Dennis Nisbet

Today is a sad day for me. Thanks to everyone for all your efforts with my shadow project. Unfortunately, I was never able to achieve the result I wanted. PS has a Black to Transparent Gradient choice that I cannot reproduce. If I could, it would be too complex for a Macro. I learned a lot. Most of all, I learned that Affinity, for all the things it can already do, still has a long way to go. I believe that the Shadow idea I was able to have Scripted for PS has a lot of market application. I'll keep working on other things, mostly learning for me, and keep an eye on future developments.

Thank you for this information. I agree, in general, the instructions/how-to videos, are a work in progress!

Is there a way to apply things like this so that they are at least partially automated for global applications? I'm still looking for everything that can be added to a shadow in a Macro and then tweaked afterward.

If you are interested in where this company was and is going, here is a link that would be of interest to you. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serif_Europe#History On the surface, they appear to be very conservative and focused. Their small size probably lends itself to the lack of patience on the part of its users in that they can't develop their products fast enough. They appear to be focused on those markets that afford them the greatest opportunity for growth while remaining in touch with what they do best. That makes good business sense to me! Just like Adobe, there is no direct communication between them and their customers. Everything relies on forums. Being "Old School" I understand but question this wisdom. I'm an old guy! At their pace, I am not likely to see some really great innovations that are on the horizon but not forthcoming anytime soon. Regardless, I am happy to see "real" competition in this ever-expanding market.

@R C-R Thanks, I needed that. I'm still laughing. You have been great. All the input you have provided kept me going.

For this Shadow test, I started with Mr. Pea Shooter. A sort of modern-day dressed and flat lit guy. See the attached file. But never mind, the image I am placing him on isn’t really from the old west either. The cutout I did of Mr. Pea was done in Affinity Photo. I like this much better than PS. Being able to turn off/on the snap to edges is great. I added guides and used the crop tool to crop Mr. Pea's image. I like the options that are available with the crop tool. I wanted to add some shadow to the right side (his right side) of Mr. Pea’s face. Because he is Flat lit. I tried the Live Lighting effect, but I didn’t like the way it worked. It looks like an overlay filter. I finally took it into PS and used Portrait Pro shadow effect to add the lighting like look to his face. It still doesn't beat the real thing. The shadow is better and the user of the Macro (If I can make it work) will then be able to adjust the Blur and Density. The position and strength of the Gradient are fixed once it is applied. I found reference to that in the tutorials. The Macro will only create the Duplicate Layer, Select the Object, add a Gradient and stop. The user will do the rest. That's really no different than what my PS Script does except that moving the shadow using the Free Transform tool is much better and faster. I would also like a way to adjust the blur so that there is more blur at the far end of the shadow. Next, I'll tackle the Macro. Again, if you have any ideas, I have really appreciated all your comments. BTW, is it just me being critical or do some of the writers of the tutorials have trouble staying on topic? Thank you. Shadow Screen Shot.psd

Please see the attached video. This is one of those things that should have been addressed in the early stages of development regardless of the target markets! Better Use of the Screen and Time.mp4

@v_kyr Thanks for your input. You are likely to be more right than wrong about your assessment of Affinity Photo. At the risk of making a long story even longer, I am going to do it anyway. I made PS Actions for the Scripts I've had written and then worked closely with the Script Writer to achieve the intended result. What I wanted to do and did was create a better shadow than the one that is available in StudioMagic I from Layercake Elements, com. (It is worth noting that they have sold hundreds, maybe thousands of this program with a very poor Shadow Creation program. I worked with them, helping through the development stages and using what technology they had at that time. Their program was ultimately produced as a plug-in for PS and the Plug-in was created by a Program Writer that had limited knowledge.) Never-the-less, it opened the door for further development and I believe that the Script that I use now in PS will be added to their next release. There is a huge market out there that isn't as picky as we might be. Before I continue, I should remind everyone that the images I use for demonstration come from places like Depositphoto where the lighting falls short in almost every way. 99% of the people images are flat lit and that is only the beginning of the shortcomings. Some of the images that Affinity used are pretty bad also but they do illustrate a technique. I received a bunch of ideas from all of the people that responded to this thread. Thank you! Collective, I got a lot of help shortening my learning curve on this subject and how to get from point A to point B. I also discovered that there are features in Affinity Photo that can take my Shadow concept way beyond where it is now. Unfortunately, as you pointed out, Affinity Photo still has a long way to go before this idea is viable. You were absolutely right, I am looking at a Global Market potential and creating something that works quickly and effectively, within reason, for many images and situations. Having spent most of my career, that was before retirement, in Sales Management for some pretty big companies, I look at most things from a Global Sales perspective. I have one more issue with the Shadow I've been able to create using a lot of the great input I have received. I'll post a video on that in the next day or so. After that, the next steps will be from Affinity Photo, if they choose to do anything!

