paint.net

documentation

Revision Date: 15 January 2023

Artistic Effects

This sub-menu contains effects that mimic traditional artistic drawing mediums such as ink, pencil and oil.

Artistic Effects
Artistic Effects

Note

The examples on this page show the effects being applied to an entire image. It is easy to restrict the adjustment to a sub-section of the image simply by making a selection.  If a selection is active when the effect is run, it will only be applied to the selected region. Areas outside of the active selection will remain unchanged.

Tip

The controls shown in the effect dialogs operate in much the same way; drag the slider left or right, type in a numeric value in the text box or use the up/down arrows beside the text box to change the current value.  The keyboard arrow keys can also be used to alter the value of a control once it has the focus.
Multiple controls can be used in isolation or combination. If more than one is altered, the cumulative effect will be shown.

Effects Artistic Ink Sketch icon Ink Sketch

This effect makes an image appear as if it was inked using a pen.

The Ink Outline control affects the weight or strength of the edging. Larger values result in a thicker/heavier line, while smaller values result in a thinner/lighter line.

The Coloring control determines how much color bleeds through into the resulting image. Low values yield a more desaturated image with less color. Higher values will use more of the original coloring.

Example - Effects > Artistic > Ink Sketch

Effects > Artistic > Ink Sketch

Effects Artistic Oil Painting icon Oil Painting

This effect is used to transform an image as though it was painted with oil paint.

Brush size affects the apparent size of the virtual brush tip. Larger values result in a coarser appearance as if a larger brush had been used.  Smaller values give more delicate results as if a finer brush had been employed.

Coarseness determines how much detail is captured in the transformation. Low values yield less detail, while higher values provide a higher quantity of smaller details.  Another way of thinking about Coarseness is the amount of time the painter had to paint the image. If more time was available the artist would be able to include more smaller details.

Example - Effects > Artistic > Oil Painting

Effects > Artistic > Oil Painting

Effects Artistic Pencil Sketch icon Pencil Sketch

This effect transforms an image to appear as though it were sketched with a pencil.

Pencil tip size determines how sharp or blunt the virtual pencil is. Larger values result in a thicker, heavier appearance to the lines.  Smaller values give more delicate results as if a sharper, finer pencil been employed.

Range dictates how much detail is captured in the sketch.  Like the Coarseness value in the Oil Painting effect, low values yield less detail, while higher values reveal smaller details.

Example - Effects > Artistic > Pencil Sketch

Effects > Artistic > Pencil Sketch