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Posted on 23/02/15 03:06:17 AM
Tom
Texture Technologist
Posts: 401

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Affinity
So Steve...
Will you be writing How To Cheat In Affinity Photo?

Look



Posted on 23/02/15 07:48:57 AM
Steve Caplin
Administrator
Posts: 6846

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Re: Affinity
Very tempted, Tom! It's an excellent app. Take a look at Affinity Designer, too. I've been in touch with them, an I'm very impressed by what they're doing.

Posted on 23/02/15 09:56:48 AM
GKB
Magical Montagist
Posts: 3742

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Re: Affinity
Looks like I might have a new learning curve ahead of me ... and no subscription!

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Posted on 23/02/15 4:20:04 PM
Tom
Texture Technologist
Posts: 401

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Re: Affinity
Yes, this will be a serious alternative to PS at a fraction of the cost.
It also has many nice small features that are an improvement on PS.
Will definitely purchase the final version.

Posted on 23/02/15 8:08:16 PM
GKB
Magical Montagist
Posts: 3742

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Re: Affinity
I have downloaded the Affinity Photo beta and, after just a very brief play, I'm impressed so far. Like Tom, I'll be purchasing the full release.

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If at first you don't succeed then skydiving is not for you.

Posted on 01/03/15 1:23:57 PM
DavidMac
Director of Photoshop
Posts: 4966

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Re: Affinity
I have downloaded trials of Photo and Designer. Both look interesting.

Not sure Designer meets my needs (which centre around geometrical and perspective constructions) but it is very interesting. Good basic toolset without frills.

Photo is lacking a few things and the methodology is a bit different and frustrating at times - as is the lack of a decent 'walkthrough', although the manuals are comprehensive. The tutorials seem focused on individual problems rather than overall skills. But to be frank I've only skimmed at this point. I can see myself porting in and out of this just for the mesh warp which is to die for!!

I shall definitely be following these two.

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The subtlety and conviction of any Photoshop effect is invariably inversely proportional to the number of knobs on it .......

Posted on 03/03/15 10:16:01 AM
DavidMac
Director of Photoshop
Posts: 4966

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Re: Affinity
And Affinity photo has a real Y Axis vectorscope for exposure and contrast control!! So much better than histograms. At last!! I've been wanting this so long.

I shan't be leaving PS6 yet. There's a long way to go with Affinity yet. But it really does look like one to watch.



_________________
The subtlety and conviction of any Photoshop effect is invariably inversely proportional to the number of knobs on it .......

Posted on 03/03/15 12:33:20 PM
Steve Caplin
Administrator
Posts: 6846

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Re: Affinity
They're also due to be bringing out a layout program shortly - plus, you'll be able to open any of the documents in any of the Affinity apps. Interesting times!


Posted on 05/03/15 2:01:44 PM
DavidMac
Director of Photoshop
Posts: 4966

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Re: Affinity
More discoveries.

Something else I have always wanted - the ability to 'stack' masks. To apply several independently adjustable masks to a single layer. You can work around this in Photoshop by nesting groups each with it's own mask - but it's clumsy.

Here it is in Affinity:

Untitled by davidmac1943, on Flickr

A layer with three different masks. The image layer is a blue square. Mask One controls the centre glow, mask two the cross and mask three the soft outer edge. Each being independently adjustable.

by davidmac1943, on Flickr

Here is the layer "opened up" so you can see and access the three separate masks which are contained inside the 'parent' layer as 'children'.

by davidmac1943, on Flickr

Another huge plus for a clumsy klutz like me is a phenomenal undo/history list. This defaults to 1028 entries and can be pushed up to over 8000! Obviously they have found a way of doing this without the massive overheads of Photoshop's history list. There is a slider above the list and by sliding this you can watch everything you did undoing or redoing in front of your eyes. Its exactly like having a fast forward and fast backward control to any point in your work. The undo history can also be saved with the image so it's there when you open the image to work on again. Perhaps I am just lazy but, for me, that's a real winner.

The layer philosophy in Affinity is very different and very confusing to begin with. This app does use a different mindset. There's tons of stuff hidden inside it but it's hard to discover with nothing but the Help files and a few tutorials which are not very helpful for general use but are focused on very specific issues. There's a long way to go but for a beta it's astonishing. The forum is active and full of user feedback and Serif actually participate in it and give feedback to the users. A long, long way from Adobe's hands off style.

I won't be giving up CS6 in a hurry - it's far too engrained in my bloodstream for that. But this could well be one for the future.

It's certainly one to follow and watch.

_________________
The subtlety and conviction of any Photoshop effect is invariably inversely proportional to the number of knobs on it .......

Posted on 05/03/15 5:47:09 PM
GKB
Magical Montagist
Posts: 3742

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Re: Affinity
I'm looking forward to 'How to Cheat in Affinity' by some 'relation' of Steve's!

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Time flies like an arrow but fruit flies like a banana.

Posted on 05/03/15 9:00:46 PM
Steve Caplin
Administrator
Posts: 6846

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Re: Affinity
Oh, it's certainly a book I'd like to write!

Posted on 05/03/15 10:08:42 PM
GKB
Magical Montagist
Posts: 3742

Reply


Re: Affinity
Well you've got three sales so far - so what are you waiting for!

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Posted on 05/03/15 10:23:09 PM
DavidMac
Director of Photoshop
Posts: 4966

Reply


Re: Affinity
GKB wrote:
I'm looking forward to 'How to Cheat in Affinity' by some 'relation' of Steve's!


Some distant cousin who won't offend Adobe ....... ?

Now that would be nice. Keep it in the family ........

_________________
The subtlety and conviction of any Photoshop effect is invariably inversely proportional to the number of knobs on it .......

Posted on 12/01/18 8:08:26 PM
Tom
Texture Technologist
Posts: 401

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Re: Affinity
Well, they have published a very nice Affinity Photo workbook (hardback).
I will be using that when I eventually migrate away from Adobe for good. There are enough differences, that I am not familiar with, between PS and AP that it is somewhat painful to accomplish what I do with PS in AP.

But I also will eagerly purchase How To Cheat In Affinity Photo.



Posted on 28/02/18 04:20:00 AM
ConnieR.
*
Posts: 53

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Re: Affinity
Add me to the list of customers for How To Cheat in Affinity! I haven't gotten the program yet, but I see they finally have a Windows version, so it's on my wishlist. One thing is certain, I'll never go to the Adobe subscriptions! I still intend to keep Photoshop as long as possible, but eventually new versions of computers will be forced down my throat, then I'll have to do something different.
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