When you put an image inside a shape in Affinity Designer, it’s like you’re the Emeril Lagasse of graphic design. He’s the chef who exclaims “Bam” whenever he adds spice to kick his dish up a notch. A shape filled with an image elevates your entire design. But how is it done in Affinity Designer?

Filling a shape with an image in Affinity Designer is a straightforward process that only takes a few steps. Read on to find out just how easy it is. 

Filling a Shape with an Image Takes Three Basic Steps

We’ve all seen slick print or web publications where, for example, a picture of the Eiffel Tower is in the shape of a heart. Sometimes you might even see block text filled with an image. Looks quite impressive, right?

Filling a shape with an image in Affinity Designer is a three-step process summed up in three words: Draw, Fill, Adjust. And you’ll join the club of graphic designers who know just how easy it is to create such an impressive feature for any product.

1. Create a Shape

To fill a shape, you’ve got to have a shape to fill. Open up Affinity Designer to create a new document. The blank workspace will be staring back at you, waiting to be designed.

Navigate to the toolbar on the left and find the Shape Selection tools. There are a few basic shapes shown, like circle and square. Click on the white arrow to open up additional shape options.

Choose the shape you want and draw it in the blank workspace.

Tip: Hold down the SHIFT key to make the shape perfectly proportioned.

2. Add an Image to the Shape

Once the shape is sized to your satisfaction, it’s time to make the magic happen and fill it with an image. Before you take the next few steps, it’s a good idea to know where the image file you want to use is saved. My Documents? My Photos? Knowing the file location will make the filling part much quicker.

1. Click on the shape you just drew so that it is highlighted and you see outlined by a box with nodes.
2. Find the Fill tool located on the toolbar on the left side of your workspace. It is a multi-colored circle with a dropper-looking thing piercing it.
3. From the drop-down menu that appears at the top of the screen, choose Bitmap.
4. Navigate to the image you want, select it, and click Open.

Tip: Only PNG and JPG file types can be used to fill an object in Affinity Designer.

Voila! Your shape is now filled with the image you wanted. 

3. Adjust the Image as Desired

Now that you’ve filled your shape with an image, you can tweak it to get the desired effect. Notice that the shape has several lines and nodes running across it. These are known as adjustment handles and can be used to manipulate the image within the shape.

The center node allows you to adjust the position of the image in all directions inside the shape. The object itself doesn’t move – just the image it’s filled with. For example, if your image has an obvious focal point, you can use the center node to move the picture up and down or side to side to position the focal point just right.

The two additional nodes are for scaling and rotating the image. Scaling makes the image larger or smaller within the shape. Rotating spins the image around within the shape. You can put the image upside down, sideways, or at an unusual angle.

Tip: Press the SHIFT key during scaling or rotating to limit movement to the vertical and horizontal axes. You can also prevent rotations from being more than 15° at a time.

How Do I Change the Fill in a Shape?

Don’t like the image you chose? You can easily change the image that fills your shape with a few clicks.

1. Start by clicking on the filled shape that you want to alter.
2. Click on Bitmap again under the Type menu. It looks like Bitmap is still the chosen option, but you actually have to select it again.
3. Find the new image and click Open. The current fill in your shape will be replaced by this new image.

Final Thoughts

Bam! Just like Emeril, you’ve taken your design up a notch and given it style. Your shape is now filled with an image and all it took was three simple steps. Remember these words – draw, fill, adjust – to design unique graphic elements for your publication.

There are several ways to transform the text on your Affinity Designer project. One of the most popular methods of transformation is simple expansion. Expanding your text allows you to test different text sizes, locations, and shapes to see what type of text fits best on the page. How do you expand text in Affinity Designer?

Read on to learn how to expand text in Affinity Designer. The process is quite simple and can help you become more familiar with other text transformations in Affinity Designer. From basic expansion to more complex features, you will see below how to expand text in Affinity Designer.

Select Text

Before expanding your text in Affinity Designer, you have to select the text box that you wish to transform. Simply click in the area of the text box to select the text box as a whole. When you do this, the text box will be highlighted and show options for you to drag or expand the box from different points around the perimeter.

If you want to expand one piece of text that goes with another piece but needs its own edits, there are different ways to approach the situation. One of the easiest things to do is create separate text boxes for each piece of text, each letter, etc. This way, you can easily customize individual letters within the same text conglomeration.

You can also convert your text to curves, which you will learn more about shortly. Changing your text to vector curves entails more complex design strategies, which you may or may not find appealing.

Expand Entire Text Box

Once you have selected the text box for the text you wish to expand, you can expand it by simply clicking and holding one of the points that allow you to change the dimensions of the text box. Drag the point however far you want, thus extending the text.

To ensure that your text’s dimensions remain the same, you can utilize the Gradient Tool to keep the coordinates even. Of course, this only applies if you wish the expanded text to remain horizontally aligned. More complex customizations may not require the use of the Gradient Tool.

