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Five ways you can use BrushStrokes to enhance a MacDraw Pro image.
This information was provided by Claris Corporation on 16 March 1998, and incorporated into Apple Computer's Tech Info Library.
DISCUSSION
With BrushStrokes, the color paint program from Claris Clear Choice, you now have some powerful supplements to the illustration tools in MacDraw Pro. As an object drawing program, MacDraw Pro offers more flexibility with some kinds of work than paint programs. For instance, paint programs don't let you edit text once it has been placed. But once you've finished an illustration, you can use BrushStrokes to add effects like translucent paint, perspective effects, and blursÑeffects that aren't possible in object-oriented programs. When you use the two programs together, you benefit from the best of both worlds. HereÕs a few tips that will make it easy.
Start your drawing with MacDraw Pro.
When you use MacDraw Pro for the initial design of your work, you can easily reshape and move objects after they've been drawn. They behave as if you had cut pieces from construction paper. You can also edit text after it has been placed. Figure 1 shows an illustration in progress, as you might brainstorm with different concepts.
Use a screen shot to capture gradients and special text effects.
You can exchange drawings between MacDraw Pro and BrushStrokes by saving your work as PICT. But limitations in the PICT format mean that some information, such as richly detailed gradients, kerning and tracking values, and line spacing, wonÕt make it through. Since you won't be working with object information anywayÑpaint programs work on a pixel-by-pixel basis -- it's often better to take a screen shot of your work instead. In System 7, you press Command-Shift-3 any time you want to take a snapshot of the screen. This creates a file named 'Picture 1' that you can open with BrushStrokes. You now will get exactly what you see on the screen in MacDraw Pro.
Add depth.
You can make your drawing look more realistic by adding perspective. To apply the effect, you select part of the drawing, then choose Perspective from the Transform menu. BrushStrokes places handles around the selection that you can move to create the perspective effect, as in Figure 2.
Create an 'out of focus' look.
When you use a camera to take snapshots, objects in the foreground and background sometimes look out of focus. Making part of your drawing blurry can add to the perspective effect you're trying to achieve. Just select a part of your drawing, then choose Smooth from the Selection menu. BrushStrokes makes that part of the drawing look fuzzy.
Shrinkwrap it.
BrushStrokes can apply translucent tints-paint that lets part of the underlying image show through. That's terrific for shadows, lighting effects, and windows. To activate the effect, choose Translucent Images from the Options menu, placing a check mark next to it. Now, part of the background will show through new objects you draw. (You control how much shows through with the Translucency command in the Options menu.) Figure 4 shows how the translucent paint effect was used to make it look like the toy is being viewed through a clear cellophane pane, with some glare from surrounding lighting. With translucent images active, draw a few polygons over the image. Set the fore color to gray if you want the cellophane to be clear. Setting the fore color to pink, green, etc., will make it look like the cellophane is tinted. Figure 3 shows the completed project. Only three BrushStrokes commands were used to create the effect.