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Inkscape is great for technical figures, especially cartoons like the examples shown here. At least in my field, purely conceptual futures are called "cartoons"

by jofer 4y ago

Inkscape is great for technical figures, especially cartoons like the examples shown here. At least in my field, purely conceptual futures are called "cartoons" to distinguish from "figures" which are based on observational data. A former advisor of mine had a quote that I'll happily steal here: "A cartoon is the highest form of scientific communication". Distilling a concept down to a very simple illustration is an underappreciated artform. Inkscape is really great for scientific cartoons. I've used illustrator for many years, as well, and it's more powerful, but lacks something for quick bare-bones sketches compared to inkscape. There are things that illustrator is far better suited for, but these sort of conceptual sketches are kind of a sweet spot for inkscape.

uneekname 4y ago
I saw in your profile that you’re a geologist, and as a geology major about to finish my undergrad I’m particularly interested in how you’ve used Inkscape to create scientific cartoons. I’ve been using Inkscape to complete assignments for my classes, and it’s been an uphill (yet rewarding!) battle. It seems that my professors and peers each have a different program of choice, so I decided to forge my own way with OSS. My contact info can be found in my profile if you prefer.
- jofer 4y ago
  I've used it for figures, posters, etc for many years. For the most part, no one cares too much about what you use, more about the final figure. If you're working so closely with someone that you're sharing raw files (e.g. they're using illustrator and want you to share a .ai file), you're going to hit issues, certainly. However, most work will focus on the end result -- i.e. a paper with static exported figures. At any rate, there's nothing wrong with the proprietary tools either -- they're great. It's just a matter of what you can get access to and what's best for the use case at hand. If it helps to have some examples, pretty much every figure in my dissertation was made with a combination of matplotlib, QGIS, and Inkscape: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/YHJWFVKMNVZGN8S http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/YHJWFVKMNVZGN8S E.g. see fig 2.12 for a cartoon made purely in Inkscape and things like fig 2.4 or 2.6 are a combination of matplotlib and Inkscape.

by jofer 4y ago

uneekname 4y ago

I saw in your profile that you’re a geologist, and as a geology major about to finish my undergrad I’m particularly interested in how you’ve used Inkscape to create scientific cartoons. I’ve been using Inkscape to complete assignments for my classes, and it’s been an uphill (yet rewarding!) battle. It seems that my professors and peers each have a different program of choice, so I decided to forge my own way with OSS. My contact info can be found in my profile if you prefer.

jofer 4y ago
I've used it for figures, posters, etc for many years. For the most part, no one cares too much about what you use, more about the final figure. If you're working so closely with someone that you're sharing raw files (e.g. they're using illustrator and want you to share a .ai file), you're going to hit issues, certainly. However, most work will focus on the end result -- i.e. a paper with static exported figures. At any rate, there's nothing wrong with the proprietary tools either -- they're great. It's just a matter of what you can get access to and what's best for the use case at hand. If it helps to have some examples, pretty much every figure in my dissertation was made with a combination of matplotlib, QGIS, and Inkscape: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/YHJWFVKMNVZGN8S http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/YHJWFVKMNVZGN8S E.g. see fig 2.12 for a cartoon made purely in Inkscape and things like fig 2.4 or 2.6 are a combination of matplotlib and Inkscape.