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Bri-Toon

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  1. Like
    Bri-Toon got a reaction from AdamRatai in Resize text box without changing text size/stretching   
    On top of what Dan said, you can also convert artistic text to frame text. To do that, highlight the text and copy it, and then use any other tool to paste it. That will maintain the size of the artistic text in a frame.
  2. Like
    Bri-Toon got a reaction from jfraze in Convert Pen Tool path into Selection in Affinity Photo?   
    Of course. After you draw your closed region with the Pen Tool, just click "Selection" from the Context Toolbar.
  3. Like
    Bri-Toon got a reaction from artman in Illustrator vs. DrawPlus vs. Designer vs. CorelDRAW   
    No, I think you understand the meaning. I'll change the term to "maintain" instead. That does make more sense.
     
    Thank you, and I will be adding 25 more features to the list shorty.
  4. Like
    Bri-Toon got a reaction from artman in Illustrator vs. DrawPlus vs. Designer vs. CorelDRAW   
    As a user who experimented a lot with vector graphics over the years, I find it might be helpful for others for me to share the differences between Illustrator, DrawPlus, Designer, and CorelDraw. A lot of you might be unfamiliar with one or more of the programs. There are things I like about each and things I do not like. Onur has decided to help out in giving me background to CorelDraw since that is one I am unfamiliar with.
     
    I will explain why I prefer certain programs and why I don't prefer them with the features that I find most or partially helpful. Here are 26 I came up with.
     
    Last Updated (1/27/2017)
    ____________________________________________________________________________________________
     
