Free Transform, Perspective & Warp Tools

[jgarza]

Since it has been YEARS for no vector warp (especially for text) and other vector essentials they cut  ... please use Xara ... https://www.magix.com/us/photo-graphic/xara-designer-pro/

[fde101]

1 hour ago, jgarza said:

Since it has been YEARS for no vector warp (especially for text) and other vector essentials they cut  ... please use Xara ... https://www.magix.com/us/photo-graphic/xara-designer-pro/

No Mac version, thus worthless.

[MikeW]

2 minutes ago, fde101 said:

No Mac version, thus worthless.

Not worthless for Windows users nor to Mac users that have a VM running Windows. 

Certainly no more useless than when a Mac user posts a Mac-only application for this and/or bitmap tracing as regards Windows users.

[fde101]

10 minutes ago, MikeW said:

Not worthless for Windows users nor to Mac users that have a VM running Windows. 

OP specified use of a Mac...

[MikeW]

21 minutes ago, fde101 said:

OP specified use of a Mac...

Not in the opening post.

But no matter. Recommending something for a specific OS shouldn't "offend" anyone. If it only applies to X number of users, who should care?

[Boldlinedesign]

I know vectorstyler can warp and transform text - it's still in beta and for now is mac only

[fde101]

4 hours ago, MikeW said:

Not in the opening post.

But no matter. Recommending something for a specific OS shouldn't "offend" anyone. If it only applies to X number of users, who should care?

Sorry, you are correct.  I had looked back to the top of the page and failed to notice that I was on page 6 of the thread...

[MikeW]

Been there and done that!

No worries. 

[NoSi]

^Why should I use Xara? »Since it has been YEARS for no vector warp (especially text)« I am using since years Photoline that is able to warp ANY object. Text (1) and images (2) are even warped fully editable:

It is available for Windows and Mac and both versions are able to do that. Pricing compares to a single Affinity product but Photoline combines image and vector editing quite well.

[moi.cool]

Really need this feature.Perspective in PHOTO destroys vector files!

[dominik]

5 hours ago, mar9 said:

Really need this feature.Perspective in PHOTO destroys vector files!

You have to use the live perspective filter in APh. This retains vectors editable.

Still, this is not a perfect solution but for occasional corrections it works.

d.

[fde101]

7 hours ago, dominik said:

You have to use the live perspective filter in APh. This retains vectors editable.

For the underlying objects, yes, but the end results of that filter are raster.  If the final product of the work is to be in a vector format then the live perspective filter will not help in its current form.

[dominik]

2 hours ago, fde101 said:

For the underlying objects, yes, but the end results of that filter are raster.  If the final product of the work is to be in a vector format then the live perspective filter will not help in its current form.

You mean after export to the final format? That of course is true.

As I said, it's not a perfect solution but only good for occasional not too complicated work.

d.

[CLC]

On 9/1/2020 at 8:05 AM, vitaprimo said:

UPDATE

Illustrator did work on my version of macOS, and was wrong earlier, Designer can't export .ai only import. Actually no format it exports imports well on Illustrator. And, if I'm bad in Designer I suck in Illustrator. It makes no 🤬 sense, things get locked up with other things like if there's was a magic passphrase needed to be said out loud or something. I don't understand how people willingly pay monthly for that ****, it's like bondage without the fun.

To the Serif team: PLEASE HURRY UP WITH THIS. Whip up some artsy part-naked-woman-part-panorama-part-animal-with-horns-and-wings that nobody gets for the pretend shipping box to display on the online store, put in the warp tools and call it version 2 then charge for it, you can't maintain v1 forever--not that I'm complaining--but we need the tools, though. PLEASE!

You can also use Vector Styler for Mac, that is currently in a free beta.
It's such a nice, feature packed tool that I have to mention it.

It's got everything from envelope warp, mesh warp, path warp, select by..., gradient mesh, whatever you think of, it's probably there. It's a bit slower on older Macs, but it's worth trying I believe.

