Inkscape

Inkscape is a vector graphics editor application. It uses Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG), an open XML-based W3C standard, as its native format. Inkscape is built on GTK+ and therefore can run on a variety of different platforms.To run Inkscape, install it with the package manager and go to Kickoff Application Launcher->Applications->Graphics->Vector Graphics Editor (Inkscape)

Some features of Inkscape are:

  • Create ellipses, rectangles, circles, paths, text using the different types of tools available.

  • Manipulate, style, rotate and edit objects.

  • Command-line interface, primarily for format conversion functions.

  • XML tree editor for manipulating SVG documents.

Creating Vector Images With Inkscape

  1. Open Inkscape by going to Kickoff Application Launcher->Applications->Graphics->Vector Graphics Editor (Inkscape)

  2. Set the image size by changing the 'width' and 'height' of the document in File->Document Properties

    Example 5. Document Properties



  3. Draw circles, rectangles, polygons etc. by selecting the appropriate tool from the toolbox and then click the mouse and drag in the image.

    Example 6. Drawing Shapes



  4. Text can be added to the image by selecting the 'Text' tool (marked with an 'T' symbol in the toolbox) or by pressing T on the keyboard and clicking once in the image where the text will be placed.

    Example 7. Adding Text



  5. When the editing is complete, save the image by going to File->Save. Navigate to the folder where the file should be saved, enter a filename, and hit Save. Files can be saved as Plain SVG or as Inkscape SVG. There is additional information in Inkscape SVG images that is not used by other SVG image editors.

References

The "Help" menu in Inkscape includes tutorials. Additional information about using Inkscape is available: