Workspace
AKVIS AirBrush can work independently as a standalone program as well as a plug-in to a photo editor.
Standalone is an independent program. You can run it in the usual way.
Plugin is an add-on for graphics editors, for example for Photoshop, AliveColors, and other compatible programs. To call the plugin, select it from filters of your image editing program.
The workspace is arranged according to the chosen interface mode: Parameters or Presets.
In the Parameters mode, the standard program window is visible. In this mode, you can adjust the effect settings in the right panel as well as choose presets from the drop-down list.
AKVIS AirBrush Workspace (Parameters Mode)
Click Presets in the top panel to switch to the presets visual display mode. The presets can be shown in the right panel or on the entire window (Presets Gallery).
AKVIS AirBrush Workspace (Presets Mode)
Elements of the Program Window:
The left part of the program's window is taken by the Image Window with two tabs - Before and After. The Before tab shows the original image, the After tab shows the result. To switch between the tabs and compare the original and the resulting images, just click anywhere in the image.
In the upper part of the program's window you can see the Control Panel and the following controls:
- The button
opens the home page of AKVIS AirBrush.
- The button
(only in the standalone version) opens an image for processing. The hot-keys are Ctrl+O on Windows, ⌘+O on Mac.
Right-click this button to display the list of recent files. You can change the number of recent documents in the program's preferences.
- The button
(only in the standalone version) saves image to the disk. The hot-keys are Ctrl+S on Windows, ⌘+S on Mac.
- The button
(only in the standalone version) prints the image. The hot-keys are Ctrl+P on Windows, ⌘+P on Mac.
- The button
exports presets (user settings for the image processing). You can save any number of presets to a separate file with the ending .airbrush.
- The button
imports a list of presets (from the .airbrush file).
- The button
cancels the last operation (with the tools). It is possible to cancel several operations in a row. The hotkeys are Ctrl+Z on Windows, ⌘+Z on Mac.
- The button
returns the last cancelled operation. It is possible to return several operations in a row. The hotkeys are Ctrl+Y on Windows, ⌘+Y on Mac.
- The button
(only in the standalone version) opens the Batch Processing dialog to automatically process a series of images.
- The button
starts conversion of the original image into a drawing with the current parameter settings. The result is shown in the After tab.
- The button
(only in the plugin version) applies the result to the image and closes the plugin.
- The button
calls information about the program.
- The button
calls the Help files. The hot-key is F1.
- The button
calls the Preferences dialog box for changing the program's options.
- The button
opens a window showing the latest news about AirBrush.
To the left of the main window there is the Toolbar. Different tools appear on the Before/After tabs.
Pre-Processing Tools (in the Before tab):
- The button
switches on/off the Preview Window.
- The button
(only in the standalone version) activates the Crop tool which allows cutting off unwanted areas in the image and reducing its size.
Post-Processing Tools (for Home Deluxe and Business licenses in the After tab):
- The button
activates the Smudge tool that lets you quickly add a handmade touch to the drawing. It mixes colors by displacing pixels, like a finger passing through wet paint.
- The button
activates the History Brush tool which lets you fade the effect and restore the image to its original state.
Additional Tools:
- The button
activates the Hand tool which allows you scroll the image when it does not fit within the window at the desired scale. Bring the cursor over the image, and while keeping the left mouse button pressed move in the desired direction.
Double-clicking on the tool's icon makes the image fit the window.
- The button
activates the Zoom tool which changes the image's scale. To zoom in left click in the image. To zoom out left click with Alt. Press Z to quickly access the tool.
Double-clicking on the tool's icon makes the image scale to 100% (actual size).
Navigate and scale the image using the Navigator. The frame in the Navigator surrounds the area of the image which is visible in the Image Window; the area outside of the frame will be shaded. The frame can be dragged, thereby changing the visible portion of the image. To move the frame, place the cursor within it, click and drag.
Navigator
Additionally, you can move the image in the Image Window with the scroll bars or by holding down the space bar, then holding down the left mouse button while moving the mouse. The mouse's scroll wheel can move the image up and down, and holding Ctrl on Windows, ⌘ on Mac – while using the scroll wheel will move the image left and right. Holding Alt on Windows, Option on Mac will scale the image. Right-click the scroll bar to activate the quick navigation menu.
Use the slider to scale the image in the Image Window. When you move the slider to the right, the image scale increases. When you 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 on Windows, Return on Mac. Frequently used scale coefficients can be found in a drop-down menu.
You can use hot-keys to change the image scale + and Ctrl++ on Windows, ⌘++ on Mac to increase the image scale and - and Ctrl+- on Windows, ⌘+- on Mac to reduce the scale.
Under the Navigator, there is the Settings Panel with the tabs:
- Painting: Here you can adjust the airbrush effect settings.
- Decoration: Add text to an image, adjust the canvas surface, and apply a frame.
Under the Settings Panel you can see Hints for the parameters and buttons when you hover over them with the cursor. You can choose where the hints will be shown or hide them in the program's Preferences.
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