Difference between revisions of "Topics to Digital Painting with GIMP"

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==Introduction==
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=Colour features issues=
This document is a draft project to related in short many topics and after to organize pages more concise to each issue or topic.
+
Different requests and issues around Colour functions/features.
  
==GIMP and Digital Painting ways==
+
==Colour Swaping==
===Traditional===
+
===Main Scope====
===Pret-a-porte===
+
Swap a fixed number of colours used in each session, via a toggle shortcut key.
==Artistic style and GIMP==
+
===Current possibilities===
==What GIMP do not need really?==
+
* Swap between FG/BG Colour via keyboard shortcut → screenshot Configure Keyboard Shortcuts.
 +
[[Image:swap-colors-fg-bg.png]]<br>
 +
<p style="font-size:.85em">Configuring the current keyboard shortcut to swap the FG/BG colours.</p>
 +
* Swatches* of colours used and or stored by the user → image of GIMP picker and current Palette dialog on GIMP 2.9.
 +
[[Image:gimp-picker-history-colours.png]]<br>
 +
[[Image:change-foreground-color-dialog.jpg]]<br>
 +
<p style="font-size:.85em">History Colours in the FG/BG Colour and Change Foreground Colour Dialogs.</p>
  
==Tool Presets Bugs and flow problems==
+
(*) The swatches (two rows) could be understood as a palette built, on-the-fly, during the work sessions by the user in three ways:<br>
===Bugs to edit presets===
+
1) via button '>' to add current colour on FG to palette or;<br>
* Tool Options dialog - define in short ...
+
2) via drag and drop colour in each swatch or;<br>
* Tool Presets dialog
+
3) via picker colour, but is added only after the colour is used on canvas. Each new colour is placed, always, in the first slot (left-side of first row), and the displacement of colours happening versus right-side direction to each new colour that is added.<br>
===Problematic flow to create===
 
* Tool Options dialog
 
* Tool Presets dialog
 
===Suggestions===
 
  
==Toggle Modifier key shortcuts==
+
===Improvement Reasons===
===Increase/decrease size and hardness brush on canvas===
+
Enhancing the General Usability → [1] to have a fast way to access the history colours used in each work sessions; [2] to avoid excessive use of steps between paint tools tasks (repetitive stress), see [http://gui.gimp.org/index.php/Topics_to_Digital_Painting_with_GIMP#Scenario_.7C_Float_full_or_dockable_.7C_Single_Window test below].
Have a toggle modifier key to interact with the size and hardness brush. The size and hardness is controlled by of the device (mouse or stylus) drag, for instance, to right increase, to left decrease.
+
===Comments====
The GIMP users can show or not the outline of brushes. Some users prefer to have only the pointer mode without the outline.
 
In this case, with no outline, the toggle modifier key must enable also (preferable) the brush outline, while this key is down (this method is used by Krita. See the [https://youtu.be/wOGBDRWpgOs short video of the feature]). In this way is possible to control better the increase and decrease.
 
  
====Current 2.9 git master====
+
===Scenario | Float full or Dockable | Single Window===
Is possible to change the size and hardness via short-cuts:
+
Basically is the same thing, because we need move cursor around the window/docks and make clicks to select colours in the different dialogs.
* Size - Bracket keys of keyboard, '[' to decrease and ']' to increase.
 
* ''Hardness (Custom) - the shorcuts do not working'' [https://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=763118 Bug report]
 
  
====References====
+
'''Example: Fill a Mondrian Grid'''<br />
* Krita way - video [https://youtu.be/wOGBDRWpgOs Method used on Krita]
+
[[Image:swap-colors-flow-1.jpg]]<br>
* Photoshop way - video [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vG5QOzODCBs to Increase and Decrease Brush Size and Hardness]
+
<p style="font-size:.85em">Example to find the amount of the steps to pick colours in the current release.</p>
* Old plugin - [http://registry.gimp.org/node/27608:Drag mouse to resize brush]
 
  
===Dynamic Zoom===
+
'''a)''' Rectangle Tool Selection → select a rectangle;<br>
The current keyboard shortcut (+) and (-) or the wheel mouse are difficult to use in a painting session, mainly because on digital painting is common to use the graphic tablets.(1) Use the Zoom tool becomes a bit difficult while painting: every time you must to select the zoom tool, via tool box or via keyboard, and to reselect again the paint tool to continue the painting session.
+
'''b)''' Bucket fill tool;<br>
To have a feature, as we have in Krita/Photoshop and MyPaint, turns the tasks more friendly and with a minor step number to make zooms and to return the main task.
+
'''c)''' Choose colour;<br>
 +
'''c1)''' Click on FG Colour on Toolbox → Open Change Foreground Colour → Move cursor on Dialog → Choice steps (minimal 1 step, 2 steps if need to close dialog);<br>
 +
'''or c2)''' Move cursor until FG/BG Colour Dialog → Choice steps (2 steps);<br>
 +
'''d)''' Fill the selected rectangle.
  
