A simple question that comes up when getting started using Studio Artist for the first time is how to erase the canvas. The quick answer is that you can use the eraser button in the main operation toolbar shown above to erase the canvas. This tip discusses the different options available for erasing the canvas in more detail.

Erasing the Entire Canvas

If you click on the eraser and continue pressing the mouse button a popup control will appear after a second that shows the different options you can erase to. You can then select the one you want and the canvas will be erased to what you specified.  You can also control click the eraser button (right click on windows) to immediately get the popup options.

This option is now your default erase to option. So if you now just quickly click the eraser in the main operation toolbar the canvas will be erased to your erase to option. Note that only the current canvas layer is erased when you press the eraser button or select a new erase to option.

You can also choose your default erase to option using the Canvas : Erase to menu as shown below. Using this menu is the same as using the eraser popup control.

You can also use the command b hot key menu key command to run the Erase menu command which erases the canvas to your current default erase to option. So using this menu key command is the equivalent of clicking on the eraser button.

Erase To Options

There are a number of different erase to options.

White and Black set the canvas to solid white or solid black.

Source Color sets the canvas to the current color specified in the Source Area. You can use the source color picker to adjust the current source color.

Source Image sets the canvas to the source image. If the canvas is a different size or aspect ratio than the source image the source image will be automatically adjusted to fit the canvas sizing.

You can also just drag the source image to the canvas to erase to the source image. When you do this your current erase to setting will be changed to source image.

Selection sets the canvas to the current region selection mask. You can adjust your current selection in selection operation mode, or by running one of the Canvas : Selection menu commands.

Live Video Capture sets the canvas to a live video capture. The live video capture will be generated using your computer’s iSight camera or an external firewire camera you have connected to your computer if it doesn’t have a built in iSight.

Source Alpha sets the canvas to the source images alpha channel. Note that the canvas RGB buffers are set to a black and white alpha mask image.

Canvas Alpha sets the canvas to the current layer’s alpha channel. Note that the canvas RGB buffers are set to a black and white alpha mask image.

Source Color Memory 1 sets the canvas to the current color specified in the first color memory in the Source Area.

Blanking Buffer sets the canvas to the contents of the paint synthesizer’s blanking frame buffer. The blanking buffer is a hidden frame buffer the paint synthesizer uses to keep track of paint stroke coverage.

Texture sets the canvas to the current source image’s texture visual attribute.

Full Erase

Each Studio Artist layer consists of a RGB frame buffer, an A or alpha frame buffer, and a bezier path frame. A normal erase operation only erases the RGB frame buffer. The layer’s alpha channel and bezier path frame are not erased.

Running the Canvas : Full Erase menu command performs a full erase. This means that in addition to erasing the canvas’s RGB frame buffer to your default erase to option, the alpha channel is also set to full off and the bezier path frame is erased as well. Full erase also erases the paint synthesizer’s hidden blanking buffer. The blanking buffer is used internally by the paint synthesizer to track paint stroke coverage.

Shift clicking the eraser button in the main operation toolbar is the equivalent to running the full erase menu command.

Using the Pen Eraser

Studio Artist supports using the eraser tip on a Wacom pen to interactively erase the canvas by drawing with the eraser tip on local areas of the canvas. You can also use the e hotkey to simulate working with the pen’s eraser tip when drawing with a mouse.

When drawing with the eraser tip in Studio Artist, the current preset will dynamically change to the current eraser preset. This happens when you start drawing with the eraser tip. When you finish drawing with the eraser tip the paint synthesizer reverts to the original current preset you were using before you used the eraser tip.

The current eraser preset is stored in the paint synthesizer eraser memory. You can access the eraser menu using the ‘Edit : Paint Synthesizer : Pen Eraser’ menus. Running the pen eraser Record menu will record the current paint synthesizer settings as the eraser preset. Running the pen eraser Play menu will load the current eraser preset as the current paint synthesizer preset.

The eraser tool support for the pen is totally user configurable, you can load any paint preset you want to be your default eraser tip. So the eraser tip could just be used to switch to a different paint tool, like a water wash preset for example. There’s a folder of some generic eraser presets you can load into the Pen Eraser memory in the Default :Erasers factory paint preset category.

For more information on working with a Wacom pen and tablet check out this tip.

Interface Changes

Note that the original Studio Artist 4.0 release and previous dev4 builds used a slightly different terminology in the canvas menu.  They use the term Default Color as opposed to Erase to. The terminology was changed starting in Studio Artist 4.01 to avoid confusion for beginning users.

The original Studio Artist 4.0 release and previous dev4 builds also used text buttons for the eraser and other buttons in the main operation toolbar. These buttons were changed starting in Studio Artist 4.01 to use icon buttons instead of text buttons, again to help avoid confusion for beginning users.

If you are ever confused about what a particular icon button does (or any Studio Artist control for that matter), if you hold the cursor still under the icon button a brief text help tip will appear that describes the name of the control and what the control does. A more detailed help description will also appear in the bottom left status bar in the main workspace window.

For More Information

For more information on Studio Artist Layers check out this tip.

For more information on the Studio Artist workspace check out this tip.

The Studio Artist 4 workspace is extremely user configurable. This tip will discuss how you can reorganize and configure the workspace to suit your particular style of working.

