Ralph Johann Posted March 13, 2023 Share Posted March 13, 2023 2 minutes ago, N.P.M. said: AffinityPhoto isn't photoshop! But it's the program I think they want to compete with. I don't know how intensively you retouch your images, but masking tools are one of the most important basic functions for professionals. Revising masks is a regular part of the retouching process and for that you need the red overlay. But maybe APV2 is meant to be a pure amateur software which I don't think so. danlei 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph Johann Posted March 13, 2023 Share Posted March 13, 2023 5 minutes ago, carl123 said: In the right-click menu you also have "Edit mask" or do you mean something else? The edit mask shows a black and white mask and not a red overlay. Example: I want to revise a mask for a person's eyes. In this case, I need to see what I'm working on, which I can't see in a black and white only display. If you apply "command-click" to a existing mask then the selection appears. Now click on the mask icon in the menu bar then you have the red masking I'm talking about. I can edit this mask now, but the actual mask of the layer remains untouched. danlei 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph Johann Posted March 13, 2023 Share Posted March 13, 2023 28 minutes ago, N.P.M. said: My workflow is to select roughly with selectionbrush>refine as much as possible>create new layer with mask. Put a rectangle with color between the original and the masked pixellayer>edit the mask of the top pixellayer>when done>merge down or save as afphoto file because you can alter afterwards aka nondestructively. Or use the pentool to make a vectorcurve and use that as a mask and readjust the nodes with the nodetool li Does it work with layer masks as well ? I'm usually painting on my layer masks with soft brushing tools. My masks contain every opacity from 0 - 100%, which means they are not just black&white. See attachement. If I add another mask on top of the first one, it affects the whole image and I often have to adjust the masks underneath again which means quick masking tools are very important for me. I'm a professinal photographer and worked with lots of retouchers, they all work this way and I learned from them. danlei 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimh12345 Posted March 13, 2023 Share Posted March 13, 2023 11 hours ago, carl123 said: It works here What do you see when you right-click a mask in the Layers panel? (screenshot) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph Johann Posted March 13, 2023 Share Posted March 13, 2023 1 hour ago, N.P.M. said: The video is for vectormasking and it handles vectorcurve(s) objects. If you a using normal masks this will not work but you'll need that other option I mentioned>duplicating the selected part you want masked>give that a mask and apply your edits to that mask. I'm sorry I don't get it ?!? Is there a video for that as well ? But honestly, revising masks in black & white is maybe 5% of my work with masks. If the right-click "edit mask" would give back a transparent red layer to work on, everything would be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph Johann Posted March 13, 2023 Share Posted March 13, 2023 23 minutes ago, jimh12345 said: It works here What do you see when you right-click a mask in the Layers panel? (screenshot) Looks the same on my Computer, but how does that help me ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carl123 Posted March 13, 2023 Share Posted March 13, 2023 This is what I get if I right-click a mask layer Quote To save time I am currently using an automated AI to reply to some posts on this forum. If any of "my" posts are wrong or appear to be total b*ll*cks they are the ones generated by the AI. If correct they were probably mine. I apologise for any mistakes made by my AI - I'm sure it will improve with time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph Johann Posted March 13, 2023 Share Posted March 13, 2023 1 minute ago, carl123 said: This is what I get if I right-click a mask layer That's correct when you right-click on the mask symbol. If u right-click the layer right from the mask symbol (the blue area) then you get the other drop down menu. loukash 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loukash Posted March 13, 2023 Share Posted March 13, 2023 53 minutes ago, Ralph Johann said: That's correct when you right-click on the mask symbol. If u right-click the layer right from the mask symbol (the blue area) then you get the other drop down menu. Ah, voilà. It's not exactly the most intuitive workflow, frankly. Quote MacBookAir 15": MacOS Ventura > Affinity v1, v2, v2 beta // MacBookPro 15" mid-2012: MacOS El Capitan > Affinity v1 / MacOS Catalina > Affinity v1, v2, v2 beta // iPad 8th: iPadOS 16 > Affinity v2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimh12345 Posted March 13, 2023 Share Posted March 13, 2023 1 hour ago, loukash said: Ah, voilà. It's not exactly the most intuitive workflow, frankly. To say the least. But ok - assuming I remember I have to right-click on the icon, not the layer label, and I get Refine - I can see the mask and edit it. But I have to click Apply or the edits are lost - and isn't Refine then doing other stuff to the mask that I don't want? