Palettes
This section describes &chalk;'s palettes. The palettes are usually found at
the right hand side of &chalk;'s main window. There are three palettes which
help you in customizing your images:
The Control box paletteThe Control box contains three tabs. You can get an
overview of the image, view a color histogram, and modify options for the
current tool.OverviewThe Overview tabThe Overview tab
The Overview tab
This tab offers you two settings. With the spinbox, slider, and
1:1 button at the bottom, you can set the zoom level
for the document. The Exposure slider and textbox can be
used to choose the exposure level for OpenEXR images. Furthermore, the
X and Y labels indicate the current
pointer position, with (0,0) being the top left corner of the canvas.HistogramThe Histogram tabThe Histogram tab
The Histogram tab
This tab displays a color histogram showing the distribution of
colors over the image. The histogram is split up in red, green and blue
levels.ToolActually, there is no tab named like this, since the tab name changes to
reflect the name of the currently selected tool. This tab shows the
customization options available for the tools that have them.BrushThe Tool tab for BrushThe Tool tab for Brush
The Tool tab for Brush
There are three options available on this tab.
The Opacity slider and spin box are used to set the
opacity when drawing (opacity is the opposite of transparency, i.e. 100%
opaque is 0% transparent, and vice versa).
In the Mode drop down box, you can choose a drawing
mode. This changes the actual effect that results from drawing on the image
(for example, only changing the saturation or lightness).
With the Paint direct option, you can determine whether
you want to paint directly on the current layer, or on a temporary layer which
is then composited onto the actual layer. This makes a difference especially
when using relative low opacity values.LineThe Tool tab for LineThe Tool tab for Line
The Tool tab for Line
See Brush
for the description of Opacity and
Mode. The ? button shows a tip about
the usage of modifier keys.RectangleThe Tool tab for RectangleThe Tool tab for Rectangle
The Tool tab for Rectangle
See Brush for a description of Opacity and
Mode.
The Fill drop down box is used to specify whether the
inside of the rectangle should be filled. You can choose between three fill
options: the current foreground color, background color or pattern is
used.BezierSee Brush for the
description of Mode and Opacity.EllipseThe same options as for Rectangle are
available here.PolygonThe same options as for Rectangle are
available here.PolylineThe same options as for Line
are available here.StarThe Tool tab for StarThe Tool tab for Star
The Tool tab for Star
The options for Rectangle are
available here, as well as two options specific to this tool.
The Vertices drop down box is used to set the amount
of vertices (points) in the star.
The Ratio setting defines the shape of the
star. A ratio of 0% will create a star with no inner area (when drawing the
star, the two lines that make up a star point, overlap). Increasing the ratio
will slowly make the star more outlined (the two lines are pulled
apart). A star with a ratio of 100% is a regular polygon.
DuplicateThe Tool tab for DuplicateThe Tool tab for Duplicate
The Tool tab for Duplicate
The same options as for Line
are available here. In addition, there are three other options.
With the Healing and
Healing radius options, you can specify that the
duplication should not copy the colors, but only the structure
of the source area.
If you enable the Correct the perspective option, the
duplicate tool will follow your perspective grid.
Paint with FiltersThe Tool tab for Paint with FiltersThe Tool tab for Paint with Filters
The Tool tab for Paint with Filters
Depending on the filter, you can set different options here. The
options you can set are the same as those available in the
normal settings dialog for the chosen filter. See the
Filters section in the Dialogs
chapter for more information.TransformThe Tool tab for TransformThe Tool tab for Transform
The Tool tab for Transform
You can choose which transformation algorithm to use in the
Filter drop down box.CropThe Tool tab for CropThe Tool tab for Crop
The Tool tab for Crop
Set the corner coordinates of the area that should remain with the
four spin boxes X, Y,
Width and Height. You can also
fill in Ratio to determine the Y/X ratio. Check one of
the checkboxes to have the respective value remain constant while changing the
size of the area. The drop down box can be used to select whether the entire
image or only the current layer should be cropped. Clicking the
Crop button has the same effect as double-clicking
outside the area in the image.Contiguous FillThe Tool tab for Contiguous FillThe Tool tab for Contiguous Fill
The Tool tab for Contiguous Fill
The same options as for Brush
are available here, as are a couple of other options.
The setting in the Threshold slider and spin box
determines how near the color of a point should be to the color of the
starting point of the fill, in order for the fill to spread out over the
former point. A higher threshold will therefore fill areas that have less
similar colors, a lower threshold limits the spread.
If you check the Fill entire selection checkbox, the
entire selection will be filled instead of only the neighboring area.
Checking the Limit to current layer checkbox changes the
behavior of the fill: the extent to which the fill is done, is determined from
the current layer only instead of the entire image.
By checking the Use pattern checkbox you can choose to
fill with the currently selected pattern instead of with the foreground color.
GradientThe Tool tab for GradientThe Tool tab for Gradient
The Tool tab for Gradient
The same options as for Brush
are available here, as are a couple of other options.
The Shape drop down box can be used to select the gradient
type: Linear, Bi-Linear, Radial,
Square, Conical and Conical Symmetric.
The Repeat option determines whether the gradient is
repeated if it does not fill the entire image. With None, the colors on the
ends of the gradient are used to fill the remaining space. With Forwards, the
gradient is normally repeated (connecting the back end of one occurrence with
the front end of the next). With Alternating, the gradient is repeated with
every second occurrence being drawn from back to front (linking front to front
and back to back).
Check the Reverse checkbox to have the gradient drawn
reversed (from back to front).
The final setting is Anti-alias threshold, which
determines how smooth the gradient will become.
TextThe Tool tab for TextThe Tool tab for Text
The Tool tab for Text
The same options as for Brush
are available here. Furthermore there is an option Font,
which shows the font that will be used for the text. Click the
... button to change the font.
