Euka

Life has been happening so I still have to complete my D7, but I have created a new template (below), I just need to decide which photos to include and maybe move the template around. I also saw a video on text and how to include different colours/patterns and decided to have a play - it is the same method as Carole showed us in the Bootcamp, (drag the colour/pattern layer onto the text) but just by adding extra layers of colour or pattern and by moving them around it gives options. My play included similar to what we did on D3. Thank you to all who posted such interesting stories and places to visit and the amazing creations, it really is a talented group. Thank you Carole for taking on Affinity and sharing your knowledge with us it really is appreciated.

Day 6 and a visit to the amazing Lake Ballard - I tried to walk out to the hill but trying to keep my shoes on in the mud was too difficult! I have added my 2nd D5 page from a previous magazine workshop on Menzies.

2nd page - a different area but an important one for the development of both Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie.

@Cassel I was just about to edit my post - as I hate not being able to figure things out and after several hours of getting nowhere I decided today to download the trial version of affinity photo - following your tutorial worked seamlessly this time. My version is 2.2.1.. the one I just downloaded is 2.6.0. To test I have 2 pc's side by side and did exactly the same thing at the same time ... 2.6 worked - 2.2 didn't. I am happy now having solved my mystery!! I also think now that was why I have had trouble earlier so I will revisit there.

Day 4 - this was a challenge (with the split font colouring) but I think that my version of AP is the problem - after many efforts that caused affinity to crash that many times trying to follow the video I gave up and not sure what I ended up doing but got the split colour.

Day 3 - and the Two-Up Shed / School just out of Kalgoorlie - they have games on Sundays. For those not sure what 2 up is it was very popular with Australians during the war and is legal only to play on ANZAC Day when it is played in Returned Servicemen's League (RSL) clubs and hotels.. I believe the Perth and Melbourne Casino are also licenced to play it. The game itself is a total gamble that’s been around since the 1800s. A ‘spinner’ throws two pennies, two metres into the air using a wooden board. Anyone else can bet on whether they’ll land on heads or tails before they hit the ground. Pretty simple and very fast-paced.

@Cassel I should have just closed down the pc at that time of night! Nothing was going right. But i have since finally figured out (a slow learner here 🙄) I didn't need to rasterize the text layer - although I am still not sure why the font kept returning to default and the colour picker kept changing. Also in the FX layer it is not enough to just tick the selection (outer shadow in this case) BUT also actually click/select the word to active the areas to adjust.

No I haven't been to Cooper Pedy - my kids have. That video (very funny), although in Sth Aust, would apply to pretty much most of West Aust. The size of the trucks and machinery is huge on the mine sites.

Thanks Jean and Jeni for your correction - I had to type it so many times at 2.30am - I had so much trouble with the text - I even had Carole sounding drunk at half speed on the video 🤣 I had to redo the text as I wasn't able to change it for some reason. My son lived in Kal for over 20 years and I have spent many months visiting and exploring. He moved back east 2 years ago and I miss going over there.

Kalgoorlie and surrounds is the focus of my magazine - the Goldfields in Western Australia is a fascinating area and I love it. My day 1 - One of the things it is known for is the Super Pit - it was Australia's largest open cut mine until 2016 when another West Aus mine became the largest. The pit is oblong in plan view and is approximately 3.5 kilometres long, 1.5 kilometres wide and over 600 metres deep. (Wikipedia). Day 2 - Of interest also is the Herbert Hoover connection to the Goldfields. He was involved in several mine sites and eventually became Manager of the Sons of Gwalia mine. Gwalia is now a ghost town with a museum and Hoover House where he lived has been restored and you can actually stay there. This is an interesting read on Herbert Hoover and his history with Gwalia if anyone is interested in the 31st American Presidents time in Australia. https://www.gwalia.org.au/about/history-of-gwalia/herbert-hoover.aspx I am not happy with Day 2 so have work to do on that. Photos are mine. Font Scarlet Ribbons, Lightning and Black Chancery.

Thanks for that Saara - I wasn't sure how to do it in Affinity !

