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April 24, 2025 23:23
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Affinity Photo Essentials

A quick reference guide to key features, tools, and keyboard shortcuts in Affinity Photo. Master layers, selections, adjustments, and streamline your workflow.

Interface & Core Concepts

Key Panels

Layers
Manage image components, blend modes, and masks.

History
Track and revert steps non-destructively.

Adjustments
Apply non-destructive photo corrections (Brightness, Contrast, Curves, etc.).

Filters
Apply non-destructive effects (Blur, Sharpen, Distort, etc.).

Brushes
Select and configure painting/erasing brushes.

Swatches
Manage colors for painting and fills.

Navigator
Small window for easy panning and zooming.

Transform
Precise numerical control over size, position, rotation, shear.

Stock
Browse and import images from stock providers.

Pixel Persona
Standard photo editing tools.

Develop Persona
Raw image processing.

Export Persona
Configure slices and export settings.

Essential Tools

Move Tool (V)
Select and transform objects/layers.

Selection Brush Tool (M)
Paint to create selections.

Pixel Tool (B)
Standard pixel painting brush.

Eraser Tool (E)
Removes pixels.

Crop Tool (C)
Resize and straighten canvas/image.

Gradient Tool (G)
Apply linear, radial, or conical gradients.

Flood Fill Tool (F)
Fill areas with color or gradient.

Dodge Brush Tool (O)
Lighten areas.

Burn Brush Tool (O)
Darken areas.

Clone Brush Tool (S)
Copy pixels from one area to another.

Inpainting Brush Tool (J)
Remove objects seamlessly.

Healing Brush Tool (J)
Heal blemishes by sampling nearby texture.

Blur Brush Tool (R)
RECENTLY MOVED FROM ‘R’ TO ‘U’
Soften areas.

Sharpen Brush Tool (R)
RECENTLY MOVED FROM ‘R’ TO ‘U’
Increase detail contrast.

Pen Tool (P)
Create vector paths.

Text Tool (T)
Add artistic or frame text.

File & View Basics

New Document
Cmd/Ctrl + N

Open Document
Cmd/Ctrl + O

Save As
Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + S
Saves as .afphoto (native format).

Export
Cmd/Ctrl + E
Exports to JPG, PNG, TIFF, PSD, PDF, etc.

Close Document
Cmd/Ctrl + W

Close All
Cmd/Ctrl + Alt + W

Actual Size (100%)
Cmd/Ctrl + 1

Fit to Screen
Cmd/Ctrl + 0

Zoom In
Cmd/Ctrl + + or Cmd/Ctrl + Scroll Up

Zoom Out
Cmd/Ctrl + - or Cmd/Ctrl + Scroll Down

Pan
Hold Spacebar and drag.

Rotate Canvas
Hold Shift + Spacebar and drag.

Show/Hide Rulers
Cmd/Ctrl + R

Show/Hide Guides
Cmd/Ctrl + ;

Show/Hide UI
Tab

Fullscreen
Shift + Tab

Tips for Beginners

Non-Destructive Editing: Always use Adjustment Layers and Live Filters whenever possible. They can be edited or removed later without altering the original pixels.

Learn Layers: Understand how layers work, including blending modes, opacity, and masking. This is fundamental to complex edits.

Use Personas: Affinity Photo is divided into Personas for different tasks (Develop, Pixel, Export). Switch between them using the icons in the top-left.

Refine Selections: The ‘Refine’ button in the context toolbar (when a selection tool is active) is crucial for complex selections like hair or fur.

Practice with Masks: Layer Masks allow you to hide parts of a layer non-destructively using black (hide), white (show), and gray (partial transparency) paint.

Explore Adjustments: Don’t just use Brightness/Contrast. Experiment with Curves, HSL (Hue/Saturation/Luminosity), and White Balance adjustment layers.

Keyboard Shortcuts: Learn the essential shortcuts (V, B, E, M, Cmd/Ctrl + S, Cmd/Ctrl + Z) to speed up your workflow.

Brush Opacity/Flow: Adjusting brush opacity and flow gives you fine control over pixel painting and erasing.

Tools & Techniques

Selection Methods

Marquee Tools (M)
Rectangular, Elliptical, Column, Row Marquee for basic shapes.

Lasso Tool (F)
Draw freehand selections. Polygonal Lasso for straight lines.

Selection Brush Tool (M)
Paint over areas to select. Use Alt to subtract from selection.

Magic Wand Tool (W)
Selects contiguous pixels based on color similarity (Tolerance setting).

Flood Select Tool (W)
Selects all pixels of similar color globally, not just contiguous.

Pixel Selection (Cmd/Ctrl + Click)
Selects opaque pixels on a layer.

Select Sampled Color
Select > Select Sampled Colour (selects based on Eyedropper pick).

Select Tonal Range
Select > Select Tonal Range (selects Highlights, Midtones, or Shadows).

Refine Edge
Essential for complex edges (hair, fur). Opens a dedicated dialog.

Invert Selection
Select > Invert Pixel Selection or Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + I.

Deselect
Cmd/Ctrl + D or Select > Deselect.

Reselect
Select > Reselect.

Hide Marquee
Cmd/Ctrl + H (Hides visual selection outline, selection is still active).

Convert to Mask
Select > Convert to Pixel Selection > Rasterise (then apply as mask).

Working with Layers

New Pixel Layer
Shift + Cmd/Ctrl + N or Layers Panel icon.

New Group
Cmd/Ctrl + G or Layers Panel icon.

Duplicate Layer
Cmd/Ctrl + J or Layers Panel icon.

Delete Layer
Delete key or Layers Panel icon.

Layer Mask
Add via Layers Panel icon or Layer > Layer Mask.

Clipping Mask
Right-click layer > Clip to Layer Below, or Cmd/Ctrl + Alt + G.

Merge Down
Cmd/Ctrl + E or Layers Panel icon. Merges selected layer with one below.

Merge Visible
Layers Panel icon. Creates a new layer with all visible layers flattened.

Flatten
Layer > Flatten. Merges all layers into a single background layer (destructive).

Blend Modes
Control how layers interact (Normal, Multiply, Screen, Overlay, etc.). Found in Layers Panel dropdown.

Opacity & Fill
Control layer transparency in Layers Panel. Opacity affects everything, Fill affects pixels/vector fills but not effects.

Lock Layer
Layers Panel icon. Locks position, transparency, or pixels.

Rename Layer
Double-click layer name in Layers Panel.

Colour Tag
Right-click layer name in Layers Panel > Set Colour Tag.

Adjustments & Filters

Adjustment Layers
Apply corrections non-destructively. Added via Adjustments panel or Layer > New Adjustment Layer.

Live Filters
Apply effects non-destructively. Added via Filters panel or Layer > New Live Filter Layer.

Brightness/Contrast
Basic exposure and contrast control.

Levels
Adjust black point, white point, and midtone gamma.

Curves
Precise tonal control via a graph. Most powerful adjustment.

Exposure
Adjust overall brightness, offset (blacks), and gamma.

HSL Shift
Control Hue, Saturation, and Luminosity for specific color ranges.

White Balance
Correct color cast based on temperature and tint.

LUT
Apply Look-Up Tables for creative color grading.

Vibrance
Adjust color saturation intelligently (less effect on skin tones).

Gaussian Blur
Smooths image details. Live version is preferable.

Unsharp Mask
Sharpens by increasing contrast along edges.

Noise Reduction
Reduce luminance and color noise.

Split Toning
Apply different colors to highlights and shadows.

Clipping Mask Adjustments
Drag an Adjustment Layer onto another layer in the Layers panel and indent it to apply it only to that layer.

Masking Adjustments
Paint on the mask thumbnail of an Adjustment Layer (black hides, white reveals) to apply the adjustment selectively.

Retouching Techniques

Inpainting Brush (J)
Select area, brush over it. Affinity samples surroundings to fill.

Healing Brush (J)
Alt + Click to sample source, brush over area to heal. Matches texture, tone, and transparency.

Clone Brush (S)
Alt + Click to sample source, brush over area to clone. Simple pixel copying.

Blemish Removal Tool (J)
Click on blemishes (like dust spots, acne). Works well on simple backgrounds.

Dodge Brush (O)
Lighten pixels. Good for enhancing highlights or eyes. Use sparingly.

Burn Brush (O)
Darken pixels. Good for deepening shadows or adding drama. Use sparingly.

Frequency Separation
Advanced technique. Separate image into low frequency (color/tone) and high frequency (texture) layers for targeted retouching. Requires manual setup.

