LinuxPlanet: Inkscape Tutorial
If you are looking for open source graphics programs to replace the big boys — Macromedia Freehand and Adobe Illustrator — then check out this article at LinuxPlanet called Inkscape: Vector Graphics For Linux - Raster vs. Vector. The tutorial will introduce you to a program called Inkscape, an excellent up-and-coming vector based drawing program.
I have used Inkscape on both Windows and Linux to work with SVG images. Some UML programs only export their images in the svg file format and Inkscape is one of the best programs out there for opening them.
Need a brief description of inkscape. Hope this will do the job.
Hans
Take a look at http://foreach.awardspace.com/random/inkscape-one.html
Its an illustration with Inkscape tutorial.