     
    Flood Fills
    Being able to add fills to unclosed shapes (overlapping regions)
    Illustrator: Yes, but fills cannot be added to weight variations, brush strokes, or effects DrawPlus: Yes Designer: No CorelDRAW: Yes Artboard Tool
    The overall canvas which can be resized manually or multiplied
    Illustrator: Yes DrawPlus: No Designer: Yes CorelDRAW: Yes Nested Layers
    Layers that can be expanded to reveal the paths within
    Illustrator: Yes, but sublayers will cause each layer to be expanded when the file is open (CC1 & below) DrawPlus: Yes, but sublayers cannot be added, and paths and groups cannot be hidden or locked Designer: Yes CorelDRAW: Yes Pencil Path Continuation
    Being able to continue a path from its end point with the pencil tool
    Illustrator: Yes, but sharp corners or sensitive handling will cause the shape to delete or change form DrawPlus: Yes Designer: No, but it will be added in 1.6 CorelDRAW: Yes Fast Loading Effects
    Effects such as inner and outer glows, shadows, feathers, and blurs
    Illustrator: No, They take far too long to load depending on the amount (sometimes 5 minutes) DrawPlus: Yes Designer: Yes CorelDRAW: Yes Image Tracer
    Converting a picture into vector artwork
    Illustrator: Yes, but it takes far too long to load depending on the size (sometimes 5 minutes) DrawPlus: Yes Designer: No CorelDRAW: Yes Rounding Single Corners
    Creating round corners to a single corner as oppose to all corners of a shape
    Illustrator: Yes, (Updated) DrawPlus: No Designer: Yes CorelDRAW: Yes, but not as simple as Designer Transparency Tool
    Adding a fade effect to objects
    Illustrator: No, but there is one for InDesign? DrawPlus: Yes, but it only works on single objects or groups Designer: Yes CorelDRAW: Yes Fill/Stroke Switcher
    Switching the color of your stroke to your fill or fill to your stroke
    Illustrator: Yes DrawPlus: No Designer: Yes CorelDRAW: No Pixel Tools and Layers
    Having pixel tools and layers available
    Illustrator: No DrawPlus: No Designer: Yes CorelDRAW: No Pasting Inside
    Being able to paste clipboard selections into objects
    Illustrator: Yes (Updated) DrawPlus: Yes (Updated) Designer: Yes CorelDRAW: Yes Replicate Tool
    Being able to make duplicates of an object by resizing its bounding box
    Illustrator: No DrawPlus: Yes Designer: No, but a replicate feature will be added to 1.6 CorelDRAW: No Customizable Vector Patterns
    Ability to change the size, rotation, and skew form of a pattern fill while its selected
    Illustrator: No DrawPlus: Yes Designer: No CorelDRAW: No B-Splines
    Creating B-spline curves enabling the nodes to be in an outer fenced area
    Illustrator: No, not in CS6 and below at least DrawPlus: Yes Designer: No, but it has the Smart Curve Pen Tool CorelDRAW: Yes (Updated) Smooth Gradients
    Having to easily create gradients, then rotate and resize them easily
    Illustrator: No, You must use the Gradient panel resulting B/W first, then adjusting it is not user friendly DrawPlus: Yes Designer: Yes CorelDRAW: Yes Smooth Type on Path
    Having to easily create type on a path, and then being change the path's size or shape
    Illustrator: No, Changing the size and shape was made a lot more difficult than they needed to be DrawPlus: Yes Designer: Yes CorelDRAW: Yes Over 1,000,000% Zoom
    Able to zoom into your drawing over 1,000,000% zoom size
    Illustrator: No DrawPlus:  No Designer: Yes CorelDRAW: No Pixel Preview
    See what your vector drawing would like like in pixels
    Illustrator: Yes (Updated) DrawPlus:  No Designer: Yes CorelDRAW: Yes Realistic Brush Presets
    Brush presets that that look natural
    Illustrator: No, there are several brush presets, but they are all flat DrawPlus:  Yes Designer: Yes CorelDRAW: No Lots of Shape Tools
    Having a variety of shape presets to choose from
    Illustrator: No, a total of 6 in the latest version, and live shapes weren't introduced until CC DrawPlus:  Yes Designer: Yes, and excellent manipulation for the cog tool CorelDRAW: Yes Redraw Paths
    Able to redraw a selected stroke
    Illustrator: Yes, but it can change the form that was not altered DrawPlus:  Yes, but it can be tricky to figure out Designer: No CorelDRAW: No Indicators
    Indications of which tool, swatch, path, or other options are selected
    Illustrator: Yes DrawPlus:  Yes/No, no indication on swatches, paths, or effects Designer: Yes/No, dark indications on tools are hard to see with the dark background CorelDRAW: Yes Eyedropper on Select
    Copying a color while an object is selected to change the selected object to that color
    Illustrator: Yes DrawPlus:  No Designer: Yes, but it cannot copy the other properties CorelDRAW: Yes Vector Eraser Tools
    A tool that erases vector objects and maintains its quality
    Illustrator: Yes, but it changes the shape's proportion DrawPlus:  Yes Designer: No, but there is a pixel eraser tool CorelDRAW: Yes 3D Extrusion
    Turning flat objects into 3D objects, and then rotating them in a 3D perspective
    Illustrator: Yes DrawPlus:  Yes Designer: No CorelDRAW: Yes Full Boundary Selections
    When objects are selected with a complete close from its selection box and not partially selected
    Illustrator: No DrawPlus: Yes Designer: Yes, and partial selections can be used as well if adjusted in the preferences CorelDRAW: Yes   
    If this is very helpful to people, then I will update this list as progress moves forward. I hope this helps.
  5. Like
    Bri-Toon got a reaction from wtrmlnjuc in Select Object / Select Same Appearances (Request)   
    Howdy!
    In a previous beta thread, there was a mention that if anyone has any requests for the "Select Same / Select Object functionality," it would be up for consideration. Well I have an idea I would like to share, and that idea is the ability to select object "appearances." So here is where I'm getting at. You can add multiple strokes to an existing object, but you have to check off "Scale with object" to each individual appearance if you want to resize. In a previous topic, there was discussion about this. Well seeing how there is this new "Select Object / Select Same" feature, maybe Affinity could incorporate a way to select all stroked appearances of a selected object/group. It would save time from having to go through each appearance.
    What do you think?
  6. Like
    Bri-Toon got a reaction from Old Bruce in Scale with object using multiple strokes do not update   
    Oh thanks for the tip. That makes sense. I was assuming that checking off that option would apply to the whole object but apparently each appearance. For some reason, that did not occur to me.
    Yeah I feel like some default or "Apply to all" feature would benefit in this case. A grouped object can have a lot to uncheck.
    But hey, I think this gives me an idea of what to request for in another topic for Designer's new "Select Object" and "Select All" feature; since the staff said they are open to requests in that area.
  7. Like
    Bri-Toon reacted to Old Bruce in Scale with object using multiple strokes do not update   
    In your video you used the Stroke panel, not the stroke width for each stroke in the Appearance Panel.

