Renzatic

DAM straight we want a DAM! ...I'll, uh...I'll get my coat.

If I had to take an uneducated stab at a guess, I'd say that the Affinity programs lean heavily on the Direct2D API, which, last I heard, has pretty poor support in WINE.

There's plenty of money to be made in Linux Land, and yes, there are plenty of proprietary programs out there that sell well on the platform. It just may not be a good fit for Serif, at least not right now. Like I said before, the Linux demographic is a pretty specific one. One that may not necessarily be interested in the products Serif offers. They could go for broke, release the Affinity suite, and see how things go, but Serif is a pretty small outfit, and the cost they'll sink in porting their software might end up putting the health of the company at risk. Think of their current stance less as "we don't think Linux is worth it", and more "it's currently too much of a gamble for us to take at the moment." If they were stating the former, I'd argue against it. There's ton of potential in Linux. The latter? There's not much I can say to counter that. It's not that they don't want to try, it's that they only have so many resources at their disposal, and they'd rather put them towards what they've already got established, rather than stretching themselves too thin.

In theory, you could forego your Windows partition entirely by using a VM in Linux with GPU passthrough enabled. Given your general knowledge, you've probably already heard of this, and are well aware of the benefits and pitfalls it entails. But if on some small chance you haven't, it's a way to allow a VM to take exclusive access to an GPU, rather than emulating one, providing massive, nearly native gains in performance equivalent to the output you'd see in Windows proper. The downsides are that you need a machine with 2 GPUs, one to dedicate to the native OS, and one to the VM, and that it can be a pain in the butt to set up properly. If you're that set on wanting to leave Windows, it is a viable option. A rather complicated, somewhat extreme one, but an option nonetheless.

I vaguely recall one of the developers stating that he doesn't make as much working for Blender as he would elsewhere in the industry. It's primarily a passion project for everyone there. They're all there because they love the job, and it makes for great resume padding. With that said, I don't think any of them are suffering too much. At the very least, I expect they get fed 3 meals a day plus snacks.

It's not what you'd expect from a massive company, but the Blender Foundation is a non-profit, managed by one of the employed developers, and they currently only have 5 team members. You wouldn't expect them to do all that much, given how bare bones it is, but over the last year, they've made massive, MASSIVE gains, enough to garner fairly widespread attention to the program. Those 5 guys are apparently really good at what they do.

Given that they'd have to require people wanting to opt in on Linux to buy another license to cover the costs of the port, cannibalizing their own user base probably wouldn't be much of a concern there, since it wouldn't equate to a sell lost to allow some of their users to make a lateral move. And yes, there are very likely a number of people both in the Linux world, and those waiting for an excuse to jump into Linux who are just looking for an excuse to hand Serif their money. The question is, how large is this demographic? How much money could Serif make off of them? Could they, if they don't make an immediate profit on their hard work, at least get a return on the money sunk porting the software? There are a lot of ifs, ands, and buts surrounding supporting Linux. Tons of maybes, no guarantees. Just because a specific business model worked spectacularly for those two companies (or a company and a foundation) doesn't necessarily mean it'll work just as well for Serif. Consider the difference between the three. Red Hat is a company that offers 24/7/365 support to other companies that rely on their software to maintain their internal infrastructure. They're as much a service as they are a software vendor, a very high priced one, and they hire hundreds upon hundreds of people to maintain this service for all their clients. Their use of open source code is something of an aside, considering the product they're really selling isn't their software, they give that away, they're selling their help and reliability. That's a business model that just wouldn't work for Serif, who offer software that's self contained, and doesn't need to be maintained by highly trained professionals on a daily basis. They couldn't get away with the prices Red Hat charges. And Blender? Next to the Linux kernel itself, it's probably THE darling of the FOSS scene. It's a powerful piece of software that attracts tons of talent, has a head developer/manager who's practically on a first name basis with his entire following (hell, I think I might even have said something to Ton at one point), and enjoys massive amounts of mindshare. Blender is in a pretty unique position, and is reaping the benefits of being there. Now Serif is slowly and surely gaining a positive reputation for their work, and they obviously have a number of talented coders in their employ, but using a for-profit, closed sourced model to sell licenses for their software probably means that people won't be quite as generous with their money as they are with the Blender Foundation, and taking donations to support further work outside of their usual revenue stream would probably be filled with tons of legal boondoggles, along with potential hits to their reputation if things don't go 100% according to plan at all times.

