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Before I offer this as a suggestion for the 'wish list' I thought would ask if it is feasible.

 

Many of the people now using AD migrated from Illustrator I, on the other hand, migrated from Serif's DrawPlus. DP had a load of really good features that AD haven't yet adopted and one of them was being able to use a bitmap fill. These were all manner of textures like rock, wood, gravel, pebbles etc and I used many of these in geological drawings.

 

Is it possible to create bitmap thumbnails of various textures that could be expanded, as opposed to enlarged, to maintain a high resolution and apply to objects as a fill? I imagine the texture to be very large in size but cropped down to thumbnail size to fit a menu.

 

If someone wanted to draw a gear made of say beech wood, then they select the Beech fill and apply to the object and then expand or reduce the texture to the degree of resolution they so desire.

 

If this is not practical for AD developers then perhaps, working in conjunction with a third party company, textured plugins could be created for downloading. I know that there is no immediate plans for AD to use plugins but when there is would this be a feasible feature?

 

If voting made any difference it wouldn't be allowed!

Rules are for the guidance of wise men and the obedience of fools.

To be ignorant of world happenings is forgivable - to be willingly ignorant is unforgivable.

Truth does not need to be protected only lies do.

Mac OS Monterey 12.6.4

AD version 2.3.0

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Hi Jackamus

There are no preset styles for wooden textures etc, but it is possible for you to create your own. Please follow the steps below.

 

  • Insert a quick shape 
  • Click the Gradient tool
  • Select 'Type' at the top and then select 'Bitmap'
  • This will open finder, select an image of the texture you wish to use, for example an image of gravel, and click Open
  • This will insert the image inside the quickshape, use the node tools within the shape to alter the positioning of the image. (you can also use the 'Extend' tab across the top)
  • Once your happy with shape, right click it and click 'Create Style' if you want to use the same bitmap for future projects :)

    I hope this helps.

    Jack
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Thanks Jack for this workaround. I'll start collecting some bitmaps to use. Its a pity I don't have a PC anymore as I could 'steal' some from DP! :rolleyes:

If voting made any difference it wouldn't be allowed!

Rules are for the guidance of wise men and the obedience of fools.

To be ignorant of world happenings is forgivable - to be willingly ignorant is unforgivable.

Truth does not need to be protected only lies do.

Mac OS Monterey 12.6.4

AD version 2.3.0

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  • 4 years later...
On 10/7/2015 at 10:58 AM, jackamus said:

Before I offer this as a suggestion for the 'wish list' I thought would ask if it is feasible.

 

Many of the people now using AD migrated from Illustrator I, on the other hand, migrated from Serif's DrawPlus. DP had a load of really good features that AD haven't yet adopted and one of them was being able to use a bitmap fill. These were all manner of textures like rock, wood, gravel, pebbles etc and I used many of these in geological drawings.

 

Is it possible to create bitmap thumbnails of various textures that could be expanded, as opposed to enlarged, to maintain a high resolution and apply to objects as a fill? I imagine the texture to be very large in size but cropped down to thumbnail size to fit a menu.

 

If someone wanted to draw a gear made of say beech wood, then they select the Beech fill and apply to the object and then expand or reduce the texture to the degree of resolution they so desire.

 

If this is not practical for AD developers then perhaps, working in conjunction with a third party company, textured plugins could be created for downloading. I know that there is no immediate plans for AD to use plugins but when there is would this be a feasible feature?

 

That goes back a few years!

Several times since then I have bemoaned the fact that AD is not as good as DrawePlus and I don't think it ever will.

I had a very lengthy dialogue with the developers on this thread. Below is a very brief synopsis of the conclusion.

The problem was that Serif wanted to produce a Mac version of their DP software but due to the differences between Windows and Mac OS the Mac version would not have some of DP features. Then they produced a Windows version to be like the Mac version which meant, even thought they had previously a very good Windows DP version, it would also not have the DP features in order to be compatible with the Mac version.

To me this is like being caught between a rock and a hard place.

 

If voting made any difference it wouldn't be allowed!

Rules are for the guidance of wise men and the obedience of fools.

To be ignorant of world happenings is forgivable - to be willingly ignorant is unforgivable.

Truth does not need to be protected only lies do.

Mac OS Monterey 12.6.4

AD version 2.3.0

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Can you give an example?

If voting made any difference it wouldn't be allowed!

Rules are for the guidance of wise men and the obedience of fools.

To be ignorant of world happenings is forgivable - to be willingly ignorant is unforgivable.

Truth does not need to be protected only lies do.

Mac OS Monterey 12.6.4

AD version 2.3.0

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2 hours ago, jackamus said:

The problem was that Serif wanted to produce a Mac version of their DP software but due to the differences between Windows and Mac OS the Mac version would not have some of DP features.

That is not the only or even the most important reason why they developed the Affinity range of software.

Among other things, they have explained that the old code had become so convoluted that it was almost impossible to add support for new features that the latest hardware products & OS versions are capable of that to do that they would have had to rewrite most of the code from scratch anyway.

Another reason is they wanted to develop a single unified native file format for all the products in the Affinity range, one that any of the apps could open without conversion or loss. They also revealed in the last keynote that StudioLink was from the beginning another design goal (& is why the product range was named "Affinity").

