Cedge

I used a screen blend mode and the burn the burn tool, while zoomed way in.

Yo Jay As entertaining as making fun of you could potentially become, your impotent efforts at trolling add absolutely nothing positive to the overall affinity experience. Welcome to the ignore list Cupcake..... ROFL

Alfred You've warmed the very cockles of me aulde heart. I can now add another troll to my own ignore list, without any guilt. I do feel good knowing he's being professionally served, even at the highest levels of the company.... ROFL. For the record, a real professional doesn't go out of his way to troll a product he obviously doesn't know how to use. All this tirade began over the export function? Incredible and sadly disturbing, at the same time. In the future, I'll think of him fondly each time I click the Export function... or not. (Evil Grin) Steve

You're quite welcome. Welcome to the Affinity forum as well.

Apparently It's one of those small windows vs Mac oddities

Parson.... I just posted the answer in the other thread, but here goes again. Hold the ALT key + the Left and Right mouse button, while dragging the tool cursor on screen. Left or right for adjusting the size and up or down to adjust opacity. It feels a little odd at first, but quickly becomes a natural part of the general routine.

Hr.Mu Hold the ALT key + the Left and Right mouse button, while dragging the tool cursor on screen. Left or right for adjusting the size and up or down to adjust opacity. It feels a little odd at first, but quickly becomes a natural part of the general routine.

Did I really just witness someone make a purchasing decision based on their dislike of a product's Logo design? One word...... Wow!

I just calls them as I sees them. Your reply begs the simple question "Why are you still using Affinity?" I'm not a fan boi of any software. I use and enjoy a pretty broad spectrum of graphics tools here. I just tire of watching people abuse the folks who work at the pointy end of the stick. They collect a paycheck for doing a job their managers tell them how to get done, not for meeting your personal demands. Some of them love what they do and for others it's a just job. A job made no easier by ignorant diatribes about how badly they do it. Your abusive tone doesn't add anything to their check. A bit of honey goes a lot further than the sour grapes approach. Maybe, give it a try. Steve

Jay I can truthfully say, from my own experiences with other software companies, that you are WAAAAAY off base and really don't seem to have a clue. Serif is absolutely verbose in their communication by comparison with other developers. Their willingness to openly interact with their typical users was the first positive thing I noticed. They listen and then choose to act, delay response or ignore based on a predetermined development plan. Amazingly, they've been willing to share their future road map publicly. What they don't do is bow down to a single user's self proclaimed priorities when they have plenty of their own to sort through. I've used graphics software where the company introduced new versions with no user input at all. Trust me....you REALLY don't want to live there. You complain about beta testing for free. Serif doesn't "expect" anyone to test, but they do allow everyone who has a vested interest to participate, without limiting it to a small elite group of testers. Huge difference there. Your $50.00 certainly did not make you a shareholder. You can make polite suggestions, but you don't get to vote on any finally decisions. Bottom line... this is not a benevolent democracy. Yes... I have several graphics programs that allow to you choose all available formats from a single drop menu. I'll admit I like it that way too, but its no huge deal to have a separate function for a proprietary format. I can tell you that I haven't recently lost any working files due to clicking the wrong format. It makes you stop and confirm your intent, it's no big deal and no....it's not broken, it's just a tad different. Suck it up cupcake, it's probably not going to change anytime soon. Steve

Gerard My latest creation just might fit your need. First, in a new document with a transparent background, add your text watermark,This will be used to create a Brush. It's as easy as creating a PNG file of your watermark to create a new brush in the brush panel. (when created, it will be very the last entry in the active brush category) Now, highlight your brush and record a macro of this brush being applied to a new pixel layer located above a background image, in the Layer Panel. Any image will do for the moment. When you replay the macro with any other image, the watermark is applied in exactly the same spot you chose, as you recorded the macro. You can get as fancy or simple as you like. Transparency, size, color, blend modes... even special effects can all be used and readjusted, if you set things up properly within the macro. It's actually a pretty versatile tool and completely non-destructive. I created several different marks and made a macro for each one, allowing me to apply any of several styles. I have a small plain one that is applied in the lower right corner and a larger one that can be applied across the whole image, for theft prevention. You get the added bonus of also being able to run this macro from the Batch Mode panel. This allows you to apply the watermark to one image or whole folders of images. You can also choose to store the newly marked images in a new folder .... all without ever opening them into AP. I don't recommend loading a thousand photos for batch processing, but it didn't choke on the dozen or so that I used for testing. TIP #1 : That pixel layer is the secret to success. It gives you nearly unlimited options for how your watermark displays and even lets you relocate and or change its size. TIP #2 : After you export the macro to the library, rename it "Watermark #XX" and drag the entry to top of the first category in your macro library. Then you won't have to hunt for them. Steve

