Brush Creator: Shape & Grain¶

Source¶

A Rebelle brush consists of a combination of a Shape and a Grain:

Brush Shape - Choose the shape of your custom brush. Click the shape thumbnail to open the image library of shapes.

Brush Grain - Choose the grain of your brush. Click the grain thumbnail to open the image library of grains.

Texture Properties - Scale or change the brightness and contrast of the shape/grain.

Rotate - Rotate the shape/grain clockwise.

Flip Horizontally - Flip the shape/grain horizontally.

Invert - Invert the shape/grain.

Note

Shapes and Grains are accessible via the Help menu > Show Library folder, where you can paste any custom shape or grain to their respective folder in PNG, JPG or BMP format.

Rebelle lets you add up to four (4) shapes and up to four (4) grains into one brush preset.

(1/4) Number of Shapes / Grains - The first number indicates the currently displayed shape & grain combination. The second number indicates the total shape & grain combinations in the brush preset.

Add Image - Add a new shape and grain to the brush.

Previous Image - Go to the previous shape and grain.

Next Image - Go to the next shape and grain.

Remove Image - Remove the currently displayed shape and grain from the brush.

Video tutorial

Learn more about Rebelle's shapes, grains and rotation settings in this video: Four Shapes and Grains, Rotation Settings.

Texture Order - Set the order of the brush shapes and grains in the stroke. The Texture order has four different modes:

Sequential - The images alternate regularly in the stroke.

Random - The images alternate randomly in the stroke.

Based on Pen Pressure - The images alternate based on the pressure of the stylus.

Based on Pen Tilt - The images alternate based on the tilt of the stylus.

Example of different types of texture orders using two brush shapes.

Image Sequence - Set how often the brush (consisting of a shape and grain) repeats in a brushstroke (1-100). The functionality of the Image Sequence slider changes based on your selected "Texture Order" mode:

Sequential Texture Order - The Image Sequence slider is disabled. The brush shapes and grains are used in a sequence (the first splat uses the first shape and grain, the second splat will use the second shape and grain, etc.). After using the last shape and grain it cycles back to the beginning.
Random Texture Order - The Image Sequence slider is enabled and determines the probability with which a certain shape & grain combination appears in the brushstroke.

The slider set at "1" results in all shape & grain pairs having an equal chance to appear in the brushstroke (but still in random order).

As you set higher values on the "Image Sequence" slider, the distribution changes - the first shape & grain pair will appear more likely than the second set of shape & grain.

Each following set will have a lower chance to appear in the brushstroke.

With the slider set at "100", you should see approximately 100 splats using the first shape & grain for every splat that uses the last shape & grain.
Texture Order based on Pen Pressure - The "Image Sequence" slider changes from an ordinary slider to a range slider. See below an example with 2 textures (two shapes and two grains in one brush preset):

The Image Sequence slider can be divided into more parts based on the number of shapes & grains in the brush.

In this mode, the shape & grain combinations are selected based on the pressure from the pen. The light parts in this slider are ranges where only one set of shape & grain is used. In this example from 0 pressure to 0.4 of maximum pen pressure, the first shape & grain is used for painting.

Starting from pressure 0.7 up to full pressure the second set is used. In the middle there is a darker area between pressures 0.4 and 0.7 - this is where the neighborly sets of shape & grain will be used, in this case, the first and second. They are blended together, at the start of the range (near 0.4 of maximum pen pressure) the first shape & grain will be more visible and as pressure increases the second set will become more dominant. This allows the creation of brushes that use different textures, based on the pressure level.
Texture Order based on Pen Tilt - Similar to Pen Pressure but this time which shape & grain combination will appear is selected based on the pen tilt. With no pen tilt (the pen is perpendicular to the surface of the drawing tablet) it picks shape(s) & grain(s) from the middle of the slider, in the example above it would result in a mix between the first pair of shapes & grains with the second ones.

When you tilt your pen more to the "left" it works as if you have increased the pen pressure and eventually you will get splats that use only the second set of shape & grain.

