SrPx

-- Edited --- (by me, SrPx)

-- Edited --- (by me, SrPx)

Quite some of the stuff I wrote is not fully accurate. There is still some sort of lag, though. And I am not sure the card/machine one has affects that much (other than for big brushes). But yes, the brush engine still needs work. It seems some matters have improved, and some are in the works to be better... But it is an amazing value for the cost for all what is not brush engine related. You get one of the most powerful image editing out there, compliant with most professional needs today in that department, and this is really hard to find. You can have even free apps for the painting stage, also, as a companion. Also, it has some issues for certain type and style of painting, not for every use/way of painting (a fast, agile inker might opt for using other application, and import later into AP for finishing, color, etc). I recommend it now more thanks to this focus, and as I have been able to see that the brush engine goes getting its updates through time.

Nope, but also, I've never been too much into publishing (handled more Page Maker and Quark, tho), but about the others you mention, mostly all. (Edit: I removed the following paragraph to these lines : I noticed I had gone quite off topic...)

The firmware update, quite an issue for those of us with more than arcane mother boards, lol... (a bunch of vendors wont give bios support to models that far away in time)

I can't remember well right now, but I believe you had two options there, assigning a profile to a specific file, and set one as default for the app, typically being your main RGB one. Or maybe I'm messing up stuff now in my thick brain with Photoshop, as that's how it's done there... The sensible thing for me, in any app, tends to be the RGB profile I use more -or the monitor RGB profile- as my default, then convert/assign (in PS, is "convert" for me, "assign" has its issues) as needed. As I work just in sRGB mode very often (for practical reasons with some POD printers, saves me time, weird as it sounds) I have for entire projects set the default as sRGB, and even use the assign (convert in PS) profile (as sRGB) when the situation needs it over some file.

Hey, I wanted to do this seriously. So I did code an app to better evaluate the pros and cons...But run into probs....I'm gonna sue you , Serif, you made my system unstable ! (Yeah, here's hoping that'll be the one and only 5 minutes stupidity of the day.... ...SORRY...)

Many other apps use this logic. Even PS did so for a while (later it provided both export and save as or save for the web for those two, it's a matter that has been changing) IMO that's way, way too unimportant.... (no offense )

It has been posted several times that is not in the plans of Serif, and several of those threads do point to excellent -and a hard market for a company, existing too many free ones quite capable- free, or low cost, or more expensive video editors out there. Even in the free way, there are a bunch, pretty capable.

I'll paste you here and now my favorite super automatic generator wyciwyg of websites....Having worked decades on web design, from concept, graphic design, (the one and only frontend guy for a company creating and maintaining the web portals) to the last bit of code : https://notepad-plus-plus.org YEAH. After many shocks to the wall, the only healthy and sane thing is to build your sketches with whatever (am old school, preferred plain pen/pencil and paper, also easier in a face to face group meeting), of how you want your compositions and wiring for the whole site. Then use whatever you prefer to do actual graphic designs -yet being mock-ups- to show a better feel of it to customers or the boss, etc. And once is all agreed, you start thinking of doing the final graphics and design, then choping the graphics and then write the code, by hand in a notepad-like editor, of course better if supports highlighting per language syntax, auto indent, bookmarks, collapsible blocks, intellisense/completion, etc, etc. (An UX expert might shout in rage at this, but hey, I intentionally left the boat when the UX thing started. I already was used to make A/B testings, study the flow, structure and capability of conversion of each element. But it now has evolved to a professional profile in its own. To the point that I am meeting some UX specialists who don't actually do any graphic other than the wireframes... life changes... Also was in charge of the whole SEO thing... And then I opted for a much happier (less constantly changing) job, just doing illustration, pixel art and 3D... ) We are very very far from the times when one would just generate all the thing in a wysywyg software and nobody else (neither tool, code, framework or app) would have to chime in and take part of it, or integrate with it. Of course, imo still valid for some fast-food landing pages, some very basic personal sites, etc.

Thank you very much! (my quota of likes expired today... )

Thank you ! (for all the collection)

Thank you !

