casterle

I've been using AP for some time, and picked up AD to play with. I just noticed the incredible sale on Publisher (thank you, Affinity!) and grabbed that as well to complete the set. I'm amazed at how well AP and AD are integrated into APub. Switching between the 3 is faster than I could have imagined, especially on a 6-year-old system with SATA storage. You guys are awesome!

I was reading an article about sizing images for Facebook and ran across the following "JPG is generally used for images with blended tones, like photos, and GIF and PNG are better for images of flat tones like logos, text and graphics." I've never heard this assertion before and can't imagine why it would be true, but I'm not an expert. What say ye?

If you haven't been able to disable Windows Ink at the OS level you should pursue this; my Deco 03 problems (across several apps) vanished once I'd done this. The problem is that in Windows 10 they've changed the way to disable the 'feature' more than once, so the solution you find may no longer exist in the Win 10 release your're running. I'd suggest searching until you find a solution that works on your version of Win 10.

I'll second John's recommendation. Simon's (drippy cat's) courses are great. He provides the assets you need to follow along and is on-the-spot to answer any questions you may have. His 'Solid Foundations' course includes a PDF that serves as a reference.

That's sad, but if all the features aren't available then it wouldn't be fully useful to me anyway. I wish they'd do a real studio - not everyone needs publishing features, but I'd love to have all of the AP and AD features in one UI.

If things are working properly I wouldn't change a thing. If you want to disable it, Google is your friend. I'll warn you that MS has changed the Win 10 interface in this area more than once, so you'll have to find a solution that works on your system.

Studiolink is impressive. Are all of the AP/AD features available in APub? Is something like this planned for those of us who have no need for APub, so we can access AD features from within AP?

I was having this issue on my Deco 03, and not just periodically. The solution was disabling Windows Ink.

I'm running the update on 2 monitors without issue on Win 10. By that I mean my practice is to open AP on my main monitor and as needed drag images and panels onto the other monitor without layers vanishing or other misbehavior. You've got it working OK on a single monitor. From this point what have you tried to do that doesn't work?

That would indeed be nice. Safety first, eh?

I've got a Deco 03 that I like very much. No jitter on USB, wireless even at close range was jittery. Comfortable, responsive 8K stylus with an adjustable curve and 8 spare tips in a clever container that also holds the wireless adapter as well as the pen for travel. One end-cap is weighted and serves nicely as a stylus-holder. Works well in InkScape, PS CS6, ArtRage and GIMP. I'm not a professional by any means so there may be drawbacks I'm not aware of, but I'd buy it again without hesitation. Tablet software is an important consideration. I had a Wacom I never got working correctly and returned. I had issues with my Deco 03 in several apps until some bright soul in support pointed me to the culprit - Windows Ink. If you have issues with your tablet, try disabling this 'feature'. Of course if you're on a Mac you won't have an issue.

Do you find the tilt feature to 1) work well and 2) be useful?

Sorry I wasn't more clear. You are right; no plugin is required, but man, the specialized knowledge factor is off the charts. firstdefence has pointed you to the right direction and given excellent advice on getting started started with Blender. There are many good tutorials on YouTube. chocofur has a great tutorial series (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYVR0A4acpNbm91RK_9l-P6dv2jPuUHU7) that I started with. I do better with more comprehensive courses, so I found one on Udemy called "Complete Blender Creator". The first 4 sections have been updated for 2.80, and they are working on converting the rest (it took me weeks to work through the first 3 sections; there's lots of content). They answer questions on a daily basis, which isn't true of other Udemy courses I've taken. Whatever you do, make sure the Blender course you take has been updated for the new version.

I'm not sure how difficult this might be to implement, but I would find it useful to be able to add my own sites to the stock photos panel.

