smadell

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

There is no reason why. you cannot create a luminosity range using Blend Options, and also use a layer mask to narrow down the areas to which this luma range is applied. Also, remember that adjustment layers and live filter layers already have a built-in mask, and attaching a seperate mask layer, while possible, is not necessary.

Hi, pedrors...
On macOS, printing profiles are in 1 of 2 places. They are in:
1) <SystemDisk>/Library/ColorSync/Profiles/
2) <SystemDisk>/Users/<User Name>/Library/ColorSync/Profiles/
Note - <SystemDisk> is the name of the hard drive that serves as your Startup drive. <User Name> is the name of your User. The icc profiles in your Main library are accessible to all users. The profiles in the User Library are only accessible to that user. If you put your printer profiles in there, they should be accessible from the Printer dialog. After choosing Print... from the File menu, choose your printer at the top of the dialog box, as usual. In the middle of the dialog box, from the drop-down menu, choose "Color Matching." Make sure that the radio button for "ColorSync" is chosen. You can find your printer profiles in the menu underneath that choice.

This seemed like it "should" be possible, so I tried. Here is a solution. It's a 2-step process for each paragraph that contains an "out-dented" Drop Cap.
First, select the first word in the paragraph. Enable Drop Caps in the Paragraph panel, and set other parameters as you might like.
Second, with that word selected, go to Optical Alignment in the Characters Panel. Select "Manual" as the method for optical alignment, and make sure that the first letter of the word (the dropped cap) has an optical alignment of 100% on the Left margin. You might have to click the "Add" button if your drop cap character isn't listed. This will place the entire letter outside the left margin.

The above can be made into a paragraph style. Any/all letters can be added to the optical margin field. If changing the font for the DC, make a character style.

I have four separate feature requests that I'd like to submit. I have created a separate post for each of them, and they are all posted here within the "Feature Requests & Feedback" section. I have included proposed Studio-type panels (or modifications of existing panels) in each of the posts.
3) Select Color Range using HSL-like Definition
I love that the HSL Adjustment panel now allows customized hue ranges. It's a really powerful addition. I would really like to see this sort of color range choice for some variant of the Select Color Range… menu choice. In addition to Select Reds, Select Greens, and Select Blues, I would love to be able to choose Select Custom… and be presented with the same color range chooser used in the HSL panel. The output of such a Select Custom… choice should be tailored in a similar fashion to the Refine Selection dialog; that is, allow the output to be a Selection, a Mask, a Layer, or a Layer with a Mask.

Hey, John and R C-R...
First of all, the link to that series of posts is:  https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/76900-saturation-masks-a-simple-method/
Second, Apply Image really only needs a single image (in fact, a single layer) since there is a button near the top of the dialog box that says "Use Current Layer as Source." Clicking that lets you apply the layer to itself. Here is a screen shot where I swapped the Red and Green channels in a photo (original on the left, swapped channels on the right).

The more important point might be that your last question is easier to answer than Dave Straker's math makes it out to be. I have posted a series of macros which will (i) create Saturation masks and Vibrance masks (inverted Saturation masks); (ii) create greyscale visualization layers for those masks; and (iii) allow you to apply the masks to a layer stack. You can access those macros here: https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/87004-macro-updates-for-v17/
 

Just a little suggestion for betas... It would be nice if all betas from now could have a Beta sign in their icon as there was for the early betas of publisher... it helps easily recognizing them in the dock... 

I can’t help but think that this argument is similar to the “do you like the new icons?” argument. It’s just a name, and we’ll all get used to it. One other thing - before early 2015, how many of us knew what “inpainting” meant?

I can’t help but think that this argument is similar to the “do you like the new icons?” argument. It’s just a name, and we’ll all get used to it. One other thing - before early 2015, how many of us knew what “inpainting” meant?

Hey, James...
Just to nitpick...  The link to the video titled "Inpainting" says "Pinpointing" instead!

In response to a post I made last May, MJSfoto1956 suggested the use of Blend Options as an alternative to more traditional luminosity masks. It turns out that the use of the Blend Options panel, combined with a little math, makes luminosity based selections quite effective. The trouble is that the method is cumbersome if you do them from scratch each time.

What I have created is a series of Macros that automates the process. The attached afmacros file contains macros for creating Luminosity Selections in their usual and anticipated forms: Lights 1 through Lights 4, Darks 1 through Darks 4, and Midtones 1 through Midtones 4.

Notes:

1) Each action will select a luminosity-based portion of the selected layer.
2) NO additional channels are created, so files don’t become bloated.
3) Once the selection is made, it can be used for an adjustment layer, a mask, a live filter, etc. It can be deselected (like any selection). It can be replaced by using a different selection (e.g., click on Lights 2 to replace the selection made by Lights 1).

