Digital illustration

Vector precision, raster freedom, and performance that keeps up.

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Vector and raster, together

Sketch with pressure-sensitive brushes, adjust with precise vector tools, and move between both without breaking stride. Do it all in one place, keeping your digital illustration workflow smooth and uninterrupted.

Digital illustration of sushi with rice and salmon, shown in Affinity Designer with the Layers panel and spray brush options open.

Control every line

Tighten curves, refine nodes, and stabilize strokes without redrawing. Snapping, grids, and guides keep everything aligned, while custom brushes let you build a toolkit that fits your workflow. Whether you're creating logo systems or detailed digital illustrations, every adjustment lands exactly where you want it.

Close-up digital illustration of a stylized person wearing green sunglasses, edited with the pen tool in Affinity Designer's vector workspace.

Big files. No slowdown.

Work on large, detailed digital illustration files without lag. High-resolution canvases, smooth brush performance, and real-time rendering keep everything fast as complexity builds. From editorial artwork to print-ready assets, your work stays sharp, responsive, and ready to go.

Colorful vintage-style illustration of a vanity table with perfume bottles, jewelry, a clock, and a duck-shaped ornament, open in Affinity Designer.

A complete toolkit for digital illustration and drawing

Everything you need to sketch, refine, and finish professional illustration work, in one app.

Start of section: A complete toolkit for digital illustration and drawing

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Advanced vector drawing tools

Create clean, scalable linework with full control over curves and nodes.


Black and yellow illustration of two mirrored hands of a figure holding their feet, with one side shown as an editable vector path with anchor points.
Black and yellow illustration of two mirrored hands of a figure holding their feet, with one side shown as an editable vector path with anchor points.

Path Brush Tool

Draw expressive strokes that stay fully editable and responsive.

Path brush tool applied to a curved line, turning it into a flowing pink brush stroke around an illustrated character.

Pressure-sensitive raster brushes

Sketch and paint with natural, texture-rich control for digital drawing.

Illustration of a person reaching forward against a colourful painted background, with the brush tools panel shown on the right.

Custom brush creation & import

Build a setup that fits how you actually work.

Brush editing panel showing the Dynamics tab, with Size Jitter and Rotation Jitter sliders adjusted on a scattered brush stroke.

Layer groups & masking

Manage complex illustrations without losing control.

Layers panel showing nested groups within a botanical poster illustration, including a flowers group expanded into row layers.

Blend modes & live effects

Add depth and texture without flattening your work.

Blend modes menu open on a glowing flower illustration, with Multiply selected at 42% opacity.

Snapping, grids & guides

Keep layouts precise, from icons to technical illustration.

Snapping guides aligning shapes in a symmetrical illustration, with the snapping icon shown in the top corner.

Skip to start of “A complete toolkit for digital illustration and drawing” section

End of section: A complete toolkit for digital illustration and drawing

A complete toolkit for digital illustration and drawing

Everything you need to sketch, refine, and finish professional illustration work, in one app.

Start of list: A complete toolkit for digital illustration and drawing

Skip to end of “A complete toolkit for digital illustration and drawing” list

Advanced vector drawing tools

Create clean, scalable linework with full control over curves and nodes.


Black and yellow illustration of two mirrored hands of a figure holding their feet, with one side shown as an editable vector path with anchor points.
Black and yellow illustration of two mirrored hands of a figure holding their feet, with one side shown as an editable vector path with anchor points.

Path Brush Tool

Draw expressive strokes that stay fully editable and responsive.

Path brush tool applied to a curved line, turning it into a flowing pink brush stroke around an illustrated character.

Pressure-sensitive raster brushes

Sketch and paint with natural, texture-rich control for digital drawing.

Illustration of a person reaching forward against a colourful painted background, with the brush tools panel shown on the right.

Custom brush creation & import

Build a setup that fits how you actually work.

Brush editing panel showing the Dynamics tab, with Size Jitter and Rotation Jitter sliders adjusted on a scattered brush stroke.

Layer groups & masking

Manage complex illustrations without losing control.

Layers panel showing nested groups within a botanical poster illustration, including a flowers group expanded into row layers.

Blend modes & live effects

Add depth and texture without flattening your work.

Blend modes menu open on a glowing flower illustration, with Multiply selected at 42% opacity.

Snapping, grids & guides

Keep layouts precise, from icons to technical illustration.

Snapping guides aligning shapes in a symmetrical illustration, with the snapping icon shown in the top corner.

