UV/Image Editor, Selection tool ideas.

Ok, couldn’t sleep yesterday, my mind was just brainstorming about how a selection workflow could be in blenders UV/Image editor. Especially in paint mode.

What I though of, to keep consistency with other views.

  • B_KEY, Box selection, draw a box
    [LIST]

  • SHIFT , adds to selection

  • ALT, subtracts from selection

  • C_KEY, Circle select

  • Primary function: Draw with brush and select pixels.

  • Secondary function: This could be like photoshops magic wand, click a pixel and it selects connected pixels with same color. Could probably borrow code and GUI from the Fill brush. With that slider for threshold.

  • SHIFT & ALT modifiers, adds / subtracts to current selection.

  • SHIFT_D_KEY (since E_KEY is occupied)

  • Duplicates current select pixels, and selects the duplication.

  • By default also starts translation of the duplication, as duplication in 3d viewport.

  • G_KEY

  • Moves selected pixels
    [LIST]

  • X_KEY constraint movement horizontally

  • Y_KEY constraint movement vertically

[/LIST]

  • SHIFT_R_KEY

  • Repeats last action, e.g. like in 3d viewport, could be really awesome if it can handle duplication of pixels, as duplication of objects in 3dview with SHIFT+R to repeat.

[/LIST]

Hi Aermartin,
I agreed with you: since some months I ask to obtain custom selection mask in texture paint mode like alt + B but with any line (not box only).
I am with your demands…

Ah, ALT_B_KEY could be polygon lasso tool,

draw this inbetween work,


now for me doing pixel art, the SHIFT_R_KEY to repeat copy/paste selection, and move it x-amount of pixels it would be 2nd fastest way of filling cells for sprite animations, I only known pyxel that has a faster workflow.

that would be so sweet.

Yes Aermartin, polygon lasso but with a bezier curve…like in this new french addon:
3DFlat http://blenderclan.tuxfamily.org/html/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=43309

Try it and you will see what I mean.

I basically agree with your requests, except duplication of UV selection, that makes no sense.

paolo

In the UV editor:
There are some tools under, like select entire islands. Why so? Why “L” shortcut not working there?
However, when in sync mode, the islands select tool is disabled (???)
An inconsistency of the blender UI, in these cases makes it hard to work with.

I totally agree with michalis!

paolo

The best UV editors are just 2d versions of the 3d viewport, same controls and open to the same tools. Blender’s UV editor is flawed in that regard, it thinks itself a separate editor with its own unique workflow… but its really just a top down orthographic viewport which pushes and pulls verts, edges and faces. Treat it as such… and the user wont have to relearn or adapt to different workflows and controls.

I love that in Modo I can grab the sculpting brush and pull, smooth out the uvs, move the mouse over to the 3d part of the viewport and it literally sculpts on the mesh due to context sensitivity. One tool brush, many ways to use it, controls dont change, nor does expectation of how it acts. Maya is the same to some extent.