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As a long time Photoshop user, I've come a long way to understanding how to work in AP over the last few months, but some things remain a bit confusing and unclear to me. I'm sure I'm not alone. The distinction between images, pixels and alpha is one of them. Exactly what are they and what makes them different? For me, it raises questions about masks, adjustment layers, filters, etc. Is a mask made up of pixels, or is it just pure alpha. Same with adjustment layers, live filter layers, etc. Is an "Image layer" pixels? Trying to understand the Channels Panel has brought up a lot of questions. I used channels extensively in Photoshop and was able to easily tweak these channels for blending, masking and other operations. In Affinity, it appears a mask is different from a grayscale pixel layer and needs to be treated differently. How to edit a mask as a pixel layer, so I can apply ANY filter or adjustment, is a bit confusing and seems somewhat complex. I have made progress for sure, but I'd like a more in depth understanding of these differences. I've watched most of the tutorials I can find, and I've done some searching, but haven't found clearly presented information that has examples to clarify these differences. I'm hoping Affinity can create a video tutorial that addresses some of these questions (or point me to something I haven't found in my searches). Some of the issues I'd like to understand include... The distinction between image layers, pixel layers and alpha. What is each made up of and how are they different? Exactly what are masks, adjustment layers, live filter layers, etc...(pixels, alpha, etc) Is there a way to apply ANY adjustment, filter or effect to a mask? If so, how? Why does one sometimes need to 'rasterize' what is already a pixel layer? What happens when one "rasterizes to a mask"? R,G,B channels are pixels (I assume), but what about the alpha channel? These are the sort of questions I'd love to see addressed in an in-depth video with plenty of clear examples. It would make the transition easier and help many people get more out of AP more effectively and quickly. At least, it would for me. If such information is already available, I'd love a link. I think this information would be a valuable addition to standard list of AP tutorials. Thanks.

When I create a afpub-file with transparencies and I want to export as pdf x4 the following occurs: in the x4-settings I choose rasterizing nothing. I place a pdf-vector-logo (the blue star on the upper right side) and transparence it. Exporting result: the transparency vanishes. I place the same vector logo as a afdesign-file. Result the transparency vanishes I open the pdf-file in afpub and copy it in my file then a make the transparency: same result I copy the afdesign-file and paste it in my afpub-file, then I transparence it. Result: everything is just as I want it. The preset of the x4-Pdf-setting is rasterizing the not supported parts. When I do not force to rasterizing nothing, the vector-transparencies are always rasterized. My printing-house says this not ok for x4-pdfs. I tested exactly the same in Indesign with placed pdf: In Indesign x4 pdfs are not rasterized, just as the printing-house wants it. in Afpub after weeks I found the resolution with the copied and pasted Afdesign-file, but this is a crazy workaround. I cannot convert all my vector-PDFs to Afdesign-files. Could you please change this behaviour. All vector-pdfs with transparency should normally not be rasterized while exporting to x4-pdfs.. RB-titel090121-2mitafdes.pdf RB-titel090121mitpdf.pdf RB-titel090121sternafdesreinkopiert.afpub

we WISH : Setup for : CIRCULAR Grid's to producing circular steps and grid snap. :) thnx

Hi to everyone, I just have a quick question/tip. Can we expect option to import of PDF/EPS (general vector files), as raster "Photoshop Import PDF" style? I do a lot of sign making, digital printing, car wrapping, and I receive files that just need to be rasterised before going into production (CREO, VersaWorks, Raster Link Pro) (font, shadows, transparencies, messy CMYK/RGB files, gradients... and so on). So this option would be awesome step of replacing my CS3 :) Thanks. p.s. eps export that works with older programs (Illustrator 10 compatibility) would be good for industry users. btw in my whole life I didn't see cleaner eps file... like hand written :)

