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I'm a happy user of Affinity Designer which is so much better than Adobe Illustrator, it's super responsive and quick and got all the tools I need for vector work!

 

Now I was hoping that Affinity Photo might also be a replacement for Adobe Photoshop, not for working with photos - but for painting, sketching and doing concept art in. After using Affinity Photo for one day and trying to sketch and paint concept art I must say that I'm disappointed. 

 

First of all, the brush engine is really slow - it's much slower than Photoshop and almost unusable on certain brushes (ie: any of Daub's Gouache brushes). I'm running MacOS Sierra 10.12 on an high end iMac retina (5k) - so I was really disappointed on the performance here, since I had hopes of similar speed as i experienced in Affinity Designer.

 

So my question is - for future versions, are you going to work on improving the brush engine in Affinity Photo ? Or will it mostly be geared towards users doing photo manipulation?

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • Staff

Hi atlemael,

 

Welcome to the forums.

 

Affinity Photo is still being developed and improvements are always being made to different areas of the app. I've just tested the DAUB Gouche brushes on my MacBook Pro and didn't notice any performance issues. When you was using them, what settings did you have?

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I am using Affinity Photo (beta) on my 4 years old Win 10 computer. I use Photoshop every day and I always use DAUB brushes.

 

I am testing Affinity Photo and find it as fast as Photoshop. Some brushes lag behind in both programs, depending on complexity and size. In Affinity I used DAUB Concept brushes on a 400 dpi A4 size document with no problems at all. I also tested a 600 dpi Grayscale / BW drawing in Affinity, using DAUBs inkers, with beautiful result. No lag.

 

I must say, if everything will work out the same great  way as with painting and drawing​ in Affinity, I can maybe switch over using it for photo editing too. I will keep on testing Affinity Photo for the photo editing thing for a little more before letting go of Photoshop.   :) 

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Actually there are issues with the brush/drawing engine. In both AD and AP. BUT... i'm confident those will be solved, the apps are very young, in comparison with others. Plus, probably there's being quite more feedback than before, if I remember some posts from the team.

 

Majorly the people not having issues fall into these categories:  The hardware is really powerful, so any slow down is hidden or non important, specially having a great card (with the power of a high-mid gaming one (the gtx 970, for example, is one of the cases), or very high end for graphics)) and a lot ram (32 or +) (but ram is not the key, as some user have these issues with 32. V. card is probably a huge factor, together with CPU) , or that the type of project is hiding to them certain other types and ways of painting that if they had to get into that kind of project, things would be very different. Or that they style requires a way of painting where the issues wont show up. For example, if is all about non hype realistic (fast) sketching, and digital painting (like in oil and acrylics type of painting, well, digital painting as is mostly known for)

Also, I have not used the Mac version. maybe is more adapte to that platform and those probs do not exist in macs.

 

And current issues, to my knowledge and that I have very well confirmed are ( in Affinity Photo for Windows ) :

 

- Drawing while zoomed out, it would result in very jagged lines/wobbbly. Partially resolved, still is a bit there in AP.

- The lag at starting brush stroke. I recon this seems to vary in every system, but with some very few exceptions, this happen in a big majority of computers. In my first generation core i7 860 gtx 275 8gb ram it certainly happens.  Is not  a powerful machine, but neither an old celeron... This leads in the end to innacuracy, and inability to draw small features, details, etc.

- In my case, this affects me too much as to even consider the whole app for painting (welll, the 2 above, also) , is that the image trembles while just moving the cursor, not just while painting. This is due to an optimization redrawing in a pixelated form, for performance gain. This to me is very distracting, while I'm looking all the time to the painting to check everything with everything, sharpness of details, etc. Wouldn't draw with this. Some user called it the "marching ants effect" , as is usually called the marquee selection borders in every 2d package.

- Some not too old wacom tablets, detected majorly small and medium sizes of newer Intuos and the previous Bamboo models, are having some serious probs to get pressure detection.

- Many users dislike the aliasing quality of the lines. Not an issue for me, or not that much, as I set a higher smoothing, and am almost fine with it.

- There could be a problem when clicking on canvas to pick color when using a pen with the side buttons redefined so to pick color. But this not always fails, so, I am not sure how much of a bug it would be.

