Sue Thomas Posted June 20 Posted June 20 45 minutes ago, Corrie Kinkel said: Sue you may not be happy with what you did with the masks, but the photos are beautiful. Like you I'm a newbie to affinity and I have to practice as well after the summer. This workshop has given me much to practice before it will completely do as I wish. But I like this new challenge, it gives me a lot of pleasure to learn new things and offers new possibilities. Absolutely, I too like to challenge myself. I must admit. I'm enjoying learning about masks in Affinity. I'm impressed how user friendly it is. 8
Connie Collier Posted June 20 Posted June 20 (edited) This abstract turned into some kind of cervid in my mind, so I made a deer-shaped brush to go with it for the exercise in Lesson 5. While I did use a mask to cover some of the main image, I didn't feather its edges because I wanted to maintain the strong, side-to-side movement of my "herd." Then I finished it with a layer of animals using the brush with a solid colour. Edited June 20 by Connie Collier 1 17
gwen jewitt Posted June 20 Posted June 20 (edited) Day 5 using Affinity I used the same brush as Carole as I liked the affect it gave, the font I used is back to Vintage. The photo is of two juvenilles with the red patches on the top of the head and that's mum at the feeder, my son took the photo just the other day, he has had woodpeckers visiting that same tree for the past 11 years. When he sent me the photo he wrote Mrs Woodpecker sighed wearily as she pecked up her order at the McPeanuts Fly-Thru, that second egg had definitely been a mistake... I read Caroles comments and I have redone it I am happier with the result, I also changed the Font to Before the Rainbow as I wasn't happy with the first one Back to Vintage ,thank you Carole ,all comments you make are positive ones Edited June 21 by gwen jewitt 2 1 14
Corrie Kinkel Posted June 20 Posted June 20 Lesson 5 I too liked the brush used by Carole, but I added a faint butterfly brush on the outside. Being busy with brushes I used a corner brush as well. I couldn't find a way to get the brush rotate by 90 degrees, I think there must be a way to do that. Of course I have duplicated the brush layer and rotated it by 90 degrees to get what I wanted. Because my flower is round I put the text in a circle and I have to admit I had to check the vector workshop on how to do it. It need more practice to remember all this new things, on the positive side at least I know were to find it. 2 14
Linda Rexford Posted June 20 Posted June 20 17 hours ago, Susan Ewart said: Lesson 3 Diamond Template. Font is Single Fighter (CF). I made lots of tiles using the Kaleidoscope, some seamless and some not seamless that looked cool as a smaller size. the background is subtle(and might not show up) and is made from two not so seamless tiles in a small size and at 45 degrees and a blend mode of lighten. Then i added a texture of bricks to simulate a graffiti wall over the mask group(rasterized) and the text group (rasterized). Such a fun effect. Everyone has been making such cool plaids and backgrounds, super inspiring. Photo is mine. I love how you did the background on this. It almost looks like sunflowers in the back ground. Beautiful pic! 3 1
Linda Rexford Posted June 20 Posted June 20 6 hours ago, Sue Thomas said: Day 5. It is rare for me to say that I am not overly happy with the result. I realize that I am after all a newbie to Affinity, and in time I will get the hang of this programme. Practise is what I need, but I am afraid not during the summer months. I think your layout looks great! We are always our own biggest critics aren't we! 4 1
Jannette Nieuwboer Posted June 20 Posted June 20 (edited) les 3 + ruit. de ruit kon ik niet gebruiken daarom heb ik een andere achtergrond gemaakt omdat een ruit uit dezelfde kleuren te druk werd. Bovendien heb ik een ander item van Melo gebruikt en een kwart slag gedraaid. Ik heb een andere methode moeten gebruiken om een ruit te maken want de functie is bij mij niet aanwezig. . Edited June 20 by Jannette Nieuwboer 11
Linda Rexford Posted June 20 Posted June 20 Day 5. I fiddled with this a lot, still not really happy with it, but maybe it's the shape throwing me off. I will definately be playing with masks for awhile and hopefully I will get better with them. They still confuse me for some reason. As a side note, the male and female catbirds look the same. We seem to have quite a few of them here and they nest in my big rose bush every year. 1 16
Clarine Posted June 21 Posted June 21 #5 Again, several attempts to make a pretty, and perfect project. I again, will be okay with this completed assignment as is. So glad we are not being graded. 🙂 Today's layout is of my kids with their grandpa and my daughter's baby. My son (the one standing next to Grandpa) has his grandpa's name, and his son also carries on with the name tradition. And the baby is also named after his Grandpa Great. 13
