Create a Cutout Text Effect in Affinity Designer

In today’s tutorial, we will create a cutout text effect in Affinity Designer. This effect is very useful when you want part of your background to show. If you want to know more about Affinity Designer, read about some of the features of Affinity Designer.

Before you start the tutorial, go to Pexels and download an image of your choice. Then, go to Font Squirrel to download and install the Leckerli One font.

Step 1

In Affinity Designer, go to File > New to create a new document. The size of the document doesn’t matter.

Step 2

Now, go to the Tools Panel and select the Place Image Tool. Find the image you downloaded and click Open. Hold Shift and drag the image so that it covers the document.

Step 3

Select the Rectangle tool from the Tools Panel. Draw a rectangle on the image (wherever you want to place it). Set the Fill color to white and make sure the Stroke color is set to none.

Step 4

Next, go to the Tools Panel and grab the Artistic Text Tool. Place it on the rectangle and type your text. Make sure that your Snapping is turned on. Then, place your text in the center of the rectangle.

Step 5

With the text still selected, go to the Context Toolbar. Select the font you want to use if you don’t want to use the Leckerli One font. If you’re using the Leckerli One font, type it into the Font Family box and select it when it appears. Also, set the size of the font to something large. Here, I set it to 288 pt.

Step 6

Right-click on the text and select Convert to Curves. In the Layers Panel, your text should now be a group.

Step 7

With the text still selected, right-click and select Ungroup (or press CTRL + Shift + G on the keyboard). In the Layers Panel, all the texts (curves) should be separated.

Step 8

Select your text and the rectangle. Now, go to the Pathfinder Panel and click Subtract.

Congratulations! This tutorial is complete!

*** If you want, on the layers panel, you can lower the opacity of the cutout shape to make the whole thing more see-through. You can even change the color of the cutout shape.

If you liked this tutorial, check out some more Affinity Designer tutorials.