Inkscape

As Inkscape continues to grow, the responsibilities of the Inkscape team increase in tandem. To keep up with the current pace, the Project Leadership Committee are looking for a Project Coordinator. While the Inkscape team consists mostly of ... [More] volunteers, this will be a paid role — which, for our project, is the first of its kind! Responsibilities will include (but are not limited to): Support and coordination of new contributors Oversight of the project's development Organizing contribution events (such as Hackfests) Arranging meetings and setting their agendas Assistance in management of project funds Interested? For more details about the position, candidate requirements and how to apply, please see the link below: https://inkscape.org/jobs/project-coordinator-2022/ We're looking forward to hearing from you!     [Less]

It's time to vote for the About Screen for Inkscape's version 1.2! We're very proud to present you with an amazing gallery featuring 25 entries, by 20 different Inkscape artists. Thank you so much to everyone who entered! Community voting opens ... [More] on March 7 (0:00 UTC) and closes on March 13, 2022 (23:59:59 UTC). This is how voting works: If you don't have a user account on the Inkscape website yet, you need to register to be able to vote. Everyone who enjoys Inkscape is allowed to vote - this includes all contest entrants. Everyone gets 1 vote. Visit the gallery and check out all the amazing works of art. Click on one of the thumbnails to see the a larger version of the image and a description. You can also comment on the contest entry. To cast your vote, either click on the check mark below the image or hover over the small image in the gallery to see a circle-shaped checkbox you can click on. If you accidentally vote for the wrong entry, you can change your vote by simply voting for a different one. Voting will ONLY be accepted via the Inkscape website. You can vote until Sunday, March 13, 2022, 23:59 (Time zone: UTC). In the gallery, there's also a countdown timer available that shows how long voting is open. Once the community voting is done, the top five entries with the most votes will be passed on to the developers, who will then vote to determine the winner. For the contest participants, ANY modifications of the files are prohibited at this point. SEE ALL ENTRIES AND CAST YOUR VOTE HERE! Good luck to all participants! [Less]

  Bugfix Release of Inkscape 1.1.2 Available Now You’ll be pleased to hear that we are releasing a bugfix version which solves nearly 60 issues and improves translations for 15 languages! This release includes many crash fixes and resolves ... [More] issues with a number of broken extensions. Download Inkscape 1.1.2 now for a smoother experience. Download Inkscape 1.1.2 for Linux, Windows or macOS!   Inkscape 1.2 alpha Available Now (for those who love adventure) The upcoming Inkscape 1.2 will deliver much desired stability and bug fixes, but more excitingly, the fast development pace over the last few months has provided some long awaited features and major UX changes. With too many new features to mention, below is a brief overview of some of the changes. 1.2 Alpha Banner (CC-By-SA 4.0 Ray Oliveira)   Multiple Page Documents Arguably one of the most exciting new changes is the multi-page feature. It is now possible to have multiple pages in one document. This new function allows the importing of multi-page PDF documents and is integrated with the new and improved export dialog.   Multiple Pages Example   Color Palette Refactored Play around with the new palette configuration and you will wonder where it has been all your life. Never again will you scroll endlessly while selecting colors only to find you are using the wrong palette. The new menu provides palette previews, multi-line palette views and enhanced scrolling through rows. Color Palette Example   New Snapping Guides The snapping guides provide a streamlined way to align objects directly on the canvas, potentially reducing dependence on the Align & Distribute panel. These new guides are expected to be a time saver to many Inkscape users. Alignment and Distribution Snapping Example   Dithering Long-awaited, this subtle feature promises to reduce banding of closely related colors, improving the quality of bitmap exports — subsequently enhancing Inkscape’s ability to create production-worthy graphics. Note: This functionality requires a special version of Cairo, our rendering engine. As a result, it will only be available in the pre-packaged builds (for macOS, Windows and for the Linux AppImage). Dithering Comparison: top with subtle gradient banding, bottom with smooth dithered gradient   Gradient Panel Re-imagined The new gradient panel allows for easier fine-tuning of gradients. The gradient panel includes a new stop color list for easier selection of ‘stops’, and — most importantly — control over gradients has been combined with the Fill & Stroke dialog, for convenience. Gradient Editor usage   Honorable Mentions 'Layers' and 'Objects' dialogs have been merged Editable markers and dash patterns On-canvas alignment snapping Selectable object origin for numerical scaling and moving All alignment options in a single dialog Configurable tool bar and many more new customization options A new 'Copies' Live Path Effect for creating tiled patterns on the fly Batch export to multiple file formats, including SVG & PDF Many crash & bug fixes While it is not possible to cover all the advancements within this article, there are plenty more features to explore. For more details, see our Wiki. Download Inkscape 1.2 Alpha for Linux, Windows or macOS!   