I have recently started using Inkscape, and have been learning the features pretty steadily. But there's one thing that I cannot figure out how to do: I want to select the empty area inside a shape, and then have all new objects made only visible in that space. If I didn't explain this well, an example in paint.net (and I'd assume in Photoshop too) is clicking on the inside of a shape with the magic wand tool, selecting that space. If you try to draw a line across the canvas, it will only do anything in the selected area. I can't seem to find any tool like this in Inkscape, and would appreciate if someone could help me out, thanks.
There's no equivalent tool in Inkscape. Paint.Net and Photoshop deal with raster graphics - JPEGs and PNGs. Inkscape deals with vector graphics - or more precisely with vector objects that just happen to have a graphical appearance. The difference is in the way the data are stored:
Raster: Stored as individual pixels that are given a colour.
Vector: Stored as parameters that are used to draw the object. E.g. the coordinates of the end points of a straight line.
In a raster editor it's easy to make the tools only draw inside the selected area: as the tool is moved, the program just checks the location of each pixel it would normally draw and only actually draws it if it's inside the selection.
In a vector program it's not so simple. If you try to draw a line that starts outside the selection, what should it do? It can't just ignore the starting point, otherwise there's no line?
Instead the right approaches are those mentioned by Maren: clip the drawn object, or use Boolean operations to cut it into pieces. But the key thing is to begin thinking in vector terms, not raster terms, otherwise you'll keep on getting frustrated by things that are 'simple' in a raster editor, but hard or impossible in a vector program.
I would say using the "Fill bounded Areas" tool does nearly the same, though I don't know its tolerance. Then, that makes an object in the same shape as your bounded area, which you can adjust. to your liking.
Beginners' Questions Magic Wand Alternative/Area Selection
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I have recently started using Inkscape, and have been learning the features pretty steadily. But there's one thing that I cannot figure out how to do: I want to select the empty area inside a shape, and then have all new objects made only visible in that space. If I didn't explain this well, an example in paint.net (and I'd assume in Photoshop too) is clicking on the inside of a shape with the magic wand tool, selecting that space. If you try to draw a line across the canvas, it will only do anything in the selected area. I can't seem to find any tool like this in Inkscape, and would appreciate if someone could help me out, thanks.
You could use a clipped group to emulate this behavior.
Or you could draw first, then later clip or use Boolean operations to cut off the excess parts of the drawing.
There's no equivalent tool in Inkscape. Paint.Net and Photoshop deal with raster graphics - JPEGs and PNGs. Inkscape deals with vector graphics - or more precisely with vector objects that just happen to have a graphical appearance. The difference is in the way the data are stored:
In a raster editor it's easy to make the tools only draw inside the selected area: as the tool is moved, the program just checks the location of each pixel it would normally draw and only actually draws it if it's inside the selection.
In a vector program it's not so simple. If you try to draw a line that starts outside the selection, what should it do? It can't just ignore the starting point, otherwise there's no line?
Instead the right approaches are those mentioned by Maren: clip the drawn object, or use Boolean operations to cut it into pieces. But the key thing is to begin thinking in vector terms, not raster terms, otherwise you'll keep on getting frustrated by things that are 'simple' in a raster editor, but hard or impossible in a vector program.
I would say using the "Fill bounded Areas" tool does nearly the same, though I don't know its tolerance. Then, that makes an object in the same shape as your bounded area, which you can adjust. to your liking.