    720.mov
  8. Like
    Bri-Toon got a reaction from walt.farrell in Affinity Designer Customer Beta (1.9.0.4)   
    Ooooo thank you. I'm gonna be playing around with this feature.
  9. Like
  10. Like
    Bri-Toon reacted to MattP in Affinity Designer Customer Beta (1.9.0.4)   
    Status: Beta
    Purpose: Features, Improvements, Fixes
    Requirements: Purchased Affinity Designer
    Mac App Store: Not submitted
    Download: Download
     
    Auto-update: Not available
     
    Hello,
    If this is your first time using a customer beta of an Affinity app, it’s worth noting that the beta will install as a separate app - alongside your store version. They will not interfere with each other at all and you can continue to use the store version for critical work without worry.
    This beta is significantly different from the 1.8.x version available for purchase - we strongly recommend that you do not use this beta for real work as data could be lost and the files you save are not guaranteed to open in previous / future versions of Affinity Designer.
    Thanks again for your continued support!
    Many thanks!
    Matt
     
    Changes this time
    - Fix terribly, terribly broken front-end that appeared in build 1.9.0.3. It created many problems! Sorry about that...
     
    Changes Since 1.9.0
    - Fix for Select Same and Select Object when they encounter text objects
    - Enable image placement options in Designer (you can now choose Linked or Embedded) and also Resource Manager (from the View menu)
    - Added option for Designer to be able to show/hide overflow text - particularly useful for text on a path
    - Application icon updated to fit the 'Big Sur' visual style, also document icons updated. Misc other Big Sur fixes.
    - Fix for terrible rendering problems - particularly affected cropped items with layer effects applied
    - Added ability to rotate canvas if you have a scroll wheel mouse (or two-finger vertical drag on your touchpad) if you hold down Command. This will rotate around the mouse cursor location. Holding down Shift in addition to Command while scrolling will rotate around the centre of the view.
    - Contour tool.
    - Select Same / Select Object functionality. I'm happy to consider requests for extra options, so if you have a favourite, just say...
    - Improved performance with large documents. I will aim to improve this further over time.
    - Added a new “Divide” blend mode.
    - Allowed snapping to the bounds of the pixel selection.
     