Chief I've had to restart the program to reset these sorts of things. It sometimes gets balky when available memory resources get tight. I'm beginning to suspect this software might have a bit of a memory leakage problem I've had it stop letting me use several functions, like Dodge and Burn or blurs on larger 6000x4000 images, especially if I've had it on for a few hours with multiple images loaded. This usually precedes a screen lock up. I'm watching things for a bit, before I decide to consider it an inherent problem. Steve

A couple of considerations come to mind here. What value do you place on your available working time, as an entrepreneur. At one point in my working career, I charged $75.00 usd for mine. A 150 hour investment of time was equal to $11,250.00 usd in billables. Those were some fun times on the net. Depending on your time value and normal work load, you might not be able to justify making learning AP and AD a priority. A free lancer just might be the best economical approach, at least until you have leisure time to attack things Affinity. Watching the videos is a super aid to learning, but nothing replaces seat time, in front of the screen, for mastering the tools and having the time to absorb the lessons from many multiple sessions. It tends to be measured in many hundreds of hours before all the new guy patina wears off. Having a Ps background will certainly accelerate things, but I'm doubtful 150 hours is close to a realistic estimate. Bottom line... never let making a dime stand in the way of making a dollar. Steve

Phil_Rose Not impossible. I easily managed it in both the current windows version and the new windows beta. The current windows version only required dragging the images that you want to arrange side by side from the file title bar, resizing them and re-positioning them on screen. Not quite as nice as having the auto tiling or cascading, but still perfectly usable. I even had the second image pane holding a total of 4 images that I could toggle among. Steve

Somehow I'd missed the Live Layer Lighting option. I have been stuck using the much more destructive filter menu version, the one that doesn't make a Layers panel entry. They both work almost exactly alike but those small differences are actually huge. This little snippet information is sure to make my life easier. My personal blessings are heaped upon both of you.... LOL. Steve

IanSG I'm forever checking out Ps related videos and then converting them to work with other software I've used. Never reinvent the wheel if you can find the guy who already did.... (grin). I'm not a big fan of Ps, but I'm a HUGE fan of the gigantic user pool and their willingness to share an amazing knowledge base. You don't have to love the sin to love the sinners. Steve.

IanSG You're getting things looking really good. It's no small accomplishment to get multiple lights working together, instead of against each other. The pen tool is also my weapon of choice. You just have to use the bezier curve toggles to shape the curve of the marquee to fit your needs. It works in a slightly less than intuitive manner, so it might take a little bit of practice to get good at it. There are some very good YouTube videos that show will you the secret ins and outs of the bezier function. I downloaded your image, to get a closer look at the arch selection. I added a curves adjustment so I could peek into the shadows. Your image suddenly came to life, rather dramatically. I hope you don't mind me sharing the results with you. Give it a try and see what you think. Steve

Shojtsy I agree... this drives me a little nuts. The lack of a way to convey suggested settings is also a handicap. That one, sometimes large, adjustment panel that is displayed at the end of the replay doesn't provide a chance to make adjustments if a layer and its children has been merged down. Its basic functionality is pretty sound but it needs a couple of tweaks, here and there. I have little doubt these items are already on a "To Do" list, someplace. Steve

The Lighting filter could be your new best friend, Between the various lighting options and the ambient light adjustment, its one pretty powerful tool for doing Day to Night tricks.

