Tutorial Tyle’s "how do I inkscape" tutorial

Discussion in 'Fan Art' started by Tyle, Oct 19, 2018.

  1. Tyle

    Tyle Existential Complex

    If you can even call it a tutorial…

    Enough people asked about how I generally work my stuff in Inkscape (which is quite flattering, I must say) so I've decided to whip up a bit of a how-to to explain things.
    Before anything, I need to emphasize I’m one of those lazy bums who never bother to read tutorials unless it’s an absolute necessity, so what I can offer here are from my own experience and far from the full potential of Inkscape. anyone who actually understands Inkscape will know I’m a phony please don’t judge me


    Well, here goes nothing.

    Like every digital arting we start off with a sketch – a digital sketch base, pencil drawing or something you doodled during class and thought it looks good – and like every digital arting, you throw the thing into the program. Because of the vector/object-based nature of Inkscape, resolution doesn’t really matter.

    [​IMG]
    Okay, now what?

    First off, if you have the program open with you right now, you might notice I already have a few toolbars, or “docks” as Inkscape calls it, ready on the right. For starters, what you really need to have would be Fill and Stroke and Layers.After you get your layers set up (again, like every other drawing program out there so I’m gonna skip this part), it’s time to finally take up your pen and go. Start off with the Pen (Bezier) tool on the left, and start dragging.

    [​IMG]

    Follow your sketch and draw paths until the last node connects with the first and an object is formed. You don’t need to 100% follow your own sketches, just draw in whatever shape you feel most comfortable with (e.g. individual ‘piece’ of a person’s hair). If some parts are bound to be covered by other shapes, then go lax with it! For easy viewing, go to the Fill and Stroke tool bar and set your objects with no (or transparent) fill and solid black (or red or green or…) stroke so you can work with your draws without anything blocking your view.

    I don’t really have any tips and tricks on how to draw a good line, just practice and you’ll get the hang of it! Eventually, you might end up with something like this.

    [​IMG]

    By the way, a node comes with two handles that determine how your path go. A smooth (square) node always has parallel handles while a sharp/corner (diamond) node does not. Clicking without dragging or dragging while holding Shift will turn your current node into a corner node. You can always edit and correct your pathways with the Edit Path tool (the second one on the left) after you’re done drawing in Pen tool.

    [​IMG]

    When you’re done, it’s time to finally color the thing! Select everything (use select tool, the top-left one, and draaaaaaaaag) and set some fill colors to your object-
    [​IMG]
    …wait, what? This looks terrible!

    In Inkscape, the last thing you draw will be on the top (try to imagine every object as a layer if you don’t get it), so while you’re at coloring, use Page Up and Page Down key to put everything back into order. It also helps to group (ctrl+G) objects that belong together to organize your drawing – it goes a long way especially for complicated pieces. And when you’re done, remove your stroke/lines and the product will probably look somewhere like this.

    [​IMG]

    It looks okay, but at this stage you might start to notice some bits you want to improve: the lower body is too small, the insignia looks weird, and those eyes are honestly creeping me out…

    Remember, you can always edit your drawing/objects via scaling/resizing in select tool or just edit the pathways in Edit Path tool.

    [​IMG]
    Better.


    When you want to call it a day, just go to File > export PNG Image to, well, export your .png (and don’t forget to hide the base sketch layer)!

    [​IMG]
    (Wow look, it’s nothing!)


    I’m not very good at explaining things so pardon me if some of the parts are confusing. That should cover the basics for now.


    A much, MUCH better tutorial from the guys who actually made the thing.
     
  2. Daikon Ocelot

    Daikon Ocelot Spaceman Spiff

    Hey, not a bad turorial, real nice. It helps me a lot. Thanks, for the tutorial. I wish I can give this post more like, but I can only give one. :)
     
    Tyle likes this.
  3. Daikon Ocelot

    Daikon Ocelot Spaceman Spiff

    Hello again! So I am wondering if we can make things glowing or shine in Inkscape, is there a way to do that?
     
    InsaneWing likes this.
  4. Tyle

    Tyle Existential Complex

    This is where 'blur' comes in.

    [​IMG]
    For example, if you want to draw a gentle fire, you may want to make a soft glow surrounding the object. Start by duplicating the object (ctrl+D) so that a copy is created at the exact position on top of the original object, then move its order so it's under your object (so it doesn't accidentally cover other bits like the lighter part of the fire!)

    [​IMG]
    In the Fill and Stroke tool, scale up the Blur % and watch your fire glow! Note: High blur % is bad for Inkscape's and your computer's mental health - I don't usually blur beyond 10%.