    To be notified about all future Mac beta updates, please follow this beta notification thread 
    To be notified when this update comes out of beta and is fully released to all Affinity Designer customers, please follow this release notification thread
  11. Like
    Bri-Toon got a reaction from LCamachoDesign in Affinity Designer Customer Beta (1.9.0.2)   
    There are often many great ideas that come out, but that does not mean that those ideas will follow the original intention. Priorities often get overlooked as new plans go into action.
  12. Like
    Bri-Toon got a reaction from Jhonatan S in [VECTOBER] FROG! #DAY 10   
    Looks cute and very business-like at the same time.
  13. Like
    Bri-Toon reacted to Alfred in windows 7 affinity   
    The Platform Update must also be installed.
    Yes. Desktop Window Manager (DWM) is used to compose the desktop: starting with Windows 8, desktop composition is enabled for all themes, but on Windows 7 it’s only enabled when Aero is enabled.
  14. Like
    Bri-Toon got a reaction from retrograde in Affinity Designer Customer Beta (1.9.0.2)   
    I just want to give a shoutout and say that I love the new Contour Tool. So much can be done with it!
  15. Like
    Bri-Toon reacted to Alzbeta in How to crop curves in to shape?   
    WOW awesome! I did not know that you can do something like that  thank you really much
  16. Like
    Bri-Toon got a reaction from Frozen Death Knight in Affinity Designer Customer Beta (1.9.0.2)   
    I just want to give a shoutout and say that I love the new Contour Tool. So much can be done with it!
  17. Like
    Bri-Toon reacted to NIcholas van der Walle in Astute Graphics Technology   
    Affinity (and Adobe) can eventually get to where we are today with our vector tech. But by that time, we'll be years ahead. 😇
    Good question about the app development; we actually did develop one over several years. But then Affinity came out (along with several vector UI apps such as a XD and Figma, plus the re-emergence of CorelDraw on macOS) and it proved that the major segment remaining was the one Affinity has successfully taken; the price-sensitive market. Our plugins is typically aimed at heavy-duty vector users who require Illustrator's breadth of tools and extensibility to ensure very efficient workflows. Affinity is very good for its price point, but from signifiant research on our side, it still lacks many core tools which too many professionals require on a daily basis.
    Instead, we switched to concentrating purely on our 10+ years of vector tech development. It's our core strength.
    We'd be happy to help our Affinity, but they would likely need to develop a very deep extension mechanism that caters for interactive tools and deep access to file structures, etc. if licensing is not for them. We're not in Adobe's pocket and are already licensing our tech elsewhere. We're a very independent company and don't do exclusivity with the licensable tech
    Where Affinity have excelled is their iPad app. It's leagues ahead what Adobe have got around to doing and very arguably the best technical vector drawing iPad out there. Unfortunately, iOS doesn't accomodate conventional plugins (which is why we developed https://astui.tech/ ).
    But never say never regarding an Astute app. Just not in 2020.
  18. Like
    Bri-Toon got a reaction from Zatlap in Gradient fade to transparency?   
    Gumbo,
    Are you trying to have a shape fade from solid to transparent? If so, you can either just use the transparency tool, or with the gradient tool, have one node set to 100% opacity and the other to 0% opacity.
  19. Like
    Bri-Toon got a reaction from DavidGef in Resize text box without changing text size/stretching   
    On top of what Dan said, you can also convert artistic text to frame text. To do that, highlight the text and copy it, and then use any other tool to paste it. That will maintain the size of the artistic text in a frame.
  20. Like
    Bri-Toon got a reaction from Frozen Death Knight in Options for creating a clickable prototype   
    Ah yes, it's been a long while, but I remember some of those names. Balsamiq definitely rings a bell.
     
     
    That's too bad. I was reading into the app store version of Mockup.io, and it looks like it got bad reviews. It looks like it was abandoned back in 2016 or earlier.
     
    And wow, from this quick video, Invision seems to look pretty dandy.
     
     
  21. Like
    Bri-Toon got a reaction from Affinity-Inspiration in Cartoon Drawing in Affinity Designer   
    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.
     
     
  22. Like
    Bri-Toon reacted to Gear maker in A golbal switch to enable/disable all layer effects for a layer   
    Especially at my age.
  23. Thanks
    Bri-Toon got a reaction from A_B_C in A golbal switch to enable/disable all layer effects for a layer   
    I caught a little trick. If you click on just a single FX icon (on a layer) first so the Layer Effects window pops up, you can then shift click the remaining layers, and then turn off all effects at once.
    Or, you can shift click all the layers first, and then click on the FX icon (below the layers), and turn off all the effects at once.
    If there is a layer that has a different effect than another and is not showing up in the Layer Effects window because of multiple layers being selected, then you need to turn on the effect that normally would be on, and then turn it back off to rest the layer.
  24. Like
    Bri-Toon got a reaction from Peter Flint in Affinity Designer: Tips and Tricks   
    Affinity Designer is definitely my program now, so I will be listing any tips and tricks newcomers might be interested in. This is mostly for people just beginning, but even advanced members might learn a thing or two. It's amazing such a program exists. Here are 42 lessons.
     
