MyPaint is a fast and easy open-source graphics application for digital painters.
It lets you focus on the art instead of the program.
You work on your canvas with minimum distractions, bringing up the interface only when you need it.
Download.
- Linux and more : Packaging Status (wiki)
- Download for Ubuntu button
This section is supposed to be a reference on what and how you can do things in MyPaint.
It does not aim to teach you how to paint.
Current status: In progress (January 2011, updated to v0.9.0).
Files
- Formats
- Currently, MyPaint can save your work in 3 formats: PNG, JPEG, ORA (OpenRaster).
- You should always save a copy in ORA to keep all the information, so that you can continue working later, as the PNG and JPEG formats do not keep the layers' information
- Gimp 2.7.1 and 2.8 are capable of opening ORA's. Gimp 2.6 requires the plugin "OpenRaster load/save handler" (the plugin & installation procedure are detailed here: http://registry.gimp.org/node/18435)
- Scraps: quick-save the current version of your work
- It's faster than saving your file under a different name when you are just experimenting
- The default folder scraps are saved will be the ".mypaint" or "MyPaint" folder for your user.
Change Canvas View
Besides the actions you find under the "View" menu, you can do the following to change the view of the canvas. These are currently hard-coded and cannot be changed without editing the source code.
- Pan/move freely: Hold space and drag with cursor
- Pan/move in steps: Use the arrow keys
- Rotate freely: Shift + space and drag with cursor
- Rotate in steps: Shift + scroll up/down or Ctrl + left/right arrow key
- Zoom freely: Ctrl + space and drag with cursor
- Zoom: Scroll up/down
Tablet-based Canvas Manipulation
MyPaint (currently only the development version) has a menu (Edit>Preferences>Buttons) where you can adjust multiple mouse/pen-based functions for controlling the view of the canvas.
By default, they are:
| Keyboard & Button Combination | Effect |
| Button 1 | (Is hard-coded and cannot be changed.) |
| Shift + Button 1 | Straight Line |
| Ctrl (or Alt) + Button 1 | Pick Color |
| Button 2 | Pan |
| Shift + Button 2 | Rotate |
| Ctrl (or Alt) + Button 2 | Zoom |
| Button 3 | Color History |
| Shift + Button 3 | (None) |
| Ctrl (or Alt) + Button 3 | (None) |
Buttons 1, 2, and 3 refer to primary (usually left) click, secondary (usually right) click, and middle click, respectively.
- Color History - Shows a small window containing the five most recently used colors and cycles through them.
- Menu - Useful for fullscreen. Opens a small drop-down version of the menubar at the cursor.
- Pick Color - Selects the color under the cursor. Samples all visible layers.
- Pick Context - Selects the brush and color used to make the brush stroke under the cursor. Also selects the layer the brush stroke is on.
- Select Layer at Cursor - Selects the layer on which the brush stroke under the cursor is on.
- Pan - While held, grabs and moves the view of the canvas.
- Zoom - While held, allows arbitrary zooming in or out.
- Rotate - While held, allows arbitrary rotation.
- Straight Line - Any clicks made using Straight Line will make a straight line to the last point clicked without Straight Line. Useful for making perspective lines.
- Sequence of Straight Lines - Similar to the Straight Line function. Every click will make a straight line to the last place clicked, instead of just one point chosen before using the tool. Can be used to make shapes instead of perspective lines.
- Color Changer - Brings up the Color Changer dialog.
- Color Ring - Brings up the Color Ring dialog.
- Toggle Subwindows - Same as pressing the Tab key. Hides/Shows all dialogs and windows besides the main painting area
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