questions about Replacing colors, selection brushes, and paint brushes

[danklim]

Hi, 

 

I’m trying Affinity Photo after using Pixelmator for a while and trying to figure out how some things work in Affinity Photo. Can you please help?

 

First, I’m trying to figure out the best way to make the apple in this picture brighter and the background more black. In pixelmator, I could do this quickly by using a “Replace color effect” and change the color of all of the grays at once. Is there any similar “Replace color” effect in Affinity Designer? If so, where is it?

 

Second, I used the Selection Brush tool to draw the shape around the apple. It worked pretty well but there are a few issues:

 

1. The edges of the apple were rough. You can see in the picture below how there is some freeness and sharp edges on the left side of the apple. How can I make these edges softer? In pixelmator there was a Quick Mask Mode that allowed me to use the paint brush tool to draw the mask/selection with however much opacity and softness/hardness on the edges. Is there anything like this in Affinity Photo?

 

2. I can’t find out how to see/edit the mask/layer that I previously made when i used the Selection Brush Tool. I’ve tried clicking the mask in the layers tool on the right but its not showing up. When I click on the checkmark next to Black and White Adjustment Layer it changes the background of the photo according to how I drew with the Selection Brush tool, but I haven’t been able to figure out how to edit the mask/selection or adjust the effect or add a different effect to this background layer. How can I access the mask/layer that I made with the Selection Brush Tool?

 

3. I also accidentally made that circular mask and that circular grey spot in the top leftafter using the selection brush tool and can’t figure out how to delete or undo either one now. How can i remove that circular mask and grey spot?

 

4. When I hit the Delete key to delete a layer or effect in the layer pane, the layer or effect is not deleted. The only way that lets me delete the effect is by right clicking on the layer and clicking delete. Why is the delete key not working to delete a layer or effect?

5. I tried also using the brush tool to draw it black manually, figuring that I could just use the brush tool with a low opacity and hardness setting and manually make it look darker, but am getting confused about the brush tool. First, I couldn’t figure out how to make it completely opaque. The opacity was set to 100 in the top left and I selected black color in the pane on the right side, but it only drew in dark grey where I could still see the background behind it, looking as if the opacity was only at 60%. Now, I just tried again and I haven’t been able to figure out how to get the paint brush tool to work at all. When I look at the tools on the left side of this screen, its giving me the option to “Undo Brush Tool” but I don’t see any option to use the Brush tool. Why is it not showing me a button to use the brush tool and how can I use the brush tool? And how can I draw black lines with full opacity?

 

 

 

Lastly, what would you recommend is the easiest way to make the apple in this picture brighter and the background more black in this picture? Is there any easier way to do this that I haven't thought about?

 

Thanks,

Dan

 

 

[Dan C]

Hi @danklim,

My sincerest apologies for the delayed response here.

On 6/16/2020 at 3:05 AM, danklim said:

I could do this quickly by using a “Replace color effect” and change the color of all of the grays at once. Is there any similar “Replace color” effect in Affinity Designer? If so, where is it?

Unfortunately there's no such feature in Affinity Designer, however the Colour Replacement Brush in Affinity Photo may be a useful tool for this - 

https://affinity.help/photo/English.lproj/index.html?page=pages/Painting/replaceClrs.html?title=Replacing colours by brush

On 6/16/2020 at 3:05 AM, danklim said:

The edges of the apple were rough. You can see in the picture below how there is some freeness and sharp edges on the left side of the apple. How can I make these edges softer?

In Affinity Photo, after creating your selection you can use Select>Refine Edges to fine tune your selection and change the softness of the selection, as required. You may also find ticking Soft Edges on the context toolbar when using the Selection Brush Tool helps here.

On 6/16/2020 at 3:05 AM, danklim said:

I can’t find out how to see/edit the mask/layer that I previously made when i used the Selection Brush Tool. I’ve tried clicking the mask in the layers tool on the right but its not showing up.

There are 2 different options here, firstly if you hold Option/ALT and left click on the thumbnail of the mask, you'll be shown the greyscale of the mask in isolation mode, allowing you to adjust the mask manually.

Secondly, if you hold Command/CTRL and left click on the thumbnail of the mask, you'll see a selection is created from the mask layer, which should match the original selection used.

On 6/16/2020 at 3:05 AM, danklim said:

I also accidentally made that circular mask and that circular grey spot in the top leftafter using the selection brush tool and can’t figure out how to delete or undo either one now. How can i remove that circular mask and grey spot?

On 6/16/2020 at 3:05 AM, danklim said:

The only way that lets me delete the effect is by right clicking on the layer and clicking delete. Why is the delete key not working to delete a layer or effect?

Simply select the mask layer only in the Layer Studio and delete it using the backspace key.

On 6/16/2020 at 3:05 AM, danklim said:

First, I couldn’t figure out how to make it completely opaque. The opacity was set to 100 in the top left and I selected black color in the pane on the right side, but it only drew in dark grey where I could still see the background behind it, looking as if the opacity was only at 60%.

Without seeing the document it's hard to say, but the layer you were painting on may have been set to semi-opaque, meaning even if your brush is set to 100% opacity it will still be somewhat translucent.

On 6/16/2020 at 3:05 AM, danklim said:

When I look at the tools on the left side of this screen, its giving me the option to “Undo Brush Tool” but I don’t see any option to use the Brush tool.

The Paint Brush Tool is part of a 3 tool 'flyout', currently yours is set to the Colour Replacement Tool, if you right click this you'll see the flyout with the Brush tool available -

On 6/16/2020 at 3:05 AM, danklim said:

Lastly, what would you recommend is the easiest way to make the apple in this picture brighter and the background more black in this picture? Is there any easier way to do this that I haven't thought about?

It would help if you can please upload a copy of this document/image here, so we can offer specific advice for this image