Brush keeps switching to "touch calligraphic brush"

[incubo1]

Hello everyone

I am trying to paint with a uniform, basic brush, but every time I select it and start drawing, it switches to touch calligraphic brush, see below. I cannot delete the brush it keeps switching to. This happens whether I am using my tablet or my mouse (CC, and Mac user as you can see). My workaround is to create a different calligraphic brush that looks more like the basic one, but I'm still curious as to why this is happening.

Thanks!

incubo

[Monika Gause · Accepted solution]

"Uniform, basic" brush means: no brush at all.

But the brush tool cannot draw without a brush. So it will always apply whatever is present.

If you want to draw without a brush, use the pencil tool instead.

[thubakabra]

It is strange you saying that. I can paint with a few lines with BASIC brush, then after a while (or when I'm hitting ctrl+z), it turns into calligraphy brush, which I don't want to use. I can't use Illustrator now, because that brush makes thick, ugly lines.

[Monika Gause]

thubakabra  schrieb

It is strange you saying that. I can paint with a few lines with BASIC brush, then after a while (or when I'm hitting ctrl+z), it turns into calligraphy brush, which I don't want to use. I can't use Illustrator now, because that brush makes thick, ugly lines.

There is no "Basic" brush.

Clicking on "Basic" removes the brush.

The brush tool won't work without a brush so it applied whatever is listed first in the brushes panel. The very moment you draw with it.

[incubo1]

Oh. Well then I guess I have egg on my face and my workaround was the correct solution all along and it was down to semantics. Good to understand though, thanks!

[defaultoe4g2hy9teug]

This support person specifically seems like a bot. Theres dozens of people saying that they have already used the brush, and even you managed to use it for a while the way we wanted, but acordingly with her theres no way. So were all lying?

Community Guidelines: "Be kind and respectful..." she answered in other issue equal to this with big red words those same things.

[Doug A Roberts]

Select 'basic' in the brushes panel or the control bar.

Select the brush tool and draw a path.

Select the path. Look in the appearance panel. What brush does it say you used?

[Monika Gause]

This support person specifically seems like a bot.

By @defaultoe4g2hy9teug

This "support person" is not a support person at all. I am not even Adobe staff. As about 95% of people answering in this forum I am a volunteer.

And I am just stating the facts. I can't tell you any other thing. There is nothing to excuse here or to be sorry for. It's how the software works. So what should I tell you?

If you don't like it, post a feature request. http://illustrator.uservoice.com

[Ava22699614klfw]

[Ava22699614klfw]

my comment didn't post... I've been having the same exact issue. So far my workaround has been using the little brush previews at the top (5 pt round selected), and just saving copies at whatever sizes I need.

I have 100000% for sure used the "Basic" brush in the past as a brush with zero issue, sounds like that is no longer a thing.... odd.

[Monika Gause]

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@Ava22699614klfw  schrieb:

I have 100000% for sure used the "Basic" brush in the past as a brush with zero issue, 

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You haven't.

Basic is not a brush and since its invention you could not use it when drawing with the brush tool. Clicking on "Basic" deletes whatever brush from the stroke and applied jiust a simple stroke.

If you do not want to apply a brush, do not use the brush tool. Use the pencil tool.

[Ava22699614klfw]

Pencil tool sucks ass. And seeing as "Basic" is listed under brushes, I feel you're being pedantic lol. Please stop replying in this thread unless you have a work around. Correcting me on a technicality is not resolving the issue.

[Ava22699614klfw]

If it helps to avoid the basic brush style debate, I am having this issue with EVERY brush. I have a 2 point round brush that reverts to 5 point every time i dare click off the brush tool. I have a custom caligraphic brush that illustrator seems "stuck" on and I have to manually toggle off to get back to my round brush pen. I usually draw in the 5 point round brush, and then convert to a calligraphic one. To help prevent lag while drawing. The issue is I cant switch to selectiion or pan tool, as the brush tool reverts back to the default size and texture brush settings.

[Ava22699614klfw]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZyXtGWJQqU found a youtube video on it! Basic brush USED to be usable like me and the majority of this thread are saying, but illustrator removed the function. This makes sense, as my illustrator at home is outdated, and the one at work im having the issue with is newer. 

To work around with brush tool, and not use pencil tool, we've got to make a new custom brush similar to the basic brush. 

[Monika Gause]

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@Ava22699614klfw  schrieb:

Correcting me on a technicality is not resolving the issue.

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It's a misconception of basic that causes some of your issues. And that's because I write it over and over. Yes, it's named badly, but it's how it works. If you want it to work differently, then make a feature request. https://illustrator.uservoice.com 

Using the pencil tool if you want to draw without a brush (which is what you do when you select "Basic") is the workaround already. And can you please describe why it sucks? The mechanics of pencil and brush tool are the same aside from applying a brush and saving the pressure in the path (which only the brush tool does).

As for the brushes changing their wdiths in-between drawing with them, that seems to be something different. Do you have "New art has basic appearance" checked or unchecked in the Appearance panel menu? 

And no, I won't stop answering just because you want me to.

[Ava22699614klfw]

It's not a misconception, it's a changed feature. The basic brush works as a brush on my illustrator at home. Call me a liar if you want I guess... I installed the previous version of illustrator and reset preferences and the bug is fixed for me.

[Monika Gause]

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@Ava22699614klfw  schrieb:

The basic brush works as a brush on my illustrator at home. 

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In which sense?

You can't use the brush tool and draw with the basic brush. It's not possible and it never was.

[Doug A Roberts]

Select 'basic' in the brushes panel or the control bar.

Select the brush tool and draw a path.

Select the path. Look in the appearance panel. What brush does it say you used?

By @Doug A Roberts

Try this on your home version and report back.

I don't think anyone is calling you a liar. But it's a very common misconception about Illustrator that the 'Basic' brush is anything other than a path without a brush applied.

[Ava22699614klfw]

Here's what the brushes look like on my old computer. I did some googling, and sounds like back in CS5 the program picks a brush for you by default, in my case a 1 point round, when you select "basic". At some point that fallback got taken out. I've been drawing in illustrator since 2016 and have never bothered setting up a brush for this panel till today... I always just hit "B" for brush and used the [ or ] shortcuts to control size. This also explains an issue with the brush tool simply not working that I've been having. You now HAVE to pick a brush from the brush library instead of letting "b" pick for you automatically. Or if youve had the misfortune of recently clicking on the "charcoal pencil" it will now default to that. Which is the issue I was having at work. No matter how many times i clicked on "Basic" or "5 point round" the "b" shortcut kept reverting me to the charcoal pencil... So I added a new custom brush to give it something else to default to. IDK Why the 5 point round wasn't working as a default, but I've given up and moved on hahah.

Not a big deal, but I will perhaps be forced to learn the pencil tool so I don't have to add a manual brush every time I start a new file.... 

[Monika Gause]

You can still just pick the brush tool and draw right away.

You can deselect the brush in the panel and then just draw. 

Illustrator will automatically select the first brush in the brushes panel.

If you select Basic, then Illustrator will also default to the first brush in the panel.

If there is no brush, then you cannot draw with the brush tool at all.

If that does not happen for you, then you should reboot the computer. Or even reset the preferences.

[Ava22699614klfw]

Yep I rebooted and reset preferences. The latest patch of illustrator has been buggy for me in a few ways, so I also back-dated to the previous CC version. Good to know that it resets to the first listed brush, and not the most recently used one. Thanks!