smadell

I stumbled upon your (ultra) short science fiction stories – what a fascinating idea. I just had to try. Here's my contribution. For info's sake, this is a 6x4 inch page with 1/4-inch margins all around. The font is ITC Korinna, and the paragraph was set to justified (both left and right, and vertically). The word count was done in Nisus Writer Pro, my word processor of choice.

Since you "invaded" this space, and in keeping with the sci-fi theme, does that make you a Space Invader?

William...
I wish you had asked sooner. I trashed the original document in which the "troll story" was written, and I just don't remember the font that I used. Sorry!

Somebody make it stop!

I stumbled upon your (ultra) short science fiction stories – what a fascinating idea. I just had to try. Here's my contribution. For info's sake, this is a 6x4 inch page with 1/4-inch margins all around. The font is ITC Korinna, and the paragraph was set to justified (both left and right, and vertically). The word count was done in Nisus Writer Pro, my word processor of choice.

1] On YouTube, search for “Affinity Revolution.” Ezra Anderson and his wife do a lot of free tutorials, including some beginner videos.
2] Also onYouTube, look for InAffinity. It’s a channel from Dave Straker (dmstraker on this forum). Loads of good stuff in 4-8 minute chunks. Sometimes a little nerdy, but really good info. Also free.
3] Simon Foster’s courses on Udemy.com are well-regarded. Most of them are not free, but there is a beginner series that is free.
4] Prior to version 1.7, Serif had well over 100 video tutorials that they deprecated and replaced with the current ones. I think they are still available online, but I’m not sure where. Maybe someone else can chime in here.
5) Many (perhaps most) of the online Photoshop tutorials can be duplicated in Affinity Photo, with a few notable exceptions (like “smart objects”).

You can adjust saturation (as well as Hue and Luminance) for the entire photo, but also for individual colors (Red, Yellow, Green, Cyan, Blue, Magenta) with the HSL Adjustment. You can also choose one of the color ranges and click the "Picker" button, then choose a color directly from your photo; you can change hue, saturation, and luminosity for that specific color as well.
In the picture below, I've clicked on the Reds color range. Any changes made to Hue, Saturation, and Luminosity will only affect that color range.
You can also use the Split Toning adjustment to add color to shadows and/or highlights. Alternately, use the Selective Color adjustment to modify specific colors, or to modify the color quality of the Whites, Neutrals, and/or Blacks.

Based on a recent thread started by user Steps, I have finalized and am attaching a macro called "Graphic Novel Effect." It is similar to the "Paint by Numbers" macro I created a while back, but offers better control of the black outlines that are needed in a cartoon or a graphic novel illustration.
The attached file is a macros category (not a single macro) and can be imported through the Affinity Photo Library panel. Once inside Affinity Photo, the category contains a single macro which can be moved into a different category (by dragging it) if desired. Since it is provided as a category, it can also be imported into the iPad version of AP.
When you use the macro, it creates a number of layers inside a group (which can be turned on and off to show or hide the effect entirely). The user is presented with 5 options in a dialog:
1) Posterize - How Many Colors?
The macro is preset to 5 color levels, but anywhere between 4 and 6 generally gives a decent result.
2) Outlines - Adjust Black [line thickness]
This option is preset to 50%, but changing the value will make the black outlines more or less prominent.
3) Outlines - Adjust White [fill smoothness]
This option is preset to 90%. Changing the value will affect the fill (inside the outlines). Keep the value above the value set in option #2 (line thickness).
4) Finish - Adjust the Brightness
5) Finish - Adjust the Contrast
These are preset to Brightness = -15% and Contrast = +30%. Changes made here will have the obvious results, and should be considered a finishing touch.
*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * 
As always, I am one person with one computer and have not tested this in every possible scenario. Try it and, if you like it, keep it and enjoy it. This forum has provided me with so many good ideas and answers to questions; this macro is another attempt to “pay it forward.”
Graphic Novel Effect.afmacros

I had never really thought much about the VRAM limitation until I read the very informative 'wall of text' by @James Ritson, but now I know that my old iMac's NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660M with a meager 512MB of VRAM is probably the single biggest factor that makes it so slow when processing large files.

