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On this tutorial, you’ll uncover easy methods to create a guilloché brush utilizing Affinity Designer. With this brush, you may create gorgeous, engraved compositions in retro “outdated banknote” types. 

You’ll be guided step-by-step, utilizing Affinity Designer’s options to create an inspiring device that can keep in your instruments library ceaselessly. Whether or not you’re a newbie or trying to improve your expertise, this tutorial will assist you uncover invaluable suggestions and tips.

What’s guilloché?

Guilloché is an intricate ornamental sample composed of interlacing traces, typically used to boost the safety of paperwork like banknotes and passports. Nonetheless, you may also apply this elegant design approach to varied graphic design tasks. 

Now, let’s roll up our sleeves and create our personal customized brush in Affinity Designer. 

1. How you can create a brand new file in Affinity Designer

Step 1

Open Affinity Designer and go to File > New. Within the structure choices, set the scale of the doc to 3000 px width and 1500 px peak, after which click on Create.

Step 2

Now that you simply’re within the doc, it’s important to create an artboard. Choose the Artboard device and click on Insert artboard. The artboard will now match the doc dimension.

Then choose the Transfer device (V) and click on out of the artboard.

Step 3

Now let’s create customized pointers. On the highest of the Affinity menu, choose the Snapping choice. 

Now, take the Rectangle device (M), draw a rectangle by clicking on the highest left of the artboard and dragging the rectangle to the bottom-right nook. The rectangle can be 3000 x 1500 px.

Choose the Transfer device (V) and your rectangle. Now go to the Color window and click on on Transparency to maintain solely the define of the rectangle.

Then swap the colour choice to stroke and set a pink shade for the define with a 1 pt width.

Choose your rectangle once more with the Move device (V) within the Layers panel or within the artboard, and replica and paste the rectangle. Then, within the right-down Rework window, scale back the peak to 750 px and drag this rectangle to the center of the artboard. The snapping choice will assist you discover the middle.

Then copy and paste the 750 px rectangle once more and put it in the course of the artboard.

Draw a brand new rectangle of 1500 x 1500 px and drag it to the middle of the artboard.

Copy and paste the identical 1500 px rectangle and place it within the heart. Now choose all of your rectangles on the layer window, press Command-G to group, and lock them in order that they’ll keep in place for the following half. 

Now you’ve got the skeleton of the paintings!

2. How you can construct the guilloché stroke

Step 1

Create a brand new layer above the rules on the artboard.

Then, choose the Pen Instrument (P) and click on within the bottom-left nook, adopted by the bottom-right nook. Now, you’ve got a straight line throughout the underside of the artboard.

Swap again to the Choice Instrument (V) to pick your line. In​​ the Stroke panel, change the stroke width to 10 pt and the colour to black.

Copy and paste your line. Now, take the Node Instrument (A), go to the middle of the artboard (the snapping choice will point out if you find yourself on the heart), click on the middle of the road, and drag it to the primary horizontal guideline. Then, click on on the middle of the road once more so as to add a brand new node on the curve.

Step 2

Now curve the road and duplicate it. Choose the curved line with the Node Instrument (A). Some small sq. “arms” will seem on the Bezier line. Click on on the blue circle on the finish of one of many arms and drag it to the primary intersection of the rule.

Press the Tab key to snap your motion. Carry the 4 arms to their corresponding intersections.

Step 3

Then, merely Copy and Paste the curved line and drag the middle node to the following horizontal line of the grid (hold the Tab key pressed).

Repeat this course of as much as the fourth line.

Now, your first guilloché-type brush kind is able to use!

3. How you can export a brush Affinity Designer

Now, we now have to export the curves in a clear format to create a brand new brush.

Step 1

First, it’s important to masks your guides. Go to the Layers panel and click on on the dot to deactivate the group.

To make a customized define brush in Affinity Designer, export the curve to a folder.

Step 2

Click on in your Artboard panel and alter the identify to “envato guilloché”.

