That would be an elegant solution!
This Iâd consider a crutch. In my opinion the only logical way to have a dedicated eraser tool would be to switch to âerasersâ in the brush docker (what you already suggested). Any other way nobody would understand, new users in particular (âhow to change to another eraser?â).
Any tool that uses brushes should display its own brush list. Thatâs how itâs done e.g. in Rebelle, where you select your tool (regular brush categories but also erasers, blenders, water- or dry tools, liquify or favourites), and the associated brushes are displayed. And it makes a lot of sense to me.
But what about making tag switching easier? We could have a row of (colour-coded?) buttons at the top of the brush docker, say 5 or 6, which could be linked to the most used tags. There could be an option in the docker menu like âmultiple tags activeâ, which would allow the display of tag combinations or, if disabled, would make the buttons act like radio buttons and thus show only 1 tag, like it is now. Just an ideaâŚ
(btw: brush docker and toolbar dropdown can be set to different tags)
Whatâs a bit tricky in Krita is, that there is no real eraser tool, just brushes with the eraser option set. So thereâs no automatic eraser tag and tagging a brush as an eraser falls back onto the user. In doing so, itâs not really possible to say which tag is the âEraserâ tag. I could the default âEraserâ tag, I could assign that tag to normal brushes. I personally could even decide to have multiple eraser tags. Itâs all a bit messy. So I wouldnât even know how Krita would decide what the actual âEraserâ tag is. For now itâs just a standard tag that is labeled âEraserâ. For this to work, there would need to be an automatic eraser tag that is assigned to brushes that were saved with the âEraserâ option enabled. And then there might be a need for a separate option to only show those eraser. This is a bit more complex and needs quite a bit of work.
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Yeah I agree that itâs probably best to have a dedicated eraser tag built-in. But, it wonât actually switch tools to eraser mode, since that completely defeats the purpose of the current resource management system. So instead, I think, if there would be a tool that would enable eraser mode for you when you pick from an eraser tag, you should also be fine. Thatâs why I think it would make sense to switch tags with the tool active so you wonât accidentally pick these brushes with the brush tool, causing them not to erase anything.
I think that itâs good that the resource management is tool agnostic and that the tools should be smart. That makes the resource management more robust > you donât want to accidentally save a brush and have it be permanently turned into an eraser. Thatâs my non-programmerâs perspective on this.
I would also like to add a use case for this feature, since I recently started using Krita on Android in addition to the windows version, I found out how important it is to have the extra tool that we can toggle with touch devices. I use ten brush script on Krita to freely switch between eraser brush and regular brush but have since found out that the plugin is not available on the android version of Krita.
This feature is useful especially on android version of Krita since user will most likely use touch functions instead of keyboard. Actually even with keyboard I still havenât found alternative of ten brush script on android Krita. I know there is an eraser switch button but I found that sometimes I need to switch to a more opaque eraser that will not retain the properties of the brush that I use. Oh and sometimes eraser mode with smudge brush may not work as well.
Even if we can select the eraser brush from the brush toolbox, it will be more cumbersome if we have lots of brushes on the toolbox so having a button to switch to a separate brush on the fly can be useful.
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Frankly I feel that it is a little silly to categorize brushes and erasers as the same type of tool. I have used a lot of programs over the years and continue to use multiple at the same time; every single one of them has used a dedicated eraser tool. I want to be able to press E and use a dedicated eraser tool, and be able to swap what eraser It switches to if desired. Then when Iâm done I want to switch to a brush by pressing R or B (R is closer to E and easier for me to use). I do NOT want to set up 10 brushes to go to a specific brush and a specific eraser then have to fiddle about in the menu or pop-up to get to the actual eraser/brush I want, nor do I want to set up a boat load of hotkeys for different brushes. Customizable dockers and categories would be incredible for the program even though I personally donât make use of it. Krita should absolutely keep the transparent pixel brush mode it has now as lots of people find use in it, but it shouldnât be the only eraser available
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I just make a tag for my brushes and access them via popup. Itâs one button and then select the brush. If thatâs a problem, photoshop subscription is good value.
Folks who want to use Krita professional know how to adapt. Thatâs not to say there arenât things that can be done to help make Krita better for serious users that want to make income from it, but I donât think a dedicated eraser is the kind of thing people who can adapt care about.
