Hi,
Please help, this is quite important for me.

I am a novice in Inkscape and would like to learn some basics by trying to re-create a sample image in vector format.I am familiar with paint.net, but by no means pro. My goal is re-creating a professional logo in vector format for someone.

So far I have managed to:
Trace the frame on a layer above the original using Bezier curves and editing them.
Apply fill and set Miter limit to get sharp points (join of two lines).
Align image on grid points to get correct ratio's and perpendicular lines.

Now I am stuck at creating the lighting/shading effect. It appears to be some kind of point lighting or shade filter.
I have tried:
1) After looking at the filters available and reading this: https://www.packtpub.com/books/content/inkscape-svg-filter-effectsI tried to use
Specular light (only created weird 3d contour lines, not what I expected)
Diffuse light (same as above)
2) After looking at gradients and reading this:http://tavmjong.free.fr/INKSCAPE/MANUAL/html/Attributes-Fill-Stroke.html#Attributes-Gradients I attempted with gradients
Using a radial gradient with extra stops on each section to get a similar but not complete effect, but this does not provide the desired effect with shading from all directions. Gradient ( same color as my base fill, stop1=100% opaque,stop2=variable% opaque, stop3=0%opaque)
I then tried to layer multiple gradients by adding multiple layers, each with their own effect, using variations of Multiply on the layers as well. But this has proven quite difficult to do effectively.
(Also grouping the objects and applying a gradient to the group seems to cause problems when duplicating the layer, it is as if the gradient object is layer independent - it either has no effect or the top-most layer keeps getting selected)
Basically, my gradient attempts have been unsuccessful even after further reading and playing around for hours.

Any help, examples or direction would be hugely appreciated.

Could someone help me upload attachments. All files say 'extension not supported'? I wanted to upload the .svg file with the vector based trace and original image.
For now here is the image I am using (the square above)

My vector trace

Hi vort3x,

This looks like the way to go:

vort3x wrote:Hi,

2) After looking at gradients and reading this:http://tavmjong.free.fr/INKSCAPE/MANUAL/html/Attributes-Fill-Stroke.html#Attributes-Gradients I attempted with gradients
Using a radial gradient with extra stops on each section to get a similar but not complete effect, but this does not provide the desired effect with shading from all directions.

This is what I should do, too. Treat each section apart.
You can use the gradients on the fill as well as on the stroke. You might try strokes with some thickness and gradients of their own.

Another way is to duplicate the logo: Select it and hit Ctrl+D and make this duplicate a bit smaller, for example with Ctrl +(. If the scaling steps are too big - they are 2 px by default, you can alter this in File > Inkscape Preferences > Steps. Then you have two layers to try different effects on.

Hello vort3x, you seem to be in the warp speed!

With all my respect for your enthusiasm I would recommend to try with a bit simpler examples of "professional" logo`s. Allow me to rephrase my self - I`d have equal respect for your enthusiasm if you try to replicate Rubens or Rembrandt without prior artistic education.

There are things which are not so easily recognized or properly "translated" (while speaking strictly about visual arts) since some meisters of the trade used a lot of tricks to make it look simple or just eye-pleasing. In your case, it looks like the logo from the sample is made in some 3D program or just treated that way in Illustrator (i.e.). Either way, if you don`t know how it`s made or at least how it could be made - your chances to reproduce it are not quite big. You may get close but... wouldn`t you like to get the things done properly? Just as an example, try with blurring the white or lighter shape(s) over the gray base of the logo.

My warm recommendation is to use Search... box (top right corner of this page) for finding shading, lighting and similar topics on this forum. You may as well find excellent video tutorials on the web. Once you go through these, you`ll know how to approach any given task in the future. You seem like a thorough guy and if you train your self in recognizing and "translating" visual impressions from the outer world, your inner world would soon after that begin to impress all of us here with your own vision of the outer world.

I`m eager to see more from you.
Full sails!

p.s.
About the upload...
Might be wise to open DropBox account or similar and than share/add links in your messages. Also try with the full editor, where you`ll find some handy buttons above the text box.

Thanks for the quick responses!
Especially to Maestral, thanks for the words of encouragement and philosophical enrichment

I won't anytime soon have access to any paid software with more powerful tools such as Illustrator, so I'll try my best to see what I can manage with Inkscape + Paint.net combo.

