Cannot apply filter to a simple shape

[CGK]

In Affinity Photo I created a star shape from the shape tool menu. I rasterized the layer and wanted to distort the shape, so I went to the filters menu and selected Distort and selected the Pinch/Punch filter and I got a little slider box which did nothing when the sliders were moved. I tried other filters from the same menu and nothing happened to my shape when I moved the sliders. This should be a simple function. I've looked online for the answer but couldn't readily find it, and I don't have time to spend hours searching through videos or topic threads. Could someone kindly tell me what I'm doing wrong? Thank you. 

[Ron P.]

Welcome to the forums @CGK,

Just a couple of notes,

1. Using the filters from the Filter Menu are destructive. Once applied they can not be changed.
2. Using those filters will require your vector shape to be rasterized. It might not matter, but just be aware of that, if you need to keep them as vectors.
3. Using Live Filters, are non-destructive. You can go back and make changes.
4. Using Live Filters do not require your vectors to be rasterized first.

Short video on how they work.

 

[R C-R]

@CGK, applying filters is working as expected for me so I am unsure why it is not for you. If possible, could you attach a sample file showing this issue to a post? (As a new forum member, you may not yet be able to attach files to your posts.)

If you can't yet do that, maybe download this rasterized star.afphoto file & see if you can apply filters to its single pixel layer. If you can, that may mean there is something wrong with the file you were testing with.

[Alfred]

6 minutes ago, R C-R said:

(As a new forum member, you may not yet be able to attach files to your posts.)

I think attachments are only disabled for a new member’s very first post. If that’s correct, the OP will be able to attach a file to a new post in this thread.

[h_d]

First you need to click your cursor in the centre of the distortion. Second you need to check the size of your star. If it's a lot larger than the maximum numerical pixel size on the lower slider in the dialog box (1024px), then pinch-punch will have little or no obvious effect. Third you need to ensure that the pinch or punch percentage value (top slider) is fairly extreme if you want to see any variation. Uncheck "Preserve Alpha" too if you're using the live filter, as below.

 

 

Video shows the effect after clicking on one tip of a purple supergiant star. Clicking in the middle of one of these hypergalactic monsters and then using pinch-punch will have little or no effect. 

You'll also have more luck applying the filter to a photographic image rather than a flat area of identically coloured pixels.

[R C-R]

2 hours ago, h_d said:

First you need to click your cursor in the centre of the distortion.

On my Mac I do not need to click anywhere on the layer to begin to see the distortion effect, but if I click & drag anywhere in the vicinity of that object the effect is much more noticeable.

However, like you said, the radius setting needs to be fairly large or there will be little or no visible effect.

[h_d]

Sorry, I didn't explain myself fully.

Using the Live Pinch/Punch Filter, if you don't click the mouse, the effect is applied by default in the centre of the image. Dragging and/or clicking in different areas moves the centre of the effect. If you click in the middle of a very large, single-colour object (bigger than 1024px), there will be no observable effect.

 

 

The small rectangle above is 1024px wide.

The effect is much more pronounced in a smaller photographic image:

 

 

 

But it may be more effective to use Liquefy Persona and a very large brush.

[R C-R]

7 hours ago, Hens said:

You can apply the same filter/adjustment again to make the effect stronger.

Or apply it multiple times, for example to pinch some parts of the target object & punch other parts of it.

It would be nice if the Radius wasn't limited to 1024 px max but such is life. 🤷‍♂️

[JimmyJack]

On 4/30/2022 at 12:13 PM, R C-R said:

Or apply it multiple times, for example to pinch some parts of the target object & punch other parts of it.

It would be nice if the Radius wasn't limited to 1024 px max but such is life. 🤷‍♂️

We can go waaaaay past 1024. It's just not going to register in the panel input field. 

Intended behavior or not, we can:
A) Use the on-screen key combo shift drag to change the radius. Use the info panel to track distance. Now you're only limited by your screen size and a single drag. Just for fun I went out to 30,000px (could've gone much further) and was only off by 4px.
B) the doubling up (or more) of the filter is fine. Just remember that it's a compounding effect: a 1000px punch over a 1000px punch does not equal a 2000px punch. It's a much different result.

or
C) If you want to go large with accuracy, start off with a simple number, say 1000px punch, make the filter a child of an object, increase the scale of that object, say x30, unparent. You now have an exact 30,000 px punch. And It's still mostly editable. The center point can be moved and the punch/pinch slider still works. But if you touch the radius slider then, of course, it snaps back to the 1024 panel limit.

If you want to keep track of the setting because it doesn't register in the panel, one could just rename the filter layer "30K px", or whatever. Small(ish) pita.

Point is we can get past the 1024 limit 🙂.

[R C-R]

1 hour ago, JimmyJack said:

A) Use the on-screen key combo shift drag to change the radius. Use the info panel to track distance. Now you're only limited by your screen size and a single drag. Just for fun I went out to 30,000px (could've gone much further) and was only off by 4px.

I could not make that work -- while I could drag to the edge of my screen, the effect on the canvas was no different from setting the radius to 1024 px. I must be doing something wrong, although I am not sure the distances on the Info panel are actually showing anything directly related to the radius.

[JimmyJack]

30 minutes ago, R C-R said:

I could not make that work -- while I could drag to the edge of my screen, the effect on the canvas was no different from setting the radius to 1024 px. I must be doing something wrong, although I am not sure the distances on the Info panel are actually showing anything directly related to the radius.

Are you dragging to the edge of your canvas or your screen? And if it's the canvas, is the edge of your canvas further away than 1024px from wherever you start the drag?

The D value in the info panel should be very very close to the radius value (until you hit 1024). After that the info panel is your only number guide.... you can eyeball it, of course, looking at the rulers.

[R C-R]

2 hours ago, JimmyJack said:

Are you dragging to the edge of your canvas or your screen? And if it's the canvas, is the edge of your canvas further away than 1024px from wherever you start the drag?

To the edge of the screen.

2 hours ago, JimmyJack said:

The D value in the info panel should be very very close to the radius value (until you hit 1024). After that the info panel is your only number guide.... you can eyeball it, of course, looking at the rulers.

The D value in the Info panel continues to increase even when I reach the edge of the screen, but there is no further change in the pinch/punch effect on the canvas. Does that happen for you?

Overall, it seems very buggy, not someything I would rely on to keep working even to the extent it does now.

[JimmyJack]

34 minutes ago, R C-R said:

To the edge of the screen.

The D value in the Info panel continues to increase even when I reach the edge of the screen, but there is no further change in the pinch/punch effect on the canvas. Does that happen for you?

Overall, it seems very buggy, not someything I would rely on to keep working even to the extent it does now.

Not sure why the punch doesn't continue for you.
Works very reliably for me.