Poor Controls on Brushes

[junipermn]

The controls for brushes seem to have been designed to be as confusing as possible, and as akward to use. Making the controls more user friendly would certainly help sales to persons coming from other image programs, or having less experience, or less English language fluency.

 

Take the Clone Brush as an example. The control should be on a panel that is always visible, or when made visible stays visible and can be moved around.

 

The main controls needed are  for the length (which everyone else calls size, you call width),  width (not "shape!") hardness, rotation of the origin (in degrees, not %!!!) and circle or square (which is entirely lacking in Affinity), flow, and a check for aligned/non-aligned. Look at how easily they are visible in Photoline's panel--see below. And when you change them in Photoline, the example in the upper left shows you the change. (The triangle in middle left is the control for circle/square.) Or look at how easily Paint Shop Pro shows them on a toolbar across the top--the second example shown below.

 

Also, PSP shows the outline of the location, size and shape from which one is borrowingon the photo, -that is much more usefull than a little "x" on the photo! See third photo below.

 

You have an additional control which they lack, a rotation within the borrow. I don't know a good name for it, you have it within the top bar. It at least is already in degrees. But it is less important than the rotation of the borrow shape, which is only on the "More" dropdown.

 

Affinity needs a clear, visible set of controls for the brushes. The panel should have a memory so that when one gets back to it the controls are where you left them.

 

This is really important. If Lightroom had a decent clone, half on us would still be with it.

 

 

[paolo.limoncelli]

I think you only have to get used to this new engine.

Brush controls of AP/AD are much more powerful than PSP and PL32.

Affinity range is blazing fast in painting... Another league.

In particular not so far from PS engine, which is the benchmark.

 

In PL32 or PSP I'm not able to create brushes like these (crafted in Affinity Designer).

It is simply impossible...

 

 

 

AP/AD philosophy is "preset oriented".

You can create and categorise as much tools as you want, and don't have to change settings while painting.

Simply pick the preset you need, and vary size/hardness/opacity with an handy combination of shortcuts.

 

Square/Circle brushes have all the controls you need and much more, as dynamics.

You can use these presets with any tool available, so for example clone/dodge/burn/smear portions of your images using art presets. 

 

And last but not least... Multiple nozzles and textures.

 

The only lacking feature is Opacity Jitter control in dynamics, but I'm pretty sure it will arrive soon.

[outdoors]

Junipernm; I do understand that you are eager to get quality features into AP, and it is a good thing that you are making yourself heard. If this can be done without a tone of demand and extensive use of "!!!", I think it will be more well received.

Remember, photoshop and such had a decade to build their tools. AP is just getting started. :)

[Jennyc]

Yes please, may we have the rotation slider up in the toolbar. I've been keeping the "more" box open so that it is always available but it takes up too much space. 

I use rotation a lot in background erase mode. When I am erasing the background to a flower I need to get into small crevices at all angles.

And while I'm on about it why, in background erase mode, does it show a brush line which hardly changes when the rotation slider is used. I am beginning to learn what angle the oval shape (which I prefer to use) is going to be at but it would be good if we could find out a bit sooner exactly what the tool is going to do.

I may go back to me old PC and Xara.