Bela Frank Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 Hello, I'm testing the app and let me say it's very promising. One thing I'm missing now is the ability to copy & paste vector between this and other apps, like Fontlab, Glyphs and Illustrator. I can do this between these apps and it is very handy, me being a type designer and using more than one app at the same time. Also a tool similar to Illustrator's Blend Tool would be nice, maybe extrapolation as an extra added :) Brilliant work, anyway! Best, Frank rubs, kupckina_cighra, Jowday and 4 others 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrograde Posted August 2, 2014 Share Posted August 2, 2014 I agree, some sort of blend tool is an essential part of a designers tool kit. My wish would be for a smart blend tool that is interactive in how it's implemented (number of steps, spline replace or adjustment, transparency opacity on beginning and/or end...) smallreflection 1 Quote http://www.kevincreative.com https://www.behance.net/kevincreative https://dribbble.com/kevincreative https://www.instagram.com/kevincreative/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rui_mac Posted August 2, 2014 Share Posted August 2, 2014 My vote for a blend tool. That is a must. A really BIG must. smallreflection and rubs 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staff TonyB Posted August 3, 2014 Staff Share Posted August 3, 2014 I have never been keen on blend tools but if someone could post an actual real use case then we can look at it. I have only ever seen a blend used in either the marketing of the actual feature or someone using it inappropriately in some 80s era logo or mug design. The worse kind of blends I have seen are going from one shape to another changing colour as they go. Sorry to sound a bit grumpy but I wince whenever I see one. I'm sure they can be used to great effect so please prove me wrong. Keep the suggestions coming, it's great to get feedback. Many thanks, TonyB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rui_mac Posted August 3, 2014 Share Posted August 3, 2014 I'm still on vacation but I will get back home tomorrow. So, I can't post an example right now. However, I will describe what I use the bleend for. I mainly use it to create shading of organic shapes. Or to create highlights of organic shapes (not simply round). It is really a must. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthias Posted August 3, 2014 Share Posted August 3, 2014 I use the blend tools to create nice shape landscapes. You can do a lot of nice things with blending paths. See attached files. Matthias Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrograde Posted August 4, 2014 Share Posted August 4, 2014 It's a great way to line up or lay things out too, lines for instance where you can control the amount and the distance between each and if you reposition the objects that you're blending the whole thing updates in sync. I've used it to blend 2 different colours together in a series of steps to find a good "in between" colour, or to create a series of windows in a hi rise building you create one row of windows at bottom and top and blend it to the amount of floors you need... it goes on and on... a really powerful tool that does a lot of the heavy lifting in a designers toolkit. In the attached images from my portfolio you can see lots of blends. The windows are blends of grouped shapes, the trellis and fence on the rooftop, the glass patio roof and even the flowers. The lines on the wallpaper and floorboards under the cat, the lines in the guys hair, and tons of uses on the train, boat, bridge and buildings... lepr, rui_mac, rubs and 2 others 5 Quote http://www.kevincreative.com https://www.behance.net/kevincreative https://dribbble.com/kevincreative https://www.instagram.com/kevincreative/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staff MattP Posted August 4, 2014 Staff Share Posted August 4, 2014 Really great illustrations, retrograde! :) I still keep thinking that these effects can also be achieved easily through power duplicate/a general purpose duplicate command with parameters (transform per iteration and how many iterations to do). I also used to view the Blend Tool as a pre-requisite, but I'm really not missing it yet... I'll have a think on it... Thanks, Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rui_mac Posted August 4, 2014 Share Posted August 4, 2014 There are things that can't be achieved with duplicate commands.Creating a palette of in-between colors is one of them. But creating freehand/organic shading is another one. Trust me... blend is really needed :-) impixeldude and ronnyb 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rui_mac Posted August 4, 2014 Share Posted August 4, 2014 Here is a little something I created here in a few minutes. All the shading is done using blends. The metallic shine and the shadow. This is quite easy with blends. But not as easy without it. Or is it? lepr and impixeldude 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrograde Posted August 4, 2014 Share Posted August 4, 2014 Hi MattP, thanks. I'm not familiar with the "power duplicate" command. Is this something in the app now or are you guys working on a prototype? Whichever way you achieve this type of duplication, with control and a way to convert to curves for further manipulation or to send to a client (without AD) if needed would work for me. The blend in illustrator isn't perfect and I'm sure this may be an opportunity to imagine some improvements or a different spin. We just need some sort of tool to handle repetitive shapes with some sort of control. Thanks! Quote http://www.kevincreative.com https://www.behance.net/kevincreative https://dribbble.com/kevincreative https://www.instagram.com/kevincreative/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
