Brush and Pencil tool issues
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I was doing more testing with the brush and pencil tools.
With the brush tool, I noticed that when I switch over to the default plain brush and attempt to use it, it often disappears. The stroke is still there, but it's invisible unless you select-drag over that area. The brush set I imported does not seem to work when selected, though the default tapers in VS do. Also, when I do switch from one taper style to another, it affects the last drawn completed stroke made instead of affecting the next stroke to be laid down. If I'm working on inking a piece of art and I want to switch over to a different style taper, I'm thinking about the next one, not what was just laid down. If I want to correct an existing stroke, it would make sense to me to go select it and click on the taper I prefer.With the pencil tool, I'm not seeing the rope stabilizer when I go to make a stroke. It;s also not respecting the imported brushes... not sure if that's because they are brushes... but I also had problems using the built-in tapers as well. They worked in hindsight, if I made a stroke and then clicked on a different taper. When I chose a taper and started using it, it defaulted to something else each time when I applied it as a new stroke on the canvas.
On a different note - when I hit select-all (command-a) and try to delete, it only deletes the last stroke made, not the rest. If I hit command-a a second time and hit delete again, it erases everything on the canvas. I've tried this on different files and with brush strokes and with pencil strokes. I don't know if this is intentional - in a case where you don't know where the last stroke was made but want it gone... or if it's a bug.
In the last video, I wanted to experiment with the offset and apply strokes to boxes. I noticed my cursor would not stay in the pencil or brush tool symbol as I drew, it was an arrow. I also did not have the lasso showing for some reason still... When I went to modify the box I mention next, there was no selection showing - no bounding box with handles around the shape I had made.
I was curious what the offset option did in the brush panel so I tried it but it kept going back to zero. The hover over told me it was for closed objects so I made a box and converted it to curves and then adjusted the offset and it didn't do anything. Perhaps I'm missing something I should be doing? Speaking of making boxes, would it make sense to have a shortcut to "convert to curves" in the contextual menu at the top of the screen?If I'm missing something or doing it wrong, please let me know - these little things make a big difference in making VS comfortable for designing in - so whether they are bugs or improvements needed, or user error lol, I'd love to get it figured out.
🍎 macOS Tahoe 26.2, Mac mini (M1, 2020), Chip Apple M1, Memory 16 GB
Cintiq 27QHD Display and LG Ultra HD Display -
@Boldline The first issue (default brush) is a bug and it is already on the backlog.
From the videos it looks like the indicators are not drawn.
When an object is selected with the pointer tool, are the handles visible around the object?I recommend a settings reset (hold Shift+Option+Command when staring VS), something might have gone wrong with the workspace.
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@vectoradmin When you say the default brush bug is already logged, are you referring to the earlier discussion we had about considering whether to use the plain brush or the rough edge brush as default? Or are you referring to the issue with strokes not being visible yet there if you select drag? I assume the latter but just confirming lol
🍎 macOS Tahoe 26.2, Mac mini (M1, 2020), Chip Apple M1, Memory 16 GB
Cintiq 27QHD Display and LG Ultra HD Display -
@vectoradmin I cleared the VS app and the selection box has returned. I also see the option at the top of the contextual menu to convert shape to curve. I probably missed that last time
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@Boldline Both the earlier discussion, and the above case (video 1), which I just discovered after our earlier discussion
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@vectoradmin said in Brush and Pencil tool issues:
@Boldline Both the earlier discussion, and the above case (video 1), which I just discovered after our earlier discussion
LOL nice!
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@Boldline About video 2: is the rope stabilizer visible after the reset?
Also: when having the Pressure mode selected in the context panel, the pencil will create a new pressure profile for every new shape.
Use the Selected mode in the Pressure field (context panel) for having the current profile on the new shape.I checked in other apps and it seems that when a new shape is created with the pencil tool, it is kept selected, and selections made in the Stroke panel will apply to the previous shape.
To deselect the shape drawn with the pencil tool, press the Esc key. Then any selection in the Stroke panel will used on new shapes only.
The Offset property works on closed shapes only, not need to convert to curves, just make sure that the closed shape with a brush is selected.
Working on the other issues now. I think one of the major problems is the disappearance of the markers in all editors (that can be fixed with a reset). I have to find out why this happens and how it could be replicated.
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@vectoradmin I understand now what you mean about changing over from "pressure" to "selected"
when I do the reset, I can see the rope stabilizer just fine as I draw.
When I open a set of illustrator brushes, it makes a new brush panel directly over top the open default set and I have to move it over. Is there a way it could just be listed below the default set? or as an embedded tab?
I'm still running into issues even after turning off the pressure at the top and switching to selected. It's not choosing the brushes I imported and actually gives me no visible stroke at all - just the invisible one. I switched over to brushes and had a similar problem - kept it on selected, grabbed a brush I had imported and nothing changed. This was all done after i had reset the app upon opening.
thanks for the info on the use of the escape key - that helps. -
@Boldline When opening an AI file with brushes, these are presented in a separate panel at first.
But it is possible to move a selected number of these into other preset groups using the Export to Preset from the panel menu.- select the brushes that are needed.
- then select the Export to Preset in the panel menu.
- in the dialog, select the preset group, with the following options:
- Presets will be the common application level preset (visible for all documents).
- Document the exported presets are stored in the vstyler file and are visible there.
- or a user defined preset group (see Preset Manager).
When using a (brush or any other) preset panel, to apply a preset on the selected shape, it must be double clicked in the panel. Single click just selects it in the panel.
It is also possible to apply on selection by checking the Apply on Selection in the panel menu.There are still other bugs around working with brushes, I'm working on those now, hopefully the fix will be in the next build.
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@vectoradmin ok thanks for that info, I'll test it some more. Thanks as well for putting so much time and attention on the brushes. such a key part of the daily use and there's a lot there the user can benefit from, especially as it gets more intuitive and efficient to use Keep up the great work!
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@Boldline Using solid stroke as a default brush should work in the new build 201
