Serif Affinity Designer
Version 2.6.5.3782 · Serif Europe · Windows 10 / 11 (64-bit) · ranked #193 in the library
A vector illustration application that switches to a real pixel workspace in the same document, so line art and raster texture happen side by side without exporting anything or opening a second program.
Read the installation section below before you start. The order of the steps matters on this release.
About this release
Overview
Affinity Designer is a vector drawing application built on a rendering engine that stays smooth on documents where other tools start to crawl. Pan and zoom remain fluid at extreme magnification, live effects preview without a render step, and there is effectively no limit on the number of objects, layers or artboards in a document. That responsiveness is the first thing people notice and the main reason they stay with it.
The defining feature is the persona system. The same document can be worked on in a vector workspace with pen, node, shape and boolean tooling, or switched into a pixel workspace with brushes, erasers and selections that paint real raster content onto the same canvas, or into an export workspace where slices and output presets are configured. Nothing is exported between them. A logo can be drawn as clean vector geometry and then have raster texture brushed directly over it in the same file.
Output is thorough for a package at this price point. Documents can be built for print with CMYK and spot colours, bleed, overprint control and press ready PDF export, or for screen with pixel-aligned geometry, multiple artboards and per-slice export at several scale factors in one pass. It reads and writes the common interchange formats including AI, PDF, SVG, EPS and layered PSD, so it fits into a workflow that already uses other applications.
What it does
Feature breakdown
Vector and pixel in one document
Switch personas to paint raster content directly onto a vector document. No export step, no second application, no separate file to keep synchronised.
Fast rendering at any zoom
Pan and zoom stay smooth on very complex artwork, and live effects, blend modes and adjustments preview in real time rather than after a render pass.
Full boolean and shape building
Add, subtract, intersect and divide with live non-destructive compound results that can be separated again later, plus shape builder for freehand combining.
Multiple artboards with per-slice export
Any number of artboards in one document, with the export workspace producing every slice at multiple scale factors and formats in a single operation.
Print and screen colour handling
CMYK documents with spot colours, bleed, overprint preview and press ready PDF, alongside pixel-aligned screen work with device preview at common densities.
Broad file interchange
Opens and writes AI, PDF, SVG, EPS and layered PSD, keeping layers, text and effects editable where the format allows it.
Changed in this build
Version 2.6.5.3782
- Node editing tools reworked with better handling of overlapping paths and easier point type switching.
- Vector warp added for bending artwork along a mesh without converting it to pixels.
- Export workspace rebuilt with faster batch output on documents carrying many slices.
- Improved PSD import fidelity for layer effects and clipping masks.
- Interface performance improved on high density displays with several documents open.
Installation
Follow these in order
- Disconnect from the network before running setup.
- Extract the archive to any folder with a few gigabytes free.
- Pause real time protection until the licence step is complete.
- Run setup as administrator and pick the interface language.
- Close the installer at the end rather than launching from it.
- Open the application once and confirm the licence panel is absent, then restore protection.
Release notes
From whoever packed it
- The account and store components are removed. It opens straight to the document browser.
- Bundled brush and asset packs are included in the archive rather than fetched on first run.
- Documents interchange cleanly with the rest of the same family of applications if you have them installed.
System requirements
Minimum and recommended
| Operating system | Windows 10 version 21H2 or newer, or Windows 11, 64-bit |
|---|---|
| Processor | Any 64-bit processor with SSE 4.2 support |
| Memory | 4 GB minimum, 8 GB recommended, 16 GB for large raster work |
| Graphics | DirectX 12 capable adapter recommended for hardware accelerated rendering |
| Storage | 3 GB of free space for installation plus room for documents |
Questions about this release
Answered before you ask
- Is the pixel workspace a full raster editor?
- It covers brushes, erasers, selections and adjustments on real pixel layers. It is not a replacement for a dedicated retouching application but it handles texture and touch-up in place.
- Does it open AI files?
- Yes, where the file carries the PDF compatibility data, which most do. Layers and text come through editable.
- Does it need a connection?
- No. Every feature including the asset library works entirely offline.
Download
Pick a mirror