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Posted

Hello,

Can anyone help me? I'm following the Udemy course with Jeremy Hazel and I've been trying to create the Neon intensity brush as shown in lesson 51 of section 4. For some reason I cannot get mine to look like Jeremy's. Firstly, when I click on the brush I've created to get its dialogue box, the edit section is very small whereas Jeremy's fills the whole box and I can't see how to expand it (screen shot 1) and when I use the pen tool, I can't get rid of the lines at the end of the brush (screen shot 2). Can anyone tell me what I'm doing wrong, please?

 

I hope I'm putting this in the right place to ask a question! Thanks for any help in advance.

 

Nick Walters

Screen shot 1 Intensity Brush.png

Screen shot 2 Intensity Brush in Use.png

Posted

Hi @Nicholas Walters,

Welcome to the Affinity Forums and I'm sorry to hear you're having trouble. My apologies for the delayed response here, we are extremely busy following our 1.10 update and working from home during the pandemic is unfortunately extending our response window to be longer than normal, many thanks for your continued patience and understanding here!

On 8/11/2021 at 2:28 PM, Nicholas Walters said:

I'm following the Udemy course with Jeremy Hazel and I've been trying to create the Neon intensity brush as shown in lesson 51 of section 4. For some reason I cannot get mine to look like Jeremy's

Unfortunately I don't personally have access to this course, nor have I followed this previously, so I'm going to require some more information to help here.

On 8/11/2021 at 2:28 PM, Nicholas Walters said:

Firstly, when I click on the brush I've created to get its dialogue box, the edit section is very small whereas Jeremy's fills the whole box and I can't see how to expand it (screen shot 1)

Without wanting to provide too much of the paid for course here - are you able to provide a screenshot of the result you're seeing in Jeremys tutorial? I'd like to compare this to your screenshot, to see if I can better understand the cause of this for you.

Are you using sample files provided by Jeremy, or are you creating this brush from scratch, using your own source files?

On 8/11/2021 at 2:28 PM, Nicholas Walters said:

when I use the pen tool, I can't get rid of the lines at the end of the brush (screen shot 2).

This may be due to the source image used or your brush settings, so I'd like to try resolving issue 1 first, then we can revisit this if it's still an issue for you!

Many thanks in advance :)

Posted
1 hour ago, Dan C said:

Without wanting to provide too much of the paid for course here - are you able to provide a screenshot of the result you're seeing in Jeremys tutorial? I'd like to compare this to your screenshot, to see if I can better understand the cause of this for you.

Jeremy's preview in this part of the dialog is wider or bigger (fills more of the area):

 

Untitled.png

-- Walt
Designer, Photo, and Publisher V1 and V2 at latest retail and beta releases
PC:
    Desktop:  Windows 11 Pro 23H2, 64GB memory, AMD Ryzen 9 5900 12-Core @ 3.00 GHz, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 

    Laptop:  Windows 11 Pro 23H2, 32GB memory, Intel Core i7-10750H @ 2.60GHz, Intel UHD Graphics Comet Lake GT2 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop GPU.
    Laptop 2: Windows 11 Pro 24H2,  16GB memory, Snapdragon(R) X Elite - X1E80100 - Qualcomm(R) Oryon(TM) 12 Core CPU 4.01 GHz, Qualcomm(R) Adreno(TM) X1-85 GPU
iPad:  iPad Pro M1, 12.9": iPadOS 18.3, Apple Pencil 2, Magic Keyboard 
Mac:  2023 M2 MacBook Air 15", 16GB memory, macOS Sequoia 15.0.1

Posted

Hello Dan,

Thanks for responding. Walt, above, has identified the problem - it is the red circled area that I don't seem to be able to size any bigger than this. I am not using anything download but followed along with instructions to create my own intensity brush. I have included a picture of what Jeremy displays on his screen. I took the photo with my iphone as I couldn't get a screenshot to display. The file will open in some sort of photo programme, I think although it may not display by default. I've also added a screenshot from a Youtube video covering this topic which shows the same difference. I guess one question is, is this now the default setting in Affinity Designer? (I'm using AD:1.100.1127).

 

Thanks, in advance, for any further assistance you can give.

 

Nick

Screenshot from Youtube.png

Jeremy Brush Editing Screenshot.HEIC

Posted

Thanks for confirming that and the screenshot provided! Does Jeremy provide any sample files for this project? Or how is the texture for the brush created originally?

The 'length' of the preview in the Brush Editor will simply depend on the file used to create the brush, the texture will be displayed as a scaled version of the image used to create the brush, whilst retaining the original aspect ratio of the .PNG.

If you follow the same steps as before, but create a much 'longer' PNG file for the brush texture, does this now look more similar to Jeremys tutorial for you please? :)

 

Posted
3 hours ago, Dan C said:

Does Jeremy provide any sample files for this project?

