drawing a shape

[i8bozo]

may i suggest this?

currently when you draw a shape you plot points and finally you click on the first shape to close that shape. fine.

it would be nice if when you close that shape, the app automatically goes into reshape mode instead of staying in 'draw new shape' mode. that seems like the logical implementation. am i wrong?

thanks!

.g.

[paulm]

What if you want to draw a second shape immediately?

[i8bozo]

you have a point. the answer i have is from commotion. in commotion, you click a little page icon to create a new shape layer, you draw your shape and close it. done. you're in move point mode automaticlly. if you want to draw another shape immediately, you have to ask for it by clicking that little page icon again.

i wonder which work method is adopted by the majority? anyone?

[adam]

I must say the first thing I do after drawing a shape is to reshape it. I would prefer the switch to reshape tool after the shape has closed.

[paulm]

I have to point out the time it takes to create the shape far outweighs (usually) the time it takes to hit a key.

I'm trying to figure out what is harder - adding this auto-tool-switch feature or the ability to map the Reshape Tool key to whatever you want. Neither are trivial, unfortunately.

BTW - guys, if I seem to be pushing back sometimes it's only to try to get you something that works in the short term while I mull over the problem. Unfortunately, some of your requests are not quick fixes, and I have to think about the best way to deal with them. We DO want all feedback.

[i8bozo]

paul,

that's completely understandable. we're not after quick fixes by any means. i throw these comments and suggestions out there for the sake of awareness. if you don't know how we work or intend to interface with the application, you can't build a great version for us.

please do take your time and make the proper decisions and aviod quick fixes. do it right.

i do think you'll find that most users tend to want to begin editing the shape they've just drawn though. it's just logical. in fact, i just took a mini poll here at work. it's unanimous...we ALL want to be able to edit our shape immediately after drawing it.

thanks!!

.g.

[paulm]

I believe you, honest!!

A lot of the behavior you see in the program comes from the distant past when I designed the Elastic Reality user interface. It was one of the first commercialy available rotoscoping programs (and it did morphing too!) and nobody ever complained at the time. :)

I've just gotten so used to just hitting 'r' after I'm done I might be overly biased. I'll work on that!

Also, I'm fighting the incredibly powerful urge to solve your problems NOW, as fast as possible.

And of course I'm working on NEW (!!) stuff and balancing the need for that and the demands of workflow improvements. It gets frustrating.

Oh look, it's beer-thirty! That might help! :D

[i8bozo]

yeah, elastic reality was and is brilliant. great job. my only regret with that package when i've used it was the load time on the frames as you switched from one to another. painful.

you're leaps and bounds beyond that with silhouette. i just wanna help you build the best app for the job because when you do, we all win.

mmm... i miss beer.