Affinity Designer - Can't replicate vector brush effects

[Garth Laidlaw]

Hi there,

I've been working on drawing of a character for a client and I somehow have lost my brush, and for the life of me I cannot replicate it.  It was very crisp and sharp and every setting I try and adjust doesn't seem to get back to the concise quality of it, so I'm posting it here to try and see if anyone can help.  Here is an image to demonstrate it:

Thanks for your help!  I'm looking for something that, very quickly without even really bothering with carefully applying pressure, can get the great thick and thin that the checkmarked stroke demonstrates.  Below are my failed attempts to return to it using a variety of techniques.  

Using Affinity Designer

[Garth Laidlaw]

Alright so by going back to a previous file that I was using this brush in, I've retrieved it thankfully.  What I noticed differently about this brush is that it doesn't have anything in the pressure settings in the Stroke panel to the right, and also has these features available, when my previous brush had them greyed out - what "kind" of brush am I using that allows me to adjust these settings?

I just don't want to be stuck here again.

Thanks!

 

[Garth Laidlaw]

This is absolute madness. I'm flipping in between my two files and nothing is different except these settings on the brush that I posted above are greyed out in the one where it's not working, and not greyed out for the one where it is working!  What gives?! How do you activate these settings?!  I can't even seem to save the brush as it doesn't seem to copy over the settings.  Why is this so blisteringly frustrating?

[Garth Laidlaw]

Alright, further development: I have found the solution, but it is garbage in my opinion.  Certain brush presets allow you access to these heretofore greyed out settings, and some do not.  Why bother with this unnecessary lockout Affinity?  Why not just allow that section of brush settings to be uncheck or checked as we please?  This is a very unnecessary learning curve you've thrown into the software here.  

For anyone who finds themselves stuck here to, switch to a brush such as one of the "Engraving" type of brush to allow these settings to be active, and be aware that they are not active for the "Pens" for some bizarre reason.