Brush Help: Difference between Opacity and Flow? + Airbrush

S
Posted By
suzzie12
Feb 23, 2008
Views
219
Replies
1
Status
Closed
have CS3 Ext on Windows.

With standard brushes…what is the difference between the Opacity and Flow options? When I paint with low opacity or low flow…it all looks the same to me.

Is there one case where flow works..like maybe only with airbrushes maybe?

When should I choose flow… or opacity…for retouching portraits. I use 30% opacity a lot of times to help me be subtle and hide my brush marks.

Im also thinking that airbrushes act like spray can paint…they accumulate and build up and maybe even run…so I dont use airbrush often in retouching…does this sound correct?

Thanks for your help.

Suzie

Master Retouching Hair

Learn how to rescue details, remove flyaways, add volume, and enhance the definition of hair in any photo. We break down every tool and technique in Photoshop to get picture-perfect hair, every time.

RK
Rob_Keijzer
Feb 23, 2008
Suzie,

Flow is the amount of "paint" per stroke, up to full opacity.

Opacity lets you set a limit. No matter what you do, if Opacity is 50%, the density after a number of strokes will never get beyond 50%.

Rob

How to Master Sharpening in Photoshop

Give your photos a professional finish with sharpening in Photoshop. Learn to enhance details, create contrast, and prepare your images for print, web, and social media.

Related Discussion Topics

Nice and short text about related topics in discussion sections