Free · 7 min read
Affinity Designer for beginners: what changed and where to start
Affinity Designer is now part of the free Affinity app by Canva. How to install it, learn the vector tools and make your first portfolio piece.
- What happened to Affinity Designer 2 and what to install now
- Shapes, the Pen and Shape Builder on one practice project
- How to export your work for screens and for print
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Five steps to your first piece in Affinity
- 1
Step 1
Work out what to install
- 2
Step 2
Document, artboards and workspace
- 3
Step 3
Shapes and Shape Builder
- 4
Step 4
The Pen, nodes and text on a circle
- 5
Step 5
Export and feedback
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This guide is for you if you are
Looking for Affinity Designer
You've heard it's a good subscription-free alternative to Illustrator and want to know what to download right now.
Taking your first steps in vector
You want to draw logos, stickers and illustrations, but the Pen and nodes still feel scary.
Moving on from Canva
Templates aren't enough anymore, and you want a tool where you create every shape yourself.
In short
- Affinity Designer 2 is no longer sold on its own: there's now one Affinity app by Canva with vector, photo and layout tools together.
- Affinity is free for individuals: all you need is a free Canva account. A paid Canva plan is only needed for the AI tools.
- The app runs on Mac, Windows and iPad. There's no Ukrainian interface yet, so tool names in this guide are in English.
- Learn on one project: a coffee shop sticker made of simple shapes, the Pen and text around a circle, all in one file.
- Export PNG or SVG for screens and PDF for print, then show the result for feedback.
Five steps to your first piece in Affinity
- 1
Step 1
Work out what to install
Serif used to sell three separate apps: Affinity Designer 2 for vector, Photo 2 for photos and Publisher 2 for layout. They've been replaced by one Affinity app, published by Canva: the Affinity Designer page on Serif's site now leads to the new affinity.studio site. The former Designer's vector tools live in its Vector Studio, next to Pixel Studio for photos and Layout Studio for layout.
- download Affinity from affinity.studio: you'll need to sign in with a Canva account or create one for free;
- for individuals, every tool in Vector, Pixel and Layout is free, with no time limit;
- Canva's AI features (image generation, background removal and so on) unlock only with a paid Canva plan, and you don't need them to learn;
- you need the internet to download and activate the app; after that you can work offline.
💡 If you already bought Affinity Designer 2, your license stays valid, but that version won't get updates anymore. And .af files saved in the new Affinity don't open in V2, so for learning, install the new app straight away.
- 2
Step 2
Document, artboards and workspace
Start with a clear practice brief: a round sticker for a made-up coffee shop, with an icon, the name around the edge and a short slogan. Create a document in pixels for screens and add a few artboards: one for the sticker, another for color variations. Affinity's interface is available in English, French, German, Spanish and a few other languages, but not Ukrainian, so get used to the English names from the start: it makes finding tutorials easier.
- the app has several studios, but for this guide stay in Vector Studio: every tool you need is there;
- you can rearrange panels and build your own studios, but don't change the layout until you remember where everything is;
- turn on snapping: it helps you align shapes precisely instead of by eye;
- before drawing, sketch a few sticker ideas on paper: the app won't come up with the idea for you.
💡 One brief for the whole guide beats a dozen unrelated exercises: at the end you'll have a finished piece, not a pile of test circles.
Show your first vector piece
A fresh pair of eyes quickly spots a wobbly curve or merged details. Post a sketch or your first sticker draft in the community and ask what to simplify. It's free.
Get feedback on my workFree. 1,504 designers are already in the community.
- 3
Step 3
Shapes and Shape Builder
Icons are easiest to build from simple shapes. Draw the sticker's base as a circle, and the icon, say a cup, from a rectangle, an ellipse and a ring for the handle. Then Shape Builder merges overlapping shapes into one or cuts away what you don't need, turning a few simple shapes into a single silhouette. Add color with the Fill Tool: it handles linear, radial and mesh gradients, but for a first sticker a few flat colors work better.
- keep the same stroke width across the whole icon;
- round corners consistently: different radii stand out immediately;
- check the silhouette by filling everything with one color: if you can't recognize the cup, simplify the shape.
💡 Shrink the sticker to the size of a messenger icon. If details merge, there are too many: remove the small stuff rather than making the sticker bigger.