    _________________________________________________________________________________
     
    Pinned:
     
    Understanding what is Compatible:
    Just because a program like Designer is compatible to many common file types does not mean everything in the documents is supported. You can open and export several of those files types, but consider certain features that are exclusive to certain programs. For example, Designer does not support Photoshop's "smart objects" but it does still support PSD file types. The file type is what is compatible, not everything in the file since tools behave differently for each program.
     
    Adobe Illustrator Compatibility:
    You can easily open Illustrator files in Designer, but you cannot open Designer files in Illustrator unless you change it to a file type that Illustrator recognizes. Through Designer, export it to a file type such as a PDF, and the vector quality will mostly stay the same. Be aware that any pixel editing, advanced gradients, or glows may appear pixelated.
    Tip: When opening an Illustrator file in Designer, anything bleeding off the canvas will get cut off or become lost. Arrange the objects so nothing is getting cut off before opening the files in Designer. Understanding and Accessing Color Modes:
    Different color modes are useful for different tasks. RGB is good for digital artwork and common printing tasks. CMYK is good for 4-colour rotary press printers. To access the different color modes, go into Document Setup in the File menu or from the Context Toolbar when the Move Tool is selected. The go into the Color tab, and then the Color Format dropdown menu.
     
    Tip: To access the same color properties on your PNG image export as your file, click "More" on the Export dialogue, and under ICC Profile, select the very last option, sRGB. (Adobe is the only suite that converts RGB to sRGB automatically.) _________________________________________________________________________________
     
    Other Lessons:
     
    Change the Canvas Size Manually:
    Create a box with the Artboard Tool and find the size you like. Once you are happy, press delete to remove that artboard but keep the new size. (This applies differently for creating multiple artboards for multiple exports.)

    Creating Nested Layers:
    A nested layer is a set of curves inside a route layer. The route layer can be opened and closed revealing or hiding the curves. By default, each curve is on its own layer. Create a new Vector Layer, and drag all of the curves in. (Make sure you drag them into a layer and not a curve accidentally.) Whether you are creating layers, groups, or clips, objects can be dragged in and out through the Layers studio.

    Creating Clipped Objects:
    If you drag curves in another curve through the Layers studio, then you clip those objects inside one. In other words, it is like creating a window. Anything that bleeds off the clipped object's space will be hiding. (The last button on the last set in the top right can also clip objects. Copied or cut objects will always be pasted in the position they were at previously. With the last button selected, they will be pasted inside the selected object in that exact position. This is good for shading.) To unclip the objects, drag them out of the clipped layer, or cut and paste with the last button on the top right unselected.
    Tip: When scaling, any clipped objects must be updated manually. Cropping or Masking Objects:
    The Crop Tool works differently from other applications. It crops the selected object(s) instead of the canvas. Additionally, you can drag objects to the right of a layer's thumbnail in the Layers studio to crop them in that layer's object. (This is good for creating the illusion of an unclosed path for drawings such as hair, and it is good for creating comic cells.) To remove your mask, click on the mask's "thumbnail" and delete it.

    Selecting Individual Objects in Groups and Clips:
    Hold Ctrl/Cmd and click (once). After that, you can hold Shift to select multiple objects in that group or clip.

    Boolean Operations:
    When two or more objects are intersecting, you can merge, subtract, divide, and perform other geometric operations. The second set from the top right are your boolean tools. With your objects selected, click on one to perform an operation.

    Compound Booleans:
    In addition to making regular geometric shapes (Illustrator's Pathfinder), you can also make compound shapes allowing the multiple shapes to be repositioned. Whether you are adding or subtracting multiple shapes, hold Alt before clicking one of the boolean buttons. You can expand your layer to select objects separately.