I am thankful for the warm reception on the Inkscape forums, I will take your suggestions into account and keep you guys updated on my progress in the Work in Progress and Finished work threads.

Thanks

A fast and dirty trick is to make the bevels separate objects and flip or shift the gradients, to set them apart from the front surface.


(right click to download and open in Inkscape)

It's not perfect... a poor cheat really, but it opens the door to working with a different falloff for each suggested surface.

( A true artist would know where to add the highlights, gleams etc., not me.)

Okay so I have managed to recreate a much closer sample with McRoth's suggestion of a smaller copy inside the original and Maestral's of a white copy blurred over. I used a smaller version (tweaked to fit) of the shape, blurred the stroke and applied linear or radial blurs with transparency on those. Does anyone have further suggestions on techniques to improve it apart from more tweaking? Overall I think it looks quite nice for a 1st attempt . Nothing special when looking at some of the stuff here on Inkscape, but as a complete noob I am quite happy with the result so far.

I still have a small problem. I need help cleaning image background from the blur spill-over from the . In paint.net I would simply magic want select the base layer, invert the selection and then select the 'dirty' layer, press delete or use eraser. I can't seem to find the way to do so in Inkscape. However now that I think about it, since this is vector based you can't simply do that... It is pretty minor so perhaps I should just be content with it for now

Original :
WIP :

I just saw tylerdurden's post. I'll play with beveled edges as well, looks like that might help in improving the look quite a bit.

Thanks for all the help so far!

p.s. It seems my dropbox links are not working inline? My links were generated by going to dropbox and selecting 'Share link'
editTylerdurden's suggestion below fixed my links

vort3x wrote:p.s. It seems my dropbox links are not working inline? My links were generated by going to dropbox and selecting 'Share link'

There is a secret trick.




replace "www" with "dl" and use the svg bbtags.


Don't tell anybody at dropbox.

Let me add my notes.
First, is it ok to copy part of a brand identity with the rights/morals?
Estuary solutions could cause trouble if it is their trademarked logo.

I do agree with Maestral that you can get only a close match -if it's not for a well defined pictorial mark, like the euro sign.
In that case, you cannot even be sure that your version of the logo wouldn't end up be much cleaner than the original.

Anyway, for a close match, you would need to get the largest version of the image available.

1

2

3

4

5

Bad luck, all are way too small, and are different variants of the same logo.

However, personally I do think that Tylerdurden gave you the direction to the cleanest possible interpretation.
You cannot get as much control over gaussian blurs as on gradients.

By adding strokes to the paths, the miter joins are off of the geometry.
(The extrapolated is not yet implemented as far as I know except for the devbuild's powerstroke feature?)
http://tavmjong.free.fr/SVG/LINEJOIN/svg2_join.png

So I would go by drawing the outer edge of the shapes with no strokes but fills,
then duplicate those and use dynamic offsetting to get parallel shapes in between.
That way miters can be avoided, all segments will be curved.

Keep in mind the final size of the logo to be used.
If it's for such small sizes for on-screen, then at least pixel fitting the square's corners would be necessary.


Finally: thinking of reproducing -printing- and legibility, such stylisation is better avoided.

I am from Estuary Solutions, so that will be no problem, thanks

Yes, I was only expecting to get as close as possible.

I am hoping my version would be cleaner. I was looking at using this as a learning experience to further (develop really, don't have much ) my editing skillset and if successful yield a vectorized clean
format of the logo that I can demo to the company.

Lazur URH wrote: the outer edge of the shapes with no strokes but fills,
then duplicate those and use dynamic offsetting to get parallel shapes in between.
That way miters can be avoided, all segments will be curved.

I will take a look at the manual and some googling, since I have only a partial idea of what you said above, nevermind even doing so

I also see that when resizing the browser my blurred top layer 'shade' images don't resize the same as the background, and then starts floating all over the place, so this is obviously not the way to go - I assume it is due to them not being exact copies of the fill vector?

vort3x wrote:I am from Estuary Solutions, so that will be no problem, thanks

Yes, I was only expecting to get as close as possible.

I am hoping my version would be cleaner. I was looking at using this as a learning experience to further (develop really, don't have much ) my editing skillset and if successful yield a vectorized clean
format of the logo that I can demo to the company.

