Hi! I use inkscape for designing in a online gaming contest they have a avatar that you have to use for it it isnt in a svg or anything so if you try to draw a dress or a skirt and want the hands the dress or skirt always covers the hands because you cant use the lower and raising selection because the avatar wasnt saved on a svg I was wondering if there was a way to maybe some how make the avatar's cover the dress? without drawing them myself and using some other program to cut the arms off ? (unless inkscape can cut stuff off) these is also true when I try to make a handheld on in ti has to go under the thumb but still be in the hand...... anyone know anyway of doing these?

If the avater image is in a raster format, Inkscape can't do anything about it. But if I understand what you're saying, it might be possible to use Inkscape, to create a new avatar. Wherever the website is, you'd have to go there and save each part individually -- the body, the skirt, the hand, the arm, etc. Then you can import them into Inkscape, one by one, and use Path menu > Trace Bitmap. This will convert each part to a vector path. Once you have all the parts converted to paths, you can assemble them in Inkscape, and move the pieces up or down as needed. Then when you're finished, you'd have to use File menu > Export Bitmap, to convert it to PNG, to upload back to the site.

If all the individual parts are already PNGs when you save them (meaning that their backgrounds are transparent) you might not have to convert to vector. You might be able to import each PNG, arrange them how you want, then export the result to PNG.

If they aren't PNGs, and you need to use Trace Bitmap, it might work to use the SIOX Foreground Selection technique, which would do the best job of removing the background. But it depends on how much contrast there is between the body part and the background.

If I've misunderstood the issue, please explain. If I did understand, let us know how it goes

you did understand (: but i was wondering how can you save each part indviduial? i think its a png or jpg not sure thank you so much for telling me these (:

Well, I don't know anything about the website. But I have seen places where you can build avatars. Usually you would click on the head, and then you would see a bunch of choices for different kind of heads, or hair, or whatever. If you place your mouse over the one you want, then right-click the mouse, then choose Save As. That will open a dialog where you can choose the file where you want to save it. It will also show you the name of the image. If it already says PNG, be sure to save as PNG, and you won't have as much work to do with Inkscape. If it's anything else, unless they happen to already be SVG (which I seriously doubt) there will be more work in Inkscape, but you can still probably do it.

The problem you may find though, is that the site probably doesn't allow you to upload your own avatar. It might, I really have no idea. But when I've seen this type of thing, you can only use what the site offers. So if you don't know already, you probably should find that out, before you go to all the trouble.

But you know what I'm thinking....well, when you said the parts overlapped each other, I thought you already had all the individual parts saved. If the site offers the parts but they overlap each other, the site must have some way to address that. Is it a website that you can show us? Maybe you've overlooked something?

The game itself doesnt have indivuial parts ): because the avatar is humanish the parts are only the clothes lips eyes maybe ears and shoes e.c.t there forums offers the body of the avatar the game is called yoville and it on face book http://forums.yoville.com/ but here's there forum (:

The site is there forum they dont have indivudial parts theres only a whole avatar so there no way to adress it there through I know that some of those forum members have somhow made it so they do not have layering problems through I do not know how maybe they wernt using inkscape ? I have no clue threw and was wondering if infact inkscape could do it to... but I have just thought of somthing for how to do skirts and dresses my self I could sorta draw one part raised and another part not raised through that wont work for patterns and gradients proably or the things I want to put in the avatars hand

Oh, I'm sorry, I still don't understand. I can't access what I need to, without registering in that forum, so I can't learn much there.

Are you making an avatar for a forum, or for a game?

If it's for a forum, you should be able to use Inkscape to make one. Most forums DO allow you to upload your own avatar. If it's for a game, I'm not sure.
Are you saying that some people use the same avatar in the forum that they use for the game? Is that what you're trying to figure out?

Would you be able to show us a screenshot of the parts that you have? I'm just not clear what kind of materials you have for making the avatar. Are these images that you have on your computer? Or are they on the game site or forum site?

I don't understand what you mean about patterns and gradients that won't work.

If these makes sense the game has its on forum which is the one I showed you the forum allows for you to upload images but the game doesn't and the avatar is only one whole one I thought of maybe drawing one part at the bottom to split the dresses or skirts or what ever kind of thing that is supposed to under the hands and the other part under the hands the avatar ibut that might not work is the dress and skirs are patterned or these is the avatar > oh and you actually can go on there forums without logging in you just cant comment on posts sorry if i was really confusing

Ooohhh, I'm finally starting to piece things together. Just for future reference, it would help if you used some punctuation in your messages. Let's see if I've finally got it.

There's a game, and the game has a forum. And on the forum is a contest for drawing new avatars for the game. And the body you showed in your last reply is all they've given you as a base for the avatars. And you want to use Inkscape to make the new avatars. But you can't figure out how break the figure apart so that an arm can appear to be on top of a skirt, for example. Is that it?

Yes, you're right. The body figure is not a vector object, and that's why you can't break it apart into the various pieces that you need. There may be a couple of ways to go with this.

One way would be to convert the whole body figure to vector paths, using Path menu > Trace Bitmap. Then duplicate it, and using various techniques, break it apart into the pieces that you need. Those techniques might be node editing or certain path operations. I can give instructions if you want to do that.

The other way, which would probably be easier, is to use the Pen or Pencil tool, and trace over the extra parts that you need. So for example if you need the arm and hand over the skirt, you would just trace the arm and hand. Then they can be moved on top of the skirt. You can use the Dropper tool, to make sure they're the same color as the body.

If you've never used the Pen tool, the Pencil tool will probably be easier for you. Be sure to move Smoothing up to around 30 to 50. So even if your hand draws a jittery line, Inkscape will make it smooth.

Whenever you're finished, be sure to use File menu > Export Bitmap, to get a PNG version that retains the transparent background.

Yes you figured it out basically sorry about the non use of punctuation I normally forget about punctuation on the internet infact somtimes I forget about capitals on the internet . Thank you for explaing how to make it a vector ive used the pencil tool Thank you again for all the help