When we needed to draw some water parts Inkscape worked great.

And yes, with more time we could have done better!

But we needed to draw a lot of parts. Half or less are shown…

As a long time CorelDraw users we were a bit concerned shifting to Inkscape.

Have you ever been able to just all-out-crank in a program? If you have it is hard to shift to something that will slow you down.

In an earlier post we predicted that with three solid projects in Inkscape, Inkscape would feel like home.

We hit it right on!

As you might expect Inkscape is a bit a head and a bit behind of Coreldraw in different ways.

But, with a bit of practice, we can all-out-crank once again!

Quirks: Inkscape would seem to have it’s quirks as does CorelDraw.

Disclaimer: We do not know this program inside and out so give us some slack.

One quirk is the fonts drop down menu has some odd quirks in Ubuntu.

The drop down menu would flash on and disappear?

Ubuntu rocks also!

So we ended up using the TEXT > Text and Font… for adjusting fonts. Not a big deal.

At this point when we draw a rectangle we get an eclipse that is hard to reset back to the default.This did not start out that way but it is so far not intuitive how to get a rectangle to be a rectangle right when you fist draw one.

It is easy to change the eclipse back to a rectangle but it is odd to have to.

Having the font size start out a 40 is not our favorite either but not a big deal to change.

In printing Inkscape likes to kick out an extra page after what we intended to print but does not print on that page. Not a big deal either.

Opening HUGE CorelDraw drawings (converted to SVVG or PDF) Inkscape might crash on occasion but then what would one expect? CorelDraw was not exactly crash proof either, even with it’s own native drawings.

Inkscape is stable enough to convert the drawings. So no big deal again.

There are a few other odd issues but all are no big deal, each with work-a-rounds we were able to figure out ourselves without hitting the forums.

If you are in the US, do not use the default PAGE choose File > New > Letter or a page size you and your printer can deal with. The default might be confusing until you are used to having the page size and rulers and the like different than what you might expect.

Of all things we struggled with the most was the pointer/curser of the SELECT AND TRANSFORM tool. This is the default curser and we longed for something much more precise than a little hand that is closed?. We THINK that at the little lines at the level of the knuckles is where this grabs. We would have loved to be able to choose cross hairs or something that definitely let’s you know exactly what and where you are grabbing.

A side from the quirks we just love Inkscape and using it is now almost second nature.

Be aware that our comments are FEED BACK not criticism. Really like Inkscape, and there is no turning back!

We would use Inkscape over CorelDraw for all our illustration needs at this point. If you take your illustrations to a printing service (which we have not done) you would have to dig deeper into the program than we did.

We thank the Inkscape team for doing such a fine job!

We use Inkscape almost every day.

VitalBodies got the opportunity to play around with Inkscape, an Open Source Vector drawing program that is somewhat like CorelDraw or Illustrator. Inkscape’s native format is Scalable Vector Graphics SVG.

Click image for a larger graphic. Created with Inkscape and exported to PNG…

Having barely tried Inkscape before, the results seem exciting. With more time and effort this could have been more polished.

First Impression:

The way this program can blur lines is amazing and useful.

The gradient editor is fast and easy to understand like most of the program.

The overall ease of use and power of the program is excellent for what was attempted.

There is something refreshing about the way the program does what you would expect with relative ease.

The interface is clear and easy to use.

For the most part, an artist who is used to working in vector graphics can jump right in.

Inkscapes is fun and a pleasure to use.

Doing art is fun in Inkscape…

What A New User Ran Up Against:

Having hardly used the program you expect some kind of a learning curve.

There were a few things we missed which might or might not be the program’s fault.

We did not see how to turn on and off Snap to Guide Lines for the guide lines we created and it remained a mystery as to why the program seemed to default to 90dpi for exporting bitmaps or how to effectively change that and keep the drawing’s dimensions what we wanted. We were hoping for 96dpi, which is our LCD screen’s native resolution.

Changing the font of the selected text was a bit odd as the drop down menu would not always show up or would flash on and off.

The biggest challenge an old hand at CorelDraw will face, is that you can not do multi-page layouts where you have many many pages. The program is not designed as a page layout program (in that sense) like CorelDraw or the Open Source program Scribus is.

VitalBodies suggests converting/exporting to SVG if you plan to try some of your existing drawings in Inkscape. You can also export to PDF but you may get mixed results on things like gradient fills and such.

