Opensource For Mac Like Adobe Illustrator

Adobe Illustrator
Developer(s)Adobe Inc.
Initial releaseMarch 19, 1987; 32 years ago
Stable release
CC 2019 (23.0.3) / April 2019; 4 months ago
Written inC++
Operating systemWindows 7Windows 10 and macOS 10.12 Sierra and later
TypeVector graphics editor
LicenseProprietary
Websiteadobe.com/products/illustrator/

Adobe Illustrator is a vector graphics editor developed and marketed by Adobe Inc. Originally designed for the AppleMacintosh, development of Adobe Illustrator began in 1985. Along with Creative Cloud (Adobe's shift to monthly or annual subscription service delivered over the Internet), Illustrator CC was released. The latest version, Illustrator CC 2019, was released in October 2018 and is the 23rd generation in the product line. Adobe Illustrator was reviewed as the best vector graphics editing program in 2018 by PC Magazine.

For

Alternatives to Adobe Illustrator. There are many Alternatives to Adobe Illustrator. The best ones are as listed below. Inkscape is an open source free vector graphic editor which can be used for creating illustrations, graphs, charts, logos and complex diagrams etc. 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. Gravit Designer is arguably the best free Illustrator alternative Don't Pay for Adobe Illustrator: This Free Alternative Is Great Don't Pay for Adobe Illustrator: This Free Alternative Is Great Adobe Illustrator is awesome but it costs quite a bit due to the Creative Cloud subscription. This web app alternative is almost as good and costs nothing! Open source vector graphics package Inkscape is staggeringly powerful, and is the best free alternative to Adobe Illustrator for pro and semi-pro illustrators, graphic designers and web designers. Adobe Illustrator is a vector graphics editor developed and marketed by Adobe Systems. Originally designed for the Apple Macintosh, development of Adobe Illustrator began in 1985. Along with Creative Cloud (Adobe's shift to monthly or annual subscription service delivered over the Internet), Illustrator CC was released.

  • 1History

History[edit]

Versions 1–1.6 (Illustrator 88)[edit]

Development of Adobe Illustrator for the Apple Macintosh began in 1985[1] (shipping in January 1987) as a commercialization of Adobe's in-house font development software and PostScript file format. Adobe Illustrator is the companion product of Adobe Photoshop. Photoshop is primarily geared toward digital photo manipulation and photorealistic styles of computer illustration, while Illustrator provides results in the typesetting and logo graphic areas of design. Early magazine advertisements (featured in graphic design trade magazines such as Communication Arts) referred to the product as 'the Adobe Illustrator'. Illustrator 88, the product name for version 1.7,[2] was released in 1988 and introduced many new tools and features.[3]

Byte in 1989 listed Illustrator 88 as among the 'Distinction' winners of the Byte Awards, stating that with it Adobe had 'pulled ahead' of Aldus FreeHand.[4]

Early versions of the software did not support working in preview mode and users needed to have two windows open on their desktop in order to have a live preview of their work. One window to show the work in progress, the other window to show a preview of the work in progress.

Versions 2–6[edit]

Although during its first decade Adobe developed Illustrator primarily for Macintosh, it sporadically supported other platforms. In the early 1990s, Adobe released versions of Illustrator for NeXT, Silicon Graphics, and SunSolaris platforms, but they were discontinued due to poor market acceptance. The first version of Illustrator for Windows, version 2.0, was released in early 1989 and flopped. The next Windows version, version 4.0, was widely criticized as being too similar to Illustrator 1.1 instead of the Macintosh 3.0 version, and certainly not the equal of Windows' most popular illustration package CorelDRAW. (Note that there were no versions 2.0 or 4.0 for the Macintosh—although, the second release for the Mac was titled Illustrator 88—the year of its release. And there was no version 6 for Windows.) Version 4 was, however, the first version of Illustrator to support editing in preview mode, which did not appear in a Macintosh version until 5.0 in 1993. Version 6 was the last truly Macintosh version of Illustrator. The interface changed radically with the following version to bring consistency between Mac and windows computer platforms. The changes remained until CS6 when some small steps were taken to restore the app to a slightly more Mac-like interface.

