Not-smooth Brushstrokes

[4dm677]

Hi! I'm brand new to Affinity Photo, so my apologies if this problem has a rather obvious solution! I downloaded AP today and began testing it out. Very simple testing, I haven't gone very in depth with it at all yet, which will become apparent.

Here's my concern: Whenever I make a fast, curved brushstroke, there is a slight delay between when I put my pen down and when it actually begins drawing. Then, there's a straight line at the beginning of the stroke, and the rest of the stroke seems jittery and just not smooth. I have attached a screenshot depicting my issue. Photoshop used to do this sometimes but was repaired with a simple restart; I haven't found the solution to be that simple with AP. Any help is appreciated! I am using a Wacom Intuos4, and I'm positive the driver is installed. This issue wouldn't be as annoying if I was using this mainly for photo edits, but I'm a digital painter by hobby and I'm used to Photoshop CS5.

 

Again, apologies if this solution is simple and/or if it's already been answered elsewhere! I looked but couldn't find. Also, this question is even more simple and I haven't looked for it nearly as hard but it'd still save me a second if someone could just tell me: How would I make the background transparent, and not white? Again, much thanks. 

[- S -]

The first issue has been previously reported in the bugs section by another user.  You can view the post at the following link (See Post No. 10):

 

https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/32723-ap-brush-strokes-are-delayed-and-rough/

 

For the second question, to make the background transparent go to Document > 'Transparent Background' from the top menu bar.