Deadbyxmas

Hi all, again I'll share a couple of things (very randomly as usual, but I try to give some sense to these posts!) - this time some (rainy) environment studies, where I have been working in a slightly different way - basically without sketch, just starting with blocked in shapes in Photo, and using much less Designer if not for some really basic stuff (if I need precise shapes and if they are simple I usually manage within Photo with the vector tools - when they become more complex I switch to Designer) - and anyway the vector shapes are immediately turned into selections with the "Selection from Layer and Delete" as if it was an advanced lasso tool. Once I block in the shapes colours (keeping the window really tiny) I then "zoom in" with the details. Ah, I have been using this very simple custom brush with slight hue and saturation variations on pressure, to throw in some random colours on the canvas. Not sure if that's clear, but here you go! And if you have any questions let me know

So as said, I recorded another process video where I use heavily both Designer and Photo - I'd say it is an accurate representation of how I switch from one to the other. This is a bit longer and labourious, and recently I've been going for quicker ways to do things, but in principle there are still quite a few things that I have worked in my workflow. For this one I haven't added detailed comments or explanations, but if you have any questions or doubts please feel free to ask either here or in the comments section on You Tube and I'll do my best to help out. thanks for watching as usual

Thank you Stuart, really glad you enjoy them!

and here are the last two from the series, thanks again for watching. Next one coming up will be another process video where I definitely mix Designer and Photo, just need to stitch it together and do a bit of editing!

Thank you for taking the time to check it out! Greatly appreciated

Thanks MEB, always glad to, and hoping to share another process video soon in case someone might find it useful. In the meantime, here's another two from the Tokyo Vampire Hotel series of studies. (yes, the are references to Tarantino, just in case you were wondering) Thank you for looking as always!

So, going back to the various visual development studies - a study I did based on Japanese director Sion Sono's work (in particular Tokyo Vampire Hotel) had a big role in learning and adding new tricks in my sleeve. I will share a couple to start with, thank you for watching and feel free to let me know what you think or ask any questions! best

Hi All, before I catch up with bunch of other stuff I've done, I wanted to share something I promised yonks ago (nope, it has nothing to do with Xmas) - I recorded a process video, and added notes to explain step by step my work method. Bear in mind my workflow changes and adjusts a bit, so every piece differs a bit in that respect, but it gives a general idea. Moreover the picture is quite simple, so it was a good excuse to get it done. I hope someone finds it useful. Ah, I have recorded another, just need to export, stitch together etc etc, as I'm a bit busy with work it might take a while, so in the meantime here you go.

Hi all, me again with a really overdue update, sorry about that, I have been doing so much stuff that I forgot to share here as well. So probably I'm forgetting stuff, but I will try to remember some of the things I've done. Starting off with some simple images, I did a series of lifestyle illustration, here are the first six. Main shapes done in Designer, then painted in Photo. All these images, along with the ones posted earlier and the ones I will post in the near future (hopefully) are part of studies on trying to find a good workflow and work method - which I have developed over the last 6 months to a year. For this purpose I have been recording some video process to share, some might find it interesting because it's all Affinity based. At the moment I'm putting together the first, when it's ready and online I will give you a shout here best r.

+1 Same here, it would help enormously

Hi, now with a change of mood, a couple of portraits/headshots, always done with a combination of Designer and Affinity. I have some plans on my mind, but I will share once I get round to doing something, I wouldn't like to promise stuff and follow through. Anyway thanks for watching, more soon (hopefully) r.

Thanks, I had heard of him but I wasn't entirely familiar with his work - but absolutely, one ultimate ambition would be to try to recreate some of the mood and atmosphere of those painters, almost like bringing them to the 21st century. Oh, well, one tries

Ha thanks! Possibly it is an explanation! Anyway I thought I'd share something different now (more of the character design, portraits people later) . I have decided recently to try to do a batch of studies - all on one theme - just to hammer in some workflows and methods, and as I have been a bit taken by the German Drama Dark (on Netflix), I did a series of 5 studies based on the opening scenes of Season 2. So I'll just post them all in one batch now! All of these done with a combination of Designer and Photo

Posting again after ages! Actually there is quite a lot to share as I have taken this time to try to experiment, try out stuff and improve as much as I can. SO, I will start with something painterly (although it is mostly Affinity Photo, the technique I used was more traditional like, in fact it's practically all on one layer) that summed up pretty well these recent times. I did it for the Character Design challenge btw, it went down well with users, not so much with the jury. Oh well, can't win them all ta

Thanks! The small storytelling within the pictures is always something I love to focus on, so really glad you picked it up!

