My Graphics Wishlist

As I work on this web site, I think about some things I'd like to be able to do relatively easily, but for whatever reason the technology isn't there to do it. I'm putting together my wishlist.

• Opentype-SVG editing in FontForge

  I'd like to make more expressive fonts which include full color gradients and such. First it was hard to figure out what is even supported. There used to be an SVG font standard, but that has been dropped, and SVG embedded in OpenType is now the standard. I have found some Adobe command line utilities for embedding an SVG into an OpenType font, but it doesn't talk about and I have no idea how to adjust where the SVG would appear when displayed. I would expect you need to plop the SVG in a certain spot just like when editing curves in FontForge.

• Non-linear color gradient interpolation functions

  Here's an example SVG file with a color gradient. You can see sharp lines at the white and black positions in the gradient. This is due to SVG gradients interpolating linearly. But frequently what you want looks better interpolated either with a sine curve or a power function. Either SVG should support this, or at least Inkscape could provide an interface which does this and results in a series of linear interpolations to approximate it automatically.

• HSL or HSV color gradient interpolations

  Color gradients are only in the sRGB or linearRGB color spaces. But if you wish to have a color graident from red through orange, yellow, and then green, you can't simply set one end at red and the other at green. As the example shows it goes through a dull brownish color instead. Like the wish above, this one can be corrected either in the SVG standard, or within Inkscape. And, the latter correction can actually be a perfect rendering, but with the convenience that the end user does not need to make addtional color stops; Inkscape could figure it out.

• Conical color gradient

  SVG has a gradient type called a mesh gradient. It is very powerful in terms of what it can do. With it, a conical gradient can be created. However, using this in Inkscape is quite difficult. If you really want just a conical gradient, you should be able to just set a linear set of color stops, and set the center point. Inkscape could do the hard work of figuring out how to lay the nodes of a mesh gradient to create this.

Dreamers Can Dream

Since I'm making wishes, let's go hog wild.

• Shaped gradients

  Take a look at what VectorStyler can do! Linear, radial, and conical gradients can have nearly infinite variablility because you can provide a shape (open or closed path). Imagine a linear gradient from top to bottom, but with a sine-wave shape applied. Now it is a wavy linear gradient. A star or heart shape can be applied to a radial gradient. The possiblities are nearly endless. In addition, VectorStyler also has spiral gradients.

• Gradient on a path

  How about a linear gradient that follows the path to which it is applied?