Not only can you create your own custom brushes in AVA, you can also combine any of the brushes in your Brushes Library with the filters you have created in the Filter Browser. This helps you to paint these effects directly into specific areas of your design.
Note: Brushing with a filter only works when you paint over existing information on the layers or image, it will not create new information on a blank layer, or add information to an empty area of an existing layer.
The filter menu at the top right of the Brushes Library lists all filter sets which have been created in the Filter Browser. Click on the menu, select one of the listed filter sets and start painting on the design with an appropriate brush. The chosen filter will be applied to any areas you paint over on the active layer(s) or image.
For more information on how to create filter effects to use with your brushes, please refer to the Filter Browser article.
Note: The default setting for the Brush Tool is ‘Brush”, located at the top of this drop down menu. To prevent you from becoming confused between the default setting and a filter setting, do not name any filters ‘Brush’. When you have finished painting with your filter, set the drop down menu back to the Brush setting, otherwise the Brush Tool may not behave as you would expect later on.
Tip: Try painting with a filter on a small part of your design to see a preview of what the filter will look like and then apply it to the whole file using the Filter Browser. Another handy use for this tool is to select the Despeckle Filter in the Brushes Library and use it to quickly clean up dirty areas of a separated design.
There are several advantages to applying filters with the Brush Tool:
- Filtered effects can be applied, taking advantage of the Transparency setting of the Brush Tool
- Filtered effects can be applied to very specific areas of the design
- The Pressure Size and Pressure Density settings can be used whilst painting with filters, when using a Wacom™️
