This User's Guide is the official reference for Studio Artist 5.0.
Studio Artist User's Guide by John Dalton.
Studio Artist application by John Dalton.
Special thanks beyond the call of duty to Candice Pacheco.
Thanks to Michael Van Der Linden, Bernard Brunner, Jean Detheux, Chuck Floading, Victor Ingrassia, Dennis Miller, Sharon Katz, Craig Deeley, David Kaplan, Dave Mazza, Dave Nagel, Tien Yang, Jason Sharp, John Binkov, Toru Kawate, Margie Levinson, Scott Rawlings, Steve Campbell, Julia Kay, Tom Dimuzio, Nina Paley, Jenna Amberg Johnson, and everyone else who contributed their time and talent over the years.
Studio Artist™ is developed and supported by Synthetik Software.
Synthetik Software Inc.
The Landmark Tower
1888 Kalakaua Ave, Suite C312
Honolulu ,HI 96815
Voice: (866)-554-5452
Fax: (866)-990-5787
Visit us online at: www.synthetik.com
Technical Support online: www.synthetik.com and [email protected]
(Please include your serial number in any communications when you contact Technical Sup-port.)
Information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of Synthetik Software, Inc. The software described in this document is furnished under a license agreement or nondisclosure agreement. The software may be used or copied only in accordance of the terms of the agreement. It is against the law to copy this software on any medium except as specifically allowed in the agreement. No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, for any purpose without the express written permission of Synthetik Software, Inc.
Copyright © 1999-2017 Synthetik Software, Inc. All rights reserved.
Studio Artist is a registered trademark, and Synthetik, Graphics Synthesizer, Intelligent-Assisted Drawing, and the Synthetik Software logo are trademarks of Synthetik Software, Inc. Macintosh and Mac OS are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc. Other products mentioned are trademarks of their respective holders.
Table of ContentsChapter 1: Getting Started ...................................................................... 1
Studio Artist is a smart painting, drawing, image and video processing program which includes: ...........1The World’s First Graphics Synthesizer.................................................................................................................2Intelligent-Assisted drawing ...................................................................................................................................2The complexity of Raster paint with the editability of Vector paths .................................................................3Extensive Interactivity .............................................................................................................................................3Auto Rotoscoping .....................................................................................................................................................3Vector-based warping and morphing ....................................................................................................................3Image Processing .......................................................................................................................................................4Texture Synthesis .......................................................................................................................................................4Vectorizer - Raster to Vector Conversion ...............................................................................................................4MSG - Modular Synthesized Graphics ..................................................................................................................5Live Video Processing ..............................................................................................................................................5
Overview ........................................................................................................................................................................6Working With Movies .................................................................................................................................................14Studio Artist Windows and Palettes.........................................................................................................................15
Source Area ..........................................................................................................................................................16Editor ....................................................................................................................................................................22Working Canvas ..................................................................................................................................................22Operation Toolbar ...............................................................................................................................................23Favorites Preset Toolbar .....................................................................................................................................24Help Palette ..........................................................................................................................................................25
Installing Studio Artist on your Hard Disk ............................................................................................................26Quick Start....................................................................................................................................................................28System Requirements .................................................................................................................................................31
Chapter 2: Operation Modes ................................................................ 34Presets ...........................................................................................................................................................................37Paint Synthesizer .........................................................................................................................................................43Image Operations ........................................................................................................................................................46Temporal Image Operations ......................................................................................................................................48Texture Synthesizer .....................................................................................................................................................49Vectorizer ......................................................................................................................................................................51MSG - Modular Synthesized Graphics ....................................................................................................................52Warp ..............................................................................................................................................................................53
Warp Quality Settings ............................................................................................................................................54Hot Keys ...................................................................................................................................................................54
Adjust ............................................................................................................................................................................55Hot Keys ...................................................................................................................................................................55
Studio Artist
Selection ........................................................................................................................................................................57Region Masking .......................................................................................................................................................59
Bezier.............................................................................................................................................................................61Bezier Drawing ........................................................................................................................................................61Bezier Editing ..........................................................................................................................................................63
Chapter 3: Paint Synthesizer Classic .................................................. 64Introduction .................................................................................................................................................................65
Overview of the Paint Synthesizer .......................................................................................................................65Paint Synthesizer Interactive Pen Modes ............................................................................................................70Paint Synthesizer Editable Control Panes ...........................................................................................................75
Paint Synthesizer Control Pane Organization ................................................................................................76Pen Mode ......................................................................................................................................................................80
Autodraw Mode Parameters .............................................................................................................................80Region Draw Mode Parameters ........................................................................................................................81
ParticlePaint Mode ......................................................................................................................................................84ParticlePaint Mode Parameters .........................................................................................................................84
MultiPen Mode ............................................................................................................................................................89Region as Brush Mode ................................................................................................................................................93Path Start ......................................................................................................................................................................98
Start Generator Options ...................................................................................................................................103Path Shape ..................................................................................................................................................................110
Path Shape Type Options .................................................................................................................................117Path Angle ..................................................................................................................................................................121Path End .....................................................................................................................................................................124Path Application .......................................................................................................................................................129Path Randomize .......................................................................................................................................................132Paint Color Source ....................................................................................................................................................135Paint Color Modulate ...............................................................................................................................................143Fixed Colors ...............................................................................................................................................................146Paint Source Offset ....................................................................................................................................................148Paint Brush Load .......................................................................................................................................................152
Brush Load Lighting Effects ................................................................................................................................154Brush Load Procedural Texture Generator ....................................................................................................156
Brush Load Image Processing ............................................................................................................................157Brush Load Gradient Generator .........................................................................................................................160Brush Load MSG ...................................................................................................................................................161
Paint Fill Setup ..........................................................................................................................................................163Paint Fill Apply .........................................................................................................................................................168Alpha Fill ....................................................................................................................................................................171Brush Source ..............................................................................................................................................................173
Computational Brushes ........................................................................................................................................174Image Brushes .......................................................................................................................................................178
Table of Contents
Text Brushes ...........................................................................................................................................................180Movie Brushes .......................................................................................................................................................182Generative Brushes ...............................................................................................................................................185MultiNib Brushes ..................................................................................................................................................187MSG Live Brushes .................................................................................................................................................188
Brush Type .................................................................................................................................................................189Specific Brush Generation Parameters ...............................................................................................................193
Brush Modulation .....................................................................................................................................................205Background Texture ..................................................................................................................................................209
Generic Background Texture Parameters ..........................................................................................................210Procedural Textures ..............................................................................................................................................212Image Textures / Color Image Textures ............................................................................................................213Movie Textures ......................................................................................................................................................214Movie Pixel Index Textures..................................................................................................................................217Texture Synthesizer Textures ...............................................................................................................................218Live Video Textures ..............................................................................................................................................218
Chapter 4: Image Operations ............................................................. 220Generic Image Operation Parameters ................................................................................................................221Texture Synthesizer Modulation in Image Operations ....................................................................................224Image Operation Terminology ............................................................................................................................225Image Operation Examples .................................................................................................................................229
Adaptive Filter ...........................................................................................................................................................230Adaptive Filter Convex Hull ...................................................................................................................................231Block Abstraction ......................................................................................................................................................233Blur 234Cellular Abstraction ..................................................................................................................................................236ColorEdge ...................................................................................................................................................................238Color Gradient Generate ..........................................................................................................................................239Color Gradient Map ..................................................................................................................................................240Color PaletteMap ......................................................................................................................................................242Color Simplify............................................................................................................................................................243Color Simplify1..........................................................................................................................................................245Color Quantize ..........................................................................................................................................................246Colorize.......................................................................................................................................................................247ConvexHull ................................................................................................................................................................248DeInterlace .................................................................................................................................................................249Displacement .............................................................................................................................................................251Edge.............................................................................................................................................................................252Equalizer .....................................................................................................................................................................254Fixed Color .................................................................................................................................................................255Fixed Image ................................................................................................................................................................257Flat Region Colorize .................................................................................................................................................259
Studio Artist
Fracture .......................................................................................................................................................................261Fracture Displacement..............................................................................................................................................263Geodesic Displacement ............................................................................................................................................265Geodesic Falloff .........................................................................................................................................................266Geodesic Filter ...........................................................................................................................................................268Geodesic FX................................................................................................................................................................269Geodesic Growth .......................................................................................................................................................270Geodesic Interpolation .............................................................................................................................................271Geodesic Recursive Growth ....................................................................................................................................272Geodesic Rings ..........................................................................................................................................................274Geodesic Variator ......................................................................................................................................................275Geodesic Warper .......................................................................................................................................................276Gradient ......................................................................................................................................................................278Gradient Lighting ......................................................................................................................................................280Hue Shift .....................................................................................................................................................................282Image Compressor ....................................................................................................................................................283Invert ...........................................................................................................................................................................284Line Screen .................................................................................................................................................................286Line Screen Dual .......................................................................................................................................................287Line Screen Dual1 .....................................................................................................................................................289Line Screen Block Regionize ....................................................................................................................................291Line Screen Regionize ...............................................................................................................................................293 Morphol .....................................................................................................................................................................294 Morpholizer ..............................................................................................................................................................295Oil Painter ..................................................................................................................................................................297Random Block Exchange..........................................................................................................................................298Rank Area Filter .........................................................................................................................................................299Rank Edge Filter ........................................................................................................................................................300Rank Falloff Filter ......................................................................................................................................................301Rank Line Filter .........................................................................................................................................................302Rank Multiscale Filter ...............................................................................................................................................303Resynthesis .................................................................................................................................................................306Selective Color Map ..................................................................................................................................................307Selective Color Matte ................................................................................................................................................308
Chapter 5: Texture Synthesizer .......................................................... 310Introduction ...............................................................................................................................................................311
Overview of the Texture Synthesizer .................................................................................................................311Texture Synthesizer Editable Control Panes .....................................................................................................313Using Color Palettes and Gradients ...................................................................................................................315
Spatial Parameters ....................................................................................................................................................316Generator Parameters ...............................................................................................................................................318Mapping Parameters ................................................................................................................................................321
Table of Contents
Effect Parameters .......................................................................................................................................................323
Chapter 6: Vectorizer ........................................................................... 326Introduction ...............................................................................................................................................................328
Overview of the Vectorizer ..................................................................................................................................328Vectorizer Editable Control Panes ......................................................................................................................330
Drawing ......................................................................................................................................................................342Composite ..................................................................................................................................................................347
Chapter 7: MSG .................................................................................... 350Introduction ...............................................................................................................................................................351
Overview of MSG Processing ..............................................................................................................................351MSG Editor Panel ..................................................................................................................................................354MSG Advanced Editor .........................................................................................................................................356
MSG Preview .....................................................................................................................................................356Processor Chain and Bus Steam Lists ............................................................................................................357Processor Chain and Bus Steam Lists ............................................................................................................357
Using MSG in the Paint Synthesizer ..................................................................................................................360MSG Evolution Editor ..........................................................................................................................................361
Chapter 8: Region Selection ............................................................... 366Selecting a Region Interactively ..............................................................................................................................367Region Selection Pen Modes....................................................................................................................................369Selection Region Canvas Movement ......................................................................................................................374Region Selection Hot keys .......................................................................................................................................375Region Selection Menu Commands .......................................................................................................................377
Chapter 9: Bezier Paths ....................................................................... 378Bezier Draw................................................................................................................................................................379
Editable Bezier Draw Parameters .......................................................................................................................382Bezier Edit ..................................................................................................................................................................383
Adjustable Bezier Edit Parameters .....................................................................................................................384Curve Editing Hints: .........................................................................................................................................384Bezier Edit Hot Keys: ........................................................................................................................................387
Path Frame Menu Commands ............................................................................................................................388Storing Bezier Paths Within a Single Paint Synthesizer Action Step .............................................................390Generating and Filling Bezier Paths from the Vectorizer ................................................................................392Generating EPS Output from Bezier Paths .......................................................................................................393
Chapter 10: Actions .............................................................................. 394Working With Paint Action Sequences ..................................................................................................................395
Sequence Controls .............................................................................................................................................395Individual Action Step Controls .....................................................................................................................395Paint Action Menu Commands .......................................................................................................................398Unique Features of Paint Action Sequences ..................................................................................................398
Studio Artist
Keyframe Animation in Paint Action Sequences .................................................................................................399Animation Sequence Controls .........................................................................................................................400Working with the PASeq Keyframe Cells ......................................................................................................402Bezier Edit and PASeq Keyframe Cells ..........................................................................................................405
Chapter 11: Layers ................................................................................ 406Working With Layers ................................................................................................................................................408
Layer Controls in the Operation Toolbar .......................................................................................................408Layer Palette ......................................................................................................................................................409
Layer Menu Commands ..........................................................................................................................................411Supersizer Interpolation ...........................................................................................................................................412
Chapter 12: Movies .............................................................................. 414Automatically Processing an Existing Movie File ................................................................................................416
Batch Processing a Movie File with a Paint Action Sequence ........................................................................417Using Paint Action Sequences for Movie Processing ......................................................................................420
Generating a New Movie File With a New Movie Stream .................................................................................423Generating a New Canvas Movie Layer ...............................................................................................................425Working with Movie Layers in the Canvas ...........................................................................................................427
Manipulating a Movie Layer Frame...............................................................................................................427Generating a Moving Bezier Mask .....................................................................................................................429
Working with Alpha Channels in Movies .............................................................................................................430Working with the Source Movie Embedded Alpha .....................................................................................430Generating Embedded Alpha in a Processed Output Movie .....................................................................431
Working with Final Cut Pro and iMovie ...............................................................................................................432Working With Time Particles for Motion Effects ..................................................................................................433Working With Movie Brushes in the Paint Synthesizer ......................................................................................434
Using Movie Brushes to Generate Compositing Effects .................................................................................434Using Movie Brushes to Generate Photo Montage Images ............................................................................435
Converting a Folder of Images into a Movie File .........................................................................................435Making a Movie Brush from your Image Folder Movie File ......................................................................436
Recording Your Painting Directly to Video ..........................................................................................................438
Chapter 13: Helpful Hints .................................................................. 440Introduction ...........................................................................................................................................................440Left Brain vs Right Brain Work Strategies .........................................................................................................441Designing a Paint Strategy...................................................................................................................................443Designing a Custom Art Process ........................................................................................................................444Using Evolution to Generate New Paint Patches .............................................................................................446Using Layers to Visualize Paint Edits or Mix Paints........................................................................................447Simulating Multi-Color Brushing Effects ..........................................................................................................448Alternative Uses for the Source Image...............................................................................................................449How to Visually Abstract the Source Image .....................................................................................................451Knowing When to Stop Painting ........................................................................................................................452
Table of Contents
Using a Movie to Generate a Series of Still Paintings ......................................................................................454Using QuickTime Movies to Build Dynamic Brush Masks ............................................................................455Support for the Advanced Features of Wacom Graphics Tablets ..................................................................457
Chapter 14: Quick Tips ........................................................................ 458Introduction ...........................................................................................................................................................458Changing the Brush Size .....................................................................................................................................459Erasing the Canvas ..............................................................................................................................................460Changing the Eraser Preset .................................................................................................................................460Processing a Movie File .......................................................................................................................................461Selecting a Region ................................................................................................................................................461Moving or Scrolling the Canvas With a Hand Tool ........................................................................................463Masking Painting With the Current Region Selection ....................................................................................463Adjusting the Paint Brush Transparency ..........................................................................................................463Navigating the Studio Artist Interface ..............................................................................................................464Generating Bezier Paths from the Vectorizer Output to Paint Using the Paint Synthesizer ....................464Changing the Number of Frames in the Timeline ...........................................................................................464Getting Rid of Flicker in Paint Animations ......................................................................................................465Speeding up Paint Stroke Drawing ...................................................................................................................466Saving a Preset You Like in a Favorites Memory ............................................................................................467Adding or Changing a Preset Help Message ...................................................................................................467Paint Strokes that Auto Regionize .....................................................................................................................468Quick and Easy Paint Synthesizer Macro Edits ...............................................................................................468Generating Flat Cartoon Style Effects ...............................................................................................................468
Chapter 15: Menu Commands ........................................................... 470Main Menus ...............................................................................................................................................................471
File ...........................................................................................................................................................................471Edit ..........................................................................................................................................................................471Canvas ....................................................................................................................................................................471Path .........................................................................................................................................................................471Action ......................................................................................................................................................................472Operation................................................................................................................................................................472Windows .................................................................................................................................................................472Help .........................................................................................................................................................................472
File 473New Source and Canvas... ...................................................................................................................................473Recent Source and New Canvas .........................................................................................................................474Open Source… .......................................................................................................................................................474Recent Source .........................................................................................................................................................474Source Options ......................................................................................................................................................474
:Movie Loop Action Advance ..........................................................................................................................474:Movie Loop Play ..............................................................................................................................................475:Synch Timeline Frame Count .........................................................................................................................475
:Live Video Capture Now ................................................................................................................................475:Live Video Preview Manual Capture ............................................................................................................475:Live Video Loop Action Advance ..................................................................................................................475
Save Canvas As... ..................................................................................................................................................475Open Session… ......................................................................................................................................................476Save Session As…..................................................................................................................................................476Stream .....................................................................................................................................................................476
:New Movie Stream... .......................................................................................................................................477:New Image Stream ...........................................................................................................................................477:Close Open Stream ...........................................................................................................................................477:Write Frame .......................................................................................................................................................478:Flags :Enable Always AutoWrite ...................................................................................................................478:Flags :Enable Gated AutoWrite ......................................................................................................................478:Flags :Enable Write on Op End ......................................................................................................................478:Flags :Enable Write on PASeq Cycle ..............................................................................................................478:Flags :Enable on Gallery Show Cycle ............................................................................................................478:Flags :Use Alpha Gen Movie Pref ..................................................................................................................479
Movie Codec Settings... ........................................................................................................................................479Import .....................................................................................................................................................................479
:Import Paint Preset... .......................................................................................................................................479:Import Image Operation Preset.. ...................................................................................................................479:Import Temporal Image Operation Preset....................................................................................................480:Import Texture Synthesizer Preset... ..............................................................................................................480:Import Vectorizer Preset... ...............................................................................................................................480:Import MSG Preset... .......................................................................................................................................480:Import DualMode Preset... .............................................................................................................................480:Import Paint Action Sequence Preset... .........................................................................................................481:Import History Sequence... .............................................................................................................................481:Import Color Palette... .....................................................................................................................................481:Import Color Gradient... .................................................................................................................................481:Import Bezier Path Frame... ............................................................................................................................481:Open New Canvas... ........................................................................................................................................481:Open Movie as New Canvas Movie... ...........................................................................................................482
Export ......................................................................................................................................................................482:Export Paint Preset... ........................................................................................................................................482:Export Image Operation Preset... ...................................................................................................................482:Export Temporal Image Operation Preset... .................................................................................................483:Export Texture Synthesizer Preset... ..............................................................................................................483:Export Vectorizer Preset... ...............................................................................................................................484:Export MSG Preset... ........................................................................................................................................484:Export DualMode Preset... ..............................................................................................................................484:Export Paint Action Sequence Preset.. ..........................................................................................................484:Export History Sequence... .............................................................................................................................484
:Export Color Palette... ......................................................................................................................................485:Export Color Gradient... ..................................................................................................................................485:Export Bezier Path Frame... ............................................................................................................................485:Update Old Preset Factory Library ...............................................................................................................485:Update Old Preset Folder... .............................................................................................................................485
Paint Synthesizer ...................................................................................................................................................486:New Image Brush ............................................................................................................................................486:New Movie Brush ... ........................................................................................................................................486:New Background Image Texture ... ...............................................................................................................486:New Background Movie Texture ... ...............................................................................................................487
Page Setup... ...........................................................................................................................................................487Print... ......................................................................................................................................................................487Preferences .............................................................................................................................................................487Quit..........................................................................................................................................................................487
Edit 489Undo .......................................................................................................................................................................489Redo ........................................................................................................................................................................490Cut ...........................................................................................................................................................................490Copy ........................................................................................................................................................................490Paste ........................................................................................................................................................................490Clear ........................................................................................................................................................................490Source ......................................................................................................................................................................490
:Source Color... ...................................................................................................................................................490Palette......................................................................................................................................................................490
:Generate from :Source Image .........................................................................................................................491:Generate from :Canvas Image ........................................................................................................................491:Generate from :Selected Canvas Image ........................................................................................................491:Generate from :Source Gradient ....................................................................................................................491:Randomize Source Color :Lum Saturation ...................................................................................................491:Randomize Source Color :Opponent ............................................................................................................491:Randomize Source Color :TriOpponent ........................................................................................................491:Randomize Source Color :Analogous ...........................................................................................................493:Randomize Source Color :MidLuminance ...................................................................................................493:Randomize Source Color :SplitOpponent ....................................................................................................493:Sort by :Color Distance ....................................................................................................................................493:Sort by :Luminance ..........................................................................................................................................493:Sort by :Hue ......................................................................................................................................................493:Sort by :Saturation ............................................................................................................................................493
Gradient ..................................................................................................................................................................494:Generate from :Source Image ........................................................................................................................494:Generate from :Canvas Image ........................................................................................................................494:Generate from :Source Palette .......................................................................................................................494:Generate from :Source Color Opponent .......................................................................................................494
:Generate from :Source Color TriOpponent ..................................................................................................494:Generate from :Source Color Analogous ......................................................................................................494:Generate from :Color Mem 1-2 ......................................................................................................................494:Randomize :Index ............................................................................................................................................495:Sort by :Color Distance ....................................................................................................................................495:Sort by :Luminance ..........................................................................................................................................495:Sort by :Hue ......................................................................................................................................................495:Sort by :Saturation ............................................................................................................................................495: Sort by :Flip Index ...........................................................................................................................................495
Preset .......................................................................................................................................................................495:Update Current Preset Icon ............................................................................................................................496:Make New Favorites Category ......................................................................................................................496:Current Preset Command tag to Clipboard .................................................................................................496:Retarget StudioArtist Folder ..........................................................................................................................496
Paint Synthesizer ...................................................................................................................................................496:Pen Eraser ..........................................................................................................................................................497:Patch Memory 1................................................................................................................................................497:Patch Memory 2................................................................................................................................................497:Patch Memory 3................................................................................................................................................497:Patch Memory 4................................................................................................................................................497:Fixed Color 1 .....................................................................................................................................................498:Fixed Color 2 .....................................................................................................................................................498--- ..........................................................................................................................................................................498:Path Memory 1 .................................................................................................................................................498:Path Memory 2 .................................................................................................................................................498:Brush Memory 1 ...............................................................................................................................................498:Brush Memory 2 ...............................................................................................................................................498
Canvas ........................................................................................................................................................................499Zoom ......................................................................................................................................................................499
:Zoom Out ..........................................................................................................................................................499:Zoom In .............................................................................................................................................................499:Zoom Full Out ..................................................................................................................................................500:Zoom Full In .....................................................................................................................................................500:Zoom to Fit ........................................................................................................................................................500:Zoom to Specify... .............................................................................................................................................500
Resize Canvas... .....................................................................................................................................................500Layer .......................................................................................................................................................................500
:New Layer .........................................................................................................................................................501:Current View as New Layer ...........................................................................................................................501:Flatten All Layers .............................................................................................................................................501:Capture View to Current Layer......................................................................................................................501:View All .............................................................................................................................................................501:Paint Mask Type: Paint ....................................................................................................................................501
:Paint Mask Type: Path .....................................................................................................................................501:Paint Mask Type: Litho ....................................................................................................................................501:Mask Status .......................................................................................................................................................502
Movie Layer ...........................................................................................................................................................502:Convert to Movie Layer... ...............................................................................................................................502:New Movie Layer... ..........................................................................................................................................502:Open Movie as New Layer... ..........................................................................................................................502:Save Flattened Canvas Movie as... .................................................................................................................503:Convert to Image Layer ..................................................................................................................................503:Record to Existing Frame ................................................................................................................................503:Insert as New Frame ........................................................................................................................................503:Insert as N New Frames... ...............................................................................................................................503:Delete Existing Frame ......................................................................................................................................503:Settings :Loop Play ..........................................................................................................................................503:Settings :Advance on Record ..........................................................................................................................504
Alpha.......................................................................................................................................................................504:Enable for View ................................................................................................................................................504:Set to :Full Off ...................................................................................................................................................505:Set to :Full On ...................................................................................................................................................505:Set to :Selection .................................................................................................................................................505:Set to :Source Alpha .........................................................................................................................................505:Initialize :Full On ..............................................................................................................................................505:Initialize :Full Off .............................................................................................................................................505:Background :Black ...........................................................................................................................................505:Background :White ..........................................................................................................................................505:Background :Gray ............................................................................................................................................505:Paint Synth Alpha Enable ...............................................................................................................................505
Blanking ..................................................................................................................................................................506:Initialize .............................................................................................................................................................506:Set to Canvas .....................................................................................................................................................506:Set to Source Edges ..........................................................................................................................................506
Selection ..................................................................................................................................................................506:Set to :Full Off ...................................................................................................................................................506:Set to :Full On ...................................................................................................................................................506:Set to :Canvas ....................................................................................................................................................507:Set to :Canvas Alpha ........................................................................................................................................507:Set to :Source .....................................................................................................................................................507:Set to :Source Alpha .........................................................................................................................................507:Set to :Regionized Source ................................................................................................................................507:Set to :Blanking .................................................................................................................................................507:Set to :Bezier Frame .........................................................................................................................................507:Set to :Selected Bezier ......................................................................................................................................507:Invert .................................................................................................................................................................508
:Feather ...............................................................................................................................................................508:Expand ...............................................................................................................................................................508:Contract .............................................................................................................................................................508:Cleanup .............................................................................................................................................................508
Default Color .........................................................................................................................................................508:White .................................................................................................................................................................508:Black ...................................................................................................................................................................509:Source Color .....................................................................................................................................................509:Source Image .....................................................................................................................................................509:Selection .............................................................................................................................................................509:Live Video Capture .........................................................................................................................................509:Source Alpha ....................................................................................................................................................509:Layer Alpha ......................................................................................................................................................509:Source Color Mem 1 ........................................................................................................................................509
Set to Default Color ...............................................................................................................................................510Default Interpolation ............................................................................................................................................510
:BiCubic...............................................................................................................................................................510:Supersizer ..........................................................................................................................................................510
Erase ........................................................................................................................................................................510Canvas to ................................................................................................................................................................510
:Source .................................................................................................................................................................510:Clipboard ...........................................................................................................................................................510
Onion Skin ..............................................................................................................................................................511:Toggle OnionSkin .............................................................................................................................................511:Manual Load .....................................................................................................................................................511:Source .................................................................................................................................................................511:Canvas Movie ...................................................................................................................................................511:Last Stream ........................................................................................................................................................511:Sequential Key Frame ......................................................................................................................................511
Path .............................................................................................................................................................................513Paint Paths ..............................................................................................................................................................513
:Full Layer ..........................................................................................................................................................513:Reverse Full Layer ...........................................................................................................................................513:Selected Only ....................................................................................................................................................513
Generate Paths .......................................................................................................................................................514:from Source Edges ...........................................................................................................................................514:from Source Adjacent Edges ...........................................................................................................................514:from Canvas Edges ..........................................................................................................................................514:from Selection Edges .......................................................................................................................................514:from Source Skeleton .......................................................................................................................................514:from Canvas Skeleton ......................................................................................................................................514:from Selection Skeleton ...................................................................................................................................514:from NonWhite Canvas ..................................................................................................................................515
:from NonWhite Selection ................................................................................................................................515:Gen Option ........................................................................................................................................................515:from Ip Op .........................................................................................................................................................515
Path Layer Commands .........................................................................................................................................516:Erase ...................................................................................................................................................................516:Expand ...............................................................................................................................................................516:Expand and Remove ........................................................................................................................................516:Complete Expand .............................................................................................................................................516--- ..........................................................................................................................................................................516:Connect Closest ................................................................................................................................................516:Connect Closest and Remove .........................................................................................................................516:Connect if Close ................................................................................................................................................516--- ..........................................................................................................................................................................517:Skeletonize ........................................................................................................................................................517:Skeletonize and Remove .................................................................................................................................517--- ..........................................................................................................................................................................517:Simplify .............................................................................................................................................................517:Simplify Lite ......................................................................................................................................................517:Straighten ..........................................................................................................................................................517:Straighten Subtle ..............................................................................................................................................517:Size Prune ..........................................................................................................................................................517:Size Prune1 ........................................................................................................................................................518:Size Prune2 ........................................................................................................................................................518
Convert to Paint Synthesizer ...............................................................................................................................518:as Time Particles ...............................................................................................................................................518:as Autodraw Embedded Bezier Frame .........................................................................................................518:as Repeating Pattern ........................................................................................................................................518:Convert PASeq Bezier Context to Embedded Autodraw ...........................................................................518:Convert PASeq Source Context to Bezier Context ......................................................................................519:Convert MSG Scan to Embedded Bez Path Start ........................................................................................519
Path Layer Record Options ..................................................................................................................................519:Pen Draw ...........................................................................................................................................................519:Action Draw ......................................................................................................................................................519:Vectorizer ...........................................................................................................................................................520:Erase Before Action ..........................................................................................................................................520:Use Recorded Paint Color ...............................................................................................................................520:Split NonContiguous .......................................................................................................................................520
Path Memories .......................................................................................................................................................520:Internal : Playback ............................................................................................................................................520:Internal : Record ...............................................................................................................................................520:Global1 : Playback ............................................................................................................................................521:Global1 : Record ...............................................................................................................................................521:Global2 : Playback ............................................................................................................................................521
:Global2 : Record ...............................................................................................................................................521:Global3 : Playback ............................................................................................................................................521:Global4 : Record ...............................................................................................................................................521:Global5 : Playback ............................................................................................................................................521:Global5 : Record ...............................................................................................................................................521
Action ..........................................................................................................................................................................522Do Current Action .................................................................................................................................................522Run Loop Action ...................................................................................................................................................522History Sequence ..................................................................................................................................................522
:Play ....................................................................................................................................................................523:Erase ..................................................................................................................................................................523:Record ................................................................................................................................................................523:Copy Replace to PASeq ..................................................................................................................................523:Copy Replace to PASeq ..................................................................................................................................523
Paint Action Sequence ..........................................................................................................................................523:Play ....................................................................................................................................................................523:Loop Play Paint Action Sequence .................................................................................................................523:Activate Paint Action Sequence Recording ..................................................................................................524:Record Last Action as Paint Action Step.......................................................................................................524:Erase ..................................................................................................................................................................524
PASeq Timeline ......................................................................................................................................................524This menu allows you to access the following commands associated with the current Paint Action Sequence timeline. ............................................................................................................................................524:Time Compress/Expand... ..............................................................................................................................524:Delete Keyframes .............................................................................................................................................524:Embedded Bezier Frame :Reorder Minimal Distance ................................................................................525:Embedded Bezier Frame :Normalize Recycle ..............................................................................................525:Embedded Bezier Frame :Normalize Split ...................................................................................................525:Record Context :Source ...................................................................................................................................525:Record Context :Bezier ....................................................................................................................................525:Record Context :Content .................................................................................................................................525:Record Context :Bezier+Content ...................................................................................................................526:Record Context :Morph ...................................................................................................................................526:Record Context :Warp .....................................................................................................................................526:Record Context :Filter ......................................................................................................................................526:Record Context :Inv Warp ...............................................................................................................................526:Record Context :Multiple Keys :Source... .....................................................................................................527:Record Context :Multiple Keys :Content... ...................................................................................................527:Record Context :Multiple Keys :Morph... .....................................................................................................527
Process Movie With Paint Action Sequence ......................................................................................................527:Movie to Movie... .............................................................................................................................................527:Movie to Image... ..............................................................................................................................................529:Movie to EPS... ..................................................................................................................................................529
:Image to Movie... ..............................................................................................................................................530:Image to Image... ..............................................................................................................................................530:Image to EPS... ..................................................................................................................................................530
Batch Process..........................................................................................................................................................530:with Paint Action Sequence... .........................................................................................................................531:with Folder of Paint Action Sequences... ......................................................................................................531
Generate EPS ..........................................................................................................................................................531:with Vectorizer... ...............................................................................................................................................531:with Paint Action Sequence... .........................................................................................................................531
Generate SVG ........................................................................................................................................................532:with Vectorizer... ...............................................................................................................................................532:with Paint Action Sequence... .........................................................................................................................532:Print with Paint Action Sequence... ...............................................................................................................532
Run Gallery Show .................................................................................................................................................533Operation....................................................................................................................................................................534
Flip ...........................................................................................................................................................................534Presets .....................................................................................................................................................................535Image Operation ...................................................................................................................................................535Temporal Image Operation ..................................................................................................................................535Texture Synthesizer ...............................................................................................................................................535Vectorizer ................................................................................................................................................................535MSG .........................................................................................................................................................................535Paint Synthesizer Classic .....................................................................................................................................536DualMode Paint ....................................................................................................................................................536Warp ........................................................................................................................................................................536Adjust ......................................................................................................................................................................536Selection ..................................................................................................................................................................536Bezier.......................................................................................................................................................................536Paint Action Sequence ..........................................................................................................................................537
Windows .....................................................................................................................................................................538
Chapter 16: Technical Questions ....................................................... 540Troubleshooting Your Problem ...............................................................................................................................540Things to Keep in Mind............................................................................................................................................542
Large Source Images .............................................................................................................................................542Image Open and Save Operations ......................................................................................................................544Movie Frame Writing to a Disk File ...................................................................................................................544
Common Problems ...................................................................................................................................................545The application launches but never starts up properly. ..................................................................................545The application takes forever to launch and there are no presets. ................................................................545I keep getting assert error messages when running the program. ................................................................546I installed a new Wacom tablet driver and now the application doesn’t launch. .......................................546The program doesn't seem to be drawing. .......................................................................................................547
I reset the background but nothing changed? ..................................................................................................548I reset the background to white but i still see a black canvas? .......................................................................548Why don't I have any Presets? ..........................................................................................................................550Why does the application take forever to boot? ...............................................................................................550Why can’t I open an image file? ..........................................................................................................................550Why am I running out of memory after running the program for a long time? .........................................551I’m processing a movie file with a Paint Action Sequence and the output movie file is all white?..........551How do I get the individual movie frames to appear in the Canvas when processing a movie file? ......551
Welcome to Synthetik Studio Artist!
As a new Studio Artist user, we just wanted to take a few minutes to welcome you to the Synthe-tik user base and tell you a little about our company. Synthetik’s mission is to develop innovative software tools for computer artists and creative professionals. We’re trying to tread new ground and create tools that are unique, ground breaking, and differ-ent from existing software for computer artists. Unlike many companies that have abandoned computer art to focus on graphics business applications, our primary focus is to help expand your range of artistic and creative possibilities.
Studio Artist is unique in several different ways. First, it takes many work metaphors that have existed in the computer music and audio world and incorporates them into a painting and image processing program.
Musicians have used audio synthesizers for many years to generate complex sounds and arrange-ments. Studio Artist can be thought of as a graphics synthesizer. An individual can generate an unlimited number of graphics patches. These patches can be anything from a paint brush or paint type to complex graphical processes that can emulate traditional graphics arts techniques or pro-duce a totally new visual look.
The factory patches shipped with the program barely scratch the surface of the potential possible visual looks and artistic manipulations that can be created within the program. The immense flexi-bility of the program also allows artists to create their own art tools or processes with unique visual looks based on their own personal tastes. For example, if you don’t like our watercolor brushes, you can make your own.
Synthetik Software is also unique among many companies in that we are dedicated to creating soft-ware that is affordable by individuals. Studio Artist contains some features that are currently only available in software costing thousands of dollars. We feel that the most compelling work is created by individuals. That’s why we’ve brought you features that you would have to spend thousands of dollars to get in other software packages as well as additional features unavailable before at any price.
For many years we've been interested in the relationship between artistic representation and how our brains internally represent visual images that we see in the world. Studio Artist is the first commercial program for computer artists that incorporates research results from cognitive neuro-science investigations into the nature of visual perception in the brain. What this allows us to do is to provide intelligent assisted drawing.
What does this mean for you as a user of the program? Studio Artist understands something about how drawings are made and perceived. If you don’t know how to draw, Studio Artist can help you by drawing for you. You can work to direct its activity at a much higher level than drawing indi-vidual lines.
But wait you say, I already know how to draw. That’s OK, because you can still use Intelligent-Assisted™ drawing to help you with repetitive or complex drawing tasks, or to create new visual looks. In addition to being a creative tool, this feature can also help you reduce the use of repetitive mouse or pen movements that can lead to problems like carpal tunnel syndrome. Try out the auto crosshatching and you may never do it manually again.
We’re extremely interested in getting feedback from users about what they like, don’t like, would like to see added or done differently, etc. You can have the unique opportunity to see your feature suggestions quickly incorporated into the program. Don’t hesitate to become a part of the design process.
Feel free to contact us via email at [email protected].
We look forward to hearing from you!
Welcome to Synthetik Studio Artist 5.0!
We're all very excited about this major new release of our award winning Studio Artist Graphics Synthesizer. There are a ton of new features incorporated into this new release, along with a lot of refinement and enhancement of the existing functionality. This release incorporates a major rewrite of all the underlying code used in Studio Artist.
We are providing two different versions of the Studio Artist 5.0 application. One is optimized for Apple's Mac OS-X. The other is optimized for Windows PC's. This way you can choose the operating system platform you want to work with and not be compromised in any way.
We've also tried very seriously to incorporate the many great suggestions we've received from our dedicated users since the initial Studio Artist release and incorporate them into this new version. This process is an ongoing one and you can be a part of it. Please let us know your feature sugges-tions and feedback so we can make Studio Artist an even greater program.
Synthetik is trying to be much more aggressive about publishing web-based documentation for Studio Artist. The Studio Artist Tips site at www.synthetik.com/tips is one example. The Studio Artist User Forum at studioartist.ning.com is another example. Also, the Studio Artist news blog at studioartist.blogspot.com has additional tutorial posts from time to time.
The nice thing about web based documentation is that we can update it quickly over time to answer specific questions or to document new features or techniques. This traditional pdf user guide gets updated on a much more irregular time schedule. So you should use these web resources in addi-tion to this user guide as resources to help answer your Studio Artist questions.
Synthetik Software is still devoted to pushing the envelope of creative and artistic expression. We have some exciting new products under development.
Feel free to contact us via email at [email protected] with your suggestions and feedback.
Again, please check out the Studio Artist User Forum at studioartist.ning.com and become a part of the online Studio Artist community. You can ask questions that will be answered by Studio Art-ist experts as well as share your opinions, art and presets with other Studio Artist users. So if you have questions about how to use Studio Artist that can't be answered by this use guide the User Forum is where you should go first to receive help.
Chapter 1: Getting Started1
1
Chapter 1: Getting Started
Studio Artist is a smart painting, drawing, image and video processing program which includes:
Unlimited User Editable Natural to Out-of-this-World Paints
Intelligent-Assisted Painting and Drawing Resolution Independent Raster Painting with Vector Editing
A Complete Image Processing and Video Effects Suite
Auto Rotoscoping and Video Effects Processing
Real-time Image Warping and Keyframable Morphing
Dynamic Kaleidoscope and Symmetry Effects
Full use of the Advanced Features of Wacom’s Intuos Graphics Tablets
Unique Interactive Magic Wand Region Selection
Record, Edit and Playback of Paint Action Sequences
Unlimited Keyframe Paint Animation
Resolution Independent Texture Synthesis and Texture-based Effects
3D Paint Lighting and Texture Effects
MSG - Modular Synthesized Graphics Plug-in Architecture
Vectorizer - Artistic Raster Image to Vector Region Convertor
Live Video Processing
Studio Artist2
The World’s First Graphics Synthesizer
Musicians have used music synthesizers for many years. Studio Artist takes metaphors from music synthesis and applies those metaphors to interactive painting, graphics and photo manipulation.
Unlike other paint programs with a small number of editable parameters, Studio Artist‘s Graphics Synthesizer module has literally hundreds of editable controls. This kind of control enables Studio Artist to produce unlimited lush dynamic and complex paints while allowing for the randomness or happy accidents of real art materials. But realistic oil, chalk, watercolor or wet paints are only a part of the picture. Studio Artist travels way beyond the world of natural media and into the realm of Wow! Watch paint brushes interact with a virtual canvas to create truly unique paintings, drawings and processed video.
Intelligent-Assisted drawing
Studio Artist can automatically paint and draw based on built-in intelligent visual perception modules. A touch of a button can start Studio Artist’s Paint Actions. Studio Artist examines the source image, then automatically draws or paints it in the style of the user’s choosing.
The user can choose to interactively navigate through the creative process with Studio Artist or let Studio Artist do all the work. Whatever the user’s skill, Studio Artist can Intelligently-Assist in achieving a much greater level of creative expression.
Chapter 1: Getting Started3
1
The complexity of Raster paint with the editability of Vector paths Studio Artist uses a unique hybrid graphics model that combines the complexity and richness of Raster paint with the editability of Vector paths. Drawings and paintings can be edited using Bezier curves after the fact. Paintings can be designed at low resolution and then rerendered at higher resolution with added detail.
Extensive Interactivity
Studio Artist takes full advantage of all of the advanced features of the awesome Wacom Intuos Graphics Tablets. Go wild! The user can interactively modulate hundreds of paint parameters in real time using Wacom’s pressure sensitive pens, air brush tools, 4D mouse, tilt and pressure modulation. Watch delicious tilt and pressure sensitive wet paints magically flow over the canvas.
Auto Rotoscoping
Studio Artist can autopaint or rotoscope QuickTime video frame by frame automatically. Design a series of paint and image processing operations and then let Studio Artist automatically generate a hand-painted and/or processed video sequence.
Vector-based warping and morphing
Studio Artist4
Design vector-based unlimited keyframe image warps, morphs, or video feedback effects that can be saved as QuickTime moves. Warp, stretch, and mutilate images in real time using a pressure sensitive pen or mouse.
Image Processing
Studio Artist has a full range of image processing filters and unique visual effects. Custom art processes can be designed that combine paint operations and image processing filters as Paint Action sequences. Image processing brush loading within the Paint Synthesizer allows for pen controlled image processing.
Texture Synthesis
The Texture Synthesizer module allows for resolution independent texture synthesis or texture based image processing effects. The end result could be image processing or video effects, or complete generation of static or dynamic abstract imagery.
Vectorizer - Raster to Vector Conversion
Chapter 1: Getting Started5
1
The Vectorizer allows for a wide range of artistic raster to vector effects. Create automatic cartoon rendering of static images or cartoon animation automatically from Quicktime video. The Vectorizer also allows for resolution independent eps output so you can print your work on large format printers or output numbered eps frames for importing into Flash.
MSG - Modular Synthesized Graphics
MSG stands for modular synthesized graphics. MSG is the new modular preset-based plug in architecture from Synthetik Software. MSG allows you to build an unlimited number of image processing or video effects as well as generate amazing static or dynamic abstract imagery. Unlike other plug in architectures, MSG is preset based which means you can create your own processing effects from scratch or customize existing ones.
Live Video Processing
Studio Artist now allows you to incorporate a live video feed directly into the Paint Synthesizer for amazing interactive real time graphics.
Studio Artist6
Overview
Studio Artist is based around the metaphor of a graphics synthesizer. A user can construct graphical patches that allow for an unlimited number of potential visual effects or interactive paint tools. This overview will help you understand the structure of the program so that you can quickly start modifying preset patches as well as create your own.
Terminology First, some terminology. Most of the screen real estate is taken up by the working Canvas. The “Canvas” is the image you are painting, editing, manipulating, etc. The Canvas may contain multiple Layers.
Different editing palettes can be docked at the edges of the main Canvas. Or they can be floating windows, which is useful if you work with multiple monitors. By using the 4 workspace layout memories you can custom configure your workspace and change it on the fly as you work.
The “Source” is the source of the visual attributes used by the program for intelligent-assisted drawing and visual effects.
What is a visual attribute? Studio Artist understands visual representation of images by modeling human visual perception, and is always trying to use this perceptual information to aid in drawing or painting. We call this Intelligent-Assisted™ drawing, and the results may be subtle or “in-your-face” depending on the current paint settings of the program.
Unlike other painting programs, there is always a Source as well as a Canvas in Studio Artist. The Source is responsible for much of the visual complexity of the resulting painted images. This is much more advanced then what has traditionally been called cloning in other programs, and the uses of the Source are consequently much more varied than these other programs.
“But I hate representational painting,” you may say. “Why do I have to choose a Source.” The answer is that you don’t have to choose a
Chapter 1: Getting Started7
1
representational image. You might choose your source for it’s textures, colors, or some other desired visual attribute. Or, you can ignore the Source Image and manually control all aspects of color selection and drawing as desired.
In previous version of Studio Artist you always had to open a source image at startup. In version 4 you do not have to open a source image if you want to paint manually. Be aware in this case that there is still a default solid color source image the paint synthesizer will use for visual modeling if you use any paint presets that incorporate intelligent assisted automatic drawing.
Operation Modes Studio Artist has a number of different categories of modal interaction with the paint canvas. These categories of interaction are referred to as Operations. Interaction may be through an automatic “Action”, or one or more interactive “Pen Modes”. The main operation popup is located in the main Operation Toolbar of the Studio Artist interface. Next to the operation popup is the Action button, which is used to start automatic action.
Many operation modes have associated user presets. Presets are a way to store prebuilt visual effects or paint tools. Each preset has an associated set of adjustable parameters that can be edited in a standard Editor.
Presets and their internal set of editable parameters are also sometimes referred to as a Patch, which is some terminology originally used in music synthesis. Studio Artist takes many editing metaphors used in music synthesis and bring them to graphics and digital painting.
Studio Artist provides navigational shortcuts via the main Operation menu to easily access all of the various nested control panes associated with the different operation modes. For example, choosing “Selection: Lasso” from the Operation main menu would immediately switch the main Editor control pane to Selection and allow Lasso selection via the mouse in the main Canvas.
Studio Artist8
Presets Presets provide a high level interface to the underlying power of Studio Artist. By using pre-built presets, you can get to work quickly and focus on artistic expression rather than the mechanics of designing new paint tools or effects. Presets are pre-edited sets of parameters for a particular Operation.
Presets can be accessed via the Preset palette or the Favorites toolbar or via import menu commands. You can always use the main Operation : Preset menus to access the different operation presets. Running these menus will bring up the Preset Browser and load it with the appropriate presets for the selected operation mode.
There are eight different types of presets associated with some (but not all) of the operation modes. They are briefly discussed below. A “Paint” preset is a complete set of Paint Synthesizer parameters. Think of each Paint preset as a unique paint tool.
A “Dual Mode” preset is a complete set of Paint Synthesizer parameters along with a complete set of parameters for an additional specified image processing operation (IpOp, Warp, MSG, Texture Synth). Dual Mode presets can be used as dynamic paint tools that can simulate things like paint on a wet surface, or be used to generate live visual performance using paint and image processing working together to build a visual effect.
An “Image Operations” preset is a specific Image Processing Operation and its associated editable parameters. Each Image
Chapter 1: Getting Started9
1
Operation preset is a unique visual effect ready to use at the touch of a button.
A “Temporal Image Operations” preset is a specific Temporal Image Processing Operation and its associated editable parameters. Each Temporal Image Operation preset is a unique video processing visual effect.
A “Texture Synthesizer” preset is a complete set of Texture Synthesizer parameters. Texture Synthesizer presets can either generate a unique abstract artistic image or a resolution independent visual effect.
A “Vectorizer” preset is a complete set of Vectorizer parameters. The Vectorizer takes a raster image and converts it into an infinite number of artistic vector representations, which can also be output as vector eps or svg files.
A “MSG” preset is a complete set of parameters and processor configuration for a MSG effect. MSG stands for Modular Synthesized Graphics, and is Synthetik's new preset based totally configurable and infinitely extendable plug in architecture. MSG presets can either generate abstract visual imagery or an unlimited number of different visual effects. MSG presets can also be loaded into Paint Synthesizer paint tools, providing user configurable extensibility of the Paint Synthesizer. A “Paint Action Sequence” preset is a series of recorded Actions that can include things like auto-painting, image processing operations, interactive warps, region selections, texture synthesis, etc. Paint Action Sequence presets can either be a literal record of what you have previously done in Studio Artist during an art session, or they can be stylistic scripts that are intelligently adaptable to varying source image or movie files.
Studio Artist10
Here's some more detailed overview information on the various operation modes. Each of the operation modes has one or more editable control panels accessed via a generic Editor palette. You can also access any specific control panel for an operation mode via the main Operation menu.---
Paint Synthesizer ClassicAllows a user to edit parameters associated with painting or interactive drawing. Painting can be user directed via a mouse or pressure sensitive tablet, or automatic through Intelligent-Assisted™ drawing, or a hybrid combination of the two techniques. There are a large number of editable and modulatable parameters that control the look and feel of the paint as well as the interactivity and expressiveness of the paint tool.
All interactive paint strokes can be edited with vector paths and then redrawn as Raster paint. Painting actions can also be recorded as a History Sequence and later rerendered at different resolutions. This is a way to take a low resolution session history and rerender it to generate a high resolution final work suitable for printing.
Dual Mode PaintAn extension of the paint synthesizer operation mode that allows for a second dynamic image processing effect to be run while you are manually or automatically painting. This could be used to simulate things like painting on a wet surface, for visual performance, or to create totally new kinds of visual effects.
--- Image Operations
Allows a user to perform a large number of different image processing operations. Each image processing operation also includes extensive compositing options which can be used to dramatically change the operation’s resulting visual effect. Iterative or repetitive operations can also be defined. Image Operations can also be used to process the current region selection or alpha buffer for stylistic masking effects.
Chapter 1: Getting Started11
1
Temporal Image OperationsAllows a user to perform a number of different time-based image processing operations. Each temporal image processing operation also includes extensive compositing options which can be used to dramatically change the operation’s resulting visual effect.
Texture SynthesizerAllows for generation and editing of resolution independent texture based effects. Can either be used as a texture field generator or as a texture-based effects module. You can create wild abstract visual imagery that could be finished works of art as well as amazing visual processing effects. You can also create abstract textural imagery that evolves over time and output the results as a movie file.
VectorizerAllows the Vectorizer source image to be converted into a vector representation based on vector regions. Can also be used to generate vector region special effects. Can be used for direct vector conversion and eps output of the Vectorizer source image or as a action step in a more complicated paint action sequence.
MSGAllows MSG modular synthesized graphics presets to be used within Studio Artist for image and video processing special effects as well as to generate amazing abstract imagery. MSG presets can also be loaded into Paint Synthesizer brushes, providing infinite user scriptable extensionality for the Paint Synthesizer. An infinite range of different modular image processing effects can be built using MSG processing modules.
--- Interactive Warp
Allows the user to dynamically warp, flip, move, or rotate the canvas image in a variety of different ways.
Interactive AdjustAllows the user to dynamically control interactive image processing or gradient fill operations.
Studio Artist12
--- Selection
Allows the user to interactively define area selection regions based on image or canvas visual attributes, or by hand painting or drawing a mask. These regions can be used for masking of other Actions within the program, or for Paint Fill Actions.
BezierAllows the user to draw and edit Bezier paths. All interactive Raster drawing operations within Studio Artist can be recorded as Bezier paths for later Vector editing. The edited vector paths can then be redrawn with Raster Paint. Bezier paths can be generated on the fly from the Canvas or Source Images. Collections of Bezier paths can be used to define path drawing in the Paint Synthesizer. Bezier paths can also be recorded as keyframes for subsequent animation over time using the Paint Action Sequence Keyframe Timeline.
--- Paint Action Sequence
Allows the user to record and playback a series of individual action steps. Anything you do in the Studio Artist interface associated with the other operation modes (either manual or automatic actions) can be recorded as individual action steps in a Paint Action Sequence (PASeq).
PASeqs are how you combine or encapsulate different operation mode effects into a single recallable preset. PASeqs are also the mechanism used to build processing scripts for processing movie files in Studio Artist.
PASeq contexts allow for the creation of warp or morph effects. They can also be used to associated specific source images or sets of bezier paths with keyframes in the PASeq timeline. Recordable keyframes provide a way to interpolate PASeq action steps and their associated recorded internal parameters over time when processing a movie or when generating an animation.
Chapter 1: Getting Started13
1
Previous versions of Studio Artist had a Layer keyframe Timeline and a PASeq keyframe Timeline. All of the old Layer Timeline keyframe functionality can now be accessed in the single PASeq Keyframe Timeline using PASeq Context action steps. The one exception is the old position keyframe type, which is not currently not supported since the initial release of v4 does not support variable sizing and positioning for different layers (this may change with a future update).
Studio Artist14
Working With Movies
All modal Operations can be performed on a static Canvas (which could contain multiple Layers), or on the individual frames of a QuickTime movie. There are several different approaches to working with movies in Studio Artist. You can automatically process existing movie files, generate new ones from scratch, or hand paint and modify movies frame by frame for traditional rotoscoping or special effects.
Movies can also be loaded into individual Movie Layers, which gives you the ability to hand paint or touch up individual frames as well as build up traditional hand drawn paint animation a frame at a time.
Studio Artist’s ability to visually analyze and then paint or draw individual frames within a movie opens up amazing creative possibilities. You can work with one movie frame to build up a Paint Action Sequence that generates a particular artistic style or effect. Studio Artist can then automatically rotoscope the remaining frames in the movie. Studio Artist’s intelligent-assisted drawing insures that each frame will be drawn properly.
The ability of Studio Artist to combine together different paint tools along with image processing effects, resolution independent texture synthesis, artistic raster to vector transformation, morphing and warping allows for a virtually unlimited and extremely powerful video effects generation environment.
Processed Quicktime movies can then be imported into any nonlinear editing or compositing program for final editing into a completed video project. Or, you can use the Vectorizer to output vectorized eps movie frames for importing into Flash or for rendering as high resolution film frames.
Chapter 1: Getting Started15
1
Studio Artist Windows and Palettes
Studio Artist is primarily designed around one main drawing window that contains the canvas. The canvas is where you paint and draw or run image or video processing effects. Toolbars like the Operation Toolbar can be docked at the sides of the main window.
Auxiliary functions primarily associated with lists of actions or layers that interact with the main controls are accessed from different editing palettes. Palettes may be docked at the edges of the main canvas or can be floating windows. Palettes that are docked on top of existing palettes will be tabbed in that area.
A Status area located at the bottom of the main window provides contextual information on controls the cursor is hovering over on the left, and status information on running actions on the right.
You can use the various Window menus to open and close palettes as well as access the 4 user configurable workspace memories that let you save and restore custom workspace configurations on the fly.
Studio Artist16
Source Area
The top left corner of the main Studio Artist window is the Source area. There are 4 different options available in the source area via tabs. These are Image, Color, Palette and Gradient. They control the color source for painting. A small representation of the Source Image is displayed there when the Image tab is selected.
The source display can be switched to Color, which allows for user specification of color from a color picker. When the Source Image is active, the initial paint color source is cloned directly from the Source Image. When the Fixed Color picker is active, the initial paint color source is the user selected picker color.
If you double click on the fixed color picker a more advanced color picker dialog will appear.
Chapter 1: Getting Started17
1
The second popup available when Source Image is active allows for some additional color options.
Paint clones color directly from the source image.
Colorize uses the current fixed color to colorize the source image.
Palettize chooses the best representative color from the current Source Color Palette described below to paint the source image.
Fixed uses the current fixed color for drawing and ignores the source image.
You can mouse down in the source image while holding the c hotkey to choose the current picked or fixed color based on the source image colors.
Studio Artist18
Source Color Palette is a set of individual color memories arranged as a series of colored squares in the source area. Clicking on a colored square selects that color as the current source color. Option-clicking on a colored square will record the current source color into that square.
The Fixed setting draws with the chosen palette fixed color.
The Palettize setting chooses the best palette color to represent the source image at a given location.
The Random setting chooses a random color from the palette for drawing.
A complete color palette can be imported or exported with the “File: Import: Import Source Color Palette...” and “File: Export: Export Source Color Palette...” menu commands. Sets of color palettes can also be algorithmically modified or generated using the “Edit: Palette ...” menu commands.
Chapter 1: Getting Started19
1
Source Color Gradient is an editable color gradient ( think of linear transitions between a series of colors) in the source area. Option-clicking in the color gradient bar records the current Source Color into that location in the color gradient. Cmnd-Option-clicking a color in the gradient bar erases that color from the gradient.
There are several hot keys available for editing the current color memory, Color Palette and Color Gradient. They include ‘h’ for hue editing, ‘l’ for luminance editing, and ‘s’ for saturation editing.
Color Memory Buttons
Four color memory buttons are also located in the source palette. The large one on the left displays the current source color. The three smaller colored squares on the right are color memories, and can be used to store and switch between paint colors while working. They are also used as color sources for certain Image Processing or Region Fill operations that require the specification of multiple colors.
Memory buttons are used throughout the Studio Artist interface to provide easy storage and playback of any editable parameters. Memory button icons always work the same way. You Option-click them to record new parameters into the memory, you click them to play back the recorded parameters into the working interface controls.
Some of the memory buttons available in previous version of Studio Artist are accessed via menu commands in version 4. For example, all of the Paint Synthesizer path memory buttons that used to be in the secondary control area are now accessed via menu commands in the Edit : Paint Synthesizer menu.
Studio Artist20
Live Video Input
Studio Artist allows for live video capture into the source image area. You can either use Apple's iSight firewire camera, or a firewire camcorder or other video Quicktime based video input device. You can turn live video capture on using the appropriate menu flags in the File : Source Settings menus.
The 3 live video source settings menus allow you to capture a source frame immediately, drop into live video preview manual capture mode, or capture a live video frame automatically at the beginning of each cycle in a loop action or animation cycle.
When you first enter live video preview manual capture, a live video preview will appear in the Source area image display. If you click on the live video preview image, you can capture a still frame off of the live video feed to use as a source image for painting or other processing within Studio Artist.
Clicking the static captured image will cause the live video preview to start up again until you either click the preview image or start painting in the canvas.
Chapter 1: Getting Started21
1
Gallery Show
Gallery Show is a new v4 feature. You can use the gallery show preferences to configure Studio Artist to operate in different ways when running a gallery show. The basic idea is that gallery show presentation mode provides a way for you to configure Studio Artist to automatically run unattended (perhaps in an art gallery) while generating an endless variety of new art work.
The Gallery Show performance presentation features also allow for live video capture when running gallery show. When used in this way Studio Artist would capture a live video frame, then generate a painting off of the captured frame, then repeat this process indefinitely.
Studio Artist22
Editor
Each operation mode has an associated set of individually editable parameters can be navigated by popup controls in a generic Editor palette. Changing the operation mode will change the set of control panels and controls available in the generic Editor palette.
Some operation modes have more than one control panel. You can use the popup menu at the top of the Editor to move between different control panels associated with a particular operation mode. Individual control panes can also be accessed directly by using the Operation main menu.
Each control parameter is edited via a collection of interactive controls. Numerical parameters can be edited with slider controls or their associated text edit fields. Non-numeric parameters can be edited with popups or check boxes.
This area is where you'll do all of your preset patch design and editing.
Working Canvas
The working Canvas takes up the center of the main Studio Artist window. This is where you interactively paint with a mouse or pressure sensitive pen or airbrush tool. The Canvas is where the various Operation Actions are performed. All of Studio Artist’s visual editing and art creation takes place in the Canvas.
Chapter 1: Getting Started23
1
Operation Toolbar
The Operation Toolbar is used to select the current Operation mode via the left side operation popup. You can also use the Operation main menu to switch between different operation modes and their associated editor control panels.
To the right of the operation popup is the Action button. Pressing the Action button will run the automatic action associated with the current operation mode (if there is one, for example warp and adjust do not currently have actions).
The plus and minus buttons to the right of the Action button are used to zoom the current view in or out of the Canvas. The numeric indicator directly to the right of these two zoom buttons indicates the current zoom ratio. A display of 1 means a 1:1 view ratio (i.e.. no magnification). A display of 2 means a 2:1 magnification. A display of 0.5 means the view is half the size of the actual Canvas.
The popup to the right of the zoom controls is the current layer popup. You can use it to switch between any of the individual layers associated with the canvas. The Layer palette provides a complete editable list of the available layers.
The View icon to the right of the layer popup lets you adjust the canvas view between current view and view all.
The Erase button will erase the current layer to the default background when pressed. You can set the default background via the Canvas : Default Color menu.
Shift clicking the Erase button will perform a complete erase, which means it also erases the bezier path frame associated with the layer, erases the current internal blanking buffer (used in paint synthesizer) and resets the layers alpha channel to full off.
Studio Artist24
The Mask checkbox turns selection masking on and off. When it is turned on, then any areas of the canvas not currently selected will be dimmed in the display. When masking is on, then any actions in the canvas will be appropriately masked. The Canvas : Layer : Paint Mask Type menu determines the behavior of the selection mask when working with the paint synthesizer.
Favorites Preset Toolbar
The Favorites Preset Toolbar is a compact space saving toolbar you can use to custom organize presets that are useful for your personal workflow. You can create your own Favorites categories to help in this organization by using the Edit :Preset :Make New Favorites Category menu command. To add the current preset to the current favorites category you can just drag and drop the current preset icon in the main preset browser into the favorites preset toolbar.
One nice feature associated with Favorites presets is that you can mix and match different preset types in a single favorites category. So you aren't restricted to just paint presets or just image processing presets in a given favorites category, which is the case for the normal factory preset categories.
Note that favorites presets are organized by category only, not the dual collection-category folder hierarchy associated with the factory preset types associated with specific operation modes.
Favorites presets replace the more limited but popular functionality of the preset memory buttons that were available in previous versions of Studio Artist in the main preset browser.
Chapter 1: Getting Started25
1
Help Palette
The Help palette is a html help browser integrated directly into Studio Artist. There are a set of factory help pages provide by Synthetik that will be expanded over time. You can also create your own custom html help documents (accessed via the Custom button in the toolbar at the top of the help palette). You can use custom help pages as a way to document, organize, and access your own personal preset collection, or to set up personal crib notes that document features or techniques associated with your personal workflow.
In addition to providing access to html help pages, Studio Artist help can include user commands that when pressed cause some immediate action to take place within Studio Artist. These actions can be as simple as switching to a specific operation mode to more elaborate commands like performing paint synthesizer macro edits or MSG editing commands or loading specific preset files.
Studio Artist26
Installing Studio Artist on your Hard Disk
Although you can run Studio Artist directly from the CD-Rom, you should install it on your hard disk for maximum performance and utility.
1. Drag the Synthetik Studio Artist 5.0 folder from the CD-Rom onto your hard disk. This will copy the Studio Artist application as well as the various Preset folders that need to reside next to the application. These five folders must be located in the same folder as the Studio Artist application.
Studio Artist looks for the various operation mode presets in a ‘Preset’ folder located next to the application. Studio Artist looks for image brushes and movie brushes associated with Presets in the ‘Brush’ folder located next to the application.
Studio Artist looks for factory interactive Help files in the ‘doc’ folder located next to the application.
Studio Artist looks for your custom interactive Help files in the ‘custom’ folder located next to the application.
Studio Artist looks for plugin libraries it needs to run in the ‘plugins’ folder located next to the application.
It's extremely important that you keep the Studio Artist application files in the main Studio Artist folder along with all of the preset, help, and plugin folders discussed above. The application needs to reside in the same folder as these other folders so that it can find all of your presets, brush, and help information and display it appropriately in the Studio Artist interface.
Chapter 1: Getting Started27
1
If you are running Apple Mac OS-X
You need to run OS-X 10.6.8 or greater to work with Studio Artist 4. If you use a Wacom tablet you will need to download the appropriate tablet drivers from www.wacom.com if you do not already have them installed on your computer. Follow the instructions that come with the Wacom drivers to install them.
Version 5 does not support Classic OS 9. You would need to run Studio Artist 3.5 if you have one of the older mac models running Classic OS 9.
In general, the more memory you can pack in your OSX machine the better. Studio Artist runs much more quickly when running directly out of RAM memory under OSX as opposed to having to resort to virtual memory swaps onto free disk space.
If you are running Windows
Studio Artist currently runs on Windows XP, Vista WIndows 7, 8, 10.
You need to install Quicktime for Windows on your Windows computer if it is not already there. Studio Artist makes extensive use of Quicktime for movie playback and processing as well as image file import and export. You can download a Windows Quicktime installer from Apple's web site at www.apple.com/quicktime .
This manual is generated using Studio Artist screen shots taken on an Apple computer. However, the Studio Artist interface is identical on Apple and Windows (other than being displayed using Windows native controls rather than Apple native controls).
Studio Artist28
Quick Start
Ok, you hate manuals and just want to get started painting. Here’s how to get started quickly.
1. Double-click on the Studio Artist application icon. After a few seconds the main Studio Artist interface will appear. Studio Artist boots into the Paint Preset Operation control pane the first time you startup.
At this point you might want to take a moment and configure the Studio Artist workspace for your particular monitor setup. You can re-size the overall interface window, as well as drag the various preset palettes around to different docking locations in the interface (or make them floating palettes if you have a dual monitor setup).
2. If you wish to work with a source image, run the File : New Source and Canvas menu. A dialog will come up that lets you choose a source image. The source image you choose can be smaller than your working canvas size.
Then, a dialog will come up that allows you to specify the working Canvas size. Typically, you might choose a Canvas size different then the original Source Image. The Source Image is not modified in any way. The Canvas Image will be the final output image.
After you click OK in the Set Canvas Size dialog, the cursor will spin for a short period of time while Studio Artist examines your Source Image.
3. Use the mouse or pressure sensitive pen to start drawing into the Canvas. Or, click the Action button to watch Studio Artist autopaint without any manual assistance.
4. To change the current Paint Preset, click on one of the colored Paint Preset icons in the Preset Browser (located on the left side of the main Canvas window when you first startup Studio Artist). You can use the Collection and Category popups to choose a new preset collection and
Chapter 1: Getting Started29
1
it's associated category. Every time you change to a new Paint Preset, the look and feel of the current paint tool will totally change.
Working your way through the various Paint Presets (there are over 4000 included with the application to get you started) will give you a feel for the unlimited range of potential visual looks and tactile feels that the Paint Synthesizer can generate.
You can create your own custom preset Favorite categories and then drag and drop presets you like into these custom favorites categories as a technique to aid in accessing preset you like. You are also free to make your own collections and categories in the factory preset set and custom organize presets as you see fit for your particular workflow.
All paint presets have the option of being used in different ways. You can draw manually using the mouse or Wacom pen and tablet. Or you can press the Action button and watch them draw automatically.
Some presets may have been designed primarily for action drawing, others for manual drawing. Manual drawing presets may also have specific interactive behaviors missing or limited when used with a mouse.
When exploring new presets it is often a good idea to try both approaches to get a sense of the range of possibilities available with that particular preset. Keep in mind that you always have the option of editing the way a particular paint preset automatically draws if you would like it to behave differently.
5. When you feel you are ready to explore other areas of the program,use the Operation menu to move to a new Operation control pane and explore what it has to offer. Image Operations is a good one to start with. Image Operations are different image processing effects that run as Actions (the pen or mouse is not used).
Studio Artist30
Hint:Cmnd R and the “spacebar” are used throughout the program as a means to quickly perform certain actions. You can always use “Cmnd-R” to execute the current Operation’s Action as an alternative to the Action button. You can use the “spacebar “to stop any currently executing Action. Studio Artist also uses the “spacebar” hot key to execute or complete any interactive edits that use interactive pressure from a pen. This allows you to execute a pressure sensitive edit without losing your pressure setting during the pen up operation.
Chapter 1: Getting Started31
1
System Requirements
Minimum Requirements:Apple Computers:
• PowerMacintoshwith128MBofRAMormore
• Systemversionmustbe10.6.8orhigher.
• QuickTime.
Windows Computers:
• WindowsComputewith128MBofRAMormore
•WindowsXP,Vista,Windows7,8,10operatingsystem. • WindowsQuickTime7.0orhigher.
If you need to instal Windows Quicktime on your Windows computer you can download a Windows Quicktime installer from www.apple.com/quicktime .
We Recommend:Modern Macintosh running OSX with 2 gig of RAM or moreLarge Screen flat panel displayWacom Intuos tablet for best interactive painting experience
Studio Artist32
Technical Support and Registration
Your Serial Number:
Note: Before contacting Technical Support, please first look for the answer in this manual and also be sure to read the Read Me document on your Studio Artist CD-Rom. The Read Me contains updated information that may be newer than information in this manual. There may also be other documentation accompanying this manual—you should look there for answers as well. Also check the Studio Artist Tips and Studio Artist User Forum web sites. If you can’t find the answer and do contact Technical Support via email, please provide your serial registration number and a detailed description of the problem.
Technical Support
Registered Studio Artist owners are entitled to receive reasonable email technical support. Any program bugs or inconsistencies should be reported to [email protected].
Questions related to achieving certain artistic effects or learning the program should be directed to the Studio Artist Users Forum at studioartist.ning.com , which is accessible from the links section of our web page. Synthetik monitors the forum every day as do a large group of expert Studio Artist users. We're all more than happy to answer your questions and offer advice and suggestions.
There is a Technical problems chapter in this User Guide. You should check there first for answers to common technical questions.
There are several ways to get the answers you need online by using the internet:
Answers to the most frequently asked questions are available on ouronline Tech Doc pages. Click on the support link for detailed instructions, tips and troubleshooting help.
Chapter 1: Getting Started33
1
http://www.synthetik.com/
Technical support is provided via email. Please include your Studio Artist serial number in your email, along with a detailed description of the problem.
You can email technical support at: [email protected]
You must supply your Studio Artist Serial Number to receive Technical Support. If you do experience a crash problem, please include the Studio Artist crash log in your email report (located in Users/yourname/Library/Logs/CrashReporter). It's the best tool we have to understand your problem and to fix it for you quickly.
The Synthetik web site www.synthetik.com includes a large number of tutorials, technical tips, links to user forums, additional presets available for download, and other user's web sites and art work. Become a part of the on-line Studio Artist community at the Studio Artist user forum and have your questions answered by Studio Artist expert users.
Also, don't forget to check the Video Training Tutorials if you need help understanding something.
Registration
It’s important that you register online at www.synthetik.com. You need to register in order to qualify for technical support and future program and documentation updates. You can also email your registration information to [email protected]. Please include your name, address, phone number, email address, and serial number when registering.
In the past we have offered free program updates and valuable information to registered users. If you are not registered we have no way to get in contact with you with this kind of information regarding updates and program enhancements. Registration information remains Synthetik Software confidential and is not given out to any third parties.
Studio Artist34
Chapter 2: Operation Modes
StudioArtistisbasedaroundthemetaphorofagraphicssynthesizer.AnindividualcanuseStudioArtist’sgraphicssynthesizertogenerateanunlimitednumberofgraphicspatchesthatcanbestoredandrecalledonthefly.Thesepatchescanbeanythingfromapaintbrushorpainttypetocomplexgraphicalprocessesthatcanemulatetraditionalgraphicsartstechniquesorproducesometotallyunknownnewvisualaesthetic.
Musicians have used audio synthesizers for many years to generate complex sounds and arrangements. Studio Artist extends these musical metaphors to the world of graphics.
Atit’shighestlevel,theprogramhasanumberofcategoriesofmodalinteractionwiththeworkingCanvasthatarereferredtoasOperations.InteractionmaybethroughanautomaticAction,oroneormoreinteractivePen Modes.Theusercanchoosethedesiredtypeofinteraction(OperationandassociatedModes)withpopups.
TheOperationpopupislocatedintheOperationToolbar.TheActionbuttonnexttotheOperationpopupinitiatestheOperation’sassociatedautomaticActionifthereisone.
Hint:
AlloftheStudioArtistOperationModesandtheirvariousassociatededitablecontrolpanelscanalsobeaccessedviathemainOperationmenuslocatedatthetopofthescreeninthemenubar.
Chapter 2: Operation Modes35
2
EditorcontrolpanelsareassociatedwiththefollowingtypesofmodalOperations:
Image OperationsTemporal Image OperationsTexture SynthesizerVectorizerMSG...Paint Synthesizer ClassicDual Mode...WarpAdjust...SelectionBezier...Paint Action Sequence
EachofthesemodalOperationswillbeexplainedinmoredetailinthefollowingsectionsofthischapter.
UserscannavigatethroughahierarchyofcontrolpanelstoeditparametersassociatedwiththecurrentOperationmode.Individualparameterpanelsareaccessedbyusingtextpopupslocatedatthetopoftheparameterpanel.Acompletecollectionofeditableparametersiscalledapatch.ApatchstoredasafileondiskisreferredtoasaPreset.
Studio Artist36
Preset and Patch terminology may be mixed together in the documentation, but both refer to the set of editable parameters associated with an operation. Preset refers to the set of parameters stored on disk in the preset file. Patch refers to the set of parameters currently being edited, which may vary from the values stored in the preset file once a user starts editing.
Chapter 2: Operation Modes37
2
Presets
Presetsarepredefinedpatchesstoredasfilesonyourharddisk.YoucanorganizeyourpresetsaccordingtoCollection, CategoryandtheindividualpresetnameswithinaCategory.TheCategorynameisthenameofasubfolderinaparticularCollectionfolderanditsassociatedPresetfilesarelocatedwithinthecategorysubfolder.
Collections provideameanstoorganizeasetofCategoriesandtheirassociatedPresets.TheCollectionnameisthenameofafolderatthetoplevelwithinaparticularpresetfolderanditsassociatedCategoryarefoldernameslocatedwithinit.
Collectionsarethefirstleveloffolderslocatedwithinthespecificoperation'spresetfolder.CategoriesarethesecondleveloffolderslocatedwithineachCollectionfolder.
Don't store loose presets directly in a collection folder, store them in a specific category folder located within a given collection folder or they will not be found by Studio Artist.
ThereareeightdifferentkindsofpresetsinStudioArtist.Theyareallstoredinspecific
Studio Artist38
folderscontainedwithinthemain“Preset”folderlocatednexttotheStudioArtistapplication.
