Overview of Affinity for Scientists

SIMPLIFIED SCIENCE PRO

Online training to use Affinity  by Canva to create scientific illustrations, data visualizations, and figures for publication. Tutorials provide an overview of how to use the tools that are similar to Adobe Illustrator.

Learn scientific design and drawing techniques for Affinity by Canva (formerly called Affinity Designer). In these tutorials, you will:

  • Learn how to use Affinity to draw custom scientific illustrations and optimize data visualizations
  • Understand the similarities and differences between Affinity  and Adobe Illustrator 
  • Get expert tips on how to use the Affinity tools to quickly create figures for publication that are formatted for standard scientific journal requirements


NOTE: These tutorials work for the updated Affinity by Canva (formerly called Affinity Designer). The rebrand to a green logo doesn't change the overall software or shortkeys)

Beginner / 5 tutorial videos

Biological diagram template illustration examples

Affinity is the best scientific illustration software alternative to Adobe Illustrator. Affinity is now free via Canva!

Course Highlights

If you are new to using Affinity Designer or curious about how the software compares to Adobe Illustrator, this course provides you with templates and tutorials that will accelerate your ability to create figures, research posters, and scientific illustrations in Affinity Designer.

Introduction

Compare Affinity Designer and Adobe Illustrator
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Illustration Tools

Scientific illustration example for Affinity Designer
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Data Visualizations

Data visualization example with Excel graph for Affinity Designer
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Final Formatting

Examples of research poster and figure for science papers
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Karen Thiebes course instructor photo

Course Instructor

Karen Thiebes is a professional scientific illustrator and has a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Oregon Health & Science University. She has led scientific design courses for over 7 years and enjoys teaching participants how to quickly transform data into effective designs using Adobe Illustrator, PowerPoint, Affinity Designer, and Excel.

Advanced Online Courses

Sign up to receive access to this course and all of the Simplified Science courses for only $59. New courses are added every year to stay up-to-date with the latest scientific design techniques. The Pro courses also include popular templates such as the Biological Diagrams, Laboratory Tools, and Excel graphing templates with over 400 illustrations that you can use in your own scientific designs.  Learn more here!