Styles are driving me nuts!

[NealF]

Help!
I've created a new style for a pencil type line.
I drew a good outline for the character. I added a vector layer underneath for some color. (That's confusing, too, but for another post.)

Then I created another vector layer above and wanted to draw some cross hatching in a different pen style.

So I created a new style. Now, when I change to a "New" style or any other style, the original line (which is on a different layer) changes too!

All I'm trying to do is leave the original style and create a new one without the first one changing. I thought as long as it's a different layer it would work. But no dice.

I love this program, but so many little things just don't work as expected.

[synthsin75]

Did you accidentally create a reference layer, instead of a duplicate or new layer?

Otherwise, it's doesn't make sense, and I'd have to see the file.

[Greenlaw]

Yeah, without seeing the file, it's just guessing.

My first guess is to check the settings for Style that's to the shape (use the Select Style tool to load it.) For each shape, there are two slots for applying custom Styles, so make sure only the intended style is present. Also, be aware that some of the base Style can be visible depending on what attributes of the custom Style are active.

[NealF]

Thanks.

Actually, I deleted the layer and started over. So I can't show what I did.
I got it to work but don't know exactly how or why.

I think the basic problem I'm having comes from some missing piece of information concerning Styles.
I've watched many tutorials over and over and there's still some basic piece that's missing.

I think I understand that the bottom portion of the styles window is where you select an already created Style, and the upper portion is where you create one.
But simple things like why sometimes I can't get the line or fill color to change (unless I select it first.)

Or why the pen pressure doesn't work sometimes.

I guess I need a really BASIC tutorial that doesn't assume I know anything because there's some little piece of knowledge that I'm missing that'll make things click.

[Hoptoad]

I guess I need a really BASIC tutorial that doesn't assume I know anything because there's some little piece of knowledge that I'm missing that'll make things click.

When I have a Style-based problem, the problem is usually because of check boxes. It is possible to do everything right, but then check (or uncheck) a Stroke box and provoke a wrong result.

[synthsin75]

Very old tutorial, but still relevant and *should* cover all the basics:

[NealF]

Thanks, guys.

I'll check it out.

[Daxel]

I thing the key is to understand that the style panel is like three panels or modes at the same time, and to pay attention to which of these three modes are you actually working with at the moment, which is displayed at the top of the style panel: DEFAULT, SHAPE, and STYLE.

1. The DEFAULT style mode: New shapes are created with the default style. The style panel will be in default mode if no shape is selected. And by shape, I mean shape, not the points of a shape (to select a shape you have to use the select shape tool). This is the style you want to change before creating your shape.

2. The selected SHAPE style mode: if you have a shape selected, the style panel will be all about that shape and will only affect that shape. This mode allows you to edit the selected shape's style.

3. The saved STYLE mode: in the style panel, you can click on the Styles drop down menu to create new saved styles that you can reuse and apply to multiple shapes, and when you select a saved style (using the drop down menu) the panel will be all about that saved style so you can edit it and it will affect every shape that has that style. Yes, when you save a style in moho, that saved style is called a style, which I think is confusing.

In practice, I actually never worry about the default style when I create a shape, I just create the shape with whatever default style, and then select the shape so the style panel is in SHAPE mode to edit the shape's style.

But when I go to the style panel to edit something, then is when I always check if the panel is in default, style, or shape mode, to know if I am editing the right thing.

Don't forget to check the style panel in the official user's manual to know more about the checkboxes and other features.
https://youneedawiki.com/app/page/1UxA8 ... gJw4U9flX3

[NealF]

Thanks, Daxel.
I'll get into your answer later today.

For now I want to state this confusion before I forget what I did:

1. I selected a style from the bottom of the style panel (One problem is I don't know what the difference is between picking a style from the top or the bottom. Maybe Daxel's post will clear that up.)

2. I draw my line art with that style I picked from the bottom of the panel.

3. I saw that the line was boiling all the time. I only wanted it to boil when it moves.
This is where my confusion came in. I selected all with the select points tool. I then went into the brushes and changed the line boil to 0. But the line was still boiling all the time.

So apparently, that wasn't the way to change the style. Should I have started out by selecting a style from the top instead of the bottom of the style panel? I don't even know what to call these to areas.

How should I have been able to alter the style?

As I said, I'll check out your answer above later.

Thanks.

[Daxel]

haha yes my post answers that very specifically.

[NealF]

Your post is very helpful.
I'll also check out the link for the manual.

I get the reason for styles and that's great and useful. But there was just a bit of missing data that made it a real brain twister.

Thanks. This was missing data that was driving me nuts.

[Daxel]

Your post is very helpful.
I'll also check out the link for the manual.

I get the reason for styles and that's great and useful. But there was just a bit of missing data that made it a real brain twister.

Thanks. This was missing data that was driving me nuts.

I'm glad it helped. Yep the Style panel UI confuses many people and I also had a hard time understanding it. It's not actually complex, I think it's just that the UI is not clear enough. People don't see the panel changing modes, and even if they see it, reading "STYLE" in the style panel probably doesn't tell them anything.

[NealF]

Exactly!

Also, the thing I find the most confusing (and little said about it) is the uses and differences between picking a style from the top or from the bottom.
It's obvious the top is where you create and edit styles. But how they interact with the bottom styles pop up is not clear at all.

[Daxel]

Exactly!

Also, the thing I find the most confusing (and little said about it) is the uses and differences between picking a style from the top or from the bottom.
It's obvious the top is where you create and edit styles. But how they interact with the bottom styles pop up is not clear at all.

They are very different. The style panel is divided by 3 horizontal lines in 4 sections. The top section shows the mode of the panel (DEFAULT, STYLE or SHAPE), the name of the selected object (saved style or shape) and the "Shapes" and "Styles" dropdown menus to change the selected object. So picking a style from the top means selecting a saved style to make the panel change to STYLE mode and display all the properties of that saved style.

The other 3 sections show the properties of the selected object, which can be a saved style, a shape, o the default mode. So picking a style from the bottom means asigning that saved style to the Style 1 or Style 2 properties of the selected object (the shape or the saved style that appears in the first section).

[perihelion74]

The styles panel was what confused me the absolute most when being a beginner to Moho. Working with vectors etc is so intuitive but the styles part just broke my brain. It's something I think the developers should change for future upgrades of the software. When you understand it it's fine. But it actually scared me away from Moho as a beginner.