GDPR-354025

@GarryP My gosh, that is wonderful! Okay, that is what I just did, and it worked. No question that it worked (and for that matter, so did First Defence's). I just want to know why it works. Why did I have to make the lower layer(s) a Child layer? (Is that in fact what I/You/FirstDefence did?) I would also like to know why keeping all three layers as Layers in their own right, and making the Ellipse's Opacity 0%, would not work. Gorgeous GIF. THANK ou.

Umm, I was hoping for some explanation of FirstDefence's illustration above. I don't understand it and how it differed from the project I abandoned. He/She seems to have made Child Layers of the two edited photos. Is that correct? Thank you.

@firstdefence Yes, exactly!

@Joachim_L Thank you for asking. In regard to which application I was using, I was using Affinity Photo. My first Layer (which I won't attach for privacy reasons) was a Pixel Layer of a standardized U.S. road sign. My second was of the Resized Canvas, containing the two nearly identical signs (in terms of standardized federal dimensions). My third was an Ellipse Shape. Setting the Opacity to 0%, the circle/Ellipse remained opaque; I was not able to use it as... I suppose as a Mask, or if not a Mask, a way of Selecting an exact circle from the joined road signs. So I abandoned the project and used one single image.

The other day, I was editing a small project that required me to Resize the Canvas in order to Paste two images side by side. I tried without complete success to copy the dimensions of the first image (chosen at random from the two). The images were of very similar things of nearly the exact size and definitely of the same shape, rectangular. For a reason I couldn't figure out, I was unable to have the second image's dimensions match those of the first--but no matter. My goal had been to use an Ellipse Shape to select a small part of one image and a small part of the second, half-and-half. I know that Shapes are not selection tools. However, I had thought that if I used the Ellipse shape as a Layer, setting the Opacity to 0%, I would be able to "Crop" the joined images. I was not able to do this. So I would like to know if there is any way to apply a circle shape (using the Ellipse tool) to underlying Layers so that the circle/Ellipse can be the shape of the final, edited image. Thanks!

@R C-R As I said above, the Magic Wand + Clear (or Delete) and/or the Selection Brush Tool + Clear (or Delete). Big fail. @catlover Hel-lo, my fellow Olivio fan. Yep, the Erase Brush Tool was set to fire on all cylinders. Attached is a little gift to you for making me aware of the best Masking video I ever watched. It was part of a contest to turn a French film title into an animal. Oui, I have too much time on my hands. You have a great holiday season as well! BUT... Affinity is gaslighting poor Ingrid. The Erase Brush Tool is now working on the Simpson downloads on the original laptop where it wouldn't work a few days ago. It is fixed. And I know Affinity is gaslighting me. How do I know this, you may ask. I know it because after logging on just now and finding Catlover's comment, I dutifully tried to boot Affinity to see if I indeed had all the settings as they should be. Affinity would not boot! I had to click on the icon three times. Then it booted, and I used the Erase Brush tool, and VEE-OH-LA! The Erase Brush Tool worked like a charm. If Grampa retires to the Home and you never hear from him again, you will miss him. And Ingrid.

@firstdefence Your Mac is 2011? Hmph. Mine is circa 2010, and I didn't think it would run Affinity. I'll install it and see what magic happens. Now that is the weird part. I too considered it would be impossible for anyone who uploads an image to the Inter Webs to control what happens after it's downloaded. But I can't otherwise explain what happened. One of the few joys in my life being the opportunity to be splenetic on Affinity Forums, I know Serif wouldn't want to deprive an old man of one of his few joys. I was extremely disappointed NOT to be able to blame Affinity for planting malicious bugs in my Erase Tools. Well, you have given me a game plan. I will download Affinity to the Mac, download the Simpsons image, and see if the problem persists. I call this series... "Eraserhead: Affinity"

