draw unique snowflakes challenge

[brynn]

Hi Friends,
I wanted to make a drawing challenge for new Inkscape users, since we've been having some more intermediate ones lately.  Although anyone can participate in any challenge, maybe some simpler subjects would allow some beginners to feel more comfortable.

So for this one, I wrote a tutorial to accompany it.  It's written for beginners 

Draw Unique Snowflakes (Part 1)
Draw Unique Snowflakes (Part 2)

Attached are a few that I made, some more quickly than others (and a couple are a little sloppy, in some ways).  But you can get the idea.  And maybe some of you will have some variations that I haven't thought of yet?

So, if anyone is interested, let's make it snow 

[Lazur]

Regarding variants, there are some sources on different types.
And nice photographs here.

On the tutorial and the tiled clones, you could divide it by two -by drawing only 1/12th of the flake.
The manual tells pm6 symmetry for it, though I couldn't have set it up right yet.


Not that unique, as this shape is a lookalike of a photo I skipped into but maybe fits in.
(Actually it was an all rights reserved one at flickr, but seriously.)



With some heavy filtering, this svg looks as attached.

[brynn]

On the tutorial and the tiled clones, you could divide it by two -by drawing only 1/12th of the flake.

I'm not clear what you mean....  Oh, you mean using a different option for Symmetry tab, which will automatically mirror and rotate?  Yes, that can be done.  But I wouldn't want to try to present that to new users.  Besides, you have to start with half of the "spike", and it's hard to imagine the whole flake from half the spike.  It's just too much for new users, I think.  Unless I still didn't get your meaning?

Re your shout on putting images in the IF topic -- good idea!  In some cases, I haven't actually made the drawing myself.  But I can put some images for this one.

Thanks for your comments 

[Lazur]

Some new images, more in the stylised decoration vein.












Made with 12 clones of a base pattern, source here.
To generate snowflakes with it is easy.

Just enter the group in the "parent" layer, select all strokes and use the tweak tool to move-rotate the objects around.
Then, go to the "clones" layer,
select object, press
Ctrl+D (duplicate)
Ctrl+Shift+G (ungroup to 12 objects)
Shift+Alt+D (release clone link)
Ctrl+Shift+G (ungroup tiles)
Ctrl+Shift+C (convert pattern along path to paths)
Ctrl++ (add all together to a snowflake),
Ctrl+X (cut),
move to desired layer
Ctrl+V or Ctrl+Alt+V (to paste).

Let it snow!

[Lazur]

A repeating fill pattern made from it:

[brynn]

Wow!!  That's awesome.  I'll try it, as soon as I post.

My 1st reaction to the individual ones is that they have too much detail.  Although those long thin whisps certainly add an air of elegance!!  But to see them used in the pattern fill, that looks great!  People could print.......if they have large enough paper, and make custom gift wrapping paper!  Or could be nice wallpaper (computer wallpaper, not for living room).....  Hhmmm..... 

I was looking at some winter holiday themes (Christmas, etc.) for the forum.  But didn't see any that I really liked.  So decided to try the snow.  (Maybe I'll investigate what is needed to make new forum themes.  Might not be too hard.)

My 2nd thought -- doesn't using the Tweak tool quickly add an excessive number of nodes?  Don't you have to use Simplify a lot?  Well, I'll figure it out here shortly 

[Lazur]

The tweak tool is used to rotate the objects around inside the group.
For efficiency it's much faster to rotate them all and to use the align and distribute panel's random feature.

Made a few variants of it, so now it can be used to create animated brushes for gimp.
https://openclipart.org/detail/206215/snowflake-decoration-megapack-by-lazur-urh-206215

It's a 30 MB svg; probably the librarians will shrink it soon (and there goes the quality).

[Lazur]

Yet another generator, but this time in a more conventional style.
A clipped group is making up the basic tile's pattern, and the clones of it are grouped together for masking the "paper".
Easiest to modify by the node tool.

Might not render fluently by browsers (original svg)

[brynn]

Firefox display attached.

Awesome!  I still haven't tried the other one you made, but maybe I can try them right after this.

[Lazur]

Chrome displays the same. At least something comes through, masking is not supported well.

This one is not layered.
To make a simple path from the flake, the easiest workaround is to
duplicate the shape, add a black fill colour to it,
create a bitmap copy (Alt+B) and trace bitmap after -then change the fill colour to white.

