Re: [Gimp-gui] Blend tool icons & Color eraser icon

[staedtler-przyborski <staedtler-przyborski web de>]

Am 15.02.2016 um 21:14 schrieb Jehan:
> Hi all,
>
> On 2016-02-15 20:44, Aurore D. wrote:
> > Hello,
> > I'd like to suggest the change of the blend tool icon, back to the
> > "original" icon: a simple square with a gradient in it.
> > The kitchen blender is not a very good visual metaphor (to quote Akk
> > on irc "That's not what the tool does, anyway -- it doesn't blend all
> > the colors in the image into a single uniform color like a blender
> > would." ) and doesn't translate well.
> >
> > About the eraser icon, in the Color theme there's a mysterious grey
> > dot on it, zooming on the svg file I saw it was a little design on top
> > of the eraser. It's a nice detail but in a small icon it's more
> > confusing than anything. A plain eraser would probably be better.
>
> Adding a comment from Pippin on IRC, since I think he will never post 
> himself:
>
> --
> 20:48 < pippin> with a very critical hat,. blend, warp and perspective 
> ..  are the tools I find hardest to discern at the moment
> --
>
> Actually I liked the old warp tool icon. Not sure why we changed the 
> design.
> As for perspective, it's true that the wireframe box is not obvious 
> immediately, even though it makes some sense.
>
> Anyway ideally if people have alternative ideas for icons which you 
> find hard to guess, you are welcome.
>
> Jehan
>
> > Regards
Am 15.02.2016 um 21:14 schrieb Jehan:
> Hi all,
>
> On 2016-02-15 20:44, Aurore D. wrote:
> > Hello,
> > I'd like to suggest the change of the blend tool icon, back to the
> > "original" icon: a simple square with a gradient in it.
> > The kitchen blender is not a very good visual metaphor (to quote Akk
> > on irc "That's not what the tool does, anyway -- it doesn't blend all
> > the colors in the image into a single uniform color like a blender
> > would." ) and doesn't translate well.
> >
> > About the eraser icon, in the Color theme there's a mysterious grey
> > dot on it, zooming on the svg file I saw it was a little design on top
> > of the eraser. It's a nice detail but in a small icon it's more
> > confusing than anything. A plain eraser would probably be better.
>
> Adding a comment from Pippin on IRC, since I think he will never post 
> himself:
>
> --
> 20:48 < pippin> with a very critical hat,. blend, warp and perspective 
> ..  are the tools I find hardest to discern at the moment
> --
>
> Actually I liked the old warp tool icon. Not sure why we changed the 
> design.
> As for perspective, it's true that the wireframe box is not obvious 
> immediately, even though it makes some sense.
>
> Anyway ideally if people have alternative ideas for icons which you 
> find hard to guess, you are welcome.
>
> Jehan
>
> > Regards
First of all thanks for the feedback. As some of gimp's icons are in a 
proof-of-concet mode this is quite necessary.

My five cents:

Warp-tool was painted by Barbara Muraus from Art-Libre project. It was 
adopted first by Inkscape for all of it's three icon themes (generic, 
symbolic and tango) as warp-icon. Somebody used it for Gimp symbolic 
too, so it was quite logical to me, to make use of it in Gimp-colored 
too (which is tango based).
Personally I had my problems with this icon, it is nothing to love 
at-a-first-glance. But the more I thought about an alternative, the more 
I began to accept it as it is.
My conclusion: unless sombody comes along with a better idea suitable 
and accepted for Inkscape-generic, Inkscape-tango, Inkscape-symbolic and 
Gimp-symbolic it will stay in Gimp-colored. Personally I would prefer 
something like are warped  'muschellinie' by Alfred Duerer 
(http://www.matheraetsel.de/archiv/Kurvenanalyse/Muschelkurve/muschel1.pdf)

The original gimp-tool-eraser is a rather clumsy and pink ...
In the region where I live are lot's of companies producing pencils, 
brushes and other drawing and painting tools. Many of these companies 
produce and sell erasers too and all of them have their logo printed on 
upside (to distinguish them from cheap copies):

E.g. Faber-Castell uses two fighting-knights, Stabilo has a swan and 
Staedtler shows a symbol of mars (the god of war).

So I thought why not make the eraser a little more natural and print a 
logo on it ? Naturally using gimp itself is a better idea, I correct this.

Gimp-tool-blend. You are right, it was not my best idea (no it didn't 
come to my mind because of the english term blender, in german it's 
named quite different).

I wanted something not square (because all other tool icons aren't 
square) and something not only showing one type of gradient (which seems 
impossible).
Unfortunately inkscape uses a square (what I want to avoid), but wait, 
libreoffice uses a diamond shape, better. As both use 'handels' (for 
start and second color), the way for painting gimp-tool-blend seams 
clear: the handles with a gradient in background (no sure which one 
looks best, something I must test).

Gimp-tool-perspective was already part of Gimp-symbolic when I entered 
the boat. I only harmonized gimp-symbolic with gimp-colored. Personally 
I believe it is a good interpretation and symbolization of an isometric 
perpective.

Thanks for your support and assistance to find a better gimp-tool-blend 
icon.

Klaus Staedtler