Please add bitmap overlay to FX

[JohnG]

I am new to Affinity Photo (AP). I moved over, because Photoshop CS (PS) won't run on Mac Catalina and I refuse to rent software (Photoshop CC) that is critical to my work, unless there is absolutely no other choice.

I have already learned that I can do almost everything that I do in PS, in AP. However one critical part is missing. That is Bitmap Pattern Overlays in Effects, particularly as it applies to text.

Here is a portion of a book cover that I did in PS. Notice how the surface of the font is textured, as though the text was cut out of a block of rough gold, but the edges are shiny, as though beveled.

Next is a LOGO on a website that I created in PS. Notice that the surface looks like brushed chrome, but the beveled edges (which are really a stroke or outline) are shiny, with no brushed overlay. Also, due to the mixture of light and dark on the surface, the font translates well, either on a light or dark background.

Finally, here is the best that I have been able to achieve in AP, on the chrome font, followed by a close up of the PS version. Notice that there is no brushed bitmap overlay on the surface of the AP version, like on the PS version. Also, without that texture, the AP version looks great on a white background, but it washes out significantly on a dark background. By contrast, the PS version stands out on either light or dark background. As you can see, looking at the two images, one above the other, the difference is remarkable.

I have not yet been able to come anywhere close to duplicating the gold font on the book cover.

I do a lot of custom font work and the lack of a bitmap overlay in effects means that Affinity Photo cannot perform one of my very common tasks. It follows that, although I had hoped that AP would keep me from having to rent Photoshop CC, which I own in CS6, that will not be the case. But the day Affinity releases a bitmap overlay in Effects, is the day I will say goodbye to Adobe forever.

There are some other issues that I have encountered, but this is the only serious one and as such, the only one for which I have really tried to find a workaround.

I'm really impressed with how far Affinity has come in such a relatively short time. I'm looking forward to a time when I am as proficient in Affinity products as I currently am in Adobe products.

[walt.farrell]

@JohnG: You might try the Gradient Tool, with the Context set to Fill and the Type set to Bitmap:
 

[JohnG]

7 hours ago, walt.farrell said:

@JohnG: You might try the Gradient Tool, with the Context set to Fill and the Type set to Bitmap:
 

This is getting me closer and I may be able to create a work-around for the remaining problem. The remaining issue is that since the bitmap, in this case, is a background to the text layer, any effects overlays cover the pattern that I include as a text fill. I've been trying all kinds of blending options and I have so far, found nothing that will allow that text fill to show through enough to make a difference in the final product. I'm used to picking a fill of any level of brightness or darkness and using blending options to do away with the color and just keep the texture. There is a possibility that I might be able to create a texture that is already light enough that I can lower the transparency of overlays to allow that texture to show through from the bottom.

It would be so much better and easier, if a texture fill was included as an overlay, in AP, like it is in PS. When it's an overlay, I can make any number of modifications to any font in a matter of a minute or two. I'm now working on three days and although I seem to be getting closer, the result and ease of use I'm trying to achieve in font effects, is still eluding me.

But I'll be working on this concept a little more in the morning. It's going in the right direction. But I still don't see an end, due to the texture being a fill, rather than an overlay. OTOH, I've been known to create effects in PS that many others said was not possible, so I'm not ready to give up.

Thanks.