OK, here you can chat freely with the Challenger Clan. No set topics, so post images, animations, Inkscape tips, questions... and feel free to waffle.
This is not to replace the on-topic chitchat of the challenges,this thread exists only to avoid confused newcomers.
As this thread is likely to get looong, avoid posting images which are 1,000,000mb+ as the thread may load too slowly. If you need software (for your OS) to optimise images let me know.
@AlgotRuneman sorry to hear you are still experiencing issues. So, if I have understood correctly, you are able to export to png successfully, but you're having issues with popup warnings?
I was having export problems not too long ago with anything but png. I upgraded to the dev version and no issues for me now.
@Pacer the GUI export of PNG files requires an extra step to make them useful as web graphics.
The warnings occurred only when I was testing the Command Line export. I had not tried that process before. I reported them only to try to be complete in my comment at GitLab.
The CLI export properly assigned universal read permissions to the PNG file.
I'm reluctant to use the dev version as a production tool even though my daily stuff is trivial, and for personal fun. I don't want to deal with random issues.
The gif destroys the glow, but if I do it in video it keeps it. And the size is surprisingly small for 1080x1080 png images. I'll keep playing around to see if anything comes out 😄
I know most of you know him, but for those who still don't, subscribe to this thread to see the wonders of @Dillerkind. He is a great artist who creates amazing things with Inkscape 😱👏
Thanks @bleke. Yes, I had seen the video and downloaded the latest development version, but I didn't get to see anything. Maybe it's in a separate branch 🤔
@mrks9 apng (animated png) seems to be a good alternative to animated gif. The overall file size is smaller (in my experiment). It also seems less destructive and still loops.
Uah, thanks @pacer I didn't know that format and it is certainly much better than gif. Apparently it supports over 16 million colors as opposed to gif's 256. It also seems to handle transparencies better. As for the size, as I have read, it will be larger, but I think it makes up for it. First test and I see that it supports blur fantastically, which is impossible with gif 😱👍
@pacer Yes, thanks, I find it very useful. I did it in an online page, sure there are better options, but well...The gif you used I did it in gimp and yes, full coincidence, I put 200 😆 This last one was just to show that it supports blur, so I only used 5 png and I didn't take the ones of the lever in movement 😄
I agree, it is a mesmorizing animation, very flamelike... I wouldn't have a clue at this one (Hats off to you). I would very much like to know how you (@Lazur) produce your animations, if you do choose to do a tutorial.
Although, my laptop is really struggling with it. Any chance it could be recorded as a gif or apng and swapped?
I'm using daily build in Kubuntu here. I'm on 1.3dev, I have a little instability, but nothing that I can't recover, and I'm loving all new things. Especially multipages support and the new path effects menu, is really quick and It turned super easy to draw on Inkscape and make effects for social media pieces. I wish only that Inkscape had a better stylus support, like illustrator, so I would draw more lettering on it. But for me, everything is fine and really really great. I'm using inkscape since 2017 and it is better and smothier than ever in linux too
I don't know how to import good svg to blender. If you have some hints and tips please send me, I really need to know how is the better way to import it without losing some colors, gradients, and other elements. Everytime I try to import something more complex than some words I lost quality.
@jeff3rsn Glad your enjoying the new features. I'm with you regarding the stylus. I would like to see more features and refinement relating to artist workflow. It's the simple things I'm most interested in. I only use a few tools. I mostly use the bezier pen tool and the graphics tablet. I would like to see more refinements in the path effects (such as powerstroke and lattice deformation).
I expect, with more artists (like yourself) participating on the forum recently, the direction of the software will be positively influenced.
I agree, it is a mesmorizing animation, very flamelike... I wouldn't have a clue at this one (Hats off to you). I would very much like to know how you (@Lazur) produce your animations, if you do choose to do a tutorial. Although, my laptop is really struggling with it. Any chance it could be recorded as a gif or apng and swapped?
@pacer The morphing animation is covered by Tavmjong pretty much and I haven't delved deep into that.
I know 9vae generates such animations yet what I'm doing here is copy/pasting from the xml editor to notepad++.
It's more like a frame by frame animation in the sense you still have to produce each key shapes
so it's tedious and results in a large file.
Most useful if you can stretch out long periods for in-betweens and when the animation doesn't require too many "keys".
May worth checking it out if this can speed up the process:
I found the program "Enve" for simple SVG-Animations on the Inkscape-website. It seems to work fine and is easy to use. You add keyframes by clicking on the dots in the List at the bottom-left where all paths/objects are listed.
There have been some brilliant entries this month (in fact, I love every one of them). I am literally blown away and humbled by the quality of artwork.
I didn't expect to see so many animations too.
AND for the second month running we have smashed the record for most participation in a challenge!
Spoiler alert: December's challenge: Draw a Frosty Scene (banner coming soon) I love the variance of artwork I've been seeing recently, so this is open for you to interpret.
The current challenge is still officially open for another couple days. Unofficially, late entries are welcome too. :)
@Pacer, Thanks for the reminder. Somehow in the email generated out of your December contest post has a broken link. The address has an extra /I at the end.
I would recommend a quick edit to fix the link. I don't know if that will issue a new email, though.
@AlgotRuneman I'm not sure what the cause of that could be? I know the website has some issues with messaging... perhaps a bug. To clarify, is it a link sent out automatically from the set up of the new challenge or one of my comments in this thread or the Nov challenge thread?. I guess I don't get the automatic emails as it registers that I am the author of the thread?
@mrks9 I am shocked to hear that. You are very qualified! You have improved no end over the last year, not just in skill, but in concept.
If you break down the entries of previous winners and runners up, the things which set them apart (IMO) are concept and time taken. I know, given what you can produce in just a few days, that your entry would be awesome.
Of course, it is your decision, but your skill level is plenty high enough.
Thanks for that @pacer but I don't think so. For something like this I think you need to have a plan and I do everything on impulse. When I look at past work I often ask myself, how did I do that, what were the steps I followed to get that result? And sometimes the honest answer is: I don't remember, I couldn't repeat that illustration the way I did it.
@pacer That's another way of looking at it, right. But for the splash screen there are rules to follow in terms of size, fonts to use, etc. For those who are not fully dedicated to this, it seems to me that it is not as simple as just having an idea and putting it into practice. But well, maybe these are excuses due to the fear of confronting the challenge 😰😋
maybe these are excuses due to the fear of confronting the challenge
I think so. Most of what you produce would already be allowed (minus the GIMP bit).
Off the top of my head... the rules could be simplified to: Use only artwork you produced yourself (only in Inkscape) and if you use fonts, make sure they are 100% free to use. (Some font websites let you filter for this when you search). Grab a link to the font license and post it with the entry.
As far as the concept, the Vectors team is going to provide a theme (similar to the current challenges).
No nudity, profanity, politically motivated content or fan art...
So nothing new there.
I am doing the checks to make sure the entries are to standard, as I did last time (hopefully, not alone lol).
If an entry has an issue, the artist is allowed to modify it until is meets the rules.
It isn't just the winner who has their artwork showcased, we use other pieces for things like website banners, t-shirts, social posts, beta/dev edition about screens etc.
There is no graphic design guideline book for inkscape that I know of besides the very basics.
There is no graphic design team working with the project -the marketing team should discuss anything "necessary".
Which situation I feel is harder to win than an about screen contest.
How would one provide visual aid and guiding for the contest, when there isn't a strong visual guide even on how to use the logo?
In previous entries it's a recurring theme how the logo is stretched around, used with odd spacing, part of the background, having a different colour scheme etc.
Even if I'd find a glimpse of motivation to create such guidelines there is no guarantee whatsoever if that won't fall on deaf ears.
And not from participants entering the contest, but the other way around. It would hardly make it onto the contest's breaf page.
There is no motivation of the project to run these things (only?) professionally, why should I fight for some form of it?
So for me these rambling comes down to the conclusion
-if I want to put in serious work (as in, matching some form of my expectations for the project),
then it's already a lost cause.
It has to be as all specs work have to be -doing it for the experience, fun of it if you like.
Will see if I can come up with something for the heck of it.
Not saying it won't happen but can't say I'll definitely participate either.
@mrks9 would advise that the lack of experience shouldn't hold you back. It is the experience.
That is the realm of graphic design. Even a napkin drawing will be acceptable if that sells the product more.
What sells more (getting votes) will be chosen as the winner.
I'm totally against promoting to put in professional design for an unpayed gig, but as long as it's just for fun -and only in that case-, why not submit a design?
As far as I can tell, 'professional' only means that it's paid work. Since Inkscape doesn't pay, none of the contributions are professional. 🙂
However, if someone produces 'professional grade' work for Krita, maybe it's their way of contributing - paying if you will - to a project that maybe helps them earn money.
Or do you mean that skilled people should be excluded from making splash screens in order to let people with less experience have a better chance?
@Lazur I agree with you on branding. I think it would be a good idea to exclude the branding part from the artwork. That can be added by the team later and avoids confusion and inconsistency. I think that would help the artists to focus on the artwork.
If you think it will help, I will bring this up in the next meeting?
@mako-gfx To answer your question, these are little tricks that help me since I don't draw well. It's all about taking advantage of the tools, I think. I leave you a screenshot that I think explains it better. I would like to go into more detail, but my old machine can't handle that many nodes, so I use simplify.
@mrks9 that's a good way to make complex texture like paths :)
I've attached an svg that shows how to make a simple `mouse in / mouse out` layer display - which I used for my mushroom entry.
There is a javascript function called toggleObject(objectId)
It can be used on any object / layer- just add the id in the Object>Object Properties>Interactivity section. However it doesn't seem to have onmousenter in Inkscape so you have have to add manually - or use onmouseover instead ( which might be better )
@pacer I have no particular preference. But I do want to thank you for your work here throughout the year. And in case he reads this, I wanted to send a big shout out to @ken10001000 and wish him the best. Ken, we miss you 💙
For the Inkscape challenges, I will likely keep them "Inkscape accessible", in the sense that people are welcome to animate them if they choose to, but I don't want to exclude those who are new to SVG or don't have the skills or inclination to animate.
However, I have been thinking of adding some informal 'sister' challenges (maybe in this thread) for those who want to challenge themselves further. These will be focused on more advanced techniques and won't follow a specific theme or frequency. Animation may be part of it.
And, of course, in the nature of open chitchat, anyone is welcome to challenge other users.
The only thing I would ask is if you do post animations, it may be best (so we don't set everyone's laptops of fire) to post them in the finished artwork section of the forum and post a link here so we can see them.
The new year is arriving quickly, and I would love to hear your input for challenges. Is there anything you would like to get more practice in? Is there anything you have seen in Inkscape or Illustrator that you don't know how to do (feel free to link to artwork)? Also what were your favorite challenges, and (looking over the challenges of the last year) which challenge banners do you like best? I have some ideas, but I would love to hear yours!
More practice on focusing and seeing the big picture. Not getting lost in the details.
Developing a drawing style requiring less time/more matching with the pace of these challenges.
And in general, personally how not to feel bad about all that is lacking in the final result;
learnig the Bob Ross way: "There are no mistakes, just happy accidents."
My favorite challenge was probably the one with the glass theme. That hexagon loop was just in time, reflecting on an image uploaded to openclipart the other day.
Didn't had to look up source images for a derivative work, which is usually the case.
Also the springtime "pointillistic" landscape came the closest to an ideal timeframe for me, although that technique is hard to develop further. Suiting a raster editor better.
Hard to tell which banner stood out the most. If all the challenges had a thumbnail it would be easier to choose
at the challenges section instead of just plain text and an icon.
Guessing gathering them all in a single new topic may be a better option,
with each post attaching the banner with a link to the announcement post.
Maybe even it worths stickying it?
Remember the open comic challenge at the late forum?
It was a fun one in my opinion. Involved interaction and improving on other people's ideas one after another.
