Krita for Beginners: Brushes, Brush Settings, and Clean Stroke Control

Brush engines vs. brush presets (what you actually pick while drawing)

In Krita, a brush engine is the “behavior model” that defines how a brush reacts (to pressure, speed, texture, smudge, etc.). A brush preset is a saved combination of an engine plus specific settings (tip shape, spacing, opacity behavior, smoothing, and more). As a beginner, you usually choose presets first, then learn which settings to adjust without breaking the feel you like.

Think of it like this: the engine is the instrument type (pencil, marker, paint), and the preset is a specific instrument tuned a certain way.

Practical brush categories beginners need

• Pencil / Sketch: for construction lines, loose exploration, light shading. Usually low opacity, textured tip, and pressure-sensitive size.
• Ink / Line: for clean outlines and confident strokes. Usually hard edge, controlled spacing, and stabilization enabled.
• Paint: for opaque shapes and painterly rendering. Often uses pressure for opacity or flow, and may have texture.
• Airbrush / Soft shade: for gradual shading and soft transitions. Very soft edge, low flow, larger size.
• Blender / Smudge: for smoothing transitions and pushing paint. Used sparingly to avoid “muddy” results.
• Texture: for adding grain, canvas feel, or special surfaces (skin pores, paper, noise). Often combined with low opacity and controlled spacing.

Essential brush parameters (what to change first)

Most beginner brush issues come from a few core parameters. Learn these, and you’ll be able to troubleshoot almost any “why does my brush feel wrong?” moment.

1) Size

What it does: The diameter of the brush tip.

When to adjust:

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• Sketching: medium size for loose lines; smaller for details.
• Inking: slightly larger than you think for smoother curves; zoom in for details rather than shrinking too much.
• Shading: larger sizes for even gradients; smaller for tight form shadows.

Practical tip: If your line looks shaky, try a slightly larger brush and zoom in—tiny brushes amplify hand jitter.

2) Opacity vs. Flow

Opacity limits the maximum transparency of a stroke. Flow controls how quickly paint is laid down as you move (like ink delivery rate). Many presets use one or both with pen pressure.

• Use opacity control when you want predictable layering (each stroke has a clear “cap”). Good for sketching and glazing.
• Use flow control when you want gradual build-up within a single stroke. Great for airbrush shading and soft painting.

Quick diagnostic: If your brush feels “too strong immediately,” lower flow. If it feels “always too faint,” raise opacity (or check pressure mapping).

3) Hardness (edge softness)

What it does: How sharp the brush edge is. Hard brushes create crisp edges; soft brushes feather out.

• Hard: inking, crisp cel-shading edges, sharp highlights.
• Soft: soft shading, atmospheric depth, gentle transitions.

Common beginner mistake: Using only soft brushes for everything. Soft brushes are great for shading, but they can make drawings look blurry if used for edges that should be sharp.

4) Spacing

What it does: The distance between “stamps” of the brush tip along the stroke. Low spacing makes strokes smooth; high spacing can look dotted or textured.

• Lower spacing for clean ink lines and smooth paint strokes.
• Higher spacing for textured effects (chalk, dry brush, stipple).

Practical check: If you see visible “beads” or gaps in a line, reduce spacing.

5) Smoothing

What it does: A general term for reducing jitter and making strokes more even. In Krita, smoothing can be simple or use stabilizers (covered below).

• Use light smoothing for sketching so lines still feel responsive.
• Use stronger smoothing for inking when you want clean curves.

6) Stabilization (Stabilizer / Weighted / Basic)

What it does: Stabilization helps you draw cleaner lines by filtering hand tremor. It can introduce a slight lag, which is normal.

• Basic: subtle help, minimal lag. Good for sketching.
• Weighted: balances control and responsiveness. Good general inking mode.
• Stabilizer: strongest smoothing, most lag. Best for long, clean curves and slow inking.

When to use: Turn it up for long confident lines (hair strands, contours). Turn it down for fast gesture drawing and detail hatching.

Using presets vs. editing settings safely (duplicate first)

Presets are designed to work as a balanced set. If you change too many settings on a preset and later want the original back, it’s easy to get lost. The safe workflow is: duplicate a preset, then edit the copy.

Step-by-step: duplicate a preset before editing

1. Select a brush preset you like (for example, a pencil or ink preset).

2. Open the brush editor (Brush Settings).

3. Look for the option to save as a new preset (or create a new preset based on the current one).

4. Name it clearly, e.g., My_Sketch_Pencil_v1.

5. Now adjust settings (size behavior, opacity/flow, spacing, stabilization) on your copy.

Naming tip: Add a purpose and version number. You’ll iterate faster and won’t fear experimenting.

