There is some exciting stuff happening in the Affinity forums, right now. I can’t imagine how hard it must be, for Affinity’s small nimble team to keep up with the two siblings Affinity Designer and Affinity Photo Beta, AKA AD and APh Beta respectively. However, Affinity Publisher, AKA APu is still a twinkle in TonyB’s eyes. Due date should be Winter 2015
I am sure that right now, they are working overtime on the APh Beta. Great work guys! It is better for all of us that the dev team (developers) keep working on these apps, rather than answer all these valuable questions and opinions I keep reading. Questions are good: but very, very time-consuming…Time to get organized! I’ll answer a few of those questions, right now on this page and I will put the links to this page, via my usual outlets. First off, let me begin with this statement!
I have been a member of the Affinity forum, since August 2014 and I love that sense of community and Affinity’s productivity. At this time, I am not affiliated with Affinity or Serif, so the comments, statements and views I make are of my own and do not reflect the views and position of Affinity or Serif.
1. Will I be producing a training for Affinity Photo?
Answer: Yes. But not before the program is launched in the app store AKA MAS. I am still getting familiar with APh Beta; just like all of you and one thing we all need to keep in mind, is that it is a Free Beta for owners of Affinity Designer. (subject to change)Since many changes may happen during the following weeks or months. I have no idea when the application will launch. This is a question for the Affinity staff. I want to give you solid training, based on what will be available; after the official launch: but in the meantime, you can always watch my free Affinity Photo and Affinity Designer demo and tutorials on my Mixmdediasalad Youtube Channel.
2. Do you prefer Affinity Designer over Sketch? (this answer for you UI/UX and mobile developers)
Answer: I believe in using the right tool for the job. I tried Sketch and I think it’s a good tool/app that has found its niche!
I’ve heard that it is a bit buggy, so take that into consideration and check their forums before you decide. Sketch’s main focus is to provide tools for people whose main purpose is creating UI/UX interfaces for the desktop and mobile apps industry. If you do this, day in and day out and require CSS code to be generated on the fly, for your vector content. Or, you need multi-page documents to create storyboard scenarios; then I suggest you look into Sketch; because it already has a large community supporting it for that use.There are even plugin developers, who are creating tools for Sketch. Now with that being said. Do I think there are tools that Affinity has, that can be used for developing UI/ UX interfaces? Absolutely! Do I feel like it’s a robust tool for just doing that? Not so much at this time! Here’s my 2 cents…From a visual designer’s perspective; I feel very comfortable with Affinity Designer. Also it has a lot of what I need now, in order to get the job done.
3. Why not use Affinity Photo Beta over Gimp?
Answer: This question is irrelevant to me. I am sorry. Why are you asking me this question? Did you just compare a Beta of a new application with an application that been on the market for years? Even after all these years GIMP has not been taken serious enough to be seen as the next app to challenge “Photoshop”. If you’re happy with what GIMP provides you, then just use it! As a Designer, how an application looks and feels is as important to me as how it works and what I can ultimately achieve with it. The Holy Trinity, as it were! GIMP has never really felt like THE tool for me! I just can’t work with an application whose workflow doesn’t make sense, or feels odd to work in. GIMP is just not for me! Whereas 50 bucks for an app like Affinity is just a no-brainer for me and a few others. I will be buying APh, when it comes out. Right now, I already own AD and GIMP is still not even a consideration for me.
4. Are you having color representation issues in Affinity Designer?
Answer: The color issues you may be experiencing in AD 1.1.2 have been addressed. They were corrected in the Affinity Designer Beta. Download the Affinity Beta update and see for yourself. At the moment, the dev team are trying to get two very specific tools ready to market (MAS), ready for the next update.
One of them, I believe is text on a path which is a big one for many people. Be patient! One of the issues AD has to deal with now, is the whole Apple app store middle man approval drama (fingers crossed!), so the Apple approval process/delay is as painful for them as it is for us.
5. Is there a Windows version?
Answer: No. However, Serif has been developing Windows prosumer programs for a couple of decades now. These are into their 15th/16th/17th editions. AD, APh, and APu are aimed at professionals and are their (Serif/Affinity) first apps on this platform. Nowhere, has it been said that that there won’t be a Windows version. The back end IS very OS agnostic, just the front end is Mac OS X specific. So why not checkout DrawPlus and the rest of the Plus range, to see if that will work for you? These have resource CDs and printed guide books, but are exclusively Win apps only! http://www.serif.com/drawplus/
6. Where is the manual?
Answer: There aren’t any manuals for AD or APh, yet! These are 2 brand new applications and have only hit the market in the last six months. I am sure there are many people in the process of writing a manual for AD and APh. We have to keep an eye out for that, but until them you should read the Affinity Designer Fee-ezine. Now with that being said, every new install comes with a sample file and a Help file. If you go to the menu bar at the top of the screen and select Help > AD Help… or APh Help… Here, you’ll find answers to many of the tools and functions. Why not visit the Affinity forum? Where you can see the amazing tutorials provided by the users and the Affinity staff. Affinity Designer Forum If you prefer video tutorials for tips and demonstrations, then have a look at these links Visit Mac Affinity on Vimeo as well as my free Mixmediasalad Youtube Channel.
Keep checking this page I will post more of these reoccurring questions as I receive them.
I also offer premium training then definitely take a look at my online Affinity Designer online training course.
Thanks for reading and I love to hear your comments so feel free to share them below.
Keep checking this page; for updates…
Ronnie McBride