Like much other software, clicking the text box and expanding it with the outline points is the easiest way to expand your text in Affinity Designer.

Select Filters

A more complex way to expand text in Affinity Designer is by changing the filters of your text box. You can choose certain filters that will essentially allow you to stretch or resize your text however you wish. This type of text expansion allows more freedom in creating unique text styles.

One way to use Filters to expand text in Affinity Designer is by distorting the text. Click Filters in the customization tab at the top left of Affinity Designer. In the drop-down menu, hover over Distort. When the new drop-down menu comes up, find and click Deform.

You can choose the rigid setting with the edit box that pops up. Click different areas of the text that you want to experiment with expansion. Like the coordinate points on a highlighted text box, dots will appear where you click that allow you to drag the text in different directions. The difference here is that when you expand the area of a certain dot you have clicked, the other dots remain in place, thus distorting your text. 

The entire text piece will stretch in some way or another but will maintain its former shape before you distort the other dots. This is a way to more uniquely customize your text by expanding specific areas.

Expand Stroke For Customized Shapes

Even more complex a way to expand text in Affinity Designer is by expanding the stroke of a shape. Of course, this only applies if your text is not necessarily text from a text box, but rather, a shape you create into the resemblance of a letter or block of text.

Select the shape you want to expand and click the Move Tool or the Node Tool. Choose Expand Stroke from the Layer Menu. This function makes the shape’s stroke detached from the concrete shape. Dots surrounding the shape will pop up that allow you to expand individual areas of the shape, creating intricate designs from your basic shape.

As mentioned, this only works if your text is made of customized shapes instead of a text box. You will see a similar method below.

Convert To Vector Curves

Converting to curves is a popular way to expand certain aspects of text in Affinity Designer. Much like expanding the stroke of a shape, converting your text to curves allows you to alter certain chunks of one letter to better suit your customization preferences.

Select the text you wish to expand and right-click. Click Convert to Curves in the drop-down menu. In the layers menu, you can expand your text options and click an individual letter to customize. You can then move individual letters around and resize them by expanding the coordinate dots surrounding the text box.

For more enhanced customizations, you can select the Node to surround individual letters and stretch them like the expanded-stroke shapes mentioned above.

Takeaway

Basic text expansion in Affinity Photo is simpler than ever. Additionally, there are more complex ways to expand text in Affinity Designer. If you want to add a touch of creativity to your customizations, be sure to remember the steps listed above.

A photo editing program like Affinity Photo can take your image to the next level. A well-shot photograph requires minor adjustments to enhance the beauty within the shot. When you’re doing a photoshoot of any kind, there are always images that don’t turn out as you’d hoped. Sometimes those images can be discarded, but other times it might be the only shot of its kind.

What do you do when you need an image, but it has some problem areas to fix? Luckily, there are ways to save a photo that needs more than just minor enhancements. Keep reading to find out how to fix blurry pictures in Affinity Photo.

4 Ways to Fix Blurry Photos in Affinity Photo

You can have the ideal circumstances for that perfect shot, i.e., the right lighting and angle, and still discover in the editing process that the perfect shot produced a less than perfect photo. A slightly blurry photo can be saved using some features in Affinity Photo.

The level of blurriness in the photo is a factor in whether or not the picture can be saved. If a photo is too blurry, it loses its texture and detail, which can not be recovered. Remember when attempting these steps in fixing your blurry photos in Affinity Photo.

1. Using High Pass to Sharpen

To use high pass to sharpen, open Affinity Photo and import your picture via File > Open. From there:

1. Make any adjustments, like cropping, before moving on
2. Highlight the layer in the Layer Panel to the right of the canvas by clicking on the layer
3. Press CTRL+J to duplicate the layer. You can also find this function under the Layer menu at the top right-hand corner of the screen.
4. With the duplicate layer highlighted in blue, navigate to Filters > Sharpen > High Pass
5. The entire canvas will turn grey. Now you can begin to slide the radius slider in the High Pass dialog box to the right.
6. Keep sliding until you see the details of the photo come through, then click Apply.
7. Go into the Layer Panel and change the Blend Mode to Linear Light.

Now you can compare the original layer to the duplicate layer and see the difference in the sharpness. The blur should be removed; however, if you zoom into the photo, you will notice that the noise has also been sharpened in more detail. To address that, use the following instructions:

1. Select the duplicate layer in the Layer Panel
2. Navigate to Filters > Noise > Denoise
3. A dialogue box will appear, slide the Luminance and Color to 20%, then select Apply.

When performing this operation, you don’t want to go beyond 20%, or the picture will become blurry again.

2. Using the Brush Tool to Sharpen

Once you’re done removing the noise, you can continue finishing the sharpening process on your photo. This part of the process will focus on a specific area in the picture you would like added sharpening.