The workspace consists of the main working canvas and a series of editing palettes and toolbars. The centered working canvas is where you paint or build up an image or video processing effect. The various editing palettes and toolbars provide access to controls associated with adjusting various aspects of Studio Artist functionality. The screenshot at the top shows the centered working canvas area with editing palettes docked at the left and right sides of the workspace window. Two toolbars are docked at the top of the workspace window.

Palettes and toolbars can either be docked at the edges of the main canvas workspace or positioned as floating control surfaces on your computer display(s). Docked palettes can be resized or repositioned  as you work. To resize a docked palette, simply mouse down at the boundary between 2 palettes as shown below.

An adjustment cursor will appear, and you can then adjust the sizing of the 2 adjacent palettes. Note that the adjustment cursor in the screen shot above is indicating that the palette sizing can be adjusted vertically in this particular case, since the boundary being adjusted is a vertical boundary between the 2 vertically positioned palettes.

You can also mouse down at the boundary of a palette and the working canvas to adjusts the palette’s size and positioning in relationship to the canvas as shown below. Note that the adjustment cursor now indicates that the palette – canvas boundary can be moved horizontally to increase or decrease the horizontal sizing of the palette being adjusted.

Palettes can also be tab docked, which means that they sit in a stack on top of each other at a single docked position and can be accessed via clicking on labeled tabs. The screen snap below shows the tabs associated with 4 different editing palettes that are tab docked on top of one another.

Tabbed palette positioning is very useful to conserve screen space while still providing easy access to multiple palettes when working. To tab dock a pallette you drag it on top of an existing docked palette. The section below will discuss in more detail how to move palettes around in the workspace.

Repositioning a Docked Palette

To move a docked palette to another location in the workspace mouse down in the top header area of the docked palette and drag the palette so that it detaches from it’s former docked position. This can be seen in the screen shot above. Once the palette is detached and floating you are free to redock it at some new location in the workspace interface.

The interface indicates what is the potential new docking location by gray highlight selecting where the palette will dock at if you were to release the mouse. As you move the detached palette around the interface different potential docking areas will select and the existing docked palettes will move out of the way and adjust their sizes accordingly. In the screen shot above, the interface is indicating that if the mouse is released the palette will dock on the left side of the workspace in between the source area palette at the top left and the tab docked editor at the bottom left.  This new potential docking configuration is shown in the screen shot below.

Note how the redocked preset browser palette now sits vertically between the source area and the editor palette. Note that the editor palette is now a part of 3 tab docked palettes at the same location (it used to be 4 tabs before the preset browser was moved).

Palettes can potentially be docked on all four sides of the workspace. Palettes can also be tab docked on top of one another to conserve space in the interface. Or palettes can be left floating if you don’t want to dock them into the workspace. The screen snap below shows the preset browser sitting as a floating palette above the canvas.

Typically you would position the floating palettes somewhere other than on top of your drawing canvas as shown in the example above, but you  do have that option if you wish. Floating palettes can be very useful if you are working with a dual monitor workstation setup. You can position the various palettes on one monitor and position the drawing canvas on your main monitor. This allows the full display screen to be used as a drawing canvas, or allows for the canvas to be video projected without displaying the editing palettes which is desirable for interactive live visual performance.

Turning Palettes On and Off

You can use the various Windows menus associated with the different editing palettes shown above to turn the display of the palettes on or off. When turned on (the menu is checked) they will appear in the workspace at the last place they were displayed. This could be a docked position or a floating position.

When a checked windows palette menu is turned off (the menu is not checked) then the palette no longer appears docked in the workspace or on your monitor if floating. You can also click the close button located in the right side of the palette’s top header area (shown below) to close an open palette.

Workspace User Layout Memories

There are 4 different workspace memories that you can use to save (record) and restore (playback) different workspace configurations on the fly while working. They are accessible via the 4 Layout User menus located in the main Windows menu. As shown above, each layout memory has an associated playback and record menu. Playback means that the workspace configuration stored in the memory is restored into the workspace. Record means that the current workspace configuration is saved into the associated layout memory. Menu shortcuts are available for playback for all 4 memories to make it easy to switch between them on the fly when working.

Full Screen Display Mode

There is a Windows : Show FullScreen menu option that can be used to switch into or out of full screen display mode. When full screen display mode is turned on the workspace is automatically adjusted to fill the entire screen. You can use the full screen display preferences shown below to configure  the appearance of the full screen display to your working style. Palettes and toolbars can be hidden if you wish while you are in full screen display, and the fullscreen workspace background color can also be custom configured.

Full Screen mode can be very useful if you wish to work on a large drawing canvas unencumbered by editing palettes and the screen real estate they take up. Full Screen display mode is also very useful if you are using Studio Artist in a live visual performance situation where the canvas is being video projected or video recorded.

How do i set the canvas to the source image?

How do i erase the canvas to a fixed color background?

Where’s the old canvas background popup and associated erase button?

Previous versions of Studio Artist had a default background popup and associated erase buttons located above the right side of the working canvas (as seen below). The erase button with the arrow icon erased the current layer to the background popup’s current setting.

This functionality is still available in version 4, but it’s location in the interface has moved. The erase button is now located in the main operation toolbar, as seen in the screenshot below. This is the equivalent of the old erase button with the arrow icon.

