Painting the Web

SVG Tools

All you really need to create an SVG image is a text editor. However, creating more complex images may get a bit complicated to do manually. Instead, the majority of complex SVG images are created via some program or by using either a special-purpose SVG editor or an editor that supports the SVG vector type.

Many vector drawing tools generate SVG content: GIMP, GIMPShop, Adobe Illustrator, Corel's Xara Xtreme for Linux, as well as other Corel products. In addition, there are also some SVG-specific editors. Of these, one is the undisputed king of the hill: the open source Inkscape.

Tip

Check your tool's documentation to see whether it supports SVG, either when a file is saved or through some form of export or conversion.

Inkscape

Inkscape is an open source SVG editor with versions for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X. Once installed, opening the application shows a canvas area where new drawings can be created, a color palette along the bottom, and various tools along the left side. Among the tools are those to create circles and rectangles, a calligraphy pen effect, text, spirals, and a general polygon/star tool, as well as a freehand pencil and tool to create Bézier curves and straight lines.

Tip

Download and read about Inkscape at http://inkscape.org. The site also includes links to multiple and single author galleries, as well as documentation.

Figure 7-28 shows the tool with several images drawn, including a spiral, a star, a calligraphic S, a gradient rectangle, a red circle, ...