Alchemy
Interface Basics
When you open Alchemy you will see the main window and little else. Why, you ask? The Alchemy interface is designed to stay out of the way, letting you concentrate all your creative energies on just doing the drawing.
To reveal the interface, roll your mouse into the top part of the main window. It will magically appear like this:
When you leave the interface area it will automatically disappear back where it came from. You can also toggle the tool bar on and off by pressing the space bar.
The Alchemy interface has two main elements: the menu bar and the tool bar. On OS X, the menu bar is located in the main Apple Menu area.
On Windows/Linux the menu bar and the tool bar are by default grouped together and show/hide automatically.
On all systems it is possible to detach the tool bar into a separate floating window, by clicking on the detach button on the top right of the tool bar. This removes the tool bar from the main window and on Windows/Linux make the menu bar behave a bit more normally, i.e. be visible all the time.
To re-attach the tool bar to the main window, simply click the close button in the top left corner.
Simple Interface
Since version Alpha 005, Alchemy has an alternate simple interface that is ideal for kids.
Using the simple interface is well... simple, it can be turned on in the Preferences/Options and will kick in as soon as you restart Alchemy.