Eraser lock bug on Wacom pen

[Soom]

I use both erasure functions on a Wacom pen - one is erase with right click, and another is the erasure tip on the other end of the pen. Now sometimes I use them immediately one after other - the right click for small details, and the eraser tip for bigger areas. It happens to me very often, that the right click eraser locks itself in this mode if I raise the pen very fast from Cintiqs surface right after erasing something, and then, when I turn my pen to use the eraser tip, it doesn't work. When I flip the pen back to normal position, the pen continues erasing (instead of drawing) until I press the right click again.
This becomes very very annoying – slows down my work... : (

[Elodie]

I think the problem comes from the hardware, not the software, as we never heard about such a bug.

I suppose your stylus becomes old and the right click locks itself.
For example, one button of my personal intuos 3 locks itself and I have to click on several time to unlock it.

[Soom]

I think the problem comes from the hardware, not the software, as we never heard about such a bug.
I suppose your stylus becomes old and the right click locks itself.
For example, one button of my personal intuos 3 locks itself and I have to click on several time to unlock it.

nope - my Cintiq is almost brand new and all other right clicks work perfect. the behavior looks purely software performance issue - looks like TVP is too slow to react releasing the right-click eraser option before it actually looses the contact with the pen. then when I lower the other side of the pen on the surface again, it cannot recognize it. If I turn the pen normally again, it can only recognize the last right click erase function and is stuck in this option forever, until I right click it again.
It's all about the speed I take the pen off the surface to flip it and loosing contact with the pen too fast...

[Elodie]

What is your version of TVP Animation ? (Help > About TVPaint)

1/3 TVPaint users are also Cintiq users and such a bug was never reported. I imagine several possibilities, but I have to know first what is the version of TVPaint 9.5 you are using.

[Soom]

What is your version of TVP Animation ? (Help > About TVPaint)
1/3 TVPaint users are also Cintiq users and such a bug was never reported. I imagine several possibilities, but I have to know first what is the version of TVPaint 9.5 you are using.

It's TVP 9.5.18, I'm on a Mac OS 10.5.8, and have the recent Wacom driver installed.

[slowtiger]

Maybe it's totally unrelated to you problem, but:

My keyboard is i front of my Cintiq. Sometimes when I bend over to draw, my belly pushes the space bar, and I erase instead of draw, which confuses me until I remember again.

[Elodie]

Yes, some devices could confuse computers or screens : phones, wireless keyboards and mice etc...

Did you report that bug to wacom too ? Your Cintiq is new, but it doesn't mean it works as it should... ?

[Fabrice]

I use both erasure functions on a Wacom pen - one is erase with right click, and another is the erasure tip on the other end of the pen. Now sometimes I use them immediately one after other - the right click for small details, and the eraser tip for bigger areas. It happens to me very often, that the right click eraser locks itself in this mode if I raise the pen very fast from Cintiqs surface right after erasing something, and then, when I turn my pen to use the eraser tip, it doesn't work. When I flip the pen back to normal position, the pen continues erasing (instead of drawing) until I press the right click again.
This becomes very very annoying – slows down my work... : (

It looks like your Pen is not releasing the right click eraser (middle button). Can you reproduce a such behavior with an other software, with the wacom drivers or with an other stylus ?

Our "Lemec" (aka Mark) has exactly the same configuration as you, and over has never reported a such problem. Maybe can you send him a PM ?

[Soom]

Hi All
I tried to reproduce the problem in a few different ways and here is what happened:
1st I tried to do the same with Photoshop on my computer, and it all worked fine – I drew some lines, right clicked the pen, raised it fast and flipped - as soon as I put the eraser tip on surface, Photoshop immediately recognizes it. I did it several times - all worked. So I suppose my pen is fine. Hypothetically, Even if the pen would not release the right click fast enough, TVP is supposed to recognize the eraser tip anyway, like Photoshop did.

Now I went to a colleague in the studio and tried to reproduce the problem on his TVPaint with his Cintiq. Surprisingly everything went fine. I will try to do more tests by connecting my Cintiq to another computer, but now it's just too much hassle.

