Brush Factory v2.0 (August 8th, 2020)

[Joshua Lamusga 252]

Maximize is back. I reconfigured it since it decided to break itself on my computer, so hopefully none of that.

This project is on github now. https://github.com/JoshuaLamusga/Brush-Factory. Link to documentation added in my first post.

Edited July 18, 2017 by Joshua Lamusga

[Eli 1,127]

Hi @Joshua Lamusga, the Symmetry feature is cool. I was able to draw a mandala  

[Joshua Lamusga 252]

Version 1.5 is released.

I added radial symmetry by request. (Well, these requests aren't requests for Brush Factory per se, but they were requests for Paint.Net that were fairly easy to implement, so I went ahead and did it anyway.)
 

Radial symmetry options are under the Other tab, in the Symmetry drop-down. Drawing with high radial symmetry may be slow.

See the cool rendition above for an example of what it can do.

[TrevorOutlaw 299]

Thank you very much for the update.  I just downloaded, installed, and tested it.  I am finally able to move the plug-in to the extended monitor, which was something I couldn't do with the previous version.

[Joshua Lamusga 252]

Excellent, TrevorOutlaw. I'm glad that issue has resolved itself. I bet it was when I rewrote the maximizing code so that it remained in a windowed mode instead of actually being maximized.

[Seerose 4,267]

 @Joshua Lamusga! Thank you so much for new version.  

[LionsDragon 921]

Fannnnntastic! This made one of my current pieces...well, not just easier but possible!

 

 

[TrevorOutlaw 299]

On 8/17/2017 at 0:41 PM, Joshua Lamusga said:

Excellent, TrevorOutlaw. I'm glad that issue has resolved itself. I bet it was when I rewrote the maximizing code so that it remained in a windowed mode instead of actually being maximized.

 

I am still waiting for the ability to use the plug-in for masking.

[sunmaggot 20]

@Joshua Lamusga  This plugin saved a lot of time to draw grass!! I just adjust setting then BOOM, grass.  

[Ego Eram Reputo 2,612]

I have no idea why this wasn't pinned. I've fixed that.

[fluxdeity 0]

Why did you change from Anthony Scoffler?

[toe_head2001 1,705]

10 minutes ago, fluxdeity said:

Why did you change from Anthony Scoffler?

 

[Joshua Lamusga 252]

Version 1.6 is released.

Thanks to Null54, we have photoshop brush file (.abr) support while working in Brush Factory.

 

Null54 also added and I expanded on bracket-based keyboard shortcuts. It seems paint.net has supported using [ and ] to increase and decrease brush size since forever (and hold Control to speed it up). So this is now part of Brush Factory. Previous mouse-wheel based shortcuts have not been removed.

 

[: Increase brush size. Hold Ctrl to speed it up. Hold R to change rotation instead. Hold A to change alpha instead.

]: Decrease brush size. Hold Ctrl to speed it up. Hold R to change rotation instead. Hold A to change alpha instead. 

Edited October 29, 2018 by Joshua Lamusga

[ScrapbookWithPDN 117]

Hi, Joshua.

 

I used your Brush Factory plugin, version 1502xxxx. I used watercolor brushes. This is a beautiful plugin and I'm so grateful, as I am sure others are, for it. This is because I can still use Paint.Net and not have to deal with more complicated software or software that takes so long to load. It means I can stick with Paint.Net and not have to venture off. I do still use Krita and Krita makes Gimp or Photoshop no longer needed. I use it just for painting some of my scanned drawings. For anything else, at this point, PDN can handle it in 300 dpi. Anyway,  Brush Factory is an incredible plugin. The only thing that makes it somewhat difficult is that it actually paints right on the layer you want to have painted. That sounds so dumb, doesn't it? Well, if a layer could be used or created ON TOP OF the layer that is showing (as a guide), that would make the plugin more useful for layering purposes. We have to move the painted layer around or edit that lawyer without touching the layer we are painting on top of, or under. 

 

Also, if we can KEEP the colors we selected to use, unless we close Brush Factory, but still keep the same colors even when we change brushes, so we don't have to keep entering or finding a color we just used with a prior brush, or be able to load a color palette, that would help a great deal, especially while working on a project. How it is, when I change a watercolor brush, I have to manually keep entering 3 or 5 different colors codes.

 

I know making such a cool plugin probably takes up too much time in your life, and I honestly have a problem with asking a plugin creator if they can change or add to it, since it was a free gift and sacrifice of your time, to begin with, but, if ever one day or evening, if that's even possible to do, I know many would be grateful. I have a PDN tutorial website for a large group of digital scrapbook and digital painters (and similar related digital imaging projects). They only use one or two of the other softwares. Many have laughed at PDN or not even heard of it. Some are really impressed with it after finding out about it.

