Additional (Blob) Brush Tool properties

One thing that has bothered me when dealing with most vector applications is the way their drawing tools behave. While the Blob Brush Tool, introduced in CS4, comes dangerously close to my ideal drawing tool, there is one particular and fundamental aspect of its behavior that is not optimal.
When drawing with either the brush or blob brush tool, you cannot see how your drawing will look until you stop drawing and it renders itself. This makes the process of drawing feel very hit-or-miss.
I come from a background of Inkscape, which has some very good tools when it comes to drawing.
Inkscape's drawing tools
b render themselves on the fly,
allowing you to see exactly what your drawing as you're drawing it.
There are also properties given to its drawing tools that are extremely useful for customizing the feeling of drawing, and making it easier to, say, draw smooth elegant lines vs rough, highly caffeinated lines. Namely, the property of "mass" creates the illusion of brush mass and momentum. A higher mass creates a brush that sort of lags behind, thus making it a lot easier to draw precise, smooth lines. It's truly the single most useful (and unfortunately unique) property for a brush I've ever encountered.
Inkscape can be downloaded for free and you can test these brush properties out yourself to see how they feel.

You must use a compatible drawing tablet to access other dynamics. Wacom tablets are your best bet.

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Blob Brush Tool and Selecting Lines when Hitting Ctrl Z

I've done searches for this answer, but I'm afraid it's too specific. Basically, in Windows 7's Illustrator holding the ctrl key is a shortcut to the selection tool when someone is using the blob brush tool. (among others as well) This means that if my cursor is ever hovering over a line when I hit undo (ctrl+z) it also selects the line because I've hit the ctrl key. That means after the initial undo, I have to also move my cursor to another spot where there is no line and hit the control key again to deselect the line that became highlighted when I hit ctrl+z.
I know it's not a big deal, but having to move your cursor every time you want to undo a mistake is really annoying. Selecting the shape doesn't effect my drawing, but I'd rather not have a set of lines highlighted while I'm drawing.
Is there a way I can stop Illustrator from selecting line segments when holding the control key?

I'm having trouble understanding exactly what you mean. Floating the cursor over a line and then pressing Ctrl doesn't select the line -- it just temporarily changes the cursor to the last selection tool used. Nothing gets selected when you let go of the Ctrl-Z. However, read on:
Regardless of where the cursor is, pressing Ctrl-Z just undoes the last operation. This could, of course, result in something being re-selected as a consequence of the UnDo. Are you perhaps pressing the left mouse button while pressing Ctrl-Z?
Sorry if this is no help at all . . .
Allen

Shortcuts eyedropper tool from blob brush tool

I can not find a shortcuts to chose the eyedropper tool from blob brush tool!
If someone know it, from CS 5, Thanks a lot.

Thank you Lev, but Wade is pretty right:
this short cut doesn't work with the blob brush, but with the Live Paint tool. With the Blob Brush selected you get the Smooth Tool.
I really did not understand when you talk about "…in the settings bar under "Sample" make sure that "All Layers" is chosen (if "Current Layer" is chosen it wont work)…" What do you mean with this: it is seem to me Ps than Ai… Please let me know!
I think there are no other way to work faster with the Blob Brush but create a new shortcut from shortcut preference, to make easier and quickly change the two tools, because "I" and "shift B", the default shortcut, are too far from anyone finger!
I found a good solution made: "tab" for eyedropper and "Q" for the blob brush (changing off course all the shortcut for the other tools).
It is easy and really quick, near at my left two finger.
If someone has another good advice, please let me know!

Blob brush tool not showing pressure option...?

I am using Illustrator CS4, and I want to use the blob brush tool in conjunction with my Wacom tablet specifically so that I can use the pressure-sensitivity option.
However, when I double-click the blob brush tool to edit the settings, the only settings I have available to me are "fixed" and "random". "Pressure" is dimmed out.
The tablet I am using is a Wacom Graphire2, which does support pressure-sensitivity just fine, and I use it in Photoshop CS4 using the brush tool with pressure-sensitivty turned on, to adjust the size dynamically.
So why is it dimmed out in Illustrator?

