Stace

I did a search for montage in the links you provided before asking you.

Thanks for all the replies. Things are starting to make sense. v_kyr, I'm interested in what 'montage' means in this context. I do make use of groups and nested groups. I'm a groupie even when working in raster. But what does montage mean?

I'm still trying to figure out how to draw vector in Designer (beta) in the simplest way. If you want to get rid of hundreds of layers by merging paths of an illustration element into a single layer, I've found various ways of doing that (Geometry>Add, Create Compound) and I suppose this works for some kind of illustration. But not for the fairly detailed, freehand kind. Is there a way to stop the software from doing this to the lines? (Side question: What exactly is it doing?)

That is true. That is what I shall do. If filling the outline version was an easy option, that was going to give me one more font option in my tool kit. Plus, I wondered if there was an easy way to do it. More skills are always good. I have concluded that it's possible, as you've shown, but I can't be bothered with the hassle, haha

Yeah, I really like this particular font though -- I want to give the project cohesion by using only the fonts in this family. Normally when I buy a font package the outline version matches the fill version exactly, in which case you just lay the outline font on top of the fill font, boom, done. But this time, for some bizarre reason, the font designer has offset them just enough so that this is impossible. It's 40 degrees here, my brain is not working.

I want to fill the inner transparent path. Giving the outer black outline a different colour is easy -- just change colour of the fill, right?

Sorry, I'm just not getting this. Thanks for trying.

Thanks for the detailed reply. When I put a black curve (made from text) above a red rectangle, select both and hit subtract, this is what I get. The thing I didn't understand from your initial instruction: Why 'partly' cover the curve in a rectangle? Surely the entire inside of the letter needs to be covered by the red?

Thanks. A geometric subtraction disappears both layers. Do you mean a geometric intersection? When I try it out, that's the only one of the geometric functions that fills the letter, but then my red letter fill turns to black. (Which can easily be changed back to red, but it's an extra step.)

I'm using an outline font in Designer (the beta) to create text. I converted to curves to get it positioned how I want it. How would you go about filling each shape with colour? Or is it too late now?

Oh my, this is why we don't be afraid to ask basic questions on a forum. Thank you! This is EXACTLY the functionality I always wished existed in vector software. Today marks the beginning of my new life as a vectorfarian. Thanks for sharing toltec, and thanks for thinking of our wrists and layer management sanity, Affinity.

Hmm. I got a little excited there for a sec. Instructions say all I need to do is click the final node once and continue drawing. My computer is set up for a double click, but I'm guessing I click until the white square with a red outline changes into a blue square with a red outline. This ensures the line continues in the right place with no gap, but my query is more relating to layers. If I 'continue' the line, even joined up neatly, the next segment is appearing on its own layer. This is a feature of vector drawing in general? New layers for every single little stroke, no workarounds to keep all the lines of a single shape on a single vector layer?

So, I'm drawing silhouettes in Designer using the vector pencil tool. To speed it up a bit I'm checking the fill box, but I guess that's irrelevant. The problem, maybe: If I'm drawing something a little complex, my hand gets tired and wobbly before I've closed the outline. I end up creating a shape like this one below with three separate partial outlines. The question: I don't usually draw in vector so I know this is a super basic question, but it's impossible to lift the pencil from the tablet, give your hand a break, then resume the same line and layer, right? Or is it impossible? Can I give my drawing hand a break by holding down a key or something? Do vector artists simply group the various layers of a 'single' shape and not worry about it? That just feels... messy. I know there are lots of vector artists here, so does anyone have a hack for drawing outlines of (and closing) complex outlines using the pencil tool when you need to give your hand a rest?

Sure. Here's one. All sorts of weird things are going on. No idea if it's me or the software. I just tried to do a bitmap fill to check it still wasn't working. It switched to gradient fill as soon as I manipulated the handles on my bitmap, then wouldn't let me delete the layer. (I closed without saving.) florence_climbing_stairs.afdesign

Okay, I tried repeat rather than wrap -- same problem, unfortunately. Related: If I try to delete the layer (because obviously it's not working), it won't delete. It does delete, but doesn't appear to have gone. So I have to close Affinity Designer and reopen. Also probably related: I'm getting square pixelation outside the canvas which won't go away. This is not just an aesthetics problem for me, using the software, but these extra pixels will export if I export an artboard (rather than cutting a manual slice). Basically, I'm having massive pixellation problems. Anyone else having these same issues?