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TALVA
TALVA
Known Participant
March 13, 2026
Question

Spikes and Loops Appearing in Paths When Using Pressure-Sensitive Brushes with XP-Pen Tablet

  • March 13, 2026
  • 2 replies
  • 55 views

I'm experiencing strange spikes and small loops in my vector paths while drawing in Illustrator. The paths suddenly create sharp angles or little loops that shouldn’t be there. Please see the attached screenshot and video.

The problem only occurs when I use pressure-sensitive brushes — brushes with uniform thickness work fine.

I’m using the latest version of Illustrator (though I had this problem even before updating) and an Artist 12 Pro XP-Pen tablet (Windows Ink is deactivated).

I’ve tried different versions of Illustrator and installed the latest tablet drivers, but I’m running out of ideas. I hope someone can help me! 🙂

 

    2 replies

    B
    Community Expert
    Bobby HendersonCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    March 13, 2026

    Does the XP Pen have an application that controls its properties (as well as do other things like turn Windows Ink on or off)? Such an app may have settings for the pen that adjust for how precise it draws lines.

      TALVA
      TALVAAuthor
      Known Participant
      March 14, 2026

      Yes, it has. I have played around with some settings, but no improvment so far. Sry, its in german, but I hope it’s self explainig? ^^

       

      Abhishek Rao
      Community Manager
      Abhishek RaoCommunity Manager
      Community Manager
      March 16, 2026

      Hi ​@TALVA,

       

      Thanks for sharing the additional details and the screenshot. Could you please try enabling Windows Ink in the XP-Pen tablet settings and then restart Illustrator to test if the behavior changes?

      It would also help to test this in a new blank Illustrator document using a default calligraphic brush, just to rule out any document or brush preset related issue.

      Additionally, please try checking the tablet pressure outside Illustrator, for example in another drawing application to see if the strokes behave normally there.

      If the problem continues, you might also want to try performing a clean reinstall of the XP-Pen driver by uninstalling the current driver, restarting the machine, and then installing the latest driver from the XP-Pen website.

      Please give these steps a try and let us know how it goes.

       

      Looking forward to your update.

      Abhishek

      Abhishek Rao
      Community Manager
      Abhishek RaoCommunity Manager
      Community Manager
      March 13, 2026

      Hi ​@TALVA, 

       

      Thanks for sharing the details and screenshot. Could you please let us know which version of Illustrator you're using and the OS details?

      Also, please check Edit > Preferences > Devices and confirm that Enable Wacom is turned on. Even with tablets like XP-Pen, Illustrator uses this setting to detect pressure input.

      Additionally, open the Brush Options for the brush you’re using and ensure Size is set to Pressure with a variation value, so Illustrator can correctly interpret the pressure sensitivity.

      Please try this and let us know if the strokes improve. Looking forward to your update.

       

      Thanks,
      Abhishek

      TALVA
      TALVAAuthor
      Known Participant
      March 13, 2026

      Hi and thanks for the quick answer.

      I am currently using Illustrator version 30.2.1 (64-bit).
      I updated today, hoping it would help, but version 29.8 had exactly the same issue.

      I am working on Windows 11, Version 25H2.

      Wacom support is enabled in Illustrator.

      Regarding your last point, I hope I understand correctly: the brush I used in the video is a standard brush.

      Druck means pressure.

      Thanks for your help so far.

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