    Alternatively, you can try out gradients instead - radial gradients are particularly useful if you want to make non-shape specific light/glow.
    [​IMG]
    Heck, you can even combine gradients and blur at your heart's desire, I say go wild!
     
    Daikon Ocelot likes this.
  5. Daikon Ocelot

    Daikon Ocelot Spaceman Spiff

    Hey, hey, hey, thanks! It is really "enlightening". I can now try to draw lamp and moon glows. Thanks again, see you soon. :up:
     
    Tyle likes this.
  6. Daikon Ocelot

    Daikon Ocelot Spaceman Spiff

    Question, I notice that you put "Tyle (Avian Handicrafter@dA) 2017" on the bottom right of your comic or drawing. What is it for? Should I put something like that if I draw something? Is it important? Sorry, for being such a rookie...
     
  7. Tyle

    Tyle Existential Complex

    It's really just a creator tag/signature (AvianHandicrafter is my handle on deviantArt) - I put it in the end of comic pages in case somebody find the images elsewhere and want to trace back to the creator aka me :)
    When the line of text is not applicable (e.g. those "one big pic"s like Blue Girls) I sign the pic with my avatar instead.
     
    Daikon Ocelot likes this.
  8. Daikon Ocelot

    Daikon Ocelot Spaceman Spiff

    Oh, so that's the purpose of it. I don't where else to ask this, so I ask you (I try to ask the Google, but it is useless). Anyway, thanks for explaining it. You have been a big help and a great art teacher to me (much better than my art teacher at school at least, they only give me more task, and not giving me any inspiration at all). Thanks again! :)
     
    Tyle likes this.
  9. Daikon Ocelot

    Daikon Ocelot Spaceman Spiff

    Hey, hello Tyle! Long time no chat. So, I am having a little problem, I am trying to make a comic, Starbound-themed comic (you know, just trying to fill my free time with something useful). I am thinking of making a text bubble (bubbles for the character's speeches), and I think the text bubble you usually use in your SB comic is perfect. Do you mind if I use it? if you do, that's okay, I will use the default white one, but if you don't, do you mind of teaching me on how to make one? I am really really sorry for troubling you.
     
    Tyle likes this.
  10. Tyle

    Tyle Existential Complex

    No problem, mate!

    [​IMG]First thing you should start off with is a basic shape of the text bubble - in Starbound fashion, it should look like a rectangle with smoothed corners and a triangle. When you're ready,use merge/union (ctrl + +) to combine both shapes in a way that only the outline of the objects is left.
    [​IMG]
    The product should look like this (notice the nodes). While we're at that, you can also throw in a reference screenshot here (thanks, Nev).

    Since Inkscape doesn't support double-colored stroke lines, or at least I don't know it has one, we'll have to sort it out ourselves. To get around this, simply duplicate your WIP speech bubble and use different stroke colors and thickness on the two bubbles, see example.
    [​IMG]
    For reference, here the outline at the back is at 25px thick while the front is 7pc thick. There really is no 'set' thickness and if you want to make both lines appear the exact same thickness when they're stacked together (unlike me, I'm really loose on these), the back line thickness should be 3 times that of the front.

    [​IMG]
    When you finished adding white text in here, it should look pretty authentic (with a few inconsistensies)! Align really helps with lining up things like these.
    For convenience's sake, I usually duplicate the text bubbles so I don't have to draw a new one everytime. Remember you can always move the nodes to make them longer/wider though! Same with dragging where the arrow is pointing at, but remember your text bubble is actually two text bubbles stacked on top of each other so you gotta select both while you're at it.
    [​IMG]
    In fact, I usually keep a 'template' file that has all the basics (frames and textbox and more that I'm not showing here)for me to quickly start a new strip with, notice the file name! It certainly saves a lot more time and keep things relatively consistent.
     
  11. Daikon Ocelot

    Daikon Ocelot Spaceman Spiff

    Hey, thanks a lot, for your guidance and everything. I wish I can repay it, but alas, I have nothing. I hope someone else will repay your kindness. Anyway, again as always, thanks! :up:

    If I may ask again? What is the font style you're using?

    Am I the only person in the community that ask about Inkscape in this thread. Sometimes I womder about it.
     
    Last edited: Feb 19, 2019
  12. Tyle

    Tyle Existential Complex

    Don't worry about it, I actually really enjoy explaining things even if only one person is listening :rofl:

    I don't know how to extract the Starbound font from the game itself so I had resorted to a language font mod to do it for me instead (namely https://community.playstarbound.com/resources/hobo-jp.1850/ ), but instead for the intended use I kind of just use it like a normal font...
     
