Affinity Designer Tutorial: Marker drawing effect using vector brushes

Create a convincing marker style illustration using vector brushes in Affinity Designer. You can download our FREE marker brushes here:
gum.co/frankenmarkers
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[@InfernoInk]

This is great! Another awesome tutorial and free brushes! Thanks for all you do with Affinity Designer!

[@FrankentoonVideo]

Inferno Ink thanks a bunch for your constant support man! So glad we could help!

[@jaydraws2019]

Thank you so much. I have not enough words in English to thank you for all the remarkable things you are doing for the Affinity Designer community. We all love you...!

[@FrankentoonVideo]

SeekerLK wow, thank you for such kind words man, it’s our pleasure!

[@cgaffection2960]

Thank you so much for these awesome brushes , I will definitely be using these in my projects

[@philemersonuk]

I absolutely love this demonstration. I'm looking forward to trying this out in Designer. Thanks!

[@Annushka_at48]

Thank you, very helpful tutorial and nice explanation of lighting!

[@MsLionsmurf]

I love the feel of the image and to think it's done with Vectors O_O thanks for the video and the closer look at HOW this was achieved

[@Rmnorton81]

I love this! Just got affinity and was searching for the video that complimented my style. You nailed it here!!! Thank you!!!

[@AndrewBzh]

A great tutorial! While trying to set up my brushes for drawing in Affinity Photo, but I need to try something to draw in Affinity Designer. Thank you for sharing your brushes! :)

[@dellafelicita]

Hi, just wanted to say thank you for the tutorial and the free brushes. Im currently getting to know affinity and this tutorial and your brushes would be a big help. Thanks once again!

[@idrawspiders]

They are, by themselves, AMAZING BRUSHES, thank you!

[@lw8356]

Thank you for the great tutorial and brushes!

[@victorwestmann]

So you are telling me this is all VECTOR? Loved it!

[@FrankentoonVideo]

Thank you! :D

[@KuttyJoe]

The key distinction I needed to understand was the difference between multiply at the layer level, vs multiply at the individual stroke layer. This is a great tutorial because some really beautiful art can be created this way.

[@jer3006]

Too, too good, Enrique. Thanks for a fabulous demo tute and the brushes to try it out!

[@FrankentoonVideo]

Thanks Jerol, I'm glad you enjoyed the video :D

[@IannisMaragakis]

As a dedicated Affinity Photo & Designer user, I thank you guys. Much appreciated!

[@FrankentoonVideo]

Yannis Maragakis thanks for watching! We’re glad we could help :D

[@barancandagstan2111]

BROTHER, YOU ARE THE BEST!!! You oooh really helped me!! THANK YOU VERY

[@GalGhil]

this really great, amazing made something like this from vector..

[@BilliesCraftRoom]

Awesome tutorial thanks. I'm new to affinity suites and enjoying exploring the possibilities. As a visual learner, I really appreciate the video tutorials of the process. Thanks 👍☕

[@dotnexdotnex4545]

man your art so awesome

[@FrankentoonVideo]

Thanks! 😊

[@alexandersinn4859]

great video! affinity rocks!

[@drewbeech]

I’ve been looking for a way to achieve this in designer for months now.... thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

[@FrankentoonVideo]

You're most welcome Drew, we're so glad you found this video useful :)

[@arefievi_family]

Thank you very much!!! You are the best!

[@johneu87]

this is really great!! I'm just learning things on Affinity and this video is very helpful. :) what type/kind of tablet are you using? Thanks!!

[@karolkoblizkova5751]

Amazing, thank you!

[@Surianiaziz]

You're awesome.please continue with the new tutorials for affinity designer in iPad!

[@RisteSekuloski]

Once upon a time, there was an app called Expression. It was supposed to do the same thing: make painterly images with vectors. Only, in this case, you are actually making it work! Great tut, thanks for the amazing brush set!

[@FrankentoonVideo]

Riste Sekuloski thanks a bunch for watching the video, we’re so glad you found it helpful!

