Affinity Designer is a vector art creation and manipulation software, it’s an affordable alternative to Adobe Illustrator, the software is very capable and it’s a worthy contender for Illustrator. The software is currently developed by Serif Labs.

Learning Affinity Designer is very important for graphic designers, UI designers, and any digital artists whether you’re currently using Affinity Designer or looking for an affordable yet capable alternative for Adobe Illustrator.

The aim of this post is to present and compare between free online sources that beginners can rely on to learn Affinity Designer, the sources stated here are full-structured courses that beginners can follow along.

If you just want the bottom line (the road map to learn Affinity Designer) and you don’t wish to read the entire article then go to the “Bottom Line” section at the end of the article.

Getting Started with Affinity Designer from Scratch

Design Bundles

Design Bundles is the first free online outlet where beginners can start learning Affinity Designer through a text-based tutorial, you don’t have to register to have access to the training.

Structure: The training is divided into 8 lessons, each lesson covers a certain tool/technique in Affinity Designer.

Interface: The interface is very simple, just click on the lesson you’re interested in and you’ll be directed to the page where the lesson resides.

Now the pros and cons:

Pros

1. Free.
2. The training covers the basics beginners should be familiarized with in order to start using Affinity Designer

Cons

1. The training doesn’t cover every aspect of the software.

Verdict: This is the best free online outlet where beginners can start learning Affinity Designer through text based tutorials.

Affinity Vimeo Channel

Affinity Vimeo Channel is the second free online outlet where beginners can start learning Affinity Designer through video tutorials.

Structure: The training is divided into 94 video lessons, each lesson covers a certain aspect of the software.

Interface: Standard Vimeo interface.

Now the pros and cons:

Pros

1. Free.
2. The training covers most of the aspects of the software.

Cons

1. The training isn’t well-organized for complete beginners.

Verdict: This is an excellent free online outlet where beginners can start learning Affinity Designer through video tutorials.

AmpAffinity YouTube Channel

AmpAffinity YouTube Channel is the third free online outlet where beginners can start learning Affinity Designer through video tutorials.

Structure: The training is divided into 24 video lessons, each video lesson covers a certain topic beginners should be familiarized with in order to start using Affinity designer.

Interface: Standard YouTube interface.

Now the pros and cons:

Pros

1. Free.
2. The training is well-organized for complete beginners.

Cons

1. The training doesn’t cover as many topics as the above outlet, though that won’t be a problem for complete beginners.

Verdict: This is the best free online outlet where beginners can start learning Affinity Designer through video tutorials.

MixMediaSalad YouTube Channel

MixMediaSalad YouTube Channel is the fourth free online outlet where beginners can start learning Affinity Designer through video tutorials.

Structure: The training has a learn by doing style, so you’re going to learn using Affinity Designer through creating an actual project, the training has 14 video lessons.

Interface: Standard YouTube interface.

Now the pros and cons:

Pros

1. Free.

Cons

1. The training doesn’t cover the latest release of the software, though that won’t be a problem for complete beginners.

Verdict: This is a very good free online outlet where beginners can start learning Affinity Designer through video tutorials.

Bottom Line

The recipe for learning to use Affinity Designer:

1. AmpAffinity YouTube Channel is the best outlet for beginners to start learning to learn Affinity Designer through video tutorials.
2. Design Bundles is the best outlet for beginners to start learning to learn Affinity Designer through text tutorials.

Remember that the first step is always the toughest step, and the aim of this post is to provide you with resources that will help you take your first step in learning to use Affinity Designer.