Strange Drawing Tablet Function

[ndstephens]

Not sure if anyone can help me with this. I'm very new to using a tablet (and to TVPaint). I have a Wacom Intuos 4. I have the tip click disabled so that i only get a LMB click (to draw) when i hold the button on the pen down. The problem is that if the pen is slightly hovering above the tablet and the button is pressed i get a full pressure response out of it. For instance, if i have pressure linked to brush size, then as long as the pen tip is in contact with the tablet (and the button is pressed) then the size of the brush responds as it should. However if i slightly lift the pen off of the surface (such as during the end of stroke) with the button still pressed, i then get a thick section of line at the end b/c once the pen leaves the tablet it instantly reads as full pressure. Does that make sense?

Anyone deal with this? Is there a work around? Do most of you have it so that the tip of the pen also gives a LMB click without the pen button in use? It just seems to me that could lead to erroneous clicks when mousing around the palettes setting up colors and tools.

Thanks.


nate.

[Paul Fierlinger]

We all have our individual ways of using this software and hardware, but I have yet to come upon someone who likes to draw while keeping pressure on the pen's switch. I don't believe the pen nor any software is designed to be used like this.

[idragosani]

That's a strange way to use the stylus. The pen uses magnetic resonance and can manipulate the pointer even when not touching the surface. It seems that the software is still detecting the pen's "on" status because you have the button pressed. I think you should keep the tip's click functionality at the default and use the pen button for other things. You'll get used to how it works pretty quickly, there's very little danger of misclicking something as long as you don't touch the tip to the surface.

[ndstephens]

Thanks for the feedback. Last night i did switch back to the defaults and after a few hours was already more comfortable. At first i was clicking all over the place with the tip active and it was driving me nuts so i switched to the button, but that became very unnatural feeling.

I guess i can see one of the buttons being useful as a right-click, but not sure about the other. What are you using your buttons for...and if you don't mind elaborating, what are some of the functions/keystrokes you have set up on your tablet's buttons/sliders/etc?

Thanks again,

nate.

[Paul Fierlinger]

80% of the time I work I just draw, erase, and toggle the light table off and on. Based on that, I adapted my stylus to those three tasks; I kept Wacom's default setting for the bottom rocker switch to erase, the top switch I assigned to a letter on my keyboard which is designated to toggle my light table off and on, and the tip I have left for drawing.

On my Wacom 4, I have designated my Express Keys to: (from bottom up)

Alt (to hold down while moving my drawing around with the pen

Forward Slash, which is my key designated to toggling between draw and erase (with a larger eraser than the pen has)

8 -- PrevCel

9 -- Tracker:Next Instance (which lets me advance to the next frame while automatically tracking for other frames which may have used the same color in the case of coloring. When just drawing it ignores this colorist's tracking function.)

Flip Vertcally

Flip Horizontally

CTRL K, which opens the Keyboard Shortcuts Panel

Key Command: File Export: Sequence, which opens the Export Panel:

The Touch Ring I have set foe only one function, which is to jog the timeline frames at varying speeds.

[idragosani]

Actually, I don't use the buttons on my pen all that much. On some apps, like the open source painting app called Krita, a custom wheel menu with favorite brushes and palette gets activated using the RMB, you can certainly config similar things in TVPaint with your Wacom configuration tools. I make a lot of use of keyboard shortcuts more than anything else, for switching between modes or popping up the layers panel. Most of the time, yeah, like Paul says, I just use the pen for drawing and flipping over to erase. I draw on a Cintiq, so it's it directly in front of me, with the keyboard on a tray below, that I control with my left hand. Everyone's workflow will be different, of course, but once you get into a certain rhythm, you don't even have to think about what you are doing.

[ndstephens]

Thank you both for the great info and feedback. I had also already set up one key on the tablet with Alt/Option for panning and also the Touch Ring with the jogging function. Using one of the buttons on the pen for the light table is a great idea.

If you don't mind i have a couple more questions for you, Paul. Do you not use the eraser on the back of the pen? Right now i have my pen set up so i erase while drawing by hitting the bottom button on the pen (which sets the current drawing tool into erase mode...which is what i believe you mentioned you do as well), but then if i flip the pen over and use its eraser side then a different "eraser tool" i made is activated that has a broader erase stroke to it (which i believe you do with a keystroke on your tablet instead of flipping the pen over, is that right?).

Do you flip the page horizontally and vertically to help you with drawing? Right now i'm not sure where and how that would fit into a workflow...if you don't mind explaining a little.

The whole tracker thing i haven't learned yet so i won't bother you with any questions on that. Still need to finish the manual. But what did you mean by the "8 -- PrevCel" and the "9 --" before the Tracker command? I don't understand the number and the dashes...if they mean something specific.

Oh and lastly (and please anyone jump in on this), do you have your tablet mapping set up in "pen mode" or "mouse mode"? I can't decide which i like better right now.


