Inkscape Community

Misc. => Testing => Topic started by: fluxrider on April 18, 2019, 10:06:52 PM

Title: Examples of work - re request to post tuts and pics
Post by: fluxrider on April 18, 2019, 10:06:52 PM
Hi Brynn!

I wrote to you a week or two ago about posting tutorials and pictures.  I don’t have a website for downloading from, so I thought I would go with Plan B-3.  [All options available were part of “Plan B”, the email option was listed third.]  However, after I composed a Word doc and just threw my graphics in there, it was still over 60 MB in size, and I didn’t want to do a long back and forth on what size email I could send and you could receive, yadda yadda…
…so I came up with an alternative, which I thought was sort of clever.  I made a single SVG file with named filters for each of the variants.  You can just open it in Inkscape and flip through the “different” filters, applying each to see it at a decent resolution.   And in my Word doc, I could just have thumbnails of the actual graphics, to convey the idea.

However, when I started composing the Word doc, I found myself increasingly distressed by the use of thumbnail graphics.   So many of them depended on good resolution just to see what was neat about them…

So I reviewed your message again, and saw the option for a Testing board topic and attachments.   And here I am, going with Plan B-2.   :)

I do want to make clear that I’m not an expert in Inkscape.  I’m barely beyond novice status, having worked with it for maybe a year and change.  And most of my work has been playing with my company’s logo, so I can’t even show you that work.  However, I do have a few ideas for tutorials from time to time, specifically based on topics I’ve learned or been challenged by, and sometimes make tutorials for myself as I go.  And I do have some examples from those efforts that I can show you here.

One of my approaches to learning the Inkscape interface is to deconstruct someone’s  results that I find compelling or mysterious.  This is especially possible when they are kind enough to have provided the actual SVG file that produced the result.  Lazur, for instance, is quite conscientious about providing these, and I have a couple documents tracking my attempts to work backwards from his finished products to learn how he achieved them.  It strikes me that people might be interested in taking that journey with me. I will have hopefully attached an example of that kind of journal, which tracks reconstructing one of Lazur’s fabric filters. Another example tutorial of mine (strictly for novices) is one on how to dock or arrange dialogs, and a couple of potential frustration points.  I also included my latest bit; on how to use the Filter Editor for clipping composite filtered graphics.   This is a capacity I “discovered” myself, and am kind of proud of it.  I think Lazur might even be interested in that one.   :wink1:

I also have documents explaining to myself about various filter primitives; Convolve Matrix, Color Matrix, etc.  These are in various states of completion.

To learn about the Filter Editor, I deconstructed a couple of Lazur’s examples that particularly struck me.  His “Generic Cross” is one of those examples, and I have a journal of that deconstruction that is quite extensive.  But it is quite rough, and not fit for public consumption.  Below however, I can show you some results of that learning.  These examples are all from essentially the same filter, with a change in a single filter primitive.
Title: Re: Examples of work - re request to post tuts and pics
Post by: fluxrider on April 18, 2019, 10:24:00 PM
For context, this is Lazur’s generic cross v1.  It can be found in his Filter Packs in Action thread.
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Title: Re: Examples of work - re request to post tuts and pics
Post by: fluxrider on April 18, 2019, 10:50:32 PM
And here is my imitation of it, pretty close. 

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My gradients and color choices aren’t quite identical, so the result is slightly different.  Additionally, it seems like my version of Inkscape may be newer than the one he used to produce his cross; the displacement map primitives seem to have much more range in my version of Inkscape than they did in his.
Below, I’ve included several examples of my own results, once I was able to understand the filter chain and imitate his result.  Having reconstructed the filter stack, I was then able to explore the primitives and their configurations for additional understanding.

I can forward better copies or the SVGs (all pretty much the same SVG  :) ) if you would like to post them.  These are just for introduction.  A couple of them were clipped or masked, but most of them are simply the straight result from the filter itself. 

