Inkscape 0.48 Illustrator's Cookbook 109 recipes to create scalable vector graphics with Inkscape Mihaela Jurković Rigel Di Scala Inkscape 0.48 Illustrator's Cookbook Copyright © 2011 Packt Publishing All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embedded in critical articles or reviews. Every effort has been made in the preparation of this book to ensure the accuracy of the information presented. However, the information contained in this book is sold without warranty, either express or implied. Neither the authors, nor Packt Publishing, and its dealers and distributors will be held liable for any damages caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by this book. Packt Publishing has endeavored to provide trademark information about all of the companies and products mentioned in this book by the appropriate use of capitals. However, Packt Publishing cannot guarantee the accuracy of this information. First published: April 2011 Production Reference: 1180411 Published by Packt Publishing Ltd. 32 Lincoln Road Olton Birmingham, B27 6PA, UK. ISBN 978-1-849512-66-4 www.packtpub.com Cover Image by Asher Wishkerman ([email protected]) Credits Authors Editorial Team Leader Mihaela Jurković Akshara Aware Rigel Di Scala Project Team Leader Reviewer Priya Mukherji Issa Mahasneh Project Coordinator Acquisition Editor Jovita Pinto Dilip Venkatesh Proofreader Development Editor Aaron Nash Hyacintha D'Souza Production Coordinator Technical Editors Kruthika Bangera Vanjeet D'souza Cover Work Conrad Sardinha Kruthika Bangera Copy Editor Neha Shetty Indexer Hemangini Bari About the Authors Mihaela Jurković is the owner of a small Croatian web development shop. Drupal, Inkscape, and Linux are the most common words in her open source dictionary. In addition to being a friendly ghost on the Inkscape forum she also enjoys photography, hiking, TED talks, and lolcats. Rigel Di Scala discovered computer graphics on a Commodore VIC-20 as a young child. Before going insane trying to render artistic landscapes using only the limited character set of his primitive 8-bit computer, he upgraded to a CBM Amiga 500 and started creating his first bitmaps with Dan Silva's Deluxe Paint II. During his college years he started working part-time as a Web developer and consultant for several institutions and companies, and later as a system administrator, journalist, and editor in the computer games industry. Today he works as a web application developer for an IT company based in Milan. He promotes and uses open-source technology exclusively in his projects. Inkscape is his tool of choice for developing vector graphics. In his free time, he likes to freeclimb, skydive, and read Reddit. I would like to thank my family for their constant support in everything I do. About the Reviewer Issa Mahasneh is an independent open source consultant with relevant experience in web development and design using open source technologies. Issa got a B.Sc. in Computer Science from the Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST) and worked as a supervisor of the open source department in a software company located in Amman. For years, he has been involved in several projects including Drupal, Songbird, and Mozilla. Since 2009, he is the president of the Jordan Open Source Association (http:// jordanopensource.org), a non-profit organization that promotes Free Software and Free Culture in Jordan and the Arab World. A frequent speaker in open source conferences and events, Issa also organizes local BarCamps, Drupal Meetups, and Linux installation fests. I would like to thank my parents, my brother, and my sister. A special thanks to my one-year old nephew, Muhammad, who made the review of this book more challenging by randomly pressing keys on my keyboard and by constantly trying to turn off my PC! www.PacktPub.com Support files, eBooks, discount offers and more You might want to visit www.PacktPub.com for support files and downloads related to your book. Did you know that Packt offers eBook versions of every book published, with PDF and ePub files available? You can upgrade to the eBook version at www.PacktPub.com and as a print book customer, you are entitled to a discount on the eBook copy. Get in touch with us at [email protected] for more details. At www.PacktPub.com, you can also read a collection of free technical articles, sign up for a range of free newsletters and receive exclusive discounts and offers on Packt books and eBooks. http://PacktLib.PacktPub.com Do you need instant solutions to your IT questions? PacktLib is Packt's online digital book library. 