The row under the preview holds the brush chips, the Detail knob, the reroll button, and Paint. In a wide panel the same controls move into a rack beside the preview.
Brush Chips
Each chip is one brush, from the fat Underpaint on the left to the finest brush on the right. Active chips are tinted with the average color of their strokes. Inactive chips are faded.
- Click a chip to paint with that many brushes. Clicking the fourth chip gives four brushes.
- Click the last active chip to remove it.
- Scroll over the chips to add or remove one brush at a time.
Painted uses between two and six brushes. The names come from the painting process: Underpaint, Block-in, Forms, Shapes, Details, and Accents. Painted picks names to suit the brush count, so the names you see depend on how many brushes you use.
What more brushes do
The first brush always covers the whole canvas. The middle brushes add strokes wherever the painting still differs from the image. The finest brushes only work inside the focus area, so adding brushes adds detail where it matters without flooding the canvas with strokes. Paint focus to choose that area yourself.
Detail
The Detail knob runs from 0% to 100%. It sets two things:
- How small the finest brush gets. Low Detail keeps the last brush chunky. High Detail makes it fine enough for eyes and lettering.
- How picky Painted is. Higher Detail adds strokes for smaller differences between the painting and the image.
Drag the knob up or down to change it, or scroll over it. Hold Shift while dragging for fine control. Double-click to reset it to 50%.
More Detail means more strokes, and more strokes mean a longer build in After Effects. The stroke count shows in the Paint button tooltip.
Styles
Three combinations work well as starting points:
| Style | Brushes | Detail | Looks like |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sketch | 3 | 15% | Loose, chunky, quick to build |
| Study | 4 | 50% | Balanced, the everyday look |
| Masterpiece | 5 | 75% | Tight detail on the subject |
In the tiny panel layout there is no room for the chips or knob. A brush button in the corner cycles through these three styles instead.
Reroll
The dice button keeps your settings and draws a fresh set of strokes. Use it when a stroke lands somewhere awkward or you just want to see another take.