These first variations were formed by tweaking a single Distribution Map primitive in the filter stack.
Title: Re: Examples of work - re request to post tuts and pics
Post by: fluxrider on April 18, 2019, 11:05:03 PM
The Metal Forest   :no2:

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The above graphic is not clipped, by the way; it comes out of the filter in that shape.  More on that later...
Title: Re: Examples of work - re request to post tuts and pics
Post by: fluxrider on April 18, 2019, 11:16:58 PM
Here are a few achieved by moving one of the base gradients for the filter.

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...And at this point for some reason I decided to try blending the filtered result with the Source Background, and was suprised by this nifty result:


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Title: Re: Examples of work - re request to post tuts and pics
Post by: fluxrider on April 18, 2019, 11:26:12 PM
The following results were made by a single tweak of one of the Composite primitives in the stack that is set to Arithmetic mode. This composite mode is about combining color, but in the filter stack interaction, it can also change the shapes of things.  I found the variation possible here to be somewhat astonishing, and I really like some of these, especially when they’re bigger.    :D

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"Fire Diamond"    :@@:

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Title: Re: Examples of work - re request to post tuts and pics
Post by: fluxrider on April 18, 2019, 11:29:04 PM
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I like the artifacts that show up in this one:

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Title: Re: Examples of work - re request to post tuts and pics
Post by: fluxrider on April 18, 2019, 11:32:37 PM
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I was going to mention which ones are my favorites, but honestly I just can't decide...
Title: Re: Examples of work - re request to post tuts and pics
Post by: fluxrider on April 18, 2019, 11:53:10 PM
Although I do really like the way the gold grills come out in that last one. 

I have this Filter Tour SVG file almost ready to send.  It basically lists the same filter over and over, each time with a slightly different edit of the filter stack.  So you can select the source graphic and then just go through the different variants of the filter, seeing each one as it is applied.
However, one frustration for me was that many of the filtered results seem to want some kind of clipping, and there's not an easy way to have that be usable by a stranger, plus it slows the tour way down.
So I came up with a method of using the filter stack itself to accomplish the clipping.  I'm really kind of proud of this...For instance, Lazur's example was clipped.  However, my example at the very beginning of this thread is not clipped, I did it with the filter itself.  I'll also attach a doc that is an example tutorial on how to do exactly this kind of clipping.  Lazur himself might find something of interest in it.   B-)
And this method isn't just for simple clipping of compound graphics, it can do some very interesting things. 

Here are a few examples, not clipped or masked.  The first is several variants of the same filter applied to different parts of the same graphic.  The second is two instances of the diamond object, each with a different variation of the same filter applied to it.
The third example is the simplest, a single filter application but I really like the way it came out.  I call it Easter Cross.

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Title: Re: Examples of work - re request to post tuts and pics
Post by: fluxrider on April 19, 2019, 12:34:32 AM
Here are a couple Word docs that are more or less my idea of tutorials.  They are close to finished, the second one is pretty much done.
The first breaks down the rather long filter stack in Lazur's Fabric Filters.  The second shows how to clip a composite filtered graphic inside the filter stack itself; no clipping masks needed.  I'm proud of this one, and think it would be quite useful to folks.  Even Lazur perhaps.  :lol:

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And once I have my filtering tour SVG finished, I'll attach that here as well.
Thanks!
Fluxrider
Title: Re: Examples of work - re request to post tuts and pics
Post by: fluxrider on April 19, 2019, 08:38:14 PM
Brynn, here's a second version of that Filter Clipping tutorial, I wonder if this one is easier to follow?  I broke it out a bit more, even though that makes it longer.

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Title: Re: Examples of work - re request to post tuts and pics
Post by: Lazur on April 20, 2019, 06:20:14 AM
Hello there!

Nice to see you got inspired by that image!
Can't recall the original svg and alas currently openclipart is down for some maintenance.

