Bubble Distortion Effect How to

[Dadelo]

First off. I just want to say how grateful I am to have found this affordable software and to be able to own it. Thank you so much Affinity.

 

I came across this image and was trying to replicate it but I couldn't figure it  out.

Mainly the bubble distortion on the left side. I'm guessing the edges with the white strokes? are distorted also?

 

Any one? The artist

 

 

[Callum]

Hi Dadelo,

These look drawn to me so I'm not really sure if I understand your question have I perhaps missed the point in this image? To me they just seem to be comprised of a combination of white and black strokes.

Thanks

C

[firstdefence]

I would say these are drawn like that. The closet I could get was using the Twirl Live filter but it was a lame imitation, so I went on a journey of excessive filter usage and ended up with this...

Salvador Dali's Urn Of Swirlies.

[Dadelo]

@Callum and @firstdefence  I know the link I gave, shows his process from the sketch that he made. But it also lists the software he used on the right side which was Illustrator. I believe this is doable through software. In my opinion, I don't think it was inked by hand. The edges are too crisp and perfect.

 

I believe it is strokes, using the width tool and some trimming/divide from the pathfinder.

 

Can some one else give it try?

[GarryP]

The snapshots in the linked page don’t really show the process used.
As far as I can see, they go from early pencil sketches straight to the finished product without the intermediate stages.
Unless Illustrator (if that is what was used) has a ‘bubble filter’ than I would agree with earlier commentators that the graphics look like they were drawn manually, and with a lot of skill. (By manually I don’t necessarily mean by hand with paper and pen.)
There is no filter or functionality in any of the Affinity applications that will let you do this with vectors.
In Photo there is the Spherical filter but that’s raster-only and it is for distorting images to be wrapped around a sphere rather than them being distorted by having a transparent sphere placed upon them (a very different thing indeed).
In order to try and replicate those images I think you may need to do a lot of practising, unless someone can point you to some other software which has that functionality.

[iconoclast]

I remember that a program I had years ago, called Photo Impact, had a filter that could put a soap bubble effect to an image, that also warps the background at the place where the bubble was. You also could create animations with this effect, as far as I remember. But Photo Impact doesn't exist anymore. I think Corel bought it.

Possibly also the KPT-Photoshop-Plugins can do something like that. Today they are also distributed by Corel, as far as I know. I'm not really a fan of Corel, so I can't say if this all is good stuff.

[firstdefence]

KPT that's a filter flash from the past. I've looked in Adobe Illustrator and there are no filters that are capable of producing that effect. I think that style is pure Erik Erdokozi, hand drawn and digitally enhanced from mind to path.

Update: I had a few hours of free time, so, I tried creating the ' O ' and in the process of creating it there is an organic geometry to it that would be difficult to replicate with a filter alone. The image below is created using Layer > Create Compound.

example.afdesign

[Dadelo]

I agree with @firstdefence I couldn't open your file due to it being a later version of Designer.

It is not a filter effect. Its like a combo of duplicating the shapes and masking and then using strokes. Any one else would like to try a crack at this?

Edited January 15, 2021 by Dadelo

[firstdefence]

1 hour ago, Dadelo said:

I agree with @firstdefence I couldn't open your file due to it being a later version of Designer.

It is not a filter effect. Its like a combo of duplicating the shapes and masking and then using strokes. Any one else would like to try a crack at this?

@Dadelo
Try this one: Example for 1.8.6.afdesign released the layers in the compound, imported the layers into Affinity Designer 1.8.6 and reconstructed the compound

[Dadelo]

@firstdefence Thanks for doing that. That's a good breakdown of the shapes. I'm still trying to figure this out.

 

Do you think the circle was masked with another shape?- And then other shapes were combined. This is my guess.

 

Any one else?

[firstdefence]

The artist Erik, is quite accomplished, making some complex imagery so I think these would have been a walk in the park for him. I have actually asked him directly how he did these so we'll see if he answers.

I would guess Erik is an illustrator aficionado and with illustrators tools including the compound feature; which is more sophisticated that affinity's... well for now at least, he would find it easy to make these shapes.

[Dadelo]

@firstdefence Agreed with everything you said.

The thing is I emailed him and still waiting for a response! Perhaps is IG would be best to contact him or whatever platform.

I will send another email again until he gives up his secret..muahahaHAHAHA(evil laugh ensues*)

Jokes aside. If he doesn't that is fine but it would be nice get this technique tho. Please Erik do not forsake us.

Edited January 15, 2021 by Dadelo
spelling errors corrected.