Creating Vector Graphics: Inkscape and Adobe Illustrator

You have so far created a range of bitmap / raster graphics but we have not looked at vectors in depth. This task introduces you to vectors and their uses and allows you to change between vector and bitmap and also create your own vectors.

Part 1: Adobe Illustrator

Go onto the internet and find two high resolution images (use Google and the search function on it). Save these as PNGs or JPGs.

Open Adobe Illustrator (in the start menu)

Open one of your images in Illustrator and zoom in - you should see the pixels that make up the image as it is currently a raster / bitmap file. Take a 'snip' of the pixelated image and save the image.

Resize the image so that it fits within the white frame / page and then go to 'Object'> 'Image Trace'> 'Make' - this will take a minute or so.

Once the image has been 'traced', change the 'Preset' from [Default] to 'High Fidelity Photo'. This may take a couple of minutes.

Zoom into the image now it has been changed to a vector - what has happened to the image and also the quality of it once zoomed in?

'Snip' the zoomed in vector and save the file.

Repeat this process for the second image.

Create a new blog post and, for each image, upload and caption;

• the original raster / bitmap image
• the zoomed in bitmap image
• the zoomed in vector image (you will need to save this as a bitmap first)

Write a short summary at the end of the post; say what the task was, what you learned and what the end result was. Be sure to say why the bitmap image is useful and why a vector image is useful.

Part 2: Inkscape

Using Inkscape, have a go at creating a new logo for the college website or for your website for Unit 03 and 05. The purpose of this task is to create a new vector rather than generating one from an existing bitmap file.

Here is a handy link to some tutorials for Inkscape.