Hi Friends,
I've been working on this image for awhile, after the Competition #4 theme of Birthdays. At 1st I thought I might enter the competition, but I'm not sure I'm good enough to have an image in the Open Clipart Library. But it's been a great experience, I've learned a really lot!

I guess I'm finished, except for deciding which of the 3 is best. And except for any suggestions or advice that might be offered here. I only intend one cupcake for the final image. In the middle is a fudgy, chocolate cupcake, without icing. On the right and left are cupcakes with icing, and since the inspiration for the theme came from InkscapeForum,s 1st anniversary, I tried to match the color of the forum header, for the frosting. I know it's a weird color for frosting/icing, but I thought it would make it more "artsy".

I had a REALLY hard time with the icing, and still I don't think it really looks like icing. Part of that is the color, but more typical frosting colors looked even less like real frosting, for some reason. But this is the closest I could come to resembling the real thing. I don't know if the difference between the right and left cupcake frosting/icing is all that evident. The one on the left has some darker shading, meant to give more texture to the appearance, like the strokes of the spatula which applied the frosting -- sort of like places where the frosting is really thin, and the cholcolate cake shows through a little bit...? Probably a little too difficult, or advanced, for me to have attempted. But I did learn from the attempt. The one on the right lacks the darker streaks, but was equally as difficult, and looks equally less like frosting then the one on the left.

I guess my choice for the final result, is the middle, unfrosted cupcake....unless I can get the frosting looking more like frosting. Any and all tips on improving the look of the frosting would be especially appreciated!

I guess ultimately, I would have wanted the cupcake to sit an a small plate. But I was overwhelmed enough with the icing, and adding a plate was somewhat intimidating. Maybe I'll add a plate at some time in the future, though.

Another thing I'm still struggling with, in Inkscape, is the finished size of images. Remembering that the final image will just be one cupcake, is this a little too big? Well, I know it all depends on my own preference.....I guess I'm thinking about the image's potential use, as a large icon, on a website, and it's probably too big for that. But as a standalone, or even printed piece of art, maybe its size is not so bad?

In addition to comments on improving the frosting, does anyone have comments on other areas? I'm wide open to any and all comments, as long as it's not outright negative criticism. Anything constructive is more than welcome! And thank you very much

The cupcake on the right makes me pretty darn hungry The candle looks great and I like how you overlapped the frosting on the rocky bitmap. A few more highlights and shadows on the frosting and cup. Really good work Brynn!

I really like the use of texture on the brown one. It adds depth but you've kept an illustrative style. So my vote is for the fudgy one but I think they're all good.

Thanks for your comments, Grant and jude.

More highlights and shadows....hhmmm.... Highlights always trip me up. Yes, I can agree that more of both are needed; there IS some flatness to them. I'm looking at them, and pondering, and trying to see what's still missing, so I can have a go at beefing them up. It's quite a learning process!

But mostly, I'm thrilled you call them "good"!
Thanks, I really appreciate your input

Hi
Well, I've still been working on the cupcake image. I've dropped the ones with icing/frosting, because it's just too advanced for my skill level. Maybe if there were some bitmap or other Effect I could use, like I did with the cake part...but I couldn't find anything in Inkscape. I guess I could look at The GIMP, there's probably something there I could use. But I started out with this thinking of entering it in the Birthday competition, so I wanted to stick with Inkscape only. Although I guess now that I'm not entering that competition...well, if I get something interesting to happen, I'll post the results.

Anyway, so I focused on the fudgy chocolate cupcake. And following suggestions posted, made some changes, some fairly major. But I think overall for the better. I'd really appreciate any comments anyone might want to post. Here it is:



Oh drats! I forgot to deal with the highlights that fall outside the borders...gotta post a question on the Help forum 1st, though. OH, and maybe some kind of simple background... So definitely still not finished yet

OK! I think I'm calling this finished now. One of the 1st completely finished images I've made (with Inkscape or anything else!) although learning Inkscape is an ongoing process, in which I've invested many, many hours. Still posting as "work in progress" in case anyone points out areas which could be improved. (Don't be shy, I can take it !)

Cupcake

well done ! my favorite was the third (right) because of the orange color, beeing in harmony whit the green part. I don't like the orange background in this last version.

