Learning to draw technical illustrations in inkscape?

Question

Do you know any good tutorials and/or books on learning to draw technical illustrations in Inkscape?

I am specifically looking for resources aimed at beginners in both drawing and Inkscape, if that is possible. :)

I would appreciate if the author of the answer has actually read the tutorial/book he/she recommends, and that is is specifically on technical illustration and not just Inkscape tutorials.

Update

Okay, let me explain this a little better. I am studying to computer engineer and I frequently have to illustrate a lot of the things I work on, which usually involves some kind of network in some setting. Usually I do this in Dia by putting together more or less fitting figures that are default in Dia, or just raster images I find on google, and basically the result is something that often looks like crap.

So I started drawing many of my diagrams with PSTricks directly in my LaTeX documents, and the results here are really nice. But, once in a while I have to draw some testbed setup or hypothetical scenario involving e.g. a number of cars on a highway that are communicating wirelessly.

This is just an example, and the most fitting term for this I can look up is technical illustration, as opposed to technical drawing which is drawing of schematics with precise measurements for construction of real-world objects. So what I am looking for is a book (or tutorials) with an introduction to Inkscape aimed in the direction of drawing technical illustrations. If that is even possible.

Answer 1

I personally wouldn't recommend Inkscape for technical drawings. It's much of an hassle to get everything just right.

Inkscape is more vector drawing oriented.

What I would suggest is Google SketchUp. It's quite easy to use and suits better for stuff that requires drawing accuracy.

Also combining both of them might be a good idea. The objects that require precision do in SketchUp and later combine them in Inkscape with additional artwork (eg. hands, text).

• SVG plugin for SketchUp, is a nice tutorial how to combine Inkscape and SketchUp

---

Very good book Inkscape: Guide to a Vector Drawing Program (there's the free web version and the book - I highly recommend the book, it really is worth the money). It explains quite nicely Inkscape from beginning to end with nice examples.

Must read chapters for technical illustrations in there are: layering, sub-layering, connectors, tracing bitmaps and isometric projection.

Learn how to do diagrams. Basically you should know how to use clones properly.

How I usually do those kinds of illustrations is:

• Draw (with a pencil) a basic outline what I'm going to do.
• Then import that into Inkscape and draw all objects with really simple shapes.
• I don't draw one thing twice nor do I duplicate it. I clone it - it has a nice feature that when I change the original all the clones change.
• Usually I keep the originals off the page and use only clones on the page. (of course if there's more than one object of that type).
• Then do the generic outline with all the things
• Finally add the text to separate layer.

Also it's quite useful to have "library" of objects in a .svg you often use.

Answer 2

Here is a site that is written towards Corel Draw. You should be able to translate the info to Inkscape by finding the relevant commands.

Answer 3

This link, (Google actually) provides a huge list of files related to inkscape : tutorials/free books/manuals/how-to ... a lot of stuffs,

Have fun.

EDIT

what exactly you want to know ? (gimme some examples) you have actually a huge list of resources

First, you have to learn how to use that tool (the drawings skills are up to you). I've never used it, but I recommend that you take a look at some sources files and find out how they was drawn.

you may find some help on their wiki

But if you're looking for standards about technical drawing, this is another topic.

Answer 4

Here's a great tutorial, it got me started with inkscape. I'm a developer, and wasn't very good at making any kind of illustrations... Until I read that post that is :) http://cocoawithlove.com/2009/11/creating-iphone-and-mac-icons-using.html

Answer 5

Well, as far as books go, there is this one from O'Reilly, although, I beg you to reconsider your plan.

Inkscape is not something technical drawings are drawn in. For such purposes, Autocad is the industry standard in 2D with some 3D capabilities, CATIA and ProEngineer are often used (depending on preferences of the company really, ProE maybe a little more in the field of mechanical engineering) in full 3D development through all stages, and Rhino from McNeel is fast gaining popularity in the last years, being significantly cheaper and responsive (not to mention an excellent NURBS support).

I'm not saying such work cannot be done in Inkscape (a skilled hand could probably do it in Paint) - just that it usually is not done. And therefore I seriously doubt you will find an Inkscape book specifically oriented towards technical drawings.