Adjusting and Editing Brushes

The Brush palette makes it easy to create brush variants. You can adjust brushes in many different ways. In fact, the default brush variants in the Brush selector on the Brush tool property bar are built with the same set of controls used to build every other variant. They have just been adjusted until the results emulate a real-life drawing tool.

Although these default brushes do excellent work, you will probably want to adapt them to your particular needs, refining them to fit your own style of working. You can change their Size, Shape, Angle, Spacing and much more.

Changes you make to brush variants, including basic controls like Size and Opacity, are saved until the Restore Default Variant command is selected.

Brush palette.

To display the Brush palette

• Choose Main Window menu -> Window -> Show Brush

Brush Types

Brush Types are methods of media application.

To choose a brush type

• Choose Main Window menu -> Window -> Show Brush to display the Brush palette
• Click the tab General on the Brush palette
• Choose a type from the Type box

Methods and Categories

The brush method defines the most basic level of brush behavior and is the foundation on which all other brush variables build.

Because the method sets a brush variants most basic behavior, you can alter a variants behavior by changing its method.

Each method can have several variations, called method categories. These categories further refine the brush behavior. The following terms are used in describing most method categories:

• Soft methods produce strokes with feathered edges
• Flat methods produce hard, aliased strokes with pixelated edges
• Hard methods produce smooth strokes
• Grainy methods produce brush strokes that react to paper texture

Combining a method with a method category results in a specific brush style that you can assign to a given brush.

To choose a method and category

• Choose Main Window menu -> Window -> Show Brush to display the Brush palette
• Click the tab General on the Brush palette
• Choose a method from the Method box
• Choose a category from the Category box

Size Controls

The Size slider determines the width of the brush stroke. The Minimum Size slider determines the minimum width of the brush stroke. You can use the Expressions settings to link Size to pen or mouse data.

The Brush Preview Window shows how your changes affect the brush.

To set brush size

• Choose Main Window menu -> Window -> Show Brush to display the Brush palette
• Click the tab Size on the Brush palette
• Move the Size slider to the right to increase brush size, or to the left to reduce brush size

To use the resize shortcut

• Hold down Shift on the keyboard
• With the Brush tool, drag in the image window
• A circle representing the brush size is displayed beside the pointer. When the circle is the size you want, release the mouse button

To set minimum size

• Choose Main Window menu -> Window -> Show Brush to display the Brush palette
• Click the tab Size on the Brush palette
• Move the Minimum Size slider to the right to increase the minimum width of the brush stroke. Move it to the left to reduce the minimum width

Opacity and Grain

The Opacity slider determines how the density of the media should be applied. It sets the maximum opacity of the selected brush. You can use the Expressions settings to link Opacity to pen or mouse data.

The Grain slider determines the maximum amount of paper texture that should reveal in a brush stroke. You can use the Expressions settings to link Grain to pen or mouse data. You can also use the paper's brightness and contrast settings to control Grain interaction.

To set brush opacity

• Choose Main Window menu -> Window -> Show Brush to display the Brush palette
• Click the tab General on the Brush palette
• Move the Opacity slider to the left to reduce opacity, or to the right to increase opacity

To set brush grain

• Choose Main Window menu -> Window -> Show Brush to display the Brush palette
• Click the tab Grain on the Brush palette
• Move the Grain slider to the left to increase the penetration into the paper texture. Move it to the right to reduce the penetration

Adjusting Paper Texture behavior

When you use a brush that interacts with paper texture, the results appear with each stroke. If you have a stylus and tablet, you can adjust paper texture by changing the stroke of the stylus on a pressure-sensitive tablet. In most cases, a light stroke colors only the peaks and ridges of the texture. A heavy stroke fills color deep into the pockets and valleys. You can also affect the brush interaction with paper texture by changing the brush grain settings.

By default, paper texture is fixed, which means that the texture is in the same position each time you apply a brushstroke. You can change this setting if you want texture to be applied randomly.

To randomize paper texture

• Choose Main Window menu -> Window -> Show Brush to display the Brush palette
• Click the tab Grain on the Brush palette
• Enable the Randomize texture check box

Brush Tip Profiles

The brush tip, or profile, shows a cross-section of density distribution across the diameter of the dab.

Different media have different density distributions. Changes in the density distribution produce different marking qualities in a brush stroke.

The following brush tip profiles are available:

Profile	Description
Medium Profile	Has a wide area of greater density at the center, with rapid falloff to the edge.
Dull Profile	Provides maximum density at the center, with high density weighting to the edge.
Linear Profile	Provides maximum density at the center, with even falloff to the edge.
Watercolor Profile	Provides maximum density at the outer edge in a ringlike fashion, with medium internal density.
1-Pixel Edge	1-Pixel Edge provides maximum density throughout, with rapid falloff at the edge, producing a 1-pixel, anti-aliased edge.
Soft profile	Provides maximum density at the center, with soft falloff to the edge.