Color PickerThe Tool tab for Color PickerThe Tool tab for Color Picker
The Tool tab for Color Picker
The first option is a dropdown box in which you can choose which
layer to pick the color from. If you choose a specific layer,
the color of the point in that layer will be retrieved. With Sample
All Visible Layers, the topmost visible layer which is not
transparent at that point is used.
If the Update current color checkbox is checked, then the
current foreground color (when clicking with the &LMB;) or background color
(when clicking with the &RMB;) is set to the picked color.
The checkbox Add to palette and the accompanying
dropdown box determine whether the picked color should be added to an existing
palette. Check the checkbox, and choose the desired palette from the list, if
you want to do so.
The checkbox Show colors as percentages switches the
range of color values displayed from the normal range (e.g. 0 to
255) to a scaled value between 0% and 100%.
With the Sample radius option, you can choose the area
size to use when picking the color. A radius of one just picks one pixel,
larger radii will make the picker average over the colors of the circle-shaped
area with the chosen radius that is centered around the chosen pixel.
Select toolsThe Tool tab for Select toolsThe Tool tab for Select tools
The Tool tab for Select tools
The Paint Selection, Erase Selection,
Select Rectangular, Select Elliptical, Select Polygonal and Select Outline tools have one option:
the Action to perform. You can choose between Add to, or
Subtract from the selection.Select Contiguous AreaThe Tool tab for Select ContiguousThe Tool tab for Select Contiguous
The Tool tab for Select Contiguous
The Action is the same as discussed with the
Select
operations.
The slider and spin box at Fuzziness determine how near
colors must be to the color at the clicked point to be added to the selection.
When the Sample merged checkbox is checked, the
bounds of the selection are determined by looking at the entire image instead
of at the current layer.
Similar SelectThe Action and Fuzziness
options are the same as with Select
contiguous. Select MagneticThe Tool tab for Select MagneticThe Tool tab for Select Magnetic
The Tool tab for Select Magnetic
The Action option is the same as with the other
Select tools.
The Distance option determines the maximal distance at
which boundaries to attach to, are searched for. The To
Selection button has the same effect as double-clicking the &LMB;:
the selection is finished.
The Colors paletteIn this palette you can choose the foreground and background colors
that should be used for painting. You can choose these in five different
ways. Each of these has its own tab on this palette.
You can choose which color to set by clicking the corresponding
buttons at the top left. The topmost color is the foreground color, the
bottom one is the background color. You can click the double-headed arrow
to swap the colors: foreground color becomes background color and vice
versa. You can reset the colors to the default (foreground black, background
white) by clicking the small black/white icon.
HSVThe HSV tabThe HSV tab
The HSV tab
On this tab, you can select a color via the Hue / Saturation / Value
system.
The hue determines the major color and starts at red with 0, then increases
along the color spectrum (that is, along the line yellow, green,
blue, violet) to a maximum of 359. This is represented in the circle on the tab
as the angle component (starting at the top, rotate along the circle
in clockwise direction to increase the hue).
The saturation determines the pureness of the color. A saturation of 255
yields the pure color, while a saturation of 0 yields a gray. This is the
radius component of the color circle on the tab: the center corresponds to
no saturation, the circle boundary corresponds to fully saturated.
The value determines the lightness of the color. This darkens or lightens the
color, as can be set using the vertical slider on the tab. A value of 0 gives
black, a value of 255 gives the pure color.
RGBThe RGB tabThe RGB tab
The RGB tab
On this tab, colors can be selected using their Red / Green / Blue
components.
You can set red, green and blue components on a scale of 0 to 255. At 0 that
color component is absent, at 255 it is used at maximum intensity. The sliders
will change color to give you a hint about which color you will produce by
altering the corresponding value.
GrayThe Gray tabThe Gray tab
The Gray tab
On this tab, you can choose a gray value (indicated with a K for Key,
the usual designation for black).The gray value can be chosen on a scale from 0 (pure white) to 255
(pure black).PalettesThe Palettes tabThe Palettes tab
The Palettes tab
On this tab, you can select a color from one of several predefined
color palettes.You can choose which color palette to pick from in the drop down
box at the top.WatercolorsThe Watercolors tabThe Watercolors tab
The Watercolors tab
This tab offers you a selection of watercolors for painting with wet
paint.
You can set two options to modify the painting behaviour: Paint
strength influences how much paint you will apply to the canvas,
and Wetness determines how wet the paint is when it is
applied. You can dry the paint later.
The Layers paletteThis palette offers two tabs.LayersThe Layers tabThe Layers tab
The Layers tab
This tab offers you access to various operations on layers.
On the top left, you can select what blending mode should be used for the
selected layer. These are the same possibilities as you can choose from for
drawing modes.
The slider/textbox at the top right determines the opacity of the selected
layer. 0% opacity corresponds to 100% transparency, and vice versa.
The list shows all layers and their names, and offers various controls for each
layer. The eye icon toggles whether the layer is visible or not. The link icon
is used to link layers together. The lock icon determines if the layer is
locked or not. Locked layers cannot be edited.
Below the layer list, there are some other controls. You can create a new
layer, move the current layer up or down, show the layer's properties and
delete it.
There are some more handy tricks you can do with the mouse within the list.
Right-click on the layer list and select New Folder to
create a new layer folder, which you can use to group layers in. You can also
drag and drop layers to change their order. To do so, click on the bottom part
of the list item representing the layer, drag the mouse, and release the mouse
button at the desired position. If you click at the top part of the list item
instead, you will get a text field so that you can rename the layer.
Scripts ManagerThe Script Manager tabThe Script Manager tab
The Script Manager tab
This tab is a smaller version of the Script
Manager dialog. See the description over there for more
information.