On MyPaint and Krita this feature have a identical behaviour, the zoom is enabled with Ctrl+Mouse Wheel and Drag.
+
To choose colours is necessary minimal 2 steps and maximum 3 steps (cursor movements and clicks).
  
'''Notes'''<br>
+
The sample has 6*6=36 rectangles, only to select colours for all rectangles, we must crossing or move the cursor and do clicks at amount of a minimal 72 and a maximum of 108 times.
1. Some tablets, more new, have devices that can be used to simulate the wheel of mouse. But this is not a rule... many people prefer the tablet more simple and not wacom to work. For example, some artists use simple or economic graphic tablets, because they are more efficient to drawing.
 
  
===Paintbrush with eraser ability===
+
===Proposal Swap History Colours===
To use the same brush to erase a stroke with a toggle short cut (recursive).
+
  +-----------------------+   
In MyPaint and Krita is possible to use recursively the two tools using only the key 'E'.
+
  | A | B | C | D | E | F | 
 +
  +-----------------------+
 +
    |  |  |
 +
    |  |  +--Next Colour (C) --------> (3) Hit key again → is selected this swatch.
 +
    |  |
 +
    |  +----> Next Colour (B) --------> (2) Raise finger from key → is selected this swatch, previous of the last colour used.
 +
    |               
 +
    +--------> Last colour used (A) ---> (1) Hit key Shortcut Open Popup with swatches.
 +
       
 +
canvas                         
  
To make this in the current stable and development releases we must follow this flow:
+
* History colour pop-up, for instance, with the last 6 colours stored in history of the FG/BG Colours dialogue. This pop-up is enabled when hit the key shortcut action.
# To share the paint options between tools
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* Each time that raise finger from key and hit again, the selection colour goes to next colour, for instance, from A to B, and successively until F and in a closed cycle. The principle is the same of the short-cut to swap colours between FG/BG, but in this case we have 6 colours.
# Change between the P or N key with Shift+E and again P or N (for instance)to follow painting/drawing.
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* Each time that the key short-cut is held down, the colour remains stopped in the slot, for example A.
 +
* The cycle is stopped naturally after a lapse time between hit key and raise finger of key.
 +
* Have on GIMP preferences the possibility to choose the amount of colours to use in this pop-up, for example, minimal 6 and maximum 12 colours.
  
The process that is possible is a bit unfriendly if I do a comparison with the flow with Krita/Photoshop and MyPaint.
+
''Note: is possible to think the sequence from F going to A, where F is the last colour used by user, E the previous and successively.''
Have a toggle or recursive key to make this, it turns this action more easy and fast to execute.
 
Imagine the users that are using a graphic tablet with GIMP... is necessary stops the action with paint tool, and to use the hand (left/right) to invoke the eraser, with Shift+E, and after again, 'P' or 'N' (for instance) key to follow using the paint tools.
 
  
I think that the 'Paint Options Shared Between Tools' works fine in many cases... but not to all. My suggestion, here, is to provide another option to have the eraser directly on paint tool. For me and many painters that are using MyPaint and Krita, this feature is working fine. See thread on mailing list - [https://mail.gnome.org/archives/gimp-gui-list/2016-February/msg00000.html Some ideas and suggestions around digital painting on GIMP].
+
===References===
 +
Short video showing general [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSsWN0xKlLQ behaviour].
  
====Brainstorming and ideas====
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==FG/BG Dialog Color [GIMP, Wheel and Scales tabs]==
* A plug-in action (with a toggle key) to enable some blend modes on the paint tools to erase the strokes. For example, the paint tool with blend mode + foreground colour to erase the stroke/stain. I have tested with Addition Mode, with white colour as foreground and works fine to delete. The main question here is: we want/must eliminate a wrong stroke or many strokes (this is a simple task) or we need of the Eraser Tool to make actions more complexes? I am thinking that both flow options are important and convenient, but each of these depends what we are doing in each moment. Normally, during the paint sessions, we must to delete some wrong or undesirable strokes/parts.
+
===History Colours and Small Improvements===
 +
In the current 2.9 Git Master all two rows are destined to history of colours used by the user during the sessions.<br>
 +
The behaviour is described [http://gui.gimp.org/index.php/Topics_to_Digital_Painting_with_GIMP#Current_possibilities here].<br>
 +
[[Image:fg-bg-dialog_change-fg-dialogs.jpg]]<br>
 +
<p style="font-size:.85em;">Dialogs where the history colours was implemented.</p>
  