My quick conclusion is that there are 2 reasons - one is something in the performance of TVPaint on MacBook Pro (I already had a post complaining about the speed TVP works on Mac) I think it is related somehow - software reacts slower, especially on bog files. The 2nd reason is that TVP doesn't always recognize the eraser tip. No matter what was clicked or locked before - it should release all other functions as soon as it feels the eraser touching the tablet.

I will try PMing Mark on this issue too.

Thanks.

[Elodie]

My quick conclusion is that there are 2 reasons - one is something in the performance of TVPaint on MacBook Pro (I already had a post complaining about the speed TVP works on Mac)

So the problem would come from Cintiq or TVPaint on Mac OS 10.5.8 ? I tried to reproduce the bug on a Mac 10.5.8 with an Intuos 3 : everything goes well...

[Peter Wassink]

may i ask what you use the eraser button for?
because for erasing i always use the front switch button on my pen and i find it works much faster then turning the pen all the way round for every erase.

this is just as a sidenote offcourse, i'm not saying that your issue shouldn't be resolved.



( in my avatar you can see what i use the eraser button for )

[Soom]

may i ask what you use the eraser button for?
because for erasing i always use the front switch button on my pen and i find it works much faster then turning the pen all the way round for every erase.
this is just as a sidenote offcourse, i'm not saying that your issue shouldn't be resolved.
( in my avatar you can see what i use the eraser button for )

Yep, though I explained it already in my first post, but I can repeat - the front (right-lick) button turns your current pen into an eraser. If the pen is very thin, you get same thin eraser. What if I need to quickly erase large portion of an image? Then I turn my pen and get a different eraser - bigger one, the one I've already have set before. That's the only reason... I can of course go and choose the eraser every time on tools panel without flipping the pen, but I'm just used to work like that now.

[Peter Wassink]

may i ask what you use the eraser button for?
because for erasing i always use the front switch button on my pen and i find it works much faster then turning the pen all the way round for every erase.
this is just as a sidenote offcourse, i'm not saying that your issue shouldn't be resolved.
( in my avatar you can see what i use the eraser button for )

Yep, though I explained it already in my first post, but I can repeat - the front (right-lick) button turns your current pen into an eraser. If the pen is very thin, you get same thin eraser. What if I need to quickly erase large portion of an image? Then I turn my pen and get a different eraser - bigger one, the one I've already have set before. That's the only reason... I can of course go and choose the eraser every time on tools panel without flipping the pen, but I'm just used to work like that now.

oops sorry i missed your first post.
i see what you mean now.

[lemec]

Which Cintiq are you using? The newer 12WX or the older 12X (which has no tilt support?)

The Old cintiqs suffered from button lock when the sideswitches were held down while out of detection range of the tablet, and then moved into range.

Alternatively, if your eraser is a complex one, like a custom brush, then yeah, it CAN take a sizeable amount of time to switch tools. I haven't noticed the eraser locking yet though since I use the back of the stylus.

Lemme test out using the front button to erase...

[lemec]

ok hold on...

There's different ways you can erase.

First off is the forward sideswitch which allows you to use the current drawing tool AS an eraser. The Drying toggle has different effects.

If Drying is ON then it functions as a normal eraser.

If Drying is OFF, then it only erases whatever paint is laid since the last time you undo/redo/change colour/switch tools/change frame.

As for the actual eraser on the back of the stylus, you can assign ANY brush you want(not just an eraser! You can use airbrushes, pens, oilbrush, smear, warp, etc.) - there are separate brush settings that are associated with the front tip and the eraser nub on the back.

Also, if you have spare pens, you can assign different tools to those as well. I suggest wrapping a thin strip of coloured bicycle reflector tape around your pen handle to make it easier to differentiate your styluses (and it makes them easy to find if you shine a torch beam around).


Now, for using the sideswitch erase mode, it is usually very very fast. For the back stub, it can take longer, depending on how complex your brush is. Also you can go into your wacom panel and try assigning the sideswitches to act as erasers, but I think it may cause problems. Peter would know more about it than I would. Lastly, I'm on a PC, so not all results may be replicable!