Stuart... I'm not quite sure how or why you've percieived any personal negativity towards you for shooting and using RAW files or having once been a dark room spook. RAW users are currently sitting happily at the top of the evolutionary heap. My "RAW snobbery " comment was simply noting the wide spread negative opinion of us JPEG shooters. We are pretty much considered to be the Luddites of the photography / graphics world. I was not throwing any shade your way, but sharing a bit of self deprecation. I just spent extended time trying to get you comfortable using RAW files in AP, so your snarling response came as somewhat of a surprise. I don't care if you use RAW or any other format.... as long as you begin to grasp the basics of AP. I'm not even offended... just perplexed. As for those "long darkroom scenarios" that keep popping up, You were the one who stated that it was familiar territory. Since, both, darkroom procedure and what we do in AP have a whole lot in common, you're quite likely to hear those same comparisons made again and again. They are not given in any sort of condescending manner. Hell... I would have loved to have had the experience myself. Somewhere down the road. I'm betting that when you get a handle on AP and ry to assist another new guy, you too will resort to the same familiar dark room explanations , hoping to help break through the confusion. Understanding your current frustration, I'm going to let you be, for the time being. I certainly didn't intend to detonate anyone. So.. I'm off to spread some big time love, all over my current 1955 Junkyard Cadillac poster project. Feel free to seek future assistance, if and when you get things back on an even keel. I don't mind helping. You hang in there. Steve

The recorder needs to allow for adding annotations to share various setting information during playback and maybe let us label each step, as it's recorded The current method offers up a plate full of confusing unidentified sliders just as the macro playback is completed, long after some settings needed adjustment. Please consider adding the ability to stop the playback at each adjustment panel, as it is being applied, instead of just the one the one clunky unidentified slider panel displayed at the end of replay. If the specific action was merged during the recording process, its slider, in most cases, will no longer changed anything. Those settings were long ago merged and applied.

SF Cool your jets. Like many, I can certainly appreciate a good rant, assuming it has merit. This stuff doesn't just magically pop into your head, not without a fair amount of brain sweat. You don't get a free pass just because you're frustrated. I didn't bitch, even once, about sharing the same information in 4 different ways. The silly cat thing was no joke. It is a common sense step by step guide to beginning your AP journey in a natural and efficient way. Try and follow it a few times. You just might experience a cognitive breakthrough. Now... step away from the exit and do your part. Steve

V_Kyr There will always be that user who thinks their personal priority must also become the developer's top priority as well. I've seen any number of users get into a snit leave a community, when things just didn't go quite their way. Heck, I'm a rather recent arrival here and I have already witnessed it happening a couple of times, here. You're also correct in noting that the loudest demands always seem to come from those who have the least clue a to what the implementation would require. I've noticed a few areas in AP that need some attention, but I'll take a while to observe and learn the local customs before I venture into those waters. Luckily, I know the difference between a well mannered suggestion and a raving demand for attention. I'd rather avoid blindly poking anyone with sharp a stick. Steve

Patrick The value of having a large test group would appear to outweigh most of the negatives, at least from my casual observation. Ours were small (40 user) groups with a single point of contact (that would have been me) who was designated to submit daily updates and reporting documentation for any problems that we found. Once we eventually established communications with the company's US staffing, things became a bit more friendly, on both sides. The adversarial nature of the relationship never completely died. I finally burned out, after about 5 version release cycles, and went my own way. It's certainly far more fun than how we had to deal with things. I'm really enjoying participating in the current beta, without all those distractions. How you're doing things isn't wrong and the lines of communication and your open online presence is really quite refreshing. Steve

Patrick I do in fact have just such experience, having conducted alpha and beta testing for a now defunct graphics application, out of Taiwan. Some things struck me as being very positive when i began lurking on this forum and observing the interaction the Serif staff has with the users. It is not always this way with other companies. Back then we had to beg for even the chance to do testing. We then put up with being mistreated by the developers and staff and we were generally ignored when we submitted problems or suggestions, outside of the testing cycle. I even had a product manager tell me, in very colorful terms, that the testing teams would never be taken seriously, simply because the members were not Asian. Let it suffice to say that cross cultural bliss and understanding did not exist. We did it for the love of the application and to support the user community. The only reward was a free copy of the upgraded product. Sadly, they are no longer in the market place and a very competent and powerful application died directly from their neglect. I tip my hat to the Serif staff for what I personally know to be almost unprecedented access. We're not all as abusive as the couple of users that I've watched make total fools of themselves. Thanks for the open beta. It shows you recognize the users as an important research resource, one that you probably couldn't afford, otherwise. It's nice to be appreciated.... on both sides of the veil. Steve