Pen pressure and tapering problems

Anonymous
2015-11-08T20:03:41+00:00

I love the new SP4 pen, but I've noticed the pen pressure is not consistent. The biggest problem is that paint brush strokes in Photoshop don't taper smoothly when drawing. I tired using the SP4 pen on my Surface Pro 3 and it doesn't have any problem. Here is a screen capture of what I'm talking about.

Since the pen isn't the problem I'm assuming it's a calibration issue with the Surface Pro 4. I downloaded new Wintab drivers to see if that would solve the problem (got the idea from this thread about pen problems).

It's not just Photoshop. The actual Surface pen pressure app has the same problem. It's harder to see because the brush strokes are thinner, but there is a much faster tapering happening than there is on the Surface Pro 3. Here is a screen cap:

Surface | Surface Pro | Performance and maintenance

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Anonymous
2016-07-15T19:53:13+00:00

Hey Everyone!

Thanks for all the feedback!

As some of you have already noticed, on July 14th, 2016, we released an update to the Surface Touch Driver that should significantly improve the pen tapering and pressure experience that this thread talks about.

For more information on the 7/14 update, you can go here.

If you experience any difficulty downloading or installing updates, please check the Troubles installing Surface and Windows updates article for assistance.

Thanks!

Zachary

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  1. Anonymous
    2016-07-15T16:53:05+00:00

    From what I can tell after a few minutes of testing, it seems the new update fixed the tapering "step-down" issue pretty nicely, but I can't really tell if there is a difference in initial pressure requirements to lay down a stroke - it's still not as good as the cintiq, so if it's improved, it's minor.

    I'd like to take a moment to sincerely thank Microsoft for finallyaddressing this issue, though the lack of any response or communication still burns.

    Now, if only we can get the shaky-diagonal lines fixed...

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  2. Anonymous
    2016-07-15T14:57:59+00:00

    Just so we are clear: did they fix the tapering issue only, or the required pressure to activate the stroke has finally been made more sensitive as well?

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  3. Anonymous
    2016-07-15T14:45:48+00:00

    OMG they finally fixed it :D

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  4. Anonymous
    2016-07-15T13:56:08+00:00

    I just updated, and it does look better to me in photoshop, but then I didn't think it looked bad in photoshop before, and most of the drawing apps I use use controlled pens with completely adjustable falloffs anyway. I never do digital inking in photoshop, and just use it for photo touch up work.

    As an artist, thats what you really want to use anyway. Manga Studio by Smith Micro is the current leader in inking and painting apps now. (Or whatever then new version is called.)

    I find the surface 4 pro just as good if not better as my wacom intuos 3 on my desktop.

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