This article contains some channels you may already be familiar with, along with some hidden gems we think you should know about. As each YouTube channel offers something unique, they have not been rated in any particular order.
1. Affinity
Of course, we had to kick things off with the Affinity YouTube channel—the official place to learn about Affinity Designer, Photo and Publisher. Our videos cover everything from the basics to more advanced step-by-step tutorials, sneak peeks at new features, studio visits with Affinity pro users, Affinity Creative Sessions and other unique content—so be sure to subscribe to stay up to date!
2. Affinity Revolution
Ezra and Ally Anderson both have degrees in education and love to teach using lots of practical examples that anyone can follow along with. They started Affinity Revolution in 2016, and since then, have added over 200 tutorials to the channel.
“I’ve always loved art and design, so it’s been fun teaching others how to use such creative programs. Most people don’t know this, but a lot of preparation goes into each video I make. Typically, I’ll practice a tutorial two or three times before filming it. And even after all that practice, I still have to edit out all of my mistakes! But all that effort pays off when I get to share a video I’m proud of. I love seeing what other people are able to make after watching one of my tutorials,” Ally reveals.
“I mostly teach Affinity Photo, but I also make tutorials for Affinity Designer and Publisher. I make tutorials on YouTube that help people get started with the programs, but we also have in-depth courses on our website courses.affinityrevolution.com.”
3. RSKT—The Capable Artist
Rhys Thomas is an artist based on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia. After studying for a bachelor’s degree in Creative Technology and Animation, he started working as a content creator for a training company, which soon transitioned into training apprentices in their Certificate III in Screen and Media.
Eventually, he set up RSKT to create and sell his own artwork using Affinity Designer as his main tool. “People seemed to really like my designs, and a few people asked me how I created them, so I set up a YouTube channel to help show people my process,” Rhys explains.
“A lot of people like to say I’m just “born with talent,” but the main reason I wanted to make this channel was to prove to people that talent is not something you’re born with; it’s something you earn by learning new things. That is why I called my channel RSKT—The Capable Artist, because I want to prove to people that they are capable of doing whatever they put their minds to.”
4. Tracey Capone—Digital Art Tutorials
Tracey Capone is a talented photographer, illustrator and teacher who shares tons of tips, tricks and other creative goodness on a variety of iPad and desktop apps, including the Affinity Suite. She loves working with texture, so expect plenty of advice on how to add texture to your work, as well as tips for carrying out common tasks such as removing the white background from scanned images and placing multiple files at once in Affinity apps.
Tracey also shares time-lapse videos of her own artwork to show you what you can create and achieve.
5. Bethany Acorn
If you’re looking to master the art of photo manipulation in Affinity Photo on an iPad, then Bethany Acorn’s YouTube Channel is a must-watch. It’s full of cracking videos (currently over 170) covering the basics of photo manipulation, through to more in-depth tutorials for creating full projects.
The most popular video on this channel is called Affinity Photo Manipulation iPad Pro, which shows the making of a photo composition from start to finish.
6. Frankentoon TV
Enrique Figueroa is a multi-talented artist and illustrator, based in San Salvador, El Salvador. He created Frankentoon Studio in 2016 and since then has been making free and premium tutorials and digital resources for Affinity Designer, Affinity Photo, Procreate and Affinity Publisher on frankentoonstudio.com.
His YouTube channel, Frankentoon TV, contains some awesome tutorials and short videos showcasing how to get the most out of his incredible Affinity resources, as well as plenty of workflow insights and tips.
If you own or are interested in Enrique’s digital resources or are curious about how he creates his work, this is one YouTube channel that’s definitely worth checking out.
7. 2Dgameartguru
Chris Hildenbrand worked in the games industry for decades creating game art for the Commodore 64, through to Xbox and iPhone/iPad before writing online tutorials geared at programmers with little or no art skills.
“The idea was to teach people how to build complex art assets by using deceptively simple shapes, rather than by trying to draw complicated designs. I wanted to prevent the discouragement of feeling like you’re taking on too much, the way it often feels when you’re just starting to learn a new skill,” Chris explains.
“As the years went by (twelve of them now!), the ideas became more complex, and the audience grew to include more digital artists and graphic designers. Eventually, I added YouTube tutorial videos and included Affinity Designer.
These days, due to ongoing health issues, my focus is more on social media groups and answering questions about workflow and specific tools. However, I am still writing my blog and recording video tutorials, and will be for a while yet. It’s simply too much fun!”
8. Danilo Fiocco—Illustration
Danilo Fiocco is an illustrator and UI artist based in Brazil. He began his career as a web designer, before moving on to create UI for games. When he found himself drawing games assets as well as screens and icons he began to take illustration more seriously.
“I wanted to learn digital painting to try and create colourful and light-hearted illustrations with volume and depth, but I never felt at home with it, so I wondered if it was possible to achieve the same result with vectors—which turned out to be true,” Danilo explains.
“That’s when I decided to make a YouTube channel. To break the general notion that vector art is limited to a somewhat flat and graphical style, and to show that you can render artwork in such a way that it feels almost 3D—with the upside that everything is non-destructible and scalable.
