Jump to content

macOS Designer: I can't "place" an image in designer and make it "stick".


Recommended Posts

    macOS Designer: Placed a half image of a pencil-drawn symmetrical object in Designer(as a reference). When I go to select the right half image, by dragging a marquee box with the move tool (so I can flip it, to make a whole object), the action of making a marquee selection grabs the placed image, which should be locked down. 

    So obviously, I don't know how to "lock down" the placed image. Hitting return doesn't do it. Clicking off the page doesn't do it. I could not find anything in Designer Help > Placing Content, etc, etc. I know it's gotta be something really simple! Help! Thanks!

 

44%22 Rect. Column.afdesign

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Staff

Hi @GVsculptor welcome to the forums,

If you want to make a selection of only part of the image to then flip, the Image layer needs to first be Rasterised (Right Click Layer > Rasterise) so it's pixel content can be manipulated.

You can then Highlight the Pixel layer > Draw out selection > Duplicate (Cmd + J) > Flip Horizontal. I've provided a link to your file below where I've done this.

 

44%22 Rect. Column.afdesign

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Welcome to the forums @GVsculptor

My first comment is that you have an Image layer within a Layer layer which is unnecessary (unless you have done it for a specific reason).

If you want to create a duplicate of the Image layer – one which is flipped horizontally – then you need to select the Image layer, duplicate it, then flip the duplicate.

However, the problem you have is that the Image layer does not contain any transparency so the duplicate will obscure the original layer.

To create the transparency you will need to remove the white pixels from the original Image Layer by Rasterising it and then using one or more of the Selection/Fill Tools to do that but the ‘best’ one(s) will need some experimenting with.

My attached video shows a very quick example of what you can do. There may be better methods.

The Rectangle Marquee Tool is probably the wrong tool to be using here as it’s for selecting pixels from a Pixel Layer and you don’t have one of those.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 hours ago, NathanC said:

Hi @GVsculptor welcome to the forums,

If you want to make a selection of only part of the image to then flip, the Image layer needs to first be Rasterised (Right Click Layer > Rasterise) so it's pixel content can be manipulated.

You can then Highlight the Pixel layer > Draw out selection > Duplicate (Cmd + J) > Flip Horizontal. I've provided a link to your file below where I've done this.

 

44%22 Rect. Column.afdesign 5.01 MB · 2 downloads

I'm not sure what a multiquote is, but it looks like I am replying to your answer. First, thanks for taking the time to answer my query. What you are suggesting is exactly what I was trying to do, but when I try to click and drag a marquee around the area I want to duplicate / flip, it grabs the whole imported image and moves it. I am unable to draw a marquee selection because of this. I see that you were able to do this easily, but I can't replicate it

It occured to me that I could do this in affinity photo, since the scan is a pixel document. The same exact thing happens in photo. What the %@$#$%@* is going on? I've done this 1000 times in Photoshop…

Again, NathanC, thanks for your help!

Screen Shot 2022-10-14 at 2.39.05 PM.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 hours ago, GarryP said:

Welcome to the forums @GVsculptor

My first comment is that you have an Image layer within a Layer layer which is unnecessary (unless you have done it for a specific reason).

If you want to create a duplicate of the Image layer – one which is flipped horizontally – then you need to select the Image layer, duplicate it, then flip the duplicate.

However, the problem you have is that the Image layer does not contain any transparency so the duplicate will obscure the original layer.

To create the transparency you will need to remove the white pixels from the original Image Layer by Rasterising it and then using one or more of the Selection/Fill Tools to do that but the ‘best’ one(s) will need some experimenting with.

My attached video shows a very quick example of what you can do. There may be better methods.

The Rectangle Marquee Tool is probably the wrong tool to be using here as it’s for selecting pixels from a Pixel Layer and you don’t have one of those.

GarryP, thank you for taking the time to make a video of your solution to my problem. I've played through your video twice, I think I understand most of what you did. I may have to watch it another time or two to get it completely. If you skim through NathanC's response, he is doing the selection/duplication/flipping exactly the way I tried to do it. He made it work, I have been unable to, which is weird because I've done this 1000 times in adobe Photoshop. Thanks for doing your bit to help me do what should be a very simple exercise. Again, thanks!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 hours ago, NathanC said:

Hi @GVsculptor welcome to the forums,

If you want to make a selection of only part of the image to then flip, the Image layer needs to first be Rasterised (Right Click Layer > Rasterise) so it's pixel content can be manipulated.

