A Vector image is an image designed through a commands that place lines and shapes in a given 3D or 2D dimensional images . For our convenience as well as compatibility in other devices, a vector image is converted into a raster graphics image (PNG or JPG).
Inkscape is a free and open-source vector graphics editor; it can be used to create or edit vector graphics such as illustrations, diagrams, line arts, charts, logos and complex paintings. Inkscape's primary vector graphics format is Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG), however many other formats can.
When we hear the word graphic editor, we immediately think of Photoshop. However, Photoshop is really good for raster images; but when it comes to vector images, it can only do a few basic tasks.
For creating and editing a vector image, you need a dedicated program. Here are 10 of the best free graphic editors that specialize in Vector Images.
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Vector graphics free download - Bluetail Vector Designer, CorelDRAW Graphics Suite, Vector, and many more programs.
Inkscape is a free and open-source vector graphics editor; it can be used to create or edit vector graphics such as illustrations, diagrams, line arts, charts, logos and complex paintings. Inkscape's primary vector graphics format is Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG), however many other formats can be imported and exported.
Krita is an application mainly focused on digital drawing, although it can also be used as an image editor, or even as a vector graphics tool. In the beginning it was developed for Linux as part of KDE and included in Calligra Suite. This version offers all the features of the original application, but now for the Mac environment.
Best Free Vector Graphic Softwares for Windows and Mac or Linux
1. Inkscape
Inkscape is one of the best professional vector graphic editors for Windows, Mac and Linux. It’s free and open source. It is a full-fledged desktop vector editor and which is used by illustrators, designers, web designers or anyone who needs to create vector images. You can also use Inkscape for editing some raster formats, such as PNG.
2. Vectr
Vectr is a free graphics software used to create vector graphics easily and intuitively. It’s got a relatively simple interface which is ideal for beginners. You can either download it for free (Windows, Mac, Linux or Chromebook) or use it online.
3. DrawPlus Starter Edition
DrawPlus Starter Edition is basically a drawing and graphics program that helps you create vector graphics and more. It has a free license with limited features. It is a powerful yet easy to use tool. You have to register using an email address to use the program.
4. Fatpaint
Fatpaint is a web-based vector as well as a ratster image editor. It is inferior in features as compared to its desktop counterparts but it is very efficient for quick fixes and minor edits. One of its notable features is the 3-D text manipulation abilities.
5. LibreOffice Draw
LibreOffice Draw is a part of the LibreOffice Suite for Windows, Mac and Linux. It is a good desktop vector image editor and can be used to create vector images from scratch or to change existing ones. You can use this program specially for technical drawings, flow charts and diagrams.
6. RollApp
RollApp is the cloud-based online version of Inkscape. It allows features like 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.
7. SVG-Edit
SVG, which stands for Scalable Vector Graphics, is an open format that allows you to reproduce your Vector drawings programmatically. SVG-Edit is a web-based open source program which can be used for creating and editing documents as well as downloading and modifying the code to make your own version.
8. Dia
Dia is a free program for Linux, Unix, Mac OS X and Windows. Dia is used to draw structured diagrams and supports more than 30 different diagram types like flowcharts, network diagrams, database models. It can also be used to read and write a number of raster and vector image formats.
9. Apache OpenOffice Draw
Draw is a part of the Apache OpenOffice suite, which enables us to work upon visuals and diagrams. It is a really good program for technical or general posters. You can import graphics from all common formats (including BMP, GIF, JPEG, PNG, TIFF, and WMF). Draw also has a free feature to create Flash (.swf) versions of your work.
10. Microsoft Expression Design
Microsoft Expression Design is a creative designing tool for designers and developers who want to build graphics for their application or user interfaces, the web, or any other medium. It is very useful with Microsoft Office as it supports WMF and EMF file formats. The software has an good Manual which facilitates slicing, which means that you can export parts of the drawing without exporting the entire drawing.
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I have already discussed the Top Free Vector Graphics Editors for beginners as well as experts. The programs mentioned above should be enough for performing all sort of creative editing in your vector and in some cases, raster images. Nevertheless, if you want to use certain specialized functions of some premium software, here are a few of the Top Paid Software for Vector Graphics Editing that you can download for a free trial.
