Creating Strokes In Picmonkey: A Beginner's Guide

PicMonkey is a fun and flexible design tool with numerous backgrounds, photo editing options, and professionally designed templates. It offers a range of features, including the ability to add text, overlays, and effects to images. One of its key features is the Draw tool, which allows users to create freehand drawings using various brush types and styles. Basic subscribers can choose from pencil, paintbrush, spray paint, or circle brushes, while Pro and Business subscribers have access to additional Premium brushes. Users can adjust the size, hardness, strength, rotation, and spacing of their brush strokes to create their desired effect. PicMonkey also provides auto-save functionality, enabling users to access and edit their images from anywhere, at any time.

Using the Draw tool

The Draw tool in PicMonkey lets you create freehand drawings using a variety of brush types and styles. To access the Draw tool, open the tool tabs menu on the left and click on the pencil icon.

First, select your drawing brush and the shape of your brush. You can choose from a range of brush options, including Pencil, Paint Brush, Spray Paint, or Circle brushes. The availability of certain brushes will depend on your subscription type. Basic subscribers can access the four brush types mentioned, while Pro and Business subscribers can access additional "Premium" brushes.

Next, adjust the appearance of your stroke using the Size, Hardness, and Strength sliders. You can also use the Rotation slider to change the orientation of non-round brushes and the Spacing slider to create a continuous line of stamps. Choose your desired colour from the colour picker.

When you are finished adjusting your brush settings, you can begin drawing. To draw a straight line, hold down the shift key while you draw. Once you are done, click "Apply".

Note that once you have drawn on the canvas, you cannot adjust the look of the brush stroke, so be sure to make any adjustments before you start drawing. Your drawing will become its own layer, allowing you to treat it like a graphic or overlay, and edit it further by changing its colour or size, applying an image fill, or erasing part of it.

Adjusting the stroke appearance

Yes, you can adjust the stroke appearance in PicMonkey. The stroke appearance can be adjusted using the Draw tool, which is accessible from the left tool tab menu. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to adjust the stroke appearance:

• Open the Draw tool by clicking on the tool tabs menu on the left (the pencil icon).
• Select your desired drawing brush and the shape of the brush. There are various brush options to choose from, including the Pencil, Paint Brush, Spray Paint, and Circle brushes.
• Use the Size, Hardness, and Strength sliders to adjust the stroke appearance to your desired specifications.
• If you are using a non-round brush, you can change its orientation using the Rotation slider.
• To use the brush as a continuous line of stamps, adjust the Spacing slider.
• Choose your preferred colour from the colour picker.
• Once you are happy with your adjustments, start drawing. When you are finished, click "Apply".

It is important to note that you cannot adjust the look of the brush stroke after you have drawn on the canvas. Therefore, make sure to finalise all adjustments before you start drawing.

Additionally, you can create your own editable graphics with the Draw tool. After applying the "Apply" button, your drawing becomes its own layer, allowing you to change its colour, size, or apply an image fill. You can also erase parts of the drawing or use the Paintbrush and Eraser tools to change their shapes.

Furthermore, PicMonkey offers various graphics that you can add to your designs and customise according to your needs. You can change the size, shape, position, orientation, and colour of the graphics. You can also add drop shadows, apply textures, or add image fills to your graphics.

Choosing colours

Choosing the right colours for your image is an important step in the editing process. It can help guide the viewer's eye, create a certain mood, and even evoke strong emotions. Here are some tips for choosing colours when editing an image:

Use Colour to Guide the Viewer

One way to use colour in your images is to create a sense of repetition. This involves including similar colours in the foreground, on your subject, and in the background. This technique helps to guide the viewer's eye through the image and can make them linger longer on certain elements. For example, using pops of red on your subject and in the background will draw the viewer's attention to those areas and create a sense of movement within the frame.

Complementary Colours

Utilising complementary colours is a great way to make your subject pop. Complementary colours are simple hues that are directly opposite each other on the colour wheel. When used together, they make each other more pronounced in the scene. For example, if you know your image will be surrounded by green, dressing your subject in red will create contrast and make them stand out.

Colour Symbolism

Different colours often carry specific meanings and can evoke strong emotional responses. For example, red often symbolises love but can also signify danger. Yellow signifies happiness and youth but can also represent cowardice. Understanding the symbolism of colours can help you make intentional choices about which colours to include in your image to enhance the overall mood and story you are trying to convey.

Skin Undertones

When choosing colours for a portrait, it is important to consider the skin undertones of your subject. There are three main categories: cool, warm, and neutral tones. People with cool skin undertones tend to look best in jewel tones, such as cool blues, lighter pinks, emerald green, and purple. Those with warm skin undertones often suit earthy colours like olive, mustard, and orange. If you have neutral undertones, you may need to experiment a bit to find the right colours, but light pink and other soft colours are often a good place to start.

Seasonal Colours

The season in which your image is set can also influence your colour choices. For example, fall portraits tend to feature warm, earthy tones, while spring and summer photos often lean towards cooler tones and florals. In winter, consider adding a pop of colour to brighten up the cooler light and lack of colour typically associated with that season.

Applying the drawing

Your drawing is now its own layer, meaning you can edit it as a graphic or overlay. You can change the colour, size, or apply an image fill, and even erase part of it. You can also use the Paintbrush or Eraser tools to change the shape of the drawing. For example, you can use a square-shaped eraser to erase parts of a photo, or a star-shaped eraser to "stamp" your image.

All of your images are auto-saved to the Hub, which is PicMonkey's cloud-based mission control centre. This means you can access your images from anywhere and continue editing at another time or location. You can also group your images into collections, both private and shared, to keep your projects organised.

Customising the drawing layer

The Layers palette in PicMonkey gives you more control over your design elements. To use Layers, click the icon of two stacked squares in the bottom toolbar, and the Layers palette will pop up, allowing you to see all the different image and text elements in your creation.

From the Layers panel, you can click to select any text box, graphic, or image in your design and reorder them at will. You can also control which object shows on top by clicking the re-order arrows. The bring-to-front arrow will send the selected layer to the top of the design, while the send-to-back arrow will send it to the bottom. The plain up and down arrows will send the object forward or backward one layer at a time.

You can also group or merge layers together to edit them simultaneously. To manipulate the text layers on your image, click "Text" in the side tabs of the editor and then "Add text" at the top of the menu. Customize your text in the text box that appears over your image.

Now, for the drawing layer. The Draw tool is accessible from the left tool tab menu. It lets you create freehand drawings using a variety of brush types and styles. Basic subscribers can choose from Pencil, Paint Brush, Spray Paint, or Circle brushes, while the rest of the brushes are "Premium" and only accessible to Pro and Business subscribers.

To use the Draw tool, open it from the tool tabs menu on the left (the pencil icon). Select your drawing brush and the shape of the brush. Use the sliders to adjust your stroke appearance, the orientation of non-round brushes, and the spacing of the brush. Choose colors from the color picker, and when finished, click "Apply."

PRO TIP: To draw a straight line, simply hold down Shift while you draw.

Now your drawing is its own layer. You can treat it like a graphic or overlay and change the color, apply an image fill, or erase part of it.

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