If you hold down the control key and click on the erase button (right click on windows) then you will get a contextual menu with the various background options you can erase to. These options mirror the old background popup options (with a few exceptions and additions). If you choose one of those background options then the current layer will erase to that setting and that setting will be the new default for the erase button.

You can erase the current canvas layer to a solid color or to things like the source image or a live video frame capture. You need a built in iSight camera or Quicktime compatible usb or firewire camera to capture live video.

You can also just drag and drop the source image onto the canvas as a shortcut to set the current canvas layer to the source image. This is the equivalent of erasing the canvas to the Source Image.

The various erase to background options are also accessible in the main Canvas : Default Color menu.

The Canvas : Set to Default Color menu command is the equivalent of pressing the Erase button in the main operation toolbar. You can use the associated cmnd b menu hot key shortcut to erase the canvas to the current default color background setting.

The Canvas : Full Erase menu command erases the canvas to the default background color option and also erases the current layer’s Bezier path frame, blanking buffer, and alpha channel. So it’s the equivalent to the old full erase button in Studio Artist 3.5, which was the left most erase button next to the old canvas background popup with the circle icon.

How do i make a new favorites category?

How do i add a preset to the current favorites category?

The preset favorites toolbar (shown above) is a new feature in version 4. Each icon represents a different favorites preset. Pressing the icon loads that particular preset as the current preset. You can mix and match different operation mode types in a given favorites category, so you could for example mix together image processing and paint presets in one favorites category.

You can have as many different favorites categories as you wish. You can use the popup menu with the arrow icon at the left side of the favorites toolbar to change the current favorites category.

Each favorites category is stored as a folder inside the main Preset: Favorite folder in your Studio Artist 4 folder. Any preset files located in a particular favorites category folder will show up as the associated presets for that favorites category.

To make a new favorites category you can simply make a new folder in your main Preset : Favorite folder in the Finder and name it what you want your custom favorites category to be named. Or, you can use the Edit : Preset : Make New Favorites Category menu command.

The Edit : Preset : Copy Current Preset to Current Favorites Category menu command will copy the current preset to the current favorites preset category. You can also drag and drop the current preset icon from the main preset browser to the favorites preset toolbar to do the same thing.

Favorites presets are unique in that they are only organized by category as opposed to collection – category like the operation mode presets. All of the other preset folder follow the traditional Studio Artist collection – category folder hierarchy. For example, the Finder screen shot below shows the folder hierarchy for version 4 paint presets, specifically the 2.0 collection and it’s associated category folders.

Favorites presets can also be accessed in the main Preset Browser palette, as shown below.

Note that when the preset browser displays the factory presets (shown below) they are organized by collection and category, as opposed to the favorites presets which are only organized by category.

How do i transfer my old custom 3.5 presets to version 4?

I copied my old preset folder to v4 but the old presets don’t show up

Studio Artist v4 will work with all of your old presets from version 3.5. This includes any custom presets you made yourself. It’s straightforward to copy your old custom presets over to v4, but there are a few differences between the way presets are organized in v4 as compared to previous versions of Studio Artist that you need to be aware of.

The screen snap below of the Studio Artist 3.5 folder in the finder shows off the preset organization in version 3.5.  Note that all of the individual operation types like image operations or texture synthesizer or vectorizer have their own preset folder that sits at the top level of the main Studio Artist folder next to the Studio Artist application.

So in 3.5 the ImageOp folder contains image operation presets, the TexSynth folder contains texture synthesizer presets, etc. The Preset folder in 3.5 contains paint synthesizer presets only. The naming and location of these old folders is somewhat historical, the original version of Studio Artist only had paint presets, and then more preset types and their associated folders were added over time.

All of the different preset types are organized by collection and category. The organization and naming of collections and their associated categories is implemented with folder naming and positioning hierarchy. So if you look at the folder hierarchy contained in the Preset folder for 3.5 you can see a number of different collection folders sitting at the top level of the Preset folder.

Folders like Default and 2.0 Collection refer to different collections for paint presets. Looking inside the Default collection folder we see another set of folders that coorespond to the categories associated with the Default collection. So the Auto Sketch folder is a category, and any loose preset files in that folder are the presets associated with the Auto Sketch category in the Default collection.

Note that there are no loose preset files in a collection folder, just it’s associated category folders. Any loose preset files in a collection folder will be ignored by Studio Artist when it displays presets in the Preset Browser. You always want to put individual preset files in a specific category folder, and category folders need to be in collection folders, and collection folders need to be in the main preset folder associated with the specific operation mode for that preset.

Notice that there are loose preset files sitting at the top level in the 3.5 paint Preset folder. In previous versions of Studio Artist these loose preset files at the top level of a given preset folder were displayed in an automatically General category folder in the first collection (Default). In version 4 loose presets are always ignored unless they are in a category folder. There is a specific General category folder in the Default collection in the factory presets that contains these old loose factory preset files.

The screen snap below shows the new improved cleaned up preset folder organization in version 4.

The first thing to note is that the Preset folder next to the Studio Artist 4 application contains a set of folders that are specific to each preset supported operation mode. The naming of most of these folders is similar to previous versions of Studio Artist, so image operation presets are stored in the ImageOp folder, texture synthesizer presets are stored in the TexSynth folder, etc. Paint synthesizer presets are now stored in the Paint folder.