Updating the Wacom driver sorted it, thanks!

What Is The Difference Between Fidelity and Smoothness on the Blob Brush Tool?

I can't seem to figure out which one to use to get the line I want, can anyone help?

See the explanation here:
https://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/using/brushes.html#paintbrush_tool_options

Using the Blob Brush and Eraser Tools | Learn Illustrator CS6 | Adobe TV

One fun way of creating shapes is to use the Blob Brush tool in combination with the Eraser tool. In this video we'll use these tools to create a stylized teddy bear.
http://adobe.ly/L1grDJ

Thanks, I was skeptical at first, but in the end learned a thing or two.

Illustrator CC issue with pressure sensitivity and blob brush.

Hello I ran into this issue yesterday and can't seem to find a way to fix it.
When using the blob brush, pressure sensitivity with my wacom intuos 5 works as expected. However if I switch to the regular brush tool and draw with that tool then switch back to the blob brush tool, pressure sensitivity stops working until I open the Blob brush's preferences and change any setting then click OK.
My machine:
Retina Macbook Pro
Core i7 2.3 Ghz
16GB RAM
Nvidia 650M 1GB
OSX 10.9.2
Illustrator 17.1.0
Already tried:
- Deleting Illustrator's preferences
- Reinstalling Wacom Drivers
- Reinstalling Illustrator
Yet the problem persists. Any ideas? Is this a bug?

I was having the same problem. I wanted to use the blob tool and it was set to 2 point from a previous session. Every time I went to use it I got a 5 point round brush with no pressure sensitivity. It drove me crazy for awhile until I finally tried setting the blob brush to something different. After that it was fine, and I could switch back to 2 point and it began to work as expected. It seems like there's a small hiccup somewhere.

SURVEY: Blend mode options in Brush tool?

This is a survey question for users of all versions of Fireworks. In Fireworks 8, I've noticed a difference in the Brush tool properties depending on whether the selection is an object or a mask—in particular, the Blend mode options do NOT appear in the Properties inspector when a bitmap mask is selected, *unless* the object was selected first, as well as the Brush tool.
Please try the following, and let me know the results:
Starting with the Pointer tool, select a bitmap mask (by selecting its thumbnail in the Layers panel) and then choose the Brush tool.
Does the Blend mode menu appear in the Properties inspector?
Now, with the Brush tool still active, select the thumbnail of the object being masked.
Does the Blend mode menu appear in the Properties inspector?
Now select the Pointer tool, and then re-select the Brush tool.
Does the Blend mode menu appear in the Properties inspector?
Finally, re-select the mask, with the Brush tool still active.
Does the Blend mode menu appear in the Properties inspector?
In Fireworks 8 (on Mac OS 10.6.8), the answers to the above questions are, "No, no, yes, yes." So it is possible to use Blend mode options with the Brush tool when working with a bitmap mask, but it's a convoluted process to get those options to appear. I'm interested in whether later versions of Fireworks exhibit the same behavior. Anyone with a different version, please chime in.
UPDATE: I'd still like to hear from users of Fireworks CS3, CS4, CS5, and CS5.5 on this question! Please take a moment to help. All it takes is a Fireworks document with a bitmap object and a (non-vector) mask. Be sure to indicate what version of Fireworks you're using.

