justwilliam

EDIT to my previous post: I just realized that by quickly latching on to your saying that you had only a .jpg rather than a RAW image to work with, I failed to comprehend that you also only had Designer and not Photo to work in. My bad. I guess as well as putting some thought in my replies I need to make sure I put some time into reading more carefully. But on the topic of the software, why have you not picked up Photo as well?

Thank you peter and yakk.

MEB, Thank you so much for your kind comments. Without doubt my next undertaking will be significantly less difficult and I will try to focus on attempting, or improving, just one or two tools, techniques, or concepts. I tend to bite off a bit more than I can chew and I need to try to curb that. Thank you also for the suggestion of a work-around on how to export my outlines. It may not be worth the effort on this project as even in Outline mode in the View options the thin blue lines connecting all of the nodes were barely distinguishable from one another. I only looked at it to get a glimpse of the enormity of what my over 20 hours of effort spanned. But I will throw that ‘work-around’ into my 'toolbag' for another time. Is the ability to do such an export on the ‘Roadmap’? Yes, the ‘gold’ was difficult to get even as close to ‘right’ as I did - but it was not without its own reward. I think that her gown (and the clock-face) were the things that gave me the most sense of accomplishment, primitive as they are. Comically, I created each of the numbers on the clock-face with vector shapes also as I had no fitting font (I have since, just hours ago, learned how and where to download some free fonts as well as how to install them, so the other texts were far easier). I will likely devote more time to Photo as that is not only what I needed but also what brought me into the Affinity fold. I have already used it alone for editing two recent outdoor photo sessions with a young mother and her teenaged daughter. (The girl had dyed her hair ‘stop-sign’ red a few weeks before the photos and I was even able to realistically recolour her roots to that same red in Affinity Photo - much to her surprise and satisfaction - and mine!) But I have acquired a passion for Designer now which I plan to pursue. I, too, am looking forward to my next project … and to Affinity’s next iteration of Designer.

I purchased Designer after having purchased (and becoming quite impressed with) Photo. But I didn’t need it - I cannot draw; I thought it might be good for adding text or perhaps some simple graphic to a photo sometime and they were both on sale so it was almost buy one get one free. But seeing the work of others here created a hankering in me to at least try to use this program to see if there were any hidden ability (or unresolved childhood inclination for drawing) - so I did. I have now finally finished a self-inflicted learning project (and not a moment too soon since my ‘vacation’ ends tomorrow leaving me precious little time to delve deeper into Designer other than an hour or so here and there on the odd weekend). This project was never meant to tell a story, be beautiful, or even be ‘art’; It was begun as a process whereby I could learn the tools in AD and develop my skills with them. Having no known innate abilities, I needed to practice - to jump in feet first and to try. I wanted, on my own as much as possible, to produce a two-dimensional representation of a three-dimensional object. Nothing more. After marathon Tutorial viewings, scouring this forum, and even asking a few questions here (to which I gratefully recieved practical and supportive answers) I set about to mentally ’deconstruct’ a small Art Deco period clock. Opening Affinity Designer with the default document settings, I began the ‘reconstruction’ with the basic geometric shapes and slowly crawled my way through the processes while consulting the help files often. The base and the clock itself were merely a time-consuming challenge and I met with no real difficulty. I built the figure’s body from the toes up until reaching a creative dead end when arriving at her hair. I had no ideas on how to do it. So I left her bald. I then turned my attention to wrapping her in a richly-embroidered cloth beginning from the floor up (my incremental improvements can be seen as each new fold of her golden garment somehow became finer than the previous one) After abandoning her once (because of the hair), I did so again as I threw myself into endless repeated attempts to imitate the marble, onyx, and jade which was to make up the base. When I ultimately had nowhere else to turn I reluctantly returned to her hair and somehow finally found some insight on how to proceed. I rushed through the creation of the backdrop and hastily threw on the subtle shadows and some suitable reflections necessary to separate the clock from its new background. After adding a bit of text I exported a .jpg. (I then unsuccessfully attempted to export an image from the Outline View.) And I was done; it wasn’t pretty, it wasn’t perfect, but it - and I - were done. Please have a look at the attached image. It was all done with vector shapes - brushes I will have to attempt another time. I have two requests for the members of this community now that I have completed my initial endeavour: Is it possible (and if so, how) to export the Outline View? and I want to welcome any constructive criticism, comments, critique, suggestions, tips, techniques, etc. to help me to better learn the tools in Designer.

