CHAPTER 4 DRAWING 129 The Paintbrush tool
CHAPTER 4 DRAWING 129 The Paintbrush tool differs from the Pencil tool in two important ways. First, it can use fuzzy-edged brushes. Second, it can use the hard-edged brushes too, but it uses them in a different way from the Pencil tool. Figure 4-10 shows some of the differences. In 4-10A, each tool is used with a large, hard-edged brush. The results look similar until you look closely. Figure 4-10. Differences between the Pencil and Paintbrush tools The Paintbrush uses a technique known as antialiasing on the edges of diagonal lines: pixels along the edges are made semi-transparent, or blended into the background color, to fool the eye into seeing a smooth diagonal line. The Pencil tool does not use antialiasing, so the edges look jagged. Then why would you ever want to use the Pencil tool? 4-10B shows you one reason. Antialiasing on a thin line can make it fade into the background. The lower Paintbrush line in B was drawn in the same black color as the upper Pencil line. Notice the Pencil line is sharp, black, and distinct as compared to the fuzzy gray Paintbrush line. For small, fine artwork, the Pencil tool is often best. The other reason is indexed images. It takes more colors to draw an antialiased line. This means that the eventual file size will be larger. It also means the final image might not be usable for processes such as T-shirt or business-card printing, which can only handle a small fixed number of colors. 4-10C shows the tools when used with a fuzzy-edged brush. Obviously, the Paintbrush tool wins here. The Pencil tool ignores any fuzzy edges in the brush, and paints a wide, fat line. 4-10D shows how the choice of tool can make a difference with some of the more elaborate brushes. The Pencil preserves all the details of the vine leaves, while the Paintbrush creates an interesting sponge-art effect.
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