Book Image

Inkscape Beginner's Guide

By : Bethany Hiitola
Book Image

Inkscape Beginner's Guide

By: Bethany Hiitola

Overview of this book

Learning to use Inkscape, an exciting open-source vector graphics program, broadens your software toolkit as a graphic designer. Using practical, real-world examples, you'll learn everything about the software and its capabilities so you'll be able to design anything from logos to websites.Inkscape Beginner's Guide is a practical step-by-step guide for learning this exciting vector graphics software. Not only will it take you through each menu item and toolbar, but you will also learn about creating complex shapes, text styling, filters, working with images, extensions, and the XML editoróall using real world examples.The book starts with an overview of vector graphics and how best to use them when designing for digital and print mediums. Then we install Inkscape and start learning all the ins and outs of the software. You'll build your first vector graphic while learning best practices for using layers, and build simple and complex objects with shapes and paths that will ultimately become exciting graphics to be used in your designs. Beyond designing sample logos and brochures while learning the software, you'll also learn how to use filters, install and use extensions, and the ins-and-outs of SVG and the XML Editor in Inkscape.
Table of Contents (18 chapters)
14
B. Keyboard Shortcuts
15
C. Glossary of Terms
17
Index

Time for action — learning more about the main screen

When you open Inkscape for the first time, it opens a blank document automatically and you are ready to roll. However, you can just as easily open another new document by going to the main menu and selecting File | New.

You will be offered a number of choices of canvas sizes. Let's discuss the details of the canvas and some additional properties of the interface that you will use when opening documents.

The terms 'canvas' and 'page' are used interchangeably within the Inkscape interface. For simplicity, we'll refer to the canvas as the entire portion of the open document screen. A page is the portion of the canvas that is contained within the printable area—seen as a black-bordered box in the following screenshot:

With the main screen still open in Inkscape, let's discuss this portion of the application screen:

Time for action — learning more about the main screen
  1. You can always adjust the page—or printable area—size. Go to the...