Versions 7–10[edit]

Adobe Illustrator 10, the last version before the Creative Suite rebrand

With the introduction of Illustrator 7 in 1997, Adobe made critical changes in the user interface with regard to path editing (and also to converge on the same user interface as Adobe Photoshop), and many users opted not to upgrade. Illustrator also began to support TrueType, effectively ending the 'font wars' between PostScript Type 1 and TrueType. Like Photoshop, Illustrator also began supporting plug-ins, greatly and quickly extending its abilities.

With true user interface parity between Macintosh and Windows versions starting with 7.0, designers could finally standardize on Illustrator. Corel did port CorelDRAW 6.0 to the Macintosh in late 1996, but it was received as too little, too late. Designers tended to prefer Illustrator, Drawcord, or FreeHand, based on which software they learned first. As an example, there are capabilities in FreeHand still not available in Illustrator (higher scaling percentages, advanced find-and-replace feature, selective round-corner editing, export/print selected objects only, etc.).[5] Famously, Aldus did a comparison matrix between its own FreeHand, Illustrator and Draw, and Draw's one 'win' was that it came with three different clip art views of the human pancreas.

Adobe bought Aldus in 1994 for PageMaker.[6] As part of the transaction, the Federal Trade Commission issued a complaint of Adobe Systems on October 18, 1994, ordering a divestiture of FreeHand to 'remedy the lessening of competition resulting from the acquisition'[7] because of Adobe's Illustrator software. As a result, Macromedia acquired FreeHand in 1995 from its original developer, Altsys, and continued its development through 2004.[8]

The difference in strengths between Photoshop and Illustrator became clear with the rise of the Internet, Illustrator was enhanced to support Web publishing, rasterization previewing, PDF, and SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics.) Adobe was an early developer of SVG for the web and Illustrator exported SVG files via the SVG File Format plugin.[9] Using the Adobe SVG Viewer (ASV), introduced in 2000, allowed users to view SVG images in most major browsers until it was discontinued in 2009.[10] Native support for SVG was not complete in all major browsers until Internet Explorer 9 in 2011.[11]

Programs Like Adobe Illustrator

Version 9 included a tracing feature, similar to that within Adobe's discontinued product Streamline.

Versions CS–CS6[edit]

Illustrator CS was the first version to include 3-dimensional capabilities allowing users to extrude or revolve shapes to create simple 3D objects.

Illustrator CS2 (version 12) was available for both the Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows operating systems. It was the last version for the Mac which did not run natively on Intel processors. Among the new features included in Illustrator CS2 were Live Trace, Live Paint, a control palette and custom workspaces. Live Trace allows for the conversion of bitmap imagery into vector art and improved upon the previous tracing abilities. Live Paint allows users more flexibility in applying color to objects, specifically those that overlap. In the same year as the CS2 release, Adobe Systems announced an agreement to acquire Macromedia in a stock swap valued at about $3.4 billion and it integrated the companies' operations, networks, and customer-care organizations shortly thereafter.[12] Adobe now owned FreeHand along with the entire Macromedia product line and in 2007, Adobe announced that it would discontinue development and updates to the FreeHand program. Instead, Adobe would provide tools and support to ease the transition to Illustrator.[13]

CS3 included interface updates to the Control Bar, the ability to align individual points, multiple Crop Areas, the Color Guide panel and the Live Color feature among others. CS3 was released March 27, 2007.

CS4 was released in October 2008. It features a variety of improvements to old tools along with the introduction of a few brand new tools acquired from FreeHand. The ability to create multiple artboards is one of CS4's main additions from FreeHand. The artboards allow you to create multiple versions of a piece of work within a single document. Other tools include the Blob Brush, which allows multiple overlapping vector brush strokes to easily merge or join, and a revamped gradient tool allowing for more in-depth color manipulation as well as transparency in gradients.

CS5 was released in April 2010. Along with a number of enhancements to existing functionality, Illustrator CS5's new features include a Perspective Grid tool taken from FreeHand, a Bristle Brush (for more natural and painterly looking strokes) and a comprehensive update to strokes, referred to by Adobe as 'Beautiful Strokes'.

