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Combining multiple shapes Boolean


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Hi,

I’m trying to get the colored lines to end at the edge of the what is now the yellow circle and be one shape. (Basically masking the colored lines with the shape of the arc, so my final shape is a rectangle with a curved end, made up of the 5 colored rectangles) 

I thought by selecting all the colored lines (which are rectangle shapes) and also select the circle, that if I tap one of the Boolean functions I will get the result I’m looking for. However it is not working. It does work though with just two shapes. See the screenshots below of the blue rectangle being added to the grey rectangle, it all becomes one shape. 
 

What am I doing wrong?

Thanks for your help!

 

 

1FBDB56B-86F5-4965-9A3C-07AB08036329.jpeg

508B4B48-22EA-4037-8A24-9201CB7492EF.jpeg

FE9C6271-F026-446D-86C1-B24129731144.jpeg

Edited by PlayingCards
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Hello. Would pasting all the stripes (as a group perhaps) inside the rounded bullet shape not work for you here?

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Words are crude implements, difficult to get perfect, easy to get tied in knots with, and often - usually - misunderstood, which is why 'tolarence' is the best word of all.

The word "professional" fits us all - amateur, semi-pro, beginner, advanced, middle, beyond it all, and on....., because professionals are tolerant.

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Select all coloured layers and drag them over the circle layer. This will clip rather colours to the shape of the circle.

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Affinity Photo 1.10.5 Affinity Design 1.10.5 
Affinity Publisher 2, Affinity Designer 2, Affinity Photo 2 and betas.

Official Online iPad Help documents (multi-lingual) here: https://affinity.https://affinity.help/ 

 

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Create a yellow rectangle the same width as the yellow circle and add the two shapes together (as you did with the blue rectangle and the grey circle). Group the five coloured rectangles and position the yellow shape on top of the group. Make the group the same width as, and at least as tall as, the yellow shape. In the Layers Studio, drag the group layer and drop it onto the yellow shape layer to clip the coloured rectangles to that shape.

AA4778BC-EC72-45F5-A8BE-25563B4C3B94.jpeg

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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Wot they said 😁😁.

It's the same as wot I said, but mine uses the menus to achieve it instead.

I've found dragging something over another layer does not always behave as expected. Doing it via the menu IS 100% predictable however.

And it's easy to edit the contents (the stripes) after pasting inside via menus (or dragging) - simply select the layer that's created under the layer with the mask (rectangle with a circular top) on it.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Words are crude implements, difficult to get perfect, easy to get tied in knots with, and often - usually - misunderstood, which is why 'tolarence' is the best word of all.

The word "professional" fits us all - amateur, semi-pro, beginner, advanced, middle, beyond it all, and on....., because professionals are tolerant.

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1 minute ago, ProDesigner said:

I've found dragging something over another layer does not always behave as expected.

I find it completely predictable, but if you’re using a finger instead of a stylus it can be hard to see whether or not you’re dropping an object onto the thumbnail on the target layer.

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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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2 hours ago, Alfred said:

dropping an object onto the thumbnail

Ah.. there's the nuance one doesn't have to know, or worry about, when using menus.

I hadn't absorbed that there's two drop zones on the layer representation in the studio. Now I've had this nuance highlighted... it'll be a different story.

So newbies: the really clear instruction is: "drop on the thumbnail on the layer"., not just 'on the layer'... to paste inside.  << Edited: see below

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Words are crude implements, difficult to get perfect, easy to get tied in knots with, and often - usually - misunderstood, which is why 'tolarence' is the best word of all.

The word "professional" fits us all - amateur, semi-pro, beginner, advanced, middle, beyond it all, and on....., because professionals are tolerant.

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11 minutes ago, ProDesigner said:

So newbies: the really clear instruction is: "drop on the thumbnail on the layer"., not just 'on the layer'... to paste inside.

That’s the wrong way around! Dropping a shape onto the thumbnail of the target layer (on iPad or desktop) crops/masks the target to that shape. The ‘Paste Inside’ command achieves clipping/nesting, which you would do via the Layers panel by dropping the other layer onto the shape’s label area on iPad, or below and to the right of the thumbnail on desktop.

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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Hum... OK. No wonder it's "unpredictable" for me, there's a whole set of nuances I'm confused by here.

I'll have to spend time playing in order to get my head around it. Thanks @Alfred.

Of course the OP could still achieve what they want by Pasting inside. That's correct advice.