====References====
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====Improvement Reasons====
* Krita and Mypaint way - I've made a [https://youtu.be/36zctEmkPlM short video] using Krita to exemplify the feature. The key 'E', by default, is used to enable the erase feature. On MyPaint the feature has the same behaviour and short-cut key.
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To graphic design, painting, certain swatches must be of a kind fixed as swatches on canvas (ready as colour tube or reference colour of a layout page). Each work has a fixed number of these swatches... and other are random or temporary. For an artist or a designer, e.g., the fixed swatches are placed on the bottom row. The mixed swatches, the variations (all pick colours) of the first row swatches are placed in the first row.
 +
=====Comments=====
 +
''Elle Stone''<br>
 +
<div style="width:50em; margin-left:1em;">''Well, the first thing I do when I want to paint is pick some colors to paint with.''
  
==Paint Tools improvements==
+
''The way things are now, every time I pick and then paint with a new color, the swatches and also the palette tab colors update and rearrange themselves, so I have to keep looking for where the color I want next has moved to. And sometimes the colors are not easy to tell apart just by looking at the swatches, partly because the swatches are small (and need to be small) and partly because GIMP color picker/foreground tool isn't color-managed (and really needs to be).''
===Paint tool + Texture (raster)===
 
*Patterns/Textures on the GIMP
 
*How works on Krita and Photoshop
 
====Photoshop - Bob Chiu Steps====
 
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GMeDsI1088&t=9m40s Video link]
 
** Create a Pattern > save it on pattern library
 
** Create a brush
 
*** New document (size x height), for instance with 256x256px;
 
*** New preset brush - on photoshop the brushes birth directly as a preset, interesting (Krita also).
 
** Select the brush
 
** Now Brush Options > [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GMeDsI1088&t=16m21s]
 
*** The options is possible to control many aspects:
 
**** Spacing, Hardness Angle, Flip and Size;
 
**** Enable the Shape Dynamics (basically is a .gbr with gimp paint dynamics); > [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GMeDsI1088&t=17m20s]
 
**** Enable the Texture and is possible to see the library patterns, the options of Texture are: > [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GMeDsI1088&t=18m23s]
 
***** Texture Library (dropdown open manager), Invert (flag), Scale, Brightness, Contrast, Texture each tip (flag), Mode, Depth, Minimum Depth, Deep Jitter, Control (drop down flags).
 
**** Enable Transfer > [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GMeDsI1088&t=19m30s]
 
***** Opacity Jitter or Flow Jitter
 
  
*Schema feature on GIMP
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''So that's why I make a layer and paint color swatches for the colors I want to use. But this also is awkward. Having a fixed palette of swatches on the pick foreground tab would be very, very convenient.''
  
====References====
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''Having the top row of swatches update the bottom row be fixed (even after closing GIMP) unless/until deliberately changed would seem to be ideal, but of course would need testing to be sure.''</div>
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgkkA1W-Xu0 Feature on Photoshop]
 
* [https://docs.krita.org/Texture:Link Feature on Krita]
 
* [http://www.davidrevoy.com/article107/textured-brush-in-floss-digital-painting David Revoy explain the feature on Krita]
 
  
===Paintbrush and Pencil with smudge ability (raster)===
+
====Improvements Schema====
On GIMP, now, is possible to make this in two steps - first we paint something (Pencil, Paintbrush, Airbrush, etc.) and after, with Smudge tool, we make the blend the stains/strokes.
+
Is very useful to divide the two rows with different scopes (Elle Stone Suggestion):
Basically, this feature is the current Smudge tool + a Paint tool (2). Now, the Smudge tool has only the capability to blend the stains, using a brush. The stains that are previously created.
+
* Top row is set once and remains until is not deliberately modified/reset;
With MyPaint brushes, is possible to have the smudge on their brushes, but the mark is a basically a circle (dab). In the ideal painting world, is interesting to have the raster brushes with dynamic stains. The .gbr and .gih brushes with paint dynamics)... have the result more richest that a smudge brush on MyPaint.
+
* Bottom row changes as new colours are picked.
Figure smudge brush with MyPaint
+
[[Image:history-pick-colours-options_history-and-user-r2.jpg]]<br><p style="font-size:.85em;">Explaining the improvements on the dialogs.</p>
Figure smudge brush with GIMP (via 2 steps: make stains with some paint tool and after with smudge tool blend them).
 