rmtphoto, Did you join the forum specifically for a little rant? That would be sad, if true. There is a section precisely for feature requests titled Feature Requests where you may or may not find agreement with your views but where you could certainly have the opportunity to clearly explain to the developers what UI changes they could make in order to better please you. Spot on, coranda. (and I happen to be one of those users who is less than fond of the colourful icons yet nevertheless am more than pleased overall with both Photo and Designer's UI/UX)

I always put thought into something I say; what would be the point of anyone taking the time to make a 'thoughtless' comment. I have an added advantage here since writing in English forces me to consider each word and therefore allows 'extra' time for the thought process to perform its procedure. Having only a .jpg to work with can indeed somewhat limit your options as regards editing, but that is not entirely a bad thing. (some adjustments in the Develop persona will still function, with limited expected effect, but the Exposure slider really won't be of much use there) You can just work with what you have in the Photo persona with 'improving' the image in mind (rather than trying to make it 'perfect’). But ‘perfection’ is overrated anyway. Henri Cartier Bresson's images would be a good point of reference; they were not technically perfect with high IQ nor were they ever ’tack sharp' yet they are some of the richest and most awe-inspiring images of the genre (he is one of my favourite photographers). Neither was Van Gogh’s ‘The Starry Night’ a perfectly clear and sharp image duplicating or depicting our universe with astronomical accuracy - yet when viewing it we ‘feel’ a certain something as we are transported to the windowsill of his room in that asylum in southern France and stand there with him, breathing in the cool night air deeply while discussing the wheat fields, the orchards, and the olive trees as we watch them through the bars. That is what a photograph is meant to do; take what is in the photographer’s head and put it into ours - as does poetry, music, and song. Or, better yet, to place us in the photographer’s mind itself! It is not about the other 26 images you got. It is not about RAW or jpg - or megapixels, FPS, or f-stops. It is not about how accurately your sensor captures the image or how realistically you perfect each pixel in Affinity Photo; it is only about whether your image can carry me there to share that experience with you at 8:15 in the morning. And yours did. I may have even heard the bird which you failed to see until later. I haven’t had my breakfast yet so I digress. The image you posted is fine if, and only if, you are satisfied with it and it conveys the experience. It does convey the experience already. With a few ‘tweaks’ in Affinity Photo I am sure you will be very satisfied with it - at least you should be, it is a ‘good’ capture. (Any photographers who believe that Affinity Photo will make their photos perfect are doomed to disappointment; but anyone who learns to use Affinity Photo to improve what they have captured will be more than satisfied.) Attached is what I meant about the crop (plus some); I spent a whole 3 - 4 minutes on it. I lost a bit of detail in the feathers (which you needn't do) but I thought that the overall 'smoothness' lent a certain 'early morning' quality to the whole (just my opinion). (BTW I twisted the truth a bit as I am quite certain that Vincent painted The Starry Night from memory - much in the same way you will edit Watch the Birdie from memory - and we are, of course, allowed to adjust the memory)

These may help you get started:

I understand that this is an older thread, but wouldn't leaving the colour picker as is (for those who like it this way and for simplicity's sake) and ADD a feature that would make it so that: One could press a key command that invokes the colour picker. With that key still depressed, click the area of the desired colour. then either Click again to fill the area one wants to fill. or release the key; at which time the chosen colour is placed into the palette/well. On the project which I am now working this would have allowed for a two-click solution to what was a four-click (and a long, and sometimes disorienting, eye-travel distance on this 27" display) process.

