To process images and create drawings on a computer, raster and vector editors are used, which differ in the way of encoding (format) and presentation of graphic information.
Raster graphic editors
Editors using a point (pixel) representation of a picture are called raster (bitmap, bitmap) for this reason, and they are intended for processing digital photographs or scanned images.
Raster images are essentially a matrix, or grid, usually of rectangular colored dots (pixels) on screens and monitors of display devices or on paper. The main characteristics of such image images are pixel sizes, color depth (bit size), color model / space (CMYK, RGB, YCbCr, XYZ, etc.) and resolution (the number of image points per unit area or length).
The classic examples of a raster editor, of course, are Photoshop's unsurpassed (for now) program and the Microsoft “aksakal” - the Paint editor.
Vector Graphics Editors
To create complex drawings with precise, complex and clear boundaries, they use mainly a vector editor, one of the main tools of which are Bezier curves, which allow you to draw curves (broken lines, straight lines and smooth) in segments with precise placement of nodal (reference) points and control over the shape each segment.
The Bezier curve can be represented as the result of the progressive refinement of the shape of the polygon, built up by a serial connection of shape-determining control points. The curve, heading from the start point of the polygon to its end point, is attracted, like a magnet, to the intermediate, shape-defining reference points through which it itself does not pass.
Due to the special properties, simplicity of the job and the ability to manipulate, Bezier curves are widely used to simulate smooth lines in computer graphics.
In the arsenal of tools that every vector graphics editor possesses, there are always “Fill”, “Text”, “Pencil” and a basic set of geometric shapes (so-called primitives) that form the basis of most graphic designs.
Fill, as in raster editors, paints limited areas with a given color (or gradient).
The text created by the appropriate tool is then converted into curves, ensuring the independence of the created image from fonts that are (or are not) on the computer used to view it.
The pencil allows you to manually form a line using a large number of nodal points, which are then removed using a special function that simplifies the curve.
Strengths and weaknesses of vector graphics
Images that a vector editor allows you to create have a number of significant advantages over bitmap images, the main of which are the following:
- increasing or decreasing vector drawings does not affect the sharpness of borders and contours;
- vector image files, all other things being equal, weigh less;
- vector images not complicated by raster objects use less computer memory than similar raster images;
- vector images are scaled and transformed without loss of quality, because they are built using mathematical descriptions of objects, lines and circles;
- any vector editor allows you to adjust the individual components of the picture without affecting the rest of the image elements, so the picture objects can overlap without interfering with each other;
- In some cases and under certain conditions, a raster image can be converted to a vector image.
As for the shortcomings of the vector representation of graphic information, the main one is associated with the “directness” of the main components of vector drawings, and nature, as you know, avoids straight lines. Therefore, the vector editor "refuses to take orders" to create picturesque, realistic paintings.
Advantages and disadvantages of bitmap images
The main advantages of raster editors are the simplicity and the ability to create photorealistic images, because, thanks to the matrix principle of image construction, each pixel can be given any of millions of shades of color.
The main disadvantages of bitmap graphics are the limited scalability and transformation capabilities without loss of quality, as well as the relatively large weight of files with their excessive dependence on image quality.
Review and comparison of vector editors
Today, designers, artists and ordinary users can not complain about the lack of software resources to realize their creative delights and ideas. This also applies to vector editors, the main criteria for the merits of which are functionality for some and accessibility (paid / free) for others.
Among the free programs, Dia, OpenOffice.org Draw, sK1 (fork of Skencil), Inkscape, Xara Xtreme for Linux, Skencil (formerly Sketch), Sodipodi, Expression Design, Pivot Stickfigure Animator and Alchemy seem to be the most popular ones.
Of these, only the vector image editor sK1 (fork of Skencil) works on Linux, the Xara Xtreme and Skencil programs operate on Linux and OS X, the Expression Design and Pivot Stickfigure Animator editors are designed for Windows, and all the rest are cross-platform.
The most popular and functionally "cool" programs, of course, paid. This list includes the editors Adobe Flash, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe FreeHand (Windows, OS X), as well as CorelDRAW and Xara Designer PRO (Windows).
Who in the world is sweetest
If vector editors asked the mirror about “who is sweetest in the world,” it is possible that, answering: “you are beautiful, no doubt”, the mirror would add: “but the vector editor Coreldraw is sweetest ...”. In any case, a good half of users, including professionals, would agree with this.
The Coreldraw Editor is part of the graphics package, which has been called Coreldraw Graphics Suite since version 10. In addition to Coreldraw, this package includes the graphics editor Corel Photo-Paint (bitmap), a program for converting bitmaps to vector form Corel Trace, animator Corel RAV E and Corel Cupture for transferring images from a computer screen directly to a file or to the Windows clipboard .
The loud fame of the editor Coreldraw owes not only to its amazing functionality, but also to a huge library of ready-made images, as well as a powerful training system and tips built into the program. In addition, the editor has tools that have no analogues with "colleagues."