HVDB Photography

Hi @drwu,
Here's a thorough explanation :
https://photoblogstop.com/photoshop/photoshop-blend-modes-explained
 

Hi @drwu,
Here's a thorough explanation :
https://photoblogstop.com/photoshop/photoshop-blend-modes-explained
 

I agree with you.
 

Warm up.afphoto

Click here to download the latest beta
Status: Customer Beta
Purpose: Fixes
Requirements: A valid product key (for Affinity Store purchases), or an installation of the full retail version from the Microsoft Store

As this is a beta 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 may be adversely affected by the application failing, including the total loss of any documents. We would recommend using beta builds on copies of your Affinity files, not originals. Also files saved in 1.8.0 are not backward compatible with 1.7.3. 
We hope you enjoy the latest build, and as always, if you've got any problems, please don't hesitate to post a new thread in this forum 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 CR3 support Fixed DxO Film Pack 5 failing to render the document Fixed colour profile conversion for DxO plugins (e.g. Dfine 2) Fixed Procedural Texture equations not updating to reflect the correct values after entering them Fixed mis-identification of some Tamron lenses mounted to Canon bodies Fixed failure to load some PSB files (and failing to report errors) Added Rendering Intent and Black Point Compensation controls to the Convert Document panel Fixed missing EXIF data for CRWs Added Remove White Matte and Remove Black Matte to filters Improved Lens ID identification Added option to use bleed of embedded Affinity document Improved performance of selections with huge numbers of objects Improved PDF import support for DeviceN bitmaps based on LAB colour space Improved PDF export of clashes between bitmaps with/without k-only Fixed PDF export "Rasterise nothing" allowing through bitmaps with alpha channels Switching to a mask node will now automatically switch to the grey colour slider Fixed spell checker identifying numbers with other characters as incorrectly spelt Fixed crash importing PSD files containing embedded colour profiles with unicode characters in their name Fixed Open Folder in Explorer to be disabled for documents with no path Fixed crash entering Export persona under specific circumstances Fixed Path text crashing / hanging with certain fonts Improved performance of PDF import with groups containing more than 5,000 children Fixed OpenType that could fail to apply 'liga' near end of line Fixed Text Justification to split ligatures correctly Changed PDF export Web preset to embed all fonts (many browsers don't support ligatures unless the font is embeded) Improved PDF import matching of unknown fonts Fixed misaligned text editor in Export items Improved performance of subsequent view changes after opening the Export persona Fixed crash loading customer's file Fixed export properties not getting saved Fixed tools disabled when starting the app with hidden UI Fixed unable to alter Mask's visiblity options in Export Persona Reimplemented the HSL filter's HSV option Added ability to drag and drop layers from one document to another Added resize gripper to status bar Improved reporting of file load errors (could previously report file corruption incorrectly) Fixed failure to import customer's WMF file 1.7.3.481 release notes

Hey EddyB,
I believe this is caused by a bug that seems to be forcing the Unmanaged preview for 32-bit images. Please follow these steps to reset Affinity:
Press the Windows key + R on your keyboard Paste this command in - %AppData%\Affinity\Photo\ Rename the 1.0 folder to 1.1 Relaunch Affinity This will have safely reset the app and should fix the dark preview issue for you.
 

Works fine for me. If possible, it would be preferable to attach the .afphoto file.

Based on a recent thread started by user Steps, I have finalized and am attaching a macro called "Graphic Novel Effect." It is similar to the "Paint by Numbers" macro I created a while back, but offers better control of the black outlines that are needed in a cartoon or a graphic novel illustration.
The attached file is a macros category (not a single macro) and can be imported through the Affinity Photo Library panel. Once inside Affinity Photo, the category contains a single macro which can be moved into a different category (by dragging it) if desired. Since it is provided as a category, it can also be imported into the iPad version of AP.
When you use the macro, it creates a number of layers inside a group (which can be turned on and off to show or hide the effect entirely). The user is presented with 5 options in a dialog:
1) Posterize - How Many Colors?
The macro is preset to 5 color levels, but anywhere between 4 and 6 generally gives a decent result.
2) Outlines - Adjust Black [line thickness]
This option is preset to 50%, but changing the value will make the black outlines more or less prominent.
3) Outlines - Adjust White [fill smoothness]
This option is preset to 90%. Changing the value will affect the fill (inside the outlines). Keep the value above the value set in option #2 (line thickness).
4) Finish - Adjust the Brightness
5) Finish - Adjust the Contrast
These are preset to Brightness = -15% and Contrast = +30%. Changes made here will have the obvious results, and should be considered a finishing touch.
*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * 
As always, I am one person with one computer and have not tested this in every possible scenario. Try it and, if you like it, keep it and enjoy it. This forum has provided me with so many good ideas and answers to questions; this macro is another attempt to “pay it forward.”
Graphic Novel Effect.afmacros

Hi @StuNZ,
I think this thread offers what you're looking for :
 
 
 

Also this...
 

