MyBrushes is a professional-grade digital painting and screen recording software designed specifically for macOS. It is renowned for its extremely low latency, realistic brush engine, and powerful screen recording capabilities. It is not only suitable for digital artists for creative drawing, but also for educators and presenters to record the drawing process.
1. Detailed Explanation of the Core Interface and Workspace
After launching MyBrushes, you will see a clean and focused workspace interface, mainly divided into the following areas:
- Menu Bar: Located at the top of the screen, it contains all advanced function options such as File, Edit, View, Brush, and Help.
- Toolbar: Usually located at the top or left side of the window, it gathers the most commonly used tool icons, such as brush, eraser, fill bucket, color picker, undo/redo, etc.
- Canvas Workspace: The large blank area in the center is the main area for your drawing and creation. It supports gesture zoom (two-finger pinch) and panning.
- Brush Properties Panel: Usually located on the right side or can be brought up via the Window menu. Here you can finely adjust dozens of parameters for the currently selected brush, such as size, opacity, flow, hardness, texture, shape dynamics, etc.
- Color Panel: Provides multiple color selection modes, such as color wheel, swatches, HSB sliders, etc., for quickly selecting foreground and background colors.
II. Complete Workflow: From Creation to Export
Step 1: Create or Open a Project
Method 1: Create a New Project
- After launching the software, click the menu bar
File>New.... - Or use the shortcut
Command + N. - In the dialog that appears, set the canvas size (width, height, resolution), background color (white, transparent, or custom color), then click “OK”.
Method 2: Open an Existing Project
- Click the menu bar
File>Open.... - Or use the shortcut
Command + O. - In the file browser, select a supported image format (such as .myb, .png, .jpg, etc.) and open it.
Step 2: Configure the Brush and Start Drawing
- Click the Brush Tool icon in the toolbar, or press the shortcut
Bto activate it. - In the Brush Properties Panel on the right, select a basic brush from the preset list (such as Pencil, Watercolor, Oil Paint).
- Adjust the sliders below, such as Size and Opacity, to suit your needs.
- In the Color Panel, click to select the foreground color you want.
- Move the cursor to the canvas to start drawing freely. During drawing, you can switch brushes or adjust parameters at any time.
Step 3: Use Layers for Complex Creations
- Click the
+icon below the Layers Panel, or use the shortcutCommand + Shift + Nto create a new layer. - Draw sketches or apply color on the new layer without affecting the content of the layers below.
- In the Layers Panel, drag layers up and down to adjust the stacking order.
- Double-click the layer name to rename it for easier management.
- By adjusting the Opacity and Blend Mode dropdown menus at the top of the Layers Panel, you can create rich visual effects.
Step 4: Enable and Configure Screen Recording (Optional)
- Click the menu bar
Record>Start Recording, or use the shortcutCommand + R. - On first use, a settings window will pop up. You can choose to record the full screen, a specific window, or a custom area, and set the frame rate, whether to record the cursor/pen pressure, audio source, etc.
- After setup is complete, click “Start Recording” and the floating control bar will appear. At this point, all your actions on the canvas will be recorded.
- During recording, you can click the pause button on the control bar to pause temporarily, or click the stop button to end the recording.
Step 5: Save and Export the Final Work
Save the project file (preserving all layers and editing information):
- Click the menu bar
File>SaveorSave As.... - Or use the shortcuts
Command + S(Save) orCommand + Shift + S(Save As). - Choose a save location. For the format, it is recommended to select the software’s native format
.mybso you can perform lossless editing in the future.
Export as a universal image or video file:
- Click the menu bar
File>Export.... - In the export dialog, select the target format: such as PNG (supports transparent background), JPEG, TIFF, etc.
- Set options such as image quality and resolution, then click “Export”.
- If you recorded the drawing process, you can find the video file in the menu bar
Record>View Recordings. It is usually saved in .mov or .mp4 format and can be shared directly or used for post-production editing.
III. Advanced Tips for Common Features
- Custom Brush Library: After adjusting the parameters in the Brush Properties panel, click the “+” button at the bottom of the panel to save your current settings as a custom brush for quick one-click access later.
