BatteriesInc

I just wandered into Affinity "Land" (installed both AD & AP) and from the sheer quality of the software I'd give an upvote to any new idea these guys come up with (also because managing even private pictures is something that urgently needs new ideas).
 
Oh, and if you want someone to test it, give it to me - I've been breaking things for decades  :D

The interface is definitely smaller on our 27" iMac (non-retina) than on my 21" iMac (also non-retina… sigh). I also find some icons a bit pokey. Most are fine, but the colour swatch palette seems particularly prone to me missing the icons I want to click that has me concentrating VERY hard whenever I select a swatch or eyedropper. It should be effortless, not a speed-hump.
 
Tools and top buttons are perfect, so perhaps its a difference of opinion between your developers? Out of curiosity, I checked icon sizes and this is what I found:
 
Top buttons:  36 x 36 pixels
Tools: 26 x 26 pixels
Add to swatches icon: 16 x 16 pixels
Colour Swatches: 14 x 14 pixels
Style Swatches: 44 x 44 pixels
 
Some of these do feel a bit small, and I'm amazed that the colour swatches should be the smallest icons in the whole application, while the style swatches are the largest. Please tell me that in the future, both sizes will be selectable options – that'll be awesome! (even better, add your super zoom slider to all swatch palettes so we can dynamically choose our own preferred sizes. They're square so they won't even pixelate)
 
Keep up the great work guys. You've got a winner here – our comments are only intended to make it waaaaaay better than the current crop of [Adobe] products.

I am using the 5k iMac, but my vision is fine, so I do not experience the issue. I however, am in support of an option to change ui element size. I can see how this could definitely be an issue for some, and just a preference for others. I suppose the only solution for now would be to reduce resolutions. Perhaps increasing constrast by changing background color could be helpful to some. Best of luck.

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.

What we oldies and wimpy-eyed ones need is a UI designer/developer with less than perfect eyesight.  :D

From what I have seen coming out of the Serif team, I'm sure they would do an amazing After Effects killer.
Come on... at least think about it :)

I second this request. This idea seems far more intuitive (even after 20+yrs of the old method!) and makes the traditional pen tool behaviour seem a bit archaic...

Exporting something like this would probably result in semi-predictable hacking and slashing. It's a lovely idea, but I'd make it as a separate tool rather than replacing the pen; call it the Uber-Pen or something, with triangular nodes for clarity.

Hey Peter,
 
Sometimes the best art comes from going outside your comfort zone. That's where Gracie came from: wanted to do cute and sexy in a form that shouldn't be cute and sexy. :)
 
Good luck on your new tablet! Have fun, AD is the app I wished I had when I first started working with vectors years ago.

Hi CartoonMike,
 
Thanks for taking time out to respond with this wonderful lesson (beta tutorial, would be much honest description :)). An excellent write up. Put this on Youtube! Pictures, screen grabs and this transcript; or speak to the AD team!
www.asklynda.com,  www.askcartoonmike.com  should be the best way to go.
 
 
When it comes to drawing, with pencils and paper, i.e analogue - then I really struggle. Just drawing straightish lines, circles and simple shapes is really hard for me. Which in a forum like this must look a bit strange, a non artist in a digtial art forum...I can use a camera and keyboard, so all is not lost.
 
However, when it comes to working with layers, then I suppose I am at the Superman logo level, that you mentioned. The tools I use the most are the Quickshapes, layers and fonts, (ooh yeah I like my fonts by the bucketload). As for working with layers:
 
See http://www.pinterest.com/peter2111/serifcom
 
The Akira picture, was a difficult process broken down into bite size chunks, using DVD ripping software, DrawPlus and PhotoPlus
convert DVD to JPG Cut, feather and layer individual image segments into place convert canvas to brick work and make people think I have talent.
 
So, even without the ability to use the pen/pencil tools, I can still produce something half decent.
 
peter

My experience and opinion, your mileage may vary. Hope this gets you started...
 
When I was starting out, sketching/drawing in a vector app was intimidating. Until I realized that a vector drawing program is like a technical pen. And I've done my best tech pen (or dip pen or windsor newton series 7 #2 brush) work when I was rendering a pencil drawing that was complete, i.e. no sketchy lines, everything had a value (line weight, cross-hatching, etc) and I had no "vague" areas. In other words, my pencil drawing was the blueprint that I would create the structure using ink-based tools. 
 
