Butler To Cats

Working a lot with Moho Pro I saw myself rebuilding scenes I designed in Affinity Designer or Photo with exported images in Moho again. I never have to do that when using Spine to animate as Affinity has this great Spine JSON batch exporter in the Export Persona. So I was missing that when working in Moho.
Until now; I've developed a free plugin script for Moho which let's Moho import all layers and exported cropped images from Affinity Photo and/or Designer via the exported spine.json file!
For who is using both Spine and Moho, like me, it is even quite far in importing the setup pose with all images as exported from Spine too. Including all transformations of the images and even tinting of images. There are some limitations when importing spine.json files coming from Spine tho (see mohoscripts page for the script), like images which use meshes aren't supported. But the most important features are supported already!


[update]
Also when the spine.json file has bone data (like files exported from Spine itself, or when using special layer naming in Krita's exporter), the skeleton will be recreated in Moho during import since v1.1.0! 

But the main reason for making this was to import layers from Affinity tho. And that all works great now! A real time saver.
It also works for Krita, Photoshop, After Effects, Gimp etc. when you install an existing export to spine.json script in Krita.
The script is free to download. Downloadlink and more information is here:
https://mohoscripts.com/script/wp_spine_import
And here are some demo's/tutorial videos I just created. Have fun! 
 
 
 

Workaround:
(Note: even after adding text, you can still use the node tool to modify the shape, and text will reflow to fit)

I suspect this probably already is, but if not, it should be determined by the color profiles assigned to the document.
Displays work in RGB, so in order to show any given CMYK color value, it needs to be translated to an RGB color - a straight conversion of 0,0,0,1 (100%/255) to RGB would give 0,0,0 but this does not account for the color profile(s) involved.  Real printer ink at 0,0,0,1 is *not* a true black, which is why on a color printer, some small amount of color ink is added when printing black colors coming from RGB documents or a "rich" black when selected, in order to further darken the black ink on the page.
What specific color and how much of it will vary depending on the composition of the ink, which is why color management profiles should become involved in determining how that translation takes place in order to give a more true on-screen representation of the actual printed color.

Hi 
I am using V2 now and i can confirm that you can import and export colour palettes.

While 0,0,0 for black is correct for RGB (screen, additive) work, this would be incorrect for using CMYK, which is a printing (subtractive) standard.
RGB and CMYK have completely different uses and should not be compared. If you are not intending your output to go to print, do not use CMYK.
 
Printing a dark ("rich") black commercially usually requires a mix of the coloured (CMY) inks in addition to the K (black) ink in order to produce a darker black colour on paper than you can get using only black (K) ink, which will usually only show on paper as a dark grey (true black printed inks are very difficult to achieve in practice with wet ink, ignoring powder/laser ink which has different issues). This why the printing industry uses the term rich black rather than true black (although you might see CMYK 0,0,0,100 as "plain black" - something commercial print customers might not be satisfied with on paper).
With some papers (especially coated paper), producing a rich black on paper (without wetness problems) will require noticeably less than 100% K ink and a mix of the other C,M,Y inks.
 
This does not translate exactly to RGB on screen, but in practice the CMYK you are seeing as RGB 32, 32, 32 on screen will produce a darker ("rich") black on paper than CMYK 0,0,0,100 (because of the practical lack of real-world true-black wet inks).
Exact mixes of CMYK for "rich black" on paper will vary according to printer, ink, and especially type of paper used (which is why CMYK swatches in software usually specify the paper type) - consult your commercial print expert.
 
As a subtractive (printing) process, the theoretically darkest mix with real-world ink would be CMYK 100,100,100,100 rather than CMYK 0,0,0,100 - however, in practice with real-world paper, this would be far too wet for the paper (with wet ink) and produces other issues with powder/laser ink. CMYK 100,100,100,100 is used for thin-line registration marks (the small marks and thin lines avoid the wetness problems) and is known as "registration black" - it will also show up any problems with CMYK alignment.
 
Software that uses  CMYK 0, 0, 0, 100 for printing "rich black" on paper (rather than "plain black") is telling lies about real-world printing conditions and real-world inks, and should stick to on-screen RGB where it is telling the truth.