@Lazur Thanks for the comment, I appreciate your insight, food for thought. I hadn't seen the open comic, but it is very similar to an idea I had for a side challenge.
Following on from a previous comment (apologies for the repetition), I am looking at potential challenges for the next year.
If you have time could you vote (via the link below) on your favorite challenges and banners, feel free to add comments of what sort of challenges you would like.
Don't worry if you didn't take part in them all, this is just to get an idea of what challenges appeal to you most.
I have the pleasure of checking the entries for the Inkscape About Screen Contest in just a few month's time.
If there is anyone here who would prefer not to enter the challenge, that would like to help, please let me know.
The task involves:
- checking the dimensions - checking for non-free fonts - checking that the artwork is original - and making sure the artwork is in line with the rules (no nudity etc...).
It looks like 2022 is over. So, that can only mean one thing! It's time for the January Inkscape Challenge. Get ready to flex your imagination, as this month's challenge is to create an abstract design.
I dont know if i´m too harsh but I would welcome to keep the gallery more organized than it is now. I know the challenge is just for fun and we are encouraged to post multiple of our images but I would like to see just the best of the best we can achieve in the gallery. If we create artwork in masses we could use this forum instead to post our images. To me a smaller gallery has the benefits, that its more fun and easier to explore the images, especially on mobile phones. What do you think?😊
I am all for freedom to like or dislike Inkscspe art postings. But who decides what is "best of the best"?
How does one encourage sharing from the beginner level to the "advanced" skill levels and say this one has a blue ribbon or 4 stars or whatever. Is that not best done by participants honestly rating (through icons and comments) what is being shared? Dishonesty never helps anyone. True, honest feedback does. Productive criticism does. And along with all that, showing folks just how to do "better" helps. This applies to me and others who join in to express themselves, be motivated, grow and challenge one another.
@mako-gfx I can see why you say that. The way the challenges work, currently, is based on rules which existed before my time. I guess the word "challenge" is used loosely in this case (as the team prefers that the challenge is non-competitive). I think the idea behind it is community involvement and community building. Which I am pleased to see we are achieving (gradually).
It is fantastic to see challengers like yourself producing such high level artwork and I would like to see more of it.
Over the last year, I have taken the approach of trying to help everyone to improve their illustration by setting difficult challenges (at the same time as challenging myself to create a suitable banner in a reasonable time).
Each 'challenger' starts somewhere different, moves at a different pace and they may not all reach the same heights. I think this is OK. I love to see people encouraging each other; and, for some, ranking artwork may be unsettling.
On the other side of the coin, I would like to see more advanced pieces (which would help people to see the extent of Inkscape's capabilities as a professional tool), and I think there is a place for that in the forum. If you would prefer a more competitive challenge, I would be happy to start a parallel thread in the forum. Something where a winner is chosen by vote perhaps? How does that sound?
@mako-gfx In my opinion the strength ofthis series is consistency. Challenging ourselves to step out of our comfort zone for the sake of it, less focusing on the actual outcome.
Anything limiting the number of "entries" is a bad idea from thatpoint of view.
For me personally it's a bit of a roadblock that I tend to get too serious out of perfectionism.
On the other hand I'd still like to see more thought out work from others too. More long projects in the work in progress section with in-between results.
Other than that, we can have challenges running simultaneously. Coming up with a fitting challenge is a challenge on its own.
Sorry I have not been as active in the chat over the last month. I have been focusing a lot of my effort on administration for the about screen contest (coming very soon). But I did see some great entries over the last month. Thanks as always for being such good sports and supporting and encouraging each other!
@AlgotRuneman I'm glad you like it. I already have the t-shirt at home. Unfortunately, the font I used is only free for personal use (Dark Underground) and I like to honor what is an unspoken agreement. But if you are interested I can share here the file with the badge and the character for you to fill it to your liking and print it.
@ken "But who decides what is "best of the best"?" -> Just upload entrys that you think are the best you created as if you decided what to put in a Portfolio. At least thats what I meant by saying "best of the best".
My point was not to have more/harder challenge but to keep it more organized and balanced. Because I really like the respectful communication in the thread and that it is open for all skill-levels.
"Anything limiting the number of "entries" is a bad idea from thatpoint of view."
Just limit the number of entries in the official challenge thread. As in every Challenge-Text explained, you can always post work in the Wip-Thread. Or another Idea: Having two threads for the Challenge: One with the final entries and one for wip? ... Those are just thoughts about how to improve the challenge. I am still super thankful for the work you do for us @Pacer ☺
I don't know if this is a bit of "OCD" on my part, but I noticed that the About Screen Contest template branding is not aligned with the version number 🧐😊
Okay, that makes sense. But then, if instead of lowering the version number you raise the branding to align it with that number, it would still remain the same width at the top and right.
On the subject of badges, I am attempting to design a badge (an award) for (multiple) outdoor activity businesses. I would like to incorporate related themes (maybe a UK woodland animal, an archer/bow, a mushroom or others...??) into the graphic while keeping the badge flat and simple (1-2 colours). The award may say something like recommended activity venue 2023. Do you have any thoughts or ideas on this?
@pacer Right now I can't think of anything. Except that if it's an outdoor activity venue, maybe something like tents around a fire. Of course, this would be something more universal and perhaps miss out on the Britain-specific part. Or maybe the great Nick can be of some inspiration to you 😄https://youtu.be/VaJWiVZdqSo
Okay, that makes sense. But then, if instead of lowering the version number you raise the branding to align it with that number, it would still remain the same width at the top and right.
The "INKSCAPE" is all capitals vs. the versioning's "v" is not. If they are top aligned, it will still be off because the text baselines are misaligned.
Not to mention the (R) symbol.
The placement of the logo was decided on before the positioning of the versioning and it was decided the padding is just the right amount.
My initial suggestion on the top-left aligned logo had smaller margins and got rejected.
All is recorded on the chat. For some insight/summary of making this huge change with a given template:
Pulled all the about screen entries starting with 0.91 and removed everything but the branding elements.
Organised them into layout categories and concluded the top left, the middle left and a centre aligned layoud could cover the majority of the designs.
Suggested we create 3 of these for a possible selection for the entries.
And we stuck with the top left version only. The others were judged being too obnoxious/obstructive for the illustrations.
Here are my initial layouts based on the research:
All in all I think we did come up with the best solution possible.
Everything cannot be aligned perfectly.
And since we will probably change the lettering in the future, it wasn't a priority to waste more time on it.
It probably took more effort already than it shows.
Just a reminder. There are six days left to enter your artwork into the About Screen Contest. You are allowed 2 entries. So far, there are only 27 entries.
We have some talented artists in this group! Even if you don't win, I'm sure you agree, there is no shame in doing your best. My advice, for what it's worth... Take your time on the idea and planning and your artwork will just flow (as you are copying a clear mental image). 6 days is plenty!
Good luck and respect to anyone who takes part and does their best! If competition isn't your thing, respect to you also. :)
I have spoken to the other contributors. You have been given until 14:00 UTC (just less than 12hrs). But I would suggest posting earlier. (your entry will be excluded from votes until it is added).
Using font such as Poppins or Inter may work well as a substitution. but make sure all fonts are completely free (see details below).
"Any text in your image must use a font with an open source license (OFL, GPL, Apache, MIT, PD/CC-0, CC-By-SA, ...). You can find some fonts that fulfill this requirement at the Font Library and a huge collection on Google Fonts. Fonts that cannot be found on any of those two websites may be unsuitable. Do not use any fonts that are 'free for personal use'. We cannot have those fonts in Inkscape, because we would then infringe someone else's copyright"
April's challenge banner is on its way but won't be ready for another day or two. If you want to get started, the challenge topic is:
Design Your Own Art Brushes.
There are numerous ways to create brushes and many ways to use them. I am using the term 'brush' loosely here. An example would be to create a shape to be used with the bezier pen tool with the setting "from clipboard" or "bend from clipboard". Alternatively, you could create a 'brush' to be used with path effects such as 'pattern-along path', 'bend' or others..
Make sure to demonstrate the usage of your brush.
Optional: While you are welcome to just show your brushes and what they are capable of, it would be great if others could try them too. If you want to share, alongside your png, post an svg file with just your brushes inside with the license CC-BY-SA (make sure not to include any third party artwork/assets in the file).
I'm looking forward to seeing what you post to the challenge page when it goes live.
I have made a 7z zipped file wich contains 5 sets of Inkscape brushes. In each svg it shows the "brush" and a simple curvy Path to which they are applied.
If this suits this challenge, you are welcome to make them available to everyone whenever convenient and if course, they are free. If not suitable, let me know. And, of course, I will try to create more to share in this April challenge.
@ken10001000 Thank you for sharing. Keep hold of them until the challenge page is live. It's also best to share them as SVG files with a PNG example so that people know what they are downloading.
I am glad Algot this challenge and what I shared thus far has raised your interest.
I do not know why the shared files are a bother to access.
They are a bit dated ... approx. 2 years ago. They should still work in any current version of InkScaoe. Made on Windows 10 system but the operating system should not matter. Once the challenge starts I will share more and zip them into smaller packages along with images.
@AlgotRuneman This is because the content is not centered on the page. Zoom in on the drawing, create a rectangle that contains it completely and use the Resize to content option of Document Properties or its shortcut CTRL+SHIFT+R. Then you can delete the rectangle if you want to. Next time you open it, everything will be in its place 🙂
May's challenge is now live ready for the 1st May (currently locked). This month we are doing 3D. I would love to see you all trying something new and pushing your personal limits.
I am not a fan of YouTube, but I was thinking it might be beneficial if I were to draw something live for the challengers (those who are interested). Perhaps it could be the next banner or I could help out with anything which you guys are struggling with or would like to see. Would that interest any of you?
@Moini I don't know PeerTube. I was thinking something more transient like BBB. If I was going to do non-spoken content, I could share that in a more permanent way?
My reasoning is, some of the challengers struggle with areas which I notice aren't covered by tutorials. I was thinking that talking my way through these problems might help others to overcome barriers. I don't know if that is useful though, especially as some of our challengers are not fluent English speakers.
PeerTube is the Mastodon-like, federated equivalent for YouTube.
But sure, BBB is possible, too. If there's no dev meeting at that time, you can check with Martin, Marc and myself to see whether someone is available to open the room for you.
I am not a fan of YouTube, but I was thinking it might be beneficial if I were to draw something live for the challengers (those who are interested). Perhaps it could be the next banner or I could help out with anything which you guys are struggling with or would like to see. Would that interest any of you?
With the recent interest for svg filters I'm also considering creating some live recordings on using the filter editor. Don't have a strict script and realised after a few illustration images years ago that a written tutorial is not the best approach for it.
@Moini would be an interesting idea if we could have a semi-official live-stream, sort-of like a hackfest spread through multiple hours a week.
@Lazur I'm sure you would get some interest there. I don't know of anyone more qualified than yourself to be demonstrating the use of the filter editor. I think you are right. When a process is complex, watching a demonstration is far more useful than reading IMO.
Hi. I just heard from Pablo on Blender live today that this week there will be people from Gimp and Inkscape doing a workshop at Blender HQ in Holland. Does anyone know if there are any collaborations or joint work planned between all of them? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65QkZH5u52Q&t=74s
I suppose Chris Rogers is going to give a workshop, he's the only Inkscape project member who is there. Haven't heard about what exactly he is doing there.
For 36 years I was a teacher and wound up my career doing the computer director job for my school district. Creating materials to promote my students' learning was always a challenge, but became easier when GUI tools helped me to do illustrations easier. Once I finally found Inkscape, sadly near the end of my career, it became possible to overcome many of the "drawing" limitations I had (and still have). Inkscape allows me to begin with its simple tools, and over time, to explore more and more of its powerful ones.
The chance to do something challenging each day (not always illustration) is my motivation. In my mid seventies, challenges are important, even if progress occurs in small steps.
