Affinity Bootcamp - January 2025

[Rene Marker]

  On 1/15/2025 at 10:12 PM, eli1 said:

Just to let you know, you can use same shadow value over and over just by clicking on FX in the layer panel and moving it to the desired layer. As a fact, you can use all of the layer effects the same way.

The other important thing with layer effects is option Scale with object. When it is check-marked, the layer effect will scale at the same ratio with the object.

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I agree about scale with object. I saw a video where the presenter talked about having it checked all the time. She actually wishes it was checked by default. I tend to agree with her as I check that box before making any other adjustments.

[eli1]

To Angela Tilghman regarding copying pictures.... Use Place Picture on Tool bar. By clicking on the icon, you will be taken to your folders. After choosing your photo, click open (or double click) and you can place it on your project as a new layer

[Corrie Kinkel]

Hurrah the forum is fixed! Carole you must have had a headache over this, especially now with the start of a whole new project.

It still feels a bit awkward, but today is only the second day that I'm opening Affinity. Before it was mentioned in the Campus I had never even heard of this program. I'm slowly finding my way and seeing how things are done. Yesterday I spend some time just browsing around all the settings, some are clear and others I have to learn what they are doing. For instance I was looking for an undo, couldn't find it but realized that CtrlZ can be used like all the other keyboard shortcuts I'm used to!!! 

Carole is there a cheat sheet of all the tools in the tools toolbar on the left side of the screen? There are so many and I'm curious what will be used mostly and what can be skipped because I have seen some that I think I will need and a lot that I don't know what they are doing.

For this layout I didn't use a kit but everything comes from my stash. The background paper is from DigitalScrapbook's blogtrain January 2025 and the red stripe is by Jessica Dunn. The scatters are by Marissa Lerin and the waterdrops come from my stash. I made the watersplash some time ago with a tutorial for PSP. The title font is Hot Fire and very fitting for my photo which I took a couple of days ago. On my way home after doing some shopping I heard wailing sirens coming closer and the police was already at the scene closing of an area. There was a lot of smoke and I took some pictures. Nobody was hurt but a part of the building has substantial damage. Luckily the old church and parsonage could be saved.

[Saara]

Yay!  The forums are back!  As per Carole's request, here's my Bootcamp Sandwich which I originally posted in the other thread.  No bacon or pickles for me but I'll take an extra slice of tomato.  I also like a nice cup of tea to wash it all down.

[Saara]

And here's my Bootcamp Project 1 - Dance Like Nobody Is Watching!

I don't have any scrapbooking kits as this is a new venture for me, so I grabbed some assets from Pixabay and Envato Elements.  The "photo" isn't one I've taken.  It's from my collection of Affinity Photo edits as, if I do decide to embrace scrapbooking as much as photo manipulation, then I plan to use scrapbook pages to showcase my Affinity creations. 😊

[Linda J Walker]

I'm working on Day 3. The layout I am doing is tabbed. But when I open an element, it is a floating window. If I minimize it, where does it go? How do I get it back? I have just been going to file-open again but that is just double work. So where is a minimized file?

I got an email from Affinity Customer Support this morning. He said to sign out, then sign back in with the code, to get the 90 day trial. After doing it a couple of times, and it not working, I signed out and closed the program. The opened it again. That time when I put the code in, I got the 90 day trial. So that is what worked for me.

[Gerry Landreth]

Project 1. River is enjoying the sun while Rudy snoozes below. I'm setting up a music room and thought this would be a nice addition as a piece of furniture and a place for the cats to lounge and listen. 

[Linda J Walker]

Project 1--Affinity is different. I considered adding a white border to the photo, but I could not figure out how to do that. And it seemed like cheating to do it in PaintShop, so I just didn't. The first time I resized and exported the file, it was too large to upload, I had to redo it and lower the quality. 

Can you link layers in Affinity?

I don't know how to upload to the gallery, I don't think I have done that before. When I clicked the link for directions, it said 'page not found'. Not sure if it was the gremlins, or if it is really not there. Please point me to the directions.

I found this photo in one of my mom's old photo albums. Kennywood Park is an amusement park in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area. My dad rarely wore a suit and tie. I would say it must have been a big outing that he got so dressed up! On May 20, 1950, dad would have been 18, mom was 17. In a few months, my parents would elope. According to Wikipedia "May 20, 1950 (Saturday) Armed Forces Day was observed for the first time in the United States, following the proclamation by President Truman. "

[Daniel Hess]

  On 1/16/2025 at 2:16 AM, Linda J Walker said:

Can you link layers in Affinity?

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I found that you can "group" layers.  I think Affinity does alot that PSP will do but in different ways.  Gonna be a learning curve.

