InkScape tutorial : Draw an 8-ball in 8 minutes...

 InkScape is a powerful opensource vector editor that gives 'Nitrous' powered wings for your creativity to take shape. Below is a beginner tutorial for drawing an 8-ball easily in InkScape in as less as 8 minutes.

My homegrown Linux Penguin

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 Linux is my favorite operating system, and I'm attached to it to the point of addiction. The knowledge one gains from it, and the control one feels using it, are nothing short of ecstacy.

Apart from a slew of technical attractions, there is a non technical attraction to Linux. The famous Linux Penguin - 'Tux'! The beauty of Tux is that the logo that represents Linux is like Linux itself; it can be edited in any way anyone wishes.

This public nature of the logo has only beautified Linux. There are hundreds of variations of the Tux penguin, from the Tux-Rambo to Mario-Tux to even the gut spilling Zombie Tux!!! A list of cool Tux versions have all assembled here.

Like the multiple images of Tux, the story behind Tux are also diverse. According to Wired, there is a bizarre variety of stories, ranging from

"Linus (Torvalds) was assaulted by a huge, rabid man-eating penguin that was running amok and was moving at more than a 100 miles per hour when it attacked him"

to more serious stories like

"Torvalds was never attacked, nibbled, or otherwise molested by a penguin, but became fixated on Tux because a fat penguin wasn't a typical corporate logo"

Such a plethora of back stories and logos of varied hilarity and dexterity, have only made the Logo as well as the OS it represents more lovable.

Above is my Easter egg Tux I created using Inkscape, following this excellent tutorial.

Making a steaming cup of Digital Coffee...

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Making a cup of steaming hot coffee is a pleasurable experience.  Bringing together the various ingredients and weaving the magic to bring out that silky brown color, that soul-filling aroma, is an exhilarating experience, second only to the heavenly experience of relishing it until the last drop.

How does this experience compare with creating the same cup of coffee digitally?

How to draw your own Cartoon with Inkscape

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Inkscape is the Omnipotent (with an uppercase 'O') fantasy world where you are limited only by your imagination. All you need is a gentle guidance into the World of Inkscape, and before you know, you are a digital Da Vinci! Okay, I exaggerated it a bit, but you get the idea. Creating has never felt this powerful for me before!

My tryst with Inkscape

I recently needed to create posters and labels for a small startup we conceived. I first tried the Raven vector editor in Aviary. While it fit my needs very well, it was really buggy, and didn't let me save my work, effectively nullifying whatever I did.

Then I installed InkSkape in my system. I must say, it is really very powerful and useful for hobbyists or opportunists like me. After successfully designing my label in Inkscape, I was so intrigued by it that I have started learning it. Hope I become something useful with it.

Anyways, above's my first creation, the holy symbol of Lord Ganesha that symbolizes the beginning of everything... the 'Pillayar Suzhi' :)


More to come. Wish me luck! :)