I make sure to showcase all that on my channel by recording time-lapse videos of my process in Affinity Designer, as well as making a series of extensive tutorials explaining my thought process from initial sketch to the final render.”
9. Isabel Aracama
Isabel Aracama is a designer and illustrator from Spain who has been working professionally with digital graphics for decades now. She enjoys sharing what she’s learnt through the years by creating video and written tutorials. From a scientific illustration to a user interface, she’s always keen on improving techniques, workflows and results while helping others to achieve that too.
“I started my channel because I had people asking me how I was creating my artwork. I felt it would be satisfying to share how I look at things in a simple way to achieve more complexity. Both those who want to learn the basics of vector and digital graphics creation and those looking for advanced techniques and tools will find my channel and tutorials useful,” Isabel explains.
“I create videos and written tutorials ranging from the simplest first moves with the pen tool, to much more complex projects, so others can learn considerably faster than I did! I believe one of the best things about my videos is how fast people seem to go from first stages to very complex pieces and how much in awe they are after creating certain things they wouldn’t imagine they ever could.”
10. Design Made Simple
A former graphic designer of 10 years, Nick Sapporito now teaches others how to use design software, and he set up the Design Made Simple channel to solve common issues and problems users may be experiencing.
“On my channel Affinity users can learn how to use Affinity Designer and Photo’s unique tools to express their creativity with an extensive library of tutorials covering everything from logo design, desktop publishing, user interface design, branding design, and more.”
All of Nick’s lessons include step-by-step instructions with voice narration and are reinforced by 10 years of experience working with thousands of clients as a freelance designer.
11. ArtistWright
Aron Lawton-Wright, aka ArtistWright, is a visual artist based in London. In 2015, he discovered Affinity Designer, and it ticked all the boxes for his workflow.
“I made one simple design, and I was impressed. It gave me the confidence to create a very complex vector graphic (a motorbike), and through that process, I learned a lot about the software. I decided to upload a tutorial of my design to YouTube in the hope that it might help others, and it was well-received. So as I developed my skills, I kept uploading more,” Aron explains.
“My YouTube channel, ArtistWright, is now dedicated to Affinity Designer tutorials. I create videos for complete beginners to advanced users, and I go at a slow and steady pace so as not to skip over important information. That allows Affinity users to design along with me. I also include pop up shortcuts, tips and tricks throughout the videos.”
12. 7th Season Society
Jeremy Hazel, aka 7th Season Studio, began his creative career as a tattoo artist before making the jump into digital art.
“I started 7th Season Society to help myself remember the useful things I learned, and eventually it led to the premium courses that I create for 7thseasonsociety.com,” Jeremy reveals.
“The YouTube channel is a place for everyone to learn how to work with Affinity, and it’s the primary way I communicate with those looking for free information. It contains a variety of tutorials. Some are tool-based in nature to clarify areas that can be difficult for newbies, but others adhere to our principle philosophy of ‘education through creation’. So in most of them, you will learn how to do really cool things, like changing the entire look of a photo.
This year we will be focusing on the business application of Affinity to help users interested in starting a side hustle, such as monetizing services like Print on Demand, going freelance with logo design etc. So the first few years of the channel were about getting technical knowledge out, and now it’s time to show you how to monetize it to change your world.”
13. Foster Your Affinity
Robert Hansford is a teacher and freelance graphic designer who started sharing his creative journey on YouTube around a year ago. He has always had a great interest in art and began drawing again in his spare time roughly three years ago. It was then he discovered Affinity Designer for iPad.
“I’d tried almost every drawing or design app in the app store, and it just felt like Affinity Designer was made for me. So, I immediately began to immerse myself in it. I bought it for my iPad first, then my Mac, then I bought Affinity Photo, and later Publisher, and I just started teaching myself how to use all of it. Slowly, my wife began to notice how I’d thrown myself into it and started cajoling me to start a YouTube channel. I was pretty hesitant at first, and it took about a year for me to come around to the idea,” Robert reveals.
“So, here I am: slowly working towards being both a better artist and a more capable content creator. It’s a journey I’m on, and Affinity is like the vehicle. Along the way, I’ll try to share the best and most interesting things I discover with whoever decides to tag along. I’m super thankful for all the positivity, kindness, and support from people who have already dropped by.”
14. Vectorize by Jhon Silva
Vectorize is a channel created by vector aficionado and long-term Affinity user Jhonatan Silva back in 2018. Since then, he has posted more than 200 tutorials, from simple drawings to complete projects made with Affinity Designer.
The videos on this channel cater for both beginners and professionals and incorporate a variety of art styles and vector tools and solutions, so there really is something for everyone.
Jhonatan also runs a design school community called Vectorize club. Visit the vectorizeclub.com website to find out more.
15. Design Art Studio
Mani Singh is a self-taught designer and illustrator from India who creates a wide range of work in Affinity Designer, including logos, illustrations, brochures and banners. He also likes to experiment with photo manipulation, but the majority of his videos are focused on graphic design and illustration.
Mani started his YouTube channel Design Art Studio to showcase his work and share his own techniques and experience to help others.
His videos showcase how he creates projects from start to finish in real-time. Some contain voice narration, but most simply have background music playing over the top.