Link Layers on Photo

[sooa]

So I'm doing this online course and the one explaining the lessons is using photoshop and illustrator, so I am trying to follow her using affinity, I did like her and made the tracing (curves) on designer then edited the colors and everything on photo. The problem is that she uses the link layers to edit colors, texture and paint the 'curves' (vector smart object) like this to give this effect:

https://ibb.co/D9qX8fx

https://ibb.co/LtGxcPC

I already tried everything and couldn't give the same effect using affinity, is there any tool similar to the one she is using? I can't link layers, they only turn into groups

Edited January 23, 2022 by sooa

[Ron P.]

Welcome to the forum @sooa,

From what I can recall about PS, Linked Layers are the same as Groups in Affinity Photo and Designer. Also in Designer, there's Layer layers, which are similar to a Group, but you can also Group the Layer layers.

Easiest way to answer this, is what do you achieve, what's the result of Linking layers in PS? You can move, resize, several layers together without having to merge or flatten them. What is the result when you Group layers in Affinity? You can move and resize among other things, several layers together.

So without being able to view the tutorial you're referring to, I'm going guess when the instructor says to link the layers, just Group them.

[sooa]

1 hour ago, Ron P. said:

Welcome to the forum @sooa,

From what I can recall about PS, Linked Layers are the same as Groups in Affinity Photo and Designer. Also in Designer, there's Layer layers, which are similar to a Group, but you can also Group the Layer layers.

Easiest way to answer this, is what do you achieve, what's the result of Linking layers in PS? You can move, resize, several layers together without having to merge or flatten them. What is the result when you Group layers in Affinity? You can move and resize among other things, several layers together.

So without being able to view the tutorial you're referring to, I'm going guess when the instructor says to link the layers, just Group them.

thank you for your answer

I wish I could explain it better but english is not my first language so I get confused and don't want to confuse you

but the basic is that she clicks 'alt' to link the layers and the brush painting only affect those 2 layers linked, so she can paint the curves (smart vector/tracing) in a new layer that is linked with the curves, when I create a new layer and group with the curves or the layer that I want to paint on photo it paints everything and not only the two selected layers.

I wish I could show you the tutorial but it's not in a free plataform so I don't think it's legal, but it's not group the layers, she wants to change the colors of two elements in a safe way, she creates a new layer above the one she wants to affect and clicks Alt and then she uses the brushes in that one new layer and she does the same thing in the curves.

Like in the print screen, the 'Layer 21' is linked to 'FLOR 3' (she clicked Alt)

the other example:

the final result is this:

too confusing?

 

[telemax]

The down arrow in PS is a clipping mask. This is what it looks like in AP: 

https://youtu.be/CBl20YGZRTk

 

[Ron P.]

3 hours ago, telemax said:

The down arrow in PS is a clipping mask. This is what it looks like in AP: 

https://youtu.be/CBl20YGZRTk

 

By sooa's description in the first post, Linked Layers are not clipping masks, they're more like Groups and now that I looked it up, they're like Affinity's Layer layers.

When sooa posted about how the layer is used, yes, what is being used in the tutorial is Clipping Masks not Linked Layers.

[sooa]

9 hours ago, Ron P. said:

By sooa's description in the first post, Linked Layers are not clipping masks, they're more like Groups and now that I looked it up, they're like Affinity's Layer layers.

When sooa posted about how the layer is used, yes, what is being used in the tutorial is Clipping Masks not Linked Layers.

no, it's not clipping masks, I tried that too, forgot that there are eng subtitles, here the print screen when she first uses it

Edited January 24, 2022 by sooa

[Ron P.]

See the arrow pointing down? That indicates a clipping mask. Linked Layers in PS, has a Chain Link icon associated with it.

The brush painting only affecting 2 of the layers, shows she's using a Clipping Mask, which in Affinity is just a Mask, or can be Clipping Masks.

Done more digging, and it's possible the tutor is just Linking the Layer Mask to the image or object being masked. Clipping (mask) in Affinity behaves in this manner. Maybe the following tutorial will help explain this.

Masking vs Clipping Layers in Affinity Photo.

 

[sooa]

1 hour ago, Ron P. said:

See the arrow pointing down? That indicates a clipping mask. Linked Layers in PS, has a Chain Link icon associated with it.

The brush painting only affecting 2 of the layers, shows she's using a Clipping Mask, which in Affinity is just a Mask, or can be Clipping Masks.

Done more digging, and it's possible the tutor is just Linking the Layer Mask to the image or object being masked. Clipping (mask) in Affinity behaves in this manner. Maybe the following tutorial will help explain this.

Masking vs Clipping Layers in Affinity Photo.

 

thank you, I'm going to check the video to understand better

[sooa]

another question: is it possible to paint the stroke shape using clipping mask? because when I do, it paints inside the shape, but I want to paint the stroke but with several colors not only one, add some highlights, to look like in the flower example above.

[Ron P.]

I apologize, I need to clarify, are you using Affinity Photo or Designer?

 

 

[sooa]

21 hours ago, Ron P. said:

I apologize, I need to clarify, are you using Affinity Photo or Designer?

 

 

I'm using both, but to edit I use mostly Photo

[Ron P.]

Thank you for the reply.

With Photo, you would use a Layer Mask. Painting on Layer Masks however is done only in grayscale, no colors. I'm just guessing, not being able to really see what the tutorial is showing, but you might be able to use a Pixel Layer, paint your colors on it, then using a Layer Mask, Mask out the areas you don't want the colors to show.

You might want to look through some of the YouTube videos on Affinity Photo Layer Masks

[sooa]

23 hours ago, Ron P. said:

Thank you for the reply.

With Photo, you would use a Layer Mask. Painting on Layer Masks however is done only in grayscale, no colors. I'm just guessing, not being able to really see what the tutorial is showing, but you might be able to use a Pixel Layer, paint your colors on it, then using a Layer Mask, Mask out the areas you don't want the colors to show.

You might want to look through some of the YouTube videos on Affinity Photo Layer Masks

thank you

I was able to screen record what I'm trying to explain, can I send you in private? it's a really short video