[@KuttyJoe]

That was great. I definitely learned some things I didn’t know.

[@FrankentoonVideo]

That's great to hear! Thank you :D

[@inboxStreetwear]

Thank you so much.

[@williamflitcroft4845]

woohoo... thanks looks amazing can't wait to experiment :)

[@FrankentoonVideo]

William Flitcroft thanks a lot my friend!

[@GremlinBay]

Dude love your work and style. Where have you been?

[@motonomad]

Hi. I very recently discovered Affinity and I like it a lot. Also. i downloaded some of your marker brushes whcih are fantastic. Many thanks. Pandemia and circumstances bring me back to drawing and illustration. I used to sketching with pencil on paper then trace and fill on pixel based programs, then learned to do it straight away with a drawing tablet. I wonder if you could give some tips on how to do the sketching in affinity to bypass having to use more than one program or use scanners. Thank a lot for the fantastic tutorials!

[@asael24]

:O me acabo de suscribir. Muy buen tutorial, por favor sigue subiendo mas tutoriales. gracias por compartir tus conocimientos y por los pinceles ;D

[@XxXDerCheckerXxX]

this is really cool!!! where can i get the paper image you guys used as background?

[@evadevries1400]

Thank you for sharing your wonderfull skills. I just downloaded your brushes. As soon as i have used them for a client, i'll send you a proper donation :)

[@FrankentoonVideo]

Eva De Vries thank you very much! We love to create free products, it’s really great to know you’re using them for actual work 😊

[@azisarifsaputra5846]

Thanks you guys..🙏

[@kawidsasih]

Great work!

[@FrankentoonVideo]

Thank you! :D

[@jurgenvantomme]

Wonderful!

[@IanRonneilNavarro]

Subscribed because of the awesomeness (y) Looking forward to learn more ^_^

[@FrankentoonVideo]

Ian Ronneil Navarro thanks for subscribing, so glad you’re enjoying our content so far! :D

[@fatihnri2484]

This is good! Just subscribed!

[@FrankentoonVideo]

fatih nararya thanks a lot my friend!

[@fatihnri2484]

Pretty crazy that you can do this in a vector program.

[@FrankentoonVideo]

fatih nararya this is why, it’s our favorite illustration app ;)

[@paulgray3444]

Just wait until it comes out for the iPad! :)

[@minibig9915]

¡Genial! Gracias por vídeos tan inspiradores!

[@FrankentoonVideo]

Muchas gracias a ti por verlos amigo! :D

[@kanoneno]

Wooow! That look is amazing, I’m loving affinity designer more and more everyday, thanks to motivate that feeling with such an amazing tutorial! I’m trying to look for the brushes thought, can’t seem to find them.

[@FrankentoonVideo]

Hi, thank you! Glad you've enjoyed the tutorial. You can find the brushes here: frankentoonstudio.com/product/vector-markers-affinity-designer/

[@kanoneno]

@@FrankentoonVideo Muchas gracias por el link y el tutorial, veo que eres de Salvador, yo soy de México. Ya me suscribí al canal, está increíble tu trabajo! Gracias por compartir!

[@FrankentoonVideo]

Kanoneno Nievs muchas gracias por suscribirte, amigo. Espero te guste nuestro contenido. !Muchos saludos!

[@hkelleystudio]

Awesome tutorial! What kind of drawing tablet are you using?

[@concept1027]

Well damn. I was going to get Affinity Photo.. but this has me double thinking ha. I'm replacing Photoshop and Affinity Photo is the obvious choice.. but as a Concept Artist working on Illustration for kids books.. this little trick alone is worth the price of admission. And I haven't even started in on your other tutorials!

[@FrankentoonVideo]

Hi! I think both apps combo worth every single penny :)

[@gursharanbhamra6018]

Awesome!

[@dileepasolangaarachchi8737]

Hi guys love your procreate stuff... i have them all.. just want to know, i added this brush into my ipad designer but it dosn't feel the same way... it feels like theres no pressure on the brushes... am i doing something wrong here?

