Expression 1 established the concept and the major benefits of vector brushes, but of course in the last few years other packages have picked up on the idea. Expression 2 though shows the advantages of a completely dedicated approach. With its Attributes panel, for example, you can swap between three core drawing modes, manage the shear of the stroke, set how corners should be handled and even set up repeating patterns on the fly. There's still a danger that strokes will appear too regular, which is where Expression's support for pressure-sensitive tablets is crucial. Using the new Width Profile panel you can also control the width of the stroke across its length either interactively or through presets.
All strokes are fully editable.
Once you're happy with the size and shape of your stroked object there's plenty of control over its appearance. The main Paint Style panel is used for managing fills with a choice of solid, gradient and pattern effects and you can always quickly create your own pattern. Expression 2 also offers an embossing effect for fills, complete with interactive control over lighting source, and a very attractive soft edge effect which makes it seem as if the fill is breaking out of its outline - again ideal for producing a more human, more artistic feel to your work. You can also use the Paint Style panel for re-colouring your stroke. Of course a picture-based stroke will often include more than one colour so, by default, replacement tints are applied based on the original colours' gray levels.