Ponyscape v0.4!!

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Hi Everypony!!

It is with great pride that I present to you Ponyscape version 0.4!!  It's been nearly a month in the making, and I think it's come quite a ways!  For anyone who doesn't know, Ponyscape is my custom-built derivative of Inkscape, a vector art creation program, which adds features and fixes bugs pertaining to all artists (but especially useful to pony artists).

You can find the changelog for previous versions in their respective journals:

:bulletgreen: Version 0.1
:bulletgreen: Version 0.2
:bulletgreen: Version 0.3

I have compiled binary packages for Windows, Linux Mint 14 64-bit (should also work on Ubuntu 12.10), and Mac OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion.  On Windows, download the zip file and extract it using 7zip or winrar and run ponyscape.exe.  On Linux, download the deb package and install it by running "sudo dpkg -i <filename>" or by using a GUI package installer of your choice.  On Mac, first install X11/Quartz ( xquartz.macosforge.org/landing… ), then open the dmg package and drag Inkscape.app to your Applications folder, and finally open the Inkscape.app in your Applications folder.  I believe that DaringDashie will be creating another app package for a slightly older version of Mac OS X, so stay tuned for that if this package isn't working. A package for OSX 10.7 Lion is also available.

You can get the binary packages here (md5's are provided for checksumming):

Windows: www.mediafire.com/?d37qb45yp23…
md5: d21d40720e9d32b2da3a054c61464c7b

Linux: www.mediafire.com/?8ce3rfqb3w3…
md5: 6602d32029130aaedd59909af4c3bb37

Mac OS 10.8: www.mediafire.com/?syoc1osaxmh…
md5: a1b327f115a3297d3e3dcaeff22609af

Mac OS 10.7: sta.sh/0z82ootnbcr
md5: 82e63b9ef88548f4742f23042f656e05

Mac OS 10.6: sta.sh/01wwuqo22898
md5: 9925a652177c2cc1a30b7a903f87bbda

Alternatively, you can download the entire source code and compile from scratch.  I can confirm that compiling works on Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X.  Compilation instructions can be found on Inkscape's wiki ( wiki.inkscape.org/ ).  As some people had difficulty with patching, I've packaged the entire source code, so hopefully it should be easy to compile following Inkscape's instructions.

Source: www.mediafire.com/?gfhq6341p21…
md5: f8daaebb171a17582e5d37842126eda2

Please note that this software is still somewhat experimental... I encourage you to use it, but please remember to save often (enabling autosave is also a good idea).  If you come across any issues, want to give feedback, or have an idea for a future version of Ponyscape, feel free to email me at flutterguy317@gmail.com .

I would like to give a huge thank you to my beta testers, who have helped me get this release stable!!  You guys are awesome!

And now onto the good stuff, the new features!!  In addition to the changes in the previous versions, here's what's new in this version (everything is custom):

:bulletblue: Redesigned swatch system!!



The swatch system has been completely overhauled and redesigned.  The built-in swatches are now stored within an svg file, meaning you can now have gradient swatches.  This also means you can add, edit, and remove swatches within Ponyscape and import swatches from svg files created with Ponyscape.  The swatches which are presented are stored within your document, so you need to either create new swatches or import swatches from those which are built-in or from files.  All of these options are available when you press the + button.  If you right click on a swatch group, you can add additional swatches or remove the whole group.  If you right click on a swatch, you can set the current selection's fill or stroke, replace the swatch color, or remove the swatch from the group.  You can also add new swatch groups by right clicking on the [Root] swatch group, or by using the + menu.

The No-Link checkbox in the right corner is important if you want to make svg's which can be imported into AI.  Swatches are stored as single-stop gradients, and linking an object to a swatch allows you to adjust the coloring at a later point (which is very very useful).  Unfortunately, AI doesn't know how to deal with single-stop gradients in svg files, so by clicking "No-Link" the object will not be linked to the swatch.



