Boldlinedesign

Better Canva than Adobe. Affinity being a small team put us all in a more vulnerable position. This does help reinforce the walls so to speak, and before reading the entire letter I did think cloud possibilities. 
 
At the moment this could go both ways. There is now a 100% chance that small, agile companies will be bought out eventually, but Canvas has a lot to gain by NOT being Adobe, and I think they know this.
and besides, when is the last time you explored job openings and saw "must know Affinity Suite" as part of the requirements? This might change that making our favorite tool more mainstream.

As with other Affinity users, I'm not at all convinced this is a good move. The wording in the FAQ saying there are no planned changes to the current price model 'at this time' is very concerning. That wording has been chosen by Serif as they cannot guarantee that this will not change.
If there is any inkling of a change to a subscription model, Affinity will lose me. I have used Affinity and recommended it to other people on the primary basis it was a professional package from a smaller, more independent company, not restricted by subscription pricing. As a designer, I have never looked at Canva as being on the same level as Serif professionally. Canva is a tool for non-professionals so the combining of the two companies to me feels like a dumbing-down of Affinity.
Unfortunately, my initial impression of this sale is that Serif have sold themselves out for a mess of pottage...

Don't delude yourself, the majority of your user base are here because Adobe embraced the morally bankrupt Software as a Service model and they looked for a perpetual license alternative, and for no other reason. You touted perpetual licenses front and centre, and as someone who works for a multi-national software and services company I know that if you betray your customer base's trust they do not forgive and they do not forget lightly.
I dropped Adobe like a stone the moment they went Software as a Service, the model of "rent your software, pay for eternity, spend thousands, and the moment you stop paying you have NOTHING". I will never RENT my software, software ISN'T a service, it's an end product.
I dropped Abode and never looked back, I dropped Cinema 4D like a stone when they went to a subscription model (after saying they would offer both perpetual and subscription models together... which lasted all of 2 years) and never looked back.
Rest assured I, and quite likely a very large percentage of your user base, will drop you like a stone and move on should Affinity go to a subscription model, because your perpetual licensing is the only thing that attracted us to your software over Abode.

The fact that you sold yourselves (didn't even go into partnership) after only two months of starting a conversation rings alarm bells, you are now a subsidiary, you are no longer the master of your own destiny, you are a servant, only able to doff your cap and say "yes sir" at Canva's command.
Excuse the cynicism, but we have lived this software story FAR too many times before, and it has never ended well. I hope this will be the exception to the rule. Actions speak louder than words. We shall wait to see what SaaS company Canva's actions turn out to be.

Perhaps a written declaration, a "verbal contract" if you will, between yourselves and your customers that your software will NEVER drop its perpetual license model, and that its pricing will never be inflated to such unreasonable levels to try and force people on to a future parallel subscription service?

For Surprise, read SHOCK.

At first I thought this is an April 1st joke that accidentally fired off too early.

I completely believe you and your sincerity.
At the risk of speaking for others, the concern isn't that there are immediate plans to move to a subscription model. It's that the transition to a subscription-only model is now inevitable.
What we would love to hear is, "The Affinity suite will continue to be developed with enthusiasm, and Canva and Serif commit that you will absolutely never be forced to subscribe to receive updates or new versions of our products." But, even then, we'd be skeptical, given what other companies have done after similar promises.

I'm pretty sure that Macromedia and Freehand also saw a bright future on the horizon...
 
So yeah, a subscription based V3 is just around the corner.

Sounds like “hello subscription, goodbye freedom”. 

I have been trained when ever I read "An exciting announcement" that bad news is coming as someone that depends on that thing. The truth is, we have seen this story time and time again and know it very rarely winds up being a good thing.

I want to believe you. But also I want you to know that at this instant moment, you are haemorrhaging your trust and credibility at the creative community on Mastodon. I can see nothing but despair and deception on my timeline.

Add me to the list who will drop Affinity like a hot potato if Canva turn it into a subscription model. I don't care how good the software is. The transition from Adobe to Affinity apps wasn't without pain but I did it on principle. I will do the same again.

We’ve all been around the block and saw what happened to PaintShopPro when Corel acquired it (and how it turned into a bloated horrible mess). I feel sad that the Affinity apps will head in the same direction. Really is a sad day. 