It could always be 'worth waiting' for the next Apple anything - but then we might never have one. I'm working on a 'loaded' riMac (which I absolutely love!) but I have all but metaphysical certitude that the next one will be superior to this one. :rolleyes:

I do like your design’s simplicity. Very much. It is much more pleasing than some of the ‘in your face’ type of design chosen for some web content. I am one of those who were pleased with the recent design shift which Apple underwent with Yosemite and iOS with which this design would blend well. As ‘flat’ design lends itself more readily to larger elements by virtue of its ‘flatness’, it might be worth the effort to see if increasing the size of the bell, gear, and the plus sign to the same height and size as the circular avatar space was allotted on the left might possibly be seen as an improvement. What might not work so well, but may also be worth a look-see, would be to then place the badges for these icons slightly above and to the right of each icon at a level with the Apple-like ‘traffic light’ on the left - were the icons larger it could be fitting. Maybe. (Too large and it could become too ‘Fischer-Pricey’; but it could work well in this context, especially considering the lack of harsh colour.) Perhaps changing the icon's badges from the Blue to a Red which matched that of the 'traffic light' on the left would impose a bit of balance when present and additionally cause them to stand out and be more readily noticeable. As the rest of the design is mostly in muted tones, perhaps you might try changing the text of the chat participant’s names from Red and Blue to Bold black (for the other person) and the same Lighter Grey as the bell, gear, and plus sign (for the ‘Me’). As such they would still be clearly distinct from the black body text yet, somehow, less distracting and easier on the eye. I have enjoyed and appreciated this and your other posted work (especially your excellent tutorial) and look forward to seeing more! * That the 'plus sign' is to be used for starting a new chat should not require explanation, as everyone knows that 'plus' simply means 'more' or 'further' in Latin - don't they! :rolleyes:

Hej Peter! A very fortuitous capture. It is always satisfying when, after having set up for a pleasing composition, something enters the frame which helps to bring the image to life adding a sense of scale and animation. I have spent some long periods of waiting for something/someone to come along and turn a carefully framed shot from being just a nice background into becoming an interesting image. (many times I have waited in vain; or not, it can be quite peaceful to sit quietly with a Thermos of Bovril at the edge of a meadow waiting for moose, cranes, a girl in a red dress, or whatever else the day has on offer to meander into my exposure.) Were I to edit this image, I would likely begin in the Develop persona on the Exposure Pane and try to recover the highlights. I would probably hop over to the White Balance Pane to get the temperature to either match what was seen when the shutter button was depressed (or to match the direction in which this image wants to be taken). Then back up to the Enhance Pane for some basic adjustments. I would then visit the Tones Tab and see if a Curves adjustment benefitted in any way and most likely, while I was there, fiddle with Split Toning a bit as that could possibly provide some interest. I would pehaps finish up in the Develop persona with a little Noise Reduction under the Details Tab. Back in the Photo persona, I would revisit both Exposure and White balance before looking to see if any HSL and Vibrance adjustments were helpful. ​I, personally, would likely try to concentrate first and foremost on recovering as much of the the highlights as possible, 'silhouetting' the bird, and reducing the noise. Without doubt, I would also look at a 16:9 crop to see if it would allow for both showing the solar eclipse area of the shot and placing the bird nicely into the corner (which it looks like it would; thus placing the bird in the centre of the lower right square of a 'rule of thirds' grid and the highlight on the intersection of the four upper left hand squares. This could be a pleasing balance (the dark bird having a similar 'weight' to the 'lighter' highlights when placed farther away, apparently, in the image space) and also provide a nice sinister diagonal to make the image more dynamic.) In fact, a crop may well be what could benefit this image the most; contrary to what camera manufacturers want us to believe, image IQ is not the do all and end all in photography - it is how, and what, the image makes us feel that is important. Our 'editing' need be with that in mind as much so as our original captures. Perhaps someone with more experience would have a better order in which to perform these adjustments or even others which I haven't mentioned; but that is probably how I would begin.