All 3 1.10.8, & all 3 V2.4.1 Mac apps; 2020 iMac 27"; 3.8GHz i7, Radeon Pro 5700, 32GB RAM; macOS 10.15.7
Affinity Photo 
1.10.8; Affinity Designer 1.108; & all 3 V2 apps for iPad; 6th Generation iPad 32 GB; Apple Pencil; iPadOS 15.7

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5 minutes ago, R C-R said:

That is not the only or even the most important reason why they developed the Affinity range of software.

Among other things, they have explained that the old code had become so convoluted that it was almost impossible to add support for new features that the latest hardware products & OS versions are capable of that to do that they would have had to rewrite most of the code from scratch anyway.

Another reason is they wanted to develop a single unified native file format for all the products in the Affinity range, one that any of the apps could open without conversion or loss. They also revealed in the last keynote that StudioLink was from the beginning another design goal (& is why the product range was named "Affinity").

I know all this and that is why I said is was a synopsis of the problem.

At the end of the day Serif had invented a really good wheel with old fashioned technology. Today they have used new technology to re-invent an inferior wheel. Is that progress?

If voting made any difference it wouldn't be allowed!

Rules are for the guidance of wise men and the obedience of fools.

To be ignorant of world happenings is forgivable - to be willingly ignorant is unforgivable.

Truth does not need to be protected only lies do.

Mac OS Monterey 12.6.4

AD version 2.3.0

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5 minutes ago, jackamus said:

At the end of the day Serif had invented a really good wheel with old fashioned technology

The wheel may have been really good in its day, but Serif were clearly finding it increasingly difficult to keep it turning smoothly.

7 minutes ago, jackamus said:

Today they have used new technology to re-invent an inferior wheel.

No, they have used new technology to create a more adaptable wheel with hugely more potential than the old one.

8 minutes ago, jackamus said:

Is that progress?

I think so, Jack, but you obviously don’t!

Alfred spacer.png
Affinity Designer/Photo/Publisher 2 for Windows • Windows 10 Home/Pro
Affinity Designer/Photo/Publisher 2 for iPad • iPadOS 17.4.1 (iPad 7th gen)

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Sorry Alfred. What do you expect me to say after being long standing user of DP and its features then moving over to a Mac and AD. with less features?  Am I being unreasonable?

If voting made any difference it wouldn't be allowed!

Rules are for the guidance of wise men and the obedience of fools.

To be ignorant of world happenings is forgivable - to be willingly ignorant is unforgivable.

Truth does not need to be protected only lies do.

Mac OS Monterey 12.6.4

AD version 2.3.0

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I have never understood the negative connotations associated with the "reinvent the wheel" metaphor.

The wheel has been reinvented countless times since it was first invented in antiquity, for example to improve its strength & durability, its traction, its ride comfort, & even for esthetic reasons.

Imagine if we were still driving cars outfitted with heavy medieval style wooden ox cart wheels, or the wooden spoked wheels with solid rubber tires that early cars used.

Advances in technology make reinventing things inevitable if not mandatory.

All 3 1.10.8, & all 3 V2.4.1 Mac apps; 2020 iMac 27"; 3.8GHz i7, Radeon Pro 5700, 32GB RAM; macOS 10.15.7
Affinity Photo 
1.10.8; Affinity Designer 1.108; & all 3 V2 apps for iPad; 6th Generation iPad 32 GB; Apple Pencil; iPadOS 15.7

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I can understand your frustration, Jack! I’d love to see Blend, Roughen and Perspective Tools in AD, as well as Dimension and Connector Tools, but there’s only so much typing that MattP and the other developers can do in a day.

08843493-711E-425D-9EB0-B8273A92D1E5.gif.08f60e83c88db54deebb4642dffde0e0.gif

Alfred spacer.png
Affinity Designer/Photo/Publisher 2 for Windows • Windows 10 Home/Pro
Affinity Designer/Photo/Publisher 2 for iPad • iPadOS 17.4.1 (iPad 7th gen)

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Yes I know its a logistical problem but that doesn't cut any ice with someone who feels slightly cheated!

If voting made any difference it wouldn't be allowed!

Rules are for the guidance of wise men and the obedience of fools.

To be ignorant of world happenings is forgivable - to be willingly ignorant is unforgivable.

Truth does not need to be protected only lies do.

Mac OS Monterey 12.6.4

AD version 2.3.0

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27 minutes ago, R C-R said:

I have never understood the negative connotations associated with the "reinvent the wheel" metaphor.

The wheel has been reinvented countless times since it was first invented in antiquity, for example to improve its strength & durability, its traction, its ride comfort, & even for esthetic reasons.

Imagine if we were still driving cars outfitted with heavy medieval style wooden ox cart wheels, or the wooden spoked wheels with solid rubber tires that early cars used.

Advances in technology make reinventing things inevitable if not mandatory.

Sorry I couldn't understand what you said through your mask!

If voting made any difference it wouldn't be allowed!

Rules are for the guidance of wise men and the obedience of fools.

To be ignorant of world happenings is forgivable - to be willingly ignorant is unforgivable.

Truth does not need to be protected only lies do.

Mac OS Monterey 12.6.4

AD version 2.3.0

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