Paint presetsareacompletesetofparametersforthePaintSynthesizerClassic.Theyarestoredinthe“Paint”folderlocatedinthemainPresetfolder.
Image Processing presetsstoreparametersassociatedwithaparticularImageProcessingOperation.Theyarestoredinthe“ImageOp”folderlocatedinthemainPresetfolder.
Temporal Image Processing presetsstoreparametersassociatedwithaparticularTemporalImageProcessingOperation.Theyarestoredinthe“TemporalIpOp”folderlocatedinthemainPresetfolder.
Texture Synthesizer presetsstoreparametersassociatedwiththetexturesynthesizer.Theyarestoredinthe“TexSynth”folderlocatedinthemainPresetfolder..
MSG presetsstoreparametersassociatedwithMSGprocessingeffectobjects.Theyarestoredinthe“MSG”folderlocatedinthemainPresetfolder..
Vectorizer presetsstoreparametersassociatedwiththeVectorizerTheyarestoredinthe“Vectorizer”folderlocatedinthemainPresetfolder.
DualMode presetsstoreparametersassociatedwiththeDualModeoperationTheyarestoredinthe“DualMode”folderlocatedinthemainPresetfolder.
Paint Action Sequence presetsareasetofactionsthatcanbeappliedtothecurrentCanvas.Theyarelikemacrosorscriptsandcanincludemultiplepaintactionsaswellasimageoperationactions,warpactions,etc.Theyarestoredinthe“PASeq”folderlocatedinthemainPresetfolder..
Chapter 2: Operation Modes39
2
Important:
TheStudioArtistapplicationalwaysneedstobelocatedonyourharddiskinthemainStudioArtistfoldernexttothemainpresetfolder.FailuretodothiswillresultinStudioArtistbeingunabletofindyourpresetsatstartup.
YoucanaccessPresetsbychoosingfromtheCollection, Categorypopups,andthenclickingontheappropriatepatchiconinthescrollableiconlist.ThesetofnamediconsinthescrollabletablecorrespondstothepatcheslocatedinthecurrentlyselectedCategoryfolder.
WhenyouexportanewpresettooneoftheStudioArtistpresetfolders,thenewpresetwillnotimmediatelyshowupintheassociatedCollection:Category:Patchpopupsandicontable.ToreloadthepresetinformationtoaccuratelyreflectanychangesmadetothePresetfoldercontents,justresettheCategorypopup.
YoucaneditoroverwriteanexistingcurrentpresetbyoptionclickingthelargecurrentPresetIcon.Theiconimageitselfwillnotbeoverwritten.Youcanusethe“Edit: Preset: Update Current Preset Icon”menucommandtooverwritetheiconwiththecurrentCanvasimage.
AtextlabellocatedontherightsideofthePresetIconshowswhetherthecurrentPresetis“active”or“edited”.ActivemeansthePresetisloadedintothePaintSynthesizerandallofthePaintSynthesizersettingsmatchthosestoredinthePresetfile.EditedmeansthatsomeofthesettingsinthePaintSynthesizeraredifferentfromthosestoredinthePresetfile.
OptionclickingthePresetIconwillupdatethecurrentPresetfilewiththecurrent
Studio Artist40
settingsofthePaintSynthesizerandthetextlabelwillchangefrom‘Edited”to‘Activetoreflectthischange.
ShiftclickingthePresetIconwillbringupaSaveFileasdialogatthelocationofthecurrentpresetinyourPresetfoldersothatyoucansaveanewpresetwiththecurrentsettingsofthePaintSynthesizer.Shiftclickingisalsoausefulwaytosavecopiesofanexistingpresetintoyourowncustomizedcollection/categoryfolders.CmndShiftclickingthePresetIconwillbringupaSaveFileasdialogatthetopofthefactorypresethierarchy,againausefulworkingshortcut.
Hints:
YoucanimportaPresetfilelocatedanywhereonyourharddiskbyusinganimportmenucommand.YoucanexportorwriteapresettoafileonyourharddiskbyusinganExportmenucommand.
Thepresetimportandexportmenucommandsarealsoaccessiblefromthecontextualmenusavailableifyoucontrolclickeitherthemainpresetcontrolpanelortheassociatedoperationmodeeditingcontrolpanels.
YoualwayshavetheoptionofeitherdraggingapresetfiledirectlyfromthefindertotheStudioArtistdockiconasanalternativetoimportingthepreset.OryoucandoubleclickonapresetfileinthefinderanditwillopeninStudioArtistasthecurrentpreset.
Favorites:
Favoritespresetsareawaytocustomizeyourpersonalpresetcollectionortoorganizespecificfactorypresetsthatareusefultoyourpersonalworkflow.
Chapter 2: Operation Modes41
2
FavoritespresetscanbeaccessedviatheFavoritestabinthemainPresetbrowsingpalette.FavoritescanalsobeaccessedviatheFavoritesPresetToolbar.
FavoritesareorganizedbyCategory.YoucanaddyourownfavoritescategorybyaddinganewfoldertotheFavoritesfolderinthemainPresetfolder.OryoucanruntheEdit :Preset :Make New Favorites Categorymenucommand.Notethatfavoritesareorganizedbycategoryonly,notthedualcollection-categoryhierarchyusedforthefactoryoperationmodepresettypes.
Toaddthecurrentpresettothecurrentfavoritescategory,justdraganddropthecurrentpreseticonontothefavoritespresettoolbar.
FavoritesreplacetheoldpresetfavoritesmemorybuttonsthatwereavailableinpreviousversionsofStudioArtist.
Custom Preset Help:
YoucanbuildyourowncustompresethelppagesbyusingthefeaturesoftheintegratedHelppalette.TheHelppalettedisplayshtmlhelppages.PressingtheCustombuttonatthetopoftheHelppalettegoestoyourpersonalcustomindexpage,whichiscalledstartDoc.htmlandislocatedinthecustomfolder(locatednexttotheStudioArtistapplicationinthemainStudioArtistfolderonyourharddisk).Youcandesignacustompresethelppageusinganyhtmleditortoincludenotesonhowtousethepresetorwhatitlooksorbehaveslikeaswellasexampleimagesthatshowoffhowthepresetlooksordraws.
Youcanalsoincludeanactivecommandtaglinkinthehtmlsourceforacustompresethelppagethatwillautomaticallyloadthepresetwhenpressed.Toloadaloadpresetactivetagforthecurrentpresetontotheclipboard,runtheEdit:Preset:CurrentPresetCommandTagtoClipboardmenucommand.Youcanthenswitchtoyourhtmleditorandpastetheactivecommandintoalinkfieldforthecustomhelphtmlpageyouareediting.
Studio Artist42
CustompresethelppagesareapowerfuladvancedfeatureavailableinStudioArtist4andyoushouldtakeadvantageofthemtohelpaccess,documentandorganizeyourpersonalpresetcollection.
Help Messages:
Eachpresethasanassociatedhelpmessage.Toreadthemessage,clickonthe?iconnexttothecurrentpreset’simageicon.Ahelpmessageforthepresetwillappear.
Thefactorypresetshavehelpfulhintsinthismessage.However,youcancustomizeanypreset’shelpmessage.Similarly,whenyouconstructanewpreset,youshouldaddahelpmessagetoit.
Toeditthecurrentpreset’shelpmessage,usethe‘Edit: Preset: Update Current Preset Help Text”menucommand.Or,youcanjustoptionclickthe?icontodirectlyaccessthepresethelpmessageeditordialog.
Chapter 2: Operation Modes43
2
Paint Synthesizer
StudioArtistisbasedaroundthemetaphorofagraphicssynthesizer.Ausercanconstructeditablepaintpatchesthatallowforanunlimitednumberofpotentialvisualappearancesandinteractivebehavior.UsersfamiliarwithaudiosynthesisormusicsoftwarewillnoticemanysimilaritiesbetweenthePaintSynthesizerandmoreconventionalmusicoraudiosynthesizers.
TherearealargenumberofeditableparametersthatcontroltheoverallbehaviorofthePaintSynthesizer.Theseparametersdeterminethelookandfeelofthecurrentpainttool.YoucanpaintmanuallyorhaveStudioArtistgeneratepaintingautomaticallyasaPaintAction.Or,workinahybridmodewhereStudioArtist’sautomaticpaintingisbeingguidedbyyourmanualpaintinginteractions.
PaintSynthesizerPatchesarecompletesetsofalloftheeditableparametersassociatedwiththePaintSynthesizer.Thereareover470oftheseeditableparameters.Theseeditableparametersareorganizedintoaseriesofparametercontrolpanels.Aparameterspopupbelowthemainoperationpopupisusedtoswitchbetweenthedifferentparametercontrolpanels.
Studio Artist44
PaintSynthesizerPatchescanbeimportedorexportedtodiskasindividualfiles.TheycanalsobeaccessedasPaintPresetsfromwithintheStudioArtistPresetsoperationmodeinterface.
AnyPaintPresetfilesthatareplacedinaCategoryfolderinthePaintfoldercontainedinthemainPresetfoldernexttotheStudioArtistapplicationwillappearasPaintPresetswithinStudioArtist.ThefirstlevelofSubfolderswithinthePaintfolderwillappearasCollectionheadings.SubfolderswithintheCollection folderswillappearasPaintPresetCategoryheadingsforagivenCollectionUsetheseCollectionandCategorysubfolderstocustomorganizeyourPaintPresets.
StudioArtistshipswithover4000factorypaintpresets.However,youcaneasilyeditthesetocustomizethemoryoucanbuildyourownfromscratch.Spendsometimelookingthroughthedifferentfactorypresetsanddon'tbeafraidtocustomizethenamesorthecollectionandcategoryarrangementstosuityourownindividualworkneeds.
Building Custom Art Processes with Multiple Paint Presets
PaintActionSequencescanbeusedforcombiningtogetherdifferentindividualPaintActionstogeneratecomplexartprocesses.YoucanusePaintActionSequencePresetstoaccessthesesequencesofindividualPaintoperationsatthetouchofabutton.
StudioArtist'sPaintActionSequencesareuniqueinthattheycanbeastylisticscriptasopposedtojustaliteralrepresentationofyouractionslikescriptingenvironmentsinothergraphicsprograms.ThisbecomesespeciallyusefulifyouwanttoprocesssetsofdifferentsourceimagesorvideoframeswithaPaintActionSequence.StudioArtist'sIntelligentAssisteddrawingwillautomaticallyanalyzetheindividualimagesorvideoframesasthePaintActionSequenceplaysback,creatingauniquerepresentationoftheoriginalstyleyourecordedthatmatchesthesourcematerialcurrentlybeingprocessed.
See Chapter 3: Paint Synthesizer for detailed information on how to use and edit the Paint Synthesizer.
Studio Artist46
Image Operations
ImageOperationsareasetofimageprocessingeffectsthateachhaveuniqueeditableparameterpanes.Therearealargenumberofdifferentimageoperationsthatcoverawiderangeofspecialeffectsaswellasutilityimageprocessingfunctionality.ThecurrentImageOperationisinitiatedbypressingtheActionbutton(orbyusingtheCmnd Rhotkeycommand).
TheyacttotransformanimagethatisspecifiedasthecurrentIPSource.TheIPSourcecanbethecurrentCanvasLayer,aspecificCanvasLayer,theSourceImage,thecurrentRegionSelection,ortheCurrentLayerAlphaChannel.
TypicallytheendresultoftheimageoperationisplacedinthecurrentCanvasLayer.ThiscanbeoverriddentoplacetheresultdirectlyintothecurrentRegionSelectionorcurrentlayer'salphachannelwiththeappropriateCompositesetting.
EachImageOperationalsohasacompositingoperationandmixcontrollocatedatthebottomoftheparameterpane.CompositingoperationstaketheoutputoftheImageOperationeffectandtheimagealreadyintheworkingcanvasandcancombinethem
Chapter 2: Operation Modes47
2
togetherindifferentwaysbeforetheresultreplacesthecurrentworkingcanvas.
The use of different compositing operators can totally change the effect of a given image operation, resulting in a manyfold increase in possible visual effects achieved with a given image operation. For example, a blur effect can be changed into a sharpening effect by changing the compositing from Replace to Edge. Changing the Ip Source to something other than the current Layer also increases the range of possible effects that can be created even more.
Youcanalsospecifyaspecificnumberofrepetitionsofaparticularimageoperation.ThiswillrepeattheeffectNtimesautomaticallyinoneactionstep.Someimageoperationsgiveinterestingresultswhenrunrepeatedlyonthesameimage.
YoucanuseImageOperationPresetstoaccessagivenImageProcessingOperationanditsassociatededitableparametersatthetouchofabutton.LikeallPresetsinStudioArtist,theycanbeorganizedandaccessedbyCollection,Category,andPresetname.
PaintActionSequencescanalsobeusedtocombinetogetherdifferentImageOperationsinaseriestogeneratemorecomplexvisualprocesses.
Hint:
ThemainOperationsmenuprovidesaccesstoalloftheImageOperationseitherbyalphabeticalordering,orbytypeofeffectforeaseofaccesswhenworking.
See Chapter 4: Image Operations for detailed information on how to use the Paint Synthesizer.
Studio Artist48
Temporal Image Operations
TemporalImageOperationsareasetoftime-basedimageprocessingoperations.Time-basedmeansthattheyworkusingmultipleframeimagesasinputtogenerateanoutputataspecificframetimewhenprocessingasourcemovie.
Theyaredesignedtoworkwithaloadedsourcemovie,andwillnotreallydoanythingifyoudonothavealoadedsourcemovie.
Processing a movie file with a PASeq is the equivalent to loading a source movie so temporal ip ops will work as individual action steps in a PASeq designed to process movie files.
AllofthenormalcompositingoptionsavailableforImageOperationeffectsarealsoavailableforTemporalImageOperations.
Chapter 2: Operation Modes49
2
Texture Synthesizer
TheTextureSynthesizerisbasedonanunderlyingresolutionindependentproceduraltexturesynthesisengine.Therearealargenumberofeditableparametersthatcanbeusedtodefinethevisualcharacteristicsofthegeneratedtexturefield.ThetexturefieldmaybeplaceddirectlyintheCanvasandusedasafinishedabstractartisticimageoritcanbeusedasthebasisforalargenumberoftexture-basedimageprocessingoranimationandvideoeffects.
Some Image Operations that provide Texture Synth modulation options may incorporate the Texture Synthesizer as an extended part of their editable parameters and overall visual effect.
Extensiveeditablemodulationoptionsarebuiltintothetexturesynthesizer.AsourceusedformodulationcouldbethecurrentSourceimage,Canvasimage,orvariousvisualattributesassociatedwiththem.BymodulatingparametersovertimeusingPaintActionSequencetimelinekeyframing,dynamicabstracttexturalimagerycanbegeneratedandusedasthebasisfordynamicanimationorvideooutput.
Studio Artist50
See Chapter 5: Texture Synthesizer for detailed information on how to use the Texture Synthesizer.
Chapter 2: Operation Modes51
2
Vectorizer
TheVectorizerisarastertovectorconversionsynthesizer.Itcanbeusedtogeneratearealisticvectorrepresentationofarasterimage.Oritcanbeconfiguredtocreateartisticvectoreffects.
VectorizeroutputcanberenderedintothenormalStudioArtistrasterworkingcanvaslayers.Thenormalimageoperationsstylecompositingoptionsareavailableinversion4forcompositingyourvectorizeroutputintoanexistingrastercanvas.
TheVectorizercanalsogeneratevectorepsorsvgoutputtoanexternaleps,svg,orpdffile.TheindividualBezierpathsassociatedwitheachgeneratedvectorregioncanalsoberecordedtothecurrentBezierpathframe.
Studio Artist52
MSG - Modular Synthesized Graphics
MSGstandsformodularsynthesizedgraphicsandisStudioArtist'smodularimageprocessingarchitecture.Thereareover500individualMSGprocessorsthatcanbeusedtobuildMSGprocessingeffects.BycombiningtogetherdifferentMSGprocessorsinaprocessorchainlistyoucanbuildanunlimitednumberofdifferentimageorvideoprocessingspecialeffects,aswellascreateabstractproceduralartoranimation.
MSGpresetscanalsobeloadedintothepaintsynthesizerasMSGPathStartGenerators,MSGPathShapeGenerators,MSGBrushLoadGenerators,orMSGLiveSourceBrushes.ThisallowsyoutodramaticallyextendthecapabilitiesofthepaintsynthesizerbyincorporatingyourowncustomMSGpresetsintopaintpatches.
MSGisuniqueamongoperationmodesduetoit'stotallymodularnature.ThereisaspecialMSGAdvancedEditorpaletteyoucanusetobuildandeditMSGpresets.ThereisalsoaEvolutionEditoryoucanusetoperformdirectedevolutionofMSGpresets.These2additionaleditingpalettesmirrormostoftheoldMSGEvolverapplicationfunctionality.
Chapter 2: Operation Modes53
2
Warp
InteractivewarpsarecomplexspatialtransformationsordistortionsthatoperateonthecurrentCanvaslayerandcanbeinteractivelycontrolledbythecurrentpenpositionandpressure.TheyarefullyrecordableasanactionstepinaPaintActionSequence.Theycanbeusedforsubtlespatialdistortion,complexmosaicorsymmetryoperations,andforoutrageousorgrotesquespecialeffects.
Simplychooseaspecificwarptypeandusethepenormousetodynamicallycontrolthewarp.HorizontalaswellasverticalmousepositionmovementsfromtheinitialmousedownstartpointintheCanvasmayinteractivelychangedifferentparametersassociatedwithcertainwarptypes.
Manyofthespecificwarptypesarealsopressureaswellaspositionsensitive.Youcanusethespacebartoendaninteractivewarpoperationthatispressuresensitive.
ThefollowingeditableparametersareavailableintheInteractiveWarpcontrolpanel:
Type
Specifiesthespecifictypeofinteractivewarp.Eachtypesettingcanproduceavery
Studio Artist54
differentwarpeffectbasedonhowyoumovethepenfromtheinitialstartpositionandworkwithinteractivepressure.
Warp Quality Settings
Therearetwodifferentwarpqualitysettings,whichareaccessedviatheInterpolatorcontrolintheWarpeditor.The0orderinterpolatorisfasteranddoesn'tintroduceanyadditionalgraylevelsorcolorsintothewarpedimage.The2orderinterpolatorusesmorememoryandisslower,butgeneratesahigherimagequalityrenderingofthefinalwarpaftermouseupviaanti-aliasingwhichintroducesadditionalgraylevelsintothewarpedimage.ThismaytakeafewsecondstocomputedependingontheCanvassizeandinteractivewarptype.
Hot Keys
’t’-usedtotranslateormovethestartpositionofalocalwarp.
’s’-usedtofinetuneawarpbyslowingdowntheeffectofpenormousemovement.
’spacebar’-usedtoexecutethecurrentwarpwithoutliftingthepenorchangingthepenpressure.
Chapter 2: Operation Modes55
2
Adjust
InteractiveadjustmentsaredynamicimageprocessingoperationsthatoperateonthecurrentCanvaslayerandcanbeinteractivelycontrolledbythecurrentpenpositionandpressure.TheyarefullyrecordableasastepinaPaintActionSequence.TheycanbeusedtointeractivelyadjustthevisualappearanceofthecurrentCanvasortoaddinteractivegradienteffects.
Simplychooseaspecificadjustmenttypeandusethepenormousetodynamicallycontrolthespecifiedoperation.Someofthespecificadjustmenttypesarepressureaswellaspositionsensitive.Horizontalaswellasverticalmousepositionmaychangeparametersassociatedwithcertainadjustmenttypes.
ThefollowingeditableparametersareavailableintheInteractiveAdjustcontrolpanel:
Type
Specifiesthetypeofinteractiveadjustment.
Hot Keys
’t’-usedtotranslateormovethestartpositionofaadjustment.
Studio Artist56
’s’-usedtofinetuneanadjustmentbyslowingdowntheeffectofpenormousemovement.
’spacebar’-usedtoexecutethecurrentadjustmentwithoutliftingthepenorchangingthepenpressure.
Chapter 2: Operation Modes57
2
Selection
ThisinteractiveOperationmodeisusedtogenerateregionorareaselections.ThecurrentselectedregionscanthenbeusedtomaskthevariousStudioArtistOperationslikepaintingorimageprocessing.
Thecurrentselectioncanalsobeusedtogenerateanalphachannelformovieoutput.SelectedregionsoftheCanvascanalsobemovedwithinthecurrentlayerbyusingthe“m”hotkeywheninregionselectionoperationmode.
MouseorpendownontheCanvastodynamicallyselectanareabasedonthecurrentInteractiveGenerationsettings.Thesesettingsincludecommonselectionmethodssuchasrectangularandlassoselectionaswellasdynamicregiongrowthbasedonvisualattributessuchascolororimagetextureenergy.
ThecurrentselectionisdisplayedasasolidcoloronagrayedoutbackgroundonthecurrentCanvas.Usingthespacebartofinalizetheinteractiveselectionisthesameasreleasingthemouseorpen.
Studio Artist58
Afterinteractiveselectiongeneration,allunselectedareasoftheCanvaswillbegrayedoutwhileinthisOperationmode.Toextendtheexistingselection,usethe“shift” hotkey.Toremovefromtheexistingselection,usethe“option shift”hotkey.
WheninotherOperationmodeswithinStudioArtist,unselectedareaswillonlybegrayedoutifRegionMaskingisturnedon.YoucanturnonandoffRegionMaskingwiththeMaskcheckboxlocatedintheOperationToolbar.IfRegionMaskingisturnedon,thenoperationswillonlytakeplacewithinthemaskedregions.
Regionmaskingisexplainedinmoredetailinthenextsection.
Hint:
Theuseofthe‘q’hotkeywithamousedownintheCanvascanbeusedatanytimewheninadifferentOperationModeoftheprogramtomomentarilydropbackintoRegionSelectiontogeneratearegiononthefly.ThecurrentRegionSelection Pen ModesettingwilldeterminethetypeofRegionSelectionperformedduringthismomentaryoperation.
Chapter 2: Operation Modes59
2
Region Masking
ThecurrentregionselectioncanbeusedatanytimeasamaskfordifferentOperationswithinStudioArtist.Thisincludespainting,imageoperations,andinteractivewarpingoradjustments.ToturnonMasking,usetheMaskpopuplocatedabovethetopleftoftheCanvas.
SettingtheCanvas:Layer:PaintMaskTypetoPaintcurrentlymasksinteractivepaintingorpaintactionswithahardmask.SettingthePaintMaskTypetoPathmasksthepathassociatedwithanypainting,butnottheactualbrushfillprocess.Thisresultsinamorenaturalappearancethatlookslikeitwasactuallyhandpaintedratherthanartificiallymasked.
BothPaintandPathmaskingworkthesameforimageprocessingandinteractivewarping.Featheredselectionregionsworkwithimageprocessingandinteractivewarpingoperations.Featheringdoesnotcurrentlyblendforpaintoperations.
LithomaskingisusedwithwetpaintsmadeusingdualPaintFillApplyfillalgorithms.Drypaintismaskedwithinthecurrentselectionregionwhilethewetorwipepartofthepainttoolisunmasked.Thisallowsyoutobuildpainttoolsthatsimulatetheeffectofdifferentprintmakingtechnologieswhereinkisfirstprintedontoanapplicationplateandthenrubbedorburnishedontoapapersurface.
ThestatusofMaskingisrecordedinaPaintActionSequenceforanyrecordedActionsteps.WhenyouplaybackaPaintActionorHistorySequence,maskingwillturnonandoffasappropriateiftheMaskParameter(locatedinthePaintActionSequenceGenericEditorcontrolpanel)isturnedon.
Themaskusedinplaybackwillbethecurrentselectionregion.YoucanexplicitlyrecordRegionSelectionActionStepstoincorporatethemaskselectionprocessdirectlyintoaPaintActionSequence.
Hint:
Studio Artist60
YoucanuseCmndYtotoggletheregionmaskpopupsettingonandoffwithoutdirectlyusingthepopupcontrol.
Chapter 2: Operation Modes61
2
Bezier
TheBezieroperationmodeprovidesawaytodraworedittheBezierPathFrameassociatedwitheachlayer.EachCanvasLayerhasit'sownindividualBezierPathFrame,whichisseparatefromtheactualRGBAimageplanesalsostoredinalayer.TheBezierpathframeisnotdisplayedinthecanvasunlessyouareinthisoperationmode.
Bezier Drawing
YoucanusethemouseorpentodrawaBezierpathontheCanvas.Ifyouareusingapressuresensitivepen,thepressureandtiltinformationwillbestoredalongwiththepath.Ifyouareusingamouse,thedefaultpressureandtiltsettingswillbestoredwiththepath.
TherearetwosetsoftwodifferentdrawingmodesforBezierDraw.FreestylepenmodeallowsafreeformcurvetobedrawnthatisthenconvertedtoaBezierpathrepresentationatmouseup.BezierCurvemodeallowsaBezierpathtobebuiltupbyinteractiveinsertionandpositioningofBeziercontrolpoints.
YoucaneitherdrawBezierpathsorclosedBezierRegions.Eachofthesepathoptionscanbedrawnusingfreestyleorcurvemodes.
IfthePathLayerRecordSettingsmenusaresetappropriately,youcanrecordBezierpathswhiledrawinginthePaintSynthesizerorPaintSynthesizerPresets.TheVectorizerregionoutputcanalsoberecordedintothecurrentBezierPathFrameifthePathLayerRecordSettingsmenusaresetappropriately.
EachCanvaslayerhasanassociatedBezierFramethatcontainsalloftheactiveBezierPathscurrentlyassociatedwiththatCanvaslayer.SwitchingtoanewCanvaslayerwillalsoswitchtoit’sassociatedBezierFrame.SwitchingthecurrentOperationtoBezierwilldisplaythecontentsofthecurrentLayer'sBezierpathframeontopofthelayerscomponentRGBAimageinthecanvasview.
Studio Artist62
ThecurrentBezierframecanbeusedinseveraldifferentways.ItcanbeascratchpadforeditingexistingpaintpathsstoredinaPaintActionSequence.ItcanbeusedtointeractivelydefinepathsforsubsequentpaintingwiththePaintsynthesizer.ItcanbeusedforeditingindividualpaintstrokepathsstoredinaPaintActionSequence.
TheshapeandpositionofBezierpathscanalsobeanimatedovertime.Bezierpathscanalsobeusedtogenerateselectionregionsormasks.
BezierpathscanbedrawnwiththecurrentPaintSynthesizersettingsusingthe'Path:PaintPaths'menucommand.BezierregionscanbefilledusingthesamemenucommandalongwithaRegionFillasBrushpenmode.ThefillcanuserasterpaintwhenfillingtothecanvasorcangenerateanEPSregionifyouarerunningamenucommandthatgeneratesanEPSfilefromaPaintActionSequence.
IfyouwishtoeditaBezierpathafteryoudrawit,youneedtoswitchtotheBezierEditcontrolpanel.Youcanusecmnd5toswitchbackandforthfromyourcurrentOperationtoBezierOpModeforquickeditsonthefly.
See the Chapter on Bezier Paths for more information on Bezier Draw and Bezier Edit.
Chapter 2: Operation Modes63
2
Bezier Editing
YoucanusethemouseorpentoeditanyBezierpathsinthecurrentlayer’sBezierframe.MenucommandsarealsoavailableforBezierPathCopy/Pastestyleeditingaswellaspathtransformationoperations.
YoucanusethemouseorpentoselectindividualpathsbytouchingthemorgroupsofBezierpathsbydraggingaselectionmarqueoverthem.YoucandirectlymanipulatetheBeziercontrolpointsassociatedwithindividualpathstochangetheshapeofaselectedpath.Youcanalsorotate,scaleandtranslateselectedcurvesusinghotkeysaswellasperformmoresophisticatedinteractiveeditsthatchangetheappearanceoftheselectedpaths.
Hint:
ThemastererasebuttonerasestheCanvasimagelayerandit’sBezierpathframe.TheSettoBackgroundbuttonjusterasestheCanvasimagelayeranddoesnoteraseit’sassociatedBezierpathframe.
See the Chapter on Bezier Paths for more information on Bezier Edit.
Studio Artist64
Chapter 3: Paint Synthesizer Classic
StudioArtistisbasedaroundthemetaphorofagraphicssynthesizer.Musicianshaveusedaudioormusicsynthesizersformanyyearstodesignanunlimitedvarietyofcustomsoundsandtoemulatethesoundsofnaturalinstruments.Similarly,ausercanconstructgraphicalpatchesinthePaintSynthesizerthatallowforanunlimitednumberofpotentialvisualpaintaestheticsaswellasextremecustomizedpainttoolinteractivity.So,youhaveamazingcontroloverbothhowapaintinglooksaswellascontroloverhowapainttoolrespondstoyourpendrawingmovements.
For those unfamiliar with the metaphor, a paint patch is a collection of paint synthesizer parameter values stored in one recordable or savable object. These paint patches can be stored as individual Paint Preset files on disk for easy access later while working.
PaintSynthesizerClassicisanextendedimplementationofthetraditionalStudioArtistpaintsynthesizerinStudioArtistversion4thatallowsforfullcompatibilitywithpre-version4paintpresets.Inthefuturetheremaybeadditionalpaintsynthesizerswithredesignedinternalstructuresandnon-compatibiltywitholderpaintpresets.
ThisoverviewwillhelpyouunderstandthestructureofthePaintSynthesizersothatyoucanquicklystartmodifyingexistingfactorypaintpresetpatchesaswellascreateyourown.
Chapter 3: Paint Synthesizer65
3
Introduction
ThePaintSynthesizerallowsyoutocontrolanduseStudioArtist’spaintanddrawingcapabilities.Therearealargenumberofeditableparametersthatmakeupapaintpatch.Theseparametersdeterminethelookandfeelofthecurrentpaint.YoucanpaintmanuallyorhaveStudioArtistgeneratepaintingautomaticallyasaPaintAction,orworkwithahybridprocesswhereArtist’sautomaticpaintingisbeingguidedbyyourmanualpaintinginteractions.
Apaintstrokeiscomposedofapath,paint,andapaintbrush.ThepathdefineswheredrawingistakingplaceontheCanvas.Thepaintbrushappliesthepainttothepath.Ifyouarepaintingmanually,yourmovementsofthepenormousedefinethepath.IfStudioArtistispaintingautomatically,thenthepathisgeneratedbyStudioArtist.Whatthegeneratedpathlookslikewilldependonthepaintpatch’seditablepathparametersaswellasthesourceimageandit’sautomaticallyanalyzedinternalvisualattributes.
Useofagraphicstabletandassociatedpressureand/ortiltsensitivepenorairbrushtoolcangreatlyexpandtherangeofartisticexpressionanddynamiccontrolavailablefromagivenPaintPatch.WerecommendtheWacomIntuostabletstofullyutilizetheexpressivepotentialavailablewithinStudioArtist.Expressivefeatureslikepenpressure,tilt,tiltorientation,tangentialpressure,rotation,andvelocitycanbeusedtomodulateindividualparameterswithinthePaintSynthesizer.Intheextremecase,youhavetheabilitytomodulateover480parametersinrealtimeasyouuseanexpressivedrawingtoollikeapressureandtiltsensitivepen.
Overview of the Paint Synthesizer
Concept
ThePaintSynthesizerisdesignedbasedonmetaphorsoriginallyusedintheworldofaudioandmusicsynthesis.Thesynthesizeriscomposedofanumberofmodulesthatcaneithergenerateorprocessgraphicalandvisualsignals.Eachmodulehasanumber
Studio Artist66
ofeditableparametersthatcontrolsit’sbehavior.
Manyparameterscanalsobemodulatedbyothermodules,bythesignaloutputsofothermodules,orbyexternalsignals.It’susefultokeeptheconceptsofsignalflowandroutinginmindwhentryingtounderstandhowthesynthesizerworks.Asignalcouldbeanythingfromapaintcolortoapathfordrawingtoanimage.Propertiesofonesignalcouldbemodulatingthegenerationorprocessingofanother.Thesynthesizerisaflexibleandconfigurableenvironmentforconstructingvisuallyrichandhighlydynamicpaintanddrawingtools.
StudioArtistalsohasbuiltinvisualintelligencemodulesthatarebasedonresearchinthecognitiveneuroscienceofvisualperception.Thesemodulescanbeusedtogeneratepainttoolsthatofferintelligent-assistance.Theycaneitheraidyouincreatingadrawing,orgeneratepaintingpathsautomatically.
StudioArtistusesaSourceImageinmuchthesamewaythatanartistwoulduseamodel,asasourceforvisualabstraction.WhenyouopenanewSourceImage,StudioArtistspendsashorttimeexaminingitandthengeneratesanumberofinternalvisualattributesthatitusesasthebasisforit’sintelligentassisteddrawing.
Youcanuseaslittleorasmuchintelligent-assisteddrawingasyouchoose.Youcanturnoffallassistanceandtotallypaintinthetraditionalmanualfashion.Or,youcanpressActionandhaveStudioArtistdoallthework.Thechoiceisuptoyou.
Mostlikely,youwillworksomewhereinbetweenthesetwoextremes.Ifyoudon’tknowhowtodraw,youwillfindthatStudioArtististhefirstComputerPaintingprogramthatwillallowyoutocreatesatisfyingartwithouthavingtotakethetimeandefforttodevelopsignificantmechanicaldrawingskills.
Ifyouhavespentyearshoningandrefiningyourdrawingandpaintingskillsandtechnique,youcanuseintelligent-assistancetoaidyouinperformingrepetitiveortediouspenworkthatmightbetootimeconsumingtoconsiderdoingmanually.This
Chapter 3: Paint Synthesizer67
3
mightincludepaintingwithdynamiccrosshatchingpatternsorauto-rotoscopingindividualframesoffilmorvideoforanimation.
Manyartistsandmusiciandevelophandandwristproblemsduetoextensiveover-usageofacomputermouseormanualtoolsoverlongperiodsoftime.TheuseofapenandtabletalongwithStudioArtist’sintelligent-assisteddrawingisagreatwaytoreducethiskindofrepetitivestress.Digitalpaintingandimagemanipulationisalsoagreatwaytoavoidexposuretotoxicchemicalsassociatedwithmanytraditionalartistictechniquesandmediatypes.
Drawing Engine
ThePaintSynthesizerisbasedonamodelofapplyingdabs(alsosometimesreferredtoasnibs)ofpainttotheCanvasalongapath.Howthedabsareappliedtothepathandtheoverallshapeofthepathitselfcanbeextensivelymodulatedunderinteractivecontrol.
Apathcaneitherbedefinedmanuallyusingapenormouse,automaticallybyapathgenerationalgorithm,orbyahybridprocessthatcombinesmanualdrawingwithontheflyautopathgeneration.CollectionsofrecordedBezierpathscanalsobeaccessedandmodulatedortransformedinrealtimeasafurthersourceofautomaticpathgeneration.
Adabofpaintisgeneratedfromadynamiccomputationalbrushanddynamiccomputationalpaint.Bothdynamicelements(brushandpaint)canbechangingunderyourinteractivecontrol,orthePaintSynthesizermaybemodulatingthemonit’sown.
ThedynamicbrushisgeneratedfromaBrush SourceandaBrush Typecomputationalgenerationalgorithm.Brush Modulationparametersspecifyadditionaladjustmentstomodulatethedynamicbrushsize,orientation,andtexture.Eachtimethebrushisusedtoapplyadabofpaint,itcouldbethesameortotallyunique.ItalldependsonhowthePaintSynthesizereditableparametersareconfigured.
AdabofpaintisgeneratedataparticularpathlocationusingthecurrentdynamicbrushandtwoPaint Fillsources.TheyarecalledFill FromandFill To.Thedynamicbrush,
Studio Artist68
thetwopaintsources,andseveralFill Optionparametersacttogethertogenerateauniquedabofpainttobeappliedataparticularpathposition.
Asimpledabofanti-aliasedpaintcouldbebasedonasinglecolorastheFill From sourceandtheCanvasastheFill Tosource.Morecomplexandorganicdabsofpaintor3DpainteffectscanbeconstructedusingBrush Loading.Brush Loadingallowsforawiderangeofsophisticatedimagegenerationandprocessingalgorithmstobedynamicallyexecutedontheflyasyoudrawtocreaterichlytexturedandorganicpaintdabs.
ThedabofpaintisthenappliedtotheCanvaswithaparticularpaintFill Algorithm.DifferentCompositingandMaskingoptionscanbechosenfortheparticularpaintingalgorithm.TheapplicationofthedabtotheCanvascanbemodulatedinteractivelyoralgorithmically.
CertainpaintingFill AlgorithmsthatMixmayspawnasecondinteractingPaint Fillprocesswithit’sownCompositingandBlendingparameters.Thepowerofthissophisticatedpaintapplicationprocessallowsfortotalflexibilityincreatinguniqueanddifferentpaintvisuallooksandtactilefeels.APaintPatchcanbebuilttoemulatetraditionalmediaortocreatesomethingtotallywildandnew.
Presets
AfteraPaintPatchiscreatedandedited,itcanbeaccessedasaPresetforeaseofuseincreativedrawingandpainting.ThePaintSynthesizergivesyouextremecontrolovercreatingyourownpaintingtools.ThePresetsallowsyoutoaccesspre-builtpaintingtoolswithoutgettingunderthehoodintotheirinternalcomplexityunlessyousochoose.
Philosophy
TherearenoartificiallimitationsinStudioArtist’sPaintSynthesisapproach.Unlikeotherpaintingprograms,wedon’tmakeyourdecisionsforyou.Otherprogramsprovideafewnonuserconfigurablepaintswithverylimitededitabilityandinteractivity.Thiskindofgenericapproachbyothercompaniestoprovidingdigitalpaintingtools
Chapter 3: Paint Synthesizer69
3
reallylimitsyourfreedomofcreativeexpression.
Afterall,individualpersonalexpressionisreallywhattheartisticprocessisallabout.
Studio Artist70
Paint Synthesizer Interactive Pen Modes
ThereareseveraldifferentinteractivepenmodesassociatedwiththePaintSynthesizer.Eachmodeallowsyoutousethemouseorpeninacompletelydifferentwaywhendrawing.
AdefaultPenModesettingisstoredwitheachPaintPatch,butyoucanchangethissettingandsubsequentlychangetheinteractivebehaviorofthemouseorpentool.Switchingbetweenthesedifferentpenmodescanhaveaprofoundeffectonthevisualappearanceandbehavioroftheresultinginteractivepainttool.
The pen mode is adjusted in version 4 in the Pen Mode control panel. In previous versions of Studio Artist it could be adjusted with a special popup control located above the canvas.
Interactive Pen
Paintsontheflybasedontheuser’spenormousemovements.PaintflowsinrealtimefromthepentotheCanvasasyoudraw.
Certain paint parameters can be modulated by the path length. Because Interactive Pen draws on the fly, the Paint Synthesizer has no way of knowing the final path length while it is painting. Default settings located in the Path Shape parameter pane are used in Interactive Pen mode to determine path length modulation.
Freestyle
Drawsthepenpathasamarchingantsthinlineuntilmouseup,whenthepathisthenpainted.Thespecifiedpathcanberepositionedbeforeitispainted.
Certain paint parameters can be modulated by the path length. With this mouse mode, the path length modulation will be based on the complete drawn path length. Freestyle Autodraw
Drawsthepenpathasamarchingantsthinlineuntilmouseup.Then,thedrawn
Chapter 3: Paint Synthesizer71
3
pathisusedasascanlinetostartaseriesofautodrawnpathsthatarepainted.TheautodrawnpathsaregeneratedaccordingtothepathparametersettingslocatedinthePathStart,PathShape,PathAngle,PathEnd,PathApplication,andPathRandomizationparameterpanes.
AutoDraw One Shot
Autodrawsandpaintsapathfromthemousedownstartpoint.Onlyonepathisdrawn.
AutoDraw Interactive
Autodrawsandpaintsaseriesofpaintstrokesfromthecurrentmouseposition.ThespacingofnewautodrawnpathsisdeterminedbythescanspacingparameterlocatedinthePathStartparameterpane.
Howtheautodrawnpathsaregeneratedandwhattheylooklikeisafunctionofallofthepaintparametersassociatedwiththepath(PathStart,PathShape,PathAngle,PathEnd,PathApplication,andPathRandomizationpanes).
Think of the autodrawn paths as a stream of intelligent paint particles with minds of their own that are being generated by your pen motion. You can use this stream of particles for something as subtle as generating an airbrush effect to generating unique-looking dynamic particle brushes that flow like liquid paint to full intelligent-assisted drawing that might dynamically crosshatch or autosketch an image for you as you manipulate the mouse or pen on the canvas.
RegionDraw
Theuserinteractivelyspecifiesalocalregionwiththepen.Thesize,orientation,andshapeofthelocalregioncanbeadjustedbymovingthemouseandadjustingpenpressureortilt.Mouseuporhittingthespacebarthenpaintsthespecifiedregionwithaseriesofpathsgeneratedalgorithmically.
The Pen Mode 'Region Specifier' parameter determines whether pen pressure or tilt is used to interactively grow the region, or if the user just draws a lasso area.
Bezier Curve
Studio Artist72
DrawsthepenpathasamarchingantsBeziercurveuntilyoumouseuporpressthespacebar,whenthepathisthenpainted.
Pentiltcontrolsthedirectionandextentofthecurve.
If you don’t have a tilt sensitive pen, press ‘option’ to adjust the direction of the curve. To add a new segment to the curve, press the ‘Cmnd’ key. The ‘t’ hot key lets you translate the existing curve path. The ‘r’ hot key lets you rotate the existing curve path.
Particle Paint
Autodrawsandpaintsaseriesofindependentpaintbushparticlesthathavetheirownuniquemovementbasedontheoverallpathgenerationsettings.
Particle paint is different than Autodraw Interactive pen mode in that multiple paint paths associated with each paint particle are being drawn simultaneously rather than one at a time sequentially. This has a very different look and feel than Autodraw Interactive, which draws and fills one autopath at a time.
Interactive MultiPen
Paintsontheflyusingmultiplesimultaneousinteractivepensasyoudraw.Eachoftheindividualinteractivepenstrackstheoverallmovementofthepenormousewhile.
Can be used to simulate the appearance of a real paint brush composed of multiple pen bristles or for special effects like multiple thread weaving or amazing interactive pattern design.
Autodraw MultiPen
Autodrawsandpaintsaseriesofmultipenpaintstrokesfromthecurrentmouseposition.ThespacingofnewautodrawnpathsisdeterminedbythescanspacingparameterlocatedinthePathStartparameterpane.
Region Draw MultiPen
SimilartoRegiondrawpenmodeexcepttheregionisfilledwithmultipenpaintstrokes.
Studio Artist74
Region Draw as Brush
Theuserinteractivelyspecifiesalocalregionwiththepen.Thelocalregionisthenconvertedtoabrushanddirectlyfilledwiththecurrentpaintsynthesizersettings.Unlikepreviouspenmodes,theregionisdirectlyfilledratherthanstrokedwithapathbasedpaintstroke.
This pen mode is the paint mode used to fill vector regions stored in the current path frame. Unlike other illustration programs that fill vector regions with solid color or simple gradients, Studio Artist allows you to access the complete power of the Paint Synthesizer when filling a vector region.
Autodraw Region Draw as Brush
Autodrawsandpaintsaseriesoffilledlocalregionsfromthecurrentmouseposition.Thelocalregionsaregeneratedusingthesettinginthepaintsynthesizerpathgenerationsection.
Thelocalregionsarethenconvertedintoindividualbrushdabsanddirectlyfilledwiththecurrentpaintsynthesizersettings.ThespacingofnewautodrawnregionsisdeterminedbythescanspacingparameterlocatedinthePathStartparameterpane.
This pen mode can either be used to auto generate regions used for Paint Synthesizer fills, or to take a vector path and convert it into a flat and possibly stylized vector region that represents the paint stroke and is filled with one overall fill operation as opposed to a series of applied paint dabs.
Chapter 3: Paint Synthesizer75
3
Paint Synthesizer Editable Control Panes
ThePaintSynthesizeriscomposedofseveraleditableparametercontrolpanes.Theyarelooselyorganizedintermsofsignalflow.EachpanecontainsacollectionofeditableparametersthatcontrolaparticularaspectofthePaintSynthesizer’sdrawingengine.TheseparametersdefinethelookandfeeloftheresultingPaintPatchandit’sassociatedinteractivemouseorpenmodesandPaintActions.
Aneditableparametermaybeassociatedwithapopupcontrol,orasliderandassociatednumericeditfield.Certainparametersmayuserangesliders,whichhavetwoassociatednumericfieldsfortherangeslider’sminimumandmaximumrangevales.
Youcanusethecontrolpanepopupatthetopofthepaintsynthesizereditortomovebetweenthedifferentcontrolpanels.OryoucanusetheOperation:PaintSynthesizersubmenusasanalternativewaytonavigatethevariouspaintsynthesizercontrolpanels(oranyothercontrolpanelsavailableinStudioArtist).
Studio Artist76
Paint Synthesizer Control Pane Organization
ThePaintSynthesizerparameterpanesareorganizedasfollows:
Pen Mode ParticlePaint Mode MultiPen Mode Region as Brush Mode
Theseparameterscontrolspecificbehaviorassociatedwiththedifferentpenmodes.
Path Start Path Shape Path Angle Path End Path Application Path Randomize
Theseparameterscontroltheappearanceofthepath.Youcancontrolhowstartpositionsarechosenforthepath,howthepathisgenerated(whichdeterminesit’ssubsequentappearanceorshape),andhowpathsareterminatedorendedbasedonvisualattributes.
Howthepathparametersareuseddependsonwhetheryouinitiateapaintaction,orusethemouseorpentodrawapath.Eventhoughyoumayusethepentospecifyaprimarypath,thepathparameterscanstillaffecthowthepenpathisdrawnontothecanvas.Thisinteractioncanbesubtleorquitedramatic,dependingonthepathsettingsandthepenmode.
Paint Color Source Paint Color Modulate Fixed Colors
Theseparameterscontroltheoverallcolorofthepaint.
TheinitialpaintcolorvaluewillcomefromtheSourceAreasectionoftheStudioArtistinterface.DependingonthestatusofthetwopopupcontrolsintheSourceArea,thecolorcouldbeafixedvalueuserselectedcolor,acolorspecifiedinapaintpaletteorcolorgradient,ordynamicallygeneratedfromthesourceimageasyoupaint.ThisinitialcolorvaluecanthenbemodulatedortransformedbythePaintColorSourceand
Chapter 3: Paint Synthesizer77
3
PaintColorModulateparametersettings.
TwoadditionalFixedColorscanbegeneratedasoffsetsormodulationsfromtheinitialPaintColor.Thecombinationofthesethreedynamiccolorsourcescangeneraterichpainttexturesorspecialeffects.
Paint Source Offset Paint Brush Load Paint Fill Setup Paint Fill Apply Alpha Fill
Theseparameterscontroltheappearanceofthepaint,andhowitisappliedtoorinteractswiththecanvasandthebrush.
PaintSourceOffsetscanbeusedtodynamicallyoffsetvariouscolororimagecloningoperations.Thiscanbeusedtogeneratesubtlecolormodulationeffectsinapainting,forrubber-stampstyleimagecloning,forgeneratingliquidflowpaints,andmanyotherapplication.
PaintBrushLoadingallowsadynamicpaintimagetobegeneratedonthefly.ThisdynamicpaintimagecaninteractwiththedynamicbrushandCanvasinthesubsequentPaintFillmodule.Anextremelylargenumberofdifferentimageprocessingandgenerationalgorithmscanbeusedtocreatethedynamicpaintimage.Thisallowsforawiderangeoforganictextures,3Dpaintandstylisticeffects.
PaintFillparametersdeterminehowthedynamicbrushappliesdynamicpainttotheCanvas.PaintFillSetupdetermineshowthedabofpaintisgenerated.PaintFillApplydetermineshowthedabofpaintisappliedtothecanvas.
AlphaFillparametersdeterminehowthedynamicbrushupdatesthecurrentCanvasLayeralphachannel.
Brush Source Brush Type Brush Modulation
Studio Artist78
Theseparameterscontrolthecharacteristicsofthedynamicpaintbrushusedtoapplypainttothecanvas.Youcancontrolthebrushmasksource,appearance,type,texture,andsizeandorientationmodulation.
AninitialBrushSourcecanbecomputational,dynamicallygenerative,animage,text,oramoviefile.Itisthenmodifiedbyaseconddynamicbrushgenerationalgorithm.
BrushModulationallowsthesize,orientation,andluminanceofthedynamicbrushtobeadditionallymodulatedbypressure,tilt,ormanyotherinteractiveoralgorithmicparameters.
Background Texture
Thispaneletsyoudefineadynamicbackgroundtexture.Thedynamicbackgroundtexturecanbeusedtomodulatemanydifferentparameterswithinotherpartsofthepaintsynthesizer.Backgroundtexturescanbeusedtosimulatepaperorcanvastexturesaswellastocreaterichorganicpainteffects.
Miscellaneous
Thispanehassomeadditionalparameters.Youcanaccessthedefaultpressureandtiltsettingshere.
Time Particles 1 Time Particles 2
Thesepanesexpandthefunctionalityofthepaintsynthesizertogenerateparticlebasedmotioneffectsovertime.Iftimeparticlesareturnedon,thenindividualpaintstrokesgeneratedinthefirstframeofananimationormovieprocesswillpersistovertimeandhaveindividualmotioncharacteristics.
Vector Output
Thispanehassomeparametersthatdeterminehowthepaintstrokesorlocalpaintregionsareconvertedintoepsstrokedpathsorfilledregionsduringepsoutput.Someofthenewv4vectorpaintrenderoptionscanalsobeaccessedhere.
Studio Artist80
Pen Mode
ThePenModeparametersarespecificcontrolsassociatedwithoneormorePenModes.ParticlePaint,MultiPen,andRegionFillasBrushmodesarelocatedintheirowncontrolpanelduetothelargenumberofeditableparameterstheycontain.
Autodraw Mode Parameters Pen Mode
Determineswhatkindofpendrawingmodewillbeused.Thevisualbehaviorofthedrawingassociatedwithyourpenmovementcanchangeradicallydependingonwhichpenmodeyouchoosetoworkwith.FormoreinformationonthespecificpenmodesandwhattheydoseetheprevioussectiononPaintSynthesizerInteractivePenModes.
In previous versions of Studio Artist this was a separate popup control above the left part of the canvas. In version 4 it's integrated into the Pen Mode control panel.
Scan Spacing
Thisparameterspecifiesthescanspacingforfreestyleautodrawandthevariousautodrawinteractivepaintingmousemodes.Byscanspacing,wemeanthenumberof
Chapter 3: Paint Synthesizer81
3
pixelsthepenmustmovebeforeanewautodrawnpathwillstart.
For example, set it to 0 if you want autodraw interactive to act like an air brush (i.e.. continuously generating new paths without moving the mouse) , or 10 if you want a new path to be generated every time the pen moves 10 pixels.
Line Tracking
Whenlinetrackingisoffthestartpointfortheautodrawnpathalwaysimmediatelyjumpstothecurrentpenlocation.Iflinetrackingisonthenthestartpointfortheautodrawnpathswilltrackfromthepreviousstartpointalongalinetothecurrentpenlocationaslongasthepenormouseisdown.Thetrackingalongthelinewillbespacedbasedonthescanspacing(ascanspacingof0willtrackat1pixelincrements).
Stroke Update
Determineswhetherpost-strokeupdatingtakesplaceforautodrawinteractivemousedrawingatmouseuporforeachindividualstroke.UpdatesincluderesettingtheZ-bufferandtheUndoCanvas,whichareusedincertainPaintFilloperations.
Region Draw Mode Parameters
Parametersusedininteractiveregiondrawmousemode.Userinteractivelyspecifiesaregiononthecanvasthatisthenfilledwithalgorithmicallygeneratedpaintstrokes.
Region Specifier
Determineswhatinteractivemodulatorordrawingtechniquedeterminestheoverallinitialregionshape.Oncetheregionshapeisspecified,apathgenerationalgorithmattemptstofillitinwithadrawingpathspecifiedwiththeFillTypeparameterdetailedbelow.
Theregionfillingpathwillthenbestrokedwithpaint.Notethatthiswayoffillingaregionwithapathandthenpaintingthepathisverydifferentthanasolidcolorregion
Studio Artist82
fill.
PressureRegioninteractivelygrowstheregionbasedonthepenpressure.TiltRegioninteractivelygrowstheregionbasedonthepentilt.Ifeitherofthese2specifiersisusedwithamousetheydefaultto50%.Youcanpressthespacebartostoptheinteractiveregiongrowthandpainttheregion.Thisispreferabletoliftingthepensincethatcouldchangetheinteractivemodulation.
Lassoallowsyoutodrawablinkinglassoselectionareawhichisthenfilledwhenyouliftthepenorpressthespacebar.
Note
You can also use the current region selection mode to interactively select a region that is then filled as an alternative to the current Specifier. To do this, hold down the cmnd key when mousing down into the canvas when in Region Draw pen mode. Rather than using the current Specifier to interactively select, you will be immediately dropped into the current region selection mode to interactively select the area to be painted.
Region Fill Type
Algorithmtogenerateapathtofillaninteractivelyspecifiedregion.Allofthesetrytofilltheregionwithapathinadifferentway,sotheyallhaveaverydifferentappearance.Trythemandyou'llseehowtheyallattempttofilltheregionindifferentways.
Thefirst10filltypesarealsoaccessibleviahotkeys1,2,...,0wheninRegionDrawmousemode.
Region Spacing
SpacinginpixelsbetweenadjacentpathsegmentsusedintheRegionDrawpathgenerationalgorithm.
Region Effect
Chapter 3: Paint Synthesizer83
3
ThiscanbeusedtospecifyadditionalpostprocessingeffectsthatwillmodifytheappearanceoftheRegionFillTypegeneratedpath.
Region AutoDraw
DetermineswhathappenswhentheRegionDrawpenmodeisautodrawn.Thedefaultoriginalbehaviorwastodoanormalautodrawlikewithinteractivepenmode.The'simulatelassofill'optionusesthegeneratedpathtosimulateamanuallydrawnlassofillthatisthenfilledinbasedontheotherregiondrawparametersinthiscontrolpanel.Note
The Path Shape control panel Path Type parameter setting called Gen Region Path1 also uses these parameters to generate the path shape using the current region draw Fill Type algorithm.
Studio Artist84
ParticlePaint Mode
TheParticlePaintModeparametersarespecificcontrolsassociatedwiththeParticlePaintpenmode.Thispenmodeautodrawsandpaintsaseriesofindependentpaintbushparticlesthateachhavetheirownuniquemovementbasedontheoverallpathgenerationsettings.
ParticlePaint Mode Parameters
# Particle
DeterminesthenumberofindependentpaintparticlesusedinParticlePaintPenMode.Increasingthenumberofparticlescanslowdowndrawingifthebrushsizeislarge,soadjustaccordingly
Path Tracking
Determineswhetherpathapplicationspacingtrackingisaccurateornotfortheparticledrawing.Itwasnotinversion2forparticlepaints,nowyoucanchoose.
Action Reset
VariousoptionsfortheParticlePaintbehaviorthatareonlyactiveduringActionpainting.Bychangingthesettingyoucandetermineiftheautopaintedparticlesspillcoloralloverthecanvas(none)ortracksourcecolormorelikeanormalautopaint
Chapter 3: Paint Synthesizer85
3
operation(newstartpoint,newstroke).
There can be a big difference between the appearance of manually drawn Particle Paint presets and automatic action drawing for the same preset. Action painting for most particle paints requires a Path Start Repeat Scan setting greater than 1 with the New Start Point setting if you want the action painting to simulate the same effect you would get by using the mouse.
Swarming
Particleswarmingallowstheindividualpaintparticlestosenseandinteractwithotherparticlesintheswarmaswellastosenseandrespondtothemovementofthepen.Swarmingcancreateextremelyrichparticledynamics.Thinkofaflockofbirdsundulatingastheyflytogether.Theswarmingparametersallowyoutosimulatethiskindofrealworldbehaviorintheindividualpaintparticles.
Thisparametersturnstheoverallswarmingbehavioronoroff.Whenswarmingison,additionalindentedparametersassociatedwiththebehavioroftheparticleswarmingappearandarespecifiedbelow.
Distance Option
Thereare3differentkindsofcalculationsthatcaninfluencethebehaviorofanindividualparticleinaswarm.Theyareattractiontothepen,attractiontootherparticles,andrepulsiontoothercloseparticles.
The3distanceslidersassociatedwithpenattraction,selfattraction,andcloserepulsionspecifymaximumdistancesbeyondwhichtheeffectforaparticularparticlecombinationisignored.Forexample,aclosedistanceof10specifiesthatparticlescloserthan10pixelswillberepulsedfromeachotherbutparticlesthatarespacedgreaterthan10pixelsapartwillignoreeachother.
Sometimesyoumaywantparticlestointeractnomatterhowfaraparttheyare.TheDistanceOptionpopupallowsyoutoturnoffthedistancerangeforthepenattractand
Studio Artist86
selfattractcalculations.
Pen Attract
Controlstheattractionofindividualparticlestothecurrentpenlocation.Increasingtheparameterincreasestheattractiontothepen.
Pen Distance
Determinesadistancerangebetweentheparticleandthepenlocationafterwhichattractiontothepenlocationisignored.
Self Attract
Controlstheattractionofindividualparticlestoeachother.Positiveincreasingvaluesincreasetheselfattraction.Negativeincreasingvaluesmaketheparticlesincreasinglyflyawayfromeachother.
Attract Distance
Determinesadistancerangebetweenparticlesafterwhichtheirattractiontoeachotherisignored.
Close Repulse
Controlstherepulsionofindividualclosespacedparticlestoeachother.Positiveincreasingvaluesincreasethecloserepulsion.Negativeincreasingvaluesmaketheclosespacedparticlesincreasinglyattracttoeachother.
Close Distance
Determinesadistancerangebetweenparticlesafterwhichtheirselfrepulsiontoeachotherisignored.
Repulse Algorithm
Determinesthespecificalgorithmforhowparticlesarerepulsed.
... Path Jump
Onecharacteristicofarealpaintorliquidstreamisthatitmaybranchorsplitintomultiplesubpathsasthestreammoves.Thisphenomenaisalsoobservedinnaturein
Chapter 3: Paint Synthesizer87
3
plantortreebranching.Pathjumpingallowsyoutomodelbothkindofphenomenainyourparticlepaints.
Turningonpathjumpingbringsupadditionalindentedparametersthatdeterminewhenindividualpaintparticlepathsbranchforpathjumping.BranchingoccurswithintheoriginalpoolofNparticles,soifoneparticlebranchesinto2thesecondbranchingparticleisstolenfromanotherpositionintheoverallpoolofparticles.
Probability
Determinestheprobabilityofanindividualparticlebranching.Asettingof0%meansbranchingwillneveroccur.Asettingof100%meansbranchingwillalwaysoccur.
Start Offset
Determinesarandomstartpositionoffsetrangeforthenewbranchingparticle.Thisnewpositionisoffsetfromtheexistingparticlelocationforthepaththatisbranching.
Angle Offset
Determinestheangularoffsetforanewparticlebranch.
Angle Adjust
Determinesanoverall%adjustmentrangeforthepathangle.Settingthisto0%meansthenewparticlebranchanglewillalwaysbeattheangleoffsetvalue.Increasingthesettingallowsthenewparticletofallrandomlyintothepercentrangestartingattheangleoffsetwith0%andmovingtowardstheoriginalpathangleat100%.So,increasingthesettingwillintroducemorevariabilityintothebranchingstructure.
... NibMod Out
TheMultiPenNibmodulatorisusedthroughoutthepaintsynthesizer.ThismodulatorcanalsobeusedwithParticlePaint,andthemodulationwillbebasedonthesettingofthisparameter.
NibMod Out2
Studio Artist88
TheMultiPenNib2modulatorisusedthroughoutthepaintsynthesizer.ThismodulatorcanalsobeusedwithParticlePaint,andthemodulationwillbebasedonthesettingofthisparameter.
Extra Force
Definesanadditionalforceusedforgeneratingparticlemovement.Thisextraforceisaddedtothemainparticlemovementwhichisderivedfromthepaintsynthesizerpathgenerationcontrols.
Chapter 3: Paint Synthesizer89
3
MultiPen Mode
TheMultiPenModeparametersarespecificcontrolsassociatedwiththeMultiPenMode.MultiPenModesimulatesmultiplebrushbristlesorwhatwecallNibseachdrawingindependentlyinInteractivePenMode.Anotherwaytothinkofthisishavingacollectionofmultipleinteractivepensthatalldrawsimultaneouslyasyoumovethepen.
Path Randomize
TheoriginalmultipenimplementationinStudioArtist2didnotsupportanyofthepathrandomizationsettings.StudioArtist3multipensdosupportthepathrandomizationsettings.Thiscontrolsturnstheoverallmultipenpathrandomizationonoroff.Turningitoffmeansthepathrandomizationsettingsareignoredlikeinversion2.Weaddedthiscontrolforcompatibilitywithexistingversion2multipenpresets.
Line Track
Switcheslinetrackingonoroff.Ongeneratescontinuousbristlepaths.Offgeneratessplotchybristlesthatskiptothenewpenpositionwithoutdrawinglinesfromthelastpenposition.
Configuration
InitialstartconfigurationorpositioningoftheMultipenBristleNibs.Thinkofan
Studio Artist90
individualnibasbeingonebristleinamulti-bristlebrush.Thenibscouldbepositionedinastraightlinetosimulatearectangularshapedbrushorinaseriesofconcentriccirclesoraspiralstosimulatearoundbrushshape.Youcanalsochooserandomsettingsthatwillpositionthenibsrandomlyatthebeginningofeachbrushstrokeratherthanequallyspacingthem.
AngleTrack
Modulationoptionsfortheangletrackingofthenibsfromthepencenterduringdrawing.Angletrackingdetermineshowtheoverallareaspecifiedbytheinitialnibconfigurationorientsitselfasyoudraw.
Angle Calc
Determineswhethertheangleusedfortrackingisalwaysupdatedasyoudraworisonlycalculatedatthestartofthepath.
Spread Mod Type
Modulatorforinteractivelycontrollingthespreadofthenibsfromthepencenterpointduringdrawing.Thenibspreadingoccurswithintheoverallshapeofthespecifiednibconfiguration.KeepinmindthatyouneedtospecifyaSpreadMod%greaterthan0inordertoseeanyspreadmodulationeffects.AndthemaximumspreadwillbedeterminedbytheSpreadMaxparameter.
# Nib
NumberofbristlenibsusedinMultiPendrawing.Beawarethatincreasingthenumberofnibscanslowdowntheinteractivedrawspeed.
Spread Max
MaximumbristlenibSpreadinPixels.
Angle Offset
Fixedoffsetangleusedforangletracking.Thisisaddedontoanydynamicanglevaluesgeneratedbythespecifiedangletrackingalgorithmasyoudraw.
Spread Mod%
Chapter 3: Paint Synthesizer91
3
ThepercentagespreadadjustmentallowedbytheSpreadMaxmodulatorduringtracking.Themodulationadjuststhespreaddownfromthefullspreadsetting.
WeaveMod%
DeterminestheweavespacingifaWeaveTypeoptionison.
Slop Amount
Determinestheamountofsloporpositionslipduringtracking.Slopcanbeusedtosimulatetheeffectofpaintdriporwetpaintspreading.Itrandomizesthedrawnpathinawaytosimulatetheseeffects.
Slop Type
Determineswhatisspecificallyusedtocomputetheslopfactor.Forexample,itcouldbebasedonthingslikeinteractivepenvelocitychangesoronquickpathanglechangesorjigglingthepenbackandforthtorandomizethenibspacing.TheSlopAmountparameterneedtobegreaterthan0toseeaslopeffectwhendrawing.
Config Mod
Definesamodulationsourceforthemultipenconfiguration.TheNibpositioningwillvarybetweenthe2Dand1Dspacingbasedonthemodulator.Thiscontrolonlyappliesto2Dconfigurationsettingsandwillhavenoeffecton1Dmultipenconfigurations.
Weave Type
DeterminesifNibWeavingisonandwhattypeifitis.NibWeavingcanbeusedtosimulaterealthreadweaving,crotchet,ormacramepatterns.Itcanalsobeusedtosimulaterandombristleinteractioneffectstogiveamultipenpaintstrokemoreorganiccharacter.
NibMod Out
TheMultiPenNibmodulatorisusedthroughoutthepaintsynthesizer,andthemodulationwillbebasedonthesettingofthisparameter.
Studio Artist92
NibMod Out2
TheMultiPenNib2modulatorisusedthroughoutthepaintsynthesizer,andthemodulationwillbebasedonthesettingofthisparameter.
Chapter 3: Paint Synthesizer93
3
Region as Brush Mode
BoththeRegionFillasBrushandtheAutoRegionFillasBrushpenmodesareverydifferentfromtheotherpenmodes.Alloftheotherpenmodesfillapaintstrokepathwithaseriesofpaintnibsbrushedontothecanvas.RegionFillasBrushallowsforatrueregionfilloperationusingonepaintnibandbrushthatcorrespondtotheregionbeingfilled.
Theusercaneitherdrawaregionmanuallyusingthepenortheregioncanbeauto-generatedusingthePaintSynthesizerpathgenerationparameters.Specialprocessingeffectscanfurthermodifytheregion.Uptotwodifferentprocessingeffectscanmodifythegeneratedregion.TheseeffectscanrangefromsimplesmoothingtofeatheringThen,thegeneratedregionisdynamicallyinsertedintothePaintSynthesizerasthecurrentbrushtofilltheregion.
Unlikeothergraphicsprogramsthatfillaregionwithasolidcolororsimpletextureorgradient,StudioArtistgiveyouthefullpowerofthecompletePaintSynthesizertodotheregionfill.IfyouincorporateBrushLoadingorMSGeffects,youcancreateawiderangeofamazinggraphicsandimageprocessingeffectsusingthispenmode.
Studio Artist94
Generator
Specifiesanumberofdifferentgenerationoptionsfortheregion.Allofthesedeterminehowthepathisconvertedintoaregion.Thedrawnpathcouldsimplyrepresenttheboundariesofregion,oritcouldbetheinputtoageneratorthatthenoutputsthefinalregiontobedrawn.Someofthesegeneratorsaregeometricwhileotherssimulateathickvectorpaintstrokethatisdrawnasoneregion.TheRegionDrawGeneratoroptionusestheRegionDrawpenmodeFillTypetogeneratetheregion.FullScreenRectangleallowsthePaintSynthesizertobeusedtocreateimageprocessingeffectsthatprocesstheentireimage.
TheSelectionOverridegeneratoroptionisdifferentfromtheothersinthatitignoresthepathandbuildstheregionbrushdirectlyfromthecurrentselectionregion.Thisoptionisextremelyusefulwhenusingregionfillasbrushpenmodewithpathstartregionization.
The Path Start Grid Scan Generator uses the Path Start Grid Spacing controls to determine the size of the rectangular regions it generates. The top left corner of each rectangle will correspond to the last point in the original path generated by the Path Shape parameters. So if you want to track the actual path start points you need a path max length of 1.
Partition
ThisparameterisonlyassociatedwiththeScreenPartitionGeneratoroption.Youcanchoosehowthescreenwillbepartitioned(2x2,3x2,etc).
Processing 1
Thefirstoftwoprocessingoptionsthatcanmodifythegeneratedregioninsomeway.Themodificationcanbeanumberofdifferentspecialeffectsthatrangeformsmoothingtheregiontoaddingfeatheredorraggededgestowatercoloredgeeffectstogradientorskeletoneffects.
Chapter 3: Paint Synthesizer95
3
Processing 2
Thesecondoftwoprocessingoptionsthatcanmodifythegeneratedregioninsomeway.
Eachoftheprocessorscanhavesomeadditionaloptions.ThetwospecifiedbelowareassociatedwiththeAdvancedGeodesicprocessingoptions.
# Starts
Thenumberofrandomstartsinthegeodesicregionprocessingmodule.Changingthisvaluedeterminesthespatialfrequencyorbusynessandlocalscaleoftheraggednessintroducedbythegeodesicprocessingmodules.
Geodesic Algorithm
Specifiesaspecificoptionforthetypeofgeodesicprocessingmoduleused.Thiswillchangetheoverallappearanceofthegeodesiceffect.
... Randomize
DetermineshowtheoutputofthePathRandomizationmoduleisappliedtothegeneratedregion.
Brush Option
DeterminesspecificsforhowthegeneratedregioninteractswiththePaintSynthesizerbrushgenerationmodules.Thegeneratedregioncanreplacetheentiredynamicbrushoritmightonlyreplacethedynamicbrushalpha,leavingyoufreetocombineregionfillasbrusheffectstodeterminetheoverallbrushshapeandfillfrom-toblendwhilestillusingtheSourceBrushasafilltype.
Forexample,ifyouwanttouseamoviebrushforthesourcebrushwiththeregiondeterminingtheshapeofthefillthenyou'dsetthistoAlphaOnlyanduseaBrushtypesettoSourceBrushAlpha.
Studio Artist96
Color Start
Specifiesanumberofoptionsforhowtheregioncanbecolored.Someoftheseoptionswillanalyzethesourceimagewithintheregionareatodeterminehowtocolorthatarea.Othersjustsamplethesourceimageatasinglepointassociatedwiththeregion.
Chapter 3: Paint Synthesizer97
3
Size Option
Allowssmallregionstobefilteredoutsotheywillnotbedrawn.Veryusefultocleanupsomeoftheautodrawregionfillasbrusheffects.Youcanspecifynosizefiltering,orfilteringbasedonthe1Dor2Dsizeoftheregion.
Minimum
Theminimumsizebelowwhichregionfilteringwilltakeplaceandthegeneratedregionwillnotbedrawn..
Repeat Option
Normalmeansthisfeatureisturnedoff.AlloftheotheroptionsworkinconjunctionwiththePathApplicationRepeatStrokecontrol.Whenanyoftheseadditionaloptionsareselected,thefirststrokeisdrawnwiththenormalregionfillasbrushsettingsbutsubsequentrepeatstrokesusetheregionoutlinepathanddrawlikenormalinteractivepenstrokesbasedonthatpath.
TheDualModeoptionsworkwithdualFillAlgorithms(PaintFillApply)andalwaysusethesecondfilloptionforallsubsequentrepeatstrokesthatareusingtheedgeoutlineasanormalpaintpath.
Theoptionswitha1attheendwillworkforallbrushtypes.Theprecedingoptionswithouta1attheendworkoffofthecurrentsourcebrushcache,sotheywouldoverridesomethinglikeageodesicbrushtypeandusethesourcebrushcacheinsteadwhendrawingtheoutlinepaths.
Studio Artist98
Path Start
ThePathStartparametersdefinehowStudioArtistautomaticallypicksastartinglocationontheCanvastobeginapaintpath.
StudioArtistgeneratesstartpointsforpathsbyalgorithmicallyscanningthecanvas.Thescanprocessiscomposedoftwoparts.Analgorithmicgeneratorgeneratesaninitialscanlocation.Asecondscanalgorithmthenworksoffofthisinitialscanlocationtogeneratealimitedseriesofadditionalstartpointsbasedontheinitialscanlocation.Whenthissecondscanisfinished,theinitialgeneratormovestoanewscanlocation.
Whetherascanlocationisactuallyusedasarealpathstartpointcanbeinfluencedbyanumberofsettings.MostofthesesettingaretiedtotheSourceImagevisualattributes.SomeofthesettingsaretiedtootherattributesbasedonthecurrentCanvas,Blankingbuffer,orRegionSelection.Startpointsmaybechosenfromasetrangeofavisualattribute,orwithaprobabilitybasedonthevisualattributevalues.
Chapter 3: Paint Synthesizer99
3
The individual start points generated by the Path Start process can have temporal continuity in a movie sequence if Time Particles are turned on. See the Time Particles section for more information on how to use Time Particles in animation sequences.
Max Stroke
Determineshowmanypathswillbegeneratedbeforeapaintactionstopsonit’sown.Thisisamaximumsetting.Youcanalwaysmanuallystopapaintactionatanytimebyhittingthespacebar(oranyotherkey)orbymousingdownanywhereintheinterface.
Typically this value is set to a high value so auto painting will continue for a very long time if left unattended. It's assumed that you will manually stop the painting long before this. If you are recording a PASeq action step, the # of painted strokes actually drawn when you stopped action drawing is what will be recorded in the PASeq step, not the high value in the initial patch.
Generator
Thegeneratorscansthecanvasaccordingtothealgorithmchoseninthepopup.Differentgeneratoralgorithmswillscanormovearoundthecanvasindifferentways,generatingcorrespondinglydifferentvisualappearances.Someofthesettingsgeneraterandommovementwhileothersscanthecompletecanvasorit’sborderswitharegulargrid.
AdditionalparametersmayappeardependingonwhichGeneratoryouchoose.TheseadditionalspecificGeneratoroptionsareexplainedinmoredetailinafewpagesinthesectioncalledStartGeneratorOptions.
The adjacent reset button resets the current generator algorithm. By resetting, you can exactly regenerate a set of scan locations. This is true even for the random settings. The random sequence will reset and playback the same way when the reset button is pressed. You can use Reset in a PASeq animation if you always want the paint stroke start locations in adjacent frames to be in the same physical locations.
Scan
Studio Artist100
Determineswhetherasecondaryscanpathisfollowedfromtheinitialstartingscanlocationderivedbythegeneratoralgorithm.ThePointoptiondoesnotspecifyanadditionalsecondaryscan.Repeatoptionsrepeateithertheinitialstartpointoftheendofthepreviouspaintstroke.Theotheroptionsgeneratesecondaryscanpatternsbasedonstoredbezierpaths.
ParticlePaint pen mode patches typically need this set to repeat the start location multiple times if you want them to draw in action drawing like they do with a manual pen.
Probability
Setsaprobabilityconstraintonwhetherthecurrentscanpointisactuallyusedasapathstartlocation.Iftheprobabilityconstraintcausesascanpointtobeignored,thegeneratorwillcontinuetogeneratenewstartscanlocationsuntilonemeetstheprobabilityconstraint.