Version CS6 was the sixteenth generation of Adobe Illustrator. Adobe added many more features and several bug fixes such as a new user interface, layer panels, RGB codes, and color ramp to increase performance. CS6 was released on April 23, 2012.

Version CC[edit]

Along with Creative Cloud (the result of Adobe's shift on its release strategy), Illustrator CC was released. This version (the 17th) was the first to be only sold in a subscription-based service model, in line with the other software in the formerly called Creative Suite. As part of Creative Cloud, this version brought improvements in that subject such as color, font and program settings syncing, saving documents to the cloud, and integration with Behance (a creative collaborative network), as well as other features such as a new touch-compatible type tool, images in brushes, CSS extraction, and files packaging.[14]

= Adobe also lauch Adobe Photoshop to compare them

Branding[edit]

Starting with version 1.0, Adobe chose to license an image of Sandro Botticelli's 'The Birth of Venus' from the Bettmann Archive and use the portion containing Venus' face as Illustrator's branding image. John Warnock desired a Renaissance image to evoke his vision of PostScript as a new Renaissance in publishing, and Adobe employee Luanne Seymour Cohen, who was responsible for the early marketing material, found Venus' flowing tresses a perfect vehicle for demonstrating Illustrator's strength in tracing smooth curves over bitmap source images. Over the years the rendition of this image on Illustrator's splash screen and packaging became more stylized to reflect features added in each version.

The image of Venus was replaced (albeit still accessible via easter egg) in Illustrator CS (11.0) and CS2 (12.0) by a stylized flower to conform to the Creative Suite's nature imagery.[15] In CS3, Adobe changed the suite branding once again, to simple colored blocks with two-letter abbreviations, resembling a periodic table of elements.[16] Illustrator was represented by the letters Ai in white against an orange background (oranges and yellows were prominent color schemes in Illustrator branding going back as far as version 4.0). The CS4 icon is almost identical, except for a slight alteration to the font and the color which is dark gray. The CS5 icon is also virtually the same, except that this time the logo is like a box, along with all the other CS5 product logos, with the 'Ai' bright yellow. CS6 changed it a bit to a brown square with a yellow border and yellow lettering, and in CC 2014 the colors were upgraded to a sharper tone and thinner borders.

Compatibility[edit]

Free Adobe Illustrator For Mac

Compatibility with Inkscape:[17] Inkscape's native format is SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics), which is supported by Adobe Illustrator, but the two implementations are not 100% compatible. Inkscape also exports to PS, EPS and PDF, formats which Illustrator can recognize.

Tools[edit]

A sidebar that appears at the left of the screen with a variety of tools to select, create, and manipulate objects or artworks in Illustrator. These tools can be selected as following: drawing, typing, painting, reshaping, slicing and cutting, symbolism, moving and zooming, and graph.[18] Some tools have a small triangle at the bottom right of the toolbox icon. A small triangle has the option to view or expand some hidden tools by hold down the mouse button on the triangle.[19]

Some examples of basic tools in illustrator are selection tools, paintbrush tools, pen tools, pencil tools e.g. Selection tools are used to the layout, adjust, and organize the artwork by selecting, positioning, and stacking object accurately. Moreover, selection tools can group, lock or hide, and measure objects.[20]Paintbrush tools can be used to modify the appearance of the artwork. There are different types of brushes: calligraphic, scatter, art, pattern, and bristle.[21]Pen tools create straight and curved lines for the artwork and they can add anchor points to paths and delete from paths. Pencil tools allow the user to draw and edit freehand lines.

Release history[edit]