Similarly tilting the pen to the "right" works as if you have decreased the pen pressure.

"Left" and "right" here refer to the direction in regard to the stroke trajectory.

Alpha Blending - Set how the brush texture (blend and grain) will be blended into the layer.

Example

Usually the alpha blending is set to 'Normal'. However you can set different blend modes to different Shape & Grain groups, one group can have 'Normal' mode and another can use 'Multiply' mode. The first group will paint on canvas and the second group will erase it with a different texture. This allows you to create unique brush types.

Note

Alpha blending is not available for the "Oils and Acrylic" tool.

Shape¶

Angle - Set the angle of the brush shape (0-100):

Angle Jitter - Each brush stamp in the stroke is rotated randomly according to the actual angle (0-100):

Rotation - Select the rotation mode of the brush shape:

None - The brush shape does not rotate.
Follow Trajectory - The brush follows the stroke's trajectory rotation.
Pen Tilt - The brush shape follows the pen tilt.
Pen Rotation - The brush shape follows pen rotation.

Tip

Brushes that follow a trajectory, pen tilt and pen rotation have a cursor displayed as a circle with direction. You can choose other cursor types in Preferences > Tools > Painting Cursor.

Note

You can select "Always use Pen Tilt / Rotation instead of Follow Trajectory in Brush Creator" option in Preferences > Tools. When selected, the brush shape follows the pen tilt or rotation if the pen supports them, even when "Follow Trajectory" is selected for brush rotation.

Force Rotation Mode - Lock the currently selected rotation setting for the particular brush so that no other settings override the rotation mode.

Shape Border - Add a custom border to your brush strokes via the Shape Border editor.

Click the Import button to open the Image Library, from which you can choose a border texture that will appear on your strokes.

Enable 'Preview with Shape' to preview the border on the brush shapes in different angles and 'Start', 'Mid' and 'End' controls to fine-tune the border position.

These controls allow changing the width of the border. Borders take the trajectory of the stroke and the pen tilt into account to always appear at the outside edge(s) of the stroke.

The Curve editor controls the strength of the border based on the pressure from your stylus.

Shape Border example: The border appears on the top edge of the stroke (upper), on both edges (middle) and on the bottom edge (bottom) of the shape, based on the tilt of the stylus.

Grain¶

Set various options for the grain of the custom brush.

Here you can choose from three modes of how shape and grain can interact: Follow, Stretched, and Tiled.

Follow is known from Rebelle 5 where the grain texture simply follows the shape.
Stretched is the new mode where grain slowly follows the shape. You can set the speed of how the grain is following the shape with the 'Stretch' slider. With this mode, you can create new types of brushes.
Tiled is known from Rebelle 5 where the grain is locked to the canvas and the shape reveals the tiled grain beneath. This creates a brush with a tiled structure or halftone grain.

Examples of brushstrokes with 'Follow' (left), 'Stretched' (middle) and 'Tiled' (right) settings.

Stretch - Determines the speed at which the grain follows the shape (0-100).

Grain Smoothing - Enable this option to smoothen the grain in the brush.

DPI - Select whether the scale of the grain should use canvas DPI. When selected, the brush's grain will automatically resize when the canvas DPI is changed.

Random Start Offset - Randomize the position of the grain at the beginning of the stroke.

Random Stamp Offset - Randomize the position of the grain relative to the brush stamp for each stamp, so that each brush stamp is different from the previous one.

Follow Shape Size - Select whether the grain should follow shape size or not. When active, the grain matches the size of the brush shape.

Random Start Angle - Randomize the angle of the grain at the beginning of the stroke.

Angle Jitter - Randomizes the angle of the grain's rotation for each brush stamp.

Follow Shape Rotation - Select whether the grain should follow shape rotation or not. When active, the grain rotates with the shape within the brush stamp.

Follow Brush Size - Select whether the grain should follow size of the brush size or not. When active, the grain increases or descreases with the change of the brush size.

Video tutorial

Learn more about Rebelle's Shape & Grain settings in these videos: Brush Creator: Shape and Grain.