I’m getting ready to send some rack card pdf files to our service bureau when I noticed something strange... I’ve got a couple png files (done in Photoshop) embedded in the Affinity Designer file, and they look fine in Affinity Designer. But when I export them to PDF and open them in Apple Preview, I’m seeing things that I don’t like. In particular there’s a strange milky-white quality to the lower edge of one embedded object (see attachment) when it should be a smooth opacity gradient... In the second embedded object immediately below the first one, the lower edge of the object cuts off sharply when it should be a more gradual opacity gradient. Again, it displays properly in Designer but not in Preview. Is it going to print out this way? Is there a pdf exporting setting I need to use? Is there something else I need to tweak in the Photoshop > Designer > pdf Export pipeline? Thanks, Andy

I'm new to Affinity Designer (AD), and to vector graphics, so pls bear with me. Amazing piece of software, by the way! So, I created a vector graphic with AD (v1.3.5) that is to serve as a logo. The client wanted a grunge effect on one part of the graphic, which I did by adding vector grunge textures as layers. Long story short, I needed quite a few to get the exact effect we wanted. They were mostly laid over text. When I come to export, so the client can use the logo in the real world (i.e., .eps, .svg, and via Illustrator to .ai), everything works fine when I have a background present in the graphic. But I'm trying to find a way to have a transparent version, too. This would be important for the client, in terms of flexibility of use of the logo. Some images that relate to my query: https://cldup.com/T__1kSZ5pa-3000x3000.jpeg I'm having problems with the grunge texture layers. The Erase option on layers or groups in AD is fabulous. It does exactly what I want. I want to get rid of the colored font, but keep the grunge effect over the font (and elsewhere in this part of the graphic). With Erase enabled in AD on particular layers or groups, when you scale up the graphic in you see precise vector shapes are preserved. But when it comes to exporting, there are two options, as we know: 1. Export with rasterising "unsupported effects" (which sadly includes the Erase function); or 2. Don't rasterise, and see the Erase effect lost, and hence the transparency I need lost. In my specific situation, rasterisation is not possible, and the result from Option #1 above is pixelated anyway, which is useless for me. On the other hand, because of the grunge effects, there are literally way too many small shapes to locate and make transparent manually. There are probably 5000+ of these tiny shapes. And I'd not only need to delete what is otherwise a white fill (absent the Erase function), but also the same shape, in place, in the background layers the grunge effects rest on top of. Erase just does this directly. But it's unusable if you need a 100% vector output. Because it is an unsupported effect. I've tried seeking a solution outside of AD. In Illustrator, in iDraw / Graphic, and also Inkspace. In none was I able to work out how to do what I wanted to do. I also tried exporting my AD graphic as .png and running through Vector Magic on the most detailed settings and vectorising again. But the result is at least 50% or more poorer than the original in my AD document. In Illustrator, I could pick all layers with a certain color. But I wasn't able to work out how "cut" those layers *and* all other layers relevant that these shapes or nodes lay over. I also tried merging to get one "flat" layer, but this didn't work as I expected. I still had around 15 layers, which was better than earlier. I had hope to produce one layer, basically black and white, and then render everything white transparent. But this was not working. I was unable to pick a white node without picking everything at the same time, including black. In Inkspace, the exported .eps was pixelated, even without rasterising. I couldn't immediately see anything in iDraw / Graphic that would help, though the .eps file was clean, just like it is in the original AD file. I couldn't see how to erase, in iDraw / Graphic, globally a single hex color, which is really -- ultimately -- what I need to do. Or otherwise, to force that color to be transparent, from the top of the layer tree to the bottom. So: two questions 1. Is AD close to being able to export a vector with the Erase effect preserved? 2. Does anyone have advice on how to get that effect in a complex vector in the meantime, even if outside of AD (in Illustrator, for example)? I spent all day trying to search for solutions on Google, but I'm not finding what I need so far. I fear that the complexity of the layers I have will prevent a simple solution. Again: Erase does it. But it's not possible, sadly, to output a 100% vector from it. Vector Magic has a great feature when vectorising a bitmap image: you can cut a background out with the press of a button. Given the complexity of the grunge effects, this would not exactly be practical in my instance, but I know the hex value that I want to make transparent throughout my graphic, if anyone knows a way of forcing that. Thanks for reading this far ... and for any advice or input.