James...
Please do not apologize for your "wall of text" – it was incredibly helpful. This is exactly the answer I was hoping to get! In response to your questions, I am definitely looking at a 27" monitor, and am considering a slew of upgrades (including a faster CPU, an SSD instead of a Fusion drive, and an increased amount of RAM - probably from Other World Computing, which I've used before). Based on the current offerings, the maxed-out 27" iMac can have its graphics card upgraded to a Vega 48, with 8GB of VRAM, and this is actually the option (from the current line) that I was considering.
Also, as you mention, Apple is certainly likely to refresh its iMac lineup sometime next year. This is the reason for the 6-month time frame. (I'm also waiting for another software company to release its database software in 64 bits, since their program is one I use every day for some important issues.)
Your comments make me quite likely to look at an upgraded graphics card when I get a new machine. They also seem to explain some of the bottleneck that seems to be occasionally present when I turn on Metal on my current machine (whose Radeon R9 M395 has only 2GB of VRAM).
Thank you again.

Hi @smadell, hopefully this will give you a clearer answer!
What upgraded GPU option are you considering over the standard one, and is it the 21" or the 27" model you're after?
Looking at the specs, for the 21" the cheapest model has Intel Iris Plus graphics whereas you can upgrade to a Radeon 555X or 560X. With the 27" model the cheapest option is a 570X, and the most expensive upgrade gets you a 580X.
Any of the upgraded GPU options will give you an appreciable boost in performance with pretty much all operations in Photo: the vast majority of raster operations are accelerated with a few exceptions—for example, blend ranges will currently fall back to software (CPU). Vector layers/objects are also not accelerated. The biggest advantage I've noticed is being able to stack multiple live filters without significant slowdown: I typically use unsharp mask, clarity, noise reduction, gaussian blur, motion blur and procedural texture filters with compositions and photographs, and being able to use compute is incredibly helpful as it keeps the editing process smooth and quick. Export times are also drastically reduced when you have live filters in your document: in software (CPU), as soon as you start stacking several live filters the export time can easily take over a minute, whereas with compute on the GPU this is reduced to no more than several seconds.
However, the biggest limiting factor in my experience has been VRAM, and you will need to scale your requirements (and expectations) in accordance with a) the screen resolution, b) the pixel resolutions you typically work with and c) the bit depth you typically work in.
To give you a rough idea, 4GB of VRAM is just about sufficient to initially develop a 24 megapixel RAW file and then work in 16-bit per channel precision on a 5K display (5120x2880). If you move down to 4K (3840x2160) 4GB becomes a much more viable option. This is somewhat subjective, but I would say forget about 2GB VRAM or lower if those are your baseline requirements—you simply won't have a good editing experience as the VRAM will easily max out and swap memory will be used, incurring a huge performance penalty.
Ironically, if you can't stretch budget-wise to a GPU with 4GB or even 8GB of VRAM, the Intel Iris Plus graphics option may provide a better experience since it dynamically allocates its VRAM from main memory, therefore it can grow to accommodate larger memory requirements. From early Metal Compute testing I often found that disabling my MacBook's discrete GPU (with 2GB VRAM) and only using the Intel integrated graphics would alleviate the memory bottleneck. I believe the memory management has improved since then, but if you're on a budget that is an option to consider.
However, if you're looking at the more expensive iMac models, I think you should weigh up your requirements and what content you work with in Photo. Here are a few scenarios I can think of:
4K resolution, light editing—development of RAW files, then adding some adjustment layers and live filter layers—you could get away with a 2GB VRAM GPU. 5K resolution, light editing—definitely go with a 4GB VRAM GPU. 4K resolution, moderate editing—development of RAW files, lots of adjustment layers and live filter layers, some compositing work with multiple layers—go with a 4GB VRAM GPU. 5K resolution, moderate editing—4GB VRAM GPU minimum. 4K/5K resolution, heavy editing—working with compositions that have many image/pixel layers, clipped adjustments, live filter layers—absolutely consider an 8GB VRAM GPU. 4K/5K resolution, 32-bit/16-bit compositing e.g. 3D render work, using render passes, editing compositions in 16-bit—8GB VRAM GPU minimum. However, if budget allows, do also consider the possibility of an external GPU: this might even work out cheaper than having to choose an upgraded iMac model. In the office I have a MacBook with a 560X GPU that has 4GB VRAM—this is sufficient for demoing/tutorials at 4K or the MacBook panel's resolution (3360x2100) but I work with an external monitor at 5K and for that I use an eGPU enclosure with a Vega 64 that has 8GB VRAM. The additional compute power is incredibly useful, but it's mainly the larger pool of VRAM that helps out here. You don't have to use a Vega, I believe the new Navi cards are supported so you could look at a 5500XT with 8GB VRAM which is a reasonably cheap option (although you would still have to get the GPU enclosure...)
As you mentioned, your timeframe is 6 months so it might be worth waiting for Apple to refresh the iMac lineup as they will hopefully switch to Navi-based cards like they have with the new MacBook range. No doubt the cheapest option will have 4GB VRAM but models with 8GB should also be available.
Apologies for the wall of text, but hopefully that gives you some more information to work with!