OK, folks, My next question is shown in the video. BTW, I think I should have named this project The MopHead Experiment! Affinity Shadow Test.mp4

I almost couldn't stop laughing after I read about trying to paint the Mona Lisa with a mop head. Actually, I'm still laughing! Thanks so much for the humor.

@R C-R and @firstdefence I am going to try Baby Steps on this so that I can better understand what is going on. Running the Macro I did find the layer after I reduced the size and X-Y position. However, it was blank. I want to take another run at this a different way and I need to know how to do something. In my original illustration, I have a cowboy that has been cut out and then copied into the background. I want to duplicate that pixel layer and then change just the cowboy into a gradient. Can this be done?

Wow C R-C, and I thought I was persistent! Thank you for this. I am doing something wrong and the Shadow isn't being created. The shadow layer is created but it is empty and can't be selected. Looking at the Macro Editor, I did see that the Fill Opacity was set to zero. Does that have anything to do with this? Would it help if I sent you a video?

Hope this is in the correct place this time. Content can be found under Affinity Desktop Questions-More About Shadow Creation. Everyone, this has been a lively discussion with a lot of great ideas. I've not had time to check them all out but I will. I want to make sure I understand the impact and possible application each one has on the idea of Shadow Creation. Based on what I've seen so far, Affinity Photo almost has the ability to create exceptional shadows quickly and with a lot of simple post creation adjustments. With the right adjustment capabilities in place (I think think it will require Free Transform) a Macro can be created by anyone wanting this ability. I believe that the ability to create shadows that are reasonably accurate and do it in a rapid fashion is a very important part of composite creation. As @R C-R pointed out, these shadows will not replicate true shadows. Based on what I've seen in the marketplace, this is a non-issue and those that think a perfect shadow is necessary (following all the bends and curves) will create one no matter how long it takes. To reiterate, the idea is to be able to select objects in a composite and run a Macro that creates a shadow of that object that can be repositioned and adjusted quickly. Unless someone had some additional ideas on something that could be done, it is likely we should move on to something else. (My next idea is having a Macro that enables (Color Matching). I bet this one can already be created in a Macro and I'll follow up with a demo shortly. It is my understanding that someone at Affinity reads all of these posts. There is little else that can be done without the input from Affinity Photo. This idea may not be on their radar or they have a "Mind Blowing" idea on how to do this some other way.

Keeping in mind that I look at many things in terms of them being Global as opposed to doing something on a single image. I am always looking for better ways to do things multiple times and on a wide variety of images using Scripts, Actions, Macro's, etc. I put everything recent in Affinity Photo Desktop Questions. You can find the dialog and video demos under More about Shadows In Photoshop there are many ways to do a color match. That is likely to be true in Affinity Photo also. I am putting this out there along with the images I used and asking if anyone has developed a good Macro that will do this. Thank you. Color_Match_for_Affinity_Demo.mp4 3_Quarter_Length_Dark_Surfer_Girl_in_White_Cutout.psd Dusk_Beach_scene_with_Surfers.afphoto

@R C-R Thank you for this input. I'll look at writing it up and reposting it. In my other life, before I retired, I wrote a number of simplified manuals for our customers that had purchased very expensive equipment and had difficulty following the manuals that accompanied the machines. Our equipment manuals were like the manuals you get with a camera. You had to go to several places to find out what you wanted to know. Even though the manuals had a lot of highlighting in them it was still confusing. Most of the customers were individuals just starting a new business who had invested as much as a quarter of a million dollars. By boiling down basic procedures and providing sufficient highlights, they were able to learn much faster. So, the OLD DOG is having a difficult time learning a new trick. I can't begin to tell you how much I appreciate all the input I have received from you and others. Thank again.

Keeping in mind that I look at many things in terms of them being Global as opposed to doing something on a single image. I am always looking for better ways to do things multiple times and on a wide variety of images using Scripts, Actions, Macro's, etc. In Photoshop there are many ways to do a color match. That is likely to be true in Affinity Photo also. I am putting this out there along with the images I used and asking if anyone has developed a good Macro that will do this. Thank you. Color_Match_for_Affinity_Demo.mp4 3_Quarter_Length_Dark_Surfer_Girl_in_White_Cutout.psd Surfer_Girl_in_White_Cutout.psd Dusk_Beach_scene_with_Surfers.afphoto

