Hello,

the title is a bit short of description due to the max character limit, so please let me explain here (the post is a bit long but please bear with me for a few minutes).

I'd like to kindly ask if it would be possible - since there is already Reference Images Tool [RIT] integrated into Krita - to extend RIT with 2 functions:

1/ When in edit mode (meaning when the tool is selected and an image or images are currently selected as active) to add a toggle lock icon to every image/images selection to make the image sticky.
By sticky I mean the image would sit on the screen and would not pan away, rotate or zoom out/in together with canvas as it happens now but stays all the time same on the screen as a reference.

2/ Give images from RIT an option to rotate freely. Meaning, right now the image can be rotated through Context Menu (right click) - Transform - Rotate 90 deg CCW, 90 deg CW, 180 deg. I and hopefully you will agree that it would be useful to be able to freely rotate an image in the same fashion as Transform works on layers/selections (when mouse out of the box rotation is possible, when inside move is enabled, sides/corners allow width/height transformations).
Again together with 1/'s lock the image could be locked in this position and stick to the screen rotated without canvas rot/pan/zoom having no effect on this.

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When it comes to 1/ similar possible option is to have another window opened (Window - New View; needs Congifure Krita - General - Window - Multiple Document Mode: Subwindows), set it to stay on top and work on the underlying layer but it has its solid disadvantages:

1. RIT does not introduce more UI clutter onto the canvas/screen - RIT displays only images and its UI is visible only when the tool is active with an image/s selected as active too and even then the UI takes little space - while new window brings it's frame/border which is hopefully you agree not needed for reference image.
(check the link below for arrow A)

2. If window which is below is maximized and you happen to click on the other window which is set to be on top (or you just need to change the view or make any other change) the window on top maximizes, meaning you have now 2 windows fully over each other, you make changes you wanted (if you even wanted and it was not accidental click), minimize the window, move the now resized "on top" window where you want it again, change the size to want you want again, maximize the window below and work. If you want to make any changes again or accidentally click on it you go through the whole rotation again.

3. If you do not maximizee the below window but jsut resize it to fit as much space as possible you are introduced to some more UI clutter which is scrollbars (yes you can remove some of them through Configure Krita but so far canvas scrollbars remain and at least I admit I havent' found any option to remove these) and the frame (most prominently the top bar with name, minimize, maximize and close).
(please check the link below for part B and C)

Link to Krita screenshot with A, B and C arrows: https://imgur.com/a/4rXNKIx

I believe the windows on top is a great way (althought very clunky right now) to have as an option to size your overall composition updated live and so on. But I also believe that references could have its inner tool a bit more user friendly with these 2 suggested additions/changes (sticky + free rotation) and most importantly more useful. New window with it's UI and out of reach controls (you need to change into another view then rotate and then back - even if it did not maximize) just adds to much clutter and clunkiness to the process while the ref tool solves this perfectly in the window and in the document when you save and later load without any need to set things up again.

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Now this post has got quite long so I'll finish it shortly

I hope I explained myself in the most descriptive and clear way if there is any problem with this post please let me know as long as it's within my strength I'll make adjustments.

Lastly, I'd like to mention I tried to make some of this work through python scriptting API but I did fail miserably (I did manage to get to Ref Images but I don't think I can separate them from canvas - sticky - and rotation does not update the canvas as it does with regular layers through Node.rotation(radians) without panning/rotating (well I don't know how otherwise), and I'm not even sure if it's possible to do it this way.

Unfortunately I'm not a C++ programmer (well not Python either) so a quick look through Krita's code base led me believe that rotation and stickiness is not part of the RIT's code but maybe related to canvas (?) and the code there was even more out of my possible scope of understanding. So here I am hoping this little request of mine would strike someone's mind as a good or at least decent idea. I do believe that the functions suggested would be useful to other artists as well (as I have already discussed it elsewhere - albeit shortly).

If you read this far, thank you very much I greatly appreciated the work devs do and as a fellow developer I can imagine that this request might require more work than some considers worth compared to other more pressing matters, anyway thank you for at least considering this

Have a nice day.


EDIT: In case this is already in Krita and I just miserably failed to notice I'd appriciate if you could tell me how and then if possible just remove this entire post out of your memory . Thx.

Um... You can already freely rotate reference images? Just enable the tool, over near their corners, and a rotate cursor will appear. As for making the reference images sticky, there is a feature request for that, but nobody who has time or inclinination to code on it.

boudewijn wrote:Um... You can already freely rotate reference images? Just enable the tool, over near their corners, and a rotate cursor will appear. As for making the reference images sticky, there is a feature request for that, but nobody who has time or inclinination to code on it.

Heh, thank you I was literally having it ope nand checking if I missed it or not while I was typing. It's my bad I certainly missed it, my windows settings with mouse made it basically invisible.

Sorry to bother you with this and thanks for letting me know that it was already on a list, I had a feeling it's probably not a major thing compared to many other parts of Krita .

Have a nice day.