This is the third of a set of tutorials intended for beginners getting started using Affinity for digital scrapbooking. The process is the same for Affinity Designer, Affinity Publisher, and Affinity Photo. In this example I'm using Designer. I am continuing with the same project I used in Affinity Basics 2, using @designed by Irma May 2023 BYOC kit: Colors of Spring kit 1. I am going to add a photo by drag dropping it onto my page from Windows Explorer. If I add it with nothing selected the photo will go into a layer at the top of the document. 2. I can use the layers panel to specify where I want the photo to go in relation to the other layers. I want it between the doily and the frame. Select the doily in the layers panel. Then drag drop the photo onto the document. 3. Resize and move the photo as desired. 4. Select the photo if it is not already selected. 5. Using the rectangle tool draw a rectangle slightly smaller than the frame. Because of step 4, Affinity will place the rectangle between the photo and the frame. (Note, Affinity will automatically create a layer for the rectangle, there is no need to create a new layer first.) 6. Click on the photo icon in the layers panel. 7. Drag the photo icon to the right of the rectangle icon. 8. This will crop the photo to the rectangle. 9. Select all the elements and the photo. 10. Right click and choose Group. 11. This will enable you to move, resize or rotate the group in the same way you do an individual object. 12. If you want to make changes to an individual layer in the group you can expand the group in the layers panel by clicking on the little arrow next to the group icon. 13. You can move objects inside, and also into and out of a group by dragging them in the layers panel. 14. To prevent accidental moving or deleting of objects you can lock them in place. To lock my background I select the background layer in the layer panel, and then click on the padlock icon. 15. Now I want to add a strip of paper underneath my group of elements. Draw a rectangle where you want the paper to be. 16. Add the new paper. 17. Drag-drop the new paper's icon in the layer panel to the right of the rectangle in the same way you did the photo in step 8. 18. To make changes to this cropped paper, click on the dots and arrow image next to the cropped paper icon in the layers panel. 19. Select the paper icon and move it about and resize as desired. 20. I have changed my mind, and I want to use a different paper in the rectangle. This can be done repeating the earlier steps, but it is easier to use the replace image (especially if you have already added shadows and other effects etc). Select the paper, click the Replace Image button on the toolbar and choose a different paper from the dialog. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions. There is a tutorial on adding Simple Shadows here. There is a tutorial on using other custom shapes to crop photos and papers to here.
hello @AnneofAlamo and @gonewiththewind , please add this beginners tutorial to the tutorials listing thank you.
