4 ms·

How do you like the competitor offering so far?

by arthurcolle 7y ago

bcheung 7y ago
It's pretty impressive. I wish there was scripting support though.
potta_coffee 7y ago
Not PS, but I use Affinity Designer now rather than Illustrator, and it is awesome. I love it.
- acqq 7y ago
  But how to open old projects once one switches to non-Adobe applications?
  - indymike 7y ago
    Affinity does a pretty good job with .ai .ps and other Adobe formats.
  - open-source-ux 7y ago
    Designer will import Illustrator files (.ai) and PDF files. It can also export to PSD and PDF (but not to .ai). Photo imports (and exports) to PSD file format. Some Photoshop features that aren't available in Photo (e.g. smart objects) won't be editable in the same way when opening a PSD in Photo, but you'll still be able to open the PSD file. If you have a lot of Illustrator and Photoshop files, best to try them out in the Affinity apps to see if you're happy with the import feature.
pier25 7y ago
I'm not parent but I'm still looking for a vector graphics replacement for Illustrator. Sketch, Designer, etc, are all pretty crippled when it comes to working with groups instead of layers. Many people have asked for group isolation mode in Designer for years, but it's not really a priority for Serif. https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/1640-ad-isolation-mode/ https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/1640-ad-is... I tried developing a script for Sketch but the SDK doesn't provide the needed API to implement it properly and quite frankly Sketch is super slow once you work on complex projects. The only software I've found that does groups well is a little software called Amadine, but it's still not very mature. The team that develops PixelMator promised a vectors graphics software but are too busy with PixelMator Pro. I haven't used Corel Draw in almost 20 years but now that they have a mac verson I will give it a try. Affinity Photo is a great replacement for Photoshop though.
- bcheung 7y ago
  I've had a horrible time with finding good vector software for my needs, especially since my requirements tend towards needing it to create physical assets in the real world (laser cutting) or the basis for game assets. There isn't any good constraint based / procedural vector software. Best I've able to find for my needs is Fusion 360 but it's really for 3D not for 2D. I want things to reflow automatically based on parameterized constraints and nothing does that except for Fusion 360 and/or OpenSCAD but those are both horrible for 2D vector. I've even resorted to use React and SVG to dynamically generate vectored laser cut designs. https://github.com/brennancheung/lasercut-react-svg/blob/master/src/HoleGuide.js https://github.com/brennancheung/lasercut-react-svg/blob/mas... If anyone has any recommendations I'd love to hear them.
  - pier25 7y ago
    > I want things to reflow automatically based on parameterized constraints Can you expand on that? You mean like having a UI solver for drawing gears?
    - bcheung 7y ago
      Not quite that detailed but along those lines. Usually it's simpler like resize a dimension based on another shape that is supposed to be in a fixed location. Vectors should snap and/or resize to other vectors based on midpoint, center, tangent, concentric, etc. Other times there is constraint based solving going on. And other times there are simple formulae based on the dimensions of other vectors (think spreadsheet style reactive).
  - archi42 7y ago
    I'm quite happy with Autodesk Inventor. Though I get it a the student rate (for free), and would not pay for it since I just design simple things for 3D printing.
    - arthurcolle 7y ago
      What is the process by which one goes from a cad file to actually something that can be 3d printed? I recently got a new ipad pro and got this app sketchr3d and I was blown away by how intuitive it is to design really sophisticated structures. I tried blender on and off like 4 times over 5 years and found it basically impossible to use. After making some really cool designs in s3d I started to wonder how easy it is to just print it with some kind of decent 3d printer model. Is it really plug and play/drag and drop your file?

How do you like the competitor offering so far?

bcheung 7y ago

It's pretty impressive. I wish there was scripting support though.

potta_coffee 7y ago

Not PS, but I use Affinity Designer now rather than Illustrator, and it is awesome. I love it.

acqq 7y ago
But how to open old projects once one switches to non-Adobe applications?
- indymike 7y ago
  Affinity does a pretty good job with .ai .ps and other Adobe formats.
- open-source-ux 7y ago
  Designer will import Illustrator files (.ai) and PDF files. It can also export to PSD and PDF (but not to .ai). Photo imports (and exports) to PSD file format. Some Photoshop features that aren't available in Photo (e.g. smart objects) won't be editable in the same way when opening a PSD in Photo, but you'll still be able to open the PSD file. If you have a lot of Illustrator and Photoshop files, best to try them out in the Affinity apps to see if you're happy with the import feature.

pier25 7y ago

I'm not parent but I'm still looking for a vector graphics replacement for Illustrator. Sketch, Designer, etc, are all pretty crippled when it comes to working with groups instead of layers. Many people have asked for group isolation mode in Designer for years, but it's not really a priority for Serif. https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/1640-ad-isolation-mode/ https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/1640-ad-is... I tried developing a script for Sketch but the SDK doesn't provide the needed API to implement it properly and quite frankly Sketch is super slow once you work on complex projects. The only software I've found that does groups well is a little software called Amadine, but it's still not very mature. The team that develops PixelMator promised a vectors graphics software but are too busy with PixelMator Pro. I haven't used Corel Draw in almost 20 years but now that they have a mac verson I will give it a try. Affinity Photo is a great replacement for Photoshop though.

bcheung 7y ago
I've had a horrible time with finding good vector software for my needs, especially since my requirements tend towards needing it to create physical assets in the real world (laser cutting) or the basis for game assets. There isn't any good constraint based / procedural vector software. Best I've able to find for my needs is Fusion 360 but it's really for 3D not for 2D. I want things to reflow automatically based on parameterized constraints and nothing does that except for Fusion 360 and/or OpenSCAD but those are both horrible for 2D vector. I've even resorted to use React and SVG to dynamically generate vectored laser cut designs. https://github.com/brennancheung/lasercut-react-svg/blob/master/src/HoleGuide.js https://github.com/brennancheung/lasercut-react-svg/blob/mas... If anyone has any recommendations I'd love to hear them.
- pier25 7y ago
  > I want things to reflow automatically based on parameterized constraints Can you expand on that? You mean like having a UI solver for drawing gears?
  - bcheung 7y ago
    Not quite that detailed but along those lines. Usually it's simpler like resize a dimension based on another shape that is supposed to be in a fixed location. Vectors should snap and/or resize to other vectors based on midpoint, center, tangent, concentric, etc. Other times there is constraint based solving going on. And other times there are simple formulae based on the dimensions of other vectors (think spreadsheet style reactive).
- archi42 7y ago
  I'm quite happy with Autodesk Inventor. Though I get it a the student rate (for free), and would not pay for it since I just design simple things for 3D printing.
  - arthurcolle 7y ago
    What is the process by which one goes from a cad file to actually something that can be 3d printed? I recently got a new ipad pro and got this app sketchr3d and I was blown away by how intuitive it is to design really sophisticated structures. I tried blender on and off like 4 times over 5 years and found it basically impossible to use. After making some really cool designs in s3d I started to wonder how easy it is to just print it with some kind of decent 3d printer model. Is it really plug and play/drag and drop your file?