Perhaps firstdefence was pointing you to that page as an educational resource. As I understand things, OpenColorIO is a color management system supported by many applications and designed to move image content through the film production pipeline with consistency. Although not acknowledged as such on the OCIO website, AP is one of the image editing programs that support OCIO, and is this thus a good fit for use in that pipeline. I watched a video demonstrating this feature, perhaps the one that led you here, and was impressed with how closely you can match a rendered image in AP using OCIO. If you want to play with producing rendered images, I'd recommend taking a look at Blender, a free full-featured open-source 3D modeling package. I've been hours a day for several weeks with the 2.80 beta and I've gotta say, it's not your father's Blender. What used to be In (not only) My Humble Opinion a wretched mess of a UI has been totally revamped and is more that usable. There's a new real-time pseudo rendering engine (Eevee) and Cycles has been vastly updated (or so I've heard - I never got that far with the Blender of old). Anyway, the UI and Python API's are frozen so now is a pretty safe time to start looking. There are lots of YouTube videos, many highlighting the new UI which has been in development for years as I understand it. Udemy has several courses, as well, some with 2.80 updates. Pre-2.80 videos are courses are a problem because the UI is completely different. Release is scheduled for mid-July. Beta here: https://www.blender.org

Depending on what you're trying to accomplish: Almost certainly! An example of what you're trying to do would lead to better answers. In case you're not aware, there is a world of help available for lucky AP users like us, both here in the various forums, on YouTube and scattered across the 'Net. The Affinity team has provided hundreds of videos covering almost every aspect of AP (...minutes later...) just went to get you a link - I'm blown away by the number that have been updated since the 1.7 release. Here's a link to the home page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQZN-kIrZUQyoTnexM3jJAw/featured I'd highly recommend you watch a few of the basic videos, leftmost on the top line of the Official Videos section before getting too deep into AP. They're short and introduce you to knowledge essential for joyous editing . Many generous authors have YouTube channels or websites with free content for AP lovers as well. And the community here is truly among the most helpful I've had the pleasure relying on over the last few months as I get into AP as a budding hobbyist with artistic intent.

From my perspective as a customer with an interest in controlling AP from not only my tablet but from my USB MIDI controller (buttons & knobs) I would like to see evolution in this area. Tablet support isn’t wonderful (not an AP issue but could be helped by shortcut improvements), but I’ve got it working well. MIDI controller integration is another issue – I’ve got it working well where I can get it to work at all, but I am restricted in what I can make work due to AP limitations. In my admittedly limited experience, controller integration can be performed robustly in two ways: An API (Application Program Interface) ala Lightroom or flexible keyboard shortcuts. Between the two, an API allows much tighter, two-way integration between the controller and AP. This is how, for example, LED indicator rings on the controller knobs can be set to reflect current LR settings for the associated control. Keyboard shortcuts allow for sending commands to AP but offer no more. The good news is, a LOT can be accomplished this way. That’s because we can use the software than translates MIDI commands to do things far beyond emitting a single keystroke for a MIDI command. To take full advantage of the many controls on my MIDI controller, I need an API or a more flexible and extensive shortcut system. I’d love to see both implemented, but failing that what do I want? My MIDI controller interests would be best served by an API, but perhaps Affinity’s would not. Unless Affinity has been planning on an API and working toward that end, implementing one could be an long and expensive undertaking. Also, resources put into creating and supporting an API would mainly benefit users like me who use external controllers. Revising the shortcut system to allow *everything* to be controlled by user-defined key sequences (including field values) would give me most of what I want, and would also benefit all AP users. I’m posting this now in hopes of getting a discussion going with an end toward getting something in the next release. I hope there’s interest and would like to the Affinity team to join the conversation.

It's so helpful when you do that. Much appreciated.

Indeed they do. Somebody's got good genes!

Cool, but I should let you know that I more closely resemble a bald eagle.

I've always been known for my keen powers of observation. In that case, you might want to try disabling Windows Ink (in Window and in AP). I was having problems with my Deco 03 and support suggested turning off Windows Ink. In researching how, I found lots of other tablet users looking for the same info because it was causing various problems with their tablets (of various brands).

Are you on Windows or Mac?

Really? I thought it was remarkable (thus the remark).

Good point, but the foreground blur draws my eye like a magnet. I tried to ignore them to no avail.

This is a workaround for Windows. I note that you're on Mac, but perhaps something similar is possible?