Tech. Drawing tool?

[PersistentDigger]

Any suggestions for a lightweight (=inexpensive) programme ?

Occasionally, I need an exact geometric line-drawing for my texture creation  - so it is useful to import that as a layer in Gimp.

I must emphasise that I do not need it in any professional capacity; it is just for my SL doodlings. So, I am not about to buy AutoCad !!

( I used to have one called VectorEngineer Pro-Tools, but it got lost on a defunct PC.)

Thanks in advance ....

 

[namssab1nad Piers]

It is possible to draw geometric shapes in GIMP if you look at all the tools available.  It is not easy at first though.  Knowing a little geometry helps.  Sketchp is a good program also.  It is 3D drawing program but 2D geometric shapes are possible if you look at the different views available.  You can export the image into a few different formats that are importable into GIMP.  Best of all; there is a free version.  It is also very user friendly.

[Kwakkelde Kwak]

You could try LibreCAD. It's free en completely open source.

Sketchup is not the tool you want for the job, since even if it's for your "personal doodlings", you're not allowed to use their free version (Sketchup Make) for any commercial endeavours. The Second Life TOS demand you to have full rights over your creations, which you simply won't have using Sketchup Make.

From the Trimble TOS:

Trimble Navigation Limited and/or its affiliates ("Trimble") gives you a personal, worldwide, royalty-free, non-assignable and non-exclusive license to use the executable version of the Software for non-commercial use only. Non-commercial use means: you may not sell, rent, lease or lend the output of the Software or the Services. If you are a for-profit organization of any kind, or an employee of a for-profit organization using the Software or Services in that capacity, you are engaged in commercial activity; therefore, in order to use the Software and Services, you must purchase a SketchUp Pro license.

[PersistentDigger]

Hey thanks for replying.

With regard to geometric drawing in Gimp, the only thing I ever could manage was the Shft-clicking thing to get a straight line and watch the cursor numbers - a cumbersome technique. I assume you know better ways to use Gimp for this type of drawing. (Any tips would be welcome!)

I have not tried SketchUp - was (probably unfairly) ill-disposed towards it due to comments from an RL offline acquaintance.

[PersistentDigger]

I followed your link for LibreCAD. 

I know from past experience of "free" software that often they are in effect demo versions. They might work nicely in their own right, but it is using their file format that can be problematic.

Anyway, on the LibreCAD Users Manual, it states this:-

So, I am assuming I should be able to export = import to Gimp.

I just need to download it and test, I suppose.

Thanks for the info.

[Nefertiti Nefarious]

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PersistentDigger wrote:

Any suggestions for a lightweight (=inexpensive) programme ?

Occasionally, I need an exact geometric line-drawing for my texture creation  - so it is useful to import that as a layer

in Gimp.

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If you mean porecise squares and rectangl;es and such, I use any other vector drawing program ... even PowerPoint can draw constrained squares and circles

 

InkScape, free and fun, also works.

[Kwakkelde Kwak]

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PersistentDigger wrote:

I followed your link for LibreCAD. 

I know from past experience of "free" software that often they are in effect demo versions. They might work nicely in their own right, but it is using their file format that can be problematic.

---

LibreCAD isn't a demo, it's completely free. The dxf format is an autodesk format, but it's only used internally. If I want to extract a picture from AutoCAD, I use a virtual pdf printer and import the print into GIMP (Yes I do use free software myself:) ) My best guess is that would also work just fine in LibreCAD. (I use PDFCreator for a couple of years now, but there are plenty around on the internet, for example CutePDF)

Anyway, as you said yourself, just download LibreCAD and try it. I haven't done so myself but it looks like a promising alternative to AutoCAD if you don't need all the functions and don't want to spend any/a lot of money.

[Scooter Hollow]

You can continue to use Sketchup 8 for commercial purposes, which is the last version from before the TOS change. Last I checked it could do pretty much all the same stuff, except open Warehouse models made in the latest version (which seems to be a small amount).

[Kwakkelde Kwak]

If you already have it, I suppose. I can't find the old terms of use, but from what I read you were at some point allowed to use Sketchup for commercial purposes. I don't know if there are legal ways to obtain such an old version though. The answer to that would be in the terms of use as well.

More importantly, I don't think sketchup is the program to use if you want to make geometrical 2D images.

[Scooter Hollow]

I just checked, and they still have 8 for download up until May 20th. There's plenty of other places to download it though, CNet goes back to SketchUp 3. Just fyi.

[Kwakkelde Kwak]

Not to be nitpicking, but since Sketchup changed owner a couple of times, I can imagine the 3rd party sites aren't allowed to offer it. If Trimble offers Sketchup 8, that's not an issue of course.

Again, it doesn't seem to sound like a very good tool for the job.