Thanks for the feedback as well, Brett. I'm a pretty heavy keyboard shortcut user with most programs, but this is the first time i'm also using a table. Since i'm on a laptop i'm still trying to figure out how best to orientate it along with the tablet. The tablet needs to be in a comfortable drawing position, with the keyboard close by for easy reaching, but also the screen in a position for good viewing. Kind of awkward so far. Would be much easier with a desktop type system with screen and keyboard separate.

You guys have been a world of help. I'm very appreciative.


nate.

[ematecki]

It's just faster to press a key to get the eraser than turning the pen around... efficiency first :)

[Paul Fierlinger]

I use a plugin Svengali made to switch between eraser and pen at a stroke of a keyboard key, a custom panel button, and a button on the tablet -- anything but twirling my pen between my fingers which was one of those American inventions of the 19th century to spearhead the myth of American exceptionalism.
Sorry, but I feel that strongly about this dumb exercise. The plugin is called, Swap Erase. A search from this page will lead you to it.

I flip my page Horizontally a lot, because I have a bad tendency to draw my characters with a slant as if standing in the wind. I began to feel better about this when I discovered that Leonardo da Vinci had the same defect, even worse than me, actually. The Vertcal flip I use rarely and will one day replace with something more important.

the numbers pad's 8 and 9 are just to advance between frames back and forth. I confused you with listing which commands I use to do this just to demonstrate how this simple command can include other tasks to happen simultaneously -- like all commands in TVP, you can create your own string of commands to occur simultaneously for a more streamlined work flow.

Tablet mapping: on pen mode when using pen, on mouse mode when using mouse (never). I map my drawing space to cover the size I favor for the drawing panel, plus some extra space on all sides where I line up in single file my most commonly used custom buttons to reach with my pen. For reaching everything else I have to switch to mouse.

I consider this essential to create an ideal drawing ratio of 1:1 between tablet and monitor. The way to test this is to comfortably draw circles making certain that the circle you draw on your tablet (invisible of course) is exactly the same size of circle that appears on your screen. This helps me draw the neatest and most accurate drawings I have ever seen

[ndstephens]

Considering i dropped my pen several times last night while flipping it around for the erasure i think i'll heed your advice. And i'll look into that plugin you mentioned.

So are you flipping the page horizontally just to get another perspective on your drawing to make sure the wind isn't blowing, or do you sometimes draw the character itself "flipped" to prevent your defect, then flip the page back when you're done?

Sounds like your 8 and 9 and the same as the right and left arrow keys...just advance forward or backwards by one cell. That's how i mapped my bottom two buttons on the tablet, as well as having the cell scrolling on the touch ring (like you mentioned).

Alright, i'll set the tablet to pen mode. That makes sense. Like everything else it probably takes a short time to get used to it and then it becomes natural.

"This helps me draw the neatest and most accurate drawings I have ever seen" -- Well obviously...i still can't tell if your avatar is a sketch or a photograph??? Neatness and accuracy only count in grade school.


Can't thank you enough for the feedback and advice.

[Paul Fierlinger]

Oh no, my 8 and 9 are "Previous Instance" and "Next instance" assigns ... a big difference from the left right arrows. I start animating from both ends of the timeline; the first pose and the ending pose of an animation sequence. Then I draw the first inbetween; the precise frame in the middle of those two key poses and continue inbetweening until I have the move laid out on the timeline in increments of holds the length of 16 frames apart (can be as much as 32 but that's a bit much). Here I now begin to use a plugin first developed by Svengale and then perfected for 64 bit operating system by Madsjuul, called, Make Tween. It has these numbers listed in a column:
32
16
8
12
6
4
2
1
Cancel

After drawing an evenly spaced nice length of key poses I begin really inbetweening by highlighting the entire timeline and punching #8 of the plugin (if I have keys drawn 16 frames apart.) after filling those 8's with drawings, I highlight the timeline and punch in #4.

This is where there is a difference between moving from one frame to the next frame using arrow keys, and moving from instance to instance, using keyboard keys 8 and 9. After having all 2's filled with drawings, I walk the dogs before setting into the long haul of filling in all the ones.

Needles to say, life isn't always so neatly arranged that I won't run into instances of 12 or 13 or such uneven amounts of distances between poses, but for most days 2,4, 8 and 16 spreads do the job.

[ndstephens]

Got it. Thanks for the clarification. Just before i found TVPaint i tried the demo of Digicell Flipbook. Same process of using keyboard shortcuts to jump between your keyframes and also just jump from cell to cell. But i see that this tool you mention also sets in the keyframes at the spacings you request. Sounds great. So you have two buttons on your tablet set for jumping between keyframes, and use the touch ring to scroll through individual cells at different speeds.

While i need to stay focused on learning the basics, I noticed that tools like the one you just mentioned and the erasure one are probably shared under the "Contents Sharing" forum, is that right? Are there any other of these custom tools that you use frequently and think are worth mentioning? Thanks.


nate.

[Paul Fierlinger]

Just let me know when you get to some heavy opaquing on a layer /layers below your line drawing layer (should be always) and I'll send you a cool plugin for automating the tracking process, also made by Madsjuul.

[ndstephens]

Great. Thanks again. Are there places where people upload these plugins, are do they more just float around from person to person?