Define Pattern and Pattern Fill needed for Affinity Photo please

[Russet]

Not having the option to generate repeats and use them as a fill for raster graphics is a big gap in Affinity that will drive me back to Adobe. Annoyingly as I'd prefer to give my money to Serif!

[No more PS]

I just bought Affinity Photo and was happy. Just now I realized that the Photoshop funktion making patterns and fill any object with it is missing. At first I thoght I just didn't find it, but there really is non. It is hard to believe that such a every day task can't be done with Affinity Photo. All other Photoshop stuff is copied nicely and at some edges even better. Affinity: Please add this bread and butter feature, or I have to switch back to Photo Shop.

[No more PS]

Hi Russet, I found out how it works. It is a bit more complicated than in PS but I can live with that. Here is a video tutorial. In the beginning he shows how to make a pattern bitmap. Then he shows how you can use any bitmap to fill a layer with the bitmap as pattern, change size ect. :

 

[No more PS]

I checked it out, it is even better than in PS Cs6. You can just click and hold and then pull to enlarge the pattern, also turn it around in 360 degrees. Really great! So no reason to go back to PS

[Russet]

Thank you. It works for filling vector shapes yes. But it's not a full solution.  For filling sections of a pixel layer with repeat patterns that I've drawn it doesn't work. For eg if adding a repeat pattern to sections of a scanned ink drawing for texture or detail. I guess I can go through and save all my pattern library as pngs or jpgs and then fill a layer or vector shape, rasterise, then delete everything outside my selection. Bit of a faff!  

[No more PS]

I can do everything with it that I used to do with PS CS6. Until now Affinity photo could open all my PS CS6 Photoshop files perfectly. I could just continue to work on a project, that I started the other day on PS. So I believe you can even use your PS pattern format. Did you try to open it in a Fill layer?

But you don't have to cut anything outside your shape. You can just fill a hole fill layer with your pattern. The vector shape layer must be above the pattern layer. And then do right click on your vector shape layer and choose "Mask to below". Then your vector shape will be filled with the pattern. At PS it is called clipping mask. This way you can fill any shape with your pattern. If you are not happy with the size or direction of the pattern, you can change it any time by clicking on the fill layer.

[D.E. Main]

I VERY STRONGLY SUPPORT ADDING THIS AS A DIRECT FEATURE - not a complicated workaround. 

I need custom vector fills and swatches for draweings/images MULTIPLE TIMES EVERY DAY and having to create fill assets, create object containers and subordinate the fill asset to the container layer is absolutely not practical. The complicated work-around above is not practical for every day, repeat needs.  I have hundreds of drawings to apply this to.   As well, the images copied do not accurately reflect the fill as needed. 

PLEASE, PLEASE fix / add this.  I am currently looking for another app that has this ability.  (other than going backto Serif Draw 8 legacy which does this pretty well.) 

[mzone3d]

Yeah define Pattern would be amazing.

[walt.farrell]

I'm not sure it's relevant to this discussion, but you might look at the new Pattern Layer support in the 1.9 beta of Photo.

[No more PS]

Hi Walt, can you tell us more about it? What does it do and where can we find it? Thanks.

[walt.farrell]

23 hours ago, No more PS said:

can you tell us more about it? What does it do and where can we find it?

You can always find any active beta releases in the appropriate Beta forum, in a pinned post near the top of the forum. Or as we're near the end of the beta cycle you'll probably find the 1.9 release version available within a few days.

For what they do, here's a quote from the Help:
 

Quote

Pattern layers contain a fixed-size bitmap image which repeats across the entire document. You can paint designs on blank pattern layers or convert images and pixel selections into pattern layers.

Patterns can be mirrored, and pattern layers can be opened as a new document to be edited separately. Filters can also be used to manipulate pattern layers.

After a pattern is added or made from a pixel selection, a faint grey box indicates the "real" area of the pattern which can be transformed or edited at any time.

 

[Jowday]

7 minutes ago, walt.farrell said:

You can always find any active beta releases in the appropriate Beta forum, in a pinned post near the top of the forum. Or as we're near the end of the beta cycle you'll probably find the 1.9 release version available within a few days.

For what they do, here's a quote from the Help:

I activated one from layer -> new pattern layer - I could drag a shape around but then Photo crashed. 😞

Didn't get the chance to see options or anything. Just a frame.

[No more PS]

I tried it and it worked. It makes it easyer to design a pattern, as you see how it will repeat immediately. But I guess there are still some funktions missing to make it comparable to corel draw. Funktions like smooth edges, distances between the repetitions, ect. I remember corel had tons of options here that automated the process of building a pattern and made it all very easy. I'm working with the complete affinity software a few month now and must say it is really great! Hope the missing funktions will added soon. One of the highlights for me is that I can design new projects in Publisher and use the pixel brushes from photo along with the vector brushes from Designer. This really is a great functionallity. Compared to corel: Though corel photo and Draw have tons of extra high end features, affinity is way more userfriendly. In Corel, when there is a dialog window open, everything else on the app surface is blocked. For what I'm doing the affinity suite has all I need, only the pattern thing could be better.

[walt.farrell]

46 minutes ago, No more PS said:

For what I'm doing the affinity suite has all I need, only the pattern thing could be better.

If you have suggestions you might post them in the Beta forums, or (perhaps better) start a new Feedback topic about improving it so they aren't lost here in this more generic topic.