Drawing Selections

Use selections in layer-based Paint to limit the affected area of your paint strokes. Additionally you can select objects to change the object properties such as colour and opacity.

Making Selections

Make a selection to define the objects or area of the selected layer that you want to affect.

To make a selection:

1. Click Add Shape.
2. Enable the Selection button to turn on the selection mode.

   The blue enabled LED is displayed. If the blue LED is not displayed, click the Selection button again until it is.

3. From the Shape box, select a shape for the selection.
   Note: Use the Bezier option to draw an irregular shape.
4. The way in which you draw your shape depends on the shape that you are drawing.

   For a:	Do the following:
   Rectangle	Click the canvas and drag until you reach your desired selection. Click again to complete the selection.
   Square	Use the Rectangle tool. Hold Shift and click to make the lower left anchor point of the square. Drag until you reach your desired selection. Click again to complete the selection.
   Ellipse	Click the canvas and drag until you reach your desired selection. Click again to complete the selection.
   Circle	Use the Ellipse tool. Hold Shift and click to determine the centre of the circle. Drag until you reach your desired selection. Click again to complete the selection.
   Triangle	Click the canvas to make your first point. Drag and click the canvas a second time to complete the first side of the triangle. Drag and click once more to make the final corner of the selection.
   Bezier	Click to make your starting point. Drag and click to draw subsequent points. Double-click the last point to complete the selection.

   Tip: You can hide the borders and axes of selections by clicking Hide Icons.
5. Optional: You can temporarily turn off your selection by clicking Selection a second time.

   The Selection button LED turns yellow.

Selection LEDs

The following table summarizes the meaning of the coloured LEDs on the Selection button.

LED Colour:	Meaning:
Blue	The Selection tool is on. You can use the Add Shape tool to make a selection. Any existing selections are active.
Yellow	The Selection tool is temporarily off. Any existing selections are temporarily inactive.
None	The Selection tool is not in use.

Painting with Selection Masks

Use selection masks in layer-based Paint to paint shapes or to isolate a selection of the front or matte clip that you want to paint.

To paint inside or outside a selection mask:

1. With your selection mask enabled, select Paint from the Paint Tools box.
2. Optional: Enable Invert to paint outside of the selection mask.
3. Paint a stroke.

   The stroke is only applied in the selection mask (or outside the selection mask if Invert is selected).