Change path profile like in Illustrator

[Rachid]

Hi room! thank your for your replay in advance.
Is there any trick to create a path with a profile like in illustrator, my goal is to take one path line and turned it  into a stroke with different widths. Is there any width tool ? thanks

[brynn]

Yes, I think you are looking for Pattern Along Path.  There is a PAP extension, but it's not nearly as flexible as the PAP LPE (Live Path Effect).

And it depends on precisely what you're doing, whether you want to use PAP, or another LPE which is called Powerstroke.  Both of them allow you to create a variable width path.  The  LPEs both offer on-canvas editing of the variable width, but powerstroke is probably the easiest to use.

Using either the Pen/Bezier tool or Pencil/Freehand tool, if you use Triangle In or Out shape option, it automatically applies a powerstroke to the path you draw.  Unfortunately, we've recently discovered a dreadful bug with that.  But for some reason, applying the powerstroke separately, using the LPE dialog, we don't see that dreadful bug.

So I would suggest drawing your paths first.  While the path is still selected, open Path menu > Path EFfects > click the blue plus sign > choose Powerstroke.  That will apply the powerstroke to your path.  Next, switch to the Node tool, and look for the pink nodes.  They can be very faint and hard to notice sometimes.  But drag the pink nodes with the Node tool, and you'll be changing the variable width.

Any question, just ask 

[Rachid]

Thanks for the replay. However none of them worked. The power stroke doesn't work with closed path. The PAP turned a rectangle into an weird ellipse shape. I am still trying to find if there any hidden tool in Inkscape. 

[brynn]

PAP definitely is not ideal for a closed path.  But with powerstroke, you can start with a closed path, and then break the path at one node.  Then apply powerstroke.  Now you can add extra pink nodes, so you can adjust the start and end of the path to look like a closed path.

Position your mouse over a pink node, then Ctrl + click.  Now drag the pink node away, and you can see that there's a new one underneath.  So that way, you can vary the width as much as you need.

Here's an SVG file with an example of that (attached).  I tried closing the path after applying the powerstroke, but the results were strange

Note that there seems to be a bit of a bug with certain Interpolator Types (in the powerstroke LPE dialog).  And there's also some strange behavior around the ends of the path.  But still, it seems workable to me.

Or, if you can share a little bit about your project, we might be able to suggest a better approach.  There probably are all kinds of features which are not blatantly obvious.  But we need an idea what you're after, to be able to make different suggestions.

[Rachid]

Thanks Brynn, I selected one nodle, used the power stroke I get same weird shapes all the time.

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[brynn]

Start with an open path.  Click on a node, then click Break Path at Selected Node button     on the control bar.

You can also examine the file I attached.  After a little snooping, did you find the end nodes?  They're on top of each other, since that's what happens when you break the path at a node.

Edit
I forgot to mention this before, but you can choose among a few different end cap styles (in the LPE dialog).

Also, I find that changing the Interpolator Style to something besides CubicBezierFit.  I don't actually understand what that does, but it seems to resolve some of the buggishness.

[Rachid]

Thanks brynn, I tried all this, I think the width tool still has to be incorporated into Inkscape. These tricks are fine for simple lines but when tracing a more complex figure it will be a nightmare.  . This one I did it in Illustrator, I don't like Illustrator, this is why I needed a smarter alternative.

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[Moini]

Also see my answer in the answers section...

[brynn]

But how can we see what a width tool does, since you only showed us a JPG?

If you'd like to make a feature request, you can register on Inkscape's bug tracker (which also handles feature requests)  https://launchpad.net/inkscape  Please be specific.  Just saying "width tool like Illustrator" likely won't get any response.

Currently, we have a developer who is very active making LPEs.  There's a good chance he would take up the challenge, if you're clear enough what you want, and he considers it a useful feature.

But I'm still not clear what it is that's missing, and why that image could not be drawn with powerstroke (especially if it ends up as a raster image anyway, but still even as SVG).

[Rachid]

Illustrator has three tools or means that you can use to change the stroke width, the tool width, the stroke profile and the brush. All these can be applied after you create the paths, paths can be closed or open. The problem with Inkscape is that you cannot do this to a closed path. The pencil effect in Inkscape can only  be done during the process of drawing not after drawing, you cannot add it to an existing path.
In Illustrator you can change the width of a stroke or its profile by one click.
Please note I am not an Illustrator fanboy, I am fascinated by many great features in Inkscape. My all time best vector program is not Adobe Illustrator but Aldus FreeHand 3.1. But FreeHand is gone.
Inkscape needs little tweaks to become the first vector program on the market.

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[brynn]

I'm not sure what you mean by "the pencil effect in Inkscape".  But if you're refering to PAP or powerstroke, they can both be applied after drawing the path.  (I thought I gave instructions, but maybe I forgot.)  There may be some bugs with applying them to a closed path, but without investigation, we can't really say that it can never happen.  Maybe someday it will?

Although I'm still not sure why using powerstroke on a closed path is so important to you.  Looking at the example I made, you can't really know that it's not closed, unless you examine it with the Node tool.  Maybe it's more the case that you don't want to change your workflow?  I don't mean that in a negative way.  It's a realistic consideration when choosing a program.  But on the other hand, isn't discounting a program because it doesn't conform to one's workflow is a little bit like throwing the baby out with the bath water?

Inkscape will never be on the market.  Someone could take a version of Inkscape and put it on the market (and still keep with its license).  But unless they changed it substantially, and gave it some attractive feature, why would anyone buy it when they can get it for free?

As an open source program, if you want something to change about Inkscape, you pretty much need to get more involved, by requesting new features or helping to create them, or helping in any area where you might have skill or ability.  Just waiting for something to happen with an open source program, you'll be lucky if it actually happens.  Open source development is very different from proprietary development!

As far as I understand, Inkscape doesn't strive to be much more that a great vector editor which strictly conforms to SVG standards.  There are already vector editors on the market, and also other open source vector editors.  I'm not sure which might have been the first, but one of them already owns the "first one" label.  By the way, isn't Illustrator a vector editor?  Maybe you mean 'purely vector editor'?  Although Inkscape isn't purely vector either, with its filters, patterns, and ability to import raster images.

Are you familiar with Krita?  I've never used it myself.  But I have the impression its focus is being both a sketching program and vector editor.  Maybe your workflow would fit into its editor?