Release history of Adobe Illustrator, sorted by version number[22]
VersionPlatformsRelease dateCode nameNotable features
1.0Classic Mac OSJanuary 1987Picasso
1.1Classic Mac OSMarch 19, 1987Inca
88Classic Mac OSMarch 1988
2.0WindowsJanuary 1989Pinnacle
3Classic Mac OS, NeXT, other UnixesOctober 1990Desert Moose
3.5IRIX1991
4WindowsMay 1992Kangaroose
3.5Solaris1993
5Classic Mac OSJune 1993SaturnGraph creation, layers, live editing in preview mode
5.5Classic Mac OS, Solaris[23]June 1994JanusSpell checker, find/replace text function
5.5.1IRIX1995
6Classic Mac OSFebruary 1996PopeyeGradients, eye dropper, paint bucket
5.1Windows1996Pavel
7Mac/WindowsMay 1997SimbaTabbed dockable palettes, transform palette, align palette, Photoshop pixel filters, rasterize, punk, bloat, free distort, layout grid, vertical text tool
8Mac/WindowsSeptember 1998ElvisPencil tool, bounding box handles, smart guides, actions palette, bitmap eyedropper, gradient mesh, live brushes, links palette
9Mac/WindowsJune 2000MatisseFlash & SVG output, pixel preview, release to layers, drop shadows, transparency, feathering, opacity & layer mask, native PDF support
10Mac/WindowsNovember 2001PalomaLive pathfinder shapes, symbols, slicing, css layer support, ODBC data link, variables palette, save for web, live distortion, warping, envelopes (warp/mesh/top object), liquify tools, grid/line/arc/polar grid tools, flare tool, magic wand
CS (11)Mac/WindowsOctober 2003Pangaea/Sprinkles3D effect, OpenType support, character & paragraph styles, template file format, scribble effect, columns & rows, optical kerning, optical margins, every-line composer, custom tab leaders, WYSIWYG font menu, Japanese type support, path type option, save for Microsoft Office
CS2 (12, 12.0.1)Mac/WindowsApril 27, 2005ZodiacLive trace, live paint, colorized grayscale, Photoshop layer support, expanded stroke options, control palette, Adobe Bridge support, Wacom tablet support, SVG-t export, PDF/X export, released with an official serial number because of the technical glitch on Adobe's CS2 activation servers as of January 2013 (see Creative Suite 1 & 2)
CS3 (13)Mac/WindowsApril 2007JasonLive color, Flash integration, eraser tool, document profiles, crop area, isolation mode
CS4 (14)Mac/WindowsOctober 2008SonnetMultiple artboards, transparency in gradients, blob brush, live gradient editing, separations previews, in-palette appearance editing
CS5 (15, 15.0.1, 15.0.2)Mac/WindowsMay 2010AjantaPerspective drawing tools, variable-width strokes, control over opacity in points on gradient meshes, shape builder tool (similar to pathfinder tools) and a bristle brush, which enables users to imitate real life brush strokes while maintaining vector format.
CS6 (16, 16.0.2)Mac/WindowsMay 2012ElloraAdobe Mercury Performance System, 64-bit memory support, new user interface, gradient on a stroke, pattern creator tool, ImageTrace (replaces Live Trace)
CC (17)Mac/WindowsJune 17, 2013Deeper Creative Cloud integration (font, color palette and settings syncing, Behance integration), new typing capabilities, multiple file place, images in brushes, CSS extraction
CC (17.1)Mac/WindowsJanuary 16, 2014Live Corners, updated pencil, path reshaping, Typekit integration, custom tool panels
CC 2014 (18.0)Mac/WindowsJune 18, 2014Live Rectangles, pen rubberband, bezier handles no longer grid-snap, Windows GPU performance
CC 2014 (18.1)Mac/WindowsOctober 6, 2014CC Libraries, Touch Workspace, Curvature tool, Join tool, auto type area resizing
CC 2015 (19.0.0)Mac/WindowsJune 16, 2015Linked assets in Libraries, Adobe Stock integration, Faster [zoom/pan/scroll], Safe mode, file data recovery, GPU performance, tool and workspace enhancements, Charts preview
CC 2015.1 (19.1.0)Mac/WindowsJuly 25, 2015Stability fixes
CC 2015.2 (19.2.0)Mac/WindowsNovember 30, 2015Enhanced Creative Cloud Libraries, Shaper tool, new Live Shapes, Dynamic Symbols, enhanced Smart Guides, new SVG Export options, Touch Workspace enhancements, Charts removed
CC 2015.3 (20.0)Mac/WindowsJune 20, 2016Updated and better collaboration with libraries, Work more efficiently with Adobe Stock, Live shapes and transform panel updates, Adobe Experience Design CC (Preview) integration, fast export of assets and Artboards
