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Curb your enthusiasm for Affinity Designer raster graphic software


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For any moderator or developer of Affinity Designer who read this:
The lack of important features for SVG/Vector graphics remain, the lack of those features makes it impossible to use the software for proffesional SVG, vector graphic designer.
I really want this software to introduce those features to make it worthful to be used, but for now it remains useless for SVG vector graphics without those important features.

If the software is doomed to be a raster software, it would be good to clarify it and stop lying about that this software is primarily vector graphic manager, because it is primarily raster image, it is almost the same than affinity photo but worse.

The idea of mixing raster and vector images is very innovative but makes the goal of the software unclear.
I would like to see a completely new software to manage vector graphic because it seems that the purpose of affinity designer wasn´t EVER to be used for vectors but raster graphics, which is a real shame since for that we already have affinity photo

So the question remains, is Affinity Designer never intended to be used for vector graphics? Or is just an incomplete project that its goal is completely unclear?

_

Related topic:

And yes, I know it is a one time purchase, but I wasn´t aware that I was actually buying a raster graphic software when I bought Affinity Designer, I thought it was a software to manage professionally vector graphics, and not to use vectors as a kid playground with limited almost nonexistent features (for vectors), and the few it have are not optimized (In other words, the software is extremely simplistic to a point it makes it impossible to use).

I also know that Affinity Designer is "New in the game" but the features the developers are focusing to introduce to the software are primarily raster features,like if Affinity Designer were meant to be Affinity Photo deformed brother which want to be Affinity Photo but is too derailed from its goal.

How I would like to see the softwares of Affinity:
A. Designer: Vector program
A. Photo: Raster program
A. Publisher: Publishing program

But how I actually see the softwares of Affinity:
A. Designer: Raster program
A. Photo: Raster program
A. Publisher: Publishing program

The idea of mixing raster and vector graphics could be implemented much better if AD were completely a vector software and AP were completely a raster software, and if I need to have both, I would buy both, they could have a similar UI than affinity designer have right now, but instead, it would be a "mix of the both softwares in a single one", (All Affinity softwares would be in a single Affinity core software, and you can purchase separatedly AD, AP, APU, which would be added to the main software as "DLC" additions, with an UI similar to AD have right now) that would be DOPE, that would be much better and I totally would love to give my entire wallet money to have such innovative and excellent combination (You can buy a single software "DLC" if no need the rest)
What I have now is a failed attempt of vector software and a failed attempt of raster software in a single software :( (That is what I think of the current Affinity Designer software)
I know that is most likely that what I suggested above with bold text won´t happen, so what I suggest that is needed and feasible is to focus more in vector/svg graphic features and less in raster features for Affinity Designer

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As far as I can understand your tirade, you do not give any rationale or explanation why you regard Designer as a Raster program.

You also seem to conflate Vector and SVG. SVG is a storage format and Vector Description language. Once you load an SVG file it becomes a series of vectors and other objects in Designer until such time as you export it back to SVG.

John

 

Windows 10, Affinity Photo 1.10.5 Designer 1.10.5 and Publisher 1.10.5 (mainly Photo), now ex-Adobe CC

CPU: AMD A6-3670. RAM: 16 GB DDR3 @ 666MHz, Graphics: 2047MB NVIDIA GeForce GT 630

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8 hours ago, Larryh said:

For any moderator or developer of Affinity Designer who read this:
The lack of important features for SVG/Vector graphics remain, the lack of those features makes it impossible to use the software for proffesional SVG, vector graphic designer.
I really want this software to introduce those features to make it worthful to be used, but for now it remains useless for SVG vector graphics without those important features.

I agree with you. Affinity Designer is lacking vector features in a major way. Boolean operators are still not working properly. Vector brushes are not vector. They are bitmap brushes on vector paths. Designer is essentially "Affinity Art" for bitmap artists with some vector tools built in for control. Not output. No signs of anything else in the horizon. These shortcomings - to put it mildly - have been discussed for years in this forum and documented like WWII. Asking for more arguments or evidence is ludicrous. @Larryh wants answers or action. Not another futile exchange of letters in an Internet forum.

Aaand now to the usual suspects (the forum core) that will now begin their endless defense. Remember his first line "For any moderator or developer of Affinity Designer who read this".

