I'm trying to create a particular look, and I'm having a hard time describing it so first let me post a picture of the general effect I'm going for:


In the picture above (they're paws of a baby cheetah), it doesn't look like one continuous outline was used. That is, the outline "forks" and curls up into the object while also continuing the outline. I'm having a really hard time putting this into words, so I made another graphic to help me explain:


My questions are:

1) Does this technique/effect have a particular name (so I know what to google or how to properly reference it when talking to people, seeing as I'm really struggling putting it into words)
2) How can this effect be achieved in Inkscape? I don't think you can "fork" lines, and I have no idea how to do something like this.

Thanks!

Welcome to InkscapeForum!

I'm not sure that exactly has a name, but you did a very good job of explaining (by providing verbal description along with image)! I'd say that different artists probably approach that situation in different ways, and whatever they find suits their needs (goals) and personal preferences. In that specific example, you'll probably have a few elements stacked on top of each other. (Well, many elements for a whole cat )

For example, you might want to have 1 entire closed path, without the lines that you describe as curling up into the object, perhaps colored gold. And also, perhaps without any strokes at all. This would be like a base on which you'll build the rest of the features. You might have some white sort of crescent shaped objects to create the white part of the toes. Spots on top of the gold base. And then on top of everything, finally the stroked paths that form the outlines, including the parts that a curl into the object. Since your color is contained in the separate base, it won't matter that the top paths aren't closed. The top paths will probably end up being many subpaths of a single compound path, unless some of them will be different colors. In that case, you might end up with more than 1 compound path.

Let's see if I can make up a quick illustration.....be back shortly

Ok, well this is a little crude, but hopefully will show you what I mean. I guess it's sort of a cloud. So you can see the Inkscape canvas is yellow. Then above that is the basic shape of the cloud (blue). And then on top of everything is just the stroked paths (black) which make up the outline and....well, I guess "inlines" (where part of the cloud path curls up into the cloud).



If it's simple like that, you might not really need to use layers. You can just Raise and Lower in the z-order, to put the pieces in the proper order. But if it's a very complex image, layers are really quite helpful!

And of course you can consult the manual, or the Quick Guide in my forum signature, for detailed instructions (for layers and/or z-order):D

Ah, that helps a ton! Thanks!

For this sort of effect I would use one of three different approaches:

1) Create the "outline" from separate segments - the way brynn's cloud image appears to have been done
2) Draw the outline as one object, then draw the "inlines" as separate objects. Provided your outlines are opaque you can usually hide the ends of the inlines within the outline.
3) Create a single outline object that doubles back on itself to create the inlines. This requires careful tweaking of the path to get the two parts of the inline to lay precisely on top of each other.


I usually use approach (2) if there are lots of inlines to add, or (3) if there are only a few. If you plan to flood fill areas, try approach (2) with the inlines on a different layer - that way you can hide them when flood filling, which reduces the number of corner areas you'll need to manually tidy up.