In Other NEWS…   About Screen Contest Would you like to see your artwork displayed on the Inkscape About Screen for the full release of Inkscape 1.2 (May 2022)? The Inkscape About Screen Contest submissions will be accepted between Sunday, February 6, 2022, and Sunday, March 6, 2022. The winner will be announced on Tuesday, March 22, 2022. Previous Winners of About Screen Contest For further details on how to enter, see About Screen Contest.   Chemnitzer Linux-Tage 2022 Inkscape will be presenting at Chemnitzer Linux-Tage on March 12-13, 2022, a virtual event for German and English speakers who are interested in open source and all things Linux. If you would like to meet us there, see further details here: Chemnitzer Linux-Tage 2022.   Forum Challenges If you would like to improve your artwork, we post monthly challenges on our forum where you can speak to other Inkscape users and receive supportive feedback on your creations. All are welcome to join in. You can find our challenges posted here: Drawing Challenges, Contests, Competitions. Last Month's and This Month's Challenges Go to this month's challenge!   About Inkscape Built with the power of a team of mostly volunteers, this open source vector graphics editor represents the work of many hearts and hands from around the world, ensuring that Inkscape remains available free for everyone to download and enjoy. Draw Freely. If you enjoyed reading this article, please share it with your friends. [Less]

The Inkscape development team has been hard at work fixing bugs and making Inkscape more stable. We're happy to announce the release of Inkscape 1.1.1 and are grateful for each contribution that makes Inkscape better and available to more people. ... [More] Thank you to those who donate to the project and those who made this release possible. See what changes have been made in this maintenance release and download it now by visiting: Inkscape 1.1.1 Download Page [Less]

While our software runs on Linux, Windows and macOS, we know it doesn't run evenly across all three platforms. The macOS version is in need of some serious love. That is why we are seeking to recruit a volunteer contributor to help support the ... [More] project internally. Here is our pitch: Are you a macOS developer? Can you see yourself contributing to an open source project? We know this is a huge ask, but rest assured, you'll be joining like-minded people who all put their heart and time into the project. Specifically, we need someone to analyze the macOS-specific performance bottlenecks in Inkscape: perform a performance analysis to identify the culprits in our code or dependencies and, ideally, come up with ideas and/or patches to improve the current situation.  Although this won't be rocket science, you should expect this task to take time and motivation on your end to get results.  Besides C/C++ experience and owning a Mac, nothing else is required but your motivation and precious time.  Unless you already are an expert in GTK and macOS low level APIs, you'll have to acquire the required knowledge in the "learning by doing" way. We do not have this kind of knowledge in the project and are seeking someone to help develop it with us.  This is part of the fun of being a contributor with Inkscape - the opportunity to learn and experiment! That's why time and motivation on your part are key. Still, let it be said that most of us are volunteers at Inkscape. There's no predetermined solution on how we expect the performance problems to be solved.  There are several paths that could be undertaken to get the job done: identify performance-wasting code in Inkscape/GTK/Cairo/... and create patches to optimize migrate codebase from GTK 3 to GTK 4, betting on the new improved macOS backend in GTK 4 introduce a GPU renderer whatever you can come up with! Basically, whatever helps to improve the situation will have a huge impact on Inkscape and our users.  If you are interested, have questions or other ideas, come say "Hello!" in our macOS development chat channel #team_devel_mac. (Don't be shy, no strings attached!) [Less]