    Daikon Ocelot likes this.
  13. Daikon Ocelot

    Daikon Ocelot Spaceman Spiff

    Hey, thanks again! :)
     
    Tyle likes this.
  14. Catherine Franz

    Catherine Franz Spaceman Spiff

    *Insert hyperbolic moment like that one focus thing with many numbers and stuff or Jimmy Neutron's going* to ear then brain thing* Time to uhh learn...I guess? Snipping tool...is the best...


    E:I have 0 idea how to edit so replace starbound lore with "Drawing tutorials"
    upload_2019-6-4_18-8-52.png
     
    Last edited: Jun 4, 2019
  15. Daikon Ocelot

    Daikon Ocelot Spaceman Spiff

    Hello, Tyle! Sorry for disturbing. I need your help, again. I am having trouble in coloring a Novakid. Do you mind on teaching me on how to do it? Because I have no idea at all.
     
  16. Tyle

    Tyle Existential Complex

    I generally have no idea how Novas work too D: You should be able to notice I've actually switched the way I draw then since last year, and nowadays I just draw them in solid colors with more shading(?) than other races. You can tell me/PM me about how you want to draw them and I'll see how I can help.
     
  17. Catherine Franz

    Catherine Franz Spaceman Spiff

    Ye made one with the movie poster before soo that'll be easy > w> (easy never for me tho)
     
  18. Daikon Ocelot

    Daikon Ocelot Spaceman Spiff

    I am not really sure how I would draw them or even color them, because I never try to draw the other races, other than Human and Floran (and Aegi). So... how about how to make them looks glowing, I mean like a Novakid, not like lamp?
     
  19. Tyle

    Tyle Existential Complex

    Okay, you might have to gimme some moment.
    I can't decide for you how you should draw novakids, since I'm still exploring styles even till now and I feel like developing your way to draw them is just as fun as drawing in general. However, I can show you several ways that I think is adequate for drawing novas in inkscape. I'll take Aqu as an example.
    [​IMG]

    The first method, is simply via the Inset ( ctrl+( ) function, which is basically shrinking your object inward. After filling in the color, you can simply duplicate everything, inset them, and color the lower level objects in a darker color. Notice the duplicated objects in here.
    [​IMG]
    You can adjust the edges of the objects and this would create a rather conventional cartoony 'thick-line' style, and it's quite suitable for novakids, imo.
    However, it is also quite rough, so for me, instead of using Inset, I simply make duplicates and edit the nodes on my own, creating more fluid 'lines' for good measure.
    [​IMG]
    In fact, this is how I draw novas nowadays! It's quite quick and relatively simple.

    The final method, that you might recognize, is a lot more complicated. I don't know if you think this is a good method, but it could come in handy in the future. This method will create a very pretty, even translucent-y glow and make use of both clipping and bluring.

    [​IMG]
    Make a duplicate of the silhouette of whatever you want to glow (Aqu's head, in this case), then make a simple object (its shape doesn't matter) underneath it. Its color would be the basis of this glow.

    Ok, it's hard to show it clearly here, but hear me out. Make another duplicate of the silhouette, then combine it with the glow base, so that it forms a sort of a 'cut out'. Then, blur it to your liking.
    [​IMG]
    (In this image, the cutout is on top of the silhouette, remember to keep it on top for the proper clipping!)

    Then, use the silhouette to clip the glow basis (select both together, and the object at the top will clip the bottom one), and you'll get the nice glow that fits perfectly to Aqu who has been underneath all these layer, like this.
    [​IMG]

    You know what? I might have to make another image to show what is really happening.
    [​IMG]
    this was more or less what was happening.
    Of course, you might think the glow is a little too "2D" and none of her face's features are showing much, so alternatively, you can apply the glow to each part of her 'hair'.

    Notice that the glow is not 'fixed', you can still adjust the nodes while you at it! In general, this will allow you to do a much more 'controllable' gradient.

    [​IMG]
    With some effort, Aqu can also look like this. I used to draw her like this for around a year, but eventually I had scrapped it in favor of the second method as this was too time consuming and the gradient had clashed with the rest of my style a little.


    So this is what information I can provide for now, it's not perfect so I hope you can develop your style too, happy inking!
     
    Last edited: Jun 18, 2019
  20. Catherine Franz

    Catherine Franz Spaceman Spiff

    It looks like the color of the nova pets already > w>
     

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