Ogma

I'm curious if anyone else out there is using Affinity products for making maps? These days , probably >95% of cartographers make their maps almost entirely within GIS software, but I was always frustrated by the limited options and lack of precision for controlling stylistic elements on maps in those software suites (both QGIS and ArcGIS), so I figured why not outsource the styling to Affinity products   
For those unfamiliar, mapmaking is not unlike standard graphic design. You have a document comprised of a bunch of different layers, some of which can be vector (like road lines, point data, etc.) and some of which can be raster (like elevation maps, aerial imagery, etc.). The only real difference is they are all encoded with spatial information. So what I started doing is using the GIS software just to compile and size (spatially aware trim/crop) all my different layers of geographic data, and then exporting a bunch of identically-sized layers that I then reassemble in AD / AP (i.e export a PDF of *just* the road lines, export another PDF of *just* the water body polygons, export a PNG of *just* the aerial imagery, etc.). As long as I maintain identical pixel dimensions for the exported raster layers, and identical aspect ratios for the vector layers, maintaining the appropriate map scale / size and reassembling the layers in AD/AP is trivial. Once I have all the data in AD/AP, I can take advantage of those graphic design features that GIS software could never hope to do, like advanced masking and layer blending modes, brush-based editing, pixel-perfect label placement (HUGE), etc. Another great thing is this method gives you ultimate control over design of the map frame and you're not stuck using the preset layouts and scalebars that are baked into GIS software suites. 
The included example is a map I made for my mother last Christmas of the area where her ancestors settled 150ish years ago. Its sort of like a modern take on the classic USGS topo map styles from the 50's-80's.
(there are two typos I'm aware of, 'prairie' is misspelled in both instances, and 'convenience' is written as 'convenient' in the legend... if you see anymore, let me know!)
cheers
 

We do a fair amount of cartography and while my boss *hates* Adobe, and loves Affinity Designer, he is currently trapped because he uses Avenza's Map Publisher (http://www.avenza.com/mapublisher).

I realize that its a plug in FOR Illustrator (and Avenza plans to deprecate support for all but CC in the next release) but he would hate to have to "subscribe" to CC just to use this one plug-in.

So, the request is simply "Can you reach out to Avenza and see about getting a version of their Map Publisher plug-in built for AD?"

I think this addition would bring a good number of cartographers over to the AD side and away from the CC side :)

 

So, Diving into some Affinity Photo. I had a Couple of hiccups, but I am enjoying Affinity Photo so far. Still working this one out, but I am at a stopping point, so I figure I would share what I have so far. Stock Photograph  model credit to Fae : http://faestock.deviantart.com/

First try, I'd love to hear your thoughts. 
 

Ok I confess, I'm a big fan. I wanted to make a star trek image so I made it so.

Finished, on to the next project.

Hey gang! I have seen some really amazing and  inspiring work in this forum. I have not posted anything lately but I am working on something.... Here is a sneak peek of a project I am working on.  AffinityPhoto and Affinity Publisher are not here yet but there already plenty of amazing things you can do in Affinity designer now! 
 

 
 
 
Yes, I created about 50 custom styles all in Affinity. Stay tuned ;)
 
Ohh, and if you haven't yet make sure you visit mixmediasalad.com to receive alerts and discounts on my future products and course discounts.
 
One more thing someone asked if AffinityPhoto will be able to open raw files well the answer is certainly yes because Affinity Designer has open all my raw files from my Canon Camera. Check out the last two tabs in my screenshot.
 
Cheers!

Hi,
 
For my fourth try in AD I wanted to illustrate at Omega Speedmaster watch. Think it worked out well :-). Still a few glitches here and there :-(
 
The hardest to figure out how to make was the wristband with the try to make it look woven. I did it with a costume made brush I made.
 
I am still amazed how well AD performs. Great to get under the skin of the software. I set my self these challenges (HTC Phone, Nexus phone, Bulb and this) so that I would be sure to really learn to use AD, not just fooling around.
 
Compared to how I usually does these illustrations Photoshop (Vector Layers), then AD is by far the easiest.
 
Please enjoy!
 
If anybody is interested I can upload the original AD file.  UPDATE! I have added the AD original file also now.
 
 
 
Br,
 
Philip

Omega.afdesign

Just trying out AD...
Have been drawing maps for twenty years in FreeHand. As now on OSX 10, no FreeHand :( .
Can't get on with Illustrator and hate the idea of paying Adobe every month so thought I would have a play.
 
So attached my first quick draft. Really like AD, very quick to pick up. Somethings that did not jump out at me, a quick look on YouTube and job done.
 
