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

Creating your first vector graphic

In this section, we will show you how to create some basic vector graphics with shapes and paths in Inkscape (which thankfully doesn't require you to do any mathematical equations when using it) and export them in a couple of different formats.

Here are the standard shapes that are part of the SVG standard:

  • Rectangles, squares, and 3D boxes
  • Circles, ellipses, and arcs
  • Stars and polygons
  • Spirals

Creating a polygon

Let's break down creating our first graphic—a star—into many smaller substeps just to get started. We will do the following:

  • Open a new document
  • Create the polygon object
  • Change the object properties
  • Save our graphic

Let's get started!