What's new and what you can now do Among the highlights in Inkscape 1.1 are a Welcome dialog, a Command Palette, a revamped Dialog Docking System, and searchable preference options, along with new formats for exporting your work. Here at the ... [More] Inkscape project, we're proud to have contributors from around the world who invest their time, energy and skills towards coding, debugging, translating, documenting and promoting the program. Built mostly with the power of a team of volunteers, this open source vector editor represents the work of many hearts and hands from around the world, who ensure that Inkscape remains available free for everyone to download and enjoy. Big Thanks go to the 2020 cohort of Google Summer of Code (GSoC) students (and their mentors) who worked hard to deliver some of the features and bug fixes in 1.1. Let's dive into some highlights and tour what's new and what you can now do with the latest version of Inkscape! A warm welcome A brand new Welcome screen awaits you upon launching Inkscape 1.1! The Welcome dialog allows users to customize their experience by choosing canvas colors, keyboard shortcut styles, theme sets and color modes. Choose the size of the document you want to create - for print, social media and more -, or open a recent file. Additionally, find out how to support Inkscape by becoming a contributor to the project. Choose your style! Learn how to contribute to Inkscape Choose the document size In command of your search Our new Command Palette opens with the touch of the ? key and enables you to search and use a variety of functions without having to resort to menus or shortcuts. You can edit, rotate and reset, among other commands that have already been converted to 'actions'. More will be rolled out in future versions of the program. Search for commands in both English and your local language, too. You can also import or open files from Inkscape's document history. This feature was added by GSoC student Abhay Raj Singh in 2020. A next-level docking experience Our revamped Dialog Docking System works better and is more versatile, allowing you to dock your dialog boxes on either side of the workspace. They are displayed as tabs, optionally with labels or icons. When you've got a number of tabs open, they transform into icons. Combine your favorite tabs and position your floating docks.  Close them using the middle mouse button, or use F12 to toggle all dialogs at once. Best of all, Inkscape now remembers your choices across sessions. Work on this big code refactoring was undertaken by GSoC student Valentin Ionita in 2020. Search preferences easily You're going to appreciate the search bar that allows you to find the preference setting you're looking for almost instantaneously. The new search bar feature was developed by this year's GSoC student Parth Pant. The zoom correction factor now works in different measurements and has been factored into the zoom level to accurately reflect the real world scale of your work. Additional preference settings deliver you more freedom of choice. Double check with new Display Mode For those of you wrangling drawings with many layers, our new outline overlay mode is worth investigating. It displays a muted view (opacity) of your drawing behind the object outlines that are click-sensitive, so you can make sure everything is in order. This new mode was developed by Jabier Arraiza. Outline Overlay mode What's new with Drawing tools, Nodes, Connectors & Selector The Calligraphy tool has gained in precision, while connection lines drawn with the Connector tool now update in real time. You can now copy, cut and paste a selection of nodes with the Node tool - insert them into the original path, a different one or make a completely new one, using this new feature implemented by Martin Owens. Experiment with the Pen / Pencil Tool's new "Scale" option to set a the width of a path created with a "Shape" option numerically. Activate the new selection mode for the lasso/rubberband selection and select every object within the box or touching its boundaries. Copy and paste parts of paths Introducing the Slice (& dice) Live Path Effect (LPE) This new path effect allows you to split an object into two or more parts without destroying the original. You can change styles on both parts as each becomes a separate object. The new 'Slice' Live Path Effect More Live Path Effects changes You'll see a number of fixes within the LPEs in Inkscape and the 'Boolean Operations' LPE is no longer experimental. Look for the 'Fill between many' LPE in the Path menu to more efficiently fill variable-width paths created using PowerStroke, and find improvements to the Offset and Taper Stroke LPEs. The work on LPEs was mostly done by Jabier Arraiza. Choose a file extension for exporting The 'Export PNG Image' dialog now exports PNGs with one click instead of two. You can also export in different file formats, namely JPG, WebP and TIFF, along with Optimized PNG. All About Inkscape Our newly revamped 'About Inkscape' dialog features a larger window (to show off our fabulous contest winner's art) and a tabbed interface. Inkscape authors and translators are listed in tabs along with one called License that briefly explains Inkscape licensing. To help you help the project with your feedback, you can now copy version and debugging info with a single click. Choose your language Inkscape is available in 88 languages, though not all of them are complete. Updates to some 23 languages were made for Inkscape 1.1. If this is something you'd like to help the