Hello,..I was just checking back to see if the latest version of IScape has indeed incorporated an eraser tool?

Thanks.

The latest stable version (0.46) doesn't have an eraser tool, but the latest development versions do. (If you're using Windows, you can get recent development snapshots from http://inkscape.modevia.com/win32/?C=M;O=D.)

This would be HUGE!!!!!!!!! I will await the stable version with great anticipation! Any idea how long these alphas and betas take before coming out? I'm a beta tester for Xara and usually it's a couple of months or maybe even more before a stable release is presented in final form to the masses.

I agree. You guys are really coming up with some useful tools. I haven't even fully digested all of the 0.46 goodness yet. Keeps getting better, that's for sure.

TDolce wrote:I will await the stable version with great anticipation! Any idea how long these alphas and betas take before coming out?

These are just early development snapshots, and there's a long way to go yet.

The Inkscape release cycle is rather erratic and unpredictable, but according to the 0.47 Refactoring Plan that Bryce Harrington wrote up, Inkscape 0.47 is planned for September.

TDYeah,...I understand. I'm not sure I want to download this app and then get comofrtable with it only to find that the eraser tool doesn;t come to fruition or behave as I had hoped for....as my time is so limited as it is. On the flipside to this though,..it's not like I'm plucking down huge sums of cash to try a program that may or may not fit. So,....I I'm kinda riding the proverbial fence on this one. Basically, here is what I'm looking to do with whatever program that can help me do this.

I want to be able to "draw" freehand (like I would on a sketchpad) and with my normal hand movements and speed and capture the lines as if I was drawing with a brush (with tapered lines an NO jaggies on the curves). Line quality is huge! I don't want to have to go back and spend hours trying to smooth out my lines. I would like to perhaps be able to set options that perhaps allow for line adjustments and precise tweaks that will allow the lines I need,..but I hate "after the fact" edits* to line quality.

(*Although the fact that Inkscape has options to bend, thicken, and pull lines afterward is indeed a wonderful thing that I'm sure I could use for those minor tweaks at the end process)

I want to know that as I overlap my lines (I draw quick) I can go back in and erase the overlapping parts by simply using the eraser part of my stylus pen without having to "think about how to get the eraser to work).

I want to be able to do all of this in the vector format and without having an interface that is so overly complicated that it makes you feel as though you need to take summer courses in mechanical engineering.

This is it guys. This sounds simple,..but you would be surprised how impossible this has been to locate an app that can do this. A vector app that actually lets you "DRAW" with one's own spontaneous drawing style.

@TDolce

I hate steering people away from Inkscape when I know that it's capable of things. However, maybe you would be interested in Pencil (http://www.les-stooges.org/pascal/pencil/). It's a pretty young project and it may not be robust enough for artists like yourself but in the very least you can watch the development of the project and jump into it when you feel that it's ready. I have played with it and it's pretty easy to free hand sketch in it. Until it has SVG though it's pretty useless for me.

Yes,..I'm very familiar with this app, but it has a poor line quality response with some of the drawing tools....(jaggy on curves)..BUT this app does continue to grow and I have my eye on it as it matures. It is a very neat app too! Thanks for the recommendation though as that indeed is a promising app.

The calligraphy tool, , does exactly what you need--with the exception of the eraser part.

Coupled with a tablet I find the calligraphy tool in Inkscape better than using any other drawing program I've used, simply because it has settings that allow you to more easily create deliberate lines that are steady. And then being able to use to tweak the lines feels very natural and controlled. I also find that because I'm not terribly good at controlling pressure, the calligraphy settings helps me produce nice tapered lines.

I want to know that as I overlap my lines (I draw quick) I can go back in and erase the overlapping parts by simply using the eraser part of my stylus pen without having to "think about how to get the eraser to work).

No you can't, but you haven't explained exactly what sort of line work you are doing. If you are inking (i.e. just black lines) and you are using multiple stokes to create a singly line, this will create multiple overlapping objects. What you do then is quickly select them (holding Alt and dragging with makes that a breeze) and then union them (Ctrl++). Alternatively, if you hold Shift whilst using the calligraphy tool all your lines will be automatically union-ed together. I'm hoping in 0.47 we get a toggle on the tool control bar for this, rather than having to hold a key the entire time.

You can easily simulate the function of an eraser in 0.46 by using to draw over the area you want to erase (ideally in a different colour) then the doing a difference (Ctrl+-).

Note that if you union the all the lines for entire drawing and use it can really mess things up because the tool will reduce the number of nodes. This impact can be controller by changing the Inkscape preferences, but I find it's best to keep lines separate where appropriate.

I posted a small example of how I use and together here - viewtopic.php?f=5&t=321&p=2819#p1794

I'm always interested in how others traditionally ink their work. If what I've suggested here doesn't suit your workflow, let us know and there might be other ways Inkscape can help you.

heathenx wrote:I hate steering people away from Inkscape when I know that it's capable of things. However, maybe you would be interested in Pencil (http://www.les-stooges.org/pascal/pencil/).

That program looks really good. I'll definitely have to try it out when I get my PC up and running.

Where would I get an updated Tango Icons for the development version that would include the eraser tool? I tried just pasting the eraser icon from the default icons, but I still end up with a blank area on the toolbar for the eraser.