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Table of Contents Preface 1 Chapter 1: Creating and Editing Objects 7 Introduction 7 Creating and editing 2D geometric shapes 8 Creating freehand and straight lines 12 Editing paths using the Node tool 15 Creating paths using the Pen (Bezier) tool 19 Creating smooth paths with Spiro Spline 21 Creating calligraphic shapes 22 Using the Eraser tool 25 Creating and editing 3D boxes 26 Creating and editing text 29 Clipping 31 Masking 33 Path operations 35 Chapter 2: Editing Colors 41 Introduction 41 Changing fill and stroke color using a palette 41 Making objects partially transparent 44 Creating linear gradients 47 Recreating HAL 9000 using radial gradients 54 Patterns 59 Picking and assigning colors with the Dropper tool 62 Adjusting hue, lightness, saturation, and stroke width using Color Gestures 65 Different color icon sets using RGB Barrel 68 Chapter 3: Speeding Up Your Workflow 71 Introduction 71 Autosaving documents 72 Designing plate rims using Layers 74 Table of Contents Geometric illusions using Grids 78 Creating a simple flashlight using Guides 83 Creating a stylized flower using Snapping 85 Leaflet design using Align and Distribute 88 Creating your own custom color swatches 91 Creating your own color palette 93 More time-saving tips 94 Importing drawings from OpenClipArt 97 Chapter 4: Creating and Editing Clones 99 Introduction 99 Drawing clock dial markers using clones 99 Drawing a colorful grid of tiled clones 103 Changing icon colors using tiled clones 106 Drawing clock dial markers using tiled clones 109 Creating halftones using tiled clones 110 Creating a bokeh effect using tiled clones 112 Creating a kaleidoscopic pattern using tiled clones 114 Drawing a tree with cloned leaves using the Spray tool 117 Clipping with clones 121 Chapter 5: Live Path Effects 123 Introduction 123 Bending paths 124 Using Pattern Along Path 127 Using Envelope Deformation 129 Interpolating sub-paths 131 Stitching sub-paths 134 Creating gears 136 Creating hatches (rough) 137 Sketching shapes 138 Constructing grids 139 Creating rulers 140 Creating knots 141 Generating VonKoch fractals 142 Chapter 6: Extensions 145 Introduction 145 Setting Color Markers to Match Stroke 146 Using Whirl 147 Rendering 3D polyhedrons and wireframe spheres 149 Rendering barcodes 151 Rendering calendars 152 ii Table of Contents Using Render Grid, Cartesian Grid, and Polar Grid 153 Rendering spirographs 155 Rendering L-systems 158 Rendering functions and parametric curves 160 Rendering printing marks 162 Playing "connect the dots" with Number Nodes 163 Creating irregular edges 164 Chapter 7: SVG Filters 167 Introduction 167 Blurring 168 Creating irregular edges using filters 170 Using lighting effects 172 Creating a red wax seal 174 Creating a brushed steel effect 178 Creating a water surface effect 179 Filtering all objects in a layer 181 Creating your own filter from scratch 182 Chapter 8: Putting it All Together 185 Introduction 185 Creating a wallpaper 186 Exporting a wallpaper in different formats 189 Hatching over a photo using the Calligraphy tool 192 Creating a coloring book using the Paint Bucket tool 194 Rail sleepers using markers 198 Creating a woven straw mat 200 Assembling a modern chair using the 3D Box tool 202 Creating a flow chart using connectors 204 Chapter 9: Raster and Almost Raster 209 Introduction 209 Exporting to PNG with different dpi 210 Importing raster images of different dpi 213 Isolating part of a raster image 215 Using raster extensions 217 Creating gradient meshes 219 Painting a mosaic using the Tweak tool 221 Tracing bitmaps 223 Manually tracing a red wax seal 228 Creating a photorealistic mobile phone 234 iii Table of Contents Chapter 10: Web Graphics Preparation 239 Introduction 239 Creating "Aqua" style buttons 240 Creating a reflection effect 242 Creating curled stickers 244 Creating a golden award with a ribbon 246 Repeating backgrounds using Tiled Clones 250 Creating a button to use with the CSS Sliding Doors technique 253 Creating rollover images 257 Creating small icons and favicons 259 Creating a 960 Grid System template 261 Creating a web page mockup 262 Slicing a web page mockup for website use 266 Chapter 11: SVG in Websites 269 Introduction 269 Creating an interactive map for a web game 270 Creating an editable business chart 275 Creating a navigation menu 282 Creating an interactive physics simulation 288 Creating a slideshow presentation with JessyInk 293 Chapter 12: Draw Freely 299 Introduction 299 Compiling the document metadata 299 Command-line interface (CLI) 302 Compiling development builds on Linux 306 Modifying an existing extension – Darker extended 309 Creating an extension – object guides 312 Index 319 iv Preface Inkscape is frequently mentioned, and lauded, as one of the best examples of open-source software available today.