Tutorial: AKVIS MultiBrush

Workspace

AKVIS MultiBrush can work independently as a standalone program as well as a plug-in to a photo editor.

To call the AKVIS MultiBrush plug-in in Adobe Photoshop select the menu item Filter -> AKVIS -> MultiBrush; in Paint Shop Pro select the menu item Effects –> Plugins -> AKVIS –> MultiBrush; in Corel Photo-Paint select the menu item Effects -> AKVIS -> MultiBrush.

To launch the standalone version of AKVIS MultiBrush follow the instructions:

On a Windows computer:
- In the main menu: press the button Start and select from the pop-up menu the command AKVIS -> MultiBrush.
- Using the program's shortcut on the Desktop: put the cursor on the icon of the program AKVIS MultiBrush and double-click it with the left mouse button.
On a Macintosh computer:
- Using Finder: select the folder Applications on the side bar of the Finder window, select the application AKVIS MultiBrush and double-click it.

Under Windows the AKVIS MultiBrush program window looks like this:

Workspace of AKVIS MultiBrush

The central part of the AKVIS MultiBrush window is taken by the Image Window. Right-clicking in the Image Window calls the settings of the selected tool.

In the upper part of the window you can see the Control Panel with the following buttons:

The button (only in the standalone version) opens an image for processing. The hot key for this operation is Ctrl+O (+O on Macintosh).
The button (only in the standalone version) saves an image to the disk. The hot key for this operation is Ctrl+S (+S on Macintosh).
The button (only in the standalone version) creates a new file. The hot key for this operation is Ctrl+N (+N on Macintosh).
The button (only in the standalone version) prints the image. The hot key for this operation is Ctrl+P (+P on Macintosh).
The button cancels the last action.
If you press this button several times, you can cancel several actions. The hot key for this operation is Ctrl+Z (+Z on Macintosh).
The button restores changes canceled by the action . The hot key for this operation is Ctrl+Y (+Y on Macintosh).
The button (only in the plugin version) applies the result of the conversion. When you click on the button, the changes are applied to the image and the AKVIS MultiBrush window closes.
The button shows information about the program.
The button opens the help files of the program.
The button opens the Preferences dialog box for changing the program's options.

At the left side of the Image Window there is a Toolbar. Tools are grouped in sets for convenience: Standard (available when working with a raster layer) and Artistic (available when working with an artistic layer). To quickly switch between tool sets, use the hot key Q.
Parameters for the selected tool will be shown in a floating box over the Image Window (by right-clicking the mouse) and in the Settings Panel (if this option is selected in Preferences; by default the parameters are hidden in this panel).

Navigate and scale the image using the Navigation Window. In the Navigation window you can see the reduced copy of the image. The frame shows the part of the image that is now visible in the Image Window; the areas outside the frame will be shaded. Drag the frame to make other parts of the image visible. To move the frame, bring the cursor inside the frame, press the left mouse button and, keeping it pressed, move the frame in the Navigation window.

Navigation window

To scroll the image in the Image Window you can press the spacebar on the keyboard and drag the image with the left mouse button. Use the scroll wheel of the mouse to move the image up/down, by keeping the Ctrl ( on Macintosh) key pressed – to the left/to the right, by keeping the Alt (Option on Macintosh) key pressed − scale the image. Right-click on the scroll bar to activate the quick navigation menu.

Use the slider or the buttons and , to scale the image in the Image Window. When you click on the button or move the slider to the right, the image scale increases. When you click on the button or move the slider to the left, the image scale reduces.

You can also change the image scale by entering a new coefficient into the scale field and pressing the button Enter (Return on Macintosh). The fall-down menu shows some frequently used coefficients.

You can use hot-keys to change the image scale + and Ctrl++ (++ on Macintosh) to increase the image scale and - and Ctrl+- (+- on Macintosh) to reduce the scale.

Under the Navigation Window there is the Settings Panel with these palettes: Color, Swatches, History, Layers and Channels. To open a palette click on it's corresponding tab. To change the palette order, click on the title of a palette and drag it with the left button pressed. History and Channels palettes are available in Home Deluxe and Business versions only.

Under the Settings Panel you can see Hints for the parameters and buttons when you hover over them with the cursor. You can show/hide the Hints section in Preferences.

You can also watch a flash movie "Introduction to AKVIS MultiBrush" (made for version 4) below or download the video tutorial as mp4 (mp4 file, 8.7 Mb).