Then go to the Export Persona > Export choices > Preset: PNG.

Within the bottom-right panel, you will note the identify of your artboard, “envato guilloché”, so go forward and click on on the Export button.

A window will open and ask the place you wish to export. In the identical export window, create a folder named “envato brushes” and click on Export. The curve is now on this folder.

To have extra ornamental choices with this aspect, simply duplicate your preliminary artboard and reverse your design. To reverse the design, go to the highest panel and click on the Flip Vertical button.

Rename the artboard to “reverse envato guilloché” and Export it.

4. How you can export to your personal customized brush assortment in Affinity Designer 

Step 1

Now, return to the Designer Persona.

Go to the Brushes panel. If you happen to do not see it, go to the highest menu, click on Window, and scroll down to pick Brush, after which it can seem in your desktop.

Click on on the Brush panel “burger” menu, and click on on Create New Class. Name it “envato brushes” and click on OK.

Step 2

Then click on on the burger menu once more and choose New Textured Picture Brush. It’s going to open the “envato brushes” you created.

Typically, it’s important to search to find the folder in your Finder. You’ll choose your “envato guilloché” on this folder and click on Open.

The guilloché curves at the moment are in your library. Good job!

5. How you can use your customized brush in Affinity Designer

Now it’s time to strive our new decoration in the actual world. I will present you easy methods to use it to make frames or ornamental components. 

For the sake of this demonstration, we’ll simply strive it and regulate some factors on this a part of the tutorial. We’ll go deeper within the second half.

Step 1

Draw a line utilizing the Pen device (P). To do it, click on one time with the device and click on elsewhere to attract a line.

Then, take the Move Instrument (V) and choose your line. Now go to the Brushes panel, choose the “envato brushes”, and click on on the “envato guilloché”.

Then the curves are utilized to the road. It might appear stretched, however do not panic—we’ll repair that.

Step 2

Return to the Brush panel, and double-click on “envato guilloché.” It’s going to open a brush enhancing window. On this window, click on the Repeat button to make the design repeat alongside the road.

You possibly can change the comb width on this window to 200px and shut it. Now, your design matches the road.

To alter the stroke width, simply go to the Stroke panel and alter it to the scale you want.

With the cursor, you may go as much as 100 pt width, however if you happen to click on on the Quantity panel, you may manually choose the scale that you really want.

6. How you can create geometrical shapes in Affinity Designer

Now, let’s draw three shapes and check out your new brush.

Step 1 

Create a rectangle, a circle, and a triangle of 3000 x 3000 px utilizing the Form device (M).

Choose all of them utilizing the Transfer device (V).

Then choose your customized brush and click on on the “envato guilloché” brush; you may change the stroke dimension within the Stroke panel as seen earlier than.

Step 2

If you happen to take a look at the triangle and the rectangle, you will note that the angles aren’t fairly proper. To appropriate that, it’s important to go to the Stroke panel and set Mitre to 1. 

Then, open the Stroke enhancing window (double-click on the customized brush), and choose Overlap beneath the Corners choice.

7. Including colours to a stroke in Affinity Designer

Step 1 

So as to add some shade to your stroke, it’s important to go to the Layer Results. You will see the FX icon within the part under the Layers panel.

Click on on the icon, and it’ll open the Layer Results parameters.

Step 2

On the left facet of the panel, choose Coloration Overlay. Now click on on the black-filled shade sq. to open the colour sliders. You can select the colour you want with the sliders or use the shade picker to get the colour you need.

Your guilloché brush is now prepared!

And that is it! You have made your first guilloché brush design in Affinity Designer!

On this tutorial, you have discovered easy methods to use components and create your personal brush. You could have achieved every part from primary form creation to customizing your brush and including results. You now have a brand new device, and with that, you may create superior designs by referring to outdated printing methods.

After creating your personal guilloché brush, you may create a chic, intricate design like this one: 

Hold experimenting along with your shapes and refining your methods. The probabilities are limitless, and you may create lovely work with these frames in your designs! 

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