The free alternative to Freehand, Illustrator, and CorelDraw goes by the name of Inkscape, an open-source, multiplatform vector graphics editor that uses the W3C standard format, SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics).
Inkscape includes tools that enable you to draw Bezier curves, freehand shapes and lines with calligraphy effect; insert polygons, stars, circumferences, ellipses, squares, rectangles, text...
It's also possible to color your creations using gradients, modify the nodes of any figures, and make use of various layers as you compose a scene. Inkscape can work with the following formats: Postscript, EPS, JPEG, PNG, and TIFF.