project complete, get in touch! macOS changes You'll notice a new Inkscape icon and be able to import Visio files. We're always working on improving the program for you. If you're a developer in the macOS space and you are interested in contributing to the project, get in touch! Managing Extensions: Under Construction We're beta-testing a new Extension Manager within Inkscape, which allows you to access a repository with community-vetted (Python) extensions on the inkscape.org website from inside Inkscape. Note for Windows users, the Extensions Manager comes as an optional installable component. If you're an extension developer and would like to request a review, contact Inkscape's Extensions Team in our chat. This manager was developed by Martin Owens. Bugs to be tested & migrated As usual, plenty of effort has gone into wrangling a whole host of bugs that caused crashes of all kinds and other troubles, affecting functionality such as rotating, copy-and-paste, or causing freezes and memory leaks. If you have some free time and enjoy the challenge of solving issues, we would love to hear from you! Join us in the development chat and we'll tackle them together. Alternatively, if you prefer to simply flag an issue for us, please send us a bug report. For more details on specific updates in Inkscape 1.1, check out the full Release Notes. Download Inkscape 1.1 now Download Inkscape 1.1 for Linux, Windows or macOS! Don't forget to watch the video for a walkthrough of some of the highlights and updates. Reach out & join the community Questions, comments and feedback on Inkscape are welcome. For user support, head to Inkscape's chat, where community volunteers field help requests of all sorts. To report bugs, fill out a report directly in the Inbox. From programmers and translators to writers, researchers and artists, the Inkscape community is a friendly space to learn and share, build skills and meet others interested in free software and vector editing. Visit us at Inkscape's Community page for ways to connect. Draw Freely. [Less]

What's new and what you can now do Among the highlights in Inkscape 1.1 are a Welcome dialog, a Command Palette, a revamped Dialog Docking System, and searchable preference options, along with new formats for exporting your work. Here at the ... [More] Inkscape project, we're proud to have contributors from around the world who invest their time, energy and skills towards coding, debugging, translating, documenting and promoting the program. Built mostly with the power of a team of volunteers, this open source vector editor represents the work of many hearts and hands from around the world, who ensure that Inkscape remains available free for everyone to download and enjoy. Big Thanks go to the 2020 cohort of Google Summer of Code (GSoC) students (and their mentors) who worked hard to deliver some of the features and bug fixes in 1.1. Let's dive into some highlights and tour what's new and what you can now do with the latest version of Inkscape! A warm welcome A brand new Welcome screen awaits you upon launching Inkscape 1.1! The Welcome dialog allows users to customize their experience by choosing canvas colors, keyboard shortcut styles, theme sets and color modes. Choose the size of the document you want to create - for print, social media and more -, or open a recent file. Additionally, find out how to support Inkscape by becoming a contributor to the project. Choose your style! Learn how to contribute to Inkscape Choose the document size In command of your search Our new Command Palette opens with the touch of the ? key and enables you to search and use a variety of functions without having to resort to menus or shortcuts. You can edit, rotate and reset, among other commands that have already been converted to 'actions'. More will be rolled out in future versions of the program. Search for commands in both English and your local language, too. You can also import or open files from Inkscape's document history. This feature was added by GSoC student Abhay Raj Singh in 2020. A next-level docking experience Our revamped Dialog Docking System works better and is more versatile, allowing you to dock your dialog boxes on either side of the workspace. They are displayed as tabs, optionally with labels or icons. When you've got a number of tabs open, they transform into icons. Combine your favorite tabs and position your floating docks.  