Lazur URH wrote: the outer edge of the shapes with no strokes but fills,
then duplicate those and use dynamic offsetting to get parallel shapes in between.
That way miters can be avoided, all segments will be curved.

I will take a look at the manual and some googling, since I have only a partial idea of what you said above, nevermind even doing so

I also see that when resizing the browser my blurred top layer 'shade' images don't resize the same as the background, and then starts floating all over the place, so this is obviously not the way to go - I assume it is due to them not being exact copies of the fill vector?

Hmm can be even riskier if the bosses find out it is getting that much public attention?


The limitation of svg attaching is maybe just present in this particular board, the help section doesn't have such restriction.
Zipped files of any format can be attached though.



This is sort of how I would draw it.
Cannot get closer with the small details, the thin line at the middle needs a much more detailed reference image.


Used the pen tool and various fill settings, along with the node tool and the snapping option.
The inner parts were dynamic offsetted, then converted to path (Ctrl+Shift+C).

Other things used:
Combining paths (Ctrl+K), breaking path apart (Ctrl+Shift+K), grouping the objects (Ctrl+G),
and the dropper tool (D).


On your blurred image, you added strokes for the paths that didn't mach with eachother either.
To get a sharp edge of blurred parts, you can set clipping.

Thanks Lazur,

And thanks for the sample. I now have multiple ways of doing this. Playing around with all these techniques should keep me busy for a while

vort3x wrote:I am from Estuary Solutions, so that will be no problem, thanks

Yes, I was only expecting to get as close as possible.

I am hoping my version would be cleaner. I was looking at using this as a learning experience to further (develop really, don't have much ) my editing skillset and if successful yield a vectorized clean
format of the logo that I can demo to the company.

Apparently, my psychic powers are fading away since I find it appropriate to make another hyperbola.

By intensive listening to the music and reproducing on some musical instrument, one may became able to precisely recognize tones but it surely does not qualify the person for composing. In short - Your creativity is opening another wormhole.

I do hate to be a party-braker, even more since you`re in the warp drive, but could you please indulge my curiosity and explain your self: You are from E.S. but you`re unable to provide the decent image of the E.S. logo, right?

Maestral wrote:By intensive listening to the music and reproducing on some musical instrument, one may became able to precisely recognize tones but it surely does not qualify the person for composing. In short - Your creativity is opening another wormhole.

Your planar ascension is still higher than mine it appears...because I am not sure I follow your above comment.

Maestral wrote:I do hate to be a party-braker, even more since you`re in the warp drive, but could you please indulge my curiosity and explain your self: You are from E.S. but you`re unable to provide the decent image of the E.S. logo, right?

Sure no problem. We no longer have the original or high-res ones. Sadly,as the IT guys floating around will know, raid is not a backup . Logo's in existence are of low quality. I don't know who produced or maintained the online presence, but they were not done in high quality or vector format. I have not been with them since the company inception, but I have discussed the logo inadequacy with superiors before who agreed.

I see alot of people getting skittish about the legitimate nature and potential infringment or publicity regarding the logo, so I am going to request that the thread be taken down - purely for the forum's piece of mind.
Until then, if anyone wants to drop me a PM I can provide proof of my legitimacy.

That out the way, man I have learnt alot today. Hopefully soon you'll see some more work on the forums as there are quite a few small projects I have always wanted to get around to using Vector based images

What #$%&% you mean "We no longer have the original or high-res ones" !?

Did you payed for it?
Did you hired a designer to do it for you?

If both of these are answered with Yes - than how comes you don`t have "the original or high-res ones"?!

Sorry, for those with the cheaper tickets....

If you succeed in replicating what you see - that`s exactly it - replicating.
For creating you need some "planar ascension" ,)

I was not involved, all I am trying to do is improve my skill set and as a productive by-product solve another problem.

The answer for both is yes, but many many years ago. The IT comment was meant to impart that the one place we could get it from was lost, a.k.a. raided set of HDDs that recently failed.

I don't fancy myself an amazing composer if you will, but this exercise is aimed at developing the tools I need to create at a later stage...? That being said, accurate reproduction is an art in and of itself is it not? Perhaps not in the puritan sense, but not a fruitless endeavour under circumstances nonetheless.

I have seen the situation many times in the corporate sector. Failed backups, failed backups of backups, work held hostage by suppliers/workers/others. No worries here in any case.

Carry on.

Nice can of soup...?