Thanks for the tips, retrograde, and for the nice compliment. Shadows are in the plan for when I get to that point. (I have already done some shadows behind the hands of the clock - something I felt at the time was nothing less than a stroke of genius, but I suppose anyone else would have done that as a matter of course.) The entire body is a filled outline with lots and lots of small shapes of various colour - then varied amounts of blur and transparency. I think I will try placing a photographic layer with some real marble under my base pieces and then do as you suggested and add layers of colour, then a gradient for depth, then a bit of reflection, then the shadows cast by the figure. The concepts are really quite simple once one knows and understands them and Affinity Designer is truly easy to work in - now if I could just get my hands on some more patience and talent!

Gear maker, The body and clothes are finished - I did these all with vector shapes as I have not ever used a brush, yet. The base and the clock were also done with vector shapes. The clock itself is also finished. It is the hair portion of her head that I was having difficulty with (if you zoom in you can see how it is unfinished there). The black back of the base will get a simple reflection, but the green, brown, and tan portions of the base I wanted to do with a 'marble' look. For the body and the clothes I simply (yet tediously) made each vector shape and then applied blur and adjusted the opacity to get it to the point where it is at. (the gold was a challenge and one can easily see where I started and where I ended by how much I improved during the process.) The clock was pretty straightforward; simple geometric shapes with shadow and highlight shapes. It was the body that took some tinkering with to try to get a semi-metallic look. For the 'marble' I opened a new Document and played with layers of colour and the blur fx which came out 'meh', so I thought I would try that again and then figure out how to use that separate document as my 'fill (haven't figured that out yet). But I thought maybe someone knew of a simpler way. The hair I have done numerous times but always have deleted those layers as they were less than acceptable to me. I am quite pleased, and maybe somewhat proud even, over how the body, clothes, and clock turned out given that I could barely understand anything on the tutorials two weeks ago and the fact that I simply cannot draw!

Having learned a lot in the couple of weeks since getting Designer (and having neither experience nor talent with illustration), watching every available video tutorial, and spending time in this forum I embarked on an impossible mission - a project that would allow me to see just how far I could get on my own in creating an illustration. I bit off quite a lot more than I could chew apparently. Attached is a .jpg of my project thus far. I had originally intended to complete it and post it here for critique on what I might have done better and how I might have accomplished that. Instead I find that I am in over my head and that I should have just chosen a nice primitive flower in a vase kind of project. So, I am asking for a bit of help, advice, or tips on how to proceed. I should explain what I wanted to accomplish with this: Create and fill geometric shapes, become comfortable with curves using the pen tool, learn gradients and shading, create a 'metal-like' look, create a 'marble-like' look, create realistic reflections, and use shading to create shadows to imply depth. Here is what I was unable to complete on my own: create hair on the figure which would match the style of her body and go from the plain (temporary) colours on the clock base to a 'marble' look. The reflections I think I will be able to accomplish and I already have the background done (those layers turned off to make this .jpg). So, any suggestions to help me with my 'bad hair day' and 'losing my marbles' (actually never getting them) would be extremely welcome!

I'm glad I clicked through and got to see Somniare - wonderful composition!

MEB, I just tried that suggestion; as the Show Character didn't have an arrow indicating any sub menu and I have not needed Show Character yet, I had no idea this was there! I still do not know where I might have a use for this that an additional shape with a fill would not work better/easier but it is definitely going into the toolbag for when the day comes that I do want it. Thanks!