I love you guys, and I have a big load of respect about you, being a big evangelist of Affinity, but I'm not having a good felling on this. Canva is not what I could name a "professional software" partner. They want to be Adobe, not an adobe alternative.
The first insinuation of subscription model will break any trust on Affinity, and for the love of the goddess, I hope Affinity apps don't become a dumpster of stupid and crappy AI and cheap design tools that Canva really is.
I've read the FAQs you published… they don't give me enough reassessment that nothing is gonna change. Your company and your project is not yours anymore.
I wish to be wrong.

Hi All,

I am thrilled to announce that Affinity is joining the Canva family.
This is a moment of great excitement, anticipation, and profound gratitude for all of you who have been part of our story so far. 
We know that those of you who’ve put your faith in Affinity, some since we launched our very first Mac app, will have questions about what this means for the future of our products. Since the inception of Affinity, our mission has been to empower creatives with tools that unleash their full potential, fostering a community where innovation and artistry flourish. We've worked tirelessly to challenge the status quo, delivering professional-grade creative software that is both accessible and affordable. 
None of that changes today.
In Canva, we’ve found a kindred spirit who can help us take Affinity to new levels. Their extra resources will mean we can deliver much more, much faster. Beyond that, we can forge new horizons for Affinity products, opening up a world of possibilities which previously would never have been achievable. 
Canva’s revolutionary approach to design democratisation and commitment to empowering everyone to create aligns perfectly with our core values and vision. This union is a testament to what can be achieved when two companies that share a common goal of making design accessible and enjoyable for everyone come together. 
I want to express my deepest gratitude to our incredible Affinity team. Your passion, dedication, and relentless pursuit of excellence have been the driving force behind our success so far, and I can’t wait to continue this journey with you all. 
To our loyal users and the creative community, your support and feedback have been invaluable. You’ve inspired us to push boundaries and continuously improve, and we’re excited to embark on this new chapter together. 
The future is bright, and I am incredibly excited to continue our story together and create a world where design is within everyone's reach.
With heartfelt thanks,
Ash
For more information...
We have made four pledges to the Affinity community which you can read here. We have included some FAQs at the bottom of the announcement article here. A video message from me with some more background is on YouTube here. This announcement post is locked, but I have included a duplicate of it in the questions forum here which you can respond to.

Gradient tool
Sadly, no… 
(Heck, even Apple's puny Preview app can correctly display PDFs with gradients that follow a curve!)
Likely the best workaround so far is to create the gradient-on-curve in another app that supports it (e.g. VectorStyler), export as PDF and place the PDF as passthrough into Affinity. It will be displayed as slightly pixeled, but it should probably export correctly as vector if needed.

You could use Vectorstyler to accomplish the blend tool and many other tools still missing from Affinity designer. Owning both programs covers most needs and they work well transferring vectors between them. 

You could use Vectorstyler to accomplish the blend tool and many other tools still missing from Affinity designer. Owning both programs covers most needs and they work well transferring vectors between them. 

Yes.  AI may not be an open format, but Corel apparently figured it out.  Also, I hate to bring it up, but there is a vector illustration program that gets hyped up here a lot and, from my understanding, it's done by one person and it can import and export AI files—the actual AI files, not the PDF stream.  So, either figuring out the AI specification is doable by programmers or that person is the Batman of coding.

I have updated the Currency Effect macro to version 2. This new version adds a live Ripple filter, which will give the engraving lines a bit of wave. This can be turned off (naturally!) but I think the added touch gives the engraving a bit more authenticity. There is also an Instructions macro, which will place on-screen instructions into a new layer.
The new version can be downloaded from the first post in this thread. The .afmacros category includes both the original and new versions of the macro, along with the instructions macro. You can safely delete the old version of the Currency Effect, since that original macro is included in the v2 category above.

Greetings true belivers! I made a free pencil brush set for Affinity Designer! There used to be a link to my gumroad page here, but I removed them from the shop and simply placed the files here. You can download them directly. Enjoy! 