Caveats:

4) You must have a Pixel layer or an Image layer selected for the macros to work properly. If you have any other type of layer selected, or if you have NO layer selected, the results you get will be wrong.
5) The macros will undo any Blend Options you may have set on the selected layer.
6) I am one person with one computer. Obviously, I have not tested these macros in every possible situation. Use them if you like them. No guarantees are made.
7) However, if you like them, they are yours. They are my way of saying “thank you” to the Forum for helping me learn a wonderful piece of software!
Luminosity Selections.afmacros.zip

In most cases, luminosity selections don't limit the pixels that are selected. All of the pixels in a layer are selected. However, pixels vary in the amount they are selected. So, in a "Lights 1" luminosity selection, the very white pixels are fully selected (100% or thereabouts) while the very dark pixels are selected only minimally. The "marching ants" you are seeing in your luminosity selection is really only the margin of where pixels are 50% selected or more. And, since all of the pixels are selected to one degree or another, you can paint on all of them.
However, the answer to your problem is really much simpler than that. Once your luminosity selection is made, open the "Layers" panel and click the " + " sign at the top. From the drop-down menu, indicate that you want to add a Mask layer. The mask you add will inherit the luminosity selection perfectly. No painting needed.

I have four separate feature requests that I'd like to submit. I have created a separate post for each of them, and they are all posted here within the "Feature Requests & Feedback" section. I have included proposed Studio-type panels (or modifications of existing panels) in each of the posts.
3) Select Color Range using HSL-like Definition
I love that the HSL Adjustment panel now allows customized hue ranges. It's a really powerful addition. I would really like to see this sort of color range choice for some variant of the Select Color Range… menu choice. In addition to Select Reds, Select Greens, and Select Blues, I would love to be able to choose Select Custom… and be presented with the same color range chooser used in the HSL panel. The output of such a Select Custom… choice should be tailored in a similar fashion to the Refine Selection dialog; that is, allow the output to be a Selection, a Mask, a Layer, or a Layer with a Mask.

In the past few years, I have posted a number of Macros for anyone who wants them. Some have been more widely downloaded than others. With the release of version 1.7, however, I have found that a number of them are using Adjustment Layers that have been updated by Serif. The macros now contain a step invoking the "legacy" version of the adjustment which , once the macro completes, is then automatically updated to the new version.
So far, so good.
But, version 1.7 puts up a notification stating that the adjustment has been updated, and this notification appears each and every time the macro is invoked. Even though the notification eventually goes away on its own, it's certainly an eyesore if you use the macros more than sporadically.
Bummer.
So, I am attaching updated versions of the macros that have been affected by this change. These include the Infrared Simulation Effect as well as the more-recently posted Saturation Mask macros. They are labelled as "v1.1" macros, since they have been re-coded with the new versions of the adjustments. Additionally, minor changes were made to the Infrared macro such that all the added layers are contained within a Group (which can be easily turned on or off with a single click).
Both of these are attached to this post, and can be downloaded here. They are macro categories and therefore should be imported into the Library panel (not directly into the Macros panel). You can feel free to delete the older versions, although those older macros will still work - they will just give you the "nag screen" each time they are invoked.
For reference, here are links to the original posts for both sets of macros:
Infrared Simulation: https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/40759-infrared-simulation/
Saturation Masks: https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/76900-saturation-masks-a-simple-method/
Please enjoy the updated macros.
Infrared Simulation v1.1.afmacros
Saturation Masks v1.1.afmacros

I have four separate feature requests that I'd like to submit. I have created a separate post for each of them, and they are all posted here within the "Feature Requests & Feedback" section. I have included proposed Studio-type panels (or modifications of existing panels) in each of the posts.
3) Select Color Range using HSL-like Definition
I love that the HSL Adjustment panel now allows customized hue ranges. It's a really powerful addition. I would really like to see this sort of color range choice for some variant of the Select Color Range… menu choice. In addition to Select Reds, Select Greens, and Select Blues, I would love to be able to choose Select Custom… and be presented with the same color range chooser used in the HSL panel. The output of such a Select Custom… choice should be tailored in a similar fashion to the Refine Selection dialog; that is, allow the output to be a Selection, a Mask, a Layer, or a Layer with a Mask.