I am attaching an Affinity Photo macro that turns a photo into a “Paint by Numbers” image. The attached file is a macros category, and should be imported through the “hamburger” menu at the top right of the Library panel. The category can also be imported into the iPad version of Affinity Photo, although there is one important limitation (more on this later).
When you use the macro, it creates a Group called “Paint by Numbers Effect.” All of the changes are inside of this group, so you can turn it on and off simply. Once you look inside the group, you will see multiple layers. From bottom to top, these are:
1) Original Image - Merge Visible
This is a “merge visible” version of your photo. It includes all of the editing you may have done up until that point.
2) Posterization Adjustment
This is a Posterize adjustment layer, and is meant to reduce the number of colors/tones used in the effect.
3) Outlines
This is a separate layer, created (in part) by using a Detect Edges filter. It provides outlines for the areas of color. This mimics the outlines that were present on the Paint by Numbers boards we used as kids.
4) Normalize Colors
This is a copy of the original Merge Visible image, and has its blend mode set to Color. This is used to reset the posterized colors to more natural ones.
5) Adjust Brightness & Contrast
This is a finishing adjustment, and can provide a better final effect.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Once you click the macro, you will be presented with a default version of the effect. A dialog box allows you to set a number of parameters. As you change each of these parameters, the Paint by Numbers effect is updated. You are asked:
Posterize - How Many Colors?
The default value is 4, but values between 3 and 6 generally give good results. If your image is a portrait, judging the final result by looking at what the different values do to the subject’s face is a good idea.
Outlines - Adjust the Opacity
The default is 50%. Adjust this upward to make the outlines more prominent; adjust it downward to make the outlines less obvious. Set to 0 to make them go away entirely.
Finish - Adjust the Brightness
Finish - Adjust the Contrast
The default is 10% brightness, and 20% contrast. Adjust these up or down to give you final effect the desired finish.
When you click Apply, the effect is finalized. Obviously, you can manually change any of the settings after the fact. However, you should know that while the number of posterization levels for the image is non-destructive, the originally chosen number is also used to create the outlines, and this is a destructive change. Although you can change the posterization level after the fact, it is not advisable to do this. The outlines might no longer line up with the individual areas of color.
Also, for some reason, the iPad version of Affinity Photo handles the macro pretty well but will not allow you to change the number of posterization levels before finalizing the effect. It is baked in at 4 levels. You can change this after the fact, but (as above) the number of levels in your posterized image may not match your outlines very well.
Here is the macro in action. The original image is top left; the parameters dialog is shown in its default state, and then changed during the course of the macro; the final effect is shown top right

As always, I am one person with one computer and have not tested this in every possible scenario. Try it and, if you like it, keep it and enjoy it. This forum has provided me with so many good ideas and answers to questions; this macro is my attempt to “pay it forward.”
[Note: Credit where credit is due. I am indebted to Dave Straker, whose recent YouTube video gave me some excellent ideas for this macro. Dave’s channel is called “InAffinity,” and is a steady source of helpful information. Thanks, Dave!]
 
