DannyBCreative

It already is. For example, for my composite work I rely heavily on OpenEXR Multi-Layer renders out of my 3D applications. Photoshop can not read this files. Photoshop on Windows can, but requires a 3rd party plug-in. This plug-in does not exist on the Mac, but that's sort of irrelevant as Photoshop should have this functionality built in. Affinity Photo on the other hand reads and works in these files perfectly and natively. In my book, that's a huge win for AP and something that has me considering officially disconnecting the remaining Adobe subs I have this year.

Yeah, optimization for M1 and Metal are key. If apps or plugins are not yet optimized for M1 you won't experience much improvement in performance. Affinity Photo however is significantly optimized for Metal and M1 so you shouldn't be experiencing any problems. I find that AP runs faster on my M1-Max than it does on my PC with an RTX GPU. If you're having issues in AP, something is off.

I routinely work in 32bit linear for my composites. This in fact why I use AP over PS, as PS will not read OpenEXR files. I've not found any hangups or lag in AP, and I'm on a MacaBook Pro M1-Max, which is pretty close to what you're using. I wonder if something else is going on.

Hey Guys, I know that when importing images in to AP, an (image) layer will maintain its original quality when scaling down then back for for example. I know once converted to a (pixel) layer, this will no longer be the case. Effectively, an (image) layer sort of works like a smart object in Photoshop, though not as powerful. My question is: Is it possible to convert a pixel layer to an image layer, so from that point forward it will retain its image quality as mentioned above, sort of like a Photoshop smart object. Thanks in advance!!

As Walt said, working in linear formats requires a special workflow. There are a couple of videos by James Ritson on this topic, on the AP site and YT. Bottom line is you'll need to end up with a 8 of 16 bit, non-linear file for it to look correct in a non-linear, color-managed file format such as PNG or JPEG.

I wouldn't consider myself a super fan either, but I do enjoy the films... mostly the original 3. The Wee Jedi and the sky are photographs. Everything else was created in 3D software. Thanks for the compliment!

Fun little Star Wars themed project. 3D work done in Blender. Photography was done in studio, processed in AP. Composited in AP.

Will this try this. Thanks, Walt. I'll report back once I have an update.

Anyone have issue with files being corrupted, or messed up after running a batch job? I batched a resize macro of 100 images. Upon completion, I found several of my files to have missing pixel data from the image, i.e. large black squares where there should be actual image.

No doubt it takes time to improve code and build features. I give Serif and the Affinity team a ton of credit though. AP is significantly faster than "the other guy" and is improving every year. I just wish they'd use the other guy as a bit of a template in which to draw from. I want AP to work and replace the other guy in my workflow, but in many way it feels cheap and unrefined and I'm just frustrated because I know it could be so much better than, you know who.

Every time I think AP is ready to take on the tasks of the "other application" I'm reminded of just how far it has to go to get there. Bummer! Thank you for replying and confirming my suspicion and fear.

Hey Guys, I'm trying to run a batch job in AP for the first time and I'm seeing that I need to load in each image into the sources section. I have a folder with 98 images in it. Do I really need to load in all 98 images into this "Sources" area, or is there some way I can just select the folder they live in? You can choose a folder as the Output, why not the input? Please tell me I'm doing this wrong. Thanks!!!

Yep, this process will crash AP repeatedly when working in the 32 bit file.

I'll add, when trying this on the original exr file, it eradicated all of my edits and crashed Affinity Photo.

OK, that worked! Thank you, Walt!! Are you able to offer any insight as to why this happened, and on this particular document? I copied no text from anywhere prior. I literally opened multi-layer exr file and began to work. Computer had been rebooted just prior to this, and the text tool was working fine last night on a similar document.

I will try this. But know that this does not happen on every document. I can open a new document next to this one and text works on that one. Seems to be random, but I'll give you suggestion a go and report back. Thanks!

Negative. No change.

Did you watch the video? That blue background is not supposed to be there.

