Your Own Logo With Inkscape: Tutorial For Beginners

2023 Author: Sheila Hailey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-08-25 04:29

If you order a logo from a graphic designer, depending on the complexity and design, it can be quite expensive. However, if you already have an idea and have some graphic flair, you can also take on this task yourself. We show the procedure with Inkscape.

Inkscape

Facts Version: 0.92.4 Languages: German License: Freeware Platforms: Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows, Windows 10 Genres: Image Editing, CAD More about Inkscape: Tips, Photo Gallery 64-Bit-Download64 bit - for Windows32-Bit-Download32 bit - for Windows

A reasonable logo should be available as a vector graphic. This is the only way it shows a clear outline and can also be scaled to any size without showing blurred edges. A shape within a logo can also be based on the motif of a photo. This is then automatically traced in a vector program. The advantage: With this technique, it is not absolutely necessary to be a master in cornering.

The following workshop shows how vectorization works with the free open source program Inkscape. As a basis we chose the picture of a seagull, which is available for download free of charge from morguefile.com.

The program can be downloaded from the Inkscape official website. Some of the current version 0.48 causes problems, how to fix them is described in the following article.

When vectorizing, Inkscape creates several vector shapes based on the selected image, which serve as the basis for the final drawing. This is relatively easy if you know the most important settings. First load or import the image you want to vectorize, select it and then choose Path> Vectorize Bitmap (shortcut: Shift + Alt + B). There are three filters available in the Mode area:

Along a brightness value
Optimal edge detection
Color quantization

Along a brightness value

The filter analyzes the brightness distribution of the pixels in the image and assigns either black or white to the different image areas. The distribution regulates the threshold value, which can be set between 0.0 (black) and 1.0 (white).

In the example we have determined a threshold value of 0.650; the shape of the bird can be seen relatively well, but still shows some irregularities in the tail feathers and the left wing.

Optimal edge detection

Lines with a similar slope are searched for with this filter. The limit values, also from 0.0 - 1.0, decide on the edge guidance and thus also determine the thickness of the edges.

This filter creates lines of different thicknesses. The drawing of the feathers creates a lot of detail lines within the bird. The number of lines can also not be significantly reduced by the different values for edge detection - quite nice, but useless for our logo.

Color quantization

This filter creates edges at the same contrasts on color changes. The distribution of black and white can be further influenced by the number of colors.

To color the bird black and the background white, the Invert image option must be activated. We chose the value 5 for colors, because this creates a relatively smooth result. The result of this variant is best suited as the basis for a logo.