What's the Difference Between Drawing with the Pencil Tool and Drawing with the Brush Tool?

Most people mistakenly think that the Pencil tool and the Brush tool accomplish the same thing in MS Paint: freehand drawing.

Both tools allow you to draw freehand with lines of varying size, but there are several differences between the Brush tool and the Pencil tool:

Difference #1

The Pencil tool allows you to hold down SHIFT while drawing to "lock" your line into a perfect horizontal, vertical or diagonal. The Brush tool does not allow this option.

Difference #2

The Brush tool allows you to change drawing tips. By changing drawing tips, you can use the Brush tool to draw in the style of a marker, spray paint can, or ink pen.

Difference #3

The Pencil tool draws in a discrete manner while the Brush tool draws in a continuous manner. A line drawn with the Pencil tool will only contain fully colored pixels. A line drawn with the Brush tool will have a slightly "blurry" edge.