Invert Cut files to stencils

[Nadine76]

 

I work with cut files (svg files) with a plotter. There are 2 uses there, cutting foil and sticking it somewhere or cutting something out (for example from paper). In my example image you can see the different formats with the same image. Does anyone have any idea how I can get from the first to the second graphic in Affinity Designer without having to redraw everything? There must be a simple workaround. 

Thank you very much! 

Edited February 15, 2023 by Nadine76

[NotMyFault]

In principle, create a big rectangle shape, put it as bottom layer below, and use geometry subtract.

you may need to exclude some shapes like eyes which differ.

[GarryP]

Welcome to the forums @Nadine76

To expand a little on what has already been suggested, you could try this...

Note: Expand Stroke is only available in Designer.

1. Select all of the shapes;
2. Menu “Layer → Expand Stroke” – to produce some Curve/Curves layers;
3. Menu “Layer → Geometry → Add” – to produce one Curves layer;
4. Draw a Rectangle which covers the added-together shapes;
5. Drag the added-together shapes above the Rectangle in the Layers Panel;
6. Select the added-together shapes and Shift-select the Rectangle;
7. Menu “Layer → Geometry → Subtract”;
8. Menu “Layer → Geometry → Separate Curves”;
9. Delete the ‘outer’/unwanted shape(s).

See attached video.

Important: This might, or might not, work; the result will be very much dependant upon the original design.

Note: Your original fish design (the one on the left of your example) seems to have lot of ‘superfluous’ curves – tiny curves which don’t seem to add anything to the design – which may need to be removed before you use the technique above.

[v_kyr]

Since I don't use ADe V2 had first to look what that Koi might look like at all here (on V1 can either way only open a thumb preview of that) ...

Handling such outlined (not single centerline stroked) drawings is always a little bit difficult in ADe.

The approach I used therefor is, I vectorized (autotraced) the initial left side koi with a tracing tool, one time in order to get an outline trace and another time to get a black filled silhoutte of that. So the outline is just an outlined white none-stroke-like curves one no fill and the silhouette is a full black shape here. -  Afterwards I finetuned the eye parts and those fish whiskers (...don't know how those are called in english, if whiskers or antennae) parts since those didn't autotraced that well from the small thumb image.

• koi_single_vectorized.pdf   (outline)
• koi_sil_vectorized.svg        (silhouette)
•  koi_single_vectorized.svg  (centerline trace, not used this time)

Here's a slightly better all in one trace which can be inverted in ADe (just swap stroke & fill color) ...

• koi_for_ade.pdf

• koi_ade.afdesign

You have to finetune the eyes and whiskers yourself here.

[Nadine76]

Thank you for your advice. That helped a lot!!