CC 2015.3.1 (20.1)Mac/WindowsAugust 10, 2016New search for Adobe Stock assets
CC 2017 (21.0.0)Mac/WindowsNovember 2, 2016Improved alignment tools, find fonts faster, work easier with glyphs, easy access to templates including free Adobe Stock templates, archive and restore all your assets stored in Creative Cloud, introducing Typekit Marketplace, see a live preview by hovering over the font list with selected text, zoom to selection, flat UI and new icons
CC 2017.0.1 (21.0.1)Mac/WindowsJanuary 9, 2017Stability fixes
CC 2017.0.2Mac/WindowsJanuary 15, 2017Stability fixes
CC 2017.1 (21.1.0)Mac/WindowsApril 5, 2017Bitmap cropping added; start screen loads faster; color theme panel redesigned; stability enhancements
CC 2018 (22.0.0)Mac/WindowsOctober 18, 2017Properties panel; Puppet Warp; 1000 artboards; Variable and SVG color font support; MacBook touchbar support
CC 2018.1 (22.1.0)Mac/WindowsMarch 13, 2018Increased anchor point and handle sizes; import multi-page PDF files; support for CSV data source files; live SVG paste; locked items don't move with artboards by default
CC 2019 (23.0.0)Mac/WindowsOctober 15, 2018Freeform Gradients; Global Edit; Trim View; Scalable UI; customizable toolbars; Content-Aware Crop; Presentation Mode; enhanced visual font browsing; stability enhancements
2019 (23.0.2)Mac/WindowsFebruary 8, 2019Lock for the New Customizable Toolbar; Rotate dialogue box does have default focus on the rotate input widget; constraint angle with the Shift key to draw linear and radial gradients; stability enhancements.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^Adobe Creative Cloud (May 14, 2014), The Story Behind Adobe Illustrator (Part 1 of 3) | Adobe Creative Cloud, retrieved September 17, 2017
  2. ^Wichary, Marcin. 'Illustrator splash screens'. Guidebookgallery.org. Retrieved December 4, 2010.
  3. ^'Illustrator 88 demonstration video'. Youtube.com. September 20, 2007. Archived from the original on October 20, 2010. Retrieved December 4, 2010.
  4. ^'The Byte Awards'. Byte. January 1989. p. 327.
  5. ^'FreeHand Firsts'. The Nelson Group, Inc.
  6. ^'Merger creates stronger DTP competition'. Folio. April 15, 1994. Retrieved February 11, 2011.[permanent dead link]
  7. ^'Federal Trade Commission Decisions, Complaint 118 F.,'(PDF). In the matter of Adobe Systems Incorporated, Et Al. October 18, 1994. Archived from the original(PDF) on May 24, 2010. Retrieved February 8, 2010.
  8. ^Macromedia’s purchase of Altsys raises questions. InfoWorld. November 7, 1994. Retrieved February 11, 2011.
  9. ^'Scalable Vector Graphics'. Adobe.
  10. ^'Adobe to Discontinue Adobe SVG Viewer'. Adobe.
  11. ^Scalable Vector Graphics#Compatibility
  12. ^'Adobe Completes Acquisition of Macromedia'. Adobe Systems. December 5, 2005. Archived from the original on December 19, 2008. Retrieved December 29, 2008.
  13. ^'FreeHand no longer updated; moving to Illustrator'. John Nack on Adobe. Adobe Blogs. May 16, 2007. Retrieved July 19, 2009.
  14. ^'Illustrator CC vs. CS6 versions | Adobe Illustrator CC history'. Adobe. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
  15. ^Stone, Terri (April 27, 2005). 'Inside CS2: MetaDesign Shares Its Secrets'. CreativePro.com. Archived from the original on January 3, 2008.
  16. ^Pieters, Veerle (December 21, 2006). 'The new Adobe icons and branding'. Veerle's blog. Archived from the original on December 7, 2017. Retrieved December 6, 2017.
  17. ^Inkscape for Adobe Illustrator users, Inkscape.org
  18. ^'Tool Galleries'. Retrieved March 29, 2018.
  19. ^'Tools'. Retrieved March 29, 2018.
  20. ^'Selection Tool Galleries'. Retrieved March 29, 2018.
  21. ^'Brushes Tools'. Retrieved March 29, 2018.
  22. ^'Illustrator release notes'. Adobe. October 13, 2017. Retrieved December 7, 2017.
  23. ^Michael J. Connolly. '1999: SUMMARY: Solaris-Adobe Products (a little long)'. Sunmanagers.org. Archived from the original on May 18, 2011. Retrieved December 4, 2010.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Adobe Illustrator.
Wikimedia-Commons has templates related to Created with Adobe Illustrator
  • Learning materials related to Adobe Illustrator at Wikiversity
  • Official website
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Adobe_Illustrator&oldid=912285660'
Open source for mac