1. Adobe Illustrator CC
Adobe Illustrator is the standard vector graphics tool that lets you to create icons, drawing, logos and complex illustrations for web apps, mobile, prints and video. It is a part of the Adobe Creative Cloud and works for Windows and Mac and can also work on smartphones and tablets using the Illustrator Draw companion app.
2. Sketch
Sketch is a proprietary vector graphics editor for MacOS. It is a light-weight package that provides power, flexibility and speed for its operations. It is ideal for modern graphic designers. Sketch features a flexible workflow with support for Multiple Pages and Artboards. Powerful features like Symbols and Shared Styles are there to make reusing elements quick and easy. Your data syncs up on the cloud server which you can use using other apple devices (Mac book, iPhone, iPad).
Read Also: Microsoft Paint for Mac: Free Alternative Drawing Tools To Use
These graphic editors for vector images are all efficient in their own way, but it all depends on what you need them for. A beginner looking to start working with vector images would prefer going for Vectr and a statistical analyst who has to work with a lot of graphs and charts would go for Dia because a professional graphic designer who needs extra functionality might prefer using a paid software like Adobe Illustrator CC or Sketch. My opinion is to go for Inkscape, as you can get most of the premium features present in the paid software for free.
Updated: January 4, 2020 Home » Freeware and Software Reviews » Photoshop & Image Editing
How to get Adobe Illustrator for free? There are many open source vector graphics editor with capabilities similar to Adobe Illustrator and CorelDraw, why pay for a commercial software when the free open source alternatives are as good as the paid version?
Alternative 2020 Article ➤ 7 Free Online Photoshop Alternative Photo Editor
A number of vector graphics editors exist for various platforms. Potential users of these editors will make a decision based on factors such as the availability for the user’s platform. Below is a complete list of the best Adobe Illustrator alternatives. If you are a poor student, a small business owner or a print shop owner, just give these free illustrator alternatives a try and avoid pirated software from torrent.
↓ 01 – Inkscape | Open Source | macOS | Windows | Linux
Inkscape is a professional vector graphics editor for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. It’s free and open source. It is an open-source vector graphics editor similar to Adobe Illustrator, Corel Draw, Freehand, or Xara X. What sets Inkscape apart is its use of Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG), an open XML-based W3C standard, as the native format.
Inkscape supports many advanced SVG features (markers, clones, alpha blending, etc.) and great care is taken in designing a streamlined interface. It is very easy to edit nodes, perform complex path operations, trace bitmaps and much more. We also aim to maintain a thriving user and developer community by using open, community-oriented development. Works great on Microsoft’s Windows 10 and Apple’s macOS.
Free Graphics Editor Mac
Fully anti-aliased display
Alpha transparency support for display and PNG export
Complete “as you drag” rendering of objects during interactive transformations
Live watching and editing the document tree in the XML editor
PNG and PostScript export
Command line options for export and conversions
Perfectly compliant SVG format file generation and editing
↓ 02 – Krita | Open Source | macOS | Windows | Linux
Krita is a professionalm free and open source cross-platform application that offers an end-to-end solution for creating digital art files from scratch. Krita is optimized for frequent, prolonged and focused use. Explicitly supported fields of painting are illustrations, concept art, matte painting, textures, comics and animations. Developed together with users, Krita is an application that supports their actual needs and workflow. Krita supports open standards and interoperates with other applications.
It is made by artists that want to see affordable art tools for everyone. Krita is a complete creative sketching and painting application with advanced, commercial quality features. Krita has been in development for over 10 years and has had an explosion in growth recently. It offers many common and innovative features to help the amateur and professional alike.
Full Color Management – Krita supports full color management through LCMS for ICC and OpenColor IO for EXR, allowing you to incorporate Krita into your existing color management pipeline. Or let it be the start of one: Krita comes with a wide variety of icc working space profiles for every need, with a color space browser to visualise and explore them.
OpenGL Enhanced – Krita takes advantages of OpenGL for some of its operations. With OpenGL enabled, you will see increased canvas rotation and zooming speed. The canvas will also look better when zoomed out.