I have four separate feature requests that I'd like to submit. I have created a separate post for each of them, and they are all posted here within the "Feature Requests & Feedback" section. I have included proposed Studio-type panels (or modifications of existing panels) in each of the posts.
2) A New Filter - Add Grain
A suggestion for an additional Filter. While the Add Noise… choice is nice, it tends to give a small and very uniform form of noise. This might be great for dealing with certain situations, but it's not a good substitute for adding Grain to a picture (to give a photo an old-time type of look). I suggest a separate Filter that deals with Adding Grain, providing sliders such as (i) Grain per pixel; and (ii) Soft vs Hard. This reasonably simple set of choices is present in the Nik Silver Efex plug-in, and gives me all the choices I think I might want.

This one's for Dave Straker...
I am using a Mac, and I know you're on Windows, so that may explain the difference. Nevertheless, checking the "Reveal" box within the Crop tool's context toolbar does indeed reveal the canvas of a previously cropped photo. (Also, I assume that "Rasterize and Trim" has not been previously used.) This is what I get when I check, or un-check, that box on a photo that I had previously cropped:

I’ve created a macro that can simulate the look of Infrared Photography. It expands on the method that James outlined in his tutorial video, adding a few additional flourishes. The macro is attached and can be imported into Affinity Photo.

To import the macro, select the “hamburger” icon at the top, right of the Library panel. Choose “Import Macros…”



Start by choosing a Pixel layer. Click the macro and you will get a lovely infrared-looking image.

1) If you adjust the opacity of the layer named “Infrared Inverted” you can add more or less color to the image.
2) True infrared images have a softness and graininess to them. Because of that, I have included a Noise layer and a Diffuse Glow layer. Feel free to adjust them, or turn them off.
3) If the image has too much pink to suit your liking, open the HSL layer and switch to the Reds. Lower the Saturation until the pinkish color is muted or gone.
4) I have placed a Lens Filter adjustment at the top of the layer stack. It is a blue filter, which will cool the image a bit. By default, it is turned off. Turn it back on to apply it.

Here is the macro in action:


 
Infrared.afmacros.zip

In the past few years, I have posted a number of Macros for anyone who wants them. Some have been more widely downloaded than others. With the release of version 1.7, however, I have found that a number of them are using Adjustment Layers that have been updated by Serif. The macros now contain a step invoking the "legacy" version of the adjustment which , once the macro completes, is then automatically updated to the new version.
So far, so good.
But, version 1.7 puts up a notification stating that the adjustment has been updated, and this notification appears each and every time the macro is invoked. Even though the notification eventually goes away on its own, it's certainly an eyesore if you use the macros more than sporadically.
Bummer.
So, I am attaching updated versions of the macros that have been affected by this change. These include the Infrared Simulation Effect as well as the more-recently posted Saturation Mask macros. They are labelled as "v1.1" macros, since they have been re-coded with the new versions of the adjustments. Additionally, minor changes were made to the Infrared macro such that all the added layers are contained within a Group (which can be easily turned on or off with a single click).
Both of these are attached to this post, and can be downloaded here. They are macro categories and therefore should be imported into the Library panel (not directly into the Macros panel). You can feel free to delete the older versions, although those older macros will still work - they will just give you the "nag screen" each time they are invoked.
For reference, here are links to the original posts for both sets of macros:
Infrared Simulation: https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/40759-infrared-simulation/
Saturation Masks: https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/76900-saturation-masks-a-simple-method/
Please enjoy the updated macros.
Infrared Simulation v1.1.afmacros
Saturation Masks v1.1.afmacros

Here’s the old videos...
https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/10119-legacy-official-affinity-photo-desktop-video-tutorials/
 

In the past few years, I have posted a number of Macros for anyone who wants them. Some have been more widely downloaded than others. With the release of version 1.7, however, I have found that a number of them are using Adjustment Layers that have been updated by Serif. The macros now contain a step invoking the "legacy" version of the adjustment which , once the macro completes, is then automatically updated to the new version.
So far, so good.
But, version 1.7 puts up a notification stating that the adjustment has been updated, and this notification appears each and every time the macro is invoked. Even though the notification eventually goes away on its own, it's certainly an eyesore if you use the macros more than sporadically.
Bummer.
So, I am attaching updated versions of the macros that have been affected by this change. These include the Infrared Simulation Effect as well as the more-recently posted Saturation Mask macros. They are labelled as "v1.1" macros, since they have been re-coded with the new versions of the adjustments. Additionally, minor changes were made to the Infrared macro such that all the added layers are contained within a Group (which can be easily turned on or off with a single click).
Both of these are attached to this post, and can be downloaded here. They are macro categories and therefore should be imported into the Library panel (not directly into the Macros panel). You can feel free to delete the older versions, although those older macros will still work - they will just give you the "nag screen" each time they are invoked.
For reference, here are links to the original posts for both sets of macros:
Infrared Simulation: https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/40759-infrared-simulation/
Saturation Masks: https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/76900-saturation-masks-a-simple-method/
Please enjoy the updated macros.
Infrared Simulation v1.1.afmacros
Saturation Masks v1.1.afmacros

