Book Image

Inkscape 0.48 Essentials for Web Designers

By : Bethany Hiitola
Book Image

Inkscape 0.48 Essentials for Web Designers

By: Bethany Hiitola

Overview of this book

<p>Do you think that your website could do with more visual appeal? Are you looking to spice it up with attractive designs and effects? Enter <i>Inkscape 0.48 Essentials for Web Designers</i>&mdash;the only book specifically tailored to using Inkscape for web design. This book will teach you how to effectively use the fascinating new Inkscape vector graphics editor, which, despite being in version 0.48 <i>and</i> having no dearth of competitors, has already separated itself from the competition. Learn everything you need to know about enhancing your website&mdash;from site layouts to templates and animations&mdash;whether you are looking for a new website design or just some eye-candy.<br /><br />The Inkscape graphics editor is powerful, but getting started is often difficult. <i>Inkscape 0.48 Essentials for Web Designers</i> walks you through the challenge of using Inkscape from a web design perspective in the easiest way possible. <br /><br />The first book to unlock the potential of Inkscape for web design, it begins with an introduction to the basics of Inkscape and then journeys you through implementing them in your website one by one.<br /><br />Learn to build your first website design using Inkscape. Create web page and desktop wallpapers with repeating pattern backgrounds and swirling designs. Incorporate icons and interactive maps on your website. Style and graphically manipulate text&mdash;from simple headings to shadowing, following paths, reflections, 3D effects, and more. Enhance your web pages using flowcharts, diagrams, and site maps and learn how to export them. Spruce it all up using animations. <br /><br />This book will teach you all that and more, in a simple effective manner; and what's more&mdash;you'll have fun doing it.</p>
Table of Contents (20 chapters)
Inkscape 0.48 Essentials for Web Designers
Credits
About the Author
About the Reviewers
Preface
Keyboard Shortcuts
Glossary of Terms
Index

Installing Inkscape


Inkscape is available for download for Windows, Macintosh, Linux, or Solaris operating systems.

Note

To run on the Mac OS X operating system, it typically runs under X11—an implementation of the X Window System software that makes it possible to run X11-based applications in Mac OS X. The X11 application has shipped with the Mac OS X since version 10.5.

When you open Inkscape on a Mac, it will first open X11 and run Inkscape within that program. Loss of some shortcut key options will occur but all functionality is present using menus and toolbars.

Let's briefly go over how to download and install Inkscape:

  1. Go to the official Inkscape website at: http://www.in kscape.org/ and download the appropriate version of the software for your computer.

  2. For the Mac OS X Leopard software, you will also need to download an additional application. It is the X11 application package 2.4.0 or greater from this website: http://xquartz.macosforge.org/trac/wi ki/X112.4.0.

    Once downloaded, double-click the X11-2.4.0.DMG package first. It will open another folder with the X11 application installer. Double-click that icon to be prompted through an installation wizard.

  3. Double-click the downloaded Inkscape installation package to start the installation.

    Note

    For the Mac OS, a DMG file is downloaded. Double-click on it and then drag and drop the Inkscape package to the Application Folder. For any Windows device, an .EXE file is downloaded. Double-click that file to start and complete the installation. For Linux-based computers, there are a number of distributions available. Be sure to download and install the correct installation package for your system.

  4. Now find the Inkscape icon in the Application or Programs folders to open the program.

  5. Double-click the Inkscape icon and the program will automatically open to the main screen.

    Note

    In this book, the screen shots will be specific to the Mac OS X software. Don't be concerned if this is not the computer operating system of your choice; the software itself is very similar between them and notable differences in the Inkscape software screens will be noted.