[AD] Better antialias of clipped groups

[Kozaluss]

Hello there!

I've been using AD for over a year now and this problem still bother me a lot.
And I think there is a pretty simple solution that could be implemented by the devs.

Scenario - I have a shape. Then I fill the shape with different colours, gradients, brush strokes and so on. The problem is, that at the clipping area antialiasing mechanism draws all the inside fill elements one by one creating an awful outline. The only way to get rid of it is to group the fill elements and rasterize. But I really really do not want to rasterize everything, as this is not the way vectors should be done methinks. Rasterizing and leaving a copy unrasterized and hidden is just too much work.

This unwanted effects shows up in every mode (normal, pixel, retina and in exported graphics).

So my proposal is so that whenever some objects are grouped, they are rendered offscreen as a whole group, and the clipped - just like I would rasterize and clip, instead of clipping every shape there is separately.

[Kozaluss]

I've been thinking a bit about this proposed feature and maybe it would be good, if this was a checkbox on the group - meaning if You do not check it, it is rendered the old way. If you check the box, the group is rendered as a whole before it is clipped. This way the old way of fx and blending is preserved, and for those, who want clean picture with appropriate clipping - the option is there.

Secondly - I can not believe that this post got no traction at all. It is unthinkable for me, that other designers haven't smashed theirself into this. More so that on Affinity group on FB I see more and more graphics with this artifact clearly visible. Maybe I should post it in bug reporting section instead, because for me it is more bug than a feature unfortunately.

[lepr]

Hi, there are many rendering problems/bugs in the Affinity apps, so please attach a file so interested people can discuss a specific example.

[Kozaluss]

Very well - if this helps.
I've made a simple example of basically the same thing, as described and shown in picture in original post.
Left side - fills grouped and clipped by curve - outline visible.
Right side - fills group rasterized - outline dissappears - desired result.
Again - I'd like to have the effect on the right without the need to rasterize my fills.
:)

ClippingAntialiasGroup.afdesign

[Old Bruce]

 

57 minutes ago, Kozaluss said:

Again - I'd like to have the effect on the right without the need to rasterize my fills.

Does this work better for you, I used the ellipse to clip the group (after I gave the ellipse a fill)

ClippingAntialiasGroup.afdesign

[Kozaluss]

It works better, but still not perfect solution:
a) there is that outline slightly visible still,
b) working with this kind of masks is a bit of a chore really.
I mean - why couldn't the Devs improve this?
I understand there is an engine under the hood and changes like this would require a bit of restructuring to still keep it fast enough.
But come on there! You can do it, I believe in ya Devs! ;).
But Your advice mr OldBruce is still a good advice, I'll try to use this on my next picture.

[lepr]

1 hour ago, Kozaluss said:

Very well - if this helps.
I've made a simple example of basically the same thing, as described and shown in picture in original post.
Left side - fills grouped and clipped by curve - outline visible.
Right side - fills group rasterized - outline dissappears - desired result.
Again - I'd like to have the effect on the right without the need to rasterize my fills.

ClippingAntialiasGroup.afdesign 109.43 kB · 2 downloads

 

A workaround to try until the problem is fixed:

Give the Group a Layer Effects (fx) Colour Overlay with opacity set to zero. The fx is invisible but tricks the app into rendering the Group before clipping. Unfortunately the antialiasing becomes less smooth than normal (another bug, probably), but give it a try.

ClippingAntialiasGroup - fx on group.afdesign

 

The antialiasing can then be improved by giving the clipping Ellipse a blend gamma of 1 to achieve almost exactly the same result as your clipped rasterised version. That's OK for an opaque object like your clipped Group, but it will change the appearance of a semi-transparent object.

ClippingAntialiasGroup - fx on group and blend gamma on ellipse.afdesign

 

Sorry for not having a simple solution.

 

 

 

 

[Kozaluss]

Hey! The trick with Colour Overlay is amazing - thanks a lot!  💜
Although where do I find the "blend gamma"? 🧐
I am mostly concerned with opaque objects, so this method is more than enough to make me superhappy until it gets better without the trick.

[lepr]

53 minutes ago, Kozaluss said:

Hey! The trick with Colour Overlay is amazing - thanks a lot!  💜

You're welcome! 

53 minutes ago, Kozaluss said:

Although where do I find the "blend gamma"? 🧐

Select the Ellipse then click the cog icon at top-right of Layers panel to open the Blend Options window in which the Blend Gamma control is at top left.

[Kozaluss]

12 hours ago, anon2 said:

You're welcome! 

Select the Ellipse then click the cog icon at top-right of Layers panel to open the Blend Options window in which the Blend Gamma control is at top left.

Thank You very much - found it :).