Pen Settings Toolbar

The Pen Settings toolbar provides options for enabling and configuring the Pen Stabilizer, which can help you draw smooth lines with precision and minutia. It also allows you to access the Pen Pressure Feel dialog, which allows you to configure how the pressure you apply to your tablet pen is processed by Harmony to affect the size of your drawing strokes.

NOTE For information on how to use the Pen Settings toolbar, see About Pen Stabilization.
Icon Parameter Description
Pen Stabilizer Mode

Allows you to select a method for Harmony to stabilize your drawing strokes.

Stabilization is a process by which Harmony uses the general direction of your drawing strokes to create smooth, stable curves and avoid jittering and sharp corners.

Harmony accomplishes this by his by letting you draw a stroke of a certain length without generating artwork right away. After your stroke has reached that length, Harmony starts generating an drawing stroke that keeps trailing behind your mouse cursor or tablet pen as you draw. Harmony uses the buffer between your mouse cursor or pen tablet and the actual drawing stroke to generate smooth curves and ignore jittering and small mistakes.

The way Harmony does this depends on the stabilization method you choose:

  • Stabilizer Off: No stabilization is performed. When you draw a stroke, artwork for it is generated immediately.
  • Average: Harmony calculates the average direction of all of your mouse or pen gestures between the end of the actual drawing stroke and the current position of your mouse cursor or pen tip, and extends the stroke in this average direction, effectively evening out jitter and rounding sharp turns.

  • Pulled String: When you start drawing a stroke, Harmony positions the drawing tool where your stroke starts. As you move the mouse or tablet pen, the drawing tool remains in that position, but a "string" appears, linking your drawing tool to your mouse cursor or pen tip.

    This string has a certain maximum length. Once that length is reached, the string pulls the drawing tool in the direction of your mouse cursor or tablet pen.

    NOTE The distance between your mouse cursor or tablet pen and the stroke can be adjusted. For the purpose of demonstration, these images were done using the largest supported distance.
Pen Stabilizer Distance

This parameter determines how far your drawing strokes trail behind your mouse cursor or tablet pen as you draw.

In the case of the Average technique Harmony lets you draw an invisible stroke of a certain length before it starts generating the artwork based on the average direction of that invisible stroke. This parameter determines the invisible stroke's length.

In the case of the Pulling String, Harmony binds your drawing tool to your mouse cursor or tablet pen with a virtual string of a given length. This parameter sets the length of that string.

Pen Stabilizer Settings

Allows you to enable or disable the following options:

  • Catch Up: When using stabilization, your drawing strokes trail behind your mouse cursor or tablet pen. With this option enabled, when you stop moving your pen and just leave it pressed against your tablet, the brush stroke will progressively catch up to the position of your pen.

    NOTES
    • This option only works if you are drawing with a pen tablet.
    • This option only works with the Average stabilization method.
  • Show String: When using the Pulled String method, the virtual string binding your drawing tool to your mouse cursor or tablet pen will be displayed as you draw, allowing you to visualize how the brush stroke trails behind your mouse cursor or tablet pen.
  • Eraser: If enabled, strokes with the Eraser tool will also be stabilized. By default, the stabilizer works with the Brush, Pencil and Stroke tools.
Pen Pressure Feel Opens the Pen Pressure Feel dialog, which allows you to configure how Harmony processes the pressure you put on your tablet pen before applying it to the thickness of your drawing strokes—see Pen Pressure Feel Dialog Box.