Darkly Docs

Brush Nodes

The signal blocks a brush graph is built from: inputs, math, shapes, and the terminals that put pigment down.

NameCategoryDescription
Paint ColorcolorThe color currently selected in the toolbar.
Brush SettingsinputOverall brush settings that apply to the whole stroke: size, stabilization, and dab spacing.
Pen InputinputLive data from the stylus: pressure, tilt, velocity, and position along the stroke.
RandominputA new random value for every brush mark, useful for jittering size, color, angle, etc.
User InputinputA dial the painter turns from the brush bar. Wire it into as many inputs as you like and they all follow it.
AddmathAdds two values; use it to offset one signal by another, e.g. lift pressure by a constant floor.
DividemathDivides one value by another: use it to normalize one signal against another, e.g. scale pressure down where a texture is bright. Dividing by zero yields zero.
MultiplymathMultiplies two values: use it to scale one signal by another, e.g. fade pressure by texture.
Split ColormathBreaks a color into its red, green, blue, and opacity channels for separate processing.
SubtractmathSubtracts one value from another: use it to attenuate one signal by another, e.g. reduce pressure where a texture is bright.
SwitchmathToggle that picks one of two inputs. Wire one side only and it acts as an on/off switch for that branch.
CurvemodulateReshapes a value through an editable response curve (e.g. make pressure ramp up sharply or ease in).
InvertmodulateFlips a value end for end: 0 becomes 1 and 1 becomes 0. Put it on the wires from one dial that should read backwards for some sinks but not others.
LevelsmodulateAdjusts a value’s low end, high end, and midpoint, much like the image-editing Levels filter.
BluroutputOutput that softens existing canvas pixels under the stroke by averaging a neighborhood, compounding where the brush dwells.
LiquifyoutputOutput that pushes existing canvas pixels around in the direction of the stroke, like a warp brush.
PaintoutputOutput that deposits a brush mark onto the canvas. Plug a Stamp Tip (or any colored mark) into the dab input: this is where paint actually lands.
SmudgeoutputOutput that drags existing canvas pixels along the stroke, like smearing wet paint with a finger.
WatercoloroutputOutput for wet-on-wet watercolor: pigment bleeds, pools, and darkens at the edges.
CircleshapeProcedural brush-tip silhouette: disc, bumpy circle, or superformula.
PolygonshapeProcedural brush-tip silhouette: a rounded regular polygon (SDF-based).
Stamp TipshapeCombines a tip shape with a color to form a colored brush mark. Feed this into a Paint output to deposit it on the canvas.
Clone SourcetextureSamples pixels from a set source point onto the canvas under your cursor. Set the source with the clone set-source gesture, then paint. Feed into a Stamp Tip’s color input.
ImagetextureUses a picture from the brush bundle as the brush tip shape.
NoisetextureProcedural noise sampled where the brush touches the canvas, for grain, jitter, and texture.

All 25 brush nodes in Darkly v0.9.0-0-g5cc6474f.