The Studio Artist 4 paint synthesizer contains all of the features available in previous versions of Studio Artist plus many additional editable options. However, the mechanics of editing the version 4 paint synthesizer is somewhat different than in previous versions of Studio Artist. This tip will discuss how to work with the new version 4 Editor palette.
Hard coded control panels are no longer used in Studio Artist 4. Instead one generic Editor palette is used to edit user adjustable parameters for all operation modes. The contents of the generic editor palette change based on which operation mode a user is currently working in. How individual editable parameters are displayed and interacted with in the Editor palette is also user configurable via preference settings.
The screen snap at the top of this tip shows the Editor palette displaying the Paint Fill Setup control panel of the paint synthesizer. The popup control at the top of the editor allows you to switch between different control panels associated with the current operation mode. When you switch to a different control panel the contents of the editor will change accordingly.
As mentioned previously, the editor works with all of the different Studio Artist operation modes. So if the operation mode was changed from paint synthesizer classic to image operation then the popup at the top of the editor would change to allow selection of the different control panels available in image operations, and the editable parameters displayed in the editor would change to reflect those available in the current image operation effect.
Group Box Display Mode
The Editor Display Mode preference can be configured to display editable parameters as a list or group box. The group box option is the one shown in the 2 editor snapshots at the top of this tip. Group box display mode allows for live parameter editing with a single click . List mode, which is another editor display mode preference, displays the parameters in a list and requires 2 clicks to first select and then edit an parameter in the list.
Individual editable parameters are displayed one by one vertically in the editor with either display mode preference. The name of the parameter is displayed on the left and a popup or edit field for the associated parameter is displayed at the right.
The group box edit fields include a slider control at the bottom of the edit field and an up down button at the right of the edit field. You can use the slider to quickly make adjustments across the range of potential values for a parameter. Or you can use the ip down buttons to single step increase or decrease a parameter value. You can also select and then type in a specific parameter value for an edit field.
You can use tab or shift tab key presse to move the current selection in either direction in the editor. Arrow can also be used to adjust individual selected parameters.
List Display Mode
The list editor display mode preference option provides a somewhat more compact editing display as shown above for the pen mode control panel of the pain synthesizer. In list mode you first click an individual parameter to select it. You can then adjust 0r edit the selected parameter.
The spacer between the property and value fields of the list mode header can be adjusted horizontally. The horizontal placement of the group box controls is not user adjustable.
Depending on your personal style of working you may prefer the list or group box editor display mode. Typically you will initially set the editor display mode preference to the style of editing you prefer and then never touch it again. If you do change the editor display mode preference, the change you make will not become active until the next time you start up Studio Artist.
Although there are currently only 2 display mode preference options for the Editor, this may change in the future. One of the nice features of moving to a generic parameter editor as opposed to hard coded individual control panels is that it’s easy to add additional functionality in the future.
