In Version 7, the Airbrush is transformed from a tool into an option. Although initially it may not seem like this is a good thing, it is. Now you have access to the Airbrush capabilities for a number of painting and editing tools instead of just one. Specifically, the Brush, Healing Brush, Rubber Stamp, Pattern Stamp, Eraser, Burn, Dodge, and Sponge tools all have the Airbrush button accessible on their Options bar. Select the option and your tool can pump out, darken, lighten, or remove color softly and continuously — even when you hold it in place, as long as the mouse button is down. Adjust the Flow rate to control how fast you apply the color or effect, or in the case of the eraser, how fast you remove it. By contrast, the Pencil tool paints only as you drag.
Photoshop now offers just two painting tools — the bare minimum for artists and nonartists alike.
- The Pencil tool draws hard-edged lines of any thickness.
- The Brush tool draws soft lines with slightly blurry edges to create more natural transitions. Formerly, this tool was called the Paintbrush tool, but Version 7 just calls it the Brush tool.
You can select either painting tool from the keyboard. Press B or Shift+B to select the Brush or the Pencil, which share the same flyout menu.
 | The Pen tool, by the way, doesn't draw beautiful, flowing lines that look as though they're emanating from a kazillion-dollar status pen. In Photoshop, you use the Pen tool to create paths. Paths enable you to select a portion of your image by creating a sort of connect-the-dots outline. |
 | By default, Photoshop displays a little brush or pencil cursor when you select the painting tools. If you press the Caps Lock key, however, the cursor changes to a crosshair cursor that makes it easier to see what you're doing. Use the crosshair when the standard cursor gets in your way. Press Caps Lock again to return to the standard cursor. |
If you prefer, you can make your cursor match the brush size exactly. To make the cursor reflect the brush size, press Ctrl+K (Command+K on a Mac) to display the Preferences dialog box. Then choose Display & Cursors from the top pop-up menu or press Ctrl+3 (Command+3 on a Mac) to get to the cursor options. Select Brush Size from the Painting Cursors radio buttons and press Enter (Return on a Mac).
The painting tools are small, nonpoisonous, and good with children. So why not take them for a walk and see how you like them? To use the Brush or Pencil tools to create the friendly Mr. Sun image shown in Figure 3, just follow these steps:
1. Choose File-->New or Ctrl+N (Command+N on a Mac) to create a new canvas.
Photoshop displays a dialog box that asks what size to make the new canvas. The dialog box offers Width, Height, and Resolution options.
2. Make the canvas about 400 pixels wide by 400 pixels tall.
That's about 5-1/2 x 5-1/2 inches with a Resolution value of 72 ppi or 4 x 4 inches with a Resolution of 100 ppi. Alternatively, you can select Pixels from the Width and Height pop-up menus, enter 400 into each, and forget about the Resolution value. Also, choose the RGB Color option from the Mode pop-up menu.
3. Press Enter (Return on a Mac).
The new empty canvas appears in a new window.
4. Select the Brush tool.
Click on the Brush icon in the Toolbox or press the B key. That's B for buff, as in, "Boy howdy, Biff, this brush is beaucoup buff!"
5. Draw a circle in the middle of your new canvas.
A rude approximation of a circle is fine. Experts agree that a lumpy circle has more personality.
6. Paint some rays coming off the circle.
Figure 1 shows more or less how your image should look so far.
 |
Figure 1: The beginnings of a sun, drawn exclusively with the Paintbrush tool. |
7. Select the Pencil tool.
To access the Pencil from the keyboard, press Shift+B.
8. Draw a little face inside the sun.
Using the Pencil, you get hard-edged lines, as shown in Figure 2.
 |
Figure 2: A face drawn with the Pencil tool. |
9. Select the Brush tool again.
Press B and then Shift+B to access the Brush from the keyboard.
10. Click the Airbursh button on the Options bar. Leave the Flow set at 100%.
11. Change the foreground color to orange.
Use the RGB slider bars in the Color palette (press F6 to display the palette). Max out the R slider to 255, set the G slider to 150, and leave the B slider at 0.
12. Click on and hold — without moving your mouse — inside the sun.
Notice that the Airbrush continuously pumps out paint.
13. Paint some shading in the lower-right region of the sun.
Figure 3 shows how the Airbrush option is useful for shading images. Of course, the real sun can't possibly have a shadow, but it doesn't have a face either, so just allow room for some personal expression.
 |
Figure 3: Use the Brush to paint a highly unrealistic shadow on the sun. |
| Remember that at any stage in the previous exercise — or during any other painting mission upon which you may embark — you can eliminate the last brush stroke by choosing Edit-->Undo or pressing Ctrl+Z (Command+Z on a Mac). Everyone makes mistakes, and the Undo command is there for you to correct those errors. If you need to undo back a few steps, you can use the History palette. |
| 
