Once you’ve chosen the brush you’d like to use, there are a number of ways you can modify it. If you're looking for more information on brushes, what they are, and how to find them, see this article.
A. Change the brush size
There are two ways to change the brush size:
If you’d like to make the brush larger while maintaining your aspect ratio, simply click and drag a corner of the bounding box, or
Click on the brush, and in the properties panel under Size, use the slider or type number to increase or decrease size of the icons repeated in the brush pattern.
When you skew the brush, the app will automatically generate the brush at the right ratio.
B. Customize anchor points (blue dots) on the brush
To change the brush length, click and drag the anchor point (blue dot) at each end to extend or shorten the brush.
To add anchor points, click the white dots.
To change the path, drag the blue dots.
C. Switch from one brush type to another
If you’re working on a complex shape, or change your mind about the brush you’d like to use, you can switch between different brush types.
Click on the brush.
In the properties panel, under Icon, click other icons to change the brush type to another.
D. Flip an asymmetrical brush
Click on the brush, then click Flip in the properties panel.
Note: the “flip” function will only be apparent for asymmetrical brushes (e.g. phospholipid monolayer).
E. Change the brush line type
Click on the brush.
In the properties panel, under Brush Line Type, click S shaped or Curved Elbow type.
F. Cut a brush (convert it to a grouped icon)
If you’re working with one of our perfectly circular brushes, you can “cut” it, then adjust the length of the circle.
Select the brush.
Hover your mouse over one of the white dots.
Scissors will appear. Click to “cut” the brush
Drag the blue dot to adjust the length of the brush.
Once you’ve cut the brush, it will become a grouped icon and each cut section can be edited independently.
G. Customize a portion of a brush (i.e. separate it into pieces)
You can convert a brush into a “grouped icon,” and then modify a region of it as needed. This is a useful function for showing before-and-after comparisons or highlighting a cell that’s different from those around it.
Note: Once you convert a brush to a grouped icon, it will no longer be editable as a brush.
To convert a brush into a grouped icon:
Click on the brush to highlight it, then click Brush options.
Click Separate brush into editable icons.
A box will appear to confirm the action.
Your brush will switch from having a blue bounding box to a purple one to indicate it’s now a grouped icon.
Double-click on the brush to edit the group or ungroup the icons to edit (see this article for steps on editing grouped icons).
If you have any questions or concerns:
Open our chat messenger (bottom-right of any BioRender web page).