1. Add a mask layer in the Layer Panel
2. Select CTRL + I, which will Invert
3. Select the Brush Tool in the horizontal toolbar to the left of the canvas.
4. Select the Round Soft Brush under the Brushes in the Layer Panel
5. Set your foreground colour to white in the Layer Panel

From here, you can paint over the area you want to sharpen to achieve the desired result.

3. Using Details in Develop Persona to Sharpen

Though there is a debate about which approach to addressing our in a photo is more effective, it remains that there is more than one way in Affinity Photo to sharpen an image.

1. Navigate to the toolbar at the top of the canvas and click on the Develop Persona icon.
2. Click on the Details tab in the Layer Panel
3. Select Detail Refinement

In the drop-down, slide the Amount to 100% and slowly slide the Radius to the right until the photo has been sufficiently sharpened

4. Using Blur to Sharpen Your Picture

It might sound counterproductive to fix the blurriness of a picture by adding more blur, but there is a method to the madness. This method may be complicated to follow, but it will sharpen your image.

1. Create a Dark Edges group layer by duplicating your original layer three times. You should have four layers altogether.
2. Make two of the duplicates a child or sub-layer of the top layer. Now you should have two layers, the Dark Edges layer with two sub-layers and the original layer.
3. Select the first sub-layer under the Dark Edges layer and set the Blend Mode to Difference
4. On the same layer, Add an Invert by selecting the Masks Icon in the Layers Panel and clicking on Invert in the drop-down menu
5. On the second sub-layer, apply the Gaussian Blur by clicking on the Blur icon in the Layer Panel and selecting it from the drop-down menu. Set the Radius to 2.0 px in the pop-up dialog box
6. On that same layer, set the Blend Mode in the Layer Panel to Lighten

Once this is done, you can then navigate back to the top of the Dark Edges layer group and duplicate the entire group. From here:

1. Set the Blend Mode of the duplicate group to Multiply and place it under the Dark Edges layer. You should now have two groups under the Dark Edges layer.
2. Duplicate the entire Dark Edges layer and rename it Light Edges
3. In the Light Edges layer, remove the Invert Adjustment from both groups. There should be two sub-layers that require the Invert removal.
4. Set the Blend Mode of the layers in each group with the Gaussian Blur to Darken. It should be two sub-layers you are resetting.
5. The Blend Mode of the top group will change from Multiply to Screen

Now you should have the Dark Edges layer, the Light Edges layer, and the original layer. Move the Dark Edges and Light Edges layer into the original layer. Finally, you’ll just want to change the Blend Mode of the entire Dark Edges layer to Multiply and change the Blend Mode of the entire Light Edges layer to Screen.

Conclusion

No matter what method you use, the result will be the same, and your pictures will look much more crisp and clean.

With Affinity Designer, you have many tools and features at your disposal. The application interface boasts user-friendly navigation, no matter your level of expertise. Learning the basics of Affinity Designer is a fast and easy process.

To understand the full scope of what you can do in Affinity Designer, you can find resources to help you navigate the functions and show you what the application is capable of beyond the basics. Keep reading to find out how you can cut images in Affinity Designer.

How to Cut or Crop Images in Affinity Designer

Often, cutting and cropping are terms that are used interchangeably. There are several methods to execute this function. Cropping is limited to a square or rectangular area, and it typically involves resizing an image and cutting any unnecessary elements from an image.

Cutting is more aesthetic as you can cut your image into various shapes, like a heart or a star. You can also use this method with blocks of text.

Cropping an Image

Affinity Designer has a Vector Cropping Tool that you can use to cut or resize your image.

1. Open your image in Affinity Designer by navigating to File > Open.
2. Once your image is on the canvas, select it and navigate to the Vector Crop Tool in the toolbar to the left of the canvas.
3. A bounding box will automatically appear around your image, and you will see handles on the corners and sides of the image.
4. Selecting the corner handle, drag in while pressing down the Shift key to constrain the crop; otherwise, the crop could adjust unevenly.
5. To draw the image in or out from the center point, click and drag while pressing down the CTRL key.

You will notice that the canvas is not affected when the image is cropped. When you use the Vector Crop tool, you will see the layer appear beneath the image.

 The Vector Crop Tool allows you to crop the image non-destructively, so you don’t have to use the Undo button. Non-destructively means that the cropped portion of the image hasn’t been deleted, so you always adjust the crop if needed.

You can move the image around within the cropped area.

1. Click on the image to select it. The cursor will change into a box to indicate the image can be moved.
2. Just click and drag the image to reposition it within the crop.

If you want to move the newly cropped image around the canvas, you must unlock the layer first.

1. In the Layers Panel, on the right side of the canvas, click on the padlock icon next to the layer.
2. Once you’ve unlocked the layer, you can use the Move Tool in the toolbar to move your image around on the canvas.

If you want to make the newly cropped image the size of your canvas, you can still edit the image.

