Newbee needs help (new to Affinity and Digital Graphical arts)

[mrlennon]

Hello,

I am new to all of this so be kind.

I created a copyrighted logo for my business in Affinity Design by using brush strokes.  But for it to be used by others for others purposes they need it to be a single color no fade.

So not knowing what I was doing I exported it as a png, placed it in Affinity Photo, and changed the color of the pixels.  And now it will not let me do anything.

Yes, I know you are shaking your head.  Hey, I am a mechanical engineer I use a different type of design software. The graphical design software loses me, 3D modeling is no prob.

I just want what I did in Design to be able to change the color to one solid color.  So I can send it to vinyl cutters and apparel companies.

I understand I may have taken the wrong approach to create the logo, but everyone likes it.  And I don't know how to recreate it without a lot of work.

Question:

How do I get the brush strokes to be one solid color with no fading (grayscale fade).

 

Thanks,

Matt Lennon

 

[Brian_J]

Hey @mrlennon, welcome to the forums.

You could try applying a Color Overlay layer effect and see if that accomplishes what you need. I’m not sure what the “no fade” is that you’re referring to, so I’m not sure if a color overlay will provide the outcome you desire.

To apply a color overlay:

1. Select the layer to apply the color change to.
2. In the Layers Panel, click the FX icon in the row of icons at the bottom of the panel.
3. Enable Color Overlay (click the checkbox to put a check in it), click the color box and choose your desired color.

This can be done in your original Affinity file as opposed to the PNG file you placed in an Affinity Photo file.

[Ldina]

@mrlennon You may wish to upload your original Designer file so folks can look at it and make a solid recommendation. It also helps to let them know your platform, O/S version, etc. I’m away from my computer at present, but someone may respond and provide a solution before I can get back home and take a look. If you’re cutting vinyl, you probably need a single color without any gradients, strokes of a different color, etc. hopefully, BJ’s suggestion already did the trick!

[mrlennon]

Ok, Brian's (Thanks Brian) method worked, which is awesome.  But I understand the "Fade" I referenced is the brushstrokes.  Yes Ldina, this is what is going to cause issues with certain marketing processes.

I guess I will have to trace around the logo, and then fill the close profiles with solid colors.  

I attached the OG Designer file.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. 

Thanks

Matt

 

logo-287165-CR.afdesign

[Alfred]

24 minutes ago, mrlennon said:

I guess I will have to trace around the logo, and then fill the close profiles with solid colors.

There’s no need to trace anything. You can simply select the layers in the Layers panel and then use the Colour panel or the Swatches panel to apply the colour you want.

 

[Brian_J]

@mrlennon I think I see what you're saying. The brush stokes have different levels of transparency in them, and you need all the artwork to be the same color with 100% opacity.

I don't know enough about brushes to know if the brush attribute can be edited to make the entire stroke 100% opacity. And if editing the brush stroke isn't an option, maybe there's an adjustment or something that can be done to increase the opacity of the strokes to 100%. Hopefully someone else will know.

Regarding changing the color — since the brush strokes are applied to curves, FX isn't necessary to change the color. You can change the stroke color in the Color Panel or, with the Move Tool and the layer selected, in the Context Toolbar.

[Ldina]

@mrlennon I've never done any work where vinyl cutting was involved, so take my comments with a large grain of salt! But, looking at your original AD file, the brush you used for your logo gives you a lot of subtle gradations from your chosen base color (black, red, green, or whatever color you choose) and white. I suspect that will be difficult or perhaps impossible to replicate with cut vinyl. It's fine for print or the web, which can replicate those subtle gradations. 

You can definitely assign one color to your design (to match your vinyl or whatever). I suspect you may get a better result if you "simplify" your design to eliminate most of those very fine gradations (easily visible if you zoom in closer). You can try a different brush, or outline you design with one of the many Designer tools, such as the pen tool. 

I'm not sure what format your service provider requires (SVG, PNG, JPG, etc), but that is worth knowing as well.

BTW, welcome to Affinity and the forums. There are a lot of knowledgable people here, willing to help. 

 

[mrlennon]

Alfred,

Brain mentioned that, but I need it to be a solid color and edges more defined.  I made the image using a brush stroke, but now that it causing issues.  I need defined edges and solid fill for some marketing materials.  I am probably going to use a different software a trace this image and fill it.  I just don't know enough about the use of Designer to accomplish what I want.

[mrlennon]

Brain and Ldina,

 

Is there a way to trace the image and fill the close profile?  I tried to trace it in Designer, I attached a file. But I have no idea how to fill it. Designer, Photo, or publisher.

 

Thx

Matt

trace.afdesign

[Ldina]

@mrlennon See the attached Designer file, which I edited using the Pen tool. It loses some of the subtle strokes and shading created with your brush, but will be easier for vinyl cutting. You can use the Node Tool in Designer to adjust the position or the nodes and adjust the curves to suit and make it a bit more graceful. I have turn the Stroke OFF, and filled the Pen outline with blue. You can fill this layer with any color you wish (and which your service provider can provide in vinyl, though they probably just need to know what color you actually want). I Grouped your original brush, so they are still there, but I hid them in the Layers Panel so they don't show. Just click that visibility icon in the Group to see your original design done with the brush. My version isn't perfect, but hopefully you get the idea and can tweak it to your satisfaction. 

 

logo-287165-CR-pen.afdesign

[mrlennon]

Ok I see what you did, and it looks great.  I tried the same thing but I can not fill mine.  And all my curves are on different layers.  Gee whiz I need to learn how to use this stuff.

[Ldina]

@mrlennon yup, as with all things, there’s a learning curve. There are lots of good tutorials on YouTube and also in the Affinity Tutorials section of the forum. Hope this helped a bit. 😄

[mrlennon]

I got it, fonally got it.  YouTube and the tutorials.

You just need to know what to look for in the first place.

Thank you all for the help