how to make your brush behave

[Cyrano]

I pick a brush, I pick a color and want to start coloring my drawing.

- the brush is in "normal". It covers the artlines. 😮  That won't do!

I change.

- the brush is in "multiply". It covers the artlines no longer, but now it covers itself; it darkens the overlaps... 😮   it's not supposed to do that either.

How do I make the brush color a part without

1) covering the artlines and

2) not darkening on the overlaps?

Does it depend on the kind of brush, or on something else?

(I am a very new newbie, I only want to color my drawings, and I have an ooooold CS2)

Thanks very much in advance

[jane-e]

Hi

The artlines should be on one layer and your paint should be on one or more layers. The artlines layer should be on top and you might want to lock the layer.

You can make a selection first if you need to “paint inside the lines.”

https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/layer-basics.html

~ Jane

[Cyrano]

mmm  :-|

My drawing is on an other layer allright, and it is on top.

I'm not after painting inside the lines, since my drawing style never has closed patches. If that were so, I could color my drawings in Paint, that would be easy. But if I do that, the first color I'd pick would cover the entire page, since there's always a gap for the paint to come out on the rest of the drawing, if you get what I mean....   I have to be able to paint across the lines, without covering them; to make the paint transparent, so to speak.  With the brush in "multiply" that worked well, only, it only filled in one shade until I lifted my pen for a second, and when I covered an inch of what I colored before lifting, it overlapped, and the color doubled in darkness. (As if on that spot, two layers of the color were put on top of each other, instead of one). 

In "normal" that didn't happen; but that covered the lines from the drawing, so I didn't see what I was doing anymore. So neither "multiply" nor "normal" are good. There are a whole lot of other choices, but they are all weird and to no use.

I don't know if I'm making myself clear. If needed, I'd add an example... 

Is there an other way to make my paint transparent? So I can see the lines through it?

[jane-e · Accepted solution]

"My drawing is on an other layer alright, and it is on top."

Hi

Try setting the paint layer to Multiply in the Layers panel and the Brush to Normal in the options bar. Does that work for what you are trying to do? 

Jane

[Cyrano]

Ah, thank you.

Don't know yet if it works, but imma try it out as soon as I can. Brush to normal and layer to multiply. Got it. 🙂

I'll let you know if it works for me

[Cyrano]

Hey mrs Jane,

I followed your instructions and that went much better. Also when I tried out the other brushes I found a few that don't overlap zo sharply as the one I tried first. So putting the brush in multiply doesn't look so bad anymore. I can choose between Normal and Multiply.

I'll probably have a lot of other questions, but for the moment the brush problem is solved. Thank you very much 🙂

[JJMack]

How a brush works depend on many thing the layer you are painting on and the layers setting.  The layers above and below that layer and their settings. The brush type and brush settings, like blend mode, opacity,  brush dynamics, spacing ,etc.  Building up color brushing over strokes is quite normal.

In Photoshop 2020 the brush tool option bar dynamic control seem to be  messed up on my machine or the operation of the first control transfer dynamic has been changed in 2020. Transfer still functions but I do not see the check box change in brush settings the Stroke preview does change. Build up and Shape dynamics check boxes still change  with the other controls.

[Cyrano]

I have CS2 and probably never will have an other, so what the newer versions do or not do are of no value to me. On YouTube there are loads of tutorials, but all about newer versions that are much more complicated and different, I usually don't even recognize their menus. 

I only make one layer besides the drawing, and the drawing layer is on top.

I don't want the color to build up, so I need a way to avoid that. I know it's possible, since I've seen plenty of other drawings where people have done it . So how do I do that? In the most simple way, please?

Thank you in advance...

[davescm]

If your drawn lines are on the upper layer and your paint is on the lower layer then you don't need to do anything special. Just select the lower layer and brush on the colour.

Dave

[JJMack]

You should check you layer stack. The Photoshop Brush engine hast changed over the years and newer versions have more options. Basic brush stroke operation I would not say is very different today than in old version of Photoshop. The oldest version I have install is CS3.  I can not say I use it much. Some feature have been removed, changes and new features added.  Old version are 32bit applications and can not take advantage of new  hardware. IMO Old Photoshop version should only be used if you need to use a feature that has been removed in newer Photoshop versions.

You will also need to download a newer CS2 Installer if you have to reinstall CS2.  The CS2 Activation servers have been discontinued.

[Cyrano]

Yeah, I know. Unfortunately, I can't afford a new Photoshop, they're too expensive for my budget. So I'll never reinstall it, then. This is what I've got to keep in use for ever, since it's not very likely my income will ever double...