Hi everybody. I'm quite new to Inkscape, though I've already had the occasion of practicing it a bit for simple tasks. The "issue" I'm facing right now is to recreate one of my bike decals, this one:
I have to change the blue background and make it transparent, though. It all went well until I had to make the shadowing effect. I need to "cut" that black, blurred shadow (which I've been able to obtain with the shadow filter, rather easily) in the background using the letters profile in the foreground. The problem is if I make a boolean difference between the light lining and the shadow, I don't get a "sharp cut", but I still get a blurred profile like this:
Filters - such as blurring - are a visual thing that are applied as one of the last steps of rendering. No matter how you cut an object, if it's got a blur filter on it the cut edge will also be blurred.
What you need is clipping. This applies after the filter effects, so does let you apply a sharp edge to a blurred object. This is a rather complex shape for clipping, especially for a beginner. I'd suggest experimenting with clipping simpler objects first to get a feel for how it works. If you need more information about clipping in general, take a look at part 13 of my tutorial series in Full Circle Magazine (free download): http://www.peppertop.com/blog/?p=1563
For vinyl cut decals, one thing to keep in mind is that most shops will charge a setup fee to put your design into their system you can search batter at topvinylcutters.com. For as long as it takes me to digitize and clean up an image, I usually just charge by the hour. If it takes an hour for me to do that, then it's $60. I usually just wave the fee when it takes me 5 minutes.
Once it's in the computer system, however I will cut as many as people want and give them pretty big volume discounts. You're not going to get that with decals painted on.
Please support your local business with whatever you do for the love of God.
Beginners' Questions Cutting shadows
Inkscape.org
Hi everybody. I'm quite new to Inkscape, though I've already had the occasion of practicing it a bit for simple tasks.
The "issue" I'm facing right now is to recreate one of my bike decals, this one:
https://i.postimg.cc/BbXCNZfC/original-decal.jpg
I have to change the blue background and make it transparent, though. It all went well until I had to make the shadowing effect. I need to "cut" that black, blurred shadow (which I've been able to obtain with the shadow filter, rather easily) in the background using the letters profile in the foreground. The problem is if I make a boolean difference between the light lining and the shadow, I don't get a "sharp cut", but I still get a blurred profile like this:
https://i.postimg.cc/tRwdpjHL/Schermata-da-2020-05-17-21-52-46.png
Hope these images will clarify what I mean and that I'm not infringing any copyright by posting them. This is the result I'm seeking:
https://i.postimg.cc/5NzG8JqV/RASTER-TDM-logo-transp.jpg
How should I proceed?
Filters - such as blurring - are a visual thing that are applied as one of the last steps of rendering. No matter how you cut an object, if it's got a blur filter on it the cut edge will also be blurred.
What you need is clipping. This applies after the filter effects, so does let you apply a sharp edge to a blurred object. This is a rather complex shape for clipping, especially for a beginner. I'd suggest experimenting with clipping simpler objects first to get a feel for how it works. If you need more information about clipping in general, take a look at part 13 of my tutorial series in Full Circle Magazine (free download): http://www.peppertop.com/blog/?p=1563
Nailed it, @Xav, thanks!
I put all the pieces of the cutting shape together with a boolean union and clipped the underlying shadow.
I'll surely take a look to your tutorials. Cheers!
For vinyl cut decals, one thing to keep in mind is that most shops will charge a setup fee to put your design into their system you can search batter at topvinylcutters.com. For as long as it takes me to digitize and clean up an image, I usually just charge by the hour. If it takes an hour for me to do that, then it's $60. I usually just wave the fee when it takes me 5 minutes.
Once it's in the computer system, however I will cut as many as people want and give them pretty big volume discounts. You're not going to get that with decals painted on.
Please support your local business with whatever you do for the love of God.