    Power Duplicate:
    Rather than copying and pasting all the time, hold Alt while selecting an object, and drag. After that, you can scale, stretch, or rotate the duplicate. Press Ctrl/Cmd J to make another duplicate in the relevance of the previous two. Keep pressing it, and keep making more duplicates.

    Bitmap Pattern Fills:
    With the Fill Tool (gradient), you can use a Bitmap type to insert an image as a fill. That image will be tiled, and it can be stretched, rotated, and scaled. (Click the lock icon to maintain its aspect ration.)

    Making Corners Easier:
    With the corner tool selected, you can select multiple corner points of a shape at once by holding Shift, and then you can change those corners round. There are also corner types you can choose from (straight, concave, cutout.)

    Create a Fade Effect:
    Move the Transparency Tool across a selected object(s) to create a faded transition between a solid and empty space. You can add nodes on the transparency map and slide them to adjust the level of fade.

    Type on Path:
    With the Artist Text Tool selected, hold your cursor near a line or shape until the cursor changes, and then click. You can start typing on that object.

    Edit Smart Shapes:
    There are lots of manipulation options for the smart shape presets, but if you want to edit them as you would with any other object, then you must click the option that says "Convert to Curves" under the Shape Tool's context toolbar. (Sometimes it hides in a drop down menu at the end of the list.) Once this is done, you cannot convert them back to smart shapes.

    Convert Strokes to Fills:
    When you are happy with the size of your stroke, select Layer > Expand Stroke. Once this is done, you cannot convert them back to strokes.

    Breaking and Closing Lines:
    This is important since vectors consist of closed shapes. This means to break a closed shape into an open shape, or to close it back up. With the Node Tool or Pen Tool selected, the first two buttons in the "Action" set can do this. If you want to break a path, you must first select the node where you want the break, or first create the node by double clicking on a spot on your line with the Node Tool.

    Joining Lines:
    This means to have two "different" open paths connect. Select the two lines and click on the fourth button in the "Action" set. (Whichever end points of the two lines are closer to each other is where the connection will occur.)

    Edit Throughout All Affinity Applications:
    Click File > Edit in (other app) to edit your drawing in another Affinity Application. All are compatible with each other. If you bring the file back into Designer, you will still have the vector quality. Just be careful with the operation you perform. Mesh warps and perspective tools in Affinity Photo will rasterize your artwork.

    Creating Color Palettes:
    In the Swatches studio, click on the flyout menu in the far right, and click on one of the Add Palette options. After that is done, you can add swatches to your palette with the palette icon underneath your recent swatches. To remove a swatch, right click on one and select "Remove Fill." To remove a palette, click on the flyout menu again and select "Delete Palette."

    Add Noise:
    When an object is selected, click on the circle icon in the Colours studio next to "Opacity" to change the slider into "Noise." Slide the nob up and down (right and left really).

    Change Weight Variation:
    With a line or object selected, click on the Pressure box in the Stroke studio to bring up the line's profile. You can add and remove nodes. Hold Alt to change the ends individually (not necessary for closed shapes).

    Pixel Editing on Vectors:
    Create a new Pixel layer, and drag it inside the vector object you want to edit (the same as clipping). You can now use pixel brushes right inside your vector objects.

    Create Pixel Masks on Vectors:
    With the object or set of objects selected, click on the Mask icon in the Layers studio. This will allow you to use the pixel Eraser Tool and selection tools on the masked vector objects. But since they are only masks, the Eraser tool does not actually break apart the paths. If you want to get your vector object back without any of the pixel editing, then click on the mask's "thumbnail," and delete it.

    Only Edit the Selected Layer:
    Toggle the first button in the Layers studio off to work with only the layer you have selected.

    Scale Vectors on Resizing:
    Toggle on the box "Scale with object" in the Stroke studio while and object(s) is selected.
     
    Convert Line to Brush or Brush to Line:
    The Stroke Styles in the Stroke studio are actually styles made by the Pencil or Pen Tool and Brush Tool. To convert a pencil line to a brush stroke, click on the Textured Line Style. To convert a brush stroke to a pencil line, click on the Solid or Dashed Line style.

