Customize Blue Pencil brushes with falloff curves

Use Falloff settings to customize your Blue Pencil stroke

The Blue Pencil tool lets you use falloff curves to create custom settings for the Pencil, Brush and Eraser tools.

To open these settings

Expand the Opacity, Size, and Hardness Curves sections in the Blue Pencil tool settings for the Pencil, Brush, and Eraser tools.

General Curve settings

The Blue Pencil Falloff Curve is similar to the Falloff curve for other Maya Creative tools, although there are some differences:

Hardness Curve: The brush generally starts opaque in the center and becomes softer toward the edges (similar to the Sculpt or Soft select falloff)
Size Curve and Opacity Curve: While the term falloff is used, these settings are driven by stylus pressure rather than distance, with the output usually increasing with pressure, not decreasing.

Note: The falloff curve settings apply only to tablet pens except for the Hardness Curve, which is available with both the Brush and Eraser tools. See Use a Tablet with Blue Pencil.

Curve grid

Click anywhere on the curve to insert curve points. To move points, drag them.

Curve Delete Handles

Click the corresponding Delete Handles under the Falloff Curve grid or Ctrl + click on the point on the curve.

Expand Falloff

Click

next to the Falloff Curve to open a larger Falloff Curve editing window.

To help you distinguish between points that are close together on the curve, the delete handles display in shades of grey. The darker the delete handle, the higher the point on the Y-axis.

Reset Curve

Resets the falloff curve to its default shape.

Save Custom Curve

Saves the current falloff curve to the Custom Curve presets in the Tool Settings.

Interpolation

Controls the way values are calculated in the graph. Select one of the following from the drop-down list:

None: There is no interpolation; each value is a distinct step on the graph.
Linear: The values are interpolated linearly in space.
Smooth: The values are interpolated along a bell curve, so that each value on the graph dominates the region around it, then blends quickly to the next value.
Spline: Similar to Smooth, but Spline takes into account neighboring indices for a smoother effect.

Preset Curve

Select from a range of common presets.

Custom Curve

The site for your custom created curves when using Save Custom Curve.

Pencil tool curve settings

The Pencil tool Curve settings let you work with your tablet's pressure sensitivity to create unique strokes. See General Curve Settings at the beginning of this topic for instructions about using a falloff curve.

Opacity curve: Turn on Enable Tablet Pressure for Opacity in the Blue Pencil Tool Settings to use the Opacity curve to set how the Blue Pencil stroke acts. Instead of a uniform thickness, you can vary the opacity, for example to create a soft start and then increase the intensity of the stroke dramatically.; Note: The Opacity Curve is only offered for the Blue Pencil Brush tool, it is not offered for the Pencil or Eraser.
Size Curve: Turn on Enable Tablet Pressure for Size in the Blue Pencil Tool Settings to use the Size Curve to create a variable size for the Blue Pencil stroke.; Note: The Size Curve is only offered for the Blue Pencil Brush and Pencil tools. It is not offered for the Blue Pencil Eraser.

Brush tool curve settings

The Brush tool Curve settings let you work with your tablet's pressure sensitivity to create unique strokes. See General Curve Settings at the beginning of this topic for instructions about using a falloff curve.

Note: You do not need a pressure sensitive tablet to access the Hardness curve for this tool.

Opacity curve: Use the Opacity curve to set how the Blue Pencil stroke acts. Instead of a uniform thickness, you can vary the opacity, for example to create a soft start and then increase the intensity of the stroke dramatically.; Note: The Opacity Curve is only offered for the Blue Pencil Brush tool, it is not offered for the Pencil or Eraser.
Size Curve: Use the Size Curve to create a variable size for the Blue Pencil stroke.; Note: The Size Curve is only offered for the Blue Pencil Brush and Pencil tools. It is not offered for the Blue Pencil Eraser.
Hardness curve: Hardness curve presets; Use the Hardness curve to create stroke with varying definition: the degree of hardness affects whether your brush is sharp or blurry.; Note: The Hardness curve is only for Blue Pencil Brush and Eraser tools, it is not offered for the Pencil.

Eraser tool curve settings

The Eraser tool Curve settings let you work with your tablet's pressure sensitivity to create unique strokes. See General Curve Settings at the beginning of this topic for instructions about using a falloff curve.