Functionality, then Clipping path headache.

[affinitynumpty]

Hello Affinity. I bought Affinity when it first came out and it has been sitting on my MacBookPro waiting to be used.

Every time I tried to use it, there would be those minor differences to PS that kept stopping me using it, sorry I'm so used to the other program that I'm set in my ways and retraining my muscle memory map was too much for me.

So there it sat until I started having a clear out of apps from my machine so I thought lets have another look at it again, so I uploaded v1.6.6 and thought today I would give it a whirl.

My first stumbling block was the short key cuts, so I spent a while converting all of the Affinity Short key cuts to match the same as Photoshop, that helped.

Then I grabbed one of my images to try to try a clipping path to cut it out as I would in PS. 

OMG, my brain is melting. Please tell me what I am doing wrong here.

 

I started with the pen tool and cut around the shape. What I found was if I left any kind of gap or alt clicked, it would sometimes start a brand new curve layer, instead of continuing on from the previous path I was trying to complete. I eventually found out that I could join these errant curves layers together. Then I realised had to keep re clicking the last node to make sure it followed on. After about 30 minutes of trial and error I created a path around my object. The object also had a few other bits to cut out within it, so I started to create a path (curve) around the smaller elements inside the object I was trying to cut out. What I found was Affinity would create brand new curve layers for these paths and would not let me join them together as one final path (curve layer) with multiple paths in them.

 

Why can I not join multiple (closed) paths (curves) together into one?

Or am I thinking like Affinity should act like PS in this situation and there is actually a better way to produce a path cut out. Which can be added to Indesign to show there is a defined cut out path?

 

See Screen Grab for an example. Not the figure with the holes to be cut out in the arm areas.

Obviously I can make a selection of all the paths and mask it out so the element in question can be cut out but I would like the path to stay behind so I can tweak it again at a later date. Or make a selection to create a path, which also does not seem to be possible either.

 

For the life of me I can't see how to do this in Affinity. Is this too PS centric and should I be doing things differently in Affinity? 

[R C-R]

By using the Pen Tool you are creating vector shapes (curves). It isn't impossible to use them for cutting out parts of an image but it is much easier to use the selection tools for that. The Affinity Photo - Cutting Out video tutorial show how that works.

 

4 hours ago, affinitynumpty said:

Why can I not join multiple (closed) paths (curves) together into one?

You can do this using the boolean ("Geometry") choices.

[toltec]

You need to make just one path around the object.

 

1. Take a bus (well, not literally, stay where you are for now )

 

Draw a path around it. I reduced the levels of the image so you can see the path.

Note, I did it rather crudely for a quick demonstration, but you get the idea.

 

 

With the pen tool selected, click on Mask.

 

It cuts out the bus (clipping path) from the background, which is shown here as the transparent chequerboard.

 

You can select the curve inside the layer and adjust it at any time using the node tool

 

Should you want a single deck bus

 

If you want to do something like the arm cutouts. After you have done the main shape, draw a new path inside the arms and combine the shapes using a boolean operation. Layer > Geometry > Subtract. Then (with the pen tool selected) click on Mask. You can edit the mask with the node tool, as above.

 

 

[R C-R]

6 hours ago, affinitynumpty said:

Obviously I can make a selection of all the paths and mask it out so the element in question can be cut out but I would like the path to stay behind so I can tweak it again at a later date.

Do you really want to save a vector path for this or just the "marching ants" selection normally used for cutting out, masking, copying, etc.? If the latter, you can select the mask layer & from the Select menu use "Selection from Layer" to get the "marching ants" selection back again & refine it or reuse it as is. You can also save the selection to a spare channel or to a separate file. 

[affinitynumpty]

Hi guys, Cheeers for th replies so far.

 

Layer - Geometry - Combine was exactly what I was looking for to combine the 4 curves into one. Though if I were to compare this to PS that is another step added to create one path around an object than PS.

Why it does not let me just create one curve path then other paths within that same curve as I go is a mystery.

Now I have the path combined with arm cut outs and have exported to PS I can see the path attached, which is what I need to be able to put this into Indesign.

I never do marching ants cut outs and leave it at that as I always need to use a path for multiple designs and flexibility which also leaves the background intact so I'm only using one file.

Marching ants to create path would be handy, I'll have to find where that lies in affinity as this will make my life easier too.

Cheers Guys.

 

[R C-R]

16 minutes ago, affinitynumpty said:

Why it does not let me just create one curve path then other paths within that same curve as I go is a mystery.

Vector objects are usually defined geometrically as one continuous path. It is not possible to do that with multiple, unconnected paths so to create cutouts in a closed path some kind of compound object is required. In Affinity, boolean geometric operations usually create "(Curves)" (note the plural) objects in the Layers panel, or with the alt/option key held down during creation, "(Compound)" ones.

 

29 minutes ago, affinitynumpty said:

I never do marching ants cut outs and leave it at that as I always need to use a path for multiple designs and flexibility which also leaves the background intact so I'm only using one file.

The primary benefits of using marching ants selections for making cutouts from raster images are to enable making selections based on pixel properties instead of tediously drawing hard edged vector paths, & to use algorithms to refine edges so they blend into other raster images without jagged edges. 

[toltec]

17 minutes ago, R C-R said:

The primary benefits of using marching ants selections for making cutouts from raster images are to enable making selections based on pixel properties instead of tediously drawing hard edged vector paths, & to use algorithms to refine edges so they blend into other raster images without jagged edges. 

 

The primary disadvantages of using marching ants selections for making cutouts from raster images is that it is a destructive process. Paths are totally non-destructive. 

[R C-R]

33 minutes ago, toltec said:

The primary disadvantages of using marching ants selections for making cutouts from raster images is that it is a destructive process. Paths are totally non-destructive. 

??? Several techniques mentioned in the Cutting Out video are non-destructive. James Ritson even uses the word "non-destructively" at about the 1:17 mark.

[Fixx]

Masking is quite nondestructive... but more to the point, I think AP support for real cutting paths is weak. I mean the old fashioned ones that we used in TIF files back in 90's. They are not much used in modern workflows either as masks or files with transparency are supported so well in layout apps. Also you cannot have feathering with cutting paths, in transparent PSD and even in TIF files it is easy.

[affinitynumpty]

Cheers guys. I have been looking for a 'Convert a selection to a Path' menu but can't find it. I assume this is something not implemented yet?

[MEB]

Hi affinitynumpty,

Welcome to Affinity Forums

This is not available yet but it's on the roadmap to be implemented in the 1.x cycle.

[kaffeeundsalz]

On 11/26/2017 at 2:55 PM, toltec said:

The primary disadvantages of using marching ants selections for making cutouts from raster images is that it is a destructive process. Paths are totally non-destructive. 

 

I don't get this. If you literally cut out a piece of an image, thus deleting the unwanted pixel information, you're right. But why would you ever want to do this instead of using masks?