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Inkscape: Guide to a Vector Drawing Program (Digital Short Cut), 2nd Edition

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Inkscape: Guide to a Vector Drawing Program (Digital Short Cut), 2nd Edition

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Description

  • Copyright 2009
  • Edition: 2nd
  • eBook (Watermarked)
  • ISBN-10: 0-13-700472-9
  • ISBN-13: 978-0-13-700472-0

    Inkscape, An Open-Source Vector Drawing Program is THE GUIDE to the Inkscape program. The shorter, web-based, version is linked to directly under the program's Help menu. With Inkscape one can produce a wide variety of art, from photo-realistic drawings to organizational charts. Inkscape uses SVG, a powerful vector based drawing language and W3C web standard, as its native format. SVG drawings can be directly viewed by web browsers such as Firefox and Opera. A subset of SVG has been adopted by the mobile phone market. Inkscape is available free for Windows, Macintosh, Linux, and Solaris operating systems.

    This Short Cut is both an introduction and reference for the Inkscape drawing program. The first third is devoted to eleven tutorials that progress in difficulty from very basic to very complex. The remainder covers each facet of Inkscape in detail. Updated for Inkscape v0.46, this Short Cut includes complete coverage of new features including: SVG filters, "Live Path Effects", the 3D box tool, and the Tweak Tool. Advance topics covered include the use of Inkscape's powerful tiling tool, built-in bitmap tracing, and SVG use on the web. Additionally, it includes plenty of tips (and warnings) about the use of Inkscape and SVG.

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Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments .............................................................................................................................. x

About the Author .............................................................................................................................. xi

Overview of What Is in This Short Cut ................................................................................................ xii

Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 1

How to Use This Book ............................................................................................................... 1

Vector Graphics .......................................................................................................................... 2

SVG ........................................................................................................................................ 4

The Inkscape Program ................................................................................................................. 4

Help ....................................................................................................................................... 4

1. Quick Start ................................................................................................................................... 6

The Anatomy of the Inkscape Window ........................................................................................... 6

Dockable Dialogs ............................................................................................................... 9

The Swedish Flag - A Short Example .......................................................................................... 10

The European Flag - A More Elaborate Example ............................................................................ 20

A Hiking Club Logo - An Exercise in Paths .................................................................................. 24

The Northern Pacific Railway Logo - A Tracing Example ................................................................ 35

A Box for Cards - An Isometric Projection ................................................................................... 42

A Can of Soup - A Three-Dimension Drawing with Gradients .......................................................... 48

A Vine Design - A Tiling Example .............................................................................................. 60

A Neon Sign - Animation .......................................................................................................... 69

A Bank Note - Security Features ................................................................................................. 84

A Bottle - Photorealism ............................................................................................................ 95

2. Files ......................................................................................................................................... 104

Opening and Saving Files ......................................................................................................... 104

Importing Files ...................................................................................................................... 105

Open Clip Art Library ..................................................................................................... 107

Exporting Files ....................................................................................................................... 107

Exporting PNG (Portable Network Graphic) Files ................................................................. 107

Exporting Other File Types .............................................................................................. 109

Printing Files ......................................................................................................................... 116

Vacuuming Files ..................................................................................................................... 116

3. Changing the View ...................................................................................................................... 117

Panning the Canvas ................................................................................................................ 117

Zooming the Canvas ............................................................................................................... 117

Miscellaneous View Commands ................................................................................................. 118

Hide/Show ..................................................................................................................... 118

Hide/Show Dialogs .......................................................................................................... 118

Outline ......................................................................................................................... 118

Full Screen Mode .......................................................................................................... 119

Switch Windows ............................................................................................................. 119

Duplicate Window .......................................................................................................... 119

Icon Preview ................................................................................................................. 119

4. Editing Basics ............................................................................................................................. 121

Undo and Redo ....................................................................................................................... 121

Selecting Objects .................................................................................................................... 121

Selecting with the Mouse ................................................................................................ 122

Selecting with the Keyboard ............................................................................................ 123

Selecting with the Find Dialog ......................................................................................... 123

Copying, Pasting, and Deleting Objects ....................................................................................... 124

Clones .................................................................................................................................. 125

Ordering Objects (Z-order) ....................................................................................................... 126

Groups ................................................................................................................................. 126

Layers .................................................................................................................................. 127

Layers Dialog ................................................................................................................. 127

