I do not know if Inkscape currently has this functionality, but one thing I really think would be nice to have for people with tablets, is a feature where we draw a single curve, and all the control point are averaged to derive a single bezier segment which is perfectly smooth. Which is of course great for stuff like manga characters. What I do right now is to draw a curve, then remove all but the first and last control points, then tweak things a bit to match the original 'average' curve I actually wanted.

This of course is not a very efficient work flow. In fact, I have not really found a good way to work efficiently in Inkscape as of yet, I find it kind of irritating that I have to switch modes to go between adding more bezier segments, and tweaking my control points and whiskers. Ideally I should be able to just click on a control point and fiddle with it, then click on my last control point and click in a new spot to create the next segment - this should just be seamless.

So I guess my two questions/feature requests would be:
1) Have a bezier curve drawing mode that allows me to draw a curve, that entire curve is then approximated by a single smooth bezier segment. Obviously, if you want another bezier segment, you would simply put the pen down again over the last control point and draw the next segment.
2) make the work flow more optimized, if there is not an option to do so, so that you can add new bezier segments and tweak control points without needing to switch to another tool.


Thanks,
Raz.

You could edit the Preferencfes, so the last-drawn object stays selected (may already be on) and set the InkscapePreferences -> Misc -> Simplification Threshold to 1.0

At that Threshold, any selected path will be reduced to its endpoints by pressing Strg+L; So now you only need to press Strg+L after every stroke with the pen (or after all the strokes, but this only works reliably at threshold 1, lower thresholds are relative to path complexity and will behave differently if you simplify all paths at once compared to singly) and have the result you wanted.

razielnz wrote:Have a bezier curve drawing mode that allows me to draw a curve, that entire curve is then approximated by a single smooth bezier segment. Obviously, if you want another bezier segment, you would simply put the pen down again over the last control point and draw the next segment.

This request is based on your desire to use a tablet, right? I'm not sure how much experience you have with Inkscape, but you've just described the pen tool - . Do you have much experience with this tool? It's a tool that is as easy to use with a mouse instead of the tablet.

make the work flow more optimized, if there is not an option to do so, so that you can add new bezier segments and tweak control points without needing to switch to another tool

This might be something you need to change your work-flow for. Lay your entire path at once with and then tweak the curves and add nodes with . Again, I don't know your experience, but when you create a path with the goal shouldn't be to create the perfect path, rather it should be to put the nodes in the perfect place so you can best shape the path after with .

Thanks for the replies.

With regards to using the pen tool, yes, I am familiar with it, but it creates many control points, I want something where each stroke corresponds to one bezier segment, not 50 little segments, so it becomes less like a free hand drawing and more just smooth curves.

The photoshop approach is what I had in mind, if you use its bezier tool, it allows you to add new segments, and tweak control points and whiskers freely, all without mode switches, I don't see why inkscape should not be able to do the same thing.

I've tried using the simplification tool, but it doesn't work well, it ends up simplifying every curve I've drawn so far, which isn't what I want it to do, I want to draw a single stroke and get one bezier segment, if I add to a bunch of existing segments I don't want to resimplify those previously simplified segments. On top of that, the simplification tool keeps warping your curve even when there are no more control points to remove. So it is not ideal. What I am asking for is a mode where one stroke corresponds to one bezier segment which is an average of your drawn line, it is like using the pen tool, only that at the end it will automatically simplify all the new segments down to just the one new bezier segment.


Thanks, I hope that helps clear things up.
Raz.

raziel wrote:Thanks, I hope that helps clear things up.

It does and it doesn't. But you've cited behaviour in Photoshop--what tool are you using in photoshop with a graphics tablet to create a vector path? I would like to try this myself to get an understanding of what you are after.

At the moment it still sounds to me like you haven't properly grasped the tools, but perhaps once I try what you do in Photoshop I'll understand better.

... I'm not sure you went with the right settings ...
You have to use , and after drawing a line, this line, but _only_ this line should be selected. The selection behaviour is settable in the preferences. The simplification Threshold has to be 1.0, no less.
Then, only the selected line should is simplified. Of course, Simplify (Strg+L) may only be pressed once, otherwise the line will be simplified down to a straight line. As it is simplified to a line with only two nodes (the endpoints) the bezier will only be a good likeness to your line if your line has up to two turns (an S shape).
Most tablets come with the possibility to declare the function of the pen-buttons, so you might want to give the pen-button the meaning Strg+L, so your hands have never to leave your pen.