If you are unfamiliar with the term probability, think coin toss. A probability of 50% is like tossing a coin and only doing something if heads comes up.
Probability2
Setsasecondprobabilityconstraintonwhetherthecurrentscanpointisactuallyusedasapathstartlocation.Thefirstandsecondprobabilityconstraintsworktogether,givingyoumorecontroloverinfluencingwherepathstartpointsaregenerated.
Inhibitor
Determinesaconditionthatabsolutelyinhibitsacurrentscanlocationfrombeingusedasapathstart.Ifthecurrentscanpointisinhibited,thegeneratorwillcontinuetogeneratenewstartscanlocationsuntiloneisnotinhibited.
Beware, you can paint yourself into a corner with this one. If you start off with a white canvas and set this to only use non white start points on the canvas, then the start point generator would never find a start point to use for drawing.
Chapter 3: Paint Synthesizer101
3
Blanking
Determineshowapaintstrokewilloverwritetheblankingbuffer.
Theadjacentresetbuttonresetsthecurrentblankingbuffer.
The Blanking buffer is a hidden frame buffer used internally by Studio Artist as an aid in generating automatic drawing. It can be used for many different purposes internally. Preventing overdrawing as a way to speed up painting an image by stopping stroke drawing when a new stroke bumps into a previously drawn one is one example (Path End Blanking checkbox).
You can always access it by setting the background popup to Blanking, or you can use menu commands under the Canvas main menu that set the current Region Selection to the contents of the Blanking buffer.
Reset Blanking
TurnonifyouwanttheBlankingbuffertobeerasedpriortoactiondrawing.
Reset Generator
TurnonifyouwanttheinternalparametersassociatedwiththeGeneratortobereseteachtimeitisrun.Doingsowillleadtoanidenticalsetofpathstartpointsgeneratedeachtimeactionispressed,whichcanbeusefulinsomesituationswhenyouprocessamovieorgenerateananimation.
Texture Range
Ascanlocationisonlyusedforapathstartifthevalueofthetexturevisualattributeatthescanlocationfallswithinthisrangewhenthisisturnedon.
Luminance Range
Ascanlocationisonlyusedforapathstartifthevalueofthecolorluminancevisualattributeatthescanlocationfallswithinthisrangewhenthisisturnedon.
Studio Artist102
Note:
PaintActionSequenceActionStepswillrecordthelastnumberofpaintstrokesactuallydrawnontothecanvaswithaPaintPatchasopposedtotheactualPathStartMaxStrokessettingshowninthePathStartcontrolpanel.WhenyouplaybacktheActionStep,thentheMaxStrokesettingwillupdateintheinterfacetoreflectthevalueactuallyrecordedinthePASeqActionStep.
YouneedtoshiftoptionclickaPaintActionSequenceActionkeyframecellinordertooverwriterecordanewMaxStrokessetting.Normaloption-clickrecordingwilloverwriterecordallpaintSynthesizervaluesexceptfortheMaxStrokessetting.Shift-option-clickingrecordsallsettingsincludingtheMaxStrokessetting.
Thisdistinctionallowsyoutooption-clicktorecordanewpaintPresetintoaspecificPaintActionSequencestepwhileretainingthenumberofpaintstrokesoriginallyrecordedintheActionStep.MostPresetshavetheMaxStrokessettingataveryhighvalue(40,000)sothataPatchwilldrawindefinitelyuntiltheusermanuallystopsit.
Chapter 3: Paint Synthesizer103
3
Start Generator Options
HereissomemoreinformationonthedifferentGeneratoroptionsavailableinthePathStartcontrolpanel.Allofthevariousgeneratorsoutputaseriesof(h,v)coordinatesinthecurrentcanvasthatareusedasstartinglocationsforageneratedpaintstroke.
Random Scan Generators Clumpy Random Smooth Random 1 Smooth Random 2 Smooth Random 3 Cat Map
Alloftheseoutputaspecifickindofrandomscanofthecanvaswithuniquevisualappearance.SmoothRandom1isprobablythemostfrequentlyusedstartgenerator.
If you are using dual Fill Algorithms in Paint Fill Apply then there can occasionally be an interaction between the Smooth Random generators and the dual fill algorithm that may sometimes cause the generator to only fill part of the overall canvas rather than the entire canvas. If this occurs you can switch to the Clumpy Random generator to get complete coverage.
Complete Top to Bottom Scans Rectangle Grid Scan Hexangle Grid Scan
Thesegeneratorsscanthecompletecanvasinaregularscanpattern.TheH-VGridSpacingeditfieldsletyouchoosethespacinginpixelsforthescangrid.TheH-VGridOffseteditfieldsletyouspecifyaninitialoffsetinpixelsforthescanninggrid.
Grid Scan - Max Brush Grid Scan - Tile Spacing
Thesegeneratorsscanthecompletecanvasinaregularscanpattern.ThegridspacingiseitherbasedonthemaximumsourcebrushsizeorthetilingspacingasspecifiedinthePathApplicationcontrolpanel.
Region Select Active Scan
Studio Artist104
Thisoptiongeneratesstartpointsbycontinuouslyscanningthecurrentregionselectionforactivepixels.
Patterned Scan Generators Golden Spiral
Aspiralscanpatternfromthecenterofthecanvasbasedonthegoldenmean.Usefulforgeneratingasunflowerlikescanpatternthatradiatesfromthecenterofthecanvas.
Border Clockwise Random Border Border Full In Clockwise Center FullOut Clockwise
Borderclockwisescansaroundthecanvasborderusingthegridspacingandgridoffseteditfieldstocontrolthespacingandinitialoffsetoftheborderscan.BorderFullInClockwisecontinuestheclockwisescanspiralinginuntilitreachesthecenterofthecanvas.RandomBorderscanstoaseriesofrandomlocationsonthecanvasborder.CenterFullOutClockwisestartsinthecenterandscansclockwiseoutwardbasedonthegridspacingparameters.
These border scan patterns are very useful for generating border special effects like ragged borders or feather borders, etc.
Last Path End NScan-Last Path End
Continuesascanfromtheendofthelastdrawnpath.Thisgeneratorisusefulforsimulatingtheeffectofsciaticeyemovementorsimulatingfreesketchingtechniqueswherethepenneverleavesthesurfaceofthecanvas.TheNScanoptionrepeatsthelastdrawnpathlocationNtimes,asspecifiedbytheNScan#parameter.
Path Memory 1 Path Memory 2 Path Memory 3 Path Memory 4
Startlocationsaregeneratedfromscanningtheinternalpathsstoredinthespecifiedglobalbezierpathmemory.Thescanspacingusedtoindexthroughthestoredbezier
Chapter 3: Paint Synthesizer105
3
pathsisthePenModeScanSpacing.
Internal Path Memory 1
Startlocationsaregeneratedfromscanningtheinternalpathsstoredinthepaintsynthesizer'sinternalbezierpathmemory.ThescanspacingusedtoindexthroughthestoredbezierpathsisthePenModeScanSpacing.
Start Point Internal Path Memory 1
Startlocationsaregeneratedfromindexingtheinternalpathsstoredinthepaintsynthesizer'sinternalbezierpathmemoryinorderandoutputtingtheindividualpath'sstartlocationonly.
This generator is used when you are encapsulating a complete path memory in a single action painting step for paint animation. In a PASeq step you can record multiple keyframes each with a unique internal path memory of bezier paths, so the path start points and path shapes will tween between keyframes in a PASeq animation. You can use the Path : Convert to Paint Synthesizer : as Autodraw Path Memory menu command to do this automatically or you can configure the Paint Synth and internal path memory manually.
Start Point Bezier Collection
StartlocationsaregeneratedfromscanningtheinternalpathsstoredintheglobalBezierCollectioninorderandoutputusingtheindividualpath'sstartlocationonly.
This generator is used when you are encapsulating a complete Bezier Collection in a single action painting step for paint animation. In a PASeq step you can record multiple keyframes each with a unique internal path memory of a Bezier Collection, so the path start points and path shapes will tween between keyframes in a PASeq animation. You can use the Path : Convert to Paint Synthesizer : as Autodraw Bezier Collection menu command to do this automatically or you can configure the Paint Synth and internal path memory manually.
Time Index Internal Path Memory 1
Studio Artist106
Theindividualpathsstoredinthepaintsynthesizer'sinternalbezierpathmemoryareusedtodefineaseriesofmotionpathsforpaintstrokesovertimeinananimation.Individualstartpointsatagivenframetimescanthroughtheindividualpathsinthememory.Theframetimeisusedtodeterminetheoffsetwithintheindividualpaths.
This generator can be used to animate the movement of a collection of paint strokes over time.
Auto Regionization Generators Watershed Regionize Adaptive Block Regionize Color Simplify Regionize Cellular Regionize Cell Partition Regionize
Thesegeneratorsperformauto-regionizationofthesourceimageandwilltakeafewsecondstoperformcomputationsbeforedrawingbegins.Thesegeneratorsstartbyregionizingthesourceimageintoaseriesofindividualregions.
Watershedtriestofollowthecontoursoftheimage.Themaxstrokessettingdeterminesthe#ofstartpointsforthewatershedoperation(0-254range).AdaptiveBlocktriestoorganizerectangularblockstorepresenttheimage.Themaxstrokessettingdeterminesthecomplexityoftheadaptiveblockrepresentation(0-254range).ColorSimplifybreakstheimageupbasedonitscoloringtogeneratetheregions.Themaxstrokessettingdeterminesthe#ofcolorsusedfortheregiongeneration(0-20range).
BothCellularandCellPartitionworkalittledifferentlythantheotherregionizeoptionsinthatdecreasingthenumberofpathstartsincreasesthenumberofgeneratedregions50-250wouldbeagoodinitialrangeofvaluestotryout.Cellulargeneratesirregularcellregionswhilecellpartitiongeneratesoverlappingpartitionswhosestructureisinfluencedbythesourceimage.
Astartlocationisthengeneratedassociatedwitheachcomputedregion.Youcanthink
Chapter 3: Paint Synthesizer107
3
ofthesegeneratorsasscanninganadaptivegridbasedonthesourceimage.
The Path Start Regionize Path Type option in the Path Shape control panel uses the generated regions to create various hatching or fill paths that will fill in the individual regions. You can think of the regionization process as breaking up the source image into a number of different regions that can then be shaped or filled in with either paint strokes or region fills depending on the other paint synthesizer settings.
Watershed Regionize DM Adaptive Block Regionize DM Cellular Regionize DM Cell Partition RegionizeDM
Thesearevariationsonthenormalregionizeoptionsdescribedabove.Theyactthesameexceptthateachregionisadditionallysubdividedintoatleast2subregionsbyasmartalgorithmsothatdetailsofthesourceimagearebetterrepresented.Thesubregionsaredrawnseparately.
Selection as Regions - All Regions Selection as Regions - Full On Only Selection as Regions - All Layers Except Full On
Thesegeneratorsalsodoaformofauto-regionization.Theyarebasedonthecurrentselectionimageasopposedtothesourceimage.Theyalsoassumethatthecurrentregionselectionimagehasalreadybeenregionizedtoflatluminanceregions.Thiswouldtypicallybedonebysomekindofipopprocessingthatroutestothecurrentselection,butitcouldalsobebasedonamanuallypaintedselectionimage.
TheAllRegionsoptionassumesthecurrentregionselectionconsistsofanimagethatconsistsofflatluminanceregions.Eachflatluminanceregionistreatedasaseparatestartregion.
TheFullOnOnlyoptiononlygeneratesstartregionsforcontiguousselectionregionsthatarefullon.
Studio Artist108
TheAllLayersExceptFullOntreatsanypartoftheselectionnotfullonasacontiguousregionthatitgeneratesstartregionsfor.
Flat Region Canvas as Regions
Thesegeneratorsalsodoaformofauto-regionization.Theyarebasedonthecurrentcanvaslayerimageasopposedtothesourceimage.Theyalsoassumethatthecurrentlayerimagealreadyconsistsofflatcolorregions.Runningthisoptionswithacontinuoustonecanvasimagewouldessentiallygenerateastartpointforeachpixel.
Edge Scan Generators Edge Scan
Thisoptiongeneratesstartpointsatlocationsthatcorrespondtoedgesinthesourceimage.
Adj Edge Scan
Thisoptiongeneratesstartpointsatlocationsthatcorrespondadjacenttoedgesinthesourceimage.Thinkofthisasgettingastartpointoneachsideofanedgeinsteadofontheedgeitself.
Skeleton Edge Scan
Thisoptiongeneratesstartpointsatlocationsthatcorrespondskeletonpathsgeneratedoffofedgesinthesourceimage.Youcanthinkoftheskeletonasthepaththatisequal-distantbetweenany2paths.
Sketch to Internal Path Memory1
Thisoptiongeneratesstartpointsatlocationsthatcorrespondtoanedgesketchgeneratedfromthesourceimage.AsketchalgorithmsimilartotheSketchImageOperationisusedforthisgenerator.Thereare2additionalparametersassociatedwiththisgenerator.SketchIterdeterminesthenumberofiterationsusedtocreatethesketch.Makingitsmallerleadstoasimplersketch.SketchEdgedeterminesthespecifickindofsketchgenerated.
Additional Scan Generators MSG Scan
Chapter 3: Paint Synthesizer109
3
ThisoptiongeneratesstartpointsusingthecurrentMSGpreset.YouneedtochooseaMSGpresetthathasthecapabilitytooutputscanpointsfromanalgorithmicscangenerator.Atthetimeofthismanualwritingthesetypicallyconsistoftheattractorgenerators.ThisMSGprocessoralsoneedstobethefirstprocessorintheMSGpreset'sprocessorchain.ConsulttheMSGdocumentationformoreinformationonwhichMSGpresetscanbeusedtogeneratealgorithmicscanpatterns.
This option can be used to create interesting artistic attractor images where each attractor point is rendered with the current brush nib, or used as the start point for a complete paint path.
Pen Position Live Track Pen Position Live Track MP
Thestartpointwilltrackthecurrentpenposition.ThetrackingwilloccuraslongastheWacompenisinproximitytothetablet,sothisallowsyoutouseapentointeractivelydeterminestartpointswhileactiondrawingistakingplace.Usefulforliveperformancesituationsorwhereyouwanttocontrolwherepathstartstakeplaceinteractively.
TheMPoptionallowsformultiplestartpointtobeinserted.Iftheshiftkeyispressedwhenthepencomesintoproximitythenanewtrackingpointisadded.Otherwisetheoldesttrackingpointismovedtothenewpenpositionwhiletheothertrackingpointsstayattheiroriginalpositions.
Studio Artist110
Path Shape
Theparametersonthispanedeterminewhatanautomaticallygeneratedpathwilllooklike.Apathcanbegeneratedalgorithmically,orbyinteractivemodulationofasetofBezierpathsstoredinoneoftheBezierpathmemories.
EachpathisgeneratedbyaspecifiedPathTypealgorithm,whichiscontrolledbyaspecifiedPathAnglegeneratorandvariousPathAnglemodulators.ThePathAnglesettingshavemovedtotheirowncontrolpanelinversion3.Thepathlengthcanalsobemodulatedwithinaoverallrangeoflengths.Certainpathgenerationalgorithms,suchasthosebasedonBezierpathmemoriesorPathLoadcomputationalpathgenerators,mayofferadditionaltypesofmodulationcontrol.
Pathscanradiatefromthestartpoint,orbegrownsymmetricallyfromthestartpoint.Pathsymmetrycanbemodulatedbytiltforcertainairbrushordirectionaleffect.
Symmetry
Determineswhetherapathisgeneratedsymmetricallyornotfromastartpoint.Symmetricmeansthatthestartpointwillbeinthemiddleofthegeneratedpath.Non-Symmetricmeansthatthestartpointwillbeatthebeginningofthepath.
Chapter 3: Paint Synthesizer111
3
Tilt-Symmetricallowsforaninteractivecontinuousvariationbetweenasymmetricandnon-symmetricpathbasedonthetiltofthedrawingpen.
Min Path Length Max Path Length
Determinesarangeofpossiblepathlengths.Ifnomodulationoptionisspecified,theMaxvalueisused.IfthepathendconditionsterminatethepathgenerationbeforetheMinpathlength,thepathisnotused.
Path Mod
Determineshowthepathlengthismodulated(i.e..thesourceofthemodulation).YoucanusethePathLenModparameterdiscussedbelowwhenyouhaveturnedonPathLengthModulationtodeterminetherangeoflengthmodulationandwhetheryouwanttofilteroutsmallmodulatedpathlengthsbelowtheminlengthsetting.
PathLenMod Range
IfsettoMin-Max,thentheresultingmodulatedpathlengthwillmodulatebetweenthemaxandminlengths.IfsettoFull,thentheresultingpathlengthwillmodulatebetween0andmaxlength.ThisFullrangemodulationmeansthatanymodulatedpathlengthsbelowtheMinLengthparametersettingwillnotbedrawn.Thisisusefulifyouwanttoskipanyshortpathsandonlydrawpathsistheyhaveacertainlength.
Certain paint parameters can be modulated by path length. However, if you are drawing using the interactive pen mode, drawing occurs on the fly and the paint synthesizer does not know what the final path length will be. It assumes the final drawn path length will be the Path Length setting, unless the Modulo checkbox is on. If the Modulo checkbox is on, then the path length modulation cycles (think barbershop pole).
Modulo
Pathlengthmodulationrepeatsorcycleswithacyclelengthequaltothemodulationpathlengthsettingalongthecompletepathifmoduloison.
% Length
Studio Artist112
Determinesthemodulationpathlength.It’sapercentoftheoverallmaxPathLengthparameter.Ifmoduloison,thenthemodulolengthisthissetting.
Again, if you are unfamiliar with the term modulo just think of the visual appearance of a barbershop pole, which is what you will get for path length modulation if modulo is turned on.
--- Path Type
Determinestheoverallpathgenerationalgorithm,whichmeansitdirectlycontrolswhatthepathwilllooklike.ThespecificoptionsaredescribedinmoredetailfollowingthecompletepaneparameterdescriptionsinthesectiontitledPathShapeTypeOptions.
This is the single most important parameter on this control panel, since it determines what the overall path shape will look like. If you only memorize one parameter on this control panel, let it be this one.
---BasedontheparticularPathTypesetting,theremaybeadditionaleditableparametersthatappearonsubpanelsassociatedwiththeparticularTypesetting.Thesearediscussedbelow.
Directionality
Increasingmakesthepathshapelessdirectional,decreasingmakestheshapemoredirectional.
Directional means long and thin, non-directional means more like a square or a circle.
Chapter 3: Paint Synthesizer113
3
Bezier Path Shapes
AnumberofPathTypesettingsusethecontentsofBezierPathmemories.Thesecaneitherbethe4globalBezierPathmemories,ortheInternalBezierPathMemorylocateddirectlyinthePathShapecontrolpanel.
The contents of the global path memories are stored in a Workspace, but not in an individual paint patch preset file. So, you would typically want to avoid the global path memory settings for normal preset building purposes and use the Internal Path Memory settings for your presets.
PathtypesthatarebasedonBezierPathmemorieshavethefollowingadditionalcontrols:
Length Mod
OptionsthatdeterminehowBezierSourcepathsarespecificallymodulatedbythePathModmodulator.Youcanmodulatetheindividualbezierpathlengths,thenumberofpathsdrawnoutofthecompletesetstoredinthepathmemory,orthescalingofthecompletesetofpaths.
Cycle Type
DetermineshowthecyclecountadvancesforCycleInternalPathMemoryandCycleInterpInternalPathMemorypathshapes.
Interp Dur
DeterminesthedurationoftheinterpolationcycleforCycleInterpInternalPathMemorypathshape.
AssumeyouareusingStrokeCtasyourCycleTypeandyouhave3bezierpathsintheinternalpathmemory.WithaInterpDurof10,thenitwouldtake10paintstrokestointerpolatefrom1bezierpathtothenextone.Thedurationisinrelationshiptowhatevercycletypeyouareusingtoadvancethecyclethroughthebezierpaths.
Studio Artist114
Regionize Path Shapes
Thereareanumberofdifferentpathtypesthatwillinternallygeneratearegionusingsomeintelligentalgorithmandthentrytofillitinwithapath.TheregioncouldgrowfromthestartpointbasedontheSourceImagecolorvalues,itcouldusethecurrentRegionDrawpenmodesetting,oritcouldbeassociatedwithoneofthePathStartregionizescanalgorithms.
Pathtypesthatgeneratepathshapestofillaregionhavethefollowingadditionalcontrols:
Reg Path
Specificpathgenerationalgorithmusedtofilltheinternallycomputedregion.Theyalllookdifferent,trythemandsee.
Spacing
Spacinginpixelsusedforplacingadjacentpathsintheregionfillpathgenerationalgorithm.
Path Load Path Shapes
ThePathLoadPathTypeallowsaccesstoawiderangeofcomputationalpathgenerationalgorithmsthatareautomaticallygeneratedasyoudrawandthenloadedintothecurrentauto-drawingpath.Thegeneratedoverallpathmaynotbecontiguous,butmightbecomposedofanumberofnon-contiguoussubpaths.ThisisanalogoustotheBrushLoadcapabilitieselsewhereinthePaintSynthesizer,exceptthatwereloadingageneratedsetofpathsasopposedtoabrushimage.
PathLoadingcangeneratesetsofpathsthatrepresentanythingfromsimpleshapestorandomscribblestoverycomplexfractalL-systemplantformsorfractalchaoticattractors.
Chapter 3: Paint Synthesizer115
3
Load Type
Determinesthespecificpathloadgeneratorused.TherearealargenumberofdifferentPathLoadtypesandtheyalllookdifferent.Somecangeneratefractalorplant-likepaths.Othersareusefulforgeneratingspecificshapesorhatchingorscribbleeffects.TheMSGAttractorissimilartotheMSGAttractorPathStartGenerator,exceptthatthecurrentMSGpresetcanbeusedtogeneratethepathshape(asopposedtothepathstartpositions).LastPathStartLineToisusefulifyouwanttodrawastraightlinefromthepreviouspathstarttothecurrentpathstartposition.
PathLoad Angle Option
DetermineshowthepathangleisinternallycomputedforaPathLoadpath.
PathLoadtypesthatgeneratepathshapebasedonapathloadingfractalGrowthorRandomHatchalgorithmcanhavethefollowingadditionalcontrols:
Num
Numberofsubpathsorfilamentsintheoverallpath.
Theta
Specificparameterusedinthepathloadgenerationalgorithm.
Alpha
Specificparameterusedinthepathloadgenerationalgorithm.
Len Var
Subpathlengthvariabilityinpercent.
ThetaMod
Interactivemodulationoptionforthethetaparameter.
Studio Artist116
YoumightneedtodecreaseorotherwiseadjustthePathlengthsliderforsomeofthepathloadpathtypeoptionstogetthebestresults.
The best way to understand what the various Path Load parameters do is the try adjusting them and see how the overall appearance of the generated paths used for drawing changes.
Stylize Effect
Afterapathisgenerated,itcanbemodifiedbyaspecifiedstylizationeffect.Theeffectwillmodifiedtheappearanceofthegeneratedpath.
Chapter 3: Paint Synthesizer117
3
Path Shape Type Options
HereissomemoreinformationonthedifferentTypeoptionsavailableinthePathShapecontrolpanel.TheseoptionsdefinedifferentpathalgorithmsthatareusedinconjunctionwiththeoutputofthePathAnglecontrolpaneltogeneratethedynamicpathshapesusedforactiondrawing.Someofthesemayhaveadditionalparametersthatappearinthecontrolpanelwhenyouselectthem.
Line
Drawsastraightline.Onlythebeginningpathanglevalueisusedtocomputetheangularorientationofthestraightlinepath.
Curved
DrawsacurvedpathbasedonthedynamicoutputofthePathAnglecontrolpanel.Thisisthemostcommonpathtypeusedinpresetsanditdrawsnormalcurvedpaintstrokes.
Circle Spiral Ellipse Spiral Ellipse Triangle Rectangle Spiral 1 Spiral 1 Ellipse Spiral Flip
Allofthesedrawgeometricshapes.TheoutputofthePathAnglecontrolpanelwilldeterminetheangularorientationoftheshapeandanyanglemodulationmaydistortit.
Path Memory 1 Path Memory 2 Path Memory 3 Path Memory 4
Drawsaseriesofpathsbasedonthecontentsofthespecifiedglobalbezierpathmemory.TheRndoptionsoutputfromarandomlychosenpathfromthememory.Otherwiseallofthepathsareused.
Studio Artist118
Internal Path Memory 1 Rnd Internal Path Memory 1 Cycle Internal Path Memory 1 Cycle Interp Internal Path Memory 1
Drawsaseriesofpathsbasedonthecontentsofthepaintsynthesizer'sinternalbezierpathmemory.TheRndoptionsoutputfromarandomlychosenpathfromthememory.Thecycleoptionusesadifferentinternalpathforeachcompleteactionpaintingstep,andthenmovestothenextpathintheinternalmemoryforthenextactionpaintingstep.Otherwiseallofthepathsareusedinanactionpaintingstep.
CycleInterpislikethecycleoptionexceptyoucaninterpolatebetweentheindividualbezierpathsoveraspecificnumberofsteps(theInterpDurparameter).Cycletypedetermineswhethertheinterpolationoccursinrealtimeasthestrokesaredrawnorifit'stiedtoframeanimation.
You are better off using the internal path memory path types for your presets, since the contents of the internal path memory are stored in a paint preset while the contents of the global memories are not.
2 Stroke Line
Drawsastraightlinethatmovesbackandforth.Onlythebeginningpathanglevalueisusedtocomputetheangularorientationofthestraightlinepath.
Path Load
Pathloadingisanalogoustobrushloading,exceptthatacompletesetofmultiplepathsaregeneratedontheflyasopposedtoacompletebrushimagebeinggeneratedontheflywhilepainting.TheLoadTypeparameterletsyouchoosewhattypeofpathloadingwillbeused.Someofthesetypesdon'thaveanyadditionalcontrols.Othersmaybringupsubpanelswithadditionalparameters.
Bezier Collection Cycle Bezier Collection
DrawsaseriesofpathsbasedonthecontentsoftheglobalBezierCollection.Functionalitymirrorstheglobalpathmemoryandinternalpathmemoryfunctionality.
Chapter 3: Paint Synthesizer119
3
Currentlyunsupportedinv4.
Grow Region from Start Point
Dynamicallygrowsawatershedregionbasedonthesourceimagecontoursandthecurrentstartpoint.Thiscomputationcantakeafewseconds.Differentoptionsareavailableforhowthegeneratedpaththentriestofillinthedynamicallycomputedregion.
Use RegionDraw Pen Generator
UsesthecurrentRegionDrawModeFillType(locatedonthePenModecontrolpanel)todynamicallygenerateapaththatfillsalocalregioncenteredonthecurrentstartpoint.
Path Start Regionize
UsedwiththeWatershedRegionizeandtheAdaptiveBlockRegionizePathStartGeneratoroptions.Thesestartgeneratorsalreadyregionizedthesourceimagewhenthestartpointwascomputed.Differentoptionsareavailableforhowthegeneratedpaththentriestofillinthedynamicallycomputedregions.
Grow Region from Start Point Use Regiondraw Pen Gen
Dynamicallygrowsawatershedregionbasedonthesourceimagecontoursandthecurrentstartpoint.Thiscomputationcantakeafewseconds.ThenusesthecurrentRegionDrawModeFillType(locatedonthePenModecontrolpanel)todynamicallygenerateapaththatfillsthedynamicregion.
PathStart Regionize Use Regiondraw Pen Gen
UsedwiththeWatershedRegionizeandtheAdaptiveBlockRegionizePathStartGeneratoroptions.Thesestartgeneratorsalreadyregionizedthesourceimagewhenthestartpointwascomputed.UsesthecurrentRegionDrawModeFillType(locatedonthePenModecontrolpanel)todynamicallygenerateapaththatfillsthedynamicregionassociatedwiththestartpoint.
Live Extension
Thisnewpathshapeisdynamicallygrownbyaddingthenewpathcoordinatestothe
Studio Artist120
previouscontentsofthelastpathbuffer.Whenusedwithmanualdrawingbasedonautodrawinteractivepenmodeandpathrandomizationsettingsthisallowsadynamicpathshapetobegeneratedthatcanactlikeastringofconnectedparticleswithswarminginteractionsorspringforcesorgravityeffects.
Chapter 3: Paint Synthesizer121
3
Path Angle
Theparametersonthispanedeterminehowthelocalpathangleiscomputedwhenapathisautomaticallybeinggenerated.TheinteractionofthecomputedlocalpathangleandthespecifiedPathTypeinthePathShapecontrolpanelwilldeterminetheresultingappearanceofthefinalcomputedpathshapeusedforActiondrawing.
Theinitialcomputedpathanglecanbesubsequentlymodulatedbyupto2differentinteractiveorautomaticanglemodulators.Thisanglemodulationisoccurringpriortoactualgenerationofthepath(asopposedtothePathRandomizationparameterswhichrandomizethepathafteritisinitiallygenerated).
Path Angle
Determinesthesourceoftheangleinformationusedinthepathgenerationalgorithm.SomeofthesesettingarebasedonperceptualvisualattributesassociatedwiththeSourceImage.Somearecomputationalandareusedtogeneratehatchingpatterns.SomeareinteractivelikepenStrokeAngleorTiltOrientation
Studio Artist122
---Additionalparametersdetailedbelowwhichareassociatedwiththecomputationofthelocalpathangleastheoverallpathshapeiscomputedcaninfluencetheoverallappearanceofthefinalgeneratedpath:
Angle Multiplier
Typicallysetto100.Usedasamultiplierofthecurrentpathangleinthepathgenerator.Alsodeterminesthenumberofrevolutions(divideby100)inaspiralpath.
Angle Offset
Fixedoffsetaddedtothecomputedpathangle.
Angle Slew
Determineshowquicklyachangeinpathangleisaccumulatedinthepathgenerator.Smallervaluesleadtosmootherpaths.
Angle Increment
Determineshowoftenthepathangleisupdated.Forexample,asettingof10meansthatthepathanglewillonlybeupdatedevery10pixels.
The most accurate path would be a setting of 1. However, by making this larger you can often create more interesting visual effects as well as break up what can sometimes be a rubbery or overly curvy appearance associated with tight orientation tracking.
# Quantize
Thisisinactiveifsetto0.Otherwisetheangleisquantizedtothespecifiednumberofangles.Soifyousetitto3,thenyou'donlyhave3differentanglesthatcouldbegenerated(0,120,240degrees)
---Ananglemodulationgeneratorcanbeusedtoincreasethecomplexityoftheresultinglocalangleandresultingpathshapeappearance.Twodifferentanglemodulation
Chapter 3: Paint Synthesizer123
3
generatorscanbeusedatthesametimeformorecreativecontrolandincreasedeffectcomplexity.Thereareseveraldifferentcontrolsassociatedwitheachanglemodulationgeneratordetailedbelow.Theoverallcontrolsinthe2modulatorsarethesame.
Angle Mod 1 Angle Mod 2
Specifiesaspecificmodulationgeneratorthatmodulatesthecurrentpathangle.Thereare2differentmodulators1and2.Theyalllookdifferent,trythemandsee.
Mod Inc
TheincrementalspacinginpixelsassociatedwithonecycleofthevariousAngleModulationalgorithms.
Mod %
Themaximumpercentageofdisplacementappliedtothecurrentpathangle.Anydisplacementmodulationwillbefromzerotothismaximumsetting.Nomodulationoccursifit'ssetto0.
Studio Artist124
Path End
Auto-generatedpathshaveastartpoint,ashape,andanend.Theparametersonthispaneareusedtospecifypossibleconditionsthatwillterminateorendthegenerationofaautodrawnpath.ThisterminationwillbepriortothenormalmodulatedpathlengthspecifiedinthePathShapecontrolpane.
Manuallydrawnpathscanalsobemaskedwiththesesettings.Maskingamanuallydrawnpathwilloverridetheapplicationofpaintalongthemaskedportionofthepath.Thiscanbethoughtofasdroppingoutthepaintinthemaskedareasratherthanterminatingthepath.
PossibleconditionsforpathterminationormaskingcanincludevisualattributesderivedfromtheSourceImage,fromtheCanvas,orfrominternalvariableassociatedwiththePathShapegeneratorsuchasangularvariation.
Differentparametercombinationsinthiscontrolpanelcanhaveasignificanteffectontheoverallappearanceoftheautomaticallypaintedimage.Thiscanrangefromspeedingupdrawing(bynotredrawingwhereyouhavealreadydrawn)toonlydrawingtheedgesforsketcheffectstocontrollingthetightnessorlegibilityofadrawing.
Mask Interactive Pen
InhibitspathgenerationfortheInteractivePenmousemodebasedontheotherPath
Chapter 3: Paint Synthesizer125
3
Endsettings.ThisallowsthePathEndsettingstobeusedtointelligentlymaskInteractivePendrawing.
If this setting is turned off, then the Path End parameters are ignored when manually drawing. By manual drawing we don't mean manually using a pen in any of the autodraw pen modes, since the drawing is automatic in these modes. Manual drawing means pen modes like interactive pen.
Blanking
Stopspathgenerationifthecurrentpathlocationissetinblankingbuffer.
The Blanking buffer is a hidden buffer used internally in the Paint Synthesizer. Here it is being used to keep track of where you have previously drawn, based on settings in the Path Start control panel that determine how it is filled in. The entire brush nib could fill in the blanking buffer, or only the path used for drawing, or drawing might not affect the Blanking at all but it could have been set by some other part of Studio Artist for a special effect.
Not White
Stopspathgenerationifthecurrentpathcanvaslocationisnotwhite
Note that this could be a problem if your canvas is black. Don't paint yourself in a corner.
Texture Range
Specifiesaminimumandmaximumrangeofvaluesthatthecurrentpathlocationmustbewithinifturnedon.
Higher range values mean stronger texture energy, or places in the image where edges and detail are the most noticeable.
Path Diverge
Specifiesasetofconditionsthatwillcauseapathtorandomlydivergefromit’spresent
Studio Artist126
angularorientation.Thevalueusediswhatyouchoose.Itiscomputedwhenthepathstarts,andthenasthepathisbeingdrawnifthenewlycomputedvalueexceedstheDivergeValueparameterthenthepathisterminated.
Local Color Range
Specifiesanoffsetrangeofpossiblecolorvaluesbasedonthecolorofthepathstartlocationthatthecurrentpathlocationmustbewithinifturnedon.ThisparameterassumesyouaretryingtodrawtheSourceimageandthecalculationsarebasedonanalyzingthesourceimageasyoudraw.
Use this to increase the legibility or tightness of a painting by restricting the paint path to only draw in areas of the canvas that should match the color you are drawing with.
Luminance Range
Specifiesasourceimageluminancerangethatthecurrentpathlocationmustbewithinifturnedon.Insuresthatapathwillonlybegeneratedwithinthespecifiedimagearea.
Useful if you only want to draw in areas of the canvas that correspond to the dark or light parts of the source image.
Angle Threshold
Ifthecurrentpathanglechangeswhilethepathisbeinggeneratedbymorethanthisamountandthisisturnedon,terminatethepath.Ensuresthatageneratedpathwillhavethespecifiedangularsmoothness.
Useful to get rid of kinky paths that don't really go anywhere. If you are a scientific type you would call these saddle points in the orientation manifold but then you probably aren't the scientific type, so think of them as the kinky paths that scribble in one position that you would like to get rid of. Increasing the Angle Increment slider in the Path Angle control panel is another approach to cleaning up kinky paths naughty behavior.
Chapter 3: Paint Synthesizer127
3
BackTex Threshold
Thresholdtheoutputofthecurrentbackgroundtexture,andterminatesthepathifthethresholdvalueisexceeded.
Wrap Path at Edge
PathreappearsatoppositesideofCanvaswhenitcrossesaCanvasboundaryifturnedon.Allowsforthegenerationofcanvasimagesthatwillautomaticallyself-tile.
This can be really useful for pattern design for fabric printing.
Select Region Path Stop
Terminatecurrentpathifitleavesthecurrentactiveselectionregion.
Use this if you only want the paint to draw in the current selection area. Local Region Path Stop
Terminatecurrentpathifitleavesthecurrentuniqueselectionregion.Therecanbe256uniquecurrentselectionregions,oneforeachuniquegraylevelinthe8bitcurrentselectionregionimage.
This assumes you have setup the current region selection image to consist of unique grayscale regions. The Path Start generator setting called Regionize will do this for you automatically, and you would typically use this setting associated with that path start generator.
Force Path Length
TerminatecurrentpathifitexceedsthemaximumpathlengthspecifiedinPathShape.
Visual Error
Terminatecurrentpathifthechosenvisualerrormodelthinkscontinueddrawingwillincreasethevisualdifferencebetweenthecanvasandthesource.
Used in presets that intelligently limit drawing like some of the black and white autosketch presets. These presets inhibit drawing in a paint stroke if they determine
Studio Artist128
you will draw too much if the stroke continues.
Note:
ThePathparametersallowfortheauto-generationofalargenumberofpossiblepaintstylesandeffects.However,beawarethatyoucanusethePathStartorPathEndparameterstogeneratealogicallyinconsistentpatch.Forexample,apatchthathasthePathEndparameterNotWhiteturnedonwillnotautodrawonablackcanvasbackground.Thepathendswhenthecanvasisnotwhite,andtheentirecanvasisnotwhite.
Chapter 3: Paint Synthesizer129
3
Path Application
Determineshowthepathisusedtoapplypainttothecanvas.ThisincludesthespacingofbrushdabsofpaintalongthepathaswellashowabrushdabofpaintisappliedtotheCanvasinrelationtothepath.
Theinitialpathcanbemodulatedbyupto2differentrandomdisplacementalgorithms.ThePathRandomizationsettingsnowhavetheirowncontrolpanelinversion3.
Apathcouldberepeatedseveraltimesorinterpolatedtoinsurecontinuity.Brushdabsofpaintarethenappliedalongthepathaccordingtoanadjustablespacing.ConstraintscanalsobespecifiedthatmayexaminetheSourceorCanvasandpossiblyoverridetheapplicationofpaintalongthepath.
Displacementandconstrainteffectscanbecombinedtogethertogenerateavirtualpaintbrushthatiscomposedofanumberofsmallersub-brushelementsbasedonStudioArtist’snormalBrushcontrols.ThisisoneapproachtodesigningaresponsivepainttoolthatappearstohavealargeinteractivebrushwithoutusinglargeSourceBrushsizes.
Repeat Stroke
Howmanytimesthepathshouldberepeatedtogenerateapaintstroke.Ifyouaredrawingmanually,thentherepeatshappenafteryoufinishdrawingacompletestroke.
Studio Artist130
TheRepeatStrokeIndexmodulatorisusedthroughoutthepaintsynthesizer,andallowsyoutomodulatebasedonrepeatingstrokes.Thiscanbeusefulforawiderangeofartisticeffects.
RegionasBrushModecontrolpanelhasaRepeatOptionparameterthatallowsforrepeats>1todrawtheedgeofaregionasopposedtofillingit.Sotheinitialstrokeisthenormalregionfillasbrushsolidregionandsubsequentrepeatsofthestrokedrawtheregionoutlineasanormalpath.Thiscouldbeusedasawaytocreatewatercolorpresetswithwetedgeeffects.
VectorOutputcontrolpaneloffersa'Vector-RasterRepeat'mainrenderoptionthatwillusetheVector(solidcolor)renderoptionfortheoriginalstrokeandthenreverttothenormalRasterrenderoptionforsubsequentrepeats.
---- Option
Whatisusedtodetermine100%spacing(currentbrushsizeormaximumbrushsizeorthetextpointsize).HowoftenthepaintisappliedtothecanvasbythebrushisdeterminedbytheSpacing%settingbelow.
The text point size is different than the actual size of the brush image for a text brush since the brush needs to be large enough to hold any entirely rendered letter form.
Mode
Specificspacingcomputationalgorithm.Somearebasedonthedrawnpathandotherswillforceyourdrawingtoconformtoaspatialtilinggrid,whichisniceforgeneratingtilingeffects.
The tiling options are nice for special effects where you want the brush nibs to tile on the canvas rather than specify track a paint stroke. The tile offset controls let you adjust the overall spatial offset of the tiling.
Chapter 3: Paint Synthesizer131
3
Probability
Determineswhetherthereisaprobabilityconstraintthatneedstobecheckedbeforeapplyingpaintwiththebrushataspecificpathlocation.Ifthespecifiedprobabilityconstraintisnotmet,thenthepaintisnotappliedatthatpathlocation.
Invert Probability
Invertsthespecifiedprobabilitycalculationifturnedon.
Spacing %
Howoftenalongthepathpaintisappliedbythebrushtothecanvas.Thepixeldimensionsof100%spacingisdeterminedbythesettinginOption.
Increasing the spacing % in Path Application is the easiest way to make a given paint preset draw faster.
H Tile Offset%
HorizontalstartoffsetforthePathApplicationmodeparametertilingoptions.
V Tile Offset%
VerticalstartoffsetforthePathApplicationmodeparametertilingoptions.
--- Interpolate Path
Makessurepaintapplicationpathiscontinuousifturnedonbyinterpolatinganygapsinthepath.
Path Tracking
Determinestheinternalalgorithmusedtotrackthepenormousepathovertime.PreviousversionsofStudioArtistusedlineartracking.Theotheroptionscanallowforasmootherpathwhendrawingextremelyfast.
Studio Artist132
Path Randomize
Pathrandomizationcanbeusedtocreateasketchyorhanddrawnlookfromautogeneratedpaths.Somerandomizationsettingsarespecificallydesignedtosimulatepentiltmodulatedairbrushorblownsplatterpainteffects.TheycanalsobeusedtosimulatePollackstyledrippainteffectsandotherwildorsubtlestylisticeffects.
Randomdisplacementandpathapplicationconstrainteffectscanbecombinedtogethertogenerateavirtualpaintbrushthatiscomposedofanumberofsmallersub-brushelementsbasedonStudioArtist’snormalBrushcontrols.Thesmallsourcebrushelementsworktogetheralongwiththerandomizationsettingstogeneratetheperceivedappearanceofalargercloudofpaint.ThisisoneapproachtodesigningaresponsivepainttoolthatappearstoausertohavealargeinteractivebrushwithoutusinglargeSourceBrushsizeswithcomputationallydemandinginternaldynamictextures.
Theinitialpathcanbemodulatedbyupto2differentrandomdisplacementalgorithms.Randomdisplacementcanbemodulatedbyanumberofinteractivecontrolsorautomaticallybyimagevisualattributes.
Eachofthe2randomdisplacementmodulatorshasidenticalcontrolsthataredetailed
Chapter 3: Paint Synthesizer133
3
below.
---- Displace 1
Whatkindofdisplacementalgorithmifanyisappliedtothepath.Theyalllookdifferent,trythemandsee.
Displace Amount
Themaximumamountofdisplacementinpixelsappliedtothepath.Anydisplacementmodulationwillbefromzerotothismaximumsetting.
Increasing this setting makes the path more wiggly, decreasing it makes the effect more subtle.
Orient Angle
Theangularorientationofthepathdisplacement.Youcanusethissotherandomizationtracksthepathangleasyoudraw,orforotherinteractiveorspecialeffects.
Path Increment
TheincrementalspacingassociatedwithonecycleofthevariousDisplacealgorithms.
Orient Mod
Specifiesfixedorientationdisplacementvsdisplacementthattracksthepathandoffsetsfromthecurrentpathorientation.
Use a setting of 90 degrees if you want the displacement to be perpendicular to the path angle while you are drawing.
Displace Mod
SpecifiesamodulationsourcefortheDisplacementamount.ThedisplacementmodulationwillbefromzerototheDisplaceamountmaximumsetting.
Load Path Mod Channel
Studio Artist134
Allowsthespecifiedpathmodulationchanneltobereplacedoroverriddenwiththerandomizeddisplacemodulationsignal.
Turb Level
#ofoctavesofturbulence.OnlyavailableforDisplaceoptionsbasedonaturbulencealgorithm. Turb Alg
Thespecificturbulencealgorithmused.OnlyavailableforDisplaceoptionsbasedonaturbulencealgorithm.
Chapter 3: Paint Synthesizer135
3
Paint Color Source
TheoutputofthePaintColorSourcemoduleisadynamiccolorvaluethatcanbeusedforpainting.TheinputtothemoduledependsonwhatiscurrentlyselectedintheSourcecontrolpanel.
Forexample,iftheuserhasspecifiedafixedsourcecolor,thenthecurrentfixedcolorselectionvalueistheinputtothismodule.Iftheuserhasspecifiedsourceimage,thecolorvalueofthesourceimageatthepathstartpointisusedastheinputtothismodule.
Thispane’sparametersdeterminehowthepaintcolormaybemodified,bothinitiallyandoverthepaintpath.Theinitialpaintcolorcanfirstberunthroughacolortransformation.Thesubsequenttransformedpaintcoloristhenrandomized.Itisthenpassedtoarecursiveblendingoperation.ItthenisusedastheinputtothePaintColorModulatemodule.
Save Color Palette Save Color Gradient
SavesthecurrentSourceColorPaletteorColorGradientsettingswiththePaintPatchorPresetifchecked.
Chapter 3: Paint Synthesizer137
3
Map Option
Specifiesacolormappingoption.Iftheoptionison,itwillmaptheinitialsourcecolorvaluetothespecifiedsettingpriortosubsequentprocessinginthismodule.
Color Mode
Specifiesapossibletransformationoftheinitialsourcecolorvalue.Someofthesesettings(Probsettings)maytransformtheinitialsourcecolorintooneofasetofcolorsthattogetheroveranareaofthecanvasrepresenttheactualinitialsourcecolorvalue.
There is a lot of color theory as well as intelligent color mixing techniques that painters use buried in here. You can automatically generate opponent or analogous color mixing as well as auto-generate Pointillist effects.
Theinitialpaintcolormaythenbealgorithmicallyrandomized.
Start Option
Determineshowtheinitialpaintcolorisrandomizedandoffset.
These options determine how the color will be randomized as well as what happens at range boundaries in the color space chosen.
Clipmeansiftherandomizedvalueexceedarangeboundaryitishardclippedtothatboundary.Wrapmeansthatiftherandomizedvalueexceedsarangeboundaryitreversesdirectionattherangeboundary.Cyclemeanstherandomizedvaluegetsmappedinamoduloorbarbershoppolestyleatrangevalues.
Lummeansthecolorluminanceisrandomized,Huemeansthecolorhueisrandomized,Satmeansthecolorsaturationisrandomized,RGBmeansthe3RGBcomponentsofthecolorareallrandomized,opponentmeansthecolorisrandomlymixedwithitsopponentcolor(locatedontheoppositesideofa360degreehuecolorwheel),analogousmeansthecolorisrandomlymixedwithitsadjacentanalogouscolor(locatednexttoitonthehuewheel).
Chapter 3: Paint Synthesizer139
3
Randomize
Determinestheamountofinitialcolorrandomization.
Larger values lead to more randomization, smaller values lead to a subtler effect. Set it to 0 if you don't want any color randomization to change your carefully hand entered spot color value.
Offset
Determinestheamountofinitialcoloroffset.
Negative values make the color increasingly darker, positive values make the color increasingly lighter.
---Theinitialpaintcolormayberecursivelyblendedwithanothercolorsourceasthebrushproceedsalongtheapplicationpath.ThesesettingsdeterminewhetherthepaintbrushdragsitsinitialstartcoloracrosstheCanvas,oradaptivelyupdatesitscolorclonestheSourcecolorsbasedonitscurrentposition.
Recursive blending means that the initial color is mixing with some other color source as you draw. You can use this control to simulate the dirty brush effect of the brush picking up existing coloring from the canvas. Or, you can use this control to specify a brush that clones from the source as opposed to the normal behavior of dragging the initial source color. Recursive Source Blend %
Thisvaluedeterminestheinitialsourceblendpercentage.Asettingof100%meansthattheinitialcolorwilldragasthepenismovedwithnorecursiveblendingtakingplace.Asettinglessthan100%specifiesarecursivemixoftheexistingpaintcolorwithanewpaintcolorderivedfromtheBlendTosettingbelow.
This setting is very sensitive at the high end (close to 100%).
Chapter 3: Paint Synthesizer141
3
RSB Blend
Thesecondblendcolorsourcefortherecursiveblendalgorithm.
The second blend coloring is what is repeatedly mixed into the brush as the pen moves. Setting this to the Source image is how you specify a cloning brush. Setting this to the Canvas image is how you specify a dirty brush that picks up coloring from the canvas.
RSB Modulation
Specifiesamodulatorfortherecursivesourceblend.Settingthemodulatortononemeanstherecursivesourceisfullon.
TherearemacroeditsavailableintheEdit:PaintSynthesizer:MacroEditmenuthatprovideaneasywaytoquicklyadjusttherecursiveblendsettingtoclonethesourcecolorordragthesourcecolorwithouthavingtomanuallysetthevariouscontrolsinthiscontrolpanel.
Force Color to Path Memory
Ifturnedonthenormalcolorcontrolsareoverriddenandthepathcolorissettothecolorstoredinthepathmemory.Thiswouldtypicallybeusedifyouaredrawingfrompathsstoredinthebezierpathmemories.Thisshouldalsobeturnedonifyouareauto-regionizingandwanttousethecolorassociatedwiththeautogeneratedregion(whichcouldbeverydifferentthantheinitialstartpointofthepathifregionizepathshapeoptionsareinuse).
AutoGen Source Palette
Normallyyouwouldleavethisturnedoffsinceit'saspecialtyfunction.Whenturnedon,thesourcecolorpaletteisautogeneratedfromthecurrentpaintcolorgeneratedbythevariousPaintColorSourcecontrolsettings.Sothesourcecolorpalettewillberegeneratedforeachpaintstroke.ThiscanbeusefulforcertainkindsofgenerativePASeqs,whereyouuseonepaintactionstepwithasinglepaintstroketoautogenerateacolorpalettebasedoffofacolorderivedfromthespatialpositioningofthepaintstrokerelativetothesourceimage.SubsequentpaintactionstepsinthePASeqcouldthenworkoffofthesourcerandompalettesettingstoworkwiththegeneratedpalette
Chapter 3: Paint Synthesizer143
3
Paint Color Modulate
Additionalpaintcolormodulationoptionscanbespecifiedinthiscontrolpanel.Thesemodulationsoccurdynamicallyasthepathisdrawn.TheinputtothismoduleistheoutputofthePaintColorSourcemodule.
ThePaintColorSourceoutputcolorisfirstpassedthroughapathcolorrandomizer.Theoutputofthepathcolorrandomizeristhenpossiblygradientmodulated.Bothoftheserandomizerscanbeinteractivelymodulated.Or,theycanbeprocedurallymodulatedwithoscillators.
ThecoloroutputofthispaneisusedasapossiblepaintcolorsourceforthePaintFromorPaintToparameterslocatedinthePaintFillpane.Whatisactuallyappliedtothecanvasbythebrushisspecifiedonthatparameterpane.
Subtleusageofthevariouspaintcolormodulationoptionscanhelpimpartamoreorganicfeeltoyourpaintings.Moderatesettingscanbeusedtoincorporatetechniquesfromcolormixingtheorydirectlyintoyourpaintingautomaticallywhileyouwork.Extremesettingscanbeusedtoauto-generatealargerangeofstylisticeffectssuchasautoimpressionistorpointillisteffects.
Studio Artist144
Path Color Mod
Determinestherandomizationalgorithmforthecolormodulationasthepathistraversed.
Modulate Option
Determineshowthepathcolorisrandomizedasthepathistraversed.
These options determine how the color will be randomized as well as what happens at range boundaries in the color space chosen.
Modulate Type
Determinesthetypeofcolorrandomizationmodulationasthepathistraversed.
Typically you would use the Continuous setting for smooth randomization.
Modulate Source
Additionalinteractivemodulationsourceoptionletsyouchooseaspecificmodulatortoadjusttheoverallcolorpathmodulationeffect.
Allows an interactive modulator or perceptual visual attribute to modulate the randomization effect for more organic feel.
Modulate Amount
Determinestheamountofcolormodulationasthepathistraversed.
Larger values lead to more randomization, smaller values lead to a subtler effect. Set it to 0 if you don't want any color randomization to change your carefully hand entered spot color value.
Modulate Increment
Determinestheincrementorspacingofonecycleofrandomizationforthepathcolorrandomizationalgorithm.
Chapter 3: Paint Synthesizer145
3
Increasing means the random cycle will occur over a greater path length. Decreasing means the random cycle will occur more quickly over path length, which can also make the effect seem more noisy as opposed to being perceived as a smooth variation.
---Thepathcolorgradientmodulatoristhesecondcolormodulatoronthiscontrolpanel.Ratherthanarandommodulator,itallowsagradientmixingbetweenthesourcecolor(whichmayhavebeenrandommodulatedwiththesettingsdescribedabove)andanothercolorsource,whichiscalledthegradientend.
The Multipen Nib modulation option is very effective for creating color gradient effects in multipen patches.
Path Gradient
Turnsitonanddeterminesthespecificpathcolorgradientmodulatorifitison.Thisspecifiesagradientcolorshiftthattakesplaceasafunctionoftheparticularspecifiedmodulator’svaluealongthepath.
Gradient End
Specifiesthesourceofthesecondcolorthepathgradientalgorithmmodulatesto.
Gradient Strength
Specifiesthestrengthofthepathgradientcolortransformationinpercent.Decreasingthestrengthdecreasesthecolormodulationandallowsformoresubtlecoloringeffects.
Studio Artist146
Fixed Colors
TheactualpaintappliedtothecanvascanbeconstructedfromvariouscombinationsoftheoutputofthePaintColorSource/PaintColorModulatemodulesandtwoadditionalFixedColors.
ThetwoFixedColorscaneitherbestaticsourcecolorsordynamicallytrackthecurrentPaintColorSourcemoduleoutputascoloroffsets.Thetrackingcanjustfollowtheinitialstartcolorforthepathoritcantracktheassociatedcolormodulationsthatmayoccuralongthepath.ThetrackingFixedColorscanalsobethemselvesrandomizedorsubjectedtocolortransformations.
TheuseofthetwoFixedColorgeneratorsalongwiththeoutputofthePaintColorSourceandColorModulatemodulesallowsforthreepossibleinteractivecolorsourcesforuseinconstructingdynamicpainttextureswithinStudioArtist.Thecombinationofthesethreedynamiccolorsourcesallowsforthegenerationofrich,expressive,texturedpaintwithmanysubtlevisuallooksorspecialeffects.
EachFixedColorisdeterminedbythefollowingparameters:
Color Source
Specifieswhetherthefixedcolorisastaticcolorassociatedwiththeassociated
Chapter 3: Paint Synthesizer147
3
squarecolormemory,trackstheinitialPaintColorSourcestartvalueforapath,orcontinuouslytracksthecurrentPaintColorasitmodulatesonthepath.
The color square memory for the static color will appear if you choose that option. As with all memory buttons, you option click to record, click to playback.
Color Mode
Specifiesapossibletransformationoftheinitialfixedcolorvalue.
A number of these allow you to access some sophisticated color theory and color mixing painting techniques.
Random Start Option
Determineshowtheinitialpaintcolorisrandomizedandoffset.
These options determine how the color will be randomized as well as what happens at range boundaries in the color space chosen.
Random Start Color
Determinestheamountofcolorrandomization.
Larger values lead to more randomization, smaller values lead to a subtler effect. Set it to 0 if you don't want any color randomization to change your carefully hand entered spot color value.
Offset Start Color
Determinestheamountofcoloroffset.
Negative values make the color increasingly darker, positive values make the color increasingly lighter.
Studio Artist148
Paint Source Offset
Theparametersinthispanecanbeusedtooffsetthephysicallocationofthecurrentpaintsourceinrelationtothepenpositioning.Theoffsetcanbefixedorafunctionofarandomgenerator.OnlytheFillFrompaintsourceisoffset,nottheFillTopaintsource.
YoucanusethePaintSourceOffsetparametersasameanstoclonespecificsectionsoftheSourceimageinvariablelocationsontheCanvas.The“BrushDisplace”AlgorithmsettingsinthePaintFillpanealsousethesesettingstodefinetheactualbrushdisplacement.
Tracking
Thisdetermineshowthepaintsourcetracksapath.(This should probably move out of the paint parameters and directly into the source control panel settings in a future version of Studio Artist).
StartPoint -subsequentlocationsalongthepathtrackoffoftheinitialpathstartpoint.Thisisthenormalmodeforpainting.
Fixed-subsequentlocationsarealwaysafixedcoordinatelocation.Setthislocation
Chapter 3: Paint Synthesizer149
3
initiallybymousingdownattheappropriatepositionintheSourceImage.ThissettingcanbeusedtobuildabrushthatpaintswithafixedchunkoftheSourceImage.
FixedStart-subsequentlocationsarealwaysafixedcoordinatelocation.Thislocationiswhereverthestartpositionofthepathwasinitiallylocatedonthecanvaswhenyoustarteddrawingthestroke.
OffsetStart-subsequentlocationsalongthepathtrackoffofafixedlocationratherthenthepath’sstartlocation.SetthislocationbyinitiallymousingdownattheappropriatepositionintheSourceImage.ThissettingisusefulforoffsetcloningspecificpiecesoftheSourceImageinvariableCanvaslocations.
TimeParticleStartPoint -subsequentlocationsalongthepathtrackoffoftheoriginalTimeParticlestartpointfromframe1.Thiscanbeusedtogenerateshattereffectsovertime.
----ThesecontrolsmirrorthefunctionalityofthePathRandomizationcontrolpanelparameters.InternallyarandomizationmoduleidenticaltooneofthePathRandomizationmodulesisusedtocomputetherandomizedsourceoffset.
Offset
Determinesthespecificalgorithmforgeneratingorrandomizingthesourceoffsetalongthepath.
Offset Amount
Themaximumamountofoffsetinpixelsappliedtothepath.Anyoffsetmodulationwillbefromzerotothismaximumsetting.
Offset Orient Direction
Theorientationdirectionofthepathoffset.
Path Increment
TheincrementalspacingassociatedwithonecycleofthevariousOffsetalgorithms.
Studio Artist150
Orient
Specifiesfixedorientationoffsetvsoffsetthattracksthepathandoffsetsfromthecurrentpathorientation.
Chapter 3: Paint Synthesizer151
3
Mod Type
SpecifiesamodulationsourcefortheOffsetamount.TheoffsetmodulationwillbefromzerototheOffsetamountmaximumsetting.
Turb Level
#ofoctavesofturbulence.OnlyavailableforOffsetsbasedonaturbulencealgorithm. Turb Alg
Thespecificturbulencealgorithmused.OnlyavailableforOffsetsbasedonaturbulencealgorithm.
----Randomgenerator#2isanadditionalsimplerandomizer.Thisistypicallyusedtobreakuplineartifactsassociatedwithdisplacementpaintingfillalgorithms. Gen 2
SpecifiesasecondalgorithmicrandomgeneratorwhosesignalisaddedtotheoverallOffsetsignal.
Gen 2 Amt
Themaximumamplitudeofrandomgenerator#2.
Studio Artist152
Paint Brush Load
Ratherthanloadingapaintbrushwithjustasolidcolor,thismoduleallowsadynamicpaintimagetobeloadedintothedynamicbrush.Thedynamicallygeneratedpaintimagecanincorporateeffectsgeneratedovertheentireareaofthebrush.
ThedynamicPaintBrushLoadimageisrepeatedlycomputedbehindthescenesasyoudraw.BrushLoadingallowsfor3DpainteffectsaswellasforthecreationofwildpainteffectsandsophisticatedimageprocessingeffectscreateddirectlyinthePaintSynthesizer.
Type
SpecifiesaspecificBrushLoadtype.ThischangestheoverallbrushLoadeffect.
Thereareseveraldifferenttypesofmasterbrushloadingalgorithms.TheyareLightingEffects,ImageProcessingEffects,GradientGenerators,andMSG.
Lightingeffectsallowforlushthree-dimensionallightingeffectsthatcansimulatethickpaintstrokes,surfacetexture,orpalettebrushoncanvastechniques.
Imageprocessingisanextremelypowerfulbrushloadtypethatallowsyoutoloadupto2differentseriallychainedimageprocessingalgorithmsintoapaintbrushandpaintwiththeminrealtime.
Gradientbrushloadingallowsanalternativeapproachtogeneratingacomputationalbrushgradientfor3Dlighting,shading,orotherspecialeffects.
Chapter 3: Paint Synthesizer153
3
MSGbrushloadingallowsyoutoutilizetheunlimitedpoweroftheMSGpreset-basedplug-inarchitecturetoinfinitelycustomizeorextendthepaintsynthesizer.
MSGstandsformodularsynthesizedgraphics.MSGpresetscaneitherbetexturegeneratorsorimageprocessingeffectsandarebasedonaninternalsetofeditablemodularprocessorschainedtogetherintooneoverallpreset.
ByusingthisBrushLoadoptionyoucaneffectivelyinfinitelyextendthepaintrenderingpowerofthepaintsynthesizerbybuildingcustomMSGpresetsthatyoucantheninteractivelypaintwith.
Studio Artist154
Brush Load Lighting Effects
Thedynamicallygeneratedpaintimageincorporatespaintlightingeffectscomputedovertheareaofthecurrentdynamicbrush.Asourceforalightingcalculationischosen.Specularreflectionlightingmodelsallowforthesimulationofdifferentlightedmaterialpropertiesaswellasspecialeffects.Theresultofthechosenlightingoperationcanthenbeusedinseveraldifferentwaystogeneratealoadedpaintbrush.
Source
Specifiesasourcethatisusedastheinputtoalightingcalculation.Thiscanbeaproceduraltexturegeneratorintegraltothismoduleoranoutputfromanotherpaintsynthesizermodule.Somesourcesareacombinationoftwodifferentsignals.
You can choose to feedback the canvas through the lighting effect. This allows the creation of dynamic visual chaos or Turing style reaction diffusion for the technically inclined, or wild looking paint textures for the technically uninclined.
Source Option
Specifiesaspecificimagechanneloptionforthemonochromesourceusedinthelightingcalculation.
Lighting
Thekindoflightingcalculationperformedontheloadsourcespecifiedabove.
Apply
Whatisdonewiththeresultsofthelightingcalculationtogeneratealoadedpaintbrush.Theyalllookdifferent,trythemandsee.
Angle
Angularorientationofthelightingsource.Thinkofthisaswherethelightingiscomingfromina360degreeorientationaroundthecenterofthecanvas.
Elevation
Chapter 3: Paint Synthesizer155
3
Elevationofthelightingsource.90degreesmeansthelightingsourceisstraightoverhead.Decreasingthisvaluemovesthelightingsourcedownwardsclosertothecanvas.Theshadowsgetlongerastheelevationdecreases.
Width
Widthoftheoveralllightingeffect.
Specularity
Specularityconstantforthesurfacelightingmodelusedinternally.Adjustingthisvalueallowsforthesimulationofdifferentsurfacematerialsthatscatterlightindifferentways.
A value of 0 turns it off. Otherwise low values mean a lot of specularity, with the effect decreasing as the parameter increases.
Angle Mod
Modulationoptionforthelightingangle.
Elev Mod
Modulationoptionforthelightingangle.
Width Mod
Modulationoptionforthelightingwidth.
Studio Artist156
Brush Load Procedural Texture Generator
Thereareanumberofparametersassociatedwiththebrushloadproceduraltexturegenerator.Thisisauniqueproceduraltexturegeneratorlocatedinthebrushloadcomputationalmodule.Theseparameterscomeupifyouchooseasourceoptionthatusestheproceduraltexture.Thesameparametersareavailableforallthebrushloadtypesthatutilizetheinternalbrushloadproceduraltexturegenerator.
PRnd Scale
Scalingfactorforthebrushloadproceduraltexturegenerator.
Increasing the value makes the texture rougher, decreasing the value make the texture finer.
Noise Type
Thisunlabeledpopupletsyouselecttheoverallproceduralnoisegeneratortype.
Changing it changes the overall way the texture looks.
Levels
#ofturbulenceoctavesforthebrushloadproceduraltexturegenerator.
Adding more levels increases the overall fractal complexity of the texture at the price of taking more time to generate it and slowing down drawing.
Algorithm
Specificsubalgorithmforthespecifiedoverallproceduralnoisegeneratortype.
For a given noise type this allows you to customize the final look of the texture. Try them and see how the appearance of the texture changes.
Chapter 3: Paint Synthesizer157
3
Brush Load Image Processing
Thedynamicallygeneratedpaintloadimageincorporatesdynamicimageprocessingeffectsovertheareaofthecurrentdynamicbrush.Asourcefortheimageprocessingoperationischosen.SomeSourcesettingsareacombinationoftwodifferentsourcesaddedtogether.
Theresultofseriallyprocessingthechosensourceimagethroughupto2differentchosenimageprocessingalgorithmsisthenusedtogeneratealoadedpaintbrush.Thisisanextremelypowerfulmodule.Therearealargenumberofdynamicimageprocessingalgorithmsthatcanbeinteractivelycontrolledwhileyoupaint.Or,thismodulecanbeusedwithActionpaintingandPathStartscanoptionstodesigncustomautomaticimageprocessingalgorithmsasanalternativetotheImageOperationsModeprocessingalgorithms.
Source
Specifiesasourcethatisusedastheinputtoanimageprocessingcalculation.TheSourcecanbeacombinationofseveraldifferentsignals.
Invert Source
Invertsthespecifiedsourceifturnedon.
Algorithm
Specifiesthespecificfirstimageprocessingalgorithmusedtogeneratethebrushloadsubimage.Therearealargenumberofdifferentimageprocessingalgorithmsavailabletochoosefromandtheyalllookdifferent.Trythemouttoseetherangeofdifferenteffectspossible.---Dependingonwhichspecificimageprocessingalgorithmischosen,theremaybeadditionalparametersavailablespecifictothatparticularalgorithm.
Size
Chapter 3: Paint Synthesizer159
3
Angle Mod
Specifiesanangleorientationmodulationoptionforthelocalkernelusedintheimageprocessingoperation.
Angle
Specifiesafixedangleoffsetfortheangularorientationofthelocalkernelusedintheimageprocessingoperation.
Mod Type
Specifiesanadditionalmodulationoption.
Algorithm 2
Specifiesasecondspecificimageprocessingalgorithmusedtogeneratethebrushloadsubimage.Theoutputofthefirstchosenalgorithmisusedasthesourceforthesecondalgorithmprocessing.
Somesourcesettingsthatusethebrushloadproceduraltexturewillalsobringupsomeadditionalproceduraltextureparameters.Theseweredocumentedinthebrushloadlightingsectionandyoucangothereforspecificinformationonthoseparameters.
Studio Artist160
Brush Load Gradient Generator
Thedynamicallygeneratedpaintimageincorporatesdynamicgradienteffectsgeneratedovertheareaofthecurrentdynamicbrush.Aspecificgradientgenerationalgorithmischosen.Theresultofthechosengradientgenerationalgorithmisthenusedtogeneratealoadedpaintbrush.
Thismodulecanbeusedasanalternativefor3Dpainteffectsorasawaytogenerateinterestingcolorgradienttexturesinpaintstrokes.
Algorithm
Specifiesthespecificgradientgeneratoralgorithmusedtogeneratethebrushloadsubimage.Theyalllookdifferent,trythemouttoseeforyourself.
Angle Mod
Specifiesanangleorientationmodulationoptionforthegradientgeneratoralgorithm.
Angle
Specifiesafixedangleoffsetfortheangularorientationofthegradientgeneratoralgorithm.
Chapter 3: Paint Synthesizer161
3
Brush Load MSG
ThisbrushloadoptionusesthecurrentMSGpresettogeneratethedynamicbrushloadimagewhileyoupaint.ThisoptionallowsyoutousethepowerofMSGpresetstoinfinitelycustomizeorextendthecapabilitiesoftheStudioArtistPaintSynthesizer.
ThesixuserslidersinthemainMSGoperationpanelwillinfluenceandcontroltheoverallMSGpreseteffectusedinpaintingwithMSGpresets.Inaddition,thereareanumberofparametersspecifictotheMSGbrushloadoptiondetailedbelow:
Source
SpecifiesthesourcefortheMSGprocessing.Likeallofthebrushloadsourcepopups,someofthesourceoptionsmaybeacombinationoftwodifferentsources.
Invert Source
TurnontoinvertthespecifiedMSGsourcebeforeMSGprocessing.
Gradient Map
SpecifieshowtheinternalMSGcolorgradient#1canbeadjustedorrecomputedwhiledrawing.
This is useful because when you turn it on the internal MSG color gradient is regenerated on the fly from the local source image. This will allow a MSG texture generator to generate texture coloring that matches the source image as you draw.
Palette Map
SpecifieshowtheinternalMSGcolorpalette#1canbeadjustedorrecomputedwhiledrawing.
Angle Mod
SpecifiesanglemodulationoptionsfortheinternalMSGprocessors.
Studio Artist162
TG Option
SpecifiesoptionsforhowtemporalgeneratorframetimingiscomputedwhenusingtheMSGpresetforinteractivepainting.
You can frame index the internal MSG temporal generators using the path distance as opposed to current animation frame time. This allows the temporal generators to oscillate as the pen is moved while drawing.
Alpha Out
SpecifieshowtheMSGalphaoutputisusedwithintheoverallpaintsynthesizer.ThisallowsyoutogenerateyourbrushalphadirectlyfromtheMSGeffectasopposedtothenormalSourceBrushifyousodesire.
Important:
Keep in mind that none of the various Brush Load control parameter settings will mean anything if you do not choose Brush Load as a paint source option in the paint Fill setup control panel.
You can use the MSG Save in Preset parameter in the Miscellaneous control panel to determine if you want to save the current MSG preset embedded within the paint preset file. Typically you will want to do this to fully reproduce a MSG Brush Load effect.
Chapter 3: Paint Synthesizer163
3
Paint Fill Setup
DeterminestheappearanceoftheactualpaintdabthatisappliedalongthepathtotheCanvasandhowthebrushinteractswiththepaintdab.TheparametersassociatedwiththeactualapplicationofthepaintdabtotheCanvasarespecifiedinthePaintFillApplycontrolpanel.
Therearetwopaintsources(Fill FromandFill To)aswellasaFill From Modulator.TheFill Fromsourceisappliedtothedark(black)partofthebrush.TheFill To sourceisappliedtothelight(almostwhite)partofthebrush.Purewhite(orvalue255)inthebrushisusedasamask.HowtheFill FromandFill TosourcesarecombinedoverthegrayvaluesofthebrushdependsontheparticularFill Option. TheFill FromsourcecanbespatiallyoffsetfromtheFill TosourcebyadjustingtheparametersinthePaint Source Offsetpane.
Apaintdabisgeneratedfromthecurrentbrushoutput,thetwopaintfillsources,andtheirassociatedparameters.Afterthepaintdabisgenerated,itisthenappliedtotheCanvasaccordingtoaparticularpaintfillAlgorithm,aCompositingoperation,andseveralmaskingandblendoptions.TheseareallspecifiedbyparametersinthePaintFillApplycontrolpanel.TheeditablePaintFillSetupparametersaredetailedbelow:
Studio Artist164
Fill From
DeterminestheFillFromsource,whichisappliedtothedarkpartsofthebrush.Thesourcecanbeasolidcolor,oranimagedependingonthesetting.
Typically this is the color that will be in the center of the generated paint dab for a spherical source brush.
Fill From Mod
DeterminesaFillFrommodulatoreffect,whichcanmodifytheappearanceoftheFillFromsignal.
This modulator introduces another color or other image signal into the paint dab which will be located between the center of the dab and its edges for a typical spherical source brush.
Max Mod
PercentageoftheFillFrommodulationeffect.
Increasing this value typically makes the effect more pronounced, decreasing it typically makes the effect less pronounced.
Mod Option
SpecifiesaninteractivemodulationsourcefortheFillFrommodulatoreffect.ThismodulatorwillinteractivelycontroltheoverallmodulationoftheFillFromModulationeffect.
--- Fill To
DeterminestheFillTosource,whichisappliedtothelightpartsofthebrush.Thesourcecanbeasolidcolor,oranimagedependingonthesetting.
Typically this is the coloring that will be at the edges of the generated paint dab for a spherical source brush.
Chapter 3: Paint Synthesizer165
3
Fill Option
DetermineshowtheFillFromandFillTosourcesarecombinedtogetheroverthegrayscalerangeofthebrushtogenerateadabofpaint.
SomeofthespecificFillOptionshaveadditionaleditableparametersassociatedwiththem.
Dither Fill Option
TheDitherFillOptionusingaditheringalgorithmtotransformthecurrentbrushimageusingeitherthebrushimageoranotherimagesignal.TheoutputoftheditheringthresholdalgorithmovertheareaofthecurrentbrushdetermineswhethertheFillFromorFillTocoloringisusedatthatpixellocationinthecomputedditheredbrush.
Dither Source
Determinesasourceforthecomputationditheringoperation.
Threshold
Determinesthethresholdsignalusedinthecomputationalditheringoperation.
Invert
Invertsthespecifiedditheringsourcepriortothresholding.
Chapter 3: Paint Synthesizer167
3
Range Fill Option
ThisFillOptionwillonlyfillthecanvasiftheassociatedSourceimagelocationsmatchthespecifiedluminancerangevalues.
Range Option
Determinestheminandmaxluminancerangevaluesusedtorestrictdrawing.
MultBlend Fill Options
Thisfilloptionmultipliesthecomputationbrushimagebyanothersignalpriortogeneratingthedabofpaint.
Multiplier
SpecifiesasignalthatismultipliedtimesthebrushimagebeforethemultipliedbrushimageisusedforblendingtheFillFromandFillTocoloringvalues.
This control provides an easy way to use the Background Texture to simulate a paper texture when drawing.
Invert Multiplier
Invertsthemultipliersignalbeforebrushmultiplicationtakesplace.
