Affinity Bootcamp - January 2025

[Ann Seeber]

  On 1/18/2025 at 1:39 AM, Linda J Walker said:

That looks like milkweed to me!

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Thank you, everyone, who recognized the milkweed that I erroneously labeled thistle. Unable to leave it with a glaring error, I went back and re-did the title.

[Ann Seeber]

  On 1/18/2025 at 2:35 PM, Julie Magerka said:

Oh my, that faded image of MT makes me want to cry! A very beautiful touch to the layout.

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Oh, thank you, Julie, for validating my choice. My "adopted son" Joe, Thor's owner, is very enthusiastic and is now taking this layout to Staples to print on glossy paper to frame. Makes me feel I helped him with his grief. He said at the time he "felt broken" when he lost Thor. Joe worked for us at the theater for years when he was in high school and visited our home frequently, even after going in the Navy to guide submarines. Joe is also a good amateur photographer, so I see his work often on his Facebook page.

[Gerry Landreth]

  On 1/17/2025 at 11:09 PM, Corrie Kinkel said:

Project 2 and I used a photo I took a couple of days ago from my hortensia's with hoarfrost after a cold night. All the papers and elements are from different "winter" themed kits from Jessica Dunn and the title font is Winter Vibes (probably a freebie by Creative Fabrica). The other font is Lucinda Handwriting.

I'm getting a bit more at ease with Affinity now but there will be so more to explore and learn. Some things are easier then in PSP like importing brushes and copy/paste to get a selection from a paper, as in this lesson. Setting the same shadows for multiple layers is great too, but I miss the revers shadow! I think I know how to do it and will try that tomorrow.

Carole I have a question: When setting a shadow in the outer shadow box there is at the bottom a small box that reads "Fill knocks out shadow" which I think is checked by default. What does that mean and should it be checked or not and why?

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Corrie: In the FX palette, the option for Inner Shadow works the same as Outer Shadow, only in reverse, giving the same effect for the Reverse Shadow in PSP. Stumbling around and checking random boxes sometimes helps you find fun stuff.

[Marie-Claire]

Day 5
I kept it simple

[Marie-Claire]

I missed the color panel that we are used to, and I found it.
In the Menu bar --> Window -->, at the bottom of the list, check 'Swatches'

 

[Ann Seeber]

  On 1/18/2025 at 8:31 PM, Marie-Claire said:

Day 5
I kept it simple

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Poncho in a poncho! 😁 I feel I would know this dog anywhere. I love simple layouts like this, Marie-Claire.

[Marie-Claire]

  On 1/17/2025 at 3:04 AM, Cassel said:

@Marie-Claire Poncho is such a photogenic dog. Did you train him to pose like that?

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Thank you Carole, I didn't train him to pose, I just have to be very quick 😀

[Rene Marker]

  On 1/18/2025 at 8:33 PM, Marie-Claire said:

I missed the color panel that we are used to, and I found it.
In the Menu bar --> Window -->, at the bottom of the list, check 'Swatches'

 

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I found that right away. Did some research to see if the PSP palettes could be brought over in some way. Of course, that is a no. Google AI said that PS files for color palettes could be imported but when I tried it, I got an error message. I did find a video that showed the process of making new swatches which seems to be labor intensive. I quit researching and will explore it again later. 

[Corrie Kinkel]

  On 1/18/2025 at 2:42 AM, Julie Magerka said:

I agree Corrie. I've been learning PSP for about 4 or 5 years, and I can clearly recall the frustration I felt doing the simplest things. It's much better for me now, but I still struggle with some tools/features. I like learning new things as well, but I'm back at the beginning again and it seems to be a bit harder now. 🤥 

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We are a couple of years older 😉

[Corrie Kinkel]

  On 1/18/2025 at 9:54 AM, Daniel Hess said:

I am hoping you will tell us where the "equivalent" to the Magic Wand is located and how to use it.  I tried using the freehand selection and I don't think it was working well for copy and paste operations unless I got myself confused on which layer was active (which was entirely possible with this last project).  I had the frame, the photo I was putting into the frame, and the transparent png of the dog and ball which I was trying to combine to get a sort of out of bound effect over top of the background papers.  Eventually I got them lined up but could have been much easier with a magic wand tool.  Is there a promote to layer from selection option?  That would simplify the copy and paste operations and haven't figured out how to paste as new layer, paste as new image, paste into selection, etc etc....assuming there is an equivalent.  A LOT of questions starting to form as we get deeper into using the program.

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Daniel I have a lot of those questions too, but eventually a lot of them will be answered by Carole or by other participants that are already more advanced users. For me part of the trick learning Affinity will be to "forget" the way PSP works and approach this as learning a new language.

[Corrie Kinkel]

  On 1/18/2025 at 7:04 PM, Gerry Landreth said:

Corrie: In the FX palette, the option for Inner Shadow works the same as Outer Shadow, only in reverse, giving the same effect for the Reverse Shadow in PSP. Stumbling around and checking random boxes sometimes helps you find fun stuff.

