Affinity Designer v Adobe Illustrator?

[chrismscotland]

Long term Lightroom/Photoshop user but let my Creative Cloud subsription lapse as I've been using Affinity Photo on iPad for most editing however I've binned the iPad and picked up a Surface Pro so looking at Windows apps again.

For photo editing I think I'm happier with the one-off purchase of Affinity rather than committing to CC again - but I've also been doing a fair bit of Vector graphic stuff (Using Graphic on the iPad) - it seems the obvious Windows options are Affinity Designer or Illustrator but again leaning toward the one-off Affinity purchase unless Adobe is really that much better?

 

[bloodiedathame]

Adobe is industry standard software. For the casual user there are alternatives like you've found, but don't expect to step into a studio and expect them to run it.

 

[roger that]

Designer is used by quite a few pros now but Illustrator is as embedded in the industry as PS is.

The core of vector based work, node and handle work is much better in the Affinity product, but Illustrator has some really great productivity tools.

I junked Adobe after their sub exploitation.

 

[Donnie Fisher]

Similar position to yourself OP at the moment. Are you doing it for a profession or just home use ? (As above professional would mean keeping Ai ) I'm home use only for me, but I have the Adobe subscription cheap via my wife and an educational discount ... but even then I think I'm just not using it enough as I just dabble with illustrator, photoshop and premiere here and there.

I tried Affinity designer to make a small set of graphics for my wife the other day, and I completed it quicker, easier and with better results than I've managed with Illustrator the last wee while ... which has pretty much sealed the deal. Within a couple of months I'll have saved on the cost of the programs.

I think the big shock will be ditching Lightroom ... but Affinity Photoshop will do all the editing I want I hope.

 

[MissJen]

I recently bought Affinity Designer in the Black Friday sale, so still learning how to use it. So far I find the amount of control you have for controlling curves and gradients is amazing, far easier and superior to Adobe Illustrator! I also bought the workbook to go with it, reading through there and looking at the examples it certainly seems powerful and capable of creating stunning vector work. I have been using Illustrator for years and it is industry standard, however I am hopeful that Affinity may become a new standard... wonder if I can persuade the art manager at work to give it a go once I get in the full swing of it.

Work life aside, I have been after an Adobe alternative for home use since they brought in the subscription model. My disc version of CS6 is showing its age now and certainly can't justify the subscription cost for the odd little personal project I do in my spare time.