  • "The user interface is supposed to work for me - I am not supposed to work for the user interface."
  • Computer-, operating system- and software agnostic; I am a result oriented professional. Look for a fanboy somewhere else.
  • “When a wise man points at the moon the imbecile examines the finger.” ― Confucius
  • Not an Affinity user og forum user anymore. The software continued to disappoint and not deliver.
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24 minutes ago, Jowday said:

[...] Vector brushes are not vector. [...]

Seriously, this is the among the most ridiculous issues I have with designer as a replacement for any other (more or less major) vector based program on the market. A vector program with vector brushes, which are rendered as pixels? Serif, you really can't see the contradiction in this (yet continuing this path for years now)? But I bet, they'll just add some more fancy features for the next versions instead, which look great for showcasing all of their great tools and features.

I really want to switch over to Affinity software for almost all or my work. And it's working for far more than half of the jobs already. But sometimes one really has to question Serif's common sense or understanding of the (semi)professional market when it's about improving some their apps' features.

 

 

»A designer's job is to improve the general quality of life. In fact, it's the only reason for our existence.«
Paul Rand (1914-1996)

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1 hour ago, Jowday said:

Remember his first line "For any moderator or developer of Affinity Designer who read this".

So why are you reacting to this?

Affinity Store (MSI/EXE): Affinity Suite (ADe, APh, APu) 2.4.0.2301
Dell OptiPlex 7060, i5-8500 3.00 GHz, 16 GB, Intel UHD Graphics 630, Dell P2417H 1920 x 1080, Windows 11 Pro, Version 23H2, Build 22631.3155.
Dell Latitude E5570, i5-6440HQ 2.60 GHz, 8 GB, Intel HD Graphics 530, 1920 x 1080, Windows 11 Pro, Version 23H2, Build 22631.3155.
Intel NUC5PGYH, Pentium N3700 2.40 GHz, 8 GB, Intel HD Graphics, EIZO EV2456 1920 x 1200, Windows 10 Pro, Version 21H1, Build 19043.2130.

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2 minutes ago, Pšenda said:

So why are you reacting to this?

Maybe to add some more information and input for the staff to consider? Just guessing.

»A designer's job is to improve the general quality of life. In fact, it's the only reason for our existence.«
Paul Rand (1914-1996)

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There are baby steps that one could  take to give more vector support. Even with the raster orientation of the software oe of my favourites would be to have a 'length' option for variation -- I don't often use a pressure pen and I find velocity control unwieldy. A variation that applies over the length of a stroke would mimic one type  of Illustrator's brushes.

[EDIT]  I have now come across the pressure profile for a stroke - and although this is not embedded in the brush, it approaches what I like to use.

Edited by gw_westdale
found a feature

Win 11 PCs 64bit  Envy and Envy tablet + Filter Forge  Retired computer systems tester doing graphics for charities and politics etc.

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On 5/22/2020 at 6:22 AM, Andy05 said:

Maybe to add some more information and input for the staff to consider? Just guessing.

Not adding much to the original Topic, really.

Best regards!

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28 minutes ago, Mithferion said:

Not adding much to the original Topic, really.

Best regards!

Did you even read the post in question? Obviously not, as it does add something to the threat's topic (in contrast to the back and forth discussion about "which posts add what" which I've unfortunately also got drawn into now).

Furthermore, there are moderators around in these fora. It's within their discretion to decide, which posts should get deleted/warned/commented on/whatever due to being off-topic. Not mine, not Pšenda's and also—not yours. It's as simple as that, really!

»A designer's job is to improve the general quality of life. In fact, it's the only reason for our existence.«
Paul Rand (1914-1996)

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Does anyone know of something along the lines of an upcoming features list or implementation schedule that’s been posted? Tried searching.

2019 MacBook Pro 16” | Affinity Designer 2 | Affinity Photo 2 | Affinity Publisher 2

2018 iPad Pro 12.9” | Apple Pencil 2 | Affinity Designer for iPad 2 | Affinity Photo for iPad 2 | Affinity Publisher for iPad 2

Years with Affinity: 5 ❤️ https://www.instagram.com/cealcrest/

FEATURE WISH LIST  Vector Mesh Tool    Shape Builder Tool   🥚True Vector Brushes   🥚Vector Pattern Fill  🥚Studio Link in All Apps

APP WISH LIST  Publisher   🥚2D Animation/Video

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1 hour ago, Andy05 said:

Did you even read the post in question? Obviously not, as it does add something to the threat's topic (in contrast to the back and forth discussion about "which posts add what" which I've unfortunately also got drawn into now).