Note that this basic hierarchy is slightly different in v4 than 3.5, so you need to take this into account when you move your custom preset files or collection and category folders over from 3.5 to v4. Presets are still organized by collection and category like before, and each preset type has it’s own specific preset folder name, but all of those specific preset type folders are now stored in the main Preset folder, as opposed to being loose next to the application at the top level of the Studio Artist folder like before.

The Favorite folder corresponds to preset favorites. Favorites deviate from the collection – category organization, favorites just contains category folders. Favorites are discussed in much more detail earlier in this tip post in the How do i make a favorites category section.

Where’s old Canvas Movie functionality?

The old canvas movie functions available in previous versions of Studio Artist has been replaced by the new Movie Layer functionality.  Movie layers are special layers that have associated movie files.  You can use a movie transport available in the layers palettes to play or access specific frames in a movie layer.

The equivalent to the old File : Load Movie to Canvas menu would be to use the new File : Import : Open Movie as New Canvas Movie menu.

For more on working with Movie Layers check out this tip.

Where’s the old Layer Source Keyframes?

Where’s the old Layer Content Keyframes?

Where’s the old Layer Bezier Keyframes?

Where’s the old Layer Timeline?

The old Layer Timeline functionality available in previous versions of Studio Artist has been integrated into the Paint Action Sequence (PASeq)Timeline in v4. You can use PASeq Context action steps to implement everything you could do in the old Layer Timeline.

Here’s a tip that discusses this change in more detail.

Where’s the old Pen Mode popup  control?

How do I adjust the pen mode for the paint synthesizer?

In previous versions of Studio Artist the paint synthesizer pen mode could be adjusted with a pen mode popup control located above the top left side of the canvas as shown above.  This pen mode control has been moved in Studio Artist 4 to the Pen Mode control panel in the paint synthesizer Editor as seen below.

Most of the old Studio Artist functionality was ported over to new version 4. Many new features were added, and there were a ton of enhancements made to old existing features. In a few cases, features were dropped or changed. Some more information on these changes is provided below for owners of previous versions of Studio Artist.

Improved Workspace

The overall workspace is much more configurable in version 4. Rather than the controls being fixed on the left side of the window, you have total flexibility to position control palettes as you please. Either docked to the main canvas window, or as floating palettes (perhaps on a second monitor). You can dock the palettes and toolbars by dragging them onto the main canvas near the edge you wish them to dock at. You can also dock on top of an existing already docked palette, and then they will nest in place as tabbed palettes.

There are 4 layout memories available in the main windows menu which you can use to quickly save and restore your custom workspace configurations. So you might have one layout for editing presets, another for painting with a large canvas area and minimal palettes, another for MSG editing, etc.

Fullscreen view support is now available. You can configure via preference settings whether palettes and toolbars and the cursor are displayed or not when in full screen view.

This makes it easy to configure Studio Artist for video output in live performance situations where you don’t want the editing interface to be displayed in your performance video feed. This can also be set up for dual monitors so your main monitor (the performance video feed) goes into full screen display while your floating palettes on a second monitor (the control monitor) stay active.

There is a new Favorites Preset Toolbar. This expands on the old preset favorites memories by providing an unlimited number of user defined preset favorites categories. Different preset types (like paint and image operation for example) can be combined together in a single favorites category, so you can organize all of the different operation mode presets you use for a certain kind of workflow in one category.

You can access preset favorites in the main preset browser palette, but they can also be displayed in a compact favorites toolbar. The favorites toolbar lets you access custom preset categories with minimal impact on available screen real estate for drawing. Command keys can be used to switch between different favorites presets on the fly when working.

An integrated help browser palette can be used to access html help pages while you work. Help pages can incorporate active command tags which allow you to execute Studio Artist functionality directly from a html help page. Active preset tags can be inserted in any html help page to load any preset by pressing the active link in the help page. You can use this feature to design custom help and documentation pages for your presets.

For more information on working with the new workspace check out this tip.

For more information on custom configuring the new workspace check out this tip.

Live Interactivity

Studio Artist 4 is much more real time oriented than previous versions of Studio Artist. This means that you can interactively adjust editing parameters while automatic painting is taking place and observe the editing changes in real time as Studio Artist continues to paint.

DualMode Paint is a new operation mode that allows for live interactive painting in conjunction with a second live image processing operation that runs in real time mingled with your live painting. Or you can use DualMode Paint as an automatic painting operation, again where live automatic painting is interspersed with live image processing. DualMode can be used to simulate things like painting on wet media. Or it can take you into limitless uncharted possibilities for live visual performance and abstract animation.

Loop Action is a new way of using Studio Artist. When you run Loop Action the current preset is run repeatably in a continuous loop until you tell it to stop (by using the spacebar). Loop action allows you to use Studio Artist more like a live video synthesizer.

If you switch to a different preset while running Loop Action, the new preset loads and the looping action switches to the new preset without stopping the live processing loop. This can be a different preset in the same operation mode (like 2 different paint presets), or a preset associated with a completely different operation mode (like a paint preset and an image operation preset).

