[Using a compound path as a clipping mask for inner shapes]

Thanks @Aammppaa, using symbols did the trick!

I made a symbol using the compound path of the body, then duplicated it and used it as a mask for each individual inner shape (shading, belly). I was even able to throw in an outline! No color banding and the shape is nicely kept in sync thanks to the symbol functionality. It's such a simple and yet powerful feature.

[Using a compound path as a clipping mask for inner shapes]

3 hours ago, firstdefence said:

Compounds don't retain individual colours like illustrator does and until the compound feature does it will always be messy.

You could make an outline to enable clipping of the belly  and anything else that overlaps the outer edge of the shape, so you can use the compound feature to create an outer curve, you do this by duplicating the compound and then converting it to a curve. Unfortunately you would need to do this again if you had to move arms ears etc but it is what it is and until the compound can retain individual colours I don't see a way round this, although there are some creative problem solvers on here that know a better way. 

This is what I've been doing for outlines, having to sync it for multiple objects is kind of a pain. I think @Aammppaa's suggestion to use symbols should really help with this as well.

 

10 hours ago, Aammppaa said:

In version 2: You can use a Symbol to keep your Composite Body and Composite Mask in Sync. Doesn't solve the banding on the gradient though.

Didn't know about symbols, I just watched a short video about them and they seem to be a great way to bypass the issue (and as a bonus to keep lineart in sync)!

Color banding can be solved by not grouping the inner shapes, since in my experience it's caused by the pass-through rendering of the group. It should be easy enough to use the compound path symbol as a mask for every inner shape since they will automatically sync through the symbol feature.

I'll be experimenting with symbols later and post any update. Thanks for the help!

[Using a compound path as a clipping mask for inner shapes]

Hi, I'm not exactly new to the software but I'm delving into some more complex topics as I keep using it for random stuff.

For a simple illustration project, I'm trying to merge the shapes of a character's body while avoiding using destructive operations. What I'd love to achieve is to use a compound shape (made using Alt + boolean Add operation) as a clipping mask for some inner shapes.

See the attached example for what I'm trying to achieve (with a very simplified character) and the tests I have made so far.

From what I gather I have three options:

1. Use a compound path. This will unfortunately break clipping functionality, and the clipped shapes will get lost inside the original containing shape (Body in teh example). If I move them to the root of the compound the simply become part of the compound itself.
2. Make a compound path, group the inner shapes, then use a copy of the compound path as a compound mask for the grouped inner shapes. This works(ish) but messes with rendering and the inner shape with the gaussian blur FX will exhibit some color banding. Not sure it's noticeable in the example picture, but it definitely is there.
   This option is kind of a chore to maintain as well, as I'd have to make changes to both the compound path and the mask. It also makes a mess in the level hierarchy.
   (Note: the color banding seems to be caused by the pass-through rendering mode of the group. I could bypass this by not using a group, and just duplicate the compound yet again to make a mask for each inner shape, but that makes it even harder to maintain)
3. Simply boolean add the shapes. This is visually what I'd like to achieve, but it's a destructive operation. I would need to keep a non-merged copy in case I need to move or redo the ears, for example. Maintaining both copies synced would be a major pain and simply not a good workflow.

I'd like to just use the first option, since it's simple and non-destructive, to achieve the visual result of the third option, but I can't get it to work that way. Is it not possible for compound paths to act as clipping masks as well? What other options are there that I'm missing?

[Brushes in Photo have jagged/pixelated edges]

1 hour ago, firstdefence said:

Which Operating System are you using?

After a bit of reading there are a few things to note...

1. Disabling Windows Ink seems to have a beneficial affect for the majority of people, although some have noted a less smooth line.
2. Drawing at 100% zoom or greater also seems to yield better results

Just out of curiosity I enabled stabiliser and set it to 1 (One) and I don't know if this is just subjective or me clutching in desperation to find an answer but it seems to draw smoother lines with it set. Can you try it out and give your opinion.

I am running Windows 10.

1. I did read that as well, but turning Windows Ink on/off in my tablet driver does not seem to make any difference
2. Zooming in didn't work out either

I am already using the stabiliser, tried both settings and with different length but the issue persists.

Using a mouse seems to be somewhat smoother, but the jaggies are still present, just more blurred.

[Brushes in Photo have jagged/pixelated edges]

23 minutes ago, firstdefence said:

You can have a document the same size with differing DPI but the DPI doesn't appear to affect the quality of the brush. I did a similar compare with Krita and Affinity Photo and the quality doesn't appear to be that different, I'd say Krita was a bit cleaner on the corners. Both of these documents are 96DPI 8bit

The jaggies get more evident the closer the stroke angle is to horizontal/vertical. Around 45 degrees, edges are pretty nice and there's barely a difference.

Zooming in on the strokes, it looks like Photo's anti-aliasing tends to be less aggressive, which results in jagged/sharper lines for steeper angles. I'm assuming this is the default behaviour, but I'm wondering if there's any workaround to this.

[Brushes in Photo have jagged/pixelated edges]

1 hour ago, firstdefence said:

Try increasing the DPI to 300

Thanks for your input! Unless you're talking about some other setting that I'm not familiar with, increasing the document DPI does not change the result, AFAIK it just affects the physical size of the document.

[Brushes in Photo have jagged/pixelated edges]

Hi all,

I'm evaluating Affinity Photo (I'm a long time Designer user and absolutely love it) using the free 90 days trial before deciding on the purchase.

I have an issue where a simple brush stroke in Photo will have jagged edges, it's most noticeable on certain stroke angles but it's generally very present.

I am using a very simple brush, 80% hardness and 1% spacing. The problem does not seem to be affected by the stabilizer, or by using a tablet vs. a mouse.

I tried searching the forums and I already made sure that my 'View Quality' is set to 'Bilinear (Best Quality)'.

I drew a comparison using Krita, which displays a much smoother edge using an equivalent brush and stroke direction.

Is there anything I can try to smooth those jaggies?

Thank you.