Close them using the middle mouse button, or use F12 to toggle all dialogs at once. Best of all, Inkscape now remembers your choices across sessions. Work on this big code refactoring was undertaken by GSoC student Valentin Ionita in 2020. Search preferences easily You're going to appreciate the search bar that allows you to find the preference setting you're looking for almost instantaneously. The new search bar feature was developed by this year's GSoC student Parth Pant. The zoom correction factor now works in different measurements and has been factored into the zoom level to accurately reflect the real world scale of your work. Additional preference settings deliver you more freedom of choice. Double check with new Display Mode For those of you wrangling drawings with many layers, our new outline overlay mode is worth investigating. It displays a muted view (opacity) of your drawing behind the object outlines that are click-sensitive, so you can make sure everything is in order. This new mode was developed by Jabier Arraiza. Outline Overlay mode What's new with Drawing tools, Nodes, Connectors & Selector The Calligraphy tool has gained in precision, while connection lines drawn with the Connector tool now update in real time. You can now copy, cut and paste a selection of nodes with the Node tool - insert them into the original path, a different one or make a completely new one, using this new feature implemented by Martin Owens. Experiment with the Pen / Pencil Tool's new "Scale" option to set a the width of a path created with a "Shape" option numerically. Activate the new selection mode for the lasso/rubberband selection and select every object within the box or touching its boundaries. Copy and paste parts of paths Introducing the Slice (& dice) Live Path Effect (LPE) This new path effect allows you to split an object into two or more parts without destroying the original. You can change styles on both parts as each becomes a separate object. The new 'Slice' Live Path Effect More Live Path Effects changes You'll see a number of fixes within the LPEs in Inkscape and the 'Boolean Operations' LPE is no longer experimental. Look for the 'Fill between many' LPE in the Path menu to more efficiently fill variable-width paths created using PowerStroke, and find improvements to the Offset and Taper Stroke LPEs. The work on LPEs was mostly done by Jabier Arraiza. Choose a file extension for exporting The 'Export PNG Image' dialog now exports PNGs with one click instead of two. You can also export in different file formats, namely JPG, WebP and TIFF, along with Optimized PNG. All About Inkscape Our newly revamped 'About Inkscape' dialog features a larger window (to show off our fabulous contest winner's art) and a tabbed interface. Inkscape authors and translators are listed in tabs along with one called License that briefly explains Inkscape licensing. To help you help the project with your feedback, you can now copy version and debugging info with a single click. Choose your language Inkscape is available in 88 languages, though not all of them are complete. Updates to some 23 languages were made for Inkscape 1.1. If this is something you'd like to help the project complete, get in touch! macOS changes You'll notice a new Inkscape icon and be able to import Visio files. We're always working on improving the program for you. If you're a developer in the macOS space and you are interested in contributing to the project, get in touch! Managing Extensions: Under Construction We're beta-testing a new Extension Manager within Inkscape, which allows you to access a repository with community-vetted (Python) extensions on the inkscape.org website from inside Inkscape. Note for Windows users, the Extensions Manager comes as an optional installable component. If you're an extension developer and would like to request a review, contact Inkscape's Extensions Team in our chat. This manager was developed by Martin Owens. Bugs to be tested & migrated As usual, plenty of effort has gone into wrangling a whole host of bugs that caused crashes of all kinds and other troubles, affecting functionality such as rotating, copy-and-paste, or causing freezes and memory leaks. If you have some free time and enjoy the challenge of solving issues, we would love to hear from you! Join us in the development chat and we'll tackle them together. Alternatively, if you prefer to simply flag an issue for us, please send us a bug report. For more details on specific updates in Inkscape 1.1, check out the full Release Notes. Download Inkscape 1.1 now Download Inkscape 1.1 for Linux, Windows or macOS! Don't forget to watch the video for a walkthrough of some of the highlights and updates. Reach out & join the community Questions, comments and feedback on Inkscape are welcome. For user support, head to Inkscape's chat, where community volunteers field help requests of all sorts. To report bugs, fill out a report directly in the Inbox. From programmers and translators to writers, researchers and artists, the Inkscape community is a friendly space to learn and share, build skills and meet others interested in free software and vector editing. Visit us at Inkscape's Community page for ways to connect. Draw Freely. [Less]