What DM1 said, and see the Help under the Node tool for all of those icons (leftmost 5 are snapping, rightmost 4 are about transform. Note: you're missing a couple of transform icons that may not show up in portrait view).
Accessing the help on an iPad: go back to the gallery and tap on the question mark in the top right corner. Type node into the search box i the top left corner, and tap on Node Tool, scroll down to see the icons and their explanations.
Not sure if this will paste properly (note: if you hold Ctrl, or Cmd on a Mac, and rotate your mouse wheel, you can zoom your browser for a better view):
Action—Manipulates the curve(s):  Break Curve opens the shape at the selected node.  Close Curve joins the start and end nodes to create an enclosed shape.  Smooth Curve modifies a line or shape, by adding and removing nodes, to make it more aesthetic.  Join Curves connects two separate curves together to make one curve. Curves need to be both selected with the   using either the Node Tool or   as you draw.  Reverse Curve lets you draw from the opposite end of the curve—The start node becomes active, ready for further drawing. Transform—Transforms the selected node(s):  Transform Mode—when selected, creates a bounding box around the selected nodes, allowing them to be transformed as a grouping.  Enable Transform Origin—displays a movable transform origin about which the selection box can be rotated.  Hide Selection while Dragging—when selected, the selection box is temporarily hidden when transforming. If this option is off, the selection box remains visible during transformation. The selected behavior persists across all objects unless it is manually switched.  Show Alignment Handles—when selected, displays alignment handles at the center and edges of the selected object. Hovering over these handles displays a floating guideline across the page. You can drag the handles to position the center or edges of the selected object in line with this guide.  Transform Objects Separately—when selected, where multiple objects are selected, they can be be resized, rotated and sheared independently of each other instead of transforming the bounding box.  Selection Box From Curves—when selected, the selection box encompasses and includes all curves that extend outside the array of currently selected nodes.  Cycle Selection Box—after reshaping, rotating, or shearing the shape, this option resets the selection box to vertical. Snap—Controls node snapping:  Align to nodes of selected curves—aligns any moving node you drag to any other node on the same or a different curve.  Snap to geometry of selected curves—will snap moving node to the same or different curve's path or node.  Snap all selected nodes when dragging—will snap multiple selected nodes, when dragging, to a "target" node on any selected curves.  Align handle positions using snapping options—will snap a control handle to a curve's path (or node) or shape's geometry. With global snapping's Snap to Grid enabled, you can also snap control handles to grid.  Perform construction snapping—allows control handle snapping: inline with adjacent node. to 90° from inline. to reflected angle with adjacent control handle. parallel to adjacent control handle. 90° to parallel control handle. to logical triangle. These options are independent of the global snapping options.

Hi Walt, how's things?
Here you go - https://theeagerlearner.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/BlendModes01.pdf

Hello, I made this vine brush and I thought I would share it with you. Hope you like it.
2020-09-01 09-56-31_Trim.mp4 vine.afbrushes

Fear not, from an idea suggested by Isabel (Aracama) Illustration https://youtu.be/C2iLfqdzUro here is the asset pack I created to replace the missing Shape Presets on the iPad versions.
 
 
Shape Presets.afassets

Vector Texture Toolkit
When working on latest project: Rock Monster World.I needed a tool to create textured backgrounds using only vector elements.
Added a truncated version to resources hope you find it useful!
Contents
The Toolkit contains various elements to allow for the construction textured backgrounds using vectors but some aspects will need to be refined independently according to requirements (Size for instance!)
A. A set of simple styles that define transparency
B. Set of vectors (These are contained on a separate artboard)
C. A set of vector assets sub-dividend into 4 categories. (I was a bit concerned about the number of nodes here!...as their are compound paths included!)
D. A layout artboard with containing mask
E. An artboard containing irregular vector shapes. (and some textured compounds!)...does not reflect exactly the assets panel!
It will require a bit of experimentation to create what you need..

