Episode 106 – The CMYK Episode

by heathenx

In this screencast I demonstrate how to use a couple of utilities to convert an RGB image created in Inkscape to CMYK. I used Inkscape version 0.47.

There are several applications and utilities to choose from in order to convert an RGB image to a CMYK image (Gimp w/Separate+ plugin, Scribus, and tifficc deserve mention) . In this screencast I show just two: Imagemagick and CMYKTool. For Imagemagick I have provided a text file with the commands that I used. Currently, my personal favorite is CMYKTool due to its simplicity with drag-n-drop.

NOTE: I made a mistake during the screencast when I converted the CMYK TIF to CMYK PDF with Imagemagick. I included an input sRGB color profile when that was absolutely unnecessary. I think I was paying more attention to the output color profile than what I had for the rest of the command. I believe it converted just fine but it might have confused a bunch of you. Whoops! I fixed this in the provide text file.

If anyone would like to post their current workflow for CMYK (if they have one) then please do.

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Episode 105 – Chrome Filter

by heathenx

In this episode I will take another stab at illustrating chrome using a pre-defined filter effect found in Inkscape 0.47.

I recommend checking out other chrome effect tutorials for Gimp and Inkscape. MeetTheGimp Episode 065 and Troy Sobotka’s Inkscape tutorial. Of course those two are not the only ones found on the Net but they are rather inspirational.

Incidentally, there is a little video glitch at about the 1:50 mark. It’s only there for a few seconds.

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Episode 104 -Trendy Circle Wallpaper

by heathenx

In this screencast I hope to make a relatively easy wallpaper using trendy circles in Inkscape 0.47.

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Episode 103 – Ice Pop

by heathenx

In this tutorial I will draw a rather simple ice pop (or popsicle) in Inkscape v0.47.

A very special thank-you goes to Christian (of Chrisdesign) for providing me with this tutorial. Again, he has done all of the hard work for me. How nice is that?

Here’s the color palette for the tutorial.

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Episode 102 – More Realistic Texturing

by Richard Querin

In this episode, I demonstrate how to apply a more realistic looking texture to an object using Inkscape 0.46.

Using typography as an example, and with the help of The Gimp’s Render Cloud tool, I show how to turn a ho-hum texture into something a little more natural looking. While I show an example with text, you could use this sort of treatment with any sort of object you’d like to apply a texture to. Even more generally, using a cloudy mask like this is only one solution. You could generate all kinds of other masks in something like the Gimp (or your bitmap editor of choice) and other sorts of effects to your textures.

I also show how to create a faked spotlighting effect using simple ellipses, gradients and blurs, which can make the drop shadows a little more convincing but it all depends on what you’re after.

The font I used for this episode is called League Gothic and can be found at The League of Moveable Type. And of course, for the cloud mask you can download the Gimp at gimp.org or install it from your repository if you don’t already have it.

Hopefully over the next little while I can get more up to speed on Inkscape 0.47 and all it’s new features. For now though, 0.46 will do.

I hope everyone has a great holiday season and we will undoubtedly see you in 2010!

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Episode 101 – Bottle Cap

by heathenx

In this screencast I will illustrate how to make a bottle cap using Inkscape 0.47.

I want to thank HayTay (which I think I pronounced KayTay in the screencast…oops!) from the TalkGraphics.com forum for giving me the inspiration for this episode.

Also, big thanks to Scott Kirkwood for developing a new key status monitor for Linux.

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Episode 100 – Create a Vitamin Bottle

by heathenx

In this special episode I will use Blender and Inkscape to create a vitamin bottle with decal. I’ll be using Blender 2.49b and Inkscape 0.47pre4.

I must warn our Inkscape viewers out there that is episode serves as a bit of a special one. There is a lot of focus on Blender. I won’t get into the habit of doing this in the future. Inkscape should be our focus on this website.  Of course I won’t ever rule out using Blender again but I doubt very much that I’ll make another modeling screencast. For those out there that wanted to see this specific episode…this one’s all for you.

I want to give very special thanks to Kernon Dillon of BlenderNewbie fame and Jonathan Williamson of BlenderCookie, CGCookie and Mavenseed fame. I learned how to add a decal to a model  from Kernon’s tutorial here. Jonathan’s tutorial on modeling a telescope was very helpful as well. For those looking for more screencasts on Blender then I highly recommend those websites. These guys will get you up and running in no time.

Also, I want to thank Richard for our new intro animation and the funny disclaimer. We weren’t quite sure if we wanted to do something special for the milestone episode 100. In the end we went with whatever took the least amount of time and effort. It’s to be expected, isn’t it?.

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Episode 099 – Tilt-Shift Miniature

by heathenx

In this screencast I will illustrate how to make a tilt-shift miniature photo using Inkscape 0.47pre4.

The final image in this screencast is a little hard to see so if you want to take a look at something better then take a gander at this picture.

Also, check out Tilt-Shift Maker for an even faster way of making these images. Have fun.

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Episode 098 – A Few Simple Text Treatments

by Richard Querin

In this episode, I demonstrate a few simple text treatments using Inkscape 0.46.

Nothing too technically challenging here, just a few treatments I’ve done on text in the past that I find valuable. Hopefully it will help spur people to use typography more in their designs.

At the start of this screencast I point to a great web site called The League of Moveable Type. While they only have a few fonts on there at the moment, they are committed to providing a collection of high-quality open source fonts. I commend them for that. Thanks to Troy for pointing me to that site. I’ve already found a couple of fonts there that I’ve used in some of my projects.

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Episode 097 – Retro Style Curves

by heathenx

In this screencast I will demonstrate how to pattern along a path to make retro style curves in Inkscape 0.46.

I apologize for the piss-poor quality of this screencast. I rushed it because I was being rushed. Unfortunately, I’m not going to have a lot of time to screencast in the next week or two so it was either today or not at all. Good enough will have to do.

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