How can I create this effect?

[Gnils89]

Hello all,
I saw this effect on the internet and would like to create it in Affinity Photo. Is this possible? If so, how can I create this effect? Thank you very much.

[Komatös]

Hi, @Gnils89and welcome to the forums.

Yes it is.

1. Use the pen tool and draw a line (set the draw mode to line, set a startpoint, hold the shift key, set the endpoint)
2. Change the line thickness to e.g. 28 pixels, at the bottom in the setting windos you'll find the Presure. Pull down the left or right handle, so it fits your needs.
3. Use ctrl + j for powercopy. Add a value > 30 pixel to the y-coordinate (at the transfom tab). 
4. Press ctrl + j again until an imaginary letter height is reached. After that, group the curve layers.
5. Use the Artistic text tool and type in the desired letter. A font with a black font face is useful.
6. Drag the group layer onto the text layer. The group should now be a child layer of the text layer.
7. Now, set the fill colour of the text layer to None.

 

 

[thomaso]

Not exactly the same but quick to try: (Live-)Filter > Colours > Halftone > Line …

[R C-R]

1 hour ago, thomaso said:

Not exactly the same but quick to try: (Live-)Filter > Colours > Halftone > Line …

Any idea why my Live Halftone filter window does not look like yours? It is wider; the Screen & Dot labels are misplaced; & it does not produce results that look like yours, either.

[thomaso]

1 hour ago, R C-R said:

Any idea why my Live Halftone filter window does not look like yours?

Not really. Concerning the window width and layout I assume a "simple" temporary rendering issue. I'd close the app or even reboot the mac (or reset the app in worst case).

You don't show your result, so just a hint: When I switched today to the "Line" option it started weird by showing only thin lines with identical width whereas the slider just altered their distance but not their thickness. After 'playing' with several settings and going back to "Line" it worked normally. So, a temporary issue, too.

[R C-R]

2 hours ago, thomaso said:

I'd close the app or even reboot the mac (or reset the app in worst case).

I have tried closing the app & rebooting the Mac but not resetting AP. No change, either in the window's appearance or the effect it produces.

[firstdefence]

2 hours ago, R C-R said:

I have tried closing the app & rebooting the Mac but not resetting AP. No change, either in the window's appearance or the effect it produces.

The halftone panels display fine on my mac and work ok too.

[NotMyFault]

7 hours ago, R C-R said:

Any idea why my Live Halftone filter window does not look like yours? It is wider; the Screen & Dot labels are misplaced; & it does not produce results that look like yours, either.

There are reports for Mac with 2 displays having issues to render UI consistent.

Can you share your exact Display settings / information?

Scaling active?
Using native resolution?

[Gnils89]

9 hours ago, thomaso said:

Not exactly the same but quick to try: (Live-)Filter > Colours > Halftone > Line …

Hello, if I apply this filter exactly like this, then I get the following result:

[PaulEC]

Try adjusting the Contrast and the Cell Size. You may need different settings to those shown in the screen grab. (You may also need to reverse the direction of the gradient and the size/position of the gradient relative to the letter.)

[Gnils89]

Many thanks for the video. Now it works wonderfully.

 

 

Edited June 6, 2022 by Gnils89

[PaulEC]

👍

[thomaso]

3 hours ago, Gnils89 said:

Hello, if I apply this filter exactly like this, then I get the following result:

Did you experience an issue before with the filter not working?

Unfortunately you did not show the filter panel. But to me it looks there is one applied but just covered by a second M on top of it. At least this thin straight lines in light gray make me assume a hidden object in the background:

[R C-R]

9 hours ago, NotMyFault said:

There are reports for Mac with 2 displays having issues to render UI consistent.

Can you share your exact Display settings / information?

Scaling active?
Using native resolution?

I don't use 2 displays or scaling, only the default for my iMac's display. Auto-adjust brightness, True tone, & Night Shift are all off. In System Prefs > Accessibility > Display, I use Reduce motion, Increase contrast, & Differentiate without color.

[thomaso]

13 hours ago, R C-R said:

I have tried closing the app & rebooting the Mac but not resetting AP.

And how about APub's Photo Persona? Same window appearance? Same filter settings result?

[R C-R]

15 minutes ago, thomaso said:

And how about APub's Photo Persona? Same window appearance? Same filter settings result?

Yes, for me it has the same appearance as in AP, just like in my earlier screenshot. Same extra width & dot/screen misplacement.

BTW, I tried resetting all the System Preferences > Accessibility options to the defaults, but that made no difference.

I wonder if somehow this has something to do with my running macOS Catalina, but that seems unlikely.

[thomaso]

7 minutes ago, R C-R said:

I wonder if somehow this has something to do with my running macOS Catalina, but that seems unlikely.

To me it seems currently the most likely reason because APub & APh use two different apps for Photo + different preferences / user folders, too.

Does it make a difference if you use this filter in its destructive version? (not as Live- layer)

[R C-R]

57 minutes ago, thomaso said:

Does it make a difference if you use this filter in its destructive version? (not as Live- layer)

The destructive version looks normal, but does not produce the same results as shown by others.

[NotMyFault]

8 minutes ago, R C-R said:

The destructive version looks normal, but does not produce the same results as shown by others.

Different Results? this would be serious (bug).

Can you provide example with exact parameters used ?

[thomaso]

1 hour ago, R C-R said:

I wonder if somehow this has something to do with my running macOS Catalina, but that seems unlikely.

I vaguely remember @Mark Oehlschlager is using Catalina, maybe he will pop-in with a Live-Filter > Colours > Halftone experience and/or screenshot of the window UI?

[R C-R]

1 hour ago, NotMyFault said:

Different Results? this would be serious (bug).

Can you provide example with exact parameters used ?

I will try that if someone provides an example *.afphoto file I can test with. Otherwise, I think I have already spent more time on this than I want to, since I do not use that filter very often.

[NotMyFault]

3 minutes ago, R C-R said:

I will try that if someone provides an example *.afphoto file I can test with. Otherwise, I think I have already spent more time on this than I want to, since I do not use that filter very often.

Well you said you observed differences. How can anybody else provide an example ? Cannot understand if someone states he found issues but then don’t provide required evidence.

[NotMyFault]

Just tested myself on gradient: there is a difference at the edges (unrelated to protect alpha)

PS.

@R C-R don’t know if the symptoms match yours, here are related bug reports:

https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/search/&tags=afp-4474

[thomaso]

44 minutes ago, NotMyFault said:

Just tested myself on gradient: there is a difference at the edges (unrelated to protect alpha)

Can you show? – "Protect Alpha" in the Halftone Filter?

I get a subtle, no fundamental difference, rather like less precision with the destructive filter version. (size 65, contrast 85). v1105 halftone filter.pdf
(funfact: the live filter affects special characters, too).

[NotMyFault]

Based on a simple black to white gradient, the edges get wrong for line and circle mode. 
try a line mode and increase size to max of 500. see how the edges are impacted. Try angle of 30 degree and inspect edges.

only live filter has protect alpha, but this has no visible impact.

tested on iPad.