Hey there. So I've been using Inkscape for a few months for various things, but I have a couple questions. I do a lot of hand lettering and recently Ive started using the Bezier tool to trace and vectorize my work. I used to use the Trace Bitmap function, but I seemed to get more crisp results when I did it manually. However, I'm still not getting the results that I feel like I should be getting. Sometimes I'll find that I just can't get a certain node to smooth out -- like sometimes I can look at my letters and be able to see at a glance where the nodes are due to to little bumps or corners. I'll press Shift-F on them to make them smooth, but a lot of the time that throws off the other line that they're correlated with and I just can't get it to look right.

What I'm looking for is just some general tips, tricks, guides, or rules of thumb for working with nodes and vectors. Is it best to have as few nodes as possible or to use them generously? Is there anything about using the smooth function on nodes that I seem to be missing here?

Thanks in advance!

Hello.

The Spiro Path effect was introduced in order to obtain smoother curves, related with typographic works.
The new Power stroke can also help at the moment of making some letters.

Good Practices, (according to me):
- Set up your document,with the needed units, and with a grid. In 0.91 I think that now points can be used.
- Use Circles, ellipses, rectangles as auxiliary objects.
- For your case, I think it's better to avoid boolean operations. Sometimes it generates the "overlapping nodes" problem.
- Use the outline mode view. At first stages leave your shapes without strokes.
- Use maths, integer or rounded numbers it's better
- Be careful with "overlapping nodes". If you zoom in a lot you will see that actually they are not overlapped. When you delete one of them, the geometry of the shapes can change drastically.

warning, long answer

Is it best to have as few nodes as possible or to use them generously? Is there anything about using the smooth function on nodes that I seem to be missing here?

In some ways, it's entirely up to you, how many nodes to use. You've probably learned enough about Inkscape to know there often is more than 1 way to accomplish certain goals. Everyone develops their own preferences and technique that they prefer over others. And for the most part, and in my opinion, there is no right or wrong way to do something, as long as the end result is pleasing or acceptable for you.

But there are some circumstances where there are other considerations, aside from your own preference. For example, when a file starts to contain several hundred to thousands of nodes, (among a few other culprits) most people will start to notice certain performance issues, such as a delay between your mouse movement and seeing it happen on the canvas. Another consideration with file size, besides Inkscape's performance, is the place you want to use the image might have size limits. For example, this forum, and many forums, have a limit on the size of file that can be uploaded. (And there's a poplular social media type site where I've heard has a low limit - can't remember which one) Or for no other reason that you just like to keep your files conservative, and with as little "bloat" as possible. Often this miscellaneous bloating (excessive nodes, clones, gradients, filters, especially if they no longer exist in the final image) can create other issues, such as if you want to convert to another file type, like PDF or EPS or whatever.

So I think, in general, a lot of people probably think it's a good practice for vector graphics, to have a clean, conservative file. But it's no hard and fast rule, by any means. When I'm hand tracing from imported raster images (like a photo, e.g.) I think I get a better result by zooming in so far that I can see the pixels, and placing many nodes, rather than few. Generally I place a node at the highest and lowest point of curves. Since I find it hard to control smooth nodes with the Pen/Bezier tool, I usually work in straight line mode (so I can work faster without accidentally setting a smooth node). I place the nodes....I think it might be called the "apex" of the curve, although that's probably not a technically correct term. Then when I finish the path, I simply select all the nodes, and change them to smooth, all at once (using the button on the Node tool control bar). If the file is in danger of getting too large and having performance issues, later on I might use Simplify, to reduce the nodes. I've found that as long as I only simplify once, the path is preserved with about 95% accuracy. But do it a 2nd time, and it distorts the paths.

However, for what you're working on, hand lettering....(something like hand calligraphy, I guess?) it's my opinion that the fewer the nodes, would the better. Random thought: If you do a lot of that kind of work, maybe you would want to look into making your own font? There is a way to do that with Inkscape, although I don't know of any tutorials, and not sure how well that feature works anyway.