[@luissimon8290]

hola Henrique muchas gracias , :) voy a aplicarlo a los pinceles de neptune

[@BarKeegan]

This looks really good, but can’t help but think, you may as well use raster based software to achieve the effect... unless you’re concerned about limitless scalability. Affinity designer seems like its best use is for smooth continuous lines and curves, whereas Photo is great for painting. Don’t get me wrong, great that there’s crossover between the two, but they both definitely have their strengths.

[@ammarboro6089]

Thank you for the great tutorial. Mid video I started to get scared that I'm getting so interested to try out but don't have Photoshop, then I realized this is a tutorial for affinity hahahahaha

[@FrankentoonVideo]

Thanks so much for watching. So glad you found it useful! :)

[@alexivanovs]

Man that accent switch first minute in was so weird :D Thanks for the tutorial!

[@torinux4980]

A M A Z I N G !

[@Anntrinsic]

Love it! Thank you so much! What kind of drawing tablet do you usually prefer to use?

[@FrankentoonVideo]

Anntrinsic thank you! Currently I’m using the Bamboo Sketch (I think) by Wacom. Actually I rather using my iPad/Apple Pencil combo nowadays :)

[@Anntrinsic]

Nice! I'm looking to update my old drawing tablet, and an iPad could be an interesting option. Thanks! : )

[@BaltazarBeatz]

Cool! When you export final file, those brushes that you're used are they in vector or raster graphic? I want to switch from AI to AD and I m using a lot texture on my illustrations.

[@FrankentoonVideo]

Amer Karic Design Hi, thanks for asking! Vector brushes in Affinity use raster maps along vector splines at the moment, different from Adobe Illustrator which uses vector maps for their brushes. Hopefully this feature of having pure vector brushes will be added in the future, since it has been requested several times already :)

[@kjbill]

Will the exported artwork with these brushes maintain vector high quality lines when zoomed in in another vector app or a PDF file? OR will they get rasterized?

[@moelester4853]

Vector

[@circulair04]

Rock-on, thanks guys....🦄

[@TonyW86]

This is fantastic, I'm right in thinking that this will export rasterized though right?

[@FrankentoonVideo]

Hi Tony, thank you! Yes, Affinity Designer 'vector' brushes use raster-based graphics along vector paths, so the export result will be rasterized graphics. We're crossing fingers for them to release proper full vector brushes :)

[@hubi84pl]

OK. Now the same but for someone who's just learning? Could you make a tutorial starting from A to Z but going through B, C, D and not starting with A and jumping to P? PS: Thanks for the brushes. That's all I took from this video

[@MisterDoodlezz]

Hey guys! First I wanted to thank you for putting out so many awesome resources - mostly even for free! :D I've got a question though: do these brushes work with Affinity Photo as well, or are they Designer restricted? Apparently I imported them five times by now and it even prompts "Imported 9 vector brushes into category "Frankentoon - Vector Markers 5", but they're nowhere to be found in the menus - am I missing something?

[@FrankentoonVideo]

Mr. Doodlezz Hi, thanks for asking. Yes, these are vector brushes, only available for Affinity Designer :)

[@SAVED1288]

Can your brush be use in Ipad affinity apps?

[@evtonic3]

I noticed that when you talked about adding volume to the drawing with multiply mode, not all strokes were in multiply mode, is this just corrective normal strokes on top of the multiply mode to fix something you may not have liked? And are you sampling and painting as you go instead of grabbing new colors? This is where it gets confusing to me.

[@FrankentoonVideo]

1. Yes, strokes are not in multiply mode, what I did here is to have several layers in multiply mode with different strokes in normal mode so I can always manipulate them as I need. If I've had every stroke in multiply mode, values would look all muddy and messy. 2. Yes, I tend to have base swatches to start working and then I sample as I go. Sometimes I use only swatches and some other times I do sample from the painting. Depends on the look I'm going after :)

[@jimyoung4959]

Wondering what drawing tablet is being used or preferred. Always thought that Wacom was king. But after researching, I find that Huion and XP-Pen are also highly rated. I'm sure there's more. Does Affinity play nice with one brand over another?