@Joachim_L helped me tremendously on Part 1 of my expedition to conquer the Great Affinity Erase Brush Tool problem. The upshot was that his Erase Brush Tool worked on the same image downloaded from the internet that my Erase Brush Tool did not work on, and that I had to resort to the Magic Wand and Selection Brush tools to come up with a really crappy edit with tons of artifacts the Erase Brush Tool should have removed. I considered that the problem was my ten-year-old Windows 7 laptop that shall not be pried from my cold dead hands. But I'm not sure this is the case. I did not ask Joachim if he used a Mac (his edit was pristine). I say I'm not sure that the love of my laptop life is the problem because when I downloaded another random image from the internet, the Erase Brush Tool did work. I went to a second Windows 7 laptop, downloaded the image that Joachim_L and I had both worked on, and-- WOW! It also forbade the Erase Brush Tool. These mutually downloaded images were of Simpsons' characters, which leads me to ask if images downloaded from the internet can be digitally protected in some way from being edited even if the images are recognized by Affinity as "pixel" images. I put this qualification in italics because until I posted the original question on the Erase Brush Tool, in fifteen years, I did not know an image had to be a pixel image before the Erase tools would be able to work on them. To conclude: the Erase Brush Tool did not work on a downloaded image of a Simpsons character on either of two laptops. The Erase Brush Tool DID work, flawlessly, on a downloaded picture of a baby koala bear on both laptops. Joachim's Erase Brush Tool worked on the downloaded Simpsons image. I have increasingly come to believe that Affinity works to maximum effect on Apple products as opposed to Windows. I would sincerely appreciate knowing if this inference is true. Thank you, and happy holidays.

@firstdefence and @A_B_C Tee-hee! You boys just wish your HSL wheels could experience pure gold.

@Joachim_L Whoa! Nothing says "Merry Christmas" like a pixelated Abe Simpson head. Woo-hoo!

@Joachim_L Again, thank you for your diligence and courtesy. I try to remain even-tempered when it comes to Affinity, always assuming I am the cause that everything, every manipulation or adjustment on Affinity always, always, is a big production. But after I read your posts and that of the other party, I went to Affinity Help and below have copied-and-pasted the ERASE BRUSH help section. NOWHERE can a neophyte or even a non-neophyte find, WARNING! Before you attempt to Erase anything at all, in any image you have taken the time and energy to upload, you must FIRST MAKE CERTAIN THAT THE LAYER YOU WISH TO USE THE ERASE BRUSH TOOL ON IS A PIXEL LAYER. Dear God, for 15+ years, knowing that, being apprised of it, would have helped sooo much. I suppose a Reset will be necessary. Sincere thanks to you, and sincere wishes for a good holiday if you celebrate it.

@Joachim_L Yep, I just added a screenshot of the Assistant Manager, and it's the same as what you provided. Hmm... I wonder what can be wrong. THANK you.

@Joachim_L Thank you again. I don't understand what you mean by the Assistant. All I know about the Assistant is that it pops up from time to time to tell you what Affinity is doing, not that it is something you can interact with or that is a tool. I will try to find it. (Happy that someone helped me and had no trouble erasing, but kind of annoyed that I shouldn't be able to.

@Joachim_L Here is the original image found on Google and also the edited version where the Erase Brush Tool did not work. You can see that the image Layer is highlighted because it's the only layer. Thanks!

@DWright I never knew what those tools did exactly. Thank you!

I copied-and-pasted an image of yours truly from the internet. To my amazement, there were no full-face angle images, so I had to do some rotating and editing before I started Erasing the background. The Erase Brush Tool has mystified me ever since PhotoPlus days. There was only one Layer in this project (the copied-and-pasted image). As always for me, the Erase Brush Tool did not work on the Layer I needed it to work on. I was at the mercy of Magic Wand and then Selection Brush Tool to get rid of the background and keep the face. I was able to successfully clear the background, but NOT with the Erase Brush Tool or its fellow hooligan, Background Erase Brush. (If any Tool in Affinity should, like, "erase" a "background," would it not be the Background Erase Brush?) The Flood Erase Tool also would not work, but I imagine I would not have wanted it to work, there being only one Layer. So I created a Duplicate Layer. NOPE. I added a Mask Layer and tried to Erase on the Mask. NO. No Erase Brush Tool for YOU! So, two days before Christmas when even Scrooge would have a change of heart toward Tiny Tim, I was left bereft. I would just like to know which kinds of Layers the Erase tools work on, and how you figure out why they won't work on a particular layer.

