PaintTool SAI is a free, lightweight painting application, developed and published by Systemax Software. It'southward a high-quality program with full digitizer back up, as well as pressure level detection.

It gives y'all the ability to create detailed digital artwork through its powerful however uncomplicated user interface. If this is your first rodeo with PaintTool SAI, here are some tips that can aid you get started!

Creating Your First Canvas

To create a new canvas, the first matter you need to do is click on File > New or press Ctrl + N on your keyboard.

Painttool SAI new canvas

After doing that, another window volition open where yous can specify the details of your new sail. Y'all can give your canvas a name, equally well as choose the size and resolution. Then, press OK, and your canvas will appear.

PaintTool SAI new canvas adding

On the left side of the program, you have two main columns. One of them is for the layers and opacity options, while the other 1 will have all the brush options. Notwithstanding, if you do not have these columns by default, you tin bring them up manually.

Hither'due south a rundown of PaintTool SAI's most important tools:

PaintTool Selection Window
  • Color Wheel: your typical colour cycle that lets you select different colors.
  • Navigator: shows you lot a small preview of your sail on the left side. It too allows you to rotate your sail easily.
  • Quick Bar: the bar on the top of the screen, where you lot have quick access to the undo/redo buttons, zoom tools, inversion options, and more than.
  • View Selector: tells you which canvases yous have open (in example y'all take more than one) and allows you to hands switch between them.
  • Cursor Show Brush Size: shows you the size of the brush you have selected.

Hither are the nigh oft used brushes in PaintTool SAI:

PaintTool SAI Brushes
  • Pen: a great option for making a crude sketch. It is quite similar to Microsoft Paint'southward Pencil tool.
  • AirBrush: is ofttimes used for soft shading. You can as well employ information technology as a soft brush.
  • Brush: is perfect for sketching, coloring, shading, and concluding touchups. It offers a squeamish blend.
  • Water: offers a slight watercolor effect. It is an all-purpose tool.
  • Blender: this makes everything blend together with the intensity you choose.
  • Eraser: your typical eraser tool.

In addition to the tools mentioned to a higher place, you also accept the Select and Deselect tools, which are rather cocky-explanatory. However, these tools are similar to brushes.

Y'all might stop up confusing them for something else because they leave a royal trail when y'all make a selection. Simply don't worry, that regal trail is invisible in the end result.

PaintTool SAI selecting tool

There is also the Selection tool, Lasso, and Magic Wand, which are all tools used for selection. These tools are more than than enough to go you started with your first PaintTool SAI project.

Adding Your Own Brushes

If yous would like to alter the order of the brushes in PaintTool SAI, all yous have to practice is right-click on an existing brush or an empty field within the brush panel.

PaintTool SAI changing the brushes

When clicking on an empty spot, y'all tin can choose which one of the main brushes you want to add. When clicking on an existing brush, you can change its settings, as shown in the picture below.

PaintTool SAI changing the brush settings

Y'all tin can change the name of the brush, give it a description, and set up some default properties, including a shortcut key.

Choosing Your Colors

As you lot might have noticed, there is a Colour Wheel on the left side of PaintTool SAI by default. When y'all select a castor, y'all need to click on a color from the Color Wheel. Y'all can select up to 2 colors at a time. These colors are visible in the two squares in a higher place the brushes. Y'all tin can switch between the two colors by clicking on the arrows.

painttool sai selecting

If y'all want to, yous can create your ain palette of colors past selecting Swatches. A small box below the Color Wheel will appear, where you tin save 112 additional colors. That should definitely be more than than enough!

PaintTool SAI swatches

To save the color, you need to select it. Then, correct-click on i of the small boxes within the Swatches and click on Set up. You can too delete the colors by correct-clicking and selecting Delete.

PaintTool SAI setting colors in swatches

The settings y'all save while working volition be agile until you change them. This means that you will take the same palette when you lot create a new canvas.

How to Utilize Layers

By default, the Layer Panel is on the left side of the screen. All the same, you tin choose to evidence the Layer Panel every bit well equally the Color and Tool options on the right if that is what you prefer. Click on Window and cull your preference.

PaintTool SAI choosing the side of columns

If you've used Photoshop earlier, you lot should exist fairly familiar with how layers work. Imagine if you lot had sheets of acetate paper stacked up. You lot get to depict on each one separately, only yous tin can come across what's on each canvas. You tin can also choose to remove and right each sheet every bit you paint.

Each layer will be transparent by default. But unlike Photoshop, which represents transparency with minor squares, transparency is white in PaintTool SAI. This tin can be confusing for beginners, particularly if yous apply the colour white while painting. You can add up to 256 layers in PaintTool SAI by clicking on New Layer.

Adding layers in painttool SAI

Each layer will accept the default name Layer1, Layer2, Layer3, and so on. Past double-clicking on the name of the layer, you can modify its name.

PaintTool SAI change the name of the layer

The eye icon beside the layer means that the layer is visible. Clicking on the heart will hibernate the layer until you cull to plough it back on. The hidden layers are not shown in your saved projects. If you lot desire to delete a layer, you need to select the layer you want to delete and click on Delete Layer.

PaintTool SAI deleting layers

Making Adjustments and Applying Filters

PaintTool SAI is a tool mostly designed for those who want to pigment or draw. While Photoshop and other similar programs have a lot of image editing options you tin can utilize, PaintTool SAI focuses on the painting aspect instead. Thus, you practice not have that many epitome adjustment tools or filters to wait forwards to.

At that place are 2 primary effect options you can choose from in PaintTool SAI: Hue and Saturation and Brightness and Contrast. You can find them under the Filter tab.

PaintTool SAI filter options

Saving Your File

If you want to salve your painting in PaintTool SAI, you can do and so by going to File > Salve (Ctrl + S) or File > Salvage every bit (Shift + Ctrl + Southward). You can salve your file with an SAI file extension, which allows y'all to go along your projection in PaintTool SAI later.

If you accept zilch else to add, you can salve information technology with some of the other extensions bachelor in PaintTool SAI. It is always a good thing to proceed a fill-in of your project with the SAI extension, yet.

PaintTool SAI saving your file

PaintTool SAI is widely used among digital artists because it offers a lot of freedom, and closely mimics your real-life cartoon experience. Whether yous're a professional digital artist, or yous're just getting started in the field, PaintTool SAI is a great tool for beginners and veterans alike.

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