Apply Pen Tilt

Apply Pen Tilt

When you use a Wacom stylus and tablet to create paint strokes with the Paint Stroke tool, the Apply Pen Tilt behavior controls the width, opacity, spacing, angle, or jitter of the paint stroke based on the tilt of the pen.

Note: You can use a combination of Apply Pen Tilt shape behaviors to affect more than one parameter (such as Opacity, Width, or Jitter) of the stroke using the same tilt data.

You can adjust the Apply Pen Tilt behavior using the following controls in the Behaviors Inspector:

  • Apply To: A pop-up menu that sets how your paint stroke is affected by the tilt of your pen as you draw. There are five options:

    • Width: The tilt of the stylus affects the width of the stroke. The greater the tilt, the wider the stroke.

    • Opacity: The tilt of the stylus affects the opacity of the stroke. The greater the tilt, the more opaque the stroke.

    • Spacing: The greater the tilt of the stylus, the greater the spacing between stroke dabs.

    • Angle: The greater the tilt of the stylus, the larger the value of the angle of the stroke.

    • Jitter: The greater the tilt of the stylus, the larger the amount of jitter on the stroke. Jitter randomizes the position of the paint dabs so they appear more like particles.

  • Calculate Tilt: A pop-up menu that sets how the tilt of the stylus affects the stroke. Pen tilt is measured on two axes: X and Y. X represents the stylus tilting to the right and left (toward the right or left side of the tablet); Y represents the stylus tilting up and down (toward the top or bottom of the tablet). There are five menu options:

    • Absolute: Takes the maximum tilt from any axis.

    • X Only: Measures the tilt only on the X axis.

    • Y Only: Measures the tilt only on the Y axis.

    • Axis: Makes the Tilt Axis parameter (described below) available.

    • Polar: Uses the tilt of the stylus as if it were an angle. When viewed from above, the stylus points in a specific direction. That angle represents a polar value.

  • Tilt Axis: A dial and value slider (available when Calculate Tilt is set to Axis) that defines the axis along which the tilt is measured.

  • Min Tilt: Adjusts the minimum threshold of tilt sensitivity. Tilt values below the minimum value are remapped to 0. For Opacity and Width, those remapped values do not appear. For Spacing, Angle, and Jitter, the values are not modified. If the Min Tilt and Max Tilt parameters are plotted on a graph, Min Tilt represents the minimum value, or 0. The area of the graph between Min Tilt and Max Tilt is remapped to the output values.

  • Max Tilt: A slider that adjusts the maximum threshold of tilt sensitivity. Tilt values above the maximum value are remapped to 1. For Opacity, Width, Spacing, Angle, and Jitter, those values will have the greatest effect. If the Min Tilt and Max Tilt parameters are plotted on a graph, Max Tilt represents the maximum value, or 1. The area of the graph between Min Tilt and Max Tilt is remapped to the output values.

  • Scale: A slider that determines the magnitude of the effect. The Scale slider defines the output range for the dabs based on the mapped values between minimum (0) and maximum (1) tilt, multiplied by the value defined in the slider (or adjacent value slider). This amount is then applied to the parameter (width, opacity, and so on) by multiplying (for width, opacity, spacing, and jitter) or adding (for angle). This control is independent of the Scale parameter in the Stroke pane of the Behaviors Inspector.

  • Invert: A checkbox that, when selected, inverts the attributes of the stroke created by the behavior. For example, if pen tilt is set to affect the width of the stroke, thin areas of the stroke become wide and wide areas become thin when the checkbox is selected.