export: are all layers rasterised BEFORE resizing???

[marcus.fehse]

NOT new to photo2 but still there: i often use the export persona to export one motif to different sizes (and file formats).  i’m not sure if my expectations are wrong but i would reduce all layers to one (rasterize) BEFORE resizing the image.  BUT it feels like affinity photo resizes before rasterising.  hopefully for a good reason or two!

in the past i had to adjust the alignment of some highres panoramic views.  i had to rasterize all adjusted panoramas „by hand“ because of an annoying vertical white line at the seam which always appeared on the downsized files.  to quickly show the effect i have simulated it by mirroring a digital photo.  please notice the thin white vertical line in the middle of the image

best seen in the sky which disappears when rasterised on one layer BEFORE exporting

another example?  i often work on complex highres composings.  to show the effect of rasterizing BEFORE resizing have a detailed look on the imprecise masked trees in this example:

when exporting a fullHD of this composing we get a kind of grey halo around the trees

if the composing is rasterized before exporting the trees appear a bit „crisper“

it’s a very small difference but if one opens the files and magnifies to – let’s say – 400% the effect is visible on the trees in the back.  ... and i would expect to reduce the time for recalculation while exporting too, if rasterized BEFORE resizing.  especially on pretty complex multilayer composings and lanczos 3 filtering.

[NotMyFault]

Affinity does not rasterize documents in document resolution before exporting. It rasterizes documents in selected export resolution. This makes sense especially when exporting vector layers to larger resolutions, but can produce unexpected results like you observe. E.g. create a 32x32 px file, add a circle with stroke, export as 1024x1024. You get a nice high-res export. If you rasterize before exporting, you get a very blurry export (depending on resample method). Interestingly, upsampled low-res images can look cleaner/sharper in certain edge cases, as noise and other fine details get „straightened away“ and replaced by sharper edges.

White seams are most often result of misalignment to fractional positions or sizes of layers.

If you export to different sizes which are not integer multiples, Affinity will create one extra pixel (mostly right and bottom) in case of fractional document size. The colors of edge pixels will get either too light or too dark by anti-aliasing. We would need one of the source files, and screenshots of the export settings to check if this causes the seam in your case.

 

[marcus.fehse]

you are right: upscaling of rasterized vector artwork gives blurry results.  of course.  but affinity photo is used for pixel based work in most cases ... at least in my subjective perception.  at the end it’s up to you to decide if you see more users upscaling small sized vector artwork and fighting with strange results or (either up- or down)scaling pixel based documents resulting in some really weird scaling effects in affinity photo.

just a suggestion (you may call it a feature request): how about a small checkbox in the export menu to force affinity photo to rasterize BEFORE scaling?  let the users decide if they want some added pixels at the bottom and/or right layer edges!

the source file and a screenshot of the export settings are attached for investigation.

exportMirrored_v1_10.6.afphoto

[NotMyFault]

A feature request would make sense. Would you mind opening one in the intended section of the forum ? Please check if there are older feedbacks covering the same topic.

[marcus.fehse]

well, bug reporting takes time.  but i’m neither on their pay role nor beta-tester.  what’s your relationship to serif?  if my assumption is correct suggesting a small checkbox in the export menu and your consent should be enough from my side to bring it on the way.  this is how i see customer relationsship.  please tell me if i’m wrong.

[NotMyFault]

I‘m a regular user/customer as you, neither on Serif‘s payroll nor on yours.

[marcus.fehse]

okay.  your replies misled me.  sorry for my offense.

---

13 hours ago, NotMyFault said:

We would need one of the source files, and screenshots of the export settings to check if this causes the seam in your case.

sorry, but who is „we“?

Edited March 7, 2023 by marcus.fehse
a misunderstanding

[NotMyFault]

3 hours ago, marcus.fehse said:

sorry, but who is „we“?

all forum users (including "Members" just users, and "Moderators" Affinity staff) who try to

• reproduce the issue,
• find workarounds,
• check if the same issue has been reported before, 
• or provide any form of help/support for users.

[NotMyFault]

It might be a surprise to you: Many posts and answers are provided by "normal" users (having "Member" tag below their image in posts). Some posts are provided by Serif / Affinity Staff, having "Moderator" tag below their image in posts.

As Serif staff has limited resources, some users step in and try to provide quick response to questions and bug reports. You may prefer to wait for an "official" answer from Serif staff. Just ignore answers from non-moderators. 

 

[lepr]

12 hours ago, marcus.fehse said:

just a suggestion (you may call it a feature request): how about a small checkbox in the export menu to force affinity photo to rasterize BEFORE scaling?

Until your suggestion is implemented, press shift+opt+cmd+E to get a full scale document composite then export that at whatever scale you require.

[marcus.fehse]

thanks @,,,.  it’s a bit more complicated at the end, if you work with different, partly nested groups of layers and slices in export persona.  but for a direct export via menu or shift+opt+cmd+S it’s a reasonable workaround.

[marcus.fehse]

21 hours ago, NotMyFault said:

It might be a surprise to you: Many posts and answers are provided by "normal" users (having "Member" tag below their image in posts). Some posts are provided by Serif / Affinity Staff, having "Moderator" tag below their image in posts.

As Serif staff has limited resources, some users step in and try to provide quick response to questions and bug reports. You may prefer to wait for an "official" answer from Serif staff. Just ignore answers from non-moderators. 

 

hej @NotMyFault, let’s get serious!  i understand your intention to help.  but it definitely did not in this case – at least for me.  ... and i did not ask for some help.  we are in the bug reporting section of this forum.

if someone tells me, it’s not a bug, it’s intended, and asks for „one of the source files, and screenshots of the export settings to check if this causes the seam in your case“ with a royal „We would need ...“ on top newbies like me could expect to interact with an official or at least a freelancer.  just to be funny: itIsYourFault!  ask yourself if this is the right way to communicate.

to be honest: the upsizing vectors to a high resolution explanation gave me an idea of why one could decide to rasterise AFTER resizing at least – resulting in a new feature request at the end.  so long and take care, m.

[NotMyFault]

I've chosen to step out of this discussion as it got derailed to a personal level. Have a great day.