Me too! But...meanwhile, I was able in literally every company to use my set of tools, or most of them. Specially had triple pressure to demonstrate that it was a valid tool (Wings3D specially comes to mind, but also did with Blender and for some tasks, Inkscape.) Which I liked, as I like challenges. Well, there might not be any action in using users made art for promoting the tools (IMO there's quite some legal stuff in the middle, might not be easy). I can think already of several jewels around that speak for themselves more than any promotional video (specially among professionals) . But trust me, any serious artist / whatever graphic worker that comes here, sees this design (specially if gets to see the original, too) and reads specifically the paragraph I just quoted above, which is obviously not the result of some internal deal or stuff, is a plain testimony of someone just getting ninja level (is very obvious that you were already Ninja with Illustrator ) with this tool in just a few months... Well, I'd look nowhere else, and would get the entire suite, to be sincere.

Still, I can't see it as a small thing... Kind of... I am not a very rare case. Maybe yes in the fact that I handle several profiles (but this is more common now than some years ago), but other than that, an old, er, kind of professional, and I don't see myself going back to PS due to the current renting model, having gone out of the Adobe bubble allowed me to know some really great alternative approaches, which I was ignoring, the better implementation of painting tools in certain other software, and realizing the excessive hardware resources usage currently happening in PS. And in each profile, am not too much different to other people working at this. I mean, I tend to go with the average Joe stats....While I firmly agree that anyone going for just working at companies, to fill specific very detailed profiles, there's absolutely no other route than going with the standards (PS, Max, Zbrush, Illustrator, etc), I have met and known a good number of small studios and freelancers opting for alternatives, in many fields, but specially 2D editing, video and 3D modeling/rendering, etc. I don't believe is going to be a matter of some isolated cases. We're not speaking here (indeed I've never thought so) that Adobe is going to loose its reign (but maybe yep step down to a less monopolistic position (even if slightly, tho the at least freedom to use other thing for an individual, is a giant step for many of us), that's my 2 cents of a suspicion) , but that the whole thing is going to gain a bit in diversity, and this bit, while small in percentage, could be large in absolute numbers (so, in money) and definitely in the quality of art and design produced with the alternatives (as I don't reduce it to the Affinity suite, though could be a major front). I more than just suspect that... Plus, I consider already quite a thing that you can -or will be able to do so- realistically opt for doing all your work as a freelance with an alternative suite.(I've done so for a while with other alternatives/specific task tools, but I mean more for the masses of freelancers, with a bit less of the (old) "Mac Gyver type" attitude (those who have done things this way are less common (doesn't mean better), I admit it) , and more of ex employees making their own business, advanced hobbyists and small to mid size companies cutting expenses. ) . But again, not a world domination kind of thing, lol, just we all -including those staying with Adobe, or specially those, we'd be making the dirty work for them, so several of their decades long petitions might start to be heard, just to mention one of the advantages for them- can/surely will gain in diversity of tools, surely in quality of each solution, and most probably, get a bit less of the monopolistic tactics.

They accept Visa, MasterCard and American Express cards, it says in the help... So, considering that, wouldn't really mind which your bank is. ( I myself tend to prefer PayPal for these things)

Hmmm...yep, it has some issues. But I very firmly disagree with the last part. Seen very concluding and impacting videos, read reviews, etc, of how much of a resource hog is the new PS. Even more than before. People keep doing comparisons with CS2, CS5, CS6. This is not a real comparison, as both AP and PS attend the needs and features of today, much more demanding. None of both is a king in performance, but if I'd have to opt, AP is definitely more snappy than PS CC latest.

Definitely shorter, sharper shadows. And if the jacket originally was laying on the floor, would help. Also, the projected shadow is kind of going in all directions, imo is better to a bit more distance in some edges/area, less in another. Depending on the floor, you might need to do gamma/tone/curves adjustment on the clothing, but maybe you are not allowed to do that. Long version: Modeling the jacket, texturing it, applying a realistic physics cloth plugin (Blender can do this) taking a flat hard surface, the floor, as a collision object. Rendering with a realistic renderer like Blender Cycles or Vray. I could do that, and the price would not worth it for anyone (// yeah, that paragraph was a joke. )

Indeed, if u ask me, this is the kind of stuff to solidly promote Affinity Designer worldwide. (technical illustrators would be VERY interested. ...and general public, too. )