Would VitalBodies Recommend Inkscape:

Without a doubt. This is an amazing program first off, and profound for being free. Having spent years in CorelDraw this will take some getting used to but VitalBodies figures about three solid drawings and this will feel like home…

Scalable Vector Graphics:

Generally speaking, you have vector or raster art in the world of creating 2d computer screen art. A raster image would be made up of dots like what you manipulate in Photoshop or GIMP.

As the wikipedia would currently say “Vector graphics is the use of geometrical primitives such as points, lines, curves, and shapes or polygon(s), which are all based upon mathematical equations, to represent images in computer graphics.”

In most vector programs you do not see the mathematical equations unless you get deep into the code or do art at a code level which most people do not do. What you would see is letters/fonts, shapes, lines and such that you easily move about and change.

In terms of the process of creating art, the differences are huge. To select a pre-drawn shape (like the gradient sky behind the mountains) in a raster program can be very difficult and could involve using multiple techniques and tools unless that shape is on it’s own layer. In a vector program you would just click on it. This is because in a raster program you have to somehow select all those dots.

CorelDraw or Inkscape are both excellent vector programs. Inkscape is free, open source and fun to use.

How To Install Inkscape In Ubuntu Hardy:

Applications > Add/Remove… > Supported Applications > Search Inkscape > Enable (check in check box) > Apply Changes…

VitalBodies:

VitalBodies recently shifted to using all Open Source programs running on an Open Source Operating System Ubuntu. VitalBodies would like to thank the Inkscape team that makes art a pleasure!

- Draw Freely -

- Visit Inkscape: http:www.Inkscape.org -

This is a chart from a series of illustrations about building web sites.

(Click the image to see a larger clearer version)

Done in Vector Graphics converted to JPG.

Copyright 2006 VitalBodies.com

What’s Involved?

This particular Vector chart was designed to illustrate to customers (that are new to web building) some of what is involved in web site creation. More than one might think…

This is a chart from a series of illustrations about building web sites.

(Click Image To See A Larger Graphic)

Done in Vector Graphics converted to JPG.

Copyright 2006 VitalBodies.com

What Is Involved – Pages In A Small Site?

This particular Vector chart was designed to illustrate to customers (that are new to web building) some of what is involved in web site creation. The chart gives a graphic idea of the pages in a small site…

You’ll like VitalBodies

Enjoy

VitalBodies

VINTAGE – ANTIQUE

AND JUST PLAIN OLD

VitalBodies! Make exciting purchases! See amazing things you have never seen before. Find the most wonderful things you could ever imagine!

You’ll shop better at VitalBodies

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Copyright 2007 VitalBodies.com

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This artwork was originally designed for the VitalBodies Shopping Cart.

Done as a vector art drawing and exported to JPG.

Intended to be in the old vintage phraseology which is so different than what is current…

The style of this artwork is meant to have that old magazine advertisement look and feel.

VitalBodies.com Sunflower Logo

VitalBodies.com

ORGANIC – ECO

VITAL & SUSTAINABLE

SHOP FOR LIFE

Copyright 2007 VitalBodies.com

This artwork was originally designed for the VitalBodies web site.

Done as a vector drawing and exported to JPG.

Intended to create a bright, eco life and be iconic…

Vector art created from a bottle cap to a sunflower.

Bid

VitalBodies

AUCTIONS – SALES

AND JUST PLAIN FUN

Copyright 2007 VitalBodies.com

This artwork was designed for the VitalBodies Ebay listings template and store.

Done as a vector drawing and exported to JPG.

Intended to create a fun, bold and vintage look of old…

Visit VitalBodies

On The Net

Shipping World Wide

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This is Vintage Style Poster done for shoppers on VitalBodies.

One of a series of illustrations to achieve a vintage look and feel.

Done as a vector drawing and exported to JPG.

Intended to create a bigger than life, nostalgic and vintage look of old…

Enjoy

VitalBodies

VINTAGE – ANTIQUES

AND JUST PLAIN OLD

Copyright 2007 VitalBodies.com

This is an illustration done for a VitalBodies Vintage XHTML Table-less template.

A series of illustrations was done and the goal was to achieve a vintage look and feel.

Done as a vector drawing and exported to JPG.

Intended to create a classic, stylized and vintage look of old…