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Thank you and I agree, but apparently I hadn't stumbled enough 😕

[Corrie Kinkel]

  On 1/18/2025 at 8:33 PM, Marie-Claire said:

I missed the color panel that we are used to, and I found it.
In the Menu bar --> Window -->, at the bottom of the list, check 'Swatches'

 

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Lovely photo of Poncho, I have missed seeing him here and I see you still have the same weather as I have! I have found those swatches too but I'm not sure I want them because I also have found the color wheel, which I used in PSP.

[Corrie Kinkel]

  On 1/18/2025 at 3:50 AM, Sharon Murray said:

I had so many issues trying to do lesson 3.  When I tried to drag my layers up in my layers panel, they were either merging with another layer or just disappearing altogether.  Also, when trying to use the selection tool for the vertical paper, it kept disappearing!  I spent so much time trying to figure this out ugh!!!!!  I wanted to add more layers but I just couldn't figure out why they kept being hidden when I moved them to the layer where I wanted them.  Looking through everyone's work, it doesn't appear that this was happening for others so maybe I am just missing something but you'd think dragging and placing layers would be pretty straight forward, which it just wasn't for me.  I guess I just need to keep practicing and playing around with it

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Sharon for what it is worth: when you place a layer on your project you see a lock icon, you have to unlock by clicking on it and there also is a black dot that makes the layer invisible, maybe this helps. Or else look at Cristina's post on page 8.

Edited January 18 by Corrie Kinkel
I added something

[Linda Rexford]

Project 2, We have a feral cat colony outside and have had them for years.  This birdbath, which is heated,  used to serve a lot of birds in the winter until the cats moved it!  This was in January and they were quite cozy, but I have no idea what they were watching!  

Edited January 19 by Linda Rexford
to add corrected image

[Rene Marker]

I found a tool that works a lot like the Magic Wand. Pays to watch youtube videos.

It is called the Flood Select Tool. Keyboard Shortcut = W. Its icon is just above the rectangular selection tool on the tools sidebar. The icon is hard to see but it does look like a wand, only it is blue instead of yellow like PSP's magic wand.

It enables you to select pixels of a similar color. It has 4 modes (new, add, subtract, and intersect), tolerance and contiguous just like the magic wand tool in PSP. I played with it using a template and it works just like the magic wand tool in that I can select for example, the outside of a rectangular paper layer. Then if I add a paper from a kit, I can just hit delete on the kit paper and I'm left with the portion that matches the rectangular selection. 

I'm much happier now!

[Carolyn Rye]

@Rene Marker Thank heaps for your information on how to add the .abr brush files to Affinity.  It was so easy to add these.  @Cassel I also loved the Affinity Bootcamp Cheat Sheet that you provided to us.  It is so helpful.

[Cheryle Becker]

Hi Carole, I resized the photo this time and had no trouble.

So here is my Project 2....

[Cassel]

@Linda J Walker I won't fault you for using PSP to do something you can't yet do in Affinity. I don't want anyone to get frustrated. A new program means things working differently, in a different place, with different names, etc. As for posting images, the filesize has to be under 300kb, so keep that in mind.

@Sharon Murray If the layer was put with the Place command, it will be an "Image" layer and that, you can't delete parts of it. You would have to right-click > Rasterize. After that, it can be selected/deleted. I added that in the cheat sheet. As for the layers, you just have to be careful to move them between others so they don't end up as clipped or masked. That is something that was not happening at all with PSP so it is a new "habit" to learn.

@Raymond The end result for your project looks good. I wish I could see and understand the actual difference between the different resizing modes.

@Carolyn Rye Is it possible that you are selecting different layers too fast? I know that, occasionally, some layers become selected when I do that. I didn't figure out what triggered it sometimes, and not other times. Another possibility is that some layers were hidden? Maybe if you had duplicates? Glad that the cheat Sheet is useful.

@Jenny MacKay The file size should be under 300kb when you save. Do you see that in the Export window? You can reduce the quality until it reaches that threshold. If you are in Tasmania, maybe I'll connect with you as I am trying to reach for an old penpal I had in the 70's. I am pretty sure I found her, but I can't REACH her. 🙂

@Saara I guess you don't know what you are missing without PSP 😉 Scripts and picture tubes do not exist in Affinity. They don't even exist in Photoshop (although scripts ARE possible if someone codes them in javascript, but very very few do). Maybe we can challenge you to take the PSP Bootcamp when it comes. You can use the trial version (which is 30 days).

@Jeni Simpson Glad to see you do the sandwich. I am sure you will catch up! Keep going.

@Daniel Hess To answer your question, the equivalent of the Magic Wand is the Flood Select tool. It looks like a magic wand. It only selects based on colors, unlike PSP where there are different modes. For the "Promote section to a Layer", in Affinity, you would simply do Copy and Paste and it will paste as a new layer in the exact same position. There is another command that does it but Copy/Paste is the fastest in my opinion. "Paste as a new layer" is automatic when you do Paste. For "Paste as a new image" you would do File > New from Clipboard (after having copied the image). As for "Paste inside selection", I have not found it yet.