It should be a consideration, given that Linux's small, specifically inclined userbase is one of the major reasons why Serif doesn't yet consider it worthwhile to port their software. Given that most of the usual Linux crowd doesn't count graphic design as one of their primary concerns (they have GIMP for all their lightweight, just-get-it-done needs), for Serif to flip on their current opinion on the matter, they'd have to see the draw both Linux and the Affinity suite together would have on people. Given that there are a goodly number of people sick of Windows 10's forced updates, and occasionally suspect data culling habits, alongside Apple treating the Mac as an aside, something they have to throw a bone to mostly out of obligation, there's reason to look for an alternative, one that Linux could provide. That's something Serif should pay attention to.

I'd say Serif's reticence to target Linux is mostly due to that platform being a weak option among their target demographic. They pander mostly to the print, advertisement, web design, and Photography crowds, which are strongest on Macs, have a solid base on Windows, and are almost nonexistent on Linux. The one group that's strong on Linux that the Affinity line might appeal to, the 3D pros and enthusiasts, likely only make up a fractional portion of Serif's entire audience. You could say that the major reason why the above mentioned people aren't strong on Linux is due to a lack of a good choice of programs that cater to them there, the chicken and egg argument. It's very possible that Serif releasing the Affinity line could cause a number of people to flock to Linux. I could see how it would appeal to web designers, considering it's a 'nix OS, with all the nice 'nix OS features they know and love, that's built to support coding from the ground up. Being able to do design work there as well would be perfect for them. Straight up digital graphics designers would like it too, since they're usually not all that concerned about the OS, so much as the programs they use. There's a lot of potential for them to make a ton of money on Linux. ...but it's all theoretical. It could be a massive success, making them unexpected millions, or it could fall flat on its face, losing them tons of money in an attempt that garners them no extra support. Considering Serif is a pretty small company, already supporting three programs across two platforms, they've probably come to the conclusion that the consequences of failure are just too high for them to take, even for the potential rewards It sucks, sure. I'd love to have the Affinity suite on Linux. It'd provide me the perfect excuse to happily abandon Windows were they to do so. But it's obviously not gonna happen anytime soon, so...meh.

To be fair, there's really no such thing as an entirely intuitive, easy to pick up and use 3D editor. If you were to take a stark newbie, set them down in front of Max, Maya, Modo, and Blender, and tell them to make a little house in each one, after everything's said and done, they're going to tell you that the experience was like choosing between four different ways of getting punched in the face. They're all pretty esoteric, and not very friendly.

This seems like something I should be able to find the answer to in 5 seconds flat, but I don't seem able to. So, here it is: when I'm playing with the stroke pressure settings, is it possible to set it so that I can move the beginning and ending points on the curve independently of each other? ...and then I figure out the answer for myself not even 3 seconds after posting this. Just hit alt when you select your vector. Nevermind, yall! Thanks for the help anyway!

To get semi-serious for a second, I did find out how that possum managed to get into the basement (nothing dramatic, just one of the grates coming loose from its frame), but explaining that to everyone would've robbed the story of its carefully built suspense.

I've got a basement with more than enough room for a safe that size, but...I...I don't like going down there. It smells musty, and though I have no idea how, sometimes possums manage to get in. Plus, it looks like a set for a snuff film. It's a pretty unpleasant place overall. I'd rather just go with my NAS and cloud setup for backing up my data.

I'm bumping this, cuz I'd like to have a randomized perlin noise filter too.

Learning how to do hand painted textures is something I've been wanting to do for a long, long while now. I like the style, I like the look, I think it's quite neat. Thing is, I've always put off trying it out for myself because I know next to nothing about digital painting. I know quite about about manipulating photos to make textures, and a goodly bit about modeling them in a 3D editor, but painted textures are something I figured would always be just out of my reach. Then I realized that the only reason why I don't know how to do it is because I've never tried it. That the only thing between me and success is a good bit of practice. So here I am. Last Thursday, I decided to do one texture a day for the next month to see how I take to it. I've crammed a few hours of tutorials on Youtube, inspected other people's works, and just studied the hell out of it. Minus some stumbles here and there, I can already see a slight improvement just after a week with it. It started out with my admitted janky first texture, and has come to today, with a grass texture that's actually surprisingly good. This thread will act as my diary, detailing my journey from totes noobis, to maybe hopefully pretty decent. If anyone wants to add or critique what I've done, feel more than free. I'm always up for some tips, tricks, and a bit of harsh, but honest criticism. (FYI, these images are scaled down from their original size) Day 1. My first attempt. It is, like I said, kinda janky. To my credit, at least you can tell what it is. Day 2. Another stone floor. Probably the one texture I spent the longest time with. Trying to get the shading just right. Day 3. A wood floor. This one was, eh...okay. It's a little flat and plain, kinda rough, but hey. Just my third day. Day 4. Wooden roof shingles. This is where I felt like I was starting to get a slight feel for things. It's still pretty sloppy, and you can see a few areas where I guffed up, but it's not bad. Day 5. Stone tiles. My least favorite of the bunch, and the one I spent the least amount of effort on, truth be told. I tried to do something in a celshaded style. Ended up just looking bland. Day 6. My 2nd attempt at a wood floor. It's certainly better than my first, with some actual texture and depth to it. Day 7. Grass. Dunno if I'm improving, or if the stars happened to align just right on this one. It's the first texture I've done that I'd consider actually decent. Though if you look at it closely, you can see how I cheated things a bit. And there you have it. My work so far. From here on out, I'll be posting one a day. Like I said, if anyone here wants to throw in their 2 cents, you're more than welcome.

