Bitmap and layout apps?
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Hi,
do you have in mind creating bitmap and layout apps, to complete the design trio?
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@Petar_MK Well, this is a difficult question to answer without making commitments, so I will leave it open.
Out of the three design app genre (vector, photo, DTP) I think vector is in the most need of an independent alternative with all the features and reasonable licensing model.There are always two aspects of making a decision in this regard: (1) is it technically feasible, and (2) is there a demand for it.
for (1) the answer is yes, the existing code base is rather generic and there is no technical impediment on having an image or dtp app with a shared document format.
but (2) is harder to answer, and I leave it open for now.My primary goal is to make VectorStyler a success. This means that reaching at least version 2 (or even 3) with some interesting new features.
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I find VectorStyler extremly rich of features that no other vector app can match with it. Just to mention CorelDRAW, Illustrator, Xara, Affinity Designer...
If you can offer something like this in DTP -- it will make my day. You can do this by developing VectorStyler in this direction because they are basically vector apps, beside they can handle bitmaps. I can offer my help with 25+ years of experience in this field. I started with PageMaker, then QuarkXPress, InDesign and now Affinity Publisher.
Thank you very much.
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@Petar_MK What are you looking for in terms of bitmaps? What are you needing a VS companion app to do that is not offered in Affinity Publisher?
I can appreciate your approach @vectoradmin to dedicating time to making VS a success. Affinity for example, jumped into three apps with 2 (almost 3) of them also on the ipad. I think they spread themselves too thin. Designer in particular I feel has been slowed to a crawl in terms of development and basic things are still lacking. I'm not tyring to dump on Affinity - just saying it contrasts to what I see with VS having a multi-year dedicated focus while already offering so many things lacking in other vector apps.
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Bitmap (not offered in Affinity Photo)
- list itemNon-destructive filters and adjustments (all of them);
- list itembetter raw engine (like in Raw Therapee);
- list item1-bit color mode;
- list itemblack, white and gray point...
DTP (not offered in Affinity Publisher)
- Local paragraph and paragraph style settings must not reset local character and character style settings;
- offering only global colors (not static) like InDesign and Quark;
- GREP (regex) in paragraph styles;
- Find/Replace glyphs;
- Control palete like InDesign;
- page spreads more than two with flexible page width;
- footnotes...
Common
- No (too much) overlaping features;
- global colors only;
- visual color schemes (triads...)
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@Petar_MK Have you seen the existing bitmap filters and adjustments in the Image Effects panel?
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@Kyriakos In VectorStyler?
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@Petar_MK Yes, the panel Kyriakos mentioned is in VectorStyler's Panels menu > Effects > Image Effects.
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There are so many features, I don't know where to start.
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Maybe (some) photo editing features in near future?
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@Petar_MK Which photo editing features you would like to see?
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Well, all under "Image" menu from Photoshop, raw editing, all filters and layer effects from Affinity Photo (live), all adjustment layers (live, too) from PhotoLine (https://www.pl32.com/).
Yes, I know this is an enormous job, but one at a time. No hurry.
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@Petar_MK Couple of observations:
- in VS all image filters (visible in the Effects menu and in the Image Effects panel) can be used as adjustment layers and adjustment filters on object background.
- raw editing probably not going to make it into a vector app.
- most of the blur, distort., noise and colour effects of Affinity are available in VS, as live effects, and also usable as adjustment effects
- most of the VS blur effects have some interesting parameters.
- there is a plan for the future to add more image effects, that are suitable for a vector app.
A quick adjustment effect guide:
- you can add adjustment effects to layers in the Layers panel.
- you can turn any object (or group) into an adjustment layer, localized by the object shape or group content as a mask. Use the Object Options -> Adjustment Layer checkbox.
- you can add adjustment styles in the Appearance panel that are local for object styling.
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Maybe there is some missunderstanding between us. I suppose all these features to be applied on bitmaps, not on vectors (only).
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@Petar_MK I suppose you mean being able to open and edit a photo in a bitmap, fixed-resolution document format and canvas?
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@Kyriakos said in Bitmap and layout apps?:
@Petar_MK I suppose you mean being able to open and edit a photo in a bitmap, fixed-resolution document format and canvas?
Yes, just like in Photoshop.
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@Petar_MK @Kyriakos Doesn't VS already have some bitmap halftone kind of function built in already?
I agree with @vectoradmin that it's probably important to not stray too far from keeping the application a vector-based focus. That said, the ability to do a few things in raster is helpful - I need to play with it more, but the halftone bitmap abilities already inside VS are awesome
