Please select shape in Styles panel on other drawing tools too (inconsistancy)

[mmmaarten]

Hi,

As written about in the other thread; https://www.lostmarble.com/forum/viewto ... 6&start=15 there is an inconsistancy in the software tools that makes us needing extra clicks to select the just created shape for changing things like fill and stroke in the Styles Panel;

IT WORKS WITH ADD POINTS TOOL
When creating a shape using the Add Points tool and hitting enter to weld the points and have auto-fill, the styles panel rightfully switches to the SHAPE mode so we can directly edit it's style-related properties.

IT WORKS WITH CREATE SHAPE TOOL
It also works like this after hitting the 'Create shape' button when using the Create Shape tool.

IT DOESN'T WORK WITH DRAW SHAPE TOOL
However, when we use the Draw Shape tool to draw a new shape, the styles panel doesn't switch to SHAPE mode, so we need to manually select the shape we just created, using the Select Shape tool, only to change the style properties of the shape. While IMO it makes sense a logical step would be to change the style properties of this newly created shape. So, this is inconsistant; just like with the Add Points tool, I would expect the shape to be selected after drawing.

IT DOESN'T WORK WITH BLOB BRUSH TOOL
It also doesn't select the shape after drawing with the Blob Brush.

Not sure if I'm missing other drawing tools where it is expected/intuitive to auto select the shape too, but at least the above tools are obvious for me to need to auto select the created shape.

Hope this makes sense!

Would it please be possible to solve this inconsistancy and 'automatically' select these shapes in the mentioned tools also? That would speed up the workflow a lot, would cause less confusion and makes using Moho even more fun!

Thanks in advance!

[Greenlaw]

hmm...I had not paid attention to that but you're correct, Draw Shape is the only tool that does not select the shape immediately. Now that you pointed it out, this does kinda bug me.

FWIW, Hayasidist's Shape tool doesn't auto-select the shapes it creates either.

In the meantime, there's the Q key. Just quick-press Q and it switches to the Select Shape tool.

If you're using another tool and don't wish to switch tools, press-and-hold Q and click on a shape. This will select the shape and return you back to the tool you were after you release Q.

(Note: press-and-hold works with any hot key. I don't recommend it for bones though...it will slow everything down.)

[mmmaarten]

In the meantime, there's the Q key. Just quick-press Q and it switches to the Select Shape tool.

Thanks for the tips! Yeah, I figured I'll use the shortcut keys in the mean time. Maybe I add them to buttons in my Stream Deck and/or under Wacom buttons, not sure yet.

[Greenlaw]

Here's another tip:

When I have a lot of styles to work with, I like to create a style palette inside a vector layer. This 'Style Palette' layer is a collection of shapes (usually squares,) each with the properties (strokes and/or fills, and effects) that I will be using throughout the project. With the 'Style Palette' layer set up, I just sample my styles for each shape from there.

To do this, select the shape you want to 'color' and then Ctrl-click on the palette layer shape with the style you want to apply. You won't need to switch layers for this, Ctrl-click will sample from any shape under the cursor.

With proper preparation, I can color an entire character in a couple of minutes (maybe even quicker.) Once this is set up, I hardly touch the Styles window.

Tip: you can save the palette layer to its own project file for importing to other projects, or Copy Layer/Paste Layer to another project. If you use the Library window, I guess you might store it there. Being able to easily drop the palette into a project helps maintain style consistency between projects.

Also, when I'm creating a character, I usually don't apply styles until after I've drawn all my shapes. For me, working in stages like this goes much faster since I'm only focusing on one thing at a time.

In fact, working in stages is how I prefer to work throughout the entire production process. IMO, trying to work in multiple stages at once can get chaotic.

Additional note: What I'm describing above is generally applied when I'm on a task involving multiple characters and many scenes. When I'm doing a one-off animation for only one or two scenes, I probably won't bother with so much organization. (Well, a little organization never hurts.)

Be flexible and try a few different approaches to see what works best for you. In my experience, if something feels like it's getting hard to do, it's probably because I'm doing it the hard way.

[mmmaarten]

Here's another tip:
...

Thanks for the tips!

[Daxel]

Would it please be possible to solve this inconsistancy and 'automatically' select these shapes in the mentioned tools also? That would speed up the workflow a lot, would cause less confusion and makes using Moho even more fun!

Thanks in advance!

+1 And having the option to enable/disable the auto-selection would be nice.

[zokrym]

+1 as well.