DRAWING Tools I in Animate

VICTREE MEDIA X

PART A

 SUMMARY:

     The lesson provides an in-depth exploration of the three primary brush tools available in Macromedia Flash/Adobe Flash: the Classic Brush Tool, Fluid Brush Tool, and Paint Brush Tool. The Classic Brush Tool functions similarly to traditional drawing implements, operating on fill and offering a range of customization options such as size, shape, and angle. It includes various painting modes and the ability to sync settings with the eraser tool for seamless workflow management.

     In contrast, the Fluid Brush Tool, introduced in recent versions, offers enhanced control and versatility, particularly suited for creating backgrounds and characters. With features like stabilizer, curve smoothing, angle adjustment, and pressure sensitivity, it provides a more realistic drawing experience, especially when used with drawing tablets.

     The Paint Brush Tool operates on strokes instead of fills, providing options for smoothness and the ability to draw as a fill. It also allows for the creation of custom brushes and offers advanced settings for scaling, flipping, and positioning artwork.

     Throughout the lesson, practical usage tips are provided, including shortcuts for adjusting brush size and utilizing the Shift key for drawing straight lines. The lesson underscores the significance of drawing tablets for maximizing pressure and tilt sensitivity features, enhancing the overall drawing experience.

     Additionally, students are introduced to the concept of creating new brushes, expanding their understanding beyond default settings. By providing a comprehensive overview, the lesson equips students with foundational knowledge and practical skills for effectively utilizing brush tools in Macromedia Flash/Adobe Flash.

     If you want to know in detail about the drawing tools, read them down below:

Introduction:

 

      As we are learning to add colors, Brush Tools make the most sense. Hence, in today's lesson, I will teach you about the 3 types of brush in Macromedia Flash/Adobe Flash: Fluid Brush, Paint Brush and Classic Brush Tool.

Classic Brush Tool:

 

     The Classic Brush Tool is used to draw any free-hand shapes, assuming that you have bought a Pen (Drawing) or a display tablet. The classic brush tool works on fill [Remember I told you in Victree 7], and you will use this brush the same way you use it back in Microsoft Paint. On top of properties, it shows you what you have selected. Below that, you have options for object drawing mode, brush mode and lock fill.

 

      Under classic brush tool option, you can change its style, size, add a custom brush by changing a brush angle and flatness. You have the square or a circle shape, delete custom brush, edit custom brush, save brush size as preset, remove the saved preset, you can also set a minimum for the size to whatever preset you have decided, change its smoothness, zoom size with stage and sync settings with eraser.

 

     Without enabling the 'Zoom size with stage' option, the brush size will grow as you zoom out and will shink as you zoom in. With that option ticked, the size of the brush will remain the same to what you set, no matter we zoom in or zoom out. Sync setting with eraser, as the name suggests, it sync the settings that we keep for Classic Brush tool with the eraser settings. for example if the brush size is kept at thirty and the option is checked, then the size of the eraser will also be 30. Even it syncs the brush type with the eraser type.

 

     Break Apart is in this term, converting Object Drawing Mode back to merge mode/raw shape, and below the Object Drawing Tool option, you have options to change its width and height, as well as its x and y position. You can change its color and straighten the drawing.

 

PEN MODE

 

     The first option under brush mode is Paint normal, and it is when we paint, we can paint the image or drawing normally. Paint fills, as the name identifies, it only paints where there is a fill, and it will not work on stroke or empty area. Paint Behind fills the color on the shape or object behind the drawing, and paint selection only paints in the selected areas of the drawing. Paint inside is my most favorite mode, and it will not allow your paint to go outside the border of your model. Lock fill basically locks the gradient and color with one color, and remember, it only works on gradient.

 

PRESSURE SENSITIVITY

      Both options 'Use Tilt' and 'Use Pressure', only works when you have a drawing or a display tablet. If these options are dented, then you will not note the size changing of the brush, when you use the shortcut, and you will need to see the properties panel. Enabling 'Use Pressure' option, it enables the pressure sensitivity: meaning the lines will shorten or thicken according to how much pressure you apply.

 

     Enabling tilt option, it enables the tilt sensitivity, meaning it will make tilt traces according to how much pressure we put while tilting. You have option to make the fill alpha (Transparency) and change color.

USES

1) Press the Classic Brush tool icon or just use the shortcut.

2) Shift key is for drawing straight lines.

3) To Increase the size of the brush, use square-bracket close ( ] ).

4) To decrease the size of the brush, use square-bracket open ( [ ).

5) Expand to fill converts the selected strokes to fills and merge them together.

6) Create new Paint Brush and convert to symbol, I will tell further in the lesson.