@Euka Creating and using patterns in Affinity is very different than in PSP. We will look at it in Project 3. I agree with you that selecting multiple layers to apply the same effect is great. It is a great time-saver. I love that too.

@Cristina You are correct, if your layer is an "Image" layer, it won't let you manipulate sections of it. You have to rasterize it (right-click > Rasterize) to manipulate only its selections.

@SharlaGreat layout. You selected a good photo for that happy layout.

@Gerry LandrethYou mentioned the Inner Shadow doing the equivalent of the "reversed shadow". I would have to correct you on that. The Inner Shadow is more like a cutout effect: it will appear ON your element instead of OUTSIDE of it. Play with the Offset and you will see how the shadow covers the element.

@Marie-Claire Simple is often better when you are learning something. Too many things at once and they fight in your brain!

@Linda Rexford Great pose of those cats! One more and they make a pyramid! You might get a bit more 3D effect if you add shadows to the elements.

@Rene MarkerThe shortcut W is for the Flood Select tool AND the Selection Brush tool tool. I find it strange and for me, if I click W, it activates the Selection Brush tool and not the Flood Select tool. 

@Cheryle Becker Hopefully, if you had gremlins acting up when you were exporting your file, they are gone now. You could add some shadows to your elements, photo and papers to give them more 3D effect.

Someone shared a mention of a great guide on YouTube. I found it and I wanted to share the full length. It is great. It is one hour long but you can skip to specific sections if you look in the description. It might help with some of the questions you might have about what is where. It is basic, but a great overview. Watch it here.

[Angela Tilghman]

We have 2 new pandas at the Washington National Zoo in Washington, D.C.  Here's one sledding.

[Jenny MacKay]

@Cassel Re: The file size should be under 300kb when you save. Do you see that in the Export window? You can reduce the quality until it reaches that threshold. If you are in Tasmania, maybe I'll connect with you as I am trying to reach for an old penpal I had in the 70's. I am pretty sure I found her, but I can't REACH her. 🙂 

I didn’t see that but I’ll have another look.
No, I’m not is Tasmania. I’m West Oz. I might be able to help if you want to PM me. 

Edited January 19 by Jenny MacKay

[Jeni Simpson]

  On 1/19/2025 at 4:50 AM, Cassel said:

@Jeni Simpson Glad to see you do the sandwich. I am sure you will catch up! Keep going.

Someone shared a mention of a great guide on YouTube. I found it and I wanted to share the full length. It is great. It is one hour long but you can skip to specific sections if you look in the description. It might help with some of the questions you might have about what is where. It is basic, but a great overview. Watch it here.

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Thank you, Carole, I will keep going, I'm interested in learning what I can. I had the same problems as others when I started with PaintShop Pro, I was used to working with Photoshop and CorelDRAW in my workplace. PS was relatively easy to convert to PSP, I also started on an AppleMac and had to convert everything I learned to Windows 3.11 OS.
I found the colour picker quite useful in Affinity, I didn't seem to have any trouble with it, although I couldn't work out how to slice my sandwich. I will need to watch a few videos to get comortable with things!
Carole, I sent the rego to a friend, hoping she might join this bootcamp, to see what Affinity has to offer.
Oops, forgot to say, thanks for this link!

Edited January 19 by Jeni Simpson

[Cristina]

  On 1/18/2025 at 11:51 PM, Linda Rexford said:

Project 2, We have a feral cat colony outside and have had them for years.  This birdbath, which is heated,  used to serve a lot of birds in the winter until the cats moved it!  This was in January and they were quite cozy, but I have no idea what they were watching!  

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@Linda Rexford, I love this photo. The cats made themselves at home at this birdbath. 😊 
The layout made justice to the photo; it’s beautiful.

[Rene Marker]

  On 1/19/2025 at 4:50 AM, Cassel said:

@Rene MarkerThe shortcut W is for the Flood Select tool AND the Selection Brush tool tool. I find it strange and for me, if I click W, it activates the Selection Brush tool and not the Flood Select tool. 

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I don't use the shortcut keys so didn't realize that both have the same shortcut.

Although I wish there was a shortcut for "Rasterize".  Or even a way to add it to the toolbar at the top. Heck, I would like to have Undo and Redo on that toolbar but you can't add them. Since I use my mouse, I tend to use that toolbar instead of the menus for a lot of stuff.

[Jenny MacKay]

This project took a bit longer than expected! The glitter paper didn’t quite behave the way it was demonstrated in the video, likely because I’m using a different version. Version 2 seems to be much simpler, but I managed to work it out in the end.

The glitter might not perfectly match these photos, but I’d already picked out a few to practise with, so I stuck with them. 

Really enjoying learning how to use Affinity Photo. Thanks.

[Sharla]

Okay, so I have got as far as Project 2, Day 5. This is a photo, taken by me, of Saltburn Pier (Saltburn is a seaside town in the north of England) covered in snow one wintry December day. The papers etc... are from a kit called Winter’s Day by Elif Safin.