INKSCAPE+BASICS




 * Menu Bar: **If you’re a Windows or Linux user, this’ll be quite familiar. If you’re a Mac lover, this will be your Menu Bar. This will be where the majority of your options are.


 * Main Tools: **This is the bar where your basic tools are located. //(Selector, Node Tool, Zoom Tool, etc.) //


 * Tool Setting: **Where you’ll adjust the settings for your main tools.


 * Rulers: **Most CG artists are familiar with rulers. A **click-drag ** from either ruler will let you create a guide.

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 * Canvas: ** The area that contains your page. This is also the area where you’ll create your paths, objects, and raster art
 * Page: **The area that will hold your artwork whenever you export or print your documents. Any objects outside the page will not print or be exported.


 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #555555; font-family: 'PT Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline;">Dock: **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #555555; font-family: 'PT Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> This will store your palettes to adjust different settings.


 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #555555; font-family: 'PT Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline;">Command Bar: **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #555555; font-family: 'PT Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Contains shortcuts/buttons to many of the items/settings within the menus.


 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #555555; font-family: 'PT Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline;">Snap Bar: **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #555555; font-family: 'PT Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">To adjust or set what snaps to what.


 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #555555; font-family: 'PT Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline;">Color Pallet: **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #555555; font-family: 'PT Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> One of the places to select your colors. You can use your scroll wheel to scroll through your color palette back and forth. //<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #555555; font-family: 'PT Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline;">(You can also use the **Fill and Stroke** palette to select your colors, located inside the ** Command Bar **.) //


 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #555555; font-family: 'PT Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline;">Status Bar: **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #555555; font-family: 'PT Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> This has gobs of information in one glance. The Status Bar tells you the **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #555555; font-family: 'PT Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline;">color **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #555555; font-family: 'PT Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> an object’s using. You can adjust the **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #555555; font-family: 'PT Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline;"> opacity **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #555555; font-family: 'PT Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> of an object or path. You can **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #555555; font-family: 'PT Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline;">lock, hide/show **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #555555; font-family: 'PT Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">, and **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #555555; font-family: 'PT Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline;">change layers **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #555555; font-family: 'PT Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">. The Status Bar also provides useful tips. It tells you your cursor’s **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #555555; font-family: 'PT Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline;">coordinates **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #555555; font-family: 'PT Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">. You can also adjust the **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #555555; font-family: 'PT Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline;">zoom **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #555555; font-family: 'PT Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #555555; font-family: Oswald,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1.8rem; vertical-align: baseline;">Inkscape’s Main Bar
<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #555555; font-family: 'PT Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline;">Here is Inkscape’s Main Bar containing your core set of tools: <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #555555; font-family: 'PT Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline;"> >>
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #555555; font-family: 'PT Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-family: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline; vertical-align: baseline; vertical-align: baseline;">** Selector Tool: (S or Spacebar) ** Of course you can select objects with the Selector. But you can also use the Selector tool to resize. With a second click, you can rotate and skew the selection.
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #555555; font-family: 'PT Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-family: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline; vertical-align: baseline; vertical-align: baseline;">** Node Tool: (N) ** The Node Tool in Inkscape is pretty versatile. It lets you select nodes and adjust their handles to adjust the paths. Click and dragging a section between nodes also adjusts the curve and brings out the nodes handles. ** Shift-C ** will let you adjust the node’s handles independently of each other. If your path or object has a gradient, either within the [|fill or stroke], the Node tool is also capable of adjusting the gradient handles without the need to switch to the Gradient Tool.
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #555555; font-family: 'PT Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-family: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline; vertical-align: baseline; vertical-align: baseline;">** Tweak Tool: (W) **The tweak tool actually has quite a few tricks. You can push and pull paths and objects, shrink, roughen, shift the object’s color, and blur the object.
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #555555; font-family: 'PT Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-family: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline; vertical-align: baseline; vertical-align: baseline;">** Zoom Tool: (Z) ** This is self-explanatory for most of you. The Zoom Tool lets you zoom in and out (when holding the ** shift ** key) of your drawing area. You can also use the ** - (minus) **and ** + (plus) ** keys to zoom.
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #555555; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline;">** Rectangle Tool: (R) **The Rectangle tool lets you create rectangles and squares. When you create your rectangle, they aren’t quite paths yet. When a rectangle is selected, you’ll see some ** handles ** at three of the corners. The** squares ** let you resize your rectangle. The ** circle ** in the upper right-hand corner will split into two circles, but they will let you adjust the roundness of the rectangle’s corners, to the point where your rectangle turns into an ellipse. To convert your rectangle into an editable path, go to the ** menu bar **, select ** Path **, then ** Object to Path. (Shift-Control-C) ** [[image:http://i1.wp.com/www.chrishilbig.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/inkscape-rectangle.jpg?resize=378%2C338 width="378" height="338"]]