In general I see more roadblocks for making such an image look "decent".
The rendering is limited to the 256 values for each of the rgb channels.
In addition the intermediate colour values are calculated with a linear interpolation.
Mach banding is very apparent and there is no artificial dithering added to hide it.

Then, the blend filter is more of a hit and miss. Mostly the latter. The input gradients were continuous. After some blending, there are colours completely washed out. Which I'd consider unacceptable if we are talking about scalable vector graphics.

Additional note, that using custom blending with the background image as a filter input is the hugest processor melting phenomenon inkscape can offer.


On writing tutorials, here is what I got started quite awhile ago:
filtering cookbook (http://iterativeideasinventory.blogspot.com/p/tutorials.html)

Will have to continue with it once getting myself together.
Title: Re: Examples of work - re request to post tuts and pics
Post by: fluxrider on April 20, 2019, 09:52:32 PM
mach banding and artificial dithering, whew! 
Now, "getting myself together", that's a phrase i understand more...  :-)
I know almost nothing about graphic display.  I am quite confused for instance, by when and where and how i can display SVG files as opposed to other graphic formats.
(I saw the OCA pages are down too.  Annoying.   For what it's worth, Lazur's actual SVG displays better than the PNG I grabbed of it.)

The background blend steps on the processor, eh?  good to know...although i still like the effect  :-P

On that filtering cookbook, if it were me, my next step would be to label the pages you've got.  That will make it feel like you've gotten farther, and maybe help you see where you want to go next.
...although I have to interject that chaos IS cosmos...

Did you get a chance to look at my Filter Clipping version 2?  What do you think?
Title: Re: Examples of work - re request to post tuts and pics
Post by: fluxrider on April 20, 2019, 10:10:11 PM
By the way, as long as we're posting drastically unfinished works (  :-P )  here is my start on a Filter Editor overview.
It is drastically incomplete, but if you're interested it does give a decent view of how i explain things to myself.  The Color Matrix section is pretty decent, and I have a good start on Convolution, although i don't have the pictures for it yet...
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Title: Re: Examples of work - re request to post tuts and pics
Post by: fluxrider on April 21, 2019, 08:00:28 AM
Lol, apologies Lazur, i didn't realize that was you i was replying to.  I really like that filter structure, as I do so many of your filters.
It has taught me so much, and also has consistently produced startling and pleasing results with small configuration changes.

Are you aware of any good explanations for the types of consideration you mentioned, banding and dithering and such?
I envision rejecting many intensive and technical explanations on the web that are far over my head before I can find a good, succinct explanation...
Title: Re: Examples of work - re request to post tuts and pics
Post by: brynn on April 21, 2019, 11:07:10 AM
I think Lazur might have been part of a discussion with developers, about redesigning the filter editor.  Whenever the subject comes up again, maybe you'd want to share your ideas too?  I have no idea when this might happen (probably no one does).  But I'll try to post about it, if I see it come up.

Too bad it can't get into 1.0.  But hopefully it won't take too long, to get it redesigned.
Title: Re: Examples of work - re request to post tuts and pics
Post by: Lazur on April 21, 2019, 12:24:48 PM
The banding issue is more apparent on a black to white gradient. The human eye can see the difference between luminance levels way more than changes of the chroma -hue&saturation.
Out of that rgb model the screen uses -and as a result, which is also hard-wired to inkscape (http://tavmjong.free.fr/SVG/COLOR_INTERPOLATION/) by default- there are only 256 steps to render throughout such a smooth black to white gradient.
Theoretically that means equal lightness steps rendered in between.
(It is a matter of the rgb model used though -linearrgb vs. srgb. The human eye can differentiate between the darker shades better. So there is also an option of gamma correction which alters the range of the lightness levels. Some screens have gamma settings (http://), but it can also be simulated on screen by the softwares running.)

(Side note: inkscape before the current cairo renderer -probably before 0.48-  used to only render 1024 steps the max on any kind of gradient.)