Hey Guys, Apologies if this has been covered. I did search and found some older posts regarding Windows, but nothing concrete for a solution, and I'm using a Mac. It seems as though text is broken in AP on the Mac. FWIW: I'm on a MacBook Pro M1-Max, OS 12.3.1. I've attached a video showing the issue. Once again I'm forced to ask myself, is Affinity Photo ready for prime time? Can it replace Photoshop for my client work? I really want it to, but these persistent problems make it seem very unlikely. At least for this year. That said, if I'm missing something, please let me know. Thank you!!! AP_Text_Broken.mov

And for what it's worth: I created the same dirt map in Photoshop and Affinity Photo. In AP i used the approach suggested by @Lisbon and the approach suggested by @NotMyFault. Results (images) attached. You can see none produce the same result as the Photoshop version. In the end, would the AP versions work? I think so, but some more testing will be needed. It's still a much easier process in Photoshop, no matter how you look at it, although @NotMyFault's suggestion is the easier of the AP options.

Thanks @NotMyFault, I appreciate it. I totally get the learning curve and transition from one app to another. I've used Photoshop for about 25 years, so I know there will be some aches and pains. What I'm mainly getting at are the seemingly complicated workflows for some of the easiest tasks. AP definitely schools Photoshop in some aspects, no doubt about that, but in many others, it has proven itself to be less than efficient by comparison. This just happens to be one of those instances. All of the suggestions here have been great. Some more complex than others for sure which adds to production time, but all of them have failed to produce the exact same result I get in PS, and in PS, I don't need to look up complex math algorithms to achieve the end result. I think this is my biggest hangup. Why should I need a degree in mathematics to use certain tools in AP? Photoshop is a much larger application and arguably way more difficult to learn primarily due to the fact that it is so massive. AP is so much smaller, lighter and direct, which in my opinion, is what makes it so great, not to mention faster than PS. But AP lacks efficiency in its workflows. This thread topic is a prime example of this point. Another serious point, but one that is outside the scope of this thread, are smart objects. AP just doesn't have a suitable answer to this, and that is a huge problem for the work I do. I have no intention of ditching AP, AD, or A-Publisher, but I just don't feel it's ready to replace Adobe for my professional, client work. Photoshop is just too solid to walk away from at the moment, but as I mentioned, I'm still holding on to hope. Maybe in the next couple of years, AP will get there. Thanks again, and I'll still be a part of this community for sure.

Thank you, @NotMyFault but I wasn't able to make this work with your explanation. Perhaps I misread something. That said, I find this process in AP to be a bit overly complicated, and the lack of documentation on tools in the app is concerning. Although I appreciate all the help in this forum, the fact that users need to rely on forums to get secret information, commands, or instructions on how to use tools or achieve results that are so easily achieved in PS just reinforces the notion that AP is not ready for prime time yet. It's a major delay to have to not only look these things up in a forum, but when the solution takes a considerable amount of time and complexity, this slows production, and ultimately hurts business. I'm holding on to hope, but this year looks like it won't be the year I move it all over to AP. Maybe next year. Thanks again for the suggestion. I do appreciate your time.

Thank you for all of this. Although what you've provided is amazing, I'm a little concerned at the lack of documentation about these tools. I mean, if Serif wants AP to compete with the "industry standard" alternative, these things need to be taken into consideration. I think AP is great, and has some nice features that Adobe can learn from, for sure, but PS sill remains significantly more efficient and that can make or beak an experience. Thanks again, really amazing work.

Thank you. Wow, this is wild. I have never used the procedural texture, how did you even know what this formula was? This is great, but so complicated, how or where does one go to learn what these commands are? Thanks again for this explanation, or voodoo... whichever fits best.

Not bad. Thanks! I noticed that there are 14 steps in the macro and that you use the procedural color filter. Would you mind explaining the process in a bit more detail? I like how it works, but ya gotta admit, without the macro (which is great) this would be a lengthy process. Still, I'd like to know more about how you came up with this.