You're right SrPx - but that's the problem we face, there are too many options also in terms of software, tools etc. I've found I get lost and waste massive amounts of time trying out stuff, rather than consolidating one technique. Oh well, I guess you can't change how one is, although I often find that perfecting and doing one or two things to overkill tends to reap more rewards in term of attention. Anyway, moving on, something I did recently, in the wake of the events tearing apart this world. Although I'm not there at the moment, my hometown is Milan, Lombardy, deeply affected by this catastrophe. I was there just before total lockdown, and the streets were already eerily empty. Cara Catastrofe (again, combination of AD and AP)

I have been wanting to sit down and try out the new beta properly, and see if I notice any improvement in the painting quality. In terms of linework, strangely enough after having tried all sorts of brushes, pencil, inks etc, I am finding (literally in this last week) that the best and the one I prefer is the simple basic round brush, with a slight accumulation/pressure adjustment. Funny how the most simple things are the most effective. While I have created a couple of custom brushes for quick concepts, but the engine has to improve to manage the larger sizes and more complex ones thus avoid lagging. For the GN project, yes it was partially financed but things are bit at a standstill now (because of the whole Chinese situation - the client is strictly connected with China) - so we'll see what happens. Actually, that reminds me , I've never shared the next pic anywhere before (so it is a forum exclusive!)- this is a series of three illustrations I did for this same client client earlier this year - using an integration between AD and AP.

@SrPx: too true, also PS wasn't intended for digital painting (not as much as Corel Painter was), but look at what it has become. I'm sure Photo will get there, once it fixes some aspects. I'd love if it implemented rulers like CSP (I used it a lot for inking, in various projects) , maybe just turning the paths in "traceable" , and it made the brush category sorting better, but it is on its way. I've found some interesting workarounds, and there are aspects I use a lot for painting that I find more intuitive (such as clipping and its live filters). And Designer...just one thing, and then it is up there and I won't need anything else - free transform, perspective transform etc. (oh yes, perspective grids for both). Then I'll be the happiest user Affinity has! @Roger C It is! Speaking of which, here is some more of the combo, I did earlier last year when in Tokyo

Anyway, sorry all for being away, I've been focusing so much in these last few months on self improvement, experimenting and all sorts of things. And my workflow has become very much an organic exchange between Designer and Photo. I've always wanted to explore how much Photo can be an alternative to Photoshop for digital painting (Designer kills Illustrator in my opinion), and the fact I can switch so easily between the two programs has urged me to find solutions for digital painting as well. It is getting there, there are a few things that should be addressed, but I'd say that one can do about 90% of things that one can do on Photoshop, but with the bonus of this Designer-Photo synergy, without considering costs etc. I hopefully will expand more on this later, but I'll start with the "end" - as it is a style I've been trying out lately. Here we have a balance of say, 7% Photo and 25% Designer. More soon, as this forum means a lot as I know that people know what I'm talking about in terms of cross-software use, which means a lot to me!

Will do! But unfortunately the GN is very much China-related, and things recently have come to a standstill recently.

Thank you so much SrPx! Always very kind. So, to make things easier (and avoid bumping the thread too often...), here's a few more joint Photo/Designer pics (I will be focusing on these for the moment, then maybe share Photo only or Designer only stuff). They are a bit of a first environment explorations/tests for a graphic novel project. thank you for looking (again) r.

And once again, I forget to update. SO- since the last time I wrote here I've started progressively experimenting on how to combine Photo and Designer, and switching from one to the other. It's taking a while, but I think that I'm getting close to finding a method with some potential. Let's start with something different, an environ piece for a graphic novel project (set in Reading, UK) best r.

Murattanhu and Alain: thank you very much for checking it out - really appreciated. In the meantime I was really honoured when Affinity asked me to do an interview for the Affinity Spotlight page - it was published last week - so if anyone here is interested in knowing where I come from, what I do and how I do it, you can check it out here: https://affinityspotlight.com/article/vector-illustrator-robert-nazeby-herzig-storytelling-is-the-thing-i-really-love/ And here - a more recent piece. BTW, I will be combining Photo and Designer over the next few weeks for a project - so will try to share that as well, as I go along.

Ah, one piece I forgot to share. (I hate double posting, so I have to check everytime - if I do bear with me). A bit of a retro-thriller spoof. best r.

Thanks, not really start as I've been using it for over 3 years, but glad you stopped by to check out my work!