[@FrankentoonVideo]

Hi! For this one I used a Wacom Intuos Draw (the smallest one). I tried a Gaomon tablet, but it has tons of flaws with Affinity. I’ll definitely get an XP-Pen for the studio to try it out.

[@galon84]

same brushes in affinity photo?

[@user-shimotsuki]

Great! I neet it ，thinks!

[@evtonic3]

When you start laying down the color, how come it doesn't cover the black outlines of the artwork? When I do it, it does. I can't see if there is blend mode involved here.

[@MagdaLenaS2312]

I know I'm late, but it may help others, so: simply do a lineart on separate layer and keep it above the other layers ;) Lineart layer simply needs to be on top of the list of layers.

[@edward9835]

hey I just bought some brushes from you site, great stuff, just wondering, this vector marker brushes in the link can not be found anymore.. do you still have it ?

[@FrankentoonVideo]

Hi, the link is working fine, here it is: gumroad.com/l/frankenmarkers

[@justinjohnson2]

Just a quick question before I try these out, can these work just as well for the iPad Pro version of Designer? That's all I have to work with at the moment.

[@FrankentoonVideo]

Yes, they do.

[@nespoladesigns9618]

Hi there, I just downloaded the brushes and tried them on AF for Ipad pro. Unfortunately they seem not to work like in your video. Maybe I dont have the correct brush settings but when I draw the line is not at all realistic but flat. Expecially the sketch brush you use at the beggining, it doesnt come painterly but just the usual “normal” vector brush. I hope you can help me!

[@FrankentoonVideo]

Hi! Thaks for contacting us. Would you be kind enough of sending us some screenshots of this issue to [e-mail]? This way we may be able to help you out a little better :)

[@Astrobiologica]

how big is the resulting svg file of this painting?

[@cmonstokeST4]

You said something that on the face of it seems really simple and should be so logical, yet I've not seen it in years. The penny dropped a long way. BTW it's about how markers and watercolour works, think light to dark from now on. Thank you

[@voidmind]

This must look like a mess if you click on the node tool (no that you need it anyways). I'm really curious what the final file size is and how much memory all of these curves are taking

[@bentontramell]

I wonder how many layers this piece ended up with.

[@ELPLAK]

Great Video !!! Now, How we can do actual vector brushes without using images, than later you can expand strokes, pretty much like in illustrator? Because if you want to export it to .eps files it is almost imposible. In illustrator basically you can create a vector shape then from it you can create a "Art Brush" then you can use the brush as an stroke and when you finish what you are doing then you can convert the strokes (expand strokes) to a shape. So you will export it as an eps file without issues.

[@FrankentoonVideo]

Hi, thanks for watching. I'm afraid that's not possible yet. A feature a lot of us are waiting for indeed :)

[@ilnarkarim8523]

спасибо большое!

[@BornConphused]

Is it possible to draw straight lines with vector brush tool, and if yes - how to do it? Thank you in advance! (i am asking about the iPad)

[@FrankentoonVideo]

Hi.Nope, it is not possible. You should use the Pen Tool for that task :)

[@Jackie_Staar]

I love these brushes...What is the brush equivalent for procreate?

[@FrankentoonVideo]

HI, Thank! That would be our Nautika brush packs, which contains a nice assortment of art markers and liner brushes :)

[@Jackie_Staar]

@@FrankentoonVideo Awesome! Thanks!!

[@Umbrium]

U Rock

[@bridge1444]

Thank you. But I had one question please: apart from the vector and export resolution advantage, is there any point painting all these vector curves. Isn't it more convenient and fast to do it in raster?

[@harkejuice]

Just another use of the vector program, really the same technique can be done with raster. However its convenient to be able to delete individual brush strokes if you're good at grouping them in to separate layers.

