There are several applications out there that either allow editing vector graphics in some native format and exporting to XAML format or deal directly in XAML but all of which seem to lack in terms of ability to edit drawings through use of destructive effects. What I mean by destructive effects are ones that can be applied to a vector drawing that essentially modify the vector objects but still result in a vector drawing as the output as opposed to a rasterized image. A few examples would be color effects such as Contrast, Gamma Correction, as well as path based effects such as swirl, punk, expand, contract, zig-zag, and so on. Many of these effects seem to exist in Inkscape however most of them do not offer any parameters that can be used to fine tune the effects and/or produce rasterization.
Some Background
I've been tinkering around for a while now creating XAML icons and graphics assets using a few different methods. The one that I have utilized the most is by using Inkscape to develop .svg files that I then go through a mess of annoying steps to eventually bring it into Visual Studio as a DrawingImage or as a DrawingBrush resource.
In order to bypass this mess I've been looking seriously into using XDraw or Vector Architect so that I can manage these assets purely in XAML without worrying about lossy conversions from one format to another. Since these two tools like many other vector graphics tools seem to lack the ability to apply any type of destructive effects on the drawings I'm considering writing my own set of tools for doing so that I may be able to contribute to XDraw over time.
I'm interested in any material that anybody can point me to that may help me get started.