[Rene Marker]

Grouping only works if all the layers you want linked are next to each other. Same as PSP. I don't think linking is available in Affinity. It is a useful feature in PSP for sure.

I have a feeling that Carole will get into this in future lessons.

[Jean Naumann]

As usual I spent more time selecting papers and embellishments than I did doing the layout.  Really good to see how Affinity Photo works though.

[Sharon Murray]

Maybe now I can post 🙂  

I've had Affinity for two years but I have not used it very much.  I've been wanting to use it more so I was glad to see you offer this workshop 🙂  

I have my background set to the dark theme.  I have gone back and forth between floating and tabbed windows but I do not like the way it does the floating windows.  I do use floating windows in PSP but it's different in Affinity.  I wish Affinity did the same thing as floating windows in PSP.  

[Cassel]

I am glad to see everyone back in our comfortable forum. Thank you for your patience while I worked at exterminating those gremlins 🙂

@Jenny MacKay I am not familiar with Affinity 1 as never used it. I would suggest you watch the videos and see if you are able to follow. I can't imagine that it would be THAT different, but I might be wrong.

@Daniel Hess I have not found a way to enlarge icons and text either. I don't think Affinity has that function. I don't know about ABR files. I checked mine and it is still associated with Photoshop. For your first layout, you might want to add some shadows to give it more 3D effect.

@Ann Seeber The Navigation panel is similar to the Preview palette in PSP. It gives you an overview of the image. The Sandwich components are new and will be carried over to the PSP Bootcamp too. Bauhaus is also a font I tend to use often. I like that "boldness" and the roundness.

@Cristina using the same photo and same kit for the first project is definitely a way to work faster. Right now, it gives you time to focus on the features and commands in Affinity. 

@Rene Marker It would be nice if all the functionalities were the same in Affinity as in PSP. It would be much easier for sure, but that is not the case. It is a different tool that works differently. You surely will find some advantages, but at other times, you will miss some PSP features/functions, that is for sure. I found that Affinity often has some "default" settings, but they don't seem to be that useful. At least, that is what I observed.

@Angela Tilghman Affinity does not have scripting capabilities. All the scripts you currently have (and might get), can't be used in Affinity. They have "scripting" in their roadmap, BUT it likely will use javascript, meaning that the PSP scripts won't work there, AND it has been on their roadmap for over two years so far. You might want to keep your PSP handy! One thing that you can use is File > Place. That will do something similar to the "Open as a layer". However, you will have to rasterize that layer if you want to delete some of it (Rene faced that challenge).

@Anne Lamp Are you trying to install Affinity on your computer or on a Windows tablet? As Rene mentioned, it COULD be the file you tried to install. The ones with ARM in the name are for tablets. Which one did you download/try to install?

@eli1 Thank you for your tips. I will gather all the tips that participants share and will make a sort of cheat sheet. 

@Gerry Landreth I always love to see the results of the sandwich exercise, and I was happy to change the images this time around 🙂 Do your cats enjoy music? I can just envision that "cat flower" as a big musical box!

@Corrie Kinkel I don't have a cheat sheet to share with all those tools on the left. I made one for myself, but it is only to know what is "hidden". There are many many tools and they are grouped differently than what you are used to. For example, in PSP, we have 4 tools grouped as "vector tools", while in Affinity, you will have 23 shapes to pick from. It is like learning a different language! 😉 I might try to make a cheat sheet for the tools used in the Bootcamp though, if it can help.

@Saara Glad to see you added a fabric napkin. We have to be environmentally conscious, right? 😉 Scrapbooking is a fantastic way to showcase your photos and graphics. You will see some participants are primarily photographers, but take advantage of scrapbooking techniques to display their favorite photos. If you don't have scrapbooking stashes, you can always follow the links offered. They are always free supplies.

@Linda J Walker I think that when you minimize a window, gremlins eat it! Just kidding. When you minimize an image, you can "recover" it by hovering over the icon on your taskbar. It will appear like a different document. Click on it when it pops up and you are good to go. Try it and let me know how it goes. For the white border, there is a way to do that. You can do it with the Layer FX > Outline, or you can use the Select > Outline after making a selection of your photo. You can also make a selection and add a layer below the photo and fill it with white. Through this Bootcamp (and future workshops), you will be able to catch various ways to do things in Affinity. As for linking, Daniel is correct: you can group, however that is only for adjacent layers. There is a way to "link" layers but it is more convoluted. It took me a while to understand it!

@Jean Naumann Yes, spending time looking for photos or supplies seem to be a "side effect" of scrapbooking LOL! Great layout!

@Sharon Murray I am like you and I am not comfortable with how Affinity floats images. They seem more "in the way" since the "windows" don't resize with the images.

Continue to post your projects and questions. I read every single post (and I get an email notification for every post so I can't miss any).