In the past few years, I have posted a number of Macros for anyone who wants them. Some have been more widely downloaded than others. With the release of version 1.7, however, I have found that a number of them are using Adjustment Layers that have been updated by Serif. The macros now contain a step invoking the "legacy" version of the adjustment which , once the macro completes, is then automatically updated to the new version.
So far, so good.
But, version 1.7 puts up a notification stating that the adjustment has been updated, and this notification appears each and every time the macro is invoked. Even though the notification eventually goes away on its own, it's certainly an eyesore if you use the macros more than sporadically.
Bummer.
So, I am attaching updated versions of the macros that have been affected by this change. These include the Infrared Simulation Effect as well as the more-recently posted Saturation Mask macros. They are labelled as "v1.1" macros, since they have been re-coded with the new versions of the adjustments. Additionally, minor changes were made to the Infrared macro such that all the added layers are contained within a Group (which can be easily turned on or off with a single click).
Both of these are attached to this post, and can be downloaded here. They are macro categories and therefore should be imported into the Library panel (not directly into the Macros panel). You can feel free to delete the older versions, although those older macros will still work - they will just give you the "nag screen" each time they are invoked.
For reference, here are links to the original posts for both sets of macros:
Infrared Simulation: https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/40759-infrared-simulation/
Saturation Masks: https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/76900-saturation-masks-a-simple-method/
Please enjoy the updated macros.
Infrared Simulation v1.1.afmacros
Saturation Masks v1.1.afmacros

In the past few years, I have posted a number of Macros for anyone who wants them. Some have been more widely downloaded than others. With the release of version 1.7, however, I have found that a number of them are using Adjustment Layers that have been updated by Serif. The macros now contain a step invoking the "legacy" version of the adjustment which , once the macro completes, is then automatically updated to the new version.
So far, so good.
But, version 1.7 puts up a notification stating that the adjustment has been updated, and this notification appears each and every time the macro is invoked. Even though the notification eventually goes away on its own, it's certainly an eyesore if you use the macros more than sporadically.
Bummer.
So, I am attaching updated versions of the macros that have been affected by this change. These include the Infrared Simulation Effect as well as the more-recently posted Saturation Mask macros. They are labelled as "v1.1" macros, since they have been re-coded with the new versions of the adjustments. Additionally, minor changes were made to the Infrared macro such that all the added layers are contained within a Group (which can be easily turned on or off with a single click).
Both of these are attached to this post, and can be downloaded here. They are macro categories and therefore should be imported into the Library panel (not directly into the Macros panel). You can feel free to delete the older versions, although those older macros will still work - they will just give you the "nag screen" each time they are invoked.
For reference, here are links to the original posts for both sets of macros:
Infrared Simulation: https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/40759-infrared-simulation/
Saturation Masks: https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/76900-saturation-masks-a-simple-method/
Please enjoy the updated macros.
Infrared Simulation v1.1.afmacros
Saturation Masks v1.1.afmacros

In the past few years, I have posted a number of Macros for anyone who wants them. Some have been more widely downloaded than others. With the release of version 1.7, however, I have found that a number of them are using Adjustment Layers that have been updated by Serif. The macros now contain a step invoking the "legacy" version of the adjustment which , once the macro completes, is then automatically updated to the new version.
So far, so good.
But, version 1.7 puts up a notification stating that the adjustment has been updated, and this notification appears each and every time the macro is invoked. Even though the notification eventually goes away on its own, it's certainly an eyesore if you use the macros more than sporadically.
Bummer.
So, I am attaching updated versions of the macros that have been affected by this change. These include the Infrared Simulation Effect as well as the more-recently posted Saturation Mask macros. They are labelled as "v1.1" macros, since they have been re-coded with the new versions of the adjustments. Additionally, minor changes were made to the Infrared macro such that all the added layers are contained within a Group (which can be easily turned on or off with a single click).
Both of these are attached to this post, and can be downloaded here. They are macro categories and therefore should be imported into the Library panel (not directly into the Macros panel). You can feel free to delete the older versions, although those older macros will still work - they will just give you the "nag screen" each time they are invoked.
For reference, here are links to the original posts for both sets of macros:
Infrared Simulation: https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/40759-infrared-simulation/
Saturation Masks: https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/76900-saturation-masks-a-simple-method/
Please enjoy the updated macros.
Infrared Simulation v1.1.afmacros
Saturation Masks v1.1.afmacros