Drawing Tools
The sixteen tools in the toolstrip, and in the Draw menu in the same order: Dotted, Pencil, Line, Curve, Fill, Airbrush, Rectangle, Circle, Ellipse, Polygon, Select, Text, Eraser, Filled Freehand, Stamp and Colour Picker.
Select, Stamp and Text are described on Selections, Brushes and Text. The colour a tool draws with is described on Colours and Palettes.
Pencil and Dotted
Pencil paints the brush along the drag, one stamp per spacing step. Dotted does the same with its own spacing, 4 pixels unless changed. The brush, its spacing and pressure are described on Brushes, and how a stamp mixes with the artwork on Painting Modes.
Line, Rectangle, Circle and Ellipse
Each draws a preview from the point pressed to the point under the pointer, and releasing commits it.
- Line runs from the press point to the release point.
- Rectangle and Ellipse fill the box between the two points.
- Circle is centred on the press point and passes through the release point.
The toolbar’s Shape style chooses Outline or Filled for Rectangle, Circle, Ellipse and Polygon. An outline is drawn with the brush; a filled shape uses single pixels and the fill options on Fills.
If Shift is held, or Square shapes is on in the drawing helpers, Rectangle and Ellipse draw a square and a circle.
Curve
The first drag places the curve’s two endpoints, with its control point midway. A tap or drag after that moves the control point and bends the curve. Apply draws it; Reset discards it and starts again.
Polygon
Each tap adds a vertex, and dragging positions the vertex being added. Remove Last removes the newest vertex, as does Draw ▸ Remove Last Vertex (Delete). Apply draws the polygon and needs at least three distinct vertices; Cancel discards it.
Filled Freehand
A drag draws a boundary, and releasing previews it filled. Another drag replaces the boundary. Apply draws the filled shape with the fill options; Cancel discards it.
Previews
Curve, Polygon, Filled Freehand, a pending stamp, a paste and text are previews: the document is unchanged until they are applied. Edit ▸ Apply Preview (⌘↩) applies the current one and Edit ▸ Cancel Preview (Esc) discards it.
Fill
A press fills the region of touching pixels, left, right, up and down, that hold the same stored value as the pixel pressed. In an attribute mode the stored value is the pixel’s bit; in every other mode it is the palette index. The fill style is chosen on Fills.
Airbrush
Holding sprays 30 times a second, each time stamping random points within a radius of the pointer. Dragging moves the spray.
The toolbar’s Radius · Density button sets Radius, 1 to 64 pixels, and Density, 1 to 64 stamps each time. Both start at 8.
Eraser
The eraser draws along the drag with the square or round brush, ignoring a custom brush. What it writes depends on the mode:
- In an attribute mode it clears the pixel’s bit, so the pixel shows PAPER. The cell’s attribute is unchanged.
- In a sprite or tile mode it writes the transparent value.
- In every other mode it writes the background colour.
Choosing Eraser again returns to the previous tool, as does Brush ▸ Toggle Eraser (E).
Colour Picker
A tap or drag takes the colour under the pointer, and releasing returns to the previous tool. In an attribute mode it takes the cell’s INK, PAPER and BRIGHT; in every other mode it takes the palette index as the foreground colour. Draw ▸ Sample Colour (I) chooses it.
Shift
Holding Shift while drawing constrains the direction to horizontal, vertical or 45°, unless the drawing helpers already set a constraint. Pencil, Dotted, Eraser, Airbrush and Filled Freehand keep the direction chosen at the start of the stroke, and Polygon constrains each edge from the last vertex. Select, Stamp, Text, Fill and the curve’s control point are not constrained. See Drawing Helpers.
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