Illustrator paintbrush tool won't stay in basic linetype it keeps switching back to the previous one

[Summit_Heino]

the pen tool wont stop changing itself from basic line and its stopping me from being able to do my project. every time i change it it switches back to the previous chosen. completely useless in this state. god damn annoying

Message was edited by: Srishti Bali

[Monika Gause]

Please tell us step by step what exactly is happening.

Also please try: open the appearance panel and in the menu uncheck "New art has basic appearance". Maybe that solves it already.

[Summit_Heino]

The illustrator paintbrush tool won't stay in basic linetype it keeps

switching back to the previous one

[Monika Gause]

"Basic" brush is not a brush at all. It's just a plain old stroke.

The brush tool cannot draw with a plain stroke. It can only draw with a real brush.

If you want to draw with a plain stroke, use the pencil tool.

[Summit_Heino]

ok doesn't really make sense why not. why can i not draw in basic but i can

switch it to basic after? anyway now my tablet wont draw wit illustrator

either it just clicks at the point of contact and wont drag

On Wed, Jun 7, 2017 at 4:34 AM, Monika Gause <forums_noreply@adobe.com>

[Summit_Heino]

the pencil tool wont stay the same width when im using it either it keeps

switching to no weight and is invisible after changing it to my desired

look.

[Monika Gause · Accepted solution]

Have you set up the setting in the Appearance panel ? Turned off "New art has basic appearance"?

That's important.

Also: What exactly do you want the artwork to look like?

And then: In Illustrator a stroke or a brush are attributes of a path. They can be applied and changed later on.

But: the brush tool saves everything you do with your stylus into the path. This only makes sense with a brush. Only then you can also see it. That's just how the tool works. You don't like how the tool works? Make a feature request. Feature Request/Bug Report Form

But until then it's how the tool works and you will have to use the pencil tool if you want to draw with a plain stroke.

[Summit_Heino]

Yes that setting has been adjusted with seemingly no result. Sorry about

the hostility I'm just annoyed with the vast amount of bugs my computer

seems to have in comparison to others I've used. Illustrator and Photoshop

just don't have the same names placement or effects for the "same" tool so

I'm frustrated

[Summit_Heino]

oops didnt mean to send that draft. anyway im able to continue working with

the liens however. can i trace a black and transparent png into a shape

with trace in illustrator? it wont recognise the lines and change them into

shapes it just turns it into a square and adds white between the lines. its

linework i had in illustrator then took to photoshop now want de-rasterized

i guess

[Monika Gause]

It would really help if you could post screenshots to illustrate your issue.

[Summit_Heino]

non disclosure agreement

On Wed, Jun 7, 2017 at 3:37 PM, Monika Gause <forums_noreply@adobe.com>

[Monika Gause]

It's impossible to help you based on the information you posted.

[Daniel D 2130]

Thank you so much this helped me out in 2024 could not figure out why the pencil tool would not let me change stroke types would always go back to basic. Who would of thought a simpe uncheck would do the trick. 

[defaultj8c1lwqc5yiz]

For newcomers, this is unintuitive.  Since you can draw a path with the pencil and then apply a brush stroke to the path afterward, or draw a path with the brush and apply a basic stroke to the path afterward, it's only natural to expect to be able to select basic stroke for the brush tool.

Also, the width profile and brush definition dropdowns stay showing when you switch to the pencil, even though the pencil only draws basic strokes.

[Monika Gause]

As a newcomer you might just want to start by reading the documentation and learning the app. Illustrator is not the kind of software you can master by stabbing around in it.

The brush tool needs to work intuitively when using a graphic tablet, because that's what it's been made for.

Yes, and of course the width profiles show when working with the pencil tool, because they work with it immediately. And of course you can draw a stroke that has a width profile applied using the pencil tool. For this to work "New Art has basic appearance" needs to be turned off in the appearance panel.

[yvonnes63575163]

Hey, being gentle here, but saying "of course" is kinda condescending. I've been using Ai since the 90s and came here because I kept trying to do this exact thing.  I had to reread your comments several times before it clicked that yes, you were describing the way the tool actually works. (I had a duh moment, thanks Pandemic!, but also when you've had little things you're used to change with each update for decades, it's inevitable.)

[Monika Gause]

Hey, being gentle here, but saying "of course" is kinda condescending.

By @yvonnes63575163

Is it?

This is an international forum, lot of people for whom English isn't their native tongue lat alone mastering slangs, abbreviations, dialects or subcontexts. When learning English I was taught that "of course" meant something equivalent to "certainly".

[Dave Creamer of IDEAS]

IMO, there was nothing condescending about Monika's post. 

[excellentlyellen]

My brushes are also not behaving like I’m used to.

I,v been using CC 17 for a while now, with an intuos and up until a few week ago, had no issues whatsoever.

not however, when i want to use my brush tool, no matter what brish i pick, when i draw, the stroke changes to one of those standard brushes (the one that kindoff looks like a road)... no matter how i try, i can,t draw whith anything else... i can go back and select the stroke to change it, but when i draw another, same thing.. i,ve tried everything i can think of, even deleted those brushes from my panel, but it keeps reverting back.

i am so frustrated about this!...

[Monika Gause]

  schrieb

My brushes are also not behaving like I’m used to.

I,v been using CC 17 for a while now, with an intuos and up until a few week ago, had no issues whatsoever.

not however, when i want to use my brush tool, no matter what brish i pick, when i draw, the stroke changes to one of those standard brushes (the one that kindoff looks like a road)... no matter how i try, i can,t draw whith anything else... i can go back and select the stroke to change it, but when i draw another, same thing.. i,ve tried everything i can think of, even deleted those brushes from my panel, but it keeps reverting back.

i am so frustrated about this!...

Please create a new thread, tell us the info about your system.

And show a screenshot.

[sharon@hubblestudios.com]

I know its years later but I think I had the same issue that you are having. The work around I came up with is using the pencil tool, that allowed me to set teh basic shape as the stroke 🙂  

[Monika Gause]

Actually that is not even a workaround, but just the appropriate approach to the task.

[GMBGraphics]

I used to be able to use a basic brush with different profiles though. Using the pencil also works but i wonder what changed. 

[Monika Gause]

"Basic" is not a brush.

"Basic" deletes the brush from the path and applies just a normal stroke.

The brush tool cannot draw without applying a brush.

It could never do that.

Use the pencil tool.

[Travis5E25]

ive come back to illustrator after years of using photoshop and its been really frustrating. I am having the same issue but not just with the brush tool. it seems ever tool I use will revert back to default everytime I switch back to it. Im sure its something thats simple but Ive looked everywhere and cant find out why. I tried changing the "New art has basic apperance" option and it had no effect. At this point its prohibiting me from using illustrator.Im hoping its just a bug and not that illustrator is actually this tedious, so any help would be greatly appreciated