I just tried, and it works like advertised. only the line you just drew is simplified, and the simplification (remember to only press once) is always down to two nodes, forming the best resemblance to the hand-drawn line

loonquawl wrote:after drawing a line, this line, but _only_ this line should be selected

This is my problem though, I tend to add to the end of existing bezier curves, rather than creating a brand new shape every time... Once I lift the pen, the whole shape is selected, rather than just the last chunk. It is ideal to just have it simplify straight after drawing the line, one bezier segment at a time - it really is a different tool in some ways.

loonquawl wrote:what tool are you using in photoshop with a graphics tablet to create a vector path

I think you misunderstood something, I have two things I wish to see in Inkscape, firstly, the feature discussed above, which is related to tablets - and the ability to draw add a single bezier segment per stroke. The other feature is something Photoshop has, which is the ability to tweak your control points, whiskers and add new boolean segments all from a single mode - in Inkscape you have to switch between and to do this, which is really not nessasary... As for the other issue, , it aims to do free hand style drawing, and works well for that purpose, but I need something similar to it, but something that produces a result more like . I hope that is easier to understand.

Thanks,
Raz

Guest wrote:The other feature is something Photoshop has, which is the ability to tweak your control points, whiskers and add new boolean segments all from a single mode - in Inkscape you have to switch between and to do this, which is really not nessasary...

I understand. With Photoshop you can use the equivalent of and as you are drawing the path you can hold Ctrl to temporarily switch to the equivalent of , change your nodes and handles, then release Ctrl to return to drawing your path with . Is that the feature you are looking for?

Guest wrote:As for the other issue, , it aims to do free hand style drawing, and works well for that purpose, but I need something similar to it, but something that produces a result more like . I hope that is easier to understand.

What you want is actually coming in Inkscape 0.47. The effect is called Spiro path. With the pencil tool selected you select the spiro path mode, maximise smoothing, and you can easily draw mathematically nice curves freehand. The effect is very different to "Simplifying" and I suspect is exactly what you want.

This feature is in the dev builds now, but when I had tried it at home with my tablet it did nothing, but trying it at work now (don't tell my boss) with a mouse it works flawlessly. The feature might not yet be working properly with tablet input.

Guest wrote:The other feature is something Photoshop has, which is the ability to tweak your control points, whiskers and add new boolean segments all from a single mode - in Inkscape you have to switch between and to do this, which is really not nessasary...
Thanks,
Raz

could you please explain this part a bit more?

prkos wrote:could you please explain this part a bit more?

In photoshop, as you draw with the pen tool, you can hold Ctrl to switch to the node tool. You can then tweak the nodes you've placed so far. Once you release Ctrl you switch back to the pen tool and can continue drawing segments as if you hadn't switched tools at all (i.e. Switching to the node tool with Ctrl doesn't interrupt the path you are currently drawing).

wow I didn't know that, I'll check Gimp for that feature later

In Inkscape you can draw a Bezier path very accurately, without the need to tweak it later, that is of course if you don't change your mind in the middle of drawing the path.

prkos wrote:In Inkscape you can draw a Bezier path very accurately, without the need to tweak it later, that is of course if you don't change your mind in the middle of drawing the path.

In Photoshop/Illustrator it can be nice for creating cusp nodes with handles as you draw. I don't think that's something you can do with Inkscape, so I often create a smooth node, which looks bad as I create it, then after completing the path I go back and change those nodes to cusps nodes.

Sure you can, draw a point by click and drag and adjust the way the already drawn segment looks, don't release the mouse. Now to make the last node cusp hit Shift while still holding the mouse. This will "lock" the first segment (handles and all) and now you'll be in control of the handle for the next segment. When you click (still holding Shift) the handle will be determined and you'll now be in control of the actual segment to draw.

It can be a bit tricky to get used to at first because you have to hold the mouse for long, it's not intuitive because you don't get to release the mouse after you draw one segment, and you have to be aware not to release Shift before you click to determine the handle... But after a while it flows more natural.

prkos wrote:Sure you can

Neat. How is it I didn't know this already You're right, just playing with it now involved some deep concentration to make sure I released the mouse-button before shift, but I'll get used to it

@prkos - Thanks for that tip... I never know that one!

-Rob A>

microUgly wrote:...as you are drawing the path you can hold Ctrl to temporarily switch to the equivalent of , change your nodes and handles, then release Ctrl to return to drawing your path with . Is that the feature you are looking for?

Yes, that is what I was referring to... it is such a nice feature. I find it really clunky having to switch to a different tool to tweak my nodes, then go back to the other mode and start drawing segments again.

microUgly wrote:What you want is actually coming in Inkscape 0.47. The effect is called Spiro path. With the pencil tool selected you select the spiro path mode, maximise smoothing, and you can easily draw mathematically nice curves freehand. The effect is very different to "Simplifying" and I suspect is exactly what you want.

That sounds good . I'll see what the developers come up with, hopefully it is what I wanted.

Thanks,
Raz.