Using swatches in FX Panel

[NCOLEAMY]

I'm applying a contour gradient to an outline from the FX panel.  I have a gradient, that I made previously and stored in the swatches panel. I don't see a way to access the swatches panel from the FX panel. Am I missing something simple? 

[Old Bruce]

40 minutes ago, NCOLEAMY said:

Am I missing something simple? 

No. This lack of availability of homemade Gradients is mystifying. 

[Lee D]

We have this logged and I've updated the report.

[R C-R]

On 8/15/2023 at 11:15 AM, NCOLEAMY said:

I don't see a way to access the swatches panel from the FX panel. Am I missing something simple? 

Maybe I'm the one missing something but I can access the Swatches panel by clicking on the square "Gradient:" swatch in the FX panel, then on any of the color stops in the window that pops up, then on the Color sample, & then selecting the Swatches panel in the popup, like this:

But while I can select a gradient like the custom blue to green one on the left, only its first color (blue in this case) is applied to the selected color stop, so there is no way to apply the entire gradient to the FX.

I assume this is what is meant by the lack of availability, right?

[thomaso]

5 hours ago, R C-R said:

while I can select a gradient like the custom blue to green one on the left, only its first color (blue in this case) is applied to the selected color stop, so there is no way to apply the entire gradient to the FX.

I assume this is what is meant by the lack of availability, right?

No, that is expected because you clicked the Color sample for 1 certain selected node – while a gradient's node can have 1 colour only, not a gradient of more than 1 colour. (I wonder that you get swatches in your gradient palette displayed at all – to me in V1 it shows empty at this point of the UI).

The missing part is earlier: when you want to assign a gradient swatch as the entire outline effects gradient, including all its nodes & colours.

[R C-R]

6 minutes ago, thomaso said:

(I wonder that you get swatches in your gradient palette displayed at all – to me in V1 it shows empty at this point of the UI).

In V2 it isn't empty, but as I already acknowledged it just picks the first color of the gradient & there is still no way to apply the entire gradient anywhere in that UI.

[thomaso]

2 minutes ago, R C-R said:

it just picks the first color of the gradient

Yes, as to be expected. Note, it only shows/offers the first color of your gradient swatches / there your swatches don't show gradients

[R C-R]

3 hours ago, thomaso said:

Yes, as to be expected. Note, it only shows/offers the first color of your gradient swatches / there your swatches don't show gradients

There is more to it than that. Before clicking on that gradient in the Layers Effects panel, in the Swatches panel, my custom gradient was showing both its colors. But after clicking on it in the effects panel, in the Swatches panel it lost its second color & no longer works correctly so I can't apply it directly to any object.

Something is very buggy about that behavior but I have yet to figure out if it is something unique to my system or what.

[thomaso]

2 hours ago, R C-R said:

Something is very buggy about that behavior

A before-after swatch appearance is indeed weird. In V1 there seems to work a gradient swatch suppressor in this special swatches pop-up panel that removes any gradient swatch, even from the "Recent" swatches:

[R C-R]

8 hours ago, thomaso said:

A before-after swatch appearance is indeed weird.

What is even weirder is unlike in my earlier screenshot now in V2 no gradients appear in the Layers Effects panel with any of my gradient categories selected,  just like you get in V1. I am not sure what changed but I reworked all my gradient categories, making sure each of them did include at least 2 color stops, & then quit & relaunched the app. It's certainly possible user error was involved & somehow I accidentally changed each gradient to a solid color during testing, but it doesn't seem likely that I would do that for every gradient swatch in every category that had gradients in it.

Among the changes in V2 is the ability to link swatch categories among the 3 V2 apps (indicated by the link icon that looks like diagonal chain links) & all my gradient categories are linked, but I don't think that has much to do with it.

Anyway, I agree that there is no way to directly apply an existing gradient to any FX in one step & that there should be. I think the simplest way that could be implemented is to allow dragging from the Swatched panel into the Color: well in the FX panel.

Make sense?

[thomaso]

3 minutes ago, R C-R said:

allow dragging from the Swatched panel into the Color: well in the FX panel.

Make sense?

No, not to the Colour: well (which refers to 1 node | 1 color only and is enabled already for assignment of solid swatches)
… but to the Gradient: well, in the UI level above.

[R C-R]

11 minutes ago, thomaso said:

No, not to the Colour: well (which refers to 1 node | 1 color only and is enabled already for assignment of solid swatches)
… but to the Gradient: well, in the UI level above.