Using Fireworks CS5 on Win 7 same results:
1. No
2. No
3. Yes
4. Yes, it even seems to work as expected with the Multiply blendmode
Maybe blendmodes are simply disabled because they aren't that useful on a mask bitmap?
Aaron
http://fireworks.abeall.com

Variable Width profile for the brush tool keeps resetting

This problem is baffling me. I'm fairly new to Illustrator so I would appreciate some help. I’m using Adobe Illustrator CS6 with a mouse rather than a pressure graphics tablet.
When I create a stroke using the Paint brush tool I would like the stroke to contain a variable width profile. For example narrower at the beginning and end of the stroke but thicker in the middle. Now I can do this by selecting the line after I have made the stroke and choosing the Basic Brush Definition from the drop down list. But if i try to draw a new line the settings are reset again. I cannot create a variable stroke while creating the stroke. The brush definition keeps resetting to 5 pt Round and stroke width 1 pt. It would be much quicker if the stroke remained as a varying width profile as I created the strokes.
I noticed the same problem with the blob brush tool except it's even worse. With the blob brush tool the stroke weight always resets regardless of whether or not I try to set a Variable width profile.
I tried deselecting "New Art has Basic Appearance" mentioned on another forum but that didn't work.
I know its possible because I’ve seen it done on this youtube video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5wW_65iAiU
Notice the variable width profile is maintained as the artists draws. It doesn’t keep resetting.
Thanks

Just set the Colorization method of the new Brush to Tints or Tints and Shades from the dropdown in the lower right corner of the New Brush diaglo.

Shortcut eyedropper from brush tool problem

Just yesterday, when I have my brush tool selected, and I press Option[Mac], the eyedropper tool will appear, but now, the Smooth tool shows up.
Does anyone know how to revert back? I'm on a Mac using Illustrator CS5.5.
This is annoying me especially since i'm painting in illus and needs to select colours from a image using the eyedropper rather than from the swatch each time.
Help please..

Hi Kristy,
This may or may not be the case, but is it possible you accidently switched to using the Blob Brush tool?
According to the Illustrator Default Keyboard Shortcuts, pressing Option while using the Blob Brush tool will switch to the Smooth tool.
This is assuming you haven't adjusted your default shortcuts.
Michael

Changing Blob Brush Styles

How do I change the style of brush for the blob brush tool? I try selecting from the library a different brush and nothing happens. Also, I've tried restarting illustrator and that does not help.

Sounds like you're not on the right spot.
Click the picture to enlarge. It shows how to open the Blob Brush options.

Why is the brush tool in Illustrator CC inferior to the brush tool in CS6? It has less control of fidelity and smoothness. It is terrible - and I'm an illustrator. Can I use the CS6 brush engin in CC?

I loved the brush tool in CS6 Illustrator- by turning fidelity to the lowest setting, and smoothness down to zero, pumping up pressure sensitivity, it accurately reproduced the fine shapes of a drawn stroke. I'm an illustrator, so I don't want artificially smoothed curves, I want the line I drew.
This works really well with my Wacom Cintiq tablet... but now CC has removed this level of customisation for the brush tool. WHY? The program is called Illustrator, and as an illustrator, I can tell you having an accurate and finely adjustable brush engine to illustrate with is very important to me and to lots of other people who can draw, and draw for a living.
Now you get this dumbed down control panel when you double click on the brush tool icon- just one slider, with only 4 steps from 'accurate' (not very) to 'smooth' (almost indistiguishable from 'accurate')... it is like I have contracted a nerve disease - I draw a line, and it forms into something quite different to the path my pen took. WHY? Can I get rid of this rubbish engine? Trying the blob brush - what is the point of this brush? It is just like the old brush, except for a cursor that shows the largest size for pressure sensitivity... and it has the same crude 4 step smooth/accurate adjuster, that doesn't change the line much at all. I have the latest driver in my Cintiq, so I don't think that is the issue, and CS6 works better than CC.
I am very disappointed, Adobe. Do I have to go back to CS6 for all my Illustration work? Please improve the CC brush tool controls.
I am still reeling from Adobe's quiet removal of a whole tool: Inverse Kinematics/Bone tool from Flash CC JUST when I was finally using it to animate, but that's another story.
Honestly, having use them for a while, Photoshop,
Illlustrator, InDesign and Flash CC are, as far as I can tell, no step up at all from CS6, except that you have to pay for them forever.

