Question (not comparison) on tools: Pro Motion and GraphicsGale

[JessBowers]

Hey folks,

I apologize if this is not the right place to ask this question.  I honestly have no idea where else I might ask it. So, here goes:

I am a long-time GraphicsGale user. Recently, I also purchased Pro Motion as I understand it has even more features for pixel art. Well, it does... and a lot more. I'm confused by some very simple things:

• Is there a selection tool like there is in GraphicsGale. Using GraphicsGale I could do a rectangular selection and choose to delete or move it. I can't find anything similar in Pro Motion. What looks like a selection tool is a "Get Brush" tool. What am I doing wrong?
• I was working on a tileset in GraphicsGale. It looks like there are some cool options to help with this in Pro Motion. Unfortunately, the documentation (http://www.cosmigo.com/promotion/index.php?Documentation) doesn't cover this -- at least as far as I can tell. I would like to create a tileset using the same methods used in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AM30pMxMWYo. Would anyone know how I should set up Pro Motion to do this?

Thanks and I apologize for these super noob questions on Pro Motion. I feel very comfortable with GraphicsGale but am a bit overwhelmed with Pro Motion so far.

Jess

[MysteryMeat]

I don't know much about either of these programs but if you want a third option, I can highly recommend http://www.aseprite.org/.
It's a very feature-rich program that I've been using since the beta version of it back in high school, supports everything from animation to automated spritesheet creation on up. Lotta neat lil extra features too, like the shading brush or various other bits and bobs.

[PixelPiledriver]

1. Is there a selection tool like there is in GraphicsGale?

There is not.
The Get Brush tool is the equivalent of a Select tool in PM.
And I feel the same way, it is not the same or very good for moving things around.
In GG I move things around a lot with the keyboard and PM does not allow you to do that. -->
Grabbing pixels with get brush sticks them directly to your mouse.

Copy pixels = Left Click --> drag
Cut pixels = Rigth Click --> drag

Move your mouse, then click to place.

Even after you have placed the pixels in a new location, this operation replaces the brush you are currently using, instead of being a marked off area of pixels to move around that does not affect drawing tools.

Because of this I use this hotkey:
Other Shortcuts->Tools    Single Pixel Brush =  Ctrl+S
So that I can clear out my brush.

The whole process is quite annoying and I find that the Select Tool in GG is much better.
However PM has other strengths, just as you have mentioned.

2. It looks like there are some cool options to help with this in Pro Motion.

Yes.
That subject is a bit complicated and I don't have time to type out a good guide at the moment.

However my short answer is:

Use the grid.
Read thru every shortcut key in the Preferences menu.
Set a Snap to Grid key --> I use ~
Set a Get Brush key --> I use W
Use Get Brush and Left Click to select a tile.
Use Get Brush and Right Click to move a tile.
Turn Sync OFF when drawing new tiles.
Turn Sync ON to set your new tiles as tiles.
Turn Sync ON when you want to edit a tile and have it update everywhere.
Turn Sync and snap on when you want to paint a tile over and over.
Use TileMapping --> Optimize every once in a while to clear out tiles you do not use.
You can set the selectable tiles in your tilemap to link to another file, that way you can have a bank of all the tiles and tiles that are not in use will not be deleted with Optomize.
Read the section on Layers very carefully because it is confusing and silly. --> GG has a much simpler Layer interface
If you are using the latest version of PM some of the above may be incorrect. --> I use PM 6.5

If you have other questions or some parts are unclear feel free to ask.

[0xDB]

The whole process is quite annoying and I find that the Select Tool in GG is much better.

For me it is the other way around. For someone who grew up on DPaintIII(Amiga500), ProMotion's Brush system is just the natural way to think about cut/copy/place(especially, I could not live without the "current bg color(rightclick) is used as brush transparency" feature). In fact, I dislike how the Select Tools works in pretty much all other tools where it's rarely possible to grab a selection with transparency without several extra clicks and using the magic wand to deselect bits of background here and there.

[PixelPiledriver]

The brush grabbing is def powerful and useful in it's own way.
Brushes in GG are lacking compared to PM. --> able to draw with multiple colors, use it like a stamp, etc is awesome.
I'd just rather also have a select tool that does not affect drawing.
And the lack of keyboard movement is odd.
Bumping pixels over successively per frame by 1 pixel, then 2, then 3, then 4, becomes sort of weird with the mouse.
Key presses are easy to count and are stable.
Sometimes I move the mouse one pixel over when I click unintentionally.

But it's not a deal breaker.
And I can understand if you like it better.

[JessBowers]

PixelPiledriver, that was immensely helpful and exactly what I was looking for! Thank you very much for taking the time to provide such a thorough answer!

[Carnivac]

For me it is the other way around. For someone who grew up on DPaintIII(Amiga500), ProMotion's Brush system is just the natural way to think about cut/copy/place(especially, I could not live without the "current bg color(rightclick) is used as brush transparency" feature). In fact, I dislike how the Select Tools works in pretty much all other tools where it's rarely possible to grab a selection with transparency without several extra clicks and using the magic wand to deselect bits of background here and there.

I completely agree.  The brush method is almost essential to my pixelling particularly when animating.   Plus it's just kinda fun too.