Customize brush settings in Pixelmator Pro on Mac
Use the Advanced Settings in the Paint pane or Erase pane to customize a brush.
Note: To modify how paint is applied to the canvas, use the basic Paint tool controls.
Important: Pressure settings are used only with graphics tablets.
Customize advanced brush settings
In Pixelmator Pro on Mac, do any of the following:
Select
in the Tools sidebar.
Select
in the Tools sidebar.
Click the brushes browser pop-up menu at the top of the Paint pane or Erase pane, then choose the brush you want to modify.
Click
next to Advanced Settings.
Click the pop-up menu under the brush stroke preview, then choose a category (General, Shape, Grain, and so on).
Adjust any of the following controls for the category you chose:
Brush settings category | Setting | Description |
|---|---|---|
General | Brush Spacing | Drag the slider to adjust the spacing between individual brush marks within the brush. |
General | Shape Angle | Drag the slider to adjust the angle of the brush shape. |
General | Smudge | Drag the slider to adjust the intensity of the paint-smudging effect. |
General | Shape | Click Import to choose an image of the desired shape from your device. |
General | Grain | Click Import to choose an image of the desired grain from your device. |
General | Smooth Textures | Select Smooth Textures to smooth the textures of the brush. |
General | Merge Brush Marks | Select “Merge brush marks” to make individual brush marks merge together instead of building up. |
General | Wetness | Select this checkbox to enable the wet paint effect. |
Shape | Shape Direction | Drag the slider to adjust how closely the brush shape texture should follow your painting direction. At –100%, the angle of a brushstroke’s brush mark is fixed. At 100%, the brush marks are rotated to follow your painting direction completely. |
Shape | Scale Shape Horizontally | Drag the slider to adjust the horizontal size of the brush shape. |
Shape | Scale Shape Vertically | Drag the slider to adjust the vertical size of the brush shape. |
Shape | Initial Direction | Choose an initial direction for the brush shape. |
Grain | Grain Spacing | Drag the slider to adjust how closely the brush texture marks are placed inside your brushstroke. |
Grain | Grain Scale | Drag the slider to adjust the size of the brush texture. |
Grain | Grain Rotation | Drag the slider to adjust the angle of the brush texture. |
Stroke | Tail Start Dynamic | Drag the slider to adjust how much the size and opacity of a brushstroke’s beginning is reduced. |
Stroke | Tail End Dynamics | Drag the slider to adjust how much the size and opacity of a brushstroke’s end is reduced. |
Stroke | Tail Opacity | Drag the slider to adjust the opacity of the brushstroke’s beginnings and ends. |
Stroke | Tail Size | Drag the slider to adjust how much the size of the brushstroke’s beginnings and ends are reduced. |
Dynamics | Opacity by Speed | Drag the slider to adjust how much the opacity of the brushstroke increases or decreases according to how quickly you paint. With a positive value, painting more quickly reduces opacity; with a negative value, painting more quickly increases opacity. |
Dynamics | Size by Speed | Drag the slider to adjust how much the size of the brushstroke increases or decreases according to how quickly you paint. With a positive value, painting more quickly reduces the size; with a negative value, painting more quickly increases the size. |
Scatter | Brush Scatter | Drag the slider to adjust how much each brush mark is scattered away from the brushstroke. |
Scatter | Angle Scatter | Drag the slider to adjust how much to randomly vary the angle of each brush mark in a brushstroke. |
Scatter | Size Scatter | Drag the slider to adjust how much to randomly vary the size of each brush mark in a brushstroke. |
Scatter | Opacity Scatter | Drag the slider to adjust how much to randomly vary the opacity of each brush mark in a brushstroke. |
Scatter | Hue Scatter | Drag the slider to adjust how much to randomly vary the hue of each brush mark in a brushstroke. |
Scatter | Saturation Scatter | Drag the slider to adjust how much to randomly vary the saturation of each brush mark in a brushstroke. |
Scatter | Lightness Scatter | Drag the slider to adjust how much to randomly vary the lightness of each brush mark in a brushstroke. |
Pressure | Size by Pressure | Drag the slider to adjust how much the size of the brushstroke changes when you apply pressure while painting using a graphics tablet. |
Pressure | Opacity by Pressure | Drag the slider to adjust how much the opacity of the brushstroke changes when you apply pressure while painting using a graphics tablet. |
Pressure | Angle by Tilt | Drag the slider to adjust how much the angle of the brushstroke changes when you tilt your pen while painting using a graphics tablet. |
Pressure | Scale Horizontally by Tilt | Drag the slider to adjust how much the horizontal size of the brushstroke changes when you tilt your pen while painting using a graphics tablet. |
Pressure | Scale Vertically by Tilt | Drag the slider to adjust how much the vertical size of the brushstroke changes when you tilt your pen while painting using a graphics tablet. |