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Compositions

 

Base shadow

 
 
1. Import the 3D text and a few orbs. Align them to have the base on the same line ( Object > Align and Distribute);
2. Draw a black ellipse at the base of the first letter of the text;
3. Duplicate the black ellipse and move the duplicate under the second letter. Keep Ctrl pressed when moving to keep the movement only on horizontal;
4. Repeat the step for all objects. As my orbs have a larger body compared with the letters, I used larger ellipses for their shadows;
5. Unite (Path > Union, or Ctrl + +) all the ellipses, apply some blur and reduce the opacity.
6. Duplicate the text and orbs;
7. Keeping the duplicate selected, ungroup it if you have any groups (Shift + Ctrl + G) and then do a union;
8. Color the resulted shape in black, reduce its height, skew to the right, move if needed, place it to the bottom;
9. Apply blur and reduce the opacity.
 
 

1. Fill the traced path with a radial gradient going from partially-transparent white to completely transparent black;
2. Duplicate the traced path, outset it (Path > Outset, or Ctrl + )), fill with black, blur, reduce its opacity, and move it to the bottom (End key);
3. Group the elements (select all elements to group and hit Ctrl + G), place the group over the orb, and lower its position in the stack (PgDn key).
4. Using the text tool add some text. I used for this tutorial the word “Orbs”;
5. Duplicate the text once and duplicate it again and move the second duplicate a little too the right and down. I used different colors to make the screenshot more relevant, you can leave them as is;
6. Subtract the second duplicate from the first;
7. Make the resulting shape white, blur it and reduce the opacity to get the highlight effect.
8. Duplicate the text once, duplicate it for a second time, move the second duplicate to the left and up.
9. Subtract the second duplicate from the first;
10. Make the result black, blur it and reduce its opacity.
 
 

1. Draw some other random shapes. You can fill them with various colors and gradients, and apply various values for blur and opacity. You’re free to experiment!
2. Duplicate the circle again (Edit -> Duplicate or Ctrl + D), and give it a black fill this time;
3. Duplicate it again, give it a white fill, and resize it. (Hint: To resize the circle and preserve its aspect ratio, select it by clicking on it with your mouse, and click and drag on any of the straight corner arrows that appear around it while holding down the Ctrl key. If bent arrows appear, click on the circle itself one more time.) Move this second smaller circle a little to the left and up;
4. Subtract the second duplicate from the first one (Select both circles and use Path > Difference, or Ctrl + -);
5. Inset the result just one time (select and use Path > Inset, or Ctrl + ();
6. Blur and reduce the opacity using the Fill and Stroke dialog (Object > Fill and Stroke).
7. Draw an ellipse, put it at the bottom and behind the orb. (Hint: Quickly move objects to the bottom by hitting the End key. You may also use Object > Raise or Lower, Raise to Top, or Lower to Bottom.) Fill the ellipse with black, applying some blur and reducing the opacity.
8. For a perspective shadow, duplicate the circle, fill it with black, reduce its height, skew it to the right (Object > Transform, ‘Skew‘ Tab), move if needed, place it to the bottom (End key), and apply some blur and reduce the opacity.
9. Make a few copies of the orb. Select the colored circle (in this case red) and change its color. You instantly get complete orbs with different colors.
10. It’s possible to even put some content inside the orb: in this case I use a letter made with the text tool, added a highlight, a darken area, and a shadow. Group them (Object > Group, or Ctrl + G), move over the orb and lower their position down the stack. (by hitting the PgUp and PgDn keys) You’ll want to move them above the colored circle but under the various light or dark areas so they appear as if they are inside the orb.
11. Import a photo, in this case a head, nicely cut on the contour with GIMP;
12. Trace (Path > Trace Bitmap) its shape for brightness using a high threshold to get its contour in vector form (see screenshot for example values);

The base orb

 
 
1. Use the ellipse tool and draw a circle (hold the Ctrl key as you drag the ellipse tool to create a perfect circle). 
2. Fill it with any solid color to your liking (Object > Fill and Stroke, or Shift + Ctrl + F);
3. Duplicate the circle (Edit > Duplicate or use the Ctrl + D shortcut) and fill the duplicate in with solid black;
4. Using the gradient tool, change the fill for the duplicate to a radial gradient starting with completely transparent white in the center to partially-transparent black on the border;
5. Place the center of the radial gradient displaced to the center of the circle. (hint: the Object > Align and Distribute tool will help you align the gradient and circle perfectly.)
6. Duplicate the circle again (Edit -> Duplicate or Ctrl + D) and fill it with solid white;
7. Reduce the size of the duplicated circle (Path > Inset, or Ctrl + ();
8. Draw a random shape using the freehand tool;
9. Intersect (Path > Intersection, or Ctrl + *) the random shape with the duplicated white circle;
10. Fill the resulting intersection with a radial gradient going from solid white to completely transparent white;
11. Blur the path and decrease its opacity (Object > Fill and Stroke).
12. Duplicate the circle and fill it with white (Edit -> Duplicate or Ctrl + D);
13. Duplicate the circle again, fill it with any solid color (we won’t be using this shape in the final artwork), and move it a little to the right and down;
14. Subtract (select two objects and use Path > Difference, or Ctrl + -) the second duplicate from the first;
15. Inset the result one step (select and use Path > Inset, or Ctrl + () and then apply blur and reduce the opacity to your liking;

Step Five:
 Okay, now choose the light layer.

duplicate the text object again, and change it to a different, random colour. (it can be anything it does not matter…)

now, choose one of the objects, and move it down and right an even increment both ways. (i did this by using the arrow keys to move the object - if you do this you may need to change the amount it moves with the arrow keys in File > Inkscape Prefs)

Once you have done this, select both the text objects in the layer and choose:

Path > Difference

Now, repeat this with the dark layer, but when you move the object with the arrow keys, move it up and to your left rather than down and to the right.

Step Six:

Colour the path in the dark layer black, and the light layer white.

Then adjust the blur and transparencies of the light and dark bevely objects till your happy…

 Step Seven:

I played around with relections and backgrounds: