Vector art software for OS 10.3? Discussion in 'Graphics' started by James Vipond, May 6, 2005. And would like a freeware vector graphics program for Mac OS X 10.3, preferably open-source. It must be able to export in the PNG format. I have checked SourceForge, VersionTracker and most of the other Mac. KnotsBag for Mac OS v.2.0 Vector graphics software based on graphs. With KnotsBag you can design knotwork (or other drawings) very easily and very quickly by just clicking on points. With KnotsBag you can design knotwork (or other drawings) very easily and very quickly by just clicking on points. Affinity - the fastest, smoothest, most precise professional creative software. Open source vector graphics editor Inkscape is widely known as the free counterpart to Adobe Illustrator – and for good reason. This free vector editor is a great choice for budding graphic.
When you think of graphic editors, the first name that comes to mind is Photoshop (or GIMP, if you are a Linux user). However, both Photoshop and GIMP are only great for editing photos and creating raster images. Raster images, such as PNG or JPG, are fine in many cases, but very often you will need a more scalable format.
That’s where vector images and graphic editors come in, doing the more advanced graphical tasks that Photoshop can only dream of. Here are the best free graphic editors for vector images you should try.
1. BoxySVG
BoxySVG may not be a terribly complex app with a ton of tools and tweaks for you to make, but that’s its strength. It’s very simple to use and can be either downloaded as a desktop app or used through your browser.
You’ll find all the drawing tools you need to create elegant vector images using pens, shapes, curves and text. If you want to dig a bit deeper, there are also various options based around typography, geometry, masks, and (crucially) the option to export your SVGs in other formats.
With its sparing and non-overwhelming amount of options and UI elements, BoxySVG is a great lightweight tool if you want to get straight into making vectors with minimal messing around.
2. SVG-Edit
Don’t want to go through the rigmarole of downloading software that may lump in a whole pile of other software you don’t want? SVG-edit is a robust browser-based vector editor that uses the open-source SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) format. It has most of the fancy image-manipulation stuff you’d expect and works in every major browser.
Related: 5 of the Best Photo-Editing Apps You Can Get for Free
3. Inkscape
Let’s start with the best cross-platform vector editor – Inkscape. This is a free open-source program with an amazing set of features. Inkscape is used by many professional designers and is a full-fledged desktop vector editor available for Linux, Windows, and Mac OS.
You can use it to create vector objects, perform all sorts of manipulations on them (fill, stroke, render, transform, group, use layers), add text, create vector images from bitmaps, etc. You can use Inkscape for editing some raster formats, such as PNG, too. If you need a desktop vector editor, I think this is the best choice among all the free vector editors.
4. RollApp
If you like Inkscape but don’t want to install it on your computer, you can try RollApp. RollApp is the online version of Inkscape, and all you need is a browser. It has all the features of Inkscape plus integration with Dropbox, Google Drive, One Drive, and a few other cloud storage providers. However, if you work with large files and/or your Internet connection is unreliable, you might not be able to work as smoothly as on your desktop, but this applies to almost any other online vector editor as well.
5. Vectr
Vectr doesn’t have all the perks of Inkscape or RollApp, but it’s a good editor you can use for almost any vector task. The fact it doesn’t have as many features as Inkscape is not all bad – in fact, when you only have the basics, this makes it easier for beginners. Still, you can use Vectr to create images and apply basic operations such as add layers, borders, shadows, or text.
Vectr is a very fast online editor (if your Internet connection is good, of course), but if you prefer to use it offline, you can download it for Linux, Windows, Mac, and Chromebook.
6. LibreOffice Draw
LibreOffice Draw is a good desktop vector editor for Linux, Windows, and Mac. It’s worth trying, especially if you already use the LibreOffice suite. You can use it to create vector images from scratch or to modify existing ones. One of the cool uses of LibreOffice Draw is for technical drawings, flowcharts, and diagrams because it has the right tools for the purpose. For more complex graphic editing, I personally prefer Inkscape.
7. Fatpaint
Fatpaint isn’t a vector editor only – you can use it to edit raster photos, too. It’s a web tool, so you only need a browser to use it. It’s great for creating logos and other small vector graphics and doesn’t have as many features as its desktop counterparts, but for quick edits it’s more than okay. You can use it to create new vector files and objects, edit them, manipulate paths, add text, etc. One of the special features of Fatpaint is its 3D text manipulation abilities.
These seven free graphic editors for vector images are all nice, but it all depends on what you need them for. If you need lots of features, go with Inkscape; if you need to make just a few quick edits, web-based editors are the way to go.
Adobe Illustrator, now in it's 21st version with CC 2017, is the daddy when it comes to the creating and editing of Scalable Vector Graphics. First shipping for the Apple Macintosh way back in the January of 1987, Adobe Illustrator is as mature and feature packed as they come.
