I am very new to vector drawing and have a particular problem I am hoping the community can solve. It can be broken down (I believe) into two steps:

1) I want to create what looks like a braid of three colored cords or stripes - white, red, and black. It doesn't have to look like actual cords and can be a flat braid as long as it looks like the three colors are braided together.

2) I want to make this braid into a spiral.

Any help would be appreciated. Simple steps that a noob can follow will make you my hero.

Hello,
Personaly, I would prefer if you could provide an sketch (hand made if you prefer) of what you want.

Try to learn first the basics of drawing in Inkscape here:
http://tavmjong.free.fr/INKSCAPE/MANUAL/html/index.html

I have little to no artistic skills and cannot draw what I am thinking of freehand.

Here is a photo of a three-strand braid:



Now imagine taking that braid in the last photo on the lower right and making a spiral out of it.



If I could figure out how to make the braid, I expect I could use Pattern Along Path (LPE) using a spiral as the skeleton path. I just am at a loss on how to make the braid.

Hi

Have a look at my attempt at making a braid in an earlier thread;

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=13865&p=54155&hilit=braid#p53987

Once you are up to speed on node editing etc you will have no problem making a spiral braid.

RGDS
Ragnar

There are also many svg braids online to borrow and experiment with... a spiral path could be used to modify the braid.

(Or, is it actually a helix, rather than a spiral?)

Hi.

That is... some hard stuff.

Having read Ragnar's reply on that post I was thinking oh well, that is how to do it, why to come up with the same thing.
But.
Now designing something along your images it turns out it is simply impossible to handle it in a clean way.
Vector graphics seems always about hiding ugly seams beneath other objects -but with that pattern it is painful to handle.
Speaking of, I didn't even try to do that, as there would new problems arise with each solve.

Also it's not an explained one, rather then just how it evolved.
More things were scribbled around as I was playing around it, but deleted those to make it appear clearer.
-download the svg below and open in inkscape-

Used the pattern along path extension on a group for that:


Good luck!

Fantastic! Thanks!

Hi.

Lazur URH - Very Impressive!

RGDS
Ragnar

I'm glad you like it!
Still I see that there are lot of things that could have been involved.
Maybe someday I will revisit this problem.

With a fake 3d filter



<filter
style="color-interpolation-filters:sRGB"
id="filter3369"
inkscape:label="filter1">
<feMorphology
id="feMorphology3371"
radius="1"
stdDeviation="2.8999999999999999"
k1="3.3300000000000001"
result="result4"
in="SourceGraphic" />
<feColorMatrix
id="feColorMatrix3381"
values="1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 2 -1 0 "
result="result2" />
<feGaussianBlur
stdDeviation="1.7"
id="feGaussianBlur3373"
radius="3.5"
result="result5" />
<feDiffuseLighting
id="feDiffuseLighting3375"
result="result1"
k1="2.0800000000000001"
surfaceScale="3.75">
<feDistantLight
id="feDistantLight3377"
azimuth="260"
elevation="11.020408163265305" />
</feDiffuseLighting>
<feComposite
id="feComposite3379"
in2="SourceGraphic"
operator="arithmetic"
k1="0.79000000000000015"
k2="0"
result="result3"
k3="0.64999999999999991" />
<feMerge
id="feMerge3383"
k1="4.3799999999999999">
<feMergeNode
inkscape:collect="always"
id="feMergeNode3385"
in="result3" />
</feMerge>
</filter>

That's awesome!

Bravo!

the first filter was a POC (there was no 3d effect on the black strand)
this one is better.



http://www.mediafire.com/download/bi7fibb1j1fr997/fake3d3.svg