Bombilla Con Inkscape

8/10/2019 Bombilla Con Inkscape

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How to Create a Vector Light Bulb Icon with

Inkscape

Today we'll be learning how to create a vector light bulb icon with the free, open source vector program

Inkscape. We'll be following a Tango style of design for this project. Read on to learn more about the

Tango esktop !roject and to learn how to create this icon.

Republished Tutorial

"very few weeks, we revisit some of our reader's favorite posts from throughout the history of the site.

This tutorial was first published in #ebruary of $%%&.

Final Image Preview

elow is the final image we will be working towards. Want access to the full (ector )ource files and

downloadable copies of every tutorial, including this one* +oin ("T-RTT) !/)for just &0month.

Tango esktop Pro!ect

The Tango esktop !rojectis a set of guidelines that icon creators can use to make a consistent

appearance in their icons. It's most famously displayed in /inu1 distributions, but you might also notice

it in standalone applications, such as 2I3!. elow, is a sample of the official Tango icons. We'll be

replicating this look.
http://tutsplus.com/join/http://tango.freedesktop.org/Tango_Desktop_Projecthttp://tango.freedesktop.org/Tango_Desktop_Projecthttp://tutsplus.com/join/http://tango.freedesktop.org/Tango_Desktop_Project


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"tep #

reate a new 45p1 by 45p1 canvas. y default Inkscape has a few undesirable settings for creating

icons. 2o to the ocument !roperties dialog window and select the )nap tab. ncheck the bo1 ne1t to

"nable snapping. Throughout this tutorial you'll need to occasionally use a grid to align the shapes to

the canvas. To enable the 2rid select the menu item (iew 6 2rid 789. I used a grey background in thistutorial to make things show up more.


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"tep $

:ow create a small circle near the top of the canvas and center it. It doesn't have to be perfect, you can

adjust it later. :ote how it fits nicely between the grid lines. onvert the circle to a path by selecting it

then going to !ath 6 -bject to !ath 7)hift ; trl ; 9.


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"tep %

:e1t we'll create the bottom part of the glass bulb that slopes into the metal socket. It may be beneficial

to use a reference image for this ne1t step. elow is a genericlight bulb image from s1c.hu.
http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1012471http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1012471http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1012471


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To create the curved bottom path, select the e


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"tep &

ombine the circle created earlier and the new path by holding down )hift and clicking on the objects

individually. :e1t, click the menu item !ath 6 ombine 7trl ; >9. The two objects are now combined

into one and should look the same as the image below while in "dit !aths mode 7#$9.


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!ay attention to the two yellow diamonds selected above. We're going to make intersections in the

circle near these two points. 3ake the intersections by double?clicking above the two yellow diamonds

on the border of the circle. Two new nodes should appear where you double?clicked.


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)elect the s@uare node at the very bottom of the circle and press the elete key. The path will be

changed slightly and the two yellow s@uares we made earlier should turn into diamonds. )elect these

two diamond nodes and remove the path connecting them using the )plit !aths tool in your toolbar.

The result is a light bulb shape with two gaps in the middle.


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ombine the almost?circle with the bottom path by selecting one end of the circle along with one end

of the bottom path. licking +oin selected endnodes in the "dit nodes toolbar and the two points should

fuse together.

o the same for the opposite side.

"tep '

:ow it's time to add a little color. I used a custom color palette as shown below 7.pl included in the

("T-RTT) !/) source files9. It's also shown below.


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)elect the light bulb shape and bring up the #ill and )troke window 7)hift ; trl ; #9. )elect )troke

paint and then linear gradient. A simple black to transparent gradient should show up as the border of

the bulb. We're going to change these colors. )elect "dit... and change the two stop colors. I used

B$&fcfff as my first and C4=Da4ff as my second, darker color.

hange the direction of the gradient path by going into "dit !aths mode 7#$9 and dragging the s@uarepoint of the gradient line to the upper left hand corner of the light bulb. Then drag the circle end to the

lower right hand corner. This is to create a consistent light source in the icon.

:e1t up is the #ill. >eep the #ill and )troke window open and click the #ill tab and select Radial

gradient. I used ffffffD= as my inner color and B$&fcfeC for my outer color. Eou may notice both color


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are slightly transparent. This is to give the illusion that the light bulb is made of a translucent material.

