"Chain lines" in Designer?

[lenelg]

In SerifDraw, I was able to design my own line styles , consisting of vector objects repeated along a vector path. Is anything similar available in Designer?

I have searched for "chain" without success, but it could of course be implemented under another name..

For me this is a must have, so otherwise it is back to the old toolbox..

[gdenby]

Hi, lenelg,

Perhaps someone who has used SerifDraw will comment, but from what I can find from online tutorials, in AD they'd just be a textured image brush. Not exactly vectors along a path. One can create vector objects, save them off as .png files, and use them singly or multiply as a brush that works w. the vector brush, or any vector stroke. 

 

At present, AD only supports vectors along paths which are fonts. That works w. dingbat and image fonts, if you have any of those.

[Alfred]

Welcome to the Serif Affinity Forums, @lenelg.

There’s no direct equivalent to the line styles which were already available in DrawPlus when @MattP joined Serif and oversaw the implementation of the hugely more flexible brushes that were introduced in DrawPlus 8.0, but (as @gdenby has suggested) you may be able to create suitable textured image brushes for a similar effect.

[lenelg]

Would a textured image brush orient the rotation of its stroke along a vector path, or only its position? See enclosed example, I design model railroad trackplans..

[toltec]

This is the chain brush built into Designer, using the  Vector Brush Tool.

[gdenby]

A few of my homemade brushes. Mostly work:

[lenelg]

Thanks, problem solved! Now I just need to find a good tutorial on vector brushes..

[Alfred]

You just need to create a new textured image brush and browse to your exported PNG image in the same way as you would for a ‘stroke’ or ‘spray’ brush in DrawPlus. You’ll have the same distortion problems (narrowing of the sleepers as they go around bends) in AD as you would have with a stroke brush in DP, but with the gentle curves of a railroad track it shouldn’t be too bad.

[toth]

On 6/22/2018 at 6:39 PM, toltec said:

This is the chain brush built into Designer, using the  Vector Brush Tool.

Sorry to dig up an old thread, but where did you find this brush? I can't see it in any of the categories..

[firstdefence]

@toth They would be from the Affinity Designer 1.6.1 version, the chainlink was in the Image brush set:

 

 Image 1.6.1.afbrushes

 

 

[toth]

Thanks! I do remember having those, but they must've dissapeared along with an update..