Hilltop

About
The Box Set is hundreds of vector and raster brushes made for Affinity Photo & Designer. Each brush was handmade
using real materials scanned at high resolutions and crafted to simulate real media. I wanted the origin of the brushes to
have a heritage of the materials they are simulating. Scanning pools of watercolor, swatches of paint, and stipples of charcoal
contributed to creating brushes with the same idiosyncratic material magic. My only request is that you take these brushes,
with their clever names, as suggestions. They work superbly out of the box, but I strongly encourage you to adjust the sliders,
rearrange or remove the textures, and discover how they can suit your hand(s).
 
Make. Discover. Repeat.
 
Cheers and happy art making,
-Jef (WREN)
 
RASTER BRUSHES
For use in Affinity Photo and Designer. The blending brush in the Oil Set is the only one exclusive to Affinity Photo.
 
DRAFTING

 
INK

 
OIL

 
Oil Brush Dynamics

Most oil brushes have blending built into pen pressure. With a single brush and hue you can adjust the luminosity of the stroke-
giving it an oily blend. The Brush's color in the example above is the color of the background. A normal pressure gives you the
hue without any lightening or darkening.
 
 
WATERCOLOR

 
 
ACRYLIC

 
VECTOR BRUSHES
For use with Affinity Designer Only. 
 
Pen & Ink
Charcoal & Graphite
Sumi-E
Painterly
Drips
Handlettering
 
LINKS
The Box Set
 
 

Updates! 2023

Hello!
It's been a while since the last update, but after a few inquiries on this forum I decided to update the box set of brushes for Affinity Designer & Photo. If you have purchased any set from me or downloaded the sample set you'll be getting an email with a lot of the same information I am about to present here, and I apologize for the redundancy. However, I wanted to give back to the community that inspired the update so I created a discount code just for you. Ultimately, I added around 50 brushes to the box set and retooled every brush. If you own the box set all you need to do is download the updated file from Gumroad.
Use the code AFFORUM2023 until Nov 1st 2023 for a discount on the box set.
Separate Sets
Gouache has been broken out into its own set. Additionally, Every raster brush set is now available to purchase separately. These sets will receive limited updates up to 50 brushes per set.
ACRYLIC
DRAFTING
GOUACHE
INK
OIL
WATERCOLOR
Thanks again for your support, happy art making!
PS:

The Affinity package has great paste functions: Paste Style, Paste FX, Paste Inside and Paste Without Format. I suggest going a step further and taking the cool and powerful paste functions from Inkscape 1.3: Paste length, Paste width, Paste size. These are small but very cool features: the ability to take the size of the copied object and apply that size to others.
PasteSize_Inkscape.mp4

You can probably use the Shape Builder Tool for most of what you want to do, but its efficacy will depend on the design you're using it on – see attached video.
Note: I’m holding the Alt key down while I mouse around and click.
2023-07-08 12-37-51.mp4

* Attachments updated Apr 22, 2024 with minor edits and the addition of a Dutch version
I've made a chart of the Special Character symbols shown when you choose Show Special Characters in Affinity Publisher, Designer, and Photo, including some characters that can't be inserted from the Text menu and which must be entered as Unicode and some that aren't mentioned on the Affinity Help page for special characters. Please let me know of any errors so I can update the chart. I apologize for any translation errors.
I've attached the original afpub file so that others can use the embedded images of the special characters for other training materials or purposes.
Special Characters.pdf - English
Caracteres speciaux.pdf - Français
Sonderzeichen.pdf - Deutsch
Speciale tekens.pdf - Nederlands
Special Characters.afpub - editable version
 

+1,000 to that!
Works on Mac. For example, I use cmd-opt-1, cmd-opt-2, cmd-opt-3 etc. for personas, and ctrl-cmd-opt-1, ctrl-cmd-opt-2, ctrl-cmd-opt-3 for the Edit In… commands.
F-keys work on Mac, too.
Perhaps. But even more important – and logical according to the Human Interface Guidelines – would be if the Symbol panel button commands would appear in the context menu when a symbol is selected on the canvas. (Same for many other buried panel buttons.)