I think finding a different solution and asking the devs to make adjustments to make that solution more integrated/intended would be a better. So like make it so if you use the pop up for your regular brushes. Have it so pressing E while pop up is open switch to the eraser tag.
Iâd also like to be able to sort the order/location of brushes in the tag/pop up too.
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The benefits of a dedicated eraser has been highlighted in this thread many times. People are simply making an argument for it and telling them âto just switchâ isnât helping anyone. Krita is an open source project, and open source projects live and die by their community. Itâs in Kritaâs benefit to gain users, not lose them.
So having something thatâs more familiar to people switching from other programs, like a dedicated eraser, can be beneficial for Krita.
Working with tags is slower than pressing a single button. In CSP and Sai for example you can be drawing with a brush and if you make a mistake you can press and hold E to erase, then release and continue drawing normally. Itâs quick and seamless, your mind doesnât have to think about it.
If we get a dedicated eraser tool in Krita, it can work like the line tool where you can hold V to draw a line then release to continue working with the brush. It would be a fantastic and streamlined workflow.
A common complaint about the eraser-mode approach is that the user can accidentally turn it off even for an eraser brush. So youâre working with the brush and make a mistake, bring up the popup, select an eraser, try to erase but you accidentally paint because eraser-mode was turned off, because the concept of a dedicated eraser doesnât exist in Krita. So you press ctrl-z then E then you can erase. It just takes you out of it, itâs not a smooth experience. And you might think thatâs a minor annoyance but in my opinion, a polished user experience is paramount.
And as others (and myself) have said, the eraser-mode doesnât have to go away. But a dedicated tool would solve a lot of the issues we currently face and would offer more flexibility overall.
There are some scripts that help and Iâm using them myself but theyâre less robust than a proper solutions, they can break with updates and donât support sticky actions for example. So Iâm still holding out hope that the devs consider this direction.
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I think all the pros and cons have already been discussed in this thread. I request all to go through it once again.
Let us not start the debate once again in a loop.
Also this thread exists and has votes which means that people are aware of this. Developers may also take notice of this so there is not an issue of ignoring this request.
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Idk, say they do get the dedicated eraser. I think new users will find that Krita suffers from the lack of other things.
Iâm not telling them to make the switch, Iâm asking them to really look at how serious their complaint is given the workaround being pretty solid (I actually think its even better)
I think getting new users would be easier if we helped make the adaptation easier.
But I do think itâs a balance and important to determine if their complaints are legitimate and if Krita does a enough good job of showing/convincing people to try a different technique. After all there are countless features to decide to focus on. Looking at the bigger picture Imo Iâd rather we focus elsewhere but I donât run anything. Just giving my 2cents
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It isnât only Erasers, AFAIK, that krita donât have as a separate tool when compared to others painting apps. There is a lot of separate tools that are brushes on Krita (Smudge / Blending, Liquify [there is brush], Burn / Dodge, Erasers). So an Eraser tool would be an outlier for Krita, and it would open room for arguments to copy other apps and have a tool for every âbrush engineâ.
Not to mention the philosophy krita adopts: Like in real life you have a tool for painting (brushes, pencils) and different types of brushes for different goals.
From what I perceived along the years is that the devs arenât âcontrariansâ, and just want to be âthe different kid in the blockâ. They just donât want to separate the painting tool in two (notorious exception is the Dynamic Brush, probably because it couldnât be implemented as a stabilizer mode)
I really believe the better compromise is a native approach to my personal [Proof of Concept] Plugin as Eraser Tool (PET).
Basically a bunch of âslotsâ where each slot remember the last active brush based on a defined parameter.
My plugin has âtwo slotsâ. The first slot remember the last non-eraser brush, the second slot the last eraser used. However, a option could be configurable slot that could remember brushes from a specific brush engine or a specific tag.
My two cents at least
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Your plugin is an interesting approach Iâve tried it a bit, but it seems a bit unstable at times. But I imagine it would run smoother as a native solution.
Honestly Iâd settle for just the ability to lock erase mode for certain brushes in the brush settings, making the button greyed out and pressing the shortcut does nothing. At least that way, when I switch to an eraser I know for sure that Iâll be erasing and donât have to double check.
