“Sketch is a vector drawing program, which is to say it
represents a figure, a circle for example, by a mathematical
formula, whereas a program such as The Gimp, a bitmap editor, uses
points (pixels). The advantages of a vectorial representation over
a bitmap are that files will be smaller and the drawing can be
enlarged significantly without differences in rendering
(pixellisation) like those you can get with a bitmap image.
You cannot represent a photo in vector mode, but it is possible to
integrate bitmap images within Sketch (eps, jpg, gif, tiff, …)
and import and open other formats (xfig, illustrator, corel, …).
Without difficulty, I’ve opened and modified drawings created with
Illustrator 6 on a Mac and Illustrator 7 on a PC. Sketch can also
save in Illustrator format (.ai). This article reviews the
principle tools of Sketch, details the creation of a drawing of a
floppy disk, and explains some “special” effects worthy of the big
shots of vector drawing.”
“We often compare Gimp to photoshop (it compares favourably),
and I can’t help thinking that Sketch will be the Gimp of drawing
programs, and that it will be the equal of Illustrator, Freehand,
or Corel Draw… eventually.”