1. Click on the newly cropped image layer in the Layer Panel
2. You will see dots in the corners and sides of the image called bounding box handles. Adjust the handles to fit the image to the canvas.

Cutting an Image

You can cut an image by using the Shape Tools in the toolbar. If one of the various shapes you can select from in the toolbar doesn’t meet your needs, you can create your own shape using the Pen Tool in Affinity Designer.

1. Open your image in Affinity Designer by navigating to File > Open.
2. Once your image is on the canvas, navigate to the toolbar to the left of the canvas and select the Shape Tool.
3. Select the shape you desire, click and drag it onto the canvas
4. Navigate to the Layer Panel, click and drag the layer with the shape over the layer with the background image. So, the layer panel should have the layer with the shape first and the background second.
5. You will see the layer in the Layer Panel highlighted blue, and the background image will now be cut in the shape parameters.

If you would like to position the shape in the exact spot you desire before cutting it:

1. Make the shape transparent with the Transparency Tool in the toolbar. Make sure the shape is selected first.
2. Once transparent, reposition it to your desired placement on the image.
3. Make the shape a solid color.
4. Follow the remaining steps for cutting an image

If you would like to position the image within the shape after cutting it:

1. Unlock the background by clicking the padlock icon next to the background layer in the Layer Panel.
2. Click on the Vector Crop Tool in the toolbar
3. Select the background layer from the Layer Panel
4. Put your cursor over the image, and a small crop box should appear. If not, click and drag the image.
5. Reposition the image within the shape to your desire.

How to Export Your Image in Affinity Designer

Once you have your image cut how you want it, you can add more elements to your design or export the image as is. If you choose to export your image, make sure you know what file format you would like your image to be saved in.

1. Navigate to File > Export
2. A dialogue box will appear, and you will select the settings for the following:
   • File format
   • Size
   • Preset             
   • Resample
   • Quality
   • Area
3. Once you’ve made your selections for each setting, click on Export.

The best file format for your image depends on what you are using your image for, web or print. The file formats shown in the Export dialogue box are PNG, JPEG, GIF, TIFF, PSD, PDF, SVG, WMF, EPS, EXR, HDR, and TGA.

Conclusion

Now you know that cutting and cropping are used interchangeably, but regardless of the terms used, you have the correct tools to execute either function in Affinity Designer. If you run into a snag in the instructions for cropping or cutting, refer to Affinity support for further assistance.

Mastering an image editing program like Affinity Designer is an ongoing process where new skills are stacked upon existing ones to build a knowledge base of techniques that can be used to edit images in any number of ways.

One of the most fundamental skill sets to learn in Affinity Designer is working with different types of shapes. Knowing how to add shapes to an image opens up a great number of creative possibilities. But being able to cut out a shape is an equally valuable skill and there are several ways to accomplish this vital technique. Here’s how.

Affinity Designer How To Cut Out a Shape

Depending on the particular visual effect that is desired, there are several ways to approach the cutting out of shapes in Affinity Designer and most of these operations can be performed from Affinity Designer’s Toolbar or by selecting an option from an image layer’s Geometry sub-menu.

The most common scenario for cutting out a shape is when there is an underlying image, or even another shape, that the shaped cut-out is removed from, and this will be the focus of this article.

These are the most common techniques that can be used to cut out a shape:

1. Use the Subtract Tool to Cut Out a Shape

One of the most useful techniques for cutting out a shape from another shape in Affinity Designer is to use the built-in shape drawing tools and then perform a Subtract operation to cut out the desired shape (or portion thereof). Here’s how this works:

1. Use any of the shape drawing tools from the Tools panel to draw a geometric shape
2. Draw another shape and place it over the first shape in the position that the desired cut is to be performed
3. Select both shape objects and then click on the Subtract button on the Toolbar (or go to the Geometry sub-menu for the layer and choose the Subtract option from there)

The original shape (the shape that was drawn first) will have a cut-out in the shape of the second object that was drawn and placed on top of it in an overlapping fashion.

For example, if you draw a square and then place a circle over the lower-right corner and perform a Subtract operation, you would end up with a square that has a circular portion of its lower-right corner (where you overlapped the circle) removed.

2. Cutting a Shape Out of an Image

In a similar fashion, the Subtract tool can be used to cut out a shape from an image. The basic premise is the same:

1. Open the image from which the shape will be removed
2. The desired cut-out effect (i.e., the shape) must be placed over the image
3. With both objects selected, click on the Subtract button from the Toolbar or select Subtract from the Geometry sub-menu

The image will now have a cut-out in the shape of the object.

