Hello Creative Community! I just downloaded a trial version of Affinity. Anyone already using it with some tips to start?

2021 seems to be the year of changes for me. So, for the first time in years stuck with Adobe, I am exploring new tools for digital art, photo and publishing. After some research, I just downloaded Affinity today, which seems to be a very valid alternative.
Is there anyone already using (or that used) it to give feedback, tips and advice?

Replies9

  • @Kenneth Archbold I'm returning to your question after 3 months of Affinity Suite. My trial version is now a registered one: Affinity got me. There are still a lot of functionalities that I need to get familiar with, but so far, so good. There are some useful tools that I was using in Adobe that Affinity lacks, but it counterbalances with other spectacular functions that I am not familiar in Adobe. I have finally started to use Af Designer and Af Publisher it full professionally this month. I haven't had the occasion to use Af Photo professionally yet, but I used it for some post-production on personal pictures, and I am truly impressed. So, for me it's worth at least a try, especially after their major latest update.
  • @Kenneth Archbold Affinity is offering now a 90 days trial for the entire suite, and 50% discount in case you decide to buy it, which for me was one of the main driver within the best option as alternative to Adobe CC. Being honest, one of the reason I got tired of Adobe was how heavy they impact on the OS. I started using Adobe Suite beacuse when I was still at university and got introduced to digital design it was the only option available. This year, I started questioning if it was just some sort of laziness that I wasn't looking for alternatives.
    I started using Affinity Photo today for editing pictures of my sketchbooks. The interface looks pretty similar to Photoshop, but for a good review I will have to still work on it more.
    I also think that depending on what combination of software you are using, it can be difficult to find alternatives that dialogue together as Adobe CC software do. But for somebody like me, who's stuck with Ps, Ai and InDD since ever, it's worth try to explore around, before paying a consistent amount of money.

  • Thank you @Kenneth Archbold and @Juan Carlzon for both your replies. I'm currently editing a picture for my online portfolio for practising and I have to admit that I'm quite impressed. Of course it take some time to get familiar, but so far, so good :D
  • Did you get 1 package or the works? I downloaded Affinity designer partly because Adobe want a further £20 a month for InDesign but mostly because it got rave reviews.

    I had a project in mind and used youtube to really learn the ins and outs of it. Its been great!

    Sadly, being used to Adobe it means that to start with things will be abit slow but ones you get the hang of it (practise, practise, practise) it will be easily as fast.
  • @Alessandra Fasoli It will temporarily slowdown your workflow is what I meant, till you get the hang of it!
  • @Alessandra Fasoli I'd then humbly suggest to play around with it on personal / hobby projects so you can see how it compares. I think it’s inevitable that it will slow down your workflow. It’s a fun learning curve though!
  • @Juan Carlzon thank you! Yes, I guess a transition period of getting familiar with the new environment is inevitable. I am a very routinary person in my work tools (that said, once I find myself comfortable with certain tools, I stick to it), so I resisted this change for a long time, exactly because of the fear of having my workflow slowered down. But, what can I say, maybe it's just the general situation that prompted me in being less lazy and start to look around. And there seems to be a lot af amazing stuffs out there!
  • I just made the same change. Aiming to move completely towards (Affinity) designer, photo and publisher.
    The tutorial from the affinity website are a great place to get abs overview of the functionality, specially if you are coming from Adobe. https://affinity.serif.com/en-gb/learn/ I got loads of little tips and workarounds from there.
    Another thing I’ve been doing a lot, is opening previous work files from Adobe in designer abs publisher to understand how everything migrates and it’s handled by affinity.
    Lastly I’d say be prepared for everything you do taking at least 50% longer at the beginning. My process was: two clicks, google “how to... ... in affinity designer”

    Hope this helps!

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