Whether you’re learning how to draw using vector graphics yourself or just starting our Visualize your Science course, you will need to pick what software to use. In the Visualize your Science course, we offer support for the three most common vector graphics design software: Inkscape, Affinity Designer, and Adobe Illustrator. These three tools are the most powerful options for making vector images for your research. While there are some differences between them, they are all good options. You can make the same drawings using all of them, with only small variations in the outcome. with a wide range of extensions and plugins to enhance functionality.
Vector and raster integration, advanced typography, color management, and isometric tools are among the capabilities that these programs offer. Isometric grids and planes for creating 3D-like designs are supported, and there is seamless integration with other Affinity products like Affinity Photo and Affinity Publisher. Do you still find it hard to make up your mind?
I started using Inkscape when I left high school and no longer had access to (or was willing to pay for) Adobe Illustrator. Later I also started using Linux and simply had no choice but to use Inkscape. I have followed the updates that have come throughout the years and it has become more stable and more professional with every update. My favorite part about Inkscape is that it allows for very precise drawing with lots of options for symmetry and accurate placements of nodes which is sometimes very important for scientific images. I also like the flexibility and extra tools and functions that are available. I started working with Inkscape during my PhD because it was a free software with a large community, and I found it really easy to learn the main tools and features that one uses 80% of the time.
Recently, because of personal growth and job requirements, I switched to Affinity Designer. The switch from one to the other was incredibly smooth, as they share a large set of functionalities. I like the premium feel of Illustrator; everything looks very slick and with the cloud service and the streamlined layout between Adobe’s different programs, it's easy to use and navigate even if you have one primary software you use, and maybe use the others less often. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of the company structure; Adobe feels very corporate and have some business practices that I do not agree with. I chose to learn Inkscape because I wanted to be sure I learned a software that I always had access to. Nowadays I do all my vector drawing in Inkscape and love how there are always multiple ways to achieve your goals allowing for very versatile workflows.
Inkscape is open source and has a strong and positive community with a lot of ways to get help. I like Affinity Designer because it is very fast and intuitive. The developers have focused on the main vector tools and not fallen into the trap of develop new functions instead of streamlining the experience. Designer also integrates seamlessly with other Affinity software which basically cover all your needs for creating and manipulating 2D graphics. The people behind Affinity are also very artist/user friendly. I like Adobe Illustrator because it's simply the first vector graphics software I learned, and I'm comfortable navigating it. Also the software’s extensive functionality is a plus and I am really fan of the choice of effects, gradient options like gradients on strokes, different masking options and custom brush creation.
Choosing the right vector graphics software depends on your needs and budget. If you have access to certain software via your university, it can be good to remember that you might not still have access when your work situation changes in the future. It is of course possible to change software in that case and you will find it a lot easier to learn any of the other software if you have already become proficient in one of them. There are a lot more tools and functions that are common to the three different software compared to what makes them different.
Inkscape is free and Open Source, meaning it’ll cost you nothing. Vector graphics, unlike pixel-based graphics, are made of coordinate points that dictate the properties of a design element on an X and Y axis. Much like Inkscape, Affinity Designer is a vector graphics editor. This is a feature that is unique to Affinity Designer. No other major design application on the market currently has a vector and raster editor built in. Because of this, Affinity Designer is somewhat of a 2-in-1 design solution. Inkscape is free and Open Source, meaning it’ll cost you nothing.
Halftones are sort of like a dot pattern that transitions like a gradient. In Affinity Designer, there is no such feature that will allow you to generate these patterns. Affinity Designer and Inkscape are quite similar in terms of working with gradients. The difference here between Inkscape vs Affinity Designer is that Inkscape allows you to create mesh gradients. The Pen Tool functions the same in either application, but Inkscape comes with more Pen Tool modes to choose from, such as drawing Spiro paths. Simply put, Inkscape offers more options for aligning and distributing your design elements. Affinity Designer’s align menu, on the other hand, is obscured behind a dropdown menu that you’ll need to navigate to every time you want to use it.
One of the more frustrating aspects of working with Affinity Designer is the snapping controls. Inkscape, on the other hand, is a different story. The snapping controls in Inkscape work so well that it’s almost annoying. Not only that, but there’s more snapping options as well. Inkscape makes this process easier than any other. You can quickly resize your canvas to fit your design elements by simply selecting them and pressing Control + Shift + R on your keyboard. Affinity Designer has no such ability.
