raven-hd

Aviary has just released Raven—the first online vector editor.

Raven lets you create, edit and save vector images online for free.

With Raven, you can create and edit:

  • Logos
  • Shirt designs
  • Icons
  • Print-ready graphics

Raven’s User Interface

raven-tools-screenIf you’ve used any of Aviary’s other online graphics tools, you’ll be pretty much familiar with the user interface in Raven. Raven features a very stripped-down interface with simple controls and tools.

If you have any experience with other vector editors like Illustrator or Inkscape, you’ll have little trouble creating something in a short time with Raven.

Raven’s basic UI contains: Toolset on the left side of the screen, Layers panel on the right, Fill and Stroke/Style panel also on the right and a Menu bar, undo/redo and zoom controls along the top.

There are some things that don’t quite work the way you expect (I couldn’t get alpha transparency in the Layers panel to work) and there’s the occasional glitch. I’m sure those will be ironed out soon though.

File Formats

Raven uses SVGs (Scalable Vector Graphics) as its main file format, similar to Inkscape. In Raven, you can import and export a file as SVG (or BMP – export only). You can come back and edit previously created SVGs as well.

You can import SVGs from a URL or from your computer. It doesn’t support all the options that some vector editors support (such as certain alpha transparencies and gradients), but it does a decent job of importing the shapes, paths and basic colors.

Layers

What would a vector graphics editor be without the ability to create layers? Raven allows you to create layers and groups of layers just as you would when working in Illustrator or Inkscape.

Paths and Curves

raven-edit-paths-screen
Editing paths on a logo in SVG format with Raven

Raven supports paths and Bezier curves. Layers in imported files are honored and display as well.

However, I found that while the Bezier and lines tool works as you would expect, its response and the results you get when using it leave a bit to be desired.

My first few attempts at creating paths met with mixed results. You may have to go back and smooth out some of your curves a bit more than usual after you’ve made your curves.

Working With Gradients

Working with gradients is simple in Raven and you’ll be creating gradients and editing them in no time. Adjusting direction and colors is very easy, fast and intuitive.

Seeing is Believing

Vector Showcase

Aviary’s blog post about Raven showcases some nice vector artwork created in Raven.

You can also check out the over 1,000 vector images created by Raven users already.

Demo Video

Here’s a video showing the creation of some sweet Aviary eggs. Enjoy!


Aviary vector icons from mpeutz on Vimeo.

Conclusion

Raven is a promising online vector editor. It’s certainly worth taking for a test drive.

Also check out the vector graphics work that others have created with Raven already.

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