Add (Expand) Curve that overlaps itself

[simonlayfield]

Hey all,

So I've been provide with a pretty complex logo EPS file from a client and I basically need to reduce a crazy number of curves, both with and without strokes, to a solid shape.

There are a number of curves that appear as simple solid shapes but in fact have overlapping areas - example below.

When selecting this curve the only option available to me is Divide, which isn't what I need.

Using Illustrator previously there was the option to Expand, which I believe would have simplified the shape to basically merge the overlapping areas.

Is there any way you might suggest I can achieve this in Affinity?

[Gabe]

Hi @simonlayfield,

Have you tried to Expand Stroke? That would be in Layer > Expand Stroke. Can you attach the SVG or the .afdesign file? 

Thanks,

Gabe. 

[gdenby]

Hi, simonlayfield,

Looking at your sample, I made the assumption that the blue-ish lines around the maroon color were very oddly made vector lines. I had doubts about how expand stroke might work on those. So many overlapping strokes.

So I just did a manual trace w. the pen tool. First pass took about 3 minutes. Came back a couple hours later, and did a bit of fine tuning. I offer the attachment to demonstrate if the effort produced something reasonably accurate.

I also cleaned up the image, and ran it thru a vectorizer, and then cleaned that product up. Stopped after 25 min. The results were not so good, in part because the original had flaws in the outlines, which were in turn more distorted by the vectorizer.

QuickTrace.afdesign

[simonlayfield]

Thanks both and apologies for the delay.

@gdenby Yeah, they are oddly made vector lines. I was provided an EPS by a client of their existing logo and decided I would simplify the file by expanding/merging the shapes - but this is where Affinity struggles for me. This file is pretty crazy, and while I wouldn't personally create a file this complex, I simply have to deal with it being so as it was provided to me. Some shapes/curves are solid fill, others are with strokes of varying widths and ON TOP OF THAT there are shapes like the one I posted above that can't be 'Added' to other shapes because of their overlapping nature.

It'd be a VERY useful feature in this case to select by fill or stroke, but that's still in the pipeline.

@GabrielM I've attached an afdesign file containing the curve I originally posted.

Unfortunately it looks like I'll have to find a copy of Illustrator to use in order to get this work done. Using Affinity just can't handle the complex (crazy) curve lines and sheer number of curves of different fills/stroke that  require unifying. Bug on that I posted to here

I've also attached the original EPS that I was hoping to simplify. I think this file is a mix of a previous designer's work and perhaps some auto-generated vector elements that have been pasted/imported in to the artwork (hence why some of the the shapes/curves are so unexpectedly crazy).

overlapping-curve.afdesign

Corn-Stars-Logo-Emblem.eps

Edited September 3, 2018 by simonlayfield
phrasing change

[simonlayfield]

Oh and sorry @GabrielM yeah I did try expanding stroke but this appears to do nothing.

@gdenby Thanks so much for the time you spent tracing to illustrate this as an option, however when you see the EPS I attached you'll realise this just isn't a solution for the entirety of the file. There are just WAY too many tiny curves that would require tracing.

Why not remake the logo from scratch?

^ Yeah, I mean this is an option. However, this also requires a considerable amount of effort and time in order to successfully recreate a like-for-like result. I'm not against the idea, but I feel that this option should be a last resort given that Affinity should be able to handle this scenario. The EPS I was provided sucks and is the product of lazy/generated vector work but...¯\_(ツ)_/¯...it is what it is. There are times when we are passed the ball and we just have to work with what we're given. I'd like to think I've got the know-how and software features to forge on.

I'd also like to say that, despite this particular issue and those connected with it, Affinity is EXCELLENT. I've been a designer a long time and there's so much that's gone in to it that makes my job that much more enjoyable when performing day-to-day tasks. Big fan right here.

Edited September 3, 2018 by simonlayfield
Additional comments.

[firstdefence]

You can create a new curve that overlays the crazy crisscrossing paths and use add to remove them. but thats the only method I know of to get round this.

[firstdefence]

Corn-Stars-Logo-Emblem- Converted.pdf