Eraser size

[sharkcellar]

I'm kind of embarrassed to even ask this, but I don't use TVPaint that often (I mostly work in Photoshop and After Effects), so everytime I go back to it I'm kind of relearning it.

My question is is there a way to have the eraser at different size than the current brush I'm using? I have a Nostromo (Belkin N52te) set up with shortcuts. I have two buttons set up to switch the current brush between color and erase mode. The problem with that is if I have a really thin line, my eraser will be equally thin, which is not always optimal for the task at hand. I'm sure I'm missing something, I've searched the forum but the two threads on the eraser don't pertain to my dilemna, which is, admittedly, more parochial. Can someone suggest a more efficient working method for me? Thanks!

[Fabrice]

The default shortcut to change brush size is [z]

[sharkcellar]

Thanks, Fabrice. I know that much. I have my mouse wheel on my Nostromo set up to size up/down the brush, so I have the same problem with using the Z shortcut. Say I have a 2.0 size brush set up (I have it in the bin) and I need to erase a lot of skinny chicken scratch rough lines out, if I make the eraser huge using either Z or my scroll wheel, I still have to go open my bin and select my 2.0 preset for the brush again, which interrupts the work flow, at least for me. In Photoshop (I imagine you hate to hear that phrase by now...hehe) if you switch back and forth between the eraser and brush with shortcuts your choices retain their last size, no need to scale the brush/erase each time it's selected. That's what I'm trying to do.

[Paul Fierlinger]

I am familiar only with Wacom and there you have to change the erase default button (in this case the bottom part of the rocker switch) to"Keystroke". But before you do that, give any key you wish a shortcut assign of an eraser you have created, set to a larger size.

[sharkcellar]

Thank you for your reply, Paul. Thank you both for your help. I've figured out my problem. Cheers!

[Peter Wassink]

I am familiar only with Wacom and there you have to change the erase default button (in this case the bottom part of the rocker switch) to"Keystroke". But before you do that, give any key you wish a shortcut assign of an eraser you have created, set to a larger size.

Alas... this is not a good solution.

after releasing the rocker you still need to activly retrieve your drawing tool.
It was the power of the (right click)rocker that you can.... draw - <click> - erase - <release> - draw
in a natural flow, all with a tiny move of one finger.

Now we are looking for a better erase experience in this flow
and all we need is a bigger tool size for erasing then for drawing.

The million dollar question is how do we achieve this in TVPAint?
all solutions i have seen involve multiple clicks or keyboardshortcuts that needed to be clicked.

One route could be to somehow set the rocker to togle between two tools. no idea if that would be easy to achieve.
although a disadvantage of changing the rocker away from its RMB function is that you then no longer can erase using freehand filled stroke ( which i tend to use quite often)

[Paul Fierlinger]

Nope, I can do it as described. I just forgot to mention that I use a tool switch shortcut which is toggled with a single click. SO I have this SWAP tool (Svengali and Mads each made their own versions both of which work well) on my bottom switch and I have a toggle Light Table tool assigned to my top switch. That rocks, because those are the three elements I use all day long: Draw, erase, LT off and on, draw, erase .... without moving my hand off the Wacom.

[Peter Wassink]

Nope, I can do it as described. I just forgot to mention that I use a tool switch shortcut which is toggled with a single click. SO I have this SWAP tool (Svengali and Mads each made their own versions both of which work well) on my bottom switch and I have a toggle Light Table tool assigned to my top switch. That rocks, because those are the three elements I use all day long: Draw, erase, LT off and on, draw, erase .... without moving my hand off the Wacom.

Thats great!,
Though i think this swap tool should be baked in, because its such a basic need.

the Svengali/Mads tools won't find their way to the vast majority of users.

[Paul Fierlinger]

There is something baked in already; has been for awhile, but as I remember, it never worked as well because I had to keep refreshing the tools and now I can't remember exactly what the problem was. But the thing is, I like to have the thin eraser as the default because I erase two different ways; small corrections (very small and I think this is because I work with very thin lines) and two larger sizes for larger repairs.) I agree with you that TVP needs, has always needed from the very beginning, a built in eraser which would be adjustable by the user to make it slightly larger than the drawing tool. Using the oil brush has always been the best workaround, but why do we have to keep explaining that to every newbie -- it should just be an obvious eraser that would work with Wacom.

[Elodie]

It's a frequently asked feature, but obviously, it's impossible to add, because nobody would agree on the size that should have the eraser : 2 px bigger ? 25% bigger ? what if you are working on small details ? It's just impossible because everybody "erase" in a different way, for different jobs.

I was in a studio on last Friday and a young animator told me very clever trick (Never thought about it !) : playing with Edit Profile on the Size, with the Pressure on.
Then, you just need to switch between Erase and Color mode.

And you can draw reed easily ! :)

thin-big-brush.png (93.32 KiB) Viewed 38751 times

Big thin brush.tvpx

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[Paul Fierlinger]

I don't get it. Yes, I see (and I've tested) how you can draw between two extremes, if that is what you need and like to do-- extreme thin and extreme thick with nothing in between. But what's so different about erasing? It's always been that way, that you can select between color and erase.

[Peter Wassink]

It's a frequently asked feature, but obviously, it's impossible to add, because nobody would agree on the size that should have the eraser : 2 px bigger ? 25% bigger ?

but off course! adjusting a default size ratio between drawing and erasing has to be an option in the preferences,
everyone should be able to set to their need... but if that is all thats stopping you... please implement!

[artfx]

I always had the space bar switch to my default drawing tool, so I never felt much issue with quickly choosing another tool for erasing or a different line. I also added some "duplicate" tools in my custom panels for quick size changes. I notice I often use the same sizes over and over.

[Elodie]

I don't get it. Yes, I see (and I've tested) how you can draw between two extremes, if that is what you need and like to do-- extreme thin and extreme thick with nothing in between. But what's so different about erasing? It's always been that way, that you can select between color and erase.

Currently, if you create a tool and switch between F2 / F4 (color / erase mode), the brush style has the same size. Some people want the eraser bigger than the drawing tool.

With this kind of brush above, you have immediately a strong and big eraser, just by drawing a little harder than you usually do :

big thin brush 2.png (73.02 KiB) Viewed 38710 times

I always had the space bar switch to my default drawing tool, so I never felt much issue with quickly choosing another tool for erasing or a different line.

Actually, the space bar is just a way to do a right click on Mac (because not so long ago, mac users didn't have a right button on their mice).
You have the same result by using the right click on your Wacom stylus (if it's configured like this). You also have to check "dry" in your tool, to be able to erase any stroke ^^

It's a frequently asked feature, but obviously, it's impossible to add, because nobody would agree on the size that should have the eraser : 2 px bigger ? 25% bigger ?

but off course! adjusting a default size ratio between drawing and erasing has to be an option in the preferences,
everyone should be able to set to their need... but if that is all thats stopping you... please implement!

I notice I often use the same sizes over and over.

You see Peter : some people keep the same size when they erase

[Eric Scholl]

An other option is to use the "Swap stylus tips" shortcut available in version 10.5.
So you can use your pencil on one of your stylus tips and your eraser (with a different size if you want) on the other one and switch from on to the other with a single shortcut.