How to Draw Digitally Online with Pressure-Sensitive Brushes

Understanding the drawing modes

Camisual has three drawing modes. Simple mode gives you clean, smooth lines with adjustable size and opacity. Assisted mode adds stabilisation so shaky strokes become smooth curves. Expressive mode activates the full P5-powered brush engine with pressure, tilt, and velocity response for natural media effects.

Step-by-step: Set up a drawing canvas

1. 1

   Create a new design

   Sign in and click "New Design" on your dashboard. Choose a blank canvas size. For digital illustration, A4 (custom) or 2000x2000px works well. You can also use "Web" presets if you are creating content for screens.

2. 2

   Switch to Draw mode

   In the top toolbar, find the mode switcher buttons: Select, Draw, Sample, Shape, Erase, and Hand. Click "Draw" to activate drawing mode. The left control panel will show the Draw section automatically.

3. 3

   Choose your drawing mode

   In the left Draw section, at the top you will see three tabs: Simple, Assisted, and Expressive. Click "Expressive" for the most natural brush feel, especially with a stylus. Click "Assisted" if you want your lines automatically smoothed.

4. 4

   Pick a brush type

   In the Draw section, expand the "Brush Type" area. You will see options including Round, Calligraphy, Spray, Pencil, Marker, and more. Each brush behaves differently. Round is the most versatile starting point.

5. 5

   Set your colour and size

   Click the colour swatch in the Draw section to open the colour picker. Choose your colour and adjust the Size slider below it. For fine linework, use sizes between 2 and 8. For loose sketching, try 15 to 30.

6. 6

   Enable pressure sensitivity

   In the Draw section, expand the "Pressure" area. Toggle pressure sensitivity on. If you are drawing with a stylus on a tablet, the line width will now respond to how hard you press. On a mouse or touchpad, you can also enable velocity-based pressure so faster strokes create thinner lines.

7. 7

   Draw on layers

   Each brush stroke is added as its own layer by default, but you can manage layers in the layer bar at the bottom or right side of the canvas. To sketch on a separate layer from your inks, add a new layer first by clicking the add layer button in the layer panel.

Smudge and blend

In Simple draw mode, switch the brush type to "Smudge" to blend existing colours on the canvas. This works like a finger-painting smear tool and is useful for softening edges or blending gradients between colour areas.

Keyboard shortcuts for drawing

Press D to switch to Draw mode, V to switch to Select mode, and E to switch to Erase mode. Use [ and ] to decrease or increase brush size while drawing. Press H for the Hand/Pan tool to move around a large canvas without accidentally drawing.