So with that greyscale gradient there are areas visibly filled with the exact same colour, as 256 flat filled rectangles next to eachother  would be rendered. These areas produce a visible "edge", which is referred to as Mach banding (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mach_bands).

How to solve the issue?
Extending the depths available for rendering. It needs a screen that can render more brightness levels -instead of using 24bit truecolor, using some deepcolor (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_depth).
-24bit means there are 8 bits stored for each rgb values, that is 2^8=256.-
For example if we were using 48bit colours, that'd mean 2^16=65536 luminance levels. We are hardly near that.

30bit seems the closest step (10bit per channel) when looking around. There are some pricy monitors that can produce such an output. Benq (https://www.benq.com/en-ca/monitor/photographer/sw320.html) claims to even produce a look up table (https://color.viewsonic.com/explore/content/Advanced-14-bit-LUT-and-3D-LUT_1.html) with 14bit channels.

However that also requires an appropriate gpu and setting it up (https://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/articles/Setting-Graphics-Card-Software-to-Display-10-bit-Output-1221/).

Not sure how inkscape would perform on such a high-end environment.
Or if any of that could be transferred to a printable pdf.

The other option is cheating. Tricking the eye so that the transition looks smoother.
Basically anykind of halftoning (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halftone) effect can be used.
Dithering is more of a downsampling solution on raster images. There are several types (http://www.tannerhelland.com/4660/dithering-eleven-algorithms-source-code/) of them, you can choose some of those options like when using gimp and changing the image mode to a smaller colour depth.
By definition the dithering algorithm is applied on screen pixels so in a scalable vectorgraphic environment where you can zoom in it would be very resource heavy -and probably a mess just like the convolve matrix.

Gimp adds some "dithering" to gradients drawn. Edges are not smooth but the colour step values are spread in some hard-wired fashion.
With filtering you can simulate a similar effect by displacement in inkscape. Needless to say it's not a good solution since there is no way to control the direction based upon a gradient handle.
Some cases a dither-like filter may help a bit, but generally it's a huge burden (and resource-heavy) to be added to any gradient fill along with additional clipping just because the renderer produces a lacking result without it.

Off-Topic: show
Getting myself together has hardly anything to do with those technical aspects as per se.
Apparently I've lost most of my interest in the current life I'm living. Need to make some serious changes. Getting back to abandoned projects may be one of them.
Title: Re: Examples of work - re request to post tuts and pics
Post by: fluxrider on April 21, 2019, 01:20:54 PM
Brynn, I would certainly be interested in that redesign attempt.  I'm not sure I would have any input, but I'm not sure I wouldn't, either.   :)
Title: Re: Examples of work - re request to post tuts and pics
Post by: fluxrider on April 21, 2019, 08:00:21 PM
Thanks Lazur, that's quite helpful
Title: Re: Examples of work - re request to post tuts and pics
Post by: fluxrider on April 23, 2019, 06:39:05 PM
Okay!  Here’s that SVG I’ve been braggin’ on.  It is a file with a bunch of filters.
They are all pretty much the same filter structure, but each with a slight difference.
Obviously, once you download the SVG, you can do what you want with it, but here is the intended usage:

Open the SVG, and pull up your Objects dialog and Filter Editor.
In the Objects dialog, expand the “group_BigDiamond", and shift-select all eight triangles.
Then simply go through the Filter Editor and check any filter to see what it looks like.
You can start from the bottom or the top, it doesn't really matter.

Notes
The filters are all just variations of a single filter chain.

What else?  There’s a “Blend with background” filter that can be applied to the large diamond or square, and will blend the filtered result with the active background. 
*The background has to be visible when you apply the filter for it to work.  If you apply the filter and then turn up a background, you’ll need to unapply and reapply the filter to see it in action.
The same rule applies to the “Move_CrossAndShield_Blended” filter, which has a blend at the end.