Export as bitmaps or Multiple artboard file to be re-imported to other files using the place tool

There are some 'basic' instructions included in the file
There are some samples here!
Sample images as below:
Textured image 

Vector Elements

 
Packaged Files
Vector Texture Toolkit 2.0.zip
 
 

Marble Styles

Marmor.afstyles

No rulers as such, I don't think (could be wrong), but there are certainly guides.
Designer persona, Documents menu (hold down the question mark in the corner to see the menus/tools labelled) > Guides. Use the context options at the bottom to add a vertical or horizontal guide through the middle of the document. Use the Move tool to drag the guide into place. Depending on your snap settings (I think), guides will snap to existing objects.
Also in the context options while in "guide mode": Numerically move/place a selected guide, create a guide using numerical positioning, and turn on Column Guides (regular divisions of row and column guides).
Document menu > Snapping to turn on/off snapping to guides and other objects. (Use the horseshoe magnet in the toolbar to turn overall snapping on/off).

Hi,
I needed to create arrays of images to show a distribution. Say you wanted to display the amount of male to female workers, or, like in my case the number of nominations in relation to the numbers of wins.
So, I wrote a simple python script to do it. It's using graphicsmagick (http://www.graphicsmagick.org/) for the actual image stuff.
It works like size: You give it a number of images, and specify how many of these images you want. By default it will arrange those images in a square grid, but you can also specify the number of columns you want to produce different layouts. You can specify the size of a cell and the border around it. 
It will create a single output file using this data, which you can then use in your Affinity tools.
Right now it displays the images in order, but I could change it to display them randomly if needed.
#!/usr/local/bin/python3 import math import os # the number per image type counts = [94,199] # the actual filenames to use images = ["A.png", "B.png"] # what should be produced outFilename = "out.png" # size of the cells cellWidth = 100 cellHeight = 100 # number of columns. If set to zero, it will create # a layout with the same number of rows and columns. columns = 0 # ---------------------------------- # Implementation # # Basically, it creates list of files for # graphicsmagick's (http://www.graphicsmagick.org/montage.html) # montage tool. # # On a mac you can use # brew install graphicsmagick # in a terminal to install graphicsmagick if you don't have it already # total = 0 for count in counts: total += count if ( columns == 0 ): columns = math.ceil( math.sqrt( total ) ) rows = math.ceil( total / columns ) totalRemaining = total curType = 0 typeRemaining = counts[curType] params = "" while totalRemaining > 0: params += images[curType] + " " totalRemaining = totalRemaining - 1 typeRemaining = typeRemaining - 1 if typeRemaining == 0: # switch to next image curType = curType + 1 typeRemaining = counts[ min(curType, len(images)-1 )] # call graphicsmagick to do the hard work for us: os.system( f'gm montage -background none -geometry {cellWidth}x{cellHeight}+10+10 -tile {columns}x{rows} {params} {outFilename}') Maybe it's something you can find use for.
If you're on a mac, you can use 
on the command line to install it.
 
I hope this is in the correct forum, tand that somebody might find this useful.
 
Thanks,
DasLenny

I had to edit some images for a client, who wanted to embed them into some kind of bank notes. The motives on them used to be classic copperplate engravings. So I created some macros for AP, some of which I want to share with the community. 

Requirements:
The image needs to be square format (it will get resized to 3000 x 3000 px) The image needs to be flat (only 1 layer) The styles provided in this post need to be added prior to starting the macro I got an error message when trying to upload the files (probably due to their size, hence some google cloud links:
Engraving Styles (2.2 MB) - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aHP4golVVLoidsw_aLs_EcMltfsM3oIu/view?usp=sharing
Engraving Macros (1.8 MB) - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mMbZFTd-fLDuACyRCa7bne7cd0wksYUu/view?usp=sharing
The macros and assets have been moved to Gumroad. (https://thargoran.gumroad.com/l/engraving_effect) 
t's still for free—just enter the code APforum2023 (I'd appreciate some stars rating nonetheless).
Sorry, but the free period expired.

As R C-R stated, no GUI framework is used, so definitely not Qt5.
Core code with custom interface code for each platform.
 
In this post, TonyB reveals that C++ is mainly used, but the Mac front end is written in Objective C.
 
Not a professional programmer myself, but I assume this gives Serif more control and flexibility with their tool choices and code, rather than being locked into a specific tool-chain or framework. I assume it also limits bug-hunting to their own code and the OS-specific tools, rather than potentially including third-party GUI framework bugs.

