Adam,
Thanks for the reply and taking the time to post some experimentation.
I guess the crux of the matter for me is that I'm trying to bootstrap the calligraphy tool into acting more like an ink brush, and the primary hurdle is getting a predictable tapered start and end to a stroke regardless of stroke direction.
I'm using a Graphire3, so I can't experiment with stylus angle (which I see you have turned on). So I have fixation set to zero for now because, otherwise, I get that distinctive calligraphic look I don't want in this instance (but which, of course, the tool was designed to produce).
I guess another way to say all of this is that, yes, I can get line variations using the calligraphy tool the way it was intended (which is more or less the way you're using it), but doing so makes it (so far) inappropriate for digitally inking penciled comic drawings.
So I'm turning off perhaps the primary calligraphy-like feature (fixation) and trying to get it to react really just to pressure. And what I'm finding is that the line width setting really constrains my line shape. If I set the width to a lowish number, say 0.07, I can get a nice tapered line end. But, no matter how much pressure I apply, I can't get a very wide line weight through the middle of the stroke. Conversely, if I raise the width setting so that I can get a wider line through the middle of the stroke, I can't get the nice tapered ends - they tend to be blunt and squarish.
If I could solve that primary issue somehow, I think I could use Inkscape to do this digital inking. (Sorry for the sudden ending here, but I got a phone call and lost my train of thought. :D )
Thanks again,
Matt
Adam wrote:
Hi Matt
I wonder of there is another variable here, since I get a pretty good variation with my Wacom tablet and using the calligraphy controls, especially thinning and of course the enabling of pressure controls. I am on Windows XP and Inkscape 0.43 (so it says, but the download site did not seem to confirm this ... don't understand this part! Guess it is a pre-release.). Anyway, the pressure controls on the interface work and I have the other settings available for this tool.
I am able to get quite good variation in line thickness. See my Web page http://home.exetel.com.au/adam001/test_bed.html
I may be missing something here? I should say that I can't do the sort of thing you are doing, Matt, I admire your skill, but does the stuff on the Web page clarify or confuse? The line thickness seemed to be a result of variations in speed, angle and the Inkscape settings, which means to me, not having used it a lot but getting good width variation, that I would have to fiddle around a lot to advise further!
Adam