Brushes are not behaving as they should? Strange behaviour.

[Affinity-Inspiration]

Ok, by strange behaviour I mean.

Select a brush and draw a shape. The drawn shape or line has no width or shape.  The line shows in blue as you draw it, but disappears as soon as you lift the mouse button.

Select Pen, and the shape now appears. Sometimes.

Sometimes the Vector Brush works, and sometimes it doesn't. In any case, it doesn't seem to follow the set size of the brush when it does work. Other times, the drawn shape only appears when the shape is closed, as in a circle. When the circle is complete the space appears. If the circle isn't completed the shape doesn't appear. 

In all cases, a layer is created but apparently has no vector shape in it.

The Pen tool works as it should.

The Pencil tool works as it should.

[Circulus]

I cannot confirm this issue on windows.
I think this is an issue specific to mac and probably due to using a pointing device other then a mouse?

[Affinity-Inspiration]

3 minutes ago, Return said:

I cannot confirm this issue on windows.
I think this is an issue specific to mac and probably due to using a pointing device other then a mouse?

Yes, I'm on a M2Mac Mini. Using a Mouse device.

I can confirm that it works exactly as it should on the Windows 11 box. 

It works on the iPad Mini 6 but has almost similar issues as the Mac. Lines are actually drawn, but don't usually conform to the brush shape without some further manipulation.. Using Apple Pencil 2, or finger.

The Brush tool just doesn't work as it should on the Mac. 

[Hangman]

Hi @Affinity-Inspiration,

I think a quick screen recording showing the complete UI (with the Layer and Stroke Panels visible) demonstrating the issue you're seeing would be really helpful in understanding the issue...

[Affinity-Inspiration]

3 minutes ago, Hangman said:

Hi @Affinity-Inspiration,

I think a quick screen recording showing the complete UI (with the Layer and Stroke Panels visible) demonstrating the issue you're seeing would be really helpful in understanding the issue...

I'll do that.

[Hangman]

Just now, Affinity-Inspiration said:

I'll do that.

Perfect, thank you...

[Affinity-Inspiration]

Screen recording of the Mac behaviour.

 

 

[Circulus]

Very strange.

You have set the controller to pressure, this only works using a pen tablet.
What if you set it to any of the other options?

[Affinity-Inspiration]

Screen recording of the iPad Mini 6

 

 

[Affinity-Inspiration]

5 minutes ago, Return said:

Very strange.

You have set the controller to pressure, this only works using a pen tablet.
What if you set it to any of the other options?

Exactly the same behaviour. I have Pressure set on the Windows 11 version, and that behaves perfectly.

[Circulus]

Ah okay, yes it works with that setting alright on windows.
It was worth a try.

[walt.farrell]

1 hour ago, Affinity-Inspiration said:

In all cases, a layer is created but apparently has no vector shape in it.

In your first recording, we can see that the layer is created, and it has the proper vector curve in it, but it has no fill or stroke for some reason. You see this when you choose the Pen Tool and the curve becomes visible in blue. The Move Tool should show the same.

Apparently, the stroke size/color are not being used initially, and the curve is not remaining selected when you finish painting it, so even the blue outline becomes invisible until you switch to a tool that shows the bounding box.

I have no idea why.

[EmT]

Thanks @Affinity-Inspiration

I can reproduce this, I'll get it logged with the devs. It seems to occur after a Ctrl run-up or if the stroke width has been set to 0 in the stroke panel.
The work around is to adjust the width in the stroke panel before drawing, you can then select your brush and draw without issue. 

[Affinity Info Bot]

An issue raised in this thread ("Vector brushes do not inherit stroke width on Brushes after Stroke Panel width set to 0") has now been reported to the developers by the testing team (Ref: AF-5102). Thank you very much for reporting this issue to us.

[jmwellborn]

6 hours ago, EmT said:

Thanks @Affinity-Inspiration

I can reproduce this, I'll get it logged with the devs. It seems to occur after a Ctrl run-up or if the stroke width has been set to 0 in the stroke panel.
The work around is to adjust the width in the stroke panel before drawing, you can then select your brush and draw without issue. 

Not happening here.  No matter what I do, I still get the blue line.  Same thing if I use StudioLink.  