More on this, now becoming known as the CC pencil tool fiasco, on these fora:
Re: PLEASE PLEASE adobe. The new pencil tool has become unusuble to me
Re: Changing line fidelity with CS6 Brush Tool
Re: All pressure sensitive brush presets gone!
If you are affected by the lower accuracy controls for CC's brush or pencil tools, use this Bug report/Feature request form to let the folks at Adobe know- they are actually hopefully going to fix this.......
thanks to Daniel for setting this up:
hey all, if you are going to file a bug report (as per Neeraj's suggestion), i've made up a draft to make the process easier. feel free to adjust it as much as you want, obviously; trying to equip us busy folk.
Obviously customer service & product development are two different departments, so if you're bummin out on the new functionality, submit a bug report!
link to submit bug report:
https://www.adobe.com/cfusion/mmform/index.cfm?name=wishform
******BUG******
Concise problem statement:
I was told to by Neeraj N(staff) to report this issue based on this link : (http://forums.adobe.com/message/6065706).
The Pencil / Brush tools have lost essential functionality with the addition of the new accurate / smooth adjustment preset. Users are no longer able to specify high-accuracy pen mapping, as the finest accuracy setting is now set to 2.5px (legacy versions allowed accuracy to .5px).
I would think adding additional slider nodes to allow more accurate mapping (while still using the accurate / smooth preset) allow for a minimal change in programming with a maximum return for power users.
Steps to reproduce bug:
1. open illustrator
2. use either pencil or brush tool.
3. draw erratic and high detail shapes
Results: shapes are smoothed to 2.5px smoothness, even when the accurate / smooth adjustment preset is set to full accuracy.
Expected results: shapes have minimal / no smoothing to maintain the integrity of the artwork.
Thank you for your consideration.

Illustrator Blob Brush Performance

Hi,
Lately I've been having some perfomance issues in Illustrator, when merging Blob Brush shapes.
Usually Illustrator can keep up with the strokes I draw, but after manually merging shapes that won't blob together, I need to wait between 1 and 3 seconds to make another stroke. If I create another stroke before the previous is "rendered", the stroke won't appear at all and I need to wait even longer to make the next stroke. I've had this problem during the creation of six fairly detailed illustrations, but the problem only ever appears when I start using tools like merge / unite / expand / flatten transparency on the completed shape. This is a problem if I need to make further changes!
Are these tools in conjunction with Blob Brush known to cause performance issues, or is there something else I'm missing? I have decreased the document raster resolution to 72, but saw no difference in performance.
Any help is greatly appreciated!

Well, it seems as through the slowdown occurs because the merged shape simply becomes too large or complex. Also, it seems like Illustrator automatically starts a new shape that won't blob together with the original, probably when it becomes too large to work with. That's why the problem occurs when I manually merge the shapes together.
If anyone encounters a similar problem, I can say that I found the best solution was to simply break the artwork into pieces and work with one piece at a time.

Brush Tool and edge slider

Hi.
When you use the brush tool and down in the properties you
have the edge
slider from 0 to 100.
I always use it on 0 and continually have to keep adjusting
it everytime i
go back to the brush tool.
Is there any way it can be set to 0?
Steve

I think my timeline thing is broken
doesnt matter...

Trouble exporting blob brush to a PDF

Hi,
I used the blob brush to outline the main shapes in my image and then used the fill tool for the inside. When I save as a PDF a white line is visible. I have tried merging the fill and blob brush in the pathfinder but there is still a white line. The background is a simple gradient. I tried saving as a JPEG and it does the same thing.
Any ideas to get rid of the white line?

Why are the paths so messy and inaccurate?
Looks like you need practice using the pen tool. The blob brush was maybe not the best choice of tool to begin with.
But anyway, since you're here, try expanding the appearance of the elephants and then do a Pathfinder Unite (Pathfinder palette).
You should get a reasonably smooth united object with the vector path on the outside.
"Expand the appearance of elephants" ??
I should have thought they were big enough already :-)

Additional (Blob) Brush Tool properties

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