Well, uh, that most recent picture wasn't something I did. That's the example I was aiming for.

Why, thank you. I've still got a long way to go before I'd say I'm good, though. I'm getting more confident with my strokes, and I'm getting a little better with colors, but I've yet to reach the point where I can just paint something without having a few tutorials to help guide me. I've still got my training wheels on, so to speak. I'd love to be able to do something with that level of detail. That's still a bit ahead of me just yet. What I was trying to go for was something a little more simple. Like this: I got in the same neighborhood, but didn't quite make it. Not bad for a first attempt, though.

I'm gonna call this one of my more interesting failures so far. It didn't turn out at all how I intended it to, but I learned a good bit. It was supposed to be mud. Came out more like rock. I think my details were way too broad to be really good for either.

For the $400 I spent on it, I wasn't expecting it to be as nice as it is. The specs bragged that it covers 99% of the sRGB range, which, going from my various newbie calibration attempts, it does about live up to that hype. It's not something you'd use for high end color grading, but for my needs, it's just fine. Black levels and contrast are great, which, yeah, you'd expect from a VA panel. It's the major reason why I got it. The only downside to it is that it's just a 60hz display, but...eh, I can live with that. As for the size? I upgraded to it from a 24", and it's really not THAT much bigger, at least not as big as you'd think it'd be. From where I sit, which is maybe about 3 1/2 feet away from it, it fills my field of vision a little more, but I don't have to crane my neck around or anything. The only caveat is that, once you get used to it, everything else will look extra tiny in comparison. And a 32" Cintiq? That'd be nice, but...it's not for me. Not yet. Maybe one day, but for now, that's way overkill. An 11-16" screen is more than enough for me. Which brings me back to the subject at hand. My three choices are: iPad Pro: For reasons that Filo laid out above. I can use it anywhere, and drawing on it is just SO nice. Cintiq 16: Because it's solid, has a good reputation, and isn't ball bustingly expensive. XP-PEN Artist 15.6: Great features, some features that are even nicer than it's Cintiq rival, and an absolute steal for the price, but it's overall quality is an unknown. Fortunately, I've got plenty of time to chew over my options. My final decision is still a couple-few months away, and my itty bitty tablet is doing the job for now. Honestly, I'm surprised you haven't opted for a nice laptop. That's what I'd do, cuz I hate, HATE messing with wires. They're the bane of my existence! I can't even make a game out of organizing them, because I hate them so bad. It's a chore you have to deal with to get to the fun stuff, and that's it. ...so I might end up getting the iPad, cuz, hey, NO WIRES! All I need is a power plug to charge it from, and I can put that anywhere. It doesn't HAVE to be around the computer. And if the iPad ends up getting in my way, I can just take it off the desk, and toss it on the couch. Geez. I think I just talked myself into it. My laziness makes me so pragmatic.

Ha! No. I have a fairly decent, huge ass 32" VA panel with a big base. I could push it farther back on the desk another 6-8 inches, but I'm kept from going even farther due having my long power strip, cables, and other computer necessities all snug and organized back there, AND I have low vaulted ceilings. I'm making it sound all inconvenient, but it has been a pretty comfortable setup up until now. I just have new things to consider. Course I could move the monitor to the longer portion of the L. I could push it practically up against the wall there, but (there's always a but) I'd have to redo all my wiring to hide it again. That'd be a...yeah, that's a quest. It'd be easier just to get the screen tablet. And yeah, the Cintiq 16 is in the running for consideration. I'm still pretty tempted by that XP-PEN, though...

Yeah, the crisp stars and square border surrounding them clash against the ragged stripes. Make them look more rough and painterly to match, and you'll have a good design.