3. Use the Intersect Tool to Create a New Shape

Another way to cut out a shape in Affinity Designer is by using the Intersect tool. This technique produces interesting visual effects with limitless possibilities. Here is how Intersecting works:

1. One shape is laid down as a base layer
2. A second shape is drawn and placed in an overlapping fashion on top of the first shape
3. Once the Intersect tool is deployed, only that portion of the two shapes that is overlapping will be retained and the non-overlapping portions of both shapes will be discarded thus producing a truly uniquely shaped object that has the characteristics of both parent shapes

With a bit of imagination, the Intersect tool can be used to create stunning visual effects by cutting out overlapping or intersecting, areas of multiple shapes to create entirely new ones.

4. Use the Xor Tool to Create a Transparent Area

A tool with an exotic name, Xor, can be used to create equally interesting visual effects. Whereas the Intersect tool cuts out non-intersecting portions of overlapping shapes, the Xor tool produces the opposite effect. Here are the highlights of this function:

• The setup is the same as using the Intersect tool
• A base shape is drawn first and additional shapes are laid down on top of the first
• Whereas the Intersect tool retains only the overlapping portion of the shapes with the non-overlapping portions being discarded, the Xor tool works in the opposite way with the overlapping portion being cut out and the non-overlapping portions of the shapes being kept

When performing the Xor function to cut out a shape in Affinity Designer, it is important to remember to select all of the shapes and create a Compound object before selecting the Xor option.

5. Cropping an Image Into a Shape

For instances where the desired visual effect is not to remove a shaped cut-out from an image, but rather, to cut an image into a particular shape and discard the rest of the image (a reverse cut-out if you will), the ideal operation to perform is cropping the image into the desired shape. In other words, the shape will serve as a cutting die for the image’s finished form.

These are the steps you will need to follow to crop an image into a shape:

1. With the target image open, select the shape that will be used (e.g., an ellipse, square, or other geometric shape tool)
2. Draw the shape on top of the image
3. For more precise positioning of the shape over the image, adjust the opacity slider tool to make the shape semi-transparent
4. The selected area can be easily manipulated by using the resizing, rotating, and relocation tools
5. Once everything looks good to go, merge the image with the shape by using the Layers menu
6. The image will be cropped to the shape that was selected and can even be further resized and manipulated
7. The final cropped image can be copied and pasted into any document or file

As far as save options, exporting the finished image as a .PNG file is a popular choice as this will add a transparent background. Other extensions include .JPEG, .GIF, .TIFF, .PDF, .PSD, AND .EPS, so there are plenty of ways to save a cropped image.

Conclusion

To enable designers of all skill levels to elevate the quality and impact of their projects, Affinity Designer offers a seemingly boundless collection of editing tools and features. Among these are special functions for cutting out shapes from other objects and images to produce professional-quality visual effects that can enhance any graphic design document.

You can do some pretty cool stuff in graphic design software like Affinity Designer. Like creating shadowed text or filling a shape with an image. Speaking of shapes, Affinity Designer offers the usual square, star, circle, and others. But what if, for some reason, you need to cut a circle in half? How do you do that?

Cutting a circle in half in Affinity Designer is more than clicking on a “divide this circle” button. It’s not difficult but it does take a few steps. Follow this how-to guide to get two perfect semicircles every time.

Cutting a Circle in Half is a Multi-Step Process

Surprisingly, Affinity Designer doesn’t give you a one-click option of creating two semicircles out of one circle shape. Seems like that would be a standard thing in graphic design software, and it is on some other programs.

Cutting a circle into two equal halves in Affinity Designer involves getting creative with the Node tool.The good news is that this process works for other shapes as well. We’ll walk you through the process, and after you slice a few circles, you’ll wonder why you thought it was so hard to do.

Draw a Circle

Before you can slice a circle, you’ve got to have a circle to slice, right? So, on the blank work area in Affinity Designer, click the Circle button on the Tools panel. Place your cursor anywhere you choose in the blank area and draw whatever size circle you want to cut in half.

Tip: Hold down the SHIFT key to make the circle perfectly round. You can also use this trick to make other shapes perfectly proportioned.

Notice that your circle (or any shape for that matter) has small dots called Nodes spaced at intervals around the shape. We’re going to use these next.

Use the Node Tool to Select Nodes

The basic idea here is to use the nodes to break the object in half. The circle you drew will have 4 nodes around its perimeter. You’re going to use the top and bottom nodes in this slicing operation.

Tip: If you wanted to divide the circle into 4 equal parts, you’d follow these same steps using all four nodes in succession.

On the same Tools panel where you selected the circle icon, look for the Node tool. It looks like an arrow without the tail. Select the Node tool. You’ll know it’s working when you see the tailless arrow hovering in your workspace.

Break the Circle at the Top and Bottom Nodes

With the Node tool activated, let the slicing begin! The following steps will be repeated for both nodes. (Or for all four nodes if you want four equal pieces.)

1. Click on the top node on the circle. A straight line with nodes on each end will appear.
2. On the Toolbar across the top, look for the word Action.
3. Go to the Action and select the Break Curve icon which looks like a broken letter H.

