Krita from a game controller
The Krita layout is built into InputConfig, free on the Mac App Store. You don't have to make an account, there are no subscriptions, and nothing is locked. Optimized for Apple silicon.
On a Mac: Krita for Mac reads its default shortcuts from this layout. A pen tablet keeps working alongside it untouched.
Yes, a game controller works as a left-hand deck for Krita on a Mac. Painters buy decks for Krita, and a controller is one: brush, eraser toggle, undo and redo on the thumb, brush size on the fingers, and the color picker on a held trigger. A pen tablet keeps working alongside it untouched.
The layout, control by control
How the layout thinks
- Brush and eraser. Brush (B) on the bottom face button, eraser toggle (E) on the right.
- Undo and redo. On the left and top face buttons.
- Brush size. Smaller and larger ([ and ]) on the bumpers.
- Pick a color. The left trigger holds Option, which in Krita samples a color while held.
- View. Mirror view (M) on Share or View, canvas only (Tab) on Options, which makes the whole screen the painting.
- Paint and move. The left stick is a pointer, the right stick scrolls, and the right trigger paints.
Krita reads its default shortcuts from this layout. The pen paints and the pad does everything a keyboard did beside it.
Tune it for painting
- Rotate the canvas. Put 4 and 6 on D-pad left and right, with 5 to reset.
- Zoom. Put Plus and Minus on D-pad up and down.
- Pop-up palette. Krita opens it with a right click on the canvas. Give a stick click a Right Click output for the thumb.
- Brush size that keeps going. Turn on Repeat keys while held on the bumper rows, so holding one keeps resizing.
- Drawing on an iPad. With Sidecar, Krita runs on the Mac and draws on the iPad screen. The iPad as a drawing tablet page explains it.
Rotation on the D-pad is the row painters miss first. Rotate, zoom and resize without the pen leaving the canvas.
The short version
- It sits beside a tablet. It replaces the keyboard, not the pen.
- Add rotation and zoom. Put them on the D-pad.
- Drawing from the stick itself. See the Drawing and Painting layout.
Clip Studio Paint's layout does nearly the same jobs on the same buttons, because the two apps share most of these keys. Tools on the thumb, size on the fingers, color on a held trigger.
Get it in two clicks
- Get InputConfig free on the Mac App Store, open it, and click Smart Preset Maker on the welcome screen.
- Search for Krita and pick it. The layout is created as a preset in your sidebar, named and ready.
- Press Activate. Every row can be changed afterwards: the editor's Scan button rebinds any control the moment you touch it.
Every binding, as a table
| Controller | Sends | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Left stick left | Mouse motion left (speed 16) | Pointer left |
| Left stick right | Mouse motion right (speed 16) | Pointer right |
| Left stick up | Mouse motion up (speed 16) | Pointer up |
| Left stick down | Mouse motion down (speed 16) | Pointer down |
| Right stick down | Scroll down | Scroll down |
| Right stick up | Scroll up | Scroll up |
| Right trigger | Left click | Paint |
| Left trigger | Alt / Option (Left) | Hold to pick color (Alt) |
| A / Cross | B | Brush (B) |
| B / Circle | E | Eraser toggle (E) |
| X / Square | Command (Left), Z | Undo (Cmd+Z) |
| Y / Triangle | Command (Left), Shift (Left), Z | Redo (Cmd+Shift+Z) |
| LB / L1 | [ | Smaller brush ([) |
| RB / R1 | ] | Larger brush (]) |
| Back / Share / Select | M | Mirror view (M) |
| Start / Options | Tab | Canvas only (Tab) |
Button names follow the Xbox / PlayStation pair shown in the editor, so A / Cross is the bottom face button on either pad. On a Switch Pro Controller the bottom button is labeled B; the mapping still fires on position.
Questions
Does it replace a tablet?
It replaces the keyboard beside the tablet. For drawing from the stick itself, see the Drawing and Painting layout.
Does it match the Clip Studio Paint layout?
Nearly: the same buttons do the same jobs, because both apps share most of these keys.
Related
Completely free. You don't have to make an account, there are no subscriptions, and nothing is locked. Optimized for Apple silicon. Open source on GitHub.
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