Missing Features for Fashion & Textiles

[ra.skill]

I have been using Illustrator professionally for the past 20 years and also educationally for the past 10, with a focus on Fashion Design and Technical Drawing. But much like everyone else on this forum I am utterly fed up with Adobe's systems and methods in recent years.

I am 100% ready to jump ship and never look back but there's just a couple of features that are stopping me....

1. Pattern Brushes
The Ability to turn any vector shape into a repeating pattern brush.
A feature commonly used to create stitching brushes in fashion design.

2. Brush Profiles
The ability to add a shape profile to a brush.

3. Image Tracing
The Ability to automatically trace a raster image and create a vector version.

4. Pattern Creation
The Ability to create a repeating pattern or print that can be saved as a swatch and used as a fill.

Add these 3 features in the next edition and I'll jump the Adobe ship bringing my 120 students with me 🙂
Please
Please
Please

 

 

Edited September 28, 2020 by ra.skill

[Dazmondo77]

- Yes please - 

[2989]

Yes. Please PLEASE 

[ra.skill]

 

On 9/28/2020 at 11:21 PM, ra.skill said:

I have been using Illustrator professionally for the past 20 years and also educationally for the past 10, with a focus on Fashion Design and Technical Drawing. But much like everyone else on this forum I am utterly fed up with Adobe's systems and methods in recent years.

I am 100% ready to jump ship and never look back but there's just a couple of features that are stopping me....

1. Pattern Brushes
The Ability to turn any vector shape into a repeating pattern brush.
A feature commonly used to create stitching brushes in fashion design.

2. Brush Profiles
The ability to add a shape profile to a brush.

3. Image Tracing
The Ability to automatically trace a raster image and create a vector version.

4. Pattern Creation
The Ability to create a repeating pattern or print that can be saved as a swatch and used as a fill.

Add these 3 features in the next edition and I'll jump the Adobe ship bringing my 120 students with me 🙂
Please
Please
Please

 

 

In addition to the above I have another request.....

5. Offset Path Tool
A tool that automatically draws a path parallel to an existing path at a specified distance.

 

[CEJones]

I absolutely need the ability to create a repeating pattern that can be saved as a swatch and used as a fill in order to adopt Affinity Designer.

In addition, I'd need the ability to bend the patterns and make them taper according to the 3-D perspective of the diagram.

I'm a geologist, and we like to use a brick pattern to indicate limestone.  The brick pattern should run parallel to the folded layers of rock, and it should taper if it is running along the side of a 3-D block diagram.  Examples may be seen here:  

(This illustrator did not taper the blocks.  I'd like taper my blocks to maintain a sense of perspective.)

[v_kyr]

3 hours ago, CEJones said:

I absolutely need the ability to create a repeating pattern that can be saved as a swatch and used as a fill in order to adopt Affinity Designer. ...

Would be fine to have, but in it's current state you can only do workarounds via symbols and assets for creating pseudo patterns. See for example ...

• Affinity Designer Pattern template
• Affinity Designer Pattern Template – Mensch Mesch
• etc.

The 3D-Block stuff with bending is even more challenging here. And currently so far also just pseudo via isometric drawing.

[ra.skill]

5 hours ago, CEJones said:

I'm a geologist, and we like to use a brick pattern to indicate limestone. 

Turns out Geologists and Fashion Designers are not that far apart after all 😉😉

Yes this is a valuable feature that I hope will be coming soon. 

[ESPR]

On 9/28/2020 at 5:21 PM, ra.skill said:

2. Brush Profiles
The ability to add a shape profile to a brush.
 

There is already a feature called Pressure in the Stroke Panel which you can use to give a stroke a shape and it can be saved as a Profile.

It also works with custom vectorbrushes, but you have to enable the Size Variance.

[ra.skill]

44 minutes ago, ESPR said:

There is already a feature called Pressure in the Stroke Panel which you can use to give a stroke a shape and it can be saved as a Profile.

It also works with custom vectorbrushes, but you have to enable the Size Variance.

Thank you ESPR,

Didnt realise I could save the profiles, this is very helpful

[ra.skill]

Update to want list.....

1. Pattern Brushes - STILL WAITING
The Ability to turn any vector shape into a repeating pattern brush.
A feature commonly used to create stitching brushes in fashion design.

2. Brush Profiles - FEATURE COMPLETE
The ability to add a shape profile to a brush.

3. Image Tracing - STILL WAITING
The Ability to automatically trace a raster image and create a vector version.

4. Pattern Creation - STILL WAITING
The Ability to create a repeating pattern or print that can be saved as a swatch and used as a fill.

5. Offset Path Tool - FEATURE COMING SOON
A tool that automatically draws a path parallel to an existing path at a specified distance.

[ra.skill]

I see a “Pattern Fill” function has been added to Affinity Photo in the 1.9 update!!!

Grrrrr why for photo and not designer!

Hopefully it will come across soon. 
Still waiting on my Adobe free future. 

[ra.skill]

Also need to add to this list the ability to measure curved and shaped lines. 

[Pieter Frank]

Hello There!

I seem to be having more or less the same wish list.

1: I am desperately waiting for a pattern swatch tool. I design a lot of repeating patterns and I need to be able to make a swatch out of this in vector! I recently designed patterns for PUMA to be used in the summer olympics and to deliver the artwork as bitmap is a no go. PLEASE affinity developpers put this on your roadmap!!!!!