Quote

VectorStyler is a native MacOS application and requires a Mac computer with MacOS installed to run. The Mac computer can be a desktop, laptop or mini, preferably a model newer than 2014. VectorStyler has been tested on a 2010 iMac and functions well on old hardware also. A minimum of 8GB of system memory is required. More memory helps when creating complex designs or illustrations.

An Intel Core i5 or i7 processor with 4 cores and hyper-threading is recommended as VectorStyler makes extensive use of multiple threads. The MacOS version should be 10.11 or newer. Metal support is recommended but not required. By default VectorStyler uses Metal for rendering and image filtering operations. If Metal is not present, OpenGL and OpenCL can be selected from the VectorStyler / Preferences menu command. A fast GPU and large screen is recommended to better make use of VectorStyler features. If available, a pressure-sensitive tablet can be used to paint variable width strokes and brushes, or to control the intensity of distortions applied with the shape filter brush.

 

[fde101]

10 hours ago, CLC said:

You can also use Vector Styler for Mac, that is currently in a free beta.
It's such a nice, feature packed tool that I have to mention it.

Just about every time I sit down to actually try to do anything with that beta I find at least one new bug (which I then report; to their credit they have been responsive in getting them fixed).

The user interface has a few design issues and could really use some work, though admittedly there are signs that it is improving over time.

It definitely shows a LOT of potential if your needs are more focused on vector work and are not able to leverage the tighter integration offered by the Affinity suite, but I certainly wouldn't trust it with an important project just yet.

We also don't know what the pricing will be like when it is finally released.

[NoSi]

15 hours ago, dominik said:

You mean after export to the final format? That of course is true.

No. He meant after using the filter the editable vector object  is turned into a raster graphic. Vector information is lost for any following action.

It is quite useless to modify a vector graphic which is then only available as pixel graphi. Especially in AD this is a strong disruption of the creation process. You can not achieve a result iterative. To save a high qualitiy result you always have to restart from the point before AD alters vector into pixel. This is extremely time-consuming and annoying and the main reason (for me) against AD: I do not accept because as of quality and of processing reasons the forced media change during process by it.

If free software such as INKSCAPE can do this, it's hard to understand why I should use a payment software that puts me dramatically behind in the basic tools of vector processing. From this point of view it is even negligible that INKSCAPE is slow in some processes or cumbersome to use. Substantially is that I can reach a target that is unattainable with AD.

[NoSi]

https://www.vectorstyler.com/detailed/

On 9/6/2020 at 8:12 AM, dominik said:

You have to use the live perspective filter in APh. This retains vectors editable.

I must say in advance that I have little knowledge of APh. I only use it in combination with APu for some basic image operations and I tried this briefly only. You may correct me with a detailed processing description. But when I am using ANY filter in AP text is NOT editable anymore. At least in version 1.8.5.703, which is - as far as I know - the most current one.

[dominik]

15 minutes ago, NoSi said:

But when I am using ANY filter in AP text is NOT editable anymore. At least in version 1.8.5.703, which is - as far as I know - the most current one.

Please look at this APh file.

d.

live-perspective.afphoto

[dominik]

36 minutes ago, NoSi said:

If free software such as INKSCAPE can do this, it's hard to understand why I should use a payment software that puts me dramatically behind in the basic tools of vector processing. From this point of view it is even negligible that INKSCAPE is slow in some processes or cumbersome to use. Substantially is that I can reach a target that is unattainable with AD.

Hi @NoSi,

I think it does not help to compare Affinity with free software (or any other software) that was developed over a much longer time and with most likely a different process of planning the road map. Affinity is at a different stage of it's lifetime and I consider it more the 'early years' 😉

With the current state of feature set one simply has to use a different software to accomplish certain things that are not possible in Affinity.

Cheers,
d.

[NoSi]

Ok - still no idea where to access it but does not bother me because of alternatives:

[NoSi]

12 minutes ago, dominik said:

Hi @NoSi,

I think it does not help to compare Affinity with free software (or any other software) that was developed over a much longer time and with most likely a different process of planning the road map. Affinity is at a different stage of it's lifetime and I consider it more the 'early years' 😉

With the current state of feature set one simply has to use a different software to accomplish certain things that are not possible in Affinity.

