2.02 Vector Graphics

Objects

any shape, image, or text that can be moved, scaled, or edited.

Artboard

the area that contains the printable part of your artwork.

Creating Lines

Lines - an open ended path with two anchor points, which included straight, beziers, and spirals. Anchor point - basic component of paths, which appear at the start and end of every path or where it changes direction. Line segment - part of a line that has an anchor point one each end. Path - made up of one or more line segments, connected by two or more anchor points or nodes. Open path - one or more paths for which the start point and end point are not the same, for example a straight or curved line. Closed path - a continuous path that has no beginning or end, for example a circle or rectangle.

Common Vector File Formats

• AI - Adobe Illustrator • Native file format for Adobe Illustrator. • Industry standard used by developers of vector graphics. • Used to create, save, and archive original artwork. • EPS - Encapsulated Postscript • Developed by Adobe but supported by most programs. • Graphics developers generally save a copy of the AI file in EPS format because it can be opened by computers running different operating systems. • Most common interchange format for the print industry due to its portability. • Meta Graphic - can contain both raster and vector data. • Shapes in vector graphics can be filled with textures and patterns that are raster graphics. • SVG - Scalable Vector Graphics • Standard format created by W3C. • Versatile, all-purpose vector format. • Works well with web page design. • WMF - Windows Metafile • Microsoft created format for raster and vector. • Common format for windows clipart.

Vector Graphics

• Graphics that are based on mathematical formulas that define lines, shapes, and curves. • Are comprised of paths connected by anchor points. • Can be 2D or 3D. • Edited in draw programs.

Uses of Vector Graphics

• Graphics that will be scaled (or resized) • Architectural drawings, CAD programs, flow charts. • Logos that will be scaled (resized) with loss of quality. • Illustrations and clip art. • Graphics on websites. • Small file size allows for quick load times. • Fonts and specialized text effects

Disadvantages of Vectors

• Lower color quality than raster images. • They do not support as many colors. • Not good for photographic images. • Limited in the type of effects that can be applied. • Can be time consuming to create.

Type

• Point Type - a line of text that begins at the point that you click, which expands as you type. The type will not automatically wrap to the next line, you must use enter. • Area Type - uses the boundaries of an area created by dragging a marquee with the type tool to control the flow of text. When text gets to the end of the boundary, it automatically wraps to the next line. • Type on Path - allows you to attach text to an open or closed path. • Text Wrap - controls how area text flows over or around objects and images.

Advantages of Vectors

• Scalable - able to change size easily • Resolution Independent - Regardless of how much the image is enlarged or reduced, the image definition and quality remain the same. • Edit ability - since each vector is made up of separate and distinct objects, each can be edited independently at any time. • Small File Sizes - easily transferred over the Internet.

Selecting Objects

• Selection tool - selects an object or a group of objects. ▫ Allows you to transform the object. • Direction Selection tool - selects individual anchor points or line segments in order to edit individual pieces of an object. • You can move the anchor points or line segments in any direction.

Creating Shapes

• Shapes - geometric based tools that allow you to create primitive shapes, such as rectangles, ellipses, and polygons. •Transformations - scaling, rotation, shearing (skewing), and reflecting (flipping) objects to change their appearance.

Aligning and Arranging

• Smart Guides - guides that appear as you move around a document indicating various points of alignment with existing objects. For example, you can use smart guides to align objects with the edges or center point of other objects. • Stacking Order - the order of how objects are arranged on the artboard, in front of or behind each other. By default new objects are created at the front of the stacking order.

Colors and Fills

• Stroke - the visible outline of a shape or path, such as the color, weight, or style, which is not the same as a path as a path can have no stroke as an option. • Fill - to put a color, gradient, or pattern into an object. • Swatches - named colors tints, gradients, and patterns. • Gradients - filling an object with a smooth transition from one color to another. • Patterns - a repeated (tiled) decorative design.

Effects

• Vector Effects - commands that can be applied to an object, group, or layer to change its characteristics, such as distort and transform, warp, and stylize.

Drawing

▫ Drawing - using shapes or other tools such as the pen or pencil to simulate the experience of drawing on paper. Pen tool - it uses anchor points and paths to allow you to create straight lines, Bezier lines (curved), and shapes in a countless amount of combinations. Considered one of the most powerful tools in graphic design. Bezier - a curved segment of a path which uses handles to control the shape of the curve.

Tracing

▫ Image Trace - a tool in a vector program will take a raster image or scanned drawing and automatically convert it to paths, based on selected settings.

The Pathfinder

▫ Pathfinder - a tool that contains four shape options and six pathfinder options that allow you combine multiple objects in a variety to way to create complex shapes. Some options include: Unite - combines all selected shapes into one shape. Minus Front - subtracts the top shape from the bottom most shape. Minus Back - subtracts the bottom shape from the top shape. Divide - separates the selected shapes in individual parts.