Pen Tool Strokes not smooth?

[tadpole]

I'm using the pen tool in Designer Persona "Affinity Designer 2".  I trace images with the pen tool and then fill with a vector color.  After exporting my PNG and zoom in beyond 100%, the strokes outlining my image elements has a "spiral" look to them.  I'm not sure if this is normal or I'm doing something wrong.

I've attached below images with this "spiral" look and the export settings

 

[Ldina]

@tadpole While you may have created vector elements originally, you exported to PNG, which is a raster (pixel-based) file format, so everything in your file will be rasterized on export. What you are seeing is most likely pixelation along the edges of the stars, blue lettering, etc. It will be least noticeable on edges that are horizontal or vertical, and most noticeable on edges that at an angle (check out the stars). With raster images, the higher the zoom above 100%, the more pixelation, or "stair-stepping",  you will see. 

What zoom level are you using to view your exported PNG, and what app are you using to view it? Beyond 100% magnification could be 125%, 200%, 500% or 4000%, which will make a big difference with raster images.

Exporting to a vector based file format, such as PDF or SVG, that preserves your vectors will look sharp at any zoom level. Some things can cause rasterization there too, but if nothing is rasterized on export to those formats, they'll stay sharp and clean because they are 'math-based' instead of 'pixel-based'. 

So, assuming you have zoomed WAY In, this is expected behavior. 

[tadpole]

Thanks for your reply.

Help me understand why a PNG I purchased off of Etsy, from a person who sells images similar to mine, doesn't do this when zoomed in way passed 100%?  I know that image was edited in Photoshop. 

[Ldina]

Upload them both and perhaps we can help you. I'd recommend leaving them full size and putting them into a Zip file.

[GarryP]

5 minutes ago, Ldina said:

Upload them both and perhaps we can help you.

Might be some possible legal issues there if either was purchased.

[Meliora spero]

I believe that the esteemed customer's (@tadpole) question is regarding the anti-aliasing algorithms that renders the edges between objects during export? Be aware, resample, as I have experienced, has no effect when exporting at 1:1 without image scaling, and thus there is no choice to apply output sharpening from that dialog. So if my experience is correct, this resample option should not be shown as active until the document’s output size has been changed. Just a note in case anyone thinks it was a viable route to sharper output.

Now, my own experience is that the export output from Affinity is rather soft (which suggests that the anti-aliasing is given some leeway), and therefore all my bitmap output is further processed in Adobe Photoshop and is never exported to PDF from Affinity. Adobes superior algorithms best suit my needs – here I am particularly thinking of Smart Sharpening. Photoshop's Smart Sharpen extends the unsharp mask principle by integrating adaptive edge detection to pinpoint fine details and reduce halos, deconvolution techniques to reverse various blurs, noise reduction to maintain a natural look, and customizable parameters for tailored sharpening. 

We can only speculate about the workflow used by the person on Ets - it’s possible the seller uses Adobe Illustrator or something else. In my experience with Adobe, their products default deliver much sharper results in many workflows than Affinity, which Adobe has most likely achieved by listening to professional customers’ needs and designing their product accordingly; this has, by the way, been the case for decades. So there. We didn't get champagne for a lemonade price when we bought Affinity.

So the short answer is that I'm afraid you'll have to set up a workaround export layer in Photo with sharpening and possibly other adjustments, where you enable this layer before export - without knowing how good the result will be in your case. But essentially, it's a fix for poor algorithms.

[tadpole]

Thanks for the reply. Is there a video on how to create an export layer?

[Ldina]

I’m not sure what you mean by “export layer”. Can you clarify?

[tadpole]

I asked about an export layer based on what you said on your response:

"I'm afraid you'll have to set up a workaround export layer in Photo with sharpening and possibly other adjustments"

[Ldina]

@tadpole Sorry...that wasn't my post and I didn't read it, so he'll have to address that. 

As suggested before, if you're willing to upload your original Designer file, I'll take a look. 

[tadpole]

Sorry about the misqoute. After work this evening I can uploaded the designer file

[Meliora spero]

1 hour ago, tadpole said:

Thanks for the reply. Is there a video on how to create an export layer?

I just need to check if I promised too much when it comes to sharpness - I’ve got a heavy, flu-ridden head - but here’s a short explanation. It isn’t a special type of layer, but rather a method you can use by grouping different adjustment layers and calling them, for example, "Export Adjustment." I have several that I use for printers and output media within the company: color, brightness, and contrast adjustments. Quick and dirty solutions. I’m just checking whether sharpening layers require too much extra work; I add sharpening to a combined exported file in Photoshop, so I have to verify my layer advice. 🙂

[Meliora spero]

I would like to see an excerpt of the Etsy file that you made with your own. I quickly made a graphic similar to yours at 5000px wide, and I have to zoom in 400–600% before I can clearly see the antialiasing patterns.

