Digital Graphics
File Formats
George West
Vector Graphics
Give a definition of Vector Graphics
Vector Graphics are made up of
Vectors/Paths.
Vector graphics is the creation of digital
images through a sequence of commands
or mathematical statements that place lines
and shapes in a given two-dimensional or
three-dimensional space. In physics, a
vector is a representation of both a quantity
and a direction at the same time.
Raster Graphics
Give a definition of Raster Graphics
Raster Graphics are made up of
Bitmaps.
A Raster Graphics image is a dot
matrix data structure, representing a
generally rectangular grid of pixels,
or points of color, viewable via a
monitor, paper, or other display
medium. Raster images are stored
in image files with varying formats.
Raster Graphics
JPEG
Stands For
Used For/Example
Advantage
Disadvantage
Joint Photographic Experts
Group
JPEG files are most commonly
used for photographs and web
formats. Facebook saves uploaded
images in JPEG format.
JPEG files are very small.
JPEG files are suitable for full
colour realistic images. These
images have a lot of colour and
contrast transitions.
The image is compressed when
saved. Every time the image is
saved after editing it will be
recompressed. This means that
less pixels will be saved each time
and as a result the image will
appear to lose quality over time.
TIFF
Stands For
Tagged Image File Format
Used For/Example
TIFFs are most commonly used
for desktop publishing. Adobe
InDesign documents are often
saved as TIFFs
Advantage
TIFF file doesnt lose any quality
due to compression.
TIFF files can save multi-page
documents to a single TIFF file.
Disadvantage
TIFF files are very big.
TIFF files are not commonly
supported by most websites for. A
TIFF is also a specialist file which
mans it requires certain
programmes to open the
document, unlike JPEG files which
can be opened almost anywhere.
GIF
Stands For
Used For/Example
Advantage
Disadvantage
Graphic Interchangeable
Format
Used for short digital animations.
A GIF is series of images on loop
which creates the appearance of a
video.
GIF files are very small, meaning
they can be loaded quickly and
play at a good quality.
They can help demonstrate a
point better then a still image.
E.g. A tutorial website.
GIFs have a limited colour palette
so they can have the look of
poorer quality compared to a still
image.
GIF files cannot be edited after the
file has been coded into the GIF
file
BMP
Stands For
Bitmap File
Used For/Example
Bitmaps are a graphic made up of
pixels. Each pixel/bit records the
colour information of that section
of the image.
Advantage
Bitmap files save images which
are high quality as they have no
loss from compression when they
are saved.
Disadvantage
Bitmapped images have a fixed
resolution which means resizing
can result in distortion.
Bitmap files are very large.
Vector Graphics
PSD
Stands For
Photo Shop Document
Used For/Example
Front cover images for magazines.
PSD files are used for image
manipulation and magazine front
cover images.
Advantage
Saves layers, page formatting
information, swatches etc.
PSD supports transparency so
images can be saved without a
background. Also, since PSD can
save layers, this makes it easy to
go back and edit the file later on if
needs be.
Disadvantage
PSD files are extremely large.
Very few programmes other then
Photoshop understand PSD. So
this makes it difficult to transfer
files into to other programmes.
AI
Stands For
Adobe Illustrator
Used For/Example
AI is used to create graphics which
can represent a company, such as
a logo.
Advantage
Can be scaled big and small as
Vectors have no loss in definition.
Most advanced vector format
available.
Disadvantage
Newer versions may have
compatibility issues.
Cant view anything but illustrator.
FLA
Stands For
Used For/Example
Flash File
Flash files are used to create
animation and games
Advantage
Flash files are high quality, but
they can only have small file size,
which makes them good for the
web as they wont take long to
load.
Can include sound and video.
Disadvantage
Most mobile devices do not
support flash.
Flash files take a long time to
load.
A limited amount of software can
open a flash files as it is a
specialist file.
WMF
Stands For
Used For/Example
Windows Mega
Similar to AI files, WMF files are
used for logos and company
graphics. WMF is a windows
format used mainly for clipart.
Advantage
Can be scaled big and small as
Vectors have no loss in definition.
Windows Mega files can contain
both vector and bitmap
components.
Disadvantage
A WMF is only available on
windows platforms so they can
only be generated on these. Very
large file size.
File Format
Capture and
Optimising
Compression
Definition
Advantage
Disadvantage
file compression is a data
compression method, in which the
file size is reduced to save storage
space. Once the file is reduced in
size it makes it easier to send the
file over internet.
Files take up less space so you
have more storage space.
If a file takes up less space to
save then the cost of storing the
file is reduced.
The compression program will use
up some of the computer's
memory, leaving less available for
other programs.
Image Capture
Method
Scanner
How is it used for image
capture of graphics
A scanner is a device that scans
text, images, handwriting, or an
object. It then transforms it into a
digital image.
Method
Camera
How is it used for image
capture of graphics
A digital camera is a camera that
takes video and photographs
digitally by recording images by
using an image sensor.
Method
Graphics Tablet
How is it used for image
capture of graphics
A graphics tabletis a device that
you plug into the computer which
enables you tohand draw images.
Optimising
Why would you optimise?
How can you optimise?
Advantage to optimising
Disadvantage to optimising
You would optimise an image to
make it better quality which is
useful for websites to appear
more professional.
To optimise an image you need to
download optimising software
such as; ImageOptimfor OS X
orFileOptimizer
Optimising an image makes it
much more clear and of a high
quality.
Optimising an image means it can
no longer be edited after the
optimisation process.
Storage
File Size
What could affect a Working
Scale (Photoshop) document
file size?
The file format could affect the file
size. Colour bit depth and the
number of layers in an image
could also affect the file size.
How could you reduce the file
size of a Working Scale
document without affecting
quality?
To do this you will need to change
the image settings in Photoshop
form the default to bicubic
sharpener. Then change the
width and height of the image to
your preferred size.
What is an advantage of
scaling up images before
exporting?
A advantage of downscaling an
image before exporting would be
that it would then be a smaller
file, therefore it is quicker and
easier to export.
What is a disadvantage of
scaling up images before
exporting?
A disadvantage of dowwnscaling
an image before exporting would
be that it could loose some of the
File Naming Conventions
What naming conventions
could you use when creating
your video game assets?
I would name my assets the thing
that they corresponds to. E.g.
The assets I the game that are
responsible for the games
characters would be called the
name of the games characters.
Why is it a good idea to
accurately name your assets?
So that all assets are organised
and this makes sorting through
the assets much easier.
Asset Management
Why would you use folders
when storing your assets?
Folders are a great way of storing
any data in and organised way, so
the same goes for storing assets.
It makes it easier to manage the
assets.
What folders would you create I would create different folders for
and what would you save
different assets. I would place
within them
the correct asset in the correct
folder for it.