 

For a certain niche of people doing a particular common function, within that world of people, PDN is equally as good, less steps to do it, and easier to learn how to use than what they use or what they are trying to learn how to use. With the brushes of your Brush Factory plugin, the brush work itself is impressive, but if Brush Factory could be used in a more practical way that would help even more. I hope I don't sound rude. I'm not intending to. I just thought I would ask. Maybe this has come up thousands of times and you're sick of it. If so, I'm sorry. It takes a great deal of time to try to read everything at this forum. Sometimes I miss things but I try. This will be one of the plugins I dedicate a page to if it can function just a bit more practically, for this fairly large niche of users, if that's possible and I am willing to show them how to use it for that area, in between life, but I'm pretty good at micromanaging my weekly schedule and periodically dealing with sleep deprivation.

 

I also know there is a possibility that what I am hoping for is not even possible to comply with PDN structuring. So, I understand that, too.

 

Thank you, Joshua. You created a cool and useful plugin, regardless.

Edited December 7, 2018 by ScrapbookWithPDN
grammar, as always

[null54 688]

15 hours ago, ScrapbookWithPDN said:

Well, if a layer could be used or created ON TOP OF the layer that is showing (as a guide), that would make the plugin more useful for layering purposes.

 

Plugins cannot create layers, but the following steps can be used as a workaround.

1. Create a new empty layer for the Brush Factory to draw on
2. Copy the layer you want to use as a guide to the clipboard
3. Right click on the Brush Factory canvas and select the "Use clipboard as background" option

Please note that any transparent areas in the image will be displayed as white, because the clipboard image the plugin currently uses does not support transparency.

 

15 hours ago, ScrapbookWithPDN said:

Also, if we can KEEP the colors we selected to use, unless we close Brush Factory, but still keep the same colors even when we change brushes, so we don't have to keep entering or finding a color we just used with a prior brush, or be able to load a color palette, that would help a great deal

 

Brush Factory does not currently support this.

 

But as the Windows color dialog supports a 16 color custom palette, one solution may be for Brush Factory to store that custom palette during the Paint.NET session.

 

As Paint.NET allows Effect plugins to read the user's current color palette, it could even set the default palette to the first 16 opaque colors in Paint.NET's palette.

Although I am not sure if that behavior would confuse users due to it skipping transparent colors.

[ScrapbookWithPDN 117]

4 hours ago, null54 said:

 

Plugins cannot create layers, but the following steps can be used as a workaround.

1. Create a new empty layer for the Brush Factory to draw on
2. Copy the layer you want to use as a guide to the clipboard
3. Right click on the Brush Factory canvas and select the "Use clipboard as background" option

Please note that any transparent areas in the image will be displayed as white, because the clipboard image the plugin currently uses does not support transparency.

 

 

The Windows color dialog supports a 16 color custom palette that the plugin does not use.

One solution may be for the plugin to store that custom palette during the Paint.NET session.

 

As Paint.NET allows Effect plugins to read the user's current color palette, it could even set the default palette to the first 16 opaque colors in Paint.NET's palette.

Although I am not sure if that behavior would confuse users due to it skipping transparent colors.

Holy Cow! You're a friggin genius! Thank you so much for taking the time to explain this to me. I'll take a screen shot of it.!  I'm grateful for your time.

[null54 688]

1 hour ago, ScrapbookWithPDN said:

Holy Cow! You're a friggin genius! Thank you so much for taking the time to explain this to me. I'll take a screen shot of it.!  I'm grateful for your time.

 

@Joshua Lamusga is the genius for creating this plugin, I just contribute a few minor changes here and there.

 

I edited my previous post to clarify that Brush Factory does not currently support the color palette functionality.

[Joshua Lamusga 252]

12 hours ago, null54 said:

I just contribute a few minor changes here and there

Yeah, like this release.

 

Version 1.7 is released.

Null54 has been steadily plugging away to deliver these features to you guys. While I've been busy, he added these features:

- A larger image view for selecting brushes, with the add brushes button moved out and placed below the view

- Fixed a transparency bug that was bad enough I'd hesitate to draw translucently on a blank canvas

- The interface doesn't totally freeze while loading brushes anymore

- Settings are now saved to a file instead of Windows registry.

 

I was fairly busy recently and I found some time on weekends to make tweaks:

- The max brush size is now 1000 by request, though it may lag.

- Default brushes load in reverse order.

- "Random max alpha" was removed because it was useless, hard to fix and redundant with random min alpha, which could be used instead.

- Ctrl + left click and drag to pan instead of middle mouse button, which isn't always convenient (especially on a laptop).

 

Tell me what you think and report bugs you find. I'm expecting a few about migrating from registry to a file, or loading brushes.

Edited December 8, 2018 by Joshua Lamusga

[toe_head2001 1,705]

33 minutes ago, Joshua Lamusga said:

- Ctrl + left click and drag to pan instead of middle mouse button, which isn't always convenient (especially on a laptop).