You can configure the source area so a loaded source movie frame advances for each cycle in the loop. Or you can configure live video so a new video frame capture takes place  in the source area at the beginning of each cycle of the loop.

Command keys can be used to switch between different favorites presets or PASeq action steps on the fly while loop action is running. New path start and time particle options allow for automatic painting to track the position of a Wacom pen floating in proximity above a drawing tablet, which allows for interactive control or modulation of dynamic automatic painting.

For more information on live visual performance check out this tip.

New Vector Support

The paint synthesizer now provides support for anti-aliased vector drawing. Vector drawing can replace the traditional Studio Artist raster paint engine or can be used in conjunction with it in a single preset.

For example, you could draw an anti-aliased vector region and then automatically sweep a raster water drip around the edge of the vector region in a single paint synthesizer preset that uses dual drawing.  Be aware that some of the paint synthesizer controls that are associated with specific properties of raster paint will not be active when drawing with anti-aliased vectors.

SVG vector output is now supported in addition to the old EPS vector output. There’s also a second vector print dialog that ties into the SVG generation process and allows for printing directly from generated vectors (the normal print dialog prints from the raster frame buffers) for high res vector printing. The SVG print dialog can also be used to generate PDF files directly from the SVG vector generation process. One nice thing about the SVG vector format is that it supports vector transparency.

The Vectorizer has numerous additional new and expanded features, including a new anti-aliased vector render option.

For more information on vector drawing checkout this tip.

For more information on SVG output check out this tip.

New Image Processing Functionality

The Image Operations effects have been greatly expanded. There are a number of new Image Operations, and the old ones have many more additional and expanded features. The new Sketch Ip Ops are particularly exciting and provide for a wide range of different automatic pencil or ink sketch effects.

There is a new Temporal Image Operations mode. Temporal Image Operations are image processing effects that take time and multiple frames into account. These allow you do some some interested new kinds of video processing effects. You can also use them to create static images from a video sequence that encapsulate the motion in the video sequence into a single image. Or you can use them to generate panorama images from video pans.

There are over 100 new MSG processors included in version 4, which means the range of different effects you can create using MSG is even bigger than before.  The paint synthesizer now also includes a MSG Source Brush option.

The compositing and mix options previously available in image operations have been included for other operation modes like MSG, Warp, and the Vectorizer. This greatly expands the range of effects you can create in these extended operation modes, and allows for creating effects in a single layer that would have required multiple layers previously.

For more information on the new Sketch Ip Ops check out this tip.

New Paint Synthesizer Functionality

The paint synthesizer is more powerful than ever.  There are now over 460 editable parameters in the paint synthesizer.  Many of the old parameters also have additional new options available for them.

The new Live Extension path shape feature allows for some amazing new dynamic interactive paint effects. As you draw a paint path the old areas of the path are still live drawing and can drop under the influence of gravity or be whipped around like a springy chain.

The path start regionization features have been greatly expanded. Much of the old MSG Evolver Art Mapper functionality can now be implemented directly in the paint synthesizer.

MSG Source Brush allows any MSG preset to be used as a live interactive source brush for dynamic interactive painting. MSG presets can also be used as path start or path shape generators, or as a dynamic MSG brush load option.

The paint synthesizer now support anti-aliased vector drawing as discussed above. You can also create dual presets that incorporate vector and raster paint effects into a single paint synthesizer preset. Vector drawing can go directly into the raster frame buffer or be output as EPS, SVG, or PDF vector files.

DualMode Paint operation mode allows a live image processing effect to be dynamically interleaved into interactive or automatic paint synthesizer drawing.

New PASeq Timeline Functionality

PASeq Context action steps are a new feature for PASeq recording in 4.0. They provide an easy to use way to implement many of the old Studio Artist timeline animation functionality, including source and content keyframes, timeline warps, morphs, and spatially variant filtering. The functionality of the old Layer and PASeq timelines is now integrated into a single PASeq timeline, providing a simpler to understand interface.

For more information on PASeq Contexts check out this tip.

Gallery Show

Gallery Show is a new feature that allows Studio Artist to run unattended endlessly riffing through different presets and source images to create an on-going artistic show. You could configure Gallery Show to create a real time painting frame or art process for display in an art gallery or used in a live visual performance. You can also use it to generate a stream of automatically generated random artistic images or presets you can cull through later for keepers. Gallery Show can work with random source images from a folder of images or can grab live video frame captures for each Gallery Show cycle.

For more information on Gallery Show check out this tip.

What is different

Parameter editing for the various operation modes now takes place in a standardized Editor palette (shown below).

There are currently 2 different ways the parameter information in the Editor palette can be displayed, which you can change by changing the appropriate preference setting. We anticipate there will be more display options in the future.

The old pen mode popup formerly at the top left of the canvas is now integrated into the appropriate op mode editors. For the paint synthesizer, you would now adjust the pen mode in the pen mode control panel in the Editor (shown in the paint synthesizer editor screen snap below).

The old background eraser controls formerly at the top right of the canvas are gone. You can access that functionality under the main canvas menu (default background), and cmnd b erases to the current default background, or by using the Erase button in the main toolbar.

Preferences are now located in the StudioArtist menu where you would expect them in Mac OSX (as opposed to in the file menu like before). On Windows they are still located under the File menu.