Yes, and using his PNG file the image preview in the brush editor is much smaller than in Jeremy's video on Udemy. Also, everyone who has provided screenshots in questions for that section of the course has the smaller previews. I wonder if it might have used an older release for that recording? I've sent him an email to ask, and also inquired about supplying his PNG file for you to play with. I'll need a Dropbox link if he says yes.

-- Walt
Designer, Photo, and Publisher V1 and V2 at latest retail and beta releases
PC:
    Desktop:  Windows 11 Pro 23H2, 64GB memory, AMD Ryzen 9 5900 12-Core @ 3.00 GHz, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 

    Laptop:  Windows 11 Pro 23H2, 32GB memory, Intel Core i7-10750H @ 2.60GHz, Intel UHD Graphics Comet Lake GT2 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop GPU.
    Laptop 2: Windows 11 Pro 24H2,  16GB memory, Snapdragon(R) X Elite - X1E80100 - Qualcomm(R) Oryon(TM) 12 Core CPU 4.01 GHz, Qualcomm(R) Adreno(TM) X1-85 GPU
iPad:  iPad Pro M1, 12.9": iPadOS 18.3, Apple Pencil 2, Magic Keyboard 
Mac:  2023 M2 MacBook Air 15", 16GB memory, macOS Sequoia 15.0.1

Posted

Hi Dan,

Thanks for pursuing this. Yes, there is a downloadable file provided, which I have. However, I decided to try to follow the instructions to make my own intensity brush. Nevertheless, even when I use the file provided by Jeremy, it still creates the same Brush Editing dialogue box with the short display at the bottom.

The brush is made by first  creating a new file with a black rectangle. Then, subsequent rectangles are placed one on top of the other, in decreasing sizes using a gaussian (sp?) blur effect until a neon image appears. This then exported as a PNG file, and brought back in to a new file in order to make a custom brush.

Thanks also to Walt for looking to this. As it seems that I'm not alone in this, is it best to assume that AD in its updates has been changed so the dialogue box now displays in this way? If that's what is, then that's what it is now ... but I was unsure because it seemed so different AND much more convenient to have a larger display there. Would it be worth it / possible to suggest to the developers to go back to that style?

 

Thanks,

Nick

  • Staff
Posted

Hi @Nicholas Walters
You are using a very short source image (width). Instead draw the original image quite a bit longer as if it was a line (or that image you already draw but repeated horizontally various times without gaps/ends in a continuous fashion) rather than a small stroke (long width, short height). Then try to create a brush from that image. It should work/display as you are expecting.

Posted

Hi MEB,

Thanks for your input. I have checked over the video lesson again, and Jeremy is using the Vector persona. He creates the neon brush on a 1000 x 1000 pixel file but it seems to work fine for him. I have just tried using a 1920 x 1080 but I still get the same results.

I'm clearly doing something wrong - I guess I just need to play around with more.

Nick

Posted
8 hours ago, Nicholas Walters said:

I'm clearly doing something wrong

I don't think so. I think Designer has just changed the way it displays things.

-- Walt
Designer, Photo, and Publisher V1 and V2 at latest retail and beta releases
PC:
    Desktop:  Windows 11 Pro 23H2, 64GB memory, AMD Ryzen 9 5900 12-Core @ 3.00 GHz, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 

    Laptop:  Windows 11 Pro 23H2, 32GB memory, Intel Core i7-10750H @ 2.60GHz, Intel UHD Graphics Comet Lake GT2 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop GPU.
    Laptop 2: Windows 11 Pro 24H2,  16GB memory, Snapdragon(R) X Elite - X1E80100 - Qualcomm(R) Oryon(TM) 12 Core CPU 4.01 GHz, Qualcomm(R) Adreno(TM) X1-85 GPU
iPad:  iPad Pro M1, 12.9": iPadOS 18.3, Apple Pencil 2, Magic Keyboard 
Mac:  2023 M2 MacBook Air 15", 16GB memory, macOS Sequoia 15.0.1

Posted
10 hours ago, walt.farrell said:

I don't think so. I think Designer has just changed the way it displays things.

I think it has not changed. Instead, like @MEB said, I think if the png is not very wide then its height sets how large it will be in the preview. IOW, it won't be stretched horizontally to fill more of the preview.

All 3 1.10.8, & all 3 V2.5.7 Mac apps; 2020 iMac 27"; 3.8GHz i7, Radeon Pro 5700, 32GB RAM; macOS 10.15.7
A
ll 3 V2 apps for iPad; 6th Generation iPad 32 GB; Apple Pencil; iPadOS 15.7

Posted
1 hour ago, R C-R said:

I think it has not changed. Instead, like @MEB said, I think if the png is not very wide then its height sets how large it will be in the preview. IOW, it won't be stretched horizontally to fill more of the preview.

But I have seen the Udemy lesson, and it displayed differently there, with a wider preview in that part of the dialog. And I have both used the same PNG that was used in the Udemy lesson, and created my own, and have gotten the result that Nicholas has shown us. So it is differently working differently, for me and for Nicholas and for several other students who have asked related questions on Udemy and have provided screenshots there.

