Brush Pressure Sensitivity issues

[PowerPlayGraphix]

I just started trying out Affinity Designer Beta and I was trying to "ink" some pencil art I scanned in. I'm using the "brush" tool with the variance set at 100% trying to get good varied line widths.  I trace the line and the preview, as I'm drawing the line, looks correct but when I lift my stylus, it's nothing like the preview.  It's either all thick or it snaps back to being a thin wispy line.  Even changing my sensitivity in the Wacom "Tip Feel" preferences doesn't seem to help much.  Am I missing something?  I'm using a Cintiq Companion Hybrid and also trying it with a Wacom Intuos Pro.  Same thing happens on both.  Trying to work on the same file in both Adobe Illustrator and Affinity Design to compare the feeling of the different programs.  The Adobe "brush" maintains the preview format pretty well while the Affinity "brush" seems very random in when it will and won't retain the preview properties.  

 

Macbook Pro 15" (late 2011) with 16GB RAM running Yosemite (completely updated) - Tablets tried on :  Wacom Cintiq Companion Hybrid and Wacom Intuos Pro Medium with latest Wacom Drivers.  

[MattP]

I think this is something that needs a user-definable option for how tightly to fit the pressure input when smoothing it after you release the 'mouse'... We must smooth the input to some degree - simply because otherwise you'd have a pressure curve with thousands of input values on it and it would be unusable, but I think I'm being too aggressive in the smoothing for your purposes - although it works well for me... If I allowed a user-definable control, then you could back it off until it gave you the right blend of fluidity and the least number of points in the pressure curve. I can definitely add this, sorry for the inconvenience in the meantime...

 

Thanks,

Matt

[ronnyb]

How about a Vector Smoothing Brush tool, momentarily accessible by holding down modifier key while laying down strokes. Something like this maybe....

 

[specworkfan]

I'm going to agree with OP. The default isn't bad at all, it would be just nice to have slightly more control.

 

 

I think this is something that needs a user-definable option for how tightly to fit the pressure input when smoothing it after you release the 'mouse'... We must smooth the input to some degree - simply because otherwise you'd have a pressure curve with thousands of input values on it and it would be unusable, but I think I'm being too aggressive in the smoothing for your purposes - although it works well for me... If I allowed a user-definable control, then you could back it off until it gave you the right blend of fluidity and the least number of points in the pressure curve. I can definitely add this, sorry for the inconvenience in the meantime...

 

Thanks,

Matt

[CocoSkin]

I'm having the same issue with my Cintiq 12WX. On pencil pressure, the preview and final result are so different.

[smokie1019]

Yes, I'm eyeing the width of the line as I draw, then go into the stroke panel to get it to look how I'd like.

 

There is an iPad app call Adobe Draw, and to be honest, I got spoiled by the way the line just flowed the way I wanted, but I disagreed with the Adobe set up.

 

Cocoskin, I, too, have the Cintiq12wx, and am loathe to give it up as the size is right.

I'm having difficulty in the selection is strokes, ( pressure, brush default, velocity, etc.,) because I don't know what I'm going to get.

I'd like for the pen work to just flow, and not have to draw, click the style of stroke from the style menu, and then adjust from there.

I don't think our Wacoms might be outmoded, as they've stopped updating the 12wx software but it works fine with other apps.

[F_Kal]

I think this is something that needs a user-definable option for how tightly to fit the pressure input when smoothing it after you release the 'mouse'... We must smooth the input to some degree - simply because otherwise you'd have a pressure curve with thousands of input values on it and it would be unusable, but I think I'm being too aggressive in the smoothing for your purposes - although it works well for me... If I allowed a user-definable control, then you could back it off until it gave you the right blend of fluidity and the least number of points in the pressure curve. I can definitely add this, sorry for the inconvenience in the meantime...

 

Thanks,

Matt

I got the same "problem": The vector brush tool feels a bit strange, since what I see is not what I get - If I got you Matt right, it's some simplification algorithm that is causing the effect;

 

I've attached a picture of a line both before releasing the tip (left), and after releasing it (right).

I don't mind about the reduced detail in the dynamics of the line (which imo is well balanced), but a thinning is often taking place that is a bit strange (as can be seen on the picture above).

 

So, while (as some people suggest) having more control parameters is useful, I personally would focus on improving the default behavior: 

Trying to see what exactly is wrong with the current implementation, I'd say that it doesn't always "respect" a ) the maximum pressure and b ) the amount of ink the user wanted to put on canvas!

 

Truth be told I'm a lousy programmer (that's why I switched to doing design :D ), but my humble solution to the issue at hand would be: 

-calculate the amount (surface area) of the ink(blackness) of the stroke before the simplification, 

-always respect the max and min thickness(pressure) that appeared in the original stroke

-remap all in-between thickness values so that the resulting blackness overall remains the same to the original line.

In other words, redistribute the ink - this imo would feel more intuitive.

 

hope this helps!

 

-Fotis