Effects Painter Tool Broken?

**Mark321** · 15 May 2017, 10:10 AM

So, here's my dilemma. I'm trying to use the effects painter tool. But first I must set the settings of the brush, you know, softening the brush. Well, sometimes I can soften it and other times I can't. And when I can't, the effect cannot be applied at all.

Anybody know why this is happening to me?

Mark

P.S...If this helps narrow down the cause...when the tool works I can soften the brush all the way to 52; however, when it won't work it will only go to 50.

**handrawn** · 15 May 2017, 02:28 PM

after carefully analysing what you say in your post I can tell you exactly what is happening here: you are not doing it right

but because unlike your good self, I am not a magician, I cannot tell you why you are not doing it right because you don't actually give us any details

the default max for the softening is 50 [pixels] - but the brush is based on screen pixels and so if you zoom in and out the recorded size will change to reflect this until it resets

it works for me.. but I'm no expert as I rarely use any form of masking in xara

**Mark321** · 15 May 2017, 02:41 PM

Originally Posted by handrawn

after carefully analysing what you say in your post I can tell you exactly what is happening here: you are not doing it right

but because unlike your good self, I am not a magician, I cannot tell you why you are not doing it right because you don't actually give us any details

the default max for the softening is 50 [pixels] - but the brush is based on screen pixels and so if you zoom in and out the recorded size will change to reflect this until it resets

it works for me.. but I'm no expert as I rarely use any form of masking in xara

Handrawn,

I think I figured out what's going on. Somehow (and Lord I have no idea HOW) the brush settings got mixed up with the feathering feature (don't ask me how cause I have no clue). LOL!

Mark

**Mark321** · 15 May 2017, 07:53 PM

okay. I know for sure what is going on. When I go to soften the effect painter brush the feather effect is activated too. I thought it was because I had inadvertently selected the photo first before softening the brush, but no. For some crazy reason the effect painter softening gets (somehow) linked to the feathering tool. Anybody know how to separate these two tools?

**Boy** · 15 May 2017, 08:33 PM

Originally Posted by Mark321

For some crazy reason the effect painter softening gets (somehow) linked to the feathering tool. Anybody know how to separate these two tools?

I believe they are the same and therefore cannot be separated.

**handrawn** · 15 May 2017, 09:00 PM

Mark - what are you expecting the soften slider to do? - what it actually does is soften the edges of the brush, which is indeed a form of feathering as boy said... it does not alter the image except by diffusing the edges of the applied effect

**Mark321** · 15 May 2017, 10:30 PM

Originally Posted by handrawn

Mark - what are you expecting the soften slider to do? - what it actually does is soften the edges of the brush, which is indeed a form of feathering as boy said... it does not alter the image except by diffusing the edges of the applied effect

Actually, when the two are linked together, not only does the brush get "softening" but the edges of the photo feather too. I don't think this is supposed to happen together. I don't want to feather the edges of my photo. I want to soften the brush only and I can SEE both tools being effected by the one slider (the brush softening slider). The two are linked together and should NOT be.

**Mark321** · 16 May 2017, 12:36 AM

This is freaking me out...
I just removed the feathering tool from the tool bar and it STILL made the edges of the photo softer when I was trying to use the effects painter "soften" tool. I don't know HOW this happens or why. Totally frustrating.

**angelize** · 16 May 2017, 01:07 AM

Make sure your photo isn't selected when setting the brush attributes. The effects painter creates a photo region and applies a transparency or photo setting to that region depending on what you have chosen as your effect. Brighten for example is a transparency while things like desaturate/saturate and warm/cold are photo settings. The transparency and soften sliders are applying the feathering and transparency tools if your photo is selected and you don't have an active region those two tools will be applied to your photo.

**Mark321** · 16 May 2017, 01:17 AM

Originally Posted by angelize

Make sure your photo isn't selected when setting the brush attributes. The effects painter creates a photo region and applies a transparency or photo setting to that region depending on what you have chosen as your effect. Brighten for example is a transparency while things like desaturate/saturate and warm/cold are photo settings. The transparency and soften sliders are applying the feathering and transparency tools if your photo is selected and you don't have an active region those two tools will be applied to your photo.

Thanks, Frances!