Studio Artist168
Paint Fill Apply
DetermineshowthepaintdabgeneratedwiththePaintFillSetupparametersisactuallyappliedtotheCanvas.Thepaintdabcanjustbedumpedontopoftheexistingcanvasoritmayinteractorcompositewithitinaspecifiedway.Maskingoptionscanalsobespecifiedthatinfluencehowandwherethedabisappliedtothecanvas.
Certainpaintfillalgorithmscanalsogenerateasecondpaintfillprocesswithdifferentparametersthatinteractsandrunsinparallelwiththeprimarypaintfillprocess.Thisistypicallythecasewithliquidpaintpresets.
Fill Algorithm
Determinestheparticulartypeofpaintingfillprocess.SomealgorithmsettingsthatMixwillgenerateanintegralsecondPaintFillprocesswiththeirownCompositeandBlendcontrols.TheMixRatiocontrolspecifiestheinteractionofthesetwoparallelPaintFillprocesses.
Composite
SpecifiesacompositingoperationthatdetermineshowthepaintdabinteractswiththeexistingCanvas.
Chapter 3: Paint Synthesizer169
3
By compositing, we mean we take the paint dab image and what is currently on the canvas and combine them together using a specified compositing algorithm to create a new dab image that is then placed on the canvas.
Nib Masking
DeterminesmaskingoptionsfortheapplicationofthepaintdabtotheCanvas.IfthemaskingoptionistrueataparticularCanvaslocation,thepaintwillbeappliedtotheCanvas.
---- Blend Mod
DeterminesamodulationsourcetomodulatethepaintblendtotheCanvas.
Blend %
DeterminesthemaximumpaintblendtotheCanvasinpercent.
Dual Fill Algorithms (Mix Apply)
MixApplyAlgorithmsettingsareactuallycomposedoftwodifferentalgorithmsthatarealternatelyappliedinsequence.SoAlg1willbeusedtoapplyapaintnibandthenAlg2willbeusedtoapplyNpaintnibs,withthecyclethenrepeatinguntilthecompletepathisdrawn.ThecontrolsbelowareactivewhenaMixApplyalgorithmisspecified.
Alg2 Mix Ratio 2-1
SpecifieshowmanyAlgorithm#2pathapplicationsalternatewithoneAlgorithm1Applypathapplications.
This parameter will interact with the perceived paint dab spacing, so you may need to go to the Path Application control panel and adjust the spacing setting there to get the overall desired dab spacing effect.
Alg2 Composite
Studio Artist170
Specifiesa2ndcompositingoperationthatdetermineshowthepaintdabinteractswiththeexistingCanvasforthesecondMixApplyAlgorithm.
Alg2 Blend %
Determinesa2ndmaximumpaintblendtotheCanvasinpercentforthesecondMixApplyAlgorithm.
---- Depth Mask
DeterminesifaZdepthmaskandbufferisusedforpaintapplication.Turningthisoptiononlimitsthepaint’sabilitytooverdrawthealreadydrawnportionofapaintstroke.Thesettingdetermineswhatisusedtodrawintothedepthbuffer.
Transparency %
Specifiesanadditionaltransparencyfortheoverallpaintapplicationtothecanvas.
Mix Apply Option
NormalmeansthattheMixApplydualmodefillalgorithmswillworknormallyasdescribedintheprevioussection.
SwitchingfromtheNormalsettingallowsforaspecificmodulatortobeusedtomodulatebetweenfillalgorithms1and2.SwitchingfromNormalwillcausetheAlg2MixRationtobeignoredsincethemodulatorwillbeinteractivelycontrollingwhichfillalgorithmisused.
Chapter 3: Paint Synthesizer171
3
Alpha Fill
ThePaintSynthesizerwillnotspecificallydrawintothecurrentlayer'salphachannelunlessitisspecificallysetuptodoso.
In version 4 you use the Canvas : Alpha : Paint Synth Alpha Enable menu flag to turn alpha drawing on or off.
Studio Artist versions prior to version 3 used specific settings in each paint patch to determine if alpha drawing would take place or not. This was a problem because you needed 2 versions of a particular preset depending on whether you wanted to do alpha drawing or not. Later versions improved on this by making overall control of alpha drawing a switchable global parameter for all paint presets.
Thereareanumberofdifferentparametersthatdeterminethespecificsofhowdrawingtothealphachanneltakesplace.
Alpha Fill
Determineswhichalphagenerationtechniqueisusedifactive.Defaultisthemostcommonanddisablestheotherparameters.
Alpha Blend
Specifiesanalphablendoption.
Alpha Apply
DetermineshowthecomputedalphadabisappliedtothealphaframeoftheCanvas.
Alpha FillTo Option
CorrectlymodulatestheFillToSourceforalphapainting.Switchonforpainttoolsthat
Studio Artist172
blendtotheCanvassotheywillbesmartaboutgeneratingtheappropriateFillTosignalbasedonthecurrentalphachannelvalues.
Chapter 3: Paint Synthesizer173
3
Brush Source
Determinestheinitialsourceforthebrush.Youcanseethecurrentsourcebrushinthesmallimageonthetoprightsideofthepane.
TheactualbrushusedforpaintingistheoutputoftheBrushTypealgorithm,whichusestheBrushSourceasoneofit’sinputs.TypicallytheBrushsourceisusedasamaskforanoveralldynamiccomputationalbrush.Thiscouldbealuminancemaskoradepthmaskorboth.
This control panel is where you specify the overall maximum brush size. The brush size actually drawn may be modulated or adjusted off of this overall maximum brush size based on the settings in the Brush Modulation control panel.
Brush Source
Computationalbrushesaregeneratedalgorithmically.Imagebrushesaregeneratedfromasourceimagefile.Textbrushesaregeneratedfromatextfontandstringoftext.Moviebrushesaregeneratedfromasourcemoviefile.Generativebrushesaregeneratedinrealtimewhendrawingandtheirshapecanbeinteractivelymodulatedwhiledrawing.MultiNibbrushesusemultipleinstancesofasimplecomputationalbrushtosimulatebristleeffects.
MSGLivebrushesuseaMSGpresettodynamicallygeneratethebrushwhendrawing.ThisisthewaytoinfinitelyextendthepoweroftheStudioArtistsourcebrushbybuildingyourowncustomMSGpresetstogeneratebrushshape.
Studio Artist174
Computational Brushes
Computationalbrushesaregeneratedalgorithmically.Thebasicalgorithmgeneratesasmoothsymmetricalsphericalbrushthatblendsfromblackatthecentertowhiteattheedges.
Therearemanyinteractingparametersavailabletoadjusttheappearanceofthecomputationalbrush.Theycanmodulatetheshapeandfalloffofthesmoothbrushaswellasmodulateorinvertsymmetry.
Additionalcontrolscanrandomizethebrush.Randomizationcanbestaticorapplieddynamicallyeverytimethebrushisgenerated.Thesourcebrushimagewillinteractivelyupdateasyouadjusttheparameters.
There is a dynamic preview image that updates in real time as you move the parameter sliders to show you how the parameter adjustments changes the computation source brush. The preview image size is independent of the actual brush size. It's purpose is to show off the overall source brush appearance in real time as you edit the controls. It's located at the bottom of the Editor on the left side.
Horz Size
Determinesthemaxhorizontaldimensionsofthebrush.
Vert Size
Determinesthemaxverticaldimensionsofthebrush.
Chapter 3: Paint Synthesizer175
3
Comp Brush
Typeofcomputationalbrush.Theyalllookdifferent,trythemandsee.
Bias/Gain
Definealuminancetransferfunctionforthecomputationalbrush.
Orient
DeterminestheorientationofthesourcebrushYouneedtosetthedirectionalitytosomethingotherthanzerotoseetheeffectofthisparameter.
Directionality
Determinesthedirectionalityofthesourcebrush.Increasingthedirectionalitymakesthebrushmoreelliptical.
Height
Heightofthesourcebrush.Valuesgreaterthan100%willreactdifferentlydependingonthecompbrushtype.
Corner Pull
Pullsthebrushtowardsorawayfromthecorners.
Symmetry
SpecifiesspecificsymmetryalgorithmadjustedbyPre-SymandPost-Symsettings.
Pre-Sym/Post-Sym
Distortsthesymmetryofthesourcebrush.ComplicatedinteractionwithOrient/Directionality,andCornerPull.
Random Type
Specifiesanalgorithmtorandomizethecomputationalbrush.IfUniquerandomizationisspecified,auniqueanddifferentSourceBrushwillbegeneratedeachtimetheBrushModulationmodulegeneratesanewinstanceoftheSourceBrush.
Random Amount
Increasingthiscontrolincreasestheamountofbrushrandomizaton.
Chapter 3: Paint Synthesizer177
3
Random Min Random Max
AdditionallyadjuststheappearanceoftheRndRadiusrandomtypeoptionbycontrollingtheminandmaxbrushradiusfortherandomizationprocess.
Random Seed
Specifiesauniquerandomseedforthesourcebrushrandomizationprocess.Changingtheseedvaluewillchangetheappearanceoftherandomizedbrushshape.
Important:
The source brush can be size and orientation modulated. A complete set of size and orientation modulated computational source brushes are cached in ram internally in the Paint Synthesizer. The settings in the Brush Modulation control panel for # of Sizes and # of Orientations determine how many separate brush images are actually cached in memory.
Studio Artist178
Image Brushes
Asourcebrushcanbegeneratedfromastaticimagefilelocatedonyourharddisk.
Youcanloadanewbrushimagefilebyusingthe“New Image Brush...”menulocatedinthe“File : Paint Synthesizer”mainmenu.Thebrushfilename,size,andthebrushitselfaredisplayed.
Use common sense when specifying a particular image as a Source Brush. Choose an image with dimensions appropriate for use as a brush source image. Depending on the settings in the Brush Modulation pane, many copies of the Image Source Brush will be generated and cached in memory.
WhenloadinganewPaintPatch,ifStudioArtistcan’tfindthebrushimagefileoriginallyspecified,itwilldotwothings.First,itwillseeifthereisabrushfileofthesamenameintheBrushfolderlocatedadjacenttotheStudioArtistapplicationonyourharddisk.Ifitcan’tfindafilewiththesamenameinthatfolderoranyofit’ssubfolders,StudioArtistwillthenbringupaStandardFiledialogsothatyoucanmanuallyspecifythelocationoftheSourceBrushimagefile.
In general, you should keep your various image brush files in the Brush folder located next to the application. You can use subfolders within the Brush folder to organize your image brushes by category. Taking the time to manage your image brushes in this fashion will make moving between different machines and hard disks much easier.
MostapplicationsofImageBrushescanuseafairlysmallimagesize(like64x64pixelsforexample).KeepinmindthatbasedonthesettingsintheBrushModulationcontrolpanelalargenumberofimagebrushcopiesatdifferentscalesandrotationsmaybestoredinthebrushcache.Thiscanchewupalotofmemoryiftheimagesizeislarge.
IB Scale
Chapter 3: Paint Synthesizer179
3
Determinestheoverallsizescalingoftheresultingimagebrush.Ifyouwanttorerenderyourcanvasandpaintingtoahigherresolutionafteryouarecompleteddrawing,thensetthistolessthan100%whenyoudoyouroriginaldrawingandusealargerbrushsize.Choosethepercentsothatwhenyourerenderyouwillendupwitharerendered100%scale.
ThefollowinginformationisdisplayedintheBrushSourcecontrolpanelbutcannotbeedited.
Brush Name
Nameoftheimagebrushfile.
Brush Size
Sizeoftheimagebrush(horizontalxvertical).
Studio Artist180
Text Brushes
ThisbrushdynamicallygeneratestheBrushSourcefromtheindividuallettersinastringoftext.
Tochangethetextstringusedforthetextbrush,usetheTexteditfieldintheBrushSourcecontrolpanel.
Eachtimeabrushisusedtopaintadabofpaint,theSourceBrushiscomputeddynamicallyfromoneoftheindividuallettersintheTextBrushmessage.WhichletterisusedtogeneratetheSourceBrushdependsonthesettingsinthePositionModcontrol.Letterpositioningcanbedynamicallymodulatedinrealtimeorcycledsequentially.TextBrushescanbeusedtopaintatextmessageorasapainttextureeffect.
There are specific Path Application Options for text spacing that should be used for typical text brush presets. These options take into account the specific font and lead to better results than the normal options used for generic painting.
TB Style
Determinesthetextstyleusedforthetextbrush.
TB Font
Determinesthespecificfontusedforthetextbrush.
TB Size
Determinesthesizeofthetextbrushsource.
TB Position Mod
Determineshowthecurrentletterpositioninginthesourcetextismodulatedasyoudraw.
TB Save Text in Patch
Chapter 3: Paint Synthesizer181
3
Turnonthischeckboxifyouwantthecurrenttextbrushsourcetobesavedwiththepreset.
Text
Thetextstringthatwillbedrawn.
How Text Drawing Works
Normal usage of the text source brush works as follows. Each font is rendered into the brush cache buffer at the maximum brush size, and then interpolated down to the final sized brush image which is raster filled to the canvas. So your Size Interpolation parameter in the Brush Modulation control panel should be set to Interpolation for best results.
There is a way to draw the text source brush directly into the paint canvas using anti-aliased drawing. To do this use the AntiAliased Solid Brush Type with it's Type option set to Text. This can give a better crisper text rendition at the cost of circumventing the normal paint synthesizer paint nib fill engine which allows for a wide range of different paint fill effects.
Studio Artist182
Movie Brushes
ThisbrushdynamicallygeneratestheBrushSourcefromtheindividualframesinaQuickTimemovielocatedonyourharddisk.Youcanloadanewbrushmoviefilebyusingthe“New Movie Brush...”menulocatedinthe“File:PaintSynthesizer”mainmenu.Thebrushfilename,size,andaframeofthebrushitselfaredisplayed.AbrushmoviefileisaQuickTimemovie.EachframeofthemoviecanbeusedasauniqueBrushSourcethatcanbedynamicallyvariedasyoupaint.
Use common sense when specifying a particular QuickTime movie as a Source Brush. Choose a movie with frame dimensions appropriate for use as a brush source image. Depending on the settings in the Brush Modulation pane, many copies of a given movie frame will be generated and cached in memory. The load Status parameter allows you to control the caching or lack of it if you do want to work with large movie frames as a brush.
WhenloadinganewPaintPatch,ifStudioArtistcan’tfindthebrushmoviefileoriginallyspecified,itwilldotwothings.First,itwillseeifthereisabrushfileofthesamenameintheBrushfolderlocatedadjacenttotheStudioArtistapplicationonyourharddisk.Ifitcan’tfindafilewiththesamenameinthatfolderoranyofit’ssubfolders,StudioArtistwillthenbringupaStandardFiledialogsothatyoucanmanuallyspecifythelocationoftheSourceBrushmoviefile.
In general, you should keep your various movie brush files in the Brush folder located next to the application. Taking the time to manage your movie brushes in this fashion will make moving between different machines and hard disks much easier.
MB Indexing
Specifies1Dor2Dindexmodulationfordeterminingtheframepositioningwhileyoudraw.1Dindexingusesasingemodulatortoindexintotheentiresetofframes.
Chapter 3: Paint Synthesizer183
3
2Dindexinguses2differentmodulatorstoaccessalloftheframes.Theentirerangeofframesaretreatedlikeatwo-dimensionalarrayforthepurposesofmodulationindexing.Youneedtoorganizetheimagesassociatedwiththeindividualframesinyourmovieaccordingwhendesigningandbuildingamoviebrushthatwilluse2Dindexing.
Movie Brush size and orientation modulation will occur independently of the 1D or 2D frame modulation specified here. By properly designing the individual frames in your movie brush, you can use the individual frames to represent an additional 1 or 2 axis of brush modulation. What these axis of modulation specifically represent is only limited by your imagination.
Thefollowingparameterisavailablefor1Dindexing:
MB 1D Frame Mod
Determineshowthecurrentframepositioninginthemovieismodulated.Forexample,sequentialwillrunthroughthemovieframessequentiallyasyoudraw.
Thefollowingparametersareavailablefor2Dindexing:
MB 2D Mod A
Specifiesamodulatorforthefirstaxisofframemodulation
MB 2D Mod B
Specifiesamodulatorforthesecondaxisofframemodulation
MB 2D A Dimension
SpecifieshowmanyframesareinonecycleofthefirstAaxisofmodulation.ThedimensionofthesecondBaxiswillbethetotalnumberofframesdividedbythesizeoftheAaxis.
MB Attribute Index
Studio Artist184
Determinestheindexingusedfortheframepositioningmodulation.
MB Load Status
Determineswhethertheentiremoviebrushispreloadedintomemoryorreadfromdiskwhiledrawing.Preloadisusefulforfastinteractivemoviebrushes.
DiskDrawisusefulforusingamoviebrushtocompositelargermoviefilesinpaintactionsequenceanimationsormovieprocessing.However,itwilldrawmuchmoreslowlysincethediskwillbeaccessedeverytimeabrushnibisdrawn.
ChoosingPreloadwhenyouhavealargemoviefilecanpotentiallyleadtoatotallossofallavailablememory.StudioArtisttriestobesmartandautomaticallyswitchtoDiskDrawifitappearsthismighthappen.
ThefollowinginformationisdisplayedintheBrushSourcecontrolpanelbutcannotbeedited.
Brush Name
Nameofthemoviebrushfile.
Brush Size
Sizeofthemoviebrush(horizontalxvertical).
Chapter 3: Paint Synthesizer185
3
Generative Brushes
ThisbrushdynamicallygeneratestheBrushSourcecomputationallyontheflyinrealtime.Thisallowsfortheoverallshapeofthebrushtointeractivelybemodulatedbasedonthingsmodulationsourceslikepentiltandtiltorientation.
ThisBrushSourceisdifferentthantheothersinthattheBrushisn’tinternallycachedatdifferentsizesandresolutions.Thedynamicontheflybrushcomputationallowsfortheinteractiveshapecontrolwhileyoudrawandcanleadtosomeveryexpressivepaintpatches.
You can use this brush type to easily simulate the effect of tilting a physical pencil tip or piece or rectangular chalk, which changes the overall shape and area of the drawing tool that touches the canvas.
Horz Size
Determinesthemaxhorizontaldimensionsofthebrush.
Vert Size
Determinesthemaxverticaldimensionsofthebrush.
G Gen Type
Determinesthespecificgenerativebrushalgorithmusedtocomputethebrushshapeontheflywhiledrawing.
G Orient Type
Modulationsourceforthegeneratedbrushorientation.ThissettingoverridestheBrushModulationorientationsettings,whichareassociatedwithcachedbrushorientationsusedintheolderprecomputedsourcebrushtypes.
G Orient Offset
Fixedorientationoffsetforthegenerativebrushorientationmodulation.
Studio Artist186
MultiNib Generative Brushes
SomeoftheGenTypeoptionsincludeaMultiNiblabeling.Theseusemultipleinstancesofagenerativebrushtosimulatebristleeffects.TheyworkoffofsomeofthecurrentMultiPenmodesettings.
Rotation Generative Brushes
SomeoftheGenTypeoptionsincludeaRotationlabeling.ThesearedesignedtobeusedwiththeWacomArtPenwhichincludesapenaxisrotationmodulator.Ifyouusethemwithanormalpenormouseitmaynotbeobviouswhattheyaredoing.
Chapter 3: Paint Synthesizer187
3
MultiNib Brushes
ThisbrushdynamicallygeneratestheBrushSourcecomputationallyontheflyinrealtime.ThecurrentMultiPencontrolparametersareusedtodefinethedynamicallygeneratedsourcebrush.
If you use this source brush with a multi-pen pen mode then you essentially get a doubling effect, since a dynamic image of the multi-pen nibs will be drawn at each multi pen nib location.
Horz Size
Determinesthemaxhorizontaldimensionsofthebrush.
Vert Size
Determinesthemaxverticaldimensionsofthebrush.
Nib radius %
Definesthesizeofthenibsasapercentageoftheoverallbrushsize.
Studio Artist188
MSG Live Brushes
ThisbrushdynamicallygeneratestheBrushSourcecomputationallyontheflyinrealtime.ThecurrentMSGpresetisusedtodefinethedynamicallygeneratedsourcebrush.
BybuildingyourowncustomMSGpresetsandusingthissourcebrushoptionyoucaninfinitelyextendthepoweroftheStudioArtistsourcebrush.
Typically you would want to save the MSG preset as a part of the overall paint preset. This can be done by turning on the MSG Save in Preset option in the Miscellaneous control panel.
Horz Size
Determinesthemaxhorizontaldimensionsofthebrush.
Vert Size
Determinesthemaxverticaldimensionsofthebrush.
MSG TG Option
DefinesanoptionforhowinternalTemporalGenerators(TG)areindexmodulatedintheMSGpreset.
MSG Angle Mod
DefinesaglobalanglemodulationappliedtoappropriateMSGparameters.
Chapter 3: Paint Synthesizer189
3
Brush Type
TheactualbrushusedforpaintingistheresultoftheinteractionbetweenthecurrentBrushSourceandthespecificbrushgenerationalgorithmspecifiedhere.StudioArtisthastheabilitytocreatemodulatablebrushtextureontheflytogenerateadynamicbrushthatcaninteractivelychangedependingonhowyoupaintordraw.
Typically,theBrushSourceisusedasamaskappliedtoadynamicalgorithmictexturegeneratorspecifiedhere.ThefinalbrushusedforpaintingistheresultoftheinteractionoftheBrushSourceandthespecifiedBrushType,aswellasthesize,orientation,andluminancemodulationsettingsspecifiedintheBrushModulationcontrolpanel.
Be aware that some specific brush Type options override or replace the source brush and may use custom fill code that bypasses the normal paint synthesizer paint nib fill engine.
For example, all of the geodesic brush types (except geodesic source brush) run their own dynamic fill code that ignores the source brush settings since the brush is actually a dynamic spreading process generated on the fly when drawing.
The AntiAliased Solid brush type also bypasses the normal paint nib fill code and allows for true anti-aliased vector drawing to occur in the paint canvas (at the price of losing most of the additional special effects and organic feel that can be created with the regular paint synthesizer raster fill engine).
Studio Artist190
Brush Type
Aspecifictypeofbrushgenerationalgorithmasdetailedbelow.
SourceBrushJustusestheSourceBrushasthepaintbrush.NoadditionaltexturesaregeneratedandtheSourceBrushisnotmodifiedinanyway.
StretchSourceBrushStretchestheSourceBrushalongtheoveralldrawingpath.
Stretch1SourceBrushStretchestheSourceBrushalongthepathwhileperforminganareafillinsteadofaone-dimensionalstretch. ProceduralStretchLikeastretchbrushbutfilledwithalgorithmictextureProceduralBrushTypicallythemostpopularbrushalgorithm.Anumberofdifferentassociatedparametersdeterminetheoverallappearanceofanalgorithmicproceduraltexture.ThedynamicalgorithmictexturecaninteractwiththeSourceBrushindifferentwaysdependingontheBrushOpsetting.Theactualdynamicbrushusedfordrawingisacombinationofthesourcebrushandthedynamicproceduraltexture.GeodesicCircularGeodesicRectangularAlgorithmicbrushesthatdon’tusethesourcebrush.Goodforacertainkindoffractaltexturelook,simulationofcapillarybleed,orcertainuniquestylisticeffects.
ComputationalStretchAlgorithmicbrushlikethecomputationalsourcebrushthatisstretcheddynamicallyalongtheoveralldrawingpath.
SourceAlphaBrush
Chapter 3: Paint Synthesizer191
3
JustusestheSourceBrushalphachannelonlyasthesourcebrushforPaintFillcalculations.
EllipticalConeDynamicellipticalbrushshapeismodifiedbythepentiltandtiltorientation.Canbeusedtosimulatethebehaviorofrealworldmediathatchangedrawingshapedependingonthepainttooltiltandtiltorientation.
GeodesicContourAlgorithmicbrushthatdon’tusethesourcebrushandadaptivelyconfiguresbasedonthesourceimageluminance.Goodforacertainkindoffractaltexturelook,simulationofcapillarybleed,orcertainuniquestylisticorwasheffects,allofwhicharebasedontheunderlyingSourceImageluminancecontours.
GeodesicSourceBrushAlgorithmicplacementofthesourcebrushbasedonageodesicspreadingalgorithm.CanbeusedasanalternativetoParticlePenmodetocreatedynamicbubblingorspreadingpainteffects.
ProceduralSmoothedBrushJustlikethenormalProceduralBrushtypeexcepttheproceduralbrushtextureisanti-aliasedforasmootherlookingtextureandassociatedslowerdrawingperformance.
AntiAliasedSolidAnalternativecomputationalbrushthatbypassesthenormalpaintsynthesizerrasterpaintnibfillengine.Anti-aliasedvectordrawingisusedtofillinthepaintstroke.Thesizeofthesourcebrushisusedbuttheothersourcebrushparametersareignored(exceptforthetextsourcebrushparameterswhichareusedwhentheTypeoptionissettoText).
Studio Artist192
Hint:
The Brush Type parameter can be a little confusing, because a few of the choices are rather esoteric and kept around for compatibility with very old Studio Artist presets. Source, Procedural, Geodesic, and AntiAliased Solid settings are most commonly used.
Chapter 3: Paint Synthesizer193
3
Specific Brush Generation Parameters
EachofthedifferentBrushTypeshasanumberofspecificeditableparameters.Theparametersassociatedwitheachofthedifferentbrushtypesaredetailedinthesectionsbelow:
Some of the Brush Type choices are more useful than others. Most presets use either the Source or the Procedural Brush. Geodesic brush types are also very useful for certain kinds of presets. Be aware that Geodesic brushes draw very differently than the normal brush types and some Paint Synthesizer functionality may be disabled for Geodesic brush types.
Some of the other Brush Types are kept around for compatibility with older Studio Artist presets from the initial release. They may also be useful for certain special effects.
Stretch1SourceBrush
Orient Type
Determinestheorientationmodulatorforthestretchingsourcebrush.
Orient Offset
Specifiesanangleoffsetfortheorientationmodulator.
Tracking
Thisunlabeledpopupspecifiesthespecifictrackingalgorithmusedfortheorientationmodulation.
Studio Artist194
GeodesicCircularGeodesicRectangularGeodesicContour
Geodesicbrushesoperateverydifferentlythantheotherbrushtypes.Theydon’talwaysbehaveliketheotherbrushtypes,butcangenerateveryuniquefractalorgeometricvisualeffects.
Unliketheotherbrushtypes,geodesicbrushesdonotinteractwiththeSourceBrushinanyway.Theytotallyoverrideitastheydraw.
Brush loading also does not currently work with geodesic brushes. The current paint color is substituted instead of the brush load operation if brush load is specified for path fill from parameter in Paint Fill Setup.
Bias / Gain
Definealuminancetransferfunctionforthegeodesicbrushalgorithm.
Geo Max Count
Determinesthemaximumsizeofthegeodesicbrush.
Note that the size controls in the Brush Source control panel are ignored for geodesic brush types. The brush Modulation size controls are active and will modulate the maximum size specified here. The overall size of the Geodesic Rectangular option also depends on the Iterations setting.
Geo Random Count
Specifiestherandomindexingassociatedwiththegeodesicbrushalgorithm.
Set it to 0 for no randomization. Typically set to 2 for a random setting.
Chapter 3: Paint Synthesizer195
3
Geo Wet Mix
Determineswhetherwetpaintmixingispathorpixelbased.
TheGeodesicRectangularbrushtypealsoincludesseveralspecializedparametersdetailedbelow:
Geo Invert
Invertsthegeodesicbrushshapewhenturnedon.
TheGeodesicrectangularBrushTypeincludesomeadditionalparameters. Geo Iterations
Specifiesthenumberofiterationsorrepeatsforthegeodesicbrushalgorithm.ThisparameterwilltendtomultiplytheactualsizeofthebrushCanvascoveragespecifiedbytheMaxCountparameter.
Be careful as you increase this value or the geodesic brush may spread out quickly and essentially draw the entire canvas.
Geo Move Radius
Specifiesaradiusforthegeodesicmovement.Increasingthisvalueincreasesthespreadwhilealsorandomizingtherectangularpatterning.
Studio Artist196
GeodesicSourceBrush
TheGeodesicSourceBrushisdifferentfromtheothergeodesicbrushtypesbecauseitdoesusethesourcebrushnibfordrawing.Theplacementsofthesourcebrushnibsaredynamicallygeneratedfromageodesicplacementalgorithmthatspreadsfromthepath.Ageodesicscalingfactorisalsogeneratedforthebrushnibsbasedonthedistancefromthenibtotheoriginalpathposition.Mostoftheassociatedparametersarethesameasthenormalgeodesicbrusheswithafewadditionsdescribedbelow.
Geo Spacing
Specifiesthespacinginpixelsoftheapplicationofsourcebrushnibsalongthegeneratedgeodesicspreadingpaths.
There is a Geodesic Source Brush modulator that is available in parameters like the Orient modulator parameter in Paint Source Offset. Use this modulator to get an orientation modulation that tracks the spreading of the source nib
Chapter 3: Paint Synthesizer197
3
ProceduralStretchProceduralBrushProceduralSmoothedBrush
Thesebrushalgorithmsarebasedondynamictexturegenerators.Theygeneratebrushtexturescomputationallyontheflyasyoudraw.Thetexturecaneitheralwaysbethesameoralwaysbedifferent,whichisgreatfororganiclookingimagesthathavethesubtletyofnature.
Procedural brush is one of the most common brush types and is used in many presets. Procedural Stretch is rarely used and really a specialty brush type. The Procedural Smoothed Brush is an anti-aliased version of the Procedural Brush. It generates a smoother procedural texture at the cost of slower drawing time.
Severalparameterscanbemodulatedinteractively,includingtextureorientationandclipping.
Orient Type
Determinestheorientationmodulatorfortheproceduraltexturegenerator.
Orient Offset
Specifiesanangleoffsetfortheorientationmodulator.
Tracking (popup)
Thisunlabeledpopupspecifiesthespecifictrackingalgorithmusedfortheorientationmodulation.TheTrackingandtheOrientmodulationtypeworktogethertodeterminetheparticularvisualeffectdesiredforthetexturegeneration.
There are some useful paint macro menu edits available in the 'Edit : Paint Synthesizer : Macro Edit' menu that can quickly set up the tracking controls for different editing
Chapter 3: Paint Synthesizer199
3
Bias
Specifiesthenonlinearbiasluminancemappingforthegeneratedtexture.
Watch the interactive texture display in the pane while adjusting to get a feel for what the control does.
Gain
Specifiesthenonlineargainluminancemappingforthegeneratedtexture.
Watch the interactive texture display in the pane while adjusting to get a feel for what the control does.
Clip
Specifiesmaximumclippingforproceduraltexture.
Clip Mod
Specifiesmodulatorsourceforclipping.Clippingwillmodulatetothemaxclipsettingifmodulated.
Random Start
Determinesiftheproceduraltexturegeneratoralwaysstartsfromthesameinitialconditions(unchecked)orarandomsetofinitialconditionsforeachpath(ifchecked).
Invert
Invertsthegeneratedtexture(ifchecked).
Brush Op
Specifiestheinteractionbetweenthegeneratedbrushtextureandthesourcebrushnib.
Turbulence
Specifiesthespecificoverallturbulencealgorithmusedtogeneratetheprocedural
Studio Artist200
texture.
Noise is the most common choice. The cellular types run slower but have a different visual appearance.
Type
Specifiesdifferentoptionsfortheproceduralnoisegenerationthatcanallowmodulationbasedonthesourceimageorcanvasimage.
3D types modulate the procedural texture as specified and can create visual complexity or more intelligent texturing effects at the cost of slower drawing time.
Levels
Specifiesthenumberofoctavesofturbulenceintheproceduraltexturegenerator.
Increasing the # of levels generates more visual complexity in the texture at the cost of slower drawing response.
Alg (algorithm)
Determinesspecificvariationsoftheoveralltexturegeneratoralgorithmusedtodynamicallygeneratebrushtexture.
Changing the Alg changes the visual appearance of the texture. Watch the interactive texture display as you adjust the parameter to get a feel for the different Algorithms.
Path Length Inc
Specifiesthetexturescalingalongthedirectionofthepath.
Path Width Inc
Specifiesthetexturescalingperpendiculartothepath.
Mix Apply Option
Allowsforsourcebrushoverrideforpaintmixingindualmodefillalgorithms.
Studio Artist202
ComputationalStretch
Orient Type
Determinestheorientationmodulatorforthestretchingcomputationalbrush.
Orient Offset
Specifiesanangleoffsetfortheorientationmodulator.
Bias / Gain
Definealuminancetransferfunctionforthecomputationalbrushalgorithm.
Chapter 3: Paint Synthesizer203
3
AntiAliasedSolid
Thisbrushtypeprovidesfortrueanti-aliasedvectordrawingatthecostofcircumventingthenormalrasterpaintnibfillcode(andthewiderangeofspecialeffectsandorganicpaintlooksthatcanachieve).
Many of the normal paint synthesizer paint fill controls will be ignored when using this brush type since the controls do not apply to solid fill vector drawing. This brush type is very useful for generating thin lines or crisp vector shapes.
Vector Type
Thespecifictypeofvectordrawingusedtofillthepaintstroke.
Dual Fill
Noneturnsitoff.Theotheroptionsallowforhybridvector-rasterdrawingpresetstobeconstructed.Thevectorpathisfirstdrawnandthenasecondpassisappliedbasedonthenormalsourcebrushrasterfillengine.
FullApplymeansthenormalrasterpaintnibfillsettingsareused.MixApplymeansonlythesecondAlg2fillalgorithminadualmodemixapplyfillalgorithmisused.
One use for dual fill would be to apply a wet water raster paint fill to the solid anti-aliased vector drawing to give it a more organic or natural looking feel.
Size Scale
Anadditionalsizescaling(inpercent)appliedtothecomputationalsourcebrushhorzandvertsizedimensions.
Poly Opt
Determinesthekindofvectornibdrawnwhenbuildingupthepathshape.
Rim Opt
Specificcoloringoptionsfortherimofthevectornib.
Studio Artist204
Color Opt
Specificcoloringoptionsfortheinteriorofthevectornib.
Particle Track
Whenturnedon,thevectordrawingissmartabouttrackingindividualparticlemovementinparticlepenmode.Whenoff,thevectortrackingmovesaroundtheentireparticleswarm.
Chapter 3: Paint Synthesizer205
3
Brush Modulation
Determineshowthebrushsizeandorientationaremodulated.Modulationcanbeinteractiveoralgorithmic.Afixednumberofbrushsizesandorientationsareprecomputedtospeedupinteractivedrawing.Thereareadjustablecontrolstospecifyhowmanyprecomputedbrushesaregenerated.Thetotalnumberofprecomputedbrushedwillbethe#ofsizebrushestimesthe#ororientationbrushes.
ThedifferentsizeandorientationbrushesaregeneratedfromtheSourceBrush.TheactualhorizontalandverticalbrushsizespecifiedintheBrushSourcecontrolpanelmapsto100%brushsizemodulationinthiscontrolpanel.
Be aware that there is an initial time penalty associated with precomputing a large brush cache. As the max source brush size increases this initial lag when first using a preset after editing a parameter associated with the brush cache can become noticeable. Try to avoid having a large number of brush sizes and brush orientations since the total number of brush cache images is those 2 numbers multiplied together.
Boththebrushsizeandorientationcanbemodulateddynamicallywhiledrawing.Therearealargenumberofpotentialmodulationsourcesthatcanbechosenfrom.
# Brush Sizes
Howmanydifferentsizebrushesaregenerated
Studio Artist206
Size Modulation
Determinesamodulationsourceforcontrollingthebrushsize
Min Size Range Max Size Range
SpecifiesminimumandmaximumsizebrushesasapercentageoftheSourceBrushHorizontalandVerticaldimensions.
Size Interpolation
Typeofinterpolationalgorithmusedtogeneratedifferentsizebrushes.
Size Option
Specificaxisoptionsforthebrushsizeinterpolationalgorithm.
Size2 Modulation
Determinesasecondarymodulationsourceforcontrollingthebrushsize.ModulatestoamaximumvariationdeterminedbytheSize2%2ndModslider.
Useful for adding additional variation into the brush size modulation to achieve more realistic paint stroke simulations.
Size 2% 2nd Mod
Determinesthepercentsizemodulationforthesecondsizemodulator.
---- # of Orients
Howmanydifferentorientationbrushesaregenerated
Orient Mod
Determinesamodulationsourceforcontrollingthebrushorientation
Orient Variation
Determinesthemaximumbrushorientationmodulationamount.
Studio Artist208
Orient Interpolation
Typeofinterpolationalgorithmusedtogeneratethedifferentorientationbrushes.
---- Lum Modulation
Modulationoptionthatspecifiesacontrollersignalthatdynamicallymodulatesthecurrentbrushwiththecurrentmodulationtexturesource.Noneturnsthisoptionoff.
Lum Mod Tex Src
Specifiestheparticularsourceusedforbrushluminancemodulation.
Lum Mod Option
DetermineshowtheluminancemodulationsourcesignalinteractswiththecurrentbrushifaspecificLuminanceModulatorhasbeenchosen.
Chapter 3: Paint Synthesizer209
3
Background Texture
Thebackgroundtextureisavailablethroughoutthepaintsynthesizerasamodulationsource.Onetypicalusewouldbetomodulateapaintfilloperationbasedonadynamictexture.Thetexturecaneitherbealgorithmic,animagefile,amoviefile,text,livevideo,ortheoutputofthetexturesynthesizer.
Thebackgroundtexturecanbestaticordynamicdependingontheparametersettings.Thebackgroundtexturecanbeusedforthingslikesimulatingpapertextureorothertexturalpropertiesofmedia,orasasecondtexturesourcetomodifythealgorithmicpaintbrush.
Seed
Numericalseedfortherandomnumbergenerator.
Texture Type
Proceduralisanalgorithmictexture.BWImageandColorImageisbasedonasourceimagethatisreplicatedaccordingtoauserdefinablesymmetryormosaicingpatterntocoverthecanvas.MovieisbasedonasourceQuicktimeMoviethatisreplicatedaccordingtoauserdefinablesymmetryormosaicingpatterntocoverthecanvas.TexSynthisbasedonthecurrentTextureSynthesizersettingsandisgeneratedprocedurallyfromthosesettings.LiveVideocaptureslivevideo.
Studio Artist210
Generic Background Texture Parameters
Belowarethegenericadjustableparametersforallbackgroundtexturetypes.Aninteractivepreviewofthegeneratedbackgroundtextureisdisplayedatthetopofthecontrolpanelandcanbeusedasavisualaidwhileeditingtheseparameters.
Dependingonhowtheorientationmodulationandtrackingcontrolsaresetup,thebackgroundtexturecouldfollowthebrushpathwhendrawingorcouldrenderafixedbackgroundrectangulartexturefield.
Several paint synthesizer macro edit menus provide a way to quickly edit these parameters when you are working.
Orient Mod
Modulationsourcefortheorientationofthetexture.Fixedisstatic.Theothersallowfordynamictextures.
Tracking
Angletrackingoptionfororientationcomputation.
Orientation
Determinesthespatialorientationofthetexture.
Horizontal/Vert Offset
Determinesahorizontalandverticalspatialoffsetforthetexture.
Random Start
Newtexturegeneratedforeachpaintstrokeifchecked.Otherwisethesametextureisusedeachtimeastrokeisapplied.
Invert
Chapter 3: Paint Synthesizer211
3
Grayscaleinversionoptionforthebackgroundtexture.
Bias/Gain
Nonlinearmappingtransformparametersorthetexture.
Studio Artist212
Procedural Textures
Theproceduraltextureisabasedonacomputationaltexturegenerator.Dependingonitsassociatedparametersettings,itcaneitherbeusedtogenerateafixedbackgroundtextureorasaseconddynamicbrushtexturethattracksthepenormouse.
Thesize,andspatialpositionofthetexturepatterncanbeadjusted.Orientationofthetexturepatterncanbeafixedadjustmentordynamicallymodulated.Asyouadjustparametersyoucanseetheeffectonthetexturefieldbyobservingthesmalltexturepreviewimageinthiscontrolpanel.
Belowaretheuniqueadjustableparametersforproceduralbackgroundtextures.
Size Directionality
Thesecontrolsinteracttodeterminesthespatialsizeanddirectionalityofthegeneratedtexture.
The 2 controls interact so you may need to do some tweaking back and forth.
Turb Type
AllowsyoutochoosetheoverallNoisegenerationapproachusedfortheproceduraltexture.TheNoisesettingisamulti-octavebandpassturbulencegenerator.ThetwoCellularsettingsuseadifferentgeneratorbasedonmulti-octavecellularnoise.
Alg (algorithm)
Specifictypeofturbulencesubalgorithmforaparticularmasternoisegenerator.
Levels
#ofoctavesofturbulence.Increasingthisnumberslowsdowntexturegenerationsoincreasewithcare.Typicallyyouwouldnotuseanumberbeyond3or4octaves.
Chapter 3: Paint Synthesizer213
3
Image Textures / Color Image Textures
Imagetexturesaredefinedbytilingarectangulartextureimage.Theimageisreadfromdisk.YoushouldstoreyourtextureimagesintheBrushfolder.Symmetryoperationscanbespecifiedforthetilingreplicationoperation.
Dependingonitsassociatedparametersettings,itcaneitherbeusedtogenerateafixedbackgroundtextureorasaseconddynamicbrushtexturethattracksthepenormouse.
Belowaretheuniqueadjustableparametersforimagebackgroundtextures.
Scale
Scalingpercentageoptionfortheoverallsizeoftheappliedimagetexture.
H Sym
Specifiesahorizontalsymmetryoperationforreplicatingthesourcetextureimage.
V Sym
Specifiesaverticalsymmetryoperationforreplicatingthesourcetextureimage.
Studio Artist214
Movie Textures
Movietexturesaredefinedbytilingarectangulartexturemovieframe.TheQuicktimemovieframesarereadfromdisk.YoushouldstoreyourtexturemoviefilesintheBrushfolder.Symmetryoperationscanbespecifiedforthetilingreplicationoperation.
One fun use of movie background textures is to build up photo mosaic images. A large collection of smaller images stored in the movie texture can be used to represent a much larger image. Studio Artist is unique in that photo mosaics do not have to be composed of a rectangular grid of smaller images ( although you can certainly generate grid based photo mosaics if you want to).
Moviebackgroundtexturesalsoallowsforthedevelopmentofverysophisticatedinteractivebrushesorspecialeffects.Uptotwodifferentinteractivecontrolmodulatorscanbeusedtoindexmodulatethemovietexture.LikemanythingsinStudioArtist,theeditingancreativepossibilitiesusingmoviebackgroundtexturesarereallyunlimited.
Belowaretheuniqueadjustableparametersformoviebackgroundtextures.
Scale
Scalingpercentageoptionfortheoverallsizeoftheappliedimagetexture.
H Sym
Specifiesahorizontalsymmetryoperationforreplicatingthesourcetextureimage.
V Sym
Specifiesaverticalsymmetryoperationforreplicatingthesourcetextureimage.
Chapter 3: Paint Synthesizer215
3
Attribute Index
Determinestheattributeindexingusedfortheframepositioningmodulation.
Load Status
Determineswhetherthemovietextureispreloadedintomemoryorreadfromdiskwhiledrawing.Preloadisusefulforfastinteractivemoviebrushes.DiskDrawisusefulforusingamovietexturetocompositelargermoviefilesinpaintactionsequenceanimationsormovieprocessing.
Movie texture can take up quite a bit of memory as the frame size starts to increase if you preload them into memory. Be intelligent about choosing the frame size of the movies you are working with. Typically they should match the maximum brush size unless you have good reasons not to do this.
You can always rescale a movie file by either using a simple PASeq processing pass in Studio Artist or by changing the size of an export in Movie Player Pro.
Indexing
Specifies1Dor2Dindexmodulationfordeterminingtheframepositioningwhileyoudraw.1Dindexingusesasingemodulatortoindexintotheentiresetofframes.2Dindexinguses2differentmodulatorstoaccessalloftheframes.Theentirerangeofframesaretreatedlikeatwo-dimensionalarrayforthepurposesofmodulationindexing.Youneedtoorganizetheimagesassociatedwiththeindividualframesinyourmovieaccordingwhendesigningandbuildingamoviebrushthatwilluse2Dindexing.
Thefollowingparameterisavailablefor1Dindexing:
1D Frame Mod
Determineshowthecurrentframepositioninginthemovieismodulated.For
Studio Artist216
example,sequentialwillrunthroughthemovieframessequentiallyasyoudraw.
Thefollowingparametersareavailablefor2Dindexing:
2D Mod A
Specifiesamodulatorforthefirstaxisofframemodulation
2D Mod B
Specifiesamodulatorforthesecondaxisofframemodulation
2D A Dimension
SpecifieshowmanyframesareinonecycleofthefirstAaxisofmodulation.ThedimensionofthesecondBaxiswillbethetotalnumberofframesdividedbythesizeoftheAaxis.
Chapter 3: Paint Synthesizer217
3
Movie Pixel Index Textures
Thecontrolsforthiskindofmovietexturearethesameasthenormalmovietexture.ThedifferenceisthatMoviePixelIndexingusestheframeindexmodulationforeachpixelofthegeneratedtextureasopposedtoonceperbrushnib.Thisperpixelindexingallowsforthecreationofpixelaccurateshadingeffectsbasedontheindividualmovieframes.
Forexample,ashadingtexturecouldbecreatedwhereeachmovieframecorrespondstoadifferentluminancerendering.NormalMovieTextureindexingcouldbesettochoosetheappropriatemovieframetorenderthesourceluminanceacrosstheentirebrushnib.Howeverthisdoesnotallowforfinedetailrendering,justacourserenderingatthespatialresolutionofthesizeofthebrushnib.
UsingMoviePixelIndexinginsteadallowsforeachpixelofthetextureinthebrushnibtobeindexedfromthecorrectmovieframefortherenderingrequiredforthatpixel.Becausethemovieframeindexingispixelaccurate,thederivedshadingisalsopixelaccurate.Thisleadstoaverytightshadedrenditionatthecostofaslowerbrushduetotheincreasedcomputationassociatedwiththepixelindexing.
Somereallynicehatchingpaintanddrawingeffectpresetscanbecreatedwiththisoption.
Because movie pixel indexing works at the pixel level for frame index modulation, it's really only applicable to preloaded movie (as opposed to disc draw load status). Using disc draw load status for movie pixel indexing will slow the draw speed down to unacceptable levels.
Studio Artist218
Texture Synthesizer Textures
TextureSynthesizerbackgroundtexturetypesusetheTextureSynthesizeranditscurrentparametersettingsfortexturegeneration.AcompletesetofTextureSynthesizerparametersarestoredalongwiththenormalPaintSynthesizerparametersinapaintpatchpresetifyouareusingthisbackgroundtexturetype.
Ablockoftextureequalinsizetothecurrentmaximumbrushsizeifgeneratedandthenusedinternallylikeitwasanimagetexture.Theparametercontrolsmirrorthoseofanimagebackgroundtextureandaredetailedinthatsection.
Live Video Textures
Livevideobackgroundtexturescaptureframeimagesfromalivevideostreamwhileyoudraw.YoucanuseavideoinputdevicethatincludesaQuicktimedriverthatallowsforvideoimagecapture.Apple'snewiSightfirewirecameramakesanidealvideoinputdevice.
AvideoframeiscapturedfromaliveQuicktimevideostreamandthenusedinternallylikeitwasanimagetexture.Asyoudraw,theframeimagewillbeupdated.Thelivevideotexturecanfollowthebrushpathormapontoaflatrectangularbackgrounddependingonhowthebackgroundtexturetrackingparametersaresetup.Youcanalsousethesymmetryparameterstogeneratekaleidoscopictexturesymmetrypatternsderivedformthelivevideoframes.
Theparametercontrolsmirrorthoseofanimagebackgroundtextureandaredetailedinthatsection.
Studio Artist220
Chapter 4: Image Operations
ImageOperationsareasetofimageprocessingfiltersorprocessesthateachhaveuniqueparameterpanes.TheyacttotransformaspecifiedIpSourceimagebyprocessingitwithaparticulareffectandthenplacingtheresultingprocessedimageinthecurrentCanvasLayer.SomeimageoperationsmayalsobemodifiableorinfluencedbycurrentSourcevisualattributes,globalpaintcolormemories,orthecurrentregionselection.
ThespecifiedIpSourcecaneitherbethecurrentCanvasimage,theSourceimage,anotherCanvasLayer,orthecurrentRegionSelection.
Eachimageoperationalsohasacompositingoperationandmixcontrollocatedatthebottomoftheparameterpane.Theuseofdifferentcompositingoperatorscantotallychangetheeffectofagivenimageoperation,resultinginamanyfoldincreaseinpossiblevisualeffectsachievedwithagivenimageoperation.Youcanalsospecifyaspecificnumberofrepetitionsofaparticularimageoperation.
ThecurrentImageOperationisinitiatedbypressingtheActionbutton,orbychoosingthe“Do Current Action”menu,orbythekeyshortcutCmnd-R.Tostopanexecutingimageoperation,presstheSpacebarkey.
YoucanuseImageOperationPresetstoaccessaspecificImageOperationanditsassociatedsettingsatthetouchofabutton.
Paint Action sequences can also be used to combine together different image operations in a sequence to generate more complex and varied visual effects. You can use Paint
Chapter 4: Image Operations221
4
Action Sequence Presets to access these operations at the touch of a button. Generic Image Operation Parameters
CertainImageOperationparametersareavailableforallImageOperations.Allofthesecontrolsareatthebottomoftheindividualeffectcontrolpanelsandarethesameforeveryimageprocessingeffect.
Thesegenericcontrolsallowforspecifyingtheimagesourcefortheprocessingeffect,aswellasmixingorcompositingtheprocessedIpSourceimagewiththeoriginalCurrentCanvasLayer.RepetitiveImageOperationscanalsobespecified.
Thefinaloutputoftheimageoperationistheresultofthespecifiedcompositingoperation.Dependingontheparticularcompositingoperationspecified,theresultingvisualeffectcanbetotallytransformedfromtheoriginalimageoperation.Thisgreatlyincreasestherangeofpossiblevisualeffectsavailablefromasingleimageoperation.
Tryexperimentingwiththedifferentsettingstogetafeelforhowtheychangetheresultingappearanceoftheeffect.
Generic Parameters Mix
ThepercentamountofmixbetweentheoutputofthecompositingoperationandtheoriginalCurrentCanvaslayer.
Ip Source
SpecifieswheretheinputtotheImageOperationcomesfrom.ThiscanbetheCurrentCanvasLayer,theSourceImage,theCurrentCanvasAlphaimage,theCurrentRegionSelection,oranyoftheindividualCanvasLayersaccessedbyname.TheoutputfromtheImageOperationisplacedintheCurrentCanvasLayer.
TheSourceImagewillbescaledtomatchtheCurrentCanvasLayersize.
Studio Artist222
Composite
SpecifiesacompositingoperationthattakestheoriginalCurrentCanvasLayerandtheeffectedIpSourceimageandalgorithmicallycombinestheminsomespecifiedfashion.TheoutputofthecompositingoperationisthenplacedintheCurrentCanvasLayeratthecompletionoftheimageoperation.
DifferentcompositesettingscancompletelychangetheoverallappearanceforanygivenImageOperation.Forexample,specifyinganEdge1compositingoperationonanimageoperationthatblurstheCanvasimagewillgenerateasharpeningvisualeffect.
CertaincompositesettingswillbypassthecurrentCanvasLayerandplacetheeffectedimageineitherthecurrentlayer’salphachannelorthecurrentSelectionRegion.
Composite Space
Specifiesanadditionalcolorspaceorchannelforthecompositingtotakeplacein.
Repetition
Specifiesthenumberoftimestoiterateorrepeattheimageoperation.ThefirstiterationusesthecurrentCanvasasthesourcefortheimageoperation.Eachiterationafterthefirstonetakestheeffectedoutputofthepreviousiterationandusesthatasthesource.
Randomization Parameters Random
Determinespropertiesoftherandomnumbergeneratorseed.Byseedwemeantheinitialstartingparametersfortherandomnumbergenerator.UniquemeansthatanyrandomaspectsoftheIpOpwillalwaysbeuniqueordifferentonsubsequentrunsoftheIpOp.UseSeedmeansthataparticularnumericSeedvaluewillbeusedtoprimeorstarttherandomnumbergenerator.ThismeansthesameseriesofrandomnumberswillbegeneratedeachtimetheIpOpisrun.Bychangingtheseedyoucanchangethesetofgeneratedrandomnumbersandsubsequentlytheappearanceofanyrandom
Chapter 4: Image Operations223
4
aspectsoftheparticularIpOpinareproduciblemanor.
ReverttolastinternalseedisusefulifyouwererunningtheIpOpinuniquemodeandwouldliketosaveanIpOppresetorrecordtheIpOpinaPASeqandhavetheappearanceofthelastrandomIpOprun.
Seed
SpecifiesaspecificstartingseedfortheUseSeedoptionintheRandompopup.Changingtheseedwillleadtoadifferentsetofreproduciblerandomnumbers.
Palette Parameters
Palette/Gradient Playback
DetermineswhetherthecolorpaletteandcolorgradientstoredinanIpOpPASeqactionstepisplayedbackintheSourcePaletteandSourceGradientornot.
Studio Artist224
Texture Synthesizer Modulation in Image Operations
CertainImageOperationscontainTextureSynthModulatoroptionsforspecificparameters.WhentheseoptionsarechosenthecurrentTextureSynthesizerparametersareusedtogenerateaprocedurallygeneratedtexturefieldthatisusedasamodulatorfortheIpOp.
SupportforTextureSynthesizerIpOpmodulatorsextendsthefunctionalityofindividualIpOpsbyallowingbothprocessingmodulestoworktogethertocreatevisualcomplexityintheresultingeffect.
Chapter 4: Image Operations225
4
Image Operation Terminology
CertaintechnicaltermsareusedfrequentlyintheImageOperationparameters.Don’tbeafraidoftermsyoumaynotunderstandatfirst,becauseyoucanalwaysexperimentbytryingdifferentoptionsandseeinghowtheyaffecttheoverallprocessedoutput.
Ifyoufindsomethingyoulike,exportthesettingsasanImageProcessingPresetPatch.ThenyoucancalluptheImageProcessingPresetatalaterdateanduseitinyourworkwithouthavingtofocusontheindividualeditableparametersthatmakeuptheoveralleffect.
Image Processing Algorithms Alg or Algorithm
Analgorithmcanbethoughtofastheformulausedtogenerateagivenimageprocessingeffect.Differentalgorithmstypicallygeneratedifferentvisualappearancesfortheresultingeffect.
Compositing
Compositingalgorithmstaketwodifferentimagesasinputsandgenerateanoutputthatcombinesthe2imagestogetherusingsomekindofmathematicalformula.TheuseofcompositinginStudioArtist'sImageOperationsgreatlyextendstherangeofpossibleeffectsthatcangenerated.Forexample,anImageOperationthatblurstheimagecanbeturnedintoanenhancementorsharpeningeffectbyusingEdgecompositing.
Geodesic
TechnicalnameforacertainkindofprocessingalgorithmusedfrequentlyinStudioArtist.AvisualmetaphortothinkofthiskindofprocessingmightbecoloredwaterflowingoutfromeithersampledpointsorimageedgesintheCanvastocovertherestoftheCanvas.
Nonlinear
Technicaltermreferstoacertainkindofimageprocessingwithtypicallyvisuallyinterestingandcomplexappearance.
Studio Artist226
Morphological or Morphology
Technicaltermreferstoacertainkindofnonlinearimageprocessingthatfocusesontheoverallshapepropertiesofimagesandhowtheycanbemodified.
Color Processing and Color Spaces BW or Black and White
Monochromeimageonlycomposedofgraytonesfromblacktowhite.
ColorSpace
Coloredimagescanberepresentedbydifferentcolorspaces,whichtypicallyarecomposedof3componentimages.Changingthecolorspaceorthespecificcomponentimage(s)thatimageprocessingoccursincanchangetheresultingvisualappearancefortheresultingeffect.
RGB or Red,Green,Blue
ColorSpacecomposedofaRed,Green,andBluecomponentimages.
YIQ
ColorSpacecomposedofaLuminance(Y),and2Chrominance(I,Y)componentimages.
LAB
ColorSpacecomposedofaLuminance(Y),and2Chrominance(A,B)componentimages.
LUV
ColorSpacecomposedofaLuminance(Y),and2Chrominance(U,V)componentimages.
HLS or Hue,Lightness,Saturation
ColorSpacecomposedofaHue(H),Lightness(L),andSaturation(S)componentimages.
Chapter 4: Image Operations227
4
HVC or Hue,Value,Chroma
ColorSpacecomposedofaHue(H),Value(V),andChroma(C)componentimages.
Lum or Luminance
Luminancereferstotheoveralllightnessorgraytoneoftheblackandwhitecomponentofanimage.
Chrom or Chrominance
Relatedtocolororchrominanceinformationassociatedwithanimage.
Sat or Saturation
Therelativeintensityofthecolororchrominanceinformationassociatedwithanimage.
Image Attributes Min or Minimum
Smallestvalueinarangeofvalues.Wouldbethedarkestcolorinanimageluminancerange.
Max or Maximum
Largestvalueinarangeofvalues.Wouldbethelightestcolorinanimageluminancerange.
Visual Attribute
StudioArtisthastheabilitytocomputationallygenerateVisualAttributesfromanimage.VisualAttributescanbethoughtofaspsychologicalpropertiesofanimagerelatedtohowwevisualperceiveandprocessimageryinourbrains.
Orient or Orientation
Ifassociatedwithanangleitreferstotheoverallorientationoftheangle.Thinkofacompassandwhereitispointing.Ifassociatedwithanimage,thinkofeachimagepixelashavingitsownorientationcompassorperceiveddirectionoforientation.
Pixel
Imagesarecomposedofa2dimensionalarrayofpixels.Eachpixelisanumberthat
Studio Artist228
cangofrom0(black)to255(white)
Horz or Horizontal
Lefttorightpositionwithinanimage.
Vert or Vertical
Toptobottompositionwithinanimage.
Chapter 4: Image Operations229
4
Image Operation Examples
AllofthefollowingdescriptionsofdifferentimageOperationeffectsinclude2effectedexampleimagestohelpyouinunderstandingthevisualappearanceofthatparticulareffect.Alloftheseexamplesusethesame2sourceimages.
ExampleSourceImage#1. ExampleSourceImage#2.
ImageOperationPresetsassociatedwitheachofthedifferentexamplesarealsoincluded.ThecanbeaccessedunderImageOperationPresetsintheTutorialcollectionandtheIpOpEx1andIpOpEx2Categories.TheindividualpresetnamescorrespondtotheparticularImageOperationtheyareillustrating.
EachoftheseexampleswerechosentobegenericexamplesofwhatcanbevisuallyachievedwithagivenimageOperation.However,alloftheStudioArtistImageOperationsarecapableofamuchgreaterrangeofvisualappearancethanwhatisbrieflydetailedhere.KeepinmindthatbychangingtheeditableparametersassociatedwithaparticularImageOperationoritsCompositingsetting,youmaybeabletoradicallychangetheresultingvisualappearanceoftheeffect.
Forexample,aneffectsthatblurstheimagecanbeturnedintoasharpeningorenhancementeffectbyswitchingthecompositingfromreplacetoedgecompositing.
Studio Artist230
Adaptive Filter
ExampleImage#1. ExampleImage#2.
AdaptivelyfilterstheIpSourceimageinanintelligentwaybasedonaspecifiedvisualattribute,whichmodulatessomeaspectofthefilterkernel(likesizeororientation).
Providesawaytointelligentlysmoothornonlinearlyprocessanimagebasedonvisualattributesassociatedwiththemodulationinput.Oneusewouldbetoprovideasmeareffectonlyatedges,ortosmearsmoothregionswhileleavingtheedgesintact.
Size
Specifiesthemaximumspatialextentorsizeoftheadaptivefilter. Angle Offset
Specifiesanangleoffsetfortheadaptivefiltercalculation. Symmetry
Specifiessymmetryoptionoftheadaptivefilterkernel. Algorithm
Specifiesdifferentalgorithmvariationsfortheadaptivefilter. Modulation
Modulationvisualattributeinputsignalusedtoadaptivelyadjustthespatialextentorsizeofthefilter. Option
Specifieswhichaspectofthefilterkernelisbeingmodulated.
Chapter 4: Image Operations231
4
Adaptive Filter Convex Hull
ExampleImage#1. ExampleImage#2.
AdaptivelyfilterstheIpSourceimagewithaconvexhullnonlinearfilterinanintelligentwaybasedonaspecifiedvisualattribute,whichmodulatessomeaspectofthefilterkernel(likesizeororientation).
Providesawaytointelligentlynonlinearlyprocessanimagebasedonvisualattributesassociatedwiththemodulationinput.Oneusewouldbetoprocessonlyatedges,ortoprocesssmoothregionswhileleavingtheedgesintact.
Size
Specifiesthemaximumspatialextentorsizeoftheadaptivefilter. Angle Offset
Specifiesanangleoffsetfortheadaptivefiltercalculation. Symmetry
Specifiessymmetryoptionoftheadaptivefilterkernel. Algorithm
Specifiesdifferentalgorithmvariationsfortheadaptivefilter. Modulation
Modulationvisualattributeinputsignalusedtoadaptivelyadjustthespatialextentorsizeofthefilter. Option
Specifieswhichaspectofthefilterkernelisbeingmodulated.
Chapter 4: Image Operations233
4
Block Abstraction
ExampleImage#1. ExampleImage#2.
AbstractstheIpSourceimageasaseriesofcoloredblocks.Thealgorithmissmartandtriestopositiontheblockstobestrepresenttheoriginalimageandit’sedges.
Complexity
DecreasingtheComplexitygeneratesfewercoloredblocksandacoarserrepresentation.Increasingthecomplexitygeneratesmorecoloredblocksthatbetterrepresenttheoriginalimageedges.
Variation
Differentcomputationaloptionsfortheabstractionalgorithm.TheydeterminehowtheblocksareintelligentlyarrangedtorepresenttheoriginalIpSource.
Coloring
Specifiesdifferentoptionsforhowtheindividualblocksarecolored.
Studio Artist234
Blur
ExampleImage#1. ExampleImage#2.
PerformsasofteningbluroperationontheIpSourceimage.
ThegenericeffectistosmooththeIpSource,removinghighfrequencydetail.CanbeusedwithEdge1compositingtoprovidesharpeningeffects.
Notethatthisparticularblureffectintroducesadarkeningattheedgesofthecanvasforcertainsettings.TryusingtheSmoothIpOpifthisisaproblem.
Blur Amount
Thepercentamountofblur.Increasinggivesasmootherormoreblurredeffect.Decreasinggivesmoredetailoralessblurredeffect.
ColorSpace
Thecolorspacetheblurisperformedin.
Type
Allowschoicebetweenuniformblurandadaptiveedgepreservingblur.
Studio Artist236
Cellular Abstraction
ExampleImage#1. ExampleImage#2.
AbstractstheIpSourceimageasaseriesofcoloredcellularregions.Canalsobeusedasawaytogeneratecellularimagetexturefields.Regionscanbesolidcoloredorgeneratedfromtheunderlyingcellularnoise.
Scale
Overallspatialscaleofthecellularregions.Decreasingthiscontrolmakestheregionssmaller.Increasingthescalemakestheregionslarger.
Option
Specifieshowthecolorfortheregionsisgenerated.
Noise
Specifiesanoptionforthecellnoise.
Self Modulation
SpecifiesapercentmodulationofthecellularnoisebytheIpSource.
Warp Option
Specifieswarptransformationfortheregionspacing.
Studio Artist238
ColorEdge
ExampleImage#1. ExampleImage#2.
GeneratesacoloredthinedgerenditionoftheIpSource.
ThiseffectcanbeusedinconjunctionwiththeInterpolationeffectslikeGeodesicInterpolationorSparseInterpolatortogeneratemoreinterestingeffectsthatfilltheentireCanvas.ColorEdgeisfirstusedtogenerateafewrepresentationaledges.Asecondpasswithoneoftheinterpolationeffectsthenregeneratesasmoothrepresentationbasedonthecoloredgesextractedbythiseffect.
Variation
Algorithmicoptionsforwhatkindofedgeisgenerated. Smoothing
IncreasingtheSmoothinggivesasmootheredgerenditionthatislesssusceptibletonoise.DecreasingSmoothinggivesmoreedgeinformationbutalsoisinfluencedbyimagenoise. Min Length
Specifiesaminimumlengthforanedge.Anyedgeslessthantheminimumlengtharediscarded.Usethiscontroltoremovesmallnoisyedges. Edge
Specifiesthealgorithmusedtogeneratetheedges. Render
Specifieshowthegeneratededgesaredrawnintothecanvas.
Chapter 4: Image Operations239
4
Color Gradient Generate
ExampleImage#1. ExampleImage#2.
UsestheSourceColorGradienttogeneratecolorgradienteffect.Primarilygeneratesanabstractpatternedimage.TheIpSourcecanbeusedasagradientmodulator.
Angle
Angularorientationofthegeneratedpattern. Frequency
SpatialFrequencyofthegeneratedpattern. Phase
Specifiesphaseofthegradientfunction. Variation
Specifickindofpatterngenerated. Option
Specifiesnormalorinvertedpattern. Modulation
DeterminesifIpSourceisusedasgradientindexmodulatorornot. Horz Origin
Horizontaloriginofpatterninpercent.50%wouldbethemiddleoftheCanvas. Vert Origin
Verticaloriginofpatterninpercent.50%wouldbethemiddleoftheCanvas.
Studio Artist240
Color Gradient Map
ExampleImage#1. ExampleImage#2.
GeneratesacolorizedversionoftheIpSourceimageusingthecurrentSourceColorGradient.Typicallyusedwithasimple2colorgradienttogenerateaduotone.Morecomplicatedcolorgradientscangeneratecolorcontoureffects.
Index
SelectableoptionfortheIpSourceattributeusedastheindextomapintotheColorGradienttogeneratethefinalcolorizedoutputimage.
Studio Artist242
Color PaletteMap
ExampleImage#1. ExampleImage#2.
GeneratesacolorizedversionoftheIpSourceimageusingthecurrentSourceColorPalette.ThiseffectcanbeusedtotransformthecolorvaluesintheIpSourcetomimictheoverallcolorvaluesorcolorappearanceinasecondcolorimage.Thiscanbeusedtomakeoneimagehavetheoverallcolorappearanceofanotherimage.Itcanalsobeusedformorewildextremecolorizationeffects.
Map Type
Thetypeofvisualattributesusedinthecolormapping.
Option
Userselectableoptionformappingalgorithm.SeveraloftheseoptionsalsousetheSourceColorPalettememory#1,whichistheleftmostone.
Preserve
Specifiescolorchannelthatispreservedfromoriginalinputimage.Allowsforamoresubtlecolortransformationthatpreservesmoreofthecharacteristicsoftheoriginalinputimage.
Chapter 4: Image Operations243
4
Color Simplify
ExampleImage#1. ExampleImage#2.
Simplifiesacolorimageintoamorecartoonlikerenditionconsistingofflatcoloredregions.Regionscanbeoutlinedwithblack,orjustablackoutlineimageitselfcanalsobegenerated.Multipleiterationsblendallowingforasofterlook.
# of Colors
Thenumberofcolorstoquantizeto.Quantizationreferstolimitingthenumberofpossiblecolorstoaspecificnumberspecifiedhere.
Min Size Prune
Minimumpixelsizeofacoloredregion.Anysmallerregionsaredeletedandincorporatedintoanadjacentregion.
ColorSpace
Thecolorspacetheoperationisperformedin.
Combination
Whichcombinationofthecomponentsofthespecifiedcolorspaceareused.
Variation
Differentstylisticvariationsforthealgorithm.Bychoosingdifferentoptionsyoucandramaticallychangetheoverallappearanceoftheeffect.
Studio Artist244
# of Iteration
Thenumberoftimesthealgorithmisrunandselfcombinedbyblending.
Converge
Thenumberofcyclesforconvergenceineachiteration.
Chapter 4: Image Operations245
4
Color Simplify1
ExampleImage#1. ExampleImage#2.
Simplifiesacolorimageintoamorecartoonlikerenditionconsistingofflatcoloredregions.Regionscanbeoutlinedwithblack,orjustablackoutlineimageitselfcanalsobegenerated.ThisalgorithmworksbetterforprocessingmoviesthantheoriginalColorSimplifyIpOp
# of Colors
Thenumberofcolorstoquantizeto.Quantizationreferstolimitingthenumberofpossiblecolorstoaspecificnumberspecifiedhere.
Min Size Prune
Minimumpixelsizeofacoloredregion.Anysmallerregionsaredeletedandincorporatedintoanadjacentregion.
ColorSpace
Thecolorspacetheoperationisperformedin.
Variation
Differentstylisticvariationsforthealgorithm.Bychoosingdifferentoptionsyoucandramaticallychangetheoverallappearanceoftheeffect.
Studio Artist246
Color Quantize
ExampleImage#1. ExampleImage#2.
QuantizesorreducesthenumberofpossiblecolorsintheIpSourceimagetoafixednumberofcolors.Asthenumberofpossibleoutputcolorsisreduced,colorcontourartifactswillbeseen.Somevariationoptionsallowforsubsequentregionrecoloring.
# of Colors
Thenumberofcolorstoquantizeto.Quantizationreferstolimitingthenumberofpossiblecolorstoaspecificnumberspecifiedhere.
ColorSpace
Thecolorspacetheoperationisperformedin.
Variation
AlgorithmicoptionfortheQuantizationalgorithm.Adaptivechoosescolorstobestrepresenttheimage.Uniformsubdividestheentirecolorspaceuniformlywithouttakingtheimageintoaccount.
Chapter 4: Image Operations247
4
Colorize
ExampleImage#1. ExampleImage#2.
Generatesacolorizingspecialeffect.Bycolorizing,wemeanthatthecolorattributesofoneimageareusedtomodifyadifferentimagesothatthesecondimagemimicsthecolorappearanceofthefirst.Caneitherbeusedforspecialstylisticeffectsortomakeapaintingortexturefieldmorecloselymatchthecolorappearanceofthesourceimage.
Image Source
Theimagevisualattributeusedasasourceimagetobecolorized.
Color Source
Thevisualattributeusedasacolorsourceforthecolorizationoftheimagesource.
ColorSpace
Thecolorspacetheoperationisperformedin.
Studio Artist248
ConvexHull
ExampleImage#1. ExampleImage#2.
Generatesacomplexhull,whichisatypeofnonlinearmorphologicalimageoperation.Typicaluseforthiswouldbetogenerateanextremestylisticeffect.
Size
Thespatialextentorpixelsizeoftheoperation.
Variation
Thetypeofnonlinearoperationusedwhencomputingthecomplexhull.
Convex Alg
Theparticularalgorithmusedwhencomputingthecomplexhull.HandVrefertohorizontalandvertical.
Chapter 4: Image Operations249
4
DeInterlace
Example images are not applicable.
Usedtode-interlacetheIpSourceimage.De-interlacereferstogeneratingafullresolutionimagefromeithertheoddorevenframefieldsofadigitizedanalogvideoimage.
YoucanusetheReplaceEvenFieldortheReplaceOddFieldEffectCompositeoptionsalongwiththeFixedImageIpOptorecombine2separatefullframefieldimagesintooneinterlacedimage.
Field
Specifiestheevenoroddframefieldforuseasasource.Theopposingfieldisremovedandthespacesfiledintogenerateafullresolutionimageofthechosenfield.
Chapter 4: Image Operations251
4
Displacement
ExampleImage#1. ExampleImage#2.
Usedtodisplaceoneimagewiththedisplacementpropertiesbasedonasecondimage.
Amount
Specifiestheamountofdisplacementinpixels.
Angle
Specifiestheangleofdisplacementindegrees.Ifthedisplacementangleisbeingmodulatedbysomethingasspecifiedinthealgorithmthenthisparameterspecifiesandoffsetangletothemodulation.
To be Displaced
Specifiestheimagesourcethatwillbedisplacedandthencompositedintothecurrentlayer. Symmetry
Specifiesthesymmetrypropertiesofthedisplacement. Algorithm
Specifiestheparticulardisplacementalgorithmused.Youcanchoosethekindofdisplacementandthemodulatorfordisplacementusingthechoicesinthisparameter. Smooth
Smoothsdisplacementifturnedon. Invert
Invertsdisplacementifturnedon.
Studio Artist252
Edge
ExampleImage#1. ExampleImage#2.
TypicallyusedasablackandWhiteedgefilter.Canalsobeusedtoenhancetheedgesinacolorimage.Anedgesignalisfirstgeneratedwithaspecifictypeofedgefilter.Thisedgesignalcandirectlybroughtintothecanvasofhard,soft,oradaptivelythresholdedbeforefinaldisplay.
Edge
Specifiesthetypeofedgefilterusedtogeneratetheedge.
Option
Specifieshowtheedgewillbedisplayedinthecanvas.
Coloring
Specifiesvariouscoloringoptionsforthedisplayededgebasedonthegeneratededgesignal.
Cleanup
Specifieswhetheredgecleanup(whichtriestogetridofnose)isonoroff.
Threshold
Adjuststhethresholdusedinthespecificedgealgorithmspecifiedbytheedgeparameterabove.
Chapter 4: Image Operations253
4
Soft Ramp
Ifasoftcoloringoptionisspecifiedthisparametercontrolsthetransitionrampfromblacktowhite.
LA
Ifalocallyadaptive(LA)coloringoptionisspecifiedthisparameterdeterminestheamountoflocaladaption.Increasingitmeansthealgorithmbecomesmorelocallyadaptive,whichmeansthatmoreedgeinformation(andpossiblymoretextureornoiseinformationaswell)willbebroughtoutinthefinaleffect.
Studio Artist254
Equalizer
ExampleImage#1. ExampleImage#2.
