Bardo70

Here is  the custom smoke brush I promised in my Custom Smoke Brush Video.
Free to use as you like. If you create one of your own I would like for you to post it to this thread and share with the rest of the community. Let fill the room with smoke ;)
 
 
Don't know how to make your own? Well watch my free Video Tutorial 
 
 
 
 
Thanks cheers and use responsibly :P 
Smoke brush 3 demo.afbrushes.zip

There are a number of different ways to remove colour, however these are probably the most common ways:
1) Go to Document > Colour Format > Greyscale.  Although I never use this as it's destructive and removes the colour information permanently
2) Go to Layer > New Fill Layer, fill it with white and set the layer blend mode to 'Colour'
3) Add a Channel Mixer Adjustment Layer and change the Output Channel to 'Grey'
4) Add a Curves Adjustment Layer, set the layer blend mode to 'Colour', then drag the bottom-left corner point of the curve to the top-left corner (so that it's a horizontal line)
5) Add a HSL Adjustment Layer and drag the 'Saturation Shift' slider all the way to the left (-100%)
6) Add a Black & White Adjustment Layer
7) Add a Black & White Adjustment Layer, and change the default values from 100%, to the following values to mimic method 3 (adding a Channel Mixer Adjustment Layer).  R=29.8%, Y=88.5%, G=58.9%, C=69.9%, B=11.4%, M=41.2% (for RGB 8-bit images only, the values will be different for RGB 16-bit images).  You can record this as a macro.
8) Add a Soft Proof Adjustment Layer and set the Proof Profile to 'Greyscale D50'.  This will mimic method 1 (Document > Colour Format > Greyscale)
9) To do it via 'Layer Effects' for a layer or group.  Open the 'Layer Effects' settings.  Go to 'Colour Overlay' and set Blend Mode to Colour, Opacity to 100% and Colour to white or black.
 
It's worth noting that the different methods give different end results as a straight B&W conversion, as per the below examples (click on the first image, then use the left/right arrow keys to scroll through them).  The Monochromacy/Achromatopsia 'Color Blindness Simulator' on this site, appears to be using something similar to methods 2 or 3 above.










 

Hi question, at home we have two accounts, my wife has an affinity designer and I've got affinity photo, both app at amazing.  Now, question, can we both use (all pc/laptops using windows) both apps on our our laptops?  Should/can we merge the accounts?  We are not using them commercially (unless you take into account a few changes to some images for ppt, as in delete white background).  I guess the answer is yes, but just want to be on the safe side. 
Cheers
 

Hi Septimus,
Thanks for your report. We are aware of the portrait issues in the Nik Collection plug-ins (as well as others - more info here - click on the plugin name for details).
Regarding the cropping, this is because the crop in non-destructive in Affinity Photo, in other words it retains all the original image data until you rasterise the layer (in case you want to re-adjuts the crop later) and so seems it's sending all data to the plug-in. I will pass this to the dev team.

DEPRECATED THREAD
The Photo tutorials listed below have been refreshed and moved. Please see this new thread or use the Affinity site Photo Desktop tutorials webpage
 
In support of our fantastic photo editing app, please use this comprehensive and structured set of videos for accelerated learning!
The video tutorials are available on Vimeo and YouTube via these links:
 
Vimeo - http://affin.co/PhotoVids
YouTube - http://affin.co/photoyt

We now have a specific Beginners Series of videos tailored to absolute beginners, with a more manageable pacing and focus on concepts and straightforward procedures. They all include subtitles to aid understanding.

The tutorial set includes:

