Inkscape Tutorial: Tech Circles

Create a vector tech circle pattern using Inkscape.

This tutorial is for Inkscape version 0.92 and is intended to teach beginners how to use the software. Inkscape is a great free alternative to Adobe Illustrator and Corel Draw.

Twitter: @logosbynick
Instagram: @itslogosbynick

Intro song: "In Da Mood" by Combustibles, used with written permission

[sheaulle]

Great as always!Instead of copying color codes you can copy (Ctrl+C) the source object, select the target object and Paste Style (Ctrl+Shift+V). I use this a lot. (The other paste options in the Edit menu are helpful, too: Paste Size and Paste in Place.)

[Lukoro]

Another awesome tutorial, as always <3 ^^



Another way of doing this I found by accident is as follows:


1. Create a bunch of rectangles (R). The further down a rectangle is in your base layout, the further outward it will be on the circle. (It's no use coloring them in yet.)

2. Select all of the rectangles.
Go to Path → Object to Path (Shift + Ctrl + C).
Go to Path → Union (Ctrl + "+").
Rightclick → Copy (Ctrl + C).

3. Select the Bezier Pen (B).
Above the canvas you will see "Mode:". Select "Create Spiro Path" (icon resembles an S). Under "Shape:" select "From clipboard" (dropdown menu to the right of the mode options).
Click anywhere on the canvas. Hold ctrl and click somewhere to the right. Bring the cursor back to the starting point. You should see a single circle appear. (If you see something resembling an infinity symbol, just click slightly above the starting point and only after that close the shape by clicking it - although this can also create cool looking stuff :P)

You should see the tech circles as outlines now.

4. Select the whole thing.
Go to Path → Stroke to Path (Ctrl + Alt + C).
Go to Path → Break Apart (Shift + Ctrl +K).
Colour them in as you like.



Pros of this method:
[ I ] You can perfectly define the spacing of objects, regarding both radial and angular.

Keep in mind the right and left edges of your original rectangle selection will get "glued together" to form the circle though.
Also keep in mind that the Bezier Pen will use the height of your layout as the width of the tech circle, half of it being outside (and inside respectively) of the circle you can see before clicking the starting point. If your radius is smaller than half your height, it will look funky.


Cons of this method:
[ I ] You HAVE TO define the sizes and spacing in the original layout.
[ II ] You can't have a circle perfectly in the centre.
[ III ] You can't have overlapping arcs as they will become a single object in the "Union" phase.


Workarounds to the cons:
[ I ] None. You can only learn the shortcuts and work faster every time you change something in your layout. (At least as far as I know, I'm only learning Inkscape at the moment too :P)
[ II ] Create a "calibration rectangle" that measures the whole width of your layout at the bottom/top of it. It will become a circle on the very inside/outside. You can use this for aligning and just delete it when you are done.
[ III ] This is a bit tricky, so bear with me.

First click and hold just above the canvas. Drag your cursor down to get a horizontal guideline. Do the same thing twice from the left side of the canvas to get two vertical guidelines. Place the latter with the same spacing you would have chosen for your "Bezier Pen clicks".
Enable snapping, especially "Snap nodes, paths, and handles" and "snap guides".
This enables you to use exactly the same points for your Bezier Pen for the multiple times you'll have to run the whole method, which keeps your layout intact while "circling it". (Of course you can use any other means of snapping points aswell, that's just what I'd use.)

Whenever two rectangles overlap, select only one of them instead of both. Once you have a disjunct set of rectangles, act as if that would have been your whole layout. Run the whole method from step 2, using the guideline intersections as your Bezier Pen click points.
Repeat with the remaining rectangles until all of them have been used / copied over.

[bonesurf]

Long time listener - first time caller. Huge fan of your tutorials, I've watched many many MANY of them, but I have to constructively say this was the most frustrating one to follow. You backtracked several of the steps, when it came to duplicating the shapes, rotating them, just little a past the half way point when we added the circle in the middle to get the objects to rotate. I've followed along with many of your more advanced tutorials with no issue but something was definitely up with the flow on this one, it was a tad confusing. Maybe it's just me. Either way, I still love this design and idea and I'm glad you shared this with us, I eagerly await your next upload. Thanks again.

[oikosu]

What a very clear tutorial!! You explained everything and it's really helps a lot! Appreciate your effort and thank you so much!

[idowebwork]

Never knew you could do that with circles, turn them into just curved lines by pulling the curve point into towards the center. Definitely see myself using that a bit more.

[Uknowmeakak]

Yay! I made my tech circles. So awesome. Thanks!

[dieselstruck]

The man does it again! Great tutorial.

[susankniola]

Love this graphic. But even more, thanks SO much for the "scaling with solid circle tip"! Will come in handy when working with text on a circular path. Game changer!

[bhinderbinder]

I really love Inkscape so much. This is so straightforward, no wonder the logo was given the subtitle, 'Draw Freely'. Exactly! Also wanted to comment that this design reminds me of older graphic styles, like 'Space Odyssey' movie...70's for sure. Cool. Thanks for the video!

[FarmersFamily]

Great tutorial Nick amazing at the end it was looking very good
So, I am thankfull that you are sharing such videos

[ishiniavindya]

this tutorial is superb, , , i gained lot of thing from this, , thanks Nick

[vighneshvighnesh]

221 likes and 0 dislikes. Great video. Keep up the good work.

[MichaelDowComposer]

thanks nick! Been trying to work out how to do a section of a circle for ages!

[ThePepperfly]

I'm new to Inkscape and have been watching a lot of your old vids. @0:40 in this vid, what does setting the View to Custom do for the purposes of this video, and similarly in other vids? As I've mentioned, I'm a newcomer and am using v1.2.x on a Mac... is setting the view to custom a necessary step, or is it just to make the layout look the same to make it easier to follow? Is there an equivalent setting in v1.2 (or am I just overlooking it)? P.S., I've also purchased your Inkscape Masterclass and logo design courses. You're an excellent teacher in your courses and here on YouTube. Thanks!!

[linuxmangaka]

Oh great! this is what i want for cyber magic circle

[edgardsimoesdasilva]

Hi Nick!
Is possible to create animation with this?
Hugs from Brazil.

[surinfarmwest]

Nick,

for some reason I'm seeing HD drives, drum brakes and disc brakes. Good news is I'm home alone today and looking for some "Research"! Great timing as always and thank you for sharing this idea.

West

[saeidsaati]

Thank you this was awesome, please make more sci-fi stuff

[HighfireX]

This is great! This could pipeline to some sort of animation where the pieces rotate from the centre.

[amitrai]

What is the name of the style you used to write tech circles in the thumbnail