Multibandspatialfrequencyfilter.Octave0referstothehighestspatialfrequencyband(orsmallestspatialextent).Octave3referstothelowestspatialfrequencyband(orlargestspatialextent).Dependingonhowthecontrolsareadjustedcouldbeusedasablurorasanenhancementeffect.
Octave 0
Amplitudeadjustmentforspatialfrequencyoctave0.
Octave 1
Amplitudeadjustmentforspatialfrequencyoctave1.
Octave 2
Amplitudeadjustmentforspatialfrequencyoctave2.
Octave 3
Amplitudeadjustmentforspatialfrequencyoctave3.
ColorSpace
Thecolorspacethefilteringisperformedin.
Chapter 4: Image Operations255
4
Fixed Color
ExampleImage#1. ExampleImage#2.
Generatesafixedcolorfield.
CanbeappliedtoallorasubsetofthecomponentsofaparticularcolorrepresentationorColorSpace.
Canbeusedinmovieeffectstoproducetransitionalfadestoafixedcolorbackground.Canalsobeusedtodecreasecolorsaturationortransformacolorimageintoagrayscaleimage.
Fixed Color
Thefixedcolortofillwith.
Color Space
Thecolorspacetheoperationisperformedin.
Combination
Specifiesoptionsforwhichcolorspacecomponentsareprocessed.
Chapter 4: Image Operations257
4
Fixed Image
ExampleImage#1. ExampleImage#2.
PassesthroughtheIpSourceunprocessed.
CanbeappliedtoallorasubsetofthecomponentsofaparticularcolorrepresentationorColorSpace.
CanbeusedasawaytorouteimagesbetweendifferentCanvasLayersinaPASeq.CanalsobeusedtomixtheSourceImageoraspecifiedLayerwiththeCurrentPaintedCanvasImagetogenerateamoresubtlepainteffect.
CanalsobeusedwiththeReplaceEvenFieldortheReplaceOddFieldEffectCompositeoptionstorecombine2separatefullframefieldimagesintooneinterlacedimage.
Color Space
Thecolorspacetheoperationisperformedin.
Combination
Specifiesoptionsforwhichcolorspacecomponentsareprocessed.
Chapter 4: Image Operations259
4
Flat Region Colorize
Example images are not applicable.
Usedtorecoloranimagethatalreadyconsistsofflatcoloredofblackandwhiteregions.Avoidusingthisoperationoncomplexcontinuoustonesourcessinceitsdesignedtoworkwithflatregionimagesonly.Canbeusedtogeneratealargenumberofcartoonstyleeffects,ortotakeablackandwhitethresholdedimageandturnitintocolorizedregions.
Min Size Prune
Theminimumpixelsizeofanoutputregion.Anyregionswithasmallernumberofpixelsarecombinedwithanadjacentregion.
Thin Prune
Prunesthinregionsifturnedon.
Propagation
Specifiesconstraintsonadjacentpixelmovementsusedtodeterminetheregionboundaries.
Color Space
Specifiesthecolorspacetherecolorizationoperationsareperformedin.
Color Source
Specifiesthesourceofthecolorusedforregioncolorization.
Variation
Determineshowthecolorsoftherecolorizationaregeneratedbasedonthespecifiedcolorsource.
Chapter 4: Image Operations261
4
Fracture
ExampleImage#1. ExampleImage#2.
GeneratesaseriesofrandomsymmetryfracturesoftheIpSourceImage.Typicallyusedasasomewhatextremestylisticeffect.
Number of Random Starts
Thenumberofrandomfracturesgeneratedintheoperation.
Algorithm
Theparticularfracturealgorithm.
Option
Specifiesvariouscolorspacechanneloptionstheoperationisperformedin.
Mode
Specifiesthetypeofsymmetryassociatedwiththefracture.
Chapter 4: Image Operations263
4
Fracture Displacement
ExampleImage#1. ExampleImage#2.
GeneratesaseriesofrandomareafracturesoftheIpSourceimage.Eachfracturedareaisthenrandomlydisplaced.
Number of Random Starts
Thenumberofrandomfracturesgeneratedintheoperation.
Displacement Amount
Themaximumamountofrandomdisplacementwithinafracturearea.
Displace
SpecifieswhethertheDisplacementAmountisinpixelsorpercentoftheCanvasdimensions.
Algorithm
Theparticularfracturealgorithm.
ColorSpace
Thecolorspacetheoperationisperformedin.
Smooth
Smoothsdisplacementifturnedon.
Chapter 4: Image Operations265
4
Geodesic Displacement
ExampleImage#1. ExampleImage#2.
GeneratesageodesicareasamplingoftheIpSourceimage.Eachgeneratedlocalareaisthenrandomlydisplaced.
Greatforshatterstyleeffects.
Number of Random Starts
Thenumberofrandomstartsintheoperation.
Displacement Amount
Themaximumamountofrandomdisplacementwithinagrowtharea.
Random Count
Geodesicrandomcount.
ColorSpace
Thecolorspacetheoperationisperformedin.
Displace Option
Determineshowthedisplacementiscalculated. Dir Angle
Angleusedfordirectionaldisplacement. Dispersion
Dispersionusedfordirectionaldisplacement.
Studio Artist266
Geodesic Falloff
ExampleImagenotapplicable. ExampleImage#2.
InterpolatestheIpSourceimagetofillinabackgroundfixedcolorarea.
UsefultofillinwhitespaceleftafteraseriesofPaintActions.Worksbestwithhardpaintstrokeedges.Alsocanbeusedtocreateinterestinggradientspecialeffects
Size
Thesizeinpixelsofonefalloffcycle.Thiswillbethespacingofgradienteffects.
Phase Shift
Thephaseshiftofthefalloffcycle.
Background
Specifiesthesolidcolorbackgroundthatisfilledinwiththeeffect.
Algorithm
Chooseinterpolationofthesolidcolorbackgroundvsafalloffgradienteffectforthefill.
Distance Option
Howdistanceforfalloffiscomputed.
Kernel
Studio Artist268
Geodesic Filter
ExampleImage#1. ExampleImage#2.
GeneratesageodesicareafilteringoftheIpSourceimage.
Start Algorithm
Thesamplingalgorithmusedtogeneratethestartpoints.
Number of Random Starts
Thenumberofrandomstartsintheoperation.
Random Count
Geodesicrandomcount.
Fill Option
Theparticularfilteringalgorithmusedtodeterminethecoloringofthegeodesicregions.
Chapter 4: Image Operations269
4
Geodesic FX
ExampleImage#1. ExampleImage#2.
Generatesageodesicspecialstylisticeffect.
Number of Starts
Thenumberofrandomstartsintheoperation(times20).
Random Count
Geodesicrandomcount.
Iterations
Thenumberofiterationsrunintheeffect.
Studio Artist270
Geodesic Growth
ExampleImage#1. ExampleImage#2.
GeneratesageodesicareasamplingoftheIpSource,andthenfillsthatareawiththesampledsourcecolor.
Number of Iterations
Thenumberofiterationsintheoperation.
Start Algorithm
Thesamplingalgorithmusedtogeneratethestartpoints.
Number of Random Starts
Thenumberofrandomstartsineachiteration.
Random Count
Geodesicrandomcount.
Random Option
Colorspacerandomizationoption.
Random Amount
Colorrandomizationamount.
Chapter 4: Image Operations271
4
Geodesic Interpolation
Image#1notapplicable. ExampleImage#2.
InterpolatestheIpSourceimagetofillinabackgroundfixedcolorarea.
UsefultofillinwhitespaceleftafteraseriesofPaintActions.Worksbestwithhardpaintstrokeedges.Doesnotworkwellwithanti-aliasedpaintstrokeedges.
Number of Iterations
Thenumberofiterationsintheoperation.
Gate
Specifiesagatingrangeforthebackgroundcolor.
Background
Backgroundcolortofillinwithinterpolatedvalues.
Propagate
Optionforthepixelneighborhoodsamplingalgorithm..
Recombine
Specifieshowthealgorithmrecombinespixels.
Fields
Specifieshowthealgorithmprocessesthecolorfieldinformation.
Studio Artist272
Geodesic Recursive Growth
ExampleImage#1. ExampleImage#2.
GeneratesageodesicareasamplingoftheIpSource,andthenfillsthatareawiththearecursivelymodulatedsourcecolor.Goodforasoftdiffusionorfeatheringeffect.
Algorithm
Specifiesthespecificrecursivegrowthalgorithmused.
Start Algorithm
Thesamplingalgorithmusedtogeneratethestartpoints.
Number of Iterations
Thenumberofiterationsintheoperation.
Number of Random Starts
Thenumberofrandomstartsineachiteration.
Random Count
Geodesicrandomcount.
Recursive Feedback
Amountofrecursivefeedback.
Studio Artist274
Geodesic Rings
ExampleImage#1. ExampleImage#2.
GeneratesageodesicareasamplingoftheIpSourceimage,andthenfillsthatareaboundarieswithasampledsourcecolortogeneratecoloredrings.
Typicallyusedasanextremestylisticeffect.CanalsobeusedwithoneoftheinterpolationeffectslikeSparseInterpolationorGeodesicVariatorinasecondprocessingpasstorefillthewhitecanvaswithcolorbleedfromtherings.
Start Algorithm
Thesamplingalgorithmusedtogeneratethestartpoints.
Number of Random Starts
Thenumberofrandomstartsinoneiteration.
Number of Iterations
Thenumberofiterations.
Option
Effectoutputoptions.
Chapter 4: Image Operations275
4
Geodesic Variator
Image#1notapplicable. ExampleImage#2.
InterpolatestheIpSourceimagetofillinafixedcolorbackgroundarea.Typicallyusedformoreofafeatheringeffectthatpartiallyfillsthebackground.ContrastthefeatheredvisualappearanceofthisinterpolationeffectwithGeodesicInterpolationorSparseInterpolationthatfilltheentirecanvasinoneprocessingpass.
Alpha
Therecursivemix. Number of Iterations
Thenumberofiterations. Random Count
Geodesicrandomcount. Background
Thebackgroundtobefilled. Blend Option
Whattheoperationdoestothebackground. Source Mix
Optiontomixtheinterpolatedvaluewiththeexistinginputimagevalue. Propagation
Specifiesthetypeofneighboringpixelpropagationused. Colorspace
Specifiesthecolorspaceusedforprocessing.
Studio Artist276
Geodesic Warper
ExampleImage#1. ExampleImage#2.
Performsageodesicwarpfromanautomaticallygeneratededgerenditionoftheimage.
Goodforgeneratingavisualappearancethatlookslikemeltingorliquidflow.
Smoothing
IncreasingtheSmoothinggivesasmootheredgerenditionthatislesssusceptibletonoise.DecreasingSmoothinggivesmoreedgeinformationbutalsoisinfluencedbyimagenoise.
Number of Iterations
Thenumberofiterationsintheoperation.
ColorSpace
Specifiesthecolorspacetheoperationisperformedin.
Effect
Specifiesthespecificgeodesicwarpalgorithmusedfortheeffect.
Studio Artist278
Gradient
ExampleImage#1. ExampleImage#2.
GeneratesagradientimagebasedontheIpSourceimage.
Canbeusedtogeneratea3-dimensionalappearanceorasawaytogeneratenonlinearedgeorsketcheffects.
Angle
Theangleofthelightingsource.
Elevation
Theelevationofthelightingsource
Width
Thewidthoftheeffect.
Scale
Thespatialscaleoftheeffect.
ColorSpace
Whatcolorspacetheoperationisperformedin.
Variation
Specifiesthetypeofgradient.Someoftheseoptionsspecifynonlinearorientation
Studio Artist280
Gradient Lighting
ExampleImage#1. ExampleImage#2.
Generatesa3DgradientlightingeffectderivedfromtheIpSourceimage.
Angle
Theangleofthelightingsource. Elevation
Theelevationofthelightingsource Width
Thewidthoftheeffect. Specularity
Theamountofspecularreflectioninthelightingcalculation. Scale
Thespatialscaleoftheeffect. Process
Whatspecifictypeoflightingcalculation.
Variation
Specifiesthetypeofgradient.Someoftheseoptionsspecifynonlinearorientationeffectsoranglemodulationbasedonthespecifiedvisualattribute Color Source
Specifiesalternativesforthesourcecolorusedforthelightingeffect.
Studio Artist282
Hue Shift
ExampleImage#1. ExampleImage#2.
AllowscircularoffsetadjustmentofthecolorhueofthecurrentIpSourceimage.
Variation
Specifiestypeofhueshift.
Hue Shift
Specifiestheamountofhueoffset.
Chapter 4: Image Operations283
4
Image Compressor
ExampleImage#1. ExampleImage#2.
SmartadjustmentoftheIpSourceimage.Actslikeanaudiocompressoronimagesthatmaximizedsignalgain(nottobeconfusedwithdatacompressionalgorithmsthatthrowsawayinformation).
Usedasawaytoautomaticallyenhanceanimage.
Local Adaption
Specifiestheamountoflocaladaption.Increasingthisvaluebringsoutmoredetail.Atsomepointitmayalsostarttoenhancenoiseintheimagedependingontheparticularimageprocessed.
Gain
Specifiestheamountofnonlineargrayscaleadjustment.50%equalsnochange.
Bias
Specifiestheamountofnonlineargrayscaleadjustment.50%equalsnochange.
Mode
Additionalcolorspaceattributeoptionsforprocessing.
Studio Artist284
Invert
ExampleImage#1. ExampleImage#2.
InvertstheIpSourceimage.
CanbeappliedtoallorasubsetofthecomponentsofaparticularcolorrepresentationorColorSpace.
ColorSpace
Specifiesthecolorspacetheoperationisperformedin.
Combination
Specifiesoptionsforwhichcolorspacecomponentsareprocessed.
Studio Artist286
Line Screen
ExampleImage#1. ExampleImage#2.
Smartlinescreenalgorithm.Canbeusedtosimulatetraditionaltechniqueslikewoodcutorengravingsaswellastogeneratemoreextremewildstylisticeffects.
Screen Size
Specifiesthesizeofthescreentobemodulated.
Modulation Offset
Specifiesanangleoffsetforthemodulator.
Mod Source
Specifiesthemodulatorsource.
Variation
Colorspacevariationforprocessing.
Mod Option
Optionformodulatoralgorithm.
Screen Option
Optionforscreenalgorithm.
Chapter 4: Image Operations287
4
Line Screen Dual
ExampleImage#1. ExampleImage#2.
Smartlinescreenalgorithmthatuses2differentfrequencyscreenssimultaneously.Canbeusedtosimulatetraditionaltechniqueslikewoodcutorengravingsaswellastogeneratemoreextremewildstylisticeffects.
Screen Size 1
Specifiesthesizeofthefirstscreentobemodulated.
Modulation Offset 1
Specifiesanangleoffsetforthefirstmodulator.
Screen Size 2
Specifiesthesizeofthesecondscreentobemodulated.
Modulation Offset 2
Specifiesanangleoffsetforthesecondmodulator.
Thres Adj
Offsetadjustmentforthethresholding.
Mod Source
Specifiesthemodulatorsource.
Chapter 4: Image Operations289
4
Line Screen Dual1
ExampleImage#1. ExampleImage#2.
Smartlinescreenalgorithmthatuses2differentfrequencyscreenssimultaneously.Canbeusedtosimulatetraditionaltechniqueslikewoodcutorengravingsaswellastogeneratemoreextremewildstylisticeffects.
Screen Size 1
Specifiesthesizeofthefirstscreentobemodulated.
Modulation Offset 1
Specifiesanangleoffsetforthefirstmodulator.
Screen Size 2
Specifiesthesizeofthesecondscreentobemodulated.
Modulation Offset 2
Specifiesanangleoffsetforthesecondmodulator.
Thres Adj
Offsetadjustmentforthethresholding.
Soft Ramp
Specifiesasizeforthesoftrampifthatalgorithmisused.
LA
SpecifiestheamountoflocaladaptionifanLAalgorithmisactive.
Mod Source
Specifiesthemodulatorsource.
Variation
Colorspacevariationforprocessing.
Chapter 4: Image Operations291
4
Line Screen Block Regionize
ExampleImage#1. ExampleImage#2.
Smartlinescreenalgorithmthatintelligentlyregionizesinputandthenindependentlyscreenseachrectangularblockarearegion.Canbeusedtosimulatetraditionaltechniqueslikewoodcutorengravingsaswellastogeneratemoreextremewildstylisticeffects.
# of Horz Blocks
Numberofhorizontalblocks.
# of Vert Blocks
Numberofverticalblocks.
Screen Size
Specifiesthesizeofthescreeninpixels.
Modulation Offset
Specifiesanoffsetvalueforthescreenphasemodulationindegrees.
Block Type
Specifieshowtheadaptiveblocksaregenerated.
Split Option
Specifiessplitoptionforthegeneratedblocks.
Studio Artist292
Colorspace
Specifiesthekindofcolorscreenprocessing.
Screen
Specifiesthekindofscreenalgorithmusedfortheeffect.
Variation
Specifiesanoutputcoloringvariationfortheeffect.
Chapter 4: Image Operations293
4
Line Screen Regionize
ExampleImage#1. ExampleImage#2.
Smartlinescreenalgorithmthatintelligentlyregionizesinputandthenindependentlyscreenseachregion.Canbeusedtosimulatetraditionaltechniqueslikewoodcutorengravingsaswellastogeneratemoreextremewildstylisticeffects.
Number of Colors
Controlstheregionizationprocess.IncreasingthisnumberincreasesthenumberofregionsgeneratedfromtheIpSource Min Size Prune
Specifiestheminimumnumberofpixelsneededforaregion.Usethisparametertoremovesmallnoisyregions. Colorspace
Specifiesthekindofcolorscreenprocessing. Screen
Specifiesthekindofscreenalgorithmusedfortheeffect. Screen Size
Specifiesthesizeofthescreeninpixels. Modulation Offset
Specifiesanoffsetvalueforthescreenphasemodulationindegrees. Variation
Specifiesanoutputcoloringvariationfortheeffect.
Studio Artist294
Morphol
ExampleImage#1. ExampleImage#2.
Anumberofdifferentlocalizednonlinearmorphologicaloperations.
Dependingonthealgorithmsettings,thiseffectcandomanydifferentthings.Canbeusedtogenerateedgeeffects,darkenorlightenviaedgegrowth,generatestainedglass-likeeffects,andenhanceordeblurimages.
Algorithm
Specifiesaparticularmorphologicalalgorithm.
ColorSpace
Specifiesthecolorspacetheoperationisperformedin.
Chapter 4: Image Operations295
4
Morpholizer
ExampleImage#1. ExampleImage#2.
EnhancedversionoftheoriginalMorpholeffect.Canbeusedtodefineanumberofdifferentnonlinearmorphologicaloperations.
Dependingonthealgorithmsettings,thiseffectcandomanydifferentthings.Canbeusedtogenerateedgeeffects,darkenorlightenviaedgegrowth,generatestainedglass-likeeffects,andenhanceordeblurimages.
Algorithm
Specifiesaparticularmorphologicalalgorithm. ColorSpace
Specifiesthecolorspacetheoperationisperformedin. Kernal
Specifiesthekindoflocalareausedforthecomputation. Smoothing
Spatialsmoothingfactorforlocalalgorithmcontrol. Nonlinear Spread
Specifiesalocalizedspatialareaforcomputingthenonlineareffect. Nonlinear Smoothing
Spatialsmoothingforthenonlinearcontrolsignals. Process Smoothing
Spatialsmoothingfactorfortheoutputofthemorphologicalprocess.
Chapter 4: Image Operations297
4
Oil Painter
ExampleImage#1. ExampleImage#2.
AstylisticspecialeffectthatgiveaparticularoilpaintlooktotheIpSourceimage.
Number of Random Starts
Specifiesthenumberofrandomstartsforthealgorithm.
Number of Iterations
Specifiesthenumberofiterationsforthealgorithm.
Random Count
Geodesicrandomcount.
Studio Artist298
Random Block Exchange
ExampleImage#1. ExampleImage#2.
RandomlyexchangesareablockswithintheIpSourceimage.
Canbeusedasfunspecialeffectwhencombinedwithdifferentcompositingoptions.Canalsobeusedatmoreextremesettingstogeneratecolortexturefields.
Number of Exchanges
Specifiesthenumberofblockexchanges.
# of Horizontal Blocks
Specifiesthenumberofhorizontalblocks.
# of Vertical Blocks
Specifiesthenumberofverticalblocks.
Exchange
Specifiesoptionsforblockgenerationalgorithm.
BlockType
Specifiestypeofblockusedforexchange.
Chapter 4: Image Operations299
4
Rank Area Filter
ExampleImage#1. ExampleImage#2.
Allowsfortheapplicationofanumberofdifferentnonlinearrank2-dimensionalareafilterstotheIpSourceimage.
Size
Specifiesthespatialextentoftherankfilter.
Algorithm
Specifiestheparticularrankfilteralgorithmusedintheoperation.
ColorSpace
Specifiesthecolorspacetheoperationisperformedin.
Combination
Specifiestheparticularcolorspacecomponentsusedforfiltering.
Shape
Specifiesthekindoflocalareausedforthecomputation.
Studio Artist300
Rank Edge Filter
ExampleImage#1. ExampleImage#2.
Generatesanonlinearedgeeffectthatisbasedonrankfiltering.Canbeusedtogeneratecolorededgesormorecomplexedge-relatedeffectsthatdelineatepositiveandnegativespaceintheIpSourceimage.
Low Size
Specifiestheminimumspatialextentoftherankfilter.
High Size
Specifiesthemaximumspatialextentoftherankfilter.
Rank Type
Specifiestheparticulartypeofrankfilteralgorithmusedintheoperation.
Shape
Specifiesthekindoflocalareausedfortheprocessingifanareaprocessingranktypeisspecified.
Variation
Specifiesdifferentvariationsoftheeffect.
Chapter 4: Image Operations301
4
Rank Falloff Filter
ExampleImage#1. ExampleImage#2.
Nonlinearfilterbasedonageodesicfalloffcalculation.
Size
Specifiesthespatialextentofthefallofffilter.
Orient Offset
Specifiestheangleoffsetforthefalloffcalculation.
Algorithm
Specifiestheparticularrankfilteralgorithmusedintheoperation.
Option
Specifiesanoptionforthefallofffiltercalculation.
Kernel
Specifiesthespatialkernelusedforthefalloffcalculation.
Studio Artist302
Rank Line Filter
ExampleImage#1. ExampleImage#2.
Allowsfortheapplicationofanumberofdifferentnonlinearrank1-dimensionallinefilterstotheIpSourceimage.
Size
Specifiesthespatialextentoftherankfilter.
Angle
Specifiestheangleoftherankfilter.
Algorithm
Specifiestheparticularrankfilteralgorithmusedintheoperation.
ColorSpace
Specifiesthecolorspacetheoperationisperformedin.
Combination
Specifiestheparticularcolorchannelcombinationsthatarefiltered.
Chapter 4: Image Operations303
4
Rank Multiscale Filter
ExampleImage#1. ExampleImage#2.
AllowsfortheapplicationofanumberofdifferentnonlinearmultiscalefilterstotheIpSourceimage.Awiderangeofdifferentstylisticeffectsarepossibledependingonthespecificeffectparameters.
Multiscalemeansthealgorithmworksatmultiplefrequencyscalesspacedanoctaveapart.UsetheHandVadjvaluestointroduceaspatialbiastotheprocessing.Increasingabove100%canintroducespatialjitterintotheoctaveprocessing.Decreasingonevaluefrom100%whileleavingtheotherat100%allowsforaspatiallyorientedkernel.Foeexample,setHadjto100%andVadjto25%forarectangularkernelthattrackstheanglemodulation.
Horz Adjust
Specifiesthehorizontaloctavespacinginpercent.
Vert Adjust
Specifiestheverticaloctavespacinginpercent.
Octaves
Specifiesthenumberofoctavesofprocessing.
Algorithm
Chapter 4: Image Operations305
4
Modulation
Specifiesasourceforanglemodulationfortherankalgorithmprocessing.
Mod Angle Offset
Specifiesanangleoffsetindegreesforthealgorithmprocessing.
Octave Composite
Specifiesaspecificcompositingalgorithmusedforcompositingeachprocessedoctavewiththepreviouslyprocessedoctaveimage.
Studio Artist306
Resynthesis
ExampleImage#1. ExampleImage#2.
GeneratesanabstractuniformtexturefieldfromthespecifiedsubareaoftheIpSource.
BlockSize
Specifiesthesizeofthesub-blockareausedastheseedforthetextureresynthesis.
H Offset
Specifiesthehorizontaloffsetofthesub-blockareaasapercentofthetotalsourcesize.
V Offset
Specifiestheverticaloffsetofthesub-blockareaasapercentofthetotalsourcesize.
Algorithm
Specifiesthetextureresynthesisalgorithmused.Theyalllookdifferent,trythemout.
Chapter 4: Image Operations307
4
Selective Color Map
ExampleImage#1. ExampleImage#2.
MapsaspecifiedstartcolorintheIpSourceimagetoadifferentspecifieddestinationcolor.ThefirstSourcecolormemory(left-mostofthefour)isusedasthespecifiedstartcolor.ThesecondSourceColorMemory(2ndfromleft)isusedasthespecifieddestinationcolor.
Tolerance
Adjuststhesensitivityortightnessofthesourcecolorselection.
Transition
SpecifiesthefadevaluerangeextentbetweenthemappedoutputcolorandtheoriginalIpSource.
Variation
Specifiesthecolorspaceattributesusedtodeterminethemapping.
Studio Artist308
Selective Color Matte
ExampleImage#1. ExampleImage#2.
GeneratesablackandwhiteselectionmattefromtheIpSourcebasedonaspecifiedcolororsetofcolors.TheSourcecontrolspecifieswhatthesourcecolororsetofsourcecolorsaregeneratedfrom.
Tolerance
Adjuststhesensitivityortightnessofthesourcecolorselection.
Transition
SpecifiesthefadevaluerangeextentbetweenthemappedoutputcolorandtheoriginalIpSource.
Variation
Specifiesthecolorspaceattributesusedtodeterminethemapping.
Source
Specifiesthecolorsourceusedtogeneratethematte.
Studio Artist310
Chapter 5: Texture Synthesizer
StudioArtistisbasedaroundthemetaphorofagraphicssynthesizer.Ausercanconstructgraphicalpatchesthatallowforanunlimitednumberofpotentialvisualeffectsoruniqueabstractimages.
ResolutionindependentabstracttexturefieldsandtexturebasedeffectscanbegeneratedintheTextureSynthesizer.TheTextureSynthesizerprovidesanalternativetomanualorautomaticpaintingthatusesthePaintSynthesizer.However,itcanalsobeusedinconjunctionwiththePaintSynthesizerasabackgroundtexturegeneratoroption.
TheTextureSynthesizercanbeusedtoprocessanexistingimagewithatexturebasedeffect.Or,itcanbeusedtogenerateabstractstaticordynamicimagerythatcanbeusedasthestartingpointorendresultforbuildingafinalabstractartisticimage.ItcanalsobeusedasanactivemodulatorinmanyImageProcessingOperations.
ThisoverviewwillhelpyouunderstandthestructureoftheTextureSynthesizersothatyoucanquicklystartmodifyingpresetpatchesaswellascreateyourown.
Chapter 5: Texture Synthesizer311
5
Introduction
TheTextureSynthesizerallowsforanunlimitednumberofresolutionindependenttexturebasedeffects.ThesevisualeffectscouldbeanythingfromdisplayingthegeneratedtexturefielddirectlyintheCanvasasabstractimagerytocomplexnonlinearimageprocessingoperationsandspecialeffectsspatiallycontrolledbythegeneratedtexturefield.
Extensivemodulationoptionsareavailabletoincreasethevisualrichnessoftheresultingeffects.MostTextureSynthesizersettingsarealsodesignedtoselfmodulate,sorunningtheeffectforseveraliterationsonitselfwillresultinincreasedvisualcomplexity.
Overview of the Texture Synthesizer
Concept
TheTextureSynthesizerisdesignedbasedonmetaphorsoriginallyusedintheworldofaudioandmusicsynthesis.Thesynthesizeriscomposedofanumberofmodulesthatcaneithergenerateorprocessgraphicalandvisualsignals.Eachmodulehasanumberofeditableparametersthatcontrolsit’sbehavior.
Manyparameterscanalsobemodulatedbyothermodules,bythesignaloutputsofothermodules,orbyexternalsignals.It’susefultokeeptheconceptsofsignalflowandroutinginmindwhentryingtounderstandhowthesynthesizerworks.Asignalcouldbeanythingfromapaintcolortoanimage.Propertiesofonesignalcouldbeeffectingthegenerationorprocessingofanother.TheTextureSynthesizerisaflexibleandconfigurableenvironmentforconstructingvisuallyrichtexturebasedeffectsandanunlimitedvarietyofabstractimagery.
Thetexturethemselvesareproceduralormathematicalinnatureasopposedtobeingderivedfromrasterimages.Theyalsohavefractalproperties.Thecombinationof
Studio Artist312
thesetwocharacteristicsmeansthatunlikerastertextureimagestheproceduraltexturesareresolutionindependent,andcanbescaledinresolutionwhileincreasingindetail.
Chapter 5: Texture Synthesizer313
5
Texture Synthesizer Editable Control Panes
TheTextureSynthesizeriscomposedofseveraleditableparameterpanes.Theyarelooselyorganizedintermsofsignalflow.EachpanecontainsacollectionofeditableparametersthatcontrolaparticularaspectoftheTextureSynthesizer’sgenerationandprocessingengine.Theseparametersdefinethevisuallookandfeeloftheresultingresolutionindependenttexturefieldandassociatedvisualeffect.
TheTextureSynthesizerparameterpanesareorganizedasfollows:
Spatial
Determinesthespatialcharacteristicsofthegeneratedtexturefield.
Generator
Determinesthealgorithmsusedtogeneratetheresultingtexturefield.
Mapping
Primarilydefinesagrayscalemappingassociatedwiththegeneratedtexturefield.
Effect
Determineshowthegeneratedtexturefieldisusedtogenerateafinalimageortexturebasedvisualeffect.
Output
AllowsforgenericIpOpstylemixandcompositecontrols.
AsmalltexturepreviewimageislocatedbelowtheeditablecontrolpanelsthatprovidesaninteractivepreviewofthegeneratedtexturefieldthatthevariousTextureSynthesizereffectsarebasedon.Adjustingasliderwillchangethepreviewimageinrealtime.Thepreviewiscurrentlyofasmallportionofthetexturefieldasopposedtothetotaltexture-basedeffect.
Chapter 5: Texture Synthesizer315
5
Using Color Palettes and Gradients
Priortoversion3.5thetexturesynthesizer'sbehaviorwithintegralcolorpalettesandcolorgradientswassomewhaterratic.Colorpalettesalwaysplayedbackwhetheryouwantedthattohappenornot,whilecolorgradientsdidnot.
TherearenowspecificEffectTypeoptionsthatsaveordonotsavethecolorgradient.TherearealsospecificColorProcessingoptionstosaveornotsavethecolorpalette.ThesenewoptionsgiveyoumuchmorecontroloverusingthetexturesynthesizerinPaintActionSequences.
Ifyousavethecolorpaletteorcolorgradient,youcanrecreateaspecificcoloringeffectsdesignedwithaspecificcolorpaletteorcolorgradient.Ifyouusetheoptionsthatdonotsave,thenyoucandesignPASeqsthatfirstgenerateacolorpalettefromasourceimageandthenusethatpaletteinthetexturesynthesizer.ThesePASeqswillalwayshaveuniquecoloringsbasedonthesourceimageormoviebeingprocessedbythePASeq.
Studio Artist316
Spatial Parameters
TheSpatialparametersdefinethespatialcharacteristicsofthegeneratedtexturefield.Theseincludescale,angularorientation,anddirectionalityaswellasspatialfieldanddepthpositioning.Manyoftheindividualparameterscanalsobemodulatedaswell.
Directionality
Determinesthedegreeofisotropyordirectionalityofthegeneratedtexturefield.
Angle
Determinestheangularorientationofthegeneratedtexturefield.
Scale
Determinesthespatialscaleofthegeneratedtexturefield.
Vertical Offset
Determinestheverticalpositioningofthegeneratedtexturefield.
Horizontal Offset
Determinesthehorizontalpositioningofthegeneratedtexturefield.
Depth Offset
Determinesthedepthpositioningofthegeneratedtexturefield.
---
Chapter 5: Texture Synthesizer317
5
Depth Mod
Determinesthedepthmodulationofthegeneratedtexturefield.Parametersincludethemodulatorsourcesignalandthepercentmodulation.
Angle Mod
Determinestheangularmodulationofthegeneratedtexturefield.Parametersincludethemodulatorsourcesignalandthepercentmodulation.
Horz Mod
Determinesthehorizontalpositionmodulationofthegeneratedtexturefield.Parametersincludethemodulatorsourcesignalandthepercentmodulation.
Vert Mod
Determinestheverticalpositionmodulationofthegeneratedtexturefield.Parametersincludethemodulatorsourcesignalandthepercentmodulation.
Depth Mod Src Angle Mod Src Horz Mod Src Vert Mod Src
Determinessourceusedtomodulatethelabeledparameter.
Studio Artist318
Generator Parameters
TheGeneratorparametersdeterminethespecificsofthealgorithmsusedtogeneratethetexturefield.Thereare3modulesthatworktogethertodefinetheTextureGenerator.Aspecifiedalgorithmisusedtoderivethefractaltexturefield.Thealgorithmusesaspecifiedinterpolatormodule.Amodifiermodulemaybeinsertedasanadditionalprocessforeachgeneratedspatialoctaveoffractaltexture.
Thetexturefielditselfisfractalinnature.Thismeansthatitiscomposedofenergyoverseveraldifferentspatialfrequenciescalledoctaves.Controlsareavailabletospecifythefractaloctavedepth,ratio,andfalloffusedbythespecifiedtexturegenerationalgorithm.Sometexturegenerationalgorithmsorinterpolatorsmayuseadditionalskew,frequencyvariation,andamplitudevariationcontrols.
Interpolate
Determinestheinterpolationalgorithmusedfortexturesynthesis.
Modifier
Determinesaninlinemodifieralgorithmthatprocesseseachspatialoctaveofthegeneratedtexturefield.
Algorithm
Determinestheparticularalgorithmusedforspatialoctavetexturegeneration.
Chapter 5: Texture Synthesizer319
5
--- Swirl
Determinesthetwo-dimensionalspatialswirlfactorforthegeneratedtexturefield.
Depth
Determinesthefractaldepthofthegeneratedtexturefieldinoctavepercentage.
Ratio
Determinesthepercentrationbetweensubsequentspatialoctavesinthegeneratedtexturefield.
Falloff
Determinesthepercentenergyfalloffbetweensubsequentspatialoctavesinthegeneratedtexturefield.
Seed
Determinestherandomseedusedinthetexturegenerationalgorithm.
Mod Amount
Determinestheamountofadditionalmodulationinthetexturesynthesisalgorithm.
Skew
Determinestheskewofthegeneratedtexturefield.
Freq Var
Determinesthefrequencyvariationinthegeneratedtexturefield.
Amp Var
Determinestheamplitudevariationinthegeneratedtexturefield.
--- Seed
Determinesadditionaloptionsassociatedwiththeseedusedinthetexturegenerationalgorithm.
Studio Artist320
--- Depth Mod
Determinesthefractaldepthmodulationofthegeneratedtexturefield.Parametersincludethemodulatorsourcesignalandthepercentmodulation.
Ratio Mod
Determinesthefractalratiomodulationofthegeneratedtexturefield.Parametersincludethemodulatorsourcesignalandthepercentmodulation.
Falloff Mod
Determinesthefractaloctavefalloffmodulationofthegeneratedtexturefield.Parametersincludethemodulatorsourcesignalandthepercentmodulation.
Chapter 5: Texture Synthesizer321
5
Mapping Parameters
TheMappingparametersdefineanonlineargrayscalemappingtransformationthatprocessesthegeneratedtexturefieldbeforeitisappliedtotheeffectmodule.Someadditionalparametersassociatedwithspatialcoordinatemappingarealsospecifiedhereaswell.
In Min
Determinestheminimumgrayscalevalueforthemappingtransformation.
In Max
Determinesthemaximuminputvalueforthemappingtransformation.
Bias
Determinesthenonlinearbiasassociatedwiththenonlinearmapping.
Gain
Determinesthenonlineargainassociatedwiththenonlinearmapping.
Out Min
Determinestheminimumoutputvalueproducedbythemappingtransformation.
Out Max
Determinesthemaximumoutputvalueproducedbythemappingtransformation.
Studio Artist322
Bus 1,2
Specifiesaparticularlayerforuseasabusroutingmodulatorinotherplacesinthetexturesynthesizer.
Warp
Specifieswhetheraffinemappingwarpingisturnedonorturnedoff.
Horizontal Multiplier
Determinesahorizontalcoordinatewarpmappingfortheinitialspatialtexturegeneration.Anysettingnotzeroisintroducinganaffinetransformtothegeneratedtexturefieldifwarpisturnedon.
Vertical Multiplier
Determinesaverticalcoordinatewarpmappingfortheinitialspatialtexturegeneration.Anysettingnotzeroisintroducinganaffinetransformtothegeneratedtexturefieldifwarpisturnedon.
Scaling
TheTextureSynthesizergeneratesresolutionindependenttexturesandtexturebasedeffects.Thismeansthatforagivensetofparametersettings,thetexturefieldwillscaleappropriatelyastheCanvassizeincreasesofdecreases.ThisbehaviorwouldbethetypicaluseoftheTextureSynthesizerandoccurswhenthiscontrolissettoRelative.
However,theremaybesituationswhereyouwouldlikethetexturefieldtoremainstaticastheCanvassizechanges.SettingtheScalingtoAbsoluteturnsofftheresolutionindependenceandthetexturescalingremainsstaticastheCanvassizechanges.
Chapter 5: Texture Synthesizer323
5
Effect Parameters
TheEffectparametersdeterminehowthegeneratedtexturefieldisappliedtotheCanvasorusedtogenerateatexturebasedeffect.
Effect Type
DetermineshowthegeneratedtexturefieldisappliedtotheCanvasorusedinatexturebasedeffect.Dependingonwhicheffecttypeisspecifiedadditionalcontrolsmayappearthataredetailedbelow.
Displace Amt
Determinestheamountofdisplacementinadisplacementbasedeffectorthespatialkerneldimensioninsadirectionalkernelbasedeffect.
Displace Angle
Determinestheangleofdisplacementinanangulardisplacementbasedeffect.Ifthereisananglemodulatorspecifiedthenthisparameterisanangularoffset.
Displace Amt Mod
Determinesthedisplacementmodulationofthegeneratedeffect.Parametersincludethemodulatorsourcesignalandthepercentmodulation.
Displace Angle Mod
Determinestheangularmodulationofthegeneratedeffect.Parametersincludethe
Studio Artist324
modulatorsourcesignalandthepercentmodulation
Color Source
Determinesthecolorsourceforthefinaleffect.
Color Proc
Determineswhichcolortexturesynthesisalgorithmisusedfortheeffect.
Color Space
Determinesthecolorspacetheeffectisgeneratedin.
Mode
Determinesanyauto-regionizationassociatedwiththeeffect.
Seed Option
Determinesoptionsforrandomseedgenerationineachrepetitioncycle.
Studio Artist326
Chapter 6: Vectorizer
TheVectorizerisauniqueartisticrasterimagetovectorregionconvertorthatallowsforawiderangeofcreativespecialeffects.
Vectorregionsareresolutionindependentandcanbeoutputasepsfilesforsmoothprintingonanyresolutioncolorprinterthatsupportpostscriptlevel2orgreaterprinting.Theycanalsobedirectlyimportedintovectorillustration,pagelayout,orwebdesignprograms.
TheVectorizercanalsogenerateBezierregionsthatarerecordedinthecurrentlayer'sBezierpathframe.TheseBezierregionscanthenbefilledusingPaintSynthesizerRegionFillasBrushpresets.Thisallowsformoreexpressiveandorganicregionpainteffectsbyre-rasterizingtheflatcolorvectorregionsusingthefullpowerofthePaintSynthesizer.
MoviescanbeprocessedframebyframeusingVectorizeractionstepsinaPaintActionSequence.Regionspecialeffectsarealsoavailablethatcreatestylizedvectoraestheticsthatcanemulatehanddrawnor50'smodstyleorabstractcubistimageryautomaticallyderivedfromyoursourceimagewithnotedioushanddrawingneeded.
Chapter 6: Vectorizer327
6
ThefullpoweroftheVectorizerisalsoavailablewithinthePaintSynthesizerwhenoutputtingpaintedimagerytoepseitherassingleepsimagesornumberedepsframesifoutputtinganimationorprocessedvideo.ThisallowsyoutousethecompletepowerofthePaintSynthesizerandit'sautomaticpaintstrokegenerationtocreateresolutionindependentvectorpaintstrokesdirectlyinanepsfile.Whetheryouareprintingtohighresolutionprintersorgeneratinganimationatfilmresolutions,theVectorizeropensupawiderangeofnewcreativepossibilitieswithinStudioArtist.
ThisoverviewwillhelpyouunderstandthestructureoftheVectorizersothatyoucanquicklystartmodifyingpresetpatchesaswellascreateyourown.
Studio Artist328
Introduction
TheVectorizertakesarastersourceimagecomposedofpixelsandconvertsitintoaresolutionindependentvectorregionrepresentationbasedonBeziersplinecurves.
Unlikeotherrastertovectorconvertorsyoumayhaveusedinpostscriptillustrationprograms,theVectorizerisdesignedtogiveyouextensivecontroloverthecompleterastertovectorconversionprocess.Alargenumberofeditableparametersareavailabletoallowyoutotailorthevectorconversionprocesstocreateawidevarietyofartisticspecialeffectsaswellastoutilizemorestraightforwardrealisticrastertovectorconversioncapabilities.
TheVectorizerisalsoavailableasanepspostprocessingoptionintheStudioArtistPaintSynthesizerwhengeneratingepsfileoutputfromPaintActionSequencerecordingsofpaintinganddrawingineitherstillimagesorprocessedmoviefiles.ThismeansyoucanusethePaintSynthesizeritselftogenerateresolutionindependentvectorpaintstrokescomposedofsmoothscalablevectorregionsforeitherlargeformatprintingofstillimagesortogenerateepsframesforconversiontoFlashmoviesorforoutputatfilmresolutions.
Overview of the Vectorizer
Concept
TheVectorizerstartswithaselectablerastersourceimageandthenconvertstherasterimageintoasetofflatcoloredvectorregionsthatbestrepresenttherastersourceimage.Filteringoptionsareprovidedtocleanupeithertherasterimagepriortotheconversionprocessand/ortocleanuptheresultingvectorregionsaftertheconversionprocess.
Thereareanumberofdifferenteditableparametersthatallowyoutochoosedifferentvectorconversionalgorithmsthathavebeentailoredformaintainingaccuracyandrealismintheconversionprocessorforachievingdifferentartisticvectorspecial
Chapter 6: Vectorizer329
6
effects.Specificsofthedifferentcontrolpanelsandtheirassociatededitableparametersaredetailedinthenextsections.
Studio Artist330
Vectorizer Editable Control Panes
TheVectorizeriscomposedofseveraleditableparameterpanes.Theyarelooselyorganizedintermsofsignalflow.EachpanecontainsacollectionofeditableparametersthatcontrolaparticularaspectoftheVectorizer’srastertovectorconversion,processing,andcoloringengine.Theseparametersdefinethevisuallookandfeeloftheresultingrastertovectorregionconversionaswellasspecificsrelatedtohowepsfilesstorethevectorinformationforsubsequentprintingorimportingintoothervectorillustrationprograms.
TheVectorizerparameterpanesareorganizedasfollows:
Generation
Determinesthespecificdetailsoftherastertovectorregionconversionalgorithm.
ThisincludestheSourceoftherasterimagethatwillbeusedforvectorconversion,Filteringoptionsthatcanreducenoiseorvectorartifacts,anumberofdifferentconversionTechniquestailoredfordifferentapplications,andtheparticularGenerationalgorithmusedfortherastertovectorconversionwithinaspecifictechnique.
Mostofthesesectionshaveanumberofdifferentinternalparametersavailableforeditingtocustomizeyourownpresets.
Drawing
Determinesdetailsrelatedtotheencodingofthevectorregion,it'scoloringandepsvectoroutputencoding.
ThisincludesspecialstylizedRegionEffects,thedetailsofhowthecolorfortheregionfillisgenerated,aswellasinternaldetailsconcerninghowthevectorinformationiswrittenouttoanepsfile.
Youcanalsospecifyanalternativecoloringforanoptionalvectorstrokeintheepssectiontouseasanoutlinearoundaregion.
Chapter 6: Vectorizer331
6
Composite
AllowsforgenericIpOpstylecompositingandmixcontrolsthatdeterminehowthegeneratedvectorizeroutputiscompositedbackintothecurrentlayer.
Studio Artist332
Generation
TheVectorizerGenerationparameterpaneisusedtospecifythespecificsoftheartisticrasterimagetovectorregionconversionprocess.Therearefourdifferentmaintechniques,whichareImage,Shape,Outline,andFlatInput.
TheImagetechniqueisthebestforgeneratingcartoonstyleoutput,orrealisticvectorrepresentations.TheShapetechniquegeneratesamorestylizedorabstractrepresentationbasedonsimplegeometricshapesasregions.TheOutlinetechniqueisusedtooverlaysolidcoloredvectorregionsthatrepresentedgesoroutlineboundariesonly.
TheFlatInputtechniqueisusedwhereyoualreadyhavearasterimageconsistingofonlyflatcoloredregionsthatyouwishtoconvertintoanaccuratevectorrepresentationusingtheexistingflatcoloredareasastheregionboundaries.
Vectorizer Source
Determinesthesourceroutingfortheparticularrasterimagethatwillbeusedasthe
Chapter 6: Vectorizer333
6
inputforthevectorizationprocess.CurrentlythiscanbeeithertheSourceImageortheCurrentLayer.
Source Filtering Options
Thereareanumberofdifferentimagefilteringoptionsthatcanbeappliedpreorpostrastertovectorconversion.Theseoptionscanbeusedtocleanuporsmoothoutimagenoisebeforetherasterimageisconvertedtovectorregions,ortocleanupsmallvectorregionsorverythinvectorboundariesfromappearinginthefinalvectorregionoutput.
Pre Filter
Determinesnoisefilteringoptionsappliedtotherastersourceimagepriortothecolorregionconversion. Post Filter
Determinesnoisefilteringoptionsafterthecolorregionconversion. Size Prune
Sizepruningremovessmallvectorregionsfromthefinaloutputifturnedon.Smallregionsarejoinedintoneighboringlargerregions.
Thin Clean
Thincleaningremovesverythinportionsofthevectorregionedgeboundaryifturnedon.Thinregionedgeoutliersareremovedandjoinedintoathickerneighboringregion.
Join Similar
Joinsadjacentregionswithsimilarcoloringifturnedon.
Asmorenoisefilteringoptionsareturnedon,asmoothervectorregionrepresentationisgenerated.However,smootheroverallregionsmeansthatsmallorfinedetailintheoriginalsourceimagemaybelostinthefinalvectoroutput.
When working with certain Outline Generators you may want to turn off filtering
Studio Artist334
completely or reduce its effect to preserve the fine edge detail you want to represent with vector regions.
This is especially true with the Flat Input technique. Typically you would always turn off the filtering options when using this technique so that you do not modify the already flat raster regions in any way to accurately reproduce them in the final vector output. Main Technique
Determinestheoverallapproachusedfortheartisticrastertovectorconversionprocess.TherearefourmaintechniqueswhicharecalledImage,Shape,Outline,andFlatInput.Typicallytheyallhavedifferentuses.Eachtechniquealsohasauniquesetofinternalparameters.Detailedinformationaboutthefourtechniquesisprovidedbelow.
Image Technique
TheVectorizerImagetechniquestartswitharastersourceimageandgeneratesaseriesofvectorregionsthatbestrepresentthesourceimagebasedontheparticularrastertovectorgenerationmethodchosenusingtheparametersbelow.ManydifferentartisticstylescanbegenerateddependingonthespecificGeneratorchosenandhowit'sinternalparametersareadjusted.
TheImagetechniqueisgreatatachievingacartoonlookwherearasterimageisrepresentedusingasmallsetofflatvectorregions.TherealsoarealsoawiderangeofartisticspecialeffectsthatcanbegeneratedusingthedifferentGeneratorsandinternalsettingsprovided.
Theimagetechniquewillcovertheentirecanvaswithvectorregions.
Chapter 6: Vectorizer335
6
Generator
Specificrastertovectorimageprocessingalgorithmusedinthevectorregiongenerationprocess.Eachonehasaverydifferentoverallaestheticlook.
Generator Specific Parameters
# of Colors
Determinesthenumberofinitialcolorsusedforthesimplificationprocess.Thesecolorsareadaptivelygeneratedinsidethegeneratoranddonotdirectlycorrespondtothenumberofspecificdifferentcolorsthatwillbegeneratedinyouroutputvectorimage.
Decreasingthisparameterleadstoasmallernumberoflargerregionsthatbestrepresenttherasterimage.Increasingthisparameterleadstomorebutsmallerregionsthatbettercapturetherasterimagedetails.
Block Scan
TypeofscanalgorithmusedtoadaptivelygeneraterectangularregionsbasedontheVectorizerSource.Changingthescanalgorithmchangeshowtheregionblocksarepositionedwithintheoverallimage.
H Block
Numberofhorizontalrectangularblocks.
V Block
Numberofverticalrectangularblocks.
Complexity
Decreasingthisparameterleadstolargerblocksizes.IncreasingthisparameterleadstoalargernumberofsmallerblocksizesthatbetterrepresenttheSource.
The exception to this is the Cellular generator, where decreasing leads to smaller cell sizes and increasing leads to larger cell sizes.
Studio Artist336
Type
Normalmeansthenormalregiongenerationprocessesisused.AdaptiveSplitwilltakeeachgeneratedregionandintelligentlysplitittobetterrepresentthesource.
Start Alg
Determinestheinitialpositioningforthegeodesicgrowthalgorithm.Eachonehasadifferentaestheticlooktothegeneratedregions.
Random Start
Adjuststhenumberofrandomstartlocationsforthegeodesicgrowthgenerator.Increasingitleadstosmallerregionsthatcanprovidebetterrenditionofedgedetail.Decreasingitleadstolargerregionsthatsimplifytheoverallimage.
Random Ct
Randomvariatorforthegeodesicgrowthprocess.Settingthistoavalueotherthan0(typically2)canbreakupstraightregionboundaryartifactsassociatedwiththegeodesicgenerator.
Seed
TherandomseedisusedtoinitializetheVectorizer'sinternalrandomnumbergenerators.IftheVectorizerisalwaysinitializedtoaspecificseedvaluewhenrun,thentheresultsforagiveninputsourceimagewillalwaysbethesame.Differentseedvalueswillgivedifferentrandomoutputs.Thedifferenceistypicallynotdramaticbutwithintheoverallstyle.
SomeVectorizergeneratorsmaynotuserandomizationinternally.However,therearealsocoloringoptionsthatutilizerandomgeneratorsthatcouldbeappliedtoafixedgenerationprocess.Allofthedifferentinternalrandomgeneratorsarecontrolledbythesameinterfaceseed.
Pos-Neg Adjust
Anadditionaladjustmentforthepositive-negativespacealgorithms.Decreasingit
Studio Artist338
Shape Technique
TheVectorizerShapetechniquestartswitharastersourceimageandgeneratesaseriesofsimplegeometricvectorregionsthatarepositionedtobestrepresentthesourceimage.Thegeometricshapesaretypicallysimpleoneslikerectanglesorellipses.Thistechniqueisbestforstylizedusesratherthandetailedoraccuraterastertovectorconversion.
TheShapetechniquecaneithercovertheentirecanvaswithvectorregionsorprovidepartialcoverontheexistingcanvas,dependingontheinternalparametersspecified.
Scan
TypeofscanalgorithmusedtoadaptivelygeneraterectangularregionsbasedontheVectorizerSource.Changingthescanalgorithmchangeshowtheregionblocksarepositionedwithintheoverallimage.
Complexity
Decreasingthisparameterleadstolargerblocksizes.IncreasingthisparameterleadstoalargernumberofsmallerblocksizesthatbetterrepresenttheSource.
Shape Type
Specifickindofvectorshapeusedtofillintheregions.
Chapter 6: Vectorizer339
6
Outline Technique
TheVectorizerOutlinetechniquestartswitharastersourceimageandgeneratesaseriesofsolidcoloredregionsthatcorrespondtoedgeoroutlinestructure.Thistechniquedoesnotcovertheentirecanvaswithvectorregions,onlytheedgeoroutlineedgeareasthatarebeingrepresented.
OnetypicalapproachistousetheImagetechniquetogenerateacompletesolidcoloredvectorregionrepresentationoftheoriginalsourceimage.Then,asecondVectorizerpassusingtheOutlinetechniquecanbeusedtoaddblackedgeoutlinesontopofthefirstcoloredvectorregionoutput.Thisallowsyoutogenerateatypicalcartoonvectorrepresentationwithcoloredsolidregionsandadditionalblackoutlinesthatenhancetheoriginaledgedetailorpositiveandnegativespaceinthefinalvectorrepresentation.
ThesecombinedstepscaneasilyberecordedinaPaintActionSequenceandthenreferencedasaPASeqpresetforaonestepoperationinthefuture.
Outline Type
Specificalgorithmusedtogeneratetheoutlineregions.Changingthisalgorithmchangeshowtheoutlineregionsaregeneratedaswellastheirassociatedvisualappearance.
Option
Specificoptionassociatedwiththeoutlinegeneratoralgorithm.Changessomeaspectofthevisualappearanceoftheparticularoutlinetype.
Threshold
Specificluminancethresholdvalueusedintheedgeoutlinegenerator.Adjustingthiswillchangetheamountofedgestructureinthegeneratedoutline.
Studio Artist340
Range
Specifiestheluminancerangeusedtogenerateacontouroutline,whichchangestheoverallcontourthickness.
Pos-Neg Adjust
Anadditionaladjustmentforthepositive-negativespacealgorithms.Decreasingitleadstomoredetail(andpotentiallymorenoise).
Chapter 6: Vectorizer341
6
Flat Input Technique
Thistechniqueisusedtoconvertanexistingflatcolorrasterimageintoavectorrepresentation.Itassumestherasterinputimageisalreadycomposedofflatcoloredregionswithnoshadingornoise.Iftheinputisnotaflatcoloredimagetheneachpixelwillpotentiallybeconvertedintoavectorregion,whichisnotdesirable.
Flat Source
Allowsforalternatesourcefortheflatregionsusedtogeneratethevectorrepresentation.TheVectorizerSourceisusedforthecoloring.
VecSourcemeansusethevectorizersource,whichwastheoriginalwaythistechniqueworked.Canvasmeansusethecurrentcanvasasthesourceoftheflatregions.Selectionmeansusethecurrentregionselectionasthesourcefortheflatregions.
Theselast2optionsallowyoutocolorizethevectorizedflatregionsbasedonthecurrentVectorsourceimage(whichcouldbeadifferentnonflatcolorimage).SoyoucoulddothingslikebuildasegmentationmaskimageusingvariousIpOpsandthenvectorizethatsegmentationmaskwithcoloredgeneratedbymappingthevectorregionsintothesourceimage
Studio Artist342
Drawing
TheVectorizerDrawingparameterpaneprovidesspecificeditableparametersassociatedwithdetailsofhowthevectorregionsaredrawn.Thisincludesanumberofspecialeffectoptionsforthegeneratedvectorregions,howthecolorsfortheindividualregionsaredeterminedfromthesourceimage,andsomeinternaldetailsforthepostscriptepsfilegenerationprocess.
Region Effects
Region Effect
DeterminesspecificeffectoptionsthatcanbeusedwhengeneratingtheBezierregionsinthefinalvectorconversionprocess.Theseeffectoptionscanbeusedtocreateveryinterestingstylizedvectorrepresentations.
Region Randomization
Allowsforadditionalrandomizationappliedtotheregioneffect.
Random Amt (pixels)
Chapter 6: Vectorizer343
6
Specifiestheamountofrandomizationinpixels.
Random Effect
Ifregionrandomizationisturnedonthenyoualsohavetheoptionofapplyingasecondregioneffecttotheoutputoftherandomizationprocess.
Region Coloring Options Src Color From
Determineshowthevectorregioncolorisgeneratedfromthesourceimage.Thedifferentalgorithmtypesspecifiedhereanalyzethesourceimagewithintheregionareaindifferentwaysgeneratingdifferentcolorings.
SomeofthesesettingsignorethesourceimageandusesomecolorattributefromtheSourceareaoftheStudioArtistinterfacesuchasthecurrentFixedColorsettingortheSourcePalette.
Color Optimize
Allowsforrangeoptimizingthesetofgeneratedoutputcolorsifturnedon.
Color Randomize
Determinesthecoloringdetailsofanyspecifiedcolorrandomizationforthegeneratedregions.
Color Random %
Determinesapercentcolorrandomizationfortheregioncolor.HowthecolorisrandomizedisdeterminedbytheRandomizesettingmentionedabove.Setthisto0fornocolorrandomization.
Adding randomization to regions can help to distinguish region boundaries better when closely colored regions are placed next to each other as well as to provide a wide variety of artistic special effects.
Background Fill
Studio Artist344
Specifiesaflatcolorbackgroundthatisdrawnbeforethevectorcolorregionsarerendered.Thiscanbeusefulwhenworkingwithregioneffectssinceiftheyareturnedontheregionsmaynotoverdrawtheentirecanvas.
Youcanalsosetthistonone,whichisusefulforoverlayingeffectedoroutlineregionsontopoftheexistingcanvas.
Outline Color Option
SpecifieshowthecoloringoftheOutlinetechniqueregionsisgenerated.MakesurethisisnotthesameastheBackgroundFillcolor(otherwiseyouwillgenerateasolidcoloredcanvas).
EPS Output Options
Region Type
Determinesthespecificsofthetypeofpostscriptregiongeneratedinanoutputepsfile.TypicallyyouwouldusetheBeziersettingforgeneratingsmoothregionboundaries. Region Outline
Determineswhethertheepsregionisoutlinedwithanadditionalpostscriptstrokeattheregionboundaryaswellasspecificsassociatedwiththeoutlinepathcolor.
Typicallyanoutlinestrokeisaddedtothevectorregionintheepsfileasaformofregiontrappingtoinsurecompleteoverlapcoveragewhenprintingorimportingintootherprogramsthatuseeps.
Theoutlinestrokecanalsobeusedforspecialeffectssuchasoutliningacoloredregionwithathinsmoothblackstrokeforenhancedregiondefinition.
Outline Size
Determinesthesizeofanyaddedoutlinestrokeintheepsfile.TypicallyyouneedanEpsOutlinesizeof2(possibly3)fortrappingtogeneratecompletesolidfillwhenrenderingafullycoveredvectorizedepsfile.
Chapter 6: Vectorizer345
6
Render Options
Canvas Render Options
Youcanchooserasterfilloranti-aliasedvectordrawingbasedontheepssettingsforrenderingthevectorizereffectinthecurrentcanvaslayer.
Thevectordrawingoptionbetterrepresentswhatyouwillseeifyououtputanepsfileandrenderitinanotherprogram.TypicallyyouneedanEpsOutlinesizeof2(possibly3)togeneratecompletesolidfillwhenrenderingafullycoveredvectorizedepsfile.Therasterfilloptionalwayscompensatesforthisandcompletelyfillsintherastercanvas.
The Smart Blur Ip Op is really useful for cleanup of any edge artifacts from either render option.
Thefollowingadditionalparametersareavailablewhenusingtheanti-aliasedvectorrenderoption.
Vector Fill Blend %
Determinesthetransparencyofthevectorshapefill.
Vector Edge Blend %
Determinesthetransparencyofthevectorshapeoutlinefill.
Notethatwhenthesefillpercentsarelessthan100%theoutlinewillbeaccentedsincethereissomepartialoverlapintotheshapearea.
Multiple applications of semi-transparent vector regions can be used to build up vector shapes that have a more complex or organic look than the typical flat colored region look created by the vectorizer. EPS vector output does not support transparent regions (they will be solid filled), but SVG vector output does support transparent regions.
Studio Artist346
So you could construct a PASeq with multiple vectorizer steps that all overlay semi-transparent vector shapes and generate a SVG vector file from the PASeq that looks just like what you see in the Studio Artist canvas but can be arbitrarily scaled.
Chapter 6: Vectorizer347
6
Composite
TheVectorizerCompositeparameterpaneprovidesspecificeditableparametersassociatedwithhowthevectorizedoutputiscompositedandmixedwiththeexistingcanvas.ThestandardStudioArtistcompositingoptionsareprovided(likeinimageoperations).
Composite
Specifiesthetypeofcompositingusedtoplacethegeneratedeffectinthecurrentcanvaslayer.Afewofthesettingsactuallycorrespondtoalternateoutputroutingoptions(tocurrentselectionoralphabuffers).
Comp ColorSpace
Specifiesthecolorspaceandchanneloptionsusedforcompositing.
Mix
Determinethemixofthevectorizereffectwiththecurrentcanvaslayer.
Repetition
Determinethe#oftimesthevectorizerinternallyrepeatstheprocessing.Thiscanbeusefulifyouareworkingwithsemi-transparentvectorshapesandareusingagenerationtechniquethatgeneratesrandomshapesforeachrepetition.
Studio Artist350
Chapter 7: MSG
MSGstandsforModularSynthesizedGraphics.MSGisSynthetikSoftware'spreset-basedmodulareffectsandgraphicalsynthesisarchitecture.MSGprovidesawaytoinfinitelyexpandthefunctionalityofStudioArtistthroughcollectionsofMSGpresets.
EachMSGpresetiscomposedofaseriesofindividualprocessorobjects.Processorobjectsperformsomekindofimageprocessingoperation.Thereareanextremelylargenumberofdifferentprocessorobjects,andtheycanbecombinedtogethertocreateanunlimitednumberofdifferentimageorvideoprocessingeffects.Theycanalsobeusedtogeneratestaticordynamicabstractproceduralimagery.
StudioArtisthasthecapabilitytouseaMSGpreseteitherinthePaintSynthesizertoextendit'sinternalfunctionalityorasastandaloneimageprocessingortexturegenerationeffectintheMSGOperationmode.EachMSGpresetcanhaveanumberofeditableparametersthatadjustsomeaspectofitsinternalprocessingoroverallvisualappearance.TheseeditableparameterscanbeuseradjustedaswellaskeyframeanimatedinaPaintActionSequenceovertime.
MSGpresetparameterscanalsobedynamicallycontrolledovertimebyinternaltemporaloscillators.ThisallowsforproceduralanimationoftheMSGeffectwithoutkeyframing,whichisagreatautomaticalternativetomanualkeyframingforgeneratingdynamicvisualanimations.
ThisoverviewwillhelpyouunderstandthestructureoftheMSGOperationmodesothatyoucanquicklystartutilizingMSGpresetsinyourcreativeworkflow.
Chapter 7: MSG351
7
Introduction
MSGstandsforModularSynthesizedGraphics.MSGisSynthetikSoftware'spreset-basedmodulareffectsandgraphicalsynthesispluginarchitecture.MSGprovidesausereditablemodulargraphicalsynthesisfoundationforexpandingthefunctionalityofexistingandfutureSynthetikSoftwareproducts.
MSGpresetscanbeusedforimageprocessingorvideospecialeffects.Alargenumberofindividualmodularimageprocessingobjectscanbecombinedtogethertocreateanoverallimageorvideoprocessingeffect.ThereareessentiallyaninfinitenumberofdifferentprocessingeffectsthatcanbecreatedwithinMSGduetoitsflexibleandexpandablemodularnature.
MSGpresetscanalsobeusedasthebasisforgeneratingabstractstaticordynamicalgorithmictexturalandfractalimagery.Again,therangeofpotentialvisualimageryMSGiscapableofgeneratingisessentiallyinfiniteinscope.GoboldlywherenoonehasgonebeforeasyoumanipulateMSGparameterspacetocreateanunlimitedvarietyofabstractresolutionindependentimagery.
Overview of MSG Processing
Concept
MSGpresetsconsistofanumberofdifferentinternalmodularprocessorobjectsconnectedtogethertobuildaspecificprocessingeffectoralgorithmicproceduralimage.Theseindividualprocessingmodulescaneithergeneratevisualimageryfromscratchorprocessormodifyitinsomeway.Theoutputofoneprocessormodulecanbeinternallyroutedtoanotheraseitheraninputforprocessingoramodulatorthatcontrolssomeaspectofinternalprocessing.
InputsandoutputstoMSGprocessorsarespecifiedasalistofindividualStreamchannelsonaninternalBus.EachcolorfieldinacolorimagewouldbeoneindividualStreamontheBus.Typicallycolorimagesarecomposedof3differentcolorchannels
Studio Artist352
or3differentimageStreamsontheMSGBus.
UsersfamiliarwithaudiomixingboardswillrecognizeanalogiesbetweenhowanaudiomixingboardisinternallystructuredandtheunderlyingMSGchannelStreamandBusstructure.Inanaudiomixer,eachchannelisanaudiosignal,andmultipleaudiochannelsinthemixerareselectablefromaninternalaudiobus.
InaMSGpreset,visualimagesarerepresentedasvisualchannelscalledStreams.AllofthedifferentpotentialimageStreamsareselectablefromtheinternalMSGBus.MSGProcessorscanhaveanumberofpotentialinputandoutput(IO)channels.ImageStreamsontheinternalBuscanberoutedtoinputchannelsforaProcessorandoutputchannelsfromaProcessorcanberoutedbacktoimageStreamsontheinternalBus.
MSGProcessorsareorderedinalistcalledaProcessorChain.WhenaMSGeffectisgenerated,theindividualProcessorsintheProcessorChainareexecutedonebyoneinorderedsequence.EachprocessoraccessesindividualStreamsontheinternalBusforitsdifferentimageinputsandoutputs.
Again,theaudiomixeranalogyofthiswouldbeaseriesofindividualaudioeffectprocessorspatchedintoindividualaudiochannelsonamixingbus.Ratherthanaudioeffectsworkingwithaudiosignals,eachMSGProcessorisavisualeffectthatgeneratesorprocessesspatialimages.
Eachinternalprocessorcanhaveacollectionofeditableuserparameters.
InternalMSGprocessorparameterscanalsobeassociatedwithtemporaloscillatorscalledTemporalGenerators.MSGTemporalGeneratorsallowsforparameteradjustmentautomaticallyovertimeinananimationorvideosequence,andprovideaproceduralalternativetomanuallyspecifiedframebasedparameterkeyframing.
Temporalgeneratorsattachedtoindividualeditableparameterscanalsobeassociatedwithinteractivemodulatorssuchaspenpressure,tilt,ortiltorientationtoprovide
Chapter 7: MSG353
7
immediateinteractiveadjustmentofanoverallMSGprocess.ThiscanbeveryusefulwhenusingaMSGpresetinthepaintsynthesizer.
Inthepast,aseparateapplicationprogramincludedwithStudioArtist3.5calledMSGEvolverwasusedtodesignandextensivelyeditMSGpresets.StudioArtist3.5providedlimitedMSGpreseteditingviaupto6userslidersdefinedwithuserslidertemporalgeneratorsattachedtoindividualparameters.
WhileyoucanstilluseMSGEvolvertoeditversion3.5MSGpresets,mostoftheEvolverfunctionalityisnowbuiltdirectlyintoStudioArtist4.Youhavecompletecontrolinv4overmodifyingalloftheProcessorStreami/oroutingoptionsaswellasthespecificsoftheindividualProcessors,alltheireditableparameters,andtheirorderingontheoverallProcessorChainintheMSGAdvancedEditorpalette.
YoualsohaveaccesstotheoldMSGEvolverabilitytouserandomdirectedevolutiontoadjustorbuildnewMSGpresetswithoutneedingtounderstandtheirinternalstructure.ThiscanbedoneinStudioArtist4withthenewMSGEvolutioneditor.
TheinitialreleaseofStudioArtist4doesnotsupporttheold3.5limitedusersliderfunctionalityforMSGpresets.Thatsupportmayreturninafutureupdate.
ConsulttheMSGUserGuideortheStudioArtistTipswebsiteatwww.synthetik.com/tips/wordpressformoredetailedinformationonbuildingMSGPresets.
SpecificsoftheStudioArtistMSGcontrolpanelsandtheirassociatededitableparametersaredetailedinthenextsections.
Studio Artist354
MSG Editor Panel
CurrentlythereisonlyoneMSGEditorcontrolpanel.ThecontrolsinthispanelmirrorthegenericusercontrolsseeninotheroperationmodeslikeIpOps.TheyletyouchooseanIPSourceaspossibleinputtotheMSGpreseteffectaswellasprovidethestandardv4compositingandmixcontrols.
ThesimpleMSGuserslidercontrolsavailableinpreviousversionsofStudioArtistarecurrentlynotavailableinv4.Thismaychangeinthefuture.YouhavecompleteaccesstoalloftheeditableparametersinaMSGpresetintheMSGAdvancedEditor.MSGinuniqueinv4inhavingaspecialspecificadvancededitorpalette,asopposedtohavingalltheusercontrolsavailableinthestandardgenericEditorpalettewhichisthecasefortheotheroperationmodes.
TheMSGgenericeditorpaneisorganizedasfollows:
IP Source
Determinesthesourceroutingoftherasterimagethatwillbeusedastheinputtothe
Chapter 7: MSG355
7
MSGpreset.Currentlyyoucanchoosethecurrentlayerorthesourceimageasthesourcetobeprocessed.
BeawarethataparticularMSGpresetmayormaynotusethespecifiedsourceinitsinternalprocessing.SomeMSGpresetsactasimageprocessingorvideoeffectsbuttheycanalsobeconstructedtobestandalonealgorithmictextureorfractalimagerygeneratorsthatdon'tuseasourceimage.ByexaminingaMSGpreset'sbusstreamsandtheindividualprocessorIOroutingyoucandetermineiftheIPsourceisbeingusedinthepresetornot.
Mix
ThepercentamountofmixbetweentheoutputoftheMSGeffect'scompositingoperationandtheoriginalCurrentCanvaslayer.
Composite
SpecifiesacompositingoperationthattakestheoriginalCurrentCanvasLayerandtheMSGeffectoutputandalgorithmicallycombinestheminsomespecifiedfashion.TheoutputofthecompositingoperationisthenplacedintheCurrentCanvasLayeratthecompletionoftheMSGoperation.
DifferentcompositesettingscancompletelychangetheoverallappearanceforanygivenMSGeffect.Forexample,specifyinganEdge1compositingoperationonaMSGpresetthatblurstheCanvasimagewillgenerateasharpeningvisualeffect.
CertaincompositesettingswillbypassthecurrentCanvasLayerandplacetheMSGoutputineitherthecurrentlayer’salphachannelorthecurrentSelectionRegion.
Composite Color Space
Specifiesanadditionalcolorspaceorchannelforthecompositingtotakeplacein.
Studio Artist356
MSG Advanced Editor
TheMSGAdvancedEditorprovidescompleteaccesstoalloftheeditableparametersassociatedwithamodularMSGpreset.ThisincludesthefunctionalityofalloftheoldMSGEvolvereditingpalettes,includingtheProcessorChainEditor,BusStreamEditor,ColorPaletteandGradientEditors,andtheSourceLibrary.ThenewdesignincorporatesallofthoseEvolvereditingpalettesintoonecompactMSGAdvancedEditorpalettethatisdirectlybuiltintoStudioArtistv4.
MSG Preview
TheMSGPreview(topleft)displaysapreviewimageofthecurrentMSGpresetyouareediting.ThispreviewimageupdatesontheflyasyouinteractivelyedittheMSGpreset.
Youcanalsousehotkeysalongwithmousemovementtoperformsomeinteractiveeditsdirectlyinthepreviewimagearea.Youholddownthehotkeywhilemousingdowninthepreviewareaandthenyourmousemovementwilladjustsomeeditable
Chapter 7: MSG357
7
aspectofthepreset.InteractiveadjustmenthotkeysfortheMSGpreviewareaincludethefollowing:
't'-translate'r'-rotate'h'-scale'cmnd'-adjustselectedparameter
Thetranslate,rotate,andscaleadjustmentswillappliedtoalloftheprocessorsintheprocessorchain.Ifyouholddownanadditionalshiftmodifiedkeythentheywillonlybeappliedtothecurrentselectedprocessorintheprocessorchainlist.
Processor Chain and Bus Steam Lists
ThebottomleftsideofMSGAdvancedEditorcontainsatabbedlistthatcandisplayeitherthecurrentProcessorChaineditorlistortheBusStreameditorlist.
TheprocessorchaineditorisalistoftheindividualmodularprocessorsusedintheMSGpreset.AMSGpresetexecuteseachprocessorinorderfromtoptobottominthelistwhenthepresetisrun.
Youcandragtheindividualprocessorsaroundinthelisttochangetheirorderintheprocessingchain.Youcanoptiondragtomakeacopyofanexistingprocessor,andyoucanselectanddeleteaprocessorusingthedeletekey.
Youcanlockormuteindividualprocessorsinthelist.Lockonmeansthatrandomevolutionwillnotaffectanyoftheinternaleditableparametersassociatedwiththatprocessor.Turningoffthestatusofaprocessorwilleffectivelymuteit,theprocessorwillremaininthelistbutwillnotbeusedoractivewhenthepresetruns.
Processor Chain and Bus Steam Lists
Studio Artist358
TherightsideoftheMSGAdvancedEditorcontainsalargetabbedareathatcandisplaythecurrentprocessor'sparametereditorlist,theIO(input-output)editorlist,gradientandpaletteeditors,andtheSourcelibrarylist.Thefirst2oftheseindividualtabbededitors(parameterandioeditorlists)allowyoutoeditpropertiesassociatedwiththecurrentlyselectedprocessorintheprocessorchaineditor.ThegradientandpaletteeditorsletyouedittheMSGpreset'scolorgradientsandcolorpalette(whichareassociatedwithindividualiostreams).
