Undo message and cursor display while painting

[Jake123]

Good afternoon, (or night, or etc )

I am testing Photoline's demo intensively to decide if it can fit my workflow. I am an illustrator and digital painter who prefers to use tools similar to Photoshop instead of very "art specific" (Rebelle, Art Rage, etc), as all I need is a simple but decent brush in that regard. Your brush system is good enough, in my opinion, as I have been testing. And the image editing features in Photoline are impressive and very complete, just what I need.

1) This issue might seem silly, but I undo constantly as I paint, and seeing the undo message display with every ctrl+z (I configure it in my pen), so, every x seconds, is very distracting, removes my focus. Is there a way to disable it? I did not find it in preferences, neither doing a search here in the forums.

2) The second question is if is it possible in Photoline to set a "only crosshair" cursor or other minimal cursor (for instance, a solid tiny triangle) while painting. My only solution is to activate upper-case letters key in the keyboard, as then (like in other apps) the cursor becomes a crosshair. But this is an inconvenience for designs where I am constantly alternating painting work and text layers, which I make very often.

The first issue is worse for me, as it could be that it is tied to the PL internals and not possible to change, while somehow I could work for some time (until the feature appears) with activating the upper-case key for the other issue.

Thank you very much in advance if there are answers about these.

[der_fotograf]

I have no idea how to disable the »Undo« banner (seems to be pretty new, never noticed it before), but you can use the history/undo list:



In this list you just click the previous entry to undo the last action. Once clicked, you can move the bar to top and bottom, to see your single steps on screen.

To modify the cursor, go to »Preferences« -> Working -> Cursor. I have no idea, how good the help file is for this topic.



Maybe this helps?

[Jake123]

Thank you very much for the very detailed and kind reply, der_fotograf.

I had seen undo list, and it could have been a remedy, as it does not trigger the undo message, for some reason. But while painting I undo constantly (partly as a digital tablet does not give you as much control as a traditional brush) , and it'd be too much time and (painting) focus lost to go every x seconds to that dialog. In every software I adjust undo to one of the two pen side buttons (usually assigning ctrl+z to it). Which actually works great here (but launching the message in the middle of the painting ) .

I tried to find shortcuts (hoping they'd work out of the focus of the dialog) to go back and down in history of undo-list (ie, like it used to be in Blender), but was not able to find any. This could be an option, indeed, but I don't know if it'd be possible to make it work out of the focus of that panel (ie, while painting).

I might see later if I can post that as a possible feature suggestion (just a toggle in preferences for the Undo graphical message), if that's allowed.

[ BTW, the ctrl + arrow keys to modify the brush size, and shift + arrow keys to modify hardness; I think that's genius! . Also, I tested it can be mapped to the wacom intuos pro touch ring . Even more, that just pressing ctrl while dragging, one can change the brush size (I have set that to my tablet buttons as well ) ]

The cursor options... I have tried several combinations and I am not able to set the usual "just crosshair" only (or a black small triangle/circle). But might be me that I am not seeing how.

Thanks a lot again for your help.

[Jake123]

I also want to emphasize, that once I made some deep digging and heavy configuration, I could make a brush that pretty much mimics the usual subtle and painterly digital painting brush (I, neither my gigs, require any sort of mimicking of traditional media. And my work is not niche, is pretty standard for the gigs one gets as a person who can draw and paint). So... Kudos! That is amazing.

[der_fotograf]

You can use cmd + shift (⌘ + ⇧) on macOS and move the tip of the pen to modify the softness of the brush.

[bruce1951]

FWIW I have imported a number of brush sets into PL. Work fine.

[Jake123]

You can use cmd + shift (⌘ + ⇧) on macOS and move the tip of the pen to modify the softness of the brush.

Yup! I had mentioned it in my previous post... (but I recon I write too long text walls, sometimes... )
Although actually, while I'm constantly changing the brush size, very rarely change the softness.

[Jake123]

FWIW I have imported a number of brush sets into PL. Work fine.

I...typically, in every software, have only a simple round brush with flow control (and sometimes opacity), typically quite hard edges, and I customize it a lot, all to slightly mimic a painterly touch. I'm that kind of painter. But it's good to know that importing brushes works well.

[Jake123]

About the main topic, I think just having a preference to make it show up (the undo message) at the bottom left (might make sense as also there's the status messages at the bottom of the screen, would appear just above it, where the user eyes already look for "feedback" at status bar) or right bottom corner (most users don't focus on the bottom, so it wouldn't be as distracting as in the middle of your work area), would avoid the problem of removing the mental focus on the illustration/painting/comic/design.

The other issue, I've read the help pages, but I don't seem to find a way to not use the two circles (size and hardness), I mean, so to hide them by replacing with a tiny crosshair, or small arrow, etc (it's something I tend to do in every app ).