I look forward the responses from the artists (no matter what their level) in this forum to continue to be inspired to try their techniques.
Well, in my case it's all about keeping my mind active and given my inability to draw in a traditional way, I looked for ways that would allow me to capture some ideas. I started with 3D, with Blender, which I discovered by chance. Although I loved it I had to abandon it due to the lack of hardware. As I used Inkscape for small things that I used for Blender, when I left Blender I decided to go deeper into Inkscape, which got me hooked. I am only motivated by two things, learning and fun. Although I'm stuck with Inkscape and I can't move forward, I'll keep trying because I love it 😄
@mrks9 those are some interesting pieces you made in Blender. I don't know much about Blender to comment further, but they do look professional.
"Although I'm stuck with Inkscape and I can't move forward, I'll keep trying because I love it" I am glad you love Inkscape, though you must not remain stuck. All things can be learned. If there is something you are stuck on, please tell me what it is. If I can't do it, we'll master it together!
@AlgotRuneman thank you for sharing your story. Overcoming limitations is rewarding. I feel it is important to challenge yourself.
I came to this forum looking for a challenge and there weren't any. I noticed that it was possible to create one, so I did. As there was no challenge for me, I decided to challenge others and use the banners to challenge myself and the Inkscape team supported me in doing that.
I love to see others enjoying the challenges.
Thank you for supporting the challenges. It is the regular faces who return each month to take part that motivate me the most.
@razr Thank you for your contributions in this month's challenge. I haven't consulted the team yet, but would you be happy for us to share one of your graphics with the community? If so, would you be happy for me to modify the dimensions to fit, if needed?
I have been working, quietly, on a project outside of the challenges. We now have an official Artist of the Month contest. I will be publishing more details soon for those who are interested.
As it stands, all artwork published to the website qualifies (with the usual exceptions... no nudity, sexual reference, politics, violence... a full list will be published soon).
Artwork will be selected from the previous month's submissions and voted on by a group of project members (Inkscape contributors). Then we (the Inkscape team) will share the winning piece on social media.
This is our way of saying thank you to the talented Inkscape community for sharing their beautiful artwork and inspiring others to create. You are valuable contributors to the project!
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*ARTIST OF THE MONTH JULY '23* In the previous month, there were many eye-catching pieces submitted to the website. We also saw some of the most advanced entries ever submitted to the challenge by multiple artists. Razr submitted a series of excellent pieces of art in a realistic style and their 'knife' piece stood out.
@razr You are Inkscape Artist of the Month! Congratulations!
Thank You @pacer! I'm really surprised. I try to earn the trust. There are a few more drawings in the pipeline. So as soon as I'm done I'll upload them to the gallery and of course to the challenge if it fits. Thanks again! 😁
@mrks9 I'm pleased you think so. The challenges are great, but I think a bit of friendly competition helps to motivate. Plus, it provides some recognition where it's due.
@razr You are welcome! I really like your artwork. I look forward to seeing where you take it in the future. Onwards and upwards!
I'm sure you will all be pleased to hear that we have now released Inkscape v1.3
If you haven't been using the dev builds, you may be interested to read up on the new features and fixes that our Devs have been working on over the last year.
@mrks9 That is brilliant thank you for sharing that.
On another note, have you tried the Shape Builder tool? I have been trying to come up with ideas of things which could be created with it (for demonstration purposes), and I wondered if you would have a play with it and see what you can come up with?
@pacer it's amazing. By the way, I already saw the files in the gallery at the weekend, but I didn't have time to look at them then. But now that it is also in the stable repository, it is already jump in. 🍾😍👏
@pacer I have been playing with shape builder for a long time. An example is this S I made for the March challenge. I made a template with circles and with shape builder I tried to build some parts in the shape of a metaball. It was easy and a lot of fun 😄
@mrks9 I have no idea how you did it. It looks very realistic in a surreal kind of way. It would be interesting to see a screen recording of your process. Was it processed in GIMP afterwards?
@pacer Yes, it was processed in Gimp for color and for the relief effect. As for how I did it, I leave a link with the basic steps I followed. I hope you understand the process more or less. I uploaded it to Youtube for file size reasons. Sorry for the poor quality, my laptop is quite old 😊https://youtu.be/wwFWc1lIgGI?si=pPTnPVndVH5DwkNt
We are pleased to announce that our Inkscape 'Artist of the Month' for August 2023 is @Boxcutter. Please join us in congratulating Boxcutter on their beautiful Illustration.
I'm at the earliest stages of trying to develop a font which I'm thinking of calling "Paperstrips".
My first effort is attached. It is pre-alpha, for sure, as I've done each letter in pieces (no simple outline).
I would appreciate advice about how to proceed to making it into a usable font. I have almost no clue.
Edit: I look forward to comments and suggestions, but I've also asked in the fediverse (Mastodon) and have had many useful responses there, so don't stress if there isn't a font guru reading these posts. Thanks.
I don't know if this is the right place for this, but have you noticed how many of the same images of a certificate or whatever are repeated over and over again in the gallery? It's a bit annoying when you go in to see the new work and you see nothing but the same thing for a page or two.
Sorry for my lateness in releasing this January's challenge (busy week).
The challenge is now LIVE. I hope you enjoy it. PS. Please do give me feedback on the challenge topics. I'd be interested to know if you feel they are inspiring or not quite hitting the mark.
Please note: AI can produce some interesting backgrounds, but please keep AI content to a minimum (ideally, none) as it can be hard to see what you (the artist) has produced using Inkscape.
Just a heads up. I'm out of town at to moment, so this month's challenge banner may be a few days late. The next challenge topic, if you want to get started, is creating 'texture' patterns and using them in your artwork. Basically, design a seamless pattern (convert to a pattern with Object > Pattern > "Objects to Pattern" ) and use it as a texture for something. An example of this is the giraffe in the January challenge. Banner to come soon. :)
The About Screen Contest is on the horizon. I have seen some amazing work in the monthly challenges since the last contest, and I would love to see you all rise to the challenge. I know there are some winning art-pieces waiting to BURST OUT of your creative minds! Keep your ear to the ground for further details...
I am aware that a few of you are working on entries for the About Screen Contest. Therefore, I am holding off on the monthly challenge until submissions for the contest are closed.
I look forward to seeing more of your entries.
(Unfortunately, as I am involved in contest administration and judging, I cannot comment on the quality or offer feedback on individual entries. However, I will tell you that I am liking what I am seeing from the challengers).
It's been a heavy ride progressing throughout the years, from dreams to ideas to projects to realizations!!!
Seeing the great importance Inkscape has got on every journey when it comes to bringing these ideas to life, from Brand identities, UI designs, Web Graphics, to Digital Arts.
I can definitely say it's impacted my Growth and hence a call to action on this important theme of the V1.4
It seeks to depict the 'you' in the Art, the YOU the creator and bringer of wonders with a bold and confident look into the inner you to keep believing in yourself, to keep making every moment the best it's ever been when it comes to doing what you do best and to keep riding on despite all situations!
Cuz the inner you is all about The Bigger Picture!
Great Thanks @KessM, There's soo much potential to Inkscape and damn do i wish every time to dive deep underwater and see the other part of the Iceberg!!! 🔥🎁
Calling all Inkscape Artists, our 1.4 About Screen Contest is ending soon. We'd ❤ to see your submission before April 14, 2024 (make sure to have time left to make amendments if requested!). Details: https://inkscape.org/community/about-screen-contests/
Our Inkscape 1.4 About Screen Contest submission door is closing today, April 14, 2024, at midnight GMT! We hope your artwork makes it in the door. Thanks to everyone who has entered so far! https://inkscape.org/community/about-screen-contests/ #AboutScreenContest #ArtWithOpenSource
Hello @pacer, yeah i do use ai when researching and for some art style references as i generally prefer them to copyrighted or unverified sourced references, AI has greatly helped in my learning process!
In the end, its all about the magic that happens on Inkscape, that's where the love is shared!! 🔥
Thinking out loud... Would anyone be interested in an Inkscape workshop "challenge". Show what you struggle with most and we'll all work on it together?
Thinking out loud... Would anyone be interested in an Inkscape workshop "challenge". Show what you struggle with most and we'll all work on it together?
@pacer Not for myself, because my struggles are more in the area of contents than technique. But if the timing works out, I might enjoy dropping in and sharing knowledge about features where relevant.
@pacer I think it could work, but you might have to be specific in which problems you select. I can imagine one persons struggle (including mine) might be just because they are unaware of a simple tool or a specific workflow, so it might be totally obvious for others and not feel like "a challenge".
I think that you were quite well on your way with the last couple of challenges, when it comes to struggles. People often mention textures as troublesome; metal, wood, glass, transparent plastic, realistic skin, fur etc
I see it like a community exercise, something we can all work on together in an unstructured way.
People have a tendency to avoid things which they lack confidence in. Hopefully, this exercise will help people to move forward and enjoy the process.
So, it could be:
a tool they don't know or don't know how to use
textures and how to apply them
blend modes
coming up with concepts
color and color consistency
planning and composition
layer and object organisation
perspective
lighting and shadows
improving quality of line work
or even just questions about how others created something
You mention that some people struggle with textures and I think you are right, it's a tricky thing to get right. I feel that sometimes people are put off by these challenges as they lack confidence in some areas. Hopefully, by having an unstructured troubleshooting session every now and then it will help people to gain confidence.
Thank you for your comments. I appreciate the feedback!
@pacer there are alot of issues we dabble with and getting realtime recommendations and feedbacks from our community members while sharing your personal experiences is a great initiative!!!
WOW, thank you Marcos! What a beautiful surprise!! Once again, you nailed it, my friend.☺
Hello everybody! Just yesterday, I discovered that my entry had finally won the About Screen Contest. Honestly, I didn’t see that coming. Earlier, I was surprised when I found out that I had even made it to the finalists. In my opinion, there were many beautiful and even more complicated artworks than mine. I truly appreciate the effort and artistry of Denis, Chris, N'Dim, Kess, Sreya, Imnoartist,... just to name a few.
Finally, I want to say THANK YOU to:
- Of course, INKSCAPE for providing generously such a powerful tool to everyone! - @pacer who encouraged me/us to be part of the competition. His words inspired me to create my composition based on the topic of GROWTH: "This could be interpreted in many ways! trees, hair, and grass grow. Children grow. How have you grown as an artist". I just tried to include these ideas into my work: The growth of Inkscape represented by trees, hair, a child, and its own parallel artistic development. Note: I am a male but I picked a female child-to-grown-artist for my work, so I could take advantage of her long hair. - @mrks9 and Pacer, who motivated me over a long period to create with Inkscape (challenges), things I might not have tried. - Nick Saporito (Logos By Nick): Around 2016-17, I first downloaded Inkscape. At the time, I didn’t even know what vector graphics were all about. At first, I came to the false conclusion that Inkscape was literally useless. Even after watching one or two random YouTube tutorials (comparing it to GIMP, which is like comparing apples and oranges), I was convinced to uninstall Inkscape. But just seconds away from doing so, luckily I decided to watch one more, last tutorial. It was a vintage logo design tutorial by Nick. Following his steps, I was amazed by the whole process and the final result! From that moment on, I fell in love with Inkscape. - Last but not least, THANK YOU to all who participated in this beautiful contest, one way or another, and whether they voted or not for my work.
@Lazur Thank you!☺ I didn't get any pm. To get into the chat room I have to create an account. I am out of town these days and shall be back home on Tuesday.
@Inkonic - I sent you an email, but perhaps it made it's way to spam. Were you able to get into the chat room as we could connect through that as well. I'm @K_REY_C over there.
@K_REY_C Hey Kyle. I checked and double checked, again and again. No pm, no email ever reached me. I guess, I have to create an account to be able to write in that chat room.
@K_REY_C Hey Kyle. I checked and double checked, again and again. No pm, no email ever reached me. I guess, I have to create an account to be able to write in that chat room.
