How do you choose colors to gradient from image or some other source?

[Samsonite]

90% of my frustration is because I don’t seem to be learning how to choose colors at all.

For example, if I want to make a gradient with three colors, I can probably do it in seconds in any other program, but I just don’t learn this Affinity logic at all.

So could someone kind soul tell me how in the world I make a gradient with the three colors I want which I choose from the image I have on layer below

[PaulG]

Hi Samsonite,
There is a button called Insert under the colour swatch. In your screenshot it's hidden by the colour picker dialog .

 

Clicking that will add a new node/stop to the right of the currently selected one (if you have the right most one selected the button will be disabled because there's no space further right to add a new one).

Select the new node (though it is probably already automatically selected) and you can use the dropper to pick a colour from the image or use the colour picker dialog to select the desired colour.

[loukash]

7 hours ago, Samsonite said:

I just don’t learn this Affinity logic at all

Forget the awkwardly nested small toolbar popup windows.

Edit the gradient directly on the canvas with the Fill tool that you have already active.
Watch the info bar at the bottom of the window for interactive hints, depending on where you're hovering with the Fill tool pointer.
Add/select/move/remove gradient stops directly on the canvas gradient graph, apply colors from your Color or Swatches panel.

To keep a gradient editable, use either a Fill layer or a vector shape whenever possible, rasterize them only as a last resort.

[R C-R]

5 hours ago, loukash said:

Edit the gradient directly on the canvas with the Fill tool that you have already active.
Watch the info bar at the bottom of the window for interactive hints, depending on where you're hovering with the Fill tool pointer.

As with many other tools, the Fill Tool pointer also changes as it is moved over different parts of the work, so for example it changes to a white arrow shape with a plus symbol next to it when the pointer is over the path of the gradient, indicating that a click there will add a new stop.

It also supports a full set of arrows to indicate how dragging stops or midpoints can be done.

[Samsonite]

I must be stupid, but I just do not understand how am I supposed to get the colors that i want. 

a) I have image where I want to take the colors I like to my gradient
b) I have 2 kinds off gradient tools (the one in the upper corner that cannot be moved for some reason) and the other called "Fill tool" but either do not have color selecting pipettes (there is pipette button in colour panel, but it is not pipette or not working).

 

 

 

[PixelPest]

It's click+hold+drag from the pipette to the place you want the color picked from. it then appears in the little circle right to the pipette - click there to make the change happen:

And you can insert a new stop by clicking onto the gradient "line" itself.

[GarryP]

In addition to the advice above, I’ve attached a quick video showing one way to pick colours from the image to use in a gradient fill.
Note that I first select (or create) the gradient stop that I want to use, then drag the colour picker to the colour I want for that gradient stop, and then click on the colour picker ‘well’ to select that picked colour.
It’s similar to PixelPest’s method above but using the Colour Panel instead of the pop-up (both are valid options, just choose the one you like using most).

[Samsonite]

Thank you both for your perseverance, now I finally understood how to do it.

[PixelPest]

Case closed by Samsonite methinks. 😅

[R C-R]

4 hours ago, LondonSquirrel said:

It's a dropper icon so it should have dropper behaviour.

It is not obvious but its icon is a dropper (pipette) plus the small color well next to it. So it does not really have the same icon as the Color Picker Tool.

Functionally, it is a simpler tool than the Color Picker Tool, lacking any context toolbar options. It has just two behaviors, one to load the small color well with a color via dragging it & the other to apply the color in the small well to something via clicking on it.