!BrushMake is a simple programme that creates circular brush
sprites with "softened" edges, for use with the new version of
!Paint in Select 3.  It uses the new alpha channel functionality
of Select 3 to achieve this.

Normal brushes leave hard, pixelated edges on the canvas, when
used.  Using an alpha channel, the edges of the brush can be
"softened" (i.e. made semi-translucent), so that they mingle with
the existing colour of the canvas, thus giving an effect similar
to anti-aliasing of fonts.  The entire brush can be made
semi-translucent, so that it applies a tint to the canvas, rather
than a solid colour (this works well as a replacement for the
random-pixel spraycan tool).

Creating such brushes with alpha channels is possible in !Paint,
but it's inconvenient and annoying work to do it over and over,
while trying out the best approach.  !BrushMake is there to
automate this task, by creating a sprite with an alpha channel
that is calculated according to three values, which can be
adjusted via sliders.  These values are the radius of the brush
itself, the width of the "softened" edge, and the overall opacity
of the brush.  The result is displayed immediately in !BrushMake's
window, along with a grayscale representation of the alpha
channel.

When satisfied, the brush sprite can be saved and loaded into
!Paint, where it can be used for painting.

At the moment, the application is still somewhat raw and
unpolished, but it does work.  If you try it, please let me know
if it was useful to you and what can be improved.


Sebastian
root@bast-enterprises.de
