Blob brush randomly erasing. Also won't change size.

[NealF]

Hi.

I'm using the freehand tool to create my line art.
In the same layer I'm using the blob brush set to Merge Strokes and Draw Behind to fill the character.

All works fine, and then, without me changing anything, when I add more to the blob background, at some point, it erases instead of painting.

Also, I'm using the alt/command keys and dragging to change the size of the brush. But it's not changing. It shows the brush size red circle getting bigger and smaller as I drag, but the brush doesn't change. I can see in the menu bar it stays the same.
This problem with the brush size also happens with the Freehand tool.

I can change the numbers in the menu bar and it'll change the brush size, but that's a pain. Sometimes I need the brush to be very narrow because it doesn't have a point, so I'm changing size often.

I'm in Moho Pro 14 on a Mac.

Any ideas?
Thanks.

[synthsin75]

Sounds like your cmd key is stuck. You might check that "sticky keys" (or whatever Mac may call that) hasn't been enable on your system.

[NealF]

Thanks.

That wasn't it. Still happening.
Any ideas about the brush size problem?

[NealF]

Well, I found out why the I couldn't change the size.

I'm almost positive I saw tutorials that said to change the brush size you hold down option and command then drag.
Turns out you only hold down option (alt). That handles that.

Later I'll check to see if there's a similar confusion on the erasing problem.

[Hoptoad]

Well, I found out why the I couldn't change the size.

I'm almost positive I saw tutorials that said to change the brush size you hold down option and command then drag.
Turns out you only hold down option (alt). That handles that.

Later I'll check to see if there's a similar confusion on the erasing problem.

Good luck figuring-out the eraser problem.

I don't use the blob brush often, but I have some tips that you may already know (maybe they'll help somebody else, then).

Occasionally the selected shape I'm working on disappears. I figure it's my fault for making something too complicated. Lately, I periodically hit Return to start a fresh blob, rather than combining a multitude of blob shapes. This seems to have solved the disappearing blob problem.

I've also been using the Point Reduction tool (R) to remove a lot of points. This makes it easier to translate points and alter the blob.

Lastly, rather than shrink the Blob Brush to a tiny circle, I've been using the Eraser tool (E) to slice off chunks of a big blob. I feel like it makes it easier to create pointed areas than when I use a tiny blob brush.

[NealF]

I'm going to try your method.

I thought I had it fixed, but here I was adding blobs to a blog and suddenly..... It all erased. And I made sure I didn't touch any other keys.

Thanks for your tips. Gonna try it now.

Another wierdness. Once in a while, the same as I'm adding to the blob, it won't draw underneath certain lines. WTF?!? Is it me?

[Hoptoad]

Is it me?

I generally believe that all my Moho problems are user error, and that if something goes wrong, it's because I did doing something wrong -- or, at least, unconventional.

That being said, the blob brush is unpredictable. Sometimes shapes just vanish. There's probably a goofy solution, but I haven't found it. It could be something weird, like, don't use the blob brush more than 5 times in a row. If you figure out how to make it completely reliable, I'd like to know.

Nowadays, when a blob shape vanishes, I just redraw it. That's my work-around.

[NealF]

I'll definitely let you know.

So far, my work around when it gets too goofy is to use it on another layer underneath the line. Once that looks good I'll copy the line layer and paste it into the blob layer. That way I'll end up with one solid piece to work with. Still new to this program. (Actually, not that new, but it's been slow learning and not using it often.)

My thinking with the fills and lines is that once I start animating the object I won't have registration problems down the line since it'll all move together.

Don't know if that's the best way, but it's the easiest I've figured out so far.

[Hoptoad]

So far, my work around when it gets too goofy is to use it on another layer underneath the line. Once that looks good I'll copy the line layer and paste it into the blob layer. That way I'll end up with one solid piece to work with.

Good idea. I've added to my arsenal.

[NealF]

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Good idea. I've added to my arsenal.
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Another detail. I'll usually use the blob with merge and draw behind on the same layer as the line art until it gets crazy. That's when I just fill in the missing fill in a layer below and cut and past.