Hi [can't fill object]

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jessah12
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Joined: Wed Nov 14, 2012 10:02 am

Hi [can't fill object]

Postby jessah12 » Wed Nov 14, 2012 10:11 am

I traced a picture with the bezier tool and now I would like to fill that shape in but it wont allow me to fill in the shape, only the outline of the shape will change colors, what am I doing wrong? thank you, I'm new to using inkscape and I would really appreciate some help thanks again :)
Last edited by brynn on Wed Nov 14, 2012 7:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: descriptive title

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brynn
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Re: Hi [can't fill object]

Postby brynn » Wed Nov 14, 2012 7:43 pm

Image
Welcome to InkscapeForum!

Hard to say without seeing the image. Could you show us the SVG file? You can attach it to a reply or upload wherever you want and give us the link (viewtopic.php?f=6&t=11753).

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Xav
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Re: Hi [can't fill object]

Postby Xav » Wed Nov 14, 2012 10:20 pm

I'm guessing that you've traced an image with a hole in it, and it's the hole you want to fill. The problem is that tracing gives you the outline as one big path, so if you set the fill, you're actually colouring that path rather than the areas bounded within it.

What you've got is a bit like a doughnut (or donut for people on the other side of the Atlantic). You've created the doughnut ring, so if you try to put icing on it you'll end up with it on the ring itself, not filling the hole in the middle. If you want to fill the hole, you'll need to put something beneath the doughnut to hold the icing.

It's the same in Inkscape. If you want to fill the hole, you can do so by creating another object to sit behind your outline. The quick and easy way is to use the "flood fill" or "bucket" tool :tool_paintbucket: although you may need to tweak the parameters and adjust the final path to get good results. You want to produce something that overlaps your traced outline, but doesn't extend beyond it - then you can send it behind the path, and group them both together if you want to move or scale them as a single item.

This is exactly what I do when creating comics from hand-drawn images. See this post of mine for an example, including some SVG files that you can download if you want to have a closer look: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=12791#p48371
Co-creator of The Greys and Monsters, Inked - Inkscape drawn webcomics
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