Using the 28 built-in presets in Easel by Zaweba

Starting a picture means a lot of choices before the first stroke: which tool, which paint, which colours, which settings. Presets make those choices for you. Easel by Zaweba comes with 28 built-in presets, and you can add your own.

What the built-in presets cover

The built-in presets cover a wide range of styles. Some examples are pencil sketch, loose wash, impasto knife, street spray, calligraphy, sumi ink, Zorn portrait, silverpoint, Pollock drips, Richter squeegee and gold leaf.

Each one sets the studio up for a particular way of working. Pencil sketch gets you drawing. Loose wash is ready for watercolour. Impasto knife sets up thick paint and a knife. Street spray is ready for spray paint. Calligraphy and sumi ink prepare pens and ink. Zorn portrait is named after the Swedish painter Anders Zorn, whose famous limited palette of a few colours made convincing skin tones. Silverpoint, Pollock drips, Richter squeegee and gold leaf each recreate a classic technique.

Why presets help

Presets are good for learning. If you have never tried silverpoint or a Pollock style drip painting, a preset gives you a working setup straight away. Paint a few strokes, see what the technique feels like, then start adjusting.

They are also good for speed. When you know you want a loose watercolour, picking the preset is quicker than choosing every setting by hand.

And they are good for variety. Flicking through presets is a quick way to find a style you hadn't thought of. A sketch session might turn into a sumi ink study simply because you tried the preset.

Making your own

Easel also lets you keep presets of your own. Once you have found a setup you like, save it as a preset so it is ready next time.

Good candidates are the setups you return to again and again. Your favourite watercolour palette and paper. The pen and ink you use for sketching. The spray settings you like on a brick wall. Name them clearly, by job or style, so you can find them quickly.

Getting the most from presets

Treat presets as starting points, not rules. A preset sets things up. After that, adjust anything you like: brush, colour, surface, drying speed.

Use them to learn the thinking behind a style. The Zorn portrait preset shows what a limited palette can do. Try painting a whole portrait with it before adding more colours. The Pollock drips preset shows how much tilt and drip matter. Richter squeegee shows what a scraper can do across wet bands of colour.

Combine presets with the studio's other aids. A preset plus a reference photo beside the canvas is a quick way into a portrait. A preset plus masking tape gives a quick start on a graphic piece.

When to skip them

If you know exactly what you want, you don't need a preset. Pick the tools yourself. But even experienced painters find presets handy when switching between very different styles in one day. Easel by Zaweba's set of 28 covers a lot of ground, and your own presets fill the gaps.