The Book of Inkscape – The Definitive Guide to the Free Graphics Editor - Softcover

Kirsanov, Dmitry

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1593271816 ISBN 13: 9781593271817

Publisher: No Starch Press, 2009

Synopsis

This is it. The complete and definitive guide to Inkscape, the free, vector-based graphics editor that competes with expensive drawing programs like Adobe Illustrator and CorelDRAW.

In The Book of Inkscape, core Inkscape developer Dmitry Kirsanov shares his design experience and knowledge of Inkscape's inner workings as he walks you through the basics of using the program: drawing, working with objects, transformations and styling, adding text and shapes, and more. Kirsanov couples his detailed explanations with step-by-step tutorials that show you how to create business cards, animations, and technical and artistic drawings.

In addition to the basics, Kirsanov teaches you how to:

• Navigate the canvas and customize your workspace and views
• Create new objects and then transform, style, clone, and combine them
• Use drawing tools, strokes, and Bézier curves
• Use gradients, patterns, filters, and path effects to liven up your work
• Use the XML Editor to view and manipulate the structure of your artwork
• Work with layers, groups, object order, and locks to control your images
• Export your artwork to various formats

This practical guide will show you how to harness Inkscape's powerful features to produce anything from a child's doodle to high-end, professional design projects. Now go ahead and draw something fun.

About this title

Synopsis

Inkscape is a powerful, free, cross-platform, vector-based drawing tool similar to Adobe Illustrator and CorelDRAW. The Book of Inkscape, written by Inkscape developer and graphic designer Dmitry Kirsanov, is an in-depth guide to Inkscape, offering comprehensive coverage and creative advice on Inkscape's many capabilities. Kirsanov draws on his experience using Inkscape for design and illustration as well as his extensive knowledge of Inkscape's features, several of which he developed. Following an overview of vector-based graphics in general and SVG in particular, Kirsanov takes the reader from basic techniques-selecting, transforming, styling-to more advanced topics such as gradients and patterns, path editing, artistic drawing, clones and patterns, working with text, exporting bitmaps, and using extensions. The Book of Inkscape is a complete guide to Inkscape for every artist, whether amateur or professional.

About the Author

Dmitry Kirsanov is a developer and a graphic designer, specializing in website and logo design. His articles about Inkscape have appeared in Linux Format in the UK and on TuxMagazine.com. Kirsanov also writes the "Design Lab" column teaching creative fundamentals of web design (http://www.webreference.com/dlab/), and is the author of Dmitry Kirsanov's Web Design Book (in Russian). Tim Daniels, one of the founders of the Inkscape project, is the book's technical reviewer.

Edition details

• Publisher: No Starch Press
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 1593271816
• ISBN 13: 9781593271817
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 472