Editing brushes

Changing the properties of brushes in the Brushes Library


New brushes can be added to the Brushes Library and existing brushes can be edited using the Brush Editor. Choose New from the Brush action menu to create a new brush, or simply edit the settings of an existing brush in the bottom section of the Brushes Library. 


  • Diameter - the size of the brush can be set by entering the number of pixels in the diameter field or by using the diameter slider. The maximum value you can enter is 1000. If a custom made brush exceeds 1000 pixels, you will only be able to reduce the size of that brush.

Reset size of custom brushes

If you want to restore a custom brush to its original size, you can use the Reset Size button found under the brush preview.

The value displayed indicates the scale at which the brush has been resized. In the example above, the brush has been resized to 145% of its original size.

  • Angle - only available for standard brushes, the angle of the brush will appear not to change if the Roundness is set to 100%. Reduce the roundness first, to 30% for example, then move the Angle slider to see the paintbrush shape rotate around 360°, or enter the angle needed in the field. Editing the angle and roundness of a brush will allow you to create calligraphic style brushes.
  • Rotate while painting - the paintbrush will rotate as you paint, following the orientation of the path the brush takes.
  • Roundness - the roundness of the brush can be changed using the slider or entering a percentage. 100% will create a circular brush, while numbers closer to 0% will create a more elliptical brush.
  • Hardness - the hardness of the brush can be reduced to make it more soft. 100% makes a solid brush, while lower percentages will soften the brush from the edges inwards.
  • Spacing - the spacing between each brush dot can be increased or decreased. The lower the number, the closer the brush marks are to each other, giving a smooth painted line. Increasing the spacing, increases the gap between each brush mark and starts to produce a dotted effect when painting with the brush. The default setting for new brushes is 15%. The example below uses spacing settings of 50%, 80% and 120%.
  • Transparency - the transparency of specific brushes can be set in the Brush Editor. This setting will override the global transparency setting (in the Brushes window) when the selected brush is used. Activate the Transparency check box and then enter the transparency required. To remove the individual transparency on the selected brush, simply untick the Transparency check box in the Brush Editor.
  • Noise - the noise of specific brushes can be set in the Brush Editor. This setting will override the global noise setting (in the Brushes Library) when the selected brush is used. Activate the Noise check box and then enter the noise required.

    You may want to set an individual noise level for a brush which is always used for retouching, for example. To remove the individual noise on the selected brush, simply untick the Noise check box in the Brush Editor.

  • Override global non building brush state - the non-building status of specific brushes can be set in the Brush Editor. This setting will override the global non-building setting (in the Brushes Library) when the selected brush is used. Activate the Override global non building brush state check box and then activate the Non-building brush option. To remove the individual non-building option, simply untick the Override global non-building brush state check box.
  • Name - enter a name for your brush

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