Beginners Series
Opening & Saving -  YouTube / Vimeo Layers - YouTube / Vimeo Adjustments - YouTube / Vimeo Filters - YouTube / Vimeo Exporting - YouTube / Vimeo  
Introduction
Discover Affinity Photo Getting Started Technical Benefits  
Basics
Document Setup Layer Concepts Layers Overview Live Filter Layers Scaling and Transforming Cutting Out Understanding DPI Accessing Help  
Transforming
Document/Image Resizing Canvas Resizing Cropping: Practical Cropping: Aesthetic Straightening Images Cropping: Golden Spiral Cropping: Options Aligning Images  
Selections and Masking
Making Selections Refining Selections Pixel Selections from Layers Quick Masks Mask Layers Exposure Merging Clipping vs Masking Vector Masking Using Adjustment Layers on Masks - YouTube / Vimeo  
Correction
Adjustment Layers Levels Curves Shadows/Highlights Split Toning and Selective Colour LAB Colour Mode Defringing and Chromatic Aberration Live Perspective Haze Removal FFT Denoise Removing Lens Flares Changing Eye Colour Graduated ND Filter Effect Salvaging Underexposed Images Dual Perspective Correction Perspective Skew Correction - YouTube / Vimeo (New: 20th April)  
Retouching
Cloning Inpainting Frequency Separation Liquify: Retouching Vector-Based Retouching Enhancing Landscapes/Architecture Vector Architecture: Worked Example Enhancing Camera Phone Photography Making Images Pop Revealing Sky Detail Bringing Out Water Detail Quick Inpainting Crooked Horizons - YouTube / Vimeo  
RAW Development
Raw: Discover Develop Raw: Developing Images Raw: Overlays Raw: Redeveloping Images Raw: Noise Reduction Maximising Raw Latitude Custom Tone Curve Raw Development Quality 32-bit Raw Development - YouTube / Vimeo Raw Colour Quality Automatic Lens Corrections Raw: Recovering Overexposed Highlights Raw: Exposure Bias  
Getting Creative
Lighting Creative Gradients Creative Black & White Sepia Images Brushes Blend Modes Blend Ranges Liquify Persona Sky Replacement Adding Borders Text: Branding/Watermarking Diffuse Glow Displacement Circular Bokeh Swirling Bokeh Simulating Ambient Occlusion Texturing with Blend Modes Creating Atmosphere Creating Light Beams Vector Lighting Simple Gradients Technicolor Emulation - YouTube / Vimeo Creative Painting Colour toning with shapes Infrared Emulation Radial Blur Regular Tone Mapping Compositing Landscapes Adding Extended Borders Creating Photo Collages Abstract Ideas #01 Abstract Ideas #02 Enhancing Low Light Trails Light Painting Compositing Tone Mapping Portraits HSL Tonal Separation - YouTube / Vimeo Orton Effect - YouTube / Vimeo  
Design Aids
Snapshots Modifiers Designer/Photo Interworking Pixel Accurate Design Placing Documents Useful Keyboard Shortcuts Non Destructive Inpainting and Cloning Layer Creation Behaviour Layer Nesting Exporting 3D LUTs LUTs for Tonal Adjustments View Points Global Cloning Subtle Toning Multiple Colour Formats Scopes Curves Picker Non-Destructive Dodge & Burn Flexible Defringing Edge Detection for Masking Split & Mirror View Batch Processing Clone Sources Pixel Art Resize Direct PSD write-back (round tripping) Freehand Selection Tool Undo History Importing .abr Brushes Undo Brush with Snapshots Quick Toggling Panels - YouTube / Vimeo Light UI - YouTube / Vimeo Brush Stabilisation - YouTube / Vimeo  
Channels
Channels Channels for Alpha Masking Channels: Creating/Storing Selections Editing Single Channels Channels: Greyscale Blending Channel Packing  
Filters
Live Filter Layers (Also in Basics) Apply Image Apply Image: Equations Equations Filter Dust & Scratches Filter Halftone Scanlines Effect Mirror filter Diffuse Glow Filter Defeating Filter Limits  
Panoramas
Panoramas Tricky Panoramas Panorama Distortion Correction  
HDR (High Dynamic Range)
HDR: Merging & Tone Mapping HDR from one exposure - YouTube / Vimeo HDR: Tone Map Presets HDR: Panoramas HDR: Preprocessing HDR: Advanced Editing HDR: Ghosts Removal HDR: 32-bit Editing  
Focus Merging (Focus Stacking)
Focus Merging Focus Merge Retouching Focus Merging Bracketed Exposures  
Live Stacking
Maximum Stacking Big Stopper Effect Light Painting Blending Stacking: Long Exposure Simulation Stacking: Noise Reduction Stacking: Object Removal Stacking: Exposure Merging Stacking: Star Trail Effect  
Live Projections (360 editing, perspective projection)
360 Live Editing - YouTube / Vimeo 360 Advanced Editing 360 Retouching 360 Multiple Views 360 Roll Correction - YouTube / Vimeo Live Perspective Projection  
 OpenEXR/32-bit
OpenEXR Multichannel Import/Export OpenEXR Import Options Editing 32-bit 3D Renders OpenEXR: Using Alpha Channels & Association  
3D Render/Texture Work
Seamless Textures Clone Sources: Texture Creation Enhancing 3D Renders #01 Enhancing 3D Renders #02 Tone Mapping 3D Renders 3D Relighting with Normal Map Passes - YouTube / Vimeo  
Colour Management
OpenColorIO Setup OpenColorIO Adjustment Soft Proofing Printing on Mac Printing on Windows Wide Colour Profiles vs sRGB - YouTube / Vimeo  
Macros
Macros Macros: Equations Macros: Layer Behaviour Batch Processing with Macros  
Finishing Off
Sharpening Selective Sharpening Exporting Export Compression Efficiency  
Plugins
Installing Nik Plugins (macOS) Installing Nik Plugins (Windows) Installing & Using Nik Dfine  
Projects
Nature Portrait Supermoon Product Shot Retouching #01 Nighttime Architecture Workflow - YouTube / Vimeo Portrait Retouching Workflow - YouTube / Vimeo  
Bonus Content
Uplift Epic Skies (1.6 Bonus Content) - YouTube / Vimeo  
Windows Workflow videos
 
In addition to the regular tutorials, we've also got some workflow videos shot on the Windows version of Photo that cover using a variety of features to edit an image to completion. These tend to be released on a more informal basis.
Hadrian's Wall Tiled Building Portrait Retouching Monochromatic Architecture Canary Wharf Banded Demoiselle  
 
Please let us know about areas you think need covering, have problems with, don’t understand, or just tell us if we’re on the right or wrong track. Simply reply to this pinned topic.

