Hi

First of all I'm almost a total newbie when it comes to using Inkscape, so be gentle...!

I would like to make some arrows which bend to the left or right, but I can't find any tutorials on how to make them.

I have found an image of some arrows I would like to make:

an image of arrows in 2D

Welcome to InkscapeForum!

You would start with either the Pen (Bezier) or Pencil tool, and draw a path that will be the shaft of the arrow. Then you would use the Fill and Stroke dialog > Stroke style tab, to adjust the width. Then while you're still on that same tab, look just a little below for 3 different drop down menus for markers (Start, Mid, End). If you need the point of the arrow at the end of the shaft where you started drawing the path, use Start Marker; or if you need the point at the end of the path, use End Marker. Then in the dropdown list, you can choose the style of point that you want on the arrow.

Sometimes though you might need an arrow with a particular style that is not available already in the dropdown list. In that case, you could use either the Pen or Pencil tools and draw the point as you want it. If you would need that particular point to be used several times, you can actually convert it to a marker (Object menu > Object to Marker) and then use it like in my first example. Or you could probably draw a nice arrow using the Calligraphy tool to draw the entire arrow. Although, imo, it takes a little more practice to learn how to use the Calligraphy tool successfully.

I can't remember for sure, but there may be more info in the manual (on drawing arrows) which you can find in the Help menu > Inkscape manual, using an internet connection. And definitely you can find instructions for using the Pen tool (Bezier curve tool) there. Well, almost everything you need to know about Inkscape is in there

Hi

Thank you for the warm welcome

I managed to make an arrow by:

The arrow shaft:

using the to make a Benzier Curve and setting the width to 20 under the Stroke Style tab

The arrow point:

1. I made a square using the and removed one of nodes by selecting "Convert Selected Node to Path" (an icon showing what I pressed would be nice here !) and using Shift + Delete on the node I wanted to delete.

Now I had a triangle for the point

2. then I moved the two objects (the Benzier Curve and the triangle) together and tried to combine them by selecting Path => Union, however the Benzier Curve is acting strange - I only want its segment to be colored, but this is what happens:



How do I solve this problem ?

You need to convert the stroke to a path. Select your bezier path (the tail of your arrow) and try Ctrl+Alt+C then try your union to combine the shapes.

heathenx wrote:You need to convert the stroke to a path. Select your bezier path (the tail of your arrow) and try Ctrl+Alt+C then try your union to combine the shapes.

Hi

That did the trick !

Now my next problem is how to cut a part of the arrowshat off in order make it another color.

A very small rant: I find the Benzier Curve tool very, very diffult to master - it doesn't behave very intuitive, however when I finally make it do what I want it to do it draws really nice curves.

Thank you for helping out

In my opinion, it takes extraordinary skills to successfully use the Bezier tool "on the fly". I usually put it in straight line mode, to draw a basic shape, then later convert to smooth nodes and sculpt the curves.

I think for people who like to sketch, it's best to use a graphics tablet with the Calligraphy tool. Or maybe the Pencil tool with a mouse. But for your curved arrow, I thought it would be sufficient

An alternative method is to find a picture of the type of arrow you want, and to paste it into Inkscape, then use the Path>Trace Bitmap option from the menu bar