A short list of important terms. Please add these terms to your notes and plan to incorporate them in future class sessions.
Raster Image – In computer graphics, a raster graphics or bitmap image is a dot matrix data structure that represents a generally rectangular grid of pixels (points of color), viewable via a monitor, paper, or other display medium. Raster images are stored in image files with varying formats.
Vector Image – Artwork made up of points, lines, and curves that are based upon mathematical equations, rather than a solid colored square pixels. This means that no matter how large or small or how close you zoom in on the image, the lines, curves, and points remain smooth.
RGB – RGB (Red, Green, Blue) color profiles are formed through an additive process. They are used primarily on computer screens and the web. RGB colors are made through light, which can have any intensity, so as a result they can make up a very broad range of colors. When you look at various colors on your computer screen, you’ll see they are based off of the RGB hues red, green, and blue. RGB primary colors at full intensity are white, while at the lowest intensity they’re black.
CMYK – The CMYK color profile contains Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Key (Black) that combine to produce a range of hues. This four-color process works for any type of printer. When zoomed in on printed images you can see the four-color dots that layer to create different hues and gradations. Dots per inch result from printing and involve the CMYK color profiles. Although all printers produce prints in CMYK, the end result may vary among different styles and models of printers. CMYK is a subtractive process where we add more color to create darker colors on a ‘white’ surface.
Adobe Illustrator Artboard – Artboards are a unique and powerful feature of Adobe Illustrator. The artboard works just like a piece of paper would on a physical desk. For example, if you were creating a collage, you could put elements you are not currently using on your desk outside of the bounds of the paper.
Paint Elevation – Front elevation view of the set pieces, but they are drawn on watercolor board and painted to show not only the colors but also the painting techniques that will be used in finishing the set. They are renderings that the scenic artists and paint crew use when painting the scenery. Paint Elevations are often done by hand, but through advances in design and illustration software, some designers have started producing Paint Elevations digitally that can be printed for use in the paint shop.
Tabloid – Tabloid format measures 432 x 279 mm or 17 x 11 inches. Its printable area is obviously reduced after observing the margins applied by printers.
LED – a light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits light when an electric current is passed through it. Light is produced when the particles that carry the current (known as electrons and holes) combine together within the semiconductor material.
Pixels – A minute (tiny) area of illumination on a display screen, one of many from which an image is composed.
Path – is the black line that appears when you draw a line in Adobe Illustrator. A path is made up of a series of points called “anchor points” and line segments between these points. The anchor points on either end of a path have “control handles” and these can be used to control the direction of the curved path.
BitMaps – A grid where each individual square is a pixel that contains color information. The key characteristics are the number of pixels (or squares in the grid), and the amount of information in each grid square (pixel).
JPEG – JPEG is a commonly used method of lossy compression for digital images, particularly for those images produced by digital photography. The degree of compression can be adjusted, allowing a selectable trade-off between storage size and image quality.
GIF – The Graphics Interchange Format is a bitmap image format that was developed by a team at the online services provider CompuServe. Often used for short animation.
PSD – is a layered image file used in Adobe PhotoShop. PSD, which stands for Photoshop Document, is the default format that Photoshop uses for saving data. PSD is a proprietary file that allows the user to work with the images’ individual layers even after the file has been saved.
EPS – EPS files are often used to save artwork, such as logos and drawings. They are a common format used for transferring image data between different operating systems. The files are supported by several different drawing programs and vector graphic editing applications. You can convert EPS files to standard bitmap formats such as .PDF, .JPG, .PNG, and .TIFF using programs such as Illustrator, Photoshop, and CorelDRAW. EPS means Encapsulated PostScript Encapsulated PostScript.
SVG – Scalable Vector Graphics is an Extensible Markup Language-based vector image format for 2-D graphics with support for interactivity and animation.
DWF – Design Web Format is a secure file format developed by Autodesk for the efficient distribution and communication of rich design data to anyone who needs to view, review, or print design files.
AI – Adobe Illustrator Artwork is a proprietary file format developed by Adobe Systems for representing single-page vector-based drawings.
Lossless Compression – is a class of data compression algorithms that allows the original data to be perfectly reconstructed from the compressed data. By contrast, lossy compression permits reconstruction only of an approximation of the original data, though usually with greatly improved compression rates
PNG – Portable Network Graphics is a raster-graphics file format that supports lossless data compression.
Continued Learning Opportunity: Transform a JPEG image into a Vector image in Photoshop
Return to the main page of this Teaching Demo by clicking here: SCAD Teaching Demo 5/14/2020
Visit the Raster Vs. Vector expanded discussion of this Teaching Demo by clicking here: SCAD Teaching Demo – Raster Vs. Vector Images