Changing Color of Brush in Designer

[DianeF]

I have some tree and grass brushes that I've imported into Designer but they are all colored black. I've searched the forums for how to change the color of a brush, but couldn't find an answer that worked for me. I created a Recolour Adjustment layer and then tried to drag it in various positions in relation to the pixel layer the contains the brush image, but I couldn't get the color to change. I did notice that I could change the color using Styles, so I know this action must be possible. I just don't know how to do it.

 

I'm attaching a screenshot of the file showing the brush and the layers I've created.

 

I'm working on a Mac using OS El Capitan.

 

Thanks.

[firstdefence]

Just use the Colour Panel and choose a green fill then apply the brush.

[R C-R]

1 hour ago, DianeF said:

I did notice that I could change the color using Styles, so I know this action must be possible.

I think you will find that Styles only affects vector & text objects. Your screenshot shows that you are in the Pixel Persona, working on a pixel layer.

 

I am not sure why you could not get a Recolor adjustment to affect your pixel layer -- for me the various adjustment layers work fine when in the default child position of a pixel layer.

[v_kyr]

See also:  Create Your Own Brush in Affinity Design - Grass example

[DianeF]

Thanks for the comments but I still can't figure this out.

 

Firstdefence, I don't understand your comment. When I created a fill layer and put that below the layer with the brush image, I got a green background but the brush image was still black.

 

R-C-R, I just tried applying a style to the pixel layer and it worked. I was in pixel persona. It changed the brush image to a coral color. I don't know why the recolour adjustment didn't work for me if it worked for you.

 

v-kyr, I watched the video which was clear up to the point when the author did something to change the brush color. He clicked on some tool, but I wasn't able to see which tool it was. When I played with the Fill Tool, I couldn't make a color change to the brush with it, so maybe I should be using another tool? If so, which one?

 

I'm attaching a screen shot of what I've tried based on these comments plus the file itself. I'd still like to figure out how to do this.

 

Thanks.

 

Brush Image.afdesign

[v_kyr]

After selecting a brush, switch from the brushes panel to the beneath Color or Color Swatches panel and select/activate there the color you want to draw your grass brushes with! - If you setup under settings the Tools panel to show two rows instead of just one, there will be a color selection tool too visable where you can select and set colors to use!

[DianeF]

Thanks, v_kyr. Those instructions worked perfectly. I will add them to my own Tips and Tricks file that I'm keeping as I read the forum.

[R C-R]

38 minutes ago, DianeF said:

R-C-R, I just tried applying a style to the pixel layer and it worked. I was in pixel persona. It changed the brush image to a coral color. I don't know why the recolour adjustment didn't work for me if it worked for you.

I should have been clearer about styles applied to pixel layers. They will affect them, but only if the style includes an effect that changes the color, like the coral-colored inner glow effect the style you applied included.

 

The recolor adjustments don't work for you because the grass pixels are a grey color so there is no hue for them to affect. Try this In Pixel Persona on your file:

1. Temporarily hide the two recolor adjustment child layers & the bottom green pixel layer.

2. Select the Paint Brush tool & select a green color. Set the brush opacity to 100%.

3. On the Context toolbar, tick the "Protect Alpha" box. (Important!)

4. Select the top pixel layer & paint over the grass to apply the green brush color to it.

5. Now make the two recolor adjustment layers visible again & note that they do have an effect.

[DianeF]

Thanks, R-C-R. Your method also worked but was more cumbersome than the method suggested by v_kyr. Is there an advantage to one method over the other, or are they just different ways of accomplishing the same end?

 

Also, what does "protect alpha" do, and when do you use it?

[R C-R]

9 hours ago, DianeF said:

Your method also worked but was more cumbersome than the method suggested by v_kyr. Is there an advantage to one method over the other, or are they just different ways of accomplishing the same end?

I suggested my method just to demonstrate that even after you have painted with a grey grass brush you can change the pixels to some more suitable color. There is no need for that if you set the paint color first.

 

9 hours ago, DianeF said:

Also, what does "protect alpha" do, and when do you use it?

It prevents the brush from painting on transparent areas. Since your top pixel layer was transparent everywhere you did not use the grass brush, there was no need to select the grey grass pixels first.

[DianeF]

Thanks very much, R-C-R. This is very helpful information!

 

Also, I tried your original suggestion of using a recolour layer again and this time it worked. I don't know why it didn't work the first time, but at this point, I now have a lot of information about how to change a brush color under various scenarios.