Tool option: erase up to intersection
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I would like to make the suggestion to add an eraser that erases up to an intersection with another line. This is a Clip Studio Paint feature and it is very useful to quickly clean up overshooting lines. Ideally it would work very well in combination with the dynamic sketch and/or pencil tool.
For the implementation I had a look at the dynamic sketch plugin for Illustrator, as this has quite a similar functionality as the Shape Sketch. With shift pressed I can erase a part of a line that crosses over another line. So it could be tied to a modifier in Shape sketch as well.
I could also imagine this being an alternative function of the eraser. In Clip Studio the vactor eraser has 3 modes: regular eraser, erase up to intersection, erase whole line. Perhaps something similar could work for VS as well?
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Will have to investigate more this one, how does it fit with existing tools.
At first sight, this could be easy to implement if it just about cutting from open shapes.Don't know much of Clip Studio Paint, how do I find this feature there?
There is a Shape Builder tool in VS, that also has similar features among others (erase parts from intersections).
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You can find a description of the feature here.
https://www.clip-studio.com/site/gd_en/csp/toolguide/csp_toolguide/100_reference/Erase.htm
It is also in the Dynamic Sketch plugin by Astute, which you might be familiar with. Here it is activated with shift. It is very useful especially when drawing freehand to clean up overshooting lines. I have not been able to get a similar result with the shape-builder tool.
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@postdes As far as I know, the Dynamic Sketch plugin from Astute doesn't create closed shapes automatically by deleting the shorter part of a stroke where it intersects with another. So what it does is different from VectorStyler's Shape Sketch tool.
I'm not saying an eraser that has the option to delete parts of paths up to an intersection is not useful, but do you need to integrate it with the Shape Sketch tool, since you don't need to clean up overshooting lines from shapes made with it?
Also: if you hold Shift the Shape Sketch tool will delete the shorter part of the stroke up to the intersection with the other path/shape, but not add or subtract to it. This stroke will remain a separate path.
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I think that this new feature suggestion has to be separate from the path sketch tool.
The key of the path sketch tool is to merge paths into closed (or open) shapes at intersections, not just cutting and removing.So if it is to be implemented, it should be part of the erase tool, or a separate tool.
The idea itself is solid, and necessary, but sketch does much more than intersections.Technically, it does not seem to be a hard thing to do.
I would prefer a separate tool (for simplicity), but there are too many of these already
Will see how can this be managed.
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@b77 As for the Dynamic Sketch: I have an older version of it in CS5. It can create closed shapes when the lines overlap, but once it is closed drawing new lines overlapping it will not automatically subract or add to the shape as the Shape Sketch does. However you can press shift to erase a part of the line up to an intersection. See the screenshots below.
https://recordit.co/UdDPwjd0Tj
https://recordit.co/wzeu8BwkBB
@vectoradmin I agree that adding it as an eraser makes more sense, as this could also be used for other shapes not created with the shape sketch tool. Would it not be an idea to add this as an option to the regular eraser?
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@postdes Oh, you're right, Dynamic Sketch creates closed shapes automatically. The second part however is different, that's why it has the overshoot deletion integrated.
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Will try to add to the regular eraser.
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@postdes @vectoradmin
Funny you bring this tool idea up now @postdes, I was just watching a video that mentioned it last night on youtube. The host in the video is a little quirky, but he shows the effect you mentioned about erasing up to the intersection. I think it would be a great addition to VS because we could avoid necessarily expanding strokes and dividing and merging again. The option to do it without losing the live-stroke option is interesting. It would make for easier cleanup for sure. (I also leave room for the possibility this already exists in the feature-rich VS and I'm unaware)@vectoradmin - FYI-Clip Studio Paint is really a raster paint program with some hybrid vector tools. Currently, one cannot export true vector from the Clip Studio Paint
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The segment eraser mode is available in build 194. It can be access from both the eraser tool and the (old) pencil tool.
From the pencil tool:
enable the Dynamic mode in the context panel (next to the pressure field, from the left side).
press Shift and then press the mouse to paint over the erased segments.
When the mouse is released the segments (between intersections) intersecting the mouse trail are erased.Important: this works for selected paths only. So either the dynamic mode is enabled before the first path is drawn with the pencil tool, or the objects are selected before the pencil tool is activated.
When the Dynamic mode is enabled, the pencil tool keeps all new shapes selected (in addition to the selection when the tool is activated). This also means that setting stroke attributes or color will change all.
When the Dynamic mode is disabled, only the most recently drawn shape is selected (classic mode), which means that activating the dynamic mode in this case will not detect intersections with other (not selected) shapes.
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And:
The segment erasing is also available in the eraser tool. Just press the Shift key and start painting over the erased sections.
No need to activate a dynamic mode this time.Observation: when sections of a path are erased (the path is changed) it will try to merge the path with matching open paths.
This may also result in closed paths.
This is the default behavior that can be disabled by pressing and holding the Option key, after the erase mode paint has started.
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@vectoradmin This has a lot of potential, but it still is quite buggy. I will get back to this topic to show the issues I run into, as I don't have the time right now.
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Something else somewhat related that I am noticing is that VectorStyler does not switch to erasing when I use the eraser side of my Wacom pen.
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@fde101 I will look into this. What is the Wacom model?
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@vectoradmin
I have an Intuos Pro M.
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I run into some problems when using the erase to intersection option in the pencil tool. At first it seems to work really well when I create the box from 4 overlapping lines. But when I draw a line over the box and try to erase the part of the line inside the box, it erases the whole line instead. When I try again after that, it erases everything...
https://recordit.co/KwldB51vQz
The connecting of close line ends is giving me some trouble too, I have to get used to using the ALT key similtaneously.
But beyond some of these bugs, it is an amazing addition to the toolset, which will also make Vectornator very interesting for comic artists and other artists mainly creating line art. Thank you!
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Just to see what I run into: I get the feel that it stops working properly after a certain time. New intersecting paths are not erased, and sometimes erases parts of other non-connected lines.
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@postdes I added these to the backlog, and will try to replicate.
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@postdes If there are some example vstyler files of problematic erase cases that you could share by email, it would help a lot. Thanks!
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These were just empty new files. But I will send you one later.
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The problem seems to arise when two paths are combined by erasing its overlapping parts. When I then draw a line over this shape (does not have to be closed) the whole newly created line is erased, instead of only the part up to the intersection. After this happens the tool appears to be broken, and only whole lines, or completely different lines, are erased. Creating a new layer does not change this buggy behaviour. I have to pick the object select tool and delete all paths, then go back to the pencil tool to make it work again. It also sometimes messes up the Undo operation, but I have not been able to always replicate this. See the screenrecording for some of the bugs that occur.