Paint by Numbers.afmacros

It's way easier than that. If you have a pixel layer and an associated mask (as a child layer) just select the layer with the Move tool and either check or un-check the "Lock Children" box in the Context Toolbar. If the checkbox is NOT checked, then the mask will transform along with the layer; if the checkbox IS checked, then the child layer (the mask) will stay the same when you transform the parent layer (the pixel layer).

I'm pretty sure I know exactly what you're after. I think the problem you're facing is that Photoshop (as I understand it) treats masks, and indeed all channels, as greyscale layers when they're being edited. So, the brushes, adjustments, etc. tend to work just as they would if you were editing a regular pixel layer. Affinity Photo, on the other hand, treats masks as they truly are – alpha channels, with no color whatsoever. Trying to edit them as if they are pixel layers just doesn't work. (Wish it would, but that's another story.)
The answer to do what you're after is a workaround. Instead of making a mask out of, say, the blue channel, start by making the blue channel into a Greyscale layer. This will create a greyscale pixel layer in the Layers stack, which you can edit like the pixel layer it is. Take your black or white brush, set the blend mode to Overlay, and have at it. Once you've got your purely black and white layer (which is, I assume, what you're after) choose Rasterize to Mask by right-clicking the layer in the Layers panel, or by choosing it from the Layer menu. Drag the mask that results into the proper layer.

Although you can’t literally crop a single layer, you can effectively do the same thing by clipping the layer to a vector shape. Create a shape (such as the rectangle I used in the screenshot below) and drag the layer into the shape, so that it becomes a child of the shape.

Here's 2 ways that I did (rough job) just now:
First, make a rough selection of the hands and Duplicate to a new layer. Use the HSL tool to isolate the skin color. Then, I increased saturation a bit and increased luminosity a bit as well.

Second, I did a selection (followed by a refine selection and a minimal feather) to choose the hands, duplicated to a new layer, and set that layer's blend mode to Screen. Opacity down to 40% in this case.

Today, let’s have fun with Gradient Maps…
Gradient Maps are a great way to color grade photos, since they map dark, light, and midtone values according to a pre-defined gradient. This can easily define a “look” for photos that might otherwise be hard to accomplish.
Although I am not a user of Photoshop, our “arch rival” has a wonderful group of gradient maps called “Photographic Toning” that are specifically designed to color grade photos. Although you have to drill down through a few panels and dialog boxes to find them (and you sort of have to know they’re there in the first place) they are a truly nice addition. Also, they are easily obtained by anyone.
But, as they say, there’s the rub. Affinity Photo cannot import Photoshop gradient maps. Affinity Photo can store pre-defined gradients in the Swatches studio, but for some unknown reason the stored gradients are not available from the Gradient Map studio panel. Gradient Maps can be stored as presets, and can be chosen from the Adjustments panel, but I don’t believe they can be easily exported from one computer and brought into a different one.
So… after a long couple of days of transcription, I have created a set of Macros that apply each of the 38 Photographic Toning gradient maps. Since macros are easy to store, and to share, I am making them available for anyone who wants them.
There are actually 2 sets of Macros included - each as an easy-to-import Category from the Library panel. The first group of Macros is called “Photographic Toning Gradients” and these are named according to the gradient map they apply. Each macro creates a Gradient Map layer, applies the appropriate color values, and names the layer according to the gradient map it applied. The second set of macros is called “Photographic Toning Gradients - reduced.” This category also applies the gradient maps in a similar fashion, but then reduces the opacity of the layer to 30%. This reduces the effect of the Gradient Map, and produces a much subtler effect.
Here is an image that shows the full-strength versions of all 38 gradient maps.

And here is a photo to which I’ve applied a full-strength gradient map, and also a reduced-strength gradient map.

