Joshua Boyd wrote:
I would have thought that the Gimp had spline masks by some means, but maybe they don't. Or maybe they do but they aren't as editable, or aren't savable or something. Using Inkscape to create masks strikes me as really clunky, although it is great the someone was able to get their work done using it.
The approach is more flexible in Inkscape as a spline remains a spline, a vector object. In The GIMP or Photoshop you have to convert it to a path, because they only handle bitmap objects. And once it's drawn, you can't edit the spline anymore. You have to draw a new one, unless you saved it.
I wonder if there is a way to add a masking tool like I describe to inkscape. I suspect that in the context of vector illustration there would be plenty of other uses for it.
But Inkscape supports masks ! You can define a vector object as a mask. For example use a circle as a mask for a box so it has a hole, a bit like include/exclude in CAD.