Go to the bottom curve and repeat these steps. At this point, your circle will still look like a circle, but we’re going to change that next.

Move the Circle Halves

The circle has been broken in half, even if it doesn’t look like it. The next step is to move the two halves apart from each other and give them their own identity.

1. On the Tools panel, click on the regular-looking arrow which is called the Move tool.
2. Look for the Layers panel on the right side of the workspace. You should see two half circles in that panel.
3. Select one of the half circles you see in the panel.
4. Return to the main workspace and click on one side of the circle. This actually selects one of the semi-circles.
5. Drag the highlighted semi-circle away from its other half. There are now two half circles in the work area.

Finish Creating Two Half Circles

Finish creating these two half circles by closing them up so that they become separate objects in the design. Repeat these steps for both halves.

1. Click on one of the semi-circles.
2. Go back to the Action option on the top toolbar.
3. Click on Action and “close the curve” using the other icon that looks like an unbroken letter H.

Customize Each Half Circle 

Now that you have split the circle into two halves and made each a separate object within Affinity Designer, you can customize them as you wish.

Final Thoughts

That wasn’t so hard now, was it? Even though it’s not a one-step process, cutting a circle in half in Affinity Designer is still pretty straightforward to do.

Though Affinity Designer is packed with features, sometimes they can be difficult to figure out. Probably because there are just so many of them. One such feature is the ability to cut out text. If you want to cut out text in Affinity Designer but you’re not sure how, what do you do? 

To cut out text in Affinity Designer you need to use the pathfinder subtract tool. First however, you have to create a rectangle or shape for the text to sit on. Then you need to create the text in whatever font you want and center it on the rectangle. Finally you want to use the subtract tool. 

If you’re stuck trying to cut out text in Affinity Designer, worry no more, for we’ve got the answers. In our guide below, we will break down exactly how to cut out text. We’ll do our best to set you up so that you have all the tools you need to create the perfect project. With that, let’s just dive right into it!

How Do You Cut Text in Affinity Designer?

We’ve described in broad terms what you need to do to cut out text in Affinity Designer. Now let’s dive into greater detail.

Our step-by-step guide below will walk you through the process of cutting out text in Affinity Designer: 

1. Open the program and create a new document: First things first, you need to open the program and create a new document. You can create a new document by navigating your cursor to the top task bar, selecting “file”, then scrolling down the drop down menu to where it says “new.” 
2. Get the place image tool from the tools panel and open your image: The tools panel is located on the right side of the screen. It is a horizontal box with various icons running down it. Select the place image tool. This tool is located near the middle of the panel and is an icon of a picture. Once you’ve done this, open your image.
3. Use the rectangle tool and create a rectangle over the image: The rectangle should go roughly where you want to put your text. The field color of the rectangle should be white and the stroke color should be none. 
4. Use the artistic text tool and create and center your text: The artistic text tool can be found on the tools panel at the right of the screen. Use it to create text inside the white rectangle you created. You can choose whatever font you want for your project. Don’t forget to also center the text, so that it sits in the middle of the rectangle. 
5. Convert your text to curves and group and ungroup your text in layers: Once the text is centered, right click it and select “convert to curves” from the menu that pops up. This should create a group in layers for your text. Right click the text again only this time click on “ungroup.” 
6. Use the pathfinder subtract to cut out your text: First select both the text and the rectangle. Then go to the top left of the screen to the pathfinder icon and select subtract. This will cut out your text. 

With that you should have a perfectly good text cutout. This will not only work with large text like titles, but with smaller text as well should you need it for that. It should also be noted that you don’t necessarily have to use a rectangle for this. You can really use any shape. We just used a rectangle because it’s one of the most ideal shapes for text. 

So Really, How Do You Cut Out Text in Affinity Designer?

Cutting out text doesn’t have to be difficult. You just need to know what the right steps are. The first thing you want to do is open the program and place any image that you want the text to sit over. Next you need to use a rectangle or some kind of shape for the text to sit on top of. This will act as a base for the text to be cut out. 

Once all the preparations are done, it’s finally time to add the text itself. Using the artistic text tool, you will need to create and center your text on the rectangle. It doesn’t matter what kind of text you have. You can use any font. Once you’ve picked it’s just a matter of using the subtract tool and subtracting the text from the whole thing. So what kind of text will you be cutting out?

The sheer abundance of tools at your fingertips can be overwhelming. Whether you’re an amateur or professional photographer, you want to make sure that you have the right tools.

Adding a few presets to your Affinity Photo for iPad can enhance your photo experience. It will also help you achieve the level of professionalism in your photos that you can be proud of. Here’s how to add presets to Affinity Photo. Since you will most likely spend a lot of time in the Photo Persona workspace, these tips apply to this workspace.

Adding presets to your Affinity Photo for iPad is straightforward once if you are familiar with the basic presets. Here we break down the steps in opening and saving presets and adding new ones for your projects.

