"Corel Vector", "Linearity Curve", and "Inkscape" are vector image editing applications

For those who have a free Gravit Designer account, I introduce "Corel Vector" as a vector image editing application that can be used like Illustrator. For those who do not have a Gravit Designer account, I introduce "Linearity Curve" for Mac/iPad and "Inkscape" for Windows and other platforms. They are free.

Corel Vector

For a long time, it was called "Gravit Designer" and was the definitive vector image editing application that could be used free of charge in an Illustrator-like...

Note that in August 2022, concurrent with the name change, new free version accounts will no longer be issued.
This means that Corel Vector is only available for free to those who have a free Gravit Designer account.¹

Operating environment

It works with Chrome/Firefox/Safari/Edge and other browsers on various platforms.
For more information, see Frequently asked questions - Corel Vector, "What do I need to run Corel Vector?" for more information.

Functionality and operability

Although it is inferior to the industry standard Illustrator in terms of the number of functions, it has a sufficient set of functions for creating SVG for blog logos and illustrations, such as path object/text creation, fill/stroke editing, drop shadow and other effects, object merging/cropping/masking, etc. The set is complete.

All the basic information that can be set is visible and laid out according to a certain rule, so there is no need to wonder where the function you want to use is located.
The left pane is the layers, the right pane is the operation panel for the selected object, and the menu switches according to the type of object, allowing speedy access to various functions.

Even if you don't know Illustrator, if you are familiar with Microsoft PowerPoint shapes, you should be able to operate it without problems.

Cautions for SVG output

SVGs output by Corel Vector do not link line widths when resizing the entire image.

This can be addressed by doing one of the following

• Open the output SVG in a text editor and remove vector-effect="non-scaling-stroke". This is already supported by all major browsers except IE, so this site has implemented this action.
• Convert line to fill. If there are many objects, conversion takes a lot of time.

Official site

Linearity Curve

This is another free vector image editing application that is Illustrator-like.
In January 2023, it was renamed from "Vectornator" and has a new look and feel.

Operating environment

It works on various Apple-based platforms.
For more information, see Linearity Curve - App Store.

Functionality and operability

Like Corel Vector, it has a sufficient feature set for the purpose of creating SVGs for blog logos and illustrations, and the GUI is easy to understand.
The toolbar is on the left, and the right pane is the operation panel for the selected object and the layer panel.

The support for Apple Pencil and the ability to draw hand-drawn illustrations was superior to the free version of Corel Vector.

Official site

Inkscape

It is a free vector image editing application that can be used in place of the oldest Illustrator.

Operating environment

It works on various PC-based platforms.
For more information, see Download - Inkscape.

Functionality and operability

The feature set is sufficient for the purpose of creating SVGs for blog logos and illustrations.
It is comparable to Illustrator in terms of number of functions and users, and has a lot of documentation.

However, the operations are unique and I could not master them.
For example, a simple operation such as "drawing an R-shaped rectangle" was not clear to me just by looking at the GUI, and I had to Google it.
It was also a shock to me that the operation "drawing an R-shaped hexagon" was different from the operation to draw an R-shaped rectangle.

The legacy and cluttered appearance was also a negative for me personally, and I could not bring myself to continue using it.

Official site

Feature Comparison of Free Vector Image Editing Apps

This page compares the basic features of Corel Vector, Linearity Curve, Inkscape, and other free vector image editing apps within the scope of creating SVGs for blog logos and illustrations.

Path Editing

Corel Vector and Photopea are excellent for re-editing compound paths after creation.
Without this function, you have no choice but to re-create the path from scratch if you want to adjust the overlap to match the overall balance.

Path Attributes

Corel Vector, Linearity Curve, and Vectr are excellent for setting rounded corner attributes on anchors.
Any anchor on any shape can be selectively rounded and re-edited, allowing for a wider range of expression.

Object Insertion

There is not much difference, but LibreOffice Draw, Photopea, which does not allow re-editing of imported SVGs, may be inconvenient.

Object Management

Vectr, which cannot be edited as a group and has no layer concept, is inconvenient when the number of elements is large.

Others

All apps except Boxy SVG, which cannot output files in the free version, have basic functionality.

TIPS
: If you select and copy what you have written in Boxy SVG, you will get the SVG XML in the clipboard, which you can save as a file to create an SVG file.
However, you need to replace <!doctype html><svg viewBox=... with <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="no"?><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox=... at the beginning.

General Comments

In terms of functionality, Corel Vector > Linearity Curve > Inkscape.

Boxy SVG was superior in both functionality and usability.
While other applications save their own editing information in their own files, Boxy SVG is based on the concept of editing SVG itself, so there are no restrictions such as this file can only be opened with this application.
It seems that a free version will be released in the future¹¹, so I had high expectations for it.

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1. Corel Vector doesn’t have a FREE version. Those who had a free account for Gravit will remain free, but it is not available for new users.. ↩

2. Unite/Subract/Intersect/Exclude. ☆ means that a compound path cannot be re-edited after it has been created. ↩

3. ☆ means that rounded corners setting is only allowed for specific shapes. ↩

4. ☆ means that gradients cannot be set. ↩

5. Center/Inside/Outside. ↩

6. Bevel/Miter/Round. ↩

7. Butt/Round/Square. ↩

8. There are many things, but only the drop shadow is the subject of this check. ↩

9. ☆ means that the imported SVG cannot be edited, or that it is virtually uneditable, with line/fill separation, text loss, etc. ↩

10. ☆ means that the group cannot be edited as is. ↩

11. Switch to "Freemium" pricing model. ↩