My SAI Keybindings

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I've been meaning to write down my current keybindings for a while. They're mostly only left in my muscle-memory whenever I lose them... Now they'll be here too.

These are for SAI, but I use similar ones in any other program that allows it. They're set up so the ones I tend to use together are comfortable for my hand to switch between.
Oh, and I have tiny hands so these will very much reflect that too. : )
You may notice a lot of emphasis on selection tools here... Since I often work with clean lineart in my drawings, that's the natural approach for someone like me. For others, I imagine this will be more about the actual keybindings rather than the function they're assigned.

I highly encourage anyone to experiment and find what works for them. It can save you a bunch of time in the long run, as well as make your workflow far more smooth! I hope seeing my setup can inspire someone out there to customize theirs too.
Tools don't make the art, but using them properly can ease the process a whole lot.


The Brush slots are for any brushes/pens/etc I like to use at the time... they vary a lot. I'll include what they're set to for me right now though.

Q: Brush (Pen)
W: Brush (Water)
E: Eraser
R: Move
T: Brush
A: Brush (a textured brush)
S: Brush (my sketching brush)
D: Brush  (a blendy coloring brush)
F: Bucket
G: Increment Selection (expands selection by 1px)
H: Flip View Horizontally
Z: Brush (my Fiski crayon brush)
X: Exchange Normal / Transparent Color
Tip: Use this if you want to erase using a brush instead of the Eraser.
C: Magic Wand
Tip: If you work with a clean lineart layer, set that as your Selection Source.
V: Brush (Airbrush)
B: Brush (blur)

1: Select
2: Deselect
3: Brush (for squiggly lineart)
4: Selection tool
Tip: Using Shift can force the square's shape to remain quadratic, or allow multiple selections.
5: Decrease brush size
6: Increase brush size

Alt: Color Picker
Space: Hand (hold and navigate around the canvas)
Tab: Hide Command Panels

Shift+1: Fill Layer
Shift+2: Preserve Opacity (the layer lock)
Shift+3: Layer Clip (to layer below)
Shift+4: New Linework Layer
Shift+Q: Redo
Shift+E: Undo
Shift+R: Crop Canvas by Selection
Shift+A: Reset View
Shift+S: Invert Selection
Shift+D: Clear Selection
Shift+F: Flip View Horizontally
Shift+C: Duplicate Layer

Ctrl+point/click with pen: View/Select layers directly on canvas
This function has to be enabled in the Move tool's menu.
Ctrl+Alt: Brush Size
Ctrl+Space: Zoom
Ctrl+Alt+Space: Zoom out
Ctrl+1: Clear Layer
Ctrl+2: Delete Layer
Ctrl+3: New Layer Set
Ctrl+Q: New Layer
Ctrl+W: Close View
Ctrl+E: Merge Down / Merge Layer Set
Ctrl+R: Transform
Ctrl+Y: Redo
Ctrl+T: Hue and Saturation
Ctrl+U: Brightness and Contrast
Ctrl+A: Reset View Rotation
Ctrl+S: Save
Ctrl+D: Rotate View Counter-clockwise
Ctrl+F: Rotate View Clockwise
Ctrl+Z: Undo
Ctrl+X: Cut
Ctrl+C: Copy
Ctrl+V: Paste
Ctrl+N: New
Ctrl+O: Open
Ctrl+H: Show Selection

Didn't list them all, but most of the somewhat relevant ones that came to mind.
Also subject to change all the time. I'll probably come back and edit/update it plenty.

© 2014 - 2024 Louivi
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Retro-Death's avatar
This journal looks scary. :iconscaredplz: