I had been testing Affinity Photo for a while, making sketches and paintings, and I realized that I had Affinity Designer a little bit neglected. Envisioning a project with vectors is harder for me, at least concerning the style and the lighting. So, when working with vectors, I prefer a bright cartoon style with simple illumination, so I always try to stick to this ideal. And improvise later if the picture needs it, of course.
This time, I was looking to paint more girls, like the ones reading I had been working on a month ago. I also wanted to work more on curly hair because I find it quite laborious and wanted to try to simplify it. Also, I wanted to make something happy and bright, with lots of pinks or yellows. Then, I visualized a little girl with a cunning smile and a lovely pink tee and started to work straight into Affinity.
I have found Affinity Designer intuitive and quite natural in editing vectors and shapes, although I found the gradients more complicated than I would have liked. Also, I missed a couple of advanced tools for shapes transformation and deformation. Except for these things, it has an excellent tool collection, and it is quick and easy. I could replicate my standard vector workflow, in which I repeat and mix layers of subtle gradients with little to no problems.
I enjoyed the process a lot. I am pleased with the overall colors, the skin tones, and the balance of the multicolored windmill toy. I also enjoyed making the embroidery of the t-shirt. At first, I thought it was too much information, but I loved the texture when I put everything together. I am also happy with the simplicity of the hair’s silhouette, in contrast with the complexity of the color layers.
I hope you enjoy it!
Beaconpancakes 