How to Download Presets to Affinity Photo for iPad?

If you are new to editing photos on Affinity, you may want to download presets first. The first step is to find and get comfortable with preinstalled presets. Here is the simplest way to explore the preinstalled presets:

1. Go to the “File” menu
2. Click on “Open”
3. Double-click the empty view (this only works in Normal Mode)
4. Select the file you want and click or tap “Open”

Once you have opened the photo, you can tinker with the presets, which you can view under the “Adjustment” toolbar on the right. The basic presets allow you to adjust the tone, color, and exposure of your photos.

How to Add Presets to Affinity Photo?

Once you get a hang of the basic presets in Affinity Photo and want to move beyond the basics, you can explore and add new presets. To use additional presets that you download from the internet, you need to enable and use the LUT preset.

You can enable the LUT preset by scrolling down the “Adjustment” panel until you see the “LUT” option. You will not see any previews of this preset, but you can apply it using the following steps:

1. Select “Layer”
2. Select the “New Adjustment Layer”
3. Select “LU”

A new window will appear once you click on the LUT preset. You can easily import new presets as long as the add-ons are .cube, .csp, .3dl, or .look files.

When you add a new preset, the current preset is automatically saved for later use. In some cases, you want to save current workspace arrangements as a preset. Simply click “View” then “Studio Preset” and then “Add Preset.”

Adding presets is as simple as using the LUT feature to import new presets into your Affinity Photo application. The types of presets you import is only limited by compatibility with your iPad and the content, theme, and cost of your project.

What Are the Types of Presets?

The types of presets that you can add to Affinity Photo for iPad is limitless. It will largely depend on the content and types of photos and designs you are working with. A wedding photographer will have a variety of presets for portraits, studios, couples, or even nature. If you are printing t-shirts or mugs for a school fundraiser, you are probably interested in presets involving pastels or primary colors.

For simple projects, like printing t-shirts or mugs for a fundraiser, preset packages are an easy and attractive option. Preset packaged that you find online are based on theme, style, or content, such as:

• Matte
• Landscape
• Vintage

These happen to be among the most popular preset bundles and there is no limit, and you will find you have many choices on the web.

Presets are not limited to style, theme, or content. You can also use presets for some of the key photo editing functions. Cropping presets can make photo editing much easier, allowing you focus on the tone and color of your photos.

Conclusion

Adding presets to your Affinity Photo for iPad is easy once you know your way around the preinstalled presets of the software. While you can achieve great results simply using the basic presets, adding presets can help your designs and photos stand out if you are professional.

Creating the perfect photograph isn’t just about lighting and camera settings. A lot happens after the picture is taken as well. Simple changes in Affinity Photo like white balance adjustments can really make a photo pop. But how do you do it?

In total, there are several different ways to adjust the white balance in Affinity Photo:

1. Adjust the white balance in the Adjustment tab
2. Edit White Levels in the Adjustment tab
3. Tweak highlights in Color Balance
4. Correct Exposure

The lighting can’t always be perfect every time you go to take a photo. This is where knowing how to edit comes into play. Below you will find a quick guide for adjusting white balance in Affinity Photo.

Changing the White Balance in Affinity Photo

When taking photos, the type of lighting can alter how the whites and other colors appear. Adjusting the white balance in Affinity Photo can easily remedy the situation, but you need to know how to do it.

In simple terms, white balance is how warm or cool the overall colors in an image appear. These can be adjusted using various methods and tools within Affinity Photo

1. Using Affinity Photo Personas

After opening your image in Affinity Photo, you’re going to want to make sure you are using the correct Persona for your file type. Affinity photo is divided into five different sections (Personas):

• Photo
• Liquify
• Develop
• Tone Mapping
• Export

Each one of these provides different ways of working within Affinity Photo and can be found on the upper lefthand side of the screen just below the File menu. If you are working with a JPG file, switch to the Photo Persona. RAW files should be edited in the Develop Persona.

2. Editing White Balance with the Adjustment Tab

When in the Photo Persona, you should see a panel on the right-hand side with several different tabs. With your photo file open, click into the “Adjustment” tab and look for “White Balance.”

Once you click this, a window will pop up with two slider controls: one for white balance and one for tint. Click on the “Picker” button and select an area on your photo that should be a neutral color. This will make some adjustments to your photo, getting you the initial settings to work with.

You may still need to make some adjustments to the photo to get the exact look you’re going for. If the photo appears too warm or yellow, move the white balance slider to the left to add in more blue tones. If the photo is too cool or blue, move the slider to the right to warm it up.

Adjusting White Balance with Levels

Levels are another option that can be found in the Adjustment tab. However, this is best used for situations when whites appear either too dark or washed out.

First, click on “Levels” in the Adjustment tab. A window will pop up with a color graph and a few sliders. Moving these sliders will change the darkness and lightness of whites and blacks in the photo.

