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SquiggleDraw - 102

This is part of our Squiggle University tutorial series. A lucky graduate of Squiggle U will be selected to get a BANTAM TOOLS #NEXTDRAW WRITING AND DRAWING MACHINE!!! Don't forget to post the squiggles you generate on social media, tag @BantamTools & #NextDraw and email the .SVG files to Z@BantamTools.com . We will be picking some favorites and giving away... Bantam Tools Stickers & Merch, Plotted Postcards of your generations, and a #NextDraw!!!

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Welcome to Squiggle Draw 102. We assume you learned the basics from the SquiggleCam 101 tutorial and read our tips on how to select an image, if not go check out step 1 of that tutorial here.

 

SquiggleDraw was born in Processing IDE, and in 103 you will learn how to run that directly in Processing. Its creator, Gregg G.Wygonik has also packaged up this code into an Inkscape extension and has added some extra polish. The inkscape version is smoother, can handle larger images, can process transparent images, and output multicolor plots (CMY separation). 

 

This guide will introduce you to the process of downloading, installing, and getting started with the SquiggleDraw extension. By enhancing Inkscape with SquiggleDraw, you'll unlock a new dimension of artistic possibilities, from intricate line work to dynamic patterns, all within the familiar interface of Inkscape. Let's get started.

 

 

SETUP

Download And Install Inkscape

If you haven’t already, go to inkscape.org/ and download and install Inkscape.

Download the Extension

Go to the SquiggleDraw Inkscape Github page and click on the green code button, choose Download ZIP

 

Install The Extension

  1. Open Inkscape, open preferences/settings
    1. Select this icon on the top bar
    2. You can also access it through the main navbar menu (left intel mac / right arm mac)
    3. settingpref.png

    1. On the left hand side of Preferences choose system
    2. Find “User extensions” on the right side, click open to go to that location



  1. Open a second file browser window and navigate to where you downloaded SquiggleDrawInkscape-main.zip and unzip it
  2. Copy both squiggledraw.py & squiggledraw.inx into that extensions folder 
  3. Quit and restart Inkscape.
  4. You should now find the Extension in the Navbar at: Extensions > Render > SquiggleDraw 

Generation

     Source: setting description list from help page of plugin

 

Rows and Columns

Determines the resolution of the squiggle path. Higher numbers allow more details to be represented.

Frequency

How dense the waveform creation is per row/column grid.

Amplitude

How tall each waveform is per row/column grid.

Invert Colors

Invert flips white and black in the source image. 

Invert toggled off: the white in your source image will be straight lines, and black will be very high frequency squiggles.
With invert turned on: black will be straight lines, and white will be a very high frequency squiggle.

Path Direction

The generated paths can go uni-directionally from Left-to-Right, bi-directionally (back-and-forth), or back-and-forth with ends joined together one continuous path). Color Mode

Grayscale is the classic mode which converts selected image to black-and-white before creating the paths, while CMY(K) generates CMY paths (Inkscape uses a conversion method that sets K [black] to 0, which is okay since C+Y+M appears

Live Preview

Allows you to see the settings change live

Once you’ve arrived at an outcome you enjoy, you can click the apply button to generate the resulting vector. This lives inside your Inkscape .svg and you can process multiple photos like this inside the same Inkscape project. Just select the next image, go to Extensions > Render > SquiggleDraw and repeat the process. Once you are happy with your work, you have the option of plotting the final result.

 

Congrats, you have passed SquiggleCam 102 and have been successfully enrolled into SqiggleDraw 103 click here to head to that class now!

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