Corel PHOTO-PAINT Help | Applying brushstrokes

Quick links to procedures on this page:

•

To paint with a preset brush

•

To paint with a color sample from an image

•

To paint with a fill

•

To change the merge mode

Applying brushstrokes

Paint tools let you imitate a variety of painting and drawing media. For example, you can apply brushstrokes that imitate watercolors, pastels, felt markers, and pens. By default, brushstrokes are added to the active object or background. Brushstrokes can also be rendered as separate objects. For information about objects, see Creating objects.


Preset brush type	Painting an image
Airbrush	The Airbrush is used for shading.
Spray can	Colors are splattered to add texture.
Camel hair brush	A decorative effect is added by using a Camel hair brush.

Choosing preset brushes

The paint tool and brush type that you choose determine the appearance of the brushstroke on the image. When you paint with a preset brush, the brush attributes of the paint tool are predetermined. You can choose a preset brush from the Brush picker, which displays all the brush categories and preset brushes. In addition, the Brush picker provides a nib and brushstroke preview and shows you the last five most recently used brushes.

The Brush picker lets you preview and choose preset brushes, which are organized in brush categories.

Painting with color and fills

The color of the brushstroke is determined by the current foreground color, which is displayed in the color control area. You can choose a foreground color by clicking a color swatch on a color palette. For more information about choosing colors, see Working with color.

In addition to painting with color, you can apply images and textures by painting with a fill. You can also apply a brushstroke to a path. For more information, see Applying brushstrokes to paths.

Blending colors

Merge modes control the way the foreground colors blend with underlying colors. Merge modes let you combine these colors in various ways to create new colors and effects. For more information about merge modes, see Understanding merge modes.

To paint with a preset brush

1 .

In the toolbox, click the Paint tool

2 .

Open the Brush picker on the property bar, choose a brush category, and then choose a brush.

To preview a brush, point to it.

3 .

In the color control area of the toolbox, double-click the Foreground color swatch, and choose a color.

4 .

Drag in the image window.

If you want to constrain the brush to a straight horizontal or vertical line, hold down Ctrl while you drag, and press Shift to change direction.


You can also
Choose the default preset brush in a brush category	Double-click a brush category.
Change the brush shape	Choose a brush shape from the Nib shape picker on the property bar.
Change the brush size	Type a value in the Nib size box on the property bar.
Change the transparency	Type a value in the Transparency box on the property bar. To adjust the brushstroke transparency interactively, hold down Alt, and click in the image window without releasing the mouse button to display a transparency slider.
Change the feathering	Type a value in the Feather box on the property bar. To change the feathering interactively, hold down Ctrl + Alt, and click in the image window without releasing the mouse button to display a feathering slider.

The property bar provides options for changing the attributes of a preset brush. After you change an attribute, the brush name changes to Custom art brush. For more information about custom brushes, see Creating custom brushes.

You can use this procedure to create an object by clicking Object Create New object before you drag in the image window.

You can also choose a preset brush by clicking a brushstroke sample in the Artistic media docker. If the Artistic media docker is not open, click Window Dockers Artistic media.

You can quickly choose a square or round brush shape by clicking the Round nib button or the Square nib button on the property bar.