justwilliam

Furthering the idea of zakoops - 
 
When I read his reply I immediately had before me the thought that it would certainly be an amazing Affinity ability if there was some key/click combination which one could perform when hovering over a tool or an option in the UI which would open the Help resource to just that part which pertained to the tool/option over which one had been hovering.  Unnecessary for the many who are already competent with the software I am sure, but it would be invaluable for the numerous other 'many' who are but beginners.
Probably too enormous an endeavour, too complicated a task, or merely too time consuming an effort to ever be accomplished but it would certainly get new users up and running in short order and help those with bad memories as well were it to ever be implemented.
 
I tend to have silly ideas like this more than occasionally (probably, more than is healthy).

One of the banes of sharpening, especially in landscapes, is that light lines appear around horizons, trees and so on, forcing you to scale back your sharpening efforts. This can be a nuisance when everythings' great, apart from those darned halos!
 
A very simple solution:
 
1. Duplicate the pixel layer.
 
2. Sharpen away. Use Unsharp Mask and turn up the radius as far as you like. Ignore the light halos around things.
 
3. Here's the magic: Blend mode: Darken.
 
Ole! The halos disappear!
 
So what's happening? For those who are not saying 'but that's obvious': 
 
Sharpening finds edges and makes one side lighter and the other side darker to trick the eye into taking greater notice of the edge.
 
In Darken blend mode, Affinity compares pixels in both the duplicate and original images and shows the darker pixel (not the lighter one). Any pixels which have been darkened will be in the sharpened, duplicated layer along edges, and will be shown. Any which have been lightened (on the other side of the sharpened line) will not be shown as the darker pixels from the original layer will be used. Any pixels not affected by the sharpening will be the same, so the blend has no colour-changing effect.
 
Just like that.
 
If there are parts of the picture where you want to keep the light edges in the sharpening, then of course all you need to do is add a white mask to the original layer (or between the original and duplicate) and paint black over the areas to keep this light edging.
 
Note: You can use Difference blend mode to see the sharpened area and guide any masking. Add a temporary Invert layer at the top to make this easier to see, if you like.
 
Corollary: If you blend with Lighten mode, you can probably use this one-sided sharpening to create a glow around things.

Here's my notes on blend modes.
 
Any additions, corrections, pointers, etc. most welcome.
 
Regards -- Dave
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Update 10-Jun-17: Added version two of document
 
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Update 22-Jun-17: Added version three of document
 
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Updated 29-Jul-17: Added version four of document
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Updated 16-Oct-17 in a separate post here.
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Blend modes notes V1.pdf
Blend modes notes V2.pdf
Blend modes notes V3.pdf
Blend modes notes V4.pdf

I can not share the edits I made as I deleted them after seeing how much I could accomplish with the jpgs. I made the edits only so I could let you know what I had done and then that was answered by others.
 
But I can share something better than the edits with you that will help you greatly from now on and will help you to see the value of 'playing' with each and every slider to see for yourself what they do.  I hope I can write this clearly enough to be understandable. It will help with white balance only, but it will make clear the principle to use on other sliders.
 
Open a a copy of the unedited image of the couple in AP.
Go to Develop persona.
Under the Enhance panel, slide the vibrancy slider all the way to the left and then all the way to the right and notice what it does to the colours. Do this a few times.
Move the slider all the way to the right and leave it there.
Put a check mark in the White Balance panel's box. 
The panel will open and show you two sliders. 
Move the top one all the way left and all the way right a few times and notice what it does to the colours.
Move the bottom one all the way left and all the way right a few times and notice what it does to the colours.
Put both sliders back to the middle position.
Keeping an eye on what should be white in your image (and on the colours a bit as well), move the top slider until there is neither too much blue nor too much yellow in the whites.
Keeping an eye on what should be white in your image (and on the colours a bit as well), move the bottom slider until there is neither too much green nor too much magenta in the whites.
Continue moving these sliders until you are happy with the whites.
You should now have a pretty good starting point on your White balance.
When you have completed this adjustment, move the vibrancy slider back to the middle position. (Important step!)
If you have lost too much saturation (or gained) you can fix that in the Photo persona later.
 
That's it! Well, as far as White Balance.
 