Switch to digital from  analog: pencil drawing becomes the base drawing. Usually grey tones, sometimes blue (hold over from the Non-Photo blue pencil that couldn't be photo stated/copied or reproduced, cartoonists loved them). However you create it (for me it's either using Manga Studio 5 or Sketchbook Pro 7) -- the base drawing needs to be completely drawn: every line on the base drawing is a line that will (in one way or another) find its way into the vector drawing.
 
Let's say you're creating a Jack o'Lantern. Take a good look at the drawing. Break down, in your mind, the major shapes. There's the stem part at the top and the round part. Inside the round part there's two eyes and a mouth. Be mindful that as you create shapes, lines and such, the first thing you create will be on the bottom of the stack and the latest thing will be on top. What ever is on top will obscure things below it.We can call this the Stacking order.
 
We don't worry about Fills, Masks, groups or such at this point. Get the shapes drawn. Just like in a pencil drawing, get the basic forms down and then fine-tune as you work on it.
 
When creating shapes, just make a single click. We can set this sharp/corner node to smooth or smart in a moment. Let's say we're working on the round shape of the pumpkin. The shape is made up of rounded segments from the North (top) to the South (bottom). Don't fill the shape, have a line width of something heavy, like 8-12 points. (this can and will be adjusted later). Working from the outer parts inward, create the "C" shapes for the segments. In the middle is the part that's closest to the viewer, so that can be a distorted oval shape, or just make a closed shape for that. Now the "C" shapes on the left and right of the center shape, connect the two shapes and make sure they are below the middle oval in the stacking order. Double click on the shape's layer and give it a meaningful name (like center segment, second segment, outside segment for example). Because of the stacking order, the center oval should be above the "second segment" and the "Outer Segment" should be on the bottom. Now give each of these segment shapes a different color. Although there's only 3 shapes here, they look like 5, the left and right sides are visually cut by the layer above them. 
 
Now we can draw the eyes and mouth the same way, just simple lines at first. Then round them out. Don't forget to curve them to follow the form of the segments of the pumpkin. Missing visual cues can kill an otherwise good illustration.
 
And that's one way to approach drawing with vectors. It's basic and won't work in every situation, But by careful use of a radial or ellipsoid gradient (mostly messing with the stop points and the geehaws that control the width and height of the gradient), we can quickly come up with a basic pumpkin shape. 
 
I've found it best to start with the big shapes and then work my way inward, adding details along the way. Some shapes are just a filled shape with no stroke and I have stokes with no fills on the layer above the filled shape. It looks like it's one shape with a stroked outline. This way I can seem to have depth in my drawings. 
 
Look at the samples that come with AD, remember that you're seeing the finished work. Now try to mentally reverse engineer them. Look at the big shapes and imagine starting with them and slowly building up details and such. 
 
Start with simple base drawings. We're learning how to walk. the Ironman triathlon comes later. I found that Super-Hero shields/logos are great to start with. The superman "S" shield is a great example. Without doing anything fancy like compound shapes or masks, I can do one in 3 0r 4 layers. The big shape is the diamond shape. Make that a red shape. Then the yellow background color is a copy of that pentagonal  diamond, scaled down a bit. Now the stylized "S", red again with no fill, drawn last so it'll be on the top of the stacking order. As far as outlining the Red and yellow shapes with a  black stroke. That's a great problem to figure out. I'm not withholding information -- it's just that in order to "think" inside the program sometimes we have to have brain-teasers to kick-start the process.
 
In essence, Affinity Designer is a full tool box. Each tool is enticing and exciting to use. But if you're new to vectors, learn how to use the pen tool and layers first. Then work up to gradients and masks. Pretty soon you'll be whipping up vector victories without any conscious thought.
 
It just starts with a line.
 
Hope this helps. Your question was vague to me, so forgive me if this answer is below your pay grade. Just trying to help out. :) I would love to do a full-blown tutorial, but I just have time for these wordy things about doing visual stuff.