Digbydo Posted August 15, 2016 Share Posted August 15, 2016 I've been following a tutorial on UDEMY called creating a 'Dragan Effect' which basically follows this path…base layer: Blend Mode Normal, 100% opacity. Levels Adjustment: Normal Mode, 100% opacity. Multiply Layer: Multiply Layer Blend Mode, 50% opacity. Light Bits: Overlay Blend mode, 100% opacity. Merged: Normal Blend Mode, 33% opacity. B&W: Saturation Blend mode, 100 & opacity. ~ After this the 'Merged Layer' is then moved down to just under the B&W layer. At this point, the tutor then reduces the Opacity in the B&W layer to re-introduce some colour again before going on to the next stage ~ however no matter how many times I've tried it, as soon as I try to reduce the B&W opacity nothing happens! No colour appears! and it now appears that no matter what I do on any yes, any layer nothing alters, nothing happens. It is an effect I'd like to master but now I'm wondering is there a bug in your system or is there something else I should be doing ~ failing all that how would you guys create the so-called Dragan Effect? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A_B_C Posted August 15, 2016 Share Posted August 15, 2016 Have you seen this tutorial? https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/11910-affinity-jack-tutorial-dragan-effekt-english-subtitles/ Video link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWr_TUDzHGg :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digbydo Posted August 16, 2016 Author Share Posted August 16, 2016 I've had a quick look at it ~ big thanks for passing it on but even with subtitles it is quite difficult to follow. I was in fact, hoping the guys from Affinity Photo themselves would post a full tutorial on how to create this effect ~ So-oooh if you are reading this perhaps you'll respond either with a… "it's in the pipeline" or actually tell me/us how to go about it in several steps (if that's possible) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grechatias Posted August 16, 2016 Share Posted August 16, 2016 Have you seen this tutorial? https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/11910-affinity-jack-tutorial-dragan-effekt-english-subtitles/ Video link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWr_TUDzHGg :) Thanks for sharing this tutorial Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drippy cat Posted August 16, 2016 Share Posted August 16, 2016 Hi Digbydo, Thanks for updating me over on the Udemy thread with the new information. It is odd that when you did the tutorial it worked when you used my file and not yours. If, and I stress the word 'if' it's a technical problem then it's beyond me to figure it out. But just so you know, I found out about this thread when one of the moderators very kindly emailed me saying that a user was talking about a problem on a Udemy course and could I provide some illumination etc. Then again, it doesn't surprise me that they did since the Affinity people seem red hot at providing support. So they are clearly looking into your troubles. For my part I'm stepping through my own tutorials again to see if there's something there I could have got wrong. The issue you mentioned about whether you need the merged layer active is something I'll also look into. In the meantime, would it be an idea to keep the messages to just one forum? This forum and the Udemy forum are both public forums, but maybe this one would be better since more people can see it, including the Affinity moderators. The reason I ask is that I don't want to accidentally miss any posts from you because I was looking in the wrong place. Patrick Connor, A_B_C and Callum 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staff Patrick Connor Posted August 16, 2016 Staff Share Posted August 16, 2016 Digbydo, Please can you confirm that you are experiencing this problem with your document in the 1.4.2 App store release (or trial) and not in the 1.5.0 beta build. Also, can you please upload a sample file with this effect applied but not working? If you would rather not post the file in this public forum you can email it to support@seriflabs.com or use our file transfer service fx.serif.com using my email address (pconnor at serif dot com). We will delete the file once we have investigated. Quote Patrick Connor Serif Europe Ltd Latest V2 releases on each platform Help make our apps better by joining our beta program! "There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man. True nobility lies in being superior to your previous self." W. L. Sheldon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digbydo Posted August 16, 2016 Author Share Posted August 16, 2016 A screen shot was sent to your email address Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digbydo Posted August 16, 2016 Author Share Posted August 16, 2016 Yes Drippy Cat… I'll stick on this forum from now on ~ much'o thanks for all your help and great lessons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drippy cat Posted August 16, 2016 Share Posted August 16, 2016 Cheers Digbydo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staff Patrick Connor Posted August 16, 2016 Staff Share Posted August 16, 2016 The screenshot was very low resolution and didn't really help. Please send a .afphoto file showing the problem, as I asked. Quote Patrick Connor Serif Europe Ltd Latest V2 releases on each platform Help make our apps better by joining our beta program! "There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man. True nobility lies in being superior to your previous self." W. L. Sheldon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digbydo Posted August 17, 2016 Author Share Posted August 17, 2016 2 x Afphoto files have now been sent using the drop off function both of these files hold the same image and both ended up with the same problem ~ over to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drippy cat Posted August 17, 2016 Share Posted August 17, 2016 Hi Digbydo. I've done the Low Key tutorial which as you know leads into the Dragan effect and I noticed something. On the file I created in the low key tutorial the Merged layer sitting on top of the layer stack was set to Normal mode at 100%. But the Affinity Photo file I've loaded for the Dragan effect has the same Merged layer set to 33% opacity. If the Merged layer is set to 100% opacity & normal mode you won't see any colour changes because it will simply not let any layers beneath it show through & that's where the colours are. If it's set to 33% opacity you will see colours showing through. On the thread over at Udemy I gave the opacity of the Merged layer as 33%, Normal Blend mode but it was with a whole load of other settings so you may have missed it. So double check the opacity of your Merged layer. If it's set to 100% try lowering it's opacity down to 33%. If that works then that's the solution and my fault. For some strange reason I finished the previous tutorial with the opacity of the Merged layer at 100% but started the Dragan tutorial with it at 25%. If you'd followed the previous tutorial correctly there'd be no reason for the layer to be anything other than 100%. If you look at the Dragan tutorial at 1 minute 8 seconds you can see the Merged layer selected in Normal Mode and 25% opacity but that would be a very easy thing to miss. In fact, here's a better way of doing it. Set your Merged layer Blend mode to luminosity. That way it can be 100% visible and you'll get all the intensity of the dodge brush highlights but the colour from the underlying layers will show through no problem. Try it. I jusy did and it works. If it works for you let me know and I'll redo the start of the Dragan tutorial to correct that stumbling block and improve the tutorial. Callum 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drippy cat Posted August 18, 2016 Share Posted August 18, 2016 Quick update. I've revised the start of the tutorial over at Udemy and included the steps where you change the colour mode of the Merged layer to luminosity. It's more effective that way. I've also done the revised tutorial myself in case changing the colour mode to luminosity had a knock on effect later in the tutorial and it all worked for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digbydo Posted August 18, 2016 Author Share Posted August 18, 2016 Phew! ~ Boy 'o boy am I a 'Happy Chappie' or what? ~ I'm so glad that's all been sorted out. The change on the merged layer to Luminosity is a treat, a treasure! And although I still have a lot to do to get my image to a real 'Dragan Effect' it's already beginning to look the part just doing that simple change. So, a big BIG Thanks to you Drippy Cat but also a Ya'huge thanks to Patrick and all those at Affinity Photo for the time spent looking into this and helping to resolve the problem. It's just an idea but… perhaps Drippy Cat's version could be done in the Affinity style and go on your list of the in-house video tutorials? I know it'd be a heck of a lot easier to follow than the one with English subtitles. Thanks again guy's drippy cat and Callum 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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