affinity designer King cat

[Bibi McMurray]

Hi everyone, I'm new here. I have been on the forum a few times and looked around and decided to make the leap and join. 

A bit about me. I'm a mother of three children plus three cats. I've never used a vector program before but I have always loved looking at vector art. It fascinates me. I used to draw and paint a tiny bit when I was a young girl but haven't used that creative side for so many years.

On my birthday 2019, I decided it was time I fulfilled that creative side of me and asked my children for Affinity Designer for my present. They were kind of like, what the hell, hahahaha. 

I had researched vector programs and Illustrator seemed to be the most popular. The ongoing cost was way out of what I can afford and I got sad at the thought I couldn't really do what I imagined. I researched further and came across Serifs products. They looked and sounded amazing. I read reviews which were great. I came on the forum and saw the passionate community. Yes, there were lots of issues brought up about designer but for the cost I thought I would give it a try. I am so happy I did. 

It has been a huge learning curve. I'm such a newbie at digital art. I'm watching videos and reading all the online tuts I can.

I'm writing down all my experiments with the vector side of designer and would be happy to share them if there are any other newbies here. We can learn together.

[GarryP]

Welcome to the forums.
This is really nice work, especially for a first-time share.
Looking forward to seeing what you come up with in the future.

[Bibi McMurray]

Thanks Garry. 

 

[StuartRc]

Fantastic piece of artwork..I like the cat..a bit difficult to stroke though!....
You will not regret choosing Designer..Photo or Publisher..There is a learning curve for any software....and it's never complete!
Look forward to more of your creations...

[Bibi McMurray]

Thanks so much Stuart. Yes, a very prickly cat hahahha, that took so much time trying to understand how the node level handle things work.

There is so much to learn, it's overwhelming lol. It's such a different way to create art.

I don't know how to shade yet, I'm trying to learn that at the moment. It is very confusing that we have to use rastor brushes to shade because of pixelation. I guess I just don't understand things yet. 

 

I admire you for your brushes, I saw that you have given so many away. I'm in awe of you and your ability to create such great ones.

Thank you Stuart 

for commenting. 

[Ash Eldritch]

Very nice. If I could give one bit of advice it would be don't watch tutorials of other people creating artwork. The way to create your own style is to experiment rather than being led down a path already walked by someone else. By all means watch how a tool is used if you get stuck. But since you're just starting use that lack of knowledge to your advantage. Who knows what you'll come up with.

[StuartRc]

1 hour ago, Bibi McMurray said:

Thanks so much Stuart. Yes, a very prickly cat hahahha, that took so much time trying to understand how the node level handle things work.

There is so much to learn, it's overwhelming lol. It's such a different way to create art.

I don't know how to shade yet, I'm trying to learn that at the moment. It is very confusing that we have to use rastor brushes to shade because of pixelation. I guess I just don't understand things yet. 

 

I admire you for your brushes, I saw that you have given so many away. I'm in awe of you and your ability to create such great ones.

Thank you Stuart 

for commenting. 

There is always something else to learn!

Shading yes..difficult one...I tend to avoid the Effects panel in Layers and opt for a more direct approach. Mixing raster and vector elements has some real advantages..one of the best features of the software..But it has its limitations..depending on what you are trying to achieve with the result.

Try some of these its fun!:
A.Experiment with the opacity and transparency settings (helps with subtle effects)
B.Use Vector Elements 'masked inside' and tinted transparent overlapping for additional effects
C. Paint with 'Vector' Brushes but experiment with Blending Modes (Context Bar) in combination with transparency and opacity
D. Vector Paint + Rasterize results (group required elements in layers first!)
E. With the transparency tool it can be used more effectively if you group the object or selection of objects and re-apply the transparency (Different direction) (you can stack levels of transparency)
F. Use vector elements to create shading effects (like halftones/graduated dots/shapes)
G Directional Colour blends and combined with transparency tool

Thank you for your comments about the brushes..The Brush Library started out as an experiment..but it got a bit out of hand..I just updated the list...I just wanted to give something back..for free but it only represents a selection of the total (which is now listed!)...I would not recommend installing them all!
Have a look the vector render brushes in the INKbrush library. They are set up for painting+ Pressure if have tablet (and with Blending mode set to Average colour mix ok): here
 

[Bibi McMurray]

Hi Ash, thanks for the advice. I'm only watching the videos to learn how to use the tools in Designer. I don't watch videos on how others create artwork, I think that would contaminate my originality. I guess we are all influenced by everything we see in some way so I appreciate your advice. xx

[Bibi McMurray]

Hi Stuart,

Thanks so much for the tips. I'll definitely try them. I try to use translucency of black and a darker version of the main colour I am using, just as I see in nature. I'm not sure if this is the right thing to do though. Hahaha I have been using the effects panel a lot lately to experiment so that's a great tip.

 

Oh, rubs hands in glee, vector brush ftw. I do have a tablet which I bought a long time ago but never used. I will search for it in the garage and try it. How exciting. 

 

Thanks so much for your help Stuart. I'm so excited about my new world of discovering art. 

 

[Bibi McMurray]

Hi Pattou, Yay, Another cat lover.  Yes, they do tend to have that effect. Mine is queen of the house but my Ginger male cat definitely rules.