PSD Support – Open PSD files that even Photoshop cannot open. Load and save to PSD when you need to take your artwork across different programs.
HDR Support – Krita is the only dedicated painting application that lets you open, save, edit and author HDR and scene-referred images. Furthermore, with OCIO and OpenEXR support, you can manipulate the view to examine HDR images, and use it in the most cutting edge workflows from the film and visual effects industries.
↓ 03 – Microsoft Expression Design | Free | Windows
Although discontinued, Microsoft Expression Design is a really good professional illustration vector and raster graphic design tool for web images based on Creature House Expression, which was acquired by Microsoft. Expression Design is a tool for creative professionals and developers who want to build graphics for application user interfaces, the web, or any other medium.
Free Picture Editor For Mac
The convenience and ease of editing vector graphics in Expression Design can be a cornerstone of your Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF), Microsoft Silverlight, and web images. Whether you’re a veteran professional illustrator, a designer building a dazzling website, or a budding artist eagerly experimenting with various styles and techniques, you will find Expression Design an indispensable tool for your creative tasks.
Drawing: pencil tool (freehand drawing with simple paths), pen tool (creating Bezier curves and straight lines), calligraphy tool (freehand drawing using filled paths representing calligraphic strokes)
Shape tools: rectangles (may have rounded corners), ellipses (includes circles, arcs, segments), stars/polygons (can be rounded and/or randomized), spirals
Text tool (multiline text, full on-canvas editing)
Embedded bitmaps (with a command to create and embed bitmaps of selected objects)
Clones (“live” linked copies of objects), including a tool to create patterns and arrangements of clones
↓ 04 – Vectr | Free | macOS | Windows | Linux
Vectr is a free graphics editor that you can use to create vector graphics – graphics that are scalable without the loss of resolution – easily and intuitively. Instead of using pixels, vector graphics use mathematical equations to draw your design. Of course, Vectr performs the math behind-the-scenes, so the only thing you need to focus on is what you’re creating.
Vectr is available online and on your desktop across multiple platforms, allowing for live collaboration and synchronization anytime, anywhere, and with anyone. With Vectr’s easy-to-use interface, anyone can unleash their creativity as an illustrator or graphic designer – we’ll show you how in no time.
Node editing: moving nodes and Bezier handles, node alignment and distribution, etc.
Converting to path (for text objects or shapes), including converting stroke to path
Boolean operations
Path simplification, with variable threshold
Path insetting and outsetting, including dynamic and linked offset objects
Bitmap tracing (both color and b/w)
↓ 05 – Gravit | Limited Free | macOS | Windows | Linux
UPDATE: Gravit is not free anymore. Meet Gravit – the cutting-edge design app that will take your creativity to new heights. Gravit offers the creative possibilities of a full-scale design suite – but in a snug app-sized package. Powerful yet easy-to-handle, Gravit has been custom designed from the ground up with an emphasis on versatility, fluidity and elegance – complex design tasks are made simple through its robust suite of tools and highly responsive smart work environment.
Express yourself in a new way with Gravit – the new must-have tool for today’s pioneering design professionals! The Most Complete Design Platform. Create and share beautiful designs with the power, flexibility and speed of a free, lightweight and easy-to-use tool, right in your browser.
↓ 06 – Boxy SVG | Not Free Anymore | macOS | Web App
Mac Vector Graphics Editor Windows 10
Boxy SVG is a Scalable Vector Graphics Editor. Vector graphics editor simillar to Adobe Illustrator®, Sketch™ and Inkscape™. Made with and for the modern Web Platform. Can do illustrations, icons, banners, mockups, charts, buttons and more. Works on Chrome OS, OS X, Linux, Windows and even inside the web browser.
Free Graphic Editor Software
Affine transformations (moving, scaling, rotating, skewing), both interactively and by specifying exact numeric values
Z-order operations
Grouping objects, with a way to “select in group” without ungrouping, or “enter the group” making it a temporary layer
Layers, with a way to lock and/or hide individual layers, rearrange them, etc; layers can form a hierarchical tree