7) Create new Paint Brush is about to come, while convert to symbol, I will tell when you will come to that lesson.

8) Create Object converts the selected shape in merged mode to Object Drawing Mode (Same as Union operation).

9) You will normally just click the left key and drag it around, but if you have a drawing tablet, then you do not have to click anything.

 

Fluid Brush Tool:

     Fluid Brush Tool, just like Classic Brush Tool, is used to draw any free-hand shape. It provides more control than the Paint Brush and Classic Brush Tool. It is introduced in Macromedia Flash/Adobe Animate 2020 and above. Just like Classic Brush Tool, Fluid Brush Tool also works on fill. It is known as GPU {Graphics Processing Unit} brush, and like any other brush, we can change its size. If you have a graphics card that is not supported with this brush, it will be graded out and Flash (Animate) will not let you select it. This brush has lots of configurations and capabilities that you can mess around with. You can also change and save your presets, and you can delete them, as well. Other than that, you also have zoom size with stage turned on.

 

     The option for changing color, changing its alpha (Transparency), object drawing mode, lock fills, painting option: like paint inside, use pressure and use velocity sensitivity, are old, but we have a lot more, new command under Fluid Brush options. This is fantastic tool for making background and characters. Stabilizer helps in avoiding minor fluctuations and variations while drawing a line. Curve smoothing helps in reducing the number of overall control points generated after the line drawn.

 

     Angle changes the sizzle's angle on the tip of the brush, and lastly, taper helps it look like you started with a smaller paint size; then, it flowed out of the pen rather than a Paint Brush. Roundness makes the brush feel like you have tilt control on the brush, and if you have roundness all the way up, then the angle does not matter.

 

PRESSURE SENSITIVITY

     The right option in tool panel is Use Velocity, then again this option works better with a drawing or a display tablet. In my opinion, it gives more of a realism to our paint. When you draw quickly, it seems like the paint has spilled a little, but when you draw slowly and patiently it does not spill out. This will grow a negative impact or will go vice versa, if you drag the setting of Fluid Brush's velocity to a negative value. For instance, the slower the pen, the more spill; the faster the impact, the lesser the spill.

 

     Pressure sensitivity is to control the pressure placed by a pen of a drawing or a display tablet. In 2020, Adobe removed the ability to add a stroke, and twenty is humorously also the highest size that it will go with pen pressure. For example, setting it below 20, like 1 or 2, no matter how hard you press, it will just create that same sized line. If you are using a mouse, you need to change the size constantly as per your requirement, but if you have a display tablet or graphic (Pen/drawing) tablet, then set the size to maximum that you want the pressure to be in, then control the rest with the pen pressure.

 

USES

1) Press the Fluid Brush tool icon or just use the shortcut.

 

Paint Brush Tool:

    Paint Brush Tool is used to draw line and shape, and you use Paint Brush Tool like you use classic brush tool. This tool works on stroke, which is why this is a little different from the other two brushes, and so, you can play with stroke settings. Otherwise, you have the object drawing mode, you have option for smooth, straighten and ink; all 3 of them with better with a graphic tablet. Hence, this is a very powerful tool in Animate.

 

     Under the Paint Brush option, you can set the 'Smoothness' selected in Paint Brush Tool, and you further have option to draw as a fill, which will draw a fill rather than a stroke. By default, it is at 50%, but you should have 'Smoothness' selected in paint brush mode, and shape properties has expand to fill, create the drawing into Object drawing mode. You can break object apart, and convert a shape or drawing to symbol [We will get to it later]. You can name your brush and this paint brush option, creates your drawing as a brush. You can scale it proportionately, you can stretch it to fit the stroke length or stretch it between guides, and you can flip your artwork or give what direction it is facing; right, left, up or down. You can set start and end for guides. You can also between two types of overlapping, and . Under pattern brush, you can set a name, spacing, flip artwork horizontal or vertical, stretch to fit, add space to fit or approximate path, apply existing strokes and update the brush.You also have center artwork, flank artwork, slice artwork, overlap artwork none at the turns or corners. If you press add, it adds under 'My brush' in the brush library in property panel.

 

PEN PRESSURE

     You have 'Use Tilt' and 'Use Pressure' that works better with drawing/display tablet. For tilt and pressure sensitivity [Best with tablets], it give options to minimum and maximum width. You can apply to existing strokes and update the brush.

USES

 

1) Press the Paint Brush tool icon or just use the shortcut.

2) Ctrl for selection Tool.

3) You can either press add or cancel.

4) We can create new brushes: We can either choose art brush or pattern, after clicking on 'Create Paint Brush' option.

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