"tep (

)elect the outline, copy it 7trl ; 9 and paste it onto the same location 7trl ; Alt ; (9. This is going

to be the trademark inner highlight found in most Tango?styled icons. elete the fill of the copied

outline and change the stroke to pure white. This will make it more recogni


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ring up the #ill and )trokes dialog again and in the )troke tab select a linear gradient. The white to

transparent gradient colors that appear by default will work fineG so there's no need to change them. We

do want to change the angle of the gradient though, because our light source is in the upper left?hand

corner of the image. If the light source is in the upper left corner, the brightest spot on the object should

also be in the upper left corner.

Adjust the overall opacity of the white outline to BDH.


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"tep )

Time to create the filament. raw two lines near the middle of the bulb with the e


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between these two wires. )ince a 45p1 by 45p1 icon doesn't need too much detail we can simulate a

coilby making a wavy line. )o once again select the e


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-pen the #ill and )trokes dialog and give the new path a stroke color of d%bfacff. Then select the #ill

tab and give it a /inear 2radient going from ffffffff to ffffff%% 7white to white?transparent9. hange the

repeat drop?down menu to Reflected. Reflected means the gradient is displayed twice. -nce on the leftside of the s@uare end, and reflected on the right. I positioned the s@uare point near the middle to look

like there is a reflection in the glass. Also, change the overall -pacity to about D%H.


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"tep *

)elect the original blue outline we drew for the light bulb in )tep F. It should be the bottom layer of

your image. opy 7trl ; 9 and !aste it into place 7trl ; Alt ; (9. Remove the stroke. Then give it a

fill of ffc5%Cff. This is going to be a nice yellow glow resembling the color incandescent lights give off.

/ower the overall opacity of the object to $=H and lower it to the bottom of the image by pressing the


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"nd key.

:ow to finish things up. 2lass objects always reflect at least a small amount of lightG spherical objects

often have hot spotswhere a concentrated portion of light is being reflected off of. reate a circle, or

more accurately an oval. 3ake the width slightly smaller than the length. :ow rotate the oval by

selecting it, and while having it selected click on it again. The arrows around the perimeter should

change to rotational arrows. lick and hold one of the arrows in the corner and rotate the oval about

4D clockwise. !osition the oval in the top left corner where the light source is the strongest. Then

lower the -pacity to CBH.


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"tep +

The final part of the light bulb is the metal connector that screws into a light socket. reate a rectangle

connected to the bottom of the glass light bulb we just created. Then convert the shape to a path by

going to the menu item !ath 6 -bject to !ath 7)hift ; trl ; 9. This makes the shape editable.


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rag the top of the rectangle upwards to resemble an upside down bowl and the bottom of the rectangle

downwards. We're going for a C cylinder look.


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Add two more e@uidistant nodes on the left side of the cylinderby double?clicking where you want the

nodes placed. o the same for the right side, only place them between the nodes on the right starting

from the top. y mentally connecting the dots from left to right it should resemble a


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We're doing this to create the screw shape of the light bulb. Arrange the nodes by moving and e1truding

them till they resemble the image below.


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2ive the screw shape a )troke color of dD&=%%ff. opy and !aste into place 7trl ; Alt ; (9 a new

screw. Remove the stroke from the new screw shape and add a linear gradient #ill with the colors

ffdD4Cff and ffeca&ff. Remember to change the Repeat to Reflected to get the shine near the middle of

the screw.

The new screw with the fill should be slightly smaller than the screw below it. Resi


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:ow move the two screw objects to the bottom of the image by selecting them both and pressing the

"nd key. :e1t draw the wedges/teeth/edgesof the screw. This is a very subtle effect and we don't need

a big object to do this. )elect the e


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uplicate the object and move it down beneath the original.

:ow to add a few final touches. 3ake two connected points with the e


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raw an oval at the very bottom of the image. 3ake it about si1 times as wide as tall. -pen the #ill and

)trokes window and #ill it with black 7%%%%%%ff9.


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Then select a Radial gradient for the fill. /ower the overall -pacity to C%H and move the oval to the

bottom of the image. This is the shadow cast by the light bulb.

Final Image

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