[Is there a way to Protect Alpha (or "lock pixels" as in PS) on a layer?]

Awesome thanks!

[What purpose does the 'Affinity Photo' folder on iCloud serve (Why can't I select it as a destination to Save Copy to)?]

Cool, thanks for logging the issue Lee -- I wasn't sure what was intended but good to hear it will be fixed down the road.

[More robust *.ai importing, especially when the *.ai is initially outputted from Rhino]

11 hours ago, Fixx said:

Rhino can print to PDF just like any mac app. You have to set vector output on in print dialog to keep vectors.

Yeah, that does work! Well, cool! Who needs Ai now -- just gotta actually learn how to use AD instead =)

[More robust *.ai importing, especially when the *.ai is initially outputted from Rhino]

12 hours ago, LuisP said:

Anyone found a good way to export from rhino to Affinity designer? 

 

Best regards, 

Luis

Yeah, using Rhino macOS, I can't export PDF or print PDF files to any destination other than an actual printer, so I have yet to find a viable Rhino linework -to- Affinity Designer pipeline. It's really the only thing I use Illustrator for, so I really wish Affinity would make this work but I understand us Rhino users are niche. Sadly, I have to keep using Adobe until this works.

[What purpose does the 'Affinity Photo' folder on iCloud serve (Why can't I select it as a destination to Save Copy to)?]

I see that iCloud has automatically added an Affinity Photo folder to my iCloud after I saved a copy from my iPad to iCloud>Documents. But why is the Affinity Photo folder greyed out in my iCloud when selecting a destination to save copies to on the iPad app? I would prefer to save my files to the Affinity Photo folder, but it's no biggie because I can just drag them from iCloud>Documents to the iCloud>Affinity_Photo on my Mac.

 

Thanks.

[Is there a way to Protect Alpha (or "lock pixels" as in PS) on a layer?]

This is a technique I use a lot of in Photoshop, where I either lock the pixels on a layer so whatever I paint only paints into those existing pixels, or I subordinate another layer from above in the hierarchy (the ALT + LClick trick) which achieves the same result. Is there any way to do something like this in the iPad Affinity Photo?

 

EDIT: I see on the macOS version what I am referring to is a check-box on the top dash called "Protect Alpha".

 

Thanks!

[Color picker question (Newbie)]

I too was having issues, good to know the bug has been identified and will be resolved. Otherwise great app -- I am very excited to dig into this more. 5 Stars in the app store; gotta share the love and resist the evil empire of CC.

[More robust *.ai importing, especially when the *.ai is initially outputted from Rhino]

Dave, thanks for looking into it. Surely there's a way around it for us Rhino+Affinity users, we'll see.

[More robust *.ai importing, especially when the *.ai is initially outputted from Rhino]

Thanks for your replies Dave and Mike -- I'm currently away from my workstation and can't provide a sample file but I think Mike is correct that Rhino *.ai exports do not have an embedded PDF or EPS stream (as far as I know at least).

 

Is there any plan for Affinity Designer to accommodate *.ai files that do not have an embedded stream? Or is that simply legacy old stuff not worth implementing? Either way, I'm sure there's a work around for Rhino-to-Affinity when it comes to *.ai exporting-importing, and if there is I can't wait to find it.

[Tip Affinity]

I love how Affinity has promised to keep their desktop publishing application products single-purchase forever -- it has me truly enthusiastic to someday get off the Adobe train for good. That said, I wonder how the numbers work out, and I suspect it's a tight margin to make any profit selling these apps at the affordable price that they do.

 

Would it be ridiculous to implement a Tip function (preferably on the site and not directly in the apps, to be tasteful) that allowed Affinity users to send some money to the development team when feeling generous? I'd tip now and then -- I'd consider it a sort of volunteer subscription, rather than the top-down authoritarian malarkey of Adobe.

 

Just an idea.

[More robust *.ai importing, especially when the *.ai is initially outputted from Rhino]

Anyone use Rhino a lot and want to replace Illustrator with Designer? If Affinity Designer could simply import 2D exported geometry from Rhino (outputted as either *.ai or DFX or DWG) then I would seriously never need Illustrator again, and that would be a glorious day.

 

Thanks Affinity!

[[AP] Is a Live Rotate tool in the works?]

It's in there but you have to buy an Apple Trackpad. Trackballs aren't supported (yet).

You can step by percentage by setting up a custom key combo. I did that and I keep forgetting it. I'd rather just set up like SHIFT+CMD and rotate the ball/wacom wheel though.

 

Right now you can do it via the 'view' menu, Rotate left/right/reset.

 

Forgive me for just pointing to Photoshop as the precedent that we all want to (or at least speaking personally, I want to) get unyoked from, but what I'm referring to is how you can just hit 'R' in Photoshop and rotate the canvas any arbitrary amount. Essentially R + LClick does the live rotate, and I hope AP can add this feature as it is essential for painterly illustration work.

[[AP] Is a Live Rotate tool in the works?]

At risk of touching upon a topic already resolved, I can't stress enough how important Live Rotate is to satisfy the workflows of professional illustrators who might be reluctant to fully leave Photoshop. Is a Live Rotate tool being considered for Affinity Photo? If so, then fantastic!

 

Gotta have Live Rotate. I want to hit that 'R' key and start spinning the canvas; it's the only way to get in the workflow pocket so to speak.

[node base non destructive image editing features like nuke and resolve]

This would be hot.

[Better *.ai import -- nothing ever imports for me]

You need to export as a PDF from Rhino.

 

AD's AI import relies on the embedded PDF stream in an AI file. Rhino evidently doesn't export an AI file with the extra PDF stream.

 

Unless I'm blind, I don't see any PDF export option in Rhino. But I do see that a other users are requesting DFX and DWG import support in AD, so that's just as well!