As I don't know which is the right place, I'll put it here. I don't know if it's just me or if the font and font size of the forum has changed. I do not have very good eyesight and it is difficult to read.
Interesting, I didn't know the forum has a dark theme, too.... (actually, I think it doesn't have that). I suppose it cannot be some theme / style setting in your browser? Have you tried a different browser? Forum looks unchanged to me. You can always Ctrl+Scroll, though, to increase the size.
No, the dark theme is an extension of mine. And I don't think it's a thing with my settings because it only happens to me on this forum. I guess I'll have to use CTRL +. Thanks.
OK, here you can chat freely with the Challenger Clan. No set topics, so post images, animations, Inkscape tips, questions... and feel free to waffle.
This is not to replace the on-topic chitchat of the challenges, this thread exists only to avoid confused newcomers.
As this thread is likely to get looong, avoid posting images which are 1,000,000mb+ as the thread may load too slowly. If you need software (for your OS) to optimise images let me know.
I intend to leave this open indefinitely.
General forum rules apply.
@mrks9 Happy belated birthday. Thanks for supporting the challenges over the last year. Have a cake!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, @mrks9... Wish you more blessings, long life, and a continuous flow of your creativity!!!
@pacer @Ndim_Donald Thanks so much. Oh, man, that looks umhhh 😋💙
@pacer
A follow up. It turns out that the update to the PPA 1.2 version of Inkscape still suffers the export of PNG files with no universal read permissions.
I added a comment to the devs here: https://gitlab.com/inkscape/inkscape/-/issues/2574
in case you or any others have the same issue or a hint to the solution needed.
@AlgotRuneman sorry to hear you are still experiencing issues. So, if I have understood correctly, you are able to export to png successfully, but you're having issues with popup warnings?
I was having export problems not too long ago with anything but png. I upgraded to the dev version and no issues for me now.
Have you tried the latest development version?
@Pacer the GUI export of PNG files requires an extra step to make them useful as web graphics.
The warnings occurred only when I was testing the Command Line export. I had not tried that process before. I reported them only to try to be complete in my comment at GitLab.
The CLI export properly assigned universal read permissions to the PNG file.
I'm reluctant to use the dev version as a production tool even though my daily stuff is trivial, and for personal fun. I don't want to deal with random issues.
That makes sense. Losing work and troubleshooting troublesome exports etc. may be a time drain.
I have multiple versions installed on my system... So far, when I have had an issue, I open my file in the other version. I haven't tried the CLI.
Thanks for sharing your journey.
Trying a gif. I don't know if I can handle it. I'll try to finish it 😰😄
@mrks9 Nice idea!😄
@mrks9 You are a natural creative. Full of interesting ideas. Really impressed!
Please do!
The gif destroys the glow, but if I do it in video it keeps it. And the size is surprisingly small for 1080x1080 png images. I'll keep playing around to see if anything comes out 😄
I know most of you know him, but for those who still don't, subscribe to this thread to see the wonders of @Dillerkind. He is a great artist who creates amazing things with Inkscape 😱👏
https://inkscape.org/forums/finished/dillerkinds-image-pool-v3/?c=49358#c49358
@mrks9 did you see Martin's latest video? We're getting motion blur! Would be nice for the slot machine animation. 🙂 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0CD9mScN7E
@Dillerkind 🤘
@mrks9 This dude is literally a rocker for sure!!!
His art style blended with years of experience shows how magical and marvelous constant creativity can go!
Thanks @bleke. Yes, I had seen the video and downloaded the latest development version, but I didn't get to see anything. Maybe it's in a separate branch 🤔
@mrks9 apng (animated png) seems to be a good alternative to animated gif. The overall file size is smaller (in my experiment). It also seems less destructive and still loops.
Uah, thanks @pacer I didn't know that format and it is certainly much better than gif. Apparently it supports over 16 million colors as opposed to gif's 256. It also seems to handle transparencies better. As for the size, as I have read, it will be larger, but I think it makes up for it. First test and I see that it supports blur fantastically, which is impossible with gif 😱👍
@mrks9
Awesome! I'm glad that was useful.
I don't know what software you used, but I think I managed to match the timing of your gif with:
cd path/to/image/directory
apngasm -d 200 *.png -o output.png
I notice that the lever isn't moving in this one. Not sure if you're aware.
@pacer Yes, thanks, I find it very useful. I did it in an online page, sure there are better options, but well...The gif you used I did it in gimp and yes, full coincidence, I put 200 😆 This last one was just to show that it supports blur, so I only used 5 png and I didn't take the ones of the lever in movement 😄
@pacer Martin tells me he has figured out a fix for the incorrect permissions for PNG export and hopes it will show up in version 1.2.2
@AlgotRuneman That's fantastic 👍
Proof of concept on fire animation.
A morph-animated path has its fill and opacitiy animated.
Clones of that are animated with motionpath,
and a static filter is added atop to add more waves.
Rendering duration is set to 1.2 s.
There is only 1 morph animation used and 3 motionpaths -the rest are just duplicants.
Now that it proves one flame can be animated, I'm a bit stuck how to proceed further.
Multiple flames should be layered atop eachother with slight shifts in their starting times.
Which I'm suspecting is not possible as per se.
Using keypoints and keytimes should do something similar in theory, haven't experimented with them yet with this challenge.
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/SVG/Attribute/keyPoints
Like, 3 sets of shifted&layered flame animations should make a good start.
Then again, how to ensure the flames at the starting position are always rendered atop in the z-order?
Another territory to experiment with is morphing the motionpath.
Guess it's better to start with something less ambitious.
And just a couple of days ago I had no idea that SVG could animate! 🙂
Lazur that is an awesome animation, and it does *not* make my pc fan spin !
I made this today. One pattern, with multiple transforms on the pattern.
@inklinea @Lazur
I agree, it is a mesmorizing animation, very flamelike... I wouldn't have a clue at this one (Hats off to you). I would very much like to know how you (@Lazur) produce your animations, if you do choose to do a tutorial.
Although, my laptop is really struggling with it. Any chance it could be recorded as a gif or apng and swapped?
Hey People,
I'm answering you all here then.
@pacer
I'm using daily build in Kubuntu here. I'm on 1.3dev, I have a little instability, but nothing that I can't recover, and I'm loving all new things. Especially multipages support and the new path effects menu, is really quick and It turned super easy to draw on Inkscape and make effects for social media pieces. I wish only that Inkscape had a better stylus support, like illustrator, so I would draw more lettering on it. But for me, everything is fine and really really great. I'm using inkscape since 2017 and it is better and smothier than ever in linux too
@mako-gfx
I don't know how to import good svg to blender. If you have some hints and tips please send me, I really need to know how is the better way to import it without losing some colors, gradients, and other elements. Everytime I try to import something more complex than some words I lost quality.
@jeff3rsn Glad your enjoying the new features. I'm with you regarding the stylus. I would like to see more features and refinement relating to artist workflow. It's the simple things I'm most interested in. I only use a few tools. I mostly use the bezier pen tool and the graphics tablet. I would like to see more refinements in the path effects (such as powerstroke and lattice deformation).
I expect, with more artists (like yourself) participating on the forum recently, the direction of the software will be positively influenced.
Thank you!
@inklinea knowing by experience, have to keep filtering as simple as possible.
Besides still looking for ways how to overlay the "same" animation atop eachother with shifted "time stamps".
@pacer The morphing animation is covered by Tavmjong pretty much and I haven't delved deep into that.
I know 9vae generates such animations yet what I'm doing here is copy/pasting from the xml editor to notepad++.
It's more like a frame by frame animation in the sense you still have to produce each key shapes
so it's tedious and results in a large file.
Most useful if you can stretch out long periods for in-betweens and when the animation doesn't require too many "keys".
May worth checking it out if this can speed up the process:
https://codepen.io/danjiro/post/9vae-introduction
Now, for the current challenge I'm drawing a similar concept to @jeff3rsn.
With that previous parallax animation it felt a new exploration was due -getting rusty.
Using enve is probably a more efficient solution.
Have to realise after juggling between 3 programs simultaneously for quite some time.
You need to structure your drawing for an easy editing in inkscape,
AND make it easy to edit it in notepad++ for adding the animateMotion information to the objects.
After making a modification, saving in either notepad or inkscape, reverting/reloading in the other one,
and hitting F5 on the browser it is rendered on to see the change in action.
Have no idea how it could be rendered into an image sequence or gif. Best bet is using a screen grabber like sharex.
Not much option on setting a frame rate that I know of.
But I think the whole beauty of it is keeping the svg format for the animation.
It remains scalable, can zoom in; won't be pixelated from a limited colour palette and
the image size, time duration can be extremely large compared to regular gifs, while keeping it at a low file size.
Lazur, I can only do simple animation stuff.
If you are talking about https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/SVG/Element/animateMotion this kind of example.
So a simple object following at path
Where you have just `begin, dur, end, min, max, restart, repeatCount, repeatDur, fill` entries.
It's not difficult to duplicate a given object which already has the `<animateMotion>` tag, and alter / add those entries as needed.
I've attached a one click example.
I found the program "Enve" for simple SVG-Animations on the Inkscape-website. It seems to work fine and is easy to use. You add keyframes by clicking on the dots in the List at the bottom-left where all paths/objects are listed.
https://maurycyliebner.github.io/index
Sadly the development seems to have stopped 2007 but it works for simple Keyframe Animations. Maybe give it a try.
@AlgotRuneman @bleke @inklinea @jeff3rsn @Lazur @mako-gfx @mrks9 @Ndim_Donald
There have been some brilliant entries this month (in fact, I love every one of them). I am literally blown away and humbled by the quality of artwork.
I didn't expect to see so many animations too.
AND for the second month running we have smashed the record for most participation in a challenge!
Spoiler alert: December's challenge: Draw a Frosty Scene (banner coming soon)
I love the variance of artwork I've been seeing recently, so this is open for you to interpret.
The current challenge is still officially open for another couple days.
Unofficially, late entries are welcome too. :)
@AlgotRuneman @bleke @inklinea @jeff3rsn @Lazur @mako-gfx @mrks9 @Ndim_Donald
Challengers ready! The December Challenge is now LIVE!
https://inkscape.org/forums/competitions/inkscape-challenge-1-december-2022-31-december-2022/
I can't wait to see your entries!
@Pacer, Thanks for the reminder. Somehow in the email generated out of your December contest post has a broken link. The address has an extra /I at the end.
I would recommend a quick edit to fix the link. I don't know if that will issue a new email, though.
@AlgotRuneman I'm not sure what the cause of that could be? I know the website has some issues with messaging... perhaps a bug. To clarify, is it a link sent out automatically from the set up of the new challenge or one of my comments in this thread or the Nov challenge thread?. I guess I don't get the automatic emails as it registers that I am the author of the thread?
@AlgotRuneman @bleke @inklinea @jeff3rsn @ken10001000 @kinow @Lazur @mako-gfx @mrks9 @Ndim_Donald @NTK
Is anyone considering submitting an entry in the next About Screen Contest?
Still some time to think about it, but I'm curious.
@pacer Uh, no. I don't feel qualified for that level. But I look forward to the entries 🧐😄
@mrks9 I am shocked to hear that. You are very qualified! You have improved no end over the last year, not just in skill, but in concept.
If you break down the entries of previous winners and runners up, the things which set them apart (IMO) are concept and time taken.
I know, given what you can produce in just a few days, that your entry would be awesome.
Of course, it is your decision, but your skill level is plenty high enough.
Thanks for that @pacer but I don't think so. For something like this I think you need to have a plan and I do everything on impulse. When I look at past work I often ask myself, how did I do that, what were the steps I followed to get that result? And sometimes the honest answer is: I don't remember, I couldn't repeat that illustration the way I did it.
@mrks9
In that case, couldn't you say that you are capable of illustrations you didn't know you could do?
