Pixelmator Pro

Talk about Pixelmator Pro, share tips & tricks, tutorials, and other resources.
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2021-07-15 04:09:46

Hi all. I'm currently trying to decide between Pixelmator Pro vs Affinity (for Mac OS) as I have been "forced out" of my old Photoshop Elements 11 when I got a new Mac mini (Catalina). I do infrequent hobby SLR landscape photography and tons of iPhone pics. Been busy lately but was still firing up the Photoshop maybe once a month to touch up photos for development, typically 5x7 or 8x10, occasionally blow up to 20x30.

I've been taking both of them for a "test drive" this weekend due to free trials by Affinity and Pixelmator Pro. So far I've found the clone & healing tools on Pixelmator Pro to be much easier to use. Affinity seems to have more features. Would appreciate any feedback on anyone's experience with either product. thanks in advance~
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2021-07-15 09:31:50

I’m in a similar position, though my specialities are web design and a bit of occasional DTP. I’ve been trying out both apps and the feeling I get is that Affinity Photo covers more of the wide gamut of Photoshop functionality than Pixelmator Pro does, but that what Pixelmator Pro does provide is clearer, easier and faster to use. Even after 25 years using Photoshop there is much in that app I simply never use. I was very happy with my 12 year old copy of Photoshop CS4 which I still run on my old Mac ;0)

During my comparison tests it’s often the little things that have been most telling . .

- PP uses the same foreground/background colour palette paradigm that Photoshop uses. So much better than AP’s primary and secondary colour system which is soooo confusing.

- PP retains the Photoshop alt+delete and command+delete keyboard shortcuts for filling an object. Sounds like a tiny thing but I have 25 years of PSD muscle-memory automatically reaching for those keys 20 times a day. AF uses a horribly laborious drop-down menu ‘fill with primary colour’ system instead which is slow and frustrating.

For my mostly graphics-based work I’d *prefer* to use Pixelmator Pro than Affinity Photo as my everyday design app. My heart says PP for comfort and ease of use, my head says AF for PSD compatibility and breadth of functions.

I’ve bought PP anyway, as the ML photo adjust and new ML enlarging facility are simply much better than anything offered by either Photoshop or Affinity Photo.

From your photo-based work I suspect that PP will do all you want and more, and that AP would be overkill and a much steeper learning curve.
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2021-07-15 10:06:27

I used to have Affinity photo as my main and only photo compositor ('Used to' being the key words, here!) and I knew about Pixelmator for a while from the App Store suggestions, but never thought I needed it. that was until Pixelmator pro went 50% off, and I pulled the plug, and bought it as an iPhoto extension (kind of like a Lightroom alternative). in short, I hardly ever use Affinity Photo anymore and Pixelmator has completely replaced it!
Sure, there's many features Affinity Photo has that Pixelmator Pro doesn't, but they're mostly features I never actually used, just played around with. And if there's a feature you REALLY need, post a feature request at this forum, and it'll usually be implemented in less than a year!
Pixelmator Pro does things smarter, and in turn, faster. colindun is exactly right, if you've come from Photoshop Elements, This is seriously the better option for you!
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2021-07-15 10:37:04

by colindun 2021-07-15 06:34:16 For my mostly graphics-based work I’d *prefer* to use Pixelmator Pro than Affinity Photo as my everyday design app. My heart says PP for comfort and ease of use, my head says AF for PSD compatibility and breadth of functions.
This is a great time to note that we're just finishing up a complete rewrite of our PSD engine with a huge range of improvements and additions, including support for opening shape layers as vectors, significantly improved text layer support, PSB support, support for layered TIFFs exported from PS, support for compatible layer styles, partial adjustment layer support, much-improved effect rendering, and even more than that!