3. Adjusting Whites with Color Balance

If the whites in your photo still feel off, you may need to make some changes to the color balance. To do this, find “Color Balance” in the Adjustment tab.

In the Tonal Range dropdown box select “Highlights.” This will make sure that the color balance changes are only affecting the highlights in the photo.

Once again, if your whites seem too warm or dingy, move the Yellow/Blue slider to the right to cool them down. Move the slider in the opposite direction to warm things up.

4. How To Fix Overexposed Photos

Overexposure of an image is another reason whites and colors can seem off. To fix this, upload a RAW image and click on the Develop Persona.

In the panel on the right-hand side, click the tab that says “Basic.” Here you should see a slider for exposure. If the photo is overexposed, drag the slider to the left to lower exposure. If it is underexposed, drag the slider to the right.

You may still need to make some adjustments to brightness or color balance after correcting exposure, but this should help immensely.

Final Thoughts

There are many things that we can always be in control of when taking photos. Light, unfortunately, is one of those things. Luckily, there are ways to work around this in post-production.

Hopefully, this guide helped you understand how to adjust the white balance in Affinity Photo so that you can create beautiful and eye-catching photos.

Photo editing is challenging enough when you deal with single shots. However, they can become nightmares if you must combine several shots to make a single image. Aligning the shots as layers will help, but that is not always intuitive in Affinity Photo, especially for you already edited.

Unfortunately, there is no way to automatically align layers In Affinity Photo. You must complete all alignments manually or set it as a flag when creating a new photo stack.  

Manually aligning layers can ruin photos if not done properly. Therefore, by reading further, you will learn how to align layers in Affinity Photo to get the best out of your shots.

How to Align Layers in Affinity Photo

Most people understand that most photographs will require some editing. The lighting could be off. Subjects might move. The reasons for the edits are endless. Despite this understanding, most people still overlook layer alignment.

Alignment issues can pop up for numerous reasons such as:

• Moving the camera while shooting
• Accidently moving a layer
• Importing layers from different cameras and other editors

To make matters worse, you usually notice these issues near the end of the editing process. At that point, moving the layers may break your adjustments. As such, you might wonder if your photo editor could ensure the correct alignments automatically as you worked.

Affinity Photo Does Not Support Auto Align

Unfortunately, unlike other editors, Affinity Photo does not include an auto-align feature. At least, not in the traditional sense. Instead, it requires you to create a new empty layer stack. The stack would keep your layers aligned, but you must do it before you make any other changes.

Otherwise, you must every alignment adjustment manually. Luckily, you can access the alignment controls every time to move a layer. So, with a little luck and skill, you can still get your desired effect. It will just take some time to perform some of the more tedious steps.

Affinity Photo Alignment Controls

With that said, aligning layers in Affinity Photo requires using the right Alignment commands you can find on the Alignment popup window. You can access this window by selecting the “Alignment” option from the Toolbar.

General Content Alignment Options

The Alignment window lets you set your adjustment criteria, including an “Align to” menu with a few presets such as page, spread, margin, or selection bounds. You also have the option to align things vertically or horizontally. Nothing happens until you click “Apply”. So, you can take as much time as you need to select your desired settings.

You can even align objects across multiple layers, but you will be limited to the “selection bounds” options. For instance:

• Align Horizontal – aligns either the left or right edge or the center points
• Align Vertical – aligns to the top or bottom edge or the center (middle) points)

Alignment Handles

You can create custom alignment by using alignment handles. The handles appear as you move objects to help you place them precisely where you want them. They even work across multiple section boxes, allowing you to align their edges better.

However, you must ensure that you have the “Show Alignment Handles” option toggled on within the Move Tool’s settings. The handles should then show up along the edges and centers of your selections, along with floating guidelines across the page.

Using Blending Tools to Help Align Layers in Affinity Photo

Because you must align layers manually, you may have to find a non-destructive tool or shortcut to improve the operations. For instance, many editors use the Affinity Photo Differences blending mode to highlight the aligning content. That is because any misaligned content will show up as white pixels.

Blending modes are not permanent alterations. They simply create a layer mask on top of your existing layers. Plus, you can access both the Bending Modes selector and the Move Tool from the Layers panel, letting you move back and forth between them as much as you need.

Using them in the alignment process is simple too. Once you selected the appropriate blending mode, you just activate the Move Tool and use the arrow keys to adjust the alignment one pixel at a time. You are done once the white pixels disappear. You can then switch the blending mode back to “Normal” to switch to the next misaligned layer to continue your work.

Conclusion

While most photos will require some alignment adjustments, Affinity Photo does not offer any reasonable method to automatically align layers on the fly. Instead, you must fix any misalignments manually using the Move Tool and the various adjustment options Affinity Photo does supply. Otherwise, you must use a third-party tool such as Placeit to do the work.