Basics >
Glossary

Definitions of terms used in this help.

brush

  A tool that lets you make brushstrokes on a canvas. Available brushes include pencil, pen, eraser, paintbrush, airbrush, marker, chisel brush, felt pen, and smear pen.

  - Choose a brush
  - Create a Do-It-Yourself brush
brush outline

  An outline that lets you see the size of brushes before you make a brushstroke. To turn it off, go to the Preferences window.

brush palette

  A window where you can choose from default brushes, and add your own custom brushes.

  - Choose a brush
  - Copy and remove custom brushes
brushstroke

  A mark made by the movement of a brush on the canvas.

canvas

  The total image area. A term taken from fine arts, the canvas is available for applying brushstrokes or adding artistic elements.

  - Crop
  - Resizing
clutch key

  A key combination, using a key and stylus (pen-down) to replace a mouse right-click and hotkey.

color wheel

  A circular area in the Colors window for selecting hues and primary colors.

  For PC users, color shading and tint can be fine-tuned using the SV (saturation and value) triangle.

  - Choose a color
crop

  To remove the outer parts of an image, keeping only a selected part.

  - Crop
custom brush

  A brush you either copied or created as a Do-It-Yourself brush. The lower part of the Brush Palette stores the custom brushes.

  - Create a Do-It-Yourself brush
eyedropper

  For PC users, a tool for selecting an exact color under the stylus.

  - Choose a color
flick stroke

  The quick action of touching the stylus to an icon and stroking toward one of its affiliated tools.

  - Set preferences
hotkey

  A keyboard shortcut that performs a particular action.

  For PC users, this feature is available for computers with keyboards.

  - Keyboard shortcuts
lagoon

  An area in the bottom left corner of the SketchBook pane. It contains tools, such as Undo, Redo, Current Color, Current Tool, and icons containing groups of tools arranged in marking menus. The lagoon can be changed using the Lagoon Preferences and Interface Controls.

  - Changing your interface
  - Customizing lagoon icons
  - Custom marking menus
lasso select

  The ability to select irregular (non-rectangular) shapes.

  - Select an area
layer

  An image laying over or under other images. All these images taken together comprise one complete image. Layers let you separate or hide parts of an image.

  - About layers
marking menu

  A menu where you use gestures to perform menu selections. Press and hold your stylus over an icon. Additional tools appear. Flick toward the tool you want.

  - Set preferences
mirror

  To flip an image or layer around its vertical center axis.

  - Rotate or flip your sketch
opacity

  The opposite of transparency. In Autodesk SketchBook Pro, you can control the opacity of paint on brushes and layers.

  - Change brush properties
  - Adjust the pressure sensitivity of a Do-It-Yourself brush
  - Change the transparency of a layer
orientation (primary, landscape, portrait)

  For PC users, the positioning of a rectangular image, either vertically (portrait) or horizontally (landscape).

  For best performance with a Tablet PC, use primary landscape orientation when zooming in on and pulling your sketch around.

  - Adjusting Tablet PC settings
pen responsiveness

  A stylus responds differently to the amount of pressure you apply. When you increase the pen responsiveness, you get a wide range of intermediate values for pressure-sensitive brushes as you press harder on the stylus. For example, brushstrokes get thicker and/or darker gradually as you increase the pen pressure.

  - Stylus responsiveness
pen-down

  The action of placing the tip of the stylus firmly on the tablet and holding it in place for a moment. Doing this in combination with a clutch key creates an action equivalent to a right-click and hotkey of the same value. 1 + pen-down = right-click + 1

PSD

  The file format used by the Adobe® Photoshop® application program.

  - Save your sketch
Shape texture brush

  A texture brush created using the Shape option. It has no defined color associated with the brush, unlike a Shape + Colors texture brush

  - Undo brushstrokes
stamp spacing

  A series of stamps, separated by a stamp spacing value make up each stroke.

  A small stamp spacing value puts stamps close together, producing a dark smooth brushstroke that is potentially less responsive (slower). As the spacing value increases, the stamps spread out, producing a brushstroke that is lighter and not as smooth. A high spacing value produces a responsive brushstroke that appears as a series of dots.

  - Adjust the brush stamp for a Do-It-Yourself brush
stroke

  What is created when you paint or draw in SketchBook.

  Autodesk SketchBook Pro supports a stylus eraser (which you can change by changing the hard eraser), but does not use the stylus barrel button.

  - Undo brushstrokes
stylus

  A writing device used in conjunction with a tablet, also known as a pen.

  Autodesk SketchBook Pro supports a stylus eraser (which you can change by changing the hard eraser), but does not use the stylus barrel button.

  - Set preferences
SV (saturation and value) triangle

  In the Colors window, a triangle in which you can click to adjust the shading and tint of the color.

  - Choose a color
swatch

  In the Color Editor, a rectangular area showing the currently selected color.

  - Choose a color
transparency (of layer, of brush)

  The amount of detail you can see underneath a layer or brushstroke. The opposite of opacity.

  - Change brush properties
  - Create a Do-It-Yourself brush
  - Change the transparency of a layer