[Linda Rexford]

Moving my sandwich to this forum.  For this sandwich, I prefer my pickles on the side!

[Linda Rexford]

Project 1, I haven't done a scrapbook page in a long time.   This is a start tho!  These are from my stash of goodies and the photo is one of the cats we've had.  Raven is sitting in a heated birdbath enjoying the weather.  Lol

[Jenny MacKay]

I'm managing to keep up so far with Affinity Photo Version 1. I've used it a bit, but not for scrapbooking, so looking forward to learning. I do scrapbook but with a different software.

 

[Raymond]

Project 1

I don't have any scrapbook kits, but I did include shadows per the video around the photo and large text.

[Ann Seeber]

  On 1/16/2025 at 1:10 AM, Gerry Landreth said:

Project 1. River is enjoying the sun while Rudy snoozes below. I'm setting up a music room and thought this would be a nice addition as a piece of furniture and a place for the cats to lounge and listen. 

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Gerry, that looks like a unique cat tree. I could  use one with a basket to lounge like that. I have two towers and they have several platforms but my clueless cats tend to roll over and fall off the edge if I go anywhere near - they are begging for belly rubs and instead try to learn to fly!

[Cristina]

  On 1/16/2025 at 4:08 AM, Cassel said:

 I am like you and I am not comfortable with how Affinity floats images. They seem more "in the way" since the "windows" don't resize with the images.

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I agree; this is definitely something they could improve and have it the same way PSP and PS/PSE have it.

Edited January 16 by Cristina

[Euka]

My Sandwich moved from the old forum and my day 3 project.  

I have had unused Affinity programs taking up space on my pc for a while now, so I am happy to have the opportunity to learn and use them. Although  I am unable to update on this pc so am hoping my earlier version 2.2 will be ok for this.

The gremlins eat my minimized windows as well, and I am also not a fan of the way they float around and don't resize with images - I also don't like how they go full screen when they are moved near the program edge or they merge with another "floater".  Ctrl Z is getting a real work out!    I guess it will take time to understand how it all works. 

I tried to frame the photo but I need time to work as well as I need more practice with the shadows FX settings.  Early days.

[Ann Seeber]

  On 1/16/2025 at 11:48 AM, Euka said:

My Sandwich moved from the old forum and my day 3 project.  

I have had unused Affinity programs taking up space on my pc for a while now, so I am happy to have the opportunity to learn and use them. Although  I am unable to update on this pc so am hoping my earlier version 2.2 will be ok for this.

The gremlins eat my minimized windows as well, and I am also not a fan of the way they float around and don't resize with images - I also don't like how they go full screen when they are moved near the program edge or they merge with another "floater".  Ctrl Z is getting a real work out!    I guess it will take time to understand how it all works. 

I tried to frame the photo but I need time to work as well as I need more practice with the shadows FX settings.  Early days.

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Nice kitty! Glad to see another "cut" sandwich; I couldn't handle eating a whole one without it being cut! 😉

[Anne Lamp]

  On 1/15/2025 at 9:01 PM, Rene Marker said:

Anne, your problem might have been with the installer your were using. There are several different installers for Windows and not knowing there was a difference I downloaded all of them. I tried one of them and got the same error. Then I looked into it and realized the 2 of them were for specific types of windows installation and that the plain old .exe installer was the one I needed. Once I tried it, it worked fine. The instructions are not very clear unless you know a lot about configurations of computers.

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Thanks, Because you had told us about your problems before, I made sure I used the exe one. Thanks fore reminding me about it though because that could have been the problem.

[Anne Lamp]

  On 1/16/2025 at 4:08 AM, Cassel said:

I am glad to see everyone back in our comfortable forum. Thank you for your patience while I worked at exterminating those gremlins 🙂

@Jenny MacKay I am not familiar with Affinity 1 as never used it. I would suggest you watch the videos and see if you are able to follow. I can't imagine that it would be THAT different, but I might be wrong.

@Daniel Hess I have not found a way to enlarge icons and text either. I don't think Affinity has that function. I don't know about ABR files. I checked mine and it is still associated with Photoshop. For your first layout, you might want to add some shadows to give it more 3D effect.

@Ann Seeber The Navigation panel is similar to the Preview palette in PSP. It gives you an overview of the image. The Sandwich components are new and will be carried over to the PSP Bootcamp too. Bauhaus is also a font I tend to use often. I like that "boldness" and the roundness.

@Cristina using the same photo and same kit for the first project is definitely a way to work faster. Right now, it gives you time to focus on the features and commands in Affinity. 

@Rene Marker It would be nice if all the functionalities were the same in Affinity as in PSP. It would be much easier for sure, but that is not the case. It is a different tool that works differently. You surely will find some advantages, but at other times, you will miss some PSP features/functions, that is for sure. I found that Affinity often has some "default" settings, but they don't seem to be that useful. At least, that is what I observed.

