Oil brush with oval or rectangle aspect is not rotating automatically

[PRSS]

Hello all !
The oil paint brush, when aspect ratio is made as a rectangle or oval, the brush does not automatically rotate and reorient itself to the new angle of strokes. I have been using ArtRage since version 2 on my desktop. In version 2 (desktop), it had a default oval shape and it would automatically orient to the rotation angle of brush, the way one used it on a traditional canvas with a flat brush. But this feature on desktop disappeared from version 4 to the current version 6. Wondering why this automatic rotation is not supported on iPad as well as on desktop. Same on iPad iOS too.

I have posted the same in the iOS support section too, hoping to get replies for iPad iOS as well as for desktop version.
Thanking you in advance,
Regards
PRSS

[PRSS]

Hello all,
I am adding info that I missed in my post. I am using Artrage on my Desktop with Windows 7-sp1 OS, Core-i7, 32 GB RAM, Nvidia GTX 1050Ti Graphic Card and with a Wacom Graphire 8"x6" pen tablet (13 years old). I also have a Huion K58 Pen Tablet. I tried with that too. Same problem. Brush head does not rotate.

I also tried it out on my 9 month old Lenovo Laptop which has Windows 10 as OS, Core-i7, 24 GB RAM, Nvidia GTX 2060 graphics, with Huion K58 tablet. Same problem. So, not an OS Problem. And Huion K58 tablet too not a very old tablet. Installed the latest driver too.

I don't paint on my laptop. I use my Desktop with a 27 inch monitor only. So, since it is not an OS problem, what setting am I missing? Wacom Graphire Tablet too has the last updated driver. I still have the old version of Artrage 2 on this machine. In Artrage 2, the head does rotate.

I google searched for this problem. Could not find any threads anywhere. Searched on this Forum too. Found one thread which was dealing with "Custom Brush" with rotating head. Does that mean the default oil brush head does not rotate ? In Artrage 6?

Well, same is the case with Artrage Vitae on iPad Pro with Apple Pencil.

Please help.
Thanks in advance
Best regards
PRSS

[markw]

The Oil brush head behaviour was indeed changed with the release of AR4 and the addition of more user controls for it, including for the user to be able to set the Aspect and Rotation of the brush head.
Though I concede there are times it would be nice to be able to lock the brush head to Pen Rotation, as you can with the Knife tool.
You could certainly put in a request for consideration in the Suggestions area of the forums.

[Somerset]

Hi PRRS!

I work with ArtRage 6.1.2 (my first one was ArtRage 4) on Windows 10 with a Wacom tablet, and the oil brush behaves just the way you described it. Can't see any adjustment to force the brushheads rotation to follow the direction of the stroke. Possibly the driver software of your tablet can? The only other opportunity I see is to use the custom brush or the sticker spray instead, after you created a custom brush or sticker sheet for your special needs.

But because there is an option called "Stylus Properties" in the burger menu of the brush settings panel, with an entry named "Pen Twist: Rotation", it could possibly be a bug, cause this doesn't seem to have any effect. I'm not sure about that.

[PRSS]

Thank you Mark & Somerset for your kind replies.
I don't think it is a bug. And all settings in my Stylus native settings (not inside Artrage) are correct. Doesn't seem to have any "lock rotation" in the stylus's native settings/controls.
Mark too says it doesn't work from Artrage version 4 (I too still have it on the same machine and doesn't work.
In Artrage Vitae on iPad Pro with Apple Pencil (Also with Classic Artrage for iPad - I have both) it doesn't work !
So it is not a bug but could be taken as the default behaviour from Version 4 of Artrage !
Fine, I accept that. Just wanted to make sure if something was wrong from my side in the settings.

So, it has to be a custom brush. I'll learn from tutorials and hopefully create one that locks rotation like the palette knife tool.

Thanking you once more
Best regards
PRSS

[Somerset]

Possibly this link will give some clarity. I'm not sure because it doesn't work with my tablet anyway.

