The Brush Tool is used for mark making, and drawing freehand shapes using the selected brush from the Brushes Library in the chosen foreground colour on your design. It can also be used to paint with filters. Click on the Brush Tool in the Tools Palette or press P on the keyboard to automatically select the tool. 

A standard set of brushes are supplied with the software and custom brush shapes and sizes can be created and added to the brush library very easily. When using a Wacom tablet and pen, pressure options can also be selected to help create even more realistic brush effects.

Transparency, noise and a non-building brush effect can be applied to individual brushes or can be assigned as a global setting for all brushes.

There are several ways to open the Brushes Library;

• Go to Window Menu > Brushes
• Double click on the Brush tool in the Tools Palette
• Use the shortcut ⌘ ⇧ B

To activate a brush simply click on the brush shape required. A coloured frame highlights the selected brush.

Try painting with a variety of brushes to see the differences between them. Depending on the cursor setting you have selected in the  General Settings , the brush cursor may look quite different. Go to AVA Menu > Settings , and under the General section select an Outline Cursor from: Filled, Outline, Auto Outline and Off. Try out each option to see which you prefer. 

Filled is great option because it will then display the selected pattern from the Patterns Library.

Auto Outline is also great because if your cursor becomes too small to see, it converts it to an arrow, ensuring you can always see where your cursor is.

The settings window

Tracking

Instead of painting regular lines, add character to your mark marking with the shape tracking effects.  When you select the Brush Tool from the Tools Palette the settings window automatically opens, providing you with six options to apply to your brush strokes.  Each setting can be further adjusted using the Amplitude and Spacing settings, which increase and decrease the height and frequency of the shape being selected.

• Line - effectively switched the tracking off and lets the Brush Tool paint with no tracking effects applied
• Sine - from the word sinusoidal, meaning random and sinew like. This setting provides effects like the one shown below. We recommend you experiment with the amplitude and spacing settings to see what effects you can achieve.
• Square - gives a squared appearance to the edge of the shape
• Triangle - gives a triangular appearance to the edge of the selection
• Spring - creates a spring-like affect selection
• Random - creates a random shaped edge to your selection