Is this art app a worthy Illustrator alternative?

Illustrator Tammy Coron takes professional vector graphics software Inkscape for a test drive.

Our Verdict

If you're looking for a simple vector graphics application and you can't afford the higher price tag of Adobe Illustrator, this is a worthy alternative. It has all of the tools you'll need to create high-end vector graphics, and it won't leave your pockets empty. However, the lag made it feel almost unusable at times. Here's hoping that future releases will take this app to the level it's capable of reaching.

For

  • Free
  • Endless filters
  • Bonus new effects tools

Against

  • Painfully slow
  • Requires X11 to work

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Creating vector graphics on a shoestring budget is a little easier thanks to open source software like Inkscape. But is it truly an alternative to the industry standard, more expensive Adobe Illustrator?

The Pros

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The Verdict
4

out of 10

Inkscape

If you're looking for a simple vector graphics application and you can't afford the higher price tag of Adobe Illustrator, this is a worthy alternative. It has all of the tools you'll need to create high-end vector graphics, and it won't leave your pockets empty. However, the lag made it feel almost unusable at times. Here's hoping that future releases will take this app to the level it's capable of reaching.

Tammy Coron

Tammy is an independent creative professional, author of Apple Game Frameworks and Technologies, and the maker behind the AdventureGameKit – a custom SpriteKit framework for building point and click adventure games. As an innovative problem solver and industry leader, Tammy enjoys working on projects from content creation – including books, tutorials, videos, and podcasts – to the design and development of cross-platform applications and games. For Creative Bloq, she has written about an array of subjects, including animation, web design and character design.