This bootcamp has been very interesting and informative and awesome layouts have been produced. Thank you Carole for taking on Affinity Photo, I am sure we will eventually find it becomes easier. Thank you also to those Affinity users here for your advice and problem solving skills and thanks to those sharing their discoveries and solutions! (I have almost filled a notebook with my notes) Text is Broadway and Black. The light square is from Alluring Amethyst and the green a concrete texture recoloured in PSP . Frame from Alice in Wonderland, clock faces from the stash pile and background paper Blissful butterflies. Nano is a gorgeous feline and is devoted to my nephew (and vice versa!!). I have enjoyed making this journey with her.

This was certainly a workout for me as just when I thought everything was falling into place it fell apart! Good learning curve for sure. For some reason when creating borders for the photos, the photos kept turning to black and white images and the colour kept defaulting to no colour - several hours it took to get the borders right - I have no idea what caused it as each one eventually worked and I was completing the same steps each time. This layout is a bit busy and bits of a few kits were used - stars from ashaw-nowshowing and ps_brooke-gazarek, the duck from Summertime BBQ, grass and background paper from GOF_Born to be Wild, the zig zag layer from True Hearts Digital, the stripe paper from MontiCow, photos my nephew, font Bodoni Classic.

I learnt a lot while creating this layout and I ended up with around 40+ layers - I couldn't decide on papers 😞 One of the things I learnt which solved a frustrating problem I had creating the previous layout, was the need to rasterize - so easy when you know the why and how! Another discovery was, when selecting layers to add shadows, if you happen to select a layer by mistake then deselect it .. it deselects them all! I like how adding a small pattern/tile can be created into a larger paper so easily. The striped paper was made from a selection taken from each of the photos and manipulated (in PSP) I tried in AF but am not there yet for that. The fonts used sweet child script, arial bold and asiyah script. The elements were from my supplies.

I finally have something to post for Day 5. A much younger Nano exploring her surrounds and I love her look in this photo. I saw a little tut on using the Mirror tool (it creates kaleidoscope images) - omg - I had so much fun creating images and spent so much time playing with it but I was unable to work out how to use them as a pattern to create my papers. The font is Samantha upright and the papers are from my stash. I was able to put a frame on the photo but once I did that I was unable to change the colour - I guess I should have done it on a different layer. I like how to select layers to apply a shadow to all at the same time, that is a bonus The shadow on the side Nano ended up looking like it was embossed. I need to work on the shadows (as well as everything else!). Ctrl Z sometimes doesn't work for me and I end up having to delete the layer and start again.

@Cassel The plaid was made following your recent blog post then I reduced the opacity so it didn't overpower the photo. (I also learned this way to make plaid in the "Love Story Challenge") and love making them. Nano is my nephew's baby and she is a very, very spoilt cat!

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.

I did not have time to complete layouts but I did manage to eventually complete the actual text component of each lesson.... I had a little time today and decided to put them on a single layer and post them - D3 -text wrapping is not included. D1 being raindrops is filled from the top down and font is Wide Latin - D2 Fonts are S Black chancery - T Bodoni classic - O Castellar - R Broadway - Y Brock Script - T Charrington pos - I Nsimsun - M everything holiday - E Maple leaf. D 4 Arial - D5 ? - D6 Twack (given the reduced size the rope outline is not really obvious here) - D7 Fatty I enjoyed all the layouts presented in this workshop, they are very inspired and inspiring! Thank you Carole.

Had a little play today after watching the replay of the Masterclass.

Well this has taken me all day ....and still not how I wanted it ... I was playing with the background trying to get something I liked and ended up using the wrong squares - not sure why I didn't see it when I was working on sorting them out!! The difference is the colour of the font to make it show up better and the dark brown made slightly lighter. I still have the others so "one of these days" I will switch them out. My shadows were on a separate layer and looked good until I resized to 600 and lost half of them ... so I redid them on the same layer and think they are ok now.

The background here was 2 Instant Effects on my photo - Sepia and Albumen. The font is Distress.

Working on my Boot Camp layout I decided to use part of it here. The pic is of the remains of the Solitary Confinement cells on Sarah Island and I used Sepia Instant effects and Albumen Instant effects on it.

I like using photos for backgrounds and this one I have left it as is to show the Gordon River and the Wilderness surrounding it. I tried several different glitters but ended up using a wooden texture. I still have text to add - just have to find my notes on the photos!

Thanks Daniel !

@Daniel Hess I am not sure how to 'quote' but thank you for the nautical tubes, they work perfectly!! Also thank you for your kind comment on the seagull - out of bounds was not what I was thinking - but I will take it 🙂