Thesourcelibraryiscontextsensitivetowhethertheprocessorchaineditororthebusstreameditoristhecurrentlydisplayededitor.ThesourcelibrarywilldisplayalistofalloftheindividualMSGprocessorsavailabletoinsertintheprocessorchaineditorwhenitisactive.Alternatively,whenthebusstreameditorisactivethenthesourcelibrarywilldisplayalistofallofthepotentialiostreamsyoucouldaddtothecurrentbusstreameditor.Toaddanewprocessororiostreamtotheprocessorchaineditororthebusstreameditor,youcandragtheappropriateitemfromthesourcelibrarytotheappropriateeditorlist.
Theparametereditordisplaysalloftheindividualeditableparametersassociatedwiththecurrentlyselectedprocessorintheprocessorchaineditor.Youcanadjustthevalueoftheeditableparameteraswellaslockitifyouwanttomakesuremutationsdon'tchangeit.
Youcanalsoassociatedatemporalgenerator(TG)withtheindividualparameter.Temporalgeneratorsareawaytoassociatedtimebasedoscillatorswithindividualparameters.YoucanalsouseTG'sasawaytoassociatedinteractivecontrolmodulatorslikethewacompenpressureortilt.
TheIO(input-ouput)editorallowsyoutoedittheindividualinputandoutputconnectionsforthecurrentlyselectedprocessorintheprocessorchaineditor.Eachprocessorhasacertainnumberofinputandoutputioconnections.Aprocessorwillalwayshave1ormoreoutputconnections,and0ormoreinputconnections.Theseioconnectionscanbehookeduptoanyoftheindividualiostreamscurrentlyinthebus
Chapter 7: MSG359
7
streameditor.IOsteamscanbeindividualimagebuffersaswellasthingslikecolorgradientsorcolorpalettes.
EachMSGpresetcancontainupto3differentcolorgradientandpalettes.Theyneedtobeinthecurrentbusstreameditorlistiftheyareusedinthepreset.Thegradientandpaletteeditortabsletyouindividuallyeditthesecolorgradientsandcolorpalettes.TheirhotkeyfunctionalitymirrorsthatavailableintheStudioArtistsourceareaforthesourcecolorgradientandsourcecolorpalette.
Studio Artist360
Using MSG in the Paint Synthesizer
SomeinternalfunctionsinthePaintSynthesizer(suchasimageprocessingbrushloading)useMSGinternally.However,youalsohavethecapabilitytoloadMSGpresetsintoapaintpatchandinteractivelydrawwiththem.ThiscanbedoneusingtheMSGBrushLoadoption.
ThereisacompletedescriptionoftheMSGBrushloadcontrolpanelandthevariouseditableparametersinthechapteronthePaintSynthesizerundertheBrushLoadsection.
Version4addssomeadditionalMSGoptionstothepaintsynthesizer.TheseincludetheMSGpathstartgenerator,MSGpathshape,andtheMSGsourcebrushtype.Youcanonlyassociated1MSGpresetwithapaintpresetsotypicallyyouwouldbeusingonlyoneofthedifferentMSGpaintsynthesizeroptionsatatime.
AnyMSGpresetcanbeusedfortheMSGbrushloadorsourcebrushoptions.TheMSGpathstartorpathshapeoptionsonlyworkforMSGpresetsthatcontainaprocessorthatcangenerateanoutputpointsequence.Thefirstprocessorintheprocessorchaineditorthatcandothisisusedforthepointgeneration,theothersareignored.TheIFSprocessorsthatgeneratefractalattractorsareexamplesofprocessorsthatcangenerateoutputpointsequences.
Chapter 7: MSG361
7
MSG Evolution Editor
TheMSGEvolutionEditorisanewfeatureinStudioArtistv4thatbringsalotoftheoldMSGEvolverdirectedevolutioneditingcapabilitiesdirectlyintoStudioArtist.Theevolutioneditorconsistsofasetofpreviewimagesarrangedinagrid.Eachoftheindividualimagesintheevolutiongridisapreviewimageforit'sassociatedMSGpreset.AtoolbarlocatedatthetopoftheevolutioneditorprovidessomeusefulinteractivecommandsusedtoevolvenewsetsofMSGpreviewsintheevolutiongrid.
DirectedevolutionisawaytoeditorgeneratenewMSGpresetsbasedoninteractivelydirectingrandommutationorevolutionofsetsofMSGpresets.What'sniceaboutusingdirectedevolutiontocreatenewpresetsisthatitdoesn'trequireanyrealtechnical
Studio Artist362
skilltocreatenewpresets.Allyouneedtodoisclickonpresetsyouliketomutatenewvariations.OvertimethisdirectedevolutionprocesscancreateaninfinitevarietyofdifferenttypesofabstractproceduralartordifferentimageprocessingeffectsbasedontheunderlyingMSGpreset.
Clickinganindividualgridcellwillrandomlymutatetherestofthegridwiththosemutationsderivedoffofthepresetyouclicked.Holdingdowntheshotkeywhileclickingagridcellwillselectthatcell,whichmeansthatpresetwillbecomethecurrentMSGpresetintheStudioArtistinterfaceandthattheMSGAdvancedEditorwillupdateit'sdisplaysaccordingly.Youcanalsodraganddropagridcellintothemaincanvasifyouwanttoselectthatpresetandrenderitintothemaincanvasinoneaction.
Ther-rotate,t-translate,andh-scalehotkeysusedforinteractiveeditingintheMSGAdvancedEditorpreviewalsoworkintheevolutiongridpreviews,allowingyoutointeractivelyrotate,translate,orscalethegridcellpreset.
Clickingagridcellwiththeqorehotkeysreversemutatestheothergridcells.Byreversemutatewemeantheothergridcellsaremutatedtomovethemclosertotheclickedcellintheparameterspacetocreatemoreuniformityinappearance(anormalclickmutationmovesthemawayfromtheclickedcellintheparameterspacewhichcreatesmorediversityofvisualappearance).Theqhotkeyusesrecombinationmutationwhiletheekeyusesinterpolationmutationtomovethegridcellpresetsclosertotheclickedpreset.
Evolution Toolbar
Theevolutiontoolbarlocatedatthetopoftheevolutioneditorprovidesasetofcontrolstohelpyouperformdirectedevolution.
Randomize
Chapter 7: MSG363
7
PressingtheRandomizebuttonrandomlyparametermutatestheentireMSGevolutiongrid(eachcellinthegridmutatesoffofitself).IfyouholddowntheShiftmodifierkeywhenyoupressitthenthecoloringofthepresetsinthegridwillnotbemutated.HoldingdowntheOptionmodifierkeywhenyoupressthebuttonmeansthatonlythecoloringofthepresetsinthegridwillbemutated.Youcanclickonanindividualcellinthegridifyouwishtheentiregridtomutatefromtheclickedpreset.
Mutation Rate
ThenumericcontroltotherightoftheRandomizebuttonletsyouadjustamutationvaluefrom1to100%.Increasingthismutationratewillincreasethediversityofthemutatedpresets.Decreasingthemutationratemeansthatthenewsetofmutatedpresetswillbemoresubtlevariationsoftheoriginalpresets.Themutationratealsoaffectsmutationsderivedfromaspecificgridcellwhenyouclickonit.
Swap
PressingtheSwapbuttonrandomlyswapmutatestheentireMSGevolutiongrid.Swapmutationmeansthatarandomprocessorisselectedinthepreset'sprocessorchainandthenswappedforanotherrandomprocessorthatmatchesit'sioconfiguration.HoldingdowntheShiftmodifierkeymeansthateveryprocessorintheprocessorchaineditorwillbeswapmutated(thisisamuchmoreradicaltransformationthanasingleswapmutation).
Add
PressingtheAddbuttoneditstheentireMSGevolutiongridbyrandomlyaddingarandomprocessortoeachgridpreset.HoldingdowntheShiftmodifierkeyaddsarandommeta-edittoeachgridpreset.Meta-editsarepre-configuredmultipleprocessorMSGeffectsaddedtotheendoftheexistingprocessorchain.HoldingdowntheOptionmodifierkeywillrandomlyremoveaprocessorfromeachofthegridpresets.
Inspire
PressingtheInspirebuttonfillstheentireMSGevolutiongridwithrandomlyevolvedrandomfactorypresets.
Studio Artist364
+
Pressingthe+buttonloadsanewsequenceofMSGpresetsfromthefactorypresetcollectionintotheevolutiongrid.HoldingdowntheOptionmodifierkeywillmovebackwardsthroughthesequenceoffactorypresets.HoldingdowntheShiftmodifierkeywillloadrandomfactorypresets(asopposedtomovinginsequentialorderthroughtheset).
Studio Artist366
Chapter 8: Region Selection
TheRegionSelectionOperationmodeisusedtointeractivelygenerateselectionregionsintheCanvasusingapenormouse.Theselectedregioncanthenbeusedasamaskforpaintingorforlimitingthescopeofanimageprocessingoperation.
Thecurrentselectioncanalsobeusedtogenerateanalphachannelformovieorimageoutput.
SelectedregionsoftheCanvascanbemovedwithinaLayerwhileinregionselectionoperationmodebyusingthe“m”hotkey.
Some selection functionality provided in previous versions of Studio Artist is not currently available in version 4. Part of this decision was to remove confusing or essentially unused functionality. Additional selection modes and functionality may become available in future releases.
Chapter 8: Region Selection367
8
Selecting a Region Interactively
MouseorpendownontheCanvastodynamicallyselectanareabasedonthecurrentregionselectionPenModeandassociatedparametersettings.Thesepenmodesincludecommonselectionmethodssuchasrectangularandlassoselectionaswellasdynamicregiongrowthbasedonvisualattributessuchascolorortextureenergy.YoucanchangetheselectionpenmodebyadjustingtheModepopuplocatedatthetopoftheEditorwheninSelectionoperationmode.
Thecurrentselectionisdisplayedasafullycoloredregiononapartiallytransparentbackgroundimage.Whenyouaredoneselecting,youcaneithermouseuporyoucanusethespacebartofinishselectingifyouareusingapressureortiltsensitivepen.
Afterinteractiveselection,allunselectedareasoftheCanvaswillbegrayedoutwhileinthisOperationmode(unlesstheMaskcheckboxisdeactivated).Toextendtheexistingselection,usethe“shift”hotkey.Toremovefromtheexistingselection,usethe“option shift”hotkeycombination.
WheninotherOperationmodeswithinStudioArtist,unselectedareaswillonlybegrayedoutonlyifRegionMaskingisturnedon.YoucanturnonandoffRegionMaskingwiththeMaskpopuplocatedinthemainOperationToolbar.Oryoucantogglethemaskstatusbyusingthecmnd Yhotkey.IfRegionMaskingisturnedon,thenoperationswillonlytakeplacewithinthemaskedregions.
Hint:
YoucandropintoregionSelectionwhileinanyotherOperationmodeinStudioArtistbyholdingdowntheQhotkeyandmousingdownintheCanvas.YouwillbedroppedintowhateveristhecurrentRegionSelectionSourceoption.Afteryoufinishselecting,youwillbebackintheoperationmodeyouwereinitially.TheControlpaneldoesnotchangewhenusingtheQhotkey.
Chapter 8: Region Selection369
8
Region Selection Pen Modes
Thereareanumberofdifferentinteractivepenmodes,allofwhichperformadifferenttypeofinteractiveregionselection.Explanationsofthedifferentselectionpenmodesaredetailedbelow:
Source Based Interactive Selection
Interactivelygrowsaregionfromthependownstartpoint,basedonthechosensourceattributeandtheAdjuster.Therearethreedifferentsource-basedinteractiveselectionpenmodes.TheyareSource,Canvas,andSourceTexture.Howyouworkwiththepenormouseisthesameforallthreemodes.
IftheadjusterisPosition,thenhorizontalmousemovementfromthestartpointgrowstheselection.
The old pressure and tilt adjustment options are not currently available in v4.
Usethethotkeytomovetheselectionstartpointwhileinteractivelyselecting.Mouseorpenuporpressingthespacebarstopstheselectionprocess.
Thespecificdetailsforthe4differentsourcepenmodesaredescribedbelow.
Source
Theselectiongrowsbasedonthecolorappearanceofthesourceimage.
Studio Artist370
Canvas
Theselectiongrowsbasedonthecolorappearanceofthecurrentcanvassourcelayer.
Source Texture
Theselectiongrowsbasedonthesourceimageedgestructure.
Inaddition,thereareanumberofadjustableparametersintheEditorcontrolpanelareathatworkwiththesethreepenmodes.
Growth
Localgrowsalocalregionfromthecurrentstartpoint.Globalgrowsaregioneverywhereinthechosenselectionsourcethatmatchesthecurrentadjustedcolorrange
Bothofthese2optionsarepositionbased.Theyareselectingacolorrangebasedontheinitialpenpositionanditssubsequentmovement.Thecoloratthestartpositioniswhatisusedtocomputethecolorrangeselected,butwhatisrecordedinaPASeqisthepositionandadjustment,nottheactualcolorused.
ThatmeansthatifyouusetheminakeyframedPASeqtimeline,thepositionsandrangeadjustmentwillbewhatiskeyframeinterpolated.Also,theselectionformultiplemovieframeprocessingwithaPASeqwillbebasedontherecordedpositionsandthestartcolorsatthosepositionsforthedifferentmovieframesorimagesprocessedbythePASeq,nottheoriginalcoloringwhentheselectionwasinitiallyrecorded.
TheGlobalColoroptionwillactuallyrecordtheactualstartcolorusedforthe
Chapter 8: Region Selection371
8
selection,andsubsequentmovieframeselectionswillbebasedontheactualcolorselectedasopposedtothepositionoftheselection.SotheGlobalColorgrowthoptioniswhatyoushoulduseifyouwanttodoatrueglobalcolorkeyselection.
Soft
Asoftselectionwillbegrownwithasmoothfeatheredtransitionoverthelastportionofthegrowthrangeifchecked.Ahardedgedselectionwithnofeatheringwillbegrownifunchecked.
Studio Artist372
Drawing Based Interactive Selection
Theotherregionselectionpenmodesallowtheusertodrawtheselectionarea.Thespecificsofthedrawingdependsontheparticularpenmodechosenandaredetailedbelow.
Rectangle
Interactivelyselectarectangularregionbymovingthepen.
Partition
Interactivelyselectarectanglethatpartitionsthecanvas.Theaxisyoumovethepeninwillbepartitionedandtheotheraxiswillbefullyselected.Thismodeisveryusefulforcroppingthecanvasinonedimensionwhilenotchangingtheother.
Lasso Area
Interactivelydrawtheoutlineofyourselectionwithamarchingantspaththatwillthenbefilledinwhenyouraisethepenormouseup.
Hint:
Thethotkeyallowsfortheselectiontoberepositionedortranslatedwhileyouareinteractivelyselecting.Releasingthethotkeywhilestillactivelyselectingwillallowyoutocontinuetheselectionprocess.MouseorPenuporpressingthespacebarwillstoptheselectionprocess.
Studio Artist374
Selection Region Canvas Movement
Holdingdownthe‘m’keywhileinRegionSelectionOperationModeallowsyoutomoveacopyoftheselectedCanvasregionpixelsdirectlytoanewlocationwithinthecurrentCanvasLayerinsteadofperforminganewselection.
Move Mode
SpecifiesthecompositingoperationusedwhenmovingtheregionselectedCanvastoanewlocationwiththe‘m’hotkey.Holdingdownthe‘m’keyallowsyoutomoveacopyoftheselectedCanvasregiontoanewlocationinsteadofperforminganewselection.
Notethatthismovementhappenswithinthecurrentlayer.Anewlayerisnotcreated.
Chapter 8: Region Selection375
8
Region Selection Hot keys
‘’t’-Translate.Atmousedownspecifiestranslatecurrentselection.AllowsthecurrentselectiononlytobemovedwithintheCanvas.
Ifusedwhileinteractivelyselectingtranslatesthestartlocationoftheselectionprocess.(CurrentlyworksforRectangle,Lassoarea,Ellipse,andCircle Paintonly).
‘’r’-Rotate.Atmousedownspecifiesrotatecurrentselection.Ifusingatiltsensitivepenyouusepenorientationtodefinetherotation(andyoucanalsotranslatebymovingthepentip).Otherwisethecursormovementaroundthemousedownstartpositiondefinestherotation.
‘Shift’-Addstocurrentselectionregionratherthenreplaces
‘Option Shift’-Subtractsfromcurrentselectionratherthenreplaces.
‘m’-MovesacopyoftheselectedCanvasregiontoanewlocation.ThisincludesthecurrentselectionregionaswellastheCanvascontentsoftheselectionregion.HowthemovedCanvascontentsarecompositedwiththeexistingCanvasisdeterminedbythemMovepopupcontrol.
Hint:
Theuseofthe‘q’hotkeywithamousedownintheCanvascanbeusedatanytimewheninadifferentOperationModeoftheprogramtomomentarilydropbackintoRegionSelectiontogeneratearegiononthefly.Thecurrentselection mode settingwilldeterminethetypeofRegionSelectionperformedduringthismomentaryoperation.
Chapter 8: Region Selection377
8
Region Selection Menu Commands
Thereareanumberofdifferentmenucommandsthatcaneithersettheregionselectionormodifyitinsomeway.ThesemenucommandsarelocatedintheCanvasmainmenu.EachofthesemainCanvasmenushasanumberofsub-menuoptions.Settocommandsreplacethecurrentregionselectionwiththeoptionyouchooseinthesubmenu.Theotheroptionsappropriatelytransformtheexistingregionselection.
TheroutingcapabilitiesoftheImageProcessingoperationmodealsoallowforanyofthenumerousimageprocessingeffectstobeappliedtothecurrentregionselection.ThisgreatlyextendsthecapabilityforfeatheringorotherselectioneffectsbyutilizingthefullpoweroftheImageProcessingcapabilitiesofStudioArtist.
Sinceversion4hasaddedthestandardcompositingoptionstomanyotheroperationmodesyoucanroutetheiroutputtothecurrentregionselectionaswell.
Studio Artist378
Chapter 9: Bezier Paths
StudioArtisthasauniquegraphicsmodelthatcombinestherichnessandexpressivenessofrasterpaintwiththeeditabilityandscalabilityofVectorpaths.VectorpathswithinStudioArtistarestoredasBezierpaths.YoucandrawpressureandtiltsensitiveBezierpathsandthenedittheirshapeandpositionlater.
Bezierpathscaneitherrepresentpaintstrokesorregions.Pathsthatrepresentpaintstrokesareopen.Pathsthatrepresentregionsareclosed.YoucanusetheBezierDrawDrawTypeparametertodeterminewhetheryouwanttomanuallydrawastrokeoraregion.OryoucangenerateBezierpathsautomaticallyfromyournormalmanualorautomaticpaintsynthesizerdrawingiftheappropriatePath:PathLayerRecordOptionmenuflagsarechecked.
SetsofBezierpathscanbekeyframedinthePaintActionSequenceTimelineusingBezierContextkeyframes.TheycanalsobeembeddedintoWarporMorphContextkeyframes.
Bezierpathscanalsobegeneratedinrealtimefromasourceimageoracanvaslayer,modifiedandthenpaintedautomaticallywithaPaintSynthesizerPatchusingtheappropriatePathmenucommands.
Working with Bezier paths in version 4 is somewhat different than in previous versions of Studio Artist. There is now just one Bezier operation mode. You choose to draw or edit with the mode popup at the top of the Editor when in Bezier operation mode. The Layer timeline is gone, everything you used to do there with bezier paths can be done with Contexts in the PASeq timeline.
Chapter 9: Bezier Paths379
9
Bezier Draw
YoucanusethemouseorpentodrawaBezierpathontheCanvas.Ifyouareusingapressuresensitivepen,thepressureandtiltinformationwillbestoredalongwiththepath.Ifyouareusingamouse,thedefaultpressureandtiltsettingswillbestoredwiththepath.
EachCanvaslayerhasanassociatedBezierFramethatcontainsalloftheactiveBezierPathscurrentlyassociatedwiththatCanvaslayer.SwitchingtoanewCanvaslayerwillalsoswitchtoit’sassociatedBezierFrame.
ThecurrentBezierframecanbeusedinseveraldifferentways.ItcanbeascratchpadforeditingexistingpaintpathsstoredinaPaintActionSequence.ItcanbeusedtointeractivelydefinepathsforsubsequentpaintingwiththePaintsynthesizer.TheshapeandpositionofBezierpathscanbeanimatedovertime.
Bezierpathscanalsobeusedtogenerateselectionregionsormasks.BezierregionscanbeusestodefinecoloredregionsthatarefilledwithsolidcolorinEPSvectoroutputorbyusingthePaintSynthesizerRegionFillasBrushpenmodeforgeneratingrasterregionfillsthattakeadvantageofthefullandawesomepowerofthePaintSynthesizer.
Hint
IfyouturnonBezierrecording,thenthepathsassociatedwithnormalpaintoperationswillbeconvertedontheflytoBezierpathsandstoredinthecurrentBezierframe.YoucanturnonandoffBezierrecordingbyusingthe‘Path:PathLayerRecordOption”
Studio Artist380
menuflagstotoggletherecordstate.
YoucanalsoautomaticallygenerateBezierregionsfromVectorizeroperationsiftheappropriaterecordmenuflagsaretoggledon.
Bezier Draw Types
YoucanchoosethecurrentBezierDrawpenmodebyusingtheDrawTypeparameterintheEditor.
Youcaneitherchoosefreestyleorbeziercurvedrawingtechniques.Youcanchoosethestrokeorregionoptionforeachofthesetwotechniques. Freestyle
AllowsfordrawingafreeformcurvewiththepenormousethatisthenconvertedintoaBezierrepresentationatmouseup.TheaccuracyvssmoothnessoftheconversionalgorithmcanbeadjustedwiththeeditableSmoothnessparameter.
Bezier Curve
AllowsacurvetobebuiltupbypositioningBeziercontrolpoints.YoucaninteractivelyadjusttheBeziercurveuntildrawingisterminatedbymouseuporthe‘spacebar’key. Pentiltcontrolsthedirectionandextentofthecurve.Ifyoudon’thaveatiltsensitivepen,press‘option’toadjustthedirectionofthecurve.Toaddanewsegmenttothecurve,pressthe‘Cmnd’key.
Allofthedifferentmodessupportseveralhotkeys.The‘t’hotkeyletsyoutranslatetheexistingcurvepath.The‘r’hotkeyletsyourotatetheexistingcurvepath.
Ifyouchoosethefreestyleorbeziercurvestrokemodes,thenanopenBezierpathisgenerated.Ifyouchoosethefreestyleregionorbeziercurveregionmodes,thena
Studio Artist382
Editable Bezier Draw Parameters
ThereareseveraleditablecontrolsintheBezierDrawcontrolpanethatinfluencewhathappenswhenyoudrawBeziercurves.
Smoothness
AllowsyoutodeterminethecomplexityoftheBeziercurvethatresultsfromyourfreestyledrawing.IncreasingthesmoothnesswillresultinasmoothercurvewithfewerBeziercontrolpoints.DecreasingsmoothnesswillresultinacurvethatmoreaccuratelytrackswhatyoudrawatthecostofmoreBeziercontrolpointsandarougherappearance.
IfyouwishtoeditaBezierpathafteryoudrawit,youneedtoswitchtotheBezierEditcontrolpane.
Hints
YoucanalwaysswitchbackandforthfromwhereyouareworkingtotheBezierEditcontrolpanelbyusingthecmnd 5hotkeycommand.
Chapter 9: Bezier Paths383
9
Bezier Edit
YoucanusethemouseorpentoeditanyBezierpathsinthecurrentlayer’sBezierframe.MenucommandsarealsoavailableforBezierPathCopy/Pastestyleeditingaswellaspathtransformationoperations.YouneedtomousedownintheCanvaswhileinBezierEditoperationModeandpossiblyselectsomeBezierpathsbeforesomeofthesemenuoptionstobecomeaccessible.
Hints
ThemastererasebuttonwiththecircleiconerasestheCanvasimagelayerandit’sBezierpathframe.TheSettoBackgroundbuttonwiththearrowiconjusterasestheCanvasimagelayeranddoesnoteraseit’sassociatedBezierpathframe.
YoucansavethecurrentBezierframeinaBeziermemorybyoptionclickingononeofthefiveBeziermemorybuttons,locatedinthesecondarycontrolpanellocateddirectlybelowtheBezierEditPane.ClickingonaBeziermemorywillerasetheexistingBezierframeandsetittothecontentsoftheclickedBeziermemory.
The four global memories are a part of the overall workspace and are global in nature. The internal memory is specifically associated with the current paint synthesizer patch and will change if you switch to a different paint preset. The contents of the internal memory are saved with a paint patch when stored to disk as a paint preset file.
Studio Artist384
Adjustable Bezier Edit Parameters
ThereareseveraleditablecontrolsintheBezierEditcontrolpanethatinfluencewhathappenswhenyoueditcurves.
Edit Mode
OptionsforhowadjacentBeziercontrolpointsinteractwheneditingthecurve.Independentallowsforcurvecontinuitytobebrokenatcontrolpoints,providingsharpedgesorkinksinthecurvetobegenerated.Smoothinsuresthatcurvecontinuityispreservedasyoueditthecurve.
Curve Editing Hints:
Rightnowyoucanselectanycombinationofindividualcurves.However,youcan’tcurrentlyselectindividualcontrolpoints.
Youcanselectacurvebymousingdownonit.Or,youcanmousedowninanemptyareaanddragoutaselectionrectangle.Anycurvesintheselectionrectanglewillbeselected.
Ifyouholddownthe‘shift’keywhileselected,yournewselectionwillbeaddedtoanyexistingselectedcurves.Ifyou‘shift’selectapre-selectedcurve,itwillbedeselected.Ifyoudon’tusethe‘shift’hotkeywhileselecting,anypre-selectedcurveswillbedeselected.
YoucanmoveselectedcurvesbydraggingthemwiththemouseintheCanvas.
Todeleteacontrolpoint: optionclickthecontrolpoint
Chapter 9: Bezier Paths385
9
Todeleteacurve: optionclickthecurveor, ‘delete’keydeletesallselectedcurves
Tocutacurveinto2curves: ‘[’hotkeyandtouchcurveatcutpoint
Tojoin2curvesinto1: Selectonlythe2curvesyouwanttojoin.Mousedowninthecanvaswhileholdingthe']'hotkey.Theclosestendpointsareconnected,somovethe2curvesaccordinglybeforeusingthemenucommandtoconnect.
Tochangeacurveintoaclosedregion: Selectonlythe1curveyouwanttomakearegion.Mousedowninthecanvaswhileholdingthe']'hotkey.
YoucanusetheEditmenus‘Cut,Copy, Paste,andClear’toeditselectedcurves.
YoucanusetheEditmenus‘FlipandRotate’totransformselectedcurves.
If you copy a selected curve, and then immediately paste it, the pasted curve will sit directly on top of the source curve. Due to the xor curve drawing, you won’t see the pasted curve. You can use the arrow keys to nudge the pasted curve off of the source curve, which will then make them both visible.
Toredrawasingleselectedcurve: ‘e’hotkeyanddrawthenewcurveshape.Whenfinisheddrawingtheoldselectedcurvewillvanishandyournewredrawncurvewillhavereplaceditatit'soldindexvalue.ThistechniqueisextremelyusefulwheneditingBezierpathsusedformorphingorwarpoperations.
Chapter 9: Bezier Paths387
9
Bezier Edit Hot Keys:
‘t’ -translateselection‘r’ -rotateselection‘j’ -scaleselection‘f’ -flipselection‘s’ -simplifyselection‘e’ -redrawselection(singleselectedcurveonly)'['-cutcurve(needtomousedownoncurveatcutpoint)']'-healcurve(1selectcurve-makeregion,2selectcurve-attach)
arrowkeys(up,down,left,right) -nudgeselectedcurvesaccordingly
‘shift’ -normalshiftselectbehavior
Studio Artist388
Path Frame Menu Commands
ThereareanumberofdifferentmenucommandsthatworkwiththecurrentBezierpathframe.ThesemenucommandsarealllocatedinthePathmainmenu.
ThereareanumberofdifferentsectionstothePathmenus.ThePaintPathsmenusallowthecurrentBezierpathframeorasetofselectedcurvestobepaintedwiththecurrentpaintsynthesizerpaintpatch.
TheGeneratePathmenucommandsallowyoutoautomaticallygenerateacompletesetofBezierpathsfromthesourceorcanvasimageorselectionedgesortheirskeletons.Skeletonsarevectorsthatdefinethecentralmostinteriorsectionsofregionsinimages.
ThePathLayerCommandsallowforeditingortransforminginsomewayallofthepathsinthecurrentpathframe.Youcanerasethecurrentpathframe,stylizethepathsinsomeway,orfilterthepathstoeliminatesmallnoisyvectorsafterautomaticallygeneratingpathsfromedges.
TheConverttoPaintSynthesizermenustakethecurrentpathframeoracompletesetofBezierkeyframesforalayerandencapsulatealloftheBezierpathsandorBezierkeyframesintoonepaintsynthesizerpainttool.ThesearepowerfulcommandsthatallowyoudospecifyelaboratevectoranimationsandthenencapsulatethemintopaintstepsinaPaintActionSequence.Theyarediscussedinmoredetailinthenextsectionofthischapter.
Chapter 9: Bezier Paths389
9
ThePathlayerRecordOptionsallowforautomaticbezierconversionandrecordingintothecurrentpathlayerwhenpaintingmanually,automatically,orvectorizingimages.
Theinitialcolorsofthedrawnpaintstrokesorregionscanbestoredinthepaths,ortheycanbemarkedforrecolorizingbasedontheSourceareasettingswhenredrawn.Penpressureandtiltarestoredintherecordedpathsaswell.
Studio Artist390
Storing Bezier Paths Within a Single Paint Synthesizer Action Step
StudioArtisthastheabilitytoencapsulateanentireBezierpathframewithinasinglePaintSynthesizerPatch.Or,youcanencapsulateanentireBezierkeyframetimelinewithinasinglePaintActionSequenceactionstep.
AllofthedifferentcommandoptionsforencapsulatingsetsofBeziercurveswithinPaintPatchesorPaintActionsareinthePath: Convert to Paint Synthesizersubmenu.
Bezierpathscanbeencapsulatedintopaintsynthesizerpatchesinanumberofdifferentways.Theycanbestoredwithintimeparticles,orwithintheinternalbezierpathmemorylocatedinthePathShapecontrolpanel..
PaintActionSequenceactionstepsalsohavetheabilitytostoreacompletesetofBezierkeyframeswithinonePASeqactionstep.RatherthanhavingtomanuallyrecordalloftheseparatePASeqkeyframestodothis,youcanrunthe'AllBezierkeyframestoPASeqActionStep'menucommand.ThiswillrecordthePASeqpaintactionstepaswellasalloftheassociatedkeyframesinoneeasytousecommand.
EncapsulatingacompletesetofBezierkeyframesinasinglePaintActionstepisextremelypowerful.TheautomaticBezierinterpolationortweeningthatthePASeqplaybackengineprovidesallowsforsmoothpaintanimationbetweenthedifferentkeyframesnapshots.WhenusedwiththeVectorizerregionoutputthisprovidesaway
Chapter 9: Bezier Paths391
9
tomorphbetweenvectorrepresentationsofimagesorobjectsandhasaverydifferentfeeltoitthanaconventionalimagemorph.
EachindividualPASeqactionstepcouldalsorepresentaseparateanimatingobjectinanoverallpaintanimationconsistingofalargenumberofobjectsmovingandtransformingovertime.
Studio Artist392
Generating and Filling Bezier Paths from the Vectorizer
OnecoolfeatureoftheStudioArtistVectorizeristheabilitytorecordthevectorregionsitgeneratesinthecurrentpathframeTodothis,makesureyouhavethePathLayerRecordOptionmenuflagVectorizerturnedon.TheEraseBeforeActionrecordflagisusefulandifitisturnedonthenthecurrentpathframewillbeerasedbeforeanactionthatcangeneratepathsliketheVectorizerisrun.
OncethevectorregionsareinthecurrentpathbufferyoucaneditthembyhandorrunanyofthemanyPathLayerCommandsorBezierWarpstomodifytheminsomeway.
VectorregionsarepaintedorfilledinStudioArtistbyusingOneofthePaintPathsmenucommands.Allofthesecommandsusethecurrentpaintsynthesizersettings.Mostpaintsynthesizerpenmodeswilljustdrawtheregionpathasapaintstroke.However,theRegionFillasBrushmodewillfillthevectorregionusingthefullcapabilitiesofthepaintsynthesizer.Thiscouldbeassimpleasasolidcolorfill,amoreelaborateshadedortexturemappedgradient,spreadingliquidorwatercolorsimulations,orawildimageprocessingfilteroperatingintheregionarea.
ThePaintPathmenucommandswillalsooutputanEPSvectorregionifplayedbackinaPASeqwhilegeneratinganEPSfilefromthePASeq.ThisisamenucommandlocatedundertheActionmainmenu.SinceEPSdoesnotsupporttherasterfilloptionsassociatedwiththepaintsynthesizer,youshouldeditthepaintpatchesyouareusingforvectorregiondrawingforEPSoutputtodrawsolidflatcolor.Apaintsynthesizermacroeditundertheeditmenuisprovidedasaconveniencetoperformtheseeditsquicklywhenworking.
Chapter 9: Bezier Paths393
9
Generating EPS Output from Bezier Paths
StudioArtisthastheabilitytogenerateEPSoutputfromanymanualorautomaticPaintSynthesizerpaintingactions,andVectorizeractions.TheVectorizercandirectlyoutputtoanEPSfile.TheotheroptionsneedtoberecordedinaPaintActionSequence,whichcanthenbeplayedbackandrenderedouttoanEPSfile.AnadvantageofusingthePASeqoptionisthatyoucancombinetogetherdifferentactionsthatgenerateepsoutput.
BothoftheseoptionsareavailableasmenucommandsundertheAction : Generate EPSsubmenu.ThesemenucommandsarelocatedunderActionasopposedtoFileExportbecausetheyneedtorunthevariousactionstorenderouttheEPSinformation(asopposedtoafileexportcommandthatjustwriteoutsomethingalreadycomputed).
Studio Artist does not currently import EPS files. We would need a complete postscript interpreter to be able to do this.
You can save your Bezier paths by exporting a Bezier path frame using the Studio Artist File Format option in the export file dialog. You can then import the saved Bezier path frame at a later time. Studio Artist Session files also store all of the layer bezier path frames as well as bezier keyframe information (and everything else associated with your Studio Artist work session).
Studio Artist394
Chapter 10: Actions
StudioArtisthastheabilitytorecord,edit,andplaybackanyseriesofmanualorautomaticOperationActions.Theseindividualstepscouldincludeautomaticpainting,manualpainting,imageoperations,interactivewarping,interactiveadjustments,regionselection,colorfills,etc.Inaddition,anytransformationalmenucommandssuchas“Paint Path Layer”canalsoberecordedasindividualstepsinanActionSequence.
TwodifferenteditablelistsandassociatedcontrolsareprovidedtoworkwithActionSequences.TheyarecalledPaintActionSequencesandHistorySequences.InternaltoStudioArtisttheyareessentiallythesame.Theyusethesamedataandfileformatsandarerecorded,playedback,andeditedwiththesameindividualsetsofcontrols.ThereasontherearetwodifferentsequencesisthattheyareusedindifferentwaysinnormalworkflowwithinStudioArtist.
ThecurrentHistorySequenceisintendedtorecordeverythingdoneinStudioArtistforthepurposeofprovidingaformofunlimitedundo.Inaddition,aHistorySequencecanbererenderedandplayedbackintoaCanvaswithadifferentresolution.
ThecurrentPaintActionSequenceisintendedtobeusedtoautomatetasksthatrequireseveralsteps,andasascriptforgeneratinganimationsorformovieprocessing.PaintActionSequencescanalsobeorganizedasPaintActionSequencePresetsforeasyaccessandexecution.PaintActionSequencesalsoincorporateakeyframetimeline.
Chapter 10: Actions395
10
Working With Paint Action Sequences
TovieworeditthecurrentPaintActionSequence,usethemenucommand‘Window: Paint Action Sequence”.ThismenucommandwillbringupapalettecontainingthecurrentPaintActionSequence.DependingonyourworkspaceconfigurationthePASeqpalettemaybefloatingordockedinthemaincanvas.
Sequence Controls
ThereareseveralcontrolslocatedatthetopofthePaintActionSequencepalette.ThePlaybuttonplaysbackthedifferentActionstepsrecordedinthePaintActionSequence.EachindividualstepintheActionSequencewillbehighlightedasthatstepiscurrentlybeingplayedback.ThelistwillautoscrollasplaybackprogressestoalwayskeepthecurrentlyplayingActioninview.
YoucanstoptheSequenceplaybackbyusingthespacebaratanytimeduringplayback.OptionclickingthePlaybuttonwillcontinuesequenceplaybackfromthecurrentselectedActionstep.
TheErasebuttonwillerasetheentirecurrentPaintActionSequence.ToeraseindividualActionsteps,useoneofthePaintActionmenucommandsdiscussedbelow.
TheRecordcheckboxturnsonandoffrecordingforthePaintActionSequence.Whenrecordingison,everytimearecordableActionisinitiatedinStudioArtist,itisrecordedasanewstepinthePaintActionSequence.
Individual Action Step Controls
Studio Artist396
ToselectaparticularActionstepinthesequence,mousedownonthelistelement.TodragaselectedActionsteptoanewlocationinthesequencelist,,mousedownontheindividualActionstepandthendragittoanewlocationinthelist.Asyoudragtheoutlineoftheindividualstep,aselectionbarwillshowthepotentialnewlocationforthedraggedstep.Whenyoureleasethemouse,thedraggedindividualstepwillbemovedtothenewlistlocation.
YoucancontrolclickaparticularactionsteptoplaybackthatparticularActionsequencestep.Or,youcouldclickonthefistkeyframefortheactionstepinthePASeqtimelineifyouhaveitdisplayedAlloftheinterfacesettingsassociatedwiththeparticularActionstepwillberesettotheparametervaluesstoredwithinthesteppriortoplayingthestep.Thereisalsocontextualmenustojustplaybacktheinterfacesettingswithoutplayingbacktheaction IfStudioArtist’scurrentoperationmodeisBezierEdit,thenrunningtheindividualactionstepwillloadthecurrentBezierpathframewiththestoredpathforthatparticularActionstep.ThisisonlytrueifthatActionstepisassociatedwithasingleeditablepath,suchastheindividualmouseactionsassociatedwithdrawingsinglepaintstrokes.
Option-clickinganactionstep'sfirstkeyframewillupdatetheActionsequencestep’sstoredparameterstothecurrentStudioArtistinterfaceparametersettings.ThisisthemechanismusedtoeditastepinanActionSequence.Youcanalsousethe'interfacetoactionstep'contextualmenutodothis
IfStudioArtist’scurrentoperationmodeisBezierEdit,thenoption-clickingtheactionstep'skeyframewillalsorecordthefirstBezierpathinthepathframeasitsrecordedpathinadditiontorecordinganyappropriateinterfaceparametersettings.
Chapter 10: Actions397
10
EachActionsequencelistelementhasastatusmenuthatcanbeusedtomuteordisableitsActionstepwithoutremovingitfromthelist.Ifthestatusison,thentheActionstepwillplayback.Ifthestatusisoff,thentheActionstepwillbeskippedduringplayback.
Studio Artist398
Paint Action Menu Commands
Variousmenucommandsarealsoavailableinthe‘Action: Paint Action Sequence” submenusthatoperateonthecurrentPaintActionSequenceorthecurrentlyselectedActionsequencelistelement.SomeofthesemenucommandsprovideanalternativetotheinteractivecontrolsatthetopofthePaintActionSequencepalette.
IfrecordingisenabledandanewActionstephasjustbeenrecorded,thenexecutinga“Edit: Undo”menucommandwillremovethelastrecordedActionsstepaswellasundotheresultsofthatActioninthecurrentCanvas.
Unique Features of Paint Action Sequences
Pre-builtPaintActionSequencescanbeaccessedbycallingupPaintActionSequencePresets.WheneveranewPaintActionSequencePresetisimportedorchoseninthePresetcontrolpanel,itwilloverwritethecurrentexistingsequenceinthePaintActionWindow.
TosaveanexistingPaintActionSequenceasaPaintActionSequencePreset,usethe“File: Export: Paint Action Sequence...”menucommand.SavetheexportedfileinthePASeqfoldernexttotheStudioArtistapplication,anditwillappearthenexttimeyoustartupStudioArtistasoneoftheaccessiblePaintActionSequencePresets.
EachfirstlevelsubfolderwithinthePASeqfolderwillshowupasaspecificCollectionwithinthePaintActionSequencePresetcontrolpanel.EachfirstlevelsubfolderwithineachoftheCollectionfolderswillbeaCategoryforthatparticularCollection.TheCategorynamewillbethesubfoldername.AnyPaintActionSequencefileswithinoneoftheseCategorysubfolderswillbetheindividualPresetsassociatedwithitsCategory.
Chapter 10: Actions399
10
Keyframe Animation in Paint Action Sequences
PaintActionSequencesalsoincludekeyframetimelineanimationfeatures.ThePaintActionSequencewindowcanbeextendedtotherightbydraggingthebottomrighthandcornerofthewindowwiththemouse.Extendingthehorizontalsizeofthewindowrevealsakeyframetimeline.
Thekeyframetimelineiscomposedofagridofkeyframecells.Thehorizontalaxisrepresentsframes.TheverticalaxisrepresentstheindividualstepsinthePaintActionSequenceassociatedwithaparticularframe.
EachrecordedkeyframewithinthetimelinerepresentsacompletesnapshotofalloftheeditableparametersassociatedwithitsparticularActionStep.Whenplayingbackananimation,thekeyframetimelinewillautomaticallyinterpolatethesettingsofanyblankkeyframeslocatedbetween2recordedkeyframestosmoothlyanimatetheassociatedActionStepparametersovertime.
Thiskeyframetweeninterpolationcouldincludeindividualparametervaluesassociatedwithapaintpathorimageprocessingeffectaswellasthevectorpathsandcolorinformationassociatedwithapaintstrokeorfilledregion.
SpecialMutekeyframescanalsoberecordedwhichturnoffaparticularactionstepinananimationuntilanotheractiverecordedkeyframeforthatstepisreached.
Studio Artist400
Animation Sequence Controls
ThereareseveralanimationcontrolslocatedatthetopofthePaintActionWindow.TheAnimatebuttonplaysbackthedifferentActionstepsrecordedinthePaintActionSequenceforeachframeintheanimationsequence.EachindividualstepintheActionSequencewillbehighlightedasthatstepiscurrentlybeingplayedback.ThelistwillautoscrollasplaybackprogressestoalwayskeepthecurrentframeandcurrentlyplayingActionstepinview.
YoucanstoptheSequenceplaybackbyusingthespacebaratanytimeduringplayback.Thiswillbringupadialogboxaskingyouifyouwishtocontinuetheanimationprocessingorstopit.Presstheappropriatebutton.BeawarethatunlikepreviousversionofStudioArtist,mousingdownintheinterfacewillnotstopaPASeqanimationofmovieprocessingsequencefromprocessing.TheAnimateContinuebuttonwillcontinueanimationsequenceplaybackfromthecurrentframeandcurrentselectedActionstepifyoudostopasequence.
YoucanalsorunthecompletetimelineanimationbyusingtheAction:GenerateFrames:RunPASeqAnimationmenucommand.
IfyouhaveanOpenMovieStreamorImageStream,thentheindividualframesassociatedwiththeanimationwillbewrittenouttotheOpenMovieStream.
SequentialKeyframingisapowerfulnewfeatureinversion3.Itallowsyoutoautomaticallyrecordaseriesofkeyframeswhileyoudrawwithouthavingtomanuallyoptionclickoneachkeyframecelltorecordit.Thiscangreatlyautomatetheprocessofmanualrotoscopingorgeneratinghanddrawnpaintanimation.Supportforsequentialkeyframingwassignificantlyenhancedinversion3.5.
Chapter 10: Actions401
10
Sequentialkeyframingisdescribedinmoredetailinthenextsectiononworkingwiththetimeline.
Studio Artist402
Working with the PASeq Keyframe Cells
Eachverticalcolumnofkeyframecellsrepresentsaspecificframeintheanimation.EachcellintheverticalcolumnrepresentsitsassociatedActionstepatthatframetime.EachhorizontalrowofkeyframecellsrepresentsalloftheframesassociatedwithaparticularActionstep.
IfaparticularcelliscoloredRedorBlack,thenthereisarecordedkeyframeassociatedwithitscorrespondingActionstepandframetime.RednormalkeyframesrecordeveryeditableparameterintheStudioArtistinterfaceassociatedwiththeparticularactionbeingrecorded.
BlackMutekeyframesmutetheassociatedkeyframetrackuntilthenextnormalRedkeyframe.Theseareusefulwhenyouonlywantaparticularactionsteptoplaybackforacertainrangeofframevaluesinananimation.
Ifthecellisnotcoloredredorblack,thenakeyframeisnotrecordedthere.Ifacellisnotrecordedandisbetweentworecordedhorizontalcells,itsvaluewillbeinterpolatedbasedonthekeyframevaluesofthetworecordedkeyframecellsitisin-between.
Torecordanormalkeyframeinagivencell,holddowntheoptionbuttonandmousedowninthecell.ThecellwillfillinRedwhenthekeyframeisrecordedinthecell.
TorecordaMutekeyframeinagivencell,holddowntheoptionbuttonandthemkeyandmousedowninthecell.ThecellwillfillinBlackwhentheMutekeyframeisrecordedinthecell.
ToEraseakeyframe,holddownthecmnd-optionkeysandmousedowninthecell.ThecellwillnolongerbefilledwithRedwhenitiserased.
Chapter 10: Actions403
10
Innormaloperations,mousingdowninaparticularcellwillsettheappropriatecontrolsinStudioArtisttothevaluesassociatedwiththatparticularcell.Thisincludesemptykeyframecells,whichwillbesetbyinterpolationbasedontheadjacenthorizontalkeyframevalues.
Ifsequentialkeyframemodeisturnedon,thenmousingdowninaparticularkeyframewillonlyplaybacktheparticularinterfaceparametersettingsassociatedwiththatactionstepatthatkeyframetimeandwillnotplaybacktheactualactionitself.SequentialkeyframemodeisapowerfulnewfeatureinStudioArtist3thatprovidesapowerfultoolforquicklygeneratingpaintstrokeanimationsordoingmanualrotoscopingfromaloadedsourcemovie.
IfPASeqsequentialkeyframeandrecordmodecheckboxesareturnedon,thenyoucanusesequentialkeyframingtoautomaticallyrecordaseriesofindividualkeyframesautomaticallyasyoudraw.StartbyclickingonthetopkeyframeforaseriesofmanuallydrawnpaintstrokesrecordedinaPASeq.Forexample,thepaintstrokesmightbeapersonsfacialfeatures.
Then,redrawalloftheinitialcurvesintheirnewshapesandpositionsforthatframetime.Noticehowafteryoudraweachpaintstroke,thekeyframeforthatactionstepisautomaticallyrecordedandtheselectioncellmovesverticallytothenextactionstep.Whenyouaredonewithacompletesetofpaintstrokesforaframetime,yousimplyclickonthenewframetimeforthefirstactionstepandrepeatthewholeprocessoveragain.
Sequentialkeyframingremovesthetediumofmanuallyoptionclickrecordingaseriesofanimationkeyframesandallowsyoutoconcentrateoncreativedrawingratherthanswitchingyourattentionbackandforthfromdrawinginthecanvastomanagingandrecordingkeyframesinaseparatewindow.
Chapter 10: Actions405
10
Bezier Edit and PASeq Keyframe Cells
IfBezierEditOperationModeisactive,youcanrecordandedittheunderlyingBezierpathsassociatedwithaparticularpaintstrokeindependentofitsparticularPaintSynthesizerparametersettings.
MousingdowninaPASeqkeyframecellassociatedwithamanuallydrawnpaintstrokeActionStepwilldisplaytheunderlyingBezierpathassociatedwiththatpaintstrokeatthatparticularframe.
ThepaintstrokeBezierpathcanthenbeeditedusingthenormalBezierEditOperationmodetechniques.AftereditingtheBezierpath,option-clickingtheassociatedPASeqkeyframewillrecordtheeditedBezierpathintothatparticularkeyframe.
Thistechniquecanbeusedtoanimatethemovementofindividualpaintstrokesovertime.
IfyouplaybacktheanimationwhileinBezierEditOperationmode,theBezierpathlayeronlywillinterpolate.YouwillendupwithaseriesofinterpolatedBezierpathsbutnoactualpaintintheCanvas.YoushouldswitchbacktoPresetsorthePaintSynthesizeroperationmodesbeforerunningtheanimationfornormalanimationplayback.
Studio Artist406
Chapter 11: Layers
TheStudioArtistCanvascanbecomposedofmultiplelayers.Layerscanbeviewedinisolationfromotherlayersorincombination.These2waysofviewingarecalled'viewcurrent'and'viewall'.Layerscanbecombinedtogetherinviewallmodeusingdifferentcompositingalgorithms,alphamasks,andindependenttransparencypercentagetobuildupamorecomplexoverallimage.
Eachlayeriscomposedof32bitRGBA(red,green,blue,andalpha)pixels.TheRGBimageplanescontainthecoloredimage.TheAoralphaimageplanecontainsadditionaltransparencyinformationforeachpixel.Thisalphatransparencyinformationisonlyusedinthelayerviewdisplayprocessifalphais'enabledforview'.Otherwisethealphachannelisignoredwhenconstructingtheview.ThisflexibilityallowsotherusesforthealphachannelwithinStudioArtist.
Eachlayerhasanassociatedname,status,compositingalgorithm,andalphaindependenttransparencycontrolusedwhenthecanvasisviewedinalllayermode.Whenalphachannelsareenabled,thereisalsoafixedbackgroundcolorthatcanbespecifiedintheCanvas:Alpha:Backgroundsubmenus.
EachlayeralsohasanintegralBezierpathframe.ThepathframestoresacollectionofBezierpathsthatcanbeusedtoeditoranimateindividualpaintstrokesortospecifyandanimateanchorpathsforthingsliketimelinewarpingormorphing.TheBezierpathframeisnotdisplayedinthecanvasviewunlessyouareinBezieroperationmode.
Chapter 11: Layers407
11
Whenmultiplelayersareviewedtogether,theyareoverlaidontheworkingcanvasinorderfromthetoptothebottomofthelayerlist.
Photoshop users may note that top to bottom layer overlay order is the reverse of what they are used to. The thing to remember is that all lists in Studio Artist consistently run from top to bottom, and that includes layers as well as paint action sequences, MSG processor chains, etc.
Individuallayersintheoveralllistcanbemuted,whichmeanstheywillnotappearinViewAlldisplaymode.YoucanstillviewmutedlayerswheninCurrentLayerviewmode.
One use for muted layers while working is to use them as scratch pads for trying out ideas without modifying your final working layers. They can also be used to mix paint or to store intermediate image results in PASeqs that work with multiple layers. If you are working with Bus modulation in the paint synthesizer you can also use muted layers to store images or textures that can be used to modulate paint effects.
Studio Artist408
Working With Layers
TovieworeditthecurrentCanvasLayers,usethemenucommand‘Windows: Layers”.ThismenucommandwillbringupapalettethatcontainsthecurrentCanvasLayers.
Layer Controls in the Operation Toolbar
ThereareseveralcontrolslocatedintheOperationToolBar.The+and-buttonscanbeusedtozoomoutorintheviewmagnification.TheCurrentLayerpopupshowsthenameofthecurrentlayerandletsyouswitchtoanyoftheotherlayersinthelayerlist(locatedintheLayersPalette).
TheViewIconPopupdetermineshowthecurrentlayerisdisplayedwithintheoverallCanvas.ViewCurrentimpliesthatonlythecurrentlayerisdisplayedintheCanvas.ThelayercompositingandoveralltransparencycontrolswillbeignoredwhenCurrentLayerOnlyviewmodeisactive.
ViewAlldisplaysallnon-mutedlayerssimultaneouslyintheCanvas.TheoverallviewisgeneratedbyplacinglayersinorderfromthetopofthelisttothebottomwithintheoverallCanvas.Thelayercompositeandtransparencycontrolsdeterminehowapositionedlayerinteractswithalreadypositionedlayersinthecanvas.IftheAlpha:EnableforViewmenuflagisenabled,thentheintegralalphachannelforthelayerwillalsoinfluenceitspixeltransparency.
Chapter 11: Layers409
11
Layer Palette
TheLayersPaletteconsistsofalistofindividuallayers.Eachlayerconsistsofaname,status,composite,and%transparencysettingsasshownbelow.
Toselectaparticularlayerinthelist,mousedownonthelayerlistelement.Theselectedlayerwillbehighlighted,andwillbecomethecurrentlayer.YoucanalsoswitchlayersusingtheLayerpopupintheOperationToolbar.
Youcandragaselectedlayertoanewlocationinthelist.Todothis,mousedownontheindividuallayerandthendragittoanewlocationinthelist.Asyoudragtheoutlineoftheindividualstep,aselectionbarwillshowthepotentialnewlocationforthedraggedstep.Whenyoumouseup,thedraggedindividuallayerwillbemovedtothenewlistlocation.
Optiondraggingalayerwillmakeanewlayerthatisacopyoftheoriginaldraggedlayerasopposedtoanormaldragthatjustmovesthelayertoanewpositioninthelist.Aswithnormallayerdragging,whenyoudragtheoutlineoftheindividualstep,aselectionbarwillshowthepotentialnewlocationforthedraggedstep.Whenyoumouseup,acopyofthedraggedindividuallayerwillbepositionedinthenewlistlocation.
Onlyonelayeratatimecanbethecurrentcanvaslayer.Youcanchooseaspecificlayertobethecurrentlayerbyselectingthelayerlistelementmentionedaboveorbyusingthelayerpopuplocateddirectlyabovethecanvas.Thecurrentcanvaslayerlistelementishighlighted.Thenameofthecurrentlayerisalsodisplayedinthecurrentlayerpopupintheoperationtoolbar.
TheStatusoftheindividuallayerlistelementdetermineswhethertheassociatedlayerisactive(thestatusison)ormuted(thestatusisoff).AllactivelayersaredisplayedwhentheViewissettoAllLayers.Anymuted(statusisoff)layersarenotdisplayed
Studio Artist410
whentheViewissettoAllLayers.ThestatushasnoeffectwhentheViewissettoCurrent.
Mutingindividuallayersallowsthemtobeusedasscratchpadsortemporaryresultprocessingbufferswithouthavingthemaffecttheoverallcompositedview.Forexample,youcoulduseamutedlayertomixcolorsusingawetpainthiddenfromyouroveralldrawingcanvas.Or,youmightuseamutedlayerasatemporarybuffertoprocesstheselectionregioninsomewaywithoutaffectingtheoverallvieweddrawingcanvaswhileprocessingamoviefileinapaintactionsequence.
ThecompositingpopuptotherightofthelayernameallowsfordifferentcompositingoptionstobechosenfortheparticularlayerwhendisplayedinViewAllmode.Compositingdefinesaspecificalgorithmforalgorithmicallycombiningthelayerwithwhathasalreadybeendisplayedonthecanvas.
Aneditfieldtotherightofthelayercompositingpopupallowsapartialtransparencytobespecifiedforalayer.Asettingof100%meansnotransparency,asettingof0%meansthelayerwillbefullytransparentandnotseen.Thispartialtransparencyisglobalfortheentirelayerandindependentfromanypixelbasedalphachanneltransparencyassociatedwiththelayer.
Chapter 11: Layers411
11
Layer Menu Commands
TherearealargenumberoflayerandlayertimelinemenucommandslocatedunderthemainCanvasmenu.
TheLayermenucommandscanbeusedtoaddordeletelayers,resizelayers,flattenlayers,setthelayertoaspecificbackground,changethelayersview,capturethecurrentviewtoalayer,etc.
Movielayersarelayersthatreferenceamoviefileinadditiontoastaticimageframebuffer.WhenamovielayeristhecurrentlayeramovietransportappearsatthebottomoftheLayerPalette.Youcanusethismovietransporttoplayorframeadjustthemovieassociatedwiththemovielayer.Movielayermenucommandscanbeusedtoaddnewmovielayers,openexistingmoviesasmovielayers,recordframes,insertordeleteframes,etc.
YoucanalsoaccessSupersizerinterpolationfunctionalitywhenresizingthecanvas.SupersizerisaSynthetikimageinterpolationalgorithmthatprovidessuperiorimagequalitytothenormalbicubicimageinterpolationItsdescribedinmoredetailinthenextsection.
MoredetailedinformationonthevariousLayersandMovieLayermenucommandsisincludedintheChapteronMenuCommandsinthesectionassociatedwiththemainCanvasmenu.
Studio Artist412
Supersizer Interpolation
SupersizerisaSynthetikinterpolationtechnologythatwedevelopedfortheSupersizerapplication.We'vetakentheSupersizertechnologyandmoredirectlyintegrateditintoversion4.
YoucanuseSupersizertoblowupasmallsourceimageintoamuchlargercanvasimage.Forexample,youcouldtakeasmall100pixelimageandgenerateamuchlarger600dpiimagesuitableforprinting.Supersizergeneratesaninterpolatedimagewithgreatlyreducedvisualartifactswhencomparedtoalgorithmssuchasbicubicinterpolation,whichisthestandardmethodforblowingupimages.Thetradeoffisthatforlargeexpansionratiositmaytakelongertorunthanthebicubicinterpolationtechnique.
TouseSupersizer,youneedtosetthedefaultinterpolationoptiontoSupersizerusingtheappropriateCanvas:DefaultInterpolationmenuflag.WithSupersizerasthedefaultinterpolationoption,itwillbeusedwheneveranimageneedstoberesizedinStudioArtist.Thiscouldincludethingslikesettingthecurrentlayertothesourceimage,resizingthecanvas,orusingtheIpSourceoptioninImageOperations,Vectorizer,orMSGeffects.
Studio Artist414
Chapter 12: Movies
YoucanuseStudioArtisttogeneratemoviesfromscratchortoprocessexistingmovies.YoucanalsouseStudioArtisttogeneratepaintanimation,auto-rotoscoping,imagewarping,morphing,orprocesseachframewithaPaintActionsequence.Ifprocessinganexistingmovie,theoutputresolutioncanbedifferentthantheinputresolution.
ThereareprimarilythreedifferentwaystoworkwithMoviefileswithinStudioArtist.Youcangenerateanewmoviefilefromscratch,transformanexistingsourcemoviefileintoanewprocessedoutputmoviefile,orloadanexistingmoviefileintotheCanvasviaaMovieLayerandhandpaintorprocessindividualframes.
Inaddition,StudioArtisthastheabilitytouseamoviefileasasourceforapaintsynthesizerbrushorbackgroundtexture.Thiscanbeusedtoprovideamechanismforcompositingmultiplesourcemoviefilesintoafinalcompositedoutputmoviefile.Italsoallowsforcreatingverysophisticatedinteractivepainttoolsthatindexintotheindividualmovieframeswhendrawing.
Moviebrushescanalsobeusedtocreateamazingphoto-mosaicpainteffectswherethesourceimageisrepresentedbysmallerimagesstoredintheindividualmoviebrushframes.
Studio Artist416
Automatically Processing an Existing Movie File
StudioArtistallowsyoutoautomaticallyprocessanexistingsourcemoviefileintoanewauto-rotoscopedoreffectedmoviefile.StudioArtistworkswithvideoframesstoredineitherQuicktimemoviefilesorasindividualnumberedframeimagesinafolder.
IfyouareworkingonanonlineareditingsystemlikeFinalCutPro,anAvidorMedia100,youshouldexportyourvideoasaQuicktimemoviefile.AfterprocessingtheQuicktimemoviefilewithinStudioArtist,youcanre-importtheprocessedQuicktimevideofilebackintothenativeformatofyourparticularnonlineareditingsystem.
YoualsohavetheabilitytoprocessandorgenerateafolderofnumberedindividualframeimagefilesinanyoftheimagefileformatsthatQuicktimesupports.ThisincludesPhotoshop,Tiff,Targa,Pict,Sgi,Bmp,Jpeg,andPngfileformats.
Thesizeorresolutionoftheprocessedoutputmoviefilecanbedifferentthanthesourcemoviefile.Thismeansthatapostagestampsizesourcemoviefilecanbeusedtogenerateafullhighresolutionprocessedoutputmovie(ifyouwish).
Boththesourcemoviefileandtheprocessedoutputmoviefileresideonyourharddisk.YoudonothavetoloadamovielayertoprocessanexistingmoviefilewithaPaintActionSequence.
StudioArtistsupportsuptoa4000x4000pixeloutputmovieframesizewhenprocessingamoviefile.Ifyouworkwithnumberedframeimagesyoucangotoevenhigherresolutions.Thismeansthatyoucanworkwithorgeneratehighresolutionprocessedmoviesforuseinfeaturefilmsorbroadcastvideo.
YoualsohavetheabilitytooutputvectorstylemoviepaintstrokesandflatcolorvectorregionsasaseriesofnumberedEPSframefiles.EPSoutputforindividualframesallowsforresolutionindependentfinalframesizeandcouldbeusedforrenderinghigh
Chapter 12: Movies417
12
qualityvectorgraphicstofilmorIMAXframeresolutions.
ForDVordigitalvideofiles,youwouldtypicallyworkwitha720x480pixelCanvas,or1280x720pixelsforHDfiles.ForanalogNTSCvideoyoucanworkwitha640x480pixelCanvassize.
A De-Interlace Image Operation is provided to de-interlace the even or odd frames fields if you are working with digitized analog video in your Quicktime source movie file. It is suggested that you de-interlace analog video frames for best results when processing analog video files. There are also compositing options available in image operations that can be used to re-interlace a final output field by compositing to the even or odd field.
Batch Processing a Movie File with a Paint Action Sequence
ToprocessanexistingsourcemoviefilewithaPaintActionSequence,youfirstneedtochooseaPaintActionSequencePresetorrecordanewPaintActionSequence.
TochooseaPaintActionSequencePreset,usethemenucommand“Operation: Presets: Paint Action Sequence”tobringuptheappropriatePresetcontrolpanel.SelectaPresetcategoryusingtheCollectionandCategorypopups.ThenchooseaspecificPresetbymousingdownononeofthePreseticonsinthepresetlist.
YouarenotrestrictedtousingtheexistingpresetPaintActionSequencePresetswhenprocessingmoviefiles.YoucanalsobuildanewPaintActionSequencefromscratchoreditanexistingpresetpriortoprocessingamoviefile.WhateverActionstepsarecurrentlyrecordedinthesequencearewhatwillbeusedwhenthemoviefileisprocessed.
YoucanthenprocessanexistingmoviefilelocatedonyourharddiskwiththecurrentPaintActionSequence.Tostarttheprocess,usethe“Process with Paint Action Sequence”menulocatedinthe“Action”mainmenu.
Studio Artist418
Varioussubmenucommandsareassociatedwiththismenuoption.YoucanchoosetoprocessanexistingmoviefiletoaprocessedmovieoutputfilebychoosingtheMovietoMoviemenuoption.Yourinputoptionscanbeamovieorafolderofframeimages.Yououtputoptionscanbeamoviefile,folderofframeimages,orfolderorEPSframes.
Youwillfirstbepromptedtoselectasourcemoviefilewithastandardfiledialog.Choosetheoriginalsourcemoviefileyouwishtoprocess.Youroriginalmoviefilewillnotbemodifiedinanyway.
YouwillthengetadialogthatallowsyoutospecifytheCanvasoroutputmovieframedimensions.Theoutputframedimensionscanbedifferentthantheinputframedimensions.Setthedialogcontrolsappropriatelytospecifytheoutputmovieresolutionyouwanttogenerate.
AfterhittingOKforintheSetCanvasSizedialogbox,youwillbegivenastandardfiledialogtonameyourprocessedoutputmoviefile.
If you hit Cancel at this point, the input source movie will still be processed, but the output frames will not be written to an output file. This is a good way to try out a process before committing it to an output movie file. Press the spacebar to stop the movie processing at anytime.
EachinputframefromyouroriginalsourcemoviefilewillbeusedasasourceimageforthecurrentPaintActionSequence.AfterthecompletePaintActionSequencerunsonaparticularsourceframe,theprocessedCanvasimagewillbewrittenouttoyourgeneratingoutputmoviefile.ThenthenextinputframewillbeloadedandthePaintActionSequencewillrunagainonthisnewframe.ThiswillcontinueuntilalloftheframesinthesourcemoviefilehavebeenprocessedbythepaintActionSequence.
YoucanexamineoreditthecurrentPaintActionSequencebyusingthe‘Windows:
Chapter 12: Movies419
12
Paint Action Sequence”menucommand.Thiswillbediscussedinmoredetailinthenextsection.
Remember,youneedtoloadthesourceframeintothepaintCanvasasapartofyourPaintActionSequenceifyouwanttoperformimageprocessingoperationsonthemoviesourceframesorpaintontopoftheoriginalmoviesourceframe.YoucandothisbysettingtheCanvasBackgroundpopuptoSourceImagewhilerecordingyourPaintActionSequence.
IfperforminganImageOperation,youcouldalsosettheIpSourcetoSourceImageratherthantheCurrentLayer.Doingsomeansthatthesourceimagewillbeusedasinputfortheimageoperationeffectasopposedtothecurrentcanvaslayer.
Studio Artist420
Using Paint Action Sequences for Movie Processing
EachframeofthesourcemoviefilewillbeprocessedbythevariousActionStepsinthecurrentStudioArtistPaintActionSequence.TovieworeditthecurrentPaintActionSequence,usethemenucommand‘Windows: Paint Action Sequence”.ThismenucommandwillbringupapalettethatcontainsthecurrentPaintActionSequence.
ThereareseveralcontrolsatthetopofthePaintActionSequencePalette.ThePlaybuttonplaysbackthedifferentActionstepsrecordedinthePaintActionSequence.YoucanstoptheSequenceplaybackbyusingthespacebarorbymousingdownintheStudioArtistinterface.TheErasebuttonwillerasetheentirecurrentPaintActionSequence.
TheRecordcheckboxturnsonandoffrecordingforthePaintActionSequence.Whenrecordingison,everytimeanActionisinitiatedinStudioArtist,itisrecordedasanewstepinthePaintActionSequence.
ToselectaparticularActionstepinthesequence,mousedownontheActionSequencelistelement.Youcandragaselectedactionsteptoanewlocationinthesequencelistbymousingdownontheactionstepanddraggingittoanewlocation..Youcanusecontrolclickcontextualmenustoplaybackorre-recordindividualselectedpaintactionsteps..
Variousmenucommandsarealsoavailableinthe‘Action: Paint Action Sequence” submenusthatoperateonthecurrentPaintActionSequenceorthecurrentlyselectedActionsequencelistelement.
Chapter 12: Movies421
12
ThePaintActionSequencepalettealsoincludesanintegratedkeyframetimelineassociatedwiththeindividualActionStepsinaPaintActionSequence.
There's a vertical spacer in the center of the palette below the top toolbar you can use to adjust the positioning of the display view of the paseq action step list on the left and the associated keyframe timeline on the right side of the palette. If the timeline s hidden from view move the vertical spacer to the left to bring the timeline into view.
PresstheAnimatebuttontoplaybackaPASeqanimation.YoucanstoptheSequenceplaybackatanytimebyusingthespacebar.ThereisaContinuemenuintheAction:PaintActionSequencessubmenucommandthatwillcontinueanimationsequenceplaybackfromthecurrentframeandcurrentselectedActionstep.
You can run one of the Action : Animate with Paint Action Sequence menu commands if you want to spool your animation to a movie file, or a folder of image or eps files.
Sequentialkeyframingmodeisapowerfulnewtoolthatallowsausertoquicklybuilduptweenpaintanimationfromaseriesoffreedrawnimages.Whencombinedwithintegratedsourcemovieonionskintransparency,itgreatlyenhancestheworkflowformanualrotoscopingorgeneratinghanddrawnanimation.
Pre-builtPaintActionSequencescanbeaccessedbycallingupPaintActionSequence
Studio Artist422
Presets.WheneveranewPaintActionSequencePresetisimportedorchoseninthePresetcontrolpanel,itwilloverwritethecurrentsequenceinthePaintActionWindow.
FormoreinformationonworkingwithPaintActionSequences,readtheUserGuidechapteronActions.
Chapter 12: Movies423
12
Generating a New Movie File With a New Movie Stream
StudioArtistprovidesseveralalternativemethodsforgeneratingnewmoviesorprocessingexistingones.AnalternativetothebatchstylemovieprocessingcommandoptionslocatedunderthemainActionmenuistoworkwithMovieStreams.AMovieStreamcanbethoughtofasanopenquicktimefile.FramescaneitherbewrittenoutmanuallyintoanopenMovieStream,orbyplayingaPASeqanimationframeswillautomaticallybewrittenintotheopenmoviestreamastheyaregenerated.
MovieStreamscanbeconfiguredtoautomaticallywriteframesasyouwork.Thesepreferencesettingsincludetheabilitytoautomaticallywriteframesaftereachaction,aftereachpaseqorhistorystep,orattimedintervalswhileyouaredrawing.
Togenerateanewmoviefilefromscratch,usethemenucommand“File: Stream: New Movie Stream...”toinitiateanewmovieoutputstreamfile.Thismenucommandwillbringupastandardfiledialogthatallowsyoutospecifythenameofthenewmoviestreamanditslocationonyourharddisk.
ThedimensionsoftheoutputmoviewillbethedimensionsofthecurrentCanvas.Theframeratewillbethesettingofthe“Frames per Second”parameter,locatedintheFile : Movie Codec Settingsmenudialog.
Onceyoustartanewmoviestream,youcanwriteoutmovieframesinanumberofdifferentways.Youcaneitherwritenewframestotheopenmoviestreambyhandorrundifferentanimationoperationsthatwillgenerateaseriesofframesandwritethemsequentiallytotheopenmoviefile.Youcancontinuetowriteframestotheopenmoviestreamuntilitisclosedwiththemenucommand“File: Close Stream”.
Studio Artist424
Tomanuallywriteaframetoanopenmoviestream,usethemenucommand“File: Stream: Write Frame”orthehotkeyCmndF.ThismenucommandwilltakethecurrentcontentsoftheCanvasandwriteitoutasoneframeintheopenmoviestream.
YoucanautomaticallywriteoutanewframetoanopenmoviestreamattheconclusionofeachStudioArtistActionbycheckingthemenucommandflag“File: Stream: Flags: Enable Write on Op End”.
YoucanautomaticallywriteoutanewframetoanopenmoviestreamafteraPASeqorHistorySequenceconcludesbycheckingthemenucommandflag“File: Stream: Flags: Enable Write on PASeq Cycle”andthenplayingbackthePASeqorHistorySequence.
Youcanalsospecifyaspecifictimeintervalforframestobeautomaticallywrittenoutasyoudraw.Forexample,youcouldoutputanewframe4timesasecondasyoudraworworkintheCanvas.Todothis,youopenthe“Preferences“dialogandspecifytheappropriateMovieStreamAutoWriteFPSsettinginthepreferencedialog'sMovietab.
WhenyouarefinishedwritingournewframestotheopenMovieStream,youneedtoclosetheactivemoviefilebyusingthe“File: Stream: Close Open Stream”menucommand.AnopenMovieStreamneedstobeclosedbeforeitcanbeopenedandplayedinanotherapplicationlikeMoviePlayer.
Chapter 12: Movies425
12
Generating a New Canvas Movie Layer
LayersinStudioArtist4havetheabilitytobeimagelayersormovielayers.Youcanhavemultiplelayersthatareloadedmovielayers.However,youcancurrentlyonlyplaybackthecurrentmovielayer(asopposedtoplayingbackaviewallcompositedstackofmultiplemovielayers).
Toconvertanexistingcanvaslayertoamovielayer,usethemenucommand“Canvas: Movie Layer: Convert to Movie Layer”.ThismenucommandwillbringupastandardfiledialogthatallowsyoutospecifythenameofthenewCanvasMoviefileanditslocationonyourharddisk.Yourexistingcurrentlayerwillnowbeamovielayer.
ToloadanexistingmovieasanewlayerthatisamovielayeryoucanusetheCanvas: Movie Layer: Open Movie as New Layer.ToopenanewmovielayeryoucanusetheCanvas: Movie Layer: New Movie Layer menu.
AfterthenewCanvasMovieloads,therewillbeasetofCanvasMovietransportbuttonslocatedatthebottomofthelayerpalette
IfyoumakeanewmovielayerthanwhateverwasinthecurrentCanvaswillbethefirstdefaultframeinthemoviefile.InitiallythenewCanvasMoviewillonlycontainoneframe.Youcanoverwritethecontentsofthisframeoraddnewframes.
Tooverwriteanexistingmovieframe,mousedownintheRbuttonintheCanvasmovietransport.WhateverimageisinthecurrentCanvaswilloverwritethecurrentCanvasmovieframe.Toinsertanewframeafterthecurrentmovieframe,hold
Studio Artist426
downthe‘shift’keyandmousedownintheRbuttonintheCanvasmovietransport.WhateverimageisinthecurrentCanvaswillbeinsertedasanewmovieframelocatedafterthecurrentframe.YoucanalsousetheappropriateCanvas:MovieLayermenucommandstorecord,insert,ordeletemovieframes.
Alleditstoacanvasmovielayerareliveandcreatedviaplaylistedits.Youcansaveaflattenedversionoftheloadedmovielayerbyusingthe‘Canvas:MovieLayer:SaveFlattenedCanvasMovieto”menucommand.
Youcanusethe‘Canvas:MovieLayer:ConverttoImageLayer”menucommandtounloadamovielayerandconvertthelayerintoanormalimagelayercontainingthelastdisplayedframeimageinthelayer.
