I was experimenting with the Pattern Along Path and Calligraphy Tool when i noticed that there is a slight gap between those capabilities, waiting to be filled. If you use the Calligraphy Tool with the 'trace lightness' feature enabled, the result looks great for, i.e., Portraits, but if you notice afterwards that the lines would have looked better spaced a little different, all you can do is do it again. Either if these features would be nice:

• Draw a path, then use Tile to spread clones over the desired area, then select some/all of those lines and [new Feature] tell them to behave as if they were the Calligraphy Tool in 'lightness mode' being traced along those lines just now
• Select how many 'tips' the calligraphy tool is supposed to have. Real Calligraphy steel-feathers often sport more than one tip (either all in a line like a comb or some bent slightly forward and back so strokes in any direction will result in mulitple lines being drawn).

Sounds like a good idea to me. It does seem limited that tracing the lightness can't be used with more rigid tools.

When you request it on Launchpad, be sure to post a link back here.

i posted it as a bug, and am keeping my fingers crossed for .47. the link i posted pointed back here, but i just noticed that your post is ambiguous on that part - was i supposed to post a link to the bug report here?

You're right, that was ambiguous I meant to post a link to the bug on Launchpad from this topic, not the other way around

Note that I think I read that the author of that feature already intended to extend it to do as you've suggested.

https://bugs.launchpad.net/inkscape/+bug/235178

here we go