Liquify Persona (Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + L)
Push, pull, twist, and pinch pixels. Useful for subtle reshaping (e.g., fixing distortion, minor figure adjustments).

Red Eye Removal Tool (J)
Click and drag a circle over red eye. Automatically corrects color.

Patch Tool (J)
Select an area, drag selection to a source area. Replaces selected area with source, blending texture and tone.

Smudge Brush Tool (U)
Drag to smear pixels, mixing colors. Be careful, can look unnatural.

Sponge Brush Tool (O)
Saturate or Desaturate pixels depending on mode.

Exporting Your Work

Export Dialog
Cmd/Ctrl + E. Choose format, preset, size, and quality.

Supported Formats
JPG, PNG, TIFF, PSD, GIF, PDF, EPS, SVG, EXR, HDR, TGA.

JPG
Best for photos. Lossy compression. Good balance of file size and quality. Adjust quality slider.

PNG
Good for web graphics, logos. Supports transparency. Lossless compression.

TIFF
Professional format. Supports layers, transparency, higher bit depths. Larger file size. Lossless or LZW compression.

PSD
Export to Photoshop format. Good compatibility but may lose some Affinity-specific features.

Export Persona
Define ‘Slices’ to export multiple areas or assets simultaneously with different settings.

Slice Tool
Create manual slices in the Export Persona.

Automatic Slices
Can create slices from layers, groups, or objects automatically in Export Persona.

Presets
Save frequently used export settings as presets for quick access.

Resampling
Choose method when resizing on export (Bilinear, Bicubic, Lanczos). Lanczos is often best for reducing/increasing size.

Embedding Metadata
Option to include camera info, copyright, etc.

Embed ICC Profile
Ensure consistent colors by embedding the color profile used (e.g., sRGB, Adobe RGB).

Matte
For formats with transparency (PNG, GIF), choose a matte color to blend transparent pixels against if needed.

Keyboard Shortcuts

General Shortcuts

Undo

Cmd/Ctrl + Z

Redo

Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + Z

Cut

Cmd/Ctrl + X

Copy

Cmd/Ctrl + C

Paste

Cmd/Ctrl + V

Paste Special (Paste Inside)

Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + V

Duplicate

Cmd/Ctrl + J

Delete

Delete key

Show/Hide Panels

Tab

Tool Shortcuts

Move Tool

V

Selection Brush / Magic Wand / Flood Select

M / W

Pixel Tool (Brush)

B

Eraser Tool

E

Crop Tool

C

Gradient Tool

G

Flood Fill Tool

F

Dodge / Burn / Sponge Tool

O

Clone / Healing / Inpainting / Blemish / Red Eye / Patch Tools

S / J

Blur / Sharpen / Smudge Tool

U

Selection Shortcuts

Select All

Cmd/Ctrl + A

Deselect

Cmd/Ctrl + D

Invert Pixel Selection

Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + I

Hide Marquee (Selection Outline)

Cmd/Ctrl + H

Select Opaque Pixels of Layer

Cmd/Ctrl + Click on Layer Thumbnail

Add to Selection (Selection Brush)

Hold Shift while brushing

Subtract from Selection (Selection Brush)

Hold Alt while brushing

Toggle Refine Selection Dialog (when selection active)

Cmd/Ctrl + Alt + R

Layer Shortcuts

New Pixel Layer

Shift + Cmd/Ctrl + N

New Adjustment Layer

Shift + Cmd/Ctrl + A

New Live Filter Layer

Shift + Cmd/Ctrl + F

New Group

Cmd/Ctrl + G

Ungroup

Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + G

Merge Down

Cmd/Ctrl + E

Clip to Layer Below

Cmd/Ctrl + Alt + G

Add Layer Mask

Layers Panel Icon / Layer Menu

Rename Layer

Double-click layer name

View Shortcuts

Zoom 100% (Actual Size)

Cmd/Ctrl + 1

Zoom to Fit

Cmd/Ctrl + 0

Zoom In

Cmd/Ctrl + +

Zoom Out

Cmd/Ctrl + -

Show/Hide Rulers

Cmd/Ctrl + R

Show/Hide Guides

Cmd/Ctrl + ;

Show/Hide Grid

Cmd/Ctrl + '

Show/Hide UI

Tab

Toggle Fullscreen

Shift + Tab