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Paint Tools tray

The following describes the default 3D Paint tools that appear on the Paint Tools tray:

NoteItems in the Sculpt, Paint, Pose, and Select/Move Tools trays can alternately be selected using the number keys on your computer’s keyboard. Clicking keys 1 through 9 selects the corresponding tool position in the active tool tray. Frequently used tools can be dragged to any of the first 9 positions on a tray using the middle button of your mouse/stylus.

NoteThe properties for any Paint tool can be modified using the Properties window.

Tool Name | Icon | Purpose
--- | --- | ---
Paint Brush |  | The Paint brush applies paint to the model and layer you specify. It is the default paint tool on the Paint Tools tray. For more information, see Painting basics.
Projection |  | The Projection feature lets you apply the color from images and textures using the stencil image you load into the 3D View. As you stroke across the stencil with the tool, portions of the image are applied to your model as paint. For more information, see Paint using stencil projection.
Eyedropper |  | The Eyedropper lets you copy (sample) a color from your model (from the current paint layer) and loads it as the current color for the current paint tool. For more information, see Sample color on a model.
Air Brush |  | The Airbrush works in a similar fashion to its real-world counterpart. Paint is applied with much less opacity compared to the Paint brush, and the paint appears more feathered from the center of the stroke towards its outer edges. For best results when using the Air Brush, specify a paint layer that is 16 bits in depth (for example, OpenEXR 16 bit Floating Point RGBA). For more information, see Troubleshoot painting.
Pencil |  | The Pencil applies a thin, dark stroke (by default) that is sharper along its edges compared to either the Airbrush or Paint Brush.
Paint Erase |  | Use Paint Erase to remove paint from the currently active paint layer. When a model has multiple paint layers (channels), erasing paint on one layer reveals paint from other visible layers below it. For more information, see Erase paint.
Clone |  | Use the Clone tool to sample paint applied on one area of a model and copy and apply it onto another area of the same model while you paint. You do this by setting a sampling point over the painted region you want to apply to another area on the surface then painting in another location. For more information, see Copy painted regions.
Dry Brush |  | The Dry Brush lets you apply paint relative to the sculpted detail on your model. For example, you can apply paint only to the raised areas of textured surfaces to add additional random highlights or scratches to simulate a weathered appearance. For more information, see Paint using the Dry Brush.
Blur |  | The Blur brush softens detail in painted texture maps in the areas you stroke and is useful for retouching texture maps directly on a model. For more information, see Blur detail in painted textures
Dodge |  | The Dodge tool lightens the areas of a texture map in the regions that you stroke and is useful for revealing highlights. Dodge can be set to affect highlights, mid-tones, or shadow areas. For more information, see Lighten or darken image areas.
Burn |  | The Burn tool darkens the areas of a texture map in the regions that you stroke and is useful for toning down highlights. Burn can be set to affect highlights, mid-tones, or shadow areas. For more information, see Lighten or darken image areas.
Contrast |  | The Contrast brush increases or decreases the difference between light and dark pixels on a texture map in the areas that you stroke. For more information, see Adjust contrast.
Sponge |  | The Sponge brush increases or decreases the color saturation of pixels within a texture map in the regions that you stroke. For more information, see Adjust color saturation.
Hue |  | The Hue brush replaces the hue value for pixels in a texture map with a different user-specified hue value in the areas that you stroke. Saturation and luminance values on the pixel remain unaffected. For more information, see Set the color hue.
Hue Shift |  | The Hue Shift brush modifies the color hue for pixels by a user-specified amount on the color wheel (degrees rotation) in the areas you stroke. Saturation and luminance values on the pixel remain unaffected. For more information, see Shift the color hue.
Invert |  | The Invert brush converts the pixels to an inverse color value on the color scale in the areas that you stroke. For example, a black pixel becomes white, a white pixel becomes black, blue pixels becomes yellow, red pixel becomes green, and so on. Invert the color.

Related topics

Painting basics

Paint properties