How to Work with the Node Tool in Affinity Designer

Posted on 15th June 2023

The Node Tool is one of the most powerful and versatile tools in Affinity Designer. With it, you can easily create and edit vector shapes, paths, and points. In this tutorial, we’ll cover the basics of how to use the Node Tool to create and edit vector shapes in Affinity Designer.

Creating a New Vector Shape

To create a new vector shape, simply select the Node Tool from the Toolbar and click anywhere on the Canvas. This will create a new vector shape with four nodes.

Editing an Existing Vector Shape

To edit an existing vector shape, simply select the shape with the Node Tool and click on one of the nodes. This will allow you to move the node around and change the shape of the vector.

Deleting a Vector Shape

To delete a vector shape, simply select the shape with the Node Tool and press the Delete key on your keyboard.

Creating a New Path

To create a new path, simply select the Node Tool and click on the starting point of the path. Then, click on the end point of the path. This will create a new path with two nodes.

Editing an Existing Path

To edit an existing path, simply select the path with the Node Tool and click on one of the nodes. This will allow you to move the node around and change the shape of the path.

Deleting a Path

To delete a path, simply select the path with the Node Tool and press the Delete key on your keyboard.

The Node tool is a powerful way to create and manipulate shapes in Affinity Designer. Here are some tips on how to use it effectively:

When creating a new shape, hold down the Shift key to constrain the shape to a perfect circle or square.

To add a new node to an existing shape, simply click on the shape with the Node tool.

To delete a node, select it with the Node tool and press the Delete key.

To move a node, click and drag it with the Node tool.

To move a node without changing its shape, hold down the Alt key (Windows) or Option key (macOS) while dragging the node.

To add a curved segment to a shape, click on the shape with the Node tool to add a new node. Then, click and drag the new node to create the curve.

To delete a curved segment, select the two nodes that define the curve and press the Delete key.

To change the curvature of a curve, click and drag the node that defines the curve.

To change the direction of a curve, hold down the Shift key and click and drag the node that defines the curve.

To add a symmetrical curve, hold down the Alt key (Windows) or Option key (macOS) and click and drag the node that defines the curve.

To make a shape regular, select the shape with the Node tool and click the Make Regular button in the Properties panel.

To make a shape angular, select the shape with the Node tool and click the Make Angular button in the Properties panel.

To make a shape smooth, select the shape with the Node tool and click the Make Smooth button in the Properties panel.

To make a shape corner, select the shape with the Node tool and click the Make Corner button in the Properties panel.

The Node tool is a powerful way to create and manipulate shapes in Affinity Designer. By following the tips above, you can use the Node tool to create complex shapes and curves with ease.

The Node Tool is one of the most powerful and versatile tools in Affinity Designer. It can be used for a wide variety of tasks, from simple selections to complex path operations. In this article, we’ll take a look at some of the ways you can use the Node Tool to your advantage.

One of the most basic uses for the Node Tool is selecting objects. To select an object with the Node Tool, simply click on it with the tool active. You can also select multiple objects by holding down the Shift key and clicking on each object you want to select.

Once you have an object or objects selected, you can move them around by clicking and dragging with the Node Tool. You can also use the Node Tool to resize objects. To do this, hover your cursor over one of the nodes (the small square handles) on the edge of the object. When the cursor changes to a double-arrow, click and drag to resize the object.

If you want to move a node without moving the entire object, you can use the Direct Selection Tool. This tool is located in the same toolbox as the Node Tool, and can be activated by pressing the A key. With the Direct Selection Tool active, click and drag on a node to move it without moving the rest of the object.

The Node Tool can also be used to create new shapes. To do this, simply click and drag with the tool to create a new shape. To constrain the shape to a perfect circle or square, hold down the Shift key while you click and drag. To create a symmetrical shape, hold down the Alt (Windows) or Option (macOS) key while you click and drag.

Once you’ve created a new shape, you can add nodes to it by clicking on the edge of the shape with the Node Tool. You can also delete nodes by selecting them with the Node Tool and pressing the Delete key.

The Node Tool is also useful for editing existing shapes. To do this, simply select the shape with the Node Tool and then click and drag on the nodes to move them. You can also delete nodes by selecting them with the Node Tool and pressing the Delete key.

Finally, the Node Tool can be used to perform a variety of advanced path operations. To do this, select the two objects you want to operate on with the Node Tool. Then, click on the Path Operations button in the top toolbar and choose the desired operation from the menu.

As you can see, the Node Tool is a powerful and versatile tool that can be used for a wide variety of tasks in Affinity Designer. Experiment with the tool and see what you can create!