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ProArtisan2

The complete ProArtisan2 manual

The main window is made up of the edit window, called the canvas, and a tool pane. Each tool in the pane is accessed by clicking on it with SELECT . Each tool has its own associated menu which is brought up by pressing the mouse MENU button with the pointer on the canvas.

The diagram below shows the Tool pane.

The Tool pane can be flipped horizontally by clicking on the red icon in the top corner. The pane can also be offset from the canvas by dragging it with its title bar. The pane then maintains that offset from the canvas when it is moved.

The Tool pane is the core of ProArtisan 2. It gives access to all of the functions available. There are ten icons on the Tool pane and five of these give access to five different menus. The others are options in their own right or are for information. The reason for having the Tool pane and associated menus is to simplify the use of the program. The icons and menus relate to useful groupings of tools. This method also reduces the number of menu levels that you need to move through in order to get at the function you require.

Palette

The Palette explanation is taken out of turn and explained here so that you are able to access it correctly as you work through the rest of the reference section.

The 256 colour palette window can be viewed by clicking either SELECT or ADJUST on the above palette icon in the tool pane. Clicking on the toggle icon at the top right switches between a large and small palette display.

Selecting Colours

Colours can be selected in a variety of ways. The obvious way is to click on the required colour in the palette window. The chosen colour is immediately added to the block of 16 colours at the bottom of the window. This is known as the Picker. The 16 colours shown are the last 16 that you have used. These 16 colours can be chosen in a variety of ways. You can also select a colour from this block by clicking on it.

You can also select colours off the canvas by clicking on the required colour with ADJUST. This places the colour in the Picker block if it is not already there. In addition to picking one colour you can click on the Picker icon represented by a '1' icon in the palette to toggle it to '16'. Now when you click on the canvas with ADJUST the program picks up as many colours as it can find in the vicinity, up to a maximum of 16. This is very useful for putting colours into the Magic Brush, described later.

Clicking ADJUST on the '1' or '16' icon inserts the set of current blend colours into the Picker block. A Blend Set usually consists of up to 16 colours, although sometimes this may be fewer and with a colour card it can be up to 256 colours. Blend sets arc used primarily for filling but being able to transfer the Blend set into the Picker block allows you to use the Blend set in many other ways. For example, if you had done a fill with a Blend set and wanted to edit the area slightly you can ensure that you have the same colours available by transferring the blend colours in this way.

The colours in the Picker block are used whenever you have the Sample option ticked in the menus. For example a Spray with Sample ticked uses the colours in the Picker block. The same applies for Special -> Dopple and Special -> Diffuse.

Delete Picker

Clicking on the 'X' icon above the Picker block deletes all but one of the colours in the block. There must always be one colour selected and shown here.

Opacity

The graded block under the main palette area is an indication of colour opacity which applies when using the Brush option. The degree of opacity can be set using either the black slider or the bump arrows either side of the percentage figure. The percentage figure shows the amount of colour opacity that is used when a colour is applied. A value of zero means total, or almost total, transparency depending upon the range of colours available A value of 100 means total opacity and so results in the selected colour being applied and totally obliterating any colour over which it is applied.

Different degrees of opacity create different effects when applied to a colour already on the canvas. By adding a colour with less than 100% opacity to the canvas the new colour and the colour on the canvas are mixed together giving a new colour. This works as you would expect it to if you were using real paints.

Frisket

ProArtisan 2 has a Frisket facility which enables you to protect parts of the canvas from alteration by any of the tools. It has the reverse effect of a cardboard stencil. With a stencil you can only paint through the stencil onto the area where the stencil is cut out. With a Frisket the area 'cut out' cannot be painted on.

The word frisket originally referred to a frame on a hand printing press that carried a piece of parchment to protect the non printing areas. So any area defined as a frisket in ProArtisan 2 is a non printable area ie you cannot change it.

If you are creating a frisket the palette changes to show just two colours - Set Frisket and Unset Frisket. The colours shown are normally red and a cross hatch. The red colour can be changed in the Process menu with the Frisket Colour option. The Frisket option is explained in detail later on page 55. The next two items are also taken out of turn but they are tools that you will find useful from the start.

Zoom

The Zoom option has two icons. The one labelled 'Zoom' above enables you to zoom up or down by clicking on the relevant arrow. The one labelled 'Zoom scale' shows the current zoom size. You can click on the Zoom scale icon with SELECT to revert to 100% size. Clicking on the Zoom scale icon with ADJUST reverts to the previous zoom size.

Note that all ProArtisan 2 tools work at any zoom scale.

Undo

The Undo icon enables you to undo any actions taken since the canvas was last confirmed. ProArtisan 2 does this by holding a back screen which keeps the image as it was. In general a screen is 'confirmed' when you choose a new tool from the Tool Pane or select a new colour from the Palette. In some circumstances changing tool mode does not force a confirm. For example, going into the Process menu to use the Make Last item still enables you to undo the changes thus enabling you to make a Frisket from your last action and then delete your last action.

APDL