But now, about smooth nodes. Yes, when you switch a cusp/corner node to smooth, it's likely to affect both sides of the node. But you can always adjust the curve using the Node tool, after you switch. For the issue where you say you can see where the nodes are, because of bumps and such, I know exactly what you mean. I find it's much easier to adjust the curve after zooming in quite a lot. (so much that only 2 or 3 nodes are showing on the canvas) (Probably better to disable snapping for that, imo.) If you're doing the tracing by hand, placing the node at the highest or lowest point of the curve could help. Or another approach, rather than switch the node to smooth, is to drag out the handles "manually". The node remains as cusp/corner, but the curve can still look completely smooth. (Place mouse pointer over the node, hold Shift key, click-drag, and you'll see the handle being drawn out of the node (so to speak). Ctrl + click once on the circle end of the node handle to retract it.

The only other thing that comes to mind, when thinking about "best practices" is an article that someone posted a link to, somewhere in this forum. It may have even been posted a couple of times. Unfortunately I have not saved the link, and don't remember enough to be able to try searching. Hopefully someone else will have the link for you (us ). Anyway, it explains that (in the author's opinion) the correct way to draw vector paths/Bezier curves, is with smooth nodes that lie only with their handles perfectly horizontal or vertical. I don't remember how the author suggests to accomplish that.....although it certainly would be worth a 2nd read, if someone does have the link. And if I recall correctly, the author used text (converted to path) as an example.

brynn wrote:it explains that (in the author's opinion) the correct way to draw vector paths/Bezier curves, is with smooth nodes that lie only with their handles perfectly horizontal or vertical.

Which I found producing a bad look. In (one of the) the mentioned post I linked to one comment on the article that I found much better.


At the mentioned Primer on Bézier Curves, it gets's clearer that a two noded curved path segment, even if the handles are at the same side, around 1/3 of the path, the shape of the path is looking a bit like a parabola. Meaning, at the middle the bending radius is smaller than at the start/end.
In that vein, the less the nodes you use, with handles in fixed directions, the "smoother" the path will look, BUT will be further from the desired flow.


If you can post an intriguing part of your image, we can show how we would trace it.
(In my humble opinion "S" curves are the hardest.)

maybe some of the content of this video is interesting for the OP ?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plwRPf0NOWY

Yes, that's it, Lazur (http://theagsc.com/community/tutorials/ ... 1380199020).

Thanks for all the help, everyone!

I'd like to try the whole perpendicular handles thing to see if it works for me or not. That article talks about holding shift to keep the node handles on a straight plane...but what are you supposed to be doing when you hold shift? Like, do you plant a node, then hold shift and drag? I feel like I'm missing something here

Also, are all those nodes smooth or are they cusps?

Thanks for bearing with me. Like I said, very new to this!

Well, those are smooth nodes. But the way I understand it, that whole article is about using Illustrator. I haven't figured out how to follow that procedure with Inkscape. Although it certainly would be interesting to learn if it can be done with Inkscape.

Maybe some other members here have a better understanding than I do, and would be able to answer right away? I've never used Illustrator, so I don't know what Shift is supposed to do. I guess, as you do, that you set a node and that Shift keeps it vertical or horizontal. I've never heard of such a feature in Inkscape. But there could be.....

Well maybe I'll just nose around a little, and see what I can learn.... Maybe I'll write it up, if I find it can be done with Inkscape

Instead of Shift, hold Ctrl.
And set your nodes to smooth with the icon or by Ctrl+click.

http://tavmjong.free.fr/INKSCAPE/MANUAL/html/Paths-Editing.html#Paths-Editing-Node

Ok, well the first thing is that after converting text to path, Inkscape's outline mode reveals that Inkscape does not create that kind of node arrangement. And if I export the text as PNG, import, and use Trace Bitmap, that doesn't provide the strictly horizontal and vertical nodes arrangement either.

I suppose that could be an indication that Inkscape's developers don't agree with that theory. Or maybe it's just really hard to program? (I'm tempted to post the question on the dev mailing list.....except that those guys tend to show no mercy, in their answers, sometimes.)

Well, after some investigating, (referring to this https://inkscape.org/en/doc/keys091.html