Bri-Toon

You're the man, Matt.

You're the man, Matt.

So would I

@Oval
The disappointment of a few users may be more related with the high expectations they set for the products than to what the dev team could realistically achieve with the time and resources they had/have.
Considering that Affinity products have barely reached three years on the market, are now present in three different platforms and are being created from scratch i don't think there's much to be disappointed with. We do miss some basic tools/features and we certainly don't cover all competition's functionality but that's expected if you are comparing Affinity to products that have more than two decades of development. It doesn't really matter what Adobe did two decades ago. They had to start/deal with a different set of problems not comparable to the ones software developers face today. Only time will help to close the tools/feature gap and i think most users are aware of this.
 
Designer and Photo are what they are, with a price that's more than adjusted (i would say cheap) for what they offer - some users know how to take advantage of them and are already using them in production/commercially with what they offer, others will remain frustrated looking just for what they don't have yet. It's up to each one to decide how to look at it. The dev team has been doing their best to fulfil user's requests and fixing what they can and that's all we can promise. 
 
There's nothing stopping users from using Affinity in conjunction with existing third party software if they find some functionality lacking/missing until we get there.

You're the man, Matt.

Just to let everyone know, I've resolved the issue with the Corner Tool - sorry about that... 

Sick of me yet? Haha 
 
There is a problem with the boolean operations. Adding multiple objects as oppose to two may create an intersection instead of a union. And subtracting multiples looks like it creates a division. For a wired fence, create two horizontal rectangles (the top and bottom bar), and in between, create multiple diagonal bars crisscrossing and set behind. Try merging those crisscrossing rectangles to get an intersection. Then try subtracting the top and bottom areas of the diagonal rectangle that stick out from behind the top and bottom rectangle to get a division.

It might be a dumb question, but are you adjusting the right opacity slider? There are two of them. One is in the Color tab (doesn't work on images). The other is in the Layers tab. Both are also very close to each other.

Sick of me yet? Haha 
 
There is a problem with the boolean operations. Adding multiple objects as oppose to two may create an intersection instead of a union. And subtracting multiples looks like it creates a division. For a wired fence, create two horizontal rectangles (the top and bottom bar), and in between, create multiple diagonal bars crisscrossing and set behind. Try merging those crisscrossing rectangles to get an intersection. Then try subtracting the top and bottom areas of the diagonal rectangle that stick out from behind the top and bottom rectangle to get a division.

Sorry if I'm kind of taking over the topic, but if I may report something else I found, there is strange behavior with the layers. In random cases, cutting an object from one layer causes another layer to vanish. Once I paste the object, the layer shows again. And changing the color of an object in the Swatches tab does not make any change. Plus I changed the opacity of the object to 25% but it is showing as 100 now but with the same transparency applied.
 
I am doing something a little different, and that might be why there are strange behaviors. I am inserting vectors inside pixel masks for a shading effect. I cut the object (shade) to paste inside the mask and lowered the opacity. Then these things happened.

Your dog is barking too?
 
 
I have been exporting to PNG and had no problems. What file types were you exporting to and faced issues?

Already on Beta 5. These are coming along fast.

Already on Beta 5. These are coming along fast.

Hi Bri-Toon,
I've reproduced the crash here. Issue logged to be looked at.
Thanks for reporting it

I have been using Affinity Designer for a little over a year now, so I will teach my style to the people on the forum. There are of course many ways to draw, but this will cover a cartoon style. I will teach the style I used originally, and I will teach the style I use now. With the new brush stabilisers implemented in Designer 1.6, I decided to begin a brand new approach, but I will explain what I did for my original style first.
 
Original Style
 
For all of the line work, I used the Pen Tool, because curves created by the Pencil Tool and Brush Tool were too jagged and could not continue lines. However, the Pen Tool does not allow free control, so creating a character entirely from scratch is certainly a challenge. You will need to start smaller.
 

 
Above is a long but particulate example. You are probably aware that there are both vector and pixel tools in the program, so I decided to first start off with pixel tools. (In the Brushes tab in the Pixel Persona, I used "Size 2" under the "Assorted" category and with the "Force Pressure" button toggled on.) Before starting the actual character design, Angie, I wanted to have a pose thought out, because drawing a character from scratch in an particular pose may not always be accurate. Therefor, I started out with a figure, then I traced it with a rough sketch, then I used the Pen Tool for the line work but I had to figure how to close each path, and then finally I added coloring.
 
Figure
 
Creating the figure is the same as just creating basic shapes for a simple guideline, but you still have to be accurate. You cannot make the head larger than the body or have arms rotated in a position that does not make sense. Even though you are just making basic shapes, you are still bound to mess up, so rather than create each shape in one stroke, do so in several sketchy strokes. To make a simple circle, for example, sketch lightly in a round motion. If you mess up, sketch a little darker right over the messed up region.
 
