Paint Tool Transparency Amount Scale

[Robert Schleif]

When I am using the paint tool either in the Paint Transformation or in making a mask, quite often I use 98 or 99% transparency. It would be easier for me if the top 5 or 10% of the scale were appreciably expanded and the 20-80% range contracted.

[jsachs]

This depends on the Accumulate and also somewhat on the Spacing settings as well as the speed you drag the cursor. Depending on these other factors, lower transparencies are more useful in some cases. I think it would be confusing if the linearity of the scale changed depending on other settings. Maybe it would be better to try to find a way to normalize the effects of the transparency setting so it worked about the same regardless of the other settings.

[Robert Schleif]

Isn't the difference in the rate of laying down paint 10-fold between transparency values of 90 and 99%? If there is no good compromise for stretching out this last 10% on the scale, perhaps there is a way to remind users who have not fully digested the documentation that depressing the shift key will give them adequate control in this region. Something like "Depress shift for vernier control" just below the transparency amount scale?

[jsachs]

The problem is the way the tool works -- it lays down a series of circular applications of the brush, separated according to the Spacing parameter. In Accumulate mode, where the brush circles overlap, the tool is applied more strongly. If you just click once, you get no overlap and the transparency is what you dialed in. As you drag, however, the transparency gets lower and lower as the tool is applied repeatedly in overlapping circles or when you paint over the same area repeatedly. In Don't Accumulate mode, the overlapping circles do not build on each other and the transparency never goes down, no matter how many times you paint over the same area. So, there are many factors affecting the effective transparency -- the spacing, how far you drag, the Accumulate setting and the brush transparency and softness. If I stretch the transparency scale, it may be more intuitive in some cases, but will not work as expected in others. Right now I don't have a good solution for this problem, but I am still thinking about it. I also need to be careful not to invalidate existing scripts that use tools by changing the way transparency is interpreted.