    Advanced Text Formatting:
    To accomplish formats like leading, tracking, and kerning (line spacing, word spacing, and character spacing), find your option in the Character or Paragraph menus in the context toolbar of either of the two text tools.

    Add Text in a Shape:
    Aside from the regular square shaped text boxes from the Frame Text Tool, you can change objects into text boxes. Select an object, and select Layer > Covert to Text Frame.

    Export Multiple Objects as Multiple Files:
    In the Export persona, use the Slice Tool to carve a box around objects you want exported as themselves. Your slices will be listed in the Slices studio.

    Change the Opacity of Stroke and Fill Separately:
    Select the fill or stroke indicator in either the Colour studio or Swatches studio, and adjust the opacity in the Colour studio. The Opacity slider in the Layers studio, on the other hand, changes the opacity of the entire object (not layer, or just stroke or fill).

    Show Objects Bleeding off the Canvas:
    Select View > View Mode > Clip to Canvas
     
    Only Show the Selected Layer (Temporally):
    If Alt is held, clicking on a layer will show just that layer until deselected or edited.
     
    Create Pixel Selection on a Layer:
    Hold Control or Command and select the layer's thumbnail.
     
    Edit Nodes without Selecting the Node Tool:
    With the Pen, Pencil, or Brush Tool selected, hold Control or Command to bring up the Node Tool only while the mouse click is held.
     
    Work with Small Pixels Easily:
    When working in large zoomed in and tight areas, the space of moving or editing objects may not be positioned properly. Hold Alt to position them more appropriately, but do not hold Alt before moving. That will create a duplicate.
     
    Set Key Commands for Rotating the Canvas:
    In the preferences and under "Keyboard Shortcuts," locate the View option in the second dropdown menu. Then scroll down the list until you see "Rotate Left" and "Rotate Right." Add in a key command in the box to the right of those two actions.
     
    Create a Raster Brush:
    Create any design, and then in the Export persona, use the Slice Tool to create a slice box around the design. Then in the Slices studio, locate that new slice and click the last icon to export it. Now in the Pixel persona, go into the Brushes studio, and open the hamburger menu and select "New Intensity Brush."
     
    Create a Vector Brush:
    Set the canvas to a complete square so each side is the same size, and close it down close to the design's edges. (The left and right sides must overlap the design.) Make sure the furthest left part of the design matches the furthest right part of the design on the vertical axis. The background must be black, and the design must be white. Export your design as an image file (preferably PNG). In the Brushes studio, click open the hamburger menu, and select "New Textured Intensity Brush." Now double click that new brush, and in the new window, the bottom picture shows a preview. Move the red indicators to touch the brush's edges. And select "Repeat" if you want to repeat that brush stroke.
     
    Turn Black and White Photo into a Colored Photo:
    This is not really a vector designing feature, but it can still be done. Use the Selection Brush Tool on an area of a black and white photo. Then in the menu of the adjustments icon from the Layers studio, select "Recolor," and then find the right color for that selection. Repeat the same thing with the other areas on the photo. (Since each color is on an adjustment, you can go back any time and change the color.)
     
    **Create Palette from Document:
    This will create swatches of the colors in a document. In the Swatches studio, click on the hamburger menu and scroll down to 'Create Palette from Document.' Then you choose whether you want that palette to show throughout all of your Designer files, that one document, or your system.
     
    Edit: Dec 2017
    I forgot all about this topic. I made another with a very similar title on videos.
  25. Thanks
    Bri-Toon reacted to MEB in Designer: Expand stroke is completely broken   
    Hi Ghazali Tajuddin, kaiwienen, sebasnieb,
    Welcome to Affinity Forums
    This should be fixed in the upcoming Designer v1.8 (retail). The Affinity Designer 1.8 Beta should be out as soon as it's ready so everyone can test their own files before the retail update and check if there's any issues (no eta for the Beta or Retail).
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