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loukash Posted March 13, 2023 Share Posted March 13, 2023 4 minutes ago, jimh12345 said: isn't Refine then doing other stuff to the mask that I don't want? Yeah, by default it enables "Matte Edges". Disable that and there's your original mask. Quote MacBookAir 15": MacOS Ventura > Affinity v1, v2, v2 beta // MacBookPro 15" mid-2012: MacOS El Capitan > Affinity v1 / MacOS Catalina > Affinity v1, v2, v2 beta // iPad 8th: iPadOS 16 > Affinity v2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph Johann Posted March 13, 2023 Share Posted March 13, 2023 19 minutes ago, jimh12345 said: To say the least. But ok - assuming I remember I have to right-click on the icon, not the layer label, and I get Refine - I can see the mask and edit it. But I have to click Apply or the edits are lost - and isn't Refine then doing other stuff to the mask that I don't want? If you click on the checkbox, you will see your original mask that you can revise, but it is quite limiting because you cannot select a brush, you can only change the brush size. I rarely work with hard brush edges when masking, so the feature is relatively useless for me. danlei 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimh12345 Posted March 13, 2023 Share Posted March 13, 2023 2 hours ago, Ralph Johann said: If you click on the checkbox, you will see your original mask that you can revise, but it is quite limiting because you cannot select a brush, you can only change the brush size. I rarely work with hard brush edges when masking, so the feature is relatively useless for me. Yeah I saw that immediately. So this is useless. The only thing that works - and that I'll be able to remember - is to put the masked adjustment in a Group, add a Recolor adjustment tied to the Group, and toggle it on and off as needed. danlei 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry W Posted June 1, 2023 Share Posted June 1, 2023 Five years later and we are still missing this basic photo editing tool. It's nearly impossible to get a perfect mask along edges where the effect of the mask is subtle. The red mask overlay is critical to refining the edges. I change my brush softness depending on the focal plane of the area I'm masking, and the red mask makes that possible. It's just a guessing game with Affinity, toggling option-mask to show the mask itself as the only way to check. I really want to cut the cord with Photoshop, but until Affinity includes professional nuances like this, it's not happening. danlei 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimh12345 Posted June 2, 2023 Share Posted June 2, 2023 Yes this drives me nuts too. Really, really wish they'd add this. danlei 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_Th Posted June 3, 2023 Share Posted June 3, 2023 Somewhat embarrassed to admit I didn't realize this was "missing". Used Q or / in Photoshop for decades, just somehow this one slipped my notice. So ... count me in for requesting this as well. (Obviously, I haven't missed it that much!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danlei Posted September 27, 2023 Share Posted September 27, 2023 Six years. I have lost all hope. Hansha 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Koolen Posted September 27, 2023 Share Posted September 27, 2023 To be honest, the overlay was my only thing I missed, but sinds generative AI made my work WAY easier in PS the red overlay doesn’t matter anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danlei Posted September 27, 2023 Share Posted September 27, 2023 (edited) Yeah, I'm just trying to avoid PS I guess, but it's been years and there isn't even one real answer in this thread – only allusions to some mythical management or development teams that might bestow the feature upon us some day or not. No timeline, no prospect, no reasoning – nothing. I've been waiting more or less patiently for years, but maybe I'll just bite the bullet and get a PS subscription after all, especially since I'm already paying for LR. I just really liked the idea of using and supporting an alternative. (That and I like working on the iPad where PS seemed rather limited.) Edited September 27, 2023 by danlei Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimh12345 Posted September 27, 2023 Share Posted September 27, 2023 It's an odd situation. AP is great software and I see it mentioned often - it's getting good buzz. It's just inconceivable to me that it wouldn't be getting active development and be moving ahead. But this missing "feature" - a core capability that everyone expects - has been ignored for years while other things that I'll never use have been added. Every time I use AP I miss being able to see masks, and it's frustrating. I really don't get it. lepr and danlei 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danlei Posted September 27, 2023 Share Posted September 27, 2023 Yeah, it's absolutely baffling to me, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olidoesaffinity Posted April 11 Share Posted April 11 I will also add my voice to this. A red mask editing overlay would be very very well used by me. I am surprised it's not an option already. danlei 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hansha Posted Monday at 10:39 AM Share Posted Monday at 10:39 AM I must say this is probably the only reason I don't use Affinity Photo. I keep checking demos for this to come but nothing. This is a really basic essential tool for contemporary photography work. Masking without this is invalid. A fully editable rubylith layer is a must and if you don't understand this priority over cloud generation, perlin noise, voronoi and astrography then well ... many of us are forced to stay away from this app. danlei 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimh12345 Posted Monday at 02:16 PM Share Posted Monday at 02:16 PM 3 hours ago, Hansha said: I must say this is probably the only reason I don't use Affinity Photo. I keep checking demos for this to come but nothing. This is a really basic essential tool for contemporary photography work. Masking without this is invalid. A fully editable rubylith layer is a must and if you don't understand this priority over cloud generation, perlin noise, voronoi and astrography then well ... many of us are forced to stay away from this app. I don't think we'll ever get it. Especially after the acquisition by Canva, I expect future releases to be all about bolted-on "powered by AI" hoo-ha while actual photography is de-emphasized. Canva has no interest in photography and will be wanting its investment in Affinity to pay off as quickly as possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.