This is the problem with Blender many things like that are not easy to find neither obvious because of the interface panels lacking features common in other software.
With texture brush always visible in the panel of painting mode like Substance Painter instead of having to clik on sub menu to view it, it would be always visible, and such issues would never happen.
If Blender wants to push painting mode it should definitively inspire and design texturing UI panels from other intuitive software that works.
Better makes changes on UI panels and do it the right way instead of staying minimal with the “old Blender way interface” keeping all hidden on sub menus.
While it’s not a request, just some advice as i use other software to paint most of the time.
Every special software has it’s uniq interface and many are somekind of cluttered over time and every long time user talks about how easy it is in his personal favorite… which (s)he does use since years… and is get used to it. Or it’s a kind of love-hate relationship (as i recently notices about ZBrush Users: loving the posssibilities/ hating the buttons and using only 5%…).
If if someone does enable some option/feature and does not notice in what way the behaviour is changed and does not disable this again… then blender is to be blamed…
Well, while I don’t like the cluttered interface on the screenshot above (I’d need a wall screen to fit all that), there is a point to be made about Blender’s Texture Paint interface: it does look like no one had the time to work on it yet. For a decade. (and I’m saying it with utmost respect for this software).
That thing with blank texture tends to pop up when user unwittingly touches the Texture Properties Tab (for example). Not exactly obvious. It feels like some legacy feature/workflow at work? I only know to specifically look for the black texture because I’ve seen it happen a few times already.
Surely a better workflow and layout is needed.
While a more complete interface would be a good solution, it would be nice if it was a bit easier to troubleshoot problems. I downloaded the problematic file and noticed that the image texture (in the shader editor) had 2 users. As far as I know there is not simple way to find what is using any particular object, but if there was I might have been able to identify the problem.
Hm. Well, I don’t like that wall of little boxes myself, I prefer a much leaner look – and you can actually do a lot to customize your own workspaces in Blender, so you could probably get it to look somewhat similar, at least more similar than it comes out of the box. I like that aspect of Blender very much, and I haven’t even scratched the surface on making everything fit me.
But yeah, I find Blender’s texture painting anything but intuitive; it’s cumbersome to set up and too much stuff can go wrong that then is a royal pain in the buttocks to diagnose. So I agree with you in that regard – it could use some attention. Btw, the blank texture thing is not part of the “6 things” video, but when this happened to me a few weeks ago, I found it buried in the comments to that video, so now I know 7 things that can easily go wrong… hurrah, I guess.
Oh, that was yours? Very cool; it helped me a lot, and I have it bookmarked. It was also a little amusing how many things went extra wrong while you were trying to demonstrate something else; that’s very much how I felt at the time.
That video is woefully out of date both in terms of Blender and my own knowledge. If I knew as much I do now, I would never have made that video, instead I would have waited until now and done a much better job overall It seems like it’s been very useful to a lot of people, though, so I guess my ignorance worked out well in the end Glad it helped you!
I’m done being off-topic now, back to the main conversation:
I agree on both points- I don’t like Substance Painter’s interface at all, it’s overly complicated, whereas Blender’s is overly simple. Something in the middle would be perfect, I’d say
This is how Substance works the best and how it is used on triple A games.
When you paint, you paint and you need all painting features and important stuff visible.
Like photoshop would you hide layer beehind some menu, while most of the time you have layer panel visible ?
When Blender wants to be a good alternative to other painting tools, best to do it the common way all others do (Substance, Mari, Mixer . . . )
My opinion only, i use other software for painting.
Blender redesign the painting mode to copy how it’s done on other painting software for a more intuitive and more painting artist approach would be awesome
But we are on Blender forums where Blender users like the “Blender” way, so it’s perhaps useless discussing such interface many won’t see as improvments
I guess I represent a group of Blender users that would like a third option: modernize the interface but don’t just copy Substance. Just because something is common doesn’t mean there are no better ways.
I’m not particularly experienced (or good) painter and only need the bare minimum of features. And I only have one screen. And deteriorating eyesight. So i’d like to be able to have BIG painting field and highly customizable menus.
I’m also in this group. Substance has a lot to offer, but interface is not Substance’s strong point. An interface can be feature-rich without being cluttered, I’d say Photoshop does a much better job using screen space than Substance
Some new comer to Blender choosing paint mode in 3D view, will not understand why there is no “image” menu to create a new one or save the paint work he has done
Any mode that is painting should have the image menu and sub menu.
This is not the only area where some things are missing and you must search other menus and sub menus.
Yes, it can get very confusing. Then again one might argue that you’re “supposed” to know the difference between Modes and Editors, to pay better attention to Active Tool tab (it is THE menu for this mode as well as for Sculpt Mode), and/or to use Texture Paint Workspace that have all relevant menus and editors already open. And, as a bonus, maybe to use it with Shader Nodes in mind especially if you work with “layers” and/or PBR.
That’s not to say Texture Paint doesn’t have its share of really annoying issues. But one must be mindful where clunky interface ends and user’s ignorance and laziness starts.
Lack of image Autosave is a problem. Not being able to pin just the color wheel is an issue (for me). Adding new (textured) brushes is a headache.
User not knowing how to add an image in the first place is just sad.
I had to search for LOTS of basic stuff on Substance Painter just to get started. As with any other software it’s normal to be confused about any number of things like navigation, or saving, or brush settings, or export…
RTFM or die in misery.
Yes! Trying to move to Krita and I found out that I miss PS a lot. So simple and elegant it seemed but I can’t quite figure out what made it so. Of course 3d workspace probably needs extra menus for things like object outliner or material list…
I’ve found that using Workspaces appropriately is almost never emphasized in Blender training material. Trainers will routinely change the editor type in the Layout workspace to do sculpting or texture painting or whatever, instead of selecting the appropriate workspace and having the features that you need the most right there. I guess it’s just part of Blender culture. These days I’m constantly changing workspace and rarely change editor type in any given workspace.
It seems like it’s been very useful to a lot of people, though, so I guess my ignorance worked out well in the end 