Studio Artist 4 has an integrated Help palette, which allows you to execute commands in Studio Artist by pressing the smart command links embedded in html help. Some things that were accessible via menu commands or buttons in previous versions are now accessed via help command links instead. For example, the Paint Synthesizer Macro Edits are available on a html help page in the Help palette as opposed to via menus like in previous versions. The old global evolution paint synthesizer control panel is also gone in v4, but that functionality can be accessed via the appropriate html pages in the Help palette.

MSG Evolver 1.0 has not been ported in the Studio Artist 4.0 release. Much (but not all) of the old MSG Evolver functionality is now directly accessible in Studio Artist 4, via the Advanced MSG Editor palette and the Evolve Palette. You can run various MSG evolution commands via the appropriate help pages in the Help palette. The MSG live video processing functionality is now available in Studio Artist via Loop Action. The Art Mapper has not been ported at this time, however most of it’s functionality can be implemented using path start regionization in the paint synthesizer. The Evolver Tiling options are available via the new Tiling MSG processor. The Evolver timeline animation memories are not currently implemented, but you can keyframe MSG presets in the Studio Artist PASeq timeline to create keyframe animation.

SuperSizer interpolation is now directly built into Studio Artist as opposed to being a separate menu command option. There’s a Default Interpolation option under the main Canvas menu (which includes SuperSizer as an option) that lets you choose an interpolator that is used for all Studio Artist resizing, including things like image operations that use the source as input for an effect or for setting the canvas to the source image.

For more information on commonly asked getting started questions associated with the 3.5 to 4 transition check out this tip.

What is Not included

Version 4.0 is a complete rewrite of the underlying code base for Studio Artist. While most of the features of version 3.5 are included or enhanced in version 4.0, there are a few things that did not make the initial 4.0 port. Either because we thought they were underused by the vast majority of users or were dropped from the initial 4.0 release so we could get a working program to users that addressed the majority of user’s needs.

Old Features dropped include the following:

In 3.5 you can mix variable size layers within the overall canvas. While you can have layers in 4.0, they currently must all be the same size. Resizing or cropping currently resizes the entire layer stack (not just the current layer).

The Timeline Animation operation mode is missing. Most of it’s existing functionality is available by using the new Context PASeq action steps.

Bezier warp is not currently implemented.

Bezier Collections are currently not implemented.

The interactive region selection options have been streamlined.

There used to be 2 timelines, layer and PASeq. This has been streamlined in 4.0 into 1 PASeq timeline.

The old Layers timeline is now gone, leaving only a single PASeq timeline. You can use PASeq Bezier, Source, and Content Context steps to implement the old layer timeline functionality within the single PASeq timeline. Position contexts are not currently implemented since all layers in the layer stack are the same size in the initial 4.0 release. By using the new Context PASeq action steps you can duplicate most of the functionality of the old layer timeline within the PASeq timeline.

A few of the old Interactive Adjust options are currently not implemented.

The old canvas movie functionality is replaced with the new movie layer functionality. The old canvas movie lived on top of the existing layer stack. The old canvas movie has been replaced by movie layers. Movie layers allow multiple movie files to be associated with as many different layers desired. Some of the old canvas movie processing options are no longer available.

To reconfigure your workspace just mouse down on the title bar of the palette you want to move and then drag it to a new location in the workspace.  You can dock a palette on any of the 4 sides of the workspace, or you can nest a palette on top of an existing one to tab dock it.  You can also drag a palette out of the main workspace window if you want it to be floating.

All of the different control palettes can be accessed via the main Windows menu. Each palette when active can be a floating window or can be docked into the main window. If a menu item for a particular palette is checked that means it is active and available on the screen. Un-checking the menu item for a visible palette will hide it from view. You can also click the small x control at the top left corner of a palette to close it.

There are 4 different workspace memories you can use to save and restore custom workspace configurations on the fly while you are working. You can record and playback the workspace configurations using the appropriate menus items in the main windows menu. There are also command hot keys you can use to quickly switch between your workspace configurations.

How you setup your custom workspaces is really a function of how you like to work and the constraints of the particular display screen(s) you are working with. I have one workspace setup with minimal control palettes for a maximum working canvas, another for working with Paint Action Sequences, and another for working with MSG. I like to keep all of my control palettes docked in the main workspace. However, if you have a 2 screen setup you may prefer to have all of your control palettes as floating palettes on the second screen.

The Show Full Screen Windows Menu will switch the workspace display to use the full amount of available screen display.  You can customize the full screen behavior by choosing the appropriate preference options under general preferences.  This includes showing or hiding the control palettes and tool bars as well as background color options that might be more suitable for live visual performance situations.

Source Area

Studio Artist is based around the concept of working off of a source image in a separate draw canvas. This is different from a typical photo manipulation program where you open an image and then directly modify the image you opened. The source image in Studio Artist is not modified in any way. Think of an artist working off of a model or a photo while they paint into a separate canvas and you will be in the mind set of how Studio Artist works.

Previous versions of Studio Artist forced you to always load a source image even if you didn’t really want to use one. Version 4 is more flexible, you don’t have to load a source image if you don’t want to.