Use this same technique to make other adjustments. For example Clarity. Zoom in to the woman's eyelashes and adjust clarity until they look right to you (probably 1 - 2%). Same for exposure, black point, contrast, etc. Obviously the order in which you make these adjustment not only depends upon the image but it will also affect the outcome. But, once again, trial and error will teach you. Following someone else's advice on which order to use will not teach you. Knowing 'why' is better than knowing 'how'. Doing it yourself will teach you the 'why'. A good way to start might be to start at the top with the exposure slider and work your way down. But that is only one way to do it. When you teach yourself you will develop your own workflow.
 
I hope this helps. :)

There's a lot you can do with portraits with the free NIK plugins.
 
Long tutorial using photoshop and nik but should help you https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhaICsk4R8k&feature=youtu.be&t=191
 
and a more advanced one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=835ZrB-ZJJs

OK, I'll play, too. I wasn't that pleased with the three random selections I got but I suppose it doesn't matter.
 
I thought I would include the CDs since not everyone can play vinyl these days. :rolleyes:
 
Fun idea Robchoc!

OK, I'll play, too. I wasn't that pleased with the three random selections I got but I suppose it doesn't matter.
 
I thought I would include the CDs since not everyone can play vinyl these days. :rolleyes:
 
Fun idea Robchoc!

From the Rgbstock Image License Agreement page:
 
 
2.a seems to cover the present use case. :)

A bit of Fun and practice using Affinity to make an album cover.  :)

Album Covers: Here are the rules:
1 - Go to Wikipedia. Hit “random” or click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
   The first random Wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.
 
2 - Go to Quotations Page and select "random quotations" or click http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3
  The last four or five words of the very last quote on the page are the title of your album. 
3 - Go to Rgbstock and click on “RANDOM” or click http://www.rgbstock.com/random
  The third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover. 
4 - Use Affinity Designer/Photo to put it all together and share your results.

I look forward to seeing your pictures.  :)

Unbelievably my random wiki article was actually a music page  :o hence the band name "Ocean (B's song)" and my picture was a fisherman! Not so sure about the title though  :)
 

Hi Jonas14,
Yes, there will be a workbook for Photo.

I have recorded my first macro "BlueSketch" (attached below). It is doing this: if you import a scanned sketch, graphite on paper like mine, it is sometimes hard to use the digital tools to trace it. It can be hard to see what is sketch and what is digital linework. The macro adds a new raster layer on top of the sketch, fills it with blue, turns the layer into Colour mode, and adds new empty top layer for your linework / inking. Just like the layer function in ClipStudio, where I use it all the time. Put the macro in the Library and the BlueSketch is instantly done. I hope it works for you the same way it does for me.
 

BlueSketch.zip

Hi,
Just an idea, but would it make sense for staff to create a sticky thread, which basically acts as a list of all resources shared by members?
The list could display each contributing member's name, followed by the list of their resources, or alternatively, listed by type of resource (Macros / Brushes) etc.
 
This would prevent having to scroll down through potentially hundreds of separate threads.
 
The users could still post their specific threads here, but the top thread could be made sticky - listing them all.
All the users / creators would need to do would be to request that their resource gets added to the list.
 
If each member who thinks this is a good idea "likes" this post, it will then be easier for staff to see if the community likes this idea or not (without having to post lots of separate +1 posts.)
Just an idea :)
 
Thanks.

:) YES!  :huh: You're not pulling my leg are you?  :o I can't believe it!  ^_^ I sure hope you're not pulling my leg.  :D This is fantastic!  :wub: I love these Affinity guys!  :rolleyes: Is it 2016 soon?

I am 56 years young (although one would never know by looking at my avatar) and am using Affinity Photo and Designer on an riMac (5K). I am also currently awaiting treatment for a cataract on my left eye which will happen sometime after the (hopefully) successful corticosteroid treatment for the inflammation I have in both eyes.
 
I have not had any more difficulty with the UI in these two programs than in any of the other programs which I use on this machine and I am certainly more than well pleased with the display on this iMac as it helps me to more clearly see when working. I am running in the default resolution.
 
I suppose that I am a glass half-full sort of guy. This bit of misfortune with my eyes has not discouraged me from continuing in my relatively recently begun photography endeavours nor in the excitement I feel when I see what I can create in Designer.  Rather it is propelling me (maybe that should be 'impelling me') forward and onward because I am fully aware of the usual, or inevitable, outcome of this diagnosis.
 
Perhaps a pair of 'terminal' glasses might assist you, amergin, or maybe simply adjusting the resolution on the display.
 
As MattP mentioned, perhaps there is a UI-changing option in the pipeline to rectify this for you and others who feel the same. Hopefully so; but, for me, both the UI and the UX are fantastic as they are and I know that they can become even better with time and input from the people who make up the user base - like you.

