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Key benefits

Create interesting illustrations and common web design elements that can be used in real-life projects

Gain a thorough understanding of all common Inkscape tools and advanced features of Inkscape 0.48

Tips and tricks to speed up your drawing workflow

Part of Packt's Cookbook series: Each recipe is a carefully organized sequence of instructions to complete the task as efficiently as possible

Description

Inkscape is an open source vector graphics editor with an intuitive user interface that has enough depth to make quality graphic designs with an attractive layout comparable to what you would make using Illustrator or CorelDraw. But choosing the right tool and the best approach to creating the desired effect can be challenging. Inkscape 0.48 Illustrator's Cookbook makes it super-easy for you to make your own vector-based graphics with the powerful Inkscape editor. Inkscape 0.48 Illustrator's Cookbook provides you with the latest recipes to quickly create scalable vector graphics. Recipes in this book teach you about some of the most useful time-saving features in Inkscape accompanied by a list of keyboard shortcuts that you can easily memorize. In addition to covering use of Inkscape tools and their advanced features, examples from the recipes uncover solutions to common graphics problems. The book starts off with familiarizing you with the tools and techniques in Inkscape that you can use to draw 2D shapes, calligraphic shapes, and 3D boxes easily. It then guides you through the most common color-changing steps performed in Inkscape along with some convenient procedures that can save your time when dealing with colors. It explains drawing using linear and radial gradients, which are irreplaceable, usage of clones to create interesting effects in illustrations, and live-path effects that can help you speed up constructing a shape and make the process more natural. You will learn how to make those tweaks on some of the ready-made filters, and in the final recipe we will create a filter from scratch. This practical book also contains recipes showing how to use Inkscape as a raster editor and how to achieve photo-realistic effects in Inkscape. For each important technique and skill, you'll see some simple recipes, then some more advanced recipes followed by an explanation of how Inkscape works to produce the desired effects in your illustrations. By the end of this book you will be confident enough to create your own vector-based graphics with Inkscape.

Who is this book for?

This book is written for both beginners and developers who have a basic knowledge of Inkscape. With this book illustrators who have just started using Inkscape can quickly dive into the world of Inkscape and graphics editing. Software developers and web designers can learn how to create graphics for their software on their own or build SVG and other web-based interfaces. Users of other graphics editing applications can find out how Inkscape can be used as an alternative to solve common graphics problems.

What you will learn

Introduce you to the fascinating world of two-dimensional, calligraphic, and three-dimensional objects, using the Inkscape s powerful tools

Assist you in adjusting color using hue, brightness, saturation, and stroke width, until you find the perfect look and feel

Guide you in recreating iconic images from cult movies, with the help of gradient colors and complex vector shapes

Leverage Inkscape 0.48 s advanced path editing tools and techniques, producing great looking text and beautiful drawings

Help you produce professional looking posters, calendars, and wallpapers, packaging them so you can print or share them on the Internet

Illustrate the spectacular, and often surprising, effects of the many extensions and image filters found in version 0.48

Teach you to develop a standards-compliant and gorgeous looking Web 2.0 site layout, complete with widgets and buttons

Help you design and build your very own HTML5 and AJAX powered web games, presentations, and business applications, using JQuery powered SVG animation

Aid you in extending Inkscape by writing your own plugins in the Python programming language

What do you get with a Packt Subscription?

Free for first 7 days. $24.99 p/m after that. Cancel any time!

Unlimited ad-free access to the largest independent learning library in tech. Access this title and thousands more!

50+ new titles added per month, including many first-to-market concepts and exclusive early access to books as they are being written.

Innovative learning tools, including AI book assistants, code context explainers, and text-to-speech.

Thousands of reference materials covering every tech concept you need to stay up to date.

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Frequently bought together

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jack96161 Jun 09, 2011

I've been following, using, and supporting Inkscape for some years now as a web developer with an extreme interest in Open Source, standards, and have become active in the development and promotion of SVG. The Inkscape 0.48 Illustrator's Cookbook is a welcome addition to documentation of the newest Inkscape release.Who is it for? Probably not the totally uninitiated with no basic background in SVG vs. bitmap graphics and no previous experience with computer graphics software in general... That said, the introductory chapters do provide the basics of Inkscape - enough to get most people started. It is, after all, a cookbook, not entirely geared to the rank amateur chef. For graphics designers, and especially web developers, it is a treasure trove of clear examples to be tried, which give a multitude of good ideas for using Inkscape in your daily work.The authors use a technique I haven't seen before but applaud -- every example is given first as "How to do it" - a series of mechanical, step by step operations that demonstrate the desired example. If they had stopped there, the information would have been useful in its own right, but they go on to explain "How it works", explaining just how and why these sometimes difficult to fathom steps achieve the desired result. Too often, "how to" books leave out this step, leaving the reader with a specific solution to a specific task, but no understanding of how it works, and more to the point -- no understanding of how to use this technique in other similar but different cases. Furthermore, this is then extended with a "There's More" explanation expanding on the technique and example, suggesting other ways to use the same methods. Every example uses these three steps, and some add "See Also" references to other chapters of the book and sometimes external links to more information on the topic.Although useful to graphics design in general, the chapters 10, 11, and 12 will be of extreme interest to web developers, especially chapter 11 on "SVG in websites". The information here is current, accurate, and valuable.This is a book you wish had been made available in a spiral-bound notebook form so you could open it flat to an example and lay it beside your keyboard to follow along. It's definitely going into my most frequently referred to reference book shelf.

