Introduction

So far we have used Inkscape's main tools to assemble primitives into a variety of shapes. The process of creating these building blocks can be fully automated using features known as Live Path Effects (LPEs). They are very useful, easy to use, and ubiquitous that we couldn't resist the temptation of using one in the very first chapter of the book: Spiro Spline.

In a nutshell, LPEs twist, replicate, transform, and apply many other modifications to shapes in a sequential and repeatable way. There are many different types of LPEs available for Inkscape 0.48, and even more are being developed. In this chapter we will cover some of the most interesting ones available for this release.