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 — exporting a batch of images

We're going to look in detail at how to save an entire page or canvas of images as separate graphic files. This practice is common in web design when each image needs to be called to action in the HTML code. It can also be useful if you have developed a print design and want to save a logo, a block of text, and some graphical elements for use in another piece of the same client.

  1. We will use the sample file from the previous section again for this exercise. If you have not downloaded the file, open your browser and go to the following link:

    http://www.openclipart.org/people/kuba/LGM_poster2.svg

    Right-click the image and save to a location on your computer.

  2. Open the example file in Inkscape.
  3. On the main menu, select Edit | Select All in All Layers. Now all the objects within this example file will be selected. You should see dashed borders around each object.

    Note

    We will discuss Layers in detail in Chapter 5, Working with Layers.

  4. It&apos...