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Tips and Tricks So, you're a novice (possibly in possession of a tablet) starting out with this program and you don't know all the nuances and little neat tricks. And here I am to help you! To get started, here's a little cheatsheet for those of you familiar with Photoshop: I'm going to list OpenCanvas items and their Photoshop equivalents (Aside from easy ones such as "Zoom In" or "Paste.") I've already done this in bits and pieces in other sections of the site, but here it is all together to make it easy for you OPENCANVAS CHEAT SHEET (Photoshop items first, then OpenCanvas equivalent) THE TOOLBOX Hand Tool / Drag Tool : Used for dragging around a large image. Both programs have the same shortcut for this tool, the spacebar key. Move Tool / Move Tool : Used for moving a specific layer's contents within the parameters of the canvas. Unfortunately, unlike Photoshop, OpenCanvas will crop any part of the layer placed outside of the canvas's boundaries once dropped. EDIT / IMAGE MENUS Canvas Resize / Resize : Used for changing the canvas size of an image. In most versions of Photoshop, this item can be found under the Image menu. In OpenCanvas it is located in the Edit menu. The main differences are that OpenCanvas does not have a graphic representation of the canvas (instead it has text descriptions and radio buttons) and it can not undo the resizing of the canvas! Image Resize / Reolution: Used for reducing or enlarging the dimensions of the image. In Photoshop, this is located under the Image menu. In Opencanvas, this item is located in the Edit menu. Both versions have a "Constrain proportions" option (known as "Fix width and height rate" in this version of OpenCanvas.) The Image Resize menu in OpenCanvas can be used via percentage or pixels, just like Photoshop. LAYER WINDOW Layer - Multiply / NewLayer (MultiplyMode/Default) : Sets layer in "Multiply" mode. In Photoshop, your default layer setting is "Normal," which can then be changed other setting such as "Vivid Light," "Color Burn," "Overlay," etc. In OpenCanvas 1.1, the standard layer setting is "Multiply." A layer designated as "Multiply" can be changed to "Color Dodge" ("NewLayer (Add Mode)" in OpenCanvas) or "Difference" ("NewLayer (Subtract Mode)" in OpenCanvas) by simply clicking the X next to the layer. Layer - Color Dodge / NewLayer (Add Mode): Used for enforcing dodge settings to an entire layer. Layer - Difference / NewLayer (Subtract Mode): Used for enforcing burn/difference settings to an entire layer. Show/Hide Layer : In OpenCanvas, this is represented by the half-face positioned to the left of the layer preview. In Photoshop, its equivalent would be the eye. Opacity : In OpenCanvas, this is represented by a gradient to the right of the layer preview. Photoshop differs slightly in that you can either enter a percentile value (50%) or drag a slider. Invert / Filter > Reversal (Active Layer) : Used to invert the colors of the current layer. Custom Brushes I know OpenCanvas doesn't have the versatility of editing brushes that Photoshop happens to have, but I've developed two custom brushes that come in extremely handy so I thought I'd share their recipes: How to Make a Pressure Sensitive Brush : Do you want the pen pressure from a tablet to thin or thicken the width of a line based on the pressure applied? If so there are different ways to set this up. In Photoshop CS2, this option is squirrelled away under Brush > Brush Presets > Shape Dynamics > Pen Pressure. In OpenCanvas you have to manually set this up in the Pen/Pencil setting using MinimumSize and BrushWidth in the BrushInfo box. First, select DisableTransparency by clicking on it (it's the image of three little dots.) Once that's done mess with MinimumSize and BrushWidth until you find a ratio that is comfortable to you and how you like to draw. Once you've gotten a good ratio, click on the little image of a 3 1/2 floppy disk in the corner of the BrushInfo box to save your custom pressure-sensitive brush. How to Make a Smudge/Blend Tool : This is good to know if you're interested in seamless blending. Photoshop's Smudge tool is a shitty affair that doesn't work too well and while there are other methods for smoothing the borders between two colors (using Gaussian Blur, gradually moving from one shade to another using a low-opacity brush, etc.) it isn't as easy as doing it in OpenCanvas. In OpenCanvas, you'll want to select the Watercolor Brush from the BrushInfo box. Next, move the green slider (EnvEffect) all the way to the right. (If you like, you can add smooth/soft edges to this brush by selecting EnableEdgeSmooth, the gradient under the little icon of the floppy disk, from the BrushInfo box.) Then, move the BrushWidth slider to the size you want your brush to be. Click on the floppy disk icon to save your brush, if you'd like. Now you're done and you have a powerful blending tool at your command! Hopefully these tips got you a little more acquainted with the program. It's nowhere near as powerful as a graphic editor as Photoshop, but this version is not meant to be. Later versions of OpenCanvas have more Photoshop-esque interfaces and options, so if that's what you need that's where you'll find them.