XXP4 couple of personal disappointments

[handrawn]

I see that xara have racked up the automatic closing of shapes from 12 to 16 pix - and the fix is still a registry one

Plus sketching freehand with minimum smoothing, without being able to switch of the nodes while you are doing it, is sometimes just impossible
Cannot keep pressing escape and get a natural line too slow

Pity from my point of view these were not addressed - but us freehand drawers are likely not the target market

Does not distract from a good upgrade, but it means I continue to look elsewhere....

[angelize]

I agree that not being able to switch off the nodes while sketching freehand is a dissapointment. A button to toggle whether or not to keep lines selected would be a great help.

[handrawn]

yep - Expression3 has that - and so according to Mark does ConmicStudo4 which I have yet to get into

don't get me wrong - when it comes to coloring and 'paste up' I use xtreme - and the new VHQ view is a real help

but line work? not really

if you could apply say the blip or dab stroke shape, in real time, with pressure sensitivity, it might go somewhere.

but as it is, for line, I stick with black pencil or pen - for now at least

[angelize]

Oh yeah better pressure sensitivity would be wonderful, and if there was an eraser function that would work with the pen as well we'd be all set.

[steve.ledger]

Steve are you comparing to version 3.2 or earlier?

Looking at regedit on my 2 April installation of Xtreme 4, the 'Freehand Hit-detect' is still set at 12, while the 'Fill blobs Hit-detect' is 16
Checking the v3.2.4 CD reg entry shows the same values for my installation.

Was it a registry entry you changed to switch off node while sketching?
I've noticed that keeping the ESC key pressed allows me to sketch freely without seeing nodes (well a momentary flash of nodes when I lift the pen)

[handrawn]

checked that and you are right steve 12 it is [both together in the registry ]

either way both too high for me and both reduced - hit end detect to 1


as far as the escape goes - I'm a 'traditional' cartoon artist for want of a better way of putting it - I work very very fast at times and when I draw a line this way I am not looking at it anymore - it's then on autopilot guided by experience

what I am seeing in my mind is where the next one will be - or the next three

pressing escape is not on working like this

spontaneity is king here - and without pressure sensitivity it is hard to get character

quite different I understand from the way a 'vector' artist would typically work

[MarkMyWords]

Comicstudio doesn't switch nodes off (or it switches them off by default and I haven't found out how to switch them on)- it does not have any nodes on freehand vector lines, you just drag the path around in a similar way as using the shape-editor to drag lines. Filled shapes and 'Rulers/stroke guides' have nodes. I told you it was weird LOL!

[Charles Moir]

Plus sketching freehand with minimum smoothing, without being able to switch of the nodes while you are doing it, is sometimes just impossible
Cannot keep pressing escape and get a natural line too slow

Can someone explain this one to me. I don't see nodes when drawing new freehand lines. As far as I know nothing has changed in this area. Are you saying there is new behaviour here? And if so what exactly?

[steve.ledger]

I think what is being said Charles is that when you let go the mouse to start a new line, the nodes appear on the line you just drew.
Holding the ESC key remove the nodes (for as long as the ESC key is pressed)

I don't do a lot of freehand stuff, so it's no issue for me to hold the ESC while drawing.

The behaviour is the same as version 3.2.4 as far as I can tell.

[handrawn]

Yep I guess I didn't express it as clearly as I might - often the way when in a rush

I have tried to explain this point it in the attached

When I was experimenting with xara there were times when I had to keep the esc key pressed for minutes at a time - I even went so far as to develop a 'keyweight' to put on the key to give my poor old finger some relief

Sure I could have paused - but that breaks the rhythm of the line work for me