Tutorial
There are 3 modes in the application.
The first, side view mode (top button in image), lets you add/move/remove layers in the Symbol Art.
The second, front view mode (bottom left button in image), lets you change position/color/shape of symbols in the Symbol Art.
And the last, helper image mode (bottom right button in image), lets you add/setup/remove a helper image to use as template for making a new Symbol Art.
Note that the helper image is not part of the Symbol Art.
Helper image mode is accessed via picture button in the top left drop-down menu.
Keyboard shortcut (toggles between the first two modes): SPACE
Tap the plus button to enable/disable symbol addition.
Symbol addition is enabled whenever this button in highlighted in orange.
With symbol addition enabled, tap anywhere in the editor and hold your tap a bit.
A new symbol layer will spawn where you tapped, which you can then drag and drop to add it to your Symbol Art.
Tap your newly added symbol layer to select it for further editing.
Use up/down arrow keys to navigate through the layers.
Note that Symbol Arts have a maximum number of symbols and containers. Adding anything that would exceed that limit will be ignored.
Tap the rectangular selection button to enable/disable container addition.
Containers are used to group symbols for organization purposes.
Container addition is enabled whenever this button is highlighted in orange.
With container addition enabled, tap anywhere in the editor, hold your tap for a bit to start a rectangular selection, then move your pointer around. This will spawn a rectangular selector that will select all layers inside it.
Once you stop holding your tap, everything in the selection zone will be added into a new container.
You can use this new container to organize you Symbol Art, change position/color/shape of many symbols in one go, and more.
Note that container nesting (container inside another container) has a hidden limitation of five nesting layers. If creating a new container in the selection would break this limit, the action will be ignored.
Note that holding shift key drastically reduces the wait time for all tap&hold functionality in the application. The same can be done by tapping the circular dot button in the top left menu.
Tap the trash bin button to enable/disable layer deletion. Layer deletion in enabled whenever this button in highlighted in orange.
With layer deletion enabled, tap on any layer displayed in the side view mode (vertical and horizontal rectangles in screen) to delete them.
Don't worry, if you delete something by accident, you can simply undo it.
Create new layers by holding control key and tapping. This will create a clone of whatever you have selected.
Tap the symbols button to open the symbol picker.
This option is only enabled if something is currently selected (tiny round white buttons shown around the selection).
With the symbol picker open, you can change which type of symbol to use in the currently selected layer via the list of symbols in the right portion of the symbol picker window.
You can also flip the symbol horizontally, vertically, and rotate it by 90 degrees clockwise via buttons in the left portion of the symbol picker window.
Tap the color palette button to open the color picker.
This option is only enabled if something is currently selected (tiny round white buttons shown around the selection).
With the color picker open, a plethora of things can be done to change symbol colors.
Use the color wheel in the center to change the color hue (moving around the circle) and saturation (moving towards the center of the circle).
Use the # text field to type in the full color HEX.
Use the brush slider to change color brightness.
Use the opacity slider to change color transparency.
Tap the swatchbook button to lookup and select colors used in the Symbol Art AND in the helper image.
If you open the color picker while selecting a container of symbols, you will notice this screen will show.
It lists the colors used in the container and how many symbols use which color.
The diagonal division in some colors indicate transparency. The darker the bottom color, the more transparent.
Upon selecting one of the color options, you can change the color of all symbols in the container that use that color in one go.
Tap the eyeball button to enable/disable focus.
Focus is enabled whenever this button in highlighted in orange.
This option is only enabled if something is currently selected (tiny round white buttons shown around the selection).
Focus highlights the current selection, making it easier to spot in the Symbol Art.
Focus is especially useful for editing symbols hidden behind other symbols.
Keyboard shortcut: V
Tap the plus button to open the helper image import screen.
Tap the gear button to open the helper image settings window.
With the helper image settings window open, you can do a few things.
Use the eyeball switch to enable/disable peek mode. Keyboard shortcut: B
With peek mode enabled, the gear button will be highlighted in orange to indicate it.
When peek mode is enabled, the helper image is brought to the front fully opaque so you can double check if your Symbol Art is looking similar to the image.
Use the green bucket switch to enable/disable green screen. Keyboard shortcut: G
The green screen serves to make it easier to see some colors in the Symbol Art. But note that the green screen is not a part of the Symbol Art.
Use the opacity slider to change helper image transparency.
Tap the trash bin button to delete the helper image.
Don't worry, if you delete it by accident, you can simply undo it.
A container is displayed as a horizontal plane in the side view mode.
All layers (symbols and sub-containers) contained within a container will show above it.
By moving or deleting a container, everything contained within will go with it.
Tap the container name on the bottom left to rename the container.
Tap the copy button to copy the container, then tap and hold to spawn a clone of the copied container.
Note that Symbol Arts have a maximum number of symbols and containers. Cloning anything that would exceed that limit will be ignored.
Tap the eyeball button to hide/show the container. Everything within will follow suit.
Layers (symbols and containers) can be moved around in side view mode by tapping on and holding a layer to begin moving, then dragging and dropping the selection to the new location.
Note that container nesting (container inside another container) has a hidden limitation of five nesting layers. If moving the selection would break this limit, the action will be ignored.
Note that holding shift key drastically reduces the wait time for all tap&hold functionality in the application. The same can be done by tapping the circular dot button in the top left menu.
Symbols, containers, and the helper image, when selected, will show buttons around them for editing purposes.
The buttons on every corner of the symbol stretch its edges (unavailable for containers and the helper image).
The buttons on every side of the symbol/container stretch its sides (unavailable for the helper image).
The button in the center resizes the symbol/container/helper image.
The button above the symbol/container/helper image rotates it.
Note that the Symbol Art contains various limitations on symbol size (minimum and maximum) and canvas size (symbols cannot be placed too far). Any edits on symbols will be bound by those constraints, so some edits may be restricted.
In front view mode, symbols can be selected without leaving front view mode by tap and holding directly above a symbol.
The symbol with center closest to the tap location will be selected, so make sure to tap as close to the symbol center as possible.
Based on version 2.2.0
© 2021 malulleybovo