For example, a bicycle tire in a vector graphic is made up of a mathematical definition of a circle drawn with a certain radius, set at a specific location, and filled with a specific color.

Vectors describe an image according to its geometric characteristics. Vector graphics Vector graphics are made up of lines and curves defined by mathematical objects called vectors. What does vector-based mean Well, unlike digital images which are made up of (usually) millions of tiny squares known as pixels, vector shapes are made. Example of a bitmap image at different levels of magnification As a result, they can lose detail and appear jagged if they are scaled on-screen or if they are printed at a lower resolution than they were created for. Bitmap images are resolution-dependent-that is, they contain a fixed number of pixels. And third, the image should be a vector file, not a raster file. Second, the image should be in CMYK mode, not RGB. When working with bitmap images, you edit pixels rather than objects or shapes.īitmap images are the most common electronic medium for continuous-tone images, such as photographs or digital paintings, because they can represent subtle gradations of shades and color. First, the image needs to be high resolution, at least 300 dpi. For example, a bicycle tire in a bitmap image is made up of a mosaic of pixels in that location. You can draw vector shapes and paths in your Photoshop images and add. Each pixel is assigned a specific location and color value. Unlike bitmap images, vector images retain their crisp edges at any enlargement. Understanding the difference between the two categories helps as you create, edit, and import artwork.īitmap images Bitmap images-technically called raster images-use a grid of colors known as pixels to represent images. You can work with both types of graphics in Photoshop and ImageReady moreover, a Photoshop file can contain both bitmap and vector data. Computer graphics fall into two main categories-bitmap and vector.

Vectorize images in photoshop