Ms In Flora [artwork]

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Canva bought Serif in March this year.

Serif is the company behind the popular Affinity suite of creative software, which includes Affinity Designer, Affinity Photo, and Affinity Publisher. The acquistion was valued at several hundred million dollars. It represents a strategic move for Canva to enhance its offerings and compete more effectively against Adobe's long-standing dominance in the design software market.

The Affinity suite is recognized for its robust capabilities that rival Adobe's flagship products:

  • Affinity Designer competes with Adobe Illustrator
  • Affinity Photo serves as an alternative to Adobe Photoshop,
  • Affinity Publisher parallels Adobe InDesign.

Adobe transitioned to a cloud-based subscription model in 2013, officially phasing out its traditional perpetual licensing with the launch of Adobe Creative Cloud. This shift allowed Adobe to introduce updates more frequently, moving away from the previous 18 to 24-month upgrade cycle. As of November 2023, the pricing for Adobe Creative Cloud plans has increased significantly:

- The monthly cost for an individual All Apps plan is approximately $54.99.

- For those opting for single applications, prices start around $20.99 per month.

In stark contrast, Affinity offers a one-time purchase model for a very pocket friendly ₹5,599.00. This Universal License grants lifetime access to its software across all platforms — iPad, Mac, and PC — without restrictions on the number of devices. This model has made it particularly appealing to freelancers and small businesses looking for high-quality design tools without ongoing costs. It will help democratisation of digital art.

Affinity Designer allows users to seamlessly switch between vector art and pixel art. If you want advanced image editing capabilities, files created in Affinity Designer can be opened directly in Affinity Photo, providing a fluid workflow between the two applications.

 


I did my first artwork, a portrait, on Affinity Designer. Added the leaves and flowers in Affinity Photo. Reference image is the cover of Telugu magazine Swathi dated 23-Aug-2024.

I liked the experience. Where I need fine controlled curves, I drew with the pen tool. I filled the shape with Vector brush paint. Then I added a pixel layer that clips to this vector layer in which I did the actual pixel painting. Though I won’t be ditching Procreate, it looks like Affinity Designer on iPad will be my first go-to tool of choice for digital illustrations.

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