Technical data

46 Working with Paint and Text
One is to use the Color Pickup tool on the Tools toolbar. Left-
click with the tool anywhere on an image to “pick up” the color at that
point as the new foreground color, and right-click to define a new
background color. As a shortcut if you’re working with one of the
drawing tools (paintbrush, line, etc.), you can press the Alt key to
switch temporarily to the Color Pickup tool. Release the key to switch
back once you’ve left- or right-clicked to make a color selection.
Another way is to use the Color tab. To
quickly select foreground or background
color, move the mouse pointer (dropper cursor) around the tab’s Color
Spectrum. As you do so, a preview swatch pops up showing the color
at the cursor position. Left-click in the spectrum to set a new
foreground color, and right-click to set a new background color.
Yet another way is to click either the foreground or the background
swatch (a white border around either box tells you it’s selected), then
use the sliders or enter numeric values in the boxes to define a specific
color. The selected swatch updates instantly.
Double-clicking either a foreground or background color swatch on the
Color tab brings up the more complex Adjust Color dialog, which lets
you define and store a set of custom colors interactively, using a color
wheel. See the “Choosing colors” topic in online help for details.
The Color tab also makes it possible to set the working color mode to
any one of the following: RGB (Red, Green, Blue); HSL (Hue,
Saturation, Lightness); CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black); or
Grayscale. (For lots of useful terms and theory relating to color
definition and color modes, see Chapter 7.)
HANDS ON: Step into the Sandbox!
Our approach in exploring the various painting and drawing tools is
going to be decidedly freeform! Rather than prescribe step-by-step
sequences, we’ll let you follow your own muse as you experiment with
each tool. As you read through the descriptions, watch for the checkbox
bullets that will offer suggestions. No one is expecting a masterpiece—
perhaps just some inspired doodling!
q To begin the session, choose New from the File menu and (on the
Startup Wizard) click Create New Picture.