My first foray into a photo like vector illustration!
All Designer apart from the watercolour of the Kudu which I actually painted back in 2016 with ArtRage (it's good to recycle!).

Clone, Heal, Patch, Inpaint…which one to use? In this Affinity Photo tutorial we’ll look at the various tools for copying and removing objects, along with some image repair techniques. 
 
 
 

Here is a rough and ready tutorial on how to use chartwell font in Publisher to create graphs.
see the attached file.
 
Chartwell Graphs.afpub
Chartwell.mp4

Vector graphics are what we usually use Affinity Designer for, but did you know there is also an entire raster tool set? In this video we’ll look at the Pixel Persona and will pay particular attention to best practices when working non-destructively with bitmap graphics. 
 

Create cool filters like you see on Instagram and TikTok using gradient maps! This simple tool can add a “Wow” factor to your photography and art. In this video, we’ll look at spicing up your photos with cool filter effects and even see how to transfer styles from one photo to another.
 

Hi All,
We have just made 2.2 live across all App Stores and our website. As always, the feedback we have received from you all during this beta has been an incredible help in both shaping the new features as well as squashing many bugs!
The build we have released is the same as RC3 (build 2005), meaning for the time being whether you use the latest beta version or switch to using the release version they are the same. If you anticipate taking part in the next beta you may wish to keep your current beta version installed, as this will be updated on auto update when a new beta is available. This will either be a 2.2 patch if we feel one is needed, or moving straight onto a 2.3 beta.
It would be impossible for us to do what we do without your support, and I just wanted to say a huge thanks for everything you have contributed to this release.
All the best,
Ash

I really appreciate your tutorials, Trent! They're snappy, yet packed with lots of information and tips. 

The Vector Brush tool will allow you to add some organic texture to your art in Affinity Designer. We’ll look at how to get the most out of the default brushes and also see how to create your own brushes from scratch. 
 

My favorite car made completely in Designer.
Instagram: Austiemo
Webstie: Austiemo.com/portfolio
Facebook: Austiemo

Thanks so much! Very useful.

Thank you for this wonderful resource, Mike!

I have attached a macro category called "Enhance Skin Tones." This is a free download which will help add color and tone to the skin of your portraits. There are 21 different enhancement macros included, grouped for Light, Peach, Tan, and Dark skin. These macros are meant to enhance, not replace, skin colors. The macros are all based on the use of Gradient Maps, and use different dark and light colors along with setting opacity and blend mode for each adjustment.
While the skin tone macros are grouped into Light, Peach, Tan, and Dark skin groups (roughly corresponding to Caucasian, Asian, Hispanic, and African coloration) they are certainly not exclusive. You may want to experiment using the adjustments from any (or all) of the groups to add different coloration and tone to your underlying portrait.
The Light and Peach skin tone macros add a gradient map and set its opacity to 25%. The Tan skin tone macros set the opacity to 30%. The Dark skin tone macros set the opacity to 40%. All of the macros set the blend mode of the gradient map adjustment to Soft Light. You should also experiment with changing the opacity and blend mode of the adjustments, as these will create different effects that you might like. Try using blend modes such as Overlay, Linear Light, and even Multiply. The results can be subtle, but changing the default settings can often make them fairly dramatic.
An important note: the macros work best when you have the skin selected prior to invoking the macros. This ensures that the gradient map adjustment uses your selection as a mask, and applies the changes to the skin only. As with all layer masks, however, you can edit the mask (by painting on the adjustment layer in black or white) after the fact.
Here is a graphic that includes 4 portraits (labelled as Original versions) along with versions of each of the 21 different skin tone enhancing macros. The enhanced versions are all based on the default settings for the respective macros. Under each example is the name of the skin tone macro used, along with a gradient representing the dark and light colors used in the gradient map adjustment. Remember that these results look very subtle, but your results can be more dramatic simply by increasing the opacity slider.