Thank you for your comments, pipo, I really appreciate it.
Can you say why you don't like the orange in the background in the final image, compared to the original orange icing/frosting? I'm just curious if there is some artistic principle I can improve upon. Or is it just a personal preference? Because it's the same orange and the same green -- I didn't change the colors.

brynn wrote:Thank you for your comments, pipo, I really appreciate it.
Can you say why you don't like the orange in the background in the final image, compared to the original orange icing/frosting? I'm just curious if there is some artistic principle I can improve upon. Or is it just a personal preference? Because it's the same orange and the same green -- I didn't change the colors.

D'ah can't you just change the frosting color? I like that one too.

Ok EarlyBlake,

I will try to find the words in english (I'm french speaking). First of all it's just my opinion, I'm not sure about "artistic principle". The orange "table" changes deeply the nature of your image. I't was an object and now it's a scene, a whole composition. But, there is a difference in the style of your cake (a realy nicely done drawing) and that "table" witch ist just a simple gradient. You don't use such a gradient in other parts of your drawing. So I think it disturbs the focus on the cake, sharply cutting the image, introducing a white "empty" background.

The slope from right to left changes the balance of the drawing. I'm bot sure if I would simply remove it or try to do it otherwise, for exemple as an horizontal "table". Whatewer, I wich you a lot of fun with inkscape...

Have you been drawning it for the "birthday contest" on this forum ? Why don't you submit the three first cakes if you cannot choose ?

Interesting that most who've replied prefer the frosted one!
See I don't like the frosted one nearly as well as the unfrosted, because I don't feel like I really captured the right texture, or even form, for that matter, of cake frosting/icing. To me, the frosting looks like a...almost like a hardhat, lol

So Early, I can't really change the frosting color, because the "finished" version doesn't have frosting. I guess if you're thinking it has frosting, that means I didn't really capture the cake texture either. Although I used that great scapegoat "artistic license", by using the bitmap pattern fill to simulate a cake texture.

I'm just so surprised the frosted one seems to be preferred! Well, I guess I have to learn, in a way that I haven't before (I've never really shown my art to others before this) that we all see things differently.

I think just as a learning exercise, I'll try to tweak the frosting into something closer to what I want, and add it to last cupcake. Cake frosting may in the end, be too advanced for me at this time. But there IS only one way to improve (practice).

And again, thanks to everyone who has replied. I really, really do appreciate it!
Oops, I see pipo has posted a reply while I was typing.

Thank you so much for your comments pipo. It really does help me to "see" the image from another perspective.

As I've mentioned many times on these forums, I'm neither an artist, or a graphic artist. (But obviously I like to pretend, lol!) What I mean is that I've never had lessons or studied art. So this

The orange "table" changes deeply the nature of your image. I't was an object and now it's a scene, a whole composition. But, there is a difference in the style of your cake (a realy nicely done drawing) and that "table" witch ist just a simple gradient. You don't use such a gradient in other parts of your drawing. So I think it disturbs the focus on the cake, sharply cutting the image, introducing a white "empty" background.

is a fascinating observation!

I do see what you mean though. The cupcake and the background/table ARE very different. And while I do like the background/table, it really doesn't have the complexity of the cupcake. Partly I made the background/table simple, because I thought it would make the more complex cupcake stand out. And partly I just wanted to finish the project. But the reason I added the background/table at all, was because I thought that must be how professionals do it. I thought it looked odd to have the cupcake (one or all 3) just sitting there, kind of floating in space. I thought it needed some sense of completion.

The slope/gradient/table is again my attempt to make like an artist. I read (I think it was in the Elements and Design tutorial) that having things a little off-balance or off-center makes images more realistic. And I think taken by itself, the table background is probably ok. But I definitely agree with you that it is quite disimilar to the cupcake.

Yes, I originally started this project for the birthday Competition #4. But I quickly realized my work is probably not good enough for the Open Clipart Library (which is a criteria for entering the competition). So there is no real purpose for this image, other than learning Inkscape and having fun

Ok, well as I said, inspired by these new comments, I think I will make another attempt at the frosting...and probably lose the table.

Again, I cannot say enough how much I appreciate your comments. Thank you so much!

brynn wrote:But I quickly realized my work is probably not good enough for the Open Clipart

You've got too much criticism. Your work is good enough to enter openclipart and people their will be happy to see it because :

1. It's a nice looking drawing
2. People will be glad to download it in order to use it in some invitation, greatingscard... whatewer

see you,

p.

Oh pipo, you are too kind!
Maybe I will share it then. But 1st I need to finish my trials with frosting. Maybe in the end I will present 2 cupcakes, one frosted and one not. I guess we'll see how things turn out.

And thanks again for all your comments

wish it would be a real cake