Good evening,

Im an inkscape beginner. Im using it for going over drawings I've scanned in with the intention of colouring. I would like to do it all in inkscape. Currently I'm completing the lines in one layer and then colouring on a second layer by composing shapes, colouring and then obscuring some shapes with others.

My queries are :
When drawing the lines, and knowing that only end nodes can be joined, is there a way around this scenario -
Say I'm drawing trousers with a overhanging t shirt. After drawing the T-shirt, I draw the lines for the trousers
each leg being three lines (two up, one across bottom by ankle). The two lines up end on the T-shirt line.
However, they are not enclosed shapes and to colour I draw two rectangles. Is there a way I can "close" them
without trying to draw the top line to match the tee - whenever I try to butt the two together, the lines they
share create a noticeable thicker line.

I have thought of copying only a section of the path. Is it possible to place one identical line in another without any noticeable change or is there a way they can share this common segment?

Can I alter stroke weight for only part of a path?

Why do users tend to colour drawings on a separate layer?

Thank you all for your time,
Bf

These are all things, that with some practice (maybe a lot) will become easy!

Some of these things can be decided by the ultimate purpose for your drawings. For example, if this drawing will be made for screenprinting onto clothing, or for some digital cutting process, the place where the bottom of the t-shirt meets the trousers will need to meet precisely. Or if the t-shirt will be partially transparent, they will need to meet precisely. But if this drawing will eventually be uploaded to the internet, or maybe become clipart for example, the t-shirt can overlap the top of the trousers. So you can make a line to close the top of the trousers, but it will be hidden under the t-shirt object.

If you do need them to meet precisely, there are a few ways to do it. (It's common in Inkscape, that are several ways to accomplish a particular effect. It just depends on your own personal preference, which will be developed as you become more and more familiar with Inkscape.) In some cases, as you've already been thinking, it could work to duplicate a path, and edit out portions that you don't need, and end up with a 2nd path that precisely matches a certain part of another path. Sometimes you might want to use cloning for that, but that's a bit advanced for where you are at the moment.

For this particular situation, I would use Snapping. Snapping is a quite complex, but so very useful feature! It may take some time to understand, but once you do, it's like a magical tool! Here's the manual info on snapping: http://tavmjong.free.fr/INKSCAPE/MANUAL ... ucket.html [/edit]

I'll refer you to another message I answered today, for the line weight, or stroke width. The member didn't clearly explain what they needed, so I gave general info for all the ways to have a variable stroke width. However, if you have questions, post them here in your topic (so your questions don't confuse him, and he doesn'st confuse you). Here's that answer: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=19023#p72496. Some of those are a little more advanced than where you are, but I guess if you don't try, you can't learn.

I guess people have different reasons for having their colors on a separate layer. Sometimes, it's just to keep things organized. For screenprinting on fabric, I understand that each color has to be on its own layer. Some people develop a certain technique where they can apply shading to all the objects at once, by using layers. (Don't let this discourage you, because this guy is an awesome artist, but he uses a technique that is something like that, as far as I understand it: viewtopic.php?f=8&t=9424)

However, there's no rule that says you have to have your colors on a separate layer. Some people think I use too many layers. But I'm often amazed how other people keep track of everything, when it's all in 1 layer. It's all according to your own drawing style. I usually draw all the basic path outlines that I need first. When the outlines are finished, I select all and duplicate. Then I save the original in a hidden and locked layer, just in case I ever need them again (and I always do). Then the duplicate outlines are above that layer, and then my colors above that. I tend to do a lot of realistic type drawings, so I end up with all kinds of layers for shading and highlights and blurs and filters, etc. But for cartoon work, you wouldn't necessarily need more than a couple of layers.

So anyway, I hope this info is helpful. Keep having fun with Inkscape

Thank you for such a detailed reply.

It works:)

Time to get inking

Thanks again x