Affinity Photo Paths

[greencode]

I have been looking at moving away from Photoshop and Illustrator so downloaded the trials to see if I could do what I usually do in Photoshop, in Affinity. The one - what I feel is very basic - thing is that of paths. I often have a photo that I need to create a path, select that path and remove the subject from the background saving the clipping path for future use. From what I can see and have had a look around the web, this isn't possible in Affinity. You can create the path and select it but then once you have done this then the "(Curve)" disappears from the layers panel.

Is that correct? Thanks in advance for any guidance. 

[loukash]

20 minutes ago, greencode said:

I need to create a path, select that path and remove the subject from the background saving the clipping path for future use.

You can create as many curves ("paths") in Affinity apps and use them as "clipping paths" as you want. Hundreds, thousands, millions of them if needed.

21 minutes ago, greencode said:

You can create the path and select it but then once you have done this then the "(Curve)" disappears from the layers panel.

What exactly are you trying to accomplish? Which commands are you using?
There are scenarios where a curve "disappears", e.g. when using destructive boolean operations.

[greencode]

6 minutes ago, loukash said:

You can create as many curves ("paths") in Affinity apps and use them as "clipping paths" as you want. Hundreds, thousands, millions of them if needed.

What exactly are you trying to accomplish? Which commands are you using?
There are scenarios where a curve "disappears", e.g. when using destructive boolean operations.

Hi, I'm opening a photo, using the Pen Tool to create the path which then appears as a Curve in the layers. I'm then clicking "Selection" to highlight that Curve so I can cut out from the background. That's when the Curve disappears from the layers so presume that's what I'm doing wrong but don't know how to highlight a Curve.

[loukash]

7 minutes ago, greencode said:

I'm then clicking "Selection"

The "Selection" button converts a curve to a "marching ants" selection. So this is expected behavior.

9 minutes ago, greencode said:

don't know how to highlight a Curve

I'd strongly suggest that you have a look at the tutorials first…
affinity.serif.com/en-gb/tutorials/photo/desktop

[iconoclast]

Hi greencode!

This might be a helpfull link for you.

[greencode]

Thanks @iconoclast and @loukash for your help. I think I need to go away and go over some tutorials. 

[iconoclast]

1 hour ago, greencode said:

Thanks @iconoclast and @loukash for your help. I think I need to go away and go over some tutorials. 

This path-thing isn't really clear to me too. But it seems that you just need to duplicate the path-layer, before you make a selection outoff it, to keep it.

[loukash]

45 minutes ago, iconoclast said:

This path-thing isn't really clear to me too

The thing is that coming from Adobe workflows, it's in fact better to forget everything you believed to know and start afresh. Affinity apps are no Adobe clones. Some workflows are deliberately designed to be different. It takes time to get rid of the Schmadobe indoctrination, especially if it was in place for a few decades.

Been there done that…

[iconoclast]

21 minutes ago, loukash said:

The thing is that coming from Adobe workflows, it's in fact better to forget everything you believed to know and start afresh. Affinity apps are no Adobe clones. Some workflows are deliberately designed to be different. It takes time to get rid of the Schmadobe indoctrination, especially if it was in place for a few decades.

Been there done that…

At least they were the inventors of digital image editing. But they have become too big and too greedy - like many other profiteers of the digital revolution (Google, Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft...).

I think it would violate laws to just clone Photoshop. And it would prevent some innovation. Moreover every software-developer keeps his secrets. Even if it always causes a lot of habituation and learning to change from one software to another, it is often worth it, as we can see in this case. And probably even the Photoshop-users and others benefit from the competition.

[MEB]

Hi @greencode,
Welcome to affinity Forums
This is indeed possible. Do the following: draw you path with the Pen Tool as usual, after you finish, select the path layer in the Layers panel and give it a fill colour (any colour will do but it must be filled - the filled area is what will be used as a mask). Then with the path layer above the image layer in the layers panel, right-click on the path layer and select Mask to Below (or alternatively drag the path layer over the thumbnail of the image layer in the Layers panel until you see a blue marker on the right edge of the thumbnail and drop it there). The vector path is now being used as a vector mask (the background should become invisible at this point).

Export to PSD and you will see vector mask nested to the image layer in Photoshop as well. Select that layer there and you should see the path in the Paths panel were you can manipulate as you wish.

[greencode]

On 8/13/2021 at 7:06 PM, MEB said:

Hi @greencode,
Welcome to affinity Forums
This is indeed possible. Do the following: draw you path with the Pen Tool as usual, after you finish, select the path layer in the Layers panel and give it a fill colour (any colour will do but it must be filled - the filled area is what will be used as a mask). Then with the path layer above the image layer in the layers panel, right-click on the path layer and select Mask to Below (or alternatively drag the path layer over the thumbnail of the image layer in the Layers panel until you see a blue marker on the right edge of the thumbnail and drop it there). The vector path is now being used as a vector mask (the background should become invisible at this point).

Export to PSD and you will see vector mask nested to the image layer in Photoshop as well. Select that layer there and you should see the path in the Paths panel were you can manipulate as you wish.

Hi @MEB Thanks for this. Really useful. However, I'm stuck on the very first part! I've created a path with the Pen Tool which has then created the "Curve" layer which I have selected (the path isn't marching ants though). I then go to Fill with Primary Colour but nothing happens?!

[PaulEC]

Hopefully this may help (obviously you need to be more accurate using the Pen Tool!)

[greencode]

24 minutes ago, PaulEC said:

Hopefully this may help (obviously you need to be more accurate using the Pen Tool!)

Perfect. Thanks so much for this. Got it working now. Didn't see that "Use Fill" checkbox and instead did Edit > Fill… which is why I couldn't get it working. 

Really appreciated everybody'd help with this. I'm determined to learn both this and Designer so I can move away from Adobe.

[David in Яuislip]

Try the Mask button?

[R C-R]

8 hours ago, David in Яuislip said:

Try the Mask button?

The mask button works well for this but somewhat counterintuitively it is only available when the Pen Tool is selected, & only works with "(Curve)" & "(Curves)" objects, not with quick shapes like ellipses or cogs, or text. Of course, shapes & text can be converted to curves, but it would be nice if that extra step was not needed.

[David in Яuislip]

12 hours ago, R C-R said:

but somewhat counterintuitively it is only available when the Pen Tool is selected

Yes, I noticed this yonks back and was going to make a feature request "Path and Node Context Menus should be the same" but it seems to have slipped my mind