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# Loading Clips into Paint

When accessing the Paint Tool, you first select the clips that you want to use. Any of the following combinations of clips can be used in Paint:

- A front clip only
- A front clip and a back clip
- A front clip and a matte clip
- A front clip, a back clip, and a matte clip
- None (a blank canvas)

The front clip appears on the Paint canvas, which you can use to apply colours and effects to the clip. The matte clip delimits the area of the front clip affected by painting. The back clip can be revealed or brushed through onto the front clip. The colour of the blank canvas is defined by the wipe colour.

NoteThe image window in Paint is referred to as the canvas in the following sections.

To load clips into the Paint Tool:

1. Select Tools Composite Paint.

   The cursor changes to Pick Front.

2. Select the front clip.

   The cursor changes to Render Here.

3. Click on any free (or a grey) area on the workspace.

   You are now in the Paint Tool.

   The Paint menu appears.

4. Access one of the following Paint menus.

   Click: | To:
   --- | ---
   Paint | Use the brushes or geometric shapes to paint on the canvas, record and apply strokes to the canvas, fill areas of the image with a reference colour or image, and move the image on the canvas.
   Graphics | Create, edit, and animate shapes and apply them to the canvas.
   CutOut | Create and add effects to cutouts and apply them to the canvas.
   Setup | Set preferences, rendering options, grid guides, and colour correction options.

#### Topics in this section

- Accessing the Paint menu with a blank canvas