Kendra Schaefer

In this tutorial, we’ll learn how to use Inkscape’s Extrude functions and the gradient palettes to create a 3D RSS icon. You’ll need to know how to work with color, fills and strokes – I won’t be going over those basics again here. If you’re brand new to Inkscape, please consider first checking out my Color & Gradients Tutorial for Absolute Beginners, which will show you how to use the Fill & Stroke Manager.

Step 1: Draw a rounded rectangle shape and convert it to a path

Using your rectangle tool, draw a square. The color doesn’t matter at the moment. Then switch over to your Edit Path by Nodes tool. Select the rounding point of the square, and drag it downwards until you’re happy with the curvature of your corners.

With your rounded square selected, go to Path > Object to Path. After you’ve selected Object to Path, it will appear as though nothing has happened, but if you followed the directions correctly, your shape object has been converted into an editable path.

Step 2: Create your RSS Feed shape and convert it to a path

Let’s work on our RSS shape. Using your circle tool, draw a dot and set it aside. Then once again using your circle tool, draw another dot, slightly bigger. Turn off the fill for the second circle, and turn on the stroke, making it appear similar proportionally to the diagram below. Repeat this process, creating another, even larger circle, then turn off the fill and turn on the stroke.

Select the two stroked shapes with no fill (you can select them both at the same time by holding down Shift and click on them one after the other). With the two of them selected, go to Path > Stroke to Path. Again, it will appear as if nothing has happened, but your stroke has been converted to a path.

Repeat this for the final circle shape, but this time, with the shape selected, click Path > Object to Path.

Step 3: Stack and Cut

Open your Align and Distribute Palette (Shift + Ctrl + A or Object > Align and Distribute). Select the two stroked circles (by holding down Shift and clicking each object in turn), then click the Align Vertical Center button once, and the Align Horizontal Center button once.

With the circles aligned, once again select both of them, and go to Path > Combine. You will see the inner bounding box disappear, and the outer bounding box snap to the edges of the outer circle.

Draw a square that’s roughly the same size as the outer circle (see the diagram below). Turn off the fill, turn on the outer stroke. Position the square so that the bottom-left corner of it is situated in the center of the circles. Select all of your objects (the circles and the square [holding down Shift]), then go to Path > Divide. The square will disappear as in #3 below, and you’ll get multiple bounding boxes. You can now delete the two un-necessary pieces, leaving just the rss syndication symbol, and position the dot to complete the shape.

What just happened? By using the divide tool, you essentially split the two circles along the square’s path. Divide takes the top shape – any shape will do – and uses it as a guideline by which to slice up the shape directly below it; in this case, the circles.

Step 4: Extrude Your Shape

We’ll be working once again with the rounded rectangle we made in step 1. With your rectangle selected, go to Path > Object to Path. With your rectangle still selected, go to Effect > Generate from Path > Extrude, and set your settings however you like. You can see mine in the diagram below. The magnitude determines the width of your final button; I set mine to 25. When you’re done with the settings, click “Apply”, then “Close”.

Place the rss shape on top of the icon backing. Change the shape color to white.

Step 5: Apply Color Gradients

Using your Edit Path by Nodes tool, select just the top piece of the rectangle, and apply a linear gradient to it (by clicking the linear gradient button in the Fill tab of the Fill and Stroke Manager). Edit the gradient colors so that they fade from a dark orange to a light orange and back to dark orange again. I created a four-stop gradient – you can see my colors below.

Grab your Edit Path by Nodes tool, and select each piece of the button siding. You may have to zoom in very close to get each piece. With all pieces selected, go to Path > Combine. After the pieces have been combined, you can select the siding and apply a radial gradient to it. Below, you can see the results of my radial gradient application. You’ll notice I’ve set the center of the gradient to the bottom left corner of the siding, and set the color to a darker orange, to simulate shadow. Nearer the top / outer rim of the gradient, the color becomes a lighter orange.

To the RSS shape itself, I’m going to apply a very subtle white-to-gray linear gradient, just to give the color some depth. If you’re satisfied at this point, you can save and be done. I like to spice it up a little, so in step six, I’ll show you some additional effects that can be added.

Step 6: Apply Finishing Effects If Desired (Intermediate – Advanced)

Above, you can see I’ve applied three effects.

For the drop shadow: Draw a thin rounded rectangle, about the width of your rss button. It should be a dark color. Select it, then open up your Fill and Stroke Manager. At the very bottom, you’ll see a blur slider. Blur the rectangle. Then move it to the back with Object > Lower to Bottom.

For the Gloss: Select just the top piece of your rss icon backing – the orange rounded rectangle – and Ctrl + C to copy it to the clipboard. Then, instead of using Ctrl + V to paste it, go to Edit > Paste in Place. This will paste a new copy exactly on top of the copied object. Then, apply a semi-transparent white linear gradient to this shape. Both gradient stops should have more than a touch of transparency. Convert the object to a path if it isn’t one already (Path > Object to Path), select your Edit Path by Nodes tool, and delete the two bottom-right nodes.

The bevel isn’t actually a bevel at all, but two rectangles, one slightly smaller than the last, stacked on top of each other (smaller one on top). The trick to the beveled effect is to apply exactly the same gradient to both rectangles, but to change the gradient direction of the lower one using the Edit Path by Nodes tool. For more details on this effect, try my silver pendant tutorial.

And we’re done. Enjoy!