Hi @locksmith I saw your work and really liked it, so I decided to download Inkscape to make my own Aristeia! team logo. BUT not everyone is talented as you are, and I'm having a really hard time with this software. I was wondering if you would be able to give me a hand because I'm about to ragequit. Thanks in advance.
@tartopom so the good news is that what I'm doing isn't strictly 'talent', it's all tricks and functions of the programs. That said, I'm all about de-mystifying shit so I'm happy to explain the process and what passes for 'technique'. I want to say right off the bat that what I'm doing is not what I would call artistic ... I leave that to the real wizards who can start with a blank page and an idea and create beautiful images from nothing. At its best, I'm the visual equivalent of an interior designer, picking and choosing pieces that I like and putting them together in new ways. If I wanted to compliment myself I'd say that I am to an illustrator what a producer sampling beats is to a musician. There's technique involved for sure, but I'd be nowhere with out the people who are *really* illustrators. All that is just to say this: *don't* start with a blank page. Start with an image that you dig, something that really catches your eye, and learn the program by making an exact vector copy of that image. Once you have made your vector, you can manipulate it; change colors, bend or skew the shapes, add text. This will not be a quick process. Inkscape and it's proprietary forebear Adobe Illustrator are powerful programs with fairly steep learning curves. They are not snapchat filters. I've been using Inkscape for a while now and I'd say I have a command of about 40% of its native functions. Inkscape is also open source, and i have only barely scratched the surface of the add-ons that the community has made. As an example: The red plane in my JSA space fleet badge started life as a picture of a toy from Wings of Honneamise. After I found a good source image (raster aka bitmap) I imported it into Inkscape to make my vector. I do this by essentially 'tracing' the lights and darks in the raster image. Once my vector is built, I add colors and manipulate the vector to make it what I want it to be. Stage 2 takes the longest; this is an extremely complex image and I wanted it to be the centerpiece of the JSA badge, so I went all in and took about 4-6 hours to make the vector frame. A simpler image, like the one in the 368th USAriadna patch, took a little over an hour. Here are some basic videos. super quick: more detail: And this video explains what Bezier Curves are and how you work with them in Inkscape.
@locksmith This is a great tutorial on how efficiently use the "tricks of the trade" so to speak. I like demystifying subjects to make it easier for others to understand and therefore appreciate this above post that you took the time to write out.
@locksmith Wow... Thanks a lot. Following all this, I managed to do something. But now I'm stuck with the "final" step. In fact, I have created layers, and have my items on them. I just need to get rid of what is out of my circle template. I was thinking of using the eraser, but I can't make it work as I want. Maybe I shoud go on PM to explain. Can I ? Thanks again for all your advices.
Upload the file so I can look at it directly is really the best way. picture worth 1000 words etc etc. If you'd prefer PM that's fine, but with things like this, there's value in asking the question publicly; since it allows others to learn as well, or if someone has a better answer than me, they can chime in!
Tried thos two functions, but can't make it work. But, as Locksmith told me, i'm uploading the thing... :)
So, here it is. I gathered those files and managed to layer them as I could, matching my will. After too much time watching tutorials and raging against it, I managed to do this : But, I only want the insides of the circle and not the crap surrounding it. And that the point where I'm starting to cry.
Make a copy of the circle, move the original off to the side. Set the circle to a white fill with no stroke place the circle on top of the explosion (this will look weird but trust me) select both Go to Object >Clip>Set - voila! This will delete the circle copy you made--move the original back where you want it. Also, on curving your text-- it looks like you used a free-hand drawn line rather than a circle path. Try this: Make a copy of your circle Select the copy Go to Path > Object to Path Type out uncurved normal text Select the text and the Copy of the circle Go to Text > Put on path Here's the trick: When you want to adjust or rotate your curved text, select *just the circle*, not both the circle and the text. When you want to adjust the point size or kerning for the text, select *just the text*Once you have the text curved and sized the way you want it, select the text, copy it, and paste it. This will make a new object that's text, still curved but without the circle. The advantage here is that it preserves the original on the circle so you can go back and easily adjust the curve if you need to. Once you've pasted the copy of the curved text, select it and go to Path>Object to Path. This will tell inkscape to stop treating it like text and make it an object you can directly edit as needed.
Wow, Following your instructions worked like a charm. Here is the result... I'm still not really satisfied with the text part. I'll try to do something about it. Otherwise, thanks so much for your help. Any advice to make it awesome ?
@tartopom I took a whack at it. I like 'honeytrap' better than booby trap cause it's the difference between agency and objectification, but that's just me. I went a little shaft/70s bond with my version. What do you think?
Two things I would change are: 1. The font should match the bend of the circle 2. The distance above and below between font and circle should be the same. But that's only my personal opinion, the work is in general amazing.
JUST WOW ! I'm... speechless. You got all I had in mind. That mix between 70's / pin-up styles. It is just awesome. I love the silhouette you got. Haven't found it when searching. Honeytrap is cool. I used "booby trap" because of the pun between the military trap and the fact I play only female characters. I hesitated with "Venus Trap", with the "Venus/Women" symbol and the Fly trap plant mixing the "femme fatale" aspect. I opted for the schoolkid version maybe not the best idea. I can understand the link with objectification, and it wasn't my intention. But you're right, some might not get the humor out of it. So, i'll change for honeytrap, in order to avoid any offense. Do you authorize me to use this logo for my A! team ? I'll be sure to give the credits of course.
Thanks. I take good notes of it. I'll continue working on it. Even if the logo that @locksmith dropped is a bomb. Maybe i'll try to increase the pin-up aspect more than the 70's style. But I still love it. Fore sure. Thanks again for your advice.
Use it however you like, I don't need any credit. I found the silhouette in a google search and made the infinity pistol using the securitate dossier. Glad you like it. FWIW, I wouldn't say it's about 'avoiding offense' more that when you're in a hobby that's mostly dudes and community that's mostly dudes, you can't go too far in trying to be respectful of people who aren't around to speak up for themselves. Plenty of people disagree with me, but I'll stay where I am on that subject.
Thanks a lot. For everything. I'll keep on trying things with Inkscape. This software is fun to use and I'm sure I can do many many things with it. Again, thank you so much.
BTW, this site is pretty sweet. https://www.dafont.com/ The typeface I used for the 'honeytrap' is called Coolvetica
