Octiron

Nor is using the the backspace key with the layer selected.  Dragging the layer to the waste bin icon at the bottom of the layer palette works as expected but it would be handy to have some visual confirmation that you have dragged the layer to the right place.
 
Amazing software, can't wait for the release.
 
AF Photo Beta 1.2.1
OSX 10.10.4

Hi Crosby.  I'd be interested to hear how you get on with Astropad too - and what pen you are using on the tablet.

Great style.  Fantastic.

I would find it handy to be able to set the degree of noise consistently (both within and across documents) by applying a parameter to it.  

Thank you Jobalou :)

Every graphics app is like a dialect of a language. It is up to the user to learn and discern the differences between them. 
 
1-- snapping and aligning is a bit different from other apps, true. But once one gets their head around the concepts as Designer does them, snapping and aligning are very elegant. They may not be perfect, this is an initial release, after all. It's important to let the developers know of any issues and then provide feedback on how it could be improved. In this sense, users are part of the development process. If we get invested in the development of AD, it will be the app we want and need.
 
2-- The crop button is mysterious to me, too. Since I rarely use it, it's a non-issue for me and best left for those who use it to ask questions and such. I have no qualms about manually entering in numbers for canvas/document sizes. Most of my work needs to fit within specific parameters, so I make sure my stuff is usable by making sure the size is correct.
 
3-- Having imported art be "un-editable" at first is a viable thing. Manga Studio (a comic creation app), won't let me edit PNGs, PSDs, TIFFs and such unless I "rasterize" it. For the most part, when I import graphics they are either going to be Logos, reference images and other kinds of uses that I don't want to edit. So having them be "locked" (so to speak) is good. If I import an image that I want to edit in the app, then rasterizing it is a trivial step. 
 
4-- The lack of a Magic Wand has been addressed (see https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/1466-magic-wand-german-zauberstab-missing-in-affinity/  ) and will be added in time, so a bit of patience is required. For the present, if I need to use the magic want tool in an imported raster image (or on a pixel layer) I'll just edit the source file (or export the pixel image from AD and edit that and then import the edited version back in). Sure this is a work-around, but after years of "round-trip" image to vector and back again, it's not new nor novel for me to do.
 
----
 
When learning a new app, it's important to discard previous notions of how "they" did things and grasp how the new app does things. I used to think that Illustrator's pen tool was the pinnacle of design and UX. Until I started using the Node tool in Designer. A quick read through of the Help files and some messing around with it, and I found that the node tool is so much better than any other vector tool in other apps. If I had fixated on how the Pen tool worked in Illustrator, then I would be one frustrated puppy. 
 
When I first started inking with a Winsor-Newton series 7 no. 2 brush, I didn't expect my work to be stunning out of the gate. I had to learn how to use it. It wasn't a dip-pen, quill pen or technical pen. The basics were the same, tool to apply ink on paper, but the "how" was very different. Same thing with different apps. Especially with an app still at version 1.x. We are seeing a work-in-progress and with the rapid deployment of betas and a new version 1 month after the first release -- we are in for a great ride!

I've just seen this post, adding an outline fixes it for now - why didn't I think of that, would have saved my hair loss!

Thanks for the quick reply - late on a Sunday evening!
 
Doing lots of manual positioning adjustments isn't what I was hoping for - but at least I know it isn't just me now!  Where the objects are the same colour I've painted over the lines using the pixel based brushes, where the fills are different I'm learning to be pragmatic and either over or under-lap the geometry, as you suggested.  

A tip I got from Jon Ball...
 

A few tips on this highlighting the shortcuts available in particular when using marquee select:
 

This one just covering the basics of the fill tool, also covering using a repeating texture with a bitmap fill...
 

I like the way it's explained, very clear I love this feature too...
 
 
http://vimeo.com/110124748
 
...but could it be even greater and more powerful.
 
I imagine being able to see in real time the "relative distances" (X,Y coordenates) of the "copied star" from the center-to-center or side-by-side (or both) of the original star.
 
And to be able to see how much (in %) it's that star being increased or decreased in size. (being 100% the size before scalling it)
https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/1173-scaling-bitmaps-and-vector/&p=4944
 
 
....as well as it's occurs now with the rotation.
 

 
I hope my beloved smart-guide-visualization (or sort of) it's implemented soon.
https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/847-smart-guide-distance-visualization/