There is a layer that will be shut when you download it, called Combinations.  This is an "extra" layer, not the main way to view this file, but a place for combinations of filters, ie. filtering applied to multiple sets of objects.  They’re nothing special, but interesting.
There’s a layer of ready-to-use backgrounds, and a layer of definitions that shows each variant on a single source object.
There are also layers for the base gradients, alphamaps, and moved gradient objects.

One last thing...there are 57 instances of a fairly long filter chain in here, and at some point the SVG started to lag on my computer. 
I found a very reliable and easy way to kick Inkscape when this file bogs.
Mouse over the right pane of the Filter Editor and scroll the pane up or down with your scroll wheel; Inkscape comes right back.
(Scrolling the left pane of the Filter Editor works too, just not as reliably.)

If you have any questions, just hit me up.  I’ll reply at some point.
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Title: Re: Examples of work - re request to post tuts and pics
Post by: brynn on April 24, 2019, 12:25:41 AM
Hhmm, there's something strange with that SVG file.  I didn't read or work through your Notes yet, but I will.

But just looking around, I found the "arrangements" layer.  But I can't select anything.  Not with Selection tool, and not using Tab key.  However, opening XML Editor, I can select things that way.  And also with Objects dialog.  Any idea why they can't be selected with Selection tool?  The layer is not locked.

Oh, maybe you locked objects??  Ah yes, that's it!  Problem solved.

Also, just fyi, you might want to use File menu > Clean Up Document.  I found 1500 unused defs!  Most likely some are gradients, but there could be more.  I think filters might be a def too, but I'm not positive.
Title: Re: Examples of work - re request to post tuts and pics
Post by: fluxrider on April 24, 2019, 07:34:43 AM
Oh right, I forgot to check if things were locked.  I've cleaned that up and re-attached the SVG.  I also read with interest about the File Cleanup option, I wasn't familiar with it.  However, when I tried the clean up, it appears to have cleaned up all of the unused filters, which was of course most of them.   :lol:  Oh well.  I bet there are plenty of unneeded defs in that file by now, but I'll have to find a more manual way to go about finding them.
I also tried to clean up my notes a little, and bolded the most important part.

And just to make it clear, the Arrangements layer is just extra, really.  The main event is the eight triangles in the "Large Diamond", on the Filtered Groups layer.
Title: Re: Examples of work - re request to post tuts and pics
Post by: Moini on April 24, 2019, 02:49:33 PM
If you want to use the file as a 'repository' for filters, it's probably best to have one object for each filter. Then you can:
a) see what the filter does and
b) clean up the document without risking to lose things you still need.
Title: Re: Examples of work - re request to post tuts and pics
Post by: fluxrider on April 26, 2019, 12:01:44 PM
That's an idea...I was thinking that this way I have many less objects in the file, so that should help on filesize etc., and also that you get to view the filter by clicking on it, which seemed to be a good way to demo it.  But the idea of being able to use that clean up option is appealing...
Maybe I'll assign each filter to a set of objects and then do a cleanup, and then delete the objects!   :b1:
Title: Re: Examples of work - re request to post tuts and pics
Post by: Moini on April 26, 2019, 01:35:52 PM
That will work, too. But the objects are really not that large, data-wise, so trying to save space that way, while risking that someone deletes the filters... Depends on what you want to use it for. As a custom template, it would make sense like that, to not have the objects inside. As a filter library, it's less useful.
Title: Re: Examples of work - re request to post tuts and pics
Post by: Lazur on April 26, 2019, 06:26:21 PM
Biggest issue with the filter editor: no feedback.

There is no preview on what the result should was supposed to look like when filtered.

In addition by simply copy/pasting a filtered object a new filter definition is created each time. Making the list of filters unorganised because you cannot give hints or comments or organise them into folders etc.
Nor there is an indication on any transformation affecting the rendered result.
Scaling can make a great diference between the same filter chain. At least with a preview object we can have a sense on what look were you after.


