“Bucket” is one of the most sophisticated tools in ibisPaint. Since it's high function, it can be difficult to set up properly. If you set it wrong, it won't function properly. If you can't use it as expected, tap the undo button and try filling over and over. Here we will explain "Bucket setting", but also "Magic Wand setting" has a similar settings so if you want to know how to set "Magic Wand setting," change the word "Bucket" to "Magic Wand" and read on.
Bucket tool is a function that fills an area where the color is similar to the color of the starting point (the place where you tap with your finger). It is most commonly used to color the undercoat of line drawings.
If the line drawing is closed without gaps, you can fill only the inside of the line. But if the line is not closed and have gaps it will be colored outside the line. If the color fill outside unintentionally, don't panic and tap undo button to go back.
Next, we will explain about “Bucket Tool window.” Display the ①Tool Selection window and tap ②Bucket , then tap ③Setting button on the option bar to open the “Bucket Tool window.”
①Reset ... Since it's hard to set Bucket tool there's a default value that works well for ones whose not used to it. If you want to reset to the initial values after changing various values, tap "Reset"
②Strength ... Adjusts the area to fill the color that is similar to the start point.
③Unpainted Recognition ... When the line thickness is not equal and is hard to fill inside with "Expansion" it enables you to fill cleanly inside the lines
④Expansion ... You can expand or narrow the fill range set in “Strength”. The default value is 1.5px.
⑤Gap Recognition ... Automatically recognizes gaps between lines, and allows you to fill only inside without filling outside the line.
⑥Continuous Filling ... By swiping and tracing the canvas with your finger, you can continuously fill different places separated by lines.
The figure above is a comparison between filling with different "Strength" values. "Strength" sets which area with similar color should be filled by the color of the start point.(The color difference is defined as the area to be painted up to a certain level.). If there is a gradation like a line drawn with an Airbrush, when you set the value to 0%, the filled area will be small because it will stop filling if there is just a slight difference between the colors. When the value is set to 5%, it will slightly fill wider than when set to 0%. 10% will further increase the filled area. However, if the value is set too high, the color will be filled outside the lines.
The figure above is a comparison of "Expansion" between 0px and 1.5px and filled the color to line drawing drawn with Dip Pen (Soft). Line drawings have anti-aliasing (semi-transparent) on the edges, so white areas will be remaind at 0px, but 1.5px reduces unfilled area.
When filling the inside of a comic speech balloon, it is a good idea to set Expansion to a negative value.
If you want to fill places where the line ends has gap, turn on "Gap Recognition." The figure above shows a comparison between when "Gap Recognition" is turned off (left figure) and on (right figure). "Gap Recognition" automatically recognizes gaps between lines, so even if there are a small gaps in the line, you can fill only inside without filling outside the line.
The figure above shows a comparison between when "Unpainted Recognition" is turned off (left figure) and turned on (right figure). When filling inside the line that the thickness is not equal, it's difficult to adjust with "Expansion", and outside the line will be colored too. However, by turning on "Unpainted Recognition", you can cleanly fill just inside the line.
If you want to continuously fill different places separated by lines with the same color, turn on "Continuous Filling". It's convenient swiping and tracing the canvas letting you continuously fill different places.
①Boundary ... Select whether the program will decide by color (R, G, B, A), or only opacity when determining how much of the range of colors that are similar to the starting point should be filled (Color difference). If the "Reference Layer" described later is a white canvas, the entire background color is opaque, so if you select Opacity in "Boundary", the entire surface will be painted. If the "Reference Layer" is a Specific Layer or Current Layer, sometimes it may be better to set the "Boundary" to Opacity.
②Reference Layer ... You can select from Current Layer, Specific Layer and Canvas. The default is Canvas. Here, reference means where the color should be read from the process of determining the area by whether the difference between the color of the start point and the color of the judgment when deciding the paint area is close. When you select Canvas, the range will be determined by referring to the picture which is combined from all layers. If you select Specific Layer, and specify the layer with the layer selection below, it will determine the area to fill by referring to that layer. When you select Current Layer, it'll determine the area to fill by referring to the current layer. By using Specific Layer, you can separate the line drawing layer and filling layer by placing the line drawing on layer 2 and fill the work layer with layer 1.