Chapter 12: Movies427
12
Working with Movie Layers in the Canvas
StudioArtistallowsaQuicktimemoviefiletobeloadeddirectlyintotheCanvasviaaMovieLayer.Individualframescanthenbeaccessedforpainting,touchup,imageprocessing,keying,etc.Onceamoviefilehasbeenloadedintothemovielayer,itcanbeplayedorsinglesteppedforwardsandbackwards.
Manipulating a Movie Layer Frame
Ifyouhaveloadedamoviefileintoamovielayer,youcanpaintontopofitorprocessitmanuallyframebyframe.YouneedtousetheRmovietransportbuttontorecordanychangesyoumaketoaframebeforeyoumovetoanewframeortheywillnotberecorded.Youreditsaresavedasyoucreatethemtotheassociatedmoviefile.Thechangesarenondestructive.Thechangedframesareaddedtotheexistingmoviefileandthemovietrackplaylistiseditedaccordingly.
IfyouwanttoinserttheCanvasimageasanewframeratherthanoverwriteanexistingone,youshouldholddowntheshiftkeybeforepressingtheRmovietransportbuttontoinserttheframe.
ThereareanumberofmenucommandsassociatedwiththeloadedCanvasMovie,whichareaccessibleundertheCanvas:MovieLayer:menu.YoucaninsertNframesatagivenlocationorinsertNblankframesinanexistinganimation.
Youcanalsodeleteaframeinthemovieusingtheappropriatemenu.
How Frames are Stored
Edited frames are saved in uncompressed format using the animation codec. This is necessary to avoid potential incompatibilities between different codecs interacting in the same Quicktime file. You can use the “Canvas: Movie Layer: Save Flattened Canvas Movie As...” menu command to save the current Canvas Movie using the
Studio Artist428
default Preference: Movie Compression settings. This will recompress all the frames using the chosen codec and also flatten the resulting new output movie to only include the actual frames used in the movie, eliminating old unused frames associated with the nondestructive original movie edits that are still in the media track.
Chapter 12: Movies429
12
Generating a Moving Bezier Mask
StudioArtisthastheabilitytogenerateaseriesofselectionmasksdirectlyfromthecurrentpathframe.ByusingtheKeyFrameTimeline,theseBeziermaskscanbeanimatedovertime.Thiscouldincludescaling,rotation,andmovementaswellasdeformationorreshaping.
Toconvertthecurrentpathframeintoasetofindividualmaskregions,usethe“Canvas: Selection :Set to: Bezier Frame”menucommand.StudioArtistassumesthateachBezierpathinthepathframeistheoutlineforasingleBezierregion.
IftheabovecommandisrecordedinaPaintActionSequence,thenthecontentsoftheKeyFrameTimelinecanbeusedtospecifyaseriesofanimatingselectionmasks.TosoftentheedgesoftheresultingBezierselectionmasks,usethe“Canvas: Selection :Feather”menucommand.
Studio Artist430
Working with Alpha Channels in Movies
StudioArtisthastheabilitytoworkwithembeddedalphachannelswithinQuickTimemovies.Selectionmasksbasedonthealphachannelassociatedwitheachsourcemovieframecanbegeneratedwhenprocessingmovies.Alphachannelscanalsobegeneratedforeachoutputframefromavarietyofsources.QuickTime’salphagraphicsmodesformovieplaybackarealsosupportedforloadedCanvasmovies.
Working with the Source Movie Embedded Alpha
Togenerateacurrentselectionregionfromamovieframealphachannel,usethe“Canvas: Selection: Set to: Source Alpha Image”menucommand.RecordingthiscommandasanActionstepinaPaintActionSequencewillautomaticallygenerateaselectionregionfromeachindividualmovieframewhenprocessingamoviefilewiththatPaintActionSequence.
TousethecurrentselectionregionasamaskforanyOperation,turntheMaskcheckboxintheOperationToolbar.AnyActionsrecordedinaPaintActionSequencewhilemaskingisonwillusethecurrentselectionregionasamask.YouneedtosetthePaintActionSequenceMaskPlaybackparametertoonifyouwantthemasksettingstoplaybackwhenyouplaybackthePASeq
In addition, embedded alpha channels in movie files can be used as masks for movie compositing. See the section on “Using Movie Brushes to Generate Compositing Effects” for more information.
Chapter 12: Movies431
12
Generating Embedded Alpha in a Processed Output Movie
Anoutputframesalphamaskcanbegeneratedfromanumberofdifferentsources,including: 1.FullOn 2.FullOff 3.CurrentLayeralphachannel 4.Currentsourceframealphachannel 5.Currentregionselection 6.KeyframeBeziermaskviaconversiontoaregionselection 7.CurrentBlankingframe.
PaintstrokealphapaintingisaglobalmenupreferencesettinginStudioArtist4,andisaccessedviatheCanvas:Alpha:PaintSynthAlphaEnablemenuflag.TurningthismenuflagoninsuresthatanypaintingwillpaintinthelayeralphachannelinadditiontotheRGBcolorchannels.Thelayeralphachannelcanthenbeusedasthesourceoftheembeddedalphachannelforthemovieoutput.
Formoviefilesgeneratedfromscratchorbyprocessingexistingfiles,alphachannelgenerationoptionscanbeaccessedinthepreferencesdialogundertheMovietab.
Studio Artist432
Working with Final Cut Pro and iMovie
StudioArtistcanworkwithalargenumberofdifferentmovieeditingprograms,includingApple’sFinalCutProandiMovie.Hereareafewhintstomakeworkingwiththesegreatprogramsalittleeasier.
Toprocesssourcevideofromeitherprogram,youshouldexportthesourcefootageasaQuicktimefile.YoucanthenprocessthesourcefootagewithaPaintActionSequencetogenerateaneffectedprocessedoutputQuicktimemoviefile.ThiseffectedQuicktimemoviefilecanthenbeimportedbackintotheprogramyouareworkingwith.
Apple’siMovieprogramisdesignedtoworkprimarilywithDVorDigitalVideoformatmoviefiles.YoushouldsettheFile:Preferences:MovieCompressionpreferencestooneoftheDVcompressionsettings(likeDVNTSC).Ifyouaregeneratingoutputasamoviestream,alsomakesureyourCanvassizeis720x480pixels,whichisthesizeofaDVvideoframe.
FinalCutProcanimportadditionalmoviecompressionformats.ForhighqualityuncompressedvideooutputwithanembeddedalphachannelyoushouldchoosetheanimationcodecwithMillionsofColors+.MillionsofColors+optionsupportsanembeddedalphachannel,MillionsofColorsdoesn’tsupportembeddedalpha.
Dependingonwhattheembeddedmoviealphachannelhasbeensetto,youmayneedtomakeanadditionalsettinginFinalCut.Iftheembeddedalphachannelisblankorfulloff,thenFinalCutmaydisplaythemoviefileasblackframes.Thisisbecauseitisusingtheblankalphachannelfordisplay,andafulloffalphachannelwillcausethemoviefiletodisplayasblack.YoushouldselecttheappropriatesourcemovieandthenchangetheModifyItemAlphamenutoBlackorNone/Ignore.Makingthischangetoamoviefilewithablackorfulloffalphachannelwillenabletheimageplanetobeseen.
TheprevioussectioninthischapteronAlphaChannelsdiscusseshowtospecifyaspecificembeddedalphachanneloutputoption.
Chapter 12: Movies433
12
Working With Time Particles for Motion Effects
StudioArtist’sPaintSynthesizerhastheabilitytogenerateaseriesofindividualpaintstrokesthathavetemporalcontinuityfromframetoframe.Themechanismtodothisisbasedonthenotionoftimeparticles.
Atimeparticleisgeneratedforeachindividualpaintstrokeinthefirstframeofananimationormovie.Eachtimeparticlekeepstrackofthepathstartlocationofitsassociatedpaintstroke.Eachtimeparticlecanalsohaveitsownmovementbehavior.ThecharacteristicsofeachtimeparticlesmovementoversubsequentframesinamoviesequenceisdeterminedbytheparametersintheTimeParticlecontrolpanelinthePaintSynthesizer.
Inadditiontoapathstartlocation,eachTimeParticlecanalsocontainacompletepaintpathaswell.Thisallowsforanimationeffectsthatstartwithapaintsketchandthenhavethesketchblowapartormorphintoaseriesofdifferentpaintsketchesderivedfromdifferentimagesorsequencedmovieframes.
IfTimeParticlesareactiveinthePaintSynthesizerpatch,thentheyoverridethePathStartgeneratorforpositioningindividualpaintstrokesforallframesafterthefirstframeinageneratedorprocessedmovie.HowmanytimeparticlesaregeneratedinthefirstframeandwheretheyarepositionedareafunctionofthePathStartparameters.
IfTimeParticlesareoff,thenthePathStartparametersarealwaysactiveforeachframe.IfaPaintActionSequenceisplayedmanually(i.e..notapartofagenerationanimationormovieprocess)orActionPaintingisinitiated,thePaintSynthesizerwillalwaysactasifitisgeneratingthefirstframe(i.e..thecurrentPathStartparameterswilldeterminethestartpointsfortheautopaintstrokes).
The Time Particle section of the Paint Synthesizer chapter contains more information how to work with setting up Time Particles in the Paint Synthesizer.
Studio Artist434
Working With Movie Brushes in the Paint Synthesizer
StudioArtist’sPaintSynthesizerhastheabilitytouseaQuickTimemovieasaBrushSourceoraBackgroundTextureThereareseveraldifferentapplicationsformoviebrushes.
Amoviebrushcanbedesignedtoprovidearichsetofindividualtexturesorbrushpatterns.ThesecanbeusedasrawmaterialwithinthePaintSynthesizertocreatedynamicpainttools.Interactivemodulationparameterssuchaspressureortiltcanbeusedtoindexthroughtheindividualmovieframesinrealtimewhiledrawing.
Moviebrushescanbegeneratedautomaticallyfromfoldersordatabasesofstillimages.Thesesetsofimagescanthenbeusedtogenerateinteractivephotomontagepainttoolsandimages.
ThePaintSynthesizeralsosupportsembeddedalphachannelsassociatedwithmoviebrushes.Movieindexingcanalsotrackthetiminginanoutputanimationormoviefileprocessing.Thisapproachtopaintingallowsforcompositingmultipleindividualmoviefilesinothergeneratedorprocessedmovies.
ThenewMoviePixelIndexBackgroundTextureoptioninthePaintSynthesizercanbeusedtocreateamazinghatchinganddrawingeffects.Eachmovieframecanstoreaspecifichatchingpatternassociatedwithrepresentingaspecificluminancevalue.PixelIndexmeansthatthemovieframeindexingforthebackgroundtextureisperformedforeachpixelasopposedtoonceforabackgroundtexturepaintnibblock.
Using Movie Brushes to Generate Compositing Effects
Supposeyouhaveseveralsmallmoviefilesyouwouldliketocombinetogetherwithinalargercompositemoviefile.Moviebrushescanbeusedtodothis.
Chapter 12: Movies435
12
ThePaintSynthesizersupportsembeddedalphachannelsassociatedwithmoviebrushes.ItcanusetheembeddedalphachannelasthePaintFillsourcebrushwhileFillingwiththeindividualmoviebushframeimages.EachcompositingmoviefileisspecifiedasanindividualpaintActioninaPaintActionSequence.Brushframeindexingcanbebasedonthecurrentoutputmovieframe.
Using Movie Brushes to Generate Photo Montage Images
StudioArtistprovidesseveralfeaturesthatcanbeusedtoautomaticallygeneratemoviebrushesfromfoldersordatabasesofindividualstaticimages.ThesedatabasemoviebrushescanthenbeusedtogeneratephotomontageimagesinrealtimebasedonperceptualmappingusingStudioArtist’sembeddedvisualmodeling.
Several Photo Montage movie brush preset examples are provided in the paint Patch Preset category called “3.0 Tutorials”.
Converting a Folder of Images into a Movie File
AutomaticallygeneratingamoviebrushisbasedonprocessingafolderofimageswithaPaintActionSequence.ThefirststepistorecordanappropriatePaintActionSequence.OpenthePaintActionSequencepaletteusingthe“Windows:PaintActionSequence”menucommand.Erasethecurrentsequenceandturnonrecording.
RecordsettingtheCanvasbackgroundtotheSourceImagebydraggingthesourceimagetothecanvas.YoushouldseeanActionstepappearinthePaintActionSequencelisttitled“SetCanvas:SourceImage”.TurnoffPaintActionRecording.
Togenerateamoviebrushfromafolderofimages,usethe‘Action:ProcessWithPaintActionSequence:ImagetoMovie...”menucommand.Astandardfiledialog
Studio Artist436
willappearthatyoucanusetoselectanimagefilefromwithinthefolderyouwishtogenerateamoviebrushfrom.
SelectanimagefileandclickOK.Acanvassizingdialogwillthencomeup.Selectthecanvassizetobethebrushsizeyouwouldlikeforyourmoviebrush.Rememberthatforinteractivepainting,theentiremoviebrushfile(i.e..alloftheindividualframesinthemoviebrush)needstobepre-loadedtomemory,sotryandkeepyourmoviebrushsizesmall.Trysomethinglike64x64asaninitialdefaultsizewhenexperimenting.
Next,asecondstandardfiledialogwillappear.Usethisdialogtonameyouroutputmoviebrushfile.PressOKandStudioArtistwillprocesseachoftheindividualimagefileswithinthesourcefolderandoutputthemassubsequentframesinthemoviebrushfile.
Making a Movie Brush from your Image Folder Movie File
Chooseapaintpatchyouwouldliketoedittouseyourmoviebrush.Asastartingpoint,trythe“Tutorial:MovieBrushStarter”PaintPatchPreset.
SwitchtothePaintSynthesizerBrushSourcecontrolpane.Usethe‘File:PaintSynthesize:NewMovieBrush...”menucommandtoselectanewmoviebrushfile.Astandardfiledialogwillappear.SelectthemoviebrushfileyoujustgeneratedandpressOK.Theindividualframesofthemoviebrushwillpreloadintomemory.
Trypaintingafewstrokeswiththemoviebrushtool.Notehowthepainttoolmovesthroughtheindividualmovieframesasyoudraw.Now,switchtheFrameModpopuptoRGBMapping.TrypaintingafewstrokesandnoticehowStudioArtistautomaticallychoosestheparticularmovieframethatbestrepresentsthesourcecolor.
TheFrameModulationpopupdetermineshowtheindividualframesarechosen.Modulationcanbebasedoninteractivemodulatorssuchaspressureandtilt,oronperceptualmodulatorssuchasluminance,orientation,orcolor.
Chapter 12: Movies437
12
TheIndexpopupchoosestheparticularindexingusedinthemodulationstep.Loadstatusdetermineswhetherthemoviebrushispreloadedintomemoryordrawnfromdisk.Preloadingisbestforinteractivedrawing.Drawingfromdiskisbestforcompositinglargemoviefiles.
Studio Artist438
Recording Your Painting Directly to Video
OneofthecoolestthingsaboutStudioArtistiswatchingitpaintinrealtimetothescreen.Thereareseveraldifferentwaystorecordthislivepaintingprocesstovideo.
OnsomecomputersyoucanoutputtoS-videobymirroringthelivedisplayontheLCDscreentothevideooutput.Therearealsovariousexternalvideooutputinterfacesyoucangetforyourcomputer.Thedetailsvaryaccordingtothecomputermodelandtheioconnectionsavailableonit.
TypicallyyouwouldwanttousethefullscreendisplayoptionavailableinthemainWindowsmenu.Youwouldadjustyourcanvassizetofillyourcomputerscreen,sothatwhenitwasinfullscreendisplaymodethecanvaswouldcompletelyfillthecomputerdisplay.
AnotherapproachistouseStudioArtist'sbuiltinmoviestreamfunctionality.OnceyouhaveopenedamoviestreamyoucanconfigureStudioArtisttooutputaframeaftereachaction,PASeqcycle,GalleryShowcycle,oryoucanlivestreamframesatafixedtimerrate.YoucanusetheFile:Stream:Flagsmenuflagstospecifywhenframesareautomaticallywrittentoanopenmovieorimagestream.
Auto Writing Movie Stream Frames into a Quicktime File
StudioArtistallowsyoutospecifyaspecificautowritetimingforanopenmoviestream.Thisallowsyourrealtimepaintingtobestreamedtoanopenmoviestreamwhileyoupaintorinteractivelywarp.So,ifyouspecifiedanautowriteframetimingof10framespersecond,thenaframewouldbewrittentotheopenmoviestreamevery10thofasecondasyoupaint.
YouspecifymoviestreamautowritetiminginthepreferencesdialogundertheMovietab.OtherStreamsettingsthatspecifywhenframesareautomaticallywrittencanbeaccessedintheFile:Stream:Flagssubmenu.Inorderforthetimerautowrite
Studio Artist440
Chapter 13: Helpful Hints
Introduction
ThischapterdetailsanumberofhelpfulStudioArtisthintsandtips.
ThereareanumberofdifferentwaystoapproachStudioArtistinyourwork.Workingatthepresetlevel,youcangetstartedgeneratingartveryquicklywithoutgettingintothedetailsoftheimmenseunderlyingtechnologyandpowerthatexistsonceyoustartexploringtheStudioArtistinterfaceindepth.
Withthetremendouspowertodesignanunlimitedrangeofpaint,imageprocessing,andvideoeffectscomesalearningcurveassociatedwithunderstandingalloftheindividualeditableparametersandoperationsmodesassociatedwiththeprogram.
Asyoustarttoexploretheoverallinterfaceandit'spowerfuleditableparametersindepthyou'llcometoappreciatetheamazingcreativepotentialthatisavailabletoyouinStudioArtist.
Thischapterprovidesanumberofsectionsthatcanhelpjump-startyourdigitalcreativityaswellasprovidesomeinsightintohowtoutilizetheamazingpowerandpotentialthatlieswithinStudioArtist.
Chapter 13: Helpful Hints441
13
Left Brain vs Right Brain Work Strategies
Psychologistsoftendescribecertaintasksasbeingleft-brainorright-braintasks.Whilethisnotionoftwobrainsinoneheadcanbetakentoextremesinthepopularpressornewagephilosophies,thereissomethingtothisnotionworthinvestigatinginyouroverallworkflow.
Thehumanbrainisdividedintotwohemispheres,andeachofthehemispheresisbiasedforperformingcertaintasks.Similarly,youcanoftendivideyourStudioArtistworkflowintotwodifferentareasthatutilizeverydifferentpartsofyourbrain.
Leftbraintasksaredescribedasbeingmorelanguageorientedoranalyticalinnature.Thisisbecausemostofthebrainprocessingassociatedwithlanguageislocatedinareasofthecortexthatarelocatedontheleftsideofthebrain.
Rightbraintasksarenotassociatedwithlanguageandaretypicallymoreintuitiveorholisticaswellasbeingmorevisualinnature.Manybookandstudieshavefocusedonutilizingtherightbrainforimprovingdrawingskills.Thethoughtisthatifyoudrawwithyourleftbrain,theverbalnatureoftheleftbrainprocessinggetsinthewayofproducinganaccuratedrawing.Thisisbecausetheleftbrainisfocusingontheverbaldescriptionofanobjectwhiletherightbrainismorefocusedonwhatitactuallylookslike.
StudioArtistworkflowcanusuallybebrokendownintoworkingongeneratingoreditingnewpainttoolsorgraphiceffectsvsusingthesetoolsinacreativeflowwhileworkingonanartisticproject.Becausethenatureofbuildingtools(leftbrain)vsusingthem(rightbrain)issodifferent,andbecausetheyreallyusedifferentpartsofyourbrain,youshouldconsiderfocusingononeofthetwoasthefocusforaparticularworksession.
Spendsomeworksessionsdevotedtobuildingcustompainttoolsandorganizingyourworkenvironmentbyarrangingpresetsandfavoritesmenus.Later,whenyouareinthe
Studio Artist442
creativeflowofaparticularprojectyoucanfocusonvisualcreativityratherthantoolbuilding.
Chapter 13: Helpful Hints443
13
Designing a Paint Strategy
Beforeyoustarteditinganewpaintpatch,takeamomenttoplanoutapaintstrategytoaidinyourpatchdesign.Apaintpatchiscomposedofaseriesofparametersthatdefinepaths,paintcolorsource,painttextureandbrushcharacteristics.Yourstrategyshouldtakeintoaccounthowtheseparametersinteractaswellastheoverallaestheticpaintlookyouaretryingtoachieve.
Whatareyourgoals?Areyoudesigningapaintthatwillbedrawninrealtimewithaninteractivepen,oronethatwillautodrawwithoutusersupervision.Willyoustartyourdrawingfromafixedcolorbackground?Shouldthepaintbewetordry?Areyouinterestedinapplyingnewpainttothecanvasormodifyingtheexistingcanvasinsomeway.
HowyouanswerthesequestionswilldeterminehowthevastnumberofvariouseditableparametersavailablewithinStudioArtistshouldbeadjusted.Eachparameterneedstobecarefullychosentomatchthespecifiedgoalsofyourpaintstrategy.
Sometimesyoumaywanttobreakaparticularstylisticeffectinto2differentpresetsthatworktogethertocreatetheoveralleffect.Forexample,onepresetmightapplypigmenttothecanvaswhileanotheronesimulatestheeffectofwaterwashingoverthecanvasmixingtheappliedpigmentwiththeexistingcolorsonthecanvas.
Othertimesyourpaintstrategymightbeworkingthroughhowtocombineanumberofexistingpresetstogethertocreateanoverallartisticeffect.Again,theparticularpresetsyouuseandhowyouordertheminusecantotallychangetheoverallfinaleffect.
ThenextsectionwillfocusonhowtouseaPaintActionSequencetocombinetogetherseveraldifferentpainttoolsandorimageortextureprocessingeffectstogenerateanartprocessthatcanbeaccesseslaterwiththetouchofabutton.
Studio Artist444
Designing a Custom Art Process
PaintActionSequencescanbebuilttoimplementcustomartprocessesthatareaccessibleatthetouchofabutton.Anartprocessmaybecomposedofseveraldifferentstepsthatcombinetogethertogenerateafinaleffectorartisticlook.Thesestepsmayemulatetraditionalrealworldtoolsandtechniques,orgeneratetotallynewvisualaesthetics.
Oneexampleofanemulativeartprocessmightbeacustomwatercolorpainteffect.Intherealworld,youmightstartwithatexturedpaperandapplyabackgroundwashwithalargebrush.Thenyoumightfillindetailswithafinerbrush.Detailededgesmightthenbedrawnwithafineblackline.Thisseriesofpaintingstepscouldbethoughtofasawatercolorpaintprocess.
ToemulatethisexamplewatercolorpaintprocesswithinStudioArtist,eachstepmustbebrokendownanddefinedbyaPaintActionorseriesofPaintActionsteps.ThePaintActionSequenceisaneditablelistofalloftheindividualPaintActionsrecordedstepbystep.Theresultingsequencecanbeappliedtoanysourceimage,ormaybetotallyalgorithmicanduniquewitheachapplication.Italldependsonhowthesequenceisdefined.
Intheexampleabove,thetexturedwatercolorpapercouldbesimulatedbydesigningabackgroundtextureinthepaintsynthesizer.Thereareanumberofwaystodothis.
YoucouldadjustthesettingsontheBackground Textureparameterpanetosimulateaparticularpapertexture.Or,tryscanningarealpapertextureandloadthatintotheBackgroundTextureasanimagetexture.Asadifferentapproach,buildaPaintActionthatappliesarandombrushtothecanvaswitharandomscanpattern.YoucouldevenbuildaseriesofimageprocessingstepsthatgenerateatexturedCanvas.ThisCanvascouldthenbeloadedintothecurrentregion,andusedtomodulatethePaint Fill.
Therearealargenumberoffactorypresetsthatcouldbeusedtogenerateablurry
Chapter 13: Helpful Hints445
13
watercolorbackgroundwash.Thebrushsizecouldthenbeadjustedtoprovideasmaller,harderedgebrush.ThePathStartandPathEndparameterscouldbesetsothatautodrawnpathswouldfollowthesourceimageedges.Pathlengthandbrushsizecouldbereducedagainformoredetailrendition.Thepaintsourcecolorcouldbeswitchedtoblackforthefinedetailedgeblacklines.Then,aCanvasSpreadWaterPresetcouldbechosenforafinalwaterwash.
Alloftheseindividualeditingdecisionsandsubsequentpaintactionscouldberecordedasindividualpaintactionstepsintheoverallpaintactionsequence.ThenyoucouldexportthepaintactionsequenceandsaveitinthePASeqpresetfolder.Thenexttimeyourunstudioartist,younewartprocessrecordedasapaintactionsequencewillbeavailableasapresetandcanbeaccessedatthetouchofabutton.
Studio Artist446
Using Evolution to Generate New Paint Patches
Youmaywanttostartgeneratingcustompainttoolsrightawayeventhoughyouhavenorealcluehowthevariouspaintsynthesizersectionsandeditableparametersinteracttocreatethefinalpainttool.Youcanstillgenerateyourowncustompainttoolsintotalignorancebyutilizingcontrolledrandomevolution.
StudioArtistprovidesseveralwaystoevolvenewpaintsynthesizerpatchesfromexistingones.There'saPaintSynthEvolutionhelppagethatcontainsdynamiccommandlinksforevolvingnewpaintpatches.ThisreplacestheoldPaintEvolutioncontrolpanelinpreviousversionsofStudioArtist.
Youcanrandomlygeneratevariationsoffofasinglepaintpatch,aswellasmorphormingletwodifferentpaintpatches.ThenicethingaboutdirectedevolutionisthatyoucangeneratenewpresetsfromexistingoneswithoutanindepthunderstandingofhowthePaintSynthesizerworksinternally.
Morphinglinearlyblendspaintparametersbetweenthe2patchmemories.Becausemorphingblendsparameters,itcanbeusedtogeneratenewvaluesthatdon'texistineitherstartingpatchmemory.Minglecombinesparametersfromeitherofthepatchmemorieswithoutchangingtheindividualvalues.Mingletendstogeneratelessextremeparametersettingsandcorrespondinglylessjunk.Morphingorminglingcaneitherberandomlygenerated,adjustedwithaslider,ormodulatedwithanyinteractivemodulationparameter(likepressureortilt).
Bychoosing2differentpresetsyoufindinterestingandrecordingthemtwopatchmemories(Edit;PaintSynthesizer:PatchMemorymenus),youcanrecordyouownstartingpresetchoicesforpresetevolution.ThenpresstheminglebuttoninthePaintEvolutionhelppageandinstantlycreateyourowncustompresets.Ifyoulikeone,exportittoyourPresetfolder.
Chapter 13: Helpful Hints447
13
Using Layers to Visualize Paint Edits or Mix Paints
Supposeyouwanttoeditapaintpatchandtestoutyoureditswithoutruininganexistingpaintinginprogress.Simplygenerateanewlayer,andthenusethenewlayerasascratchpadforpatchediting.Youcanbuildaseriesofpressuremodulatedpaths,andthenautodrawthepathsinthenewlayertoautomaticallytestoutyourpaintparameteredits.Switchbackandforthbetweenyourscratchpadlayerandyouroriginalartlayerdependingonwhetheryouareeditingapaintpatchordoingactivedrawing.
Youcanalsouseasecondlayerasawaytomixpaintcolorslikeanartistwouldmixcolorswithrealpaint.Trythisoutwithawetpaintpatch.Thedynamicsofthewetpaintandseveraldifferentinitialpaintcolorswillgeneratearichsourceofcolorvariability.TomovetheCanvascolorbacktothecolorsource,usethe‘c’hotkeywhenmousingdownintheCanvas.
Youcansaveaspecificcolorinoneofthecolormemoriesbyoptionclickingthem(clickthemtoplaybackasavedcolor).OryoucansaveasetofdifferentcolorsintheSourceColorPalettebyoptionclickingtheindividualcolorsquaresintheSourceColorPalette.Youcanimportandexportcompletecolorpalettestodisktosaveyoucolorchoicesorbuildcustompalettesfordifferentapplications.
Or,youcantransfertheentireCanvastotheSourcewithamenucommand.Youcanthenselectcolorsfromyourmixedpaintimage,oryoucanusethesettingsinthePaintSourceOffsetcontrolpaneltoloadportionsofthemixedpaintimagedirectlyintothepaintbrushforpaintingwithamixed-painttexture.
Studio Artist448
Simulating Multi-Color Brushing Effects
Traditionalpainterscanachieveremarkablemulti-coloredpaintstrokeeffectsbycombiningmultipledabsofdifferentcoloredpaintfromapalettetoabrushpriortopaintingastrokeonacanvas.Thesekindsofmulti-colorpainteffectscaneasilybeachievedwithinStudioArtistinanumberofdifferentwaysdependingontheparticularaestheticeffectsyouaretryingtogenerate.
YoucaneitherchoosetheparticularcolorsyouwanttomixinanindividualstrokemanuallyoryoucanhaveStudioArtistautomaticallygenerateasecondcolorderivedusingcolortheoryfromthecurrentpaintcolor.Letsassumeyouwanttohaveeachpaintstrokeconsistofa2colorgradient.
OneapproachwouldbetouseacolorgradientbrushloadderivedfromFixedColor1and2asyourpaintfillsetupfillfromsource.Tomanuallychoosethe2colorsforthecolorgradientforthestroke,gototheFixedColorscontrolpanelandsetthe2ColorSourcestoFixed.TheusetheSourceAreaColorPickertoselectyourindividualcolorsandoptionclicktheindividualFixedColormemorybuttonstosetthemtothecolorsofyourchoice.Thendrawyourcolorgradientpaintstroke.
Toautomaticallygeneratethecolorgradientderivedfromyourchosensourcecolor,settheFixedColorColorSourcecontrolstoPaintPathColor.ThesetFixedColor1for0RandomStartColorand0Offset.SetupthecontrolforFixedColor2tocorrespondtothederivedcoloroffsetyoudesireforyourcolorgradient.
AnotherapproachtoautomaticallygeneratingacolorgradientforMultiPendrawingistousetheMultipenNibmodulatorforthePathGradientinthePaintColorModulatecontrolpanel.ChoosetheappropriateGradientEndoptionforthecolorgradienteffectyouareinterestedingenerating.
Thenextsectiondescribesatechniquetodirectlyloadthepaintbrushwithachunkofthesourceimagelikedippingitontoapaintpalette.
Chapter 13: Helpful Hints449
13
Alternative Uses for the Source Image
TheSourceImagecanbeusedinmanydifferentways.Typically,StudioArtistusestheSourceImagethewayanArtistwoulduseamodel,asasourceofvisualabstraction.However,thereareotherwaystoutilizetheSourceImage.
OnealternativeapproachistousetheSourceImageasawaytogenerateapaperormediatexture.Chooseanappropriatetexturedimageasthesource.Youcanthenbuildpaintpatchesthatusethesourceimagetomodulatepaintfill,orinfluenceautodrawingtobringoutthesimulatedpaperormediatexture.
AnotherapproachistousetheSourceImagetogeneratecustombrushimagesonthefly.YoucanusethePaintSourceOffsetTrackingparameterstoliterallypaintwithchunksoftexturefromtheSourceImage.
Youalsohavetheabilitytoimportindividualpaintattributes(likecolor,edges,ororientation)fromdifferentsourceimages.Thisisawaytomixandmatchvisualfeaturesfromseveraldifferentimagesintoauniquehybridsourceimage.
Sourcekeyframesinthelayerswindowcanbeusedtoassociatedifferentsourceimageswithdifferentlayers.Youcanuselayerresizingandrepositioningtobuildacompositecanvasconsistingofdifferentsourceobjectsplacedindifferentpositionswithintheoverallimage.Eachoftheseobjectsintheoverallfinalpaintingcanbepaintedwiththeirownassociatedsourceimages.Sourcealphacouldbeutilizedaswelltomasktheobjectsinthefinalpainting.
ThisapproachissimilartothehistoricalworkofThomasEakinswhoseworkwasprofiledrecentlyintheNewYorkTimes.Eakinswouldworkoffofmultiplephotographstocomposeanoverallimageforafinishedpaintingthatconsistedofpiecesorobjectsfromeachoftheindividualsourcephotosarrangedintoafinalcompositeimage.ThissameapproachcanbeusedinStudioArtistusingmultiplesourceimagestobuildafinalpaintingofascenethatdoesnotexistinreallifebutwhichlookslikeit
Chapter 13: Helpful Hints451
13
How to Visually Abstract the Source Image
SomeArtistsmayfeellimitedbytheuseofaSourceImage,feelingthatitforcestheirpersonalartontoarepresentationalpaththeymightnothavepersonallychosen.UsingtheSourceImageasasourceofmediatextureisoneapproachtothisissue.However,youcanworkwiththeSourceImageasacreativetoolinit’sownright,subvertingit’srepresentationalfocusforyourownpurposes.
Oneapproachistostartwitharepresentationalsourceimage,andthensubvertitinsomeway,untilitistotallychangedintosomethingnewanddifferent.PaintActions,InteractiveWarps,oraseriesofImageOperationscanbeusedtoradicallychangetheSourceimageintheworkingcanvas.Selectiveinteractivewarpingisagreatwaytoradicallytransformaninitialimageintosomethingverydifferent.
DifferentLayerscanbeusedtocombinetogetherdifferentSourceImagestogenerateamorecomplexcompositeimage.Thisallowsyoutouseindividualobjectsinthedifferentoriginalsourcephotographstobuildupafinalartisticallycomposedcompositesourcethatyoucanthenusetoconstructyourfinalpainting.YoucanuseeachLayersAlphabuffertomaskoutportionsoftheindividualsourceimagesyoudon'twanttoshowthroughinthefinalcompositedimage.
TheCanvascanthenbeloadedintotheSourceimageusingthe“Canvas : Canvas Image to Source Image”menu.TheoldSourceImagewillbereplacedbytheworkingcanvas,andtheStudioArtistintelligentvisualattributeswillberecalculatedfromthenewtransformedSourceImage.
RepeatingthisprocessseveraltimescangenerateaSourceImagethatistotallyuniqueandpersonal,somethingquitedifferentfromtherepresentationalimagethatstartedtheprocess.ThisuniqueSourceImagecanthenbeusedasastartingpointforfurtherStudioArtistpaintactionsorotherOperations.
Studio Artist452
Knowing When to Stop Painting
UsingActioninthePaintSynthesizerisagreatwaytoautomaticallygeneratefinishedpaintingsatthetouchofabutton.However,keepinmindthatjustlikeintherealworld,thekeytoagoodfinalimagemaybeknowingwhentostoppainting.
ManyofthefactoryPresetsareconfiguredtopaintforaverylongtimeiflefttoautopaintontheirown.ThesepatchesweredesignedwiththeideathatyouasanArtistwillbewatchingStudioArtistworkandstopanActionatanappropriateaestheticmoment.
StudioArtistwilltoilawayforevergeneratingunlimitedvisualcomplexityifyouwantitto.Sometimesthisisjustwhatyouwantbutothertimesasmallnumberofpaintstrokesmayprovidejusttheeffectyouwerelookingfor.
Often,thekeytoasuccessfulfinalimagemaybetocombinetogetherseveraldifferentPaintActionsthatworktogethertoachieveadesiredvisualeffect.TrytoputyourselfinthemindsetofanartistworkingwithrealmediaasyouchooseexistingPresetsordesignyourownwhileworking.
Forexample,manypaintingsaregeneratedusingaseriesofdifferentbrushtypesandbrushsizesthatworktogethertocreatethefinaldesiredaestheticeffectinthefinishedpainting.Alargesoftbrushmightbeusedtoroughinthecanvasbackgroundcolors.Asmallerhardbrushmightbeusedtodefineedgedetailafterthebackgroundcolorisroughedin.
YouneedtoemulatethissameapproachwhenworkinginthedigitalrealmbycombiningtogetherPresetsoreditingthemappropriatelytosimulatetheeffectsofmultiplebrushsizesanddifferentarttechniquescombiningtogethertocreateafinalimageandfinishedpieceofart.
Asmentionedpreviously,youcanuseStudioArtist’sPaintActionSequencestorecord
Chapter 13: Helpful Hints453
13
aseriesofPaintActionautopaintingstepsandthenaccessthemlaterasaoneclickautopaintingoperation.
Studio Artist454
Using a Movie to Generate a Series of Still Paintings
StudioArtist’svariousmethodsforgeneratingmovieoutputaregreatforgeneratingautomaticrotoscoping,motionanimationorvideoeffects.However,theyarealsoofuseforconventional2Dartiststhatjustwanttogenerateafinalstaticimageforprintingordisplay.
Thinkofamovieasacollectionofindividualimagesorpaintings.Thevariousmoviegenerationmethodsprovideawaytoauto-generateaseriesofindividualpaintingsasabatchprocess.Aftertheseriesofstillpaintingsisgenerated,anartistcansinglestepthroughtheresultingmovieandsaveindividualframesasstaticimagesthatcouldbeworksofartintheirownright.
MarcelDechamportheFuturistsartmovementareexamplesofartiststhattriedtoconveythesensationofmovementwithinstaticpaintings.Byusingaseriesofmotionframesfromavideosequenceasthesourceforyourfinal2Dpaintingyoucanalsoexploretheseideasinyourwork.
Loadasourcemovieandstartactionpainting.Then,stoptheactionpaintingandadvancethesourcemovietoadifferentframeimage.Thenstartpaintingagain.Repeatthisprocessforseveraldifferentsourceframesasyoubuildupyourfinalstaticpaintedmotionimage.
Or,2DartistsmightwanttotryexploringnewgroundbytakingaseriesofstillpaintingsandusingStudioArtist'smorphingorothervisualprocessingeffectstocreateasinglemovingpaintingthatanimatesbetweenthedifferentoriginalstaticpaintingsintheseries.Thiscouldopenupawholenewcreativeworldforyouaswellasprovideanotheravenuefordisplayingyourworktothepublic.
Chapter 13: Helpful Hints455
13
Using QuickTime Movies to Build Dynamic Brush Masks
StudioArtisthastheabilitytobuilddynamicpaintsourcebrushesbasedonQuickTimemovies.Theindividualframesofamoviecanbeusedtosimulatetheinteractionofabrushwithmedia.Interactivemodulatorslikepenpressureortiltcanbeusedtoindexthroughtheframesofthemoviebrushinrealtimetogenerateadynamicbrushsourcemask.
YoucandesignyourownpaintbrushmoviesbyusingStudioArtist’sMoviegenerationfeatures.Topaintyourownbrushmovie,usethe“File :Stream :New Movie Stream...”menutospecifyadestinationmoviefileonyourharddisk.Then,handpainttheindividualmovieframes.Afteryouaredonewitheachindividualframe,outputittotheactivemoviefileusingthe“File :Stream :Write Frame”menu.Whenyouaredonewiththelastframe,usethe“File :Stream :Close Open Stream”menucommandtofinishoffthemovie.
Typically,you’llwanttopaintonaCanvasthatisalargersizethanthefinalmoviebrushsizesoyouhavemorecontroloverrenderingdetailintheindividualframes.YoucanuseStudioArtist’smovieprocessingcapabilitiestoconverttheinitiallargerdimensionbrushmovietothefinalsmalleranti-aliasedbrushmovie.
ToconvertthesizeofaQuickTimemovie,youneedtogenerateasimplePaintActionSequencethatwillbeappliedframebyframetoprocessthelargerdimensionmovieintoasmallerdimensionfinalbrushmovie. Usethe“Windows : Paint Action Sequence...”menutobringupthePaintActionWindow.ClicktheErasebuttoninthewindowtoeraseanyexistingPaintActionSequencesteps.TurnonrecordingbyclickingtheRecordcheckboxifitisnotturnedonalready.ChangetheCanvas: Default Colormenuto“Source Image”.Youshouldseea“Set Canvas : Source Image”actionstepappearinthePaintActionSequencelist.TurnoffrecordingbyuncheckingtheRecordcheckbox.
Studio Artist456
Now,youarereadytoapplyyoursimplePaintActionSequencetotheinitialbrushmoviebyusingthe“Action :Process With Paint Action Sequence :Movie to Movie...”menu.First,you’llneedtochooseyoursourcemovieusingthefindfiledialog.Then,you’llneedtosettheoutputmovieresolutionwiththeSetCanvasSizedialog.Forthisexample,you’llsettheoutputmoviesizetothefinalsmallercanvasdimensiondesiredforthefinalbrushmovie.Finally,youneedtospecifytheoutputmoviefilenameandlocationonyourharddiskwithanotherstandardfiledialog.
Now,thePaintActionSequenceyoubuiltwillbeappliedframebyframetotheinitialsourcemovie.Thesimplesequenceyouspecifiedgeneratesareducedsize,anti-aliasedoutputmovie.IfyouhadspecifiedamorecomplicatedseriesofPaintActions(forexample,aseriesofimageprocessingoperations),theresultingseriesofactionswouldhavebeenappliedtothesourcemovieframebyframeaswell.
Onceyouhavegeneratedyourcustombrushmovie,youcannowimportitintoanypaintpatchbyusingthe"File : Paint Synthesizer : New Movie Brush"or"New Background Movie Texture"menucommands.Thismenucommandwillbringupafiledialogthatletsyouselectyourcustombrushmovieandloaditintothepaintsynthesizer.
Chapter 13: Helpful Hints457
13
Support for the Advanced Features of Wacom Graphics Tablets
Wacomgraphicstabletshaveseveraladvancedfeaturesincludingintegralerasers,pentilt,toolid,tangentialpressureviatheAirbrushwheel,pentiprotationviathe6DArtpen,andthe4Dmouse.StudioArtistsupportsalloftheseadvancedfeaturesinanumberofinnovativeways.
WacomGraphiretabletsallowforinteractivecontrolviapenpressure.WacomIntuostabletsallowforpentiltandtiltorientationaswellaspressurewhichmakesthemevenmoreexpressivewhenusedwithStudioArtist.UseofanAirbrushor6DArtpentoolwiththeIntuostabletaddsanotherdegreeofinteractivemodulation.
AnyoftheWacominteractivecontrols(pressure,tilt,penorientation,tangentialpressure,pentiprotation,mousewheel,mouseorientation)canbeusedtomodulateoneormorepaintsynthesizerparameterstogenerateexpressiveinteractivepaintspatches.Usingglobalevolutionpaintpatchmorphing,over400individualpaintparameterscanbemodulatedinrealtimeifdesiredforinteractiveexpressionoverload!
PenpressureisusedthroughouttheStudioArtistinterfacetoprovidedynamiccontroloverinteractiveoperationslikeimagewarping,regiondrawingorselection.Pentilt,tiltorientation,andtiprotationarealsoheavilyintegratedintotheoverallinterfacetodefineandrotatepathcurvesorselectionregions.
Intuostabletscanalsosupportasecondinputdevice(anotherpenora4Dmouse)andStudioArtistprovidessupportfor2handedinputforadditionalchannelsofinteractivemodulation.SeetheHinton2-HandedDrawingformoreinformation.
Onceyoustartusinginteractivepenpressure,tilt,andtiltorientationyouwillfindithardtogobacktodrawingwithanormalcomputermouse.TherangeofexpressivecontrolthatisavailableintheStudioArtistpainttoolsthatuseinteractivepenpressureandtiltmakethenormalcomputermouseseemclunkyatbest.
Studio Artist458
Chapter 14: Quick Tips
Introduction
ThischapterdetailsanumberofspecificStudioArtistquicktips.Quicktipsaredesignedtoansweraspecificquestionwithashortexplanation.
Ifyourunintoaproblemorhaveaspecificquestion,youcanlookherefirsttoseeifthereisananswerbeforedivingintotheuserguidechaptersdealingwithspecificpartsoftheinterfaceindepth.
Eachtipstartswithatitleassociatedwithaspecifictopicorquestion.Then,ashortexplanationofthattopicoranswertothequestionisprovided.
Chapter 14: Quick Tips459
14
Changing the Brush Size
Thequickwayistousethebhotkey.Justpressthebhotkey,thenmousedowninthecanvasanddraganinteractivemarchingantslinetospecifythenewmaximumbrushsize,thenmouseup.
Usingoptionbasthehotkeywillalsorescaleanyotherinternalbrushparameterssuchastexturesorrandomizationtomatchthenewbrushsize.
YoualsohavetheoptionofsettingthebrushsizewithaslideroreditfieldinthePaintSynthesizer.ThemaximumbrushsizeisspecifiedintheBrushSourcecontrolpanel.Youcansetthehorizontalandverticaldimensionsofthesourcebrush.
TheactualbrushsizeusedfordrawingisalsoafunctionofthecontrolsontheBrushModulationcontrolpanelinconjunctionwiththemaximumsizespecifiedintheBrushSourcecontrolpanel.TheBrushSizeRangedualsliderspecifiestherangeofpossiblebrushsizesasapercentofthesourcebrushsize.Whenasizemodulatorisspecifiedthebrushsizemodulatesbetweentheminimumrangesizeandthemaximumrangesize.IfnomodulatorisspecifiedthenthebrushistheSourceBrushsize.
Studio Artist460
Erasing the Canvas
There'sanErasebuttonlocatedintheOperationToolbar.Pressingiterasesthecanvastothedefaultcolor.YoucanchangethedefaultcolorusingtheCanvas :Default Color menuflags.TheCanvas :Set to Default ColormenucommandisthesameaspressingtheErasebuttonintheOperationToolbar.
ShiftclickingtheErasebuttonwillperformacompleteerase.ThisincludestheRGBrasterimage,thealphachannel,theBlankingbuffer,andthecurrentbezierPathFrame.TheCanvas :Full ErasemenucommandisthesameasshiftclickingtheErasebutton.
Changing the Eraser Preset
IfyouhaveaWacomtablet,youcanturnthepenoverandusetheerasetiptoerasethecanvas.Theerasertipswitchesthepaintsynthesizersettingstoanerasepatchwhileinuse,andthenswitchesthesettingsbacktowhereyouwereoriginallywhenthepenisturnedoveragaintothenormaldrawingside.Youcanalsousetheehotkeywhendrawingtoswitchtotheeraserifyouareusingamousefordrawing.
Youcanuseanypresetyouwantastheerasepatch.ThesettingsarestoredinthePenErasermemory,whichisaccessedviatheEdit :Paint Synthesizer :Pen Erasermenu.UsetheRecordsubmenutorecordthecurrentpaintsynthesizersettingsintothePenErasermemory.UsethePlaybacksubmenutoplaybackthePenErasersettingsintothepaintsynthesizer.
Chapter 14: Quick Tips461
14
Processing a Movie File
ThequickestwaytoprocessamoviefileistofirstrecordaPaintActionSequencethatcontainsalloftheindividualprocessingorpaintingstepsyouwanttoapplytoeachmovieframe.Or,youcanchooseanexistingPASeqPreset.Then,runtheAction :Process With Paint Action Sequence :Movie to Movie...menucommand.Itbringsupaseriesofdialogsthatletyouchoosethemoviefileyouwanttoprecess,specifythesizeoftheoutputmoviefile,andthenameoftheoutputmoviefile.
StudioArtistwillthenprocesseachframeinthesourcemoviefilewithalloftheindividualstepsinthePaintactionSequence.
Ifyoualreadyhavealoadedsourcemovie,usetheAction :Process with Paint Action Sequence :Source to Movie...menucommand.Thisprocesscommandusesyourexistingsourcemovieandcanvassizeforprocessing,soyouonlyneedtospecifytheoutputmoviefileandprocessingbegins.
ReadtheChapteronMoviesforamoredetailedexplanation,sinceStudioArtisthasextensivemovieprocessingcapabilities.
Selecting a Region
ChoosetheSelectionOperationmodetoselectaregiontouseformaskingorcolorfills.YoucanusetheOperationmainmenutodothis.
Or,youcanalwaysusethe'cmnd6'hotkeycommandtoswitchbackandforthtotheRegionSelectionoperationmode.
Or,youcanusethe'q'hotkeyandmousedownintothecanvastoimmediatelydropintoRegionSelectionmode,doaselection,andthenrevertbacktowhereyouwereintheoverallinterfacewhenyoumouseup.
Chapter 14: Quick Tips463
14
Moving or Scrolling the Canvas With a Hand Tool
Usethe'h'hotkeytoscrolltheCanvaswithaHandtoolicon.Pressthe'h'hotkey,thenmousedownintheCanvasanddragscrolltheCanvastoanewscrollpositionwithintheoverallscrollableview.
Masking Painting With the Current Region Selection
UsetheMaskcheckboxintheOperationToolbartoturnonandoffPaintMasking.ThemaskwillbethecurrentregionselectioniftheMaskpopupisactive.Youcanalsousethe'cmndY'hotkeytotogglemaskingonandoff.
Adjusting the Paint Brush Transparency
GotothePaintSynthesizerPaintFillApplycontrolpanel.AnyoftheCompositeoptionsexceptReplacewillhaveablend%slider,whichyoucanusetoadjusttheoverallblendofthecompositing.Thisisessentiallytheequivalentofadjustingpainttransparency,thedifferencebeingthattheeffectcanbuildupbyrepeatedoverdrawing.
YoucanchoosetheTransparentCompositeoptionifyouwanttheabsolutetransparencyandthenadjusttheBlend%controlaccordingly.
ThereisalsoanadditionalTransparency%parameteravailableinversion4'sPaintFillApplycontrolpanel,whichallowsforadjustingtransparencywithoutchangingtheexistingcompositesetting.
Studio Artist464
Navigating the Studio Artist Interface
YoucanusetheOperationmainmenuandtheappropriatesubmenuswithinittoimmediatelynavigatetoanycontrolpanelintheStudioArtistinterface.
Therearealsoanumberofhotkeycommandsspecifiedinthe'Operation:GoTo'submenusthatletyoutogglequicklybackandforthtodifferenteditingareasoftheStudioArtistinterface.Exampleswouldincludecmnd6totogglebackandforthtoregionselection,andcmnd5totogglebackandforthtobezierediting.
Generating Bezier Paths from the Vectorizer Output to Paint Using the Paint Synthesizer
Activatethe'Path:PathLayerRecordOptions:Vectorizer'menuflag.Then,whenyouruntheVectorizerthevectorregionsgeneratedarerecordedinthecurrentbezierpathframe.
Ifyouactivatethe'EraseBeforeAction'menuflag,thentheexistingbezierpathframewillbeerasedbeforetheVectorizerbezieroutputisrecorded.Or,youcouldaddanerasepathlayercommandtoaPASeqbeforetheVectorizerstep.
Changing the Number of Frames in the Timeline
YouchangetheoverallnumberofframesinthePASeqtimelineusingthe#ofkeyframesnumericeditfileinthetoolbaratthetopofthePASeqpalette.
Chapter 14: Quick Tips465
14
Getting Rid of Flicker in Paint Animations
Perceivedflickerorsmoothnessinapaintedanimationorprocessedvideoisdeterminedbythetemporalcontinuityorlackofitfromframetoframe.Temporalcontinuityfromframetoframeleadstoasmoothanimation.Lackoftemporalcontinuityleadstoflickerintheresultinganimation.
Thereareawidevarietyoftechniquesyoucanusetointroducetemporalcontinuityintoyourpaintanimations.Thesimplestapproachistoaddsomeformofoverdrawingontheexistingframeimage.
Youcanalsoprocessormodifytheexistingframeinsomefashionpriortotheoverdrawing.Fadingtheexistingcanvasisprobablythesimplestapproach.Addingfeatheringcangenerateamoreartistictypeoffadeeffect.Warpingormeltingtheexistingcanvasisanotherinterestingapproach.
AllofthesevarioustechniquesforaddingtemporalcontinuitytoapaintanimationcaneasilybeaddedtoyourexistingPaintactionSequence.UsuallythisinvolvesaddinganextrasteportwotothebeginningofthePASeq.
Ifyoualreadyhaveanexistingmoviethatflickersyoucanpostprocessittoreduceflickeraswell.ThesimplestapproachistousetheFixedImageIpOptoaddapercentagemixofthepreviousframetothecurrentframe.Forexample,setthemixto80%withtheSourceRoutingsettoSourceImageifyouwant20%ofthepreviousframetobemixedwiththecurrentframe.
ThiscanberecordedinaPASeqasa1stepPASeqthatyoucanthenusetopostprocessyourflickeringoriginalmovie.
Studio Artist466
Speeding up Paint Stroke Drawing
ThesimplestthingtotryistogotothePathApplicationcontrolpanelinthePaintSynthesizerandincreasetheSpacing%parameter.Thiswillincreasethespacingbetweenindividualpaintnibs,andcandramaticallyspeedupdrawingspeedforagivenpreset.
Ifyourpaintpatchmakesheavyormultipleusageofacomputationalbackgroundtextureformodulation,considerswitchingtoothermodulationsourcesorremovingthatmodulationalltogether.
Someimageprocessingbrushloadalgorithmscanrunslowforlargebrushsizes.Youmightconsiderswitchingtootherfasteralgorithmsettingsifpossible.
Thereisaninitiallagwhenyoufirststartdrawingwithapaintpathassociatewithpre-computingthesourcebrushcache.Thesizeofthesourcebrushcacheisafunctionofthe#ofbrushsizestimesthe#ofbrushorientations.Tryreducingeitherthe#ofsizeand/orthe#ofrotationstospeedthingsup.
IfusingaGeodesicBrushType,trydecreasingtheGeoMaxCountorGeoIterationsparametersettings.
ThevectorrendertechniqueandtheAntiAliasSolidBrushTypecandrawveryquickly,soifyouhaveapresetthatmatchesthepaintlooktheycanachieveconsiderswitchingfromrasterdrawingtovectordrawing.
ThereisaThrottleSpeedparameterintheMiscellaneouscontrolpanelthatcanbeusedtoslowdownStudioArtistdrawingspeed.Thisisusefulforsomelivevisualperformancesituations.Makesurethisparameterissettooffformaximumdrawingspeed.
Chapter 14: Quick Tips467
14
Saving a Preset You Like in a Favorites Memory
Youmaybeattractedtousingcertainpresetsofteninyourwork.Ifso,youcansavetheminyourPresetFavoritesforquickandeasyaccesswhenworking.FavoritescanbeaccessedinthemainPresetpalette,orviathecompactFavoritesPresetToolbar.
YoucandraganddropthecurrentpreseticontotheFavoritesPresetToolbarandthatpresetwillbecopiedintothecurrentFavoritescategory.
Then,ifyouwanttousethatpresetagainyoucanjustclicktheassociatediconintheFavoritesPresetToolbaritisstoredin.
Adding or Changing a Preset Help Message
Youcansaveatexthelpmessageinapresetthatcancontaininformationonhowtouseit.Forexample,manyofthefactorypresetcontainhelpmessagesthatmayspecifyhowaninteractivepenchangesthewayitdraw.
Toreadapreset'shelpmessage,clickonthepresethelpicon,whichisthe?iconinthepresetcontrolpanel.
Toeditanexistingpresethelpmessageortoaddyouown,simplyoptionclickthepresethelpicon.Aneditingdialogwillcomeupthatallowsyoutocustomizeyourownpresethelpmessage.
Studio Artist468
Paint Strokes that Auto Regionize
Sometimesyoumaywantyourpaintstrokestofillinorcrosshatchregionsthatreproducethesourceimageasopposedtodrawingindividualpaintstrokesalloverthecanvas.
ThereareseveralPathStartgeneratorsthatwillauto-regionizethesourceimage.ThesecanbecombinedwiththePathShapeTypecalledPathStartRegionizetoautogeneratepaintstrokesthattrytofillinautomaticallycomputedlocalregionsusingcrosshatchingorotherregionfillpatterns.There'smuchmoreinformationonpathstartregionizationinthePaintSynthesizerchapter.
Quick and Easy Paint Synthesizer Macro Edits
ThereareanumberofdifferentpaintsynthesizermacroeditmenucommandslocatedinthePaint Synth Macro EdithelppageaccessedintheHelppalette.Eachoftheseactivecommandsprovidesawaytoquicklyperformdifferenteditstotheinternalpaintsynthesizerparameterswithouthavingtogetunderthehoodofthepaintsynthesizer.
Generating Flat Cartoon Style Effects
Thereareanumberofdifferentapproachestogeneratingflatcartoonstyleimagesoranimations.TheeasiestapproachistousetheVectorizer,whichcangenerateawiderangeofdifferentflatcartoonlooks.
TheColorSimplify,Simplify,andWatershedRegionizeImageProcessingeffectsalsowillgenerateflatcartoonlooks.YoucanalsousethePaintSynthesizer'sRegionFillasBrushpenmodeandit'svariousparameterstogenerateflatregionpainteffects.
TherearemanyprebuiltfactoryPASeqpresetsavailablethatgenerateawiderangeof
Studio Artist470
Chapter 15: Menu CommandsThischaptercontainsexplanationsforallofthevariousStudioArtistmenucommands.
MostofthechapteroutlinesindetailthevariousStudioArtistmainmenus,asorganizedinthemainmenubaratthetopofthescreen.However,someofthesemainmenucommandsmayalsobeaccessiblethroughcontextualmenusasdetailedbelow.
Contextual Menus
InadditiontothemainprogrammenuslocatedintheMacintoshmenubaratthetopofthescreen,therearealsovariouscontextualmenusaccessiblethroughouttheStudioArtistinterface.PopupcontextualmenusprovidequickaccesstofrequentlyusedmenucommandsassociatedwithaparticularsectionoftheStudioArtistinterface.
LikeallMacintoshcontextualmenus,youaccessthembyholdingdownthecontrolkeyandmousingdowninaparticularinterfacepane.Onlymenucommandsassociatedwiththatparticularinterfacesectionwillcomeupinthepopupcontextualmenu.
YoucanseeifacontextualmenuisavailableinaparticularStudioArtistpanelbyholdingdownthecontrolkeyandmovingthemouseovertothatinterfacepane.Thecursorwillchangetothecontextualmenuindicatorcursorisapopupcontextualmenuisavailableforthatinterfacepane.
Chapter 15: Menu Commands471
15
Main Menus
ThemainStudioArtistmenusareorganizedaccordingtothefollowingcategories:
File Edit Canvas Path Action Operation Windows Help
Eachofthesemainmenucategorieswillbeexplainedinmoredetailinthefollowingsections.
FileMenucommandsassociatedwithallfileaccessarelocatedhere.ThisincludestheSourceImage,Canvas,Movies,allPresetPatchimportandExport,PaintSynthesizerBrushesandTextures,etc.MovieorImageStreamsmenusareaccessedhere.SourceSettingsmenuflagslocatedhere.Printingmenusarealsoaccessedhere.
EditMenucommandsassociatedwitheditingselectedobjectsarelocatedhere.SpecificmenucommandsassociatedwitheditingthePresets,PaintSynthesizer,SourceColorPalettes,andSourceColorGradientsarealsolocatedhere.
CanvasMenucommandsassociatedwiththemaindrawCanvasarelocatedhere.Thisincludesaccesstoresizing,Layer,MovieLayer,Alpha,Selection,Blanking,OnionSkinanddefaultbackgroundcolorcommands.
PathMenucommandsassociatedwithBezierPathsandthecurrentBezierPathFramearelocatedhere.
Studio Artist472
ActionMenucommandsassociatedwithStudioArtist’sActionsandPaintActionSequencesarelocatedhere.ThisincludesthePaintActionSequencewindowandit’sassociatedcommandsaswellastheHistorySequencewindowandit’sassociatedcommands.CommandsassociatedwithPASeqmovieprocessingorbatchprocessingoffoldersofimagesarealsolocatedinthismenuintheProcesssection.CommandsassociatedwithEPSorSVGvectorfilegenerationfromActionCommandsarealsoincludedhere.
OperationTheOperationmenucommandsallowforquickonestepnavigationtoanyoftheStudioArtistcontrolpanesassociatedwithparticularmodalOperations.
WindowsTheWindowsmenucommandsprovideaccessthedifferentStudioArtistpalettesandtoolbars.Youcanalsotogglefullscreenviewonoroff,andaccesstheuserlayoutmemorieswhichcanbeusedtosaveandrestoredifferentworkspaceconfigurations.
HelpTheHelpmenuallowsforquickaccesstoStudioArtist'sonlinehelp.Onlinehelpishtmlbasedandwillcomeupinyourdefaultbrowser.
Chapter 15: Menu Commands473
15
File
ThefollowingmenucommandsareaccessiblefromtheFilemainmenu:
EachoftheseFilemenucommandswillbeexplainedinmoredetailinthefollowingsections.
New Source and Canvas...ThismenucommandallowsyoutochooseanewSourceImageanddefineanewworkingCanvas.YourexistingCanvaswillbedeletedwhenyouexecutethiscommand.Youwillbepromptedtosaveyourexistingworkifyouhaven’talready. The“Canvas”istheimageyouarepainting,editing,manipulating,etc.The“Source”islocatedinthetopleftcornerofthescreen,andisthesourceofthevisualattributesusedbytheprogramforintelligent-assisteddrawing.StudioArtistdoesnotmodifyyourSourceImageinanyway.
Studio Artist474
ChooseyournewSourceImagefromtheharddiskwiththeStandardFiledialog.AfteryouclickOK,anewdialogwillappearthatallowsyoutodefinethedimensionsofyournewCanvasworkarea.TheCanvasdoesnothavetobethesamesizeastheSourceImage.Typically,theCanvasmaybesetlargerthantheSourceImage.
Recent Source and New CanvasThismenucommandallowsyoutoopenanewsourceandcanvasfromapreviousimageyourecentlyopenedinStudioArtist.Yourlast10previouslyopenedsourceimagesareshownassubmenuoptionstochoosefrom.
Open Source…ThismenucommandallowsyoutochooseanewSourceImage.TheSourceImageisthesourceofthevisualattributesusedbytheprogramforintelligent-assisteddrawing.StudioArtistdoesnotmodifyyourSourceImageinanyway.TheworkingCanvaswillnotbechangedinanywaywhenyouopenanewSourceImage.
TheSourceImagecaneitherbeastaticimageoraQuicktimemovie.
Recent SourceThismenucommandallowsyoutoopenanewsourcefromapreviousimageyourecentlyopenedinStudioArtist.Yourlast10previouslyopenedsourceimagesareshownassubmenuoptionstochoosefrom.
Source OptionsProvidesaccesstothefollowingsourcesettingssubmenus:
:Movie Loop Action AdvanceMenuflag.WhencheckedaloadedsourcemovieadvancestothenextframeafteraloopactionorPASeqanimationcycleiscompleted.Whenuncheckedthesourcemoviewillnotframeadvanceattheendoftheloopactioncycle.
Chapter 15: Menu Commands475
15
:Movie Loop PlayMenuflag.Whencheckedaplayingsourcemoviewillendlesslyloopuntiltheuserpressesthestopbuttoninthesourcemovietransportarea(orpressesthespacebar).Whenuncheckedaplayingsourcemoviewillstopwhenitgetstoitsendframe.
:Synch Timeline Frame CountMenuflag.WhencheckedthePASeqtimeline'sframecountisalwaysupdatedtoreflectthesourcemovieframecount.
---:Live Video Capture NowThismenucommandcapturesalivevideoframeasthecurrentsourceimagewhenexecuted.
:Live Video Preview Manual CaptureMenuflag.Whencheckedthesourceimagepreviewisswitchedtolivevideopreview.Thelivevideoinputwillbedisplayedinthesourceareauntilyouclickinthesourcearea,whichcapturesalivevideostillframe.Clickingthesourceareaagainwillstartthelivevideopreviewandmanualcapturecycleover.Turnthemenuflagoffwhenyouwanttostoplivevideopreviewmanualcapture.
:Live Video Loop Action AdvanceMenuflag.WhencheckedalivevideoframeiscapturedtothesourceimageafteraloopactionorPASeqanimationcycleiscompleted.Whenuncheckedthesourceimagewillnotcapturelivevideoattheendoftheloopactioncycle.
---Save Canvas As...
Studio Artist476
ThismenucommandallowsyoutosavethecurrentCanvasimageasanimagefileonyourharddisk.Chooseaname,imageformat,anddesiredlocationforthesavedfileonyourharddiskwiththeStandardFilenavigationdialog.
---Open Session…ThismenucommandallowsyoutoopenaStudioArtistsessionfile.AsessionfileallowsyoutosaveandrestorethestateoftheentireStudioArtistinterface(exceptforthePaintActionSequenceandHistorywindowswhichneedtobesavedbydoingaPaintActionSequenceorHistoryexport).
Save Session As…ThismenucommandallowsyoutosaveaStudioArtistsessionfile.Savingasessionfilesavesthecompletestateofthestudioartistinterfaceincludingalllayers,allkeyframes,thecurrentpaintsynthsettings,etc.TheonlyexceptionisthatthecurrentPaintActionSequenceandHistorySequencearenotcurrentlysavedinasessionfile.Youcansavethemmanuallyusingtheappropriatefileexportcommands.
---StreamStreamsprovideanalternativeapproachtogeneratingmovieorsequencesofimagefilesfromStudioArtist.Onceastreamisopenedyoucanmanuallyoutputindividualframes,oryoucanrunaPASeqanimationcycletooutputacompleteanimationtotheopenstream.
StreamsarealsoawaytogeneratemoviesthatcapturerealtimedrawinginStudioArtist.Thisisdonebysettingtheappropriateauto-writeflags.Youcanspecifyautowritesattheendofprocessingoperations,orbasedonaauto-writetimervaluespecifiedintheMoviepreferences.
Chapter 15: Menu Commands477
15
Thismenuaccessesthefollowingsubmenucommandsassociatedwithopeningastream,manuallyoutputtingframes,orcontrollingit'sauto-writebehavior:
:New Movie Stream...Thiscommandallowsyoutocreateanewopenmoviestream.Usethiscommandwhenyouwanttogenerateanewmoviefilefromscratch.
Afteryouexecutethiscommand,youcansaveindividualCanvasframestotheopenmoviefile.Or,youcangenerateandsaveframesautomaticallyfromTimelineOperationslikePaintAnimations,Warping,Morphing,orPaintActionSequenceAnimations.
Anewmoviestreampreferenceoptionalsoallowsaframetobeautomaticallywrittenaccordingtoatimeratspecifiedtimeincrementswhileyouinteractivelypaintorwarpthecanvas.
:New Image StreamThiscommandallowsyoutocreateanewopenframeimagestream.Usethiscommandwhenyouwanttogenerateaseriesofnewframeimagefilesfromscratch.ImageStreamsarethesameasMovieStreamswithidenticalfunctionalityinStudioArtistexceptthattheindividualframesinthestreamassavedasseparateimagefilesratherthanasframesinoneQuicktimemoviefile.
Afteryouexecutethiscommand,youcansaveindividualnumberedCanvasframestotheopenimagestream.Or,youcangenerateandsavenumberedframesautomaticallyfromTimelineOperationslikePaintAnimations,Warping,Morphing,orPaintActionSequenceAnimations.
:Close Open Stream
Studio Artist478
Thismenucommandclosesoffanopenmovieorimagestream.Afileassociatedwithamoviestreammustbeclosedbeforeitcanbeopenedinanotherprogram.
---:Write FrameWhenexecutedwritesthecurrentcanvasoutasanewframeintheopenstream.
:Flags :Enable Always AutoWriteMenuflag.Whenturnedonatimerbasedframeauto-writewilloccuruntilthemenuflagisturnedoff.TheautomaticframewritetimingisbasedonthemoviepreferencesMovieStreamAutoWriteFPSsetting.Withthisauto-writeoptionframesaredumpedcontinuouslyallthetime,evenifyouaredoingnothinginStudioArtist.
:Flags :Enable Gated AutoWriteMenuflag.Whenturnedonatimerbasedframeauto-writewilloccuruntilthemenuflagisturnedoff.TheautomaticframewritetimingisbasedonthemoviepreferencesMovieStreamAutoWriteFPSsetting.Withthisauto-writeoptionframesareonlydumpedwhenyouareactivelydoingsomethinginStudioArtist.Whenyouaredoingnothingthegatekicksinandframewritesareinhibiteduntilyoustartdoingsomethingagain.
:Flags :Enable Write on Op EndMenuflag.Whenturnedonaframeiswrittenattheendofanexecutedoperation.
:Flags :Enable Write on PASeq CycleMenuflag.WhenturnedonaframeiswrittenattheendofanexecutedPASeqcycle.
:Flags :Enable on Gallery Show Cycle
Chapter 15: Menu Commands479
15
Menuflag.WhenturnedonaframeiswrittenattheendofanexecutedGalleryShowcycle.
---:Flags :Use Alpha Gen Movie PrefMenuflag.Whenturnedonthestreamwillusethemoviealphagenerationpreferencesettingstoaddanembeddedalphachanneltothestream'sframeoutput.Otherwisethestreamoutputdoesnothaveanembeddedalphachannel.
Movie Codec Settings...Thismenuopensamoviecompressionpreferencesdialog.InityoucansetthedefaultmoviecompressioncodecsettingsandadefaultFPS(framespersecond)timingthatcanbeusedforoutputmovieframetiming(ifyouarenotpassingthroughasourcemoviesframetiming).
--ImportThismenucommandaccessesthefollowingsubmenucommandsassociatedwithimportingvariousfilecontentsintoStudioArtist:
:Import Paint Preset...ThismenucommandallowsyoutoimportanewPaintSynthesizerpresetfromapresetfileonyourharddisk.ApaintpresetisacompletesetofPaintSynthesizerparameters.ChooseyournewPaintpresetfromtheharddiskwiththeStandardFiledialog.AfteryouclickOK,theimportedpaintpresetwillbeloadedasthecurrentPaintPreset.
:Import Image Operation Preset..Thismenucommandallowsyoutoimportanewimageoperationpresetfilefromyourharddisk.Animageoperationpresetisacompletesetofimageoperationparameters.ChooseyournewimageoperationpresetfromtheharddiskwiththeStandardFiledialog.AfteryouclickOK,theimportedpresetwillbeloadedasthecurrentimage
Studio Artist480
operationpreset.
:Import Temporal Image Operation Preset..Thismenucommandallowsyoutoimportanewtemporalimageoperationpresetfilefromyourharddisk.Atemporalimageoperationpresetisacompletesetoftemporalimageoperationparameters.ChooseyournewtemporalimageoperationpresetfromtheharddiskwiththeStandardFiledialog.AfteryouclickOK,theimportedpresetwillbeloadedasthecurrenttemporalimageoperationpreset.
:Import Texture Synthesizer Preset...Thismenucommandallowsyoutoimportanewtexturesynthesizerpresetfromapresetfileonyourharddisk.Atexturesynthesizerpresetisacompletesetoftexturesynthesizerparameters.ChooseyournewtexturesynthesizerpresetfromtheharddiskwiththeStandardFiledialog.AfteryouclickOK,theimportedtexturesynthesizerpresetwillbeloadedasthecurrenttexturesynthesizerpreset.
:Import Vectorizer Preset...Thismenucommandallowsyoutoimportanewvectorizerpresetfromafileonyourharddisk.Avectorizerpresetisacompletesetofvectorizerparameters.ChooseyournewvectorizerpresetfromtheharddiskwiththeStandardFiledialog.AfteryouclickOK,theimportedvectorizerpresetwillbeloadedasthecurrentvectorizerpreset.
:Import MSG Preset...ThismenucommandallowsyoutoimportanewMSGpresetfromafileonyourharddisk.AMSGpresetisacompletemodularimageprocessingeffect.ChooseyournewMSGpresetfromtheharddiskwiththeStandardFiledialog.AfteryouclickOK,theimportedMSGpresetwillbeloadedasthecurrentMSGpreset.
:Import DualMode Preset...Thismenucommandallowsyoutoimportanewdualmodepaintpresetfromafileonyourharddisk.Adualmodepresetisacompletesetofdualmodepaintparameters.ChooseyournewdualmodepresetfromtheharddiskwiththeStandardFiledialog.
Chapter 15: Menu Commands481
15
AfteryouclickOK,theimporteddualmodepresetwillbeloadedasthecurrentdualmodepreset.
---:Import Paint Action Sequence Preset...ThismenucommandallowsyoutoimportanewPaintActionSequencepresetfromtheharddisk.
:Import History Sequence...ThismenucommandallowsyoutoimportanewHistorySequencestoredinaPASeqpresetfromtheharddisk.
---:Import Color Palette...ThismenucommandallowsyoutoimportanewSourceColorPalettefromafileonyourharddisk.ChooseyournewColorPalettefromtheharddiskwiththeStandardFiledialog.AfteryouclickOK,theimportedcolorswillbethenewSourceColorPalette.
:Import Color Gradient...ThismenucommandallowsyoutoimportanewSourceColorGradientfromafileonyourharddisk.ChooseyournewColorGradientfromtheharddiskwiththeStandardFiledialog.AfteryouclickOK,theimportedcolorswillbethenewSourceColorGradient.
---:Import Bezier Path Frame...Thismenucommandallowsyoutochooseanewsetofpathsstoredonyourharddiskinapathfileintothecurrentlayerpathframe.
---:Open New Canvas...
Studio Artist482
ThismenucommandallowsyoutochooseanewStartingImageforyourworkingCanvas.YourexistingCanvaswillbereplacedbytheimportedimagewhenyouexecutethiscommand.ThecurrentSourceImagewillnotbechanged.ThenewworkingCanvaswillberesizedtothedimensionsoftheimportedimage.Youwillbepromptedtosaveyourexistingworkifyouhaven’talready.
You may wish to set the Canvas background to a specific image without changing your existing Canvas size, or losing your other Canvas layers. To do this, first Open a new Source image. Then, drag the source image into the canvas. The new Source Image will be loaded into the existing working Canvas.
:Open Movie as New Canvas Movie...ThismenucommandallowsyoutochooseaQuicktimemoviefileandautomaticallysetupanewworkingCanvaswheretheselectedmoviefileisloadedasaMovieLayer.ThenewworkingCanvaswillberesizedtothedimensionsoftheimportedmovie.Youwillbepromptedtosaveyourexistingworkifyouhaven’talready.
