Creating vector graphics using Inkscape

Perfect lines

Article from Issue 175/2015
Author(s):

The Inkscape vector graphics tool replaces expensive commercial solutions such as Adobe Illustrator. This article shows how to get started with Inkscape.

You may have taken a photo with a digital camera which, at first, seemed sharply printed, but when enlarged seemed blurry and "mushy" in places. If so, you have stumbled across a fundamental problem of digital graphic processing: Pixel graphics can be shrunk almost arbitrarily, but they can only be enlarged to a certain degree: Where no more material is available in the original photo, the software must "add" pixels, but this only works to a limited extent, and the result is not like the original photo.

This problem can be solved using vector graphics. In Linux, you can use the Inkscape program [1] to create vector graphics yourself. However, starting to use this rather complex application is not very easy. In this article, I explain the first steps of using Inkscape.

Digital Resolution

Digital photos and graphics are not just a specific resolution, the point density, which is specified as the number of dots per inch (dpi), is also important. The higher the dpi, the finer and sharper the graphic. The combination of resolution and density determines the context in which an image file can be scaled. The higher the resolution and dpi number, the less a graphics program has to "invent" when projecting and the more the graphic can be scaled; 300 dpi is the basic requirement for high-quality printing.

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