Corel today announced that it is now shipping Painter IX, the latest version of its natural-media painting and illustration application. The English version is available now in North America, the UK, and Australia for US$429 ($229 upgrade). Corel Painter IX offers numerous new features including: improved speed; a new welcome screen; new and enhanced brush control palettes; a new Frames-per-Second control; customizable shortcut keys; a new Artists’ Oils Painting system; new Snap-to-Path Painting; improved digital watercolor; new Quick Clone; enhanced Adobe Photoshop and Wacom support; improved color management; and better integrated software help.