How can I join two different forms to become one?

[Burian]

Hi!
I am quite new to the world of design and I'd like to pursue it as a hobby. I found out about affinity designer and i LOVE it so far.
However I've noticed q lot of times while playing around with it, that sometimes the "snap" does not properly work, or at least I might not use it properly and therefore always do the same mistake:

Whenever I create a symmetrical image, I first create half of the grafic and then copy paste and mirror it to get the image I want. In 90% of the cases though, I end up with the shapes not being perfectly together and it results in a gap between the images. I mostlay always discover it at the end, because I use a helper line which covers the gap.

Is there an easy technique which allows me to fix this? 

I've tried to break both curves and then join the top and bottom nodes, but nothing happens.
Also when trying to "snap" both nodes on top of each other, I can't get rid of the gap.

I'd be grateful for any advice.

[Gabe]

Hi @Burian,

Welcome to the forums. 

Without manually moving the shapes, there is no way to "join/snap" the 2 objects. 

Thanks,

Gabel. 

[gdenby]

Hi, Burian,

It is hard to tell from the images posted exactly what is going on. Perhaps you might add a sample file that has problems.

A base suggestion. In the snapping settings, make sure snapping to guides is active. (Myself, I have pretty much everything in snapping turned on.) That way, anything that is drawn can have one side perfectly aligned to a center vertical  guide. Then when flipped and slid over to the other side, it will snap to the guide. When moving, hold the shift key to constrain motion to horizontal. Indicators will appear when the 2 halves are lined up.

Select both sides, and shift to node tool. Use join curves, and then close curves.

[Burian]

Thank you both for your answers!
It'S a hassle to currently fix it. I will add additional shapes below the gap to "cover" it

My takeaway:
- turn on all snapping options
- optimize shape creation. @gdenby i have further question: when creating the first half of the image, do you "close" all shapes or do you leave the sides snapping with the center helper line open and then close them after mirroring it?

 

[MEB]

Hi Burian,
Welcome to Affinity Forums
Both sides of the drawing must be pixel aligned at the mirror axis (which must also be on integer values) to ensure you get a perfect match without gaps when exporting. Make sure Force Pixel Alignment is enabled in the main toolbar. Additionally you can also place a guide at the mirror axis position to help when snapping objects and nodes to it. Regarding the snapping issues you're describing, without a file or knowing how you have set up the document (there's quite a few factors that may affect this) it's difficult to guess what's going on. I can provide you an upload link if you don't mind sharing the file with us for checking.

[gdenby]

I have everything turned on except "gaps and sizes" because all the snapping info on the screen can get confusing.

If an object is going to be reflected along an axis, I only draw half, and then, as described above, join and close the halves when they are mirrored by the axis.