Which Design platform to use

Community Support
1

Hello all, Which platform is good to make designs on… I tried Inkscape and can’t get a grasp of it. Is there any other design platforms that’s easy? Thank you

2

I had never heard of Inkscape before getting a glowforge and I’ll admit there was a learning curve but it’s a great program if you take the time to figure it out. There are tons of good videos on YouTube that can show you exactly how to do things with it. In a matter of days you will start getting the hang of it.

8 Likes
3

Thank you, I’m so impatient and getting annoyed with trying to figure it out! lol, I guess I will keep trying Inkscape :sob: thank you for your response

3 Likes
4

I will agree with @beerfaced, I had never heard of Inkscape before using Glowforge and have tried a few other but feel it’s the easiest to get a grasp on what to do. When you get stuck, post here and there are those that are extremely knowledgeable that can help you! I’m not an expert but can get accomplished anything i need now.

8 Likes
5

It so much comes down to personal preference and the type of projects you want to do.
Inkscape is great for a free program but a lot of people like Affinity for ease of learning.
Adobe illustrater is the industry standard but comes with a hefty price.

If you are doing practical things you might consider CAD or 3d modeling software. I use Fusion 360 but there are other good cad programs also.

6 Likes
6

Just remember what ever platform you use, there will be a learning curve with all of them.

6 Likes
7

I use both Inkscape and Silhouette Business. While SB costs, it’s a modest one-time fee and a little easier to learn than Inkscape. Silhouette also has a free edition, but I personally opted for the Business Ed. Like the others said though, there is plenty of very knowledgeable people in here that can help you with any problem you have.

6 Likes
8

Look up a YouTube channel called ‘Logos by Nick’, he does a great series of tutorials for Inkscape.

8 Likes
9

There are lots of options for software.

  • Adobe Illustrator
  • Inkscape (free)
  • Silhouette Studio Business Edition ($50 for the upgrade from the free version, you can find it at swingdesign.com)
  • Affinity Designer (very affordable, wait until they have a 50% off sale)
  • CorelDRAW (I know the least about this one)

I started with Silhouette Studio Business Edition until I relearned how to use Illustrator. Now I got used to illustrator and have a subscription. If I went back in time, I’d probably teach myself Affinity Designer first. But eventually if I have time to learn it, then I might transition to that if I decide I don’t want to keep the subscription.

7 Likes
10

Thank you! I will look into these.

2 Likes
11

Thank you!

1 Like
12

My vote is for Affinity Designer.

Inkscape is very capable but it does not use a lot of industry standard UI conventions. If you have any prior experience with something like Illustrator, AD is an easy transition and Inkscape is not. If you have no experience, the experience you gain on AD will be more portable than what you get from Inkscape.

That’s the dispassionate analysis. The truth is I absolutely hated Inkscape and happily paid $50 for AD, which let me be productive quickly.

(Inkscape is free and does do some stuff that AD does not so it is still worth having in case you need it for something.)

6 Likes
13

I personally had no trouble transitioning from Illustrator to Inkscape. The concepts are the same, the interface is different but I had no problem with that.

2 Likes
14

I learned Inkscape while waiting for my Glowforge in part because Glowforge offered several tutorials using it, like this one:

7 Likes
15

My personal favorite is CorelDraw, but I have been using it since 1990 (and still haven’t mastered it).

6 Likes
16

I had heard of but never seen Inkscape until waiting for my Glowforge, but I just went through each command to see what it did before trying to actually do something with it. I did have prior knowledge of Gimp which fills in well where the many vector editor options are weak.

2 Likes
17

Inkscape for me unless I use Onshape to do a 3D model that needs some flatwork.

Learning curve in Inkscape is a bite, but as @PrintToLaser says, LogosByNick really does a great job breaking it down. I found that the most challenging part of using Inkscape is the small icons, even if I have used the larger settings. Took me a while on my laptop to get familiar with them. Best is to get some familiarity with the hotkeys.

Dimensioning things is much easier in Onshape since they input fields pop up, but Inkscape allows you to enter dimensions easily.

I started 2D designing with CorelDraw though and really liked it. It’s not too expensive. Lots of folks have used Cuttle. It’s good. Now a paid program, but seems to be a good entry point.

7 Likes
18

This is precisely why I start most projects in Fusion 360, even flat things. The drawing tools just work for me. Funny thing is, I still hand off to Inkscape to color code before cutting.

4 Likes
19

I was a heavy CAD user and was drawn to Byce, which was an artistic version of CAD and allowed you to add scenery.
Somewhere in there Corel got included.
Problem with Corel is they adopted a subscription plan, so the last version you can actually own is 2017.
Several free programs, like Inkscape, are powerful.
ALL will have a learning curve, so just stick with one and absorb as many tutorials as you can stomach.

4 Likes
20

I have CorelDraw 2021. I bought it outright upgrading from the 2019 version, but they really pushed the subscription. I also have the full Adobe suite of products, my wife needs some of their products for video and PDF creation but I only use Photoshop for my photo and sublimation projects.

4 Likes