The easiest way to install new brushes and textures in SAI is to understand how information technology works. I've personally found that tutorials or pace-by-footstep guides are more than confusing rather than helpful. My approach is to explain how SAI works instead. Don't worry, information technology's not complicated!

HOW TO Detect WHERE PAINTTOOL SAI IS INSTALLED ON YOUR Reckoner

Locate the PaintTool SAI icon with which you launch it on your computer. Information technology tin can be located on your Start Carte du jour, or your desktop. Right click on the icon and you'll get a menu like this. Click on Properties.

property-01

A window will appear. Click on theOpen File Location button.

property-02

A new window will appear. This is where your SAI is installed with all its organisation files. Non that difficult, huh?

property-03

THE SAI FOLDERS

The only folders that interest united states of america are blotmap, brushtex, elemap and papertex. If you open whatever of these folders you'll see they contain BMP files, which are image files just similar JPGs or GIFs.

blotmap and elemap comprise the brushes shapes ("maps"). There are two types of maps which bear differently, which is why they are kept in two separate folders. They are the ones you choose here, on the brush panel:

sai-brush-map

brushtex contains brushes textures. A brush can have a certain shapeand it tin can have a texture. For example, a simple circle brush shape can have a "dirt" texture. They are the ones you lot choose here, right below the brush shape:

sai-brush-texture

papertex contains paper textures. Unrelated to brushes textures, these are textures y'all apply on a layer. On SAI they tin can be called on the Layers panel:

sai-paper-texture

 THE SAI CONF FILES

We are only interested on these configuration files: brushform.conf, brushtex.conf and papertex.conf. What are these files? They are lists of the things nosotros described above. SAI handles iii things: castor shapes, castor textures and paper textures, remember? Well, these iii files are the master lists of those.

brushform.conf – Like its proper name says, this file contains the list of brushes forms (i.east. shapes or maps).

brushtex.conf – This file contains the list of brushes textures.

papertex.conf – Pretty straightforward, right? This one has the paper textures.

HOW TO EDIT A SAI CONF FILE

Double-click on a conf file to edit. Notepad should open with the file contents.

If that doesn't work then right-click on the conf file you wish to edit. A menu will open up. Try these methods, in society, until one works on your estimator:

  • If there's an "Edit" carte item, click it. Notepad should open up with the file contents.
  • If there'due south an "Open up with…" menu item, click on it. If a submenu opens, choose "Notepad" from that submenu'southward items.
  • If at that place's an "Open with…" menu detail, but a new window appears instead, choose "Notepad" from the list of programs.

Sorry if I didn't provide screenshots at this point.

At present you lot should take a conf file open, which looks similar this:

notepad

Each line describes an particular on SAI'south lists and refers to an image file located in the folders. Each line must follow this format:

number,path to the BMP image file

For case, the get-go line in my brushform.conf is:

1,blotmap/Noise.bmp

Where blotmap is the folder and Noise.bmp is the BMP epitome file we're referring to.

Now, about that number, it follows this simple rules:

  • For brushtex.conf and papertex.conf, the number is always one. No worries there.
  • For brushform.conf, the number is 1 for blotmaps and 2 for elemaps. Remember we wrote before there were two blazon of brush maps?

So, finally…

HOW TO INSTALL NEW BRUSHES AND TEXTURES

Upwards to this point I assume you've understood all previous explanations. Installing is quite simple:

  1. Go to the folder where SAI is installed.
  2. Copy or uncompress the new brush or texture epitome files on the folders specified by the brush or texture author (i.e. elemap, blotmap, brushtex or papertex).
  3. Edit the corresponding conf file or files.
  4. Restart SAI (quit and open it once again).

Usually you'll download a brush or texture from a source and the writer volition try to explain how to install them. And usually the office where everything gets confusing is in editing the conf files. If the author provides a conf file,always remember you should never overwrite yours with it. You're expected to append its contents to your own conf file.

CONF GUIDELINES FOR BRUSHES:

Each BMP file should now be added as a new line onbrushform.conf in the format we described previously:

number,path to BMP image

For Brushes, in that location can exist ii types: a blotmap or an elemap.

  • If the file is ablotmap, put a number 1.
  • If the file is aelemap, put a number 2.

If you weren't told what type it is, open the BMP file and compare:

sai-elemap-blotmap

So, for example, I downloaded a Coconut brush and I was instructed to save it on blotmap. The line I should add to brushform.conf is:

1,blotmap/Coconut.bmp

Example 2, if I downloaded a Fly castor and it'due south an elemap, the line I should add to my brushform.conf is:

2,elemap/Fly.bmp

Yous can add this line anywhere you want in the list. I usually move a brush to the top when I use it frequently and becomes a favorite.

CONF GUIDELINES FOR TEXTURES

For brush textures, copy or uncompress the files on the brushtex folder. For newspaper textures, put the epitome files on the papertex folder. Then add new lines for each new prototype on brushtex.conf for brush textures or papertex.conf for paper textures. Examples:

1,brushtex/Dissonance iii.bmp

1,papertex/Gritty.bmp

 To be continued…