Layers Menu .................................................................................................................. 128

Status Bar ...................................................................................................................... 129

5. Positioning and Transforming ........................................................................................................ 130

Inkscape Coordinates ............................................................................................................... 130

Transformations ...................................................................................................................... 131

Transforms with the Mouse ............................................................................................... 132

Transforms with the Keyboard ........................................................................................... 133

Transforms with the Tool Controls Bar ............................................................................... 134

Transforms with the Transform Dialog ................................................................................ 135

Transforms with Paste Size Commands ............................................................................... 137

Transforms with the XML Editor ....................................................................................... 138

Snapping ............................................................................................................................... 138

Targets .......................................................................................................................... 138

Snap Parameters .............................................................................................................. 141

Alignment and Distribution of Objects ........................................................................................ 142

Align ........................................................................................................................... 143

Distribute: Uniform ........................................................................................................ 144

Distribute: Non-Uniform ................................................................................................. 144

Distribute: Remove Overlaps ............................................................................................ 145

Rows and Columns ........................................................................................................ 145

6. Geometric Shapes ........................................................................................................................ 147

Rectangles and Squares ............................................................................................................ 147

3D Boxes .............................................................................................................................. 149

Perspectives ................................................................................................................... 150

Attributes ....................................................................................................................... 151

Ellipses, Circles, and Arcs ........................................................................................................ 152

Regular Polygons and Stars ..................................................................................................... 153

Spirals .................................................................................................................................. 155

7. Paths ........................................................................................................................................ 158

Bezier Curves ........................................................................................................................ 158

Creating Paths ....................................................................................................................... 159

The Freehand Tool ......................................................................................................... 159

The Bezier Tool ............................................................................................................. 160

The Calligraphy Tool ...................................................................................................... 162

Paths from Other Objects ................................................................................................ 167

Editing Paths ......................................................................................................................... 168

Using the Node Tool ....................................................................................................... 168

Path Offset Commands ................................................................................................... 176

Miscellaneous Path Commands .......................................................................................... 176

Path Operations ..................................................................................................................... 177

Live Path Effects (LPE) .......................................................................................................... 179

Bend Path ..................................................................................................................... 180

Pattern Along Path ......................................................................................................... 180

Gears ........................................................................................................................... 182

Stitch Sub-Paths ............................................................................................................. 183

8. Text ......................................................................................................................................... 187

Creating Text .......................................................................................................................... 187

Entering Regular Text ...................................................................................................... 188

Entering Flowed Text ....................................................................................................... 188

Selecting Text ......................................................................................................................... 188

Editing Text ........................................................................................................................... 189

Formatting Text ...................................................................................................................... 189

Formatting with the Tool Controls ...................................................................................... 190

Formatting with the Keyboard ........................................................................................... 191

Formatting with the Text and Font Dialog ........................................................................... 191

Kerning, Shifting, and Rotating Characters .................................................................................. 192

Kerning and Shifting ....................................................................................................... 193

Rotating ......................................................................................................................... 193

Text on a Path ........................................................................................................................ 193

Text in a Shape ...................................................................................................................... 195

9.  Attributes ................................................................................................................................ 197

Fill and Stroke Paint ................................................................................................................ 197

Flat (Solid) Colors ........................................................................................................... 198

Gradients ...................................................................................................................... 207

Patterns ........................................................................................................................ 214

Fill Rule ....................................................................................................................... 218

Stroke Style .......................................................................................................................... 219

Stroke Width .................................................................................................................. 219

Join Style ..................................................................................................................... 219

Cap Style ..................................................................................................................... 220

Dashes ......................................................................................................................... 221

Markers ......................................................................................................................... 221

Complex Strokes ............................................................................................................ 222

10. Tweak Tool .............................................................................................................................. 224

Tweaking Paths ..................................................................................................................... 224

Tweaking Colors .................................................................................................................... 226

11. Paint Bucket Tool ..................................................................................................................... 227

Simple Use ............................................................................................................................ 227

Filling Fidelity ........................................................................................................................ 228

Filling Multiple Regions ........................................................................................................... 229

Closing Gaps .......................................................................................................................... 229

Adding to a Fill ...................................................................................................................... 230

12. Clipping and Masking ............................................................................................................... 231

Clipping ............................................................................................................................... 231

Masking ............................................................................................................................... 231