Adobe Illustrator, now in it's 21st version with CC 2017, is the daddy when it comes to the creating and editing of Scalable Vector Graphics. First shipping for the Apple Macintosh way back in the January of 1987, Adobe Illustrator is as mature and feature packed as they come.

In the May of 2012 Adobe's monthly and yearly subscriptions went live as Adobe Creative Cloud, sold alongside Creative Suite 6, allowing choice amongst designers between a one-time expense or a cheaper, subscription-based model that allowed them to stretch out their finances better in the short term.

However a year later, Adobe announced that they were going subscription only across their entire portfolio of graphic design products. CS was dead, leaving Creative Cloud as the only option for a graphic design software for graphic designers to stick to their much-loved Adobe products and use their old file formats. Of course, they can go and subscribe to Illustrator CC at any time but maybe they want to save the money and switch to another vector graphics editor instead.

But all was not bad, Adobe has recently announced that they have smashed their sales and subscriptions projections more than a quarter earlier than expected and the customers are happy too, getting the same great Adobe software with a more constant stream of updates and added features, albeit at a larger cost long term.

However, we here at VectorGuru became very interested in the potential Illustrator alternatives, programs that could compete with Illustrator in both features and price and have decided to create this list of the Top Adobe Illustrator Alternatives some of them free and open source some of them are paid.

You will find a range of programs to suit any need you may have, covering whatever operating system that you are on, be it macOS, Windows or Linux, there is something here for everybody. Ranging from free alternative and from No Cost upwards, there is also something for the budget conscious or those just curious to see what else is out there.

Lets start with our list of software and services as an alternative to Illustrator.

Gravit

Gravit is a web alternative for Illustrator that runs directly in your browser and which offers all of the main features you would expect from a vector editor. You can export your art in JPG, PNG or SVG. Additionally all of your raw files are backed up by Gravit into their Gravit-Cloud – its a really awesome tool.

The user interface is extremely easy to use with an easy learning curve for those who already have some experience in Vector Editing, however, it shouldn’t take long for the newcomer to master Gravit.

Gravit can also be added as an extension to the Chrome browser.

  • Website: Gravit
  • Price: Free
  • Compatibility: Web App for all platforms

Vecteezy Editor

Vecteezy Editor is a fully featured yet easy to use browser-based Vector Editing tool. Pre-loaded with over 800 fonts and over 25,000 design elements, Vecteezy editor has an almost infinite about of customization options.

Built directly into their website, Vecteezy Editor allows you to not only customise Vectors you choose from Vecteezy themselves, but to also upload and edit your own before downloading in SVG, PNG or JPG formats. Its a great image editing tool and works on Windows Mac and everything running a Webbrowser.

Built with ease of use in mind, Vecteezy Editor is as simple as point and click for beginners but has more than sufficient tools to be used by any graphic professional looking for a free and easy way to modify their Vectors.

  • Website: Vecteezy Editor
  • Price: Free
  • Compatibility: Web App for All Platforms

Gravit Designer 3.1

Gravit Designer finally has native apps with Gravit Designer 3.1. Available on multiple platforms including macOS, Windows 10 and Linux.

As a native app, Gravit Designer is is able to get around some of the limitations of the web app version, such as managing multiple pages in one document and accessing System Fonts. The user interface has also had a makeover, making it much more detailed and mature in comparison to the original Gravit and with both Light and Dark mode, working at night is no longer hard on your eyes and with new Gravit Cloud integration you can now use your files across all platforms and online!

