Brian_G

Thanks very much for the extra details. I had seen the "Float" command but was unsure how to use it. As a new user I'll have to spend more time becoming more familiar with these features. One of my dislikes of Photoshop was the awful User Interface, but most commands were accessible through the menus. It would appear that AP has a less cluttered UI, but as a result, there are more "hidden" menu commands. Not better or worse, just different. The key is understanding the differences - I'll get there eventually!.

Thank you for that Walt. I didn't know that dragging the tab opened a new window.

I have a similar problem. I wish to display two images side by side in Affinity Photo for comparison. In most programs there is an option under "Windows" to "Tile Vertically" or "Tile Horizontally" to compare two (or more) images. I cannot even see a "Separated Mode" option in my Affinity Photo (v1.6.4.104) ?

Thanks very much. Yes - Opacity, I couldn't think of the correct term! I didn't have a problem with individually colouring and setting Opacity to each shape as I drew them. I then grouped them and applied the Blending mode I wanted, and if necessary adjusted the Opacity individually As I said, I need more practice at all of this, but I have achieved the result I wanted. I suspect, as with Photoshop, there is more than one way to create the desired result.

Thank you for the link explaining lines and shapes. I obviously need to spend some more time practicing this subject and I was initially in a bit of a hurry. I have a tutorial on what I'm trying to do in PS, and I'm trying to apply it in Affinity, so there are differences in technique. I cannot group the shapes, since each one is filled with a different colour and density, although the Blend Mode is the same.

OK. Back again. I've managed to do what I wanted, but I'm not sure if it was by accident or design. I drew my outline using the pen tool and then filled it with colour, one shape at a time. This worked fine and I now have all the shapes I wanted. What I was originally trying to do was draw ALL the outlines first and then, having drawn them, fill them with colour. Doing them one by one seems like a slightly long-winded method, since in Photoshop you can draw all the outlines, save them as a separate layer and then work on them as much as you want. Two things I did want to ask: When I'm drawing the outline with the pen tool, some nodes appear as squares and others as circles. What's the difference? The other thing is, how do I add a node to an existing outline? Thanks for all the help so far.

Yes, I am drawing the whole path in one operation. The first two or three times I use the tool, everything works fine, I can see the path and the path nodes, but when I reach the fourth or fifth outline I see the initial starting node, but as I continue adding nodes they don't show up and the path also dissappears, making it very difficult to close the shape. How do I ensure the path I'm drawing has a stroke applied? I'm not turning the path into a selection, so no "marching ants," I'm creating a vector shape to fill with colour.

Thanks to everyone for their replies so far, I'm learning some good stuff here. I had said previously that I was using the pen tool to outline my selection, so the modes of the "Freehand" tool are irrelevant. If it is of any help, what I'm trying to do is selectively colour specific areas of a photograph, using a different colour in each selection. I've been experimenting and I've found that I can simply outline the shapes I need with the pen tool. Once I've drawn an outline, I need to fill it with colour. I can do this by drawing and filling one outline at a time, so thats OK. ~HOWEVER, when I draw the first outline I can see the start point, the outline and the nodes as I'm drawing, so when I get to the end of the shape I can simply click on the start point to close the shape. This seems to work OK for the first 3 or 4 outlines, but when I keep adding outlines, the program no longer displays the path I'm drawing. This seems to happen sooner for paths with a large number of nodes, and eventually the path is not displayed at all, making it very difficult to find the start point to close the outline. It also seems to miss out some nodes, so that if I can successfully close the shape by guessing where the start point was, when I try filling the shape with colour, it's not the shape I thought I had just drawn. Is this a bug in the program, that limits the number of pen drawn outlines or nodes in those outlines?

It seems we have a difference of opinions here. I will be at the program later so I can experiment. One thing that puzzles me is, after I have grouped the paths, why is it necessary to fill them with colour?

Ah! Yes - That looks like it's my problem. I drew one path and then pressed "Selection" and when I started the second path it cancelled the first. I will try drawing all the paths (eight in total) and then press "Selection."

I'm rather puzzled by this reply. As I said, I can not draw multiple paths, since as soon as I start a second one, it cancels the one I just drew. It's all very well sayng "draw the paths" but that's the problem, I can only draw one at a time. What am I doing wrong that prevents me from drawing multipe paths with the pen tool?

Thanks very much firstdefence, I'll give that a try. Seems a little complicated, compared to PS, but I'm sure it's easier once you get used to it.

I have a requirement to make multiple selections more accurately than using the selection brush or selection tools, so I tried using the Pen tool, which has the accuracy I require. I can draw the outline just fine, and pressing the "Selection" button changes it to the "Marching Ants." However, I need to make multiple selections, and as soon as I make my next one, it cancels the one I already drew. I've tried pressing "SHIFT", "CTRL" and "ALT" (separately, not all at the same time!) when pressing "Selection, but each time it cancels my previous selection. Is there a way of making mutiple selections when using the Pen Tool?