These macro categories are included in the ZIP file attached to this post, along with a Letter sized JPG that includes samples of the gradient maps. Also included in the ZIP file is another macro category that includes one more macro. It’s called “Obama Hope Poster” and, as you might have guessed, it turns any photo into an Obama Hope-style poster. Just because…
Please enjoy them!
Photographic Toning Gradient Maps.zip

I made 2 little videos, one for Creating a New Mask and the second for Editing an Existing Mask. Sometimes watching the process helps it make more sense. So...
1) Creating a New Mask

Create a Mask.m4v 2) Editing an Existing Mask

Edit a Mask.m4v

I made 2 little videos, one for Creating a New Mask and the second for Editing an Existing Mask. Sometimes watching the process helps it make more sense. So...
1) Creating a New Mask

Create a Mask.m4v 2) Editing an Existing Mask

Edit a Mask.m4v

I posted this a few days ago...
 

I made 2 little videos, one for Creating a New Mask and the second for Editing an Existing Mask. Sometimes watching the process helps it make more sense. So...
1) Creating a New Mask

Create a Mask.m4v 2) Editing an Existing Mask

Edit a Mask.m4v

Mike...
 
Check out James' video tutorial entitled "Clone Sources." What you're looking for is certainly possible.
 

Based on a recent thread started by user Steps, I have finalized and am attaching a macro called "Graphic Novel Effect." It is similar to the "Paint by Numbers" macro I created a while back, but offers better control of the black outlines that are needed in a cartoon or a graphic novel illustration.
The attached file is a macros category (not a single macro) and can be imported through the Affinity Photo Library panel. Once inside Affinity Photo, the category contains a single macro which can be moved into a different category (by dragging it) if desired. Since it is provided as a category, it can also be imported into the iPad version of AP.
When you use the macro, it creates a number of layers inside a group (which can be turned on and off to show or hide the effect entirely). The user is presented with 5 options in a dialog:
1) Posterize - How Many Colors?
The macro is preset to 5 color levels, but anywhere between 4 and 6 generally gives a decent result.
2) Outlines - Adjust Black [line thickness]
This option is preset to 50%, but changing the value will make the black outlines more or less prominent.
3) Outlines - Adjust White [fill smoothness]
This option is preset to 90%. Changing the value will affect the fill (inside the outlines). Keep the value above the value set in option #2 (line thickness).
4) Finish - Adjust the Brightness
5) Finish - Adjust the Contrast
These are preset to Brightness = -15% and Contrast = +30%. Changes made here will have the obvious results, and should be considered a finishing touch.
*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * 
As always, I am one person with one computer and have not tested this in every possible scenario. Try it and, if you like it, keep it and enjoy it. This forum has provided me with so many good ideas and answers to questions; this macro is another attempt to “pay it forward.”
Graphic Novel Effect.afmacros

Also this...
 

Based on a recent thread started by user Steps, I have finalized and am attaching a macro called "Graphic Novel Effect." It is similar to the "Paint by Numbers" macro I created a while back, but offers better control of the black outlines that are needed in a cartoon or a graphic novel illustration.
The attached file is a macros category (not a single macro) and can be imported through the Affinity Photo Library panel. Once inside Affinity Photo, the category contains a single macro which can be moved into a different category (by dragging it) if desired. Since it is provided as a category, it can also be imported into the iPad version of AP.
When you use the macro, it creates a number of layers inside a group (which can be turned on and off to show or hide the effect entirely). The user is presented with 5 options in a dialog:
1) Posterize - How Many Colors?
The macro is preset to 5 color levels, but anywhere between 4 and 6 generally gives a decent result.
2) Outlines - Adjust Black [line thickness]
This option is preset to 50%, but changing the value will make the black outlines more or less prominent.
3) Outlines - Adjust White [fill smoothness]
This option is preset to 90%. Changing the value will affect the fill (inside the outlines). Keep the value above the value set in option #2 (line thickness).
4) Finish - Adjust the Brightness
5) Finish - Adjust the Contrast
These are preset to Brightness = -15% and Contrast = +30%. Changes made here will have the obvious results, and should be considered a finishing touch.
*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * 
As always, I am one person with one computer and have not tested this in every possible scenario. Try it and, if you like it, keep it and enjoy it. This forum has provided me with so many good ideas and answers to questions; this macro is another attempt to “pay it forward.”
Graphic Novel Effect.afmacros