Jump to content
You must now use your email address to sign in [click for more info] ×

Feature Requests for Painting- just a few productivity requests to improve the painting experience


Recommended Posts

Testing Affinity Photo on iPad pro and I'm quite pleased with the pro level of the app.

I use it mainly to paint with Apple Pencil .Here are a few notes and suggestions that I hope you take into consideration:

 

1- Ability to have floating panels (studio) which you can move around or close/minimize when not needed.

 

2-If floating panels are not possible , at least the ability to have 2 studios opened and pinned at the same time? For example I really prefer to have the color wheel panel always pinned, and not disappear when I choose brushes. That will minimize the number of taps and enhance the drawing experience.

 

3-The color picker that is included with the brush controls at the bottom is very practical and handy, BUT, you must click outside of it in order to close it and then start painting, opening it again, tap to close, etc. it would be ideal to : a- be able to pin it, so you can use the HSB sliders naturally while you paint. b- if pinning it is not possible, at least let it close itself as the user starts painting, without the need to tap to close it. That will enhance the workflow.

 

4a-Finger press-and-hold for color picker feels awkward and needs to be enhanced, the circle is way far off , I think it would be ideal that the center of the colorpicker picks the color directly underneath it, and not where the user's finger is, specially when you drag the colorpicker on the canvas, the center of that circle gives the impression that it should be picking what's underneath. If you don't want to change this permanently at least give the user the option to toggle on or off.

 

4b-The time it takes for the colorpicker circle to show up (finger press-and-hold) is a bit long, make it faster or let the user specify this speed in the settings.

 

5-Layer lock isn't working, the icon turns red but you can still draw on the layer...

 

6-Add transparency lock /lock/ visibilty icons directly to the layer panel without the need to click on the (...) and open another panel.

 

7-Add clipping mask ability. 

 

8-Ability to hide the selection marching ants.

 

9-Easier way for undo-redo , the icons are really tiny, maybe a gesture, like two finger tap  , or swipe..

 

10- An easy way to flip canvas horizontally. 

 

11- There is an annoying white circle that appears and fades when pinch you zoom in and out while on the brush mode. I think it's absolutely unnecessary. 

 

12- An easy way to select an area of the image with Lasso tool and do free transform on it. currently it's a bit of a hassle, Going to the selection Persona for selection and then going to Filters for Perspective transform? which doesn't work well for simply transforming a part of the painting - I think implementing a Free Transform tool that is accessible in the selection Persona is ideal.

 

Thank you!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Also, its disruptive that frequently no layer may be currently active, so when you start drawing again, it creates a new one. There should always be an active layer selected.

 

There should also be a mode where pinch twist zoom navigation is persistent , right now you have to switch into the canvas rotate mode, which means you can't draw as long as its active. This is a -huge- productivity killer, and users used to procreate/Paintstorm/sketchclub will not ever get used to this inferior convention. Maybe just add a third mode to canvas pan/ canvas rotate/ (call it illustration mode maybe?)

 

Sketchclub has a customizable floating palette that you can assign your favourite tools/presets to. This would allow affinity users to create their own 'illustration persona ' based on the tools they use the most. The tap count required to do the same function in affinity photo relative to other apps is at least 50% more or greater, which over a long session adds up quickly.

 

Affinity photo has lots of great tools and details, but the overall drawing/painting experience is currently far too disjointed relative to iOS mainstays that people are probably already had before getting ap.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

I think there is a way to do clipping masks...I'd have to find the tutorial again because I forget how to do it.  Also, that annoying circle is the brush size, which I wish would show at all times like Photoshop and Procreate.  That is why I rarely use Affinity Photo, it makes it pretty much useless on doing fine brush work or masking.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just the ability to customize the UI toolbox would be sufficient. Say, adding a customized persona and removing all others. For example, I don't need 50% of the things in AP today, but not having Dodge and Burn as two different icons TOGETHER drive me insane, since I use them intermittently. Same with having to go to a different persona to delete the selected area. A simple ALT button in the bottom left corner together with the pencil click, bringing options would be easier to implement, I guess.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Guidelines | We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.