[Gimp-user] Simulation of real world painting with Gimp

[Thierry Chaverot <tj chaverot gmail com>]

Hi,

My question is maybe stupid, but in the real world, when painting, 3 things
are used, each one with their own characteristics : a paint or an ink ; a
tool to apply this paint ; and finally a media.

I mainly use MyPaint, Gimp and Inkscape, but I also made a quick tour of
other painting softwares. If all of them take into account the color (as
is, without any characteristic like viscosity, nature of a paint - oily or
aqueous) and the toools to apply the color (with a stiking inventiveness
regarding the brushes !), I have not found any that directly simulate the
behavior of the media on which the color is applied. However, to take just
the example of the watercolor, the paper has a fundamental importance on
the effects that can be applied and on the final rendering.

Of course, with a good expertise - and dexterity - in a particular
software, one can, by manipulating the image, achieve a very close if not
identical result. But this is akin to a Grand Chef cooking, with secret
recipes, tricks and tips, subtle dosages...

So, my question is : why the medias are not implemented in the painting
softwares ? There is some few basic parameters as the substrate porosity,
surface roughness, anisotropy of the porosity and/or roughness, inclination
of the surface of work, and if this is coupled to some parameters of the
ink, like viscosity, attractive or repulsive power of the ink, you can work
really more intuitively.

There is probaly a good reason for that, but what is it ?

Thank you for your answers.

TeeGee