Everyone, this has been a lively discussion with a lot of great ideas. I've not had time to check them all out but I will. I want to make sure I understand the impact and possible application each one has on the idea of Shadow Creation. Based on what I've seen so far, Affinity Photo almost has the ability to create exceptional shadows quickly and with a lot of simple post creation adjustments. With the right adjustment capabilities in place (I think think it will require Free Transform) a Macro can be created by anyone wanting this ability. I believe that the ability to create shadows that are reasonably accurate and do it in a rapid fashion is a very important part of composite creation. As @R C-R pointed out, these shadows will not replicate true shadows. Based on what I've seen in the marketplace, this is a non-issue and those that think a perfect shadow is necessary (following all the bends and curves) will create one no matter how long it takes. To reiterate, the idea is to be able to select objects in a composite and run a Macro that creates a shadow of that object that can be repositioned and adjusted quickly. Unless someone had some additional ideas on something that could be done, it is likely we should move on to something else. (My next idea is having a Macro that enables (Color Matching). I bet this one can already be created in a Macro and I'll follow up with a demo shortly. It is my understanding that someone at Affinity reads all of these posts. There is little else that can be done without the input from Affinity Photo. This idea may not be on their radar or they have a "Mind Blowing" idea on how to do this some other way. Thank you so much for all your input.

@R C-R Again, thank you for your input. It has opened the door to a lot of ideas from several people. My view of this process (Shadow Creation) is that once it is developed, it can be made into a Macro that anyone can use for any given situation. Better yet, it could become a part of Affinity Photo, perhaps as a command. When you consider how well it could work and how easy the tweaks would be, well, that's exciting, isn't it?

@Dclone2I think I've gone into Information Overload but thank you for this input. Have you tried putting together a Focused portfolio, either hard copy or within your own website? There are a lot of different companies that use freelancers but they usually want to see work that you do that is specific to their business. Also, do you work in both Affinity and Photoshop? These are questions you may encounter.

@v_kyr Can you do what you are proposing in a few seconds? Can the process be applied to a variety of placed images in a composite? If you can, it might make sense to go that route

@R C-R I'm an old guy who learned that CAPS were a way to provide emphasis and not shouting. I'll try underlining instead. Quickly positioning the shadow for each object in the image is the primary purpose. To be effective, everything will have to be created so that it works for a variety of sizes in a harmonious way. Being able to quickly create the shadow and then make some final tweaks will be a real boost to the pro that might be doing a bunch of composites a day like school photographers. Please ask me more questions if this doesn't help. This is really a big deal and a giant step forward for a significant merging market called compositing.

@R C-R Well said in your last post above when you pointed out some of the pitfalls of this type of shadow. And I quote. "Two things that I think are almost impossible to replicate in a 2D graphics app, Photoshop included, if photorealistic shadows are the goal: Shadow variations due to ground contours & other objects in the shadow's path, like the fence posts in your shot Matching shadows cast on the placed image itself with those of the background photo, like on the side of the body shaded from the light source or under the brim of the hat There are various ways to fake such things, but they are all labor intensive & unless done with a lot of skill, a careful examination of the final image will reveal the fakery. But for most purposes, some combination of the techniques mentioned here should be good enough." I spent 5 years working with a 3rd. party creator of software whos Shadows, compared to what we may be able to make in Affinity, were Childs Play. And yet, they sold thousands of the Application because there wasn't anything else on the market. By comparison, we are collectively going from a Piper 150 to a Supersonic Jet! Where the present methods are either poor in quality or too labor-intensive, this approach will meet the needs of most that are creating composites and it will be fast and easy.

I have a question for all of you that have participated in the forum dialog about shadows. At this point, there appears to be a lot of merit in finding a way to do this and it would be of significant use too many owners of Affinity Photo. It also looks like the lack of the "FREE TRANSFORM" command is going to be the principal hang-up. It also looks like, if the "FREE TRANSFORM" command did exist it would have a lot of applications outside of the Shadow concept. I think I've mentioned this before; In a composite image, a shadow is an anchor for the added image. Without it, all we have is floating images. As we continue these great discussions that will refine this process, how do we get Affinity involved? Without their help, I don't see that this can go much further. Do you?

Wow! Jimmy Jackson, Who could ask for anything more, but a Pea Shooter and a BANG sign! All joking aside, you just added another important step for me to examine. The Depth of Field Blur combined with the Gradient. This is a missing element in all the attempts at shadows I've ever seen in PS. Thank you.

WOW! I really appreciate all the great input. It is going to take me a little time to go through and make sure I don't miss anything. I am especially intrigued by the GRADIENT concept. Especially since the end user can adjust both density and Gradient position. Based on what I am reading, it may also be possible to easily readjust the shadow position thus making everything flexible. Compared to what you can do now, this is far above what any other program offers. (FLEXIBILITY and SPEED!) One important thing is missing and Affinity would have to resolve this. (FREE TRANSFORM) Just imagine what a great tool you might have with both complete flexibility and Free Transformation during the creation process. I think this would far exceed anything that has been offered when creating SHADOWS. And after all, shadows are the anchor. Thank you for your continued input. I really look forward to your next comments. BTW, the person who comes up with a way to accurately, not visually, size different objects in a composite should get a big reward!