Work Progressing

A more complete version of a sailboat.



The picture is missing hills in the distance and the people on the boat are unfinished.

The photograph from which this study is derived is by http://www.flickr.com/photos/chefranden/ and may be seen on Flickr.

Work in Progress

Maybe for the next tutorial . . . ?



The photograph from which this study is derived is by http://www.flickr.com/photos/chefranden/ and may be seen on Flickr.

SVG Flower with leaves in Inkscape

The purpose of the demonstration:

Integrate samples from the Open Clip Art Library into a design of my own to quickly complete a prototype.

Tools used to create the 3d-text demo:

• Inkscape 0.46

The intended audience and required skills:

Beginning Inkscape users: familiarity with drawing and smoothing shaped drawn with the Bezier tool, duplicating shapes, practiced at using gradients for shading and lighting effects, and exporting selections to PNG.

How to make this image using Inkscape 0.46.

Uses sample sources for the leaves from:
summer leaves by tom on openclipart DOT org
simple spring, new leaves by tom on openclipart DOT org

Helpful Resources

The Open Clip Art Library

Inkscape users may search for and import clip art from the Open Clip Art Library directly using the Inkscape graphical user interface. Use the following navigation:

File > Import From Open Clip Art Library.

3d Text in Inkscape

The purpose of the demonstration:

Adapt a great 3d ropes and tubes effect described by Ryan Lerch to logo text.

Tools used to create the 3d-text demo:

• Inkscape 0.46

The intended audience and required skills:

Beginning Inkscape users: familiarity with converting shapes and text to paths, clipping objects, and exporting selections to PNG.

How to make this image using Inkscape 0.46.

1. Type your text using a thick, bold-faced font. I used Arial Black (set to bold).
   


2. Follow the instructions by Ryan Lerch for creating the 3d rope effect.


3. Before making your first clone of the text, however, select your text and, using the following navigation in Inkscape, set the object to a path: Path > Object to Path.


4. The result of steps two and three from Ryan's tutorial should resemble the screen-shot below:
   


5. When I reached step number four in Ryan's tutorial, I substituted a gradient for a color. I flipped and rotated a rectangle that contained my blog's banner gradient, placed it below my 3d-text, and used Object > Clip > Set to fill the text with the gradient.
   
   

I hope that you too can give a slight twist to some of the insightful, online tutorials and achieve original graphics effects of your own.

Helpful Resources

There are lots of Inkscape tutorials related to various methods of affecting 3d text. Try this search to see of the most popular.