うわー!どのように良いこれは説明するボキャブラリーがありません。私は確かに日本語でそれを言うことはできません。
 
Wow! Words fail me. The detail in the crimp at the end of the tube, the cap, and even the small fold where it looks as if this tube has already been used are fantastic. All of the shading is so very well done; until I saw the word 'sunstar' was a wee bit too straight I could have believed it was 'real'.
 
Excellent work as always bamboo8R and thanks for including the video again also (so I can take a peek and learn something more from you)
 
素晴らしい仕事を bamboo8R とビデオありがとうございました

Going to run downstairs and download it to my iPad immediately! (OK, I'm too old and out of shape to 'run' downstairs, but I will make my way down in the quickest manner possible just in case the link is taken down for some reason [i hope not]).
 
Thanks jeffkovitz!

:) YES!  :huh: You're not pulling my leg are you?  :o I can't believe it!  ^_^ I sure hope you're not pulling my leg.  :D This is fantastic!  :wub: I love these Affinity guys!  :rolleyes: Is it 2016 soon?

I find it difficult to comprehend that there aren't more voices crying out for this feature and I do not know what value adding my small voice may have; but here it is:
 
Focus stacking feature.      Soon.      Please.      Thank you.

Exposure to direct sunlight.  :rolleyes: (I'm sorry, I couldn't resist that urge.)
 
Levels and Contrast for some minor adjustments (especially for B&W; as would adjusting the filters in the B&W adjustment); for colour you might want to try Curves though.

Exposure to direct sunlight.  :rolleyes: (I'm sorry, I couldn't resist that urge.)
 
Levels and Contrast for some minor adjustments (especially for B&W; as would adjusting the filters in the B&W adjustment); for colour you might want to try Curves though.

Just uploaded a little video showing how to use the Inpainting Fill function to add image to a canvas.
 
https://youtu.be/hY22H7_Epl4

A couple of weird giraffes...
 

I can certainly make good use of simple focus stacking for a portion of my images (mostly for my medium-sized product shots but it is not such that I must have it - like for jewellery, etc.). I have been holding off on purchasing Zerene Stacker (or even Helicon Focus Lite) in the hopes that it will become a feature in AP and not only then save me time in that workflow but also enable such a workflow to 'flow'.

First off, I would like to say that your still life shot is gorgeous! I love how you have set up the light in this scene. The composition is strong and the items you chose are well selected. I really get a sense of style, time and place from this image. This is image has a story and that is what makes it so interesting among other things.  I too, do some photography work. It is not my main day to day thing, but it is a skill that helps me with understanding what I am seeing in the world that surrounds us. There are details that surround our everyday life that we take for granted, but you don't truly appreciate them till you focus and really try to understand what you are seeing and I find a camera is a great way to fucus your attention to the visual world around us.
 
You are envious of me? It goes both ways and I think we both learn plenty from the approach. It is really the approach and the journey one takes that rewards us in the end. Yah, sure your some what stuck with what you have composition and light wise, but you know that going into the project and  you make decisions based on that. It is a workflow and that workflow is what contributes to the beauty and originality.
 
Anyway, hope that makes sense and I didn't ramble too much :P   #adwinechallenge

You're very welcome, Ronnie. The first part of my post were heartfelt comments on the positive qualities of your piece; those last comments flowed from my critical photographer's eye and yet they were meant merely as a bit of silliness - and even jealousy for the ease in which your work can be tweaked, adjusted, and refined; in a way it is never 'finished'. Whereas for me I have all of the time I wish to take in setting up a shot, adjusting the lighting or composition, and getting my camera settings where I am pleased with them. Then I press the shutter and the set-up is taken apart never to be replicated again. Of course, I make adjustments and corrections with software but I never have the freedom which an illustrator has. I do have AD and experiment in it as much as time allows - I think that it has even improved my ability to 'see' light because in AD I must 'create' the light.
 
Here is an example from yesterday (lo-res file): about 15 minutes to set up the items, about 30 minutes to set up the lighting (reflectors, gobos, etc), and then (after the shutter release) about 30 minutes on the computer. But then I am done. I can always go back to the RAW file and make different adjustments but I can never go back to the exact composition and lighting easily. I can examine this photo and find a butt-load of mistakes I made or changes that I would like to make in it but it is too much work so I must try to remember these errors and simply not make them the next time. Whereas you could simply go to a layer or object which you feel requires tweaking and do so. Yep, a smidgen of jealousy.