Rough Sketch
 
Now that there is a main figure, you can use it as a main guideline for drawing your character design. It is okay to draw out of figure's boundaries. Just don't make things too simplistic. While it is not necessarily the case here, a good character has different features on each part of the body. With female hair, for example, there can be the front bang, side bang, and upper hair. If you can figure out a way to divide these three features, then you are on the right track. Also, as you sketch over your figure, you may think to add a little more details than regular shapes. For the Angie's shirt, there are two lines below the breasts which crisscross to indicate a fold in the fabric. Rather than having the shirt in a regular square shape, it sticks out towards the bottom. Other lines were added to indicate the fold.
 
Line Work
 
Now we will trace the rough sketch exactly with the Pen Tool, but we have to do so in closed regions. This time, we cannot leave the boundaries. While you don't have to do it this way, I divided each body part in its own layer (from top to bottom: Glasses, Top Hair, Head, Shirt, Shorts, Arms, Legs, Back Hair). The reason I did it this way is in case I wanted to change something. Maybe I wasn't happy with the shirt design, and I wanted to replace another shirt on her. If she were wearing long sleeves originally and I wanted to give her short sleeves instead, then that would mean I would have to extend her arms since they would have originally ended at the palms of her hands.
 
Coloring
 
As long as the paths are closed, then coloring is very easy. Just select each path you want to add color to, and add color to the fill. There are also different shading features such as clipping other objects or pixel layers. For this, I used gradients and a 3D effect. If you do use gradients and if you divided each body part in separate layers, then just be careful. The "Top Hair" layer is not actually closed because there is an open region on the bottom with the "Back Hair" layer behind it. If you use the gradients, make sure they smooth out.
 
Working with basic shapes first and then getting into the character designs do really help.
 

 

 
It is also okay to go and change change your finished design. Such features here like the hair and legs have been slightly modified.
 
 
 
New Style
 
The above style, although is very particulate, does take a really long time, and that can delay production. With the new brush stabilisers, I feel very confident to draw with the Pencil Tool now. While it does not continue paths like with the Pen Tool, we can work around that. We will also never be expanding our line work for in case we need to make adjustments such as change the shape or size. We will also be drawing with more free control (open paths). If you feel you need to create a sketch figure before jumping into the vector tools, that is okay, but you will not need to create a rough sketch this time unless it helps you.
 

 

 
Vector Eraser Alternative
 
I did say that we won't be expanding our line work, so we cannot use the boolean operations. And it wouldn't make sense to use the Pixel eraser, so how the heck will we be able to erase our lines? The answer is, with the node operations. We have three powerful options when the Node Tool or Pen Tool is selected in the "Action" category, and those options are Break Curve, Close Curve, and Join Curves. These three things can really go toward our advantage, especially since joining curves will take the ends of the multiples curves and close the ends which are closest to each other. I forgot that when I used Illustrator, I never actually used the Eraser Tool on the line work because it always deformed the shape. If I could've, I would've.
 

 
Here is an example. King Dino's tomahawk has a squiggly line that needs to be removed, but it is part of a closed shaped. To do that, add a node where the squiggly line starts and click "Break Curve," then add another node where the squiggly line ends and click "Break Curve," again. The squiggly line is now its own shape, so you can go on and delete it. Now, you can select the remaining part of the object and select "Close Curve." Now let's say that the stick to the tomahawk was originally an open path. That means breaking the curve would convert it to two different shapes. So rather than closing it with the "Close Curve" button, you will use the "Join Paths" option. Do not forget just how important those node operations are.
 
Coloring
 
Since the new style was done in open paths, the coloring technique will have to be different than the way explained above. First organize your artwork in two separate layers, Line Work and Color. The Line Work layer must be above the Color layer. Now there are several ways to color in your artwork.
 
A) Pen Tool
This is probably the most common way to do it, but it may not always be the fastest way depending on the example. This means to draw a path around the closed region of your drawing to create a closed path.
 
B) Brush Tool
Depending on how small the close region is, use the Brush Tool to color in your artwork. It helps to brush around the edges first and then fill in the remaining area. After you fill in the region, select all of those brush strokes either on the canvas or in the Layers panel, and expand them in the "Layer" menu. Then click the first option in the boolean operations to add them as one object.
 
C) Node Operations
Depending on how large the drawing is, some times both the Pen Tool and Brush Tool will not work well for coloring. Select each curve that makes up a closed region (holding shift to select multiple curves), and copy them to your Color layer. Hide the Line Work layer. For the torn up cape in the second drawing of King Dino, imagine what the closed fill would have to look like and what nodes would need to be added and removed. Again, use the "Break Curve, Add Curve, and Join Curves" options. At the end, be sure to remove your stroke and just keep the fill. For the torn holes in the cape, you will need to copy and paste those curves separately, break, add, and join paths as appropriately, and then subtract them from the main cape object.
 