13. Filter Effects ............................................................................................................................. 233

Basic Use .............................................................................................................................. 233

Filter Effects Dialog ................................................................................................................ 234

Adding a Filter ............................................................................................................... 234

Defining a Filter ............................................................................................................. 234

Applying a Filter ............................................................................................................. 234

Mini Tutorial - A Drop Shadow ............................................................................................... 235

Color Filter Primitives ............................................................................................................. 238

Color Matrix ................................................................................................................. 238

Component Transfer ....................................................................................................... 239

Compositing Filter Primitives .................................................................................................... 240

Blend ........................................................................................................................... 240

Composite .................................................................................................................... 243

Merge .......................................................................................................................... 244

Fill Filter Primitives ................................................................................................................ 244

Flood ........................................................................................................................... 244

Image ........................................................................................................................... 244

Tile .............................................................................................................................. 245

Turbulence .................................................................................................................... 245

Lighting Filters Primitives ........................................................................................................ 247

Distant Light Source ........................................................................................................ 249

Point Light Source .......................................................................................................... 249

Spot Light Source ........................................................................................................... 250

Pixel Manipulation Filter Primitives ........................................................................................... 250

Convolve Matrix ............................................................................................................ 250

Displacement Map ......................................................................................................... 254

Gaussian Blur ................................................................................................................ 255

Morphology .................................................................................................................. 258

Offset ........................................................................................................................... 258

Complex Examples .................................................................................................................. 259

Emboss .......................................................................................................................... 259

Neon ............................................................................................................................. 259

Stereoscopic Pictures ....................................................................................................... 260

Solar Flare ..................................................................................................................... 261

14. XML Editor .............................................................................................................................. 263

Basic Usage ........................................................................................................................... 263

Editing XML Nodes ................................................................................................................ 264

Examples .............................................................................................................................. 265

Adding Color to a Marker Arrow ...................................................................................... 265

Underlined Text ............................................................................................................. 265

15. Tiling .................................................................................................................................... 267

Symmetry Tab ....................................................................................................................... 268

Shift Tab .............................................................................................................................. 271

Scale Tab .............................................................................................................................. 274

Rotation Tab ......................................................................................................................... 277

Blur and Opacity Tab .............................................................................................................. 278

Blur ............................................................................................................................. 279

Opacity ........................................................................................................................ 280

Color Tab ............................................................................................................................. 280

Trace .................................................................................................................................. 282

Tricks ................................................................................................................................. 287

16. Tracing Bitmaps ........................................................................................................................ 290

Single Scans ........................................................................................................................... 292

Brightness Cutoff ............................................................................................................ 292

Edge Detection ............................................................................................................... 293

Color Quantization .......................................................................................................... 293

Multiple Scans ........................................................................................................................ 294

Brightness Steps .............................................................................................................. 294

Colors ........................................................................................................................... 295

Grays ............................................................................................................................ 295

Options .......................................................................................................................... 296

Common Options .................................................................................................................... 297

SIOX .................................................................................................................................. 298

17. Connectors ............................................................................................................................... 299

Creating Connectors ............................................................................................................... 299

Modifying Connectors ............................................................................................................ 300

Routing Connectors ................................................................................................................ 300

18. Effects .................................................................................................................................... 301

Color .................................................................................................................................. 302

Desaturate ..................................................................................................................... 302

Brighter ........................................................................................................................ 302

Custom ........................................................................................................................ 303

Darker .......................................................................................................................... 303

Grayscale ...................................................................................................................... 304

Less Hue ...................................................................................................................... 304

Less Light .................................................................................................................... 305

Less Saturation .............................................................................................................. 305

More Hue ..................................................................................................................... 306

More Light ................................................................................................................... 306

More Saturation ............................................................................................................. 307

Negative ....................................................................................................................... 307

Randomize .................................................................................................................... 308

Remove Blue ................................................................................................................ 308

Remove Red ................................................................................................................. 309

Remove Green ............................................................................................................... 309

Replace ........................................................................................................................ 310

Export .................................................................................................................................. 310

Export Group ................................................................................................................ 310

Fretboard Designer ................................................................................................................. 311

Generate from Path ................................................................................................................. 311

Blur Edge ..................................................................................................................... 311

Dimensions ................................................................................................................... 311

Extrude ........................................................................................................................ 312

Inside/Outside Halo ........................................................................................................ 313