Ha, not too discreet. Grampa finally comes out as perhaps less cis-gender than the forums always thought. The problem isn't so much the image; it's the fact that, uploaded, the darker part becomes black as shoe polish. Grampa has renounced forever his use of black shoe polish hair dye.

@PeterHOZ Also see Carl Surry’s. And then just mess around like Homer covering his eyes and pressing buttons at a nuclear reactor. (This, my child, is really the only way you will learn.)

Grampa Simpson had to edit a holiday picture of a lady with long chestnut hair today. As the lady arranged her hair for the series of photos in what males of the species would call a comb-over, we were surprised to find that the comb-over part, when uploaded to social media accounts, looked like she was wearing a black beret on one side of her head. Sacré black! I used 1) Color Picker; and then the 2) Paint Brush with Opacity set at 5% (or less) to paint the chestnut color over the unnaturally darker "comb-over." However, as I anticipate editing future photographs with her hair style in the same... weft (?), I'd like to know if there's a better or additional way of equalizing any image where in real-life the color is uniform. Grampa only wants to end the heartache and thousand natural shocks that photo-editors are heir to. Thank you, and hoppy halidays.

PeterHOZ: You are not alone. I have been using Serif photo editing products for almost fifteen years and draw a blank at almost every turn... and then end up with some impressive stuff. So you'll surprise yourself; just be patient. By far the best non-official video maker on YouTube for beginners and those of us still clueless after fifteen years (cough) is Carl Surry. Mr. Surry is a positive genius at taking his tutorials very very s-l-o-w...l...y. In fact, other popular video makers criticize him for his slowness. He explains things like Layers and Adjustments and, GAH, Masks with the patience of a saint. I can't recommend him highly enough. Mastery or, heck, mediocre competence at photo-editing requires a great deal of effort. I find the redundancy in Affinity Photo to be a severe hindrance rather than a help in aiding new OR old users, by which I mean offering three, four, or even more ways of accomplishing the same thing--such as making adjustments. However, as you get to know the software, you'll find a favorite method of accomplishing the specific edit you need and will dispense with the redundant ones (much as users of, say, Microsoft Word or really any other popular software will find a favorite method and dispense with alternatives). Another video maker I'd recommend--now taking a break--is known as "InAffinity." Best of luck to you.

@walt.farrell Yes, Walt, I just edited my "thanks" because I posted before having read what both you folks wrote. Ah, man. Is there any reason PhotoPlus should be corrupted? I have no problem at all working in it, it's just Text. But the program won't let me edit it. Oh, well, thank you anyhoo.

@v_kyr @walt.farrell Thank you both very much. EDIT: I posted this before reading the links. Oh, dear. Oh, brother.

Hello. I need help as quickly as you good people are able to offer it. An old (2015) PhotoPlus X8 file is present on Windows Explorer after I do a search for .*spp (PhotoPlus) files. I see it. I opened it in PhotoPlus, but apparently the program has become corrupted, and when I click on the layer I need to change, a text layer, what happens is that an additional (new) layer is created. I can't edit the text. I can't open the file in Affinity. Any help offered would be extremely appreciated. Thank you.

@Alfred The Hudson River is known to have some clear days. And, yes, I do get your example and am wondering why Serif just didn't do Clipping instead of Masking all along. Clipping appears to require less "brain-al" matter to execute a desired effect. Masking i-n-d-u-b-i-t-a-b-l-y requires the ability to grasp not only abstract concepts, but multiple abstract concepts at the same time. I can't drive a manual shift for the same reason. Too many mental processes involved simultaneously. Not to write a dissertation, but something said by one of the Youtube creators I subscribe to made me realize I am not alone in being... slow re: Masks. You if anyone knows I have used Serif Forums as Agony Aunt columns about Masks for 15+ years. A Mask can be the "White" layer. BUT, on the other hand, if you wish, it can be the "Black" layer. Result? Whoosh... If I were to count the number of Masking videos I have watched since purchasing my first PhotoPlus (6, I think), I would probably visit a neurologist. With intense effort after watching a How To video (the latest being a very good one by Olivio Sarikas), I am able to replicate the "instructor's" steps, successfully. And then it all leaves my brain like water through a sieve. Or the Hudson River. Yes, "There are eight million stories in the Serif City, and this is but one of them."

That's right, mister.