20 Jan 2010, Posted by Dan in Design Tools, 4 Comments

Open Source Design: Inkscape

For most of us, programs like Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, or InDesign are irreplaceable programs we take for granted. With the many hours we’ve spent learning (and cursing) at them, we just can’t imagine life with any other program. But for the next couple of posts, I’d like to shed some light on the open source alternatives. While they’re lighter on horsepower, some are definitely worth the look– especially since they don’t come with the Adobe-sized price tag.

Inkscape has seen some enhancements over the past few releases which have been able to better equip artists with the tools necessary to create photo-realistic vector work. (via Inkscape)

The first one I’d like to pick on is my personal favorite: Inkscape. It’s a vector-based program like Illustrator that really does an outstanding job considering that Inkscape is only at version 0.47.

My first experience with Inkscape actually came in college while I was at my on-campus job. I was given the task of creating a small poster to promote an upcoming event. Since I was working in an office, I really didn’t have the time or access to much and our budget certainly didn’t allow for a $2,000 software price tag. So with the help of Google, I wound up finding Inkscape. After spending about 15 minutes figuring out the quirks, I was able to complete the project and give our office something that, for the first time, wasn’t designed in a Word document.

Yes, my first design ever created in Inkscape…

While it wasn’t 100% pretty, I was immediately impressed with the results and continued to mess around with its different features. You can’t expect to do crazy things like 3D, but with a bit of patience it’s got me out of a jam more than once. I’m not the kind of artist that can go and create a beautiful photo-realistic model like the sweet one I nicked off the Inkscape site, but it is nice to be able to pop off a quick logo idea, or in the case of my school, a career fair poster.

There are a few things that still hold me back from using Inkscape more often, unfortunately. A big part of my working files are either saved in or delievered to me as Adobe EPS files– something that is still unable to be opened or imported. I’m also still spoiled by a few fun things in Illustrator, including the 3D effects, ability to create charts, and that I can navigate the interface and swipe keyboard commands without a second thought. While Inkscape provides some flexibility, it still leaves me waiting for the next release and its new bling.

But, if you’re up for experimenting with something new and something free, it’s worth the 30 seconds you’ll spend downloading. If anything, perhaps you can find a way to help push the project ahead by offering suggestions or feedback. And hopefully in another year, it can be a vector-app contender on my desktop.

Inkscape is currently at version 0.47 and is available at www​.inkscape​.org.