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Inkscape Extensions ~ How to Jitter Nodes

Inkscape has some pretty cool filters and extensions. One that I use quite frequently is the “Jitter Nodes” extension. In the sunset illustration here, notice the outline of the sun. You’ll see that it is not smooth. Take a look at this tutorial for how to add and jitter nodes.

I’ll mention one other technique I used in the picture. Take a look at my little guy in the kayak. I wanted to give the impression that the sun was sort of highlighting the outline of his silhouette. To do this I simply chose a light color for the stroke and then used the gradient tool, setting the top portion of the stroke at 100% and the bottom portion 0% opacity. Then, I again used the gradient tool … this time on the fill, decreasing the opacity toward the back of the kayak to suggest a bit of mist or fog coming off the water.

I have a couple of tutorials you might like if you want to practice using gradients in Inkscape.

Happy drawing.

Laurianne

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Mid Summer Musings

Summer is now upon us and in fact is almost half over. Oh… this is the season that goes by way too fast. But we are enjoying every minute of it and I trust that you and your loved ones are as well.

I was looking over some of my previous posts and drawings and decided to play some more with this one I created with Inkscape back in April, when summer was still a dream. I love the hymn titled “It is Well With my Soul” , written by Horatio Spafford, and so I added the title to this peaceful scene.

Happy drawing!

Laurianne

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Summer Memories and Another Inkscape Tutorial

Today we Skyped with the princesses and their mommy and daddy! We miss them so much and what a joy it is to see those sweet princess faces. I am pretty sure they feel the same way…. about viewing their faces that is.  In fact, they spent a large portion of the time amusing themselves by making faces into the camera. I can’t say that I blame them because they are immeasurably more fun to look at than Grandma and Papa!

Princess number one is counting down the last half of her kindergarten year. She is growing up so fast and is now sporting an age-appropriate missing tooth in her smile, which she displays with pride. Her conversation is filled with important aspects of her life, interrupted by the giggles brought on by viewing the silly antics of her sisters and her on camera.

The best part of our conversation was when the eldest informed us that, “I have been crying about wanting to go to your house”.  While thinking of this precious child crying gives me no pleasure, I am happy that she wants to come to our house for a visit. It is an almost yearly event for their young family to travel to “Papa’s house” for a little summer vacation time, and I am happy that she is forming fond memories of the times we spend together there.

Thinking of summer makes me long for those peaceful sunsets on the lake. To help me dream of wonderful summer evenings, I used simple shapes and Inkscape’s gradient function to create these scenes. I’ve posted an Inkscape tutorial to show you how I created the background.  Take a look, and then please let me know if you find it helpful.

Happy drawing.

Laurianne