Anti-aliasing

Artweaver can draw dabs in an anti-aliased fashion. This anti-aliasing gives brushes a smooth edge, as opposed to the jagged edges without anti-aliasing.

To enable drawing dabs in an anti-aliased fashion

• Choose Main Window menu -> Window -> Show Brush to display the Brush palette
• Click the tab General on the Brush palette
• Enable the Anti-aliased check box

Spacing Controls

When a brush is used, the stroke consists of a series of dabs. By adjusting the spacing between those dabs, you can control the continuity of the brush stroke.

The Spacing slider controls the distance between brush dabs in a stroke. Each dot or dash represents one brush dab.

Continuous Time Deposition controls whether you must move a brush before a medium is applied. With Continuous Time Deposition enabled, the medium begins flowing at the first touch.

To set brush spacing

• Choose Main Window menu -> Window -> Show Brush to display the Brush palette
• Click the tab Spacing on the Brush palette
• Do one of the following:
  • To increase the spacing between dabs, move the Spacing slider to the right bringing it closer to the size of the dab itself
  • To decrease the distance between dabs, move the Spacing slider to the left until the dabs begin to overlap

To set Continuous Time Deposition

• Choose Main Window menu -> Window -> Show Brush to display the Brush palette
• Click the tab Spacing on the Brush palette
• Enable the Continuous Time Deposition check box

Stroke Controls

The Smoothing slider allows you to soften the appearance of brushstrokes by adding additional points into dab paths which are used to replot brushstrokes.

You can also apply a merge mode to a brush variant to control how brushstrokes interact with the underlying colors within the currently selected layer or the canvas. This technique allows you to produce similar results to applying blend method to layers. In addition, it allows you to control where the effect is applied.

To set smooth strokes

• Choose Main Window menu -> Window -> Show Brush to display the Brush palette
• Click the tab Stroke on the Brush palette
• Move the Smoothing slider to the right to add points and even out jagged strokes. Move it to the left to decrease the number of additional points

To apply a merge mode

• Choose Main Window menu -> Window -> Show Brush to display the Brush palette
• Click the tab Stroke on the Brush palette
• From the Merge Mode list box, choose one of the merge modes
• Move the Stroke Opacity slider

Angle Controls

The Angle slider controls the angle of an elliptical brush and the length of the ellipse. You can use the Expressions settings to link Angle to pen or mouse data.

The Shape slider controls the shape of the brush. Squeezing a brush changes it from round to elliptical.

You can use the Angle and Shape controls with Circular, Captured and Imagestamp brush types.

To set brush shape

• Choose Main Window menu -> Window -> Show Brush to display the Brush palette
• Click the tab Angle on the Brush palette
• Move the Shape slider to the left to make the brush more elliptical. Move it to the right to make it rounder

To set angle for a elliptical brush

• Choose Main Window menu -> Window -> Show Brush to display the Brush palette
• Click the tab Angle on the Brush palette
• Move the Angle slider to the right to rotate the brush counterclockwise. Move the slider to the left to rotate the brush clockwise

Blending Controls

The Blending controls determine how a brush conveys its medium (color) to the paper. You can choose from several preset to suit your needs.

Whether you are painting with a single color or blending two or more colors on a layer, the Pickup color from underlying layers option can help you produce brushstrokes without white fringes.

The Resaturation, Bleed, and Dryout controls work together to determine how much color a brush has at the start and finish of a stroke.

The Resaturation slider controls the amount of color that is replenished in a stroke. If it is set at zero, the brush does not produce any color.

The Bleed slider controls how much the brush colors smear underlying colors, including the paper color.

The Dryout control determines how quickly a brush runs out of medium. Dryout is measured in pixels.

To set resaturation

• Choose Main Window menu -> Window -> Show Brush to display the Brush palette
• Click the tab Blending on the Brush palette
• Move the Resaturation slider to the left to reduce the amount of color replenished in stroke. Move it to the right to increase the amount of color

To set color bleed

• Choose Main Window menu -> Window -> Show Brush to display the Brush palette
• Click the tab Blending on the Brush palette
• Move the Bleed slider to the left to reduce the amount of interaction with underlying pixels. Move it to the right to increase the interaction

To set brush dryout

• Choose Main Window menu -> Window -> Show Brush to display the Brush palette
• Click the tab Blending on the Brush palette
• Move the Dryout slider to the left to shorten the distance the brush can move before it dries out. Move it to the right to lengthen the distance

To choose pickup color from underlying layers

• Choose Main Window menu -> Window -> Show Brush to display the Brush palette
• Click the tab Blending on the Brush palette
• Enable the Pickup color from underlying layers check box

Color Variability Controls

Color variability allows you to create brush strokes of more than one color. Variability can be used to enhance the Natural-Media appearance of your work. Color variability can be set for HSL or RGB mode, and it can be based on the current gradient or color set.

