Some time ago, a well know developer was showing off a version of Deluxe
Paint III in LA to a small group of people. It had quite a few new
features, including the ability to create ANIM files. As far as I know
though, nothing official has been announced about the existance of this
product. (Who knows? They might have canned the project!)
Yup, I've heard a few things about it, too. I once saw a version of DP II
that worked in half-brite, giving a palette of 64 little colors in the
bottom of the menu bar. Also, I know the DP III has more page-flipping
animation abilities.
Electronic Arts was demoing Deluxe Paint III in their booth and on stage
at World of Commodore in Toronto this past weekend. The major features were as
you described (64 colours with half-brite and page flipping animation).
Projected ship date is March.