Earlier on we touched on Inkscape having the ability to make more advanced transformations to objects, such as perspective and envelope deformations. No other design software does this, making Affinity Designer an innovative and unique tool. Inkscape, on the other hand, can only work with a single document at a time. This is something that is typically only found in pixel-based photo editing applications. This means that you can do things like make an object black and white, adjust its color curves, invert its colors, adjust its brightness and contrast, shadows and highlights, and more. This is a feature that we’ve never seen in any vector design application, including Illustrator. And I must say, I have really taken a liking to it!
For whatever reason, Inkscape just doesn’t handle text well. Working with text in Affinity Designer, on the other hand, is a refreshing change of pace. Not only that, but it’s easier to cycle through different fonts in Designer as well. Not only is it easier to work with text in Affinity Designer than it is in Inkscape, but it’s also easier to work with text that is placed on path. Inkscape, on the other hand, makes this process much more difficult. Clipping paths are when you take one object and use it as a fill property for another object. Inkscape vs Affinity Designer is less of a dilemma if you’re somebody who routinely does any kind of freehand drawing, painting, sketching, or brushing. Inkscape has no such feature.
There are workarounds for creating custom brushes, but it doesn’t work nearly as well as it does in Designer. The Isometric Menu allows you to place objects on isometric planes. Granted, this library doesn’t actually store any stock imagery. Normally, you would have to download these images and import (or paste) them onto your document. No comparison of Inkscape vs Affinity Designer would be complete without mentioning CMYK-a color format required when creating documents for print, and it’s also the bane of Inkscape’s existence. The entire Inkscape application, by contrast, functions as just a single document. Anything that you save or render in Inkscape will be saved as a single page.
If you’re working with an array of objects and design elements that need to be rendered separately, you may be delighted to hear that Affinity Designer has a batch export feature built in which allows you to export multiple files at once. Inkscape users, on the other hand, are left in the dark without an equivalent. Instead, you’ll have to manually export each object one by one. And yes, I am aware there is a batch export feature, but it’s only for PNG images. Granted, you’ll have to purchase this app separately, but its feature-rich nature and powerful tools make it well worth the money.
You don’t have to be a veteran Inkscape user to know that it has stability issues and crashes on a routine basis. Finally, if you’re looking to learn how to use either application, you’ll have an easier time finding answers to your questions in Affinity Designer’s documentation than you will in Inkscape’s. This is because Inkscape’s documentation is incomplete. There are various tools and features in the software that you cannot find documentation for, which can be frustrating. Tying in with the previous point about Affinity Designer being unable to make advanced edits to vector objects, this also means that Inkscape would be preferable when making any kind of vector illustrations. Without some of the advanced path effects found in Inkscape, Affinity Designer isn’t as advanced of an illustration tool. Finally, Inkscape would be the tool of choice if you are a Linux user.
That’s not the only reason why Inkscape is preferable for Linux users though. By now it should go without saying that if you need to make any kind of edits to a photograph or pixel-based image, Affinity Designer’s Pixel Persona makes it a much more viable tool for doing so. The reason why is twofold. Unlike Inkscape, Affinity Designer lets you create multi-page documents, and as we touched on earlier, it’s much easier to work with text in Designer than it is in Inkscape. Anything designed in Inkscape will be forced to have an RGB color profile, meaning if you print it, the colors will not look the same in print as they do on your screen. Inkscape doesn’t have the ability to batch export design elements. This means that if you were to design an app icon in Inkscape, you’d have to export each size variation one by one. That’s not to say that this can’t be done in Inkscape via workarounds. In my experience, Inkscape doesn’t run too well on the Mac operating system. I’ve encountered lots of bugs, crashes, and the occasional missing feature.
In the matchup between Inkscape vs Affinity Designer, I think it’s safe to say that one application isn’t definitively better than the other. They each have strengths and weaknesses of their own. Gain a complete understanding of your favorite design apps with my comprehensive collection of video courses.
Key takeaways for choosing between Affinity Designer and Inkscape
- Affinity Designer offers a more polished UI, raster and vector editing in one app, multi-page documents, and robust text handling.
- Inkscape is free, open source, highly extensible, with powerful vector editing capabilities and superior snapping for precise layouts.
- Text handling, gradient and mesh capabilities, and batch exporting differ notably between the two, influencing suitability for specific workflows.
- Cross-platform considerations (Linux support for Inkscape; macOS/Windows stability for Affinity) can be decisive for researchers in different environments.
Note: You can make the same drawings using all of them, with only small variations in the outcome.
