Inkscape Basics for Cricut Users

 I read in the FB groups all the time about people having trouble getting started with Inkscape. I am NO expert--I've learned what I need to do, as I need to do it. Some of my early struggles were because  I was using the newest version of Inkscape and many videos (especially at that time--I started shortly after the update) were of the older editions. There's not a ton of changes, but some of the work space looks different. It doesn't help that many of the videos use Inkscape in "dark mode". I really think watching videos to learn the basics is a better way than reading a blog, because you can see instantly what clicking a button does. However, it can be tricky finding a good video, and flipping between windows to watch the video while doing the actions in Inkscape. I highly recommend watching the videos on another device, while doing the actions on your computer or laptop. I've even watched them on my big smart TV while following along. 

I recommend starting with this video:  https://youtu.be/rZuG1putmdA  First thing though, turn the playback speed down to 75%. I would actually just watch the first 10 minutes of this. You will get familiar with the layout of the new version, and do some basic things. Then skip ahead to 14:40. This gets into text tools, which is really important. Then skip ahead again to 18:00 to watch about gradients. Don't get too overwhelmed, this is just an overview so you can see what Inkscape can do. Gradients aren't helpful for Cricut users unless you're doing Print and Cut.  I would then recommend going to his second video, or if you're feeling like you've got a handle on the screen layout and where everything is, go to the next suggestion.

https://youtu.be/Sy0nUkUt9CA  This short video is useful to understand what might pop up when you watch older videos. There is a graphic at 2:34 which is worth copying down in your little notebook of tricks. Basically, "Ungroup" is used a lot more now. This is just a little nugget to tuck away incase you follow an older video and it doesn't work. 

I then recommend working through TJ Free's series. https://youtu.be/8f011wdiW7g.  He really breaks things down into short videos. Watch the first three, then skip ahead to numbers 6-9, then 12 and 13. Then go back, when you're ready, to the videos about tracing bitmaps. There are a lot of YouTube videos on how to do this geared more specifically to Cricut users.

By now, you should feel pretty comfortable with the tools and the interface, but you might be wondering, how does this all fit in with the Cricut? For that, go to TroyTube's Learn Inskcape series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6UVQD1dVUM&list=PLydh2cGCHIMbQWegaGMLsFXYGQSx1SPTm&index=3 Actually, you can take a peak at these in amongst the TJ Free series. 

I had a lot of fun with Troy's challenges. 

Here I played with the star a little. I'm always try to overachieve LOL.

I don't think this was  a challenge but I took the things he was showing and made a self portrait LOL.

There will be more things you need to know about using Inkscape with the intent to cut items on the Cricut. The big thing is the Document Properties. This is huge. Under File go to Document Properties. You want to set the document size to 12"x12" to represent the Cricut mat. I also set Display units in inches. Where you see Scale, enter 72, and press Enter. Now, I'm not a graphic designer, but here's how I understand it. Inkscape chops up an inch into a certain number of pixels. Cricut does the same, but uses a different number. By using 72, Inkscape will save it in a way that when you open it in Cricut, it will appear the same size you designed it in Inkscape. This really changed my appreciation of Inkscape. When I designed the layered poppy back in October, I was so frustrated by why it wouldn't import into DS the right size. I was like, "what's the point of designing outside of DS then?!" and how was I downloading files from designers, and having them import correctly? This changed everything!

My other tips:

    1) Clean up useless nodes. You don't want to waste file space, or time cutting by having the Cricut cut little nicks or overly complex outlines. Under Path, there is "simplify". You can try that and see if you still like the result (or, "Undo" if you don't). Or use the Node Editor and just zoom in to find those nodes you can do without. Smooth out edges and deep corners

    2) Use the Objects dialogue box to check all your items. Go to Object at the top, and first item down will open a panel on the right. It's similar to the layers panel in DS. If you're saving as a SVG file, you'll want to make sure you've converted all your text and shapes to paths. You can use the eyeball to turn off the item. If you close the eyeball and don't see any difference in your design, you *should* be able to delete that item. Sometimes you might duplicate something and not realize it and it's still hanging around. Sometimes you'll move something out of the way and lose it over at the side. Delete these things.

    3) Group everything. It'll import into DS properly and is easier to work with. Because you're saving as an SVG file, in DS you'll be able to ungroup and access each layer. 

    4) You can't save lines as anything other than lines in Inkscape. So if you want a score line, you'll have to convert that once you get into DS and ungroup everything. Don't forget to attach the score line to the item it will get scored on.

Any other questions? Let me know!