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Some Erasers have the blend mode set as Eraser.
I think the Eraser Circle and Eraser Small are example of such brushes. Brushes with this blend mode are always an eraser, independent of the E toggle.
As for my plugin, yes, it is unstable at times, mainly it wonât âconnectâ to the signal of brushes changing, and the pluginâs slots get stuck with the default brushes. At this point you have to restart Krita.
I donât think this is something solvable at this time, because I kind of âhackedâ my plugin into an UI internal signal outside of the Python API.
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Thanks for the tip, I didnât know that. That helps a lot with the annoying moments I face sometimes.
Understandable. But at least it works as a proof of concept if the main devs ever plan to explore more into the subject.
Letâs not assume feature creep to be part of the dedicated eraser request. If so, thatâs another feature request then.
That said, I do agree with a slot based system for different tags or different brush engines (e.g. transform, smudge, stamp brush) with dedicated hotkeys. Itâs the hotkeying part that I think most people ask for, whether itâs a dedicated tool or slot system is of secondary importance imo.
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Honestly I think the eraser thing is like the only thing really different from other programs and it is a much better solution for erasing. Going from one side of the keyboard to the other every time I want to switch makes flipping my pen to erase lesser of a stretch. Not to mention E is real close to the camera shortcuts making everything at your fingertips you donât even need to look at the keyboard. And having to manage two brushes at the same time is annoying and no one ever talks about that
Also we have the eraser sign so you can see the eraser is on at all times. And I should reiterate too that you can lock the eraser blending mode to a brush and if you place a shortcut on it you will have your "eraser toolâ. It is the same annoyance as selecting 2 brushes at the same time.
Also Photoshop has deep seeded problem with too many tools despite many being duplicate tools with except 1 detail. Krita solves that issue by merging them and have it as a setting for that tool that you can keep.
Instead of trying to be better as krita tries to be. You guys just want more of the same. Those kind of arguments will only make krita even less relevant because it has no innovation being the only difference it being free and by then the one that does it better simply wins. I do think trying to fix a short coming of something does not come automatically with the cost of blatantly copying what others do unless it is like super optimal. And that comes at the cost of copying other peopleâs mistakes.
All 2d programs already look like Xerox copies of each other canât one thing be different? But it is always Photoshop people being worried with the krita community when they make requests to copy Photoshop. I really donât get it.
Also the lagger system is coming around so there might be something that opens up for out of standard use.
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What I do is use the Brush History docker. With that, I can keep my eraser handy (I keep the docker right below the brush docker) Itâs set to last one used gets put at the top. I tend to erase a lot so it stays at the top of the list.
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Here is how i did it:
- install the extension Shortcut composer that can be found here:
(download the file then go to tools â scripts â import python plugins from file)
- Make a pie menu and tag your go-to brushes and a second pie menu for your go-to erasers set those pie menus to the shortcuts where you usually had your brush and eraser in potatoshop.
Tutorial for pie menu configuration down here: PIE MENUS - introducing Shortcut Composer - YouTube
- set the pie menu configurations under the âpreferencesâ tab to âon deadzone pick topâ
Boom! you have a 2 configurable pie menus that can toggle between the top most brush and eraser with just the push of a button just like in photoshop⌠only better!
For a bonus you can go hog wild! And make specific pie menus to toggle between hard edge brushes, soft edge brushes, mixers, selection tools, whatever you like and have them set for a specific project to be called with the press of a button!
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Here is my version of the same.
How to use:
- this creates 2 shortcuts, give it a key for each that you want
- Avoid using E shortcut as it only works temporarily
- in Brush mode you will paint
- in Erase mode you will erase
- select a mode and then change the brush for that mode
- changing mode will revert to the last selected brush in that mode.
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that is exactly what makes it loose identity. I am sure you know you cant copy things 100% legally with software or art. if you delete what is different for the sake of comfort you will just have a cheap copy.
Also where it the adaptability of users? they change software but they dont change their Photoshop habits into Krita habits? Literally if people want their photoshop habits to continue they should use Photoshop.
It it like you want to go outside for a walk with your cat in a leash like a dog because your last pet was a dog.
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