Which concludes filters may be better organised by attaching them to objects. However if you wanted to make something realistic
-for example 1.distort the shape 2. add dithering to the original fill 3. generate a texture and overlay blend it 4. generate another texture (or more) just for a bit more variance and natural look 5. add a generated shading 6. make the diffuse shader appear decent after some colour corrections and whatnot 7. generate dropshadows, maybe?-
thenyou'd better organise those separate filters either into a looong chain or your only choice is applying one filter, grouping the object filtering the group, rinse and repeat... 

Or just head over to blender and get a load of 2.8's brand new eevee (game engine) renderer.
"Principled BSDF" shader all the way.
Title: Re: Examples of work - re request to post tuts and pics
Post by: Moini on April 27, 2019, 05:15:31 AM
What do you mean by 'there's no preview', Lazur? If you have an object selected and the check mark for the currently edited filter is set, it's immediately adjusted.
Title: Re: Examples of work - re request to post tuts and pics
Post by: Lazur on April 27, 2019, 09:10:00 AM
I mean, if it's not applied to an object.

Even if it is applied, checking "subchains" requires a merge filter primitive and constant rigging.

Looking at a zoomed in portion is hardly possible to do in addition.
Title: Re: Examples of work - re request to post tuts and pics
Post by: fluxrider on April 27, 2019, 11:03:28 AM
Moini, that makes sense...and the accidental deletion is a good point too.  I went ahead and took your advice (in a hybrid sort of way) and added a definitions layer that displays all of the filter variations at once, each on a single object rather than the set of eight triangles for each.
It only increased the file size by about a quarter, from 321 KB to 390.  However, once I did that, I tried the File Cleanup, and it didn't reduce the filesize by even a KB.  So I guess once the filters were in use, there were not many unused definitions at all.   ...which made me sort of obscurely happy in some way.   :)
I also got rid of the diamond/square bits in the filter names.  It seemed like an unnecessary complication, and I want the filters to feel accessible, not daunting.
Title: Re: Examples of work - re request to post tuts and pics
Post by: fluxrider on April 27, 2019, 11:10:36 AM
And Lazur, I'm not sure I'm following what you're saying.  This SVG is intended as a demo of the filter variations, with the idea of applying different ones to the same object (well, the same set of eight objects) to see them.  The drawing itself is the preview window.
Personally, I really enjoy going from one variation to another and watching as it processes the new filter; what changes and what stays the same is really interesting to me.
Title: Re: Examples of work - re request to post tuts and pics
Post by: fluxrider on April 27, 2019, 11:14:34 AM
I also added some instructions to the Gradient Guide tool, in case anyone wants to make their own alphamaps in that SVG.  The tool basically just aids in shaping and positioning your new alphamap gradient to be doing exactly what you intended it to be doing in the composite shape.
If anyone is interested in that, anyway...I find it very useful, so I thought I would include it in the SVG.
Title: Re: Examples of work - re request to post tuts and pics
Post by: fluxrider on April 27, 2019, 11:21:53 AM
And just in case the main instructions for the SVG got lost in all my other verbiage...here they are without other distractions:

Open the SVG, and pull up your Objects dialog and Filter Editor.
In the Objects dialog, expand the “group_BigDiamond", and shift-select all eight triangles.
Then simply go through the Filter Editor and put a check in any filter to see what it looks like.

and...

To see what the change from baseline was, check the first part of the filter name, it will tell you where to look.
"Comp3" means the third Composite, Disp1 means the first Displacement Map, and so on.
Also, if the filter name starts with “Move”, that indicates the filter was changed by moving one or both of the base gradients.  To see where those gradients were moved, check the first Image primitives for that filter variation, they will show the image or SVG element they use (which will be a gradient object, similar to the original, but moved)
Title: Re: Examples of work - re request to post tuts and pics
Post by: fluxrider on April 27, 2019, 12:05:05 PM
Lazur,
"Even if it is applied, checking "subchains" requires a merge filter primitive and constant rigging."