@pacer That's another way of looking at it, right. But for the splash screen there are rules to follow in terms of size, fonts to use, etc. For those who are not fully dedicated to this, it seems to me that it is not as simple as just having an idea and putting it into practice. But well, maybe these are excuses due to the fear of confronting the challenge 😰😋
I think so. Most of what you produce would already be allowed (minus the GIMP bit).
Off the top of my head... the rules could be simplified to: Use only artwork you produced yourself (only in Inkscape) and if you use fonts, make sure they are 100% free to use. (Some font websites let you filter for this when you search). Grab a link to the font license and post it with the entry.
As far as the concept, the Vectors team is going to provide a theme (similar to the current challenges).
No nudity, profanity, politically motivated content or fan art...
So nothing new there.
I am doing the checks to make sure the entries are to standard, as I did last time (hopefully, not alone lol).
If an entry has an issue, the artist is allowed to modify it until is meets the rules.
It isn't just the winner who has their artwork showcased, we use other pieces for things like website banners, t-shirts, social posts, beta/dev edition about screens etc.
@pacer on the about screen contest
Had taken part three times before but missed out on the previous one.
As a general observation there are people more graphic illustration oriented who are able to catch the attention of a wider audience than me.
That's one side of the story.
On the other side, there is some level of conflict of interest for me.
Which boils down to other thoughts.
As some loose part of the project (and FOSS in this case)
I very much disagree how the project is run, taking actions or promoting specs work.
No serious graphic designer should put in their professional work.
Its all volunteerily. Do it for fun, and just as much as your expectations are matched.
From time to time I raised my voice in the vectors team that to do against the unprofessional and hobbyst image of the program
we, as a project should give out some form of free education on graphic design.
This case, to put together a visual guidance on what are the do-s and don't do-s when creating an about screen.
Quoting @doctormo seeing more behind the boards:
The watchword from the PLC is "delegation"
While we know how that went with the project coordinator hiring process.
https://inkscape.org/forums/inks-news/now-hiring-project-coordinator/
There is no graphic design guideline book for inkscape that I know of besides the very basics.
There is no graphic design team working with the project -the marketing team should discuss anything "necessary".
Which situation I feel is harder to win than an about screen contest.
How would one provide visual aid and guiding for the contest, when there isn't a strong visual guide even on how to use the logo?
In previous entries it's a recurring theme how the logo is stretched around, used with odd spacing, part of the background, having a different colour scheme etc.
Even if I'd find a glimpse of motivation to create such guidelines there is no guarantee whatsoever if that won't fall on deaf ears.
And not from participants entering the contest, but the other way around. It would hardly make it onto the contest's breaf page.
There is no motivation of the project to run these things (only?) professionally, why should I fight for some form of it?
So for me these rambling comes down to the conclusion
-if I want to put in serious work (as in, matching some form of my expectations for the project),
then it's already a lost cause.
It has to be as all specs work have to be -doing it for the experience, fun of it if you like.
Will see if I can come up with something for the heck of it.
Not saying it won't happen but can't say I'll definitely participate either.
@mrks9 would advise that the lack of experience shouldn't hold you back. It is the experience.
That is the realm of graphic design. Even a napkin drawing will be acceptable if that sells the product more.
What sells more (getting votes) will be chosen as the winner.
I'm totally against promoting to put in professional design for an unpayed gig, but as long as it's just for fun -and only in that case-, why not submit a design?
As far as I can tell, 'professional' only means that it's paid work. Since Inkscape doesn't pay, none of the contributions are professional. 🙂
However, if someone produces 'professional grade' work for Krita, maybe it's their way of contributing - paying if you will - to a project that maybe helps them earn money.
Or do you mean that skilled people should be excluded from making splash screens in order to let people with less experience have a better chance?
No. What I meant is, don't think of winning the contest is the prize.
Don't think of it as providing "professional level" imges for a release going for a year for it's sake is a honor.
Rather applaud the community surrounding the project and get motivation from that.
Participate if you like being part of the enthusiasts. And not because of the promise of "free exposure" as a reward.
Then again it'd be nice if the contest only focused on that part for participations
-submit a background image/illustration only.
The team will use that to add the logo, tagline and all, in a later stage. (According to their design guide.)
We don't require you to do any of our professional designer's job.
Blender can provide example on that as well -they don't have a splash screen contest
since 2006?
https://www.blendernation.com/2006/04/10/splash-screen-contest-for-version-242/
Yet their images look always top-notch, using images from their users and their art gallery.
I see, and I agree.
@Lazur I agree with you on branding. I think it would be a good idea to exclude the branding part from the artwork. That can be added by the team later and avoids confusion and inconsistency. I think that would help the artists to focus on the artwork.
If you think it will help, I will bring this up in the next meeting?
@mako-gfx To answer your question, these are little tricks that help me since I don't draw well. It's all about taking advantage of the tools, I think. I leave you a screenshot that I think explains it better. I would like to go into more detail, but my old machine can't handle that many nodes, so I use simplify.
deleted@mrks9 Thanks for sharing your technique! Thats an interesting way to combine structures and patterns from photos to create your images. 🎨👍
@mrks9 that's a good way to make complex texture like paths :)
I've attached an svg that shows how to make a simple `mouse in / mouse out` layer display - which I used for my mushroom entry.
There is a javascript function called
toggleObject(objectId)
It can be used on any object / layer- just add the id in the
Object>Object Properties>Interactivity
section. However it doesn't seem to haveonmousenter
in Inkscape so you have have to add manually - or useonmouseover
instead ( which might be better )@inklinea pretty cool
@all
The new year is arriving quickly, and I would love to hear your input for challenges.
Is there anything you would like to get more practice in?
Is there anything you have seen in Inkscape or Illustrator that you don't know how to do (feel free to link to artwork)?
Also what were your favorite challenges, and (looking over the challenges of the last year) which challenge banners do you like best?
I have some ideas, but I would love to hear yours!
@Pacer I'd like an animated SVG challenge
@pacer I have no particular preference. But I do want to thank you for your work here throughout the year. And in case he reads this, I wanted to send a big shout out to @ken10001000 and wish him the best. Ken, we miss you 💙
@imv2
For the Inkscape challenges, I will likely keep them "Inkscape accessible", in the sense that people are welcome to animate them if they choose to, but I don't want to exclude those who are new to SVG or don't have the skills or inclination to animate.
However, I have been thinking of adding some informal 'sister' challenges (maybe in this thread) for those who want to challenge themselves further. These will be focused on more advanced techniques and won't follow a specific theme or frequency. Animation may be part of it.
And, of course, in the nature of open chitchat, anyone is welcome to challenge other users.
The only thing I would ask is if you do post animations, it may be best (so we don't set everyone's laptops of fire) to post them in the finished artwork section of the forum and post a link here so we can see them.
@mrks9 Thank you. You are welcome.
Agreed. @ken10001000 I hope you are well.
More practice on focusing and seeing the big picture. Not getting lost in the details.
Developing a drawing style requiring less time/more matching with the pace of these challenges.
And in general, personally how not to feel bad about all that is lacking in the final result;
learnig the Bob Ross way: "There are no mistakes, just happy accidents."
My favorite challenge was probably the one with the glass theme. That hexagon loop was just in time, reflecting on an image uploaded to openclipart the other day.
Didn't had to look up source images for a derivative work, which is usually the case.
Also the springtime "pointillistic" landscape came the closest to an ideal timeframe for me, although that technique is hard to develop further. Suiting a raster editor better.
Hard to tell which banner stood out the most. If all the challenges had a thumbnail it would be easier to choose
at the challenges section instead of just plain text and an icon.
Guessing gathering them all in a single new topic may be a better option,
with each post attaching the banner with a link to the announcement post.
Maybe even it worths stickying it?
Remember the open comic challenge at the late forum?
It was a fun one in my opinion. Involved interaction and improving on other people's ideas one after another.
https://alpha.inkscape.org/vectors/www.inkscapeforum.com/viewtopic285e.html?f=24&t=13344
Blender used to have a live chat channel called #smc as "Speed modelling contests",
where people around could set up a theme, agree on a timeframe and post a final rendering what they could produce.
Usually 2-3 people and a 30-40 min. time period.
Voting was held on blenderartists.org although it was all about having fun.
https://blenderartists.org/c/contests/speed-modeling-contests/30
Hi, Making my dog's pill calendar with Inkscape. Any suggestions? 🐕 😄
@Lazur Thanks for the comment, I appreciate your insight, food for thought. I hadn't seen the open comic, but it is very similar to an idea I had for a side challenge.
Done.
@AlgotRuneman @bleke @imv2 @inklinea @jeff3rsn @Lazur @mako-gfx @mrks9 @Ndim_Donald ...
Following on from a previous comment (apologies for the repetition), I am looking at potential challenges for the next year.
If you have time could you vote (via the link below) on your favorite challenges and banners, feel free to add comments of what sort of challenges you would like.
Don't worry if you didn't take part in them all, this is just to get an idea of what challenges appeal to you most.
https://inkscape.org/forums/competitions/what-was-your-favorite-challenge/
Thank you! :)
@AlgotRuneman @bleke @imv2 @inklinea @jeff3rsn @Lazur @mako-gfx @mrks9 @Ndim_Donald
I have the pleasure of checking the entries for the Inkscape About Screen Contest in just a few month's time.
If there is anyone here who would prefer not to enter the challenge, that would like to help, please let me know.
The task involves:
- checking the dimensions
- checking for non-free fonts
- checking that the artwork is original
- and making sure the artwork is in line with the rules (no nudity etc...).
@AlgotRuneman @bleke @imv2 @inklinea @jeff3rsn @Lazur @mako-gfx @mrks9 @Ndim_Donald
It looks like 2022 is over. So, that can only mean one thing! It's time for the January Inkscape Challenge.
Get ready to flex your imagination, as this month's challenge is to create an abstract design.
I'm looking forward to seeing your artwork.
https://inkscape.org/forums/competitions/inkscape-challenge-1-january-2023-31-january-2023/
I dont know if i´m too harsh but I would welcome to keep the gallery more organized than it is now. I know the challenge is just for fun and we are encouraged to post multiple of our images but I would like to see just the best of the best we can achieve in the gallery. If we create artwork in masses we could use this forum instead to post our images. To me a smaller gallery has the benefits, that its more fun and easier to explore the images, especially on mobile phones. What do you think?😊
I am all for freedom to like or dislike Inkscspe art postings. But who decides what is "best of the best"?
How does one encourage sharing from the beginner level to the "advanced" skill levels and say this one has a blue ribbon or 4 stars or whatever. Is that not best done by participants honestly rating (through icons and comments) what is being shared? Dishonesty never helps anyone. True, honest feedback does. Productive criticism does. And along with all that, showing folks just how to do "better" helps. This applies to me and others who join in to express themselves, be motivated, grow and challenge one another.
@mako-gfx
I can see why you say that. The way the challenges work, currently, is based on rules which existed before my time. I guess the word "challenge" is used loosely in this case (as the team prefers that the challenge is non-competitive). I think the idea behind it is community involvement and community building. Which I am pleased to see we are achieving (gradually).
It is fantastic to see challengers like yourself producing such high level artwork and I would like to see more of it.
Over the last year, I have taken the approach of trying to help everyone to improve their illustration by setting difficult challenges (at the same time as challenging myself to create a suitable banner in a reasonable time).
Each 'challenger' starts somewhere different, moves at a different pace and they may not all reach the same heights. I think this is OK. I love to see people encouraging each other; and, for some, ranking artwork may be unsettling.
On the other side of the coin, I would like to see more advanced pieces (which would help people to see the extent of Inkscape's capabilities as a professional tool), and I think there is a place for that in the forum. If you would prefer a more competitive challenge, I would be happy to start a parallel thread in the forum. Something where a winner is chosen by vote perhaps? How does that sound?
@mako-gfx In my opinion the strength ofthis series is consistency. Challenging ourselves to step out of our comfort zone for the sake of it, less focusing on the actual outcome.
