How to Create a Mandala in Inkscape - Part 2: Symmetric Object Creation

Quick Access

    01 Introduction
    02 Relevant Inkscape Tools
        02-01 Drawing Tools
        02-02 Selecting Tools
        02-03 Aligning and Distributing Tools
        02-04 Transforming Tools
        02-05 Grouping Tools
        02-06 Coloring and Outlining Tools
    03 Guide Lines Setup
    04 Symmetric Object Creation
    05 Ring Creation
    06 Coloring

04 Symmetric Object Creation

Most mandalas contain elements that are symmetric. The easiest way I have found to draw a symmetric object in Inkscape is to draw one side of it, then copy it, horizontally flip the copy, and join the two halves.

Here is a step by step illustrated description of creating a symmetric object.

Draw one side. I am right-handed, so I draw the right side first. You might wish to draw on top of the guidelines to control the width of the object, or you can draw the object in its entirety and then resize it to fit into a specific angular space. In this example, I want to draw an object that takes up 30 degrees of space, so I will draw the right side in 15 degrees using my guidelines. I am using the Bezier curves tool.

Creating a Tiling 3D Geometric Pattern Using Inkscape

Some time during the latter half of 2015 I sketched out the following design which I wanted to create as a pattern.

I finally got around to working on it at the end of January 2016. Creating the basic shapes in Inkscape was very easy. The fun came in when I started messing about with various filters to see what kinds of effects I could get. After a lot of experimentation I eventually ended up with this design.

In this tutorial I explain how to create this design using the simplest steps I can think of. My actual process was much more complicated and involved a lot of trial and error. (Please note: This tutorial is intended for instructional purposes only. I am not granting permission for anyone to use or publish this design in any form.)

Creating the Trojan Zebra with Inkscape

The intent of this article is to show my creative flow with Inkscape as opposed to giving a detailed step-by-step tutorial, which would be difficult with anything more than a simple design.

In June of 2015 I had the idea of drawing a zebra with a hair headdress instead of a mane – a kind that would look like the horsehair brush on an ancient Greek helmet. (My thought was, the zebra was bald and had to wear an artificial mane to keep up appearances.) I drew a quick sketch to save the idea and finally got around to working on it in August.

Behind the Scene – Creation of a Seascape

Back in the autumn of 2012 I had seen a design on Zazzle that I liked quite a lot. It was a limited-palette, multicolored, layered, southwest United States-style design. I got the urge to create something using a similar concept, so after letting my subconscious mull it over for a bit I woke up one morning with the idea of a seascape and quickly made a sketch.

How to Make a Pinwheel Pattern

A Gimp 2.8 Tutorial

A pinwheel is defined either as a toy that has a set of thin vanes that are arranged like a fan on the end of a stick and that spin like a wheel when air is blown on them, or as a type of firework that spins like a wheel. A pinwheel pattern is, similarly, a pattern that takes the form of vanes arranged regularly into a circular shape.

This novice-level tutorial describes how to create this pinwheel pattern.

from this vane-like image of a wing that was cut from a photo of a Mallard duck.

GIMP Tutorial: How to Make a Rectangular Pattern

Introduction

One of the definitions of pattern is "an artistic or decorative design". Throughout history humans have created patterns to decorate buildings, objects, and clothing. There are many different types of and structures to patterns. I find patterns that repeat in some form and that can be tiled to cover any size area to be endlessly fascinating.

Making patterns from pieces of photographs can be lots of fun. I'm often surprised at the beautiful images that result. I'm especially fond of making patterns from feathers. In this step by step tutorial I will show you how to cut an image from a photograph and create a basic rectangular tile with it that you can then use to make a repeating pattern.

How to Create a Tile Piece

First, load the picture of your choice into GIMP. (I'm using version 2.6.11.) I've chosen a picture I took of a turkey.

How to Create a Vector Clown Fish with Inkscape

Capturing a Fish

I don't remember when or where the idea of a clown fish in clown makeup came to me, but the idea took hold of me and wouldn't let go until I created one. The first thing I did was fire up Inkscape and use the Bezier Curve tool to draw a vector object for each part of the fish that I wanted to color separately. All of the objects are closed paths. Here's the final set of objects that I came up with.

The Further Adventures of a Vector Graphics Newbie

Beyond Straight Edges — The Curvy Side of SVG

After creating my first vector design of a paper bag, which was mostly straight edges, I decided for my next Inkscape project to create a canvas bag, which would be a bit more complex due to curves on the handles and the wrinkled sides of the bag. I found a suitable canvas bag image to use as a model and got to work.

A Newbie Adventure into Scalable Vector Graphics

A Short Tutorial

Back in February 2011 I decided I wanted to learn how to create scalable vector graphics using Inkscape. For my first project I chose something very simple — a paper bag. I found an image of a paper bag to use as a model and loaded it into Inkscape. After a quick analysis it was pretty obvious where to draw the lines.