Warning, Newbie Aura 2.5 Question

[margarida]

OK, I did warn you.

I've been trying to learn Aura 2.5 with the Desktop Images Tapes but they only cover Aura 2.0. One of the tapes talks about the antialiasing or smoothing tool but I can't seem to find this tool anywhere in Aura 2.5.

Thanks in advance for the help.
Ed

[paulfierlinger]

Beats me. My only guess is that it's the Special Brush with which you can effectively smooth textures from a mild antialiasing to an extreme smear or smudge.
Paul F.

[SBowie]

Or perhaps an airbrush in "Smooth" painting mode?

[paulfierlinger]

Wasn't the now Special Brush once called something like Special Smooth tool? It rings familiar to me but I haven't seen A 2.0 in such a long time ... anyway, no need to apologize for the question. I hope it's not that elitist thread about newbie stupidity that has made you feel this way.

Paul F.

[SBowie]

Originally posted by paulfierlinger
Wasn't the now Special Brush once called something like Special Smooth tool? It rings familiar to me but I haven't seen A 2.0 in such a long time ... Paul F. I really can't remember either, Paul. Seems to me the smooth painting mode goes back to v.1, but it's pretty hazy. I don't really use the Special Brush modes, though I'm sure there are some applications.
Originally posted by paulfierlinger
anyway, no need to apologize for the question. I hope it's not that elitist thread about newbie stupidity that has made you feel this way.Paul F. Wow, what thread is that? I looked to make sure nothing I had written might have inadvertently contributed to such an impression (it's so easy to mistake tone in e-mails) but couldn't find the thread. Not too many elitists hanging around NewTek products -- this is the home base of the Rebel Alliance. 'The Empire' can be found at elsewhere (starts with a big "A") ;)

[paulfierlinger]

It's called Newbie and Advanced Forums in General Support. The name sort of says it all.
Paul F.

[SBowie]

I must be getting senile - I still can't find it, and I checked all pages in Aura (and VT) General Support twice. Maybe someone deleted it (or I'm just getting dumber faster than I thought). I even searched for the name, to no avail. Oh well, maybe better it's gone.

[margarida]

Thank you all for the quick response.

In the tape, the smoothing is acutally a "mode" you can turn on or off. It was demonstrated by using the oil brush with it's hardness turned all the way up and there was a substaintial difference in the edges. I tried duplicating it with version 2.5 but couldn't get rid of the jagged edges. I'm going to call Newtek and see what they have to say about it.

Oh, and it wasn't the thread mentioned that made me cautious about posting, I just hate to ask what I think is a simple question that should be covered in the manual.

Thanks Again;
Ed

[paulfierlinger]

Have you tried Gaussian Blur under filters?
Paul F.

[margarida]

I haven't tried that yet. Can it blur just the edges or does it blur the entire image?

[paulfierlinger]

The entire image, but I deal with line drawings, mostly. Is your image a filled in line drawing and you want to AA just the outside? Any AA gadget is going to blur the entire picture, isn't it?
PF

[SBowie]

Originally posted by margarida

In the tape, the smoothing is acutally a "mode" you can turn on or off. It was demonstrated by using the oil brush with it's hardness turned all the way up and there was a substaintial difference in the edges. I tried duplicating it with version 2.5 but couldn't get rid of the jagged edges. I'm going to call Newtek and see what they have to say about it. I can't think what tool the tape may be showing, but you could check with Don Ballance - he ought to know, since he did those tapes. You can contact Don through the forum at www.toasterdudes.com.

Originally posted by margarida
I haven't tried that yet. Can it blur just the edges or does it blur the entire image? There are several ways to blur just the edges. For example, try this:

Draw some lines or objects in an empty layer. Click on the Stencil and Invert buttons in the Stencil column of the layers panel, and apply Gaussian Blur. The stencil will limit the blur to the edges of the drawing. This may not produce as fine a result as you are hoping for, but can be useful at times. Again, painting with a small airbrush in Smooth mode can also be useful.