Guides / Selecting and drawing aids

Select and change strokes

Tap strokes or loop several to move, scale, turn, recolour, fill, flip or delete them, change how they move, or open one stroke's every setting.

Free + PlusiPad · iPhone · Mac

Free: Selecting, moving, scaling, turning, recolouring, filling, flipping and deleting strokes, changing their motion, and every inspector control.
Plus: Changing a stroke's marks to a Plus effect look.

Narrated walkthrough, recorded in the iPad Simulator.

Narrated walkthrough, recorded in the iPhone Simulator.

Paint a few strokes first. Then tap Tools in the wheel's corner, where Select stroke waits.
Paint a few strokes first. Then tap the folded wheel, and tap Tools in its corner, where Select stroke waits.
Paint a few strokes first. Then click Tools in the wheel's corner, where Select stroke waits.
Choose Select stroke, then tap one stroke. It is outlined, and the bar above the page counts it. Tap a stroke again to let it go.
Choose Select stroke, then tap one stroke. It is outlined, and the bar above the page counts it. Tap a stroke again to let it go.
Choose Select stroke, then click one stroke. It is outlined, and the bar above the page counts it. Click a stroke again to let it go.
For everything about one stroke, tap the checklist and choose Stroke details.
For everything about one stroke, tap the checklist and choose Stroke details.
For everything about one stroke, click the checklist and choose Stroke details.
The Stroke inspector opens on it. Everything the brush gave this stroke can change here, and Previous and Next step through the layer's strokes. Turn Strength all the way up for a deeper wash.
The Stroke inspector opens on it. Everything the brush gave this stroke can change here, and Previous and Next step through the layer's strokes. Turn Strength all the way up for a deeper wash.
Tap Apply. The middle stroke is now darker than the two beside it, which kept their paint. Cancel would have left it as it was.
Tap Apply. The middle stroke is now darker than the two beside it, which kept their paint. Cancel would have left it as it was.
Click Apply. The middle stroke is now darker than the two beside it, which kept their paint. Cancel would have left it as it was.
To take several strokes at once, draw a loop around them, or simply swipe across them. The selected strokes are outlined, and the bar counts them.
To take several strokes at once, draw a loop around them, or simply swipe across them. The selected strokes are outlined, and the bar counts them.
Drag inside the selection to move it, pinch to scale it, and twist to turn it. Each gesture is one step to undo.
Drag inside the selection to move it, pinch to scale it, and twist to turn it. Each gesture is one step to undo.
The checklist selects what a loop can't reach. Select all, Invert selection, or everything in the same colour, brush or motion as what's selected.
The checklist selects what a loop can't reach. Select all, Invert selection, or everything in the same colour, brush or motion as what's selected.
Choose Select all, pick a new colour on the wheel, and tap the palette button to paint the selection in it. Beside it are Fill inside, Motion, Flip, Delete, Deselect, and the pencil that returns to drawing.
Choose Select all. Unfold the wheel, pick a new colour, which folds it. Then tap the palette button to paint the selection in it. Beside it are Fill inside, Motion, Flip, Delete, Deselect, and the pencil that returns to drawing.
Choose Select all, pick a new colour on the wheel, and click the palette button to paint the selection in it. Beside it are Fill inside, Motion, Flip, Delete, Deselect, and the pencil that returns to drawing.

Select stroke

Tools → Select stroke turns the pencil into a pointer on the current layer. It works on strokes already on the page, so it's offered once the layer has some. While it's on, the Tools wedge shows its arrow, and the Tools ring offers Select · Done in its place. Tapping a medium on the wheel also takes you straight back to painting.

Tap a stroke to select it. Tap it again to let it go, and tap others to add them.
Draw a loop around strokes to select just those. A stroke is taken when most of it lies inside the loop, or when the loop's line crosses it, so a plain swipe across strokes selects them too.
Selection stays on the current layer. Switch layers in the layer strip to select on another.

The Stroke inspector

With one stroke selected, Select more (the checklist) → Stroke details… opens the inspector on it. It edits the stroke itself, not your brush. Its settings are the brush's own, as they were when you painted the mark.

Control	What it does
Previous, Next 1 2	Step to the stroke painted before or after this one, in painting order. Stroke 2 of 3 says where you are.
Paint	What the stroke was painted with. Color (or Tone for Pencil and Charcoal), Strength, Water, then the medium's own material: Staining, Edge darkening, Spreading and Pencil push for Watercolor and Ink; Grain, Adhesion, Bleed or Glow in the media that have them; Edge grain; and Pressure → strength. The same controls, under the same names, as the brush's Paint in Brush Studio.
All parameters	Every value the stroke sends to the renderer, under its raw name, whatever the medium shows.
Marks	For strokes painted with marks: which marks, then Shape (mark size, spacing, joining, edge softness), Pencil and Advanced marks. Movement has its own sections below Whole stroke. See Marks.
Whole stroke	The path's motion: its type, Amount and Speed, modifiers, and for wet media Motion drives water.
Mark movement / Inside the marks	Controls suited to this mark: Travel, Liveliness, hatch motion, effect timing and supported interior patterns. Turn off Marks move to hold the local shape.
Resume stroke motion	Shown when the stroke is frozen (Motion → Freeze here).
Apply	Keeps the change. The layer replays with it, and one Undo restores the previous settings.
Cancel	Closes the inspector and changes nothing.

A locked layer shows Unlock the layer to edit this stroke. and its controls stay dimmed.

Plus: Selecting, transforming and every inspector control, All parameters and motion stacks included, are Free. Changing a stroke's marks to a Plus effect look needs Plus (the inspector marks them · Plus and opens Free and Plus over itself); a stroke already painted with a Plus look keeps it, and its settings can still be tuned on Free.

Move, scale and turn

With strokes selected, the bar reads 3 selected · drag to move, pinch to scale, twist to rotate.

Drag starting on or near the selection to move it. A drag that starts away from it draws a new loop instead.
Pinch anywhere to scale the selection, and twist to turn it.
Each gesture is one step for Undo.

On the Mac, click a stroke to select it, and drag with the pointer to loop or move. Pinch and rotate on a trackpad to scale and turn the selection.

The selection bar

Button	What it does
Select more (checklist)	Stroke details… for one selected stroke, and Select all, Invert selection, Same colour, Same brush, Same motion. The last three need something selected, and pick every stroke on the layer that matches it. Colours match within a small distance, so a swatch still matches after pressure mixed it. Motion matches by kind: still strokes match still strokes.
Color selected strokes 1	Paints the selection in the colour in hand. Choose the colour on the wheel first.
Fill inside selected strokes 2	Fills what the selected strokes enclose, under them, with the brush in hand. If they don't enclose anything, a notice says so.
Motion 3	Less, More, Still, Freeze here and Choose a motion… for the selected strokes. While strokes are selected, the wheel's motion gauges and motions are theirs too. See Change how painted strokes move.
Flip 4	Flip left to right or Flip top to bottom mirrors the selection across its own middle. One undo step each.
Delete selected strokes 5	Removes them. Undo brings them back.
Deselect 6	Lets go of the selection.
Done 7	Back to painting with the brush in hand.

Where the bar has room, each button is named under its symbol.

With nothing selected, the bar reads Tap strokes, or loop or swipe across them, to select them, and only Select more and Done are active.

Tip: The Eraser's Whole strokes removes whole strokes by touch. Use it for one or two; use Select and Delete for many at once.

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