 

I even made a real case scenario for my self, these were the conclusions: The drawing issues do not allow -for now!!- accurate and fluid sketching. This alone is quite big. Inking is way less accurate and controllable than with PS, Krita or Gimp, for the mentioned reasons, that I could put to test and check in actually inking. Color painting, meaning kind of oil painting: Much a better situation. Still the issues affect it, though have some very cool advantages that compensate it slightly: You can paint with the tool. But could only start my example -have done other many trials- as immediately after using as much as I use it in my normal workflow, the color picker, it stopped to work, it picked the color for an instant but got back quick to the color it had. And going to the color swatch/mixer every time is not applicable for me to keep even slightly productive.

 

That said, all this is pretty well known by the developers, they are much aware, and they mentioned it seems they are going to rewrite the brush/graphic engine , if I understood it well. IMHO, is needed, because it seems is the problem in the base and that retouching things might not lead to the brush experience new and many old users are used to enjoy in many other applications, even in free ones. As is now, there's a loss in productivity and accuracy for an artist, with those problems.

 

So, to your question, I have a conditional answer: If they rewrite that engine, am positive you wil have in the same tool a great painting software and a very advanced and capable image editor at totally professional level. No one needs /really/(for painting well. Even if they think so...) all the extra candies you have in C. Painter and Art Rage. Indeed, not even custom brushes! I mean, of those very traditional media like. Some of the best painters and illustrators I know, and I mean, the really genius ones, just use a basic tip brush, just with good settings of hardness, opacity and flow, and painting in a very special manner. I do so, too. What is needed is a fault-free solid basic painting engine, and with those fixed you will be able to make any wonder you wish in AP, with the advantages of AP being so advanced as an editor. If those probs weren't there me and several others would have filled already the forum gallery section... ;)

 

In any case, the purchase of it is absolutely not something you need to think hard about. The purchase of both AD and AP worth every penny or cent of euro ! You get a full high end image editor, allowing your painted digital art (even if painted externally in other app) go to any print company as being able to edit and convert to any CMYK profile, you get a very powerful image editor that can do, even if slightly different (not much) the  major work and tasks you would do with PS, and in AD you get an IMO more friendly and direct UI than what you have in AI. Which is an amazing application and super powerful, but AD serves you for any vector based work and able to even mix a bit with raster there, for a super bargain price. That is, the purchase of both, at the price you can get now and with free updates, is not something that really needs tough thinking. If anything, you need the more the merrier tools, as who knows what will happen with pricing in other tools tomorrow being, more dominant and so more free for whatever the upgrade in price/renting. And another pro of having several tools available is because having several options gives you flexibility in your work. 

 

As an example, if the brush engine gets not much more modified, I still will purchase and use AP for image editing and conversions / color management and exports. Probably then I wont be as much over the forums as now (maybe that's a good thing for everyone, :lol: ) , as AP will only be my final step in my mid cost/open source tools project workflow. If they keep fixing it as they are doing, I'll then try to be around, testing and helping. 

 

So, one way or the other, the clever thing is to get the apps now. But yep, if those fixes come, AP will be usable for any type of drawing, inking or painting, not only concept art.

AD, AP and APub. V1.10.6 and V2.4 Windows 10 and Windows 11. 
Ryzen 9 3900X, 32 GB RAM,  RTX 3060 12GB, Wacom Intuos XL, Wacom L. Eizo ColorEdge CS 2420 monitor. Windows 10 Pro.
(Laptop) HP Omen 16-b1010ns 12700H, 32GB DDR5, nVidia RTX 3060 6GB + Huion Kamvas 22 pen display, Windows 11 Pro.

 

 

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  • 1 year later...

Quite some of the stuff I wrote is not fully accurate. There is still some sort of lag, though. And I am not sure the card/machine one has affects that much (other  than for big brushes). But yes, the brush engine still needs work.

 

It seems some matters have improved, and some are in the works to be better... But it is an amazing value for the cost for all what is not brush engine related. You get one of the most powerful image editing out there, compliant with most professional needs today in that department, and this is really hard to find. You can have even free apps for the painting stage, also, as a companion. Also, it has some issues for certain type and style of painting, not for every use/way of painting (a fast, agile inker might opt for using other application, and import later into AP for finishing, color, etc). I recommend it now more thanks to this focus, and as I have been able to see that the brush engine goes getting its updates through time.