[brynn]

Nice work on both!!

Maybe it's the spiro splines causing the display issue on the 2nd one?? 

Could you make one that Inkscape novice could use?  Something like the 2nd one, except without spiro splines?  And instead of short spiro paths, there would be some simple shapes?  I could write the instructions.  Then we publish together.  We put on sites where teachers and other people who use those home craft cutters use.  Well, not put the SVG file, but put links to it.  I think it could become a popular tool, if we were clever about where to advertise/link.

If you don't want to, can I use your file?  I could replace the spiro paths myself.  Of course you would get credit!

[Lazur]

They were uploaded to openclipart, public domain all the way with all it's possibilities.
Now that's some open policy.

Not sure about how to make it even simpler, thought with the layering and description it couldn't go further.
Maybe the the description should have been embedded in?
Time to make remixes then.

Spiro-paths need way less care in my humble opinion, as node handles cannot be messed up.


Edit:
remixed the latter image, so now there won't be any anti-aliasing issue -in inkscape at least-.

[brynn]

Not sure about how to make it even simpler, thought with the layering and description it couldn't go further.  ...  Spiro-paths need way less care in my humble opinion, as node handles cannot be messed up.

I was thinking of shapes rather than paths -- long skinny triangle, regular equilateral triangle, long skinny rectangle, rectangles with different width, height, square, maybe circle or 2, maybe even spiral or 2.  They can enter the group and just move the shapes around, and watch and edit live.  And with clear instructions, can even edit the shapes, rotate, or even delete some or add their own shapes.  All only with selection tool.  It would sort of be like a kaleidoscope.

But now that I think of it, I could probably do that, using your file!

[brynn]

OOhhh ok, I see.  In your 2nd generator, the user draws the negative space!  That's confusing.  Let's see if I can figure out how to make it so the user draws the snowflake with all the pieces.

[Lazur]

Paper folding&cutting out with scissors works the same.

[brynn]

Yes, but we don't use Inkscape to simulate cuttiing it out.  We use Inskcape to simulate drawing on the paper.  And I think  lot of people would have a hard time drawing the negative space. 

Although.....if it were presented as if you didn't draw any lines, and you're just cutting the folded paper.  That might work.

But my eyelids are droopy.  Have to pick it up tomorrow   

[Lazur]

sort of be like a kaleidoscope.

That's yet another challenge.
Made this kaleidoscope. Was a bit more complex to get a totally seamless pattern -no gaps in between, no matter anti-aliasing (when rendered with inkscape).

[brynn]

Really nice!!

[Lazur]

Working on hatches came an idea to have a base pattern resemble snowflakes.

Lead to some new ideas.

Here is to start off the series:



This image is so easy probably it's a good source for a basic tutorial.

[Lazur]

To be fair this is in the opposite direction: repeating the exact same snowflake seamlessly.

[Lazur]

More or less the final design:









All with overlapping, hopefully there is no anti-aliasing related gaps.

[brynn]

Don't see any anti-alias gap.  But the last one is hard to see.  Have to zoom in to see it, because it looks like a gray rectangle at 100%.

Hah, if you look at this part of the pattern, it's an optical illusion!  Is it 3 cubes, or 4, or 6?  (I know it's weird, I just get fascinated with geometrical patterns.)  (I made some designs like that for the coloring pages, although not filters, just plain paths.)

Edit
Would there be any way to inject a randomization seed, or something like that?  Like start with a basic snowflake but give a small random hatch added?  I know, I should download the SVG and look at the filter   

[brynn]

Ok, I'm lost.  I thought you were doing something about hatches, using filters.  But there are no filters in the file I downloaded (snowflake-5.svg).  It's just random objects with repeated gradients applied, and arranged so that the repeated gradients create the pattern.

Going back to the filter topic.....

[Lazur]

That mentioned hatching filter uses an image filter primitive to pull in a base shape upon which the hatches are generated.
Thus it's best if the pattern has black to white gradients repeating all along and the overall coverage is around 50%, so the "grey rectangle" appearance is intentional.
Tried with the other one previously but for the hatching the latter one looked better.

Posted the hatched result here, will post it in the filter topic then as well.

[k-drive]

Here's my snowflake.

Ken