Export
Thismenucommandaccessesthefollowingsubmenucommandsassociatedwithexportingtoanexternalfile:
:Export Paint Preset...Thismenucommandallowsyoutoexportanewpaintsynthesizerpresettoyourharddisk.Apaintsynthesizerpresetisacompletesetofpaintsynthesizerparameters.ChooseanameandlocationforyournewpaintpresetontheharddiskwiththeStandardFiledialog.ClickingOKwillsavethecurrentpaintsynthesizersettingstotheharddiskasapaintpatchfile.
:Export Image Operation Preset...
Chapter 15: Menu Commands483
15
Thismenucommandallowsyoutoexportanewimageoperationpresettoyourharddisk.Animageoperationpresetisacompletesetofimageoperationparameters.ChooseanameandlocationforyournewimageoperationpresetontheharddiskwiththeStandardFiledialog.ClickingOKwillsavethecurrentimageoperationsettingstotheharddiskasanimageoperationpresetfile.
:Export Temporal Image Operation Preset...Thismenucommandallowsyoutoexportanewtemporalimageoperationpresettoyourharddisk.Atemporalimageoperationpresetisacompletesetoftemporalimageoperationparameters.ChooseanameandlocationforyournewimageoperationpresetontheharddiskwiththeStandardFiledialog.ClickingOKwillsavethecurrenttemporalimageoperationsettingstotheharddiskasatemporalimageoperationpresetfile.
:Export Texture Synthesizer Preset...Thismenucommandallowsyoutoexportanewtexturesynthesizerpresettoyourharddisk.Atexturesynthesizerpresetisacompletesetoftexturesynthesizerparameters.ChooseanameandlocationforyournewtexturesynthesizerpresetontheharddiskwiththeStandardFiledialog.ClickingOKwillsavethecurrenttexturesynthesizersettingstotheharddiskasatexturesynthesizerpresetfile.
Studio Artist484
:Export Vectorizer Preset...Thismenucommandallowsyoutoexportanewvectorizerpresettoyourharddisk.Avectorizerpresetisacompletesetofvectorizerparameters.ChooseanameandlocationforyournewvectorizerpresetontheharddiskwiththeStandardFiledialog.ClickingOKwillsavethecurrentvectorizersettingstotheharddiskasavectorizerpresetfile.
:Export MSG Preset...ThismenucommandallowsyoutoexportanewMSGpresettoyourharddisk.AMSGpresetisacompleteMSGmodularimageprocessingeffectChooseanameandlocationforyournewMSGpresetontheharddiskwiththeStandardFiledialog.ClickingOKwillsavethecurrentMSGpresettodisk.
---:Export DualMode Preset...Thismenucommandallowsyoutoexportanewdualmodepaintpresettoyourharddisk.Adualmodepaintpresetisacompletesetofdualmodepaintparameters.ChooseanameandlocationforyournewVectorizerPatchontheharddiskwiththeStandardFiledialog.ClickingOKwillsavethecurrentdualmodepaintsettingstotheharddiskasadualmodepaintpresetfile.
---:Export Paint Action Sequence Preset..Thismenucommandallowsyoutoexportthecurrentpaintactionsequencetoyourharddiskasapaintactionsequencepresetfile.
:Export History Sequence...Thismenucommandallowsyoutoexportthecurrenthistorysequencetoyourharddisk.Thehistorysequenceisstoredinapaintactionsequencepresetfile.
---
Chapter 15: Menu Commands485
15
:Export Color Palette...ThismenucommandallowsyoutoexportaSourceColorPalettetoafileonyourharddisk.ChooseanameandlocationforyournewColorPalettefileontheharddiskwiththeStandardFiledialog.ClickingOKwillsavethecurrentSourceColorPalettesettingstotheharddiskasafile.
:Export Color Gradient...ThismenucommandallowsyoutoexportaSourceColorGradienttoafileonyourharddisk.ChooseanameandlocationforyournewColorGradientfileontheharddiskwiththeStandardFiledialog.ClickingOKwillsavethecurrentSourceColorGradientsettingstotheharddiskasafile.
---:Export Bezier Path Frame...ThismenucommandallowsyoutoexportthecurrentBezierpathframetoapathfileonyourharddisk.
---:Update Old Preset Factory LibraryThismenucommandtransversestheentirefactorypresetlibrary,importingthepresetfilesandthenexportedinplaceasupdatedversion4presetfiles.AnyoldpresetsthatyouwishtouseonwindowsmachineswithStudioArtist4needtobeupdatedtoversion4presetfiles.
:Update Old Preset Folder...Thispresetbringsupastandardfiledialogthatletsyouselectafolder.Allofthepresetsinthefolderarethenautomaticallyimportedandthenexportedinplaceasupdatedversion4presetfiles.AnyoldpresetsthatyouwishtouseonwindowsmachineswithStudioArtist4needtobeupdatedtoversion4presetfiles.
Studio Artist486
Paint SynthesizerThismenuaccessesthefollowingsubmenucommandsassociatedwithfileaccessforthePaintSynthesizer:
:New Image Brush ...ThismenucommandallowsyoutochooseanewPaintSynthesizerBrushSourceImage.ChooseyournewImageBrushfromtheharddiskwiththeStandardFiledialog.AfteryouclickOK,theBrushSourcepopupwillbeswitchedto“Image”andyournewImageBrushwillbeloadedastheactiveSourceBrush.
Exercise common sense and choose a reasonable size Image Brush. Depending on the Brush Modulation settings in the Paint Synthesizer, Studio Artist could be generating hundreds of modified copies of the Image Brush in a memory cache.
:New Movie Brush ...ThismenucommandallowsyoutochooseanewPaintSynthesizerBrushSourceMovie.ChooseyournewMovieBrush(whichisaQuickTimemoviefile)fromtheharddiskwiththeStandardFiledialog.AfteryouclickOK,theBrushSourcepopupwillbeswitchedto“Movie”andyournewMovieBrushwillbeloadedastheactiveSourceBrush.
Exercise common sense and choose a reasonable size Movie Brush. Depending on the Brush Modulation settings in the Paint Synthesizer, Studio Artist could be generating hundreds of modified copies of the Movie Brush in a memory cache.
:New Background Image Texture ...ThismenucommandallowsyoutochooseanewPaintSynthesizerBackgroundImageTexture.ChooseyournewImageTexturefromtheharddiskwiththeStandardFiledialog.AfteryouclickOK,theBackgroundTexturecontrolpanel's“TextureType”popupwillbeswitchedto“Image”andyournewImageTexturewillbeloadedastheactiveBackgroundImageTexture.
Chapter 15: Menu Commands487
15
:New Background Movie Texture ...ThismenucommandallowsyoutochooseanewPaintSynthesizerBackgroundMovieTexture.ChooseyournewMovieTexturefromtheharddiskwiththeStandardFiledialog.AfteryouclickOK,theBackgroundTexturecontrolpanel's“TextureType”popupwillbeswitchedto“Movie”andyournewMovieTexturewillbeloadedastheactiveBackgroundMovieTexture.
---Page Setup...ThismenucommandbringsupadialogthatallowsyoutochoosePageSetupsettingsforprintingfromStudioArtist.
Print...ThismenucommandbringsupadialogthatallowsyoutoprintthecurrentworkingCanvas.
This print menu prints the raster canvas. You can alternatively use the Action: Generate SVG: Print with Paint Action Sequence menu to directly print from the vector information generated during the SVG generation process.
---ThefollowingmenusarelocatedintheFilemenuwhenrunningStudioArtistonwindowsmachines.OnApplecomputerstheyarerespectivelylocatedintheAppleandStudioArtistmenus.
PreferencesThismenubringsupthemainStudioArtistpreferencesdialog.
---Quit
Chapter 15: Menu Commands489
15
Edit
ThefollowingmenucommandsareaccessiblefromtheEditmainmenu:
Thestandardeditingcommands(Copy,Paste,etc.)arecontextsensitiveandactonindividualobjectsintheinterface.Onespecificareaintheuserinterfacewillbetheactiveinterfaceelementatanygivenmoment.Youcanmousedowninaspecificinterfaceelementtoactivateit.Afteraninterfaceelementismadeactive,thenthemenucommandsassociatedwithitwillbecomeactive.
Forexample,ifyouareeditingatexteditfieldandselectsometext,thestandardeditingcommandswillactonyourselectedtext.IfyouthenselectaBezierpathintheCanvas,thestandardeditingcommandswillswitchtheircontextastheCanvasbecomestheactiveinterfacearea.ThestandardeditingcommandswillthenactonyourselectedBeziercurve.
EachoftheseEditmenucommandswillbeexplainedinmoredetailinthefollowingsections.
UndoThismenucommandallowsyoutoUndoyourlastStudioArtistoperation.
Studio Artist490
Youcansetthenumberoflevelsofundointhegeneraltabofthepreferencesdialog.
YoucanalsouseyourSessionHistorytoimplementaformofunlimitedUndo.TheHistorySequencepalette(accessiblefromtheWindowsmenu)allowsyoutorecord,playbackandedityourentireStudioArtistrecordededitinghistory.
RedoAllowsyoutoredoyourexistinglevelsofundo.
---CutRemovesselectedobjectsfromtheirinterfacelocationandplacesthemintheclipboard.
CopyCopiesselectedobjectsfromtheinterfaceandplacesthemintheclipboard.
PasteCopiesanyobjectsintheclipboardintothecurrentlyactiveinterfacearea.
ClearRemovesselectedobjectsfromtheinterface.
---Source
:Source Color...Thismenubringsupastandardsourcecolorpickerdialogyoucanusethatprovidesmoredetailedoptionsforspecifyingthecurrentsourcecolor.
PaletteThismenuaccessesthefollowingsubmenucommandsassociatedwithmodifyingthe
Chapter 15: Menu Commands491
15
SourceColorPalette:
:Generate from :Source ImageThismenucommandallowsyoutogenerateanewSourceColorPalettethatbestrepresentthecolorsintheSourceImage.
:Generate from :Canvas ImageThismenucommandallowsyoutogenerateanewSourceColorPalettethatbestrepresentthecolorsintheCanvasImage.
:Generate from :Selected Canvas ImageThismenucommandallowsyoutogenerateanewSourceColorPalettethatbestrepresentthecolorsintheselectedareaoftheCanvasImage.
:Generate from :Source GradientThismenucommandallowsyoutogenerateanewSourceColorPalettethatbestrepresentthecolorsintheSourceGradient.
---:Randomize Source Color :Lum SaturationThismenucommandallowsyoutogenerateanewSourceColorPaletterandomlymutatedfromthecurrentSourceColor.Therandomizationwillbebasedonrandomizingtheluminanceandsaturationofthecurrentsourcecolor
:Randomize Source Color :OpponentThismenucommandallowsyoutogenerateanewSourceColorPaletterandomlymutatedfromthecurrentSourceColor.TherandomizationwillbebasedonanopponentcolormixingschemekeyingoffoftheexistingSourceColor.
:Randomize Source Color :TriOpponentThismenucommandallowsyoutogenerateanewSourceColorPaletterandomlymutatedfromthecurrentSourceColor.Therandomizationwillbebasedonantri-
Chapter 15: Menu Commands493
15
:Randomize Source Color :AnalogousThismenucommandallowsyoutogenerateanewSourceColorPaletterandomlymutatedfromthecurrentSourceColor.TherandomizationwillbebasedonananalogouscolormixingschemekeyingoffoftheexistingSourceColor.
:Randomize Source Color :MidLuminanceThismenucommandallowsyoutogenerateanewSourceColorPaletterandomlymutatedfromthecurrentSourceColor.Therandomizationwillbebasedonanmid-luminancecolormixingschemekeyingoffoftheexistingSourceColor.
:Randomize Source Color :SplitOpponentThismenucommandallowsyoutogenerateanewSourceColorPaletterandomlymutatedfromthecurrentSourceColor.Therandomizationwillbebasedonansplit-opponentcolormixingschemekeyingoffoftheexistingSourceColor.
---:Sort by :Color DistanceThismenucommandallowsyoutorearrangetheexistingColorPalettewithasortbycolordistance.
:Sort by :LuminanceThismenucommandallowsyoutorearrangetheexistingColorPalettewithasortbyluminancevalue.
:Sort by :HueThismenucommandallowsyoutorearrangetheexistingColorPalettewithasortbyhuevalue.
:Sort by :SaturationThismenucommandallowsyoutorearrangetheexistingColorPalettewithasortbysaturationvalue.
Studio Artist494
GradientThismenuaccessesthefollowingsubmenucommandsassociatedwithmodifyingtheSourceColorGradient:
:Generate from :Source Image ThismenucommandallowsyoutogenerateanewSourceColorGradientthatbestrepresentthecolorsintheSourceImage.
:Generate from :Canvas ImageThismenucommandallowsyoutogenerateanewSourceColorPalettethatbestrepresentthecolorsintheCanvasImage.
:Generate from :Source Palette ThismenucommandallowsyoutogenerateanewSourceColorGradientfromthecurrentSourceColorPalette.
---:Generate from :Source Color OpponentThismenucommandallowsyoutogenerateanewSourceColorGradientfromthecurrentSourceColoranditsOpponentColor.
:Generate from :Source Color TriOpponentThismenucommandallowsyoutogenerateanewSourceColorGradientfromthecurrentSourceColoranditsTri-OpponentColors.
:Generate from :Source Color AnalogousThismenucommandallowsyoutogenerateanewSourceColorGradientfromthecurrentSourceColoranditsAnalogousColor.
:Generate from :Color Mem 1-2ThismenucommandallowsyoutogenerateanewSourceColorGradientfromtheSourceColorMemories1and2(leftmost).
Chapter 15: Menu Commands495
15
---:Randomize :IndexThismenucommandallowsyoutorandomizetheindexesoftheSourceColorGradient.
---:Sort by :Color DistanceThismenucommandallowsyoutorearrangetheexistingColorGradientindexeswithasortbycolordistance.
:Sort by :LuminanceThismenucommandallowsyoutorearrangetheexistingColorGradientindexeswithasortbyluminancevalue.
:Sort by :HueThismenucommandallowsyoutorearrangetheexistingColorGradientindexeswithasortbyhuevalue.
:Sort by :SaturationThismenucommandallowsyoutorearrangetheexistingColorGradientindexeswithasortbysaturationvalue.
: Sort by :Flip IndexThismenucommandallowsyoutoreversetheindexesoftheSourceColorGradient.
---PresetThismenuaccessesthefollowingsubmenucommandsassociatedwiththecurrent
Studio Artist496
Preset:
:Update Current Preset IconThiscommandreplacesthecurrentPreseticonimagewiththecurrentvisualcontentsoftheCanvas.UsethiscommandtopersonalizefavoritePreseticonstoanimageofyourchoice.
:Make New Favorites CategoryThiscommandisusedtomakeanewcustompresetFavoritescategory.
:Current Preset Command tag to ClipboardThiscommandautomaticallygeneratesahtmlcommandtagthatloadsthecurrentpresetandplacesthecommandtagtextontheclipboard.Youcanthenswitchtothehtmleditorofyourchoiceandpastethecommandtagintoaurllinkinahtmlhelppageyouareediting.ActivetagscanbeusedinhtmlhelpdisplayedintheStudioArtisthelpbrowsertoruncommandsinStudioArtistwhenpressed.Thegeneratedactivetagwillloadthecurrentpresetwhenpressed.Thisisawaytogeneratecustomhtmlhelppagesforpresetsthatcanincludeanactivelinkthatloadsthepresetwhenpressed.---:Retarget StudioArtist FolderThiscommandallowsyoutoretargetwhereStudioArtistlooksforpresetfiles.ThisallowsforthepossibilityofhavingmultipleStudioArtistfolders.Whenyourunthiscommand,astandardfiledialogcomesupthatletsyouchooseanewtargetStudioArtistfolder.YourtargetStudioArtistfoldershouldcontainthenormalcontentsofthemainStudioArtistfolder(Preset,Brush).
---Paint SynthesizerThismenuallowsaccesstothefollowingsubmenus.
NotethatthesesubmenucommandsprovideaccesstothepaintsynthesizermemorybuttonsavailableinpreviousversionsofStudioArtist.
Chapter 15: Menu Commands497
15
:Pen EraserThesemenucommandsallowyoutorecordorplaybackthecontentsofthecurrentpenerasermemory.
---:Patch Memory 1:Patch Memory 2:Patch Memory 3:Patch Memory 4Thesemenucommandsallowyoutorecordorplaybackthecontentsoftheassociatedpaintpatchparametermemory.
Studio Artist498
---:Fixed Color 1:Fixed Color 2Thesemenucommandsallowyoutorecordorplaybackthecontentsoftheassociatedfixedcolormemory.
---:Path Memory 1:Path Memory 2Thesemenucommandsallowyoutorecordorplaybackthecontentsoftheassociatedpaintpathparametermemory.---:Brush Memory 1:Brush Memory 2Thesemenucommandsallowyoutorecordorplaybackthecontentsoftheassociatedpaintbrushparametermemory.
Chapter 15: Menu Commands499
15
Canvas
ThefollowingmenucommandsareaccessiblefromtheCanvasmainmenu:
EachoftheseCanvasmenucommandswillbeexplainedinmoredetailinthefollowingsections.
Zoom Thismenuaccessesthefollowingsubmenusassociatedwithadjustingthecanvasviewmagnification:
:Zoom OutThismenucommandallowsyoutozoomout(ordemagnify)yourviewofthecurrentCanvas.
:Zoom InThismenucommandallowsyoutozoomin(ormagnify)yourviewofthecurrentCanvas.
Studio Artist500
:Zoom Full OutThismenucommandallowsyoutozoomoutallthewayyourviewofthecurrentCanvas.
:Zoom Full InThismenucommandallowsyoutozoominallthewayyourviewofthecurrentCanvas.
:Zoom to FitThismenucommandzoomsthecanvastofullyfittheavailablecanvasspace.
:Zoom to Specify...Thismenucommandbringsupadialogthatletsyouspecifyanarbitrarymagnificationratio.
---Resize Canvas...Thismenucommandbringsupadialogthatallowsyoutore-sizetheCanvastoadifferentsizeandorresolution.
Youcanre-sizetheexistingCanvasimageviaaspecifiedimageinterpolationalgorithmaswellasrerendertheexistingPASeqorHistorySequenceandit’sassociatedpathandpaintsynthesizersettings.PlayingbackthererenderedPASeqorHistorySequencewillre-executeallofyourrecordedoperationsatthenewresolution.ThisisawaytorepaintyournewsizedCanvaswithincreaseddetail.
---LayerThismenuaccessthefollowingsubmenusthatareassociatedwithcanvaslayers:
Chapter 15: Menu Commands501
15
:New LayerThismenucommandcreatesanewlayer.
:Current View as New LayerThismenucommandtakesasnapshotofthecurrentcanvasviewandthenplacesthatsnapshotimageintoanewlayer.
:Flatten All LayersThismenucommandflattensthelayerstackintoasinglelayer.
:Capture View to Current LayerThismenucommandtakesasnapshotofthecurrentcanvasviewandtheninsertsthatsnapshotimageasthecurrentlayer'simagecontent.
:View AllThismenuflagtogglesviewallmodeon(checked)oroff(unchecked).Whenviewallmodeisactive,thentheentirelayerstackiscompositedtogeneratethecanvasview.Whenviewallmodeisoff,thecurrentlayeronlyisdisplayedinthecanvasview.
:Paint Mask Type: Paint:Paint Mask Type: Path:Paint Mask Type: LithoThesemenuflagsallowyoutosetthedefaultmaskingtype.Thecurrentselectionisusedfordeterminingthemasking,butmaskingwillnottakeplaceunlesstheMaskStatusflagisenabled.
Paintmaskingmeansthemaskclipsthepaintbrushnib.Pathmaskingmeansthepaintpathismaskedbutcompletepaintbrushnibsaredrawn.Thiscanleadtoamorenaturallookingmaskedpainting.LithomaskingclipsthepaintbrushnibforthefirstpartofdualfillalgorithmsbutallowstheAlg2nibstobeunmasked.Thiscanbeusedtosimulaterubbinganinkedlithoplate,wherethefirstfillalgorithmlaysdownmasked
Studio Artist502
paintbutthesecondalgorithmthenallowsthemaskedpainttobesmearedorrubbed.
:Mask StatusThismenuflagturnsselectionmaskingonoroff.NotethathowthemaskisusedisdeterminedbythedefaultPaintMaskTypespecifiedabove.
---Movie LayerThismenuaccessthefollowingsubmenusthatareassociatedwithcanvasmovielayers:
:Convert to Movie Layer...Thismenucommandconvertsanexistingcanvaslayerintoamovielayer.Astandardfiledialogisbroughtupthatallowsyoutospecifythenameandlocationofthemoviefilethatwillbeassociatedwiththenewmovielayer.AfteryoupresstheOkbuttonthentheexistingimagelayerwillbeconvertedintoamovielayerandtheexistingcanvasimagewillbethefirstframeofthenewmovieassociatedwiththisnewmovielayer.
:New Movie Layer...Thismenucommandcreatesanewmovielayer.Astandardfiledialogisbroughtupthatallowsyoutospecifythenameandlocationofthemoviefilethatwillbeassociatedwiththenewmovielayer.AfteryoupresstheOkbuttonanewmovielayerwillbeconstructedthatreferencesthenewmoviefileyouspecified.
:Open Movie as New Layer...Thismenucommandallowsyoutoopenanexistingmovieasanewmovielayer.Astandardfiledialogisbroughtupthatallowsyoutoselectanexistingmoviefile.AfterpressingOkthismoviefilewillbeloadedintoanewmovielayer.
Theexistingmoviefilemustbethesamesizeastheexistingcanvasorthenewmovie
Chapter 15: Menu Commands503
15
layerwillnotbegenerated.
:Save Flattened Canvas Movie as...Thismenucommandflattensthecurrentcanvasmovielayer.Flattenmeansthatanewfullycompressedmoviefileisgeneratedusinganyframeeditsthathavebeengeneratedfromrecording,inserting,ordeletingframeswhileworkinginStudioArtist.
:Convert to Image LayerThismenucommandconvertsthecurrentmovielayerintoanimagelayer.Thecurrentframeimageinthemovielayerisusedasthatlayer'scontent.
...:Record to Existing FrameThismenucommandrecordsthecurrentmovielayer'simageintothecurrentframeofit'sassociatedmoviefile.
:Insert as New FrameThismenucommandinsertsthecurrentmovielayer'simageasanewframeinit'sassociatedmoviefile.
:Insert as N New Frames...Thismenucommandinsertsthecurrentmovielayer'simageasNnewframesinit'sassociatedmoviefile..
:Delete Existing FrameThis
...:Settings :Loop PlayThismenuflagspecifieswhethermovielayerswillloopwhenplayed(checked)ornot(unchecked).
Studio Artist504
:Settings :Advance on RecordThismenuflagspecifieswhetheramovielayerwillautoframeadvanceafterrecordingaframe(checked)ornot(unchecked).
---AlphaThismenuaccessthefollowingsubmenusthatareassociatedwithcanvasalphasupport:
:Enable for ViewThismenuflagturnsalphaviewforthecanvasdisplayon(checked)oroff(unchecked).
Chapter 15: Menu Commands505
15
---:Set to :Full OffThismenucommandsetsthecurrentlayeralphachannelfullon(setsitto0).
:Set to :Full OnThismenucommandsetsthecurrentlayeralphachannelfullon(setsitto255).
:Set to :SelectionThismenucommandsetsthecurrentlayeralphachanneltothecurrentselectionimage.
:Set to :Source AlphaThismenucommandturnsthecurrentlayeralphachanneltothealphachannelofthesourceimage.
:Initialize :Full OnThismenuflagsetsthedefaultinitialstateforanewlayer'salphachannelfullon(setsitto255).
:Initialize :Full OffThismenuflagsetsthedefaultinitialstateforanewlayer'salphachannelfulloff(setsitto0).
---:Background :Black:Background :White:Background :GrayThesemenuflagssetsthedefaultsolidcolorbackgroundthatthecanvaslayerssitontopofwhenalphaisenableforview.
...:Paint Synth Alpha Enable
Studio Artist506
Thismenuflagturnspaintsynthesizerdrawingintothecanvaslayer'salphachannelon(checked)oroff(unchecked)
---Blanking
ThismenuaccessesthefollowingsubmenucommandsassociatedwithresettingthecurrentBlankingframe:
:InitializeThismenucommandresetsorerasestheBlankingFrame.
:Set to CanvasThismenucommandallowsyoutosettheBlankingFrametothecontentsofthecurrentCanvas.
:Set to Source EdgesThismenucommandallowsyoutogenerateaBlankingFramefromtheSourceImageEdges.
---Selection
Thismenuaccessesthefollowingsubmenusassociatedwiththecurrentregionselection:
:Set to :Full OffThismenucommandallowsyoutosettheCurrentSelectionRegiontofulloff(0).
:Set to :Full OnThismenucommandallowsyoutosettheCurrentSelectionRegiontofullon(255).
Chapter 15: Menu Commands507
15
:Set to :CanvasThismenucommandallowsyoutosettheCurrentSelectionRegiontotheluminanceofthecurrentCanvasLayerimage.
:Set to :Canvas AlphaThismenucommandallowsyoutosettheCurrentSelectionRegiontothealphachannelofthecurrentCanvasLayerImage.
:Set to :SourceThismenucommandallowsyoutosettheCurrentSelectionRegiontothecontentsofthecurrentSourceImage.
:Set to :Source AlphaThismenucommandallowsyoutosettheCurrentSelectionRegiontothealphachannelofthecurrentSourceImage.
:Set to :Regionized SourceThismenucommandallowsyoutosettheCurrentSelectionRegiontoaregionizedcalculationofthecurrentSourceImage.Regionizedselectionsusedifferentgrayscalelevelstorepresentdifferentselectregions.Inthiscase,thedifferentselectionregionswillrepresentdifferentvisualregionsintheSourceImagethatStudioArtistcalculates.
:Set to :BlankingThismenucommandallowsyoutosettheCurrentSelectionRegiontothecontentsofthecurrentBlankingFrame.
:Set to :Bezier FrameThismenucommandallowsyoutosettheCurrentSelectionRegiontotheindividualselectionregionsgeneratedfromtheBezierpathsinthecurrentPathLayer.
:Set to :Selected Bezier
Studio Artist508
ThismenucommandallowsyoutosettheCurrentSelectionRegiontotheindividualselectionregiongeneratedfromthecurrentlyselectedBezierpathinthecurrentPathLayer.
---:Invert ThismenucommandallowsyoutoinverttheCurrentRegionSelection.
:FeatherThismenucommandallowsyoutosmoothorfeathertheCurrentRegionSelection.
:ExpandThismenucommandexpandsorgrowstheCurrentRegionSelection.
:ContractThismenucommandcontractsorshrinkstheCurrentRegionSelection.
:CleanupThismenucommandremovesnoisefromtheCurrentRegionSelection
---Default Color
Thismenuaccessesthefollowingsubmenusthatarealldefaultfilloptionsforthecanvas.Runningthemenucommandsspecifywhatthenewdefaultcoloroptionwillbeandthensetthecurrentcanvaslayertothatdefaultfilloption.Onlyoneoftheseoptionscanbecheckedatanygiventime,andtheonethatischeckedmeansitisthecurrentdefaultcoloroption.
:White Thismenucommandsetsthedefaultcoloroptionandthecurrentlayertosolidwhite.
Chapter 15: Menu Commands509
15
:BlackThismenucommandsetsthedefaultcoloroptionandthecurrentlayertosolidwhite.
:Source Color Thismenucommandsetsthedefaultcoloroptionandthecurrentlayertothecurrentsourcecolor.
:Source ImageThismenucommandsetsthedefaultcoloroptionandthecurrentlayertothecurrentsourceimage.
:SelectionThismenucommandsetsthedefaultcoloroptionandthecurrentlayertothecurrentselectionimage.
:Live Video Capture Thismenucommandsetsthedefaultcoloroptionandthecurrentlayertoalivevideoframecapture.
:Source Alpha Thismenucommandsetsthedefaultcoloroptionandthecurrentlayertothesourceimage'salphachannel.
:Layer Alpha Thismenucommandsetsthedefaultcoloroptionandthecurrentlayertothecurrentlayer'salphachannel.
:Source Color Mem 1Thismenucommandsetsthedefaultcoloroptionandthecurrentlayertothecolorinthecurrentsourcecolormemory#1.
Studio Artist510
Set to Default ColorThismenucommandsetsthecurrentcanvaslayertotheexistingdefaultcolorfilloption.
Default InterpolationThismenuaccessesthefollowingsubmenusthatareoptionsforthedefaultimageinterpolationalgorithmusedthroughoutStudioArtistwheneveranimageneedstoberesized.
:BiCubicThismenuflagspecifiesthatbicubicinterpolationisusedasthedefaultinterpolationalgorithmwhenchecked.
:SupersizerThismenuflagspecifiesthatSupersizerinterpolationisusedasthedefaultinterpolationalgorithmwhenchecked.
EraseThismenucommandperformsafulleraseofthecurrentcanvaslayer.Thismeansthelayerissettothedefaultcolor,thealphachannelissettothealphainitializationdefault,thelayer'sbezierpathframeiserased,andthepaintsynthesizerblankingbufferisinitialized.
...Canvas toThismenuaccessthefollowingsubmenusthatcopythecurrentcanvaslayerimagesomewhere:
:SourceThismenucommandallowsyoutocopythecurrentCanvasintotheSourceImage.
:Clipboard
Chapter 15: Menu Commands511
15
ThismenucommandallowsyoutocopythecurrentCanvasintotheclipboard.Youcouldthenswitchtoanotherprogramthatsupportsanimageclipboardandpastetheimage.
---Onion SkinThismenuaccessesthefollowingsubmenucommandsassociatedwiththeCanvasOnionSkin:
:Toggle OnionSkinThismenucommandallowsyoutotoggletheonionskinlayeron(checked)andoff(unchecked).Theonionskinlayercandisplayeitherthesourceimageoradjacentmovieframesorthelastmoviestreamframeoranarbitrarystoredimagewithacertainpercentageoftransparency.Theonionskincanbeusedasanaidindrawingstillimagesoranimationframes.Thespecificsettingsforonionskincontentanddisplaytransparencyarelocatedinthemainpreferencesdialog.
...:Manual LoadLoadsthecurrentcanvasintotheonionskinbuffer.
:SourceSwitchestheonionskindisplaymodetoshowthesourceimage
:Canvas MovieSwitchestheonionskindisplaymodetoshowadjacentframesinthecanvasmovie.
:Last StreamSwitchestheonionskindisplaymodetoshowthelastframewrittenintoanopenstream.
:Sequential Key Frame
Studio Artist512
Switchestheonionskindisplaymodetoshowthelastcompletekeyframedrawnwhilesequentialkeyframerecording.
Chapter 15: Menu Commands513
15
Path
ThefollowingmenucommandsareaccessiblefromthePathmainmenu:
EachofthesePathmenucommandswillbeexplainedinmoredetailinthefollowingsections.
Paint PathsThismenuaccessesthefollowingsubmenucommandsassociatedwithpaintingthecurrentpathframe:
:Full LayerThismenucommandrepaintsthecurrentpathframepathsinorderwiththecurrentPaintSynthesizersettings.
:Reverse Full LayerThismenucommandrepaintsthecurrentpathframepathsinreverseorderwiththecurrentPaintSynthesizersettings.
:Selected OnlyThismenucommandrepaintstheselectedpathframepathswiththecurrentPaintSynthesizersettings.
Studio Artist514
---Generate PathsThismenuaccessesthefollowingsubmenucommandsassociatedwithgeneratingnewpaths:
:from Source EdgesThismenucommandexaminesthecurrentSourceImageandgeneratedaseriesofnewpathsthatrepresenttheedgesofthecurrentSourceImage.
:from Source Adjacent EdgesThismenucommandexaminesthecurrentSourceImageandgeneratedaseriesofnewpathsthatrepresenttheadjacentsidesoftheedgesinthecurrentSourceImage.
:from Canvas EdgesThismenucommandexaminesthecurrentCanvasimageandgeneratedaseriesofnewpathsthatrepresenttheedgesofthecurrentCanvasimage.
:from Selection EdgesThismenucommandexaminesthecurrentselectionimageandgeneratedaseriesofnewpathsthatrepresenttheedgesofthecurrentselection.
...:from Source SkeletonThismenucommandexaminesthecurrentsourceimageandgeneratedaseriesofnewpathsthatrepresenttheinternalskeletonofthecurrentsourceimage.
:from Canvas SkeletonThismenucommandexaminesthecurrentcanvasimageandgeneratedaseriesofnewpathsthatrepresenttheinternalskeletonofthecurrentcanvasimage.
:from Selection SkeletonThismenucommandexaminesthecurrentselectionimageandgeneratedaseriesof
Chapter 15: Menu Commands515
15
newpathsthatrepresenttheinternalskeletonofthecurrentselectionimage.
...:from NonWhite Canvas
Thismenucommandexaminesthecurrentcanvaslayerandscanconvertsallblacklinesinthecanvastonewgeneratedpaths.ItisbesttousethiscommandwithahardcontrastBWcanvasimagethatiscomposedofthinblacklinesonawhitebackground.
:from NonWhite Selection
Thismenucommandexaminesthecurrentselectionimageandscanconvertsallblacklinesintheselectiontonewgeneratedpaths.ItisbesttousethiscommandwithahardcontrastBWselectionimagethatiscomposedofthinblacklinesonawhitebackground.
...:Gen OptionThismenuaccessessubmenuflagsthatletyouspecifyadefaultgenerationoptionforthegeneratepathsalgorithms.Currentlyyoucanspecifynormalbehaviorormoredetailedpathgeneration.
...:from Ip OpThismenucommandgeneratespathsfromthecurrentImageOperation.Notethatonlyafewimageoperationscurrentlysupportpathgeneration,sothismenuitemwillonlybeaccessibleifthecurrentimageoperationsupportspathgeneration(likeSketchEdgeforexample).
Studio Artist516
Path Layer CommandsThismenuaccessesthefollowingsubmenucommandsassociatedwithmanipulatingthecurrentpathlayer:
:EraseThismenucommanddeletesallofthepathsinthecurrentpathframe.-
--:ExpandThismenucommandexpandsthecurrentpathframepaths.Apathisexpandedbydrawinganewpatharounditsedgesinacircle.ParametersettingstoadjustthisprocessarelocatedontheBezierEditOperationpane.
:Expand and RemoveThismenucommandexpandsthecurrentpathframepathsandthenremovestheoldpathframepaths.
:Complete ExpandThismenucommandexpandsthecurrentpathframepathsinmultipleiterationsuntilthecompletecanvasiscovered.
---:Connect ClosestThismenucommandconnectstheclosestsetsofneighboringpaths.
:Connect Closest and RemoveThismenucommandconnectstheclosestsetsofneighboringpaths..Theoldpathframepathsarethenremovedfromthepathframebufferleavingjustthenewpathsthatconnectedtheoldremovedoriginalpaths.
:Connect if CloseThismenucommandconnectssetsofneighboringpathsiftheyarecloseandotherwise
Chapter 15: Menu Commands517
15
doesnotconnectthem.
---:SkeletonizeThismenucommandgeneratesnewpathsthatarelocatedatthecenterdistancesbetweentheexistingpathsusingaskeletondistancecalculation.
:Skeletonize and RemoveThismenucommandgeneratesnewpathsthatarelocatedatthecenterdistancesbetweentheexistingpathsusingaskeletondistancecalculation.Theoldpathframepathsarethenremovedfromthepathframebuffer.
---:SimplifyThismenucommandsimplifiesthepathframebysmoothingtheindividualcurves.Theresultingeffectisaformofstylization,andisusefultoconvertautomaticallygeneratedpathsintocurvesthatlookliketheyweredrawnwithafewsmoothcurves.
:Simplify LiteThismenucommandlightlysimplifiesthepathframebysmoothingtheindividualcurves.
:StraightenThismenucommandstraightenstheindividualcurvesinthepathframe.Theresultingeffectisaformofstylizationthatlookslikehanddrawnstraightlines.
:Straighten SubtleThismenucommandsubtlystraightenstheindividualcurvesinthepathframe.Theresultingeffectisaformofstylizationthatlookslikehanddrawnstraightlines.
...:Size Prune
Studio Artist518
Thismenucommandremovessmallpathsfromthepathframe.
:Size Prune1Thismenucommandremoveslargersmallpathsfromthepathframe.
:Size Prune2Thismenucommandremovesevenlargersmallpathsfromthepathframe.
---Convert to Paint SynthesizerThismenucommandaccessesthefollowingpowerfulsubmenucommandsassociatedwithconvertingthecurrentpathlayerorlayerbezierkeyframesintoasinglepaintactionstep:
:as Time ParticlesThismenucommandgeneratesaPaintSynthesizerpatchthatencapsulatesthecurrentBezierpathframeasaseriesoftimeparticlepaintstrokesthatwillrunasasinglepaintactionstep.
:as Autodraw Embedded Bezier FrameThismenucommandgeneratesaPaintSynthesizerpatchthatencapsulatesthecurrentBezierpathframeasaseriesofinternalBeziermemoryPathShapepaintstrokesthatwillrunasasinglepaintactionstep..
:as Repeating PatternThismenucommandgeneratesaPaintSynthesizerpatchthatencapsulatesthecurrentBezierpathframeasarepeatingpathshapepattern.
:Convert PASeq Bezier Context to Embedded AutodrawThismenucommandconvertsallbeziercontextactionstepsinthecurrentpaintactionsequence(PASeq)intoautodrawembeddedpaintactionsteps.
Chapter 15: Menu Commands519
15
:Convert PASeq Source Context to Bezier ContextThismenucommandgeneratesanewBezierContextactionstepinthecurrentpaintactionsequence(PASeq).BeforethathappensthecurrentpaintactionsequenceisrunateachkeyframeassociatedwithaSourceContextactionstep.AfterthePASeqisfinishedrunningatthatkeyframe,theresultingbezierpathframeisusedasthecontentsforthenewBezierContextactionstepatthatframetime.
:Convert MSG Scan to Embedded Bez Path StartThismenucommandrunsthecurrentMSGpresetasaMSGpathstartgeneratorandthengeneratesaPaintSynthesizerpatchthatencapsulatesthoseMSGgeneratedpathstartlocationsasaninternalpathmemorypathstartgenerator.
All of these menu commands edit the current Paint Synthesizer parameters to support the Bezier encapsulation. All of these menu commands will also record as a Paint Action Sequence action step if PASeq recording is turned on when the me nu command is run. The Paint Synthesizer Action Step to playback the path frame as paint strokes is what is recorded in the PASeq, not the path conversion step.
---Path Layer Record OptionsThismenuallowsyoutoaccessdifferentmenuflagsettingsassociatedwithrecordingandplayingbackpaths.Thedifferenteditablesettingsareaccessedviathefollowingsubmenus:
:Pen DrawSettingthisflagspecifiesthatindividualmouseorpendrawnstrokepathswillbeimmediatelyconvertedtoBezierpathsinthecurrentPathLayerwhenthestrokeisfinishedbeingdrawn.
:Action DrawSettingthisflagspecifiesthatindividualautodrawnstrokepathswillbeimmediately
Studio Artist520
convertedtoBezierpathsinthecurrentPathLayerwhenthestrokeisfinishedbeingdrawn.
:VectorizerSettingthisflagspecifiesthatindividualregionsgeneratedwiththeVectorizerarerecordedintothecurrentpathframe.
:Erase Before ActionSettingthisflagspecifiesthatthecurrentpathframeiserasedbeforeanActionstartsoutputtingnewregionpaths.
:Use Recorded Paint ColorSettingthisflagspecifiesthatinitialrecordedpaintstrokecolorsassociatedwitheachpathwillbeusedwhenredrawingtheindividualpaths.Iftheflagisnotset,thenthecurrentsourcecolorwillbeusedwhenredrawingthepaths.
:Split NonContiguousSettingthisflagmeansthatgeneratedpathsthatarenon-contiguousinternally(pathswithholesinthem)arefirstsplitintomultiplecontiguouspathsandeachofthosepathsarethenconvertedtoBezierpaths.ThenormalBezierconversionprocesswouldstoptheconversionatthefirstnon-contiguousboundary.
---Path MemoriesThismenuallowsyoutoaccessdifferentmenuflagsettingsassociatedwithglobalandinternalBezierpathmemories.
:Internal : Playback:Internal : RecordThesemenucommandsallowyoutoplaybackthecontentsoftheinternalpaintsynthesizerbezierpathmemoryintothecurrentlayer'sbezierpathframe.Ortorecord
Chapter 15: Menu Commands521
15
fromthecurrentlayer'sbezierpathframeintotheinternalbezierpathmemory.
:Global1 : Playback:Global1 : Record:Global2 : Playback:Global2 : Record:Global3 : Playback:Global4 : Record:Global5 : Playback:Global5 : RecordThesemenucommandsallowyoutoplaybackthecontentsoftheglobalbezierpathmemories(1,2,3,4)intothecurrentlayer'sbezierpathframe.Ortorecordfromthecurrentlayer'sbezierpathframeintotheglobalbezierpathmemories.
Studio Artist522
Action
ThefollowingmenucommandsareaccessiblefromtheActionmainmenu:
EachoftheseActionmenucommandswillbeexplainedinmoredetailinthefollowingsections.
Do Current ActionThiscommandexecutesthecurrentOperation'sAction.
Run Loop ActionThiscommandexecutesthecurrentOperation'sActionasaloopaction.Aloopactionmeansthatassoonastheactionisfinisheditstartsoveragainandrepeatsindefinitelyuntiltheuserstopsitbypressingthespacebar.
History Sequence
ThismenuallowsyoutoaccessdifferentcommandsassociatedwiththecurrentHistorySequence.Thedifferentcommandsareaccessibleviathefollowingsubmenus:
Chapter 15: Menu Commands523
15
:Play ThismenucommandstartsplaybackofthecurrentHistorySequence.
:Erase ThismenucommanderasestheentirecurrentHistorySequence.
:RecordSettingthisflagspecifieswhetherrecordingisonoroffforthecurrentHistorySequence.
:Copy Replace to PASeq Thismenucommandreplacesthecontentsofthecurrentpaintactionsequencewiththecurrenthistorysequence.
:Copy Replace to PASeq Thismenucommandappendsthecurrenthistorysequenceattheendofthecurrentpaintactionsequence.
---Paint Action SequenceThismenuallowsyoutoaccessdifferentcommandsassociatedwiththecurrentPaintActionSequence.Thedifferentcommandsareaccessibleviathefollowingsubmenus:
:Play ThismenucommandstartsplaybackofthecurrentPaintActionSequence.
:Loop Play Paint Action Sequence ThismenucommandstartsloopplaybackofthecurrentPaintActionSequence.WhentheendofthePASeqisreached,itwillloopandbeginplayingagainfromthebeginning.
---
Studio Artist524
:Activate Paint Action Sequence RecordingSettingthisflagspecifieswhetherrecordingisonoroffforthecurrentPaintActionSequence.
:Record Last Action as Paint Action StepRunningthismenucommandrecordsyourlastexecutedStudioArtistActionasanActionStepinthePASeq.PASeqrecordingdoesnothavetobeactivatedforthiscommandtorecordthestep.
This command is useful if you did something using one of the Studio Artist Actions, like the result and want to save it, but did not have PASeq or History recording turned on when you did the Action. By running this command you can still record what you did after the fact, including any internal randomization parameters so you can play it back later.
---:Erase ThismenucommanderasestheentirecurrentPaintActionSequence.
PASeq TimelineThismenuallowsyou to access the followingcommandsassociatedwith the currentPaintActionSequencetimeline.
:Time Compress/Expand...Thismenucommandbringsupadialogthatletsyouspecifyatimingadjustmentratio.Thepaintactionsequencetimelineisthentimecompressedorexpandedappropriately.
:Delete KeyframesThismenucommanddeletesallexistingpaintactionsequencekeyframesexceptforthoserecordedatframe1.
Chapter 15: Menu Commands525
15
...:Embedded Bezier Frame :Reorder Minimal DistanceThismenucommandreordersalloftheindividualpathindexesintheembeddedbezierframesstoredinpaintactionstepsusingaminimaldistancemetricbetweenkeyframes.Whatthisdoesisreorderstheindividualpathssothattheymovetheshortestdistancewhenkeyframeanimating.Reorderingthepathsusingthisalgorithmgeneratessmootherkeyframeanimationwhenkeyframeanimatingsketchanimation.
:Embedded Bezier Frame :Normalize RecycleThismenucommandnormalizesthepathindexmaximumcountacrossallembeddedbezierframesstoredinpaintactionstepssothatallkeyframesinaparticularPASeqstephavethesamenumberofpaths.Existingpathsinakeyframeareduplicatedasnecessarytonormalizethepathcount.
:Embedded Bezier Frame :Normalize SplitThismenucommandnormalizesthepathindexmaximumcountacrossallembeddedbezierframesstoredinpaintactionstepssothatallkeyframesinaparticularPASeqstephavethesamenumberofpaths.Existingpathsinakeyframearesplitinhalfasnecessarytonormalizethepathcount.
...:Record Context :SourceThismenucommandrecordsasourcecontextactionsteptothecurrentpaintactionsequence.Thecurrentsourceimageisusedforthesourcereferencerecordedatframe1inthegeneratedsourcecontextactionstep.
:Record Context :BezierThismenucommandrecordsabeziercontextactionsteptothecurrentpaintactionsequence.Thecurrentlayer'sbezierpathframeisusedforthebezierreferencerecordedatframe1inthegeneratedbeziercontextactionstep.
:Record Context :Content
Studio Artist526
Thismenucommandrecordsacontentcontextactionsteptothecurrentpaintactionsequence.Thecurrentsourceimageisusedforthecontentreferencerecordedatframe1inthegeneratedcontentcontextactionstep.
:Record Context :Bezier+ContentThismenucommandrecordsabezier+contentcontextactionsteptothecurrentpaintactionsequence.Thecurrentsourceimageisusedforthecontentreferencerecordedatframe1inthegeneratedbezier+contentcontextactionstep.Thecurrentlayer'sbezierpathframeisusedforthebezierreferencerecordedatframe1inthegeneratedbezier+contentcontextactionstep.
:Record Context :MorphThismenucommandrecordsamorphcontextactionsteptothecurrentpaintactionsequence.Thecurrentsourceimageisusedfortheimagereferencerecordedatframe1inthegeneratedmorphcontextactionstep.Thecurrentlayer'sbezierpathframeisusedforthebezierreferencerecordedatframe1inthegeneratedmorphcontextactionstep.
:Record Context :WarpThismenucommandrecordsawarpcontextactionsteptothecurrentpaintactionsequence.Thecurrentsourceimageisusedfortheimagereferencerecordedatframe1inthegeneratedwarpcontextactionstep.Thecurrentlayer'sbezierpathframeisusedforthebezierreferencerecordedatframe1inthegeneratedwarpcontextactionstep.
:Record Context :FilterThismenucommandrecordsawarpcontextactionsteptothecurrentpaintactionsequence.Thefiltersourceimageisusedfortheimagereferencerecordedatframe1inthegeneratedfiltercontextactionstep.Thecurrentlayer'sbezierpathframeisusedforthebezierreferencerecordedatframe1inthegeneratedfiltercontextactionstep.
:Record Context :Inv Warp
Chapter 15: Menu Commands527
15
Thismenucommandrecordsaninversewarpcontextactionsteptothecurrentpaintactionsequence.Thecurrentsourceimageisusedfortheimagereferencerecordedatframe1inthegeneratedinversewarpcontextactionstep.Thecurrentlayer'sbezierpathframeisusedforthebezierreferencerecordedatframe1inthegeneratedinversewarpcontextactionstep.
:Record Context :Multiple Keys :Source...:Record Context :Multiple Keys :Content...:Record Context :Multiple Keys :Morph...Thesemenucommandsallowsyoutorecordanewsource,contentormorphcontextwithmultiplekeyframes.Runningthemenucommandbringsupastandardfiledialog.YoucanselectasourceimageandthenpressOktoadditasanewkeyframe.AslongasyoucontinuetopressOkyoucanselectnewsourceimagesthatwillbeaddedasnewadjacentkeyframes.Whenyouarefinishedselectingsourcekeyframespressthecancelbutton.
---Process Movie With Paint Action SequenceThiscommandprocessesasourceQuickTimemovielocatedonyourharddiskwiththecurrentPaintActionSequenceframebyframe.ThefollowingsubmenusspecifytheoutputformatfortheprocessedQuickTimemovie:
:Movie to Movie...ThiscommandprocessesasourceQuickTimemovielocatedonyourharddiskwiththecurrentPaintActionSequenceframebyframe,generatinganewprocessedQuickTimemovie.Thesizeorresolutionoftheprocessedoutputmoviecanbedifferentfromtheoriginalsourcemovie.Thesourcemoviefileisnotchangedoreditedinanyway.
Thiscommandisexecutedinthreesteps.First,youwillbepromptedwithastandardfiledialogtochooseasourcemoviefile.AfteryouclickOK,adialogwillcomeup
Studio Artist528
thatallowsyoutospecifytheoutputmoviesize.Thesizeoftheoutputmoviecanbedifferentthanthesourcemovie.AfteryouclickOK,youwillbepromptedbyafinalstandardfiledialogtonameyouroutputmoviefileandspecifyit’slocationonyourharddisk.WhenyouclickOK,themovieprocessingwillbegin.
You can stop the movie processing at any time by hitting the spacebar or by mousing down in the Studio Artist interface. If you click Cancel in the final standard file dialog, the processing will still take place, but will not be written to an output movie file. This is a useful way to preview your processing sequence in the Canvas prior to final execution into an output movie file on your hard disk.
Chapter 15: Menu Commands529
15
:Movie to Image...ThiscommandprocessesasourceQuickTimemovielocatedonyourharddiskwiththecurrentPaintActionSequenceframebyframe,generatingaseriesofoutputimagefilesforeachprocessedframe.Thesizeorresolutionoftheprocessedoutputimagescanbedifferentfromtheoriginalsourcemovie.Thesourcemoviefileisnotchangedoreditedinanyway.
Thiscommandisexecutedinthreesteps.First,youwillbepromptedwithastandardfiledialogtochooseasourcemoviefile.AfteryouclickOK,adialogwillcomeupthatallowsyoutospecifytheoutputimagesize.Thesizeoftheoutputimagecanbedifferentthanthesourcemovie.AfteryouclickOK,youwillbepromptedbyafinalstandardfiledialogtonameyouroutputimagefileandspecifyit’slocationonyourharddisk.WhenyouclickOK,themovieprocessingwillbegin.Eachprocessedimagefilewillbesequentiallynumberedusingyourspecifiedoutputfilenameasarootstring.
You can stop the movie processing at any time by hitting the spacebar or by mousing down in the Studio Artist interface. If you click Cancel in the final standard file dialog, the processing will still take place, but will not be written to an output image files. This is a useful way to preview your processing sequence in the Canvas prior to final execution into output image files on your hard disk.
:Movie to EPS...ThiscommandprocessesasourceQuickTimemovielocatedonyourharddiskwiththecurrentPaintActionSequenceframebyframe,generatingaseriesofoutputEPSvectorfilesforeachprocessedframe.ThesizeorresolutionoftheprocessedoutputEPSframescanbedifferentfromtheoriginalsourcemovie.Thesourcemoviefileisnotchangedoreditedinanyway.
IndividualPaintActionstepsthatcurrentlysupportEPSoutputincludeanythingthatusesthePaintSynthesizer,RegionSelectionFills,ortheVectorizer.
Studio Artist530
Thiscommandisexecutedinthreesteps.First,youwillbepromptedwithastandardfiledialogtochooseasourcemoviefile.AfteryouclickOK,adialogwillcomeupthatallowsyoutospecifytheoutputEPSframesize.ThesizeoftheoutputEPSframecanbedifferentthanthesourcemovie.AfteryouclickOK,youwillbepromptedbyafinalstandardfiledialogtonameyouroutputEPSfileandspecifyit’slocationonyourharddisk.WhenyouclickOK,themovieprocessingwillbegin.EachprocessedEPSfilewillbesequentiallynumberedusingyourspecifiedoutputfilenameasarootstring.
You can stop the movie processing at any time by hitting the spacebar or by mousing down in the Studio Artist interface. If you click Cancel in the final standard file dialog, the processing will still take place, but will not be written to an output image files. This is a useful way to preview your processing sequence in the Canvas prior to final execution into output image files on your hard disk.
:Image to Movie...:Image to Image...:Image to EPS...
ThesecommandsprocessesafolderofimagefileslocatedonyourharddiskwiththecurrentPaintActionSequenceimagebyimage.ThesubmenudestinationshavethesamefunctionalityastheonesdetailedintheprevioussectiononProcessingaMovieWithaPASeq.Theonlydifferentisthatafolderofframeimagesisusedasthesourceoftheindividualframesforthemovieprocessing.
These commands are also useful for batch processing groups of different images or a cd-rom of stock photos with a PASeq aesthetic effect.
Batch ProcessThismenuaccessthefollowingsubmenusthatallowforPASeqbatchprocessingoptions:
Chapter 15: Menu Commands531
15
:with Paint Action Sequence...Thiscommandallowstheusertoprocessafolderofimagesand/ormoviefileswiththecurrentpaintactionsequenceintoa2ndoutputfolderforthePASeqrenderedimagesormoviefiles.
:with Folder of Paint Action Sequences...ThiscommandallowstheusertochooseafolderofPaintActionSequencesandprocessasecondfolderofimagesand/ormoviefileswitheachPASeqinthePASeqfolderintoa3rdoutputfolderforthePASeqrenderedimagesormoviefiles.
...Generate EPSThismenuaccessessubmenusthatgeneratevectorEPSoutputfilesfromaStudioArtistAction.ThefollowingsubmenusspecifytheparticularactionusedtogeneratetheEPSfile:
:with Vectorizer...ThiscommandrunstheVectorizerActionandoutputsthegeneratedBezierRegionstoanEPSfileaswellastothecurrentcanvas.
:with Paint Action Sequence...ThiscommandrunsthePASeqActionandoutputsthegeneratedBezierinformationfromstepsinthePASeqtoanEPSfileaswellastothecurrentcanvas.
IndividualPaintActionstepsthatcurrentlysupportEPSoutputincludeanythingthatusesthePaintSynthesizer,solidcolorDefaultColorFills,ortheVectorizer.
You should be aware that postscript EPS files do not support the wide range of organic paint and textural effects that can be generated using Studio Artist's Paint Synthesizer and Image Processing functionality. Studio Artist EPS output will have a flat color look to the individual regions or regionized paint strokes.
Studio Artist532
You should edit your paint patches accordingly so what you see displayed on the screen in raster paint matches what you will get in the eps output. Paint Synthesizer macro edits are provided to allow you to make these editing changes to any presets quickly.
Generate SVGThismenuaccessessubmenusthatgeneratevectorSVGoutputfilesfromaStudioArtistAction.ThefollowingsubmenusspecifytheparticularactionusedtogeneratetheSVGfile:
:with Vectorizer...ThiscommandrunstheVectorizerActionandoutputsthegeneratedBezierRegionstoanSVGfileaswellastothecurrentcanvas.
:with Paint Action Sequence...ThiscommandrunsthePASeqActionandoutputsthegeneratedBezierinformationfromstepsinthePASeqtoanSVGfileaswellastothecurrentcanvas.
:Print with Paint Action Sequence...ThiscommandallowsyoutoprintdirectlyfromthegeneratedSVGvectors.ThenormalFile:PrintfunctionalityprintsfromtherasterframebufferassociatewiththeStudioArtistlayersandview.PrintingdirectlywiththegeneratedSVGvectorsusingthiscangeneratebetterqualityhighresolutionprints.ThemacstandardprintdialogalsoallowsforthecreationofPDFfiles(bottomleft),sothisisawaytocreateavectorPDFfilefromthegeneratedSVGvectors.
BeawarethatonlyStudioArtistactionsthatusevectordrawingcangenerateSVGvector.Thisincludesthevectorizer,paintsynthesizerpresetsthatusetheAnti-AliasSolidBrushTypeortheVectormainRenderTechnique,andsolidcolordefaultcolorfills.
...
Chapter 15: Menu Commands533
15
Run Gallery ShowThismenucommandstartsthegalleryshowfeature.Galleryshowwillcontinuetorununtilyoupressthespacebartostopit.Therearegalleryshowpreferencesthatyoucansetthatdeterminewhatgalleryshowwilldowhenrunning.
Studio Artist534
Operation
ThefollowingmenucommandsareaccessiblefromtheOperationmainmenu:
TheOperationmenusprovidequickonestepaccesstothevariousmodalOperationsandtheirassociatedparametersubpanes.Thismenucanbeusedasanalternativetonavigatingthehierarchalparameterpanesviatheirpopupcontrols.
EachoftheseOperationmenucommandswillbeexplainedinmoredetailinthefollowingsections.
FlipThissubmenusassociatedwiththismenuprovidesconvenientquicknavigationbackandforthbetweendifferentStudioArtistfloatingpalettewindowsaswellascertainmainOperationmodesusedcommonlyintypicalworksuchasBezierEditingorRegionSelection.AllGoTomenusareassociatedwithcmndkeysforquickcmndkeynavigationwhileworking.
Chapter 15: Menu Commands535
15
--PresetsThismenuprovidesquicknavigationaccesstotheindividualparameterpanesassociatedwithStudioArtist’sPresets.ThereisasubmenuforeachoftheindividualPresetaccesspanes.
---Image OperationThismenuprovidesquicknavigationaccesstotheindividualparameterpanesassociatedwithStudioArtist’sImageOperations.ThereisasubmenuforeachoftheindividualImageOperationcontrolpanes.
Temporal Image OperationThismenuprovidesquicknavigationaccesstotheindividualparameterpanesassociatedwithStudioArtist’sImageOperations.ThereisasubmenuforeachoftheindividualImageOperationcontrolpanes.
Texture SynthesizerThismenuprovidesquicknavigationaccesstotheindividualparameterpanesassociatedwiththeTextureSynthesizer.ThereisasubmenuforeachoftheindividualTextureSynthesizercontrolpanes.
VectorizerThismenuprovidesquicknavigationaccesstotheindividualparameterpanesassociatedwithVectorizer.ThereisasubmenuforeachoftheindividualVectorizercontrolpanes.
MSGThismenuprovidesquicknavigationaccesstotheindividualparameterpaneassociatedwiththeMSGOperationmodeUserAdjustments.
...
Studio Artist536
Paint Synthesizer ClassicThismenuprovidesquicknavigationaccesstotheindividualparameterpanesassociatedwiththePaintSynthesizer.ThereisasubmenuforeachoftheindividualPaintSynthesizercontrolpanes.
DualMode PaintThismenuprovidesquicknavigationaccesstotheindividualparameterpanesassociatedwiththeDualModePaintoperation.ThereisasubmenuforeachoftheindividualDualModePaintcontrolpanes.
---WarpThismenuprovidesquicknavigationaccesstotheindividualselectionmodesassociatedwithInteractiveWarping.ThereisasubmenuforeachoftheindividualInteractiveWarpmethods.
AdjustThismenuprovidesquicknavigationaccesstotheindividualselectionmodesassociatedwithInteractiveAdjustments.ThereisasubmenuforeachoftheindividualInteractiveAdjustmentmethods.
---SelectionThismenuprovidesquicknavigationaccesstotheindividualselectionmodesassociatedwithRegionSelection.ThereisasubmenuforeachoftheindividualRegionSelectionmethods.
BezierThismenuprovidesquicknavigationaccesstotheBezierDrawandEditcontrolpanesandOperationmode.
Chapter 15: Menu Commands537
15
---Paint Action SequenceThismenuprovidesquicknavigationaccesstothePaintActionSequencecontrolpanesandOperationmode.
Studio Artist538
Windows
ThefollowingmenucommandsareaccessiblefromtheWindowsmainmenu:
TheWindowsmenucommandsprovideaccessthedifferentStudioArtistpalettesandtoolbars.Youcanalsotogglefullscreenviewonoroff,andaccesstheuserlayoutmemorieswhichcanbeusedtosaveandrestoredifferentworkspaceconfigurations.
Studio Artist540
Chapter 16: Technical Questions
StudioArtistisapowerfulcreativetoolwithanextremeamountofuserconfigurability.Allofthiscreativepowercomesatthecostofacertainamountofcomplexityunderthehood.Inaddition,theextensiveandopenendededitingcapabilitiesgiveauserthechancetopaintthemselvesinacornerbyspecifyinglogicallyinconsistentpaintpatches. Thischapterprovidessomeanswerstocommontechnicalquestions.BeforeyouemailTechnicalSupport,youshouldcheckthischaptertoseeiftheanswertoyourquestionishere.Also,youcanusetheStudioArtistUserForumavailableviastudioartist.ning.comtoaskquestionsandgetanswersfromexpertusersaswellasSynthetik.
IfyoudoneedtocontactTechnicalSupport,pleaseincludeasmuchinformationaspossibletohelpusdiagnoseandfixyourproblem.Keepinmindthetroubleshootingmantraslistedbelow.
Troubleshooting Your Problem
Istheproblemabugoristheresomethingyoudon’tunderstand?
Istheproblemrepeatable?
Traceyoursignalflow.
Ifyougetanerrormessage,writeitdownandincludeitinyouremail.
IfyouarerunningOSXandyoucrash,pleaseincludethecrashreportinyouremailstous.Theinformationinthecrashreporthelpsusdiagnoseandcorrectanyproblemsyou
Studio Artist542
Things to Keep in Mind
ThefollowingareafewtipstokeepinmindwhenyouuseStudioArtist.
Large Source Images
StudioArtistisuniquefromothergraphicsprogramsinthatithastheconceptofasourceandcanvasimage.TheSourceandCanvasdimensionsorresolutionscanbedifferent.Thesourcewasoriginallyconceivedtobeusedlikeanartistusesamodel,asasourceofvisualabstraction.StudioArtistdoesnotmodifythesourceimageinanyway.However,itdoescurrentlyloadthecompletesourceimageintoram.WorkingwithlargesourceimageswillreducetheamountofmemoryavailablefortheCanvasanditsassociatedworkingbuffers.
Formanyapplications(especiallythoseinvolvingpainting),alowresolutionsourceimagemaybemorethanadequate.StudioArtist’spaintalgorithmswillbegeneratingdetailatthecompleteCanvasresolutionevenwhenworkingwithalowresolutionsourceimage.Thisisadifferentmetaphorthanotherimageprocessingprogramswhereyouwouldtypicallychooseasourceimagescannedatprintresolution.
Ifyouhavehighresolutionsourceimages,considergeneratinglowresolutionversionsofthemforuseassourceimageswhenpaintinginStudioArtist.Thiswillfreeupmoreramspaceforyourhigherresolutionworkingpaintcanvasandmakeyouroverallpaintsessionmoreresponsive.
StudioArtistversionspriortoversion3hadahardlimitationof4000x4000pixelsforit’sCanvassize.ThislimitationwasremovedstartingwithStudioArtistversion3.TheonlyCanvassizerestrictionistheamountofvirtualmemoryswapspaceondiskthattheMacintoshOperatingSystemsupportsandtheamountoffreephysicaldiskspaceyouactuallyhaveavailableforvirtualmemorytouse.
OS-Xversionspriorto10.3hadalimitof2gigvirtualmemoryswapspaceperprocess.
Chapter 16: Technical Questions543
16
Thishascurrentlybeenexpandedto8gigunderPanther.ThisisanoperatingsystemvirtualmemorylimitationasopposedtoalimitationexistingwithinStudioArtist.
Studio Artist544
Image Open and Save Operations
StudioArtistprimarilyusesApple’sQuicktimeimageimportandexportcomponentstoreadandwriteimagefilestoandfromdisk.IftheQuicktimeimageimport/exportcomponentsaremissingordamagedinanyway,thiscanaffecttheabilityoftheprogramtoreadandwriteimagefiles.
Movie Frame Writing to a Disk File
StudioArtistusesApple’sQuicktimeinternalapi'sforwritingindividualmovieframestoamoviefile.Wesupportalloftheavailableimagecompressioncodecsyouhaveinstalledonyourcomputer.
Somecompressioncodecs(Avidcodecforexample)willonlyworkwithspecificframepixeldimensions.Ifyourunintoproblemsassociatedwiththeuseofaparticularcompressioncodec,tryswitchingtoanotherandseeifyoucanpinpointiftheproblemisassociatedwithaparticularcodec.
AnotherthingtobeawareofisthatwhenyouupgradeyouroperatingsystemorQuicktimeversion,yourexistingStudioArtistmoviecompressionpreferencesmaybecomeinvalid.ThiscouldcauseproblemswhenyoutrytowriteamovieframewhenprocessingamoviefilewithinStudioArtist,orwhenwritingtoanopenMovieStream.
Ifyourunintoacrashproblemwhenwritingamovieframe,tryopeningyourmoviecompressionpreferences,locatedinthe'File:MovieCodecSettings'dialog.Changeallofthesettingsinthemoviecompressionpreferencesdialog.Evenifyouchangethemandthenchangethembacktotheiroldsettings.ThenquitStudioArtistandthenrestartStudioArtist.Thisshouldfixtheproblemforyou.
Chapter 16: Technical Questions545
16
Common Problems
The application launches but never starts up properly.
Youmayhavetrashedyourpreferenceorsettingsfiles.Ifthepreferenceorsettingsfilesaredamaged,theprogrammayhavetroublestartingasitwilltrytoreadthedamagedfileandmayrespondinappropriately.
Under OS-X:OS-Xsupportstheconceptofmultipleusersonthesamemachine.Individualuserpreferencesarelocatedinaparticularuser'spersonalfolder.GototheUsersfolder.Inthereshouldbeafolderwithyourspecificusername.InthatfoldershouldbeafoldercalledLibrary.InthereshouldbeafoldercalledPreferences.
Tofixaproblemwithdamagedpreferencefiles,gototheSystemFolderPreferencesfolderandremovethefilenamedcom.synthetik.StudioArtist4.
The application takes forever to launch and there are no presets.
TheStudioArtistapplicationneedstobeinthesameStudioArtistfolderasthePresetandBrushfolders.Ifthesespecialpresetfoldersarenotphysicallynexttoapplicationfileinthesamefolder,theapplicationwillbeunabletofinditsassociatedfactorypresetsandbrushfiles.
A common error is that someone makes an application alias and then drags the actual application file to their desktop rather than the alias. Always keep the physical Studio Artist application in the Studio Artist folder next to the preset folder.
Studio Artist546
I keep getting assert error messages when running the program.
Youareprobablyrunningoutofworkingmemory.Aspecificsymptomforthisparticularproblemisanerrormessagethatincludesthedescription“(data!=nil)”.
StudioArtistOSXusesvirtualmemoryinadditiontophysicalram.VirtualmemoryexpandstheamountofphysicalmemoryanapplicationcanworkwithbeyondwhatisavailableinRAMbyswappingblocksofmemorybackandforthfromyourharddisktoRAM.
If you are running Studio Artist OSX and you get error messages associated with running out of memory it means you are running out of either physical swap space for virtual memory on your hard disk or you have exceeded the OS limitations for virtual memory swap space. Prior to OSX 10.3 this was a 2 gig virtual memory limitation. Starting with the OSX10.4 release this limitation was increased to 4 gig.
ReducingthesourceimageandcanvassizewillreducetheamountofmemoryStudioArtistuses.YoualsohavetheoptionofworkingwithasmallerSourceimagewhilekeepingtheCanvassizethesameifyouareusingalargesourceimage.Typically,youcanuseasmallsourceimagewhenpaintingintoamuchlargercanvassizeStudioArtistwillanalyzethesmallsourceimageandgeneratepaintdetailatthehigherresolutioncanvasdimensions.
I installed a new Wacom tablet driver and now the application doesn’t launch.
Didyoude-installtheoldWacomdriverormanuallyremovetheoldWacomControlPanel,Extensions,andPreferences.WehavefoundincompatibilitiesbetweenWacompreferencefilesanddifferenttabletsortabletdrivers.RemovingtheoldWacompreferencefilesfixestheproblem.
Chapter 16: Technical Questions547
16
YoucanalwaysgototheWacomwebsitewww.wacom.comtodownloadthemostrecentversionsoftheWacomtabletdriversoftware.
The program doesn't seem to be drawing.
ThekeytoaproblemofthisnatureistologicallyworkthroughyourcurrentStudioArtistinterfacesettingsandcurrentPaintPatchparametersettingstodeterminewhydrawingisn'ttakingplace.Orperhapsdrawingistakingplacebutyoujustaren'tseeingit.
For example, you may have Layer Alpha view On, but have Paint Synth Alpha Enable turned off. If this was the case, your paint strokes would not be drawing into the layer alpha channel, so you would not see the rgb channels draw when alpha view was turned on.
Anotherpotentialproblemcouldbespecifyingapaintpatchthatislogicallyinconsistent.Thereareanumberofpossiblewaystodothis.Herearesomescenariostowatchoutfor.
Check to make sure you don't have a region mask specified as a part of the paint patch. If you do, it will only draw or image process within the mask region (i.e.. the white part).
Check the Paint Fill Setup parameter pane. Make sure you don't have the Paint Fill settings Fill From and Fill To both set to Canvas Image. If you do, this will just repaint the Canvas Image back onto itself.
Check to make sure the maximum brush size (located in the Brush Modulation parameter pane) isn't set to 0 or very low. If the brush size is pressure modulated and you are using a mouse, make sure the Autodraw Pressure Range (located in the Miscellaneous parameter pane) isn't set to 0.
Studio Artist548
Check the Paint Fill parameters. For example, if you have a black background and you are using a Composite setting of Min, then nothing will draw because the black background is as minimum as it can get. Same thing for a white background and a Composite setting of Max.
Check your Path Start and Path End parameters carefully. You may have set them up in a way that is prohibiting you from drawing. For example, if the canvas is all black and you have the Path Start control panel configured to only start paths in white areas, you will never get a new path when autodrawing.
Ifyourunintosituationswheredrawingdoesnotseemtobeoccurring,hereareaseriesofstepsyoucantrytodebugwhatisgoingon.
First, are you in an Operation mode that supports drawing? For example, Paint Synthesizer does support drawing, but Image Processing does not.
Second, try working with the Layer window composite settings to see if you have something set up there that is blocking you from seeing the layer drawing if in View All mode. Third, try a different preset to see if the problem is internal to the editable parameters in a particular preset. If that is the case, you can then try to work through the various control panels to debug the problem.
I reset the background but nothing changed?I reset the background to white but i still see a black canvas?
Checktomakesureyoudon'thavealphaviewenabled.Ifyoudo,thenthecanvasbackgroundwillbethedefaultbackgroundcoloryouhavespecifiedintheLayerPreferencesdialoguntilyoupaintwithalphadrawingenabledoryoumanuallyresetthealphachannelwithoneofthe'Canvas:Alpha:Setto'tomenucommands.
Chapter 16: Technical Questions549
16
Youcanalwayssetthealphaviewpopuptooffinthelayerswindowtoseewhatisreallyinthelayerwithoutitbeingmaskedbythelayer'salphachannel.
Studio Artist550
Why don't I have any Presets? Why does the application take forever to boot?
Theapplicationneedstoliveonyourharddisknexttothe'Preset'and'Brush'folders.
Itdoesn'tknowhowtofindthepresetsunlessthesefoldersareinthesamefolderastheapplication.Itwillspendalongtimesearchingforthemonyourentireharddiskiftheyaren'tthere.Thenwhentheapplicationdoesfullylaunch,therewillnotbeanypreseticonstochoosefrom.
AlwayskeeptheStudioArtistapplicationintheStudioArtistfoldernexttothefactoryPresetfolders!
While you can run Studio Artist directly off of the cd-rom, it will run much slower if you do so. You should follow the install procedure and drag the Studio Artist folder with all of its contents to your hard disk and run the application from there.
Why can’t I open an image file?
StudioArtistlooksfortheimagefiletypeid.Ifthatisnotset,thenitlooksattheextensionofthefile.Forexample,ajpegfilewithoutajpegfiletypeneedstobenamedmyImage.jpgormyImage.jpeginorderforStudioArtisttoknowitisajpegfile.
ManydigitalcameraacquisitionprogramsunderOS-XdonotproperlywriteouttheMacintoshfiletypeid.Ifthisisthecase,thenyouneedtomakesureyouprovidetheproperfileextensiontotheimagenames,ortheywillcomeupgrayedoutintheOpenfindfiledialog.
Filetypeidsarenotsupportedonwindows,sousingproperfileextensionsareessentialwhenworkingonwindows.
Chapter 16: Technical Questions551
16
Why am I running out of memory after running the program for a long time?
HistorySequencerecordingmaybeturnedonandyouareunawareofthis.Thehistorysequencedoesnotspooltodiskwiththisversion.Thismeansthatyourhistorysequencewillgrowovertimeasyoudothingswiththeprogram,takingupmoreandmorememory.Ifyouareworkingclosetothememoryedge,youwilleventuallyrunout.
AnotherpotentialmemoryissuetobeawareofarethePath:PathLayerRecordOptionmenuflags.IfyouhavethePathLayerRecordOptionPenDraw,ActionDraw,orVectorizermenuflagsset,theneachtimeyouperformtheassociatedactiontheinternalpathsgeneratedbytheactionareconvertedtoBezierpathsandaddedtotheexistinglayer'sBezierpathframe.
TheexistingcontentsoftheBezierpathframewillnotbeerasedunlesstheEraseBeforeActionmenuflagisturnedon.BeawarethatifthismenuflagisnotsettheneverytimeyouperformtheassociatedactionyouareaddingmoreandmoreBezierpathstotheBezierpathframe,andthiswilluseupmoreandmorememory.
I’m processing a movie file with a Paint Action Sequence and the output movie file is all white?How do I get the individual movie frames to appear in the Canvas when processing a movie file?
SomeofthefactorypaintactionsequencesweredesignedtoprocesstheexistingCanvaswithaseriesofvisualeffects.Theseeffectsmaynotchangethevisualappearanceofawhitecanvas.
StudioArtistusestheActionstepscriptstoredinaPaintActionSequenceveryliterally.InordertoloadthecurrentmovieframeintotheCanvaswhenthescriptisrun,there
Top Related