Master the pen and node tools in Affinity Designer, Photo or Publisher to create, adjust, and join vector paths

What you'll learn

Apply the pen tool to draw ANY shape you can think of utilizing 2 simple methods

Interpret the context toolbar for the pen tool to join multiple curves and confidently join, split, and adjust curves

Apply the "look ahead" method and the "anchor point" method to simplify your curves and your workflow

Confidently create your shapes utilizing the pen tool and the node tool and speed up your design process

Requirements

Affinity (Designer, Photo or Publisher) installed on your desktop

A basic knowledge of the program, including the ability to create a layer and navigate the interface

Description

The Pen Tool.. Some would arguably call it the most complicated thing to learn in pursuing digital art.. But it doesn't have to be. The truth is, you simply have to know to know a few simple terms and stop overthinking it.This course was designed to work with both V1 and V2 of the software and in all 3 platforms (Designer, Photo, and Publisher). Using my simple approach to learning the pen tool, we will get you up and running with a confidence you never thought you could have.. And ALL WITHOUT MEGA COURSES that suck you time inundating you with things you don't need to know.. when all you want to learn is focused on the pen tool.I built this course because, after 10 years of teaching digital art, this is the number one tool that still leaves students like you confused. Truthfully when I started, it left me confused too, and it took me months and months to get competent in these tools.. and it just should not be that way. So this course is technical, there is no project, and there are no other tools taught. This is a dedicated, focused look at a complex subject with practice exercises to build muscle memory and give you mastery of a tool utilized by illustrators, photo compositors, and designers utilizing vector art.Inside this technical primer course for Affinity Designer, Photo, and Publisher you will learnLearn why trying the pen tool to figure it out in a "mega course" is hindering your progress so you can stop the endless frustrationDiscover how to deploy the pen tool for both photos and illustrations so you can make clean-looking vector lines on all your work with minimal adjustment and reworkUtilize my proven frameworks for simple clean vector outlines using the "LOOK AHEAD" method, and the "ANCHOR POINT" process so that you can be efficient and confident with the pen tool

Overview

Section 1: Introduction and Set-up

Lecture 1 Introduction

Lecture 2 Setting up the tool bar in Affinity for a successful course

Lecture 3 V1 users- How to set up for the class if you are using V1 versions of software

Section 2: All About Curves- How to read them, create them and adjust them

Lecture 4 Downloads for this section of the course

Lecture 5 Introduction to the section

Lecture 6 The Technical Aspects of Nodes

Lecture 7 The Technical Aspects of Open Curves

Lecture 8 The Technical Aspect of Closed Curves

Lecture 9 Open Curve Practice Part 1

Lecture 10 Open Curve Practice Part 2

Lecture 11 Closed Curve Practice Part 1

Lecture 12 Closed Curve Practice Part 2

Lecture 13 Complex Closed Curve Practice

Lecture 14 Curves in Photo Applied

Section 3: Working with multiple curves

Lecture 15 Resources for this section of the course

Lecture 16 Introduction to the section

Lecture 17 Joining curves

Lecture 18 Separating a curve into multiple curves

Lecture 19 Adjusting the stroke and changing the direction of curves

Lecture 20 Creating symmetrical vector shapes using the pen and node tool

Section 4: Wrap up and next steps

Lecture 21 Outro

New Affinity Users who are still unsure about the pen tool after their initial exposure to the tool,Illustrators that want to use the pen tool as their primary tool to create their art,Photo compositors that utilize the pen tool to create clipping masks for their art