Digital Graphics File Formats

Jordan Beeston

Raster Graphics

• Give a definition of Raster Graphics– Raster Graphics are images that are made up of

bitmaps, bitmaps are images that are made up of pixels, every pixel/bit stores colour information of that section of the image, bitmapped images have a fixed resolution; this means that the images have a fixed resolution and are prone to distortion when resizing the images.

Vector Graphics

• Give a definition of Vector Graphics– Vector images are made up of vectors(also known as

paths and stroke) a vector is a path between two different points, where the data in between the points can be curves, points and angles, using the data the image can make up a variety of shapes. Having this flexibility means that vectors can be scaled big and small as vectors lose no definition, this makes them perfect for use in companies as they can be blow up or scaled down to fit any form of visual promotion.

Raster Graphics

JPEGStands For Joint Photographic Experts Group

Used For/Example Photographs and web formats.

Advantage They are the most commonly used form of file type when working with images, so it makes them very universally easy to edit and categorise.

Disadvantage When compressed the image can lose quality due to compression and recompression each time the image is manipulated then saved.

TIFFStands For Tagged Image File Format

Used For/Example Desktop publishing

Advantage Can store multi page documents to one file, they also have the option of lossless compression, which means that when the file is edited and saved, the image doesn’t lose any quality due to compression.

Disadvantage The file type is very large, so takes more space to store.

GIFStands For Graphics Interchange Format

Used For/Example Short digital animations, looping small portions of video.

Advantage Low file size, easy to distribute, easy to create.

Disadvantage Often have low quality due to a low colour profile, which can lower the image quality. The image cannot be edited once created.

BMPStands For Bitmap Image File

Used For/Example Used for storing images like jpeg, but more often than not used for creating small drawings like in paint.net or other basic editing tools.

Advantage No loss of data when the image is compressed

Disadvantage Has a large file size.

Vector Graphics

PSDStands For Photoshop document

Used For/Example Image ManipulationCreating magazine covers,

Advantage Saves all of the changes you made to an image such as layers, page formatting info swatches etc.

Disadvantage Large file size, most outlets wont support this image due to the file size, and the compatibility issues.

AIStands For Adobe Illustrator Art

Used For/Example Creation of logos and general digital artistry.

Advantage As the file type is a vector they can be scaled larger and smaller due to lot losing any definition when compressed.

Disadvantage Large file size

FLAStands For Flash Files

Used For/Example Creating animation and small games.

Advantage Can produce high quality files with a small file size, can used sound.

Disadvantage Can have some compatibility issues on some devices.

WMFStands For Windows Metafile

Used For/Example Can be used for logos

Advantage Can be rescaled due to no loss when compressed, vector and bitmap components

Disadvantage Can have some issues with compatibility on other devices and are often low quality, hardly any programs allow you to edit the images.

File Format Capture and Optimising

CompressionDefinition Lossy compression is a way of reducing

the file size or an image by altering the amount of data/information that is saved.

Advantage Makes the file size smaller, so it is easier to distribute and store

Disadvantage Limits the quality of the image, as they become pixelated and the colour is reduced when the data is removed.

Image CaptureMethod Scanner

How is it used for image capture of graphics

Used to turn analogue images into digital images.

Method CameraHow is it used for image capture of

graphicsTaking pictures.

Method Graphics TabletHow is it used for image capture of

graphicsA device that lets you draw your images with a mouse in the style of a pen, allowing you to use all the features of your chosen program while drawing.

OptimisingWhy would you optimise? To make the image more accessible to a

wider audience

How can you optimise? By making your images no larger than 500 pixels wide, reducing bit depth, reducing resolution and compressing the image.

Advantage to optimising Makes the image size smaller allowing the image to be quick to download and store.

Disadvantage to optimising Reduces the quality of the data in the file, making the image lower in visual quality.

Storage

File SizeWhat could affect a Working Scale (Photoshop) document file size?

Size of the canvas, resolution, amount of information

How could you reduce the file size of a Working Scale document without

affecting quality?

Reducing the size of the canvas

What is an advantage of scaling up images before exporting?

It makes the image easier to resize after exporting.

What is a disadvantage of scaling up images before exporting?

It makes the file size smaller.

File Naming ConventionsWhat naming conventions could you use when creating your video game assets?

You could use the name of the entity and the characteristic of the entity and the number of necessary edits to the characteristic for example if you were editing the nose of a character you could use something like ‘nose_Character1[2]’ to show that you are editing the nose of character1.

Why is it a good idea to accurately name your assets?

To maintain an organised structure when creating the game

Asset ManagementWhy would you use folders when storing

your assets?To keep the project more compacted and easier to read.

What folders would you create and what would you save within them

You could create folders based on the entity you are editing and keep the traits of the entity in those folders or make different folders inside those folders for the entity's features/characteristics