This is another entry into my 365 requests sub-project, in which I’ve asked friends to submit images, ideas, and more for inclusion in 365Sketches. Sean gave me an image at my request before this project started, but it certainly worked for this purpose. I took his image, did a bitmap trace, and played with the settings to capture the most significant identifying features. I took a rectangle and put it in the background, then applied a multi-stop gradient with lots of what I think of as his skin tones. I then created a spirograph using the filter/render/spirograph tool and masked it with a duplicate of the botmap conversion to allow his face to appear clear, but the background to have a subtle, but I think interesting pattern. I thank Sean for his willingness to participate and hope he finds the image a good use of the share.
The image titled “Urban Circles” by John LeMasney presents a visually striking composition that primarily features a series of concentric circles, varying in size and thickness, that create a sense of rhythm and movement across the canvas. These circles, some solid, others composed of loosely formed rings, are centered and dominate the image, suggesting a modernist take on targets or ripples in water. The color palette is relatively limited but thoughtfully chosen, featuring shades of red, from deep burgundy to brighter crimson, which stands out against a muted background of olive greens and earthy browns.
Numerous organic shapes and swirls are overlaying and intersecting these circles, reminiscent of vines or tendrils. These curvilinear forms introduce an element of nature and growth, and their lighter hues, set against the darker background, add depth and complexity to the image. The lines that define these shapes are elegant and fluid, contributing to the overall dynamism of the composition.
The image’s backdrop evokes the texture of aged parchment or a wall worn by time, imbued with subtle gradients and a speckled effect that suggests a rich patina. This textured quality gives the image an additional layer of interest, hinting at history and permanence.
“Urban Circles” could be interpreted as a metaphor for the interconnectedness of urban life, where the circles represent different communities or nodes within a city, and the intertwining organic lines symbolize the paths that connect them. The use of circles, often seen as a symbol of unity and perfection, juxtaposed with the organic, imperfect swirls might also reflect the contrast between the man-made environment and the natural world. This theme resonates with the complexity of urban ecosystems.
The composition’s balance between geometric and organic elements, along with its color scheme and textural qualities, all contribute to a piece that is simultaneously modern and timeless, orderly and wild, reflecting the multifaceted nature of urban existence.
This is my first entry into 365 requests, an open call for portrait, illustration, and light logo requests from friends who’d like to participate in this project. This entry was a photo from my friend Dennis O’ Brien, who happens to be the current Mayor of Newtown Township in Pennsylvania. I love working with him in any case, but I’m glad he answered my call for raw material for the 365sketches blog project. I started with his photo in which he was wearing a viking helmet and braids, obviously a fun photo where he was performing opera. I decided to run with the horns theme, and give him horns of his very own. I got a CC licensed image at Flickr from Ben Pollard (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ben_pollard/2343700094/) and did some conversions to vector, some surgery to nodes, and some fine tuning with the eraser and calligraphy tools in Inkscape. It helps that Horns are Epic, but so is Dennis.
I really love how this one turned out. I started by looking in the MorgueFile directory for inspiration and came across this killer set of robot images that were being featured. I loved the one I used as the basis of this piece at http://morguefile.com/archive/display/645792 by Seemann. I took the original image, bitmap-traced it twice, once in edge mode and once in threshold mode, and made the edge bright yellow and the threshold deep dark umber. I then duplicated and filled the threshold image with bright yellow, sent it to the back, and blurred it for a glow effect. I used the ellipse tool to make the thought cloud and did a union to bring the cloud together. The heart was made with the ellipse and Bezier tools and unioned. Then, I duplicated, intersected, and path-inset to make the gradient reflection on the heart. The background is just a subtle mix of earthy tones. I had a lot of fun making this one; I hope you enjoy it.
I opened up PhotoBooth on my MBP, and took a quick close up shot of my face in a scowl. I brought it into Inkscape, converted the bitmap into a vector with both the edge detect and the threshold methods, then applied different colors to each and overlapped them. I added a background for the highlight, and finally added some plain black lines to emphasize my mouth and eyes, as they were getting a bit lost.
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The Book of Inkscape: A Fine, Rare Pleasure (slumpedoverkeyboarddead.com)
So this was pretty straightforward. I took the pencil tool (set to spiro paths and shape: triangle in) and dropped some wavy lines, which I combined into single path. I duplicated the path about 4 times, adding additional levels of blur effect to each duplicate. In the lowest duplicate, I also applied several outsets, enlarging and broadening the path with the greatest amount of blur. I gave this duplicate a deep blue tint. Finally, I added a deep dark navy square as the bottom most part of the image. I wouldn’t want to run into this thing.
Inkscape Projects