We recently caught up with Ozant, to ask him some questions about himself, and his use of Inkscape. Inkscape: Please introduce yourself to the Inkscape Community! What is your name? Where in the World do you live? ozant liuky (Ozant): Hi, My name ... [More] is Fauzan Syukri, but in the digital world my nickname is ozant liuky. I live in the coastal region of West Sumatra in Pariaman, Indonesia. It's a small city, but has a nice beach area and delicious food. On a normal day, the city looks quiet, but on Eid days or the Tabuik festival, the city will be crowded with visitors or residents who return to their hometowns. Inkscape: When did you first discover Inkscape? Please explain how you came to use Inkscape. Ozant: Before I got to know Inkscape, I used Macromedia Flash software. In college I was very happy to use it, because in addition to creating animations, Macromedia Flash software can also be used for vector drawing. In the past, I created presentations for my final project at university and work presentations using Macromedia Flash. I have also made short films and uploaded them to babaflash.com, a local site that contains animated works made in the flash format. Unfortunately, the site is no longer there and my work is also gone, and I don't have a copy. A little while later, around 2012, I started learning Inkscape and I started choosing legal software to use. Before that I didn't really understand the meaning of cracked or pirated software. I tried Inkscape and I was familiar with how it worked, somewhat similar to Macromedia Flash, without the animation feature. When I started learning it, at first I had a little trouble using it, I started looking for online tutorials, on various sites, and started trying to put the things I had learned into practice. I grew more and more when I found the tutorial site from Chris Hildenbrand. That's when I started to understand Inkscape very well and everything started to feel easy to learn. Besides that, the Inkscape Facebook group has also really helped me grow. It's a good and friendly community. Apart from Facebook, I also followed the Inkscape group on Google Plus before it stopped. And there you have it! Since then I have continued to use Inkscape through to today. Inkscape: Do you use Inkscape exclusively, or do you use other software in your work flow? Ozant: Almost yes, but once I used Blender to help me draw the right perspective for a 3D object. I've always thought about combining Inkscape and Blender skills. I also studied Blender in the hope that my skills could support my activities in Inkscape, such as helping me make perspective drawings from difficult angles, or create animation. Inkscape: What motivated you to take part in the contest? Ozant: First, I wanted to show the new or the old users what they can achieve with Inkscape. I tried to make my best artwork using only Inkscape. It has the ability to create artwork that can compete with commercial software. What you need besides a good tool is good knowledge on how to use it, how to work effectively and knowledge in the field of design or knowledge in drawing or painting. Secondly, I wanted to prove to myself that I have grown over the past years. I participated in the Inkscape 0.92 About Screen Contest. This time I decided to try again. I wanted to see how far I could get. I really tried to design an image worthy of this contest. I started scribbling in a notebook for a few days and looked for various references. Then I was in no rush to finish. I really enjoyed the process. For several days I looked at every step of the drawing I had made. I tried to add new ideas to it, until finally I finished it. The result is what you see today. Inkscape: How did you come up with the idea for your winning design in this year's "1.1 About Screen Contest"? Ozant: I love robots and I like drawing. I also like drawing landscapes. So, I put all the elements into my drawing–a robot hand-painting a flower. The robot is connected to the computer and Inkscape. At first, I made a rocket as a model being painted, but I replaced it with a flower, to include natural elements in my drawing. Inkscape: Which feature or bug fix of the upcoming version are you looking forward to the most? Ozant: I like the 'cut-and-paste parts of paths' feature with the Node tool. I think it is a good feature that helps us cut paths with a particular shape. The other feature I like is the update to the export dialog that allows us to export in some bitmap formats like JPG, because it saves time. Inkscape: If you could wave a magic wand, what one thing would you like to see in Inkscape? Ozant: One thing I want to see in inkscape is an animation feature. I love to see my drawing in motion. And I want do it inside Inkscape only. Inkscape: What would be your best advice to anyone wanting to use Inkscape in a creative way? Ozant: Learn the basics you need most with your workflow. Enjoy the workflow that comes with Inkscape. Sometimes it may not be the same as for other software that you have used. Inkscape is unique in its own right. Inkscape: Lastly, where can people find you and your artwork online? Ozant: You can see my artwork on Dribble.com and my Instagram. Thank you Ozant, for answering our questions, and for being a fantastic member of the Inkscape Community. To the rest of the Community: Next time, it could be YOU, answering questions like these. Remember, whenever you draw... Draw Freely. [Less]

