affinity designer Infected & Comic Book Toolkit

[StuartRc]

Project Brush 36 Speed Ink
Added a new Brush set to this collection to try and speed up Sketch Inking. 
Relies on Distance and Direction in dynamics to control brush size with continued use
Also attempted to control the use of brush nozzle with direction.  

[StuartRc]

Comic Asset Palette Toolkit
5 colour swatch sections loosely based on DC Comic 1982 Vintage Swatch Set
For help with using the Style Selection Tool and pre-loading colours for editing multiple vector objects
An extension to existing palette
I have added these to resources under a common heading as I am sure I dcould do more of these
Added to Resources here

 

[StuartRc]

Template Assets and Tools
Template: Combined Mask and Panels
 Recreated the existing Masks and Panels for a hand drawn or sketch apprearance
40 A4 layouts that can be mixed and combined! Simplified the asset structure with just 2 grouped objects [Panel + Mask overlay]

Rectangular

Angular

[StuartRc]

Re-Coloured the Original Cover

[StuartRc]

Template Assets and Tools
Template: Combined Mask and Panels
with the new options being presented in the 2.6 Beta (Layout spreads and Pages etc.).. Been experimenting with Trifold version of the Template to create short Comic books. This is still W.I.P but have extended the hand sketched masks and panels to consider these options.

Much more flexible options!...as the limited samples below!

[Twolane]

Are any of these recent Assets/Masks available for download anywhere? Most of the links from the reference pages link back to this series of posts.

Never mind. I gave up wasting my time by searching.

[StuartRc]

Thanks!......

[Aikage]

On 12/20/2024 at 6:01 PM, Twolane said:

Are any of these recent Assets/Masks available for download anywhere? Most of the links from the reference pages link back to this series of posts.

Never mind. I gave up wasting my time by searching.

Can you help the rest of us out I am in the same boat. Would gladly pay if that's the issue? I find a thread that says they're in the resource thread I go to the resource thread and it links back to the post that says it's in the resource thread.  I feel like i'm losing my mind.

Edit: Unless the idea is to just load the two jpgs into the asset panel?

Edited December 30, 2024 by Aikage
try to look like less of an idiot ?

[StuartRc]

Template Assets and Tools Part III
Template: Combined Mask and Panels
Recreated the existing Masks and Panels for a hand drawn or sketch apprearance
60 (100) A4 layouts that can be mixed and combined! Simplified the asset structure with just 2 grouped objects [Panel + Mask overlay]
Added a 1% trap to block panels to allow mask to overlay each panel rarther than create a solid background
Attempted to add as much variety | flexibility as possible.
Panels are grouped rather than combined so it's easier to mix | combine panels together
A4 Mask forms can be combined to create extended spreads using different layouts


Irregular

[StuartRc]

On 12/30/2024 at 2:29 PM, Aikage said:

Can you help the rest of us out I am in the same boat. Would gladly pay if that's the issue? I find a thread that says they're in the resource thread I go to the resource thread and it links back to the post that says it's in the resource thread.  I feel like i'm losing my mind.

Edit: Unless the idea is to just load the two jpgs into the asset panel?

Interesting!...I don't believe I said that these components were available for download from this thread or resources...Largely because it's a W.I.P Template System it's not finished and it has to constantly evolve with changes made to the Affinity Suite (Especially now 2.6 beta has the capability of spreads with lots more potential!). I am still learning myself! As you can see from the latest renditions of the Hand Drawn Masks these elements have been significantly extended. The reasoning being that the 'Untamed' elements of this project needed something unique!. There are still options I need to consider..such as creating pattern cutters and combined shape elements.

Hand Drawn Masks
The hand drawn masks were a response to the addition of spreads in Publisher...I wanted to test the Comic Template against the addition of new features. The problem I found with spreads is that the integration of Column Guides into the spread is page orientated not spread orientated; meaning that the manipulation of margins | columns could not be easily aligned to the split in the page fold. Therefore I opted to create free and independent masks across the whole spread (3x A4 in this case!)..Although took longer to achieve....it opened a whole range of options to enhance the template stucture like extended panelling, unique layouts; combined masks across pages, grunge inserts, elaborate borders, et.al......