AD, AP and APub. V1.10.6 and V2.4 Windows 10 and Windows 11. 
Ryzen 9 3900X, 32 GB RAM,  RTX 3060 12GB, Wacom Intuos XL, Wacom L. Eizo ColorEdge CS 2420 monitor. Windows 10 Pro.
(Laptop) HP Omen 16-b1010ns 12700H, 32GB DDR5, nVidia RTX 3060 6GB + Huion Kamvas 22 pen display, Windows 11 Pro.

 

 

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I came from audio-scene and there is performance a much more important thing than here, in the non-time-critical GFX-world.

But however: Here "waiting" is annoying, but not more! I can life with some "delays", but i do not want! 

Of course as sooner and more "schwupps" i would prefer, but not each live filter will compute in real-time... Some secondes waiting is often necessary... But Serif has to "sold" this in a better way!!

 

A bigger time-killer (just feeled or real) is that computing-actions get not displayed... IF I WOULD SEE "Blurr 63% computed" in a progress-beam i would not ask - did i hit the right button??? 

I guess all action which takes more than 0,5 should pop-out such a progression-beam.

The "feeld" performance will increase with such gimmicks. Believe it or not, eg loading a laywer into tone mapping (which is really slow) will "speed up" by such beams i have to rea the percentages... its a fake and the same load time, but we "feel" this was shorter... 

 

A really time-killer is to prove if something has happens or not. A very wide lens-blur take some time. And if i act this to an adjustment in a special blend-mode and small opacity... i do not see neither the result nor the time to the result... THAT is confufussing and aannoying, not the circumtances, that such stunts needs some time!

 

SO, during the computing process a small percent-beam and maybe some layer info would create a complete other feeling of "waiting time"

If i had to read " Layer X (4366x12344...); nested GRADA, monochrome blurring status is  63 of 77% (which each filter or whatever can "beam" without (really computing) ... believe me, the feel of waiting will decrase by such "deflection" radically.

 

Please, be honest: Not all FX will appear in by lewve the button. You are computing advanced actions, so a small delay is completely ok! NOBODY expires that ALL stunts will affect in real-time on all maschines...

Nope, very advanced computing takes some secondes, thats an indicator of deepness or algoritm strength... pay it, as an advantage! 

But keep us inform if a effect/filter/blend/whatever takes "a while"...

 

And thats the paradox: as more as you honest (no realtime) but as more as you status-beam .. asmore we feel it as shorter!!!

 

Short: if you do not see a "countdown of any computing" it does 2 things in your mind

1

You are confused. Nobody likes to be confused!.

2.

It let the time feel" longer that they is. A "creative countdown" will feather this "feel" time!

 

OSX 12.5  / iMac Retina 27" / Radeon Pro 580X / Metall: on! --- WWG1WGA WW!

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  • 2 weeks later...

I have just posted the same thing. Incredibly slow brush response..to the point i am not longer using the program.

I want to , but not like this.

Any fixes out there yet?

 

Gary

Windows 11 Pro, Ryzen 9 7950x, 64GB DDR5 6000mhz, Nvidia 4080 OC 16gb, Dell 38inch curved monitor.

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Me hopes it will, at some point.  :)

Is something they have detected and agreed that it needs several improvements, so, they'll get to that as they do with everything. So, am not worried (painting with other apps meanwhile, but yet Affinity is my must-have tool. Once this is solved, who knows if maybe AP and AD will get to be  the only ones I use for all (2D).  :)   ). I waited way longer for Blender 3D, and it really did pay (literally) me WELL, that patience. :) . Also, I like the style of doing things from Serif too much, even more if I compare them to other companies. (one of the main reasons while it is worth the wait... another one...AP and AD depth and capability of covering all range of pro tasks. I'm discovering every day things that are a better take in Affinity than in the main competitor, which, btw , I was not expecting. :)  )

AD, AP and APub. V1.10.6 and V2.4 Windows 10 and Windows 11. 
Ryzen 9 3900X, 32 GB RAM,  RTX 3060 12GB, Wacom Intuos XL, Wacom L. Eizo ColorEdge CS 2420 monitor. Windows 10 Pro.
(Laptop) HP Omen 16-b1010ns 12700H, 32GB DDR5, nVidia RTX 3060 6GB + Huion Kamvas 22 pen display, Windows 11 Pro.

 

 

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