By default Affinity Designer works in vector mode (Draw Persona).
 
To get your normal image tools, change to Pixel Persona (although keep in mind that at heart AD is a vector design program with raster features, Affinity Photo might be a better match for image manipulation features).
 

You have to use the rotation control. You can use the point transform tool to rotate with pencil. Offers more positions than anchor studio.
If new to Designer you might find the PDF help file handy.
https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/64366-affinity-designer-help-file-for-183-on-ipad-pdf-updated/#
 
IMG_4019.MP4 IMG_4021.MP4

Hi guys. I want to take part in help for Affinity Photo. Here is custom make grass brushes and example, that was made by me. If you have any comments or ideas to add/fix them - i will adjust/update them.
Each brush - it is not only one image, but at least 3 different variations of it. So when you draw - it draws in series 1,2,3,1,2,3,....like frames in movies - so the grass texture looks more natural and random.
The brush rotates according to drawing direction/route. If you don't need it - got to brush settings Dynamic/Rotation jitter - and set it to ZERO %
 
2017.12.24 - Version updated to 0.2. See attached pictures for explanations   Also i attach small palette for green hues.
2017.12.18 - They are 4 brushes. First 3 - intensity brushes, and last one - image brush.
 
 
 


Antony - Grass v.02.afbrushes
Antony - Grass.afpalette

By default Affinity Designer works in vector mode (Draw Persona).
 
To get your normal image tools, change to Pixel Persona (although keep in mind that at heart AD is a vector design program with raster features, Affinity Photo might be a better match for image manipulation features).
 

Attached is a macro set for splitting RGB image into separate layers for a number of colour models.
RGB: Basic separation RGBW: New model! Like CMYK but Red, Green, Blue and White RGB-W: Like RGBW but only two layers for separate colour/tone editing CMY: Effective inverse of RGB CMYK: Standard internal model CMY-K: Like CMYK, but with only two layers for separate colour/tone editing HSL: New model! Hue, Saturation and Luminosity on separate layers! HSL-RGB: Same as HSL, but with Hue broken down into separate RGB layers Principles used in doing these:
Start with 'Merge Visible' to create flat layer for base (saves tripping over adjustments) End with single layer group (so you can delete it in one go if you don't like it Named layers, so you know which is which Keep it simple (just the layers, no 'edit ready' adjustments such as curves, sharpening) Fast as possible (so RGB done with channels, CMYK with curves, etc), though new ones need Apply Image which can be very slow! Any bugs, etc. please let me know. Do be patient with Apply Image adjustments and don't try to 'Esc' out as this can leave you in limbo.
Enjoy!
Dave's Colour Models V1.afmacros

I was in need of lines with dots and triangles for a project. I started creating a few lines and then I encountered a whole bunch of problems with repeating patterns in the Texture Intensity Brushes in the Designer Persona. My triangles got squished, my squares became rectangles and I went into full pitbull mode and did not sleep until I understood what went wrong. These are my work arounds if you’re struggling with squished or otherwise deformed repeating patterns: https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/101575-textured-intensity-brushes-and-body-repeat/&tab=comments#comment-545105.
With the work arounds in mind I’ve created a set of brushes with repeating patterns that hardly show any deformation*. I was on a roll, so I created 114 in 9 families. I won’t use all, so feel free to use them. They're nice for stamps and borders and such. Enjoy!
*) When using these brushes on a tightly curving curve or a sharp corner they of course do deform. Experiment with the brush setting for Corners to find the best solution for your project.

The brushes all contain a centred line (in 3 widths, S, M and L) and repeating shapes and stripes above or above and below. The brushes with stuff above the line, but not under are therefore not vertically centred on the stroke. In the stripey families I added 3 lines with a different center point, those are marked with a suffix ‘mid’. They are symmetrical, the 'mid' version is vertically centred on the whole stroke.
When you import the brush files you’ll see that a few of the brushes in the round families have different heights from the other brushes. The sources of these brushes have a different width height ratio (see the post linked above for the reason why). I added them to the brush files with a height that by default fits to the brushes with the standard height of 80px.