-- Walt
Designer, Photo, and Publisher V1 and V2 at latest retail and beta releases
PC:
    Desktop:  Windows 11 Pro 23H2, 64GB memory, AMD Ryzen 9 5900 12-Core @ 3.00 GHz, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 

    Laptop:  Windows 11 Pro 23H2, 32GB memory, Intel Core i7-10750H @ 2.60GHz, Intel UHD Graphics Comet Lake GT2 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop GPU.
    Laptop 2: Windows 11 Pro 24H2,  16GB memory, Snapdragon(R) X Elite - X1E80100 - Qualcomm(R) Oryon(TM) 12 Core CPU 4.01 GHz, Qualcomm(R) Adreno(TM) X1-85 GPU
iPad:  iPad Pro M1, 12.9": iPadOS 18.3, Apple Pencil 2, Magic Keyboard 
Mac:  2023 M2 MacBook Air 15", 16GB memory, macOS Sequoia 15.0.1

Posted
32 minutes ago, MEB said:

@Nicholas Walters, @walt.farrell,
What's the course in question? Affinity Designer: The Complete Guide to Affinity Designer?

Yes, by Jeremy Hazel.

-- Walt
Designer, Photo, and Publisher V1 and V2 at latest retail and beta releases
PC:
    Desktop:  Windows 11 Pro 23H2, 64GB memory, AMD Ryzen 9 5900 12-Core @ 3.00 GHz, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 

    Laptop:  Windows 11 Pro 23H2, 32GB memory, Intel Core i7-10750H @ 2.60GHz, Intel UHD Graphics Comet Lake GT2 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop GPU.
    Laptop 2: Windows 11 Pro 24H2,  16GB memory, Snapdragon(R) X Elite - X1E80100 - Qualcomm(R) Oryon(TM) 12 Core CPU 4.01 GHz, Qualcomm(R) Adreno(TM) X1-85 GPU
iPad:  iPad Pro M1, 12.9": iPadOS 18.3, Apple Pencil 2, Magic Keyboard 
Mac:  2023 M2 MacBook Air 15", 16GB memory, macOS Sequoia 15.0.1

Posted

Hello MEB,

Yes, that's correct. I feel I should also say that I have found it to be an excellent course: very informative and well explained. My question arose because I was seeing something different when I used AD to what was being displayed in the lecture video not because I felt cheated or annoyed by the content / explanations. I would still highly recommend the course to another beginner such as myself.

Thanks,

Nick

  • Staff
Posted

Hi @Nicholas Walters,
Thanks for providing your source file. Regarding the preview being smaller in the Brush Editing window this is indeed related with the length of the source file as Dan C already said initially (and then I said/repeated after - sorry @Dan C didn't noticed you already pointed it out!) and is working as intended as far as I know/tested.

I'm aware some users are saying that the preview seen on video fills the whole preview area but are we absolutely sure it's the same file/brush? The screenshot of the video posted in the fourth post shows a totally different type of brush - not the neon one the user is trying to create - and certainly uses a different source file.

Regarding the weird lines at the ends and barely visible contour around the strokes when using the brush, they are caused by the white ends on the left and right sides of the source image you are using (and shared in your post above here). Make sure the area that touches the four edges of the image is all pure black. If you check the "black" values in your source image near the edges you will see it's not pure black but a very dark grey which is what creates the barely visible countour around the painted strokes as seen in the purple neon example you posted in your first post.

Posted

Hi MEB,

Thanks for your help with this. As to the white ends, that's extremely helpful - I will definitely go back in and have another go bearing that in mind.

Sorry to ask, but when you talk about the length of the source file, what exactly do you mean? The video uses a file layout of page width 1000px by page height 1000px. So if I choose a longer and narrower layout size, is this what you are referring to? If so, what width and height would you recommend? If not, then I don't really understand what you mean by a longer source file. Could you explain that in a little more detail.

 

Thanks,

Nick

 

Posted

Hi
As 'vector' brushes follow a path the height (Y) should really be less than the width (X)... I don't believe I have ever created a square nozzle for 'Vector' Brushes...

Following some ancient tutorials would leave you to believe that the ideal size was 2000 x height. Where height was partially dependant on the nozzle you are attempting to build. Personally, after a lot of practice you can get away with much less...I create a lot of vector brushes at 1000 x 300px max but....

NB
1. You can use the export options (0.5x) to make smaller nozzles!.. They can work just as well!
2. Design the brush image to be slightly smaller than the output size. i.e leave an empty border...This will help you control the 'Offsets'. giving you a bit more blank space to play around with

 

 

Affinity Version 1 (10.6) Affinity Version 2.5.7.2948  All (Designer | Photo | Publisher)   Beta; 2.6.0.3125
OS:Windows 10 Pro 22H2 OS Build 19045.5371+ Windows Feature Experience Pack 1000.19060.1000.0
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