- 4
Step 4
The Pen, nodes and text on a circle
The Pen gives you full control over shape: a click places a node, and dragging while you click makes a curve. Draw the steam above the cup with the Pen, then refine it with the curve and node editing tools: drag nodes and their handles, delete the extra ones. Set the coffee shop's name as text on a path around the circle: Affinity can flow text along any curve.
- start with straight lines, then move on to arcs and waves;
- fewer nodes mean a smoother curve: if a path looks lumpy, it usually has too many nodes;
- if you have a paper sketch, photograph it and turn it into vectors with Image Trace, then clean up the nodes by hand;
- choose a font with Cyrillic and check how it reads around the circle at a small size.
💡 Turn a repeating element, such as the stars around the name, into a symbol: change one and they all update.
Curve won't behave or export looks off? Ask the community → - 5
Step 5
Export and feedback
Affinity exports PDF, SVG, PNG, JPEG, TIFF and WebP: the whole document, a single artboard, an object or a slice. For a sticker on social media or a website, PNG or SVG works; for print, use PDF. Before printing, check the color profile and bleed with your print shop. If someone without Affinity needs to open the file, send a PDF or SVG: Illustrator opens them, but they don't keep full editability.
- export each artboard separately: the main version and the color variations;
- check the exported file on your phone, not just in the app;
- keep the working .af file: you'll come back to it after feedback.
💡 Show the sticker in the community and ask about something specific: is the icon recognizable, does the name read around the circle, are there too many details? A specific question gets a useful answer.
You're not alone with these questions
We counted what people ask about most in our community. Learning and courses come first, and "which app should I start with?" comes up all the time.
Messages by topic in Spaceberry Community, July 2024 — November 2026. Keyword search.
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Free. 1,504 designers are already in the community.
How to join: 1 minute
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Tap the button
Telegram opens with the Spaceberry community.
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Join
It's free: all you need is a Telegram account.
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Introduce yourself
Say where you're starting from and ask your first question.
Questions and answers
Didn't find your answer? Ask it in the community.
Is Affinity Designer free?
Affinity Designer 2 is no longer sold on its own. Its vector tools are now in the new Affinity app by Canva, which is free for individuals: all you need is a free Canva account. A paid Canva plan is only needed for the AI tools inside Affinity. Organizations that need single sign-on (SSO) get Affinity through Canva Enterprise or Canva Education.
What if I already have Affinity Designer 2?
Your V2 license stays valid, and you can re-download the app from your Affinity Store account, the App Store or the Microsoft Store, but it won't get new features. The new Affinity opens V1 and V2 files, but .af files saved in the new app don't open in V2.
Affinity Designer vs Illustrator: which should a beginner choose?
Either works for logos, icons and illustrations. Affinity is free and combines vector, photo and layout; Illustrator is a subscription. Affinity imports AI files, so you can still open other people's work. Vector basics are the same, so either is fine for learning. More on Illustrator in [Illustrator for beginners](/en/guides/illustrator-for-beginners).
Where can I learn Affinity?
affinity.studio has a Learning resources section with short Affinity Essentials lessons for desktop and iPad, plus lessons for people switching from other apps. There are also tips and tutorials inside the app, in the Help panel. The lessons are in English, so combine them with practice on your own briefs and show the results to others.
Is the Spaceberry community paid?
No. Spaceberry Community is free: it's supported by Spaceberry Foundation, a non-profit public organization. All you need to join is a Telegram account. The community has 1,504 designers who ask about learning and tools, share work for feedback and take part in design games with the same brief and a deadline. Most conversations are in Ukrainian.
Get feedback on your first sticker
Join 1,504 designers who learn, share their work and play design games. Show your first piece made in Affinity and find out what to improve. The community talks in Ukrainian.
- Free
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- Join in 1 click
Updated · Spaceberry Foundation
Sources:
- Affinity — Get Affinity (free use, Canva account, platforms, languages, offline, V2)
- Affinity — Graphic design (vector tools, export formats)
- Affinity — home page
- Serif — Affinity V2 (support for existing users)
- Serif — former Affinity Designer page (redirects to affinity.studio)
- Affinity — Learning resources