Choosing a background

When you open Painting Creator, by default the canvas/preview area displays a semi-transparent background based on what is currently displayed in the VideoStudio preview area. This background serves as a reference only; it does not appear in the final animation or image that you paint (unless you change your preferences). You can change the background so that it displays a default color or another image.

For information about changing the default settings for the background, see Setting Painting Creator preferences.

Background Opacity

You can adjust the Background Opacity value to suit your workflow before or during your painting session. For example:

• Background Opacity = 0: Plain white background, perfect for painting from scratch.

• Background Opacity = 30: Lets you view enough of the background so you can trace or determine how your brushstrokes look against the background image.

• Background Opacity = 100: Lets you sample colors from the background image so the painting colors match the background image.

To change the background

1 On the toolbar for the Painting Creator window, click the Background Image button

2 In the Background Image Options window, choose one of the following:

• Refer to the default background color: Displays a plain background color, based on the color set in the Preferences (white is the default color).

• Current timeline image: Displays what is currently displayed in the VideoStudio preview area (based on the position of the scrubber/playhead in the timeline).

• Customize image: Lets you choose any JPEG, PNG, or BMP image to use as a background.