Non-destructive workflow in Affinity Photo

[Herbert123]

I have been using Affinity Photo at work for a while now, and I have a couple of questions as to a non-destructive workflow. It is pretty good so far, although the overall workflow feels a tad destructive to me. I am used to both Photoshop and Photoline.

 

1) after developing a RAW file in the Developer Persona, the changes are applied to it destructively, correct? In Photoshop we have the smart object approach to keep things "live", and in Photoline the RAW file is inserted as a regular layer in the layer stack, with live adjustments and settings.
Any way to work non-destructive so as to keep the RAW processing live?

 

2) similarly, is it possible to non-destructively use the liquify persona? In Photoshop we again have smart objects to accomplish this, and in Photoline the liquify tool adds a liquify layer which can be edited directly at all times (even possible to add as many liquify layers as you like, and stack those).

 

3) after typing text, or creating a vector shape, when I apply a mesh warp or perspective tool edit, the layer is converted to pixels, and I can no longer edit the text. Other effects and distortions also rasterize the text layers. Is there a way to avoid this, and keep the text live?

 

4) embedded and linked placeholder layers (PL) or smart objects (PH) are missing in Photo. Clipping layers can use smart objects in Photoshop, making it possible to re-use these masks (not very elegant, though). In Photoline and Krita it is possible to clone layers, and re-use them in the layer stack.
I am wondering whether a similar feature (SOs and/or virtual layers) is planned at some point? Especially external linked placeholder layers are very useful - when used in combination with non-destructive tools.

 

5) no fill patterns in Photo yet?

 

6) I noticed it is possible to have masks within masks, and apply live effects to these masks. The trouble is, once these  layer masks are dropped on a layer, the embedded masks and effect layers become inaccessible: the layer stack hides them, and seemingly there is no method to twirl down the contents. Is a setting available to gain access to these embedded layers?

 

Thanks.

 

 

[MEB]

Hi Herbert123,

1. No, currently there's no way to keep the RAW edits live. I believe this will be available later.

 

2. No, all edits performed in the Liquify Persona are baked destructively when you hit apply.

 

3. Only the Live Perspective Filter keeps the text editable.

 

4. If you're referring to them as containers to which you can apply a new set of transforms/edits without losing their content's editability, i believe there will be improvements here as we move forward. At this point i don't know enough details to give you a proper answer, sorry.

There's some features coming that may alleviate/compensate a little in certain situations (like Symbols) but overall the closest feature we have is embedded documents/files (already implemented) and linked files which will come later.

 

5. Select the Gradient Tool, go to context toolbar and select Bitmap from the Type dropdown. Chose the file you want to use as a pattern and use the in-canvas controls to manipulate it.

 

6. No, it's not possible to access those nested mask/filters etc directly from the layers panel without moving them outside the parent object.

[Herbert123]

Hi Herbert123,

1. No, currently there's no way to keep the RAW edits live. I believe this will be available later.

 

2. No, all edits performed in the Liquify Persona are baked destructively when you hit apply.

 

3. Only the Live Perspective Filter keeps the text editable.

 

4. If you're referring to them as containers to which you can apply a new set of transforms/edits without losing their content's editability, i believe there will be improvements here as we move forward. At this point i don't know enough details to give you a proper answer, sorry.

There's some features coming that may alleviate/compensate a little in certain situations (like Symbols) but overall the closest feature we have is embedded documents/files (already implemented) and linked files which will come later.

 

5. Select the Gradient Tool, go to context toolbar and select Bitmap from the Type dropdown. Chose the file you want to use as a pattern and use the in-cnavas controls to manipulate it.

 

6. No, it's not possible to access those nested mask/filters etc directly from the layers panel without moving them outside the parent object.

 

Ah, what a shame. I had hoped for a more non-destructive workflow (especially seeing AP is the latest kid on the block). Hopefully this will improve in the future.

 

About (6): is this a bug? Why wouldn't the layer stack display the embedded layers? It makes this (very useful) workflow untenable. Will this be fixed in a future release?

 

Thanks for the answers.

[MEB]

I wouldn't call it a bug but something that wasn't implemented/coded and could be improved upon. For some reason It always worked like this since the beginning.

I agree with you that it would be tremendously useful. I will try to know more about this.

 

I believe most of those things will get better as we move forward and the application matures.

Non-destructive workflows and real time/live feedback are two things i believe will end up doing quite well.

[anon1]

 

 

6) I noticed it is possible to have masks within masks, and apply live effects to these masks. The trouble is, once these  layer masks are dropped on a layer, the embedded masks and effect layers become inaccessible: the layer stack hides them, and seemingly there is no method to twirl down the contents. Is a setting available to gain access to these embedded layers?

would be great to finally get this thing resolved :D 1.6?  :ph34r:  

[littledetails]

Has there been any progress on the non-destructive RAW editing / keeping RAW edits live? As my workflow increasingly involves blending multiple RAW files, the ability to tweak the RAW processing on each one as a smart object is something that really speeds up my workflow. This deficiency in Affinity Photo is pushing me back to using Photoshop for these cases.

[MEB]

Hi littledetails,

No, not yet, sorry. Most of work has been focused on polishing existing features/fixing bugs in v1.6.x. New features like those usually appear in new versions (1.7, 1.8 etc).

Bear with us while we on on them.

[Sam Ramzan]

Hello friends, any news on the non-destructive distort for nested, smart objects etc in Affinity Photo?

For me as a GD and WD would be fabulous.

That is the only thing missing for me to fully acknowledge that I'm glad to have dumped Adobe's products.

[angelhdz12]

😴

[Savve]

Hi guys!

Any news on non-destructive editing in AffinityPhoto?

This thing is constantly pushing me back to Photoshop. Aren't this?

Software is great but not permitting further edit on the raw is kinda frustrating.

[MEB]

Hi salli,
Welcome to Affinity Forums
There still no news regarding non-destructive RAW editing, sorry.