Historically, one of the names of vector editors was vector drawing—or even simply drawing—applications. Bitmap editors, on the other hand, are sometimes called paint programs. The difference between drawing and painting, established in traditional media (such as paper and canvas), is thus carried on into the digital realm. Even though vector programs are now used—perhaps even preferentially—for more high-level tasks such as composition and layout, “simply drawing” is still the most basic application of this kind of tool.
It is true that vector drawings can never be as naturalistic and “painterly” as bitmaps; even the best vector art has that recognizable smooth, computer-generated look. Often, however, this look is not a problem; it can even be an advantage. Also, vector editors have something that no bitmap editors can match: the ability to treat each stroke as a separate object that never merges or “flattens” into others (unless you tell it to). As it turns out, this infinite tweakability is sometimes more important for producing a good freehand drawing than the ability to imitate pastel strokes or wet-on-wet watercolor.
Inkscape has three major drawing tools to choose from, depending on the type of art you want to create. If you need strict geometric or Bézier-shaped paths with precise placement of nodes, use the Pen tool (14.1 The Pen Tool). For freehand paths, smoothed to some degree, use the Pencil tool (14.2 The Pencil Tool). Finally, for complex, naturalistic, pressure-sensitive filled strokes imitating various physical effects such as trembling or inertia, use the Calligraphic pen (14.3 The Calligraphic Pen Tool). We will also discuss the Paint bucket tool (14.4 The Paint Bucket Tool) for filling bounded areas, most often used in cartoons and freehand drawings.