You can then Highlight the Pixel layer > Draw out selection > Duplicate (Cmd + J) > Flip Horizontal. I've provided a link to your file below where I've done this.

 

44%22 Rect. Column.afdesign 5.01 MB · 2 downloads

I forgot to add that I did rasterize the layer. (layer > rasterize). Did not make any difference. When I try to drag a marquee, the whole image gets shoved in the direction I am dragging, and no marquee is formed. No selection…

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Another approach without rasterizing the image:

1. Duplicate + Mirror the image.
2. Set the copy to blend mode Multiply.

To crop the result you can nest it (or both images layers if wanted) in an additional rectangle shape object.

44 Rect. Column_ot.afdesign

macOS 10.14.6 | MacBookPro Retina 15" | Eizo 27" | Affinity V1

Link to comment
Share on other sites

23 hours ago, thomaso said:

Another approach without rasterizing the image:

1. Duplicate + Mirror the image.
2. Set the copy to blend mode Multiply.

To crop the result you can nest it (or both images layers if wanted) in an additional rectangle shape object.

44 Rect. Column_ot.afdesign

Bingo! I can't say I fully understand the blend mode, but the multiply setting worked great! Bravo! Thanks for taking the time to help me out! Amazing to get help from someone in Cologne, a city with an enormous gorgeous cathedral! What a cool place to live! Thanks again…

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, GVsculptor said:

Bingo! I can't say I fully understand the blend mode, but the multiply setting worked great! Bravo! Thanks for taking the time to help me out! Amazing to get help from someone in Cologne, a city with an enormous gorgeous cathedral! What a cool place to live! Thanks again…

I should say I understand how blending works in layers (there's a great layer-blending section in affinity photo help). It's the description of the multiply blend mode that I find thoroughly confusing: "the blending result is a combination of the top and bottom color at each pixel position always producing a darker value." WHAAAT? Works though… thank you

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Quote

"Multiply" … WHAAAT?

In your example you can imagine the "Multiply" blend mode as two slides on top of each other.
Or: print your drawing on 2 transparent foils, then put one on top the other and flip the upper foil … the result of the two foils appears in "multiply" blend mode.

Unfortunately blend modes depend on the hierarchical layer order AND differ with the colour space of the document: RGB or CMYK. Whereas one is additive (none = black | All = white) while the other subtractive (0 = white). Or: RGB is made of light, CMYK is made of paint / ink. Or: RGB may appear "virtually" while the other may feel "real" (physically, haptically existent).

To me "Multiply" appears as the easiest blend mode (especially when working in CMYK page layout documents, not in RGB image editing). More important, in the PDF file format "Multiply" is a blend mode which does not require rasterisation for vector objects: two objects can get maintained as two objects – different to rasterisation in a PDF, where 2 objects are merged to 1 and can't get separated any more (which usually is not wanted for vector objects because it forces to a certain resolution / is not scalable without loss).

Or, (again in CMYK): Imagine white as empty paper = no color = 0, and any other color as > 0, with black as All colour = 1 (or 100 or 1000, just the maximum possible) then "Multiply" results at every pixel as the addition of both values, while any sum exceeding the maximum is ignored … like water filled in a glass: if the container is full, additional water doesn't fill the glass any further. Apropos water: mixing coloured water is like using "multiply".

If you wonder why it is called "multiply" – and not e.g. "add" or "overlay" (two other blend modes): It is related to a.) limited human vocabulary and b.) to the maths behind the modes to get displayed on a monitor and thus c.) to the RGB colour space.

A short illustrated article by Serif, comparing "Multiply" | "Overlay" | "Screen" for RGB: https://affinityspotlight.com/article/blend-modes-explained/

macOS 10.14.6 | MacBookPro Retina 15" | Eizo 27" | Affinity V1

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey Thomaso,

Thank you for your kind attention! I checked out the affinity spotlight article, which is quite good. I added it to the ongoing notes that I am making for designer. I have to deal with other stuff at the moment but I will delve back into it when I have time. Your knowledge of designer is awesome…

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Guidelines | We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.