Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
3.
Create your brush
.
Go to Edit→“Define Brush from Selection.” A dialog box appears showing the selec-
tion's shape and asking you to name the new brush. Check the thumbnail to be sure
it's exactly what you had in mind. If it is, click OK; if not, click Cancel and try again.
The new brush shows up at the bottom of your current list of brushes. If you want to get rid
of it, simply Alt-click/Option-click its thumbnail, or highlight the thumbnail, click the four-
line square in the upper-right corner of the Brush panel, and then choose Delete Brush.
The Impressionist Brush
When you paint with the Impressionist Brush, Elements blurs and blends the edges of the ob-
jects in your photo, like in an Impressionist painting. At least that's what's
supposed
to hap-
pen. This brush is very tricky to control, but you can get some really interesting effects with
it, especially if you paint on a duplicate layer and play with that layer's Opacity setting. Usu-
ally, you'll want a really low opacity with this brush, or some of the curlier Style settings
(explained in a sec) will make your image look like it's made from poodle hair. Changing the
brush's Mode setting (
Blending and Smudging
) can also help control the effect.
To activate the Impressionist Brush, press B or click the Brush tool's Tools panel icon, and
then click this tool's icon in the Tool Options area (it's the one with the curlicue). This brush
has most of the same Tool Options settings as the regular Brush, but if you click the Ad-
vanced button, you'll see three additional settings:
▪
Style
determines what kind of brushstroke effect the brush will create.
▪
Area
tells Elements the diameter of the painting area, meaning how much area the actual
stroke should cover. This is usually much larger than the size of the cursor itself.
▪
Tolerance
controls how similar in color the pixels the brush passes over have to be be-
fore they're affected by the brush.
The Impressionist Brush isn't really the best tool for creating true Impressionist effects, al-
though its blurring qualities can sometimes be useful because it covers large areas faster than
the Blur tool. If your goal is to create a hand-painted look, you may prefer the brushstroke
filters (Filter→Brush Strokes);
Using Filters
explains how to use them. The Smudge tool
(
The Smudge Tool
)
is another excellent—though time-consuming—way to create a painted
effect.