Cheers,
d.

Why not? I am only talking about achievable results. If there are developers with no financial interest able to achieve them, it should be possible for those earning their money with it as well. And especially the last ones should be interested in listening to their customers instead of ignoring them over »a much longer time«.

Reading this thread is telling (me) a lot about the interaction and relationship between customers and APh and AD developers/seller. 

»With the current state of feature set one simply has to use a different software«.  I agree with this. The problem is: other software products improve as well which means that the gap between remains or grows if there is no effort to reduce it. If the gap becomes too wide, competition will become increasingly difficult for those behind.

 

[dominik]

6 minutes ago, NoSi said:

Why not?

Of course one can. But what should the developers do with this. If the feature were (easy / wanted) to be implemented it would be here. But it is not. Because there are so many things still missing they must have a plan. It's not just about this feature.

 

6 minutes ago, NoSi said:

Reading this thread is telling (me) a lot about the interaction and relationship between customers and APh and AD developers/seller. 

Can you please explain what it is telling you. I do not understand.

I personally have the impression that Serif has a very clear and active communication with their customers (in comparison to some other companies). This is one of the reasons what attracted me initially to look into Affinity. BTW, with 'clear' I mean they are clear in what they want to communicate and in what not. Which I consider fair.

 

6 minutes ago, NoSi said:

If the gap becomes too wide, competition will become increasingly difficult for those behind.

I think this is something that Serif has to worry about. It is beyond what I'd worry about on top of my personal worries 😉 
Your mileage may vary.

Cheers,
d.

[NoSi]

3 minutes ago, dominik said:

Can you please explain what it is telling you. I do not understand.

I am using over years now a product where the developers have implemented this basic functionality in a shorter period of time than this discussion here lasts (since April until now and no end in sight) in a lively exchange with the community. However, for this product this discussion took place more than five years ago.
And I am talking about software with a comparable price and update/usage policy to the Affinity products (and available on Win and Mac).

This product is not perfect for me in any case. Therefore I bought AP and dealt with APh and AD. AP seems to be great for print publishing. AD was sorted out after minutes, APh was only bought because of its integration to AP which I wouldn't do anymore with the meanwhile acquired knowledge. But because of this integration I am following this thread.

Meantime I realized that Affinity's clocks run much slower than those of other software companies. Which is very unfortunate, because a higher utility value of APh would simplify my work processes.

In the product I use for all other design jobs, they have now started to improve the DTP functionality. Honestly, it would not surprise me if the gap to AP would be closed before the next major release of AP is available...

[dominik]

5 minutes ago, NoSi said:

I am using over years now a product where the developers have implemented this basic functionality in a shorter period of time than this discussion here lasts (since April until now and no end in sight) in a lively exchange with the community. However, for this product this discussion took place more than five years ago.
And I am talking about software with a comparable price and update/usage policy to the Affinity products (and available on Win and Mac).

This product is not perfect for me in any case. Therefore I bought AP and dealt with APh and AD. AP seems to be great for print publishing. AD was sorted out after minutes, APh was only bought because of its integration to AP which I wouldn't do anymore with the meanwhile acquired knowledge. But because of this integration I am following this thread.

Meantime I realized that Affinity's clocks run much slower than those of other software companies. Which is very unfortunate, because a higher utility value of APh would simplify my work processes.

In the product I use for all other design jobs, they have now started to improve the DTP functionality. Honestly, it would not surprise me if the gap to AP would be closed before the next major release of AP is available...

Thank you for explaining your experience. At least it seems you have found a workflow that works for you. I myself had to change my opinion about software after a while.

Cheers,
d.

[Xzenor]

On 9/7/2020 at 11:14 AM, NoSi said:

Meantime I realized that Affinity's clocks run much slower than those of other software companies.

So much this.. This is basic functionality.

Like taking the windshield wipers off a car.
I mean, I could do without I guess. I mean, if it's dry weather I suppose I don't need them and I think I could manage to find a way to drive without'm when it's not raining a huge lot but it'd be a LOT slower and VERY annoying, but I think I could manage.. But, they just belong there, why are they missing?