Anyhow, here is my final result using everyone's suggestions and what I learnt today.


I didn't spend too much time on it today, so maybe more tweaking can be done. But I'm happy for a one day's progress.
Any thoughts on enhancements?
Perhaps a bit lighter at the core of the sections (more like original), which I'm finding tricky to get right.
I see a thin line of light grey around the edges that I might have to clean up somehow

Considering when you started this, the result is quite good!

However, on the more "aesthetic" side, the curves look a bit off.
The transparent area's edges don't come out right.
In my example the first sketches go way over the edges of the square on purpose.

And the bevel on the middle part is still a mistery.



A technical note, this logo is now semi-transparent.
Both object's opacity is not at 100%, nor the gradients alpha values are at the max.


The can of soup was just an example on "art" that does nothing more than interpreting a part of corporate branding.

Agree with Lazur on the details, and very good for a first outing.

Apropos that can...
So, following your analogy - nowadays one just need to pop-out the phone, take a photo and - voilà! You have an art piece,right?! I`m pretty much sure you`re aware of the context behind that can and how inadequate that comparison is.

Apropos failed backups of the corporate surrounding...
How often is logo used during just a one month? So, for how long you guys did not used your logo? We are still talking about corporate surrounding, right?!

@ vort3x
I was delighted with your approach, encouraging you to hold that grasp on learning something new but in fact, if this new interpretation of the logo should have some practical use (not just practicing) - better skip it, since this style is really outdated. If you want to improve things, why don`t you check what kind of transformations had happened to some well known brands, in which direction is their design developing, moving on... etc. You may bet it wont happen in a snap, you`ll have to devote some time to it. That`s why do people ask to be payed for they work.

Now, make this a real overhaul, not just: Look mom, no pixels! ,)

p.s.
About art...
Friend of mine went through some serious scholar exploration of the term Art, history, etymology.. etc. A couple of times, during this process, we talked and there were so many topics for a good conversation and exchange of views and ideas. Still, after he finished his work , I asked him:
"- So, finaly - what is art, what does it mean to be an artist?"
"- In short, either it is or it is not" ,)

There are some ethereal terms, such as love or death, which still had not been completely explained nor defined in just a few words. We humans are moved by some technological improvements while we still have no real answers on, at least these two, terms quite essential and present in the everyday life.

Maestral wrote:How often is logo used during just a one month? So, for how long you guys did not used your logo?

Not often. Long. I'm the only one that used it recently. There is a more active primary product-based branding that is more active and up to date.


With regards to my approach, I realize that is a very dated style, one which I not planning to present as my recommended solution. I was (well am) in fact using it as a practice attempt.But since we have nothing at the moment and we will soon be in need of a higher quality one, this is good enough to suffice for the presentation of my current ability, which would do well enough given the current look. So skipping it would be a waste - As I've mentioned, this is also not the only use I will have for the techniques I'm learning.

In the meantime I am working on a more modern looking design, which will actually be a lot easier to produce IMO, but harder to get good enough I feel.

Maestral wrote:Now, make this a real overhaul, not just: Look mom, no pixels! ,)

Busy, but as you said getting this done might take a while. Thanks for the words of encouragement.

Maestral wrote:Apropos that can...
So, following your analogy - nowadays one just need to pop-out the phone, take a photo and - voilà! You have an art piece,right?! I`m pretty much sure you`re aware of the context behind that can and how inadequate that comparison is.
...

Exactly.
For a small group of people it is enough to build an artist image around themself.
Mediocre concepts have never been sold better before.

A pile of coal is considered to be a piece of Bernar Venet's art since 1963, and others are still trying to "steal" it after so many years.

Maestral wrote:Apropos failed backups of the corporate surrounding...
How often is logo used during just a one month? So, for how long you guys did not used your logo? We are still talking about corporate surrounding, right?!

It is not uncommon for businesses to carry on operations with finished goods bearing artwork (letterhead/website/brochures/business cards/videos); only to find when the time comes to update or order more, the original artwork (construction files, licensed stock, raw footage) are no longer available, due to misplacement, drive failure, worker/supplier dispute, etc.).


On one hand, fresh interpretations of corporate identities widen the scope of art's place in commerce, on the other hand the longest running use of the same logos seems to be celebrated by preservationists and designers alike.



http://247wallst.com/special-report/201 ... e-world/2/