0820_SP_UL1.abr 0720_Prototypes.abr

Updated Version Available (December 2023)
Recently, @christerdk posted in the "Desktop Questions" forum about trying to achieve the engraved look of U.S. currency. He was given a variety of suggestions (including one or two commercial products). Because of this, I am attaching a macro that I created several years ago and have refined a bit more recently. It is meant to approximate the look of engraved currency.
The macro uses a number of adjustments and filters, all enclosed within a Group. Because of this, the effect can be turned on and off by simply using the Hide/Show checkbox on the group itself.
The attached .afmacros file is a Macro Category and therefore should be imported from the Library panel. It contains a single macro (called "Currency Effect"). Once imported, the macro can be moved to a different category, if desired. The macro was created in Affinity Photo version 2.2 which probably means that it will not be compatible with AP version 1. However, since it is provided as a category, it can be imported into Affinity Photo 2 for iPad.
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Clicking on the macro will bring up a user dialog in which you can set certain parameters:
1) Set Line Size (default = 20)
The macro uses a live Halftone filter, and this will vary the width of the lines used. In general, use larger lines for larger images.
2) Set Line Angle (default = 30 degrees)
This affects the angle at which the lines are drawn. Try various settings to achieve subtle but important differences in output.
3) Set Contrast (default = 85)
This setting also affects the embedded Halftone filter, and can change the contrast between the dark lines and the background.
4) Adjust Overall Brightness (default = -20)
This affects a Brightness and Contrast adjustment, and will lighten or darken the final image, to your taste.
When you hit the Apply button, the effect is added to your image at the top of the layer stack. Note that the effect contains only adjustments and filters; because of that, it is completely non-destructive. You can make changes to the underlying image and this will not adversely affect the result. Also, you can open the individual adjustment and filter layers to make changes even after you have hit the Apply button.
Here is an example of a Before and After image, with the User Dialog showing the settings used to create this particular variant.

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As always, I am one person using one computer and a single iPad. I have tested this macro on both of my devices, but cannot claim that this testing has examined every possible scenario. Nevertheless, I believe that it will work as suggested. Try it and, if you like it, keep it and enjoy it. It is free for you to use in any project you would like – personal or commercial.
I ask only 2 things. If you've used the macro, please let me know by posting your impressions. Perhaps, even provide a before and after screenshot. Second, please remember that this forum is a wonderful way to learn, and an even better way to share that learning. Pay it forward.
December 2023 Update
The .afmacros file attached below is now an updated category. It can still be imported into the Affinity Photo Library panel (or into the iPad version) but it now contains 3 macros. (1) The original version of the Currency Effect is included. (2) An updated version 2 of the macro is also provided. This update adds a live Ripple filter which makes the engraved lines a bit wavy, better simulating true engraving. (3) There is an Instructions macro, which will place on-screen instructions into your Layers panel.
Please feel free to download the new file, and to replace the previous Currency Effect category with the new one. Have fun!
 
Currency Effects (v2).afmacros

I'm really hoping Affinity updates to allow true 100% vector brushes to be more editable and relevant in future releases. What are currently labeled "vector brushes" are not 100% vector and cannot be expanded as vectors. They have their uses and I appreciate them - but in my line of work, I need to be able to export 100% vector - no raster in the final output.
Right now we can only modify the 100% vector brush to a simple taper on each end - As I have attached to this post, there are many other types of tapers and such I'd love to be able to do with a 100% vector brush.
Going a little further - I'm hoping for a blob-tool that can allow for any shape to be made and used -

Vectorstyler also does this very well. I don't usually have to adjust it much. 

Honestly, i don't know if i would even be using Affinity today if Corel had their crap together 15 years ago when i made the switch over to Mac. For a while i was using Corel in a windows virtual machine since Illustrator's drawing tools are just so bad, i could never make that switch. When the original Beta of Designer came out, and i used Serif's implementation of the Node tool for the first time, I was hooked from day one and haven't touched Corel since. A couple years ago Corel came out with a Mac version, and still had their old-school super high pricing structure and all of the UI customization was left out, and the code base felt "converted" from windows (kinda clunky and laggy, if you know how those types of apps run), even a Corel die-hard like myself had to say "sorry Corel, too little too late." 

This gesture is awesome! It feels fast!
Any time i can avoid needing to click on the toolbar to keep editing is a win for productivity. 
But I agree with Mike above, when dealing with an object that has a really thin outline (or no outline) and no fill, it is a bit cumbersome to activate this gesture. 
Perhaps making the "transform origin" double clickable while the selection tool is enabled, and making the source node (the red one with the node direction line) double clickable while the node tool was selected, that could allow you to activate this gesture even if both fill and outline were both transparent.