CRT
Turns any layer into a tube screen: curvature, RGB phosphors, scanlines and bloom.
Bloom for Affinity
Wraps the highlights of the image in a deep glow, the kind used in video. The brightest parts are blurred into eight halos, from a tight one to a huge one, and added to the image the way light adds up: the glow is intense close to the lights and fades slowly with distance. A soft roll-off keeps anything brighter than white from clipping abruptly.
Filter Gallery
Get this one and 29 more effects in Filter Gallery
Bloom is part of Filter Gallery, a plugin with 30 effects in one window inside Affinity. It’s a free download with CRT, ASCII, Dithering, Beads, Knit and Bricks, and a USD $12 license unlocks Bloom and the rest.
Also for Windows · 2.4 MBAlso for Mac · 2.6 MB
See all 30 effects
BeforeAfter
6 presets to start with
Pick one in the Filter Gallery window and adjust it from there. Every control can still be changed.
Default
A natural, wide glow on the highlights, in their own colors and with a little color dispersion.
Dreamy
A soft, milky haze that also takes in the midtones, blended in Screen mode so nothing goes past white.
Neon
A tighter, more intense glow in the vivid colors of each light, strongly saturated and with marked color dispersion.
Golden
Every highlight glows in a warm amber light, like at sunset.
Cinematic
Only the brightest areas glow, in a cold blue light, with a huge halo that bathes the whole image.
Glow only
The same glow as Default, without the image, on a transparent background, to blend in from a separate layer.
What each control does
They have the same names as in the Filter Gallery window.
- Threshold
- How bright a part of the image must be to glow. Lower it and the midtones glow too; raise it and only the strongest lights do.
- Softness
- How gradually the threshold kicks in. At 0 the cut is sharp; higher values let the tones just below the threshold glow a little too.
- Intensity
- How much light the glow adds to the image. At 0 there is no glow.
- Radius
- The size of the largest halo, in thousandths of the longer side of the image. The other seven are each half the size of the previous one.
- Spread
- How dense the glow is around the lights. When it is higher, all eight halos add up fully and the light stays strong as it spreads; when it is lower, the smaller halos weigh less and only a wide, faint haze remains.
- Saturation
- The saturation of the glow, not of the image: at 0 the glow is white, above 1 it gets more vivid. It has no effect when you choose a tint.
- Color dispersion
- Spreads the red wider than the blue, like in a lens: the glow turns slightly cooler near the light and warmer at its outer edge.
- Tint
- Tints the whole glow with one color while keeping the brightness of each light. With “no color”, each light glows in its own color.
- Blend
- How the glow joins the image. Add sums the light, and whatever goes past white is rolled off softly; Screen never goes past white and gives a milder, milkier result.
- Glow only
- Leaves only the glow over transparency, without the image, to place it over another layer.
Tips
- Glow on its own layerDuplicate the layer, apply Bloom to the copy with “Glow only” turned on and set that copy’s blend mode to Add: you can then lower its opacity or mask it without opening the effect again.
- Lights on a dark backgroundNight scenes, neon signs and candles give the cleanest glow. If the whole image turns milky, raise the “Threshold” so only the lights glow.
Filter Gallery
Take Bloom and 29 more effects to your Affinity
Filter Gallery is a plugin with the 30 Visual.af effects in a single window. You choose by looking at thumbnails of your layer, adjust with a live preview and compare before and after, then apply.
- 30 effects with their presets
- Zoomable preview and comparison slider
- 6 free effects to start with
- One payment of USD $12, up to 3 computers
Installation
It installs in a minute
The installer copies the plugin into the Affinity plugins folder and turns on the setting Affinity needs to load it.
Download the installer
Download FilterGallery-Setup.exe. It doesn’t need administrator permissions.
Open it
Click “OK”: it copies Filter Gallery into Affinity and turns on “Allow "Unknown" plugins to be used”, which Affinity needs. If Windows shows “Windows protected your PC”, click “More info” and then “Run anyway”.
Restart Affinity
Choose Filters › Plugins › Visual.af › Filter Gallery with a pixel layer selected. The effect is applied to that layer, so duplicate it first with Ctrl+J if you want to keep it.
Download the installer
Download FilterGallery-Setup.pkg. It doesn’t need administrator permissions.