  
'''Notes'''<br>
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===Colour Internal Tabs of Colour Dialogs===
2. Is necessary to think the way to link smudge with a paint tool... for instance, for any or for a specific tool?
+
Implement the possibility to have as independent tab, the internal tabs of the picker colours GIMP, Wheel and Palette.
 +
====Current Colour Dialogs====
 +
The different pickers are as tab on the Change Foreground Color Dialog or as button to select each picker as is on the FG/BG Colour Dialog.<br>
 +
[[Image:Change-foreground-color-dialog.jpg‎]]<br>
 +
[[Image:Gimp-picker-history-colours.png‎ ]]<br>
 +
<p style="font-size:.85em">The two dialogs of Colour with picker tabs and colour controls [GIMP, Print, Watercolor, Wheel, Palette, Scales]</p>
  
==Brushes==
+
===Implementation Reasons===
===Simplify the flow to create raster brushes===
+
The more complete dialog is the Change Foreground Colour Dialog, but is very invasive on canvas. To have the main picker colours as independent tab is possible to think in the docks where we have two or three views of colour instances. For instance, GIMP picker + Scales or Wheel + Scales.
===Interpolation stains to make raster brushes (.gih) in a easier way...===
+
===Implementation Schema===
====References====
+
Transform the internal tabs of GIMP, Wheel, Palette and Scales in the independent tabs.
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathematical_morphology Mathematical Morphology]
+
====Independent Colour Picker Tabs====
 +
[[Image:GIMP-picker-tab.jpg]]
 +
[[Image:wheel-colour-picker-tab.jpg]]
 +
[[Image:palette-colour-picker-tab.jpg]]
 +
[[Image:color-scales-picker-tab.jpg]]<br>
 +
 
 +
''Note: Is possible that the history colours not is usable in all tabs. Perhaps useful only the traditional picker colours as GIMP and Wheel.''
 +
 
 +
====Dockable Picker Colours Example====
 +
Each tab, in this way, can be dockable, for example, Palette + Scales:<br>
 +
[[Image:palette-colour-picker-tab+scales.jpg]]

Revision as of 15:03, 1 April 2016

Colour features issues

Different requests and issues around Colour functions/features.

Colour Swaping

Main Scope=

Swap a fixed number of colours used in each session, via a toggle shortcut key.

Current possibilities

  • Swap between FG/BG Colour via keyboard shortcut → screenshot Configure Keyboard Shortcuts.

Swap-colors-fg-bg.png

Configuring the current keyboard shortcut to swap the FG/BG colours.

  • Swatches* of colours used and or stored by the user → image of GIMP picker and current Palette dialog on GIMP 2.9.

Gimp-picker-history-colours.png
Change-foreground-color-dialog.jpg

History Colours in the FG/BG Colour and Change Foreground Colour Dialogs.

(*) The swatches (two rows) could be understood as a palette built, on-the-fly, during the work sessions by the user in three ways:
1) via button '>' to add current colour on FG to palette or;
2) via drag and drop colour in each swatch or;
3) via picker colour, but is added only after the colour is used on canvas. Each new colour is placed, always, in the first slot (left-side of first row), and the displacement of colours happening versus right-side direction to each new colour that is added.

Improvement Reasons

Enhancing the General Usability → [1] to have a fast way to access the history colours used in each work sessions; [2] to avoid excessive use of steps between paint tools tasks (repetitive stress), see test below.

Comments=

Scenario | Float full or Dockable | Single Window

Basically is the same thing, because we need move cursor around the window/docks and make clicks to select colours in the different dialogs.

Example: Fill a Mondrian Grid
Swap-colors-flow-1.jpg

Example to find the amount of the steps to pick colours in the current release.

a) Rectangle Tool Selection → select a rectangle;
b) Bucket fill tool;
c) Choose colour;
c1) Click on FG Colour on Toolbox → Open Change Foreground Colour → Move cursor on Dialog → Choice steps (minimal 1 step, 2 steps if need to close dialog);
or c2) Move cursor until FG/BG Colour Dialog → Choice steps (2 steps);
d) Fill the selected rectangle.

To choose colours is necessary minimal 2 steps and maximum 3 steps (cursor movements and clicks).

