI's liability for any claim, whether in contract, tort, or any other theory of liability, exceed the greater of U.S. $1.00 or the license fee paid by you.

8. Miscellaneous:

If you acquired the SOFTWARE in the United States, this Agreement is governed by the laws of the state of Louisiana. If you acquired the SOFTWARE outside of the United States, then local laws may apply.

Should you have any questions concerning this Agreement, or if you desire to contact CVI for any reason, please contact CVI by mail at P.O. Box 149, Destrehan, LA 70047, or by email at: info@crescentvision.com

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