Yes, for the Outline FX the target could also be the Gradient well, but for others like the Inner Glow, Inner Shadow, or Color Overlay that do not show a Gradient well, it could be the Color well, assuming those other effects can support gradients, which I think could be useful.

So basically, I think anywhere in the FX window where it shows colors could be a target for a gradient as well as a solid color.

[NCOLEAMY]

Thank you, Lee. I'll be waiting patiently eagerly for the update.

[thomaso]

24 minutes ago, R C-R said:

but for others like the Inner Glow, Inner Shadow, or Color Overlay that do not show a Gradient well, it could be the Color well,

No, 3x no. Three aspects:

• Shadows (both, inner or outer) hopefully will never get a gradient option (with multiple colours?) but rather more detailed options for more naturalistic shadows, e.g. angle in z-axis (vertical distance from its parent object variable in x und y | just straight/linear or via a grid/map similar to the existing deform grids in APh).

• Colour Overlay is well served already: It got an existing extra option as "Gradient Overlay".

• Glow: If I prefer to understand glow as 'negative shadow' (= '+ light') I don't see a reason for gradients either. Whereas if I want to let sth glow in various colours I would prefer not to use 1 gradient effect (with 1 strict geometry) but rather another workflow with multiple & differing gradients + masks in several layers or Lighting Effects or a Brush stroke (-> image/texture) for instance.

[R C-R]

5 minutes ago, thomaso said:

No, 3x no. Three aspects:

• Shadows (both, inner or outer) hopefully will never get a gradient option (with multiple colours?) but rather more detailed options for more naturalistic shadows, e.g. angle in z-axis (vertical distance from its parent object variable in x und y | just straight/linear or via a grid/map similar to the existing deform grids in APh).

• Colour Overlay is well served already: It got an existing extra option as "Gradient Overlay".

• Glow: If I prefer to understand glow as 'negative shadow' (= '+ light') I don't see a reason for gradients either. Whereas if I want to let sth glow in various colours I would prefer not to use a gradient (with its strict geometry) but rather another workflow with gradients + masks in several layers or Lighting Effects.

If you don't want to use them you don't have to but why would you object to the option to use a gradient with for example an inner or outer shadow FX? That may not be useful for creating natural shadows but it could be useful for other more artistic effects. Same for inner & outer glows.

Also consider that in V2 multiple instances of most of the FX can be applied to the same object or layer (all but the 2 Glows & the 3D ones), so you have many more options for how they affect those items, including changing the stacking order, alignments, & so on. The Using layer effects help topic explains more about this. 

 

[thomaso]

39 minutes ago, R C-R said:

why would you object to the option

Because developer resources (e.g. time, wo/manpower, waiting bug fixes and features) are limited and require prioritization. In that case I prefer more naturalistic shadows over colourful chaos, even if the latter may appear more artistic or effectful.

42 minutes ago, R C-R said:

consider that in V2 multiple instances of most of the FX can be applied to the same object or layer

I appreciate the improvement in V2 but here your mentioned limitation matters. A layer FX gets applied to the entire object/layer, a glow to the entire object etc. but at its edges only and there around the entire edge. Nice to have but still limiting compared with setting such lights (gradients) also ON an object in individual positions, colours, intensities and sizes. (<- which is possible yet with separate workflows already and does not need a layer fx.)

[R C-R]

15 minutes ago, thomaso said:

 In that case I prefer more naturalistic shadows over colourful chaos, even if the latter may appear more artistic or effectful.

That is a matter of personal preference, is it not?

16 minutes ago, thomaso said:

A layer FX gets applied to the entire object/layer, a glow to the entire object etc. but at its edges only and there around the entire edge.

So what? It is in V2 now possible to create many different effects on a single item by changing the parameters of each of the effects, the stacking order of duplicates & how each is edited, & so on. If you have not experimented with this in V2 I don't think you can appreciate all that is possible or useful using this new capability.

[NCOLEAMY]

Hi there again,

     I'm not sure if I should start a new Topic. If so let me know...  But for now, I have another issue that I'm having some trouble with.  I'm using a bitmap as a fill for a style that I put together.  I can't seem to get the outline from the FX panel to cooperate properly. The outline seems to be treating the bitmap as a semi-transparent background. I've double and triple checked it; it has no transparency or gaps that need to be filled in. Any ideas?

 

Oh, and, ... I plan to make this, once it's properly finished, (as well as a few other styles and resources that I've created during the process of learning Affinity designer and in general, vector creations,) available for download on the Forum.