Anyway.. I will be keep checking the releases, in case these get changed (probably it won't, but just in case). I might purchase it even if I can't use it for painting (it's very ready for painting for many people, I just can't deal with those two things in my workflow, but maybe that's just me), as it's very useful for other stuff.

[shijan]

I agree that "Undo/Redo" pop-up is sort of distracting sometimes. Please add user option to turn it on/off if possible.

[shijan]

It is possible now to disable Undo message in Preferences in 23.40b6
As for Brush Cursor visibility - yes, it is possible to hide brush circle if press Caps Lock.
It is also possible to draw any custom crosshatch cursor by editing Cursors.pld file in program resources or by using additional CursorsUser.pld file. But this will not affect brush circle (aka Outline) preview.

I personally also would like to ask for small improvements for Brush cursor preview when it is not during painting. Is it possible to add an option to preview real brush cursor instead or simplified outline? Something similar to "Preview Copy" option in "Copy Brush"

There is also small problem in logic in "Copy Brush" preview as well. Currently if i use Caps Lock to hide cursor circle - "Preview Copy" also became invisible.

So i guess perfect independent toggles for all brush tools may look like this:
Preview Brush (including Color, Soft edge and Opacity)
Preview Brush Outline
Preview Crosshatch

[Jake123]

It is possible now to disable Undo message in Preferences in 23.40b6

Thank you very much!!! I was not aware of it. This alone is reason enough for me to purchase it now. Thanks a lot, Shijan, and the devs for having implemented it .

As for Brush Cursor visibility - yes, it is possible to hide brush circle if press Caps Lock.

Oki, the undo was the main problem. The capslock is an ok trick, I can live with having to often be hitting capslock when also working with many text layers
I am able to paint in a very very painterly and artistic manner with the demo, in the tests I have made. so, all this is great news. My purchase is now decided.

It is also possible to draw any custom crosshatch cursor by editing Cursors.pld file in program resources or by using additional CursorsUser.pld file. But this will not affect brush circle (aka Outline) preview.

That is very interesting, indeed. Editing the cursor is not possible in the majority of apps, while it is extremely convenient for each one's customization. Hiding the outline would be actually perfect. In some apps what I do is set the outline to only show when I am increasing or decreasing the brush, as that's mostly when it's needed. This combined with the existing customization of the cursor would rock (the cursor is of course needed). But I am fine with a standard cursor as well.

So i guess perfect independent toggles for all brush tools may look like this:
Preview Brush (including Color, Soft edge and Opacity)
Preview Brush Outline
Preview Crosshatch

I would vote for all that, 100%.

Thanks a lot.

[Jake123]

Working with the latest beta (finally purchased it ). And this new feature works great.

[Jake123]

Thanks again a gazillion for providing with the check in preferences for the undo message.
I purchased 23 version and I quite like it.
I am thinking of upgrading to 24, but I would like to know, if possible (if not I will still keep loving the software ) if is it planned at some point to add more cursor shapes instead of the current brush double radius. It's still distracting for me while fast painting, and the cross alone is not ideal either, for painting. Also, while I can set the cross alone by keeping caps lock on, that is not great while doing mixed workflows that often require me to type text in layers, or save files with different names often (and anyway that cross cursor is not ideal for painting). In other apps I can choose a solid dot of some pixels, or a tiny solid arrow, tiny circle, or etc (ideal would be a custom user made cursor icon, but I do not know a single app allowing this). The ones clip studio uses are perfect (at least a pair of them).

It is a pity for me as I absolutely love this software (in image editing much more powerful than CSP, and enough for me for painting professionally), it is super complete and more flexible than most out there. I would love to use it more than for some final project stages editing and export.

Apologies if it is not OK ask about it, I was wondering if it is listed in some roadmap or something.

Regards,

[Martin Huber]

(...) if is it planned at some point to add more cursor shapes instead of the current brush double radius. It's still distracting for me while fast painting, and the cross alone is not ideal either, for painting. Also, while I can set the cross alone by keeping caps lock on, that is not great while doing mixed workflows that often require me to type text in layers, or save files with different names often (and anyway that cross cursor is not ideal for painting). In other apps I can choose a solid dot of some pixels, or a tiny solid arrow, tiny circle, or etc (ideal would be a custom user made cursor icon, but I do not know a single app allowing this). The ones clip studio uses are perfect (at least a pair of them).

Can you be a bit more precise:
- How do do you want to turn on/off the brush outline? Via options/preferences? Some other way?
- I don't understand what you mean by "a solid dot of some pixels, or a tiny solid arrow, tiny circle, or etc". What should it look like?