Interpolate .................................................................................................................... 314

Pattern Along Path ......................................................................................................... 315

Template ............................................................................................................................... 321

Perfect-Bound Cover ....................................................................................................... 321

Images ................................................................................................................................. 322

Extract One Image .......................................................................................................... 322

Embed All Images ........................................................................................................... 322

Modify Path ........................................................................................................................... 322

Add Nodes ................................................................................................................... 322

Color Markers to Match Stroke ........................................................................................ 323

Edge 3D ....................................................................................................................... 323

Envelope ........................................................................................................................ 324

Flatten Bezier ................................................................................................................ 324

Fractalize ...................................................................................................................... 325

Jitter Nodes ................................................................................................................... 326

Fractal (Koch) ............................................................................................................... 327

Perspective .................................................................................................................... 328

Radius Randomizer ........................................................................................................ 329

Rubber Stretch ............................................................................................................... 329

Straighten Segments ....................................................................................................... 329

Whirl ........................................................................................................................... 331

Raster ................................................................................................................................. 332

Render ................................................................................................................................. 334

Barcode ........................................................................................................................ 334

Function Plotter ............................................................................................................. 335

Gear ............................................................................................................................ 336

Grid ............................................................................................................................. 337

LaTeX Formula ............................................................................................................. 337

L-System (Fractal-Lindenmayer) ....................................................................................... 338

Random Tree ................................................................................................................ 339

Spirograph .................................................................................................................... 339

Text .................................................................................................................................... 342

Lorem Ipsum ................................................................................................................. 342

Replace Text ................................................................................................................. 342

Change Case ................................................................................................................. 343

Visualize Path ......................................................................................................................... 343

Measure Path ................................................................................................................ 343

Draw Handles ............................................................................................................... 344

Number Nodes .............................................................................................................. 344

19. SVG and the Web ...................................................................................................................... 345

Simple SVG Display ............................................................................................................... 345

Using Object Tags .......................................................................................................... 345

Using Name Spaces ......................................................................................................... 346

Adding Links ........................................................................................................................ 348

Using Style Sheets ................................................................................................................. 349

Simple Animation .................................................................................................................. 351

20. Customization ........................................................................................................................... 353

Inkscape Preferences Dialog .................................................................................................... 353

Inkscape Configuration Files ..................................................................................................... 353

Preferences ..................................................................................................................... 354

Custom Templates ........................................................................................................... 355

Custom Swatches or Palettes ............................................................................................. 355

Custom Markers .............................................................................................................. 355

Custom Keyboard Shortcuts .............................................................................................. 356

21. Using the Command Line ............................................................................................................ 358

General Options ...................................................................................................................... 358

Export Options ...................................................................................................................... 359

Format Options ............................................................................................................... 359

Export Region Options ..................................................................................................... 360

Export Property Options ................................................................................................... 361

Query Options ........................................................................................................................ 361

22. Challenges ............................................................................................................................... 363

Red Spiral ............................................................................................................................ 363

Knot ................................................................................................................................... 363

Squares ............................................................................................................................... 364

Pine Cone ............................................................................................................................. 364

Spiral Gyral .......................................................................................................................... 365

A. Inkview .................................................................................................................................... 366

B. File Format ............................................................................................................................... 367

Default Template File .............................................................................................................. 367

SVG Groups with Objects ........................................................................................................ 368

Groups of Objects ................................................................................................................... 368

Paths .................................................................................................................................... 369

Defs ..................................................................................................................................... 370

C. Spheres .................................................................................................................................... 371

Sphere with Gradient Shading and Shadow .................................................................................. 371

Sphere with Hatched Shading and Shadow .................................................................................. 371

Sphere with Dot Shading and Shadow ........................................................................................ 372

Sphere with Text Shading and Shadow ....................................................................................... 372

D. Solutions for Challenges .............................................................................................................. 373

Red Spiral .............................................................................................................................. 373

Knot .................................................................................................................................... 375

Squares ................................................................................................................................. 377

Pine Cone .............................................................................................................................. 378

Spiral Gyral ........................................................................................................................... 380

E. List of Dialogs ........................................................................................................................... 381

F. Tips for Illustrator Converts .......................................................................................................... 383

Key Mappings ........................................................................................................................ 383

Terminology ........................................................................................................................... 383

Glossary ....................................................................................................................................... 385

Index ........................................................................................................................................... 389

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