is to smear existing pigment, including pigment that has
no volume on the canvas, such as pencil. This simulates using a cloth
or finger to softening out chalk or pencil strokes on a real-life canvas.Unlike the Palette Knife, the purpose of the Smear tool is to smear existing pigment, including pigment that has
no volume on the canvas, such as pencil. This simulates using a cloth
or finger to softening out chalk or pencil strokes on a real-life canvas.
The Smear tool only interacts with pigment already on the canvas, and has no loading of its own. When used on dry pigment, it will have a smudge effect. When used on wet pigment, it will have a smear effect.
This tool's functionality differs from real-life smearing in that its operation changes based on the pigment type you're trying to smear. But it does mimic the various real-life methods used to distort color masses such as fingers on pencil, rags on oil, etc.
Smear tool options include:
Shape: Choices include Round or Square.
Size: Defines the size of the tool head in pixels. Note that you can also adjust the Size setting via the keyboard.
Thickness: Defines the aspect ratio of the tool head.
Rotation: Defines the angle of head rotation in degrees
Head Tracking: Controls whether the tool head bends around the path of the user’s stroke, or remains at a fixed angle.
Like other Paint Shop Pro tools, the Smear tool comes with presets. To use a preset:
In the Tool Options palette, click the Presets button. This displays a list of preset styles.
From the list, choose the desired tool preset.