Hej Ronnie! I found your changes to have made quite a distinct difference in the impact of this image. Your idea of using the same colour for the banner and the centre of attention's shirt not only guides one's eye back and forth between these two elements but has the additional advantage of helping one's mind to fully 'associate' the two. The addition of light onto the central figure (rather than behind him) also brings more attention to it. Although I did rather like the blue colour used originally (A true Teal has long been one of my favourite colours), I found that after flipping back and forth between the two images that I preferred the grey tone which you make use of in the second image; it creates an atmosphere of dull, drab uniformity which is then dispelled by the red colour used on the true 'subject' of the work. The shadows which you added give a sort of 'slightly, off-camera flash' feel to the whole making it seem all the more 'business-like' somehow. You really are a clever and talented illustrator; if I had the disposable cash or weren't married (they do not seem to go hand in hand) I would love to work through your course, but I am learning by doing and am almost finished with a formidable project which I created to push my limits of skill (and patience) which I will post as soon as it is complete. Then you will be able to see what an absolute amateur I am and provide me with your own constructive critique. :rolleyes:

This composition has all of the signs of casual street photography. The partially ‘out-of-frame’ elements add to this sense of animation. The young boy and the gumball machines compete for the eye’s attention - in a good way. Once temporarily free from the pull of those two strong elements, the eye is allowed leave to visit other areas of detail such as inside through the store window, the newspaper bag, the bottles in their crates, and signage. They then quickly return to the main elements before beginning another journey within the frame. The fact that the other person in the scene and a portion of one gumball machine lie partially out-of-frame help to keep the viewer from leaving the image. One is nudged into having yet another look around. The colours are fitting as is the scale. All in all a likeable slice of everyday life. :) The photo elements in juxtaposition to the vector work do not work so well together; rather it can be a distraction which takes the viewer out of the scene and reminds them that it is not ‘real’. The blur on the canned goods seen through the shop window is somewhat excessive and adds nothing to the image. Shadow and light alone could have provided a better sense of depth. And the scene has an slightly ’empty’ feel as, although both gumball machines are full, the shelves themselves could have likewise been fuller giving your viewers even more to discover and enjoy. The splendid reflections provided the to the glass on the two machines could also have been applied to the windows which would further amplify any feeling of depth and fullness in the scene. This illustration has all of the signs of an excellent beginning of a wonderful little street corner vignette that is crying out for completion. There is nothing wrong with it at all; just the opposite, but it could be so much better given a bit more time and effort. But what is there is delightful! I look forward to seeing more of your art.

You could create another shape below the 'text box' and fill it as you wish.

Between the two, my vote is for B. Its 'flatnessness' is more befitting the rest of the piece. I might suggest that you consider A_B_Cs comment about the infinity symbol available in various fonts and perhaps give that a try to see if you like it better.( I likely would not have seen either A or B as portraying a lemniscate had I not read your post prior to viewing the attachment.) I, personally, am quite fond of Euler's variant of the lemniscate which can be found here - https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/76/InfinityEulerSymbol2.jpg/220px-InfinityEulerSymbol2.jpg I just like how it is 'open'. The 'letter-stacking' in the text, "A PRIOR REALITY" was a great call and a wonderful addition to the whole!

So very lovely! And I enjoyed your composition as well. :D

Hej Ronnie! Looks like a fairly straightforward design with a uniform group of people working on laptops surrounding an individual meant to stand out from this ‘crowd’ and a banner announcing the ‘message’ which the work is attempting to state. While the uniformity of the group is clear, the mixture of male and female, glasses or none, and apparent ethnicity lend a more informal and 'natural' look to the work. As has been suggested, perhaps the work as a whole would benefit from some slight variation in the individual hairstyles and in the shapes of the eyeglasses. To my eye, at least, the use of ‘apparent light’ could be improved. The centre bright spot coupled with the outer ‘vignetting’ distractingly counteract one another and the eye tends to bounce back and forth between the dark and the light leaving what is meant to be viewed unnecessarily more difficult to view. Perhaps doing away with these ‘lighting’ elements and replacing them with gradients over the group would not only add some linear perspective but also allow you to control just how deep the pictorial space is to be. The red shirt with that lighter coloured tie, the grey hair, the addition of eyes, and the centre position already point the viewer’s eye to the figure in the centre so the lighting there is superfluous. Such a change should also better place the banner into the 'foreground'. (As the addition of eyes to the centre figure was a conscious one [most likely intended to further separate him from the group], perhaps going further and giving him more 'open' eyes could also be a consideration.) This shows quite a creative take on the more ‘common’ graphic which your client provided and fits well with current tastes and trends. You did invite critique and I mean mine to be only constructive; and it is only my unlearned and amateur opinion so you must be the judge of its value, if any. A creative concept well executed - as I have come to expect from you having viewed your other posted work here on the forum.

