A number of paint effects and paint tools are provided in the Settings area at the bottom of your screen when they apply to the particular operation at hand. In general, these effects and tools are used to manipulate the colors in your photos, or the colors of the lines and shapes that you draw. You can restrict paint operations to selected areas only if you wish.
The paint effects in the Settings area are not to be confused with the Paint Brush tool on the Toolbar. The paint effects offer considerable control over color intensity, or saturation, and can be used in a variety of operations. The Paint Brush tool controls one such operation, and is used to brush on paint effects in freehand.
To find the tools:
Click the Photos button on the Navigation panel.
Click the Edit Photo icon located below the buttons.
Click a tool on the Toolbar. The Paint tools are displayed in the Settings area below the photo after either of the following tools are clicked, Unfilled Shapes, Filled Shapes, Paint Brush, and Flood-Fill.
Paint Effects
The effects described below are contained within the list box, entitled Paint. In each case, the effect is brushed, or painted, on in freehand. The brush type and size is set in the Brush Preview box.
For some operations, such as Normal, Tint, and Colorize, the active Paint color is applied. Select the desired color from the Color Palette; the Paint color swatch denotes the currently active Paint color. Custom Paint colors can be selected using the Select Paint / Fill Color dialog.
We encourage you to experiment with each effect to better understand how and where it should be applied.
To apply the effect:
Select the desired paint effect from the Paint list box.
Adjust the brush size and/or type in the Brush Preview box.
If necessary, select the desired Paint color from the Color Palette.
Set the position of the Opacity slider to specify the intensity of the effect.
Click and hold the left mouse button, and brush, or paint, the effect over the desired area in the photo.
Note: To apply the effect cumulatively, or in increasing amounts, release the mouse button, click and hold it once again, and continue to brush on the effect.
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Normal |
Use this effect to paint with the most intense, or saturated, color. At maximum opacity, the saturation of color is at its peak. Use the Opacity slider to control the degree of color saturation. |
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Tint |
Use this effect to paint with less saturation of color than the Normal tool. Detail in the photo is retained. Again, use the Opacity slider to control the degree of color saturation. |
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Colorize |
Use this effect to paint with slightly more saturation of color than the Tint tool. The luminance of color is higher resulting in a more vibrant appearance. Again, use the Opacity slider to control the degree of color saturation. |
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Lighten |
Use this effect to lighten areas of a photo. This tool is often used if some areas of a photo are shadowed while other areas are not. |
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Darken |
Use this effect to darken areas of a photo. |
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Remove Red-eye |
Use this effect to darken red pixels in a photo. This effect is most often used to remove red-eye in a photo. |
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Remove Blemishes |
Use this effect to remove blemishes in a photo. Pixel colors are averaged in the area to create the effect. |
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Soften |
Use this effect to soften detail in a photo. |
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Sharpen |
Use this effect to sharpen detail, or increase contrast, in a photo. |
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Opacity |
Use this slider to control the degree of color saturation that is applied as you use the Paint tools. |
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Use the Brush Preview to choose the style and thickness, or size, of the brush. Take these settings into account when you draw lines and bordered shapes, or when you use the Paint Brush and Undo Eraser tools. Click the Brush Preview box to set the style of brush. Select the desired style from the Brushes dialog displayed. Click the [Up] and [Down] arrows to adjust the thickness of the brush. |
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Two color swatches depict the currently active Paint and Fill colors. The swatch on the left depicts the Paint color; the swatch on the right depicts the Fill color. Click the small arrow set beside the swatches to toggle between the two colors. Select active Paint and Fill colors from the Color Palette located to the right of the color swatches. Click the Paint color swatch to open the Select Paint Color dialog. The custom color selected in this dialog will replace the color currently displayed in the swatch, and become the new active Paint color. Similarly, click the Fill color swatch to open the Select Fill Color dialog. The custom color selected in this dialog will replace the color currently displayed in the swatch, and become the new active Fill color. To learn how to use the dialog, see Select Paint / Fill Color. |
Left-click a color to make it the active Paint color. Right-click a color to make it the active Fill color.
Select Paint / Fill Color Dialog
To open the dialog:
Click the Paint color swatch to open the Select Paint Color dialog, or click the Fill color swatch to open the Select Fill Color dialog.
Select a custom color. Depending on the dialog you opened, the selected color will replace either the Paint or the Fill color in the color swatch, and become the new active Paint or Fill color.
Vertical Strip
Click a color in the vertical strip on the left side of the dialog to select a basic color, or hue.
Color Preview Box
Drag the small color wheel horizontally to increase or decrease the saturation of color. Drag the color wheel vertically to increase or decrease the brightness of the color. Both values are expressed as percentages.
Hue-Sat-Value
Values for the three attributes can be entered directly into their respective value fields.
Red-Green-Blue
These values represent another model that can be used to specify color — the amount of red, green, and blue present in any color. Enter the desired color's RGB index values directly into their respective value fields.
Sample
Both the currently active Paint / Fill color and the new Paint / Fill color you are selecting are represented here.
