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Show HN: Graphite, a Blender-inspired 2D procedural design Rust app

(graphite.rs)
783 points Keavon | 3 comments | 15 Oct 24 22:32 UTC | HN request time: 0.018s | source

For the past three years I've been building what I hope will be the next Blender, tackling the lack of any good 2D design or image editing tools outside the Adobe monopoly. This was our first year participating in Google Summer of Code and this Q3 update includes the big payoff from that, covering the most progress we've made so far as a project. If you're a Rust dev, consider getting involved as we apply for the next GSoC in the new year— you could be our intern next summer :)

Q3 progress report: https://graphite.rs/blog/graphite-progress-report-q3-2024/

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mightyham ◴[16 Oct 24 00:13 UTC] No.41854391[source]▶
Congrats on releasing such a complex tool, that's a big achievement.

Someday, I'd like to try my hand at making my own vector graphics tool that contains a constraint solver. I am just an amateur when it comes to graphic design, but I often find Inkscape incredibly difficult to use. Certain shapes take bizarre combinations of commands to create and once a design is finished it can be hard to make adjustments. I find it much easier to make 2D designs as a fusion 360 sketches because constraining a bunch of lines and curves then playing with measurements is significantly more intuitive and interactive. Also maybe a tool like this already exists and I'm just not aware of it.

replies(2): >>41854442 #>>41858229 #
1. WillAdams ◴[16 Oct 24 12:20 UTC] No.41858229[source]▶
The closest thing would be Solvespace --- might want to look at Dune3D.
replies(1): >>41860738 #
2. mightyham ◴[16 Oct 24 16:05 UTC] No.41860738[source]▶
Those are both 3D CAD programs though, and almost all CAD software supports 2D parametric sketching. I mostly just find strange though that such a ubiquitous feature in CAD, which allows for fast creation and manipulation of 2D shapes, is missing from every vector graphics tool I've used.
replies(1): >>41860836 #
3. WillAdams ◴[16 Oct 24 16:13 UTC] No.41860836[source]▶
Yeah, it would be interesting to see the Solvespace solver ported to Inkscape as it was to Blender as CADsketcher.