(I've edited my comment above to recognize this and hopefully not confuse anyone else following this thread seeking answers.)

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Words are crude implements, difficult to get perfect, easy to get tied in knots with, and often - usually - misunderstood, which is why 'tolarence' is the best word of all.

The word "professional" fits us all - amateur, semi-pro, beginner, advanced, middle, beyond it all, and on....., because professionals are tolerant.

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2 hours ago, ProDesigner said:

I hadn't absorbed that there's two drop zones on the layer representation in the studio.

 

 

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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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7 hours ago, ProDesigner said:

Hum... OK. No wonder it's "unpredictable" for me, there's a whole set of nuances I'm confused by here.

Try this...

 

Clipping vs Masking v2.pdf

44FB9A13-80C1-4EB2-BDFE-E8B6B3DA7918.jpeg

M1 IPad Air 10.9/256GB   lpadOS 17.1.1 Apple Pencil (2nd gen).
Affinity Photo 1.10.5 Affinity Design 1.10.5 
Affinity Publisher 2, Affinity Designer 2, Affinity Photo 2 and betas.

Official Online iPad Help documents (multi-lingual) here: https://affinity.https://affinity.help/ 

 

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I thought about posting that very thing @DM1, strangely. It's a great graphic, and while it'll help others, it wasn't the thing confusing me.

I've used masks & clipping paths for.. a long time, so feel I may understand a thing or two about them.

My problem was understanding the behaviour resulting from dragging over a Group vs a Shape vs a Curve + onto the thumbnail vs not. That's 6 combinations / levers to pull - it felt a bit mind boggling.

I've done a quick matrix (below).

Column A
= Dragging the silhouette (Group, Shape and Curve) over the thumbnail of the stripey box (a group btw).
Always produces a mask.

  • Thing to note:  the stripey square ends up ungrouped. (Green with the result opened shows this clearly). This irritates the heck out of me as I'm inevitably dragging groups into the silhouette. I don't understand the logic of breaking up the group here, but hey, it's what it does.
  • Another note: it changes the name of the layer to 'Group'. I'm in the habit of naming my layers, so having the name wiped is also unhelpful.
  • The advantage of masking is clear in box 1... a set of shapes (objects) overlaid will act as one silhouette. No need to Boolean (Add, subtract, convert to curves etc.,). It's powerful and I'm sure for the vast majority of people, this is the route they'll find the most useful.

Column B
= Dragging the stripey block instead, and NOT over the thumbnail.
Creates either a bigger group, or a clipping path

(It's more consistent than I feared which is good. Now I've methodically investigated the nuances of shape vs curve vs... and to thumb or not, etc.,, it's all less boggling.)

  • Thing to note: you'll probably have to Boolean shapes, because your silhouette needs to be a single object or curve. This is how I work all the time so it's a natural part of my workflow.
  • Another note: if you're not entirely familiar - box 4... is a group - no masking or clipping occurs. The stripey box has simply become part of the group. It hasn't broken up after being dragged, but sits logically among the other members of the group.
  • Advantage: the silhouette (clipping path / curve) still plays a role visually, retaining its background fill and stroke. This is why it's good to think of it as pasting things inside another shape/curve. To edit the curve, just select the containing layer (showing the whole shape) and work with it as you would with any shape or curve. I think I've even Boolean'd after pasting inside and the app coped admirably (Which hasn't been the case with other apps). I'm sure you can see the creative possibilities.

So 1, 2 & 3 = Masked layer;  4 = bigger group; 5 & 6 = Clipped layer ("clipping path" / "pasted inside").

Untitled.jpg.1c5ecda35a71e4084ad69ff19de17824.jpg

There's no right or wrong about which method to use here.

Given @PlayingCards had Boolean'd their circle and rectangle into one curve (as far as I could tell) it seemed logical to me to suggest pasting inside. It matters not, which method though.

I prefer working with clipping paths myself, because I'm usually working with complex curves where a collection of shapes just don't cut-it, and I dislike the way creating a mask messes with groups and layer names. That's just my preference, clipping paths suits the way I happen to work. Doesn't mean I'm doing anything better than, or the right way where other's are doing it the wrong way. Nope, not the case at all.

I hope I've set out something helpful to others reading this.

 

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Words are crude implements, difficult to get perfect, easy to get tied in knots with, and often - usually - misunderstood, which is why 'tolarence' is the best word of all.

The word "professional" fits us all - amateur, semi-pro, beginner, advanced, middle, beyond it all, and on....., because professionals are tolerant.

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