diff --git a/src/brush_paint.rs b/src/brush_paint.rs
index de89fed8..0a21b6a5 100644
--- a/src/brush_paint.rs
+++ b/src/brush_paint.rs
@@ -939,7 +939,13 @@ impl Grid {
                 .get(i).copied().unwrap_or((0.0, 1.0));
             match best_endpoint {
                 None => best_endpoint = Some(((ex, ey), init_dir)),
-                Some(((bx_e, by_e), _)) if ey < by_e || (ey == by_e && ex < bx_e) => {
+                // Bottommost first, leftmost tiebreaker. For most Latin
+                // letters the natural pen-down anchor is at the bottom
+                // (M/W/V/U feet, A's foot, vertical-stem letters' base).
+                // Top-of-glyph endpoints are still candidates — they
+                // just lose to a bottom one when both exist in the
+                // same component.
+                Some(((bx_e, by_e), _)) if ey > by_e || (ey == by_e && ex < bx_e) => {
                     best_endpoint = Some(((ex, ey), init_dir));
                 }
                 _ => {}
@@ -1690,6 +1696,44 @@ mod tests {
         }
     }
 
+    /// Print the skeleton endpoints + first-stroke start for one letter.
+    /// Run as: cargo test --release --lib paint_diagnose_endpoints -- --ignored --nocapture
+    /// Pick char + scale via env: PD_CHAR=M PD_MM=8 PD_DPI=425 PD_THICK=9
+    #[test]
+    #[ignore]
+    fn paint_diagnose_endpoints() {
+        let ch: char = std::env::var("PD_CHAR").ok().and_then(|s| s.chars().next()).unwrap_or('M');
+        let font_mm: f32 = std::env::var("PD_MM").ok().and_then(|s| s.parse().ok()).unwrap_or(8.0);
+        let dpi: u32 = std::env::var("PD_DPI").ok().and_then(|s| s.parse().ok()).unwrap_or(425);
+        let thick: u32 = std::env::var("PD_THICK").ok().and_then(|s| s.parse().ok()).unwrap_or(9);
+        let hulls = rasterize_letter_at(ch, font_mm, dpi, thick);
+        let main = match hulls.iter().max_by_key(|h| h.area) {
+            Some(h) => h, None => { println!("no hull"); return; }
+        };
+        let h = get_or_compute_hull_data(main);
+        println!("\n=== '{}' @ {}mm/{}dpi/{}px ===", ch, font_mm, dpi, thick);
+        println!("bbox: x [{}, {}], y [{}, {}]   w={} h={}",
+            main.bounds.x_min, main.bounds.x_max,
+            main.bounds.y_min, main.bounds.y_max,
+            h.width, h.height);
+        println!("skeleton endpoints ({}):", h.skel_endpoints.len());
+        for (i, &(ex, ey)) in h.skel_endpoints.iter().enumerate() {
+            let d = h.skel_endpoints_init_dir.get(i).copied().unwrap_or((0.0, 0.0));
+            println!("  #{}  pos=({}, {})   init_dir=({:+.2}, {:+.2})", i, ex, ey, d.0, d.1);
+        }
+        // Run paint_fill_debug and report the first stroke's start.
+        let dbg = paint_fill_debug(main, &PaintParams::default());
+        println!("brush_radius = {:.2} px", dbg.brush_radius);
+        println!("first stroke starts: {:?}", dbg.start_points.first());
+        println!("first walk init_dir: {:?}", dbg.walks.first().map(|w| w.init_dir));
+        println!("strokes: {}", dbg.strokes.len());
+        for (i, s) in dbg.strokes.iter().enumerate().take(6) {
+            if s.is_empty() { continue; }
+            println!("  stroke #{}: {} pts, start ({:.1}, {:.1}), end ({:.1}, {:.1})",
+                i, s.len(), s[0].0, s[0].1, s.last().unwrap().0, s.last().unwrap().1);
+        }
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn paint_letter_I_is_one_stroke() {
         let hulls = rasterize_letter_at('I', 8.0, 200, 4);