Check out our standalone Gravit Designer 3.1 Review and find out all about this latest update!

  • Website: Gravit Designer 3.1
  • Price: Free
  • Compatibility: macOS, Windows 10, Linux, Chrome OS. Web App for all Platforms

Vectr – good Online Illustrator Alternative

Vectr is in the same calibre as Gravit Designer, coming as a native app on Windows, macOS, Linux and as a web app and the functionality is equal to that of Gravit Designer. Its actually one of the best web based illustrator alternative.

However, Vectr does have an ace up its sleeve, it's plan, to be the google docs of vector editing, allowing teams to share the same instance and edit things together!

The Vectr web app is currently only running fully in the Chrome browser, however it has a plug in available that allows for offline functionality.
Each graphic in Vectr is given its own unique URL and these can then be embedded in existing designs that will then change according to any changes made to the source file. Vectr also supports multiple pages and works directly with the SVG format. It also let you do vector drawing and gives you the option to edit scalable vector files.

Adobe Illustrator Open Source Alternative

The user interface of Vectr has a very Adobe feel to it, making it a fairly smooth transition and they also offer a plug in that allows for direct editing of a vector in WordPress. You will also find that the creators of Vectr feel that documentation is of the highest importance and you will find video tutorials that explain most things, making it as easy for new comers to learn as it is for those coming from Adobe or one it's other competitors.

  • Website: Vectr
  • Price: Free
  • Compatibility: macOS, Windows and Linux. Web App for all platforms

Inkscape – Best Free Illustrator Alternative

After over 2 years of development, Inkscape has recently released version 0.92 of its Vector Editor. But with the amount of innovation, the 2 years of development time is completely understandable.

Inkscape have made it a priority to be standard compliant and in order to stay within the rules of the CSS standard, the resolution has been changed from 90 to 96 dpi and the software itself provides multiple options for converting older Inkscape files to work with the newer standard. Mainly the developers have been focusing on displaying as many as SVG2 and CSS3 properties as possible, however not all of these properties can be changed via the user interface. Also, complex grid trajectories do not require any kind of tricks, plug ins or special settings, they work perfectly as a standard function.

As open source software, Inkscape is available free of charge across all the platforms its created for, including macOS, Windows and Linux.

Inkscape is the oldest piece of software on our list and its user interface reflects this, being more complex than others, however it plays in the front of the pack when it comes to features. We did not include the free graphic software Gimp here, because it is not very well working with vector file formats such as SVG or EPS.

  • Website: Inkscape
  • Price: Free
  • Compatibility: macOS, Windows and Linux

Xara Photo & Graphic Design 365

Xara Photo and Design is an easy to use, quick to learn software similar to CorelDRAW and Inkscape in regards to its interface and with full compliance to industry standards, Xara is quite a capable tool for all the graphic designers out there.

With many great features including non-destructive photo handling, intelligent scaling and a built in bit map tracer, all built in to one easy to use package, Xara is definitely worth checking out.

  • Website: Xara Photo & Graphics Designer
  • Price: $69.99 with one year of updates.
  • Compatibility: Windows

Let's Check Out Some More Known and Unknown Alternatives to Adobe Illustrator

BoxySVG

BoxySVG is a free solution for the fast processing of SVG files. Visually the app follows a gamers approach, which gives it great ease of use however limits the features set.

Coming as a native app for macOS and as a Chrome Extension, you can also visit the website to get an overview of the functionality and learn the basics with tutorials, editable demo's with prefabricated SVG files for you to practice with.

In addition to SVG and SVGZ formats, which you can import and export with BoxySVG and the app also supports JPG and PNG formats too. Working purely on its value as an SVG editor, BoxySVG is definitely one to give a try!

  • Website: BoxySVG
  • Price: Free
  • Compatibility: macOS, Web App for all Platforms

SVG-Edit

SVG-Edit is a web app based on HTML, CSS and JavaScript and is mainly targeted towards people who want to edit their SVG files on the web.

With no server side functionality, SVG-Edit requires you to download the tool from Github, however it will run locally in any semi-modern web browser. It's recommended that you have at least some basic knowledge of web development before tackling SVG-Edit.