The attached macro category was created in Affinity Photo 2, and probably will not be compatible with version 1. It is a category and therefore should be imported into the Library panel (using the "hamburger menu" at the panel's top right corner). The category includes the 21 skin tone macros, but also includes a macro called "Try All Skin Tones" which will create a group (with sub-groups) that includes all 21 adjustments so you can try them all to see which one you like. There is also a macro called "Instructions - Enhance Skin Tones" which will display on-screen instructions for using the macros. These instructions are placed in a separate layer which you should delete after having read and understood the instructions.
[These macros are loosely based on some of the gradients used in a recent YouTube video by Blake Rudis, whose f64 Academy channel has been quite helpful (especially for matters concerning color grading). Blake's videos are exclusively aimed at Photoshop users, but the methods he uses are almost always compatible with similar methods in Affinity Photo. So, a big thank-you to him.]
As with all of my Resource uploads, these are the work of 1 person working on 1 computer. I do not pretend to have tested them extensively, but I believe they will function as they are supposed to. Try them and see if they work for you. If they do, they are free for your use without restriction.
I have always encouraged users to "pay it forward" and help others in this forum as they themselves become more knowledgeable and adept at using Affinity Photo. This is how knowledge and good will spreads.
Enhance Skin Tones.afmacros

I'm unsure. I just intended to explain the Books feature since it's so difficult to know if it's the right choice for your project until you've broken your book into chapter files. And if it turns out it was the wrong choice, it's hard to put the chapters back together again. I need to get back to my other book project but I imagine I'll expand this a bit in the future when I feel an itch to document a feature. I added the section on keyboard shortcuts yesterday while waiting for the release of 2.2.
Thanks for catching this. If I had been sending this to print I would have engaged proofreaders but since this was a free project I knew there would be some copy/paste mistakes like this. Here's what the first example should have been, I will change this in the first update.

Will do, thanks.

Updated for Publisher 2.4 (February 2024)
This free in-depth manual is filled with steps, tips, and recommendations for:
Documents, Pages, Master Pages, Sections, and Baseline Grid Character and Paragraph Formatting Text Styles (paragraph and character) Text Frames, Text Flow, and Stories Images and Picture Frames Books and Chapters Cross-References, Table of Contents, and Index Notes - including Footnotes, Sidenotes, and Endnotes Fields - including Page Numbering, Running Headers, and Custom Variables Anchors and Hyperlinks Printing and Exporting Settings This manual does not cover objects, drawing, photo editing, or the other artistic features.
Download:
Publisher Manual Feb 26 2024.pdf
Q&A
Is this really free? Yes, I'm making it available free of charge. It's copyrighted to prevent others from publishing it as their own. Is there a longer manual I can purchase? No, this is it. Is there an iPad version? No, the steps and screenshots are for the macOS and Windows versions. Is there a version for Designer or Photo? No, but many of the features are the same so you should still find it useful. Why does it use a print layout if it's a PDF? It's a demonstration of how to use the features it describes to create a print book. Previous version for 2.3:
Publisher Manual Nov 29 2023.pdf

Here are two of my Badge (Label) Assets sets, these assets are plain (silhouettes) + vintage (grouped) vector curve(s) based badges/labels. The two sets do contain various forms of these. NOTE that the assets for the below shown vintage badge set don't include any preapplied text, it's below just shown this with text way in order to give you an idea how they could look with some used/applied text on them!
 


 
The corresponding assets files:
Badge_Assets.afassets  
- Have fun with these free to reuse badges!

The Book would be much more useful if it - as an alternative - allowed editing all the included chapters at once. Searching & replacing, editing of styles and text variables, master pages, and so on.
Paolo
 

Great video again. Thanks. One thing, though, the perspective of the 'walkway' text looks a bit off compared to the 'stop' text. The latter seems to lie a bit flatter while the former seems to point more upwards. Might be the font and its size....

The Vector Warp Group tool in Affinity Designer is a great way to bend designs to your will…but understanding perspective can be a little tricky. In this video, I’ll go over some basic perspective theory and then show how to use the Warp Group tool to shape text and logos to fit onto objects.
 

If you want to take your outline effects to the next level, then the Contour tool is must-know feature of Affinity Designer. This simple little tool can have some surprisingly powerful effects and we’ll review a bunch of them in this video.