[Affinity-Inspiration]

24 minutes ago, jmwellborn said:

Not happening here.  No matter what I do, I still get the blue line.  Same thing if I use StudioLink.  

Glad it’s not just me. 
It does seem intermittent. One minute works perfectly, the next it’s all over the place.

[Circulus]

Some additional information, I just tried some things and it seems also a problem on windows.

 

 

[jmwellborn]

24 minutes ago, Affinity-Inspiration said:

Glad it’s not just me. 
It does seem intermittent. One minute works perfectly, the next it’s all over the place.

For me it didn't seem to be intermittent. It was all the time. I tried with several vector brushes from different categories: image brushes, paint brushes, whatever. I adjusted the width in the Context Toolbar before trying to paint, or selected the brush, adjusted the width and tried to paint.  Nothing but a blue line.  Further, in the Layers Panel, each curve layer indicated that there was nothing there.

 I have now discovered something even more strange.  I tried opening the Stroke Panel and by adjusting the stroke there, I was able to make the brushes work correctly.  Dragging the size of the stroke on the Stroke Panel automatically changed the brush width on the Context Toolbar in perfect synchronisation.  But then I opened a new document, and tried to start by changing the brush width with the Stroke Panel.  This time the width on the Context Toolbar did not change AT ALL.    But the same brush still worked, rather than the thin blue line.  Here is a look at that.

[Affinity-Inspiration]

24 minutes ago, jmwellborn said:

For me it didn't seem to be intermittent. It was all the time. I tried with several vector brushes from different categories: image brushes, paint brushes, whatever. I adjusted the width in the Context Toolbar before trying to paint, or selected the brush, adjusted the width and tried to paint.  Nothing but a blue line.  Further, in the Layers Panel, each curve layer indicated that there was nothing there.

 I have now discovered something even more strange.  I tried opening the Stroke Panel and by adjusting the stroke there, I was able to make the brushes work correctly.  Dragging the size of the stroke on the Stroke Panel automatically changed the brush width on the Context Toolbar in perfect synchronisation.  But then I opened a new document, and tried to start by changing the brush width with the Stroke Panel.  This time the width on the Context Toolbar did not change AT ALL.    But the same brush still worked, rather than the thin blue line.  Here is a look at that.

Exactly what I found. It behaves differently every time.

[Hangman]

One trigger for the behaviour is based on the settings you have selected for the Pencil tool...

1. Create a new document
2. Select the Pencil tool
3. In the Context toolbar for the Pencil tool, deselect Use Line Style and Use Fill, set Auto-close to off and uncheck Keep Selected
4. Select the Vector Brush tool and choose a Brush from the Brushes palette, note the brush size in the Stroke palette
5. Paint a stroke and you'll see the blue line only, change the brush, repeat and you'll see the same issue
6. Select the Pencil tool and enable Use Line Style in the Context toolbar
7. Select the Brush tool and it will now paint the line correctly

[Affinity-Inspiration]

30 minutes ago, Hangman said:

One trigger for the behaviour is based on the settings you have selected for the Pencil tool...

1. Create a new document
2. Select the Pencil tool
3. In the Context toolbar for the Pencil tool, deselect Use Line Style and Use Fill, set Auto-close to off and uncheck Keep Selected
4. Select the Vector Brush tool and choose a Brush from the Brushes palette, note the brush size in the Stroke palette
5. Paint a stroke and you'll see the blue line only, change the brush, repeat and you'll see the same issue
6. Select the Pencil tool and enable Use Line Style in the Context toolbar
7. Select the Brush tool and it will now paint the line correctly

One of many triggers. Basically even joist opening up the app triggers it.

[Affinity Info Bot]

The issue "Vector brushes do not inherit stroke width on Brushes after Stroke Panel width set to 0" (REF: AF-5102) has been fixed by the developers in the latest beta build (2.6.0.3027). The fix is planned for inclusion in the next customer release.
Customer beta builds are announced here and you can participate by following these instructions.
If you still experience this problem once you are using that build version (or later) please reply to this thread including @Affinity Info Bot to notify us.

[Lunity]

It could be an issue with the brush settings or the pressure dynamics if you're using a tablet. Try resetting the brush settings to default or checking if the stroke color and size are set properly. Also, make sure the layer isn’t accidentally locked or set to a blend mode that makes the strokes invisible.