In the May of 2012 Adobe's monthly and yearly subscriptions went live as Adobe Creative Cloud, sold alongside Creative Suite 6, allowing choice amongst designers between a one-time expense or a cheaper, subscription-based model that allowed them to stretch out their finances better in the short term.
However a year later, Adobe announced that they were going subscription only across their entire portfolio of graphic design products. CS was dead, leaving Creative Cloud as the only option for a graphic design software for graphic designers to stick to their much-loved Adobe products and use their old file formats. Of course, they can go and subscribe to Illustrator CC at any time but maybe they want to save the money and switch to another vector graphics editor instead.
But all was not bad, Adobe has recently announced that they have smashed their sales and subscriptions projections more than a quarter earlier than expected and the customers are happy too, getting the same great Adobe software with a more constant stream of updates and added features, albeit at a larger cost long term.
However, we here at VectorGuru became very interested in the potential Illustrator alternatives, programs that could compete with Illustrator in both features and price and have decided to create this list of the Top Adobe Illustrator Alternatives some of them free and open source some of them are paid.
You will find a range of programs to suit any need you may have, covering whatever operating system that you are on, be it macOS, Windows or Linux, there is something here for everybody. Ranging from free alternative and from No Cost upwards, there is also something for the budget conscious or those just curious to see what else is out there.
Lets start with our list of software and services as an alternative to Illustrator.
Gravit
Gravit is a web alternative for Illustrator that runs directly in your browser and which offers all of the main features you would expect from a vector editor. You can export your art in JPG, PNG or SVG. Additionally all of your raw files are backed up by Gravit into their Gravit-Cloud – its a really awesome tool.
The user interface is extremely easy to use with an easy learning curve for those who already have some experience in Vector Editing, however, it shouldn’t take long for the newcomer to master Gravit.
Gravit can also be added as an extension to the Chrome browser.
Vecteezy Editor
Vecteezy Editor is a fully featured yet easy to use browser-based Vector Editing tool. Pre-loaded with over 800 fonts and over 25,000 design elements, Vecteezy editor has an almost infinite about of customization options.
Built directly into their website, Vecteezy Editor allows you to not only customise Vectors you choose from Vecteezy themselves, but to also upload and edit your own before downloading in SVG, PNG or JPG formats. Its a great image editing tool and works on Windows Mac and everything running a Webbrowser.
Built with ease of use in mind, Vecteezy Editor is as simple as point and click for beginners but has more than sufficient tools to be used by any graphic professional looking for a free and easy way to modify their Vectors.
Gravit Designer 3.1
Gravit Designer finally has native apps with Gravit Designer 3.1. Available on multiple platforms including macOS, Windows 10 and Linux.
As a native app, Gravit Designer is is able to get around some of the limitations of the web app version, such as managing multiple pages in one document and accessing System Fonts. The user interface has also had a makeover, making it much more detailed and mature in comparison to the original Gravit and with both Light and Dark mode, working at night is no longer hard on your eyes and with new Gravit Cloud integration you can now use your files across all platforms and online!
Check out our standalone Gravit Designer 3.1 Review and find out all about this latest update!
Vectr – good Online Illustrator Alternative
Vectr is in the same calibre as Gravit Designer, coming as a native app on Windows, macOS, Linux and as a web app and the functionality is equal to that of Gravit Designer. Its actually one of the best web based illustrator alternative.
However, Vectr does have an ace up its sleeve, it's plan, to be the google docs of vector editing, allowing teams to share the same instance and edit things together!
The Vectr web app is currently only running fully in the Chrome browser, however it has a plug in available that allows for offline functionality.
Index card program for mac os. Each graphic in Vectr is given its own unique URL and these can then be embedded in existing designs that will then change according to any changes made to the source file. Vectr also supports multiple pages and works directly with the SVG format. It also let you do vector drawing and gives you the option to edit scalable vector files.
The user interface of Vectr has a very Adobe feel to it, making it a fairly smooth transition and they also offer a plug in that allows for direct editing of a vector in WordPress. You will also find that the creators of Vectr feel that documentation is of the highest importance and you will find video tutorials that explain most things, making it as easy for new comers to learn as it is for those coming from Adobe or one it's other competitors.
Inkscape – Best Free Illustrator Alternative
After over 2 years of development, Inkscape has recently released version 0.92 of its Vector Editor. But with the amount of innovation, the 2 years of development time is completely understandable.
Inkscape have made it a priority to be standard compliant and in order to stay within the rules of the CSS standard, the resolution has been changed from 90 to 96 dpi and the software itself provides multiple options for converting older Inkscape files to work with the newer standard. Mainly the developers have been focusing on displaying as many as SVG2 and CSS3 properties as possible, however not all of these properties can be changed via the user interface. Also, complex grid trajectories do not require any kind of tricks, plug ins or special settings, they work perfectly as a standard function.
