ok so this is the first image i've made, and i thought i was doing an ok job, until i saw all of you guys and your work, and i realized that i am very, VERY far behind. but, nonetheless, i've already started.



and this is going on the front of this:


the only problem i'm having is how to make feathers. none of the feather tutorials i've seen really apply to what i'm trying to do. does anyone know of a different one that could make those feathers look fluffly and nice, but isn't too difficult for a novice?

also, if you have any suggestions to make the image itself not suck as much, or to flow a little better into the feel of the rest of the page, i'd really appreciate it. thanks!

haha! Well the first suggestion I can make in order to ensure your images don't "suck" as much is to get it out of your head that they "suck" at all. You have to have a little self-confidence; otherwise if you don't believe in yourself, it will always be reflected in the quality of your endeavours.

Second, do bear in mind that vector editors are best suited for non-photorealistic imagery such as this:

http://www.sxc.hu/pic/m/r/ry/rybson/981 ... ated_3.jpg

...where you can play with gentle lighting and shapes to get a "soft" and professional feel.

On the other hand, if you want something photorealistic like this:

http://en.wikivisual.com/images/4/48/A_ ... loseup.jpg

...it's not impossible to do with Inkscape, but the process isn't entirely beginner-friendly, and it may be too time-intensive to create something that could easily be replaced with good art-direction instead. ^^

Either way, let us know what kind of feather you want to draw, how quickly you want to draw it, and what tools you're already accustomed to using (e.g., blurring, duplicating, calligraphy, eyedropper, tweaking, boolean operations, etc), and then we can try helping you with your goal.

Also, for photorealistic imagery, working over and/or alongside a reference shot is invaluable if you're not already used to drawing it from memory. ^__^b

thanks! i'm not necessarily looking for photorealism, because i understand that is not the nature of vectors, but the only feather tutorial i've seen EVERYWHERE is that one with the green oval that's got a few notches out of it, and i really just... don't feel i can use that.

i like that first feather you linked, and i could see tweaking on it to get what i want. i'm not really "accustomed" to anything haha. i've only been using inkscape (or any image editor, for that matter) for a little over two weeks, just kind of picking things up as i go. i started with learning how to add patterns to paths, and just kind of went from there. everything in that image was a result of clicking something to see what it did and liking it sometimes. so if you have some ideas for tools to use, just tell me them and maybe send me to some instructions that would help me learn to use them and i'd be golden. i'm a quick learner.

in the picture that i posted, i had the real mask as a locked layer under everything i was doing because i'm really just using it as a reference. i just moved it over to get a screenshot for here... speaking of which, i still haven't figured out how to save in anything flat (jpg, bmp, fig, etc...), which is why the screenshot.

anyway, i guess i'd like to make something somewhere between the first and second, but not super involved. i also have gimp, and i thought of using some gimp feather brushes, but that's not working for me... at all. unless there's a better way to do it.

hehe, well that does take me back... WAAAY back when I first started using Inkscape. Actually I was semi-accustomed to it given my experience with the useful but VERY limiting Vector tool in Photoshop (I still used that at the time). Inkscape was a lot easier to use and far more robust, but since I didn't have a full appreciation of its tools, didn't have the time/patience to go through any tutorials, and since I also thought the interface was intuitive enough to jump right in, I basically did half the drawing in Inkscape, and shading + post-production in Photoshop.

It was like that for about 10 drawings, until I finally got used to using Inkscape exclusively, and it's been a sweet 4 years ever since. (if I ever even touch raster-based stuff again, I use GIMP now instead of Photoshop). ^^

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Well as you can see from careful observation and analysis, the first feather is fairly easy to compose. Use the pen tool to craft a kind of scimitar-shaped path and give it a nice gradient fill of dark lavendar to pink (or any color of your choice).

Draw six needle-shaped objects and stick them into our pink scimitar as if it were a pin cushion -- curve as desired. ^^

Select all six needles, do CTRL, SHIFT "+" sign to do a Union boolean operation so that they become one giant shape, then select this giant shape plus the pink scimitar and do CTRL, SHIFT "-" sign so that the shape does a Difference boolean operation (in other words, it will cut into your scimitar, giving it now a more feathery shape).

Finally, either you can use the Pen tool to make the central groove with a simple stroke, and then convert that Stroke to a Path so you can sexify the width a little. Or if you have a tablet, you can draw that central groove using the delicate Calligraphy Tool.

Either way, with practice, you can create this in less than two minutes -- or five if you really look very very carefully and add a little more effort to include all the subtle gradients. ^__^

Also try adding just a smidge of Blurring to the overall feather shape so that you can soften up the borders a little. ^^b

And if you need more than one feather, select the feather+groove, hit CTRL+G to group them, then CTRL+D to duplicate the whole shape. Move that shape, CTRL+D, move that shape, rotate or resize if needed, and then repeat ad nauseum.

Finally, in order to save, go to File>Export and add just the name plus the ".png" extension so that it exports to a bitmap image. Note it only really exports to PNG, but its high quality PNG at least. ^^b

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Well that's the ballpark instructions, but not entirely sure if this is helpful at this point in your training. Personally, I do prefer that initiates do play around with the program (as you have) so that they can get a more organic feel for the controls. I wish I could point you to my (or rather C-chan's) tutorial, but that's both outdated and incomplete. The manual/tutorials in the Help menu are probably a lot more useful at this point. -v-

Besides, as long as you're enjoying the experience, I think you'll give yourself the time you need to really grow with Inkscape. Your first drawing is pretty slick, so I don't think it'll take you very long, lol. ^^b

thank you, c-quel, i'm going to try that!

and rm., that tut looks awesome, but i don't speak spanish at all....

nevermind, i google-translated it, and while the translation is raw to say the least, i managed to get some pointers out of it. thanks!