[markw]

Oops, well this is embarrassing! (note to self; test before posting!)
I miss spoke, at least in part, earlier and the Oil brush head’s orientation is indeed already locked to a Pens rotation as it moves.
(Though for it to work the pen needs to be sending back it’s rotational information to AR.)

In AR 2 & 3, as noted by PRSS, the brush head would always orientate itself dynamically to the direction of travel. Whether using a pen, mouse or trackpad. The actual rotation of the pen was ignored.

From AR4 onwards, as I said above, this changed and the Oil brush started to automatically use the rotation of the pen to set the dynamic orientation of the brush head as it moved. So, effectively the same behaviour as when ‘Lock Rotation’ is enabled in the Knife tool.
In the absence of pen rotation information. ie when using a mouse or trackpad, the head orientation of the Oil brush in AR4 to 6, is now fixed and no longer changes dynamically as it follows the brush stroke.
It could be a very old bug that has just gone unnoticed for a very long time I suppose but I’m more inclined to think that it was changed by design.

[PRSS]

Thank you Somerset. I had already gone through that link before I posted !

Just now I watched two oil painting video tutorials in YouTube channel by Artist Daniel Ibanez. His default oil brush is rotating reorienting itself according to the direction of the strokes. Like how the palette knife behaves. That is rotation is locked. So, I presume that both my Pen Tablets are not "Pro" tablets. They are simpler tablets. The native tablet properties does not have recognition for twist and angle of the pen. May be it works on more expensive Pro tablets like Wacom Intuos Pro with a more expensive model stylus. I saw his video on tools settings too. He doesn't mention any thing about this "rotation lock" - even when he was showing & explaining the default oil brush and the settings. In my Artage stulus properties, the rotation is enabled by default. But actually has no effect. And may be the Apple Pencil too is not supported in Artage for iPad - both classic and the new Vitae versions for locking the rotation.

May be my question could be cleared by other members whose default oil brush rotation is locked. May be they could tell me the tablet & stylus they are using. OR, someone from the Artrage team could answer my query !
Thanking you again !
With best regards
PRSS

[PRSS]

Oops, well this is embarrassing! (note to self; test before posting!)
I miss spoke, at least in part, earlier and the Oil brush head’s orientation is indeed already locked to a Pens rotation as it moves.
(Though for it to work the pen needs to be sending back it’s rotational information to AR.)

In AR 2 & 3, as noted by PRSS, the brush head would always orientate itself dynamically to the direction of travel. Whether using a pen, mouse or trackpad. The actual rotation of the pen was ignored.

From AR4 onwards, as I said above, this changed and the Oil brush started to automatically use the rotation of the pen to set the dynamic orientation of the brush head as it moved. So, effectively the same behaviour as when ‘Lock Rotation’ is enabled in the Knife tool.
In the absence of pen rotation information. ie when using a mouse or trackpad, the head orientation of the Oil brush in AR4 to 6, is now fixed and no longer changes dynamically as it follows the brush stroke.
It could be a very old bug that has just gone unnoticed for a very long time I suppose but I’m more inclined to think that it was changed by design.

Thank you Mark ! my pen/stylus probably does not support "twist/rotation/angle". May be that is the reason.
Best regards
PRSS

[PRSS]

I just now checked with my iPad in Procreate. Rectangular brushes do lock rotation! So it is not the Apple Pencil ! No need to twist/rotate the pencil. The brush behaves like in Artrage 2.

Well, I checked with Autodesk SketchBook on my Desktop with my same old Wacom Graphire 13 years old tablet. I had never tried out rectangular or vertical or elliptical shaped brushes in SketchBook. I tested it now. All these brushes do rotate and get reoriented as according to the direction of stroke. That is, they get locked.

So I am now at a loss to understand why it is not so with Artrage with my tablet. But Artist's Daniel Ibanez's default brush is rotating with locked rotation ! Let me see if I could contact him my mail or through his YouTube Channel !

Thanks to both of you again !
Best regards
PRSS