Stroke pane controls in Motion

The Stroke pane becomes available when the Brush Type pop-up menu in the Shape Inspector’s Style pane is set to Airbrush or Image. The Stroke pane contains adjustable parameters specific to the paint stroke and brush, such as opacity, width, brush size, and so on.

Stroke controls

Stroke Color Mode: A pop-up menu that specifies how color is applied to the stroke over its length. There are three options:
- Use Brush Color: Uses the color of the brush as defined by the Brush Color parameter in the Style pane. The stroke is a solid color over its length.
- Color Over Stroke: Dabs are tinted based on their position over the length of the paint stroke.
- Pick From Color Range: Dabs are tinted at random, with the range of possible colors defined by a gradient editor. A point on the gradient is randomly chosen, so the relative sizes of each color region determine the frequency of the color being used.
Opacity Over Stroke: An opacity gradient editor (available when Stroke Color Mode is set to Use Brush Color) to change the opacity of dabs based on their location on the stroke. This gradient control is limited to grayscale values, which are used to represent varying levels of transparency. White represents solid dabs, progressively darker levels of gray represent decreasing opacity, and black represents complete transparency. A simple white-to-black gradient represents a stroke that is solid at its start, but fades out gradually over its length until finally vanishing at the end. For information on using gradient editors, see Gradient editor controls.
Color Over Stroke: A gradient editor (available when Stroke Color Mode is set to Color Over Stroke) to define the range of color in the stroke, beginning with the leftmost color in the gradient, and progressing through the range of colors until reaching the rightmost color at the end of the stroke. Gradual color changes do not appear in each dab, but only across the stroke as a whole. An opacity bar appears at the top of the gradient editor. For information on using gradient editors, see Gradient editor controls.
Color Range: A gradient editor (available when Stroke Color Mode is set to Pick From Color Range) to define a range of colors to randomly tint the stroke’s paint dabs. The direction of the gradient colors is not relevant (because this control merely defines the colors to be used in the random tinting). The Color Range parameter has the same controls as the Color Over Stroke parameter. For information on using gradient editors, see Gradient editor controls.
Color Repetitions: A slider (available when the Stroke Color Mode is set to choose Color Over Stroke) that increases the number of times the gradient is repeated over the stroke.
Spacing Over Stroke: A mini-curve editor that lets you customize the spacing of the dabs over the length of the stroke. You can create a curve that gradually increases the dabs’ spacing over the length of the stroke, create a curve that varies the dabs’ spacing over the length of the stroke, and so on.
In the following images, the default Spacing Over Stroke value of 100% in the mini-curve editor creates an even distribution of the dabs—based on the value set in the Spacing parameter in the Style pane. For more information on using the mini-curve editor, see Use the mini-curve editor.
In the following images, the Spacing Over Stroke curve in the mini-curve editor is adjusted to use a greater value at the start of the stroke, and 100% at the end of the stroke. The dabs at the beginning of the stroke are spaced more widely apart and get closer at the end of the stroke.
Two additional controls in the mini-curve editor let you fine-tune the values of selected points in the curve:
- Spacing Over Stroke: A slider that adjusts the spacing between dabs at the selected keyframe. Increasing this parameter increases the spacing between each dab in the stroke.
- Stroke Length: A slider that determines where along the range of the dabs within the stroke the Spacing Over Stroke value (for the selected keyframe) is applied.
Fixed Brush Dabs: A checkbox that, when selected, keeps the number and spacing of the dabs constant regardless of the changes in the stroke’s shape over time caused by behaviors or keyframe animation. The effect of this parameter is not visible when editing a paint stroke on a single frame.
Anchor Dabs To: A pop-up menu (available when the Fixed Brush Dabs checkbox is deselected) that defines how dabs are added to or removed from a paint stroke when the length of the paint stroke is modified. There are two options:
- Start: Adds dabs to or removes dabs from the start point of a paint stroke when the length of the paint stroke is modified. The first dab on the stroke remains fixed.
- Start and End: Adds dabs to or removes dabs from the start and end points of a paint stroke when the length of the paint stroke is modified. The first and last dabs on the stroke remain fixed.
  Note: Changing a shape’s control points or adjusting the Width or Spacing parameters (in the Style pane) or Spacing Over Stroke and Width Over Stroke parameters (in the Stroke pane) affects the dab spacing because larger dabs can be spaced further apart.
Width Over Stroke: A mini-curve editor that lets you customize the width of the dabs over the length of the stroke. You can create a curve that gradually increases the dabs’ width over the length of the stroke, create a curve that varies the dabs’ width over the length of the stroke, and so on. The start value for the dab width is based on the value set in the Width parameter in the Style pane. For more information on using the mini-curve editor, see Use the mini-curve editor.
Two additional controls in the mini-curve editor let you fine-tune the values of selected points in the curve:
- Width Over Stroke: A slider that adjusts the width of the dab at the selected keyframe.
- Stroke Length: A slider that determines where along the range of the dabs within the stroke the Width Over Stroke value (for the selected keyframe) is applied.
You can also adjust the Width Over Stroke parameter for a selected paint stroke in the canvas. See Adjust stroke width in the Motion canvas.
Brush Scale: A slider that adjusts the size of the brush (the source of the dabs). Click the disclosure triangle to adjust the X and Y scale values independently. By default, Scale is set to 100%—the size of the dabs is equal to the size of the source brush. Unlike the width parameter in the Style pane, brush scale adjustments affect only the size of the dabs and don’t preserve the spacing between dabs.
Brush Scale Randomness: A slider that defines an amount of variance in the scale of the stroke’s brush. A value of 0 results in no variance—all dabs in the stroke are the same size. A value greater than 0 introduces a variance. The scale for an individual dab is defined by the Scale parameter, plus or minus a random value falling within the Brush Scale, Width Over Stroke, and Width (in the Style pane) parameters. Click the disclosure triangle to adjust the X and Y values independently.
Align Brush Angle: A checkbox that, when selected, causes the stroke dabs to rotate to match the shape on which they are positioned.
Brush Angle: A dial that specifies (in degrees) the rotation of the stroke dabs. Using the default dial or value slider modifies the Z angle. When the Local 3D checkbox (described below) is selected, additional Brush Angle Randomness controls become available. Click the disclosure triangle to expose X, Y, and Z rotation dials and the Animate pop-up menu.
- Animate: A pop-up menu (available when the Local 3D checkbox—described below—is selected) that lets you change the interpolation for animated 3D rotation channels. Click the Brush Angle disclosure triangle to display the Animate parameter. There are two menu options:
  - Use Rotation: Dabs rotate from their start rotation to their final rotation. Depending on the animation, the elements may rotate multiple times before reaching their final orientation (the last keyframed value). For example, if the X, Y, and Z angle parameters are animated from 0 degrees to 180 degrees in a project, the elements rotate on all axes before reaching their final orientation.
  - Use Orientation: Dabs rotate more smoothly and without multiple rotations. This option interpolates between the dabs’ start orientation (first keyframe) and their end orientation (second keyframe).
Angle Over Stroke: A mini-curve editor that lets you customize the Z rotation (in degrees) of the dabs over the length of the stroke. You can create a curve that gradually increases the dabs’ angle over the length of the stroke, a curve that varies the dabs’ angle over the length of the stroke, and so on. For more information on using the mini-curve editor, see Use the mini-curve editor.
Two additional controls in the mini-curve editor let you fine-tune the values of selected points in the curve:
- Angle Over Stroke:

Motion User Guide

Stroke pane controls in Motion

Stroke controls