You can use the tab controls at the top of the Source Area to control how color is applied to the canvas when painting. There are 4 different source modes to choose from. Image displays the current source image and colorings are derived from the source image. Color brings up a color picker so you can manually select colors. Palette brings up a color palette you can work with. Gradient brings up a color gradient you can work with.

Most of the source modes have a secondary popup control that you can use to further specify how automatic colorings are being generated. For the Image source mode, choosing Paint means the source image coloring in a particular local area will be used as coloring in the appropriately mapped area in the canvas. Colorize means that the source image will be colorized based on the current fixed color. Palettize means that the source image will be represented by the best color matches from the source palette. Fixed means the current fixed color will be used. You can hold down the c hotkey and click in the source image while using the Fixed setting and manually pick colors from the source image to draw with.

The source image is always spatially mapped to completely fit the current draw canvas. The source image aspect ratio is warped accordingly to fit whatever you have specified for the current draw canvas layer.

There are 4 color memory squares located on the bottom right side of the source area.  The larger one on the left displays the current source color. Double clicking on the current source color memory will bring up an advanced color picker dialog with a wide variety of options. Typically you will use the fixed color picker located in the Color tab of the source area to manually select color.

The 3 smaller color memories located to the right of the current source color memory are your source color memories. Like all memory buttons in Studio Artist, you option click them to record and click them to play back their contents. You can use these color memories while you are working to save and restore specific color values. They are also accessible in the Fixed Color control panel in the paint synthesizer for speciality painting operations. And they are used in some image processing operations that use multiple color values as parameters to specify an effect.

Preset and Editor Palettes

Presets are prebuilt paint tools or visual effects. There are different preset types associated with the different operation modes available in Studio Artist. For example, a Paint preset is a prebuilt paint tool. You could interactively draw with a paint preset, or you could press the Action button and run an automatic drawing operation. An Image Processing preset would be a prebuilt image processing effect. You can’t do anything directly interactive with an image processing preset, but you could press the Action button and run the effect.

Each preset has an associated parameter Editor. The Editor displays all of the editable parameters associated with the preset. You can use the Editor to modify an existing preset or build your own custom presets from scratch. If you export your edited preset then you can save it to use at another time.

The particular editable parameters in the Editor will change depending on what the current operation mode is that you are editing. So paint presets will have a different set of editable parameters than image processing effects. Some operation modes have multiple control panels in the Editor which you select with the popup located at the top of the Editor. So in the Editor screen snap above you can see that we are looking at the Pen Mode control panel, which is one of the control panels available for a paint preset.

You will note that in the screen shots above the Editor and Preset palettes are tabbed together in a single docked location in the workspace. This is useful as a way to conserve space in your workspace  You can do this when setting up your custom workspace by dragging one palette on top of another. You use the associated tab buttons to switch between the different tabbed palettes.

You can choose different display options for both the Preset and Editor palettes in the main preferences dialog.

Operation Toolbar

The Operation Toolbar is used to switch between the different Operation modes available in Studio Artist. You can also use the main Operation menu to switch between different operation modes as well as navigate to any control panel in Studio Artist.

The Action button is used to start an automatic action associated with a particular operation mode. You can also start an automatic action using the Action : Do Current Action menu or it’s associated r menu command key.

The – and + buttons zoom the view out or in respectively. There are additional zoom menu options under the main Canvas menu.

The layer popup lets you switch between different canvas layers.  you can also switch between different layers by selecting them in the Layer Palette. To the right of the layer popup is an icon button that lets you switch between the current layer and all layer views.

The Erase button sets the canvas to the current background color. Shift clicking the Erase button will also erase the current bezier path frame for the current layer and reset the layer alpha channel to full off.

The Mask checkbox turns selection masking on or off. If you switch the operation popup to Selection operation mode then you can select an area in the working canvas layer.

Paint Action Sequence Palette

Paint Action Sequences are used to script different operations in Studio Artist.  You can combine together different operations to build up more sophisticated effects. Paint Action Sequences (PASeq for short) can be exported and imported as presets for easy access to prebuilt effects that use multiple operations working together to create the final effect.

The control strip at the top of the PASeq palette provides some controls to record and play a PASeq. You can also access menu items for this functionality in the Action : Paint Action Sequence main menu. Play plays the PASeq. The Rec checkbox turns on or off recording. When recording is turned on then any interactive or automatic action you perform in Studio Artist is recorded as a single action step in the vertical list on the left side of the palette. Erase will delete all of the existing action steps in the PASeq.

One the right side of the Palette is a timeline with editable keyframes. These keyframes act as memory buttons, so like all memory buttons you would option click them to record the state of the current interface into the keyframe and click on them to play back the recorded state and associated action into the interface. The Animate button will play the complete animation. The combo box to the right of the Animate button sets the number of keyframe sin the animation.  

The SeqKF checkbox turns on Sequential Keyframe Recording. Sequential Keyframe recording is a helpful time-saving feature when building up hand drawn keyframed animations in the PASeq timeline. You can draw a new keyframed paint stroke and then the PASeq will automatically update the interface with the next se of recorded parameters for the next interactive operation in the PASeq.

Help Palette

The Help Palette is an HTML help browser. In addition to providing help documentation, it also support active link user commands (displayed as arrow icons) you can run by clicking. This provides a way for you to directly control Studio Artist operations from the help documentation itself.