 

Why not both? I like to pan with the middle mouse button.

[Joshua Lamusga 252]

1 hour ago, toe_head2001 said:

Why not both? I like to pan with the middle mouse button.

Okay, I added it back in. I didn't think anyone actually used the middle mouse button to pan, but maybe that's because mine's been broken for a good while.

[ScrapbookWithPDN 117]

You guys are living legends.

[ScrapbookWithPDN 117]

5 hours ago, Joshua Lamusga said:

Yeah, like this release.

 

Version 1.7 is released.

Null54 has been steadily plugging away to deliver these features to you guys. While I've been busy, he added these features:

- A larger image view for selecting brushes, with the add brushes button moved out and placed below the view

- Fixed a transparency bug that was bad enough I'd hesitate to draw translucently on a blank canvas

- The interface doesn't totally freeze while loading brushes anymore

- Settings are now saved to a file instead of Windows registry.

 

I was fairly busy recently and I found some time on weekends to make tweaks:

- The max brush size is now 1000 by request, though it may lag.

- Default brushes load in reverse order.

- "Random max alpha" was removed because it was useless, hard to fix and redundant with random min alpha, which could be used instead.

- Ctrl + left click and drag to pan instead of middle mouse button, which isn't always convenient (especially on a laptop).

 

Tell me what you think and report bugs you find. I'm expecting a few about migrating from registry to a file, or loading brushes.

Thank you for increasing the size of the brushes!! (and above all else, for your time) I remember the days when some of the other features of PDN took  bit of time...eventually, many of them were able to become faster, for whatever reasons, and one thing I have learned at this forum, for PDN; just because it seems impossible or impractical, doesn't mean it is impossible or impractical, because so many of you smart people have learned there are many ways to skin a cat....and a lot of thinking outside the box. That can work wonders, and has.

[ScrapbookWithPDN 117]

6 hours ago, Joshua Lamusga said:

Yeah, like this release.

 

Version 1.7 is released.

Null54 has been steadily plugging away to deliver these features to you guys. While I've been busy, he added these features:

- A larger image view for selecting brushes, with the add brushes button moved out and placed below the view

- Fixed a transparency bug that was bad enough I'd hesitate to draw translucently on a blank canvas

- The interface doesn't totally freeze while loading brushes anymore

- Settings are now saved to a file instead of Windows registry.

 

I was fairly busy recently and I found some time on weekends to make tweaks:

- The max brush size is now 1000 by request, though it may lag.

- Default brushes load in reverse order.

- "Random max alpha" was removed because it was useless, hard to fix and redundant with random min alpha, which could be used instead.

- Ctrl + left click and drag to pan instead of middle mouse button, which isn't always convenient (especially on a laptop).

 

Tell me what you think and report bugs you find. I'm expecting a few about migrating from registry to a file, or loading brushes.

Hi, Josh, I just installed the newest version 1.7 xx...I didn't use it on every setting, just the main ones. In case it helps, there was no lagging. If you need the specs for the no big deal Dell I used it on, I can give them to you. If you can increase the brush size even more, that's fine. If not, I understand. I just made a beautiful digital paper using the watercolor brushes, 300dpi setting 12" x 12" (3600 pixels x 3600 pixels...I think). I haven't noticed anything buggy so far, in my limited use. You made an incredible plugin. Thank you.

Edited December 9, 2018 by ScrapbookWithPDN
spelling

[ScrapbookWithPDN 117]

UPDATE:

6 hours ago, Joshua Lamusga said:

Okay, I added it back in. I didn't think anyone actually used the middle mouse button to pan, but maybe that's because mine's been broken for a good while.

 UPDATE! The increased brush size, for some reason, didn't take effect right away, but it does now! Oh, MAN!! AWESOME! It's WOW!  and no issues. Great job, man! Thank you!

[ScrapbookWithPDN 117]

21 hours ago, null54 said:

 

@Joshua Lamusga is the genius for creating this plugin, I just contribute a few minor changes here and there.

 

I edited my previous post to clarify that Brush Factory does not currently support the color palette functionality.

So, using Joshua's latest 1.7xx version, the changes are awesome. Regarding the color palette, it picked up the color I had my PDN color palette set to, but when I closed Brush Factory, did something to one of my layers, changed my PDN color palette color, the Brush Factory color palette still remained on the previous color I had my PDN palette set to. If the Brush Factory color palette could read my first color from my PDN color palette, can't it be configured to read the next color I changed the PDN color palette to before reopening Brush Factory? If not, can the Brush Factory color palette have an input for the hex code the PDN palette uses? Otherwise, I'll just have to keep a note pad and keep writing down color changes and enter them that way. Thank you both, Johsh and Null54. If that's how it's gotta be, then that's what I'll do. No complaints.