2: I sketch a lot of line work on my iPad or on paper and vector trace it to be edited in a Vector program. I used to do this in adobe illustrator but after 25 years of adobe I got fed up with their adobe antics and decided to go with to the Affinity suite. I would be helped a lot with a vector tracing tool, to convert drawings to vector. I am using Inkscape now for lack of a better tool in the affinity realm but I would prefer to be able to do it in affinity designer.

 

THNX!

Edited July 2, 2021 by Pieter Frank

[ra.skill]

Hi @Pieter Frank

I hear you!

Both are features that I’m waiting for also… but I get the feeling they won’t be in the 1.10 release that’s on its way. Hopefully not too far after that. 
🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻

[Komatös]

I don't know how good this tool is, but maybe it will meet your needs (for now). 

https://vectormagic.com

[2989]

17 hours ago, Pieter Frank said:

Hello There!

I seem to be having more or less the same wish list.

1: I am desperately waiting for a pattern swatch tool. I design a lot of repeating patterns and I need to be able to make a swatch out of this in vector! I recently designed patterns for PUMA to be used in the summer olympics and to deliver the artwork as bitmap is a no go. PLEASE affinity developpers put this on your roadmap!!!!!

2: I sketch a lot of line work on my iPad or on paper and vector trace it to be edited in a Vector program. I used to do this in adobe illustrator but after 25 years of adobe I got fed up with their adobe antics and decided to go with to the Affinity suite. I would be helped a lot with a vector tracing tool, to convert drawings to vector. I am using Inkscape now for lack of a better tool in the affinity realm but I would prefer to be able to do it in affinity designer.

 

THNX!

Ditto !!!

Affinity Please add these as a matter of Urgency !!!

Thank You

[ra.skill]

For those who haven’t seen it…
https://youtu.be/JnfxzknVK_0

Video about the 1.10 release. 
 

From the sound of things this next version is predominantly a stability and performance update. There may not be many new features. 
But…

The feeling is that this version is about laying a strong foundation on which they will build rich features like the ones we’re all waiting for…

So maybe release 1.11 or 2.0 we will start seeing the features we want. 
🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻

[siruba747]

I am also a fashion design WHO DID JUMP a long time ago.  Love you.  Please include OFFSET PATH feature.  I use this when I need to add "stitches" to technical drawings.  I can copy the shape, transform which is a workaround, but it's not really the same.  

I love the options that ra.skill has asked for.   I'm ready to follow him on Instagram.  

[Pšenda]

32 minutes ago, siruba747 said:

Please include OFFSET PATH feature.

???
https://affinity.help/designer/English.lproj/pages/CurvesShapes/contouringShapes.html

[ra.skill]

35 minutes ago, siruba747 said:

I am also a fashion design WHO DID JUMP a long time ago.  Love you.  Please include OFFSET PATH feature.  I use this when I need to add "stitches" to technical drawings.  I can copy the shape, transform which is a workaround, but it's not really the same.  

I love the options that ra.skill has asked for.   I'm ready to follow him on Instagram.  

Pleased to say that the offset path tool came in version 1.9 😊😊

it’s called the ‘Contour Tool’ and it’s actually better than Ai version… with more functionality. 
 

what version are you on @siruba747

 

by all means join me on Instagram… https://www.instagram.com/ra.skill/

[siruba747]

5 minutes ago, Pšenda said:

???
https://affinity.help/designer/English.lproj/pages/CurvesShapes/contouringShapes.html

https://creativescaledesigns.com/2019/04/05/design-series-adobe-illustrator-offset-path/

[siruba747]

30 minutes ago, ra.skill said:

Pleased to say that the offset path tool came in version 1.9 😊😊

it’s called the ‘Contour Tool’ and it’s actually better than Ai version… with more functionality. 
 

what version are you on @siruba747

 

by all means join me on Instagram… https://www.instagram.com/ra.skill/

I didn't understand what it was when I got the update.  Most of my work is physical.  I'm in the process of digitizing all my patterns for overseas production.  So I'm very happy to find that I'm not the only designer using Designer.  

[ra.skill]

1 hour ago, siruba747 said:

very happy to find that I'm not the only designer using Designer.  

Likewise 🙂

question… how do you get around measuring curves in Affinity Designer?

[siruba747]

30 minutes ago, ra.skill said:

Likewise 🙂

question… how do you get around measuring curves in Affinity Designer?

I cheat.  I start with the paper pattern in which I have created an interior set of measures including 45 degree angles with definite measures. An angle line is built linear first then transformed to a 45 angle.   I built little interior structures of measurements.  Using the pen tool (because there is no line tool) then transform into the correct measures and scale the photograph into the digital framework as best as possible.  Then on a separate layer just trace it.  

 

curve workaround.afphoto

[ra.skill]

Update to want list.....

1. Pattern Brushes - STILL WAITING
The Ability to turn any vector shape into a repeating pattern brush.
A feature commonly used to create stitching brushes in fashion design.

2. Brush Profiles - FEATURE COMPLETE
The ability to add a shape profile to a stroke or brush.

3. Image Tracing - STILL WAITING
The Ability to automatically trace a raster image and create a vector version.

4. Pattern Creation - STILL WAITING
The Ability to create editable repeating vector patterns or prints designs that can be saved as a swatch and used as a fill.

5. Offset Path Tool - FEATURE COMPLETE
A tool that automatically draws a path parallel to an existing path at a specified distance.

In version 1.9 the “contour tool” was added and provides the functionality of Ai offset path tool.

6. Dashed Line Alignment - STILL WAITING
Ability to slightly stretch dashed lines so that every every corner and end point is even and the same.