posted
One of the more fascinating features of Inkscape is the ability to modify letters relatively easily compared to other vector based drawing programs.
The flourishes I put on these script letters did not take terribly long even though I am a novice at Inkscape. It's true that these effects can be done in other programs, with bezier tools, for example. But it's slow, at least it is for me. And the results are not always graceful.
These examples are not perfect, obviously. But they could be. Inkscape does this with a feature called SPIRO SPLINE in its path effects editor that allows you to make smooth curves almost effortlessly. With practice, a person could become very good at modifying individual letters quickly.
A lettering artist with a long-haired brush will always have an edge on doing stuff like this, in my opinion. Still, the spiro spline feature is one of the things I like about Inkscape. And, of course, I can output flourishes like this to a router or an engraver just as easily as to a vinyl cutter.
The original unmodified letters are in green. The font is called Dancing Script.
-------------------- Brad Ferguson See More Signs 7931 Wornall Rd Kansas City, MO 64111 signbrad@yahoo.com 816-739-7316 Posts: 1230 | From: Kansas City, MO, USA | Registered: Nov 1998
| IP: Logged |
posted
Looks great Brad! If every sign artist used fonts as a starting point instead of just typing them out any sending them off the world would be a better place. Or at least a little fancier.
-grampa dan
-------------------- Dan Sawatzky Imagination Corporation Yarrow, British Columbia dan@imaginationcorporation.com http://www.imaginationcorporation.com
Being a grampa is one of the the most wonderful things in the world!!! Posts: 8738 | From: Yarrow, B.C. Canada | Registered: Nov 1998
| IP: Logged |
posted
Yours looks very nice, Brad, like Dan said.
But we need to do stuff like this in moderation; or you wind up with a font like Scriptina (check it out). This font is finding its way onto more business signs, and is very hard to read, depending on the letters used....way too 'frilly'.
-------------------- Dale Feicke Grafix 714 East St. Mendenhall, MS 39114
"I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me." Posts: 2963 | From: Mendenhall, MS | Registered: Apr 1999
| IP: Logged |
posted
Sketchbook Pro has a tool very similar to this, but it's not a vector program. I haven't tried it for this purpose, but sure going to now.
Posts: 4084 | From: ... | Registered: Nov 1998
| IP: Logged |
Dale, your point cannot be overemphasized. Legibility should always prevail, and flourishes can easily be overdone, or can even be inappropriate for a given job.
..........
Rusty, Flourishes were never my strong point, either. I could pull it off sometimes with paint and highliner brushes, but I have spent so much time messing with Bezier curves and tweaking nodes that I always was frustrated in the vector programs I have used (Signlab, Illustrator, Graphics Advantage, etc).
Of course, making paths with Bezier curves has many years of history behind it. Most vector programs support it. I envy the people who get good and fast at doing it. But Beziers can be frustrating, too. At least part of the reason for this is that a Bezier node has a built-in "direction" to it. So any time you move a Bezier node you often need to tweak the handles, too. It's labor-intensive. Heck, it's almost easier to hand paint a flourish and then scan it! When you consider that a Bezier node is really THREE nodes in one—the main node and the two handles—it's easy to see how working with Beziers can eat time.
Inkscape must use a completely different kind of math when you tweak spiro spline paths. Bezier handles don't even show up till you convert the spiro path to a regular path.
I sound like an Inkscape salesman, I know. Except, it's a free program.
-------------------- Brad Ferguson See More Signs 7931 Wornall Rd Kansas City, MO 64111 signbrad@yahoo.com 816-739-7316 Posts: 1230 | From: Kansas City, MO, USA | Registered: Nov 1998
| IP: Logged |
Printer-friendly view of this topic