   I think what you are talking about here is adding a Merge, and then attaching the input to whichever earlier primitive, to see what it looks like at that point; basically a forensics method.  That sounds cool, I'll have to check that out...although I can see already that some places in the filter chain will not look very coherent, since perhaps a constraining clip or something hasn't been applied yet at that point in the filter. You would have to pick the right places to see the actual progress; the primitives that are at the "end" of some subchain.

"Looking at a zoomed in portion is hardly possible to do in addition."

   If you mean that as you zoom in, the filter takes longer and longer to process, I see that as well.  Each time I zoom in an additional level, the filter seems to take about twice as long to process.  This gets pretty long in just a few zooms.
I do notice that the size of the drawing window also affects this.  So if you're interested in looking close up at a small portion of a filtered design, you can make your drawing window small, and then you'll be able to zoom in pretty heavily on that small part, the processing time won't be as bad.
I'm also wondering whether that delay in processing would be better if the SVG didn't have all the other variations of filter in the file.  (I.e. if you only have the one filter in your SVG, does that filter take as long to process when zoomed in?) 
Title: Re: Examples of work - re request to post tuts and pics
Post by: fluxrider on April 27, 2019, 12:19:45 PM
I made a copy and stripped out all but two of the variations, but that didn't seem to improve processing time much at all.  :(
Title: Re: Examples of work - re request to post tuts and pics
Post by: fluxrider on April 27, 2019, 12:31:42 PM
...But I still really like this SVG.   :-D 
In terms of a "thumbnail view", if you zoom out to where the composite diamond shape is only two or three inches across, the processing time is almost nil.  Of course, some of the detail is lost, but that's the nature of thumbnail views...

(I have a bad habit of drowning my words in more words, so I'll try to stop now.)
Title: Re: Examples of work - re request to post tuts and pics
Post by: brynn on April 28, 2019, 01:59:04 AM
Not speaking for Lazur, but I know he's been busy lately. 

When he's mentioned this in the past, my understanding was that he wanted a preview for each filter in the menu.  Like for example, select your object, open the menu, and you can see a preview for what the object will look like with each filter applied to it.  Of course this would need a redesign of the menu, I guess, because that would take more space than the menu currently has.

One thing that takes a lot of time with filters currently, is that you actually do have to apply every filter (or at least a lot of filters) to the object, one at a time, with Undo in between, to sample them all.  So a preview would be worth gold, for filters users.

Although it's possible I misunderstood?
Title: Re: Examples of work - re request to post tuts and pics
Post by: fluxrider on April 28, 2019, 08:24:15 AM
If I understand you correctly, you're talking about the Filters menu in the menu bar, not the Filter Editor?  That would be nice. 
I havenot used that menu much, and probably exactly because it seems somewhat inaccessible that way.
Title: Re: Examples of work - re request to post tuts and pics
Post by: fluxrider on April 28, 2019, 08:26:37 AM
In terms of space in the menu, a preview wouldn't necessarily have to use that space, it could just be a popup to the side when you mouse over a specific filter. (So you don't see all the previews immediately, but can see any specific preview easily by just going to that part of the menu.)

Or it could operate in the manner of some "Live Preview" options in Inkscape, where the preview happens in the drawing itself, when you mouse over that filter in the menu.  Although it seems like that might require a faster response than is feasible, people can mouse over different filters pretty quickly....
Title: Re: Examples of work - re request to post tuts and pics
Post by: brynn on April 28, 2019, 12:34:31 PM
Yeah, I suppose those things could work.  Inkscape developers tend not to participate in forums, so except for other users chiming in, it won't generate a productive discussion.  But if I notice developers are having a discussion in the places where they generally discuss things (mailing list, gitlab, maybe in the chat, although I don't peruse the chat) I'll try to remember to let you know.