Inkscape tips and tricks.

[susibi]

These tips and tricks are a sort of hotch potch of what has been previously published on here by Michelle Hessler, Sandy McCauley, Susibi, Stressed and Erika to name but a few - abridged and edited !! as we progressed we've found that some steps which seemed necessary from a graphics point of view weren't necessary for the final result so why do them!



Simple welded word in Inkscape:

1)Open Inkscape
2)new page - landscape A4
3)View>Display Mode>Outline

Choose any NON SCRIPT font

Type your word
To join your letters : Click between each letter then using Alt and left arrow
move your letters until they touch
OR.
Type each letter separately then using your cursor join them together
Select your word ( best way to select is to hold down your left mouse button and drag a box around your word or image)
Path>Object to path
Path>Union
You have a welded word

To make a mat:
select your word then Ctrl D and CtrlShift ) again as many
times as you need to make your mat

Word art in Inkscape:

First three steps as above
Choose font ( any font)
Type each letter separately
Using your cursor move and/or rotate the letters until they all touch each other
Select your word
Path> Union
You have a welded word

To make a mat:
select your word then Ctrl D and CtrlShift ) again as many
times as you need to make your mat

Simple script:

First three steps as above
Choose a script font
( eg English Script)
Write your word
to join those letters that aren't joined up click between them and do Alt and left arrow
Select word
Ctrl Shift )
( ie hit your Ctrl key Shift key and bracket key together)
you have welded script.

To make a mat:
select your word then Ctrl D and CtrlShift ) again as many
times as you need to make your mat

To make 'words on an edge'
( greatly simplified)

Steps 1 to 3 as above
Draw a shape
Type your letters separately on the page
Move them until they are over the edge of the shape
Select all
Path>Union
Done

To make words in a box:

Steps 1to 3 as above
Make a welded word and move to one side

Make a frame:

Draw a shape
Select
Ctrl D
Ctrl +Shift+ ) ( hold down Ctrl and Shift and hit bracket key as many times as you need to make your frame)
Select all
Path>Exclusion - you have a welded frame
Place your welded word over your frame
Adjust size and position
Select all
Path>Union


Remember : When your word is welded it is considered as an object so to weld two images or words together select all then Path>Union

By using Ctrl +Shift+ ) to weld a script word you are using the Path>Outset command and your word may result a little 'fatter' than you want. To make it thinner once it is welded simply hit the ( key

these are the instructions for Inkscape they all finish with:
Save as .dxf
Load into CR ( File>Load dxf)
Select all change line clour to black
Group each individual image

Susibi