The newish Vector Flood Tool makes the process of creating or editing panels really easy. Just select the mask and add your panel with the tool...absolutely fantastic...really quick no pen drawing!😀. However. it does have some limitations in terms of the type of shape created and the option to extend a trap below the mask.. [Use the Contour Tool rather than expand by %age]other than that it is a fantastic tool and really efficient and usefull for this purpose. You can can direct a panel flow using the tool and different colours.  

Some aspects of the original template was available to Beta Testers a long time ago but this Toolkit has superseeded it and is much more comprehensive. Should I decide to make components available it will like many of the 1000's of resources I have already made freely! available will be added to resources in due course..or Not!..It is an example of 'Share Your Work' as it's a display of progress not a completed project!

I have made some sections of the tookkit available..Colours | Projects Brushes PB13, PB19, PB31 and some related vector textures. These panels are not even linked in resources yet!

[StuartRc]

Template Assets and Tools Part IV
Template: Combined Mask and Panels
100 hand drawn Vector Template and Mask combinations for Zines (210 x 210 bleed to edge)
Overlay Mask extended to bleed for 12mm Zine border (Could be omitted to include a background colour!)
Simplified the asset structure with just 2 grouped objects [Panel + Mask overlay]
Added a 1% trap to block panels to allow mask to overlay each panel rarther than create a solid background
Attempted to add as much variety | flexibility as possible.
Panels are grouped rather than combined so it's easier to mix | combine panels together
210 x 210mm Mask forms can be combined to create extended spreads using different layouts

12mm to compensate for perfect bound (5mm normal 12mm extended)
Edge fiiled the original masks so they counld compensate for the bleed

[Twolane]

Nice to look at, I guess.

[StuartRc]

Zine Image test Single Page (12 mm left | right edge 5mm min top | bottom)
Creature form Inktober 2018 'Jolt' but converted to vector with INK and Base Layer
Background texture from 'March of the Robots 2023'

[AffinityJules]

He seems to have a lot of moving parts with the added weight of an Elephant. 😄

[StuartRc]

12 minutes ago, AffinityJules said:

He seems to have a lot of moving parts with the added weight of an Elephant. 😄

He does...good job it's not orange at this stage!😀
It should really be my response to trolls instead of poor Lena (First image!)
I am making a green vector version!..So I can scale it !

[AffinityJules]

4 minutes ago, StuartRc said:

I am making a green vector version!..So I can scale it !

Now you've lost me!

I was under the impression that it was a vector drawing?

But heck, I know nothing at all about the 'V' word.

[StuartRc]

13 minutes ago, AffinityJules said:

Now you've lost me!

I was under the impression that it was a vector drawing?

But heck, I know nothing at all about the 'V' word.

It is mostly but some of the colouring was not...
The original was a mixed Vector (INK and Base) but created using vector brushes (Had to use them somewhere)..There were lots of gaps in the outline ink. So I rasterised the outline and filled in the spaces...So that I could recreate the base just using the 'Fill Holes' vector tool..Saves drawing around the thing again!
Then added some colour just using vectors (Pen this time!)
I just painted it for effect as it was just an image for the template test! The WIP is here:

[StuartRc]

Couldn't resist:

[AffinityJules]

Lol. . .taking the family out for a stomp and a stroll.

[StuartRc]

18 minutes ago, AffinityJules said:

Lol. . .taking the family out for a stomp and a stroll.

Yeah! from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue!😀

[StuartRc]

Template Assets and Tools Part V
Template: 210 x 210 Zine Borders

20 Vector Edge Borders including 3mm edge bleed
can be used as overlay masks
 

[StuartRc]

Template Test and mixing options

[StuartRc]

Template Test
Cover Spread 423 x 210 + 3mm Bleed (Flexible Spine at 3mm base [Vary to gms and Page numbers])
Spread Masters
Page Masters
Border Masks
 

[AffinityJules]

On 12/20/2024 at 9:08 PM, StuartRc said:

Re-Coloured the Original Cover

Looks like I missed one. 👍

[StuartRc]

On 5/12/2025 at 12:11 PM, AffinityJules said:

Looks like I missed one. 👍

It was used on the actual test template for Publisher V2 but it is a bit disproportionate for the A4 Template. i should really vector those dreds! they would make good alien tentacles! but that is just me!