The sample has 6*6=36 rectangles, only to select colours for all rectangles, we must crossing or move the cursor and do clicks at amount of a minimal 72 and a maximum of 108 times.

Proposal Swap History Colours

 +-----------------------+     
 | A | B | C | D | E | F |  
 +-----------------------+ 
   |   |   |
   |   |   +--Next Colour (C) --------> (3) Hit key again → is selected this swatch.
   |   |
   |   +----> Next Colour (B) --------> (2) Raise finger from key → is selected this swatch, previous of the last colour used.
   |                
   +--------> Last colour used (A) ---> (1) Hit key Shortcut Open Popup with swatches.
        
canvas                           
  • History colour pop-up, for instance, with the last 6 colours stored in history of the FG/BG Colours dialogue. This pop-up is enabled when hit the key shortcut action.
  • Each time that raise finger from key and hit again, the selection colour goes to next colour, for instance, from A to B, and successively until F and in a closed cycle. The principle is the same of the short-cut to swap colours between FG/BG, but in this case we have 6 colours.
  • Each time that the key short-cut is held down, the colour remains stopped in the slot, for example A.
  • The cycle is stopped naturally after a lapse time between hit key and raise finger of key.
  • Have on GIMP preferences the possibility to choose the amount of colours to use in this pop-up, for example, minimal 6 and maximum 12 colours.

Note: is possible to think the sequence from F going to A, where F is the last colour used by user, E the previous and successively.

References

Short video showing general behaviour.

FG/BG Dialog Color [GIMP, Wheel and Scales tabs]

History Colours and Small Improvements

In the current 2.9 Git Master all two rows are destined to history of colours used by the user during the sessions.
The behaviour is described here.
Fg-bg-dialog change-fg-dialogs.jpg

Dialogs where the history colours was implemented.

Improvement Reasons

To graphic design, painting, certain swatches must be of a kind fixed as swatches on canvas (ready as colour tube or reference colour of a layout page). Each work has a fixed number of these swatches... and other are random or temporary. For an artist or a designer, e.g., the fixed swatches are placed on the bottom row. The mixed swatches, the variations (all pick colours) of the first row swatches are placed in the first row.

Comments

Elle Stone

Well, the first thing I do when I want to paint is pick some colors to paint with.

The way things are now, every time I pick and then paint with a new color, the swatches and also the palette tab colors update and rearrange themselves, so I have to keep looking for where the color I want next has moved to. And sometimes the colors are not easy to tell apart just by looking at the swatches, partly because the swatches are small (and need to be small) and partly because GIMP color picker/foreground tool isn't color-managed (and really needs to be).

So that's why I make a layer and paint color swatches for the colors I want to use. But this also is awkward. Having a fixed palette of swatches on the pick foreground tab would be very, very convenient.

Having the top row of swatches update the bottom row be fixed (even after closing GIMP) unless/until deliberately changed would seem to be ideal, but of course would need testing to be sure.

Improvements Schema

Is very useful to divide the two rows with different scopes (Elle Stone Suggestion):

  • Top row is set once and remains until is not deliberately modified/reset;
  • Bottom row changes as new colours are picked.
History-pick-colours-options history-and-user-r2.jpg

Explaining the improvements on the dialogs.

Colour Internal Tabs of Colour Dialogs

Implement the possibility to have as independent tab, the internal tabs of the picker colours GIMP, Wheel and Palette.

Current Colour Dialogs

The different pickers are as tab on the Change Foreground Color Dialog or as button to select each picker as is on the FG/BG Colour Dialog.
Change-foreground-color-dialog.jpg
Gimp-picker-history-colours.png

The two dialogs of Colour with picker tabs and colour controls [GIMP, Print, Watercolor, Wheel, Palette, Scales]

Implementation Reasons

The more complete dialog is the Change Foreground Colour Dialog, but is very invasive on canvas. To have the main picker colours as independent tab is possible to think in the docks where we have two or three views of colour instances. For instance, GIMP picker + Scales or Wheel + Scales.

Implementation Schema

Transform the internal tabs of GIMP, Wheel, Palette and Scales in the independent tabs.

Independent Colour Picker Tabs

GIMP-picker-tab.jpg Wheel-colour-picker-tab.jpg Palette-colour-picker-tab.jpg Color-scales-picker-tab.jpg

Note: Is possible that the history colours not is usable in all tabs. Perhaps useful only the traditional picker colours as GIMP and Wheel.

Dockable Picker Colours Example

Each tab, in this way, can be dockable, for example, Palette + Scales:
Palette-colour-picker-tab+scales.jpg