Inkscape

The Gaussian Blur filter in Inkscape 0.45 can also be applied to achieve a variety of different lighting effects. This image by Chromakode, based on a photo, demonstrates the possibilities for volumetric lighting and dense fog effects. Note the diffuse glow at the edges of the silhouette, and the haloing where the light shines through the arms (the halo shapes are visible in the outline). Blurring is also used to give the hair a low-detail painterly effect.

The Gaussian Blur filter support in Inkscape 0.45 made possible some extremely photorealistic art. This Lamborghini Gallardo was created by Michael Grosberg based on a photo and uses blurs extensively for soft shadows and halos around bright reflections. The SVG file is available in Inkscape distribution. The screenshot also shows a second window with an Outline view of the same file (green outlines are clipping paths).

This is another photorealistic car image, created by Konstantin Rotkevich, using blur for soft shadows and highlights. Note the Blur slider at the bottom of the Fill and Stroke dialog. The SVG file is available in the Inkscape distribution.

A new powerful extension, Pattern along path, allows you to bend, repeat and/or stretch a pattern object (which can be a path or a group) along a "skeleton" path. This makes it easy to create a variety of patterned/shaped strokes, or smoothly bend a text line along a path.

Inkscape 0.45 does not yet have gradient meshes. But with the addition of Gaussian Blur, this feature suddenly got within reach - so watch future versions for news in this area. This screenshot (SVG file here) explains the approach Inkscape will likely take to implement this feature in a fully SVG-compatible way. Some of the code to be used for gradient meshes is currently in a separate library available from lib2geom.sourceforge.net.

This screenshot demonstrates the use of Gaussian Blur for imitating the "depth of field" effect where different parts of an object are blurred to different extent depending on how far they are from you. Also you can see here our History dialog with a complete list of actions in performed on the document the current editing session.

This is not a photo! It's a vector drawing done in Inkscape 0.45 by Luciano Lourenco, using the Gaussian Blur filter.

John Bintz demonstrates his use of Inkscape for producing comics.

A new group of extensions in the Color submenu of the Effects menu allows you to adjust all colors of a selection at once. These commands affect both fill and stroke colors, including gradients (but not bitmaps). The commands work recursively on groups. The only problem is that, being Python extensions, these commands may be quite slow on complex documents.

One of the effects made possible by Gaussian blur is curvy "ropes" or "tubes" with amazingly life-like shading. This screenshot demonstrates how you can use clones and clipping to not only create such a 3D rope but also ensure that it currectly updates when you update its original shape (SVG file here).