Gradient along a path

Question

Is it possible to create something like this in inkscape? I have been searching and trying for quite some time, but so far no results...

So what I am looking for is a gradient which follows the direction of the path it is applied to.

score 5 · Accepted Answer · answered Mar 13 '13 at 15:55

I am not aware of a solution that perfectly satisfies your needs however here is one approach to get close:

Draw a line, open the Fill and Stroke dialog and set the width of the stroke (Stroke style tab) to 50. Transform the stroke to a path (Path > Stroke to Path).
Fill the path with a linear gradient (Fill and Stroke dialog > Fill > Linear gradient) and choose any colours you like.
Select the node tool (F2) and a line will appear stretching the area of your shape (marked with an exclamation mark on the picture below). Adjusting this line may help you to fine tune the gradient (however, strictly speaking it will not follow the path but a rectangle defined by the start and end marker of the marked line)

This should work for simple shapes that do not reverse. Let me know if this is good enough or if you need more detailed instructions.

enter image description here

Thanks for your detailed answer. However, I was already able to do what you showed. I was indeed looking for applying a gradient to a line with a shape such that the linear gradient is not sufficient. For example like this: http://www.bugge.com/Family-and-friends/Illy/Images/gradient-round-circle.gif. While I am still interested in a solution, I solved my urgent problem by changing the design to something else. — mmumboss, Mar 13 '13 at 17:37
This is a fair answer, but it is not a solution to the question. Apparently such gradients can not be made with inkscape because the SVG specification lacks this feature: http://wiki.inkscape.org/wiki/index.php/Advanced_Gradients — Max N, Mar 10 '18 at 11:25

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