Anything limiting the number of "entries" is a bad idea from thatpoint of view.
For me personally it's a bit of a roadblock that I tend to get too serious out of perfectionism.
On the other hand I'd still like to see more thought out work from others too. More long projects in the work in progress section with in-between results.
Other than that, we can have challenges running simultaneously. Coming up with a fitting challenge is a challenge on its own.
What do you think, should I print it? 🤔😄 For the skeleton I've used this image as a reference https://clipground.com/pics/get
Man, I love this. Marcos. Yes, print it. Put it on a mug, a hat, in your work place, etc. Even send it to Congress.
@ken10001000 Hahaha 🤣
@mrks9 t-shirt design looks really good. Yeah, do it.
@AlgotRuneman @bleke @imv2 @inklinea @jeff3rsn @ken10001000 @Lazur @mako-gfx @mrks9 @Ndim_Donald
We have a new challenge for February...
Show your appreciation for something you care about, by designing a plaque or a badge.
Can't wait to see what you come up with!
https://inkscape.org/forums/competitions/inkscape-challenge-1-february-2023-28-february-2023/
------
Sorry I have not been as active in the chat over the last month. I have been focusing a lot of my effort on administration for the about screen contest (coming very soon). But I did see some great entries over the last month. Thanks as always for being such good sports and supporting and encouraging each other!
@mrks9 Yes! You should absolutely print it...and, please let us have a way to order one, too!
@pacer When you say badge or plaque do you mean something metallic or is the material subject to interpretation?
@AlgotRuneman I'm glad you like it. I already have the t-shirt at home. Unfortunately, the font I used is only free for personal use (Dark Underground) and I like to honor what is an unspoken agreement. But if you are interested I can share here the file with the badge and the character for you to fill it to your liking and print it.
@mrks9 Anything!
Flat design logo style, metal, plastic, wood, stone, glass, ice, dog fur....
I'm leaving this one open to interpretation. :)
@pacer Thanks. Then it's time to think of something 🤔😄
Regarding the Challenge "Rules"
@ken "But who decides what is "best of the best"?" -> Just upload entrys that you think are the best you created as if you decided what to put in a Portfolio. At least thats what I meant by saying "best of the best".
My point was not to have more/harder challenge but to keep it more organized and balanced. Because I really like the respectful communication in the thread and that it is open for all skill-levels.
"Anything limiting the number of "entries" is a bad idea from thatpoint of view."
Just limit the number of entries in the official challenge thread. As in every Challenge-Text explained, you can always post work in the Wip-Thread. Or another Idea: Having two threads for the Challenge: One with the final entries and one for wip? ... Those are just thoughts about how to improve the challenge. I am still super thankful for the work you do for us @Pacer ☺
@mako-gfx
What I understand is you would like to see more "condensed" work -which idea resonate with me.
Somehow we don't have as much wip threads as contests, contest entries.
Just an idea, to have contests where we post in-between variants of the concept from raw sketch to final composition in a single image.
Makes me think how it could be arranged technically if those images weren't stitched together but posted as separate attachments.
I don't know if this is a bit of "OCD" on my part, but I noticed that the About Screen Contest template branding is not aligned with the version number 🧐😊
@mrks9
There was alot of back and forth when designing that template. It was concluded the top and the ritht margin MUST be the same width.
We were looking at blender's splash screen and found their approach to be learned from.
On the other hand the branding is still to be improved in the future.
Didn't plan forward enough to change the use of the tagline, the fonts used, using (R) or (TM) symbols.
Hopefully we can be more focused in the futre.
If you are interested in the branding, you can join the branding team too at the live chat.
Okay, that makes sense. But then, if instead of lowering the version number you raise the branding to align it with that number, it would still remain the same width at the top and right.
@mrks9 @mako-gfx @Lazur
On the subject of badges, I am attempting to design a badge (an award) for (multiple) outdoor activity businesses. I would like to incorporate related themes (maybe a UK woodland animal, an archer/bow, a mushroom or others...??) into the graphic while keeping the badge flat and simple (1-2 colours). The award may say something like recommended activity venue 2023. Do you have any thoughts or ideas on this?
@pacer Right now I can't think of anything. Except that if it's an outdoor activity venue, maybe something like tents around a fire. Of course, this would be something more universal and perhaps miss out on the Britain-specific part. Or maybe the great Nick can be of some inspiration to you 😄 https://youtu.be/VaJWiVZdqSo
@mrks9
The "INKSCAPE" is all capitals vs. the versioning's "v" is not. If they are top aligned, it will still be off because the text baselines are misaligned.
Not to mention the (R) symbol.
The placement of the logo was decided on before the positioning of the versioning and it was decided the padding is just the right amount.
My initial suggestion on the top-left aligned logo had smaller margins and got rejected.
All is recorded on the chat. For some insight/summary of making this huge change with a given template:
Pulled all the about screen entries starting with 0.91 and removed everything but the branding elements.
Organised them into layout categories and concluded the top left, the middle left and a centre aligned layoud could cover the majority of the designs.
Suggested we create 3 of these for a possible selection for the entries.
And we stuck with the top left version only. The others were judged being too obnoxious/obstructive for the illustrations.
Here are my initial layouts based on the research:
All in all I think we did come up with the best solution possible.
Everything cannot be aligned perfectly.
And since we will probably change the lettering in the future, it wasn't a priority to waste more time on it.
It probably took more effort already than it shows.
Understood. Thanks @Lazur
@pacer
Graphic design needs its own mindset. You need to think to stand out yet conform with other brands.
Depending those pictorial elements they might be too generic for that area.
On the other side, you need it to be recognised/decoded/memorised the fastest way possible.
Sketching it on paper is still alot more faster and fluent way to do than starting with inkscape.
Monochrome design is suggested for the start and it's important to think about the reproduction method which it will be used with.
Looking at existing examples and researching the target audience's preferences might also help.
Also, using ai can give you an idea what is to be expected.
https://aituts.com/how-to-create-actual-ai-generated-logos/
For typography geeks. I came across this by chance and almost had to go change my pants 🙂😃😁😅🤣 https://youtu.be/jVhlJNJopOQ
Instant classic. Similar to comic sans. https://files.explosm.net/comics/Dave/comicsans2.png
@Lazur I don't know if you noticed that at the end they write Papyrus with comic sans 🤣
@mrks9 Yes. It was annoying on another level. Like that test where they write colour names with different shades.
https://i.insider.com/5d37630236e03c3bdd5c01b6?width=1136&format=jpeg
https://www.insider.com/game-shows-words-in-different-colors-stroop-effect-it-2019-7
semi-related
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synesthesia
I posted the March Illustrated Lettering Challenge last night. I'm excited to see what you all come up with.
https://inkscape.org/forums/competitions/inkscape-challenge-1-march-2023-31-march-2023/
Just a reminder. There are six days left to enter your artwork into the About Screen Contest. You are allowed 2 entries.
So far, there are only 27 entries.
We have some talented artists in this group! Even if you don't win, I'm sure you agree, there is no shame in doing your best.
My advice, for what it's worth... Take your time on the idea and planning and your artwork will just flow (as you are copying a clear mental image).
6 days is plenty!
Good luck and respect to anyone who takes part and does their best!
If competition isn't your thing, respect to you also. :)
@AlgotRuneman @bleke @inklinea @jeff3rsn @ken10001000 @Lazur @mako-gfx @mrks9 @Ndim_Donald @pacer @Vera_
Sorry if this is not the place for this question, but how many pieces can be voted in the Screen Contest? 🤔
Damn.. Got mine up in the Last minutes 😂
But that was some great fun!!
@Ndim_Donald I just saw it. It's fantastic! I hope you sent it in on time 💯😰😄
Much Thanks @mrks9 🙏
Yeah, It got in! Had a few modifications to finalize the piece but time was up!!!
Bless up to all the amazing creators who participated in the About Screen contest ✨💪🙌
@Ndim_Donald
The vectors team is looking at the entries at the moment and your entry is giving a hard time.
The arial font you used cannot be included in 1.3 - so it needs to be changed.
As soon as possible preferably if you can do that.
@Ndim_Donald
We need you to make some QUICK changes to put it through (fonts). Check comments on your entry for details.
Forgive my ignorance but can you please share s direct link where I can see the about screen entries so far?
Not to add an entry myself but to see the handiwork of others. Thank you.
@ken10001000
Here is the gallery page:
https://inkscape.org/gallery/=about-screen-contest/contest-for-13/
@ken10001000
https://inkscape.org/gallery/=about-screen-contest/contest-for-13/
I am still in doubt as to how many pieces a person can vote for.
@mrks9
As many as you like (it is ranked voting)
@pacer Thanks. Great, because there are several that I love. 🙌
Oh!!! @pacer @Lazur I was off...
Made these few tweaks to the final edit, If you'd mind
Oh!!! @pacer @Lazur I was off...
Made these few tweaks to the final edit, If you'd mind, How can i
I was eye fixed on the comment section of the entry after Maren's comment. But seems the edit option went off upon submission closure.
@Ndim_Donald
Can you post your new SVG here?
ok muchas Gracias 🙏
@Ndim_Donald
It still looks like the same fonts.
Did you change the fonts?
If so, please give details of the changes you made, so we can verify.
-----------------------------------------------------------
I have spoken to the other contributors. You have been given until 14:00 UTC (just less than 12hrs). But I would suggest posting earlier. (your entry will be excluded from votes until it is added).
Using font such as Poppins or Inter may work well as a substitution.
but make sure all fonts are completely free (see details below).
"Any text in your image must use a font with an open source license (OFL, GPL, Apache, MIT, PD/CC-0, CC-By-SA, ...). You can find some fonts that fulfill this requirement at the Font Library and a huge collection on Google Fonts. Fonts that cannot be found on any of those two websites may be unsuitable. Do not use any fonts that are 'free for personal use'. We cannot have those fonts in Inkscape, because we would then infringe someone else's copyright"
OK, For the new file below, i added the Poppins, removed the previous Arial text path then blurred off the text for a depth of field
@pacer, How about this one?
Thank you, @Ndim_Donald, this looks good, I'm updating your entry!
@pacer Much Thanks once more for the Consideration... Hope this suits all the needed modifications.
Blessup @Moini.. Would you consider getting this recent one.. All done!
Would be on the scoop for any requirements!!!
Thank you for the link to the about screen for 1.3.
Inspiring material and top notch entries.
@AlgotRuneman @bleke @inklinea @jeff3rsn @ken10001000 @Lazur @mako-gfx @mrks9 @Ndim_Donald @Vera_
Hey all.
April's challenge banner is on its way but won't be ready for another day or two. If you want to get started, the challenge topic is:
Design Your Own Art Brushes.
There are numerous ways to create brushes and many ways to use them. I am using the term 'brush' loosely here. An example would be to create a shape to be used with the bezier pen tool with the setting "from clipboard" or "bend from clipboard". Alternatively, you could create a 'brush' to be used with path effects such as 'pattern-along path', 'bend' or others..
Make sure to demonstrate the usage of your brush.
Optional: While you are welcome to just show your brushes and what they are capable of, it would be great if others could try them too. If you want to share, alongside your png, post an svg file with just your brushes inside with the license CC-BY-SA (make sure not to include any third party artwork/assets in the file).
I'm looking forward to seeing what you post to the challenge page when it goes live.
Hi, Pacer. Another excellent idea and challenge.
I have made a 7z zipped file wich contains 5 sets of Inkscape brushes. In each svg it shows the "brush" and a simple curvy Path to which they are applied.
If this suits this challenge, you are welcome to make them available to everyone whenever convenient and if course, they are free. If not suitable, let me know. And, of course, I will try to create more to share in this April challenge.
Thank you.
@ken10001000 Thank you for sharing. Keep hold of them until the challenge page is live. It's also best to share them as SVG files with a PNG example so that people know what they are downloading.