What a charming and attractive little fishing village from a seldom seen point of view! Fantastic colours; the teal and rust on the boat, the ever so soft light washing over the brickwork of the houses in the foreground, and the treatment of the deep shadows throughout invite the viewer to explore the depths of this quaint scene. Quite calming with only the rhythmic sounds of the sea, the birds, and the bobbing and bumping of the boats against the dock. Very well done! The highlights brought me in and the shadows, colours, and textures comfortably kept me there to linger on the details. Having seen this and the other work which you have posted I certainly hope that you share yet more of your work here. Often.

Just imagine if Affinity/Serif were to make the help files, in iBook format, available via the App Store. Updates which altered the help files could then also be downloaded. It could even contain the official Affinity tutorials. I am not using a second display but I would love to have the ability to view the help files and tutorials on my iPad whenever needed instead of switching its window in front of or behind what I am working on. Of course there is this wonderful suggested PDF work-around, but not everyone can or would do that.

After having somewhat explored my way around in both Affinity Photo and Affinity Designer for a couple of weeks, I went to the Swedish MAS and left reviews there with my perspective. I noticed that I was the first reviewer on Designer for this version and there were but six other reviews for the previous version. This got me to thinking. Were I to be considering purchasing an App in the MAS, I would read and watch all I could about the product and what those who have used it have to say. I also read the reviews in the MAS. Were I to find that the ratio of displeased to pleased users to be unbalanced one way or the other I might even look more closely to try to get to know why. There are many factors which can lead to the future success of Designer and Photo (and Publisher): The skill and determination of the developers and the continued improvements they make to the UI/UX (the software itself), the availability and quality of support for the software (tutorials, forums, courses), and the response and satisfaction level of the user base (and its size); just as a few examples. The first in that list is on a level that far exceeds that of some other software. The second is moving along quite nicely with no indication of slowing down and there is even the presence of the developers here on this forum. With 13,358 members presently on the forum (as I write this) the expansion in the third factor in that list is remarkable. I am definitely not one of the developers; but I can post in this forum were I to have a feature request or an idea. So I can take part in affecting that first factor. I am not at a level of skill where I can provide course materials, tutorials, or even answer any complex questions on the forum. But I can ask questions that perhaps someone else might also have; so I can also take part in affecting the second factor. I am most certainly a very satisfied user - one of a quite large number of such. And I can, therefore, post a review in the MAS and have an effect on the third factor. I will attempt to be diligent enough to do so again after each update (the reviews on the MAS are organised such that they apply only to the update available at the time in which they were written). This last thing is something which we all can do and which can have a huge effect on the third factor above. It may be selfish of me, but I know that the larger the satisfied user base (and subsequent available resources for the development team) the greater the likelihood that the Affinity ‘suite’ will continue to improve and expand (and the less chance that it could be snapped up (especially ‘hostilely’ and then absorbed or dumped - that possibility always exists, unfortunately). And I do so want this whole Affinity suite to succeed and improve. So, this was just a reminder to those who may not yet have posted a review in their ‘local’ MAS to take or make the time to go there and do so. * This may not exactly belong in the Questions section; but, I did at least make the title a question.