Tools Palette

The Tools Palette has 3 sections.  On the left are icons of the tools that you can use to manipulate your image.  On the upper right are the settings for the tool that you are currently selecting.  Towards the bottom of the palette is a list of the layers and options for manipulating them.

Tools for Moving Around

Move (Shortcut 'v')

You can use the move tool to click on a layer and rearrange the order of your layers. You can also use it to click on graphics in a shape layer, change the bounds of an image, or move the image. This is your go-to tool to start moving things around in Acorn.

Panning / Hand Tool (Shortcut 'h' or hold down 'space')

If you are zoomed in on your image or it is too big for you to see the entire thing on your monitor, use this tool to move your view around. Try out the shortcut of holding down the space bar.  Once you get used to it, you will use this tool all the time.

Zoom (Shortcut 'z')

The Zoom tool is used for magnifying your image so you can see those pixels up close and personal.  It can also be used for zooming out. To zoom in with the tool, simply click, or to be more specific, drag a box around the area you want to end up on. To zoom out, hold down the option key and click. Once you start getting familiar with this action, you can also use the hot key (⌘ +) to zoom in and (⌘ -) to zoom out.

Crop (Shortcut 'c') 

The Crop tool is for cropping your image down to a smaller size.  Use it to define the area of your image you would like to keep. You will notice as you drag it around that there are lines dividing the new image up. These lines are helpful when choosing how to crop an image.  Please read up on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_thirds for more information.  If you make a mistake, place your mouse near one of the borders of the crop area and drag it out to change it.

When you are happy with the area you have selected press return to accept, or esc to cancel.

Tools for Performing Selections

Rect, Oval, Free, and Polygon Select Tools (Shortcut 'm')

These tools will allow you to make various types of selections in your image.  Use the rectangular selection tool to make a straight rectangular selection, the oval tool to make a round selection, or the freehand tools to make a selection that goes wherever you want.  If you have a selection and would like to select another area as well, hold down the shift key while using one of the selection tools and the new area will be added to the existing area.  Similarly if you selected something you don't want, you can hold down the option key while using one of the tools and the new area will be subtracted from the existing selection.  If that sounds confusing, give it a try and see what happens. 

Magic Wand (Shortcut 'w')

The Magic Wand tool works by selecting a single pixel, and then expanding that selection out to neighboring pixels that are the same color.  You can adjust the tolerance so that there is a little bit more freedom in determining if a neighboring pixel should be selected or not.  This is helpful for selecting all the white in the background and deleting it quickly.  Play around with tolerance and feathering to improve the result.  The tolerance of the wand can be adjusted in the tools palette, or by clicking on the desired color in your image while simultaneously dragging outwards or inwards.  

 

Brush and Pencil (Shortcut 'b')

This is your most basic tool for getting new pixels down on the canvas.  You can adjust the size of the brush and opacity for different results.  Holding down the shift key will let you draw in only straight lines.

 

Eraser and Instant Alpha (Shortcut 'e')

The eraser and instant alpha are good for removing pixels from a bitmap image.  If there is a layer underneath it, it will be exposed.  For more on how layers work read the layers page. You can also hold down the shift key to erase in straight lines.  Instant alpha is an erasing tool that has similar qualities to the magic wand selection tool.  Click on the color you want erased and simultaneously drag outwards to increase the erasing tolerance, or inwards to decrease.  

Flood Fill (Shortcut 'k')

The flood fill tool works similarly to the magic wand, but instead of selecting the area the flood tool replaces that color with the foreground color.  The tolerance setting lets you adjust the thoroughness of the fill.  Try experimenting!

Gradient (Shortcut 'g')

Use the Gradient tool to fill in your image, shape, or selected area with a gradual gradient. The linear gradient tool will produce an even color from the point you click to the place where you release your click, while the radial tool will produce a circular gradient expanding from where you initially clicked on the canvas to where you release your click.

Text (Shortcut 't')

The text tool allows you to put text onto an image.  Selecting the tool and clicking once on your image will allow you to start typing. Once you are done hit the enter key, or change to the move tool to solidify the text that you have written. Using the text tool will add the text on top of the image as a new layer.  By using the move tool you can move the text around and align it however you want. 

If you are looking for more options with the text, go to the menu Window ▸ Fonts to pull up the font palette.

Shapes (Shortcut 'p', 'r', 'o', ';')

Shapes include Bezier, rectangle, ellipse, and line. Simple shapes can be added to your image using the Shape tool. They can also be edited later on by using the Move tool to select, move, and adjust the bounds using the handles.

Colors

The two color wells represent what you have currently set as your primary color (top left) and secondary color (bottom right).  Clicking on the arrows on the top right allow you to quickly switch the color positions.  If your colors aren't currently set to black and white, you can re-set them by clicking the square box on the bottom left.  The eye dropper on the bottom right allows you to click on any color in your image, and it will then show up as your primary color in the color well.    

Quick Mask (Shortcut 'q')

The quick mask mode button can be found on the bottom left hand side of the tools palette under the color wells.  Quick mask mode is an additional way of making selections in Acorn, and can be combined with other selection tools such as the magic wand to refine a selection.  You can use the brush, eraser, and even filters when quick mask mode is enabled.

Full Screen (Shortcut 'f')

Going to full screen mode allows you to expand Acorn to the entire screen.  Toggle between regular screen and full screen mode quickly by using keyboard shortcut 'f'.