Lynda DiGregor Posted June 21 Posted June 21 (edited) Been busy planting vegetable gardens and going to rallies, so, not much time for fun. These are a few photos I took at our local "No Kings" rally on June 14th. Pray for us! Edited June 21 by Lynda DiGregor 2 12
Jeni Simpson Posted June 21 Posted June 21 5 hours ago, Connie Collier said: This abstract turned into some kind of cervid in my mind, so I made a deer-shaped brush to go with it for the exercise in Lesson 5. While I did use a mask to cover some of the main image, I didn't feather its edges because I wanted to maintain the strong, side-to-side movement of my "herd." Then I finished it with a layer of animals using the brush with a solid colour. Connie, this is beautiful. 5 1 2
Julie Magerka Posted June 21 Posted June 21 Lesson 4: This is a masked pic I made some time ago. It's the same dog (Baby Duke) who appeared in Lesson 3. My friends take their dog everywhere they can. The background paper and elements come from Katie Pertiet. 2 13
Jeni Simpson Posted June 21 Posted June 21 8 hours ago, Corrie Kinkel said: I have had Affinity closing unexpected, just a couple of times since I use it. I think the problem for me was that I wanted to do to much to quickly! Me, too, and when I go file > Open Recent I get my file back that I was working on. There may be a couple of steps not there, because I save every few steps, not every one ;) But most of my file is there. 3
Jean Naumann Posted June 21 Posted June 21 Well I've only just today been able to start this workshop. Affinity really is a dream to use with masks. Here is day 1 2 12
Jeni Simpson Posted June 21 Posted June 21 On 6/20/2025 at 12:13 AM, fiona cook said: Lesson 4. Being a bit abstract in the combination of photos as got carried away again and like Carole says, the effects can be addictive. I've used the overlay blend mode for my background image with a filled layer of a colour taken from the main 'bee' photo. The background image itself applied Effects/Texture Effects, Texture-Plant Leaves. This is beautiful, Fiona, I particularly love the colours used in the background, and the photo is lovely. 3 1 4
AprilDawn Posted June 21 Posted June 21 Here is Lesson 5... Photo is from Pixabay. Thought bubble a PSP shape. used the same brush as Carole used in video and leaf image is an old tiff image from a cd i purchased years ago. everyone is doing wonderful pages and a pleasure to view them. 1 15
Jacques Posted June 21 Posted June 21 I just put my grandchildren to bed. I have a little time. (Affinity) 2 12
Jean Naumann Posted June 21 Posted June 21 And Day 3. I particularly enjoyed making the background paper, so many variables give so many results. 1 11
Cassel Posted June 21 Author Posted June 21 @Linda RexfordAlthough we won't touch on photo editing with masks, once you get comfortable with them, you will see many other applications. I don't see any problem with the shape of the mask in the last layout. It follows the subject. Maybe it is just different than what you had in mind? @Jenny MacKayThat is such a cutie! So photogenic! Great start. Did you add shadows on the small images of the second layout? Sometimes, they seem to "disappear" when you resize the layout. @Susan Ewartif you want to simulate graffiti on the brick, I think that the paint on the title should not have shadows! I love that quote! @Ann SeeberOccasionally, I might comment only on one layout if someone posted more than one. But I don't know why this one was not commented on. And yes, I was referring to the layout "Iba N’diaye ". I use the "Love" reaction once I see/comment on a layout (so I can know where I am). I guess I got distracted. That kaleidoscope pattern is so delicate that I had to look twice to see it. I bet it shows more at full size. @SharlaThat grey background with noise is matching so well with your photo. It really showcases that robin. @Sue ThomasThe rotation setting should be the same in Affinity but you also have to adjust how much of randomness. It is a bit like in PSP where you can choose Random, but you still have to set the % of jitter. What is it that makes you not overly happy with the oriole layout? The only thing I can think of is that you usually add a few more choice elements to your layouts. Could that be it? @AprilDawnThose are great pages! I am glad you didn't give up when you struggled with the downloads. Your work is fabulous and those photos are great. Kuddos to your cousin! That kittie made me smile. @CristinaThere are so many default brushes in Affinity that you have many choices to start. Great story about the chick's names. Those spray brushes can give very interesting edges, even if it is not on masks! @fiona cookYou can always clone some of the space around your subject to make a "larger" image. @Jannette NieuwboerIf you use PSP, the mask might have been slightly grey. That makes it a bit transparent. If it is using Affinity, it could be the opacity level of the mask layer that is less than 100%. What command is not present in your case? With which program? @Robert GarrettIs Thurston a Siamese? We had a Siamese when my daughter was a baby and that cat was very aggressive toward her. We had to rehome him. 