@Angela Tilghman Affinity does not have scripting capabilities. All the scripts you currently have (and might get), can't be used in Affinity. They have "scripting" in their roadmap, BUT it likely will use javascript, meaning that the PSP scripts won't work there, AND it has been on their roadmap for over two years so far. You might want to keep your PSP handy! One thing that you can use is File > Place. That will do something similar to the "Open as a layer". However, you will have to rasterize that layer if you want to delete some of it (Rene faced that challenge).

@Anne Lamp Are you trying to install Affinity on your computer or on a Windows tablet? As Rene mentioned, it COULD be the file you tried to install. The ones with ARM in the name are for tablets. Which one did you download/try to install?

@eli1 Thank you for your tips. I will gather all the tips that participants share and will make a sort of cheat sheet. 

@Gerry Landreth I always love to see the results of the sandwich exercise, and I was happy to change the images this time around 🙂 Do your cats enjoy music? I can just envision that "cat flower" as a big musical box!

@Corrie Kinkel I don't have a cheat sheet to share with all those tools on the left. I made one for myself, but it is only to know what is "hidden". There are many many tools and they are grouped differently than what you are used to. For example, in PSP, we have 4 tools grouped as "vector tools", while in Affinity, you will have 23 shapes to pick from. It is like learning a different language! 😉 I might try to make a cheat sheet for the tools used in the Bootcamp though, if it can help.

@Saara Glad to see you added a fabric napkin. We have to be environmentally conscious, right? 😉 Scrapbooking is a fantastic way to showcase your photos and graphics. You will see some participants are primarily photographers, but take advantage of scrapbooking techniques to display their favorite photos. If you don't have scrapbooking stashes, you can always follow the links offered. They are always free supplies.

@Linda J Walker I think that when you minimize a window, gremlins eat it! Just kidding. When you minimize an image, you can "recover" it by hovering over the icon on your taskbar. It will appear like a different document. Click on it when it pops up and you are good to go. Try it and let me know how it goes. For the white border, there is a way to do that. You can do it with the Layer FX > Outline, or you can use the Select > Outline after making a selection of your photo. You can also make a selection and add a layer below the photo and fill it with white. Through this Bootcamp (and future workshops), you will be able to catch various ways to do things in Affinity. As for linking, Daniel is correct: you can group, however that is only for adjacent layers. There is a way to "link" layers but it is more convoluted. It took me a while to understand it!

@Jean Naumann Yes, spending time looking for photos or supplies seem to be a "side effect" of scrapbooking LOL! Great layout!

@Sharon Murray I am like you and I am not comfortable with how Affinity floats images. They seem more "in the way" since the "windows" don't resize with the images.

Continue to post your projects and questions. I read every single post (and I get an email notification for every post so I can't miss any).

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I went back to my Affinity downloads and tried both exe ones, just in case I had the wrong one first.  Same problem. Thanks

[Anne Lamp]

Even thought I am not participating in the A. boot camp, I just want to say how nice everyone's projects are. I will continue to follow the posts.

[Susan Ewart]

  On 1/15/2025 at 9:01 PM, Rene Marker said:

Anne, your problem might have been with the installer your were using. There are several different installers for Windows and not knowing there was a difference I downloaded all of them. I tried one of them and got the same error. Then I looked into it and realized the 2 of them were for specific types of windows installation and that the plain old .exe installer was the one I needed. Once I tried it, it worked fine. The instructions are not very clear unless you know a lot about configurations of computers.

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I got a good reply from Affinity regarding which installer (.exe) to use.  Here is the link.

https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?%2Ftopic%2F204800-what-is-the-difference-between-windows-installer-types-and-which-one-should-i-use%2F&fbclid=IwY2xjawH2CSFleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHQy2_looI7-1OBqqAzWaWKoBucnKoWm4OdB3JzeJGBG5gM28kGsmZPz88A_aem_Rb1m97SnX-3ueMNiCbXQtg

 

  On 1/15/2025 at 7:30 PM, Anne Lamp said:

I was going to try the Affinity Bootcamp but when I tried to set up Affinity I kept getting the notice "supported windows version is not found" When I opened the more information there were several things.  I had turned off window updates quite a while ago, because they were interfering with some of my older programs.  I won't try to get a later version update for that reason. If I thought I would be using Affinity long term, I might try to figure something out.  Oh well, I was just going to try the bootcamp to check out the program.  With all the conglomerated problems I have seen here, I don't think it would be a program I would like anyway.  I do this stuff for fun and don't like a lot of stress interfering with my fun.  Thanks Cassel and others too that have tried to help with the issues.

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