[DXF or DWG file import in Affinity Designer]

Yes, I need this feature!

[Better *.ai import -- nothing ever imports for me]

I have been yoked to Adobe Illustrator for many years simply because I take 2D vector geometry out of Rhino, export it as *.ai, and then work with it accordingly. I would LOVE to be able to export *.ai Illustrator files out of Rhino and be able to work with them directly in Affinity Designer, but every time I import an *.ai file exported from Rhino, there's simply nothing in it when it opens in Affinity Designer. Hopefully someday, this will not be the case, so I can ditch Adobe for good. Viva L'Affinity.

[when is Affinity After Effects coming!]

+1 indeed to an Affinity video compositing package. Like many here, I have used Adobe for the past decade-and-a-half, and am so freaking eager to get off their horrible membership program. While After Effects is still the best for doing mobile app demo animations (GFX, or motion graphics reels), I am increasingly using Nuke to do this, which is a VFX (special effects) program par excellence and not exactly GFX.

 

But an Affinity video compositing app that is both timeline-based and node-based, oriented towards GFX work and light-VFX stuff would be amazing. There's definitely a market there.

[Live Rotate Tool]

I'm sure this has been requested before, but a live canvas rotation tool is absolutely essential for serious illustration work.

 

Thanks for making such a great product and not requiring a membership!

[Scripting]

Yes, scripting is a must for any desktop application nowadays -- as long as it's at least planned for the down the road, I am satisfied.

[Painting with an Apple Pencil on an iPad Pro running Astropad connected to a MacBook Pro running Affinity Photo -- who's done this?]

That's a mouthful, but to clarify: has anyone tried this potentially awesome amalgamated workflow of connecting an iPad Pro to a MacBook Pro using the iOS app Astropad, all while painting in Affinity Photo using an Apple Pencil specifically?

 

My dilemma is thus: I need to paint and model using OSX, but I want to move onto a painting-tablet. I don't really want to buy a Cintiq (certainly not the Windows-based Companions). If the iPad Pro would just run OSX, all my problems would be solved, but it doesn't so I'm looking for a work around and am curious if Affinity Photo has been tested within this workflow.

 

Thanks forum!

[Digital Painting Absolute Must-Add's]

I am unsure about focusing too much on painting tools: the danger lies in fragmenting the focus of the application, in my opinion. And the market is already saturated with a number of extremely powerful digital painting and drawing tools, and trying to compete with those would probably take up all of the Affinity developers' time.

 

For example, I do not see them competing with Krita, which is open source, and arguably superior for digital painting even when compared to the likes of Photoshop. So is ClipStudio, Corel Painter, Art Rage, and newer applications such as Mischief and PaintStorm Studio.

 

How can the Affinity team hope to compete with dedicated apps? I think it should not. The developers behind Krita, for example, decided to shift their focus on digital painting a couple of years ago, rather than developing an all-purpose app, which worked out well for them. Affinity Photo is better off primarily focusing on becoming a great photo and image editing app, if you ask me.

 

 

I see what you're saying, but from years of digitally painting experience I can say with some confidence that the bulk of the features in those painting-only applications are not necessary for many professional visual development workflows. All that is needed are the features I've listed above, absolutely all of which fit into other compositing and photo editing pipelines as well.

 

While many painting softwares tout their sophisticated brush and materials dynamics, at the end of the day all you need is a simple default round brush, and Affinity Photo already has more than enough on the brush front. They just need to ad some basic maneuverability UX stuff as mentioned above. I hope they do - I for one like painting and compositing all at once or at least under the same roof.

[Can I return/refund my AP and AD purchases?]

jarombra,

I believe that in order to get a refund you have to go through the Apple App Store. Just a question, did you download and try the betas before you bought them? To me the price of Affinity's products are not so high (like Adobe's) and so it wouldn't hurt to keep them. Plus, while they still have a little ways to go in regards to adding some features, the programs are really good and very powerful. What's the hurt in keeping them?

 

Hokusai

Yep, I'll just hold onto it I guess. App store says I can't refund it anyway, and assuming Affinity implements more functions conducive for professional painting workflows it will be better than Adobe.

[Can I return/refund my AP and AD purchases?]

Here's the honest truth: I want to get the cuss off of Adobe CC despite using their products my whole life thus far. I primarily use Photoshop for digital painting and high-end architectural illustration (not to mention texture editing). As soon as Affinity Photo represents the needs of painters I will gladly switch over, but after purchasing AP and AD from the App Store and taking them for a spin for a week or so, I need to keep using Adobe CC until Affinity develops their products a bit more for painters like me.

 

Is there any way I can return my Affinity Photo and Affinity Designer purchases for a full refund? Whatever my word is worth on a forum, I promise I will buy them with full loyalty when Affinity painting functions are better than Adobe workflows - I imagine this could happen within the year, but I can't use them until that happens.

 

Thanks Affinity staff.

[How can I hot-key flip the canvas? (Affinity Photo)]

Hello jarombra

Maybe these suggestions will help with some of your quiries for now;

Shift+Option+Command+Left Arrow key will flip the whole document horizontally.

Shift+Option+Command+Right Arrow key will flip it vertically..

Shift+Option+Command+Up Arrow key, Rotate Right 90°

Shift+Option+Command+Down Arrow key, Rotate Left 90°

 

An item/action that is listed in any apps Menu Bar that doesn't come with a built in shortcut can have a key shortcut added to it in 'System Preferences' under; Hardware > Keyboard > Keboard Shortcuts.

Whatever it's worth, I would like to report that using the listed keyboard commands here do not work on my Early 2011 Macbook Pro running Yosemite. However, if I select the operations from the menu, they work, albeit somewhat erratically. Sometimes it won't flip, and sometimes it will flip over the wrong axis.