So far, only a couple of items missing that are essential to allow me to migrate fully:
Text on a path. Essential for road names going around a curve especially if inside the text is inside the path. Dotted lines - wanted the footpaths to be dotted but no joy. Otherwise looking good and reading the forums, these items are on the roadmap - thanks AD
 
Couple of things notice that are an issue but not deal breakers (unless I missed it):
Only single page documents allowed.  Fonts, quite a few of my fonts such as Zapf Dingbats, WebDings and FontAwesome not rendering - just getting square text boxes. Anyway - looking good Serif 
Suitably impressed
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Ogma,
 
Very nice nice. You could make your own stroke brush to make the dotted line your looking for. You can also use this technique to make train tracks or any other repeat path item.
 
Checkout this video
 

Been playing some more...

This is my first attempt at a technical illustration on a computer. Prior to this I spent over 30 years using a drawing board, technical pens and ellipse templates.
 
My previous experience with vector graphics was Serif's DrawPlusX5-6 on a PC. I acquired Adobe Illustrator but found it difficult to use and I was too old to learn new ways. I then moved over to a Mac and was delighted when I was offered the Beta version of Affinity. This was very similar to DrawPlus which made it easy for me use.
Since Affinity does not yet have a perspective drawing feature I used Adobe Illustrator to construct a perspective grid which I was able to load onto Affinity. There were a couple of effects I wanted to use but didn't know how. Fortunately Affinity's Forum provided me with the answers.
 
This is a woodworking jig I designed for drilling wooden dowel holes for joining wood together. If anyone wants to know how it works just let me know.
Dowel jig exploded view.afdesign

Just trying out AD...
Have been drawing maps for twenty years in FreeHand. As now on OSX 10, no FreeHand :( .
Can't get on with Illustrator and hate the idea of paying Adobe every month so thought I would have a play.
 
So attached my first quick draft. Really like AD, very quick to pick up. Somethings that did not jump out at me, a quick look on YouTube and job done.
 
So far, only a couple of items missing that are essential to allow me to migrate fully:
Text on a path. Essential for road names going around a curve especially if inside the text is inside the path. Dotted lines - wanted the footpaths to be dotted but no joy. Otherwise looking good and reading the forums, these items are on the roadmap - thanks AD
 
Couple of things notice that are an issue but not deal breakers (unless I missed it):
Only single page documents allowed.  Fonts, quite a few of my fonts such as Zapf Dingbats, WebDings and FontAwesome not rendering - just getting square text boxes. Anyway - looking good Serif 
Suitably impressed
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Just played around tonight doing a bulb. Wanted to make some matt metal and high gloss glass with transparent effect.
Not super real, but OK I guess?
 
Could be fun to try and make the same but with light in it :-)
 
Hope you all like it!
 
 
Update:  Added original AD file. Not cleaned up so well in the naming of layers.

Bulb.afdesign

Just trying out AD...
Have been drawing maps for twenty years in FreeHand. As now on OSX 10, no FreeHand :( .
Can't get on with Illustrator and hate the idea of paying Adobe every month so thought I would have a play.
 
So attached my first quick draft. Really like AD, very quick to pick up. Somethings that did not jump out at me, a quick look on YouTube and job done.
 
So far, only a couple of items missing that are essential to allow me to migrate fully:
Text on a path. Essential for road names going around a curve especially if inside the text is inside the path. Dotted lines - wanted the footpaths to be dotted but no joy. Otherwise looking good and reading the forums, these items are on the roadmap - thanks AD
 
Couple of things notice that are an issue but not deal breakers (unless I missed it):
Only single page documents allowed.  Fonts, quite a few of my fonts such as Zapf Dingbats, WebDings and FontAwesome not rendering - just getting square text boxes. Anyway - looking good Serif 
Suitably impressed
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Just trying out AD...
Have been drawing maps for twenty years in FreeHand. As now on OSX 10, no FreeHand :( .
Can't get on with Illustrator and hate the idea of paying Adobe every month so thought I would have a play.
 
So attached my first quick draft. Really like AD, very quick to pick up. Somethings that did not jump out at me, a quick look on YouTube and job done.
 
So far, only a couple of items missing that are essential to allow me to migrate fully:
Text on a path. Essential for road names going around a curve especially if inside the text is inside the path. Dotted lines - wanted the footpaths to be dotted but no joy. Otherwise looking good and reading the forums, these items are on the roadmap - thanks AD
 
Couple of things notice that are an issue but not deal breakers (unless I missed it):
Only single page documents allowed.  Fonts, quite a few of my fonts such as Zapf Dingbats, WebDings and FontAwesome not rendering - just getting square text boxes. Anyway - looking good Serif 
Suitably impressed
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Hello TheVole,
Welcome to Affinity Forums.
 
If it's a simple logo you can trace it manually using the Pen Tool (and eventually the Shapes Tool).
 
There's some video tutorials on Vimeo that may help you get started:
- Pen Power!
- Using Shapes in Affinity Designer
 
There's also a great tutorial made by @CartoonMike - The Pumpkin Tutorial - that goes in great detail about how to draw in Affinity Designer.
 
Finally, Affinity Review - our new ezine (ibooks format) - covers the Pen Tool extensively in its first issue, with video tutorials showing how to get the most of it.