Po' man's Spray "Tool"

[tk]

Ok, I keep reading all this todo for some time about PDN lacking a spray tool, so I've decided to document a possible work around. It isn't pretty, but it might do if you're really desperate! :wink:

1) Add a new layer

2) Select the Paint Brush tool, set the width to something like 15

3) Paint what you would have sprayed

4) Effects/Blurs/Gaussian Blur

5) Play with the setting, but with a brush width of 15, setting the blur to 30 gives a pretty good resemblance of a spray.

Play around with the brush width, and the blur setting to make it look good.

The only bad thing (other than this is completely manual, tedious, and it'll take some getting used to ) is that blurring it tends to make it fairly transparent --but then maybe that's a good thing?

tk

[Rick Brewster]

So what you're describing is more of a "soft brush." The "spray can" from Paint actually produces an effect closer to if you substitute Frosted Glass for the Gaussian Blur effect above. Basically it ends up as a random spattering of pixels that follows a path you've drawn.

[tk]

The "spray can" from Paint actually produces an effect closer to if you substitute Frosted Glass for the Gaussian Blur effect above. Basically it ends up as a random spattering of pixels that follows a path you've drawn.

Which both the Frosted Glass in PDN and the spray can from Paint give you an effect that looks like you're using a can of spray paint whose nozzel needs to be cleaned. I think the key word in your statement is "spattering".

Of course, you are right about the frosted glass effect being very similar to Paint's spray can (sans the weighted effect). Personally, I prefer a smoother spray can effect, like what you get in Photoshop; but it will depend on A) personal preference, and the effect you're going for, as to which PDN tool to use.

Ok, how about another twist on this... !!

Follow steps 1-3 above, then duplicate that layer. On the original layer, follow step(s) 4 (and 5). On the duplicate layer, apply the Frosted Glass effect (I used the full setting of 10), and then set the transparency to about 35ish.

Some of both worlds?

There is just SO MUCH you can do with PDN!!! I love it!! I use it all the time to enhance screen shots for helping people I work with. 99% of them have proprietary stuff on them, so they would be inappropriate to post in the pictorium, but someday I'll get one that I can post.

Best part? I can almost afford the license cost of PDN!!

Tom and Rick, you guys do great work!! Thank YOU!!!

tk