Affinity Designer Desktop V2 - From Beginner to Pro Level

Explore basic shapes, customize squares and circles, and assemble them to design logos and icons for a final project.

Create a new document, choose print presets in landscape, and use basic shapes to build designs. Learn to fill colors, apply strokes, move, resize, rotate, and undo with shortcuts.

Learn to select shapes by surrounding them with the move tool, use shift for multiple selections, and toggle transform objects separately to rotate, scale, or move items individually.

Explore customizing shapes in Affinity Designer desktop v2 using rounded rectangle, star, and cog tools; adjust corners with red dots, change colors, and delete shapes with Backspace or delete.

Convert shapes to curves, then use the node tool to move individual points and adjust bezier handles for precise, independent shape editing.

Duplicate shapes in Affinity Designer by copy-paste using Mac or Windows shortcuts, use Command J / Ctrl J for one-step copying, or drag with the Move tool to copy.

Learn to use the corner tool in Affinity Designer: select a shape, then drag to round corners, choosing a shape or node to adjust for smooth, rounded edges.

Explore boolean operations in Affinity Designer by uniting shapes, subtracting, intersecting, and dividing to craft logos and icons.

The shape builder tool in affinity designer v2 lets you select shapes, unite areas with blue diagonal lines, subtract areas with red lines, and copy overlapping shapes as separate entities.

Join this project to create icons using basic shapes, then craft two logos: a text logo and a truck logo.

Create a simple character icon in Affinity Designer by combining circles, a rectangle, and an ellipse, using snapping and boolean subtract operations in a 1080p, vector, HD document.

Learn to design earphones or ear defenders in affinity designer by building shapes with ellipses and rectangles, applying boolean operations, duplicating, rotating in fixed steps, and uniting components.

Create a hard hat in Affinity Designer by copying head, scaling a hat shape, trimming with a rectangle, subtracting, uniting shapes, and adding a trapezoid rim using quick line functions.

Create a stop hand in Affinity Designer using rounded rectangles for fingers and palm, duplicate with command/ctrl J, and refine with the round corner tool.

Master adding and sizing text with the artistic text tool, align text with artwork, duplicate and edit copy, and save as editable files for future work in Affinity Designer.

Create a truck logo using basic shapes, boolean operations, and the shape builder, round corners, form the cab with the node tool, then add wheels and the speedy delivery text.

learn to create a text logo by combining a rectangle with artistic text, applying bold type, color, and a boolean xor to knock out overlaps.

Explore color fundamentals in Affinity Designer, starting with fill and stroke, then swatches and flat color, and learn to create stunning gradients.

Explore fill and stroke in Affinity Designer, adjust fill and stroke colors and widths, set independent opacity, and toggle between fill, stroke, or none.

Explore color panels in Affinity Designer v2, using the color wheel, sliders, and tint to adjust hue, saturation, and lightness, and compare fill, stroke, opacity, and rgb or hsl options.

Master swatches in affinity designer to store and apply colors, including gradients, grays, system colors, and Pantone, and use document and application palettes to save, rename, and delete colors.

Learn to create gradients in Affinity Designer using the fill tool to add color stops and adjust the gradient direction. Move stops and the midpoint to balance color tones.

Explore creating and editing gradients in Affinity Designer by adding, arranging, and deleting color stops, adjusting midpoints, and resizing the gradient line.

Save and apply gradients in Affinity Designer by saving the gradient in the gradient area or any swatches, then use the move tool to apply it to fills.

Learn to design a business card with gradients in Affinity Designer Desktop v2, with options to adapt to a poster or social media post.

Set up a business card document by selecting file > new and the press-ready preset, configure bleed and cmyk colors, and create the project to begin graphic design.

Create a sunrise field by shaping brown to yellow hills with the pie tool and gradient fill, ensure bleed, then flip, duplicate for symmetry, and save the gradient to swatches.

Create a sun with a circle using gradient and fill tools, send it to back, build a gradient sky with a rectangle to the bleed, and lock elements before exporting.

Unlock layers, adjust colors using gradients and fills, and reposition shapes to refine a vector illustration; learn to select multiple items with the shift key and relock layers.

Learn to add and format text in Affinity Designer Desktop V2, choosing fonts, colors, and sizes for a business card. Place text with awareness of bleed and edge margins.

Export print-ready pdf from Affinity Designer by saving your file and selecting the pdf export. Include bleed and printer's marks for accurate printer output.

Explore the drawing tools in Affinity Designer, including the pen and pencil tools, to master creating your own custom shapes by the end of this section.

Learn to use the pen tool to create stroked shapes with no fill, finish or keep them open, and refine by moving and editing nodes for curves.

Use the pen tool to sketch a fish shape and refine with the node tool by dragging lines and points, creating fins, tail, and semicircular curves in Affinity Designer.