Amazon Verified review

jimirings Apr 19, 2012

I bought the Kindle version of this book a little while back. Several steps in many, if not all of, the "recipes" were missing when I downloaded it. For example:How to use the text tool.1.2. Select your favorite font family from the drop-down list in the Text toolbar. The example in this book uses is 'Doulos SIL.'3. Increase the font size to 144 by selecting it from the Font Size (px) drop-down box.4.5. Center the text using the center toolbar button.Etc.After trying multiple ways to get it fixed with Amazon reps (who were very helpful), they eventually gave up. They allowed me to keep the book and refunded me in the form of a credit. Even so, the tell me that if the publisher sends them a corrected version that I'll get it. I hope that is the case because this appears to be a really useful little book.I'm giving it three stars because I've still been able to glean some helpful information from it, but other parts are just completely useless. I'm sure it will be fantastic if I ever receive a corrected updated version. I'll also try to remember to update this review if that happens. No promises though...UPDATE: The authors read this review and contacted me. They got me an updated version through Packt and assured me that Amazon had received the correct version. I contacted Amazon, they sent me the new version, and it is indeed correct. I'm really excited about diving back into this book!

Amazon Verified review

Kindle Customer Mar 21, 2013

I am new to Inkscape. I started to learn this program since the beginning of this year. I purchased two other Inkscape books, but did not learn much. ( I rather not give the titles of those books). Often I have to go on line to search information about certain functions of Inkscape. It took a lot of my time. So I decided to give this book a try.I wish I had this book at first place. I just finished two chartpers and I've learned a lot of more from it than from other books. As a beginner, I want to try some functions and create something. Other books give you very simple projects or no project (or samples). The Cookbook teaches you Inkscape based on tests. So along the way, you learn how to create "things". The book also gives readers deep views of some functions for you to explore.I love the book. Even though I have not finished it yet, I could not wait to sharing my opinion with people who are new to Inkscape.Thank you, Mihaela Jurkovic. You save my day!

Amazon Verified review

Justin S May 23, 2011

First a warning: this is not a good book for learning Inkscape. Nor will it teach you the basics of vector illustration if you've never used vector drawing software before.It is, as the title says, a cookbook with over one hundred recipes that cover all facets of vector illustration. This book, and those recipes, are targeted at the occasional Inkscape user and will help elevate you to a _master_ vector illustrator. If you're a pixel guy that just dabbles in vector, then this book is for you.The first three chapters cover a lot of basic vector stuff like drawing shapes, fill and stroke, path editing, et cetera. They go fast and if you've never done any vector drawing before I expect you'll quickly become lost.Then comes the meat. Ch 4 (clone) and Ch 5 (path effects) are by far the most useful and powerful recipes in the book. Clone and path effects are two critical building blocks to vector illustration mastery. I also found Ch 10 (graphics for the web) and Ch 11 (svg for the web) to be excellent. They present a number of practical recipes to bring vector illustrations to the web. Very practical stuff.Lastly, as in any cookbook, the recipes themselves are fairly mechanical, and not at all creative. But I felt the authors did an amazing job of injecting some creative ideas for the reader wherever possible. They chose interesting examples, frequently presented multiple options, and always tried to open the reader's imagination in the "There's more..." section that typically conclude each recipe.I'm giving it 5 stars for making me a better illustrator.

Amazon Verified review

Amy Keeley Mar 24, 2015

This book has a wealth of information for those who enjoy doing as part of the learning process. Not only that, it explains how the technique works and variations on how to apply what you've learned. The first few chapters are supposed to be for beginners, but I learned quite a bit from them and I've made a number of things in Inkscape already.Excellent resource, highly recommended for those who want to learn how to use this powerful vector graphics tool.

Amazon Verified review

Inkscape 0.48 Illustrator's Cookbook: 109 recipes to create scalable vector graphics with Inkscape

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