How would one create something like this in Designer?

[Ldina]

I'd like to learn how to create things like this using AD. I'm just not sure how to approach it. I like the way all the gold colors blend together so smoothly, like a draped fabric or pouring water (with a glossy sheen). I've included two screenshots from some website (I forget which one).

Any suggestions? Thanks in advance. 😃

[firstdefence]

Lots of strokes, gradients. blurs and transparency on shapes and curves and patience, all layered to create this effect.

Some of this work has been done using raster brushes and tools like smudge that Affinity Photo has but Affinity Designer does not. Also likely is the use of mesh warps.

This is just a proof of concept but would need refining.

Playabout.afdesign

[thomaso]

Pure vector with 4-6 objects. The main effect is caused by an emboss fx applied to the masking curve (top) / ellipses (bottom).

V1 golden swoof.afpub

Just curious: Are the stepped gradients caused by a rendering limitation? And why just some of the gradients?

[Ldina]

@firstdefence, @thomaso Thank you both. These examples are great and give me something to start experimenting with. Incredible effects. I'll need to play around, using your examples as learning tools. If I get anything post-worthy, I'll upload it.

Thanks!

[Ldina]

@thomaso I don't know how you came up with that brilliant technique...I'd have never thought of using an emboss filter on a mask to generate that effect. It's impressive. I really appreciate your attaching your afpub file to help me understand what you did. I will spend more time studying it, then trying it on my own.

BTW, just curious....I notice you are using Version 1, and not Version 2. Just curious why?? 

Thanks again.

[thomaso]

1 hour ago, Ldina said:

I don't know how you came up with that brilliant technique...

When visually 'analyzing' your sample images, I noticed a combination of multiple gradients + hard & soft edges that may be quite close together + are kind of  'randomly' placed. I also preferred a non-destructive workflow and wanted to avoid raster brushes and pixel editing. Therefore I tried the "emboss filter" as it is the (only?) feature in Affinity that I was aware of offering this kind of...

• 3D simulation,
• + 3D / shadow-highlight profile,
• + specular light & shadow separately,
• + horizontal & vertical light source angle.
   

1 hour ago, Ldina said:

I notice you are using Version 1, and not Version 2. Just curious why?? 

This is purely for compatibility reasons. I don't want use a few older programs and therefore avoid to upgrade macOS to a newer version, which is a requirement for Affinity V2. (you may notice various users in the forum sticking to V1 usually for the same reason)

[Ldina]

@thomaso Thanks again. Emboss is very flexible and I will play around with it. I had no idea how to approach those designs, so you and @firstdefence pointed me in a good direction. It will take some additional learning and experimentation on my part to make something of it.

Also, thanks for the V1 info. I have a 2009 Mac Pro running an old version of OSX, which cannot be updated. That machine has Adobe CS6 Extended and a lot of other programs that I use occasionally (especially Acrobat 10 Pro and ColorThink). I use Affinity V2 on my MacBook, which runs Ventura. Makes sense. 👍