Master Bezier curves in Affinity Designer by using the pen tool with click and drag, then refine points with the node tool and handles for smooth curves and corner points.

Master node control in Affinity Designer Desktop v2 by converting curves to sharp edges, turning nodes into curves with adjustable handles, and applying smart curves for smooth, flexible shapes.

Explore how to work with nodes in Affinity Designer Desktop V2, including viewing path direction, toggling orientation, closing curves, and splitting or breaking nodes for precise path editing.

Master the pencil tool under the pen tool with sculpt mode to create one shape, and use stabilizers rope mode and window mode to smooth lines for freehand drawing.

Explore the vector brush tool in Affinity Designer, painting with brushes from the brushes panel. Adjust color and width, switch brush types, and refine vector shapes with the node tool.

Use the pen tool and pencil tool to design a customized violin poster for a classical recital, creating unique shapes beyond basic circles and squares.

Create an A3 portrait poster in Affinity Designer, place a violin image, and trace its outline with the pen tool while locking the layer.

Create the violin body in Affinity Designer by tracing the edge with the pen, placing and smoothing nodes, and refining curves with the node tool.

Lock base shape in layer menu, zoom in, and draw bottom with pen tool by clicking and dragging curves, then refine with node tool for a stylized violin.

Learn to draw f holes in Affinity Designer by sculpting shapes with the pen tool, using circles and boolean operations, and copying and flipping for symmetrical results.

Learn to draw a peg by building up from the back, refine with the node tool to a smooth point, then copy and flip across to position all pegs.

Draw and refine head and neck shapes with the pen and node tools, unite with boolean operations, delete extra nodes, color, and add strings.

Master the pen tool with snapping controls to place points, deselect, and edit freely; save with history, unlock layers, recolor shapes with swatches, and adjust stroke width.

Create a bright gradient for the violin background using color stops from purple to pink, group layers for easy positioning, and adjust opacity.

Lock groups to prevent movement, use artistic text tool to add and position text, choose a typeface and color, include the date, and select text with ctrl/command a before resizing.

Export your design to pdf for print or jpeg for sharing, using high quality settings, then save an editable document for future changes and practice ungrouping to edit individual parts.

Explore the concept of layers across design software, including pixel, vector, and adjustment layers, and learn what they are, what they do, and how they can be useful.

Explore layers in Affinity Designer by creating a new layer, dragging objects into it, and viewing its contents via the layer drop-down; treat layers as folders that organize multiple objects.

Explore adjustment layers to color modify artwork in Affinity Designer; apply black-and-white effects, adjust color with recolor, and control influence by placing layers above or below groups and objects.

Switch a document to landscape via document setup, then insert photos from stock libraries and apply black and white and gradient map adjustment layers to adjust color tones.

Use the effects panel to add options like outer shadow and outline. Adjust offset, intensity, radius, and opacity for a subtle, controlled drop shadow.

Create a social media post for a made-up band using text and pictures in Affinity Designer. Name the band and assemble the post.

Learn to blend two images in Affinity Designer by using layers, the transparency tool, and selective locking while working in a 1080 by 1080 social media square with sRGB color.

Add a gradient map adjustment layer to unify colors. Choose two blue tones and place the gradient map above the layers to influence the image without affecting top objects.

Create a bold band name on a new text layer, apply a two-tier outline with outer and inner key lines, and adjust color and opacity to blend with the background.

Build a logo in affinity designer by layering text and shapes, creating a simple guitar emblem with booleans and layers, and refine typography and color.

Unlock the text, double-click to edit, and fix spelling. Save an editable version with all layers, lock layers to prevent mistakes, and export a high-quality jpeg.

Explore text essentials in Affinity Designer by comparing frame text and artistic text, learning when to use each, and mastering typography options and text settings.

Compare artistic text and frame text in Affinity Designer, learn how inner frame resizing versus outer handle resizing affects text flow and frame, and control overflow with the eye toggle.

Explore formatting text in Affinity Designer, from selecting words with clicks to adjusting fonts, styles, sizes, colors, and text types such as artistic text.

Explore preset character and paragraph styles in Affinity Designer. Character styles apply to selected text with emphasis or strong; paragraph styles affect entire paragraphs, including headers and table body options.

Explore the character panel in Affinity Designer to adjust type, including typeface, bold styling, and color, then dive into paragraph options like indent and alignment, with practical examples.

Explore vertical alignment of text within a frame, choosing top, center, or bottom alignment and optional justification to spread text across the frame.

Discover how to apply bullet points and number points to each paragraph in Affinity Designer Desktop V2, and manage paragraph-based lists for clean, organized content.

Adjust leading to control line spacing. Explore typography options, including all caps and small caps, and note standard leading is the typeface size plus 20%.

Convert text to curves to ensure fonts aren't required on the recipient's system, and learn to edit outlines with nodes in Affinity Designer Desktop v2.