As open source software, Inkscape is available free of charge across all the platforms its created for, including macOS, Windows and Linux.
Inkscape is the oldest piece of software on our list and its user interface reflects this, being more complex than others, however it plays in the front of the pack when it comes to features. We did not include the free graphic software Gimp here, because it is not very well working with vector file formats such as SVG or EPS.
Graphics Program For Mac Os X
Xara Photo & Graphic Design 365
Xara Photo and Design is an easy to use, quick to learn software similar to CorelDRAW and Inkscape in regards to its interface and with full compliance to industry standards, Xara is quite a capable tool for all the graphic designers out there.
With many great features including non-destructive photo handling, intelligent scaling and a built in bit map tracer, all built in to one easy to use package, Xara is definitely worth checking out.
Let's Check Out Some More Known and Unknown Alternatives to Adobe IllustratorBoxySVG
BoxySVG is a free solution for the fast processing of SVG files. Visually the app follows a gamers approach, which gives it great ease of use however limits the features set. Easiest photo editing program for mac.
Coming as a native app for macOS and as a Chrome Extension, you can also visit the website to get an overview of the functionality and learn the basics with tutorials, editable demo's with prefabricated SVG files for you to practice with.
In addition to SVG and SVGZ formats, which you can import and export with BoxySVG and the app also supports JPG and PNG formats too. Working purely on its value as an SVG editor, BoxySVG is definitely one to give a try!
SVG-Edit
SVG-Edit is a web app based on HTML, CSS and JavaScript and is mainly targeted towards people who want to edit their SVG files on the web.
With no server side functionality, SVG-Edit requires you to download the tool from Github, however it will run locally in any semi-modern web browser. It's recommended that you have at least some basic knowledge of web development before tackling SVG-Edit.
Affinity Designer
Affinity Designer is a commercial alternative to Adobe Illustrator. Created by Serif, Affinity Designer started out as a macOS only app, however since November 2016 Affinity Designer has been cross platform, working on both macOS and Windows with exactly the same functionality.
In version 1.5, Affinity Designer expanded its target group to include interface and web designers. The software itself providing complete symbol and asset management, and features such as snapping or forcing defined alignments, making it that much easier for web designers to work with and with a user interface similar to Illustrator, Affinity Designer is very easy for those with previous knowledge to pick up and has it's own handy approaches to help you with whatever your task for the day is.
Affinity Designer works with what they call personas, such as the export persona, with which you can control the export of your work in a variety of formats and resolutions. Affinity designer will also take care of backing up and creating folders too.
Currently available in 8 languages, English (US and UK localisation), German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese (Brazilian), Japanese and Chinese (Simplified), Affinity Designer will select the correct language at start up and you can also change it yourself through the apps preferences page.
CorelDRAW X8
CorelDRAW was much more widespread in earlier years than it is today, but with is richness in features and development maturity it still has its loyal followers and has allowed CoralDRAW to keep its hard earned place in the market.
Following with Adobe's pricing structure, CorelDRAW allows you to purchase a licence or subscribe to a monthly subscription service. However, CorelDRAW is sold as a suit of programs, including their Photoshop alternative Photo-Paint X8, a Font Manager, PowerTrace for vectorising, Capture to create Screenshots and a Website Creator for putting together websites. Also included is thousands of cliparts, images, fonts, templates, fillings, frames and patterns, making for a great value package.
Sketch
If your designing on your Mac, there are really only 2 main commercial competitors to Adobe and Sketch is one of them.
Sketch works with an open API that allows anybody to develop plug ins. with this in place, Sketch has developed an extremely active community very quickly who share Templates, Tutorials, Plug ins and much more
Best Free Vector Graphics Program For MacAutodesk Graphic for Mac
Some older Mac users may recognise the name iDraw, a few years ago iDraw was purchased by Autodesk and rebranded to Autodesk Graphic.
Graphic allows for quick modifications of vector graphics in a low priced package, however the Mac version has not ben updated since October 2015 and are unaware of any being in the works.
Autodesk does however take good care of the iOS version, specifically for the iPad Pro, iPad and iPhone with iOS users and with iCloud support, you are able to edit your vectors in the office or on the go with your changes synchronised across all devices.
On the Mac, Graphic supports the importing and exporting of files in SVG, PDF and Photoshops proprietary PSD formats.
Vector Drawing Programs For Mac
Graphics Program For MacFinal Thoughts on the Top Adobe Illustrator Alternative
So there you have it, that was our list of The top Adobe Illustrator Alternatives. And now that you've picked up some great software, why not have a look for some cheap, high-quality vector graphics to play with? You need vector graphics to give this babies a try? Our friends over at VectorFresh recently opened their doors and have an Early Bird Discount of 55% on their yearly subscription, here's a quick run down of the benefits:
So go ahead and check out VectorFresh today, or use our handy search bar below to find the perfect vector graphic for you.
Happy Editing!
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