Have fun with Affinity Photo!

Best wishes from the Affinity Documentation Team!

Click here to download the latest beta

Status: Public Beta
Purpose: Stability
Requirements: None

As this is a beta release, it is 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 you may be adversely affected by the application failing. In addition it is worth noting that files created in Affinity Photo 1.5 cannot be opened in Affinity Photo 1.4, which means that they cannot be opened in the latest Mac App Store version of Affinity Photo, and instead you will need the latest macOS 1.5 beta.

We hope you enjoy the latest build, and as always, if you've got any problems, please don't hesitate to post here and we'll get back to you as soon as we can. Thanks once again for your continued feedback.

If you have a general question about the software, please head over to the Questions Forum, or if you have any suggestions, please head over to the Feature Requests forum.

Fixes
Added Photoshop plugin FilterRecord::PlatformData implementation (fixes plugin window parenting issues) Fixed batch export progress Fixed batch export dirtying the document Improved noise reduction (partial) Added missing paste special menu item Fixed being unable to paste Enhanced Metafiles Fixed for Paste from external clipboards being permanently disabled Fixed crash when pasting an object as an SVG Fixed memory leaks when the progress dialog is displayed (can result in massive leaks when developing RAW files) Fixed exporting images to Dropbox / Google Drive / other file synchronisation services (would previously fail to write metadata) Removed gap at bottom of layers control Removed gap at bottom of some combo boxes Fixed crash when using Logitech 510 wireless and using Logitech Options software, when scrolling horizontally (software was delivering invalid mouse coordinates) Added special paper sizes (from the printer) in the Print dialog if not already present Fixed Custom Paper Size not being remembered between Print dialog sessions Fixed borderless printing Fixed wrong samplers being used when resizing documents Fixed list of available keyboard shortcuts not updating when changing Persona Fixed crash switching tools whilst stitching a Panorama Fixed potential crash when opening multiple documents Fixed potential crash when showing rulers Fixed Export Selection with background failing Fixed Plugins not being disabled when non-pixel layer is selected Fixed Ctrl+Shift+Click on layer thumbnail not selecting luminance Fixed being unable to check 'Fill knocks out shadow' in Outer Shadow Layer Effect Added intensity to colour sampler Fixed UI jumping around on some popups when Windows is set to left handedness Added a minimum size to the Help window Added toast notification when converting from filename based colourspace to scene linear Fixed OCIO path in preferences not updating when selecting a new path Fixed 32-bit Preview to select an OCIO Display Transform by default with a valid OCIO configuration Fixed Lighting filter Outer Cone control Fixed resetting User Defaults causes app to be minimized to its smallest size on next start Fixed the 'Remove' button not working in the 'New HDR Merge' dialog Fixed Photoshop plugins not working with 32-bit images Fixed HDR merge crash with small documents Fixed Photoshop plugin 16-bit clamping errors Added Photoshop plugin PIColorSpaceSuite implementation (fixes Google Nik Viveza crashes) Fixed a typo in Liquify Turbulence hintline Added 'aux:Lens' to EXIF data when writing metadata (the same as 'exifEX:LensModel') Fixed Develop gamma-corrected adjustments Fixed clicking on flyout button a second time not closing the flyout Improved performance of Layers / Export controls when adding items Fixed Layer names not updating correctly Fixed right clicking on a layer only displaying the context menu for a split second when the Character panel is visible Broken (issues introduced in this version)
The font family drop down list is significantly slower than before

Hi Bardo70
 
We currently don;t use .psd or .afphoto files for the HDR merge. I shall move this into our feature requests section. In the meantime i would recommend exporting the images to a format such as tiff

Here is a link to the Affinity Photo Help File in Epub Format for Version 1.5 (Updated December 7, 2016) works great in Ibooks.
 
Very convenient to have in a portable format - or to use side by side with Affinity on your computer.
 
 Link: https://app.box.com/s/bjv07ey7ryvqbg16zh4yjazcd65uw85c

Alternate Link:  https://1drv.ms/u/s!AjuKWjfPlktwgfoEGfpoz65qzzsz_A

 
Just download it to your ipad and pick "open in Ibooks"  or download it to your computer and email it to yourself and then pick "open in iBooks" from your iPad. 
 
The "un-named" entry at the top is the table of contents as in the help file and it scrolls on my iPad.  However it does block the screen content.  If you choose to scroll the "table of contents" from Ibooks it is not hierarchically organized - but the screen is full.  Best way to find something after that is to do a search.  Its very comprehensive.   (My continuing love/hate relationship with technology.)
 
Its a spectacular resource on an iPad Pro.   If you have an android tablet, go to Google Play and search for "epub reader".