





Whether you’re an artist, student or mobile professional, Surface Dial optimizes your digital workflow by bringing your most-used shortcuts and tools to your screen with simple presses and turns of the Dial. You can also use Dial to do things like play music or skip tracks in Groove Music, scroll through web pages in Microsoft Edge, scroll through documents in Microsoft Word off-screen, and so much more.

Today, we’re going to show you a couple ways you can get started using your Surface Dial with the Paint 3D app in Windows 10.* If you have the new Surface Pro or the Surface Studio, you can use the Dial with Paint 3D directly on your screen.**

Set-up

Make sure you have the Surface Dial connected via Bluetooth to your device. You should be able to press and hold the dial to see a context menu pop-up. Open the Paint 3D app to get started and make sure you are in the Paint 3D app when you are using the Surface Dial to access the features below. The dial will have haptic feedback as you use different features in Paint 3D.

Change the color easily using the color wheel

It’s super simple to change brush colors. On the Surface Studio, press down on the Surface Dial to select the color palette and the color wheel will pop-up. Turn the Dial and the dot will move to show you what color you have selected. Press down to select the color.

On a Surface Pro device, press down on the Surface Dial to select the color palette. Turn the dial and the color selection in your tool bar will move to the right and left. Press down to select the color.

Be playful as you adjust colors & brushes

There’s no need to stop painting just to change the color or brush thickness. Create seamless tapered strokes by turning the Surface Dial to adjust color, brush thickness, and opacity while drawing.

Click on the art tools button, and select a brush. To change colors dynamically, press down on the dial and select color palette. Use your pen to draw and turn the dial simultaneously to instantly change from one color to the next. To change the thickness, press down on the dial and choose thickness on the context menu. Press down to select. Turn the dial to the left to taper the line smaller and to the right to make the line thicker.

Rotate objects while painting

The Surface Dial makes it easy to rotate as you paint. Using your digital pen, use the 3D tools to draw a 3D object or pull a model from the Remix 3D community. Click on the art tools button and choose a brush and color. Start painting on your 3D model and keep your pen stationary while turning the dial to rotate the object underneath.

Hit undo

Don’t be afraid to experiment with easy access to the undo button on the Surface Dial. Press and hold for the context menu, and scroll to the last button, undo. Press down on the dial to select and turn the dial to roll-back any changes you’ve made.

Stamping and stickers

Click on the Stickers Tool and select a pre-made sticker, or upload your own. Choose where to position the sticker 3D model and simply press down on the Dial to stamp the sticker onto the 3D object. It’s super fun and easy.

If you don’t have a Surface Dial yet, you can order one here from the Microsoft Store. Head over here for five things you need to know about Surface Dial, or check out tips on getting started using Paint 3D.

In case you missed it, here’s last week’s Windows 10 Tip:

Have a great week!

*Surface Dial is compatible with any Bluetooth-enabled, Windows 10-enabled PC, laptop, and tablet running on Windows 10 Anniversary Update.

** Surface Dial is on-screen compatible with Surface Studio and Surface Pro only.