Sharpness is not necessarily what you want here - do you expect no antialiasing at all? I mean, no algorithms that try to smooth the transition from a letter’s edges, for example, against the background.

[Meliora spero]

Alright, here's how I would create an export layer for an older printer we have, where I correct a bit for its shortcomings. It can also be used for bitmap export. I have certain types of illustrations based on picking colors and brightness from photographs and scans; I always give them an overall boost with brightness and contrast at the end, before exporting.

I create a couple of adjustment layers that make prints better, easily and elegantly:

• Exposure
• Contrast
• Saturation (I correct for color shifts)

The adjustment layer stays hidden at the top until the file is ready for printing or export.

You can do the same with unsharpen layers. Here’s the fastest method without too much Affinity nonsense:

1. Have your document open in Designer
2. Start in Photo.
3. Create a blank document.
4. Go to Layer → New Live Filter Layer → Sharpen → Unsharp Mask.
5. Choose, for example, the settings below that I have fine-tuned.
6. Copy the layer.
7. Paste it at the top of your document in Designer (and maybe even name it).
8. (Yes you can also select File -> Edit in Photo, but I prefer the simple copy-paste for this small trick)

When active, the layer will apply sharpening to the entire document upon export, as far as I can see. But note, sharpening accentuates the antialiasing patterns you weren't so fond of - though it does make the image appear sharper.

Here is an example of a document with two export layers: one for output sharpening and one for tonality. Only the output sharpening layer will be applied during export, as the tonality layer is disabled. Hope it all makes sense.

But as I said, all of this will cause anti-aliasing effects on edges, but I don't see them until I've zoomed in really deep. I'm not sure why that's a problem? 🙂

[thomaso]

On 2/22/2025 at 12:21 AM, tadpole said:

I've attached below images with this "spiral" look and the export settings

Your screenshot informs about an exported image size of 5000 pixels wide, which means that a star in the flag is about 60 pixels wide. In this case, the jagged edges of the star cannot be avoided when viewing it at a size/zoom level as shown in your post. – If you switch to pixel view in AD, you will still see the jagged edges at this zoom level, too.

[tadpole]

18 hours ago, Meliora spero said:

I would like to see an excerpt of the Etsy file that you made with your own. I quickly made a graphic similar to yours at 5000px wide, and I have to zoom in 400–600% before I can clearly see the antialiasing patterns.

Sharpness is not necessarily what you want here - do you expect no antialiasing at all? I mean, no algorithms that try to smooth the transition from a letter’s edges, for example, against the background.

If people put my images on t-shirts and hoodie's, I'm concerned the antialiasing will show and look terrible. 

[tadpole]

On 2/22/2025 at 8:11 AM, Ldina said:

Upload them both and perhaps we can help you. I'd recommend leaving them full size and putting them into a Zip file.

Here is the image I exported as a PNG @ 5000x5000.  I haven't finished tracing the entire image so you will see a blank area.  What you do see is what I traced with the pen tool.  

2.zip

[Meliora spero]

6 hours ago, tadpole said:

If people put my images on t-shirts and hoodie's, I'm concerned the antialiasing will show and look terrible. 

OK, so the question is whether PNG is even the output format you're after. I personally haven't had PNG, JPG, or TIFF printed on clothing or items. For that, I've used PDF or SVG - pure vector images in a few colors. Conceptually similar to what you showed above, it's perfectly suited for vector output.

The vector format has the excellent advantage that it is computed and rendered sharply to the size the output medium requires, whether you're printing on pens, mugs, hoodies, or billboards.

[Ldina]

On 2/22/2025 at 2:07 PM, Ldina said:

upload your original Designer file

Your PNG file looks fine.You were probably viewing it at 400% or 800% magnification, and since it's a pixel based image, you're seeing the normal pixelation. It's currently set to 13.75 inches wide at 300 DPI. Nobody's going to see any pixelation, even if you print twice that size, especially printed on a shirt, hat or hoodie. I wanted to look at your Designer file to see if there was anything in it causing issues, but no need. Nothing wrong with your PNG export. 

[tadpole]

4 hours ago, Ldina said:

Your PNG file looks fine.You were probably viewing it at 400% or 800% magnification, and since it's a pixel based image, you're seeing the normal pixelation. It's currently set to 13.75 inches wide at 300 DPI. Nobody's going to see any pixelation, even if you print twice that size, especially printed on a shirt, hat or hoodie. I wanted to look at your Designer file to see if there was anything in it causing issues, but no need. Nothing wrong with your PNG export. 

I appreciate you feedback

[Ldina]

31 minutes ago, tadpole said:

I appreciate you feedback

You're welcome. Hope it was helpful and put your mind at ease.