I couldn’t find exactly where to post this, so thought I’d do it here. Sorry if I’m in the wrong channel.
Since Krita is gearing up for QT6 and future, I wanted to provide some constructive feedback on improvement of its interface so that it’s cleaner and more pleasant to use. Of course, the suggestions I offer are only a few possible ideas, but we could brainstorm better ideas to implement.
I think an issue with Krita is the tools feel a little cluttered, plus too many shortcuts to remember (at least for someone like me with ADHD). Granted, the current method of grouping is great for some people who can pick what they want at a glance, but for others like me it’s too much noise that slows down workflow. So maybe there can be a way to come to a middle-ground or compromise, or possibly another way altogether.
The idea I had in mind was to group multiple related tools in a single icon, kinda like how Blender groups selection tools or Extrude tools in a single icon. For example, the Rectangle, Ellipse, Polyline and Polygon tools have the exact same function: To create shapes, vector or raster. Even their Tool Options are virtually the same, and can in fact be shared depending on the situation. Grouping them into one icon, perhaps called the “Shape Tool”, would simply the tool extensively. Maybe hitting a single button repeatedly would help cycle between shapes (Rectangle, Ellipse, etc.) with a visual indicator telling us which shape is currently active. We can even just select the shapes either by holding down the button on the tool icon for a pop-out like in Blender, or selecting the right shape from the Tool Options.
For now that should be sufficient. But for future, this also offers great extendibility. Because this means we would only need to maintain a single tool for multiple shapes, while adding multiple shapes to it (either by devs or users too). And maybe even further in the future, the same tool could be useful for boolean operations in case of vectors, similar to Inkscape but better; because you can select the boolean directly in the tool options and draw directly.
Selection tools can also likewise be grouped into a single tool / icon, freeing up so much screen real-estate. All I would have to do is press A repeatedly to find the right selection tool without losing focus.
Freehand Brush, Line, Dynamic Brush and Multibrush tools can also likewise be grouped. Though, here, we could add an added improvement to the usability of the Line tool. I’ve often found it difficult to use Line tool by temporarily holding down V just to switch because I’d make so many mistakes, simply because it requires me to hold down the button for a longer duration than other softwares where I only need to hold CTRL or some other button down briefly to connect from last stroke point to new point. Maybe there’s a better usability method we could discuss for the line tool in particular.
I’m also curious if it’s possible to merge the Line tool with Bezier somehow, where straights and curves can be decided on a whim during the process of painting… but I’m just spitballing here because I recall Paint Tool Sai doing that years ago, but I’m probably misremembering. For the bezier itself, though, I was hoping we could have a live-operations mode or something similar to Boxcutter and Hardops in Blender, where once you enter an operation you can adjust all parameters with just mouse-movements before confirming to continue. Because the bezier is attached to brushes and brush-strokes, we could probably control the width while making the curves, which would also be VERY mouse-friendly.
Anyway, that’s just ideas for one small area of improvement. I’ll probably offer more suggestions for other areas in the future.
Hello 