Open it
Click “Continue” and then “Install”. It copies Filter Gallery into Affinity and turns on “Allow "Unknown" plugins to be used”, which Affinity on Mac needs.
Restart Affinity
Select a pixel layer and choose Pixel › Filters › Plugins › Visual.af › Filter Gallery. The effect is applied to that layer, so duplicate it first with ⌘J if you want to keep it.
Frequently asked questions
Does it work on a Mac?
Yes. Download the Mac installer (FilterGallery-Setup.pkg): it works with Affinity 3 on Macs with Apple Silicon or Intel. The installer is signed and notarized by Apple, so it opens without warnings.
Does Windows warn that it isn’t safe?
It can happen. Because Filter Gallery is new, Windows SmartScreen doesn’t know the installer yet and may show “Windows protected your PC”. It is 100% safe: click “More info” and then “Run anyway”.
What if Filter Gallery doesn’t show up in Affinity?
Go to Settings › Photoshop Plugins, turn on “Allow "Unknown" plugins to be used” and restart Affinity. Also select a pixel layer before you open the Plugins menu: the filter only works on a selected pixel layer.
Which version of Affinity do I need?
Affinity 3, on Windows 10 or 11 or on a Mac.
Does it work with text, vectors or groups?
Like every filter in Affinity, it works on pixel layers. To apply an effect to text, vectors or a group, duplicate it and turn the copy into pixels first (rasterize it).
Does it create a new layer?
No. Like every filter in Affinity, the effect is applied to the selected layer. Duplicate it first with Ctrl+J (⌘J on a Mac) if you want to keep the original, or undo with Ctrl+Z (⌘Z).
On how many computers can I use the license?
On three. If you change computers, you can free one up from the window itself with your purchase email.
Does it need the internet?
Only to activate the license and check for updates. The effects are calculated on your computer and your images never leave it. Offline, the license keeps working for 14 days.
How do updates work?
When there’s a new version, the window shows a notice with an “Update” button. Affinity uses the new version the next time it starts.
More effects in Filter Gallery
ASCII
Turns your images into art made of characters, in their original colors or a single ink, with a transparent background.
Dithering
Dithers your images with Bayer matrices or random noise, in the original colors or your own palette.
Beads
Build hama bead designs from your images: beads with volume, an adjustable hole and a colored pegboard.
Knit
Turns your images into knitted fabric, with V-shaped stitches, relief and a palette of a few colors.
Bricks
Turns your images into a mosaic of building bricks, with flat or studded pieces.
Shape Grid
Your image as a grid of dots, crosses, rings and squares picked by its tone.
Pixel Melt
The colors of your image run in streaks like melted paint.
Liquid Dots
Dots that grow in the tones you choose and merge like drops.
Overprint
Your image printed in up to three overprinted inks, with grain and misregistration, like a riso print.
Gold Foil
Your image embossed in gold, silver or copper, or stamped in foil on paper.
Sunprint
Your image as a cyanotype: Prussian blue on watercolor paper, with a brushed border.
Thermal
Your image as a thermal camera would see it, in six heat palettes.
Blob Tracking
Boxes, numbers, coordinates and lines over the spots in your image, like a tracking system.
Aberration
Your image stretched out from a sharp center, with rainbow fringes toward the edges.
Ink
Lines of ink that bleed into the paper, with 1 to 3 inks, overprint and misregistration.
Hologram
Turns your images into a hologram of lines that rise with brightness, with glow and interference.
Topographic
Contour lines over your image, like a topographic map of its brightness.
Flare
Glow, a streak that drags the lights and fine stars on the brightest parts of your image.
Digitalism
A phosphor screen of vertical lines that thicken with brightness, with glow.
Stipple
Your image drawn with loose ink dots, closer together in the shadows.
Woodcut
Your image carved in wood: solid ink, parallel strokes and cross-hatching.
Wireframe
A glowing wire mesh that bends with the brightness of your image.
Paper Texture
Fibers, crumples and folds of paper over your image.
Fluted Glass
Your image seen through ribbed glass.
Halftone Dots
A grid of dots that grow with the shadows, like a printed photo.
Halftone CMYK
Your image printed in four inks, with dots of cyan, magenta, yellow and black.
Lens Distortion
Your image through a lens that bends it, with the colors split at the edges.
Water
Your image under water, with waves and caustic light.