- Quick Color Picker: While the Brush tool is active, hold down the
Controlkey (or according to your preference settings), and the cursor will temporarily change to an eyedropper tool. Click any color on the canvas to set it as the foreground color. - Canvas Navigation: When the canvas is zoomed in, hold down the
Spacebar, and the cursor will change to a hand tool. Drag the mouse to quickly pan the view. - Symmetry Drawing: Enable symmetry mode via the menu bar under
View>Show Symmetry Line. You can set vertical, horizontal, or radial symmetry, which is great for drawing patterns, faces, and more. - Pressure and Tilt Support: If you use a graphics tablet, make sure to enable pressure sensitivity in both your system preferences and MyBrushes’ brush properties to achieve the most natural stroke variation (size, opacity, flow, etc.).
IV. Common Issues and Solutions
| Symptom | Possible Cause | Solution |
|---|---|---|
| Brush lag or stuttering | 1. Canvas size or resolution is set too high. 2. Insufficient system memory. 3. Brush complexity is too high. |
1. Appropriately reduce the resolution or size of the new canvas. 2. Close unnecessary applications to free up memory. 3. Try using simpler brush presets, or reduce advanced parameters such as brush texture and shape dynamics. |
| Graphics tablet pressure not working | 1. Driver not installed correctly or conflicting. 2. Pressure control not enabled in the software’s brush settings. |
1. Visit the graphics tablet manufacturer’s official website to download and install the latest macOS driver, then restart your computer. 2. In the Brush Properties panel, check whether there is a “Pressure” icon to the right of parameters such as “Size” and “Opacity.” Click it and make sure it is activated (highlighted). |
| Unable to save as PNG with a transparent background | The canvas background is not transparent, or the correct option was not selected during export. | 1. When creating a new canvas, select “Transparent Background.” 2. For existing projects, make sure the background layer is hidden or transparent. 3. When exporting, select the PNG format and confirm that the “Transparency” option is checked. |
| No audio in recorded video | No audio input source enabled in the recording settings. | Before starting the recording, go to the “Audio” section of the recording settings window, select the correct microphone or other audio input device, and adjust the input volume. |
| Want to restore multiple steps after a mistake | The default undo steps are limited. | Go to the menu bar under MyBrushes > Preferences, and increase the “Undo limit” in the “General” tab. However, please note that increasing the number of steps will use more memory. |
V. Shortcut Key Summary (Mac Version)
| Function | Shortcut | Description |
|---|---|---|
| New File | Command + N |
Create a new canvas |
| Open File | Command + O |
Open an existing image or project |
| Save File | Command + S |
Save the current project |
| Save As | Command + Shift + S |
Save the project as a new file |
| Undo | Command + Z |
Undo the previous action |
| Redo | Command + Shift + Z |
Redo the undone action |
| Cut | Command + X |
Cut the selected area |
| Copy | Command + C |
Copy the selected area |
| Paste | Command + V |
Paste clipboard contents |
| Select All | Command + A |
Select the entire canvas |
| Brush Tool | B |
Switch to the brush tool |
| Eraser Tool | E |
Switch to the eraser tool |
| Fill Tool | G |
Switch to the paint bucket fill tool |
| New Layer | Command + Shift + N |
Create a new layer in the Layers panel |
| Merge Visible Layers | Command + Shift + E |
Merge all visible layers |
| Start/Stop Recording | Command + R |
Control the start and stop of screen recording |
| Zoom In Canvas | Command + + |
Zoom in the view |
| Zoom Out Canvas | Command + - |
Zoom out the view |
| Actual Size | Command + 0 |
Display the canvas at 100% scale |
| Fit to Window | Command + 1 |
Scale the canvas to fit the current window |
| Toggle Full Screen Mode | Control + Command + F |
Enter or exit full screen workspace |
Tip: The shortcuts above are the common default settings in MyBrushes; some shortcuts may vary slightly depending on the software version or user-defined settings. You can view the corresponding shortcut to the right of each command in the menu bar, or customize them in Preferences.