Understandable... it's indeed confusing
 

I have hidden my previous answer because of incorrect data in the screenshot.
In the RGB sliders dialog you need to add 20% (white) to get 80% black.
 
80% black.mp4

Okay guys, I just recorded a macro.
Seems to run as expected.
I also attached the .afphoto file, so that you can see which actions (as @summersara indicated) have been taken.
May still need improvement ! Just give it a try.

Hubert
 
Cartoon effect.afphoto
Cartoon effect.afmacros

Hi @summersara
Great, thanks for the hint ..
 

@HVDB Photography & @summersara Thanks very much for posting your macros! 
It is interesting to see how these two approaches differ, like reducing gamma in a Levels adjustment vs. a Black & White adjustment for the B/W copy, naming or not naming the layers, etc.
FWIW, I like that in the 14 step version step 1 is to unlock the layer, since the default is to lock the "(Background)" layer. I also like that in the 29 step version the original layer is untouched & names are assigned to the two layers creating the effects.
I think the 'move inside' steps in the summersara version could be eliminated by taking advantage of a little known macro feature, that being that macros record the assistant settings for adding adjustment & filter layers when the macro is created, so setting that to "Add adjustment as child layer" (& if a live filter is used "Add filter as child layer") prior to creating the macro would automatically apply the move inside steps. I assume in HVDB's version that was in effect when the macro was recorded, explaining why that macro lacks 'move inside' steps.
Since adjustments & live filters are non-destructive & are accessible in the Layers panel, both versions provide for post-macro tweaks, which I found useful for controlling the strength, softness, etc. of the effect for different photos. Very cool! 

Okay guys, I just recorded a macro.
Seems to run as expected.
I also attached the .afphoto file, so that you can see which actions (as @summersara indicated) have been taken.
May still need improvement ! Just give it a try.

Hubert
 
Cartoon effect.afphoto
Cartoon effect.afmacros

Okay guys, I just recorded a macro.
Seems to run as expected.
I also attached the .afphoto file, so that you can see which actions (as @summersara indicated) have been taken.
May still need improvement ! Just give it a try.

Hubert
 
Cartoon effect.afphoto
Cartoon effect.afmacros

Okay guys, I just recorded a macro.
Seems to run as expected.
I also attached the .afphoto file, so that you can see which actions (as @summersara indicated) have been taken.
May still need improvement ! Just give it a try.

Hubert
 
Cartoon effect.afphoto
Cartoon effect.afmacros

Just right clic on the (top) layer and clic expand selection to see all the layer.  the way it work was confusing for me too.
 
 

Note: this will probably end up being a feature request (or several of them), but before I go that route I want to run this list by the staff & user community to see if any of these things are possible now.
Some way of determining if an .afbrushes file contains vector or pixel brushes & how many brushes it includes without having to import it into an Affinity app This is particularly annoying when importing a vector brush set into Affinity Photo, since that app can't use them!  Related, some way to determine how many brushes are installed in a brushes category besides manually counting them. Ideally, this could be as simple as including the brush count in parentheses after the category name. Some way to reorder and/or sort the category list. Some way to export or import a selection of categories in one step. Related, a way to export all categories in one step for backup purposes. Some way to sync brush categories among as many Affinity apps as are installed.

HI @nater973,
Via  Edit > Preferences > Performance you can define a  File Recovery Interval. I don't know if there used to be a default, just check it out.
On Windows the files are stored under:
%APPDATA%\Affinity\Photo\1.0\autosave
But if you didn't get a recovery message when restarting the app ... it may be something severe ...
You could also check if there are any crash reports created, 
%APPDATA%\Affinity\Photo\1.0\CrashReports\Reports

Hubert

Here"s an almost perfect cut out ... 

The screenshot of the Layers panel is missing Photo's Live Filter icon on the bottom row, to the right of the fx icon. Edit: Also, to the right of that, Photo has a "Group Layers" icon where Designer has an "Add Layer" icon.
But yes, that is subtle, and it would have helped if the author had named the application
Photo:
Designer:

Using channels could be an option ...
 
using Channels.mp4

I think you're on an (image) layer, right click on it and choose rasterise...

I think you're on an (image) layer, right click on it and choose rasterise...