affinity designer "Squishy" - Designer Sample Artwork

[ChristiduToit]

I totally forgot to post this here, which is really dumb of me, because this is probably one of the most important places that this should be posted! 

I worked with the lovely folks over at Serif/Affinity to create this official sample artwork for the release of Affinity Designer 1.7.
You can access the working file of this illustration both on the desktop as well as iPad versions of Designer by browsing the sample artwork section, which will allow you to have a look 'under the hood' to see how the illustration was put together. The artwork also shows up for a moment in the latest Affinity 1.7 video advertisement, and in two of their latest tutorial videos.

Though Designer is primarily a vector based app, I created this piece entirely in the Pixel Persona using raster brushes to show just how versatile the app can be.

You can see more of this over on my Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/christidutoit 

...and if you'd like to read my ramblings, I did an interview on the Affinity Spotlight blog too: 

https://affinityspotlight.com/article/christi-du-toit-digital-but-hand-drawn-with-lots-of-grit/

Hope you guys like it! 

[affinity4Christ15]

I LOVE it! 

 

 

[naii]

Hey @ChristiduToit,

I’m just getting started with Affinity Designer, and I’ve come across your Comix Toolbox where I learned that your "Squishy” was available in Affinity Designer version 1.7.

However, is it correct that in version 1.9.2 of Affinity Designer it’s no longer there?

If yes, is there another way to gain access to it?

I would really like to understand what you did there since I find it very inspiring.

Thanks a lot!

I look forward to hearing from you

Cheers,
- naii

Edited April 9, 2021 by naii

[ChristiduToit]

@naii Hi there! 

Every major Affinity update comes with a new set of sample files, so I'm afraid that the Squishy artwork file, as it accompanied an older version of Affinity, is no longer available (at least not to my knowledge). 
With that in mind, I don't think there's another way to access it at this stage.

As an alternative, I've done a a video for Affinity's Creative Sessions which might give you a bit of insight into my process for creating illustrations like this: https://youtu.be/QLrlXHCdo1E
And I've also added a working file of a recent "Venus Flerp-Derp" illustration to my Gumroad which might help and it's quite similar: https://gumroad.com/christidutoit
If you decide to purchase the working file you can use the discount code CHRISTIDTIYS for 40% off.  

[Alfred]

5 hours ago, ChristiduToit said:

And I've also added a working file of a recent "Venus Flerp-Derp" illustration to my Gumroad which might help and it's quite similar: https://gumroad.com/christidutoit
If you decide to purchase the working file you can use the discount code CHRISTIDTIYS for 40% off.  

Thanks, Christi!

[naii]

THANK YOU SO MUCH @ChristiduToit  

"Venus Flerp-Derp" is now mine - your discount code is VERY generous.

In fact, that gave me the last push to buy Affinity Designer (I have been in the trial period up until now).

Plus, I couldn’t resist getting your Christi’s Comix Toolbox.

Thank you also for the link to your Affinity Creative Session! It’s on my playlist.

===

Regarding "the Squishy artwork file no longer being available":

I found a way to open it in Affinity (for those interested in getting a closer look at the "Squish" artwork):

• If you’re on Windows, go to https://store.serif.com/update/windows/designer/1/ and pick Version 1.7.0
• If you’re on macOS, go to https://store.serif.com/update/macos/designer/1/ and pick Version 1.7.0

Then:

1. Install it, and it will tell you that your trial period is over.
2. Click "Continue Trial" and then you have ONE chance to open "Squish" and inspect it in detail.

However, since you cannot save "Squish" (it’s locked - I understand why that is) and since you can only open version 1.7 once - after having closed the app and re-open it again it’ll tell you that 0 days are left of your trial period - you only have this once chance to inspect "Squish".

And yes, the 1.7 opened even when my trial version (1.9.2) was installed at the same time. It’s two different instances.

So, that’s how I got the chance to have a detailed look at "Squish" as well as at "Skull Island" by Frankentoon which is another great artwork that I enjoy. These are easily two of my favorites because of their inbuilt diegetic micro-narrative.

Cheers and thanks a lot, Christi!

Greetings from Berlin to Cape Town
- naii

[ChristiduToit]

@naii Oh, that's awesome! Thank you so much for the support, I really appreciate it, and I'm glad to hear you managed to find a workaround to inspect the file.
 

[ChristiduToit]

7 hours ago, Alfred said:

Thanks, Christi!

Thanks so much for the support @Alfred!

[Affinity iPad Student]

This use to be in the Affinity iPad samples section. 

Why did serif remove it? It’s no longer available.

 

[ChristiduToit]

On 5/1/2021 at 11:44 AM, Affinity iPad Student said:

This use to be in the Affinity iPad samples section. 

Why did serif remove it? It’s no longer available.

 

Hi @Affinity iPad Student
Serif replaces/renews the sample artwork with each major update.

This one was created to accompany Designer 1.7, but they changed the sample files with 1.8 and then again with 1.9. 

[Affinity iPad Student]

On 5/3/2021 at 1:12 AM, ChristiduToit said:

Hi @Affinity iPad Student
Serif replaces/renews the sample artwork with each major update.

This one was created to accompany Designer 1.7, but they changed the sample files with 1.8 and then again with 1.9. 

Understood, well i do miss it! it’s a classic piece in my eyes. I wish i still had all its PSD files on my Affinity Photo iPad, so i could learn.

That piece is a master study! 

[ChristiduToit]

@Affinity iPad Student I hope you mean .AFDESIGN and not .PSD
Seriously though, thank you so much - I really appreciate that!

[Affinity iPad Student]

@ChristiduToit

Ah, i see what you. Since you made it in designer. I actually did mean .psd because I mostly use Affinity Photo. I was hoping i could I could open this file in AP for ipad and see it’s layers in there. 

 

Im not sure if I can open .afdesign in AP. I hope we can? That would be amazing!

[Smee Again]

1 hour ago, Affinity iPad Student said:

@ChristiduToit

Ah, i see what you. Since you made it in designer. I actually did mean .psd because I mostly use Affinity Photo. I was hoping i could I could open this file in AP for ipad and see it’s layers in there. 

 

Im not sure if I can open .afdesign in AP. I hope we can? That would be amazing!

You should be able to. I do it from time to time, then save it and send it back to AD.

[ChristiduToit]

@Affinity iPad Student Just like @Smee Again said, any Affinity files are universally compatible with any Affinity software. You can seamlessly open and edit any Affinity file (.afdesign, .afphoto, and/or .afpub) in any Affinity app (Designer, Photo, and/or Publisher) on desktop and/or iPad. That's one of the greatest things about Affinity for me! I can do most of my illustration work in Photo, and then open that same file in Designer to do the layout and typography, save, and go back to Photo to do some raster texturing or add effects/filters without having to export it into different formats each time. That final file will still be in .afphoto format even if I saved it in Designer.