Top stuff. Kudos ! (specially impacting is how much accurately it renders the original photo !! )

Edited by myself . Too large wall of text, being also a bit off topic with the thread. Summary would have been: No, I don't think they're nervous. But yep, I'm positive and sure they see it like a threat (and that line smoothing feature...Hmmm... I'm sure they are watching these forums and Serifs developments, and also Nezumi utility, CSP... (totally reigning in comic field for a lot of pros)), and not enjoying loosing a portion of sells, like with the other alternatives. Corel and Xara were not also "nice to have" as competitors (corel Painter was always better for painting, even if I preferred always PS for its versatility), they indeed have an important portion of the market, but not big enough, neither covering the range of features needed so fully. And now is not a good time, with latest huge performance issues in the brush engine and in general usage, memory, resources, etc, in PS CC 2018 (just check a bazillion forums, including oficial ones, on internet...), that plus some other issues, often introduced in every CC version. Not nervous, but they shouldn't feel too confident, specially mid/long term. And in the meantime till that, they are loosing a nice number of customers. Even if one does not loose the hegemonic domination due to that, is not nice for marketing/sells teams and business owners, investors, etc. IMO, Affinity covers a niche not so well attended till now : Really angry with the forced renting individuals, but who also want/need an essential range of pro features, required by the market, and pro workflows covered, specially in photography, general image editing (putting in this group also a ton of professional uses of even non related to image editing professions) and in print jobs area (my main worry for raster and vector tools. I can do just fine painting in other tools, I like and have many others, need Affinity for the profesional editing and output (for me, A.Designer is already a full solution)). And judging by what I have been reading and detecting over some years, this group of people is... quite large. Not the majority, but very big in numbers of non converted, lost money.

yepp... kind of indeed was reading articles in that line, now.... like this one : https://www.computerworld.com/article/3245788/microsoft-windows/windows-meltdown-and-spectre-keep-calm-and-carry-on.html But if is just scaremongering, or a way to force users to get a certain patch for other reasons, they fooled (again) my main country's TV news to give it a serious treatment....

Sorry, am a bit dense right now...Do you have Ryzen 7 or i7 8700k ? Anyway, I was inclined for the ryzen already for another reasons (but not for a large difference). And I understood that you have already applied the patch and do not notice any slow down... Anyway, I do put every machine I handle to maximum stress, sooner or later...I'm worse than the bug. I'd notice like heck in this dinosaur am having even a 5% of performance loss ('cause is at the very limit for everything, today)... let alone a 30%, or a 65% as I've read some potential situations after applying this MS patch...After 9 years with the same machine, to me even a pentium 4460 is "blazingly fast" . The good part : I've taught my arcane ninja-dinosaur to fight the hardest battles. I can still do all my graphics works with it... What wont I'd be able to do with a young Ryzen-San... If you have not been offered the security update, you may be running incompatible anti-virus software and you should follow up with your software vendor. Let's hope is not one of those.... "only a few privileged ones" (read: highly paying or... of "family members") will (the antivirus companies) have the access to that . I'm trying to think is not yet another "strange income source"... Like... would be quite a fast way to get ride of the competition (from friendly a.virus companies) or put them in disadvantage... Maybe I should have ONE coffee after lunch, NOT two... triggers my conspiranoia levels...

This can be a game changer for the AMD / Intel fight, indeed. Yet though, games seem will be mostly unaffected in the performance loss by the fix. (I dont' know why people is so sure... I'd be to think it'd affect them as well... Not that I'd matter, tho. Heavy 2D and 3D editing, there's where all my worries are, specially in old machines. )

Ouch, the patches might cause from a 5 to a 30% of performance loss? (have read even possible a 65% in older machines...) And it is BIG.... affecting mostly I/O operations (and cpu intensive operations having many syscalls, whatever the heck that is...). I wonder how it'd affect working with large multilayered print files at high resolution.The issue is that a user process can access Kernel's protected areas (and read all sort of private data), but only for intel CPUs, not AMDs. Patch in Windows is coming pretty soon... Hello, AMD Ryzen....And I was doubting between a Ryzen 7 and the i7 8700k....this clears it up...