Chapter two
Eight tools for the pile. Choose one, then drag across the rug. Every picture below starts from the same untouched velvet.
Pick a tool from the rail on the far left, from the hand tab, or with its key. Then drag across the rug with the left button.
Most tools leave a mark in the pile that stays while the weather moves it, and slowly fades back unless you set fade to 0. Dye never fades. You can undo strokes one at a time, or clear every mark at once.
Lays the pile down along your stroke, the way a hand smooths velvet.
Drag in long, even strokes. Curves work well.
Grows the pile taller under your hand, up to three and a half times its height. It rises over a moment, not all at once.
Shears the pile down towards the knots, uncovering the woven cloth.
Lays the pile in a whorl around your hand. Hold still in one place, or drag slowly.
Parts the pile outward from the centre of your hand, like blowing into fur.
Pulls the tips together into a peak where you hold, lifting the pile a little.
Paints colour into the pile. Pick the colour in the hand tab, and choose whether it dyes the whole thread or only its tips.
Takes the hand back out, softly: combing, height and dye return towards how the rug was. Here it crosses three combed lines.
| size | The radius of the hand. [ and ] change it as you work. | 0.02–0.6 |
|---|---|---|
| strength | How hard it works each moment you hold it down. { and } change it. | 0.05–1 |
| softness | How the edge of the hand fades. 0 is a hard edge. | 0–1 |
| fade | How fast marks relax back. 0 keeps them for good; at the starting value they fade slowly, over minutes. | 0–1 |
| stir | On hover, the pile stirs as the pointer passes over it, without leaving a mark. | on hover · off |
| colour | The colour the dye tool paints. The swatches below hold your palette’s colours, plus cream and near-black. | |
|---|---|---|
| where | Dye the whole fibre, or only its tips. It applies to the dye you paint next. | whole fibre · tips only |
| undo stroke | Takes back the last stroke, up to 24 strokes. ⌘ Z | |
|---|---|---|
| clear the hand | Removes every mark; undo brings them back. ⇧ ⌫ |
Changing the rug’s length clears the marks and the undo list, because the hand’s map is remade to the new shape.