  • Website: Demo – Github
  • Price: Free
  • Compatibility: Web App for All Platforms

Affinity Designer

Affinity Designer is a commercial alternative to Adobe Illustrator. Created by Serif, Affinity Designer started out as a macOS only app, however since November 2016 Affinity Designer has been cross platform, working on both macOS and Windows with exactly the same functionality.

In version 1.5, Affinity Designer expanded its target group to include interface and web designers. The software itself providing complete symbol and asset management, and features such as snapping or forcing defined alignments, making it that much easier for web designers to work with and with a user interface similar to Illustrator, Affinity Designer is very easy for those with previous knowledge to pick up and has it's own handy approaches to help you with whatever your task for the day is.

Affinity Designer works with what they call personas, such as the export persona, with which you can control the export of your work in a variety of formats and resolutions. Affinity designer will also take care of backing up and creating folders too.

Currently available in 8 languages, English (US and UK localisation), German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese (Brazilian), Japanese and Chinese (Simplified), Affinity Designer will select the correct language at start up and you can also change it yourself through the apps preferences page.

  • Website: Affinity Designer
  • Price: 49.99 Euros
  • Compatibility: macOS and Windows

CorelDRAW X8

CorelDRAW was much more widespread in earlier years than it is today, but with is richness in features and development maturity it still has its loyal followers and has allowed CoralDRAW to keep its hard earned place in the market.

Following with Adobe's pricing structure, CorelDRAW allows you to purchase a licence or subscribe to a monthly subscription service. However, CorelDRAW is sold as a suit of programs, including their Photoshop alternative Photo-Paint X8, a Font Manager, PowerTrace for vectorising, Capture to create Screenshots and a Website Creator for putting together websites. Also included is thousands of cliparts, images, fonts, templates, fillings, frames and patterns, making for a great value package.

  • Website: CorelDRAW X8
  • Price: 699 Euros or 19.95 Euros per month for their subscription package.
  • Compatibility: Windows

Sketch

If your designing on your Mac, there are really only 2 main commercial competitors to Adobe and Sketch is one of them.

Sketch works with an open API that allows anybody to develop plug ins. with this in place, Sketch has developed an extremely active community very quickly who share Templates, Tutorials, Plug ins and much more

  • Website: Sketch
  • Price: 114.84 Euros per year (If you want updates after the 12 months are over)
  • Compatibility: macOS

Autodesk Graphic for Mac

Some older Mac users may recognise the name iDraw, a few years ago iDraw was purchased by Autodesk and rebranded to Autodesk Graphic.

Graphic allows for quick modifications of vector graphics in a low priced package, however the Mac version has not ben updated since October 2015 and are unaware of any being in the works.

Autodesk does however take good care of the iOS version, specifically for the iPad Pro, iPad and iPhone with iOS users and with iCloud support, you are able to edit your vectors in the office or on the go with your changes synchronised across all devices.

On the Mac, Graphic supports the importing and exporting of files in SVG, PDF and Photoshops proprietary PSD formats.

  • Website: Autodesk Graphic
  • Price: macOS 29.99 Euros, iOS 8.99 Euros
  • Compatibility: macOS, iOS (Purchased Separately)

Final Thoughts on the Top Adobe Illustrator Alternative

Adobe Illustrator Mac Crack

So there you have it, that was our list of The top Adobe Illustrator Alternatives. And now that you've picked up some great software, why not have a look for some cheap, high-quality vector graphics to play with? You need vector graphics to give this babies a try? Our friends over at VectorFresh recently opened their doors and have an Early Bird Discount of 55% on their yearly subscription, here's a quick run down of the benefits:

  • One year membership, 1,200 images and no limit on your daily downloads (Up to 100 per month) for $49, that's a huge 55% discount!
  • All of the Vector Graphics on offer are in .EPS format and can be completely customised.
  • All of the shapes can be easily resized with no loss in quality.
  • All of the illustrations on offer can be used for commercial purposes, for yourself or on behalf of a client.
  • They can also be used on their own or as part of a larger project.

So go ahead and check out VectorFresh today, or use our handy search bar below to find the perfect vector graphic for you.

Pdf Editor Open Source For Mac

Happy Editing!