Hi everyone,

Starting today, we're launching a new program of challenges here in the forum. We've been successfully running these in Inkscape's Facebook group for a while, and thought it was time we brought them over to our official forum too.

The theme for our first challenge is...

BLACK AND WHITE

We want you to create an image inspired by this theme and share it with us. Submissions can be anything, from art and logos to laser-cut or 3D printed objects; as long as you used Inkscape. Draw anything you like, but use black and white only. No gray or any other colours are allowed.

Your image can be simple or complex, and whatever your skill level - from beginner to professional artist - you are welcome and encouraged to take part.

If you've any questions or aren't clear about something, please ask.

Instructions/Information

1. Please read the rules

2. Start work on your image inspired by the challenge topic. If you want to post WIPs, create a thread in the WIP folder, and post your images there. When you're finished, post the final image in this thread.

3. The challenge will run from 12th - 26th March.

4. You're encouraged to join in the discussion and offer your thoughts and feedback, but please be friendly and respectful. Constructive criticism is fine, trolling/abuse is not. We all want to learn and improve, so let's support each other in doing that.

5. Most importantly, be creative and have fun!

I'm looking forward to seeing what you create!

Well, I thought I'd kick things off with this challenge with a small graphic I made.

This is a reworking of a colour icon I made for another project a few weeks back. Got to admit... faces are really not my thing, but I figured if I kept it simple, I could make something (hopefully!) not too terrible. It's quite restrictive to work with only black & white, especially when you want subtle shadows... cos you can't have them! It was fun though.

So, I hope a few others are going to join in and share some pics of your black & white work. Don't be shy! 😊

I will join. Work in progress and I'll show soon 

@mondspeer Yay! Looking forward to seeing what you do. 😁

Remember, everyone is welcome to join in. Even if you don't have a great deal of time, you can always transform an existing piece of art into black & white like I did, instead of starting from scratch. It'd be nice to see some more entries in this challenge.

So here we are. 
I tried some lineart, than old fashioned shading (with lines and curves) and then added a black background. 

Hope you like it. 

Feedback is allways appreciated. 

Nice work! I think I like the black background best. It really 'pops' on that one. I like the hatching too.

Thank you very much. What I really want to learn ist the "stripe pattern" fill in inkscape. I really don't get how the pattern to show smaller stripes. 

There are some instructions, including a gif, here...

https://graphicdesign.stackexchange.com/questions/45577/create-hatching-in-inkscape

It can be tricky to find the adjustment nodes. Sometimes you have to zoom way out, to the point that you can barely make out your drawing, to spot them. However, once you've found them, you can drag the 'x' and move it closer to where you need it to be. Then it's just a matter of tweaking the pattern. The circle node will rotate the pattern. The square makes it larger or smaller, and the 'x' allows you to position it.

I noticed you had some nice curved hatching (from the ear area down to the chin). I was wondering how you did that actually, because I didn't think it was one of Inkscape's patterns. Did you do it manually?

Thank you for the link. That was very helpfull. 

The curved hatchings are my favourite way. I simply create a spiral with the spiral tool. Use F1 and the handles to make the spiral a little elliptical and then apply a mask (cut out mask) to apply the hatching to the areas I want to hatch. 

Sorry, if the labeling of tools is incorrect. I usually use the german version of inkscape. 

Thanks for the info on the hatching! That's interesting. I wouldn't have thought to use the spiral tool, but it works really well. I've learned something new today! 😁

This is very much a W.I.P. but I thought, while it is still at the line art stage, it would qualify as a "Black & White" image... 😜

Nice work, Tim, and thanks for joining in. That's a scary looking dude! I assume the final version will be coloured?

Hi. Used texts converted to paths with half-heart strokes. And then the Pattern along Path extension.

Texts used are to remind and encourage me and others.

Have a very good day, all.

Hi Tim, 

this is awesome. I really like the dragon, even if it is "just line art stage". 

ken10001000

Hi. Used texts converted to paths with half-heart strokes. And then the Pattern along Path extension.

Texts used are to remind and encourage me and others.

Nice work, Ken, and a good use of Pattern along path!

Hi y'all, 

Image reflects my current mood ;) 

Lot of manual labor. I feel there are some cloning I could have used here. But I got to get a little more familiar with the align & distribute tool. 

Oh that's awesome! I like it a lot. Great concept! 😊

Some new go at "feather trace", using trace bitmap. Was planning on other images as well but hit some hardwired performance limiting walls. 

Svg is available here: https://openclipart.org/detail/328954/blind-guardian

That's fantastic, Lazur! Doesn't even look like vector because of the way you've managed to add texture. What an amazing challenge entry!

I love your work, tromatojuice. I have been "there" quite a bit. And Lazur, your your work is impressive, too. Very creative minds and hands. :)

This is my entry.

Hi. I offer this one, also.

It is supposed to be "Go Imagi nation" ... with a variation on Text.

Love it Ken! How did you do it? Text to path (for Imagination) and then text on path?

Thank you for the nice response.

I chose a text - "Imagination" - then converterted it to a path and ungrouped it to individual letters. Then enlarged all letters. Then used pen tool to draw paths that would "conform" to sections of each letter ( as few as possible ) on top of the letters. Created "Inscape", coverted to path, ungrouped it and selected all letters in it and unioned these into a single path. Copied that into memory, raised it topmost. So, "INKSCAPE" would be my "pattern" to be applied to each of those paths made earlier which "outlined" the letter portions of "Imagination".

Next, used Pattern along Path with each partial stroke, option set to Single, Stretched. Moved "Nation" portion to lower row and tried to line up "O" below "G" to form "GO".

I "figured out" years ago ago that any text created can be used for Pattern along Path, whether a single letter or word, as long as it has been converted to a path, ungrouped, and then unioned together. Then copied into memory, and applied to a path.

Any character, number, letter, symbol, shape, traced image, dingbat font, etc. can work this way, to be utilized with Pattern along Path.

Ah, I always forget about the pattern along path option.

-- @doctormo could you share a little about the process on your entry? There a hand drawn feeling that I love about it. (Wondering if it involves drawing with a tablet, tracing an analog drawing...)

Nice work, @doctormo and @ken10001000, and great to see more entries for this challenge! Reminder that the challenge ends this weekend, so there's still time to share something with us.

Wow, there are some really interesting images here. Especially the image by Lazur is breathtaking. I will definitely have to look at this feature in inkscape. 

@tomboolean Yes, I drew it with a tablet in a two step process where I created blocks with the pencil tool first which are each of the objects, fixed stroke, white background, and then created a new layer and used the calligraphy brush to do the shading and a bit of the eraser to remove bits.

Really glad @TimJones asked me to fix the eraser now, no issues with those red brushmarks this time.

Posted to the Facebook group, but sharing here too as suggested by @doctormo

Nice work, well done! 😊

A reminder to just have fun with Inkscape, exploring, seeing what happens, being simple, and making "strokes of genius". :)

Haha, nice! 👍

Thanks, z3z.

Looking back at that last image I posted, hours after the fact ... I wonder if it was a rejected blueprint for the statues on Easter Island.  :)

Have a great day.

Well, our first two weekly challenge has come to an end and I wanted to say thank you to everyone who joined in. We had some really interesting images posted, and I personally have learned a trick or two!

Our new challenge has started, and you can read about it here. I hope many of you will join in again, and maybe we'll see some new faces too...! 😊