You can reorder and rename your document swatches using the "Edit" tab.  Here, you'll see all of your swatch groups and swatches laid out in a tree.  You have the same capabilities as the "Use" tab here through the right-click menu, but you can also rename swatches and groups by double clicking on their name, re-arrange swatches (currently only one at a time, multi-item support is due in the next version), and delete swatches and groups.



You can also import, delete, reorder, and rename your built-in swatches using the "Edit Built-in" tab.  Here, you'll only see your swatches and swatch groups.  You can double click a swatch or swatch group to rename it, and you can drag it to rearrange them (currently only one at a time, multi-item support is due in the next version).  You can also remove swatches from the built-in swatches, import them from a gpl or svg file, and nest swatches within another swatch (which is kinda nifty).

There's a lot of changes to the swatches, I'd highly recommend playing around with them.  If you want to make a backup of your built-in swatches, they're stored in <Inkscape>/share/palettes/swatches.svg .

:bulletblue: Tagging system!!



This system allows you to assign any number of tags to objects (paths, groups, etc.).  If you select a tag within the dialog (ctrl-t), it will select all items which have that tag.  To use the dialog, you must first create a tag using the + button.  You can rename tags by double clicking on their name, and you can drag and drop tags to reorder or nest them.  To assign a tag to an object, select the object and then click the + button next to the tag name in the list.  To remove a tag from the list, select it under the "Items" node and press the delete key.  This is especially useful for shading as you can tag all of your shading objects and in 2 clicks make them visible or hidden.  Again, like the swatches, I'd highly recommend playing around with tags.

:bulletblue: Additional objects dialog functionality!!



Two new functions have been added to the objects dialog.  First, you can change the insert order of new objects into a group or layer by clicking the up or down arrow.  If the arrow is pointing up, new objects will be inserted above other objects.  If it is pointing down, new objects will be inserted below.  Secondly, there is a new column which shows which objects are clipped, inverse clipped, or masked.  This is very useful for getting an idea which objects in your image are clipped.  Additionally, the drop-down menu in the objects dialog has been updated so you can now group/clip/mask right from within it!  This makes creating complex shaded vectors a whole lot easier.

:bulletblue: Ellipse-By-5-Point path effect!!



The Ellipse-By-5-Point extension written by epdtry (many thanks!) was rewritten as a path effect (the original extension is still included in case you still want to use it).  Create a segment with 5 points and apply the "Ellipse By 5 Point" path effect in the path effects dialog (ctrl-shift-7).  You can now adjust your 5 points and the ellipse will update live.  This makes creating eyes so easy!

:bulletblue: Enhanced attach-path path-effect!  You can now drag the connection point to the attached path.

:bulletblue: Many bugfixes Including:  Fixed a crash when applying powerstroke to a path which contained a gradient, fixed a few issues with fill-between-stroke (more will be fixed in version 0.5), fixed unclipping on the canvas, fixed path order when prepending to an existing path, include alpha channel in stroke/fill swap.

There are still a few bugs that I was not able to get to in time for this release (such as globalization in the powerstroke point adjustment dialog), however they are at the top of the priority list for version 0.5 (or possibly a 0.4.5).

And now a quick legal disclosure (only because I have to :p).  This software is provided as-is and without any warranty.  Misuse of this software or use of this software in an illegal nature is in no way the fault of the developer or the upstream Inkscape development team.  The developers are not responsible for any loss or damages that may occur while using the software.  This software is licensed under the GPL version 2.0, a copy of which will be provided upon request.  Inkscape itself is licensed under the GPL, and is free and open-source software, meaning I am allowed to modify and redistribute the source code and/or binaries.

I hope you enjoy this release of Ponyscape and that it helps any pony vector artists out there!  I will be continuously working on tweaking Ponyscape to add helpful new features, so expect to see more releases in the future!  Version 0.5 will contain a lot of fixes, some efficiency improvements, and possibly gradient meshes!!

:iconflutterguy317: flutterguy317

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DetsellaMorningdew's avatar
This install just fine on Linux, but doesn't open properly.

Is it bad if you already have Inkscape on your computer?