The Brush Variance palette lets you customize the settings in the Tool Options palette for particular brush options. You can also make random adjustments by increasing the Jitter percentage.
You may find the most benefit to using Brush Variance palette settings if you use a pen tablet or a 4D mouse.
To customize brush settings
Edit workspace
1 Choose ViewPalettesBrush Variance.
2 On the Tools toolbar, choose a brush tool.
3 On the Tool Options palette, set the brush options.
4 On the Brush Variance palette, set the brush variance for each option (Color Blend, Hue, Saturation, Lightness, Size, Opacity, Thickness, Rotation, Density):
• Normal — applies no variance
• Pressure — applies variance to the selected brush attribute according to the pressure from a tablet stylus
• Tilt Angle — applies variance based on the angle between the tablet stylus and the tablet
• Tilt Direction — applies variance based on the rotation angle of the brush tip
• Orientation — applies variance based on the rotation angle around the stylus (for 4D mouse only)
• Fingerwheel — lets you control the variance in the brush attribute by using the wheel on an airbrush stylus
• Z-Wheel — lets you control the brush attribute by using a 4D mouse wheel that is set to behave according to the current application
• Direction — controls brush variation based on the angle between consecutive mouse points on a path
• Fade In — fades the brush impression from small to large
• Repeating Fade In — repeatedly fades the brush impression from small to large
• Fade Out — fades the brush impression from large to small
• Oscillating Fade — repeatedly fades the brush impression in and out by oscillating between small and large
Note: Options marked with an asterisk (*) in the Brush Variance palette are available only to users with pressure-sensitive tablets. The options available depend on the type of tablet being used.
5 Type or set a value in the Fade rate (pixels) control to select a threshold for the number of pixels over which the fading in and fading out occurs.
Lower values produce faster fading; higher values produce slower fading.
6 Type or set a value in the Position Jitter (%) control toselect a percentage for randomly adjusting the brush impression location.
Mark the Scale check box if you want the jitter to scale proportionally when you change the brush size.
7 Type or set a value in the Impressions per step control to indicate how many brush impressions per step are made of the brushstroke
To reset brush variance options to their default values, click the Reset Brush Variance palette button .
If you have a variance loaded with a brush and then load another brush without loading its variance, the new brush can take on the variance settings from the previous brush. Click the Reset Brush Variance palette button to clear any leftover variance settings.
You can save your modified brush as a brush tip or as a preset. For more information about saving brushes and presets, see Creating brush tips and presets.