Tool manual

How to use the Brush tool

The Brush tool paints with the foreground colour. It is also how you paint on layer masks to hide and show parts of a layer.

Where to find it

It is in the toolbar, in one slot with Pencil and Mixer Brush. Right-click the slot, or press and hold it, to choose between them. Press B to pick it, and Shift+B to step through the other tools on that key.

How to use it

1. Choose the tool. Press B, or click the brush in the toolbar.
2. Pick a colour. Click the foreground swatch at the bottom of the toolbar, or Alt-click (Option-click on a Mac) the picture to pick a colour from it.
3. Set the brush. Choose a tip from the brush preview at the start of the options bar, then set Size and Hardness.
4. Paint. Drag on the canvas. Shift-click to draw a straight line from where the last stroke ended.

Options bar settings

• Size and Hardness: The diameter in pixels, and how sharp the edge is (0% very soft, 100% crisp).
• Opacity and Flow: Opacity caps how strong one stroke can get. Flow is how much paint each dab lays down, so low flow builds up as you go over an area.
• Symmetry: Repeats your stroke across a Vertical or Horizontal line, both, or around the centre in Radial or Mandala patterns with a set number of Segments.
• Pressure size: With a pen tablet, pressing harder makes the brush bigger.
• Smoothing: Takes the shake out of hand-drawn lines; the brush trails the pointer a little.

Tips and common mistakes

• To edit a mask, click the mask thumbnail in the Layers panel first, then paint black to hide and white to show.
• If nothing appears, check the layer is not locked or hidden, and that a selection is not limiting where paint can go.

Related

• How to use the Pencil tool
• How to use the Eraser tool
• How to use the Mixer Brush tool

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Checked 13 November 2026 in the current editor.

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