[@bridge1444]

@@harkejuice thx

[@EbolaStew]

I had the same question. I love vectors but it was a bit jarring to see someone creating so many separate strokes with so many points. Watching the layer panel quickly grow into the hundreds, lol. I do wonder if you reach a point where it would start to bog down under the sheer number of vector points for the program to keep track of. One of the advantages might be that it keeps the illustration resolution-independent but, as I understand AD's brushes, they are based on raster images so that doesn't really apply, does it? It's amazing work and I love working in AD but still wonder why one would do this there if they have access to other similar raster-based tools. Even working in the Pixel persona for instance or in Affinity Photo. Nonetheless, excellent video and very inspiring work.

[@bridge1444]

@@EbolaStew Yeah. Or maybe make a quick way to merge all those layers in one click, which I didn't how to

[@shg2392]

Another drawback I see is Inability to use "selection brush" - unless flattening layers and converting to 'pixel persona' - which leads me to the question: Does anyone have a good tutorial on getting this look in raster format? I like the quick process of 'selection brush'ing various (snapping to edge) areas to marker paint in AD, Painter (or Photoshop's Quick Select tool)

[@ernestparker7261]

I was able to get the brushes into designer for iPad Pro but I can’t figure out the color pallete, help!

[@FrankentoonVideo]

Ernest Parker Hi! It isn’t possible to import Color Swatches into Affinity Designer for iPad at the moment. It’s a missing feature that will be added in a future update :)

[@amirkhan-tr5ij]

Not working on affinity designer ipad pro

[@rancartan]

Are those brushes also work in affinity photo? Great video btw!

[@FrankentoonVideo]

Hi, nope these ones are for Designer only :)

[@kartikaseptinigrum]

unfortunately, brushes in this magnificent art cannot be expanded. so it could not be exported as closed paths and therefore, it couldn't be opened on another software except affinity. or, do you know the solution? would you like to tell?

[@FrankentoonVideo]

Expanding brush strokes it is not possible yet, I’m afraid.

[@cassiopoia]

how do you set multiply mode?

[@potatosalad5355]

,There isn't "set" to the layer is just how the layer of the brushes set one on top of the other ACT AND look like Multiply layer. The layer always are in NORMAL

[@geancarlos20]

Awesome tutoria;. But i dont find the brushes

[@FrankentoonVideo]

There's a link in the description. First link.

[@designerdearte5799]

is work for pen preassure like wacom ?

[@FrankentoonVideo]

Yes! Just make sure to activate ‘pressure’ from the context menu of Designer, for this to take effect when you draw.

[@Avalon19511]

Question will you or do you have these brushes for procreate?

[@FrankentoonVideo]

Hi, thanks for asking. We have a nice collection of markers and liners for Procreate here: frankentoonstudio.com/product/nautika-brushes-for-procreate/

[@bruce21st]

What is the name of the song playing throughout the video?

[@potatosalad5355]

tun..tunn...tunn...splas!...tun..tunn ta......ta-taa ta....

[@jomsies]

do the brushes show up in SVG?

[@FrankentoonVideo]

Hi. I'm sorry I'm not getting the question. Could you please rephrase it? Thanks - Sam

[@pfortunato78]

Can these brushes be installed on the ipad version, and if so, how? I'm trying to import them through affinity via Drive, but all the files are greyed out (after unzipping).

[@FrankentoonVideo]

Hi Paul, yes, you can install them on your iPad. The reason you see the file greyed out is because the only file manager that works with Affinity Apps at the moment is Dropbox. Perhaps this video help you out: kzbin.info/www/bejne/a2WmmJSjZpWplas

[@stinkpie]

Wish I had a drawing tablet :(

[@khoatruong91]

it this tutorial on Affinity design iPad version?

[@FrankentoonVideo]

This tutorial was made in Affinity desktop only. However, the brushes can be imported in Affinity Designer for iPad too.