Okay. Thank you, Pacer.
Ken, you have me salivating at the chance to explore this kind of thing.
Note that I had to select all and then tap 3 to display the work each time. I'm not sure why the samples weren't immediately visible.
I am glad Algot this challenge and what I shared thus far has raised your interest.
I do not know why the shared files are a bother to access.
They are a bit dated ... approx. 2 years ago. They should still work in any current version of InkScaoe. Made on Windows 10 system but the operating system should not matter. Once the challenge starts I will share more and zip them into smaller packages along with images.
Have an incredible day.
@AlgotRuneman This is because the content is not centered on the page. Zoom in on the drawing, create a rectangle that contains it completely and use the Resize to content option of Document Properties or its shortcut CTRL+SHIFT+R. Then you can delete the rectangle if you want to. Next time you open it, everything will be in its place 🙂
Thank you.
Hi there. Could some of you look at and try out a recent discovery I made, and see if you find it useful?
This Inkscape link:
https://inkscape.org/forums/tutorials/easily-create-textures-from-one-altered-filter/?c=55816#c55816
May's challenge is now live ready for the 1st May (currently locked). This month we are doing 3D. I would love to see you all trying something new and pushing your personal limits.
https://inkscape.org/forums/competitions/inkscape-challenge-1-may-2023-31-may-2023/
As always, there is no pressure to work at the same level so everyone should be able to take part. If you need any help, just ask.
I am looking forward to seeing your entries.
@Ndim_Donald I know you like this style, so I want to see something outstanding from you. :)
This is a response to @Hum https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/stormtrooper-helmet-871adfdf3a204d6e811269f839370042
I am not a fan of YouTube, but I was thinking it might be beneficial if I were to draw something live for the challengers (those who are interested). Perhaps it could be the next banner or I could help out with anything which you guys are struggling with or would like to see. Would that interest any of you?
@pacer Would you prefer PeerTube, then?
@Moini I don't know PeerTube. I was thinking something more transient like BBB. If I was going to do non-spoken content, I could share that in a more permanent way?
My reasoning is, some of the challengers struggle with areas which I notice aren't covered by tutorials. I was thinking that talking my way through these problems might help others to overcome barriers. I don't know if that is useful though, especially as some of our challengers are not fluent English speakers.
I welcome any video help (ideas) you may provide.
If you will not have aufio/dialogue, will there be text that explains what you are doing and why?
Also, forgive my ignorance. What is BBB?
Thank you very much, Pacer.
PeerTube is the Mastodon-like, federated equivalent for YouTube.
But sure, BBB is possible, too. If there's no dev meeting at that time, you can check with Martin, Marc and myself to see whether someone is available to open the room for you.
@pacer
With the recent interest for svg filters I'm also considering creating some live recordings on using the filter editor. Don't have a strict script and realised after a few illustration images years ago that a written tutorial is not the best approach for it.
@Moini would be an interesting idea if we could have a semi-official live-stream, sort-of like a hackfest spread through multiple hours a week.
@Lazur I'm sure you would get some interest there. I don't know of anyone more qualified than yourself to be demonstrating the use of the filter editor. I think you are right. When a process is complex, watching a demonstration is far more useful than reading IMO.
Hi. I just heard from Pablo on Blender live today that this week there will be people from Gimp and Inkscape doing a workshop at Blender HQ in Holland. Does anyone know if there are any collaborations or joint work planned between all of them? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65QkZH5u52Q&t=74s
I suppose Chris Rogers is going to give a workshop, he's the only Inkscape project member who is there. Haven't heard about what exactly he is doing there.
Thanks, @Moini
@AlgotRuneman @bleke @Hum @inklinea @jeff3rsn @Lazur @mako-gfx @mrks9 @Ndim_Donald @Vera_
The June Inkscape Challenge is Live! This challenge is to "Draw Something Reflective"
See you on the challenge page:
https://inkscape.org/forums/competitions/inkscape-challenge-1-june-2023-30-june-2023
@AlgotRuneman @bleke @Hum @inklinea @jeff3rsn @Lazur @mako-gfx @mrks9 @Ndim_Donald @Vera_
I'm curious, what motivates you to draw, learn and improve your artwork?
Feel free to mention multiple things, if it isn't just one thing.
@Pacer
For 36 years I was a teacher and wound up my career doing the computer director job for my school district. Creating materials to promote my students' learning was always a challenge, but became easier when GUI tools helped me to do illustrations easier. Once I finally found Inkscape, sadly near the end of my career, it became possible to overcome many of the "drawing" limitations I had (and still have). Inkscape allows me to begin with its simple tools, and over time, to explore more and more of its powerful ones.
The chance to do something challenging each day (not always illustration) is my motivation. In my mid seventies, challenges are important, even if progress occurs in small steps.
I look forward the responses from the artists (no matter what their level) in this forum to continue to be inspired to try their techniques.
Well, in my case it's all about keeping my mind active and given my inability to draw in a traditional way, I looked for ways that would allow me to capture some ideas. I started with 3D, with Blender, which I discovered by chance. Although I loved it I had to abandon it due to the lack of hardware. As I used Inkscape for small things that I used for Blender, when I left Blender I decided to go deeper into Inkscape, which got me hooked. I am only motivated by two things, learning and fun. Although I'm stuck with Inkscape and I can't move forward, I'll keep trying because I love it 😄
I leave an image with some things made in Blender a while ago.
@mrks9 those are some interesting pieces you made in Blender. I don't know much about Blender to comment further, but they do look professional.
"Although I'm stuck with Inkscape and I can't move forward, I'll keep trying because I love it"
I am glad you love Inkscape, though you must not remain stuck. All things can be learned. If there is something you are stuck on, please tell me what it is. If I can't do it, we'll master it together!
@AlgotRuneman thank you for sharing your story. Overcoming limitations is rewarding. I feel it is important to challenge yourself.
I came to this forum looking for a challenge and there weren't any. I noticed that it was possible to create one, so I did. As there was no challenge for me, I decided to challenge others and use the banners to challenge myself and the Inkscape team supported me in doing that.
I love to see others enjoying the challenges.
Thank you for supporting the challenges. It is the regular faces who return each month to take part that motivate me the most.
@razr Thank you for your contributions in this month's challenge. I haven't consulted the team yet, but would you be happy for us to share one of your graphics with the community? If so, would you be happy for me to modify the dimensions to fit, if needed?
@pacer Of course! I would be happy if my work benefited the community. That's why I made these.
@AlgotRuneman @bleke @Hum @inklinea @jeff3rsn @Lazur @mako-gfx @mrks9 @Ndim_Donald @razr @Vera_
*INKSCAPE ARTIST OF THE MONTH*
I have been working, quietly, on a project outside of the challenges. We now have an official Artist of the Month contest. I will be publishing more details soon for those who are interested.
As it stands, all artwork published to the website qualifies (with the usual exceptions... no nudity, sexual reference, politics, violence... a full list will be published soon).
Artwork will be selected from the previous month's submissions and voted on by a group of project members (Inkscape contributors). Then we (the Inkscape team) will share the winning piece on social media.
This is our way of saying thank you to the talented Inkscape community for sharing their beautiful artwork and inspiring others to create. You are valuable contributors to the project!
-----
*ARTIST OF THE MONTH JULY '23*
In the previous month, there were many eye-catching pieces submitted to the website. We also saw some of the most advanced entries ever submitted to the challenge by multiple artists. Razr submitted a series of excellent pieces of art in a realistic style and their 'knife' piece stood out.
@razr You are Inkscape Artist of the Month! Congratulations!
@pacer I think this is an excellent idea.
Congratulations @razr 💯👏
Thank You @pacer! I'm really surprised. I try to earn the trust. There are a few more drawings in the pipeline. So as soon as I'm done I'll upload them to the gallery and of course to the challenge if it fits. Thanks again! 😁
@mrks9 I'm pleased you think so. The challenges are great, but I think a bit of friendly competition helps to motivate. Plus, it provides some recognition where it's due.
@razr You are welcome! I really like your artwork. I look forward to seeing where you take it in the future. Onwards and upwards!
Thank You @mrks9!
@AlgotRuneman @bleke @Hum @inklinea @jeff3rsn @Lazur @mako-gfx @Moini @mrks9 @Ndim_Donald @razr @Vera_
I'm sure you will all be pleased to hear that we have now released Inkscape v1.3
If you haven't been using the dev builds, you may be interested to read up on the new features and fixes that our Devs have been working on over the last year.
Find out more: https://inkscape.org/news/2023/07/23/inkscape-launches-version-13-focus-organizing-work/
v1.3 is now available on the website via Download > Current Stable Version
Thank you for the info @pacer!
Just to be sure, made an announcement topic for it.
https://inkscape.org/forums/inks-news/inkscape-13-released/
Thanks, @pacer.I've already been using the development ones and love it. I just downloaded the stable one 💯
🎉😍
@mrks9 That is brilliant thank you for sharing that.
On another note, have you tried the Shape Builder tool? I have been trying to come up with ideas of things which could be created with it (for demonstration purposes), and I wondered if you would have a play with it and see what you can come up with?
@pacer it's amazing. By the way, I already saw the files in the gallery at the weekend, but I didn't have time to look at them then. But now that it is also in the stable repository, it is already jump in. 🍾 😍 👏
@pacer I have been playing with shape builder for a long time. An example is this S I made for the March challenge. I made a template with circles and with shape builder I tried to build some parts in the shape of a metaball. It was easy and a lot of fun 😄
@mrks9 I have no idea how you did it. It looks very realistic in a surreal kind of way. It would be interesting to see a screen recording of your process. Was it processed in GIMP afterwards?
@pacer Yes, it was processed in Gimp for color and for the relief effect. As for how I did it, I leave a link with the basic steps I followed. I hope you understand the process more or less. I uploaded it to Youtube for file size reasons. Sorry for the poor quality, my laptop is quite old 😊 https://youtu.be/wwFWc1lIgGI?si=pPTnPVndVH5DwkNt
@XCANT Beautiful. Congrats! 💯
@XCANT did you use a mockup for the can?
@XCANT Any third-party graphics. https://www.vecteezy.com/png/10064046-realistic-cans-aluminium-with-water-drops-for-mock-up-soda-can-mock-up
One of the contributors just sent me a link. I should have checked first. Your additions and composition are very well done, but entries for the Artist of the Month contest can't include 3rd party graphics.
@pacer Well if my stuff isn't good, sorry for disturbing. Have a good day....
We are pleased to announce that our Inkscape 'Artist of the Month' for August 2023 is @Boxcutter. Please join us in congratulating Boxcutter on their beautiful Illustration.
Please join us in appreciation as we award @mrks9 with Inkscape Artist of the Month for his beautiful line drawing.
Marcos: The team especially liked your artwork as it isn't just attractive, they appreciated the skill and innovation that went into your graphic.
Congratulations, Marcos! 💯👏🍸
Thank you so much. I really enjoy these challenges and meeting such great people every month. 💙🙌
I'm at the earliest stages of trying to develop a font which I'm thinking of calling "Paperstrips".
My first effort is attached. It is pre-alpha, for sure, as I've done each letter in pieces (no simple outline).
I would appreciate advice about how to proceed to making it into a usable font. I have almost no clue.
Edit: I look forward to comments and suggestions, but I've also asked in the fediverse (Mastodon) and have had many useful responses there, so don't stress if there isn't a font guru reading these posts. Thanks.
@AlgotRuneman Hi. Looks great. I have no idea about this font creation topic, but some time ago I have seen a couple of videos that might be a reference for you in case you don't know them. Best of luck, I hope you succeed. https://youtu.be/skv1Dj7232w?si=fefBAl8sa9H2sDMc https://youtu.be/MHwLLJC9wUw?si=2FVRRQTcagXrrr13
I just finished this design, what do you think, should I get it done? 🤔
@mrks9
I vote yes.