makdone Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 Hi, everyone , Affinity team thanks for the product, it easy and smoove Plus one for Blend tool, because it's saves time in many ways and make actions much simpler to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KyleK Posted October 16, 2015 Share Posted October 16, 2015 Hello, I just started a account so that I could comment on the blend tool. I have to agree with everyone here. I was testing out Affinity Designer for work and I needed to create a number of lines for a grid, but needed them to be blended so that I could easily change the number of lines if need be. I have to admit I was a little shocked that there is no blend tool in AD. I would appreciate it if Affinity would consider adding it in the future. I don't use the blend tool everyday, but when I do, it is very crucial to the work that I am doing. Thanks. rui_mac 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertAaron Posted November 19, 2015 Share Posted November 19, 2015 +1 Sorry, but Blend Tool is essential. I was really close to purchasing AD but this is actually a deal breaker and I can't give up my CS subscription to migrate to AD until this is added. Duplicating doesn't even come close to the power of what can be done with Blend. Unless I don't understand something about how to use it properly. Have I missed something? Cheers, Robert lepr 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herbert123 Posted November 19, 2015 Share Posted November 19, 2015 +1 Come on guys, Illustrator, Xara, CorelDraw, InkScape, and even Photoline (which focuses on image editing!) have non-destructive blend tools. It really is an essential tool for all sorts of effects and shading. lepr 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staff TonyB Posted November 19, 2015 Staff Share Posted November 19, 2015 +1 Come on guys, Illustrator, Xara, CorelDraw, InkScape, and even Photoline (which focuses on image editing!) have non-destructive blend tools. It really is an essential tool for all sorts of effects and shading. I have no problem in offering something like a blend tool for dynamic duplication of objects etc. but I can't currently accept it's the best way to shade objects. I just think we should offer a better way of shading that doesn't use such a crude method. This is why I keep asking for good examples so we can invent a better way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrograde Posted November 19, 2015 Share Posted November 19, 2015 Hi Tony, I agree not so much for shading. It's more for repeating elements and then being able to add or subtract elements after the fact by editing the blend. Creating complex arrangements quickly and with control. Power duplicate is good for some situations but you can't go back and make adjustments as easily. Something like an array tool would be great. 5 element copies across 8 down sort of thing... :-) lepr and impixeldude 2 Quote http://www.kevincreative.com https://www.behance.net/kevincreative https://dribbble.com/kevincreative https://www.instagram.com/kevincreative/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rui_mac Posted November 19, 2015 Share Posted November 19, 2015 Blending between shapes is essential.Not only for shading, of course. But for truly "organic" shading, it is a must. Check out this example, from step 7 and up: http://design.tutsplus.com/tutorials/creating-with-vector-blends-in-depth--vector-4560 Also, check out this example: http://design.tutsplus.com/tutorials/creating-a-detailed-eye-from-stock-in-adobe-illustrator--vector-5600Another great example:http://design.tutsplus.com/tutorials/how-to-create-a-hand-whisk-using-gradients-and-blends--vector-6053And this is just for shading. I remember using Blend in FreeHand to create in-between shapes for animation purposes or to create a mix between shapes (ditching the start and end shapes and keeping the generated shapes) So, please, please, PLEASE!!!! Add a Blend tool. Oh, and please make it dynamic. So, if I adjust the start and/or end shape, all the in-between shapes get updated. cooler and impixeldude 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staff TonyB Posted November 19, 2015 Staff Share Posted November 19, 2015 Blending between shapes is essential. Not only for shading, of course. But for truly "organic" shading, it is a must. Check out this example, from step 7 and up: http://design.tutsplus.com/tutorials/creating-with-vector-blends-in-depth--vector-4560 Also, check out this example: http://design.tutsplus.com/tutorials/creating-a-detailed-eye-from-stock-in-adobe-illustrator--vector-5600 Another great example: http://design.tutsplus.com/tutorials/how-to-create-a-hand-whisk-using-gradients-and-blends--vector-6053 And this is just for shading. I remember using Blend in FreeHand to create in-between shapes for animation purposes or to create a mix between shapes (ditching the start and end shapes and keeping the generated shapes) So, please, please, PLEASE!!!! Add a Blend tool. Oh, and please make it dynamic. So, if I adjust the start and/or end shape, all the in-between shapes get updated. This is exactly my point. Using duplicated interpolated objects to create the shading shown in your links is terribly crude. We need a much better method of creating high quality shading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rui_mac Posted November 19, 2015 Share Posted November 19, 2015 For creating "curved" organic gradients it is the best (only?) way. Having a "mesh coloring" tool is a possible solution. However, it is "limited" or confined to a shape. That would not be a huge problem if the color nodes could accept "transparent". Would this be a possible solution? impixeldude 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staff TonyB Posted November 19, 2015 Staff Share Posted November 19, 2015 For creating "curved" organic gradients it is the best (only?) way. It may be the best(only) way in Photoshop and Illustrator but we need to be better. We will add mesh fills but I also find these difficult to control easily so I would still like to find another solution for organic gradients. rui_mac, RogerEmure and IsabelAracama 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rui_mac Posted November 19, 2015 Share Posted November 19, 2015 I would love to find a way too. Organic non-linear blends are a must. However, a dynamic blend tool (even if not with shading in mind) is even a "muster" must ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertAaron Posted November 20, 2015 Share Posted November 20, 2015 I have never used blending for shading, but seeing those examples from rui_mac were mind opening. I had never even thought of it for that! I would typically use a mesh tool to perform that kind of shading, but the mesh tool isn't so easy to shade like those irregular shapes. I think it's great that you guys are challenging the typical way of doing things and look forward to when you release these tools rui_mac 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impixeldude Posted April 7, 2017 Share Posted April 7, 2017 Please, count my vote for mesh and blend tool aswell! These things were among a few other ones (like gradient across stroke), which are still restrain me from buying AD. Though I would like to have such a powerful software on my board! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rui_mac Posted April 7, 2017 Share Posted April 7, 2017 Here is a video I created to show some of the blending capabilities, in FreeHand. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3Rh8OcI9zU&t=10s impixeldude 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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