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Pastel Tool Properties

Pastel is a dry art medium in the form of a stick, consisting of pure powdered pigment and a binder.

Activate the Pastel tool by choosing it in the Tools panel or by tapping the Shift + T shortcut.

You can adjust its parameters according to your needs:

Size - Set the size of the pastel (1-100).

Opacity - Set the opacity of the pastel (1-100).

Pressure - Determines the pressure applied to the brush (1 to 100). This slider is provided for those using a mouse or a stylus that is not pressure-sensitive.

Note

The Pressure slider is hidden by default. You can view it anytime by selecting Pressure in the Properties panel menu > Show Sliders.

You can also change the size or opacity of pastel brushes without using the Properties panel. To do so, hold Ctrl (or Cmd) key on the keyboard while dragging the mouse or stylus:

  • Drag to the left to decrease brush size.

  • Drag to the right to increase brush size.

  • Drag down to decrease the opacity of the brush.

  • Drag up to increase the opacity of the brush.

When you engage in this process, the on-screen representation of the brush (the brush pointer) will first appear in its Resize Color along with the info window with the current volumes' values. The brush pointer will then change in size or loading depending on which direction you drag it and the info window will update accordingly.

Tip

The brush Resize Color of the brush pointer can be changed in the Preferences panel > Tools > Painting Cursor.

Pastel Tool Modes

Like Rebelle's other tools, pastel brushes can be set to different Modes. These determine how each brush applies, blends, or removes color from the canvas.

Paint - Sets the brush to apply the selected color without mixing it into any other color it encounters on the canvas (previously called Permanent Brush in Rebelle 3). Paint Mode can also be engaged by tapping or holding 1 on the keyboard.

Paint & Blend - Sets the brush to apply the selected color and blend it into any colors it encounters on the canvas. With lower pen pressure you blend the colors and with higher pressure, you paint. Paint & Blend Mode can also be engaged by tapping or holding 3 on the keyboard.

Blend - Sets the brush to blend and smudge any colors it encounters on the canvas. In this paint mode the brush does not apply any color of its own. Blending decreases and smudging increases with stylus pressure. Blend Mode is engaged by tapping or holding 4 on the keyboard.

Erase Brush - Sets the brush to erase any colors it encounters on the canvas. Erase Mode can also be engaged by tapping or holding 5 on the keyboard.

Tip

Each paint mode has a keyboard shortcut (as noted above). By tapping the shortcut, the paint mode is set until it is next changed. By holding the shortcut, the mode is engaged only until the key is released.

Tip

You can switch between Paint modes and Blend mode by tapping or holding the V shortcut.