Long time users know that John is very open to suggestions for the product. I will here start off a v5 wish list, hoping that you all will join in with your requests.
1) bring back different size layers
2) bring back bezier collections
3) allow numerical input from outside data.. like a feed of the Stock Exchange, into the TG of the MSG or into other paint preset variables - just an example (subset-- the ability to use a URL for image source so for example, a remote web cam or movie stream could be the source image)
4) the possibility to define (multiple) areas of influence for warps that would remain till cleared. (example I option click select 4 spots on the canvas that will sphere warp any paint stroke (or particle brush) that enters or passes through the area)
5) an engine that can generate a 3d interpretation of the source image and then allow stroke direction to be surface wrapped ( would be like what Bernard as been doing without having to use Z-brush-- and without making SA a full 3d painting program)
6) automatic horizon line detection and the ability to adjust stroke parameters in relation to the horizon line.
7) better stroke direction control in the "grow region from start" path type. -- I know this seems very specific. But this could be a very powerful tool.
8) the ability to nest PASeqs
that's my start feel free to your add suggestions
I take it Cal would like:
1) add Alpha invert on option
Replies
Now is actually a great time to post SA 5 feature suggestions. So thanks for the suggestions.
RE #7: We've already been adding a lot of features to 'grow region' path shape options. As well as the path start regionization path shape features. That particular set of path shape options is much more powerful now in our development code.
RE #4-5: Is this really 2 different ways of looking at the same thing you want to do? IE: apply warps to generated paint paths?
I also think you could use the release version of Studio Artist and build source depth maps in a second layer, and then use Bus modulation off of that pseudo-depth map layer to control stroke direction. You could use gradient lighting or MSG presets that generate res-independent gradient lighting effects to build the pseudo-depth map off of a source image.
re 4-5 being the same.
I see these as quite different.
in request 4 what I want to do is kind of the inverse of what you are understanding. Apply warps to paths is correct, but semantically what I am visualizing is "applying paths to warps." I am really thinking live performance here and in such pre-determining that certain areas of the canvas will warp the paths in defined ways then going to town with the hand drawing. All very similar to dual mode and path warping but inverted to the extent that the "warp" is living on the canvas Before the stroke is drawn. Hope that was clear.
in request 5 I am visualizing a method for generating stroke direction rather than a warp per se. Essentially a super intelligent way of doing the pseudo depth mapping and Bus modulation that you suggest but with a single command in a single layer. Though since you mention it, once the engine was there, using it to do 3d warps as an extension of the current self modulate warps would be very cool.
I would chime in with a few standard drawing application tool requests:
A constrain key (or) that forces lines to horizontal, vertical, 45 degree etc.
(Photoshop and others)
And or:
An option to click one area of the canvas while holding a key down and click another area and have a line draw between.
(Photoshop)
And or:
A real time option to draw straight (bezier) lines - freehand. This would actually be something like a vector line that could be drawn or pulled to another location creating a straight line with a repeat of the line drawing a Preset. There is something similar to this already in place - but a step down into the menus and several steps away from a live stroke and repeat.
(Expression3)
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Which brings me to the wish that the vector (bezier) tools be brought to the top level... (and all underlying bezier strokes be editable - tho I am guessing that this is asking for the moon or another application altogether!)
An extension of this would be that any editable (bezier) line/stoke with an associated Preset be open to assignment of a different Preset to the same line/stoke.
(Expression3)
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The ability to expand the container for the (Paint Synth) Brush Source so that there is no clipping of the brush source. I am assuming what I see in the Brush Source preview icon (the "container") is an actual representation of the clipping area of a brush. The box frame seems to clip when scaling (a) brush up to larger size - leaving a box shaped brush. If the frame that the brush resides in could expand to accommodate the brush when scaled up - the clipping would be a non issue.
As always! Thanks!
We've already expanded freestyle pen mode so that you can draw multiple 'linto' segments in addition to the freestyle lasso line behavior you have now.
Do you just mean clipping in the source brush preview for your last request? The actual source brush doesn't clip.
John,
The little preview does clip (not a problem if I cant see the whole Source Brush) - in the (way back) past I noted a square shaped clipping going on in Presets as well. I made an association between what I saw in the little preview and the clipping that was happening to the Preset.
I sent an email with Presets and screen grabs about the clipping issue. I think it is an artifact of old pre 2004 Presets I created.
I am unable to find "linto" options in the version I have - but (oops!) I did send a bug I did find in the Freestyle options related to FreeStyle Autodraw and probably any Brush Type = Antaliased Solid brushes.
You can set the computational brush Corner Pull and Pre-Sym and Post-Sym parameters in the Brush Source control panel so that you end up with clipping at the edges of the specified brush size. So that's the clipping you are referring to. The thing to do is to dial back those parameters to get rid of the clipping. They basically can distort the shape so that it extends outside of the specified size with some settings. So they are actually designed to introduce a hard edge clip at the border of the specified brush size with some of their potential settings. Just like using a rectangle comp brush setting gives you a hard edge at the border.
I think just dialing back the settings to eliminate the clipping makes more sense if you don't like the hard edges they introduce. If you set them to 100 they won't do anything to distort the brush shape.
John,
Works great! The clipping mystery is solved. Thats a subtlety that isn't entirely clear from the dials or the little preview box. And its been so long since I looked at documentation - a little trick like dialing down those parameters was lost for me.
On a happy note. I just encountered the constrain option I was looking for.
Under Pen Mode/Region Draw Multipen/Region Fill Type/Line (and changing the multipen setting to one line - if you like) you get a drag-able line that draws a Preset from point A to point B! Its a little wonky depending on the Preset - and still freehand in a way (not constrained - just draws a line) - but does the trick.
I will try to keep this stuff out of the main theme of this thread - WISH list!
Thanks!
Yes, i forgot about the lineto region fill option with region draw pen mode and region draw multipen pen mode. That's a way to do a straight drag-able line in the current version.
The new feature we added to freestyle pen mode for the future lets you define a series of drag-able straight line segments as a single path. So its kind of like a lineto polygon path specifier.
Regarding Brush shape for computational brushes. We could add something like an 'effective radius' parameter, so that you could dial back the scale of a distorted shape to pull it back into the specified rectangular size. If you want the shape distortion generated by those controls without getting a hard edge at the brush borders. I'll think about that for the future.
adding a request for Path ordering options.
right now paths can be painted top to bottom or bottom to top. I would like to be able to order them in different ways. For example by length or distance from center or by watershed region, or even random.
Currently the top to bottom or bottom to top scheme limits the results of path painting way too much.
some user friendly meta edits on the MSG grid memories might be nice. In particular I am thinking zoom (scale), and translate.
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