Solution: Tutorial - How to draw vectors directly into a mask (Affinity Designer Windows)

[Magicbean]

I started off writing this as a question because I couldn't work it out, but a few times I accidentally got it to work although I couldn't work out how I had done it. (Affinity Designer Desktop v1.8.5, Windows 10). After much fiddling around I have worked out how to make it repeatable. (Admins: please feel free to move this to a better place in the forum if there is one).

This is useful if you use a tablet and want to draw vector brush strokes in a mask in pressure mode, see the effect as you draw them and be able to edit them afterwards.

Here is the explanation - there are three important steps which are not obvious but omitting them will leave you without editable vectors in the mask:

1. Select the layer or group you want to add the mask to. I'll call this layer A.
2. Click the Layer Mask button to add a pixel mask (even though we are in Designer Persona). This serves no actual purpose except that if it doesn't exist, this method doesn't work.
3. Draw a vector brush or pen stroke (this creates its own layer above layer A).
4. Create a group with this single curve (or more if you want to); the point is, it must be a group. Lets call this M (for mask)
5. Make sure the group is open (i.e. click the triangle so that it points down and you can see the vector curve(s) in the group).
6. Drag the Group M into the mask position of layer A. The vectors in group M are now a mask and the curves are individually visible and editable. A black 100% density stoke reveals anything below Layer A.
7. Select the vector brush (or pen or pencil) tool and click on a curve in group M (select a curve in the group, not the group itself) in the layers window. No points in that vector curve should be selected because this will just extend that curve, unless that is what you want to do.
8. Draw a new vector curve and it will be added to the curves in group M; i.e new brush strokes add vector masks in real-time.
9. You can delete the pixel mask layer created in step 2.

I have tried to record a video of the process (the context menu for the layers window doesn't show up in the recording but the actions were creating a group and later, deleting some of the vectors).

Note: if you don't create the pixel mask (step 2), group the brush stroke (step 4) or have the mask group open (step 5) when you drag it to the mask position (in step 6), you get the vector curves as a mask but you can't edit the individual curves or add any others.  You can only do that if you drag the mask back out so that they become an editable group again and then re-drag to the mask position.

 

 

[Dazmondo77]

Another way is to create your vector shape of brushstrokes or whatever, then group it,  then drag to the side of whatever it is you want to mask and release, then to add to the mask or edit the mask, make sure you have the move tool selected (v) click on the new mask in the layers panel then hold the ⌘ key while right mouse clicking on the page which gives you a list of whatever in in the group - you can then edit or add or blur without the need to make a regular layer mask - very powerful

[Magicbean]

18 minutes ago, Dazmondo77 said:

make sure you have the move tool selected (v) click on the new mask in the layers panel then hold the ⌘ key while right mouse clicking on the page which gives you a list of whatever in in the group

Does this work in Affinity Designer? I tried it in Affinity Publisher (Windows v1.8.5) and I can't get that to work either. Specifically, I select the Move tool, click on the group in the windows panel and then CTRL-right click on the image but I don't get that group pop-up that you have in your video.

[Dazmondo77]

2 hours ago, Magicbean said:

Does this work in Affinity Designer? I tried it in Affinity Publisher (Windows v1.8.5) and I can't get that to work either. Specifically, I select the Move tool, click on the group in the windows panel and then CTRL-right click on the image but I don't get that group pop-up that you have in your video.

It should work Magicbean I'm just not sure what the windows command key equivalent is - have you tried the window or alt key? 

[Magicbean]

9 minutes ago, Dazmondo77 said:

It should work Magicbean I'm just not sure what the windows command key equivalent is - have you tried the window or alt key? 

Yes, every modifier key combination I can think of!

 

Forgetting masks for a moment - should this work in a bunch of grouped vector curves? I can't do that either so I must be doing something wrong....

I can get the elements of a group to highlight individually if I hold down CTRL and hover the mouse over the image (but not if they are in a group in a mask) and I never see a popup group indicator whatever I do.

[Dazmondo77]

Sorry Magicbean I'm not sure what to tell you - It works across the board on the Mac - really great for digging down through groups

Hopefully, some windows wiz will know the key combo, I can't imagine it being just Mac only?  

[Magicbean]

1 minute ago, Dazmondo77 said:

Sorry Magicbean I'm not sure what to tell you - It works across the board on the Mac - really great for digging down through groups

Hopefully, some windows wiz will know the key combo, I can't imagine it being just Mac only?  

Screen_Grab_2020-12-02_at_17_41_03.mov

I can see it is doing what you described.... thanks for your help anyway. As you say, perhaps someone can confirm that it works in Windows.

[Move Along People]

-

 

[Magicbean]

11 hours ago, haakoo said:

It's ctrl+rightmouse in windows but only in beta 1.9.0.864

 

@haakoo Thank you - that makes sense. I'll try the 1.9 Beta.