Furthermore, there are moderators around in these fora. It's within their discretion to decide, which posts should get deleted/warned/commented on/whatever due to being off-topic. Not mine, not Pšenda's and also—not yours. It's as simple as that, really!

I did read it. Still, not adding much. Also, I never said the post should be deleted nor something like that. 
Best regards.

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33 minutes ago, Mithferion said:

I did read it. Still, not adding much. Also, I never said the post should be deleted nor something like that. 
Best regards.

You judged about the value of @Jowday's post, who added multiple times more content to the topic than your remark about it. So, you seem to think your posts (or mine in this issue) added more value to this topic? If not, why did you feel the urge to comment about (some debatable) off-topics by being (clearly) way more off-topic yourself?

You showed some messed up double standards here, I think.

»A designer's job is to improve the general quality of life. In fact, it's the only reason for our existence.«
Paul Rand (1914-1996)

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I judged the quantity of the things added in the post. That’s a fact. If you think the content is valuable, I am not debating it.

Best regards!

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6 minutes ago, Mithferion said:

I judged the quantity of the things added in the post. That’s a fact. If you think the content is valuable, I am not debating it.

Best regards!

So, "not much" is not enough by your standards. Ok, then. Enlighten me. How much "content" do we have to post in order to add something which you don't feel you'd have to comment on?

I mean, I really look up to becoming a member of these forums like you who's posting just meaningful content...
 

 

»A designer's job is to improve the general quality of life. In fact, it's the only reason for our existence.«
Paul Rand (1914-1996)

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2 hours ago, Cealcrest said:

Does anyone know of something along the lines of an upcoming features list or implementation schedule that’s been posted? Tried searching.

There is none and I doubt it will re-emerge. I was not happy when Serif removed the old roadmap but in hinsigt I believe it was never a good idea to publish it in the first place. Things changed and for whatever reason it was perhaps too much honesty, dreams and good adrenaline from the Serif staff.

What I do think would be clever is to somehow signal in what direction Designer is actually going. Marketing and features are not really in sync. The tons and tons of posts in the forum signals more than anything that there is a certain lack of features and clarity; if Designer is indeed not evolving into any particular vector drawing program their customers should know. It frustrates me a lot as can easily be seen and tempers rise now and then in this forum. It doesn't signal customer satisfaction.

I would simply need the Serif compass needle to give me a sign. But for as long as the marketing and actual products are not in harmony we will have these threads forever after.

  • "The user interface is supposed to work for me - I am not supposed to work for the user interface."
  • Computer-, operating system- and software agnostic; I am a result oriented professional. Look for a fanboy somewhere else.
  • “When a wise man points at the moon the imbecile examines the finger.” ― Confucius
  • Not an Affinity user og forum user anymore. The software continued to disappoint and not deliver.
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15 minutes ago, Andy05 said:

So, "not much" is not enough by your standards. Ok, then. Enlighten me. How much "content" do we have to post in order to add something which you don't feel you'd have to comment on?

I mean, I really look up to becoming a member of these forums like you who's posting just meaningful content...

Something like this has more content and meaning:

Best regards!

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7 minutes ago, Jowday said:

I was not happy when Serif removed the old roadmap but in hinsigt I believe it was never a good idea to publish it in the first place.

100% agree. If you publish something like a roadmap, you need to be sure that you can fulfil its points pretty close to the announced schedule.

I also agree, that we need more clarity about ADesigners's direction. The whole idea of mixing vector and pixel is a decent idea (personas), if you need to edit small things in either format. But for a more professional approach, it'd be better to keep each app focused on either vector or pixel. Those borders seem to get too fluid. I can understand that there's more focus on AP, tho. As I can see that the market for working with images is way bigger than for the use of an app dealing with vectors.

»A designer's job is to improve the general quality of life. In fact, it's the only reason for our existence.«
Paul Rand (1914-1996)

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