[@alisonforsythe6171]

Bit of a late comment but I'd love to know the answer. Objects in a layer don't seem to 'learn' the multiply setting from the layer they are in and I'm having to set them up individually. Am I missing something?

[@FrankentoonVideo]

Objects inside a layer DO learn the blending mode from that layer. If you are willing to share some screenshots or the file you're having trouble with, you can email [e-mail], and someone from our support team would be more than glad to help.

[@alisonforsythe6171]

@@FrankentoonVideo Hey! Thanks for your reply, I'll send over a file today.

[@alisonforsythe6171]

@@FrankentoonVideo Actually I've seen where I'm having issues. I've been solid filling an object normally, then dropping in shadows using the markers and the multiply setting. the object fill layer needs to stay on the normal setting anyway, but the individual shadows are on multiply so I'll need to keep with my current practice to use this effect. Thanks for your reply though!

[@Mr.Second]

hay

[@KaexiNg]

Hi, thanks for the brushes, I 've successfully install the bruses to affinity designer ipad pro, but how to import the colour swatches? I could'nt install it, could you please assist?

[@FrankentoonVideo]

Hi! Just open the Swatches Panel and import the Color Palette the same way you did with the brushes, by browsing them from your Dropbox drive.

[@KaexiNg]

Hi, I feel curious as the swatches panel doesn't have the import function

[@FrankentoonVideo]

Kaexi Ng I haven't my iPad at hand right now. Should be Add Application Palette (Document or System would work too) from the Swatches Panel.

[@KaexiNg]

I've tried out many time with add application palette but still not working. I think there is a bug in Affinity Designer Ipad version. Anyway, thanks for your advise. Its awesome with the Texturizer brushes I bought last night :)

[@FrankentoonVideo]

Kaexi Ng Hi, just confirmed this myself, there's a bug (or not developed function) which is preventing to import Swatches into Affinity Designer for ipad at the moment :(

[@lama2352]

does this marker brushes file compatible with the ipad version?

[@FrankentoonVideo]

N.Ilana yes!

[@lama2352]

@@FrankentoonVideo alright tq!!

[@s7121n9s]

Will these brushes work in the IPad version?

[@FrankentoonVideo]

Of course :)

[@s7121n9s]

@@FrankentoonVideo Awe yeah! Thank you kindly!

[@chilichickSantaFe]

Doesn't the hundreds of layers use up a lot of memory and bog down the computer? Do you merge the layers or flatten? By the way I love your voice :- )

[@FrankentoonVideo]

Hi, Thank you! No, not at all. Affinity does a great job managing many vector-based layers and brush strokes pretty well, actually. I don't use t merge-down layers either.

[@chilichickSantaFe]

@@FrankentoonVideo Thank you!

[@_wassily_]

Do these work on iPad?

[@FrankentoonVideo]

Of course they do :)

[@rkdesign4319]

Hmm... affinity photo tells me the brushes were imported successfullt, but they don't appear in my list of brushes...?

[@FrankentoonVideo]

HI. As stated on the video, these are vector-based brushes and they won't work in Affinity Photo.

[@rkdesign4319]

@@FrankentoonVideo thanks! yup I found them under thevector brushes now

[@user-bh3ew6ii4g]

Does this work on the iPad version too?

[@FrankentoonVideo]

Donna Miller yes!

[@user-bh3ew6ii4g]

Woohoo! Thank you! I have your Nautika Procreate Brushes. I want to also learn and do more in Affinity Photo and Designer too. Thanks answering.

[@FrankentoonVideo]

Oh, thank you very much for getting our brushes, hope you’re having fun with them 😊

[@dioda1731]

Sir, how do make that kind of lines?

[@FrankentoonVideo]

Hi, not sure if I'm getting the question. Wacom Tablet?

[@dioda1731]

I mean, when I draw it automatically fix my line. Like a auto correction, how do you remove it?

[@FrankentoonVideo]

@@dioda1731 Go to the top context menu and deactivate the "stabilizer" option :)