We recently caught up with Ozant, to ask him some questions about himself, and his use of Inkscape. Inkscape: Please introduce yourself to the Inkscape Community! What is your name? Where in the World do you live? ozant liuky (Ozant): Hi, My name ... [More] is Fauzan Syukri, but in the digital world my nickname is ozant liuky. I live in the coastal region of West Sumatra in Pariaman, Indonesia. It's a small city, but has a nice beach area and delicious food. On a normal day, the city looks quiet, but on Eid days or the Tabuik festival, the city will be crowded with visitors or residents who return to their hometowns. Inkscape: When did you first discover Inkscape? Please explain how you came to use Inkscape. Ozant: Before I got to know Inkscape, I used Macromedia Flash software. In college I was very happy to use it, because in addition to creating animations, Macromedia Flash software can also be used for vector drawing. In the past, I created presentations for my final project at university and work presentations using Macromedia Flash. I have also made short films and uploaded them to babaflash.com, a local site that contains animated works made in the flash format. Unfortunately, the site is no longer there and my work is also gone, and I don't have a copy. A little while later, around 2012, I started learning Inkscape and I started choosing legal software to use. Before that I didn't really understand the meaning of cracked or pirated software. I tried Inkscape and I was familiar with how it worked, somewhat similar to Macromedia Flash, without the animation feature. When I started learning it, at first I had a little trouble using it, I started looking for online tutorials, on various sites, and started trying to put the things I had learned into practice. I grew more and more when I found the tutorial site from Chris Hildenbrand. That's when I started to understand Inkscape very well and everything started to feel easy to learn. Besides that, the Inkscape Facebook group has also really helped me grow. It's a good and friendly community. Apart from Facebook, I also followed the Inkscape group on Google Plus before it stopped. And there you have it! Since then I have continued to use Inkscape through to today. Inkscape: Do you use Inkscape exclusively, or do you use other software in your work flow? Ozant: Almost yes, but once I used Blender to help me draw the right perspective for a 3D object. I've always thought about combining Inkscape and Blender skills. I also studied Blender in the hope that my skills could support my activities in Inkscape, such as helping me make perspective drawings from difficult angles, or create animation. Inkscape: What motivated you to take part in the contest? Ozant: First, I wanted to show the new or the old users what they can achieve with Inkscape. I tried to make my best artwork using only Inkscape. It has the ability to create artwork that can compete with commercial software. What you need besides a good tool is good knowledge on how to use it, how to work effectively and knowledge in the field of design or knowledge in drawing or painting. Secondly, I wanted to prove to myself that I have grown over the past years. I participated in the Inkscape 0.92 About Screen Contest. This time I decided to try again. I wanted to see how far I could get. I really tried to design an image worthy of this contest. I started scribbling in a notebook for a few days and looked for various references. Then I was in no rush to finish. I really enjoyed the process. For several days I looked at every step of the drawing I had made. I tried to add new ideas to it, until finally I finished it. The result is what you see today. Inkscape: How did you come up with the idea for your winning design in this year's "1.1 About Screen Contest"? Ozant: I love robots and I like drawing. I also like drawing landscapes. So, I put all the elements into my drawing–a robot hand-painting a flower. The robot is connected to the computer and Inkscape. At first, I made a rocket as a model being painted, but I replaced it with a flower, to include natural elements in my drawing. Inkscape: Which feature or bug fix of the upcoming version are you looking forward to the most? Ozant: I like the 'cut-and-paste parts of paths' feature with the Node tool. I think it is a good feature that helps us cut paths with a particular shape. The other feature I like is the update to the export dialog that allows us to export in some bitmap formats like JPG, because it saves time. Inkscape: If you could wave a magic wand, what one thing would you like to see in Inkscape? Ozant: One thing I want to see in inkscape is an animation feature. I love to see my drawing in motion. And I want do it inside Inkscape only. Inkscape: What would be your best advice to anyone wanting to use Inkscape in a creative way? Ozant: Learn the basics you need most with your workflow. Enjoy the workflow that comes with Inkscape. Sometimes it may not be the same as for other software that you have used. Inkscape is unique in its own right. Inkscape: Lastly, where can people find you and your artwork online? Ozant: You can see my artwork on Dribble.com and my Instagram. Thank you Ozant, for answering our questions, and for being a fantastic member of the Inkscape Community. To the rest of the Community: Next time, it could be YOU, answering questions like these. Remember, whenever you draw... Draw Freely. [Less]

