Paintbrush

This tool enables you to paint using a brushstroke with soft edges, as with a real paintbrush.

Click on Paintbrush image\ppBrush.gif on the Tools bar.

In the "Brushes" dialog choose the method of applying the pencil from Free Hand, Spline, Line Drawing, Ellipse, Arc, Rectangle (for information on each of these, see Pencil).

Select a shape and size for the brushstroke from the Brushes box (see Brushes).

Select a mode in the Mode box (see Brush modes).

Change the degree of transparency in the Opacity box.

Note that Paintbrush produces a "softer" outline than Pencil, employing a technique called "dithering" to soften the edges of a painted shape. Basically, dithering consists in softening the edges of an area of color by fading it into the surrounding color. This results in a less stepped edge than is produced by Pencil. The effect of dithering becomes more apparent if you increase the size of the image (see Zoom).

See:

Paint Tools