Inscape is a fantastic open source vector graphics tool which can be a nice alternative to Adobe’s Illustrator.

Getting it to run on the Mac took a couple of extra steps though.

Firstly the download page advises that you upgrade X11.app to at least XQuartz v2.1.4. This is a large-ish download which forces you to quit all applications as it needs to restart your system after installing.

The next problem was that after a restart, Inkscape displays a message saying that the first time it runs it may take a while to load as it needs to caches fonts. The issue is however that it never loads

A quick google later found the solution from Kuneri Bloggy.

Simply open up a terminal window and create a .fontconfig file in your home directory:

All good now