UI and UX suggestions

I’ve been using Pro Motion for about 12 months now and its hands down the best pixel editing software by a long margin. Really the only thing letting it down is the user experience and user interface. Some suggestions:

  • Move this area into a tab for a cleaner UI + more space for you canvas

  • let users adjust input boxes by clicking and dragging (much easier than clicking once to select the field and finding the slider and then click dragging) example here Numscrubber.js | Let's change values of input numbers by dragging the mouse left & right NO reason why you still cant also show the slider

  • Allow users to pull the ‘Pen’ tab out to so it can live separately to the other Tool and paint setting tabs

  • Move the gradient manger functionality into the gradient drop down

  • Allow users to input any number into the pressure / brush scale boxes. Currently limits me to 900px and would love top make this bigger

  • Brush scale % seems to affect brush tip size. Would recommend one setting for both (just percentage)

  • The palette could be radically simplified by letting user cut and paste colors.

  • A color selected by the color picker should be the selected color that you can modify

  • Let users right click on selected range of colors to use the functions (instead using the functions button)

  • The UI and icons could all be so much simpler and cleaner (happy to help if you want some direction)

  • Temporary eraser shortcut (very common use case and found in most other tools)

  • Follow cursor option for brush (brush shape rotates along your trajectory much like a IRL brush)

  • If you have Brush scale selected ‘paint single color’ does not work as expected

  • Saved brushes stop showing the correct thumbnail after you move colors around in the palette

Thanks again for an incredible piece of software, looking forward to the next version. When do the upgrades end? I feel like I haven’t given you enough money :slight_smile:

1 Like

Hi @0xNoodles,

thanks for all the feedback.

Move this area into a tab for a cleaner UI + more space for you canvas

Where should the tab be?
What I could do is using only one line with all the information. Currently, the coordinates use their own line.

let users adjust input boxes by clicking and dragging (

With Numscrubber.js it’s not an edit field anymore. I want to let the user also enter numbers. That’s why the trackbar is an add on.

Allow users to pull the ‘Pen’ tab out to so it can live separately to the other Tool and paint setting tabs

Indeed it’s on my list to have dockable windows.

Move the gradient manger functionality into the gradient drop down

But this would mean that you can’t quickly select another gradient. The drop down closes if you select a gradient which is what it was meant to be the main function of it. Do you quickly want to edit the current gradient? This is currently missing. You need to go via Gradient manager. Would an edit icon make sense?

Allow users to input any number into the pressure / brush scale boxes. Currently limits me to 900px and would love top make this bigger

Input fields typically have limits. It does not make sense and would lead to technical errors if you could enter arbitrary values. Please define the useful limits you would like to see.

Brush scale % seems to affect brush tip size. Would recommend one setting for both (just percentage)

It’s scaling custom brushes only. Separating these functions will let you (e.g.) use custom brushes without scaling (pick, place) while drawing with a brush tip (round) using pressure.

The palette could be radically simplified by letting user cut and paste colors.

You can use Ctrl + C and Ctrl + V top copy and paste. Indeed I could add Ctrl + X as well, but the question would be in that case what to do: cut and move the other colors or cut and make the source black? Maybe two shortcuts make sense?

A color selected by the color picker should be the selected color that you can modify

This is the case. The currently active first color is the one that you edit in the color palette window. Maybe you mean something else than tah?

Let users right click on selected range of colors to use the functions (instead using the functions button)

Just disable this option:
image
Either the edit area selects colors (including RMB) or it does not so that RMB opens context menu.

The UI and icons could all be so much simpler and cleaner (happy to help if you want some direction)

Well, it’s subject to the pixel artist who made all the icons, but you can create your own set, just see the image files like “icons…png” in the application folder. I’ll gladly add your set for users to choose from.

Temporary eraser shortcut (very common use case and found in most other tools)

Currently there is no eraser tool. It’s on my list an maybe I will add it in near future. Currently, erasing is only a paint mode. It’s shortcut is F3 and you can toggle between you current paint mode and Erase paint mode.
Maybe this helps a bit for now.

Follow cursor option for brush (brush shape rotates along your trajectory much like a IRL brush)

Interesting feature. Indeed, something like that was mentioned before and is somewhere on my list.

If you have Brush scale selected ‘paint single color’ does not work as expected

Can you explain in more detail?

Saved brushes stop showing the correct thumbnail after you move colors around in the palette

This is because the brushes have their own copy of the color palette from the time they where grabbed. Maybe it would make sense to add a remap colors function to the brush container.

I don’t think that the free upgrades will end :wink: At least there are no plans for paid upgrades since V7.

-Jan