Creating simple map icons with Inkscape

A tutorial by Sapiento

This tutorial will show you how to create a simple coat of arms in
Inkscape, a free vector program.

First, let us look at the main mask to see what we will be our main tools
for this lection.

I want a hexagonal shape for my CoA (strange, but it’s a fantasy CoA, so
I don’t mind).

Set up the document as you like, enable snapping as you like (see the
tutorial ‘Creating simple map icons with Inkscape’ by the same author
how to do both) and start by selecting the ‘Create stars and polygons’
tool (*).
Now type in ‘6’ in the ‘Corners’ field and with holding ctrl draw a hexagon
(ctrl ensures that it makes 15° degrees steps bases on the horizontal
base line). Then choose a fill and stroke in colours and size you like. I
made a hexagon 120 px wide, blue fill and yellow stroke (6 px thick). If
the corners of your hexagon are still round right-click > Fill and Stroke >
Stroke Style > Join: Miter Join

Now I want to add some stars. For this I select again the ‘Stars and
polygon’ tool, but this time I select the star button and select 5 corners.
Now draw a star. Play around with ‘Spoke ration’ until you have a star
you like. I chose the same fill colour as the stroke of the hexagon.
Now I want put two stars in the upper two corners. Right-click on the star
> duplicate, the pull away the duplicated star. Now place them to the two
corners.
Hm. They are not symmetric. Solution: align the objects. Select both by
clicking on them while holding Shift, then click on the third symbol in the
second row in the ‘Align and Distribute’ window > ‘Center on horizontal
axis’. They are on the same axis now. Ctrl-G - she stars are grouped. To
align them vertically with the hexagon, select the stars (now one group)
and the hexagon while holding Shift and click the third symbol in the first
row > ‘Center on vertical axis’. Result:
Looks better. Group with Ctrl-G. Now I create a laurel. There are some
different ways to do this, what I do now is only one possibility.

Create a line with the straight line tool. The line is black. Click on the Pick
Colors Tool (F7), click on the hexagon. Now the line has an ‘imaginary’
yellow fill. Right-click on ‘Stroke’ in the bottom left > Swap fill and stroke.
Now the stroke is yellow and the fill black. Right-click on fill > Remove fill.
What remains is a yellow line.
Now F2, ‘Select paths by nodes’ tool. Double click in the middle of the
line to create a new node.
Now click in the command bar on the symbol with the curve and the
small square. This will turn the node smooth.

Two levers appear. By

pulling them around you create now a curved line.
This is the caulis. Increase thickness of the stroke (explained above) and
make the ends smooth, right-click > Stroke and fill > Stroke style> Cap:
round cap (middle symbol). Voila!
Now the leaves. Create a rectangle.
Now go to Path > Object to path. This has transformed our object in a
path that we can transform by using F2. Pull around the nodes and paths
until you have a shape like this.
Now make the two middle nodes smooth by clicking on the ‘Smooth
nodes’ symbol like before. And we have this.
Now duplicate the leaf several times and arrange them around the caulis
as you like. Use the different arrange tools which appear when you are in
F1 mode. When finished, select all shapes and group Ctrl-G. That’s my
result

Now let us place the laurel into the CoA shield.

Ctrl-G. Finished. Easy and fast.

If you group different shapes, it can happen that sometimes they seem to
disappear. This happens when you group objects at different levels and
a third object is on a higher level. Use these four buttons

to raise or lower objects.

At last some other examples made with the same technique.

Have some fun with creating symbols in Inkscape.

Sapiento