Brushes and editing tools not working in Pixelmator

Is something not working like it should? Let us know.
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2020-09-02 03:02:59

I have a problem - Pixelmator is not working. I cannot use the brushes or the erase tools. I am using a MacBookPro 10.15.6. I have checked iCloud and there is not problem there, so what do I do? I have tried resizing the file/image thinking is the file too big but still no brushes work!!

Please advise!
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2020-09-02 03:33:31

I have got it to work now! Not sure what I did but I check all my layers were visible. Brushes work now!
Thanks!
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2020-09-02 12:58:59

Phew! :sweat_smile:
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2021-11-09 17:31:45

I would like to know how you got the tools to work. Up until this morning my Pixelmator (version 3.9.2) was working effectively as usual on a drawing I was preparing. I was nearly finished and just had to use the brush to touch up the drawing (a diagram of some research results presented as a flower). Suddenly the brush was doing nothing. I tried saving, closing re-opening. Still no brush. Then I found that on a new document it also was not working. Most of the rest of the tools seem ok including text, eraser, pen, blur, burn etc.

Suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
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2021-11-11 13:25:40

by NormanDale2 2021-11-09 15:31:45 I would like to know how you got the tools to work. Up until this morning my Pixelmator (version 3.9.2) was working effectively as usual on a drawing I was preparing. I was nearly finished and just had to use the brush to touch up the drawing (a diagram of some research results presented as a flower). Suddenly the brush was doing nothing. I tried saving, closing re-opening. Still no brush. Then I found that on a new document it also was not working. Most of the rest of the tools seem ok including text, eraser, pen, blur, burn etc.

Suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Hey Norman! Could you try resetting Pixelmator and see if that helps? The reset should roll back all the Pixelmator preferences and settings to default.
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2022-01-14 23:04:29

Newb user here... I just ran into this problem and the reason seemed to be that I had a selection I wasn't aware of. So drawing anywhere else doesn't work. Just in case anyone else runs into this while searching googs for the same thing. :mortar_board:
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2022-01-18 10:18:46

by ItchyB 2022-01-14 21:04:29 Newb user here... I just ran into this problem and the reason seemed to be that I had a selection I wasn't aware of. So drawing anywhere else doesn't work. Just in case anyone else runs into this while searching googs for the same thing. :mortar_board:
Good point, hidden selections are definitely one of the more common reasons for the Paint tool seemingly not working.

Also, it's worth paying attention to the opacity and blend mode of a brush. For the most basic brush strokes, you'd want the blend mode to be set to Normal and the Opacity to 100%.
Image
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2022-07-28 03:25:53

I just ran into the same problem. Apparently something was selected (thanks for helping me out!).

@Aurelija, it would be cool if the program could sense I was trying to paint but couldn't, tell me why, and give me quick access to a one-click button to deselect whatever is selected. i.e. "It looks like you are trying to paint outside of a selection. To continue, press 'Deselect'"
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2024-01-26 18:17:01

When using the Paint tool (not Pixel Paint) on a single layer image, I initially changed the brush blend mode from Normal to Color for a particular brush effect. Now I want to return the brush blend mode back to Normal, but with the Paint tool still selected, I cannot find any way to bring up the blend mode again. It is stuck on using the Color blend mode. How do I change the brush blend mode again? There is no pop-up blend mode menu any longer.

I am using Pixelmator Pro 3.5.5 on a MacBook Pro M3 Max running Sonoma 14.2.1.
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2024-03-09 12:42:10

[Pixelmator Pro 3.5.7]

I imported a screenshot and successfully removed the background. After that, no tool worked. I could only move the image around.

The immediate solution was to duplicate the image. Everything worked as expected on the copy.

I then noticed that on the original image all selection tools were selected at the same! Deselecting them also fixed the problem.

Definitively a bug of Pixelmator Pro 3.5.
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2024-03-15 15:13:45

Aurelija, Why then is the default opacity 0% - it should NEVER be 0%
Good point, hidden selections are definitely one of the more common reasons for the Paint tool seemingly not working.

Also, it's worth paying attention to the opacity and blend mode of a brush. For the most basic brush strokes, you'd want the blend mode to be set to Normal and the Opacity to 100%.