Open Source Editors: Digitize Your Drawings

I am a huge fan of free software. I love that creative (and let's face it, uber smart) people can write programs, post them for download on their websites, and then, because of this, I can be even more creative myself. As it were, I didn't happen upon Inkscape all by myself. My husband had pointed it out to me after finding GIMP (a program akin to other, major label *cough* *cough* programs). GIMP is a fantastic place to start if you want to edit or create images and don't want to fork over any money in the process. Plus, the sense of community and comradery in executing a great piece of open source software is really something to behold. They also have mad skills that are probably itching to be used. Check 'em out. As I started to say before my tangent took over, Inkscape was introduced to me. Now, my husband is many, many things (trust me, I have a running list), but if you are to grasp him on a wholly new level - you should study this infographic on Geeks vs. Nerds and know that he equally falls into both categories - yeah, he's diverse like that. I, on the other hand, fall solidly into the realm of Geekdom (which, if there was any doubt, I just further solidified when I phrased that pretty sentence together). So, when he downloaded and opened Inkscape one beautiful fall afternoon in 2009, naturally, I ran away - totally denying that I could ever use such a program - it was utterly beyond me. Then I collected my senses, and set out to conquer (and now, Husband wouldn't have the slightest idea how to use it and I bore him incessantly when trying to explain what I just did - sort of how I feel when he rambles on about Realm of the Mad God). I feel pretty confident that I am using it to some of its best abilities. I wouldn't ever claim to understand the ins and outs because it still takes me a try or two when I am trying to execute certain tasks, but I feel like I can teach you to do at least one really cool thing pretty solidly- turn your drawings into vector art. Now, if you aren't familiar with Inkscape or its awesomeness - it is akin to a sister program of that major label program hinted above *cough*cou- oh heck, I'll just hack it up: Adobe. So, where GIMP is similar to Photoshop, Inkscape is like Illustrator. I don't really have enough knowledge about each of these programs to say what I like about each one vs. what I don't - but what I have and use are PSE8 (need to upgrade that, right?) and Inkscape. So far, my bases have been covered in design need. And, let's face it, no one is knocking on my door for my art so who cares what I use as long as I use it at all and don't get swallowed by the abyss of hopelessness surrounding a creative outlet that nearly every other person in the world has some knowledge of (starving graphic artists everywhere probably both identify with that statement and loathe me for saying it at the same time). Anyhoo, what I discovered while using Inkscape is that you can take a drawing, scan it (where it is savable as a JPG or PDF), open it in the program, go to Path > Trace Bitmap (along with smoothing, removing the background, etc.) and voila, your sketch is now ready to edit and once saved as an SVG - will be scalable to the highest of heights (unlike JPGs for example). Here, read this, it explains it all. Now, with that long-winded explanation, which I can totally do since it's my blog, please see the tutorial on Digitizing Your Drawings posted here.