😞 You are doing very well with those masks! @Gerry LandrethThose spectres give a real ghostie feel to that mask. Very relevant to the story! @Art KuiperI have seen that kind of picture with a caption "Why women live longer than men". It makes me smile. I bet those guys are still able to get the job done! And yes, once you get the hang of masks, the possibilities are endless. @Donna SilliaOnce you will know all the settings for the brush tool, you will find that both PSP and Affinity are pretty similar. You'll become an expert in both over time. @Connie CollierYour choice of not feathering the edges of the mask was the right one. As much as we might like soft edges, when you have a specific design in mind and you want to see it, your approach was the perfect one. I love that effect. @gwen jewittI would suggest that you soften the shadow on the masked image. Since the splatters are small, a fainter shadow might be matching more. @JacquesIf you merge the photo and the frame/mat, you could add some shadows to give them some volume. I love the colorful plaid. Did you use a segment of one photo? Now we have the proof that the baby is sleeping for you to work on the page! 🙂 @Corrie KinkelYes, you can definitely use different brushes on the same mask. You can use different textures, and different shapes. If you look closely at masks that you can find in some kits, some of them likely use half a dozen different brushes! @ClarineWith so many people with the same name, that should become the title of that layout! @Lynda DiGregorIs it just an illusion or did you squish the large photo horizontally? The people seem a bit tall/thin, unlike the lady with the yellow hat. @Julie MagerkaThat mask is perfect for the photo. It gives that "water" feel all around it. @Jean NaumannYes, Affinity makes using templates/masks much easier. On your first page, did you hide the shadow on the bottom right photo? On the second, if you were using Affinity, was it slightly translucent? If anything, you could brush some white where the people are so we don't see the pattern through. As someone mentioned in this thread, you are giving me a lot of work going through all those wonderful pages. They are all so unique and inspiring. Keep them coming! 3 6
Jeni Simpson Posted June 21 Posted June 21 Day 4 PSP I have had the house full of friends visiting, and am only able to get back to playing with masks today. I used a photograph of the Cathedral Cliffs up in North Canterbury. I used to go up this way often when I lived further north, in Canterbury; the cliffs are near Hanmer Springs, and the hot pools in that town are fabulous. Again, using Wendy Medium and Arial fonts, I created the background with a topographical map of the area and gave it a warm retro effect using a freebie script from Corel. Day 4 Affinity I have a few brushes downloaded from various places, the Affinity Forum, and more. This one was from the Affinity Forum, by StuartRc. I love this brush and found it fun to work with. To get the opacity right at the edges, I took the spacing right down, then upped it to about 80% for the inside of the brush effect. I used Billie Irene's March 2022 Digital Scrapbook Blog Train paper 01. The font is, again, Gonestone Signature and Arial. 2 12
AprilDawn Posted June 21 Posted June 21 Hello Jeni, looks like we both found the same brushes on that Affinity Forum with StuartRc brushes. they are really great don't you agree. There is about 12 packs of the different Dot brushes and i downloaded them all. Your Cathedral Cliffs looks terrific with the brush on the edges. best wishes to you, Dawn. 5 1
AprilDawn Posted June 21 Posted June 21 @Cristina Thank you for your comments on the layout and brushes in the lessons pages i did. My cousin took a few photos of her trip however she passed away a few years ago but i am sure she would have said the same thing about the lake being a peaceful place. ...... Best wishes to you Cristina. 5 1
Jean Naumann Posted June 21 Posted June 21 Here is day 4. I struggled getting the brush to work properly. In Carole's video it looked so easy to paint in the mask, but it took me ages to get rid of the outline of the photo. And Carole, I'll check on those things you mentioned, thanks. 1 1 14
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