Tag: tutorial

Working on a Valentine themed tutorial

Syllie

I wrote a tutorial on abstract designs in Inkscape, such as used for wallpapers, website banners and sigs.

Abstract Wallpaper - Australia
Abstract Wallpaper - Australia

Tutorial Series: Abstract Wallpaper

As Inkscape had many cool features for creating abstract designs without effort, I figured that just one tutorial would only show the tip of the iceberg, and that a series of tutorials would probably better. So I made a few mockups and made a first selection of techniques to be covered.

Abstract Wallpaper - Valentine
Abstract Wallpaper - Valentine

The first tutorial is published and features an abstract design of Australia in cool blues. Right now I am working on a warm hearted tutorial in red for Valentines. I expect the tutorial to available tomorrow, after some further testing by my Inkscape guinea pig.

How a simple tutorial becomes very popular

Syllie
Inkscape tutorial to create flowing spiro swirls
Inkscape tutorial to create flowing spiro swirls

A while back I created a simple video tutorial on how to create Spiro Swirls in Inkscape. It is aimed at beginning Inkscape artists and even without any prior Inkscape knowledge it should be easy to follow.

Spiro curves (Cornu spirals) were introduced to the design world by Raph Levien, and the feature is included in the latest release of Inkscape, version 0.47.

Spiro curves are awesome. They were originally created to support font design, and creating smooth flowing swirls is easily done.

My tutorial demonstrates the basics of Spiro curves in Inkscape at a slow pace and use it to create smooth flowing swirls.

For some reason this tutorial is the most popular page on verysimpledesigns.com, and it gets more visitors than the front page. How awesome is that?

New Inkscape Tutorial Released

Syllie
Inkscape tutorial for beginners: Japanese style Kokeshi dolls
Inkscape tutorial for beginners: Japanese style Kokeshi dolls

I made a cute design, with Japanese style Kokeshi as theme. Kokeshi are Japanese dolls. They are handmade from wood, have a simple trunk and an enlarged head with a few thin, painted lines to define the face. Traditionally the body was painted with a floral design in red, black or yellow and a layer of wax was applied. One characteristic of kokeshi dolls is their lack of arms or legs, but “creative” kokeshi allow the artist complete freedom in terms of shape, design and color. Nowadays we can find kokeshi now in many variations, and digital media allows even more creative freedom.

When I finished the design, I figured it is great material for another Inkscape tutorial. As the last one I made was a bit more advanced, I decided to write it to the beginning Inkscape artist. So the tutorial gives explanations of the tools used, and exact steps how to recreate the design. I am currently considering a “cut to the chase” version of the tutorial too, for the more experienced Inkscape user, but that will take another day to complete (I do have a life without my PC.. even tho I seem to make more hours than anyone else I know.. is that good or bad?).

Anyways.. check it out at verysimpledesigns.com