I hope this tutorial has been helpful for you.
 
NEW: Fast Shading
There are multiple ways to add shading such as clipping vectors, adding gradients, and using pixel brushes. However, these techniques require you to add shading to each object individually. If you would rather add shading to multiple objects all at once, a new technique is to use a mask. This video will show an example.
 
 

Hey Bri-Toon,
Yes I have thought about it, maybe one day I'll setup an online store. I guess Im still trying to improve before going down that road.
But thanks for the vote of confidence it means a lot.
 
 
Thanks everyone for checking them out and leaving such motivating comments.
 

Hmm... that's strange. Here is what I'm getting. (Don't mind my dog barking in the background.)
 
 
20170730100331.mov

Well it't not really a style. A Style is like fill colour, line colour etc. I would describe it as a "fill".
 
It is also incredibly complex with lots of layers, so I suggest to save it as a jpeg first. Although it will work as described below, it was harder due to all the grouping.
 
Put the jpeg in a document, draw some text or a shape.
 
Make sure the shape layer is above the texture, right click on the shape layer and select "Mask to Below".
 
I did that for the text and the circle. (duplicated the texture layer first)
 
I don't know it will work for your coin, but it the coin is transparent you could just put a circle behind it.
 
Hope that helps but I'm not sure if it is the best method. I have enclosed the working file below.
 
fullAP.afphoto
 

 
 

Very breathtaking. I like the vintage style, and I noticed each has a theme of warm heart or mysteriousness.

Hey guys,
I thought I'd post a few of my paintings after using Affinity on my new iPad with the Apple Pencil.
Im loving this app for painting on weekends as I use Photoshop on a daily basis for my work as a concept artist/matte painter for film and TV.
Im still getting the hang of it but it's fun.
 

Status: Beta Release
Purpose: New features, fixes
Requirements: Purchased Affinity Designer
Mac App Store: Not Submitted
Download: Here
 
This beta version represents a substantial change to our codebase and as much as we have tried to ensure the quality of the code, it should be considered to be not suitable for production use. This means that you should not attempt to use it for commercial purposes or for any other activity that may be adversely affected by the application failing. In addition it is definitely worth noting that files created in Affinity 1.6 may not open in 1.5 so always make a copy of your important documents before opening them in 1.6 to ensure you do not accidentally overwrite them and are unable to open them in your 1.5 version.
 
To use this beta, simply download the file from the link given above and double-click on the file to open the installer. Follow the instructions to install the beta version. The beta sits alongside the Mac App Store version and will not interfere with it.
 
Fixes/Improvements:
Further Light UI improvements Added 'Lock'/'Unlock'/'Unlock All' and 'Hide'/'Show'/'Show All' menu items with shortcuts Fixed many symbol bugs and crashes Fix for PDF/EPS export of large rasterised areas causing visible gaps on occasions Fix for Gray8 format documents failing to draw as intended Fix for crash when copying artboards that contained symbols with text inside Fix for crash when moving compound objects inside constrained containers Fix for slices and guides not drawing correctly sometimes after a pan/zoom Custom pixel brush wet edges Fixed inability to hold shift and click in brush tools to create a straight line Fixed inability to load Procreate PSD files Localisation improvements  
* Please note that macOS Sierra has a bug in Metal with AMD graphics cards which means colour correction will not function perfectly, hence why it is disabled by default. If you have an Intel or Nvidia card then feel free to try it. This bug was fixed in High Sierra so all cards should work as expected  :)

You're welcome. I'm glad it helps.
 
And you're not the only person who is facing an issue with email notifications. It happened to me when I first became a member. If you come from Gmail, I noticed it doesn't do well sending notifications from forum sites. After I switched emails, I started getting notifications again. It might be an error on Gmail's end.
 
 
What can I say? I am just naturally awesome.
 

Here is an interesting way to accomplish that, Isabel.
 
Duplicate your path, and type on the copy all Is and just increase the text size.
 

I don't think it's a bad idea. Newcomers may not even be aware that there is a light interface. If I may add some critique, maybe just don't have it boxed in. The personas and other toolbar options are separated by boxed in and non-boxed in areas. And it wouldn't confuse with the personas, because judging from your picture, I think you meant to say right, not left. 

Oh what I would give for that tool.
 
 
 
You're not doing anything wrong. I've been noticing that too with the beta. It looks like a bug, but I'm sure it will be addressed. Seeing how all the vector art is nested in one layer, click on the layer, and then changed the stroke size in either the Stroke tab or context toolbar. That will change the stroke size of all object under that layer at the same time.