We are happy to be part of the Google Summer of Code (GSoC) 2021 program to enable students to work with mentors to help advance our free, libre and open source (FLOSS) project and make a difference for our users. When the Inkscape community seeks ... [More] GSoC applicants, we're hoping to find people who are curious about the project and the software. Part of the application process requires applicants to complete sample work on the project to demonstrate their skills and understanding. Inkscape core developers Jabier Arraiza (jabiertxof), Tavmjong Bah (Tav), and Thomas Holder (speleo3), Marc Jeanmougin (Mc), Krzysztof Kosiński (tweenk), Patrick Storz (ede123) and many other developers and contributors mentored our students during their time with the project. You might just start collaborating and want to join our online community! Inkscape GSoC 2020 alumni In 2020, our three GSoC students, Valentin, Abhay and Moazin worked on different projects, from developing custom features and modernizing code to studying and updating older documentation. Developing a custom-built dialog docking system Valentin Ionita (vanntile), from Bucharest, Romania, joined the Inkscape community in winter 2019. He has been a GSoC student for two years in a row. In 2019, he worked on mesh gradients and hatches to enable non-technical users of Inkscape to more easily use them. In 2020, Valentin, "driven by passion and a sense of community," turned his talents to Inkscape once more; he proposed working on "removing the Gnome Docking Library (GDL) in favor of a custom-built, extensible dialog system, based on GIMP's own multi-panes and demos from (Inkscape developer) Tav." The result is shiny new notebooks (with tabs) in lieu of the old docks! Through this process, Valentin worked on reducing bugs and modernizing code, objectives that will help "both the application quality and the post 1.0 development process." His work will be integrated into Inkscape's 1.1 release in Spring 2021. Find out more about Valentin, including his project proposal. Docks are now implemented as tabs in so called notebooks, and allow docking on the left side of the window, too. Implementing a Command Palette feature Abhay Raj Singh Rathod (rathod-sahaab), from Hamirpur, India, proposed implementing a Command Palette feature within Inkscape to enable users to search for actions, such as rotating an object, and execute them, and finding recent files. "The command palette remembers the last commands you performed," he explained; this new feature is part of the Inkscape 1.1 alpha release. Jabier Arraiza, Thomas Holder and Patrick Storz mentored Abhay, who continues to be part of the Inkscape community. Read about his work here. Opening the new commands palette with the ? key and rotating the Inkscape icon Preserving and updating project knowledge on Livarot documentation Moazin Khatti (moazin), from Hyderabad District, Pakistan, proposed "reading, understanding, and redesigning the library 'Livarot' (used in Inkscape for path simplification, path offsetting, boolean operations, and tweaking) that has remained a black box for Inkscape developers for the past 14 years." He has continued to be part of the community, thanks to his well-earned expertise with one of the foundational libraries in Inkscape. With support from his mentors, Inkscape developers Thomas Holder, Marc Jeanmougin and Krzysztof Kosiński, Moazin delivered "comprehensive and well-illustrated documentation to preserve the knowledge gained about the inner working of Livarot." Read about his project, including his proposal here. One of the many new images illustrating the much extended documentation for livarot Do you have an idea for improving Inkscape? Or a burning question, perhaps? If so, get in touch! Let us know what you'd like to work on together. Remember that to apply, you will need to have contributed to the Inkscape project. How to Apply Here are the steps you need to take before applying: Read the Wiki page. Read the GSOC student guide. Introduce yourself on our developers' mailing list, #inkscape-devel on IRC or in our rocket.chat development channel. Contribute two patches (small code contributions) to the project. Find out more about how to do that here! As you are working on your patches, think about the code project you wish to propose to improve Inkscape. Once you have introduced yourself, discuss your plans with the development team as you will be collaborating on the GSOC application. The wiki link above outlines the Inkscape project, potential GSOC project areas and mentors. Inkscapers will be happy to answer your questions about how to get involved. The Student Application Period runs from March 29, 2021 to April 13, 2021. For more details, visit the GSOC home page. Then head to the Inkscape page on GSOC for the specific questions and details. The deadline for applying to the Google Summer of Code is April 13, 2021. We look forward to meeting you soon! [Less]