Sorry for the late reply. I've been kind of busy, and save for tonight, the time I've spent painting has been mostly dedicated to yet more boring drills. Nothing worth gabbing on about here. The tablet advice is much, much appreciated, and I'm not entirely opposed to grabbing a Deco 03, but I'm still leaning more towards a good, inexpensive touch screen for a number of reasons. First and foremost, my current drawing setup sucks. I've got my little Wacom snuggled in on one of those slide out keyboard trays below my desk. I can't move it up, because I've got a fairly big monitor. I'd have my face plastered up against it if I drew that way. But I do have an L-shaped desk, and the portion along the right side of me barely has anything on it. That's where I usually do my drawing anyway, so it'd be perfect place for a decently sized screen tablet. I could just pivot in my chair anytime I want to paint. So anyway, to get back to the original topic at hand. Textures! Yup. I did another one, and it's a...you guess it...ANOTHER WOOD FLOOR! Yeah, maybe I'm starting to get in a rut, but I can do them fairly decently, which is a good boost to the ole self esteem. This is an in-editor, because, well, I think they look neat, and I could show off my layer stack for anyone wanting that bit of extra info. I didn't tile this one, because I didn't feel like using Krita, or hitting up the affine filter over and over again. This round was all about practicing technique. Oh, and if anyone wants to know what I doing when I talk about the drills: circles and ovals! Sometimes, if I'm feeling crazy...I'll shade 'em. Now if I practiced doing anything else over the years, who knows how far I'd be right now. O_0

Lightworks is fairly decent, I hear.

Yeah, I have the SMALL Intuos, and it is truly itty bitty. For where I'm at right now, it seems to work well enough. It's definitely better than drawing with a mouse. Though I do tend to zoom out more often than not to do big, sweeping strokes. With a bigger tablet, I probably wouldn't have to futz around so much. ...and if I had a tablet that'd let me draw directly on the screen, I wouldn't have to undo my strokes 15 times until it finally lands where I want it to. It's funny that you brought up XP-PEN, because after posting my last reply, I started looking at different tablets. It seems they're the best alternative to Wacom for someone who isn't an absolute, cutting edge pro. They're stable, slick, have nice features, and, most importantly, don't cost the earth. This tablet in particular has caught my eye. It's less than half the price of an iPad Pro with a Pencil, and it's just kinda neat overall. Not super fancy, but it seems to do the tablet thing pretty well. I've been looking for an excuse to grab a 2nd monitor for my computer anyway, so this is kinda tempting me. But like you said, portability is a nice advantage. I'm not tethered to my study with it. Hmm... Now, pen stabilizers. I've turned it on a couple of times, but I didn't want to use it too much out of fear that it'd end up becoming a crutch for me. I figured it'd be better to learn how to draw smooth lines without any assistance, only using the stabilizers as an extra boost here and there. I'll keep a more open mind to them from here on out. Oh, and since you brought up Krita. Well, uh...I did cheat a bit, and used it to tile my last wood floor. I know, I know. This is an Affinity board. I shouldn't talk about the competition here. But comeon. It's wraparound mode is an absolute godsend for doing textures. I'd love to see that feature in Photo. ...and while we're wishlisting, smoother canvas rotation would be nice too.

My biggest problem right now isn't that I have sloppy lines. I'm fairly decent at doing quick strokes, and drawing from the elbow. It's my hand-eye coordination that needs a lot of work. When I'm drawing on paper, I pretty well know where my strokes will go, probably due to the fact that everything is within my field of vision. With a tablet, I've got it down below me, and my eyes are aimed away from it, up towards my monitor. The end result is that I'm all over the place. Things I can easily do on paper, like drawing a random shape, then tracing over it without any huge variances in my strokes, I CANNOT do with a tablet. It annoys me to no end, though I am getting better at it. ...slowly and surely. There's also the fact that I cheaped out, and opted for the itty bitty Intuos Art. It doesn't bother me much, though I am starting to see how a larger tablet would serve me better. Like if I'm drawing a long line, and I start getting towards the edge. My strokes get shakier the closer I bring my elbow in towards my body. With a larger tablet (and a better all around general setup, honesty), I wouldn't have to worry about that. As for screens with what to draw upon, I actually had a Surface Pro 4 up until here recently. It was...eh, alright. I never drew on it much, because desktop applications felt crowded on a screen that small, the pen felt floaty, and the screen would flex inwards when I put pressure on it. In contrast, I tried out an iPad Pro-Apple Pencil combo a little while back, and loved every second of it. The only complaint I had was that drawing on glass feels a little too smooth, but getting a paper texture screen protector like gdenby mentioned above would probably fix that. Moreso than getting a larger Intuos, or opting for a Cintiq, I'm deeply tempted to grab a Pro for myself.