Basics of Stock Brushes in Affinity Photo

In this chapter, we will explore the feature we all got into digital art to play with – that is, the idea of brushes. Brushes are infinite in their possibilities, configuration, and uses. Similar to blend modes, an artist’s brushes can make the edit easily identifiable as belonging to them. In later chapters (toward the end of this book), we will cover the details of making highly artistic brushes for custom applications, such as particle brushes, fog brushes, or flares. However, in this chapter, we will cover common terms and provide a high-level overview relating to stock brushes – those that come native in Affinity, or that you can buy pre-made from third-party marketplaces.

With this scope in mind, we will begin with the brush studio panel so that you know how to read the brush previews and manage your brushes. This will get us up and running in the shortest possible time. From there, we will dig into the details...