Table of Contents

Acknowledgments          x
About the Author          xi
Overview of What Is in This Book          xii
Introduction          xiii
How to Use This Book         xiii
Vector Graphics          xiv
SVG          xvi
The Inkscape Program          xvi
Help          xvi

Chapter 1: Quick Start          1
The Anatomy of the Inkscape Window      1
The Swedish Flag—A Short Example      5
The European Flag—A More Elaborate Example      17
A Hiking Club Logo—An Exercise in Paths      20
The Northern Pacific Railway Logo—A Tracing Example      32
A Box for Cards—An Isometric Projection      39
A Can of Soup—A Three-Dimensional Drawing with Gradients      44
A Vine Design—A Tiling Example      56
A Neon Sign—Animation      66
A Bank Note—Security Features      82
A Bottle—Photorealism      94

Chapter 2: Files          103
Opening and Saving Files       103
Importing Files       104
Exporting Files      107
Printing Files      120
Vacuuming Files      121

Chapter 3: Changing the View          122
Panning the Canvas      122
Zooming the Canvas      122
Miscellaneous View Commands      123

Chapter 4: Editing Basics          126
Undo and Redo      126
Selecting Objects       126
Copying, Pasting, and Deleting Objects      129
Clones       130
Ordering Objects (Z-order)      131
Groups      132
Layers      133

Chapter 5: Positioning and Transforming          136
Inkscape Coordinates      136
Transformations      137
Snapping       144
Alignment and Distribution of Objects      150

Chapter 6: Geometric Shapes           154
Rectangles and Squares      154
3D Boxes      156
Ellipses, Circles, and Arcs      159
Regular Polygons and Stars      160
Spirals      162

Chapter 7: Paths          165
Bezier Curves      165
Creating Paths      166
Editing Paths      177
Path Operations      186

Chapter 8: Live Path Effects (LPEs)           189
Bend       190
Construct Grid      191
Envelope Deformation      191
Gears       192
Hatches (Rough)      192
Interpolate Sub-Paths      194
Knot      194
Pattern Along Path      195
Ruler      198
Sketch      198
Spiro Spline      200
Stitch Sub-Paths      201
VonKoch      204

Chapter 9: Text          208
Creating Text      208
Selecting Text      209
Editing Text      210
Formatting Text      211
Kerning, Shifting, and Rotating Characters      214
Text on a Path      215
Text in a Shape      216

Chapter 10: Attributes          218
Fill and Stroke Paint      218
Stroke Style      239

Chapter 11: Tweak Tool          244
Tweaking Objects      244
Tweaking Paths      245
Tweaking Colors      246

Chapter 12: Eraser Tool          247
Eraser Touch Mode      247
Eraser Cut-Out Mode      247

Chapter 13: Paint Bucket Tool          248
Simple Use      248
Filling Fidelity      249
Filling Multiple Regions      250
Closing Gaps      250
Adding to a Fill      251

Chapter 14: Clipping and Masking          252
Clipping      253
Masking      253

Chapter 15: Filter Effects—Preset          254
Use of Preset Filters      254
ABCs      255
Bevels      256
Blurs      257
Bumps      258
Color      260
Distort      261
Image Effects      262
Image Effects, Transparent      263
Materials      264
Morphology      265
Non Realistic 3D Shaders      266
Overlays      267
Protrusions      268
Ridges      268
Scatter      269
Shadows and Glows      269
Textures      270
Transparency Utilities      271

Chapter 16: Filter Effects—Custom          272
Basic Use      272
Filter Effects Dialog      273
Mini Tutorial—A Drop Shadow      274
Color Filter Primitives      277
Compositing Filter Primitives      279
Fill Filter Primitives      283
Lighting Filters Primitives      287
Pixel Manipulation Filter Primitives      289
Complex Examples      298

Chapter 17: XML Editor          302
Basic Usage      302
Editing XML Nodes      303
Examples      304

Chapter 18: Tiling          306
Symmetry Tab      307
Shift Tab      310
Scale Tab      314
Rotation Tab      316
Blur and Opacity Tab      318
Color Tab      320
Trace      322
Tricks      326

Chapter 19: Tracing Bitmaps          329
Single Scans      331
Multiple Scans      333
Common Options      336
SIOX      337

Chapter 20: Connectors          338
Creating Connectors     338
Modifying Connectors      339
Routing Connectors      339

Chapter 21: Extensions          340
Arrange      341
Color      342
Generate from Path      351
Images      361
Modify Path      361
Raster      370
Render      372
Text      387
Visualize Path      389
Web      391

Chapter 22: SVG and the Web          394
Simple SVG Display      394
Adding Links      397
Using Style Sheets      398
Using JavaScript      400
Simple Animation      401

Chapter 23: Customization          404
Inkscape Preferences Dialog      404
Inkscape Configuration Files      404

Chapter 24: Using the Command Line          408
General Options      409
Export Options      409
Query Options      412

Chapter 25: Challenges          413
Red Spiral     413
Knot      413
Squares      414
Pine Cone      414
Spiral Gyral       415

Appendix A: Inkview          416

Appendix B: File Format          417
Default Template File      417
SVG Groups with Objects      418
Groups of Objects      418
Paths      419
Defs       420

Appendix C: Spheres          421
Sphere with Gradient Shading and Shadow      421
Sphere with Hatched Shading and Shadow      421
Sphere with Dot Shading and Shadow      422
Sphere with Text Shading and Shadow      422

Appendix D: Solutions for Challenges          423
Red Spiral      423
Knot      425
Squares      427
Pine Cone      428
Spiral Gyral      430

Appendix E: List of Dialogs          431

Appendix F: Tips for Illustrator Converts         433
Key Mappings      433
Terminology      433

Glossary          435
Index          439

About the Author

Tavmjong Bah is a reformed physicist living in Paris whose writing about Inkscape combines his love for technology and culture. An active member of the community,Tav is a registered Inkscape developer and has quite a few patches to his credit. His nom-de-plume is the title granted to him by the paramount chief of the Nso, a Cameroonian people.