What to edit first (beginner-safe changes)

• Size and pressure-to-size feel
• Opacity/Flow and pressure mapping
• Hardness (tip softness)
• Spacing (only if you see stamping)
• Stabilization (especially for inking)

What to avoid at first: Deep engine features you don’t recognize (complex textures, advanced sensors, custom curves everywhere). You can get great results without touching those early on.

Clean stroke control: drills that build real skill

Brush settings help, but clean lines come from repeatable control. These drills are short and practical—do them for 5–10 minutes before drawing.

Drill 1: Line confidence warm-up (straight lines and arcs)

Goal: Reduce wobble by training shoulder/arm movement rather than tiny wrist corrections.

1. Pick a simple pencil or ink brush. Set stabilization to Basic or Weighted.

2. Draw 20 straight lines across the canvas, each in one quick motion. Don’t “hairline” your way forward—commit.

3. Draw 20 arcs (like parts of circles). Focus on smoothness, not perfection.

4. Repeat with slightly larger brush size. Notice how larger strokes often look smoother.

Self-check: If lines wobble, speed up slightly and reduce micro-corrections. If you overshoot, slow down a bit but keep the stroke continuous.

Drill 2: Pressure control ladder (opacity or size)

Goal: Make pressure predictable so you can shade and taper cleanly.

1. Choose a brush where pressure affects opacity (or size). Keep flow moderate.

2. Draw a row of 10 strokes from left to right, aiming for: very light → medium → dark.

3. Try to make each step visibly different but evenly spaced in value.

4. Repeat, but this time keep the stroke speed consistent.

Troubleshooting: If everything looks the same, your pressure range may be too narrow—adjust the brush’s pressure response or use a preset with clearer pressure sensitivity.

Drill 3: Tapering practice (thin-to-thick-to-thin)

Goal: Learn controlled starts/ends for professional-looking ink lines.

1. Select an ink brush with pressure-to-size enabled.

2. Draw 30 strokes that start thin, swell thicker in the middle, and end thin.

3. Focus on clean lift-off at the end: ease pressure gradually rather than stopping abruptly.

4. Repeat with stabilization increased one step (e.g., from Weighted to Stabilizer) and compare results.

Common fix: If your ends “blob,” reduce flow/opacity slightly or increase spacing quality (lower spacing) so the stroke doesn’t stamp heavily at slow speeds.

Drill 4: Stabilizer for clean lines (slow curves and long contours)

Goal: Use stabilization intentionally rather than leaving it on one setting forever.

1. Turn on Stabilizer mode for your ink brush.

2. Draw 10 long S-curves slowly. Let the stabilizer help you—don’t fight the lag.

3. Draw 10 long contour lines (like the outer edge of a face or a character silhouette).

4. Switch to Weighted and repeat the same lines. Notice which mode suits your natural speed.

Rule of thumb: Use Stabilizer for long, important lines; use Weighted/Basic for quick sketching and texture strokes.

Mini-task: create and save three custom presets (sketch, ink, soft shade)

You’ll build three practical presets by duplicating existing ones and making a few controlled edits. The goal is not “perfect brushes,” but a reliable starter set you understand.

Preset A: “Sketch” (responsive pencil)

1. Duplicate a pencil/sketch preset you already like.

2. Set Opacity to a lower maximum (so it layers gently). Keep Flow moderate.

3. Enable light smoothing (Basic) so it stays responsive.

4. Keep hardness slightly soft or textured (so it feels like graphite).

5. Save as My_Sketch_Pencil_v1.

Preset B: “Ink” (clean line control)

1. Duplicate an ink/liner preset.

2. Set hardness high (crisp edge) and ensure spacing is low enough to avoid visible stamping.

3. Set pressure-to-size for tapering (thin ends, thicker mid-stroke).

4. Turn on Weighted or Stabilizer depending on your comfort (start with Weighted if you dislike lag).

5. Save as My_Ink_Liner_v1.

Preset C: “Soft Shade” (airbrush-like shading)

1. Duplicate a soft brush or airbrush preset.

2. Set hardness very soft.

3. Lower flow so shading builds gradually within a stroke; keep opacity moderate.

4. Use minimal stabilization (Basic) so you can shade naturally.

5. Save as My_Soft_Shade_v1.

Quick test (1 minute): On a blank canvas, make three swatches: sketch lines, ink tapers, and a soft gradient sphere shadow. If any preset feels “fighty,” adjust only one parameter at a time (usually flow, stabilization, or spacing) and resave as v2.