A sneak peek at next month's challenge to give you some extra time for coming up with ideas (banner may be altered by the time it is launched).
Christmas wibes?
https://inkscape.org/forums/competitions/inkscape-challenge-1-december-2021-31-december-2021/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grwP8QvI1jY
That's a good choice of topic, @Pacer !👍
I don't know if this is the right place for this, but have you noticed how many of the same images of a certificate or whatever are repeated over and over again in the gallery? It's a bit annoying when you go in to see the new work and you see nothing but the same thing for a page or two.
Yes. Moderating them away once a day.
👉 💙 👈
Thanks Marcos - a happy New Year to you, and to all the challengers, contributors and Inkscape users reading this!
Sorry for my lateness in releasing this January's challenge (busy week).
The challenge is now LIVE. I hope you enjoy it.
PS. Please do give me feedback on the challenge topics. I'd be interested to know if you feel they are inspiring or not quite hitting the mark.
@AlgotRuneman @bleke @Hum @inklinea @Inkonic @devviktoria @jeff3rsn @Lazur @mako-gfx @Moini @mrks9 @Ndim_Donald @razr @Vera_ @XCANT
https://inkscape.org/forums/competitions/inkscape-challenge-1-january-2024-31-january-2024/
Please note:
AI can produce some interesting backgrounds, but please keep AI content to a minimum (ideally, none) as it can be hard to see what you (the artist) has produced using Inkscape.
Just a heads up. I'm out of town at to moment, so this month's challenge banner may be a few days late. The next challenge topic, if you want to get started, is creating 'texture' patterns and using them in your artwork. Basically, design a seamless pattern (convert to a pattern with Object > Pattern > "Objects to Pattern" ) and use it as a texture for something. An example of this is the giraffe in the January challenge. Banner to come soon. :)
@AlgotRuneman @bleke @Hum @inklinea @jeff3rsn @Lazur @mako-gfx @Moini @mrks9 @Ndim_Donald @razr @Vera_ @XCANT
CHALLENGERS READY!!
The About Screen Contest is on the horizon. I have seen some amazing work in the monthly challenges since the last contest, and I would love to see you all rise to the challenge. I know there are some winning art-pieces waiting to BURST OUT of your creative minds! Keep your ear to the ground for further details...
@AlgotRuneman @bleke @Hum @inklinea @jeff3rsn @Lazur @mako-gfx @Moini @mrks9 @Ndim_Donald @razr @Vera_ @XCANT ...and all challengers who aren't yet subscribed to this thread.
Pacer
@AlgotRuneman @bleke @Hum @inklinea @jeff3rsn @Lazur @mako-gfx @Moini @mrks9 @Ndim_Donald @razr @Vera_ @XCANT
Are you considering entering the About Screen Contest?
There appear to be fewer entries this year, which increases the chance of getting your artwork in the top 5.
You have about 9 days to get your entry submitted. So plenty of time to come up with a solid concept and start crafting.
Even if you don't think your artwork will win, the Inkscape team may still use your artwork on the website or in social media.
We look forward to receiving your entries.
Pacer
I am aware that a few of you are working on entries for the About Screen Contest. Therefore, I am holding off on the monthly challenge until submissions for the contest are closed.
I look forward to seeing more of your entries.
(Unfortunately, as I am involved in contest administration and judging, I cannot comment on the quality or offer feedback on individual entries. However, I will tell you that I am liking what I am seeing from the challengers).
It's been a heavy ride progressing throughout the years, from dreams to ideas to projects to realizations!!!
Seeing the great importance Inkscape has got on every journey when it comes to bringing these ideas to life, from Brand identities, UI designs, Web Graphics, to Digital Arts.
I can definitely say it's impacted my Growth and hence a call to action on this important theme of the V1.4
With my Submission: VIBE ON CREATORS
https://inkscape.org/~Ndim_Donald/%E2%98%85vibe-on-creators
It seeks to depict the 'you' in the Art, the YOU the creator and bringer of wonders with a bold and confident look into the inner you to keep believing in yourself, to keep making every moment the best it's ever been when it comes to doing what you do best and to keep riding on despite all situations!
Cuz the inner you is all about The Bigger Picture!
Much love and Blessup to all amazing Creators.
She represents the beauty in your creativity, and she's looking at you, sort of like you looking at a mirror
and she's in this bold pose with all vigour and confidence saying to you "Dude, you've got this!"
She is just absolutely gorgeous and vibrant. I love these illustrations that show how powerful a tool Inkscape really is.
Great Thanks @KessM, There's soo much potential to Inkscape and damn do i wish every time to dive deep underwater and see the other part of the Iceberg!!! 🔥🎁
The ABOUT SCREEN CONTEST has been EXTENDED for one week (ends Sunday 14th April).
- The Monthly Inkscape Challenge will be back after the 14th.
@AlgotRuneman @bleke @Hum @inklinea @jeff3rsn @Lazur @mako-gfx @Moini @mrks9 @Ndim_Donald @razr @Vera_ @XCANT @Andchan @Gaillycool @Inkonic @pjschleitwilerfcm @SpriteAttack
Calling all Inkscape Artists, our 1.4 About Screen Contest is ending soon. We'd ❤ to see your submission before April 14, 2024 (make sure to have time left to make amendments if requested!).
Details: https://inkscape.org/community/about-screen-contests/
#ArtWithOpenSource #InkscapeAboutScreen
@AlgotRuneman @bleke @Hum @inklinea @jeff3rsn @Lazur @mako-gfx @Moini @mrks9 @Ndim_Donald @razr @Vera_ @XCANT @Andchan @Gaillycool @Inkonic @pjschleitwilerfcm @SpriteAttack
Here's one, off competition, just for fun
@Inkonic are you entering this one?
@pacer No, it's just for fun. By the way, I don't have an alternative depiction for the optional screens.
@Inkonic "Just for fun" at that level of quality certainly implies something above the typical 80 proof. Sippin' strong! 😃
@AlgotRuneman 😄 thank you! May your glass overflow with my gratitude for your kind words.🥃
@SpriteAttack Love your recent video on Seamless Patterns: https://youtu.be/_Arjrqvrq58
Your approach is interesting and the final result... breathtaking.
It's an interesting graphic. Very colorful! Did you use AI for any of the graphic or all by hand?
Our Inkscape 1.4 About Screen Contest submission door is closing today, April 14, 2024, at midnight GMT! We hope your artwork makes it in the door. Thanks to everyone who has entered so far! https://inkscape.org/community/about-screen-contests/ #AboutScreenContest #ArtWithOpenSource
Hello @pacer, yeah i do use ai when researching and for some art style references as i generally prefer them to copyrighted or unverified sourced references, AI has greatly helped in my learning process!
In the end, its all about the magic that happens on Inkscape, that's where the love is shared!! 🔥
Thinking out loud... Would anyone be interested in an Inkscape workshop "challenge". Show what you struggle with most and we'll all work on it together?
@AlgotRuneman @bleke @Hum @inklinea @Inkonic @jeff3rsn @KessM @Lazur @mako-gfx @Moini @mrks9 @Ndim_Donald @razr @Vera_ @XCANT
@pacer Definitely.
@pacer Not for myself, because my struggles are more in the area of contents than technique. But if the timing works out, I might enjoy dropping in and sharing knowledge about features where relevant.
@pacer I think it could work, but you might have to be specific in which problems you select. I can imagine one persons struggle (including mine) might be just because they are unaware of a simple tool or a specific workflow, so it might be totally obvious for others and not feel like "a challenge".
I think that you were quite well on your way with the last couple of challenges, when it comes to struggles. People often mention textures as troublesome; metal, wood, glass, transparent plastic, realistic skin, fur etc
@KessM
I see it like a community exercise, something we can all work on together in an unstructured way.
People have a tendency to avoid things which they lack confidence in. Hopefully, this exercise will help people to move forward and enjoy the process.
So, it could be:
You mention that some people struggle with textures and I think you are right, it's a tricky thing to get right. I feel that sometimes people are put off by these challenges as they lack confidence in some areas. Hopefully, by having an unstructured troubleshooting session every now and then it will help people to gain confidence.
Thank you for your comments. I appreciate the feedback!
@pacer there are alot of issues we dabble with and getting realtime recommendations and feedbacks from our community members while sharing your personal experiences is a great initiative!!!
'm all in when time is best!
Taking as a reference the image of his avatar, I only want to congratulate Inkonic 😄 👏
WOW, thank you Marcos! What a beautiful surprise!! Once again, you nailed it, my friend.☺
Hello everybody! Just yesterday, I discovered that my entry had finally won the About Screen Contest. Honestly, I didn’t see that coming.
Earlier, I was surprised when I found out that I had even made it to the finalists. In my opinion, there were many beautiful and even more complicated artworks than mine. I truly appreciate the effort and artistry of Denis, Chris, N'Dim, Kess, Sreya, Imnoartist,... just to name a few.
Finally, I want to say THANK YOU to:
- Of course, INKSCAPE for providing generously such a powerful tool to everyone!
- @pacer who encouraged me/us to be part of the competition. His words inspired me to create my composition based on the topic of GROWTH:
"This could be interpreted in many ways! trees, hair, and grass grow. Children grow. How have you grown as an artist".
I just tried to include these ideas into my work: The growth of Inkscape represented by trees, hair, a child, and its own parallel artistic development.
Note: I am a male but I picked a female child-to-grown-artist for my work, so I could take advantage of her long hair.
- @mrks9 and Pacer, who motivated me over a long period to create with Inkscape (challenges), things I might not have tried.
- Nick Saporito (Logos By Nick): Around 2016-17, I first downloaded Inkscape.
At the time, I didn’t even know what vector graphics were all about. At first, I came to the false conclusion that Inkscape was literally useless.
Even after watching one or two random YouTube tutorials (comparing it to GIMP, which is like comparing apples and oranges), I was convinced to uninstall Inkscape.
But just seconds away from doing so, luckily I decided to watch one more, last tutorial. It was a vintage logo design tutorial by Nick.
Following his steps, I was amazed by the whole process and the final result! From that moment on, I fell in love with Inkscape.
- Last but not least, THANK YOU to all who participated in this beautiful contest, one way or another, and whether they voted or not for my work.
@Inkonic Congratulations for your winning!
Be sure to check your pm-s as the vector team is eager to contact you. That's how fame goes.
Or just drop into the chat room here:
https://chat.inkscape.org/channel/team_vectors
Thank you for your contribution!
@Lazur Thank you!☺
I didn't get any pm.
To get into the chat room I have to create an account. I am out of town these days and shall be back home on Tuesday.
@Inkonic - I sent you an email, but perhaps it made it's way to spam. Were you able to get into the chat room as we could connect through that as well. I'm @K_REY_C over there.
@K_REY_C Hey Kyle. I checked and double checked, again and again. No pm, no email ever reached me.
I guess, I have to create an account to be able to write in that chat room.
@K_REY_C Hey Kyle. I checked and double checked, again and again. No pm, no email ever reached me.
I guess, I have to create an account to be able to write in that chat room.
Another option would be to DM Kyle your email address via his profile on this website. Maybe it works in that direction...
@Inkonic - just tried to reach out again via chat.inkscape.com - are you @Inkonic over there as well?
@K_REY_C This time I got your pms.
Yes, it's me.
I'm sorry for the delay.
As I don't know which is the right place, I'll put it here. I don't know if it's just me or if the font and font size of the forum has changed. I do not have very good eyesight and it is difficult to read.
Interesting, I didn't know the forum has a dark theme, too.... (actually, I think it doesn't have that). I suppose it cannot be some theme / style setting in your browser? Have you tried a different browser? Forum looks unchanged to me. You can always Ctrl+Scroll, though, to increase the size.
No, the dark theme is an extension of mine. And I don't think it's a thing with my settings because it only happens to me on this forum. I guess I'll have to use CTRL +. Thanks.