There’s a toolbar at the top of the Help Palette that contains different buttons for navigating the help browser. Back and Fore move backwards and forwards in your current browse history. Home returns to the main help home page.  Open lets you open a specific html help page with a standard file dialog.

The help Browse also supports custom help pages you can build for yourself. The Custom button takes you to the default index page for your custom help. One thing you can do with custom help is build specific help pages for presets you use frequently in your work. You can include images that show off the particular preset as well as an active command link that will automatically load the associated preset.

Favorites Preset Toolbar

The old preset favorites concept has been expanded in version 4. You can organize an unlimited number of custom Preset Favorites categories. You can mix and match different preset types in a given Favorites category. So you could store paint and image processing presets in a specific favorites category.  This provides optimum flexibility for you to organize sets of preset in ways that make sense for your particular workflow.

The arrow icon popup at the left side of the Favorites Toolbar can be used to change the current favorites category. The individual icons to the right of the arrow icon popup are the specific presets in the current favorites category.  Clicking on one of these icons will load that particular preset.

Command keys can be used to load favorites presets in the toolbar as an alternative to clicking on a preset icon in the toolbar.  Command F1-F6 will load the first 6 preset icons in the current bank. Command option F1-F6 act as bank shifts.  A bank is a set of 6 presets.  The F1 bank would be presets 1 through 6, the F2 bank would be presets 7 through 12, etc.  These command keys can be especially useful when working with live visual performance using loop action since the Favorites Toolbar might be hidden from view when using full screen display mode during a video projected live performance.

Layers Palette

The Layers Palette contains an ordered list of the various layers in the working canvas. You can select a particular layer in the list to switch the current layer. You can rename each layer if you wish. You can drag layers in the list to reorder them. Option dragging makes a copy of the layer you dragged.

There are also compositing controls for each layer you can adjust. You will only see the effect of the compositing and % blend controls when in View All mode. You can also turn a layer off using the status controls which means it will not be displayed as a part of the compositing in View All mode. Like all lists in Studio Artist, individual layers are composited in order from the top to the bottom of the list.

There are a number of different menu commands associated with layers in the main Canvas menu.

MSG Advanced Editor

The MSG Advanced Editor provides all of the editing functionality of the old MSG Evolver application for constructing and modifying MSG presets. The generic operation Editor palette is used to specify the source and compositing options for the current MSG preset. The actual internal configuration and all of the editable parameters associated with each of the individual modular processors in the MSG preset can be edited in the MSG Advanced Editor.

In the top left corner is a preview of the current MSG preset you are editing. You can use various hotkeys while mousing down in the preview to perform some interactive edits. These include t (translate), r (rotate), h (scale). Using the shift modifier with these keys will perform the interactive edit on the currently selected processor as opposed to all the processors in the preset.

Below the preview on the left side is a tabbed list that lets you examine and edit the Processor Chain (PChain) or the current Bus. The Processor Chain is a list of the various processors included in the MSG preset. They are executed in order from top to bottom. You can drag them to reorder or option drag to make a copy. Locking a processor prevents it from being edited when you are performing directed evolution. Switching off the Status turns the processor off.

The Bus is a list of the active IO Streams currently in the MSG preset’s Bus. A stream can be an image or a color gradient or a color palette. There are specific streams for the source and output of the MSG preset. Image Streams are monochrome, so a color image would be represented by 3 different streams for the red, green, and blue components of the color image.

On the right side of the MSG Advanced Editor is a tabbed editing area. What is displayed in this area is associated with the element selected in the list on the left side of the editor.  

If a processor is selected in the processor chain editor then you will see tabs at the top of the right editing area that let you edit the Parameters, IO connections, Gradients, or Palettes associated with the selected processor. So selecting the Parm tab will display the various editable parameters for the currently selected processor which you can then edit. Selecting the IO tab will display the IO ports and their current connections for the currently selected processor which you can also edit. 

Selecting the Grad or Pal tabs will display the 3 color gradients or color palettes associated with the current Bus Stream.  

The Source tab is a little different, it brings up a source library of MSG processors. You can drag a particular processor to the processor chain editor to incorporate that particular processor in the MSG preset you are editing.

If the list on the left side is displaying the Bus instead of the Processor Chain Editor, then you will see a source library of Bus Streams on the right side of the editor. Again, you can drag one of those Streams into the Bus list on the left side.

Evolution Editor

The Evolution Editor is used to evolve new MSG presets through a process of directed evolution. You can also use the previews as working MSG storage memories or to specify a MSG animation if you wish. Each preview cells corresponds to a unique MSG preset. You can configure the number and arrangement of preview cells in the main preference dialog under the MSG heading.

Clicking on a particular preview cell will evolve a new set of MSG presets mutated from the specific one you clicked on. This functionality mirrors that of the old MSG Evolver application. There is an extensive set of MSG Editing Commands available in the Help Browser you can use as an aid to performing directed evolution of MSG presets. All of the old MSG Evolver evolution and configuration menu meta edit functionality is available via command links in the Hep Browser.

Status Area

The Status Area is located at the bottom of the main workspace window. The left hand side displays context sensitive help messages as you hover the mouse over specific controls or areas in the interface.The right hand side displays dynamic messages when actions or processing is occurring so you can keep track of what the program is doing.