To set color variability in HSL mode

• On the Color palette, choose a foreground color
• Choose Main Window menu -> Window -> Show Brush to display the Brush palette
• Click the tab Color on the Brush palette
• Choose in the Color Variability box In HSL
• Adjust the Hue (±H), Saturation (±S), and Luminance (±L) sliders to control hue, saturation, and luminance ranges for color variability
  • Moving the Hue (±H) slider to the right increases the number of hues in the resulting brush stroke. These colors are the ones adjacent to the selected color on the color wheel
  • Moving the Saturation (±S) slider to the right increases variability in the color intensity of the brush stroke
  • Moving the Luminance (±L) slider to the right increases variability in the brightness of the brush stroke

To set color variability in RGB mode

• On the Color palette, choose a foreground color
• Choose Main Window menu -> Window -> Show Brush to display the Brush palette
• Click the tab Color on the Brush palette
• Choose in the Color Variability box In RGB
• Move the ±R (Red), ±G (Green), and ±B (Blue) sliders to control color variability of red, green, and blue values

To set color variability based on the current color set

• On the Color palette, choose a foreground color
• Choose Main Window menu -> Window -> Show Brush to display the Brush palette
• Click the tab Color on the Brush palette
• Choose in the Color Variability box From Color Set
• Color variability is now based on random colors from the current color set

To set color variability based on the current gradient

• On the Color palette, choose a foreground color
• Choose Main Window menu -> Window -> Show Brush to display the Brush palette
• Click the tab Color on the Brush palette
• Choose in the Color Variability box From Gradient
• Color variability is now based on random colors from the current gradient

Random Controls

The Jitter control introduces a randomized jitter to the brush stroke. Instead of appearing directly along the stroke, dabs appear randomly outside the brush stroke path.

To set brush Jitter

• Choose Main Window menu -> Window -> Show Brush to display the Brush palette
• Click the tab Jitter on the Brush palette
• Move the Jitter slider to the left to decrease deviation from the stroke path, or to the right to increase the deviation

Airbrush Controls

The Airbrush controls allow you to adjust the amount and the displacement of the media that is applied by an airbrush.

Feature lets you set the size of individual paint droplets.

Flow controls how much media is applied by an airbrush stroke. The Flow control acts like the needle control on a real airbrush. Because the airbrush dab types deposit many small dabs to create their spray-paint look, you might need to cut down on the flow to speed up the airbrush.

Pressure controls how fast the medium flows when Continuous Time Deposition is enabled.

You can also link an Expression setting to both the Flow and Feature controls. This lets you link the controls to a stylus or mouse movement.

To set Airbrush feature

• Choose Main Window menu -> Window -> Show Brush to display the Brush palette
• Click the tab Size on the Brush palette
• Move the Feature slider to the left to reduce the size of individual paint droplets, or to the right to increase it

To set ink flow

• Choose Main Window menu -> Window -> Show Brush to display the Brush palette
• Click the tab Airbrush on the Brush palette
• Move the Flow slider to the left to reduce the smallest amount of media applied with a stroke, or to the right to increase it

To set Airbrush pressure

• Choose Main Window menu -> Window -> Show Brush to display the Brush palette
• Click the tab Airbrush on the Brush palette
• Move the Pressure slider to the left to reduce the smallest amount of media applied by Continuous Time Deposition, or to the right to increase it

Expression Settings

You can control brush effects along the stroke based on a number of real-time input factors. You can use the Expression settings on the Brush palette to vary these effects.

To choose a Expression setting

• Choose Main Window menu -> Window -> Show Brush to display the Brush palette
• Click a tab on the Brush palette
• Choose an option from the Expression menu

Expression	Description
None	Applies no adjustment to the brush feature.
Pressure	Adjusts the brush feature based on pen pressure. Greater pressure increases the setting for that brush feature.
Random	Adjusts the brush feature on a random basis.
Direction	Adjusts the selected brush feature based on the direction of the stroke.
Sequential	Increases the brush feature to maximum to begin again at minimum.
Speed	Adjusts the brush feature based on the dragging speed. Dragging quickly minimizes the setting; dragging more slowly increases it.
Growing	Increases the brush feature to maximum.
Shrinking	Decreases the brush feature to minimum.