Just thought you might like to know. :raised_hands:
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2021-07-15 10:43:17

significantly improved text layer support
Aha! 😜

I know everyone asks when an update is due, so I won't disappoint by not asking. When?
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2021-07-15 10:49:34

by colindun 2021-07-15 07:44:16
Aha! 😜

I know everyone asks when an update is due, so I won't disappoint by not asking. When?
Hah, I really dislike publicly providing timelines because things invariably change, especially when a feature is in the early stages of development. In this case, we're nearing the end of development, so things are easier to predict – we're hoping to release this in a little over a month. But please don't come after me if there are any delays. :grimacing:
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2021-07-15 11:10:38

;0)

Handy to know. I shall look forward to that, thanks.
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2021-08-20 15:45:15

by Andrius 2021-07-15 17:37:04
This is a great time to note that we're just finishing up a complete rewrite of our PSD engine with a huge range of improvements and additions, including support for opening shape layers as vectors, significantly improved text layer support, PSB support, support for layered TIFFs exported from PS, support for compatible layer styles, partial adjustment layer support, much-improved effect rendering, and even more than that!

Just thought you might like to know. :raised_hands:
Hi! So, now that I see the beginnings of adjustment layers from imported Photoshop files have been implemented, how do I create them inside of Pixelmator Pro? And if it's not possible, is that something being introduced pretty soon since it seems like it's already working?
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2021-08-21 08:44:03

I'm a bit late to the party here with my tuppence worth, but here goes.

As an amateur hobby image taker that has the Apple Ecosystem - iMac, Macbook, iPhone and iPhone, Pixelmator Pro has helped enormously with my editing of images.

Much to my friends chagrin and sometimes ridicule from the camera club I belong to, I use the Photos app provided by Apple to manage by image library (libraries). Personally I think it's a great tool and with PP being able to be bedded in with this, I just find the whole process easier and more fun.

I have Affinity Photo too - I bought it last summer as it was on a very special offer - but having tried it a few times, and it's very good, it's does not have anything in its weaponry that PP does not have for my purposes.

I like PP. And I recommend it.
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2021-08-24 13:20:49

by CraigK 2021-08-20 12:45:15
Hi! So, now that I see the beginnings of adjustment layers from imported Photoshop files have been implemented, how do I create them inside of Pixelmator Pro? And if it's not possible, is that something being introduced pretty soon since it seems like it's already working?
Hi! If nothing changes, yes — the support for adjustment layers should be coming soon-ish. :fingers_crossed:
by bogheadben 2021-08-21 05:44:03 I'm a bit late to the party here with my tuppence worth, but here goes.

As an amateur hobby image taker that has the Apple Ecosystem - iMac, Macbook, iPhone and iPhone, Pixelmator Pro has helped enormously with my editing of images.

Much to my friends chagrin and sometimes ridicule from the camera club I belong to, I use the Photos app provided by Apple to manage by image library (libraries). Personally I think it's a great tool and with PP being able to be bedded in with this, I just find the whole process easier and more fun.

I have Affinity Photo too - I bought it last summer as it was on a very special offer - but having tried it a few times, and it's very good, it's does not have anything in its weaponry that PP does not have for my purposes.

I like PP. And I recommend it.
Thanks for the kind words, bogheadben! It's awesome to hear you've made Pixelmator Pro part of your image editing workflow.
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2021-11-26 15:01:06

Hello.
Any ETA on adjustment layers in Pro? Searching the forums it looks like it has been on the roadmap for over a year.
Thanks for any insights

J
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2021-11-30 15:32:39

by JMacI 2021-11-26 13:01:06 Hello.
Any ETA on adjustment layers in Pro? Searching the forums it looks like it has been on the roadmap for over a year.
Thanks for any insights

J
Hi J. Not much to share just yet, but as far as I know, things are steadily moving forward. We've just released Pixelmator Pro 2.3 with some masking and selection improvements that we've been working on this past year (hope you had the chance to check it out — the background removal tool is quite magical! :sparkles:) and we're a pretty small team so we have to take things one step at a time.