While beauty is arguably subjective, I believe there is still a minimum standard for artwork — after all artwork is a work (labour) of art (skill). With that said, this post is here to help you to take your ideas from concept to completion.
Visualise your concept
Think about what it is you want to achieve. Say you want to draw a pineapple, what is special about this pineapple which makes it worth drawing? Try to think of at least one thing which makes your pineapple different… Is it broken? Is it dancing? Is it lying down? Is it cut into segments with the top resting upon it?
Realism
What time of day is it? Where is the light coming from? How will the texture of your pineapple be affected by the light or shade?
Pencil, paper & eraser
Before rushing to your computer, sketch out your ideas. Sometimes, things seem clear in your head but, when you come to put pencil to paper, you may realise your idea is weak or not thought out correctly.
Thumbnail your design ideas
No matter how much I practice drawing vector artwork, I am still considerably faster with pencil and paper. My advice is to thumbnail your drawings. This helps you focus on form, lighting and the dynamic aspect of your artwork, without needing to focus on the drawing.
The good thing about thumbnailing your artwork is, when you see an image small, your mind will likely interpolate the details. This gives you an idea of the bigger picture and how you feel looking at it.
Now, sketch it bigger
It is much easier and quicker to draw in Inkscape when you have a detailed sketch. Even though you are adding a process which you see many YouTubers skip, this will help you to figure out the details of your artwork quickly and you will save time overall.
Scan or photograph your sketch
Either use a scanner or a camera to digitise your sketch. If you decide to use a camera, lay your artwork flat and use as many light sources as you can around the room to create ambient light while you stand directly above and line your camera up with the image. Alternatively, pin your artwork to the wall and use light from above.
However you digitise, you don’t want to skew, distort or obscure your sketch.
Start tracing in Inkscape
This is where it can help to have a graphics tablet, though not essential. Your artwork can look the same either way, it just might take you longer to use a mouse or trackpad.
If you don’t have a graphics tablet but you want to buy one, a second hand Wacom will do the trick. I have a few, but I often use the smallest (and most basic) for convenience.
To bring your artwork into Inkscape, just go to File > Import, then select your image. I have found no advantage in either liking to or embedding your image. So, this is up to you. Let me know if you prefer one way or another and why in the comments.
Refine your line work
Drawing freehand can be tricky if you want variable line widths, as it can cause wobbly lines and therefore amateur looking vector artwork.
To avoid this, where possible, use the Bézier pen to create your lines and in the Path Effects panel add Power Stroke this will give your artwork a more dynamic and pen drawn look.
Adjust your artwork
In the harsh light of day (vector), sketches can look flat and unrealistic. Now you have exhausted the use of your sketch, hide it and forget about it for now. Use this opportunity to add depth, movement, light and realism to your artwork.
Remember, just because vector art is built with coordinates, it doesn’t mean it has to look mathematical, geometric or flat.
Multiple versions
Once your artwork is finished, you may have other ideas regarding colouring, position etc. Once you have saved your vector artwork, go to File > Save as and give your new file a version number. Now, play around with it knowing that you can always revert to your previous design, should this one go badly.
Stroke to path
Your artwork is complete. If you want to use it for print, plotting or for animation on the web, you might consider turning your strokes into paths. That is unless you plan to animate strokes. This is especially important for those strokes with effects on them as these effects may not render properly outside of Inkscape.
Show me your work
Seeing others’ artwork makes this blog far more satisfying for me. And, while I could say “Buy me a coffee”, I don’t like coffee and it’s overpriced.
If this post helped you design with Inkscape, send your artwork to my email address at the bottom and if you are happy for me to do so, I might even display it to inspire others.
Keep Inking!