Pixelmator Pro Portraiture workflow?

Talk about Pixelmator Pro, share tips & tricks, tutorials, and other resources.
User avatar

2018-04-08 16:15:40

Hello guys,

I'm trying to learn Pixelmator Pro and switch from On1 Photo Raw but I can't seem to find some basic things so I wonder, do you know a good tutorials for portraiture workflow that would help me out, please?

For example, if I want to sharpen or soften part of the image how do i turn a colour overlay mask so I can see where I applied it and how strong?
User avatar

2018-04-10 08:36:07

Hi there, I think you can achieve the result you're looking for by changing the blending mode of the masked layer. Subtract or Divide would work pretty well for this, and you can change blending modes using the Style tool (click the pop-up menu above the Opacity slider).
User avatar

2018-04-10 09:51:56

by Andrius 2018-04-10 07:36:07 Hi there, I think you can achieve the result you're looking for by changing the blending mode of the masked layer. Subtract or Divide would work pretty well for this, and you can change blending modes using the Style tool (click the pop-up menu above the Opacity slider).
Thank you Andrius, but that is really not the optimal way. The reason why I'm using OS X is because I love simplicity and I'm looking for alternatives now that Aperture got killed. What you described might do what I'm after but so many steps and so un-intuitive. I simply don't understand why I can't see color overlay when I'm using a tool. Its a simple box tick in most applications so why can't Pixelmator have one?

edit: here is an example of what i'm after.
https://youtu.be/WIHBFqkUQnM?t=2m54s
User avatar

2018-04-10 10:09:46

That's a fair observation. I can see you're after a quick mask mode — there isn't really a reason why Pixelmator Pro can't have this, but it's simply something we haven't yet added to the app. It's definitely on the roadmap, though, and it will come in the future. In the meantime, the steps I shared above are a fairly simple workaround. I understand that they're not quite as simple as you'd like, but you could speed things up with the help of a few keyboard shortcuts:

1. Press the S key to choose the Style tool and change the blending mode
2. Press the B key to choose the Paint tool and paint in the mask
3. Press the S key again and change the blending mode back

Again, I'd understand if that sounds too complex and this is an area we plan to improve.
User avatar

2018-04-10 10:53:55

Thank you Andrius!

I loved what Pixelmator did for the community and I had high hopes for the Pro version. I loved Aperture and its simplicity but when they killed it I had to look for alternatives and found ON1 Photo RAW which I bought for £99. I tried to learn it and it worked fairly decent but when 2018 version came up I didn't like their pricing model and decided to not support such a business model. As a result, I loved the sound of Pixelmator Pro mainly from the fact that its optimized for Macs and it seems to have the Apple's simplicity and clean look in mind. However, I don't wanna spend more money and find out that its not what I wanted it so at this point I am gonna wait a little longer to see where it goes. I also love the idea of iPad version as I would love to edit on my iPad Pro with the pencil as I feel its outstanding device/tool for artists and I hope Pixelmator will do outstanding job there.
Regardless, I'm excited that these things are kept in mind and are going to eventually end up in the application. I do portraiture work so workflow in that area is important to me so please keep artists like me in mind and add some focus there also as that would be massively appreciated.
Overall, I can't wait to make the jump when its ready. (learning new software is always time consuming and I just simply don't have the time to trial learn test them all)
So, thank you for your trick, response and hope for the future. I hope we will see these updates this year (ideally before winter so I can enjoy the cold nights editing) :)
Thanks


by Andrius 2018-04-10 10:11:04 That's a fair observation. I can see you're after a quick mask mode — there isn't really a reason why Pixelmator Pro can't have this, but it's simply something we haven't yet added to the app. It's definitely on the roadmap, though, and it will come in the future. In the meantime, the steps I shared above are a fairly simple workaround. I understand that they're not quite as simple as you'd like, but you could speed things up with the help of a few keyboard shortcuts:

1. Press the S key to choose the Style tool and change the blending mode
2. Press the B key to choose the Paint tool and paint in the mask
3. Press the S key again and change the blending mode back

Again, I'd understand if that sounds too complex and this is an area we plan to improve.
User avatar

2018-04-12 11:37:37

No problem, we obviously try to keep as many people in mind as possible when creating our tools and simplicity + ease of use is always at the core of everything we do. With certain things, we haven't focused on innovating too much, but I think there are lots of areas where there's lots of room for innovation and new ideas. Masking is probably one of those things, considering how tricky even basic masking tasks can be in many image editing apps. Obviously, I can't really promise anything specific, but I can say we'll keep your comments in mind moving forward!
User avatar

2018-04-12 13:34:04

Thank you, Andrius!
by Andrius 2018-04-12 10:37:37 No problem, we obviously try to keep as many people in mind as possible when creating our tools and simplicity + ease of use is always at the core of everything we do. With certain things, we haven't focused on innovating too much, but I think there are lots of areas where there's lots of room for innovation and new ideas. Masking is probably one of those things, considering how tricky even basic masking tasks can be in many image editing apps. Obviously, I can't really promise anything specific, but I can say we'll keep your comments in mind moving forward!
User avatar

2018-07-13 13:51:46

Any update on this, please? I've noticed there is more tutorials but I haven't seen anything related to Portraiture photography. Also, the color mask option still under development?