 
Lines CTSR examples.pdf
lines CTSR - pointy L.afbrushes
lines CTSR - round L.afbrushes
lines CTSR - stripey L.afbrushes
lines CTSR - pointy M.afbrushes
lines CTSR - round M.afbrushes
lines CTSR - stripey M.afbrushes
lines CTSR - pointy S.afbrushes
lines CTSR - round S.afbrushes
lines CTSR - stripey S.afbrushes

What DM1 said, and see the Help under the Node tool for all of those icons (leftmost 5 are snapping, rightmost 4 are about transform. Note: you're missing a couple of transform icons that may not show up in portrait view).
Accessing the help on an iPad: go back to the gallery and tap on the question mark in the top right corner. Type node into the search box i the top left corner, and tap on Node Tool, scroll down to see the icons and their explanations.
Not sure if this will paste properly (note: if you hold Ctrl, or Cmd on a Mac, and rotate your mouse wheel, you can zoom your browser for a better view):
Action—Manipulates the curve(s):  Break Curve opens the shape at the selected node.  Close Curve joins the start and end nodes to create an enclosed shape.  Smooth Curve modifies a line or shape, by adding and removing nodes, to make it more aesthetic.  Join Curves connects two separate curves together to make one curve. Curves need to be both selected with the   using either the Node Tool or   as you draw.  Reverse Curve lets you draw from the opposite end of the curve—The start node becomes active, ready for further drawing. Transform—Transforms the selected node(s):  Transform Mode—when selected, creates a bounding box around the selected nodes, allowing them to be transformed as a grouping.  Enable Transform Origin—displays a movable transform origin about which the selection box can be rotated.  Hide Selection while Dragging—when selected, the selection box is temporarily hidden when transforming. If this option is off, the selection box remains visible during transformation. The selected behavior persists across all objects unless it is manually switched.  Show Alignment Handles—when selected, displays alignment handles at the center and edges of the selected object. Hovering over these handles displays a floating guideline across the page. You can drag the handles to position the center or edges of the selected object in line with this guide.  Transform Objects Separately—when selected, where multiple objects are selected, they can be be resized, rotated and sheared independently of each other instead of transforming the bounding box.  Selection Box From Curves—when selected, the selection box encompasses and includes all curves that extend outside the array of currently selected nodes.  Cycle Selection Box—after reshaping, rotating, or shearing the shape, this option resets the selection box to vertical. Snap—Controls node snapping:  Align to nodes of selected curves—aligns any moving node you drag to any other node on the same or a different curve.  Snap to geometry of selected curves—will snap moving node to the same or different curve's path or node.  Snap all selected nodes when dragging—will snap multiple selected nodes, when dragging, to a "target" node on any selected curves.  Align handle positions using snapping options—will snap a control handle to a curve's path (or node) or shape's geometry. With global snapping's Snap to Grid enabled, you can also snap control handles to grid.  Perform construction snapping—allows control handle snapping: inline with adjacent node. to 90° from inline. to reflected angle with adjacent control handle. parallel to adjacent control handle. 90° to parallel control handle. to logical triangle. These options are independent of the global snapping options.

Hi everyone
I've created some Neon sign styles in an Outline and Solid effect, hope you like and make good use: Neon Style set.afstyles
 
 

List of fonts used if interested:
Magneto
AR Delaney
Burger Joint Neon Light JL
Rage Italic 
AG Stencil
Broadway

I don't think there is a web-based version of the iPad-specific documentation (at least, not yet).
However, when you're in the gallery view on the iPad version, there's a little question mark icon in the top right of the screen. Tapping that will open up a help system very similar to the online help in your link. 
See this thread for a summary of feature differences between the desktop and iPad versions (very few).
The full feature list here also lists "(for desktop only)" after any features that are not available on the iPad.

You can use a vector shape for clipping.
However, this is a non-destructive operation similar to masking (no pixels are erased, if you change the vector shape later it will hide/reveal areas).
In the layers panel, drag the image onto the vector shape, you need to line up the drag so you see a blue line across the middle of the vector shape layer.

The clipped image can then be exported with transparency (in the appropriate formats e.g. PNG) outside the vector shape.
Note: unlike this example, don't use an outline on the vector shape if you don't want an outline on the final clipped area.