Skip to start of “A complete toolkit for digital illustration and drawing” list

End of list: A complete toolkit for digital illustration and drawing
Illustration by Mary Maka showing a group of animals including a deer, orca, bat and fish layered together on a coral pink background.
Stylized illustration of a pink speckled frog resting among oversized red and green jungle foliage.
Stylized illustration of an abstract bird-like figure surrounded by kites, ribbons, and geometric shapes on a pink background.
Illustration by Mary Maka showing a group of animals including a deer, orca, bat and fish layered together on a coral pink background.
Stylized illustration of a pink speckled frog resting among oversized red and green jungle foliage.
Stylized illustration of an abstract bird-like figure surrounded by kites, ribbons, and geometric shapes on a pink background.
Illustration by Mary Maka showing a group of animals including a deer, orca, bat and fish layered together on a coral pink background.
Stylized illustration of a pink speckled frog resting among oversized red and green jungle foliage.
Illustration by Mary Maka of a vibrant safari scene with a lion, giraffe, elephant and ostrich at sunset.
Stylized illustration of a letter U shaped like a spotted cat with a snake-like tail, set against a red background.
Stylized illustration of a praying mantis and other insects among abstract orange and pink botanical forms.
Illustration by Mary Maka of a vibrant safari scene with a lion, giraffe, elephant and ostrich at sunset.
Stylized illustration of a letter U shaped like a spotted cat with a snake-like tail, set against a red background.
Stylized illustration of a praying mantis and other insects among abstract orange and pink botanical forms.
Illustration by Mary Maka of a vibrant safari scene with a lion, giraffe, elephant and ostrich at sunset.
Stylized illustration of a letter U shaped like a spotted cat with a snake-like tail, set against a red background.

Made in Affinity

“As an illustrator, I need a tool that makes it easy to mix vector and raster elements. Affinity lets me experiment freely with shapes, colors, and textures while bringing my sketches to life. It’s exceeded all my expectations.”

Mary Maka

Illustrator & Animator

Made in Affinity

“As an illustrator, I need a tool that makes it easy to mix vector and raster elements. Affinity lets me experiment freely with shapes, colors, and textures while bringing my sketches to life. It’s exceeded all my expectations.”

Mary Maka

Illustrator & Animator

Illustration by Mary Maka showing a group of animals including a deer, orca, bat and fish layered together on a coral pink background.
Stylized illustration of a pink speckled frog resting among oversized red and green jungle foliage.
Stylized illustration of an abstract bird-like figure surrounded by kites, ribbons, and geometric shapes on a pink background.
Illustration by Mary Maka of a vibrant safari scene with a lion, giraffe, elephant and ostrich at sunset.
Stylized illustration of a letter U shaped like a spotted cat with a snake-like tail, set against a red background.
Stylized illustration of a praying mantis and other insects among abstract orange and pink botanical forms.

How to create digital illustrations in Affinity

From first sketch to final export, here’s how your digital illustration workflow comes together.

Pencil icon

Sketch freely

Use raster brushes to get ideas down fast, or block out structure with vector shapes.

Pencil plus icon

Refine with precision

Switch to vector tools to clean up linework, adjust curves, and sharpen details.

Icon smartmockups

Build depth

Layer textures, apply blend modes, and combine raster and vector elements to bring your illustration to life.

Open in new icon

Export with confidence

Export high-resolution, color-accurate artwork ready for print or digital use.

FAQs

  • Affinity delivers professional-grade digital illustration tools, combining vector precision, raster flexibility, and high-performance rendering for serious creative work.

  • Yes — switch seamlessly between vector and raster tools in the same document for a faster, more flexible workflow.

  • Yes — full pressure sensitivity ensures natural, responsive strokes.

  • From loose concept sketches to highly detailed final artwork, Affinity supports the full digital illustration process.

  • Affinity brings raster painting and precise vector illustration into the same document, so you can sketch with pixel brushes, build editable vector artwork, add textures and effects, and move between the two without exporting work between separate programs.
    Compared with Photoshop, Affinity adds a more complete vector workflow alongside professional pixel editing. Compared with Illustrator, it lets you paint, retouch and composite images without leaving your illustration. You also get responsive brushwork, precise curve and node editing, live effects, artboards, and professional export tools in a customizable app that is free by default.

  • Affinity is better suited to illustrators who want to take work beyond raster drawing, with editable vector paths, artboards, typography, image editing, layout tools, and professional print and digital export in the same app.
    You can combine natural brushwork with scalable vector artwork, refine every curve and node, add live effects, and prepare finished illustrations for web, print, or wider design projects without rebuilding them elsewhere.

  • Yes. You can open or place Illustrator files in Affinity, provided they were saved in Illustrator with Create PDF Compatible File enabled. Layers and artboards are usually preserved for editing, although some unsupported Illustrator effects may be simplified during import.

  • Yes. Affinity can import AI, PSD, and SVG files, so you can bring existing artwork into your workflow. AI files need to be saved in Illustrator with Create PDF Compatible File enabled. Most layers and editable content are preserved, although some effects may be simplified during import.