that one magic node

Inkscape hack #3

Be it any medium, I am a freehand, freestyle person. 100% accuracy and precision takes a huge toll out of me. Freehand makes me joyous, even if minor flaws creep in. Trading practicality and hedonism for perfection - my mantra or excuse?! ;-P

I had been pleasantly engaged in drawing a seemingly complex tatting diagram for my mate. It consists of many parts that are not all symmetrical. The many sized rings and chains not only face in different directions but some elements have lots of picots.

For picots, I find it easier to draw small straight lines individually with the Bezier (or pencil) tool – trying to orient as I draw. This gives me a quick first draft. Then I group them together and change their value, colour, etc.

Length and orientation may still need tweaking when the whole element/portion is done. Earlier, I would select each picot and use the arrows to do it. Not always convenient since the lines are relatively small and the arrows come in the way (how much can one zoom for each picot – my old compy can’t handle it ;-D)! Further, unless the Control key is held down, the thickness/value of the line changes. This meant an additional step to bring back the required value.

This time I discovered a very easy and sure-fix method that has multiple advantages. All we need is Just One Node! Quite magical, I’d say :-)

We can use a single end node to increase/decrease length and tweak direction. We can also shift the start/end nodes for proper alignment with other elements.

The greatest advantage, besides ease and speed, is that the thickness of the line does not change at all! And it is great when drawing asymmetrical diagrams! 

Robin’s tutorials cover symmetrically placed elements, and she uses the pencil tool to draw picots

I. Straight Line (Picot) : 

Choose just one ‘end’ node to change length or direction ! 

(see diagrams below)

Fig1 shows the first draft lines for picots. 

After selecting the picot to be tweaked, I choose Node tool. 

One can choose either of the 2 end nodes. The chosen one will become red coloured to show it is active. 

Then drag 'outwards' (in relation to the line/picot) to increase length (fig3) ; 

drag 'inwards' to decrease length (fig4) ; 

or drag sideways to right or left to change direction (fig5).

II. Curved Line/Arches (Chains) :

Choose just one node to shift arches - length or position ! 

(see diagrams below)

You might remember my quick and easy way to draw a continuous line of chains and create arches between two nodes. Sometimes, after changing the value or on close inspection I find that the points are not aligned correctly - 

one point may either not touch the ring (fig3); 

or may have invaded inside the ring (fig4); 

or may be misaligned (fig5).

All we need to do is select that point, convert to Node and move it in desired direction !

I'm sure this hack is nothing new. But for me it was an exciting self-discovery !!!

Related Posts :

Inkscape Hack #1 - drawing continuous chains

Inkscape Hack #2 - designing from pre-existing template 

hope this shortcut is helpful too...