Adobe Capture vs Inkscape: What Software to Choose?

Graphic designers might face a difficult choice when deciding which software suits their needs best. To make your task easier, I have compared Adobe Capture vs Inkscape and analyzed the key differences between them. Each of these programs can be used for working on images and graphics. They come with extensive sets of tools, however, there are several important differences between them.

Adobe Capture allows you to create various assets from photos that can be used as building blocks of your designs, like color themes, patterns, vector shapes, 3D materials, fonts, or user brushes. Then, you can use these digital assets when working in other Adobe programs or applying various effects to your photos.

Inkscape is a free vector graphic software with a variety of tools for creating and editing graphics. It’s compatible with most platforms and has a range of image editing options.

Adobe Capture includes 4 apps and allows you to access all their features. Similarly to other Adobe products, it can be used if you have a free or paid Creative Cloud subscription. To learn more about this, make sure to read how to use Adobe Capture.

If you don’t know which software is more suitable for working with digital assets, Adobe Capture or Inkscape, keep in mind that the former has 4 main modes for performing such tasks, such as Colors, Shapes, Brushes, and Looks. You will see these tabs at the top of the screen. You can quickly switch between them.

The menu above them allows you to switch between different libraries to organize your assets. Adobe Capture allows you to quickly edit your digital assets, such as color themes, brushes, or looks.

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Creates fonts. You can use Capture to find out what fonts were used in printed designs. To do it, take a photo of a font. Capture will use Adobe Sensei technology to recognize shapes and suggest similar fonts. You can save various font styles to use them in Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, and XD.

Extracts color palettes from a photo. Capture allows you to extract any color or tint from any object. You just need to go to the Color tab and click on the «+» button while pointing your camera towards the object that you want to capture. The program will automatically start to analyze the colors it can capture.

When you are satisfied with the colors, take a photo. You can save extracted colors to your library to use them in other Adobe products.

Allows creating 3D textures. Since this software has many features for designing 3D textures, you can use it to create realistic PBR materials with the help of your camera. When editing your materials, you can enhance textures or blend the edges for seamless repeat tiling when working on your three-dimensional objects.

Streamlined user interface. Capture has an easy-to-navigate user interface, which makes it stand out among other similar software. If you compare Adobe Capture vs Affinity Designer, you will see that the former is more suitable for beginners. There are three main tabs: Properties, Libraries, and Adjustments. Here, you can adjust various settings of your Adobe account as well as find other Adobe programs and download them to your device.

Under the Properties tab, you will see a list of features. You can add various assets to your library or share links to your personal Adobe library with other users.

Easy to work with patterns. Users can create kaleidoscopic or repeating images and save their templates to use them in future projects. To achieve such an effect, you need to upload an image with the sample that you need to use. You will get 3 versions of this image with different colors, shapes, and sizes.

In the Color panel, you can choose between full-color, monochrome, and black-and-white images. The program extracts colors from your source image. You can adjust extracted colors and use them when creating your templates. The Pattern Shape allows you to change the shape of your templates. You can use 5 different shapes, each of which allows you to create a kaleidoscope effect.

Tools for creating digital assets only. Adobe Capture was designed for capturing assets, which is why it lacks a range of tools for editing photos.

Inkscape is a full-fledged graphic design software that can be used as a free alternative to Adobe Illustrator. It comes with a set of powerful tools for creating vector drawings. If you compare Illustrator vs Inkscape, you will see that the former has a more streamlined interface. This cross-platform, open-source software can be edited by any user who wants to improve its functionality.

Inkscape has almost all the advanced features that you might need to work with raster graphics. For instance, the program supports different blending modes. You can use it to draw geometric primitives and add text with various effects. For instance, it lets you create curved text. Just like any other graphic design software, Inkscape enables you to create logos, business cards, websites, icons, and letterheads.

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Simple node editing. Nodes are structures that allow you to see how vector images are created. They are inspired by the logic of math and allow artists and designers to transform vector objects, photos, and graphics.

Creative gradients. When preparing this Adobe Capture vs Inkscape comparison, I found out that the latter supports a range of gradients and has a dedicated tool that allows you to create complex combinations. Here, you will also find such tools as Diagram Connector, 3D Box Sculpt/Paint that are similar to the tools that you can find in Adobe Illustrator.

Text editing features. You can use this free vector graphic software to prepare files for printing. With it, you can create text lines and select different paragraph styles. You can also use it to warp text into the shape of an object and further customize it by selecting a font and size.

An impressive set of tools for working with vector graphics. Inkscape has a set of full-fledged tools with extensive functionality that allow you to create, edit, and transform vectors. Each of them can be adjusted in a separate window, which makes it easier to use this software. The program has a streamlined interface and allows users to create and upload plugins.

Professional filters and effects. Inkscape has a collection that includes 20 filter categories. You can apply the available effects to enhance your photos and give them a unique look.

Incompatible with earlier versions. Backward compatibility sometimes doesn’t work. For instance, you won’t be able to open SVG files created in Inkscape 0.92 and earlier versions in the recent versions of the software.

If you compare Adobe Capture vs Inkscape, you will see that you can use both these programs free of charge. However, Adobe Capture is available only on iOS and Android devices. Inkscape is a more cross-platform solution since it runs under GNU/Linux, Windows, and macOS.

Adobe Capture is a great software that lets you extract fonts and colors from your photo. All the information is saved to the cloud library, which allows you to access it in other Adobe software, like Photoshop and Illustrator. Users can save captured colors or images to their cloud libraries and share them with other users.

Inkscape is a reliable software for drawing vector images that runs under Windows and macOS. Besides, you can use it for solving a variety of tasks, which makes it similar to other software that allows editing raster graphics, such as Photoshop. For instance, you can use it to crop photos, apply standard filters, scale large images